Official Business

Cirno and Ding Dang chatted affectionately, but I did not go over to eavesdrop on them. I did not think two people whose combined IQ was only eighteen could discuss anything with much informational value. Still, judging by the way they talked while gesturing wildly, they seemed to be having a great time.

"Right! That's what we'll do!"

Cirno's sudden shout snapped everyone back from the frigid wind at minus fifteen degrees Celsius. I brushed the snow from my shoulders and looked curiously toward the counter, only to find Cirno taking a new popsicle box from behind it while Ding Dang hopped to the far end of the long counter, faint green radiance glowing from her hands as she rubbed them together.

"What are you doing?" I shot Ding Dang a sidelong glance through my steaming breath. "Rubbing a Hearthstone?"

Ding Dang rubbed her hands and stuck her tongue out at me. "Just watch, A Jun! Ding Dang is amazing!"

With a crackle, the instant Ding Dang finished speaking, a faint sound of ice breaking came from the counter. A green plant actually burst through the ice and grew rapidly at a visible rate. Ding Dang began happily flying circles around this plant that had sprouted from nowhere. In less than half a minute, it turned into a small fruit tree—less than two meters tall and fused with the counter, its exposed roots piercing deep beneath the icy ground. Its upper branches were laden with glittering golden fruit. They looked a little like apples—if ordinary apples could reflect a person's image from their skin.

Cirno conjured an ice knife and cheerfully picked fruit from the little tree. After slicing it into thin pieces, she dumped them into the popsicle box, added other assorted yet absolutely abnormal ingredients, shook it once