Soon, the next day, Riku's system finished updating.
[System Update Complete.
New Function Unlocked: Selective Manifestation.
You may now request any known recipe or material in limited quantities, priced by rarity and scope.
Remaining Goodwill Points: 100]
Nice! Show me what all new recipes that I can buy
Ding! Showing list of Recipes
Recipe: Cloud-Soft Celebration Cake - 150 points
Ingredients: Flour, sugar, eggs, milk, cream, fruit extract or cocoa, leavening agent (yeast or baking powder)
Tools Required: Mixing bowl, whisk/beater, baking mold, oven or heat rune chamber
Recipe: Elastic Wheat Noodles - 50 points
Ingredients: Wheat flour, salt, water, optional egg
Tools Required: Rolling board, kneading surface, noodle cutter or blade, boiling pot
Recipe: Vinegared Rice Rolls (Sushi) - 120 points
Ingredients: Cooked rice, vinegar, sugar, salt, seaweed sheets, fish or vegetable filling
Tools Required: Rolling mat or bamboo sheet, sharp knife, rice pot
.....
"Hmm, It seems the I can only afford noodles. But that doesn't seem too appetizing.."
But then, Riku's eyes fell on another Recipe
Recipe: Frozen Cream Dessert (Ice Cream) - 130 points (100 points as you have the coolbox and sugar)
Ingredients: Milk, sugar, cream, fruit or cocoa essence, vanilla honey
Tools Required: Churner, Freezing Chamber or equivalent
Riku grinned. "Well, I suppose it's time."
He tapped ACQUIRE.
With a soft shimmer, a small box appeared beside him — packed with what looked like thick cream, crystalline sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla honey and even a curious metal crank-bowl labeled Miniature Ice Cream Churner v1.0.
Later, near the village center.
Riku strolled over to the inn, looking for Lila. "Hey—have you seen Lysaria or Sherry?"
Lila looked up from a pail of berries she was washing. "They're still at the church sites. Apparently arguing over altar designs."
Riku sighed dramatically. "Guess it's just you and me today, then.
"Lila perked up. "Ooh? Are we going on an adventure?"
"Not really, but on a journey. A cold and sweet one."
--------------
Riku stood before the wooden counter in the inn's small kitchen, sleeves rolled up, a glint of anticipation in his eyes. Lila leaned over curiously beside him, her chin nearly on the table.
"Okay," Riku said, placing a hand on a gleaming metal bowl, "this is going to look strange at first, but you're going to love the ending."
He pulled out a small metal churner, about the size of a pot, with a crank mechanism on one side and an inner barrel coated in thin frost runes. Next, he laid out the ingredients he had summoned using the system:
Fresh milk, thick and creamy, with a buttery golden hue
Heavy cream, pale and luxurious, collected in a glass bottle
Sugar crystals, white and sparkling like quartz sand
Fine cocoa powder, deep brown with a rich aroma
A pinch of salt and a small vanilla pod, sliced open to reveal tiny fragrant seeds
Lila's eyes grew wider with each item. "That's… so much stuff. What are we making? I don/t think I have ever seen this cream or cocoa powder, but it smells amazing"
"A Dessert. This dessert," Riku replied with a sage like nod, "is the highest form of edible art. You will understand it once you eat it"
He poured the milk and cream into the churner, the liquids merging into a luscious swirl of ivory. The soft plop of the ingredients echoed slightly in the small space. Then, with careful fingers, he added the sugar — letting it fall like snowflakes onto the surface — followed by the salt, cocoa, and the tiny black seeds scraped from the vanilla pod.
A gentle whisk brought the mixture together into a smooth, glossy liquid. Lila leaned closer, breathing in.
"It smells warm," she said softly. "Even though it's going to be cold?"
"That's the paradox of delight," Riku replied, already securing the lid of the churner.
Then came the cooling part. Riku placed the churner inside the coolbox. The air around the churner instantly dropped in temperature — faint wisps of cold mist curling up from the base.
"Now the fun part," he said, grabbing the crank.
He began to turn the handle of the churner in a slow, rhythmic motion.
Creeeak. Whrrrr. Creeeak. Whrrrr.
With each spin, the chilled barrel inside began to harden the mixture — first at the edges, then gradually through the center. It thickened with a soft gurgling resistance. Riku rotated the churner, scraping the sides with a wooden spatula, folding the frozen edges back in, blending smoothness into smoothness.
Lila stared as frost crystals began forming along the inside.
"You're… freezing it while stirring it?" she asked, her voice low with wonder.
"Exactly. If we just froze it flat, it'd be a brick. Stirring gives it fluff and silkiness."
After several minutes of turning and folding, the mixture transformed — becoming heavy, airy, and textured. Riku dipped a small spoon in and pulled out a perfect curl of ice cream, velvety and matte, like a soft mountain of cocoa cloud.
"Here, try it."
"Okay, here goes." Lila said as she took the spoon and put it in her mouth.
Lila took one bite… and promptly froze.
Eyes wide. Mouth still.
Then she squealed.
"It's cold! It's sweet! What is it??."
"It is called ice cream."
"Ice Cream.. Ice Cream" Lila kept on muttering, trying to internalize that name.
Quickly, Lila gulped down the spoon and reached out for another spoon. Before long, she had eaten half of it.
"Enough, leave some for the others as well! Plus, we still have to make a some other flavours of ice cream as well."
"Oh? More ice cream? Yay!"
Soon, they made strawberry cream, swirling in crushed wild berries from the village grove, and vanilla honey, which came along with the system. Each flavor had its own rhythm — slower turns for the fruit base, quicker for the vanilla — but each resulted in creamy, frozen perfection.
"This is so delicious! I could eat it every day."
"Well, I don't have all the materials needed to make more of it. We still need to wait for Rennan to get cattle who can give us milk and hens who can lay eggs. I am surprised as to why no one raises cattle in Elowen."
"Well, we used to do it. But after years of famine, we just could not feed the animals properly anymore. Many of them died due to illness, and some of them were. A lot of people died as well.. My mother..." Lila said, suddenly becoming very sad.
Riku, seeing that the mood becoming heavy suddenly, went forward and hugged Lila lightly, placing his hands on her back.
"There, there, don't be sad anymore. You have me with you now. I will help you to deal with all your troubles." Riku said, patting her back.
"Hmmm." Lila murmured, silently melting into Riku's arms.
"Riku, this black temple witch is hoarding all the limestone. You have to make the decision for us...."
Suddenly Lysaria burst into Riku's room, Sherry in tow. Both froze in their steps, an o forming on their lips as they saw the hugging Lila and Riku.
"We are sorry, carry on."