The Cornflower Witch

Book 3: Chapter 56: Ice Cream and the Dragon

"Aurora, have you ever seen a dragon?" During break, Lovier suddenly asked this.

"No, I haven't. Why?"

"Just suddenly curious." The golden-haired young noblewoman twirled a strand of her hair around her finger.

"I've seen all the existing 'Aspects' and abilities out there, but the only thing I've never encountered are the 'Dragon Eye' type creatures and treasures."

"Before this, I thought maybe it was just that Aira Fonti didn't have any, but surely the Mage Alliance, being so prosperous, would have some."

After listening, Aurora smiled faintly and then gently shook her head.

"Dragons haven't appeared in a very long time. What you can find in the Mage Alliance now are probably only dragon remains or treasures crafted in the past." She replied slowly.

"Around the end of the Eighth Epoch, when the 'Corona Dragon' returned and established the celestial gardens of the Dragon Kingdom, most of the living True Dragons migrated there to live. Currently, the only place where you can see dragons flying is probably the First Continent."

"There, the Sun Dynasty is favored by the Corona Dragon. Its royal family possesses Dragon Blood, or perhaps you could say they are humanoid dragons. Additionally, some True Dragons live within the imperial palace."

"What about the other continents? Isn't there even a single one left?" Lovier asked curiously."Um, didn't Hedra say that the Fox Family's ancestor once encountered a dragon-slaying hero?"

"That..." Aurora also began twirling her own silver-gray strands of hair around her shoulder.

"It was probably some straggler dragon that was missed."

"Actually, there's another legend. It says that on the lost Seventh Continent, there might still be dragons existing."

"The Seventh Continent?"

"Mm. You rarely hear people talk about the Seventh Continent, right? That's because that continent is located at the tail end of the giant serpent. It might have already sunk into the mist, having not seen sunlight for thousands of years."

"No one knows exactly where that continent is, but the Hours all confirm that the Seventh Continent does exist and that it is related to the 'Mist Shadow' Hour's position." As Aurora spoke, Sylutia happened to return to the classroom and sit down beside the two of them.

"Hedra is back."

"Mm. I spent a while discussing things with the Butler sent by that Young Lady Hu Tao. I didn't expect her to actually start taking action." Sylutia mentioned the ice cream cone she had suggested to Hu Tao at the last banquet. Surprisingly, a month later, the other party had produced a tangible finished product.

"According to the Butler, the Fox Family's pastry chefs have already developed three new flavors of ice cream balls to be sold with the cones." Sylutia recalled the matters she had just discussed.

"Compared to traditional cakes and pastries, the biggest advantage of this new type of cone ice cream, 'Silky Snowball,' is that it can be conveniently held in one's hand."

"Past desserts could only be enjoyed at home or in restaurants, but this new style of ice cream can not only be bought by the roadside and eaten while walking, but its vibrant colors and cool, refreshing texture are also rare among other desserts."

"It's already the end of May. Soon the weather will heat up, and promoting the new ice cream will become easier." Sylutia explained the business plan she had just discussed.

Actually, she had only mentioned it casually back then, but seeing how sincere Hu Tao and the Fox Family were and how quickly they acted, she couldn't help but get serious and start considering the possibilities of promoting this new type of dessert.

"Wow, Hedra really made it happen!" Lovier's eyes widened as she spoke excitedly, as if Sylutia had already succeeded.

"It's not that fast yet. At the very least, we have to wait and see the market reaction." The young girl shook her head slightly.

Speaking of which, this world didn't really have a specialized concept of marketing and promotion yet. The methods used by major merchants were still quite simple and outdated—hosting banquets to inform the upper circles, then letting them bring the trends down to the lower classes.

"Besides, this kind of promotion requires opening many new stalls and test sites in the Asra District. It's probably going to take a lot of people to do it, and hiring people isn't a simple matter."

"The usable laborers in the Asra District have long been recruited by the various Headmen, becoming the cards and resources in their hands to trade with major merchants and schools. As for the laborers that even those Headmen don't want, they either have bad reputations and criminal records, or they are strangers of unknown origin, making them hard to control."

After that, the three of them chatted and laughed, getting through the break before continuing the day's lessons.

— Night · Chive Street —

Hasty footsteps echoed through the underground passage. The aged, bird-beaked old man quickly strode into the largest, most spacious room and saw the massive, fiery red giant boar sitting on a stone throne.

"Great King, I have good news!" He walked up to the other's side and continued speaking without waiting for a response.

"The Fox Family has sent someone to negotiate with us. They want to hire people to test a new project, to promote a new type of dessert. And this project is huge—they'll need a very large number of hands."

For the next hour, the old man detailed the new ice cream project to the Fire Pig, including how much the Fox Family was investing in it, how big their plans were, and so on.

"Oh, this is truly wonderful." The Fire Pig opened his eyes and forced himself to sit up with difficulty.

"Yes, once we have a cooperation, we can easily get in touch with them and get them to help us find clues about the 'Dragon Eye.'" The old man said excitedly.

"Their family has businesses in every district of the Mage Alliance. Their information network is very well-connected."

"Yes, yes..." The Fire Pig nodded as well, but he wasn't as excited as the old man. Instead, he stared at the flames, thinking carefully.

"But how do we get them to search for us wholeheartedly, without becoming suspicious or objecting?"

"It's true that we have no conflict with them, but they also have no great obligation to help us." He continued tapping the armrest of his chair, thinking step by step.

"We must make this matter and what they want to do connect, so they become one and the same."

"That's it. What we're going to do isn't just ordinary ice cream. Something like that is only good for making a little money." The Fire Pig suddenly laughed, but with his greasy, fat face, the smile looked quite sinister.

"I really enjoy eating, and I also understand what those students and kids like. Ordinary ice cream won't satisfy those arrogant students. What they want is food that is more novel, more imaginative, and more likely to give them a sense of superiority."

"Vanilla ice cream? Fruit ice cream? No, no. What we want should be something no one has ever seen or thought of before—Flame Ice Cream, Dragon Ice Cream."

"Tell the Fox Family's envoy that their ideas are still too conservative. They need to be more impactful. To conquer those proud mage apprentices who think they are superior because they have knowledge, you must use something more powerful and rarer."

"That's right, that's right. Dragons are just that kind of creature—beings that only exist in fantasy. Who can resist the fantasy of riding a dragon to save a princess from a fairy tale?"

The Fire Pig rarely stood up. His huge, obese form could already touch the ceiling.

"Have the Fox Family contact their familiar network of connections to transport the skeleton of a dragon. Turn it into a magnificent and colossal dragon specimen. This will be the thing that attracts all the students from the Asra District to come and experience it."

The braziers in the room blazed. The Fire Pig's enormous shadow loomed across the walls. On his seemingly foolish and simple face, there were deep, pitch-black eyes that now reflected the flickering flames, their desire burning slowly within.