CH SS 1

(Author’s note: Time period is right before the chapter A certain Summer day)

“Kenneth, what is that?”

It was the first summer of the very first year Latina had come to Kroix, when she said that and, koten, tilted her head sideways.

Kenneth laughed as he made a grinding sound, crunching up the frozen fruit juice that had been chilled with a magic tool.

“It’s something to 『look forward』 to once I’m done.”

“Really?”

“Want to touch it?”

“Nnh?”

Looking curious, Latina reaches out and touches the container the fruit juice was going into, and jumped out in shock.

“COLD!?”

“It’s nice and cold right?”

Smiling widely at the reaction he had predicted from Latina, Kenneth once again put the container into the 『refrigerator』. This device, a magic tool, would chill the inside by making ice. Due to that, you could even freeze something by putting it next to the nucleus part of the device.

He was able to see just from looking at Latina just now, but it seems she has never eaten anything cold up till that point.

What Kenneth made that day for a snack, was sherbet, placed in a well cooled bowl.

Seeing Latina curiously checking it out, Kenneth smiles almost wryly, then hands her a spoon.

“If you take too long then, it’ll end up melting.”

“Really?”

Latina stabs into it as if she was in a rush, and was shocked at the soft texture, which was unlike what she had imagined. Just like that, she took a bite, and filled her mouth with the sherbet.

Rather than feeling the taste of it, or anything, she froze.

— This was Latina’s very first brain freeze.

“Latina?”

“Ow. Why?”

Latina, who never in her life would’ve thought that she would be attacked by food, looked up at Kenneth with a terrified look. It was quite funny, seeing how shocked she was, and shaking like she was a small animal.

“…Try eating a bit slower, and have it melt in your mouth instead.”

Meekly, Latina puts the spoon into the sherbet once again, just as Kenneth said, and timidly put it into her mouth.

“!!”

She looks up at Kenneth with a look of shock, different from before.

“It melted! It’s cold, and sweet, no!!”

“It’ll be getting hotter and hotter from here on, you see. Which is why you would want to have something cold right? You can even make this by yourself, Latina.”

“Really?”

“Dale taught you some magic, right? It’s not too difficult to use magic to lower the temperature and freeze things. If you don’t know how to do it, then you should go ask Dale.”

“Un!”

From there, after tasting the ice cream that Kenneth tried to make with egg and lots of milk, Latina became completely captivated by cold sweets. She, being able to freeze things with no problem using her 『Dark』 magic, immediately started excitedly working on making cold sweets with the recipe she was taught.

It was obvious who Latina 『wanted to have the very first taste』.

That day, once Dale came home, Latina rushed out, carrying the humongous bowl of ice cream that she had quickly made. Her heart impatient, wanting to have Dale eat it before it melted.

It was because she had was thinking like that, that, with a bump, she tripped.

It was a small impact, but the ice cream — happened to be blown away by that impact.

With a splat, that white clump drew a parabola as it flew in the air, and made a small mountain on the floor in front of Dale.

“!!!!!”

Letting out an inaudible scream, Latina fell to her knees in front of the now empty bowl, crushed.

“Eh….uhhh…. Latina? Are you alright?”

Dale calls out to Latina, walking towards her, who seemed to have become a clump of sorrow, but there was no reply.

To think that it couldn’t just attack me, but even run away. I hate the thing called ice cream. This won’t happen next time. I will conquer you.

Was what was going through Latina’s head as she was looking down. It was a little odd, but she took it extremely seriously. After a short while, Latina looked up, with a face full of determination and resolve, before announcing to Dale.

“Latina, won’t lose next time!!”

“Oh…. Ohhhh. Good luck.”

Even as he was comforting Latina, who didn’t burst into tears, Dale smiled, despite not knowing how she had arrived at that conclusion at all.

Her determination being true, she continued to diligently made cold sweets all throughout Summer. As a result, she became quite the expert on making cold sweets. That was greatly appreciated by the one who was looking after her, Rita, as she was terrible with the heat.