Chapter 257 | Sugar Rush

Chapter 257: 257 | Sugar Rush

It was finally Dexter and the girls turn as they reached the front of the ice cream shop.

The moment Lyra saw the enormous menu hanging above the counter, her eyes widened with excitement.

Dexter followed her gaze.

There were dozens of flavors. Some were normal flavor that Dexter was quite familiar with like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, caramel.

Then their were other ones that Dexter didn’t know about like Frostberry Swirl, Crimson Dragonfruit and several others Dexter had never heard of.

Dexter sighed. "This is going to take forever."

Lyra didn’t even look at him.

Mira chuckled from her wheelchair. "You’re the one who brought her here."

"Yes. I’m beginning to recognize my mistake."

Lyra finally turned as her melodious voice appeared directly inside his mind. ’I heard that.’

Dexter raised an eyebrow. "Technically, you didn’t."

Lyra narrowed her eyes and she pouted with glistening eyes.

Dexter grinned softly but spoke. ’Alright. Sorry.’

He then stepped toward the counter. "All right, what flavor?"

He looked toward Mira first.

Mira studied the menu. "Strawberry."

Dexter blinked. "Just strawberry?"

She looked at him. "Is there something wrong with strawberry?"

"No."

"Then strawberry."

Dexter smiled slightly. He’d expected something more dramatic from the former Crimson Valkyrie. Crimson Dragonfruit, perhaps. Blazing Mango. Something that sounded as aggressive as she was.

Instead, strawberry.

Mira narrowed her eyes. "Why are you smiling?"

"No reason."

"You’re thinking something."

"Strawberry it is."

"Dexter."

He had already turned away. "Selene?"

Selene tilted her head as she asked.

"What flavors are there?"

Dexter began reading some of them. "Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mint, caramel, honeycomb, Frostberry, Moonlight Vanilla, Blue Star Mint..."

"Blue Star Mint."

Dexter stopped. "That was fast."

"I like mint."

"Blue Star Mint for Selene."

He turned toward Lyra. "And for the bottomless pit?"

Lyra glared at him. Then looked at the menu again.

Her gaze moved from one flavor to another. And another. And another.

Dexter waited for almost 2 minutes before hs spoke.

"Lyra."

But there was nothing as her eyes continued moving.

Dexter folded his arms. "Still waiting for you Lyra..."

Finally, her voice entered his mind. ’Starlight Chocolate.’

"Alright."

Dexter turned toward the employee. "One strawberry, one Blue Star Mint, and one Starlight Chocolate."

Lyra immediately touched his arm as she stared at him with her puppy eyes.

Lyra pointed toward the Starlight Chocolate. Then raised two fingers.

"You haven’t even eaten lunch yet Lyra."

She continued holding up two fingers.

Dexter narrowed his eyes. Lyra narrowed hers.

A silent battle began.

Mira watched them and Selene waited. Even the employee behind the counter awkwardly looked between the two.

Eventually Dexter sighed. "Two scoops."

Lyra smiled.

"You’re impossible."

Her smile became sweeter.

Dexter paid for everything. A few minutes later, each woman had her ice cream.

Mira received a cup because Dexter didn’t want her struggling with a cone while her mobility was still limited. Her recovered right arm had improved tremendously, but he wasn’t interested in making things unnecessarily difficult for her.

Selene chose a cone. Lyra chose the largest cone available.

Of course she did.

Dexter looked at her double scoop. Then at the single scoops belonging to Mira and Selene. "You’re going to ruin your appetite."

She smiled sweetly at him as she started eating.

Dexter shook his head. "Hopeless."

They moved away from the counter.

Mira looked toward him. "Aren’t you getting one?"

Dexter shook his head. "I’m fine."

Mira looked at her strawberry ice cream and then back at him. "You dragged us here and you’re not eating?"

"Of course im eating. I’ll steal some of yours."

Mira’s eyes narrowed. "Try it."

Dexter laughed. "Fine. I’ll behave."

He moved behind her wheelchair and began pushing again.

They hadn’t gone more than ten meters before Lyra suddenly stopped.

Dexter nearly walked into her. "What now?"

Lyra pointed.

A candy store.

Dexter stared at it. Then at her. Then at the ice cream she was still eating. "You already have ice cream."

Lyra nodded.

"And you want candy."

Another nod.

Dexter sighed. "Why did I ask?"

Mira smiled. "You’ve made a terrible mistake."

"I made three terrible mistakes."

Mira’s smile instantly vanished.

Dexter immediately corrected himself. "Marrying you wasn’t the mistake. Offering unlimited festival snacks was."

Mira snorted. "Nice recovery."

"I’ve become talented."

They entered the candy shop. The inside was a riot of color. Transparent containers covered the walls, filled with sweets of every possible shape and color. There were chocolate bars infused with tiny amounts of mana, crystal candies, fruit chews, marshmallows, hard candy, sour strips, caramel cubes and enormous spirals of rainbow-colored sugar.

Near the front was a machine spinning fluffy clouds of cotton candy.

Mira’s attention immediately shifted toward it.

Dexter noticed. He leaned slightly over the wheelchair. "Cotton candy?"

Mira looked away. "I didn’t say anything."

"You didn’t need to."

Mira looked at I’m with a strange gaze but she eventually didn’t argue back.

Dexter ordered Mira a large pink cotton candy.

Dexter turned toward Selene. "What about you?"

Selene listened as he described the options. Eventually she chose small crystalline fruit drops that dissolved slowly on the tongue.

Selene tried one and her eyebrows rose.

"Good?"

She nodded. "I like it."

"Then we’ll take a bag."

Dexter turned and he realized that Lyra had actually disappeared.

His eyes widened. "Where did she—"

He found her three steps away, staring at an enormous display of chocolate-coated caramel candies.

Dexter chuckled. "Fine. Pick one bag."

Lyra immediately grabbed the largest one.

"That’s not what I meant."

She hugged it against herself.

"Lyra."

She turned away and Selene chuckled at the display.

Dexter sughed and surrendered.

A few minutes later, they emerged from the shop carrying far more sugar than any responsible group of adults should have possessed.

They continued deeper into the festival.

---

The atmosphere became increasingly lively the farther they walked. The roller coaster thundered overhead somewhere in the distance.

For most people, it was simply noise.

For Selene, however, it was something else entirely.

Dexter noticed how confidently she was walking. Usually, when they were outside, Selene stayed close to either him or Lyra. Today she wasn’t.

She still walked beside him, but there was less hesitation in her steps. Her head moved slightly whenever someone approached. When a child ran across their path, Selene shifted half a step backward.

Of course she could do this due to her new talent but then Dexter saw that her eyes were actually opened and her pupils were moving as though she could see what was happening.

His expression changed slightly as he continued pushing Mira for several seconds before asking quietly,

"Selene."

"Hm?"

"Are you okay?"

Selene became silent.