Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

Alistair felt nervous. His patrol was over this late evening, and he should feel relieved. But increased monster activity after the festival, as well as the drow assassin, made him a bit jumpy. Even if logically everything was still well within the norm they could handle, he couldn't help but worry that one day it might be too much.

But the monsters weren't the only reason why he was nervous. He was standing in the bakery's backyard, staring up at the window. Light was coming from it, and through the curtains, he could vaguely see Melina's figure bustling about the room.

She's my partner now… I almost can't believe it. After all these years…

He wanted to see her so badly, but at the same time, he was afraid to see her. Their relationship had changed, and he wasn't sure how to act around her. How far could he go without scaring her? How much touch was too much?

As Alistair was mulling this over, something came up to him from behind. He nearly drew his sword when he realized that it was Knight, Gilbert's nightmare familiar.

"Good evening to you, too," he greeted the creature.

It sputtered in response, nuzzling against Alistair's hand.

"I don't really have anything to give you right now," he said, thinking that the nightmare was looking for a treat.

But Knight didn't appear discouraged, so Alistair patted him. The nightmare then darted away, and he thought that was the end of that and prepared to head inside when it returned with a brush in its teeth.

"You want to be brushed?" Alistair asked.

Knight sputtered in agreement.

"Very well. But not for too long. I want to talk to Melina before she goes to sleep," he said. He knew she tried not to stay up too late, although she didn't always manage to stick to that.

Brushing the nightmare did calm his nerves a little. He couldn't help but admire the silky, black coat as well as the muscles that lay beneath. Alistair certainly wouldn't be against a powerful mount like this. The one time he rode it to reach the elves was exhilarating. Riding through the shadows as if he owned them. He hoped to have the chance to do it again one day.

"I can't believe he's actually letting you brush him," Melina said suddenly, and Alistair nearly dropped his brush.

"Geez, you scared me!" He exhaled.

She giggled, that adorable dimple appearing on her cheek. It was a rare sight. He noticed that it only appeared when Melina was truly smiling.

"Sorry. I saw you through the window and came downstairs to check up on you. Seems like Knight has taken quite a liking to you."

"It's nothing huge. I'm just brushing him."

"Oh, no! It is quite huge. He won't let me brush him," Melina said, and reached for the brush. Knight lowered his ears and snorted at her in displeasure.

"See," she lifted her hands in surrender. "Knight is very finicky about who he lets close. It took a while before he accepted my presence here."

"Really? I never did anything special," Alistair said as he continued brushing the nightmare.

"You seem very special to me," she said in a flirty tone while batting her eyelashes at him.

Alistair felt as if his heart had been pierced. He hasn't seen this side of Melina. She always appeared level-headed, not revealing much of her true emotions. Even after being companions fighting alongside one another for years, she always kept a respectable distance. But he could feel that it was finally, finally getting smaller.

"Is that so? Just how special?" He asked smugly.

Melina's cheeks flushed just a tinge redder, but she stood her ground, looking up at him with sincere eyes. "The most special person to me."

It took every ounce of Alistair's self-control not to pull her into his embrace and kiss her. Instead, he restrained himself and reached for her hand. He lifted it up and gently kissed her fingertips. Her skin smelled like fresh bread and fruit. He's come to associate this sweet scent with Melina.

"You're the most special person to me. In the whole wide world," he whispered.

Melina flushed completely and averted her gaze. It was adorable. Seeing the once most powerful Archmage react this way to a simple kiss was exhilarating. He wanted to see more of this vulnerable side of her.

"Thank you," she muttered in embarrassment. "W-Would you like to come in?"

Oh, I'd love nothing more.

But he clenched his fist and shook his hand. Alistair wasn't sure if he'd be able to control himself if he were alone with Melina in her bedroom. No, his mind was already filled with less-than-proper thoughts.

He didn't want to rush things. Alistair wanted Melina to feel comfortable and safe around him. Not to mention, that he wanted to spend a lifetime together with her. There would still be plenty of time for them to get closer.

"I only came to see you before you head to sleep. I know you need to rest before work," he said with a smile. "I'll meet you again in the morning."

Melina nodded, but her smile faltered. Was she disappointed?

"Of course," she nodded.

"I'll be going then. Sleep well," he said, turning to leave.

However, Melina tugged on his sleeve, forcing him to turn back. There was a pained expression on her face.

"We'll be able to fix it this time, right?" She muttered, her expression torn.

Alistair pulled her into his embrace. "We'll fix it. We won't let that tragedy happen again. I'll be with you every step of the way."

Her hands tightened around him, and for a while they stayed locked together. She felt so small, so fragile, yet he knew the strength within her. He knew that she tried to carry all the heavy burdens by herself. So the best thing he could do was take some of it onto his own shoulders.

"Remember, you can count on me for anything. Whatever you need or even if something just bothers you, even if it's nothing more than a hunch, you tell me," he said, gently caressing her soft hair.

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She nodded, looking up at him. "T-There is actually something that worries me."

"What?" he asked.

"Elowen. When we had our talk today, he seemed too complacent. Too agreeable. I have a feeling that he is plotting something," Melina said, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Plotting? You think he'll go against us? Doesn't he want to prevent the same tragedy as us?" He asked in confusion, brushing a stray lock out of her face. Despite the seriousness of the topic, he couldn't help but secretly admire her beauty.

"Yes, but Elowen has always been impatient, especially by elven standards. His actions have been radical in the past. I'm worried he might rush ahead without discussing his plans first," Melina said.

"Well, he can't exactly move around Sunglow undetected. I'll keep an eye on him and ask a few others from the Guild to watch his movements," he said.

"Thank you. It might be that I'm just paranoid—"

"It doesn't hurt to be cautious. Elowen clearly doesn't trust us. I suspect it is only our mutual goal that is keeping things civil with him," Alistair said. "How did he even become an ambassador between elves and humans? I can't remember. He doesn't seem suited for the role."

"He certainly had some growing pains. It was a role appointed by the elf elders, not something he chose for himself," Melina explained. "It is quite a long story. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

Alistair looked at her cheekily. "And listen to my beloved talk about another man right before the night? I'd rather not."

Melina flushed and squirmed a bit. He was still holding her close by her waist.

"I didn't know you were the jealous type," she said with a grin.

"Oh, I'm very jealous. I can't believe you'll be teaching Leon magic. You'll be alone with a man teaching him your secrets," he frowned. But he was merely pretending, wondering how she would react.

"I… It would be good for Sunglow if Leon could use magic properly. Should I arrange the lessons at a time when you can be around?" She asked nervously.

He smiled. To think that she was willing to accommodate him to this extent.

"I merely jest. I trust you more than anyone else. If you believe that it is necessary to teach Leon, then I support you fully."

She relaxed. "Thank you."

"There is one thing I'd like before I leave."

"What is it?"

"A goodnight kiss," he said, and offered his cheek towards her for her to kiss.

Much to his surprise, he reached up and planted a kiss on his lips. It was brief and gentle, he could feel her shiver as their lips touched. It took all his self-restraint not to pull her in and hold her close. But if he went on, he wouldn't be able to stop. So he bid her goodnight and left.

Two days pass by peacefully, although Melina is busy from morning until dusk. Morning was spent making pastries and serving the customers, while in the evening she was preparing the new rotating menu for the bakery, and slowly working on Sienna's enclosure. Although she couldn't work on that without Alistair around.

Gilbert and Alistair were both completely against her doing any hard labor on her own after that time she collapsed. So most of the work was actually done by Alistair as he lifted the heavy rocks into designated places. She felt bad for occupying his time with work when he was already busy with his patrols.

But it did come with its perks. Since it was summer, the weather was rather hot. So Alistair worked shirtless to remain cool. Although Melina had a strong suspicion that he merely wished to observe her reaction to his shirtless form. Clever, because she certainly wasn't complaining about the sight. Even if it made her mind wander where it shouldn't.

This morning, however, Melina was waiting for a System notification. She was expecting this milestone for a while and couldn't wait to see what exactly the System would offer for her.

[Congratulations! You've reached Level 25.]

[You may choose a new skill.]

"Yes, finally!" Melina cheered, finishing the remaining two shimmertarts with its signature sparkling glaze.

"What?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow as he arranged the bread into the baskets.

"New skills! It's been a while since I unlocked something new," Melina hummed with excitement. "Oh, I hope there's something relating to antidotes."

"As if there was something so convenient," Gilbert shrugged.

"Don't dismiss it so quickly, Master. The system is rather good at providing us with exactly what we need. We just need to let it know what we need," Melina said.

"Aren't you the wise one…" he drawled and returned to work. "How about you just check what it offers?"

"Okay, okay," Melina said, and willed the System to show her the new skills.

[Elemental Infusion – Allows you to infuse pastries with elemental properties, which can provide either elemental resistance buffs or elemental effects to those who consume them.]

Gilbert let out a whistle. "That's pretty impressive. I haven't heard of anyone being able to do that."

Melina thought about it. The skill certainly sounded impressive, and she'd love to add it to her repertoire eventually.

[Baker's Aura – Grants nearby cooks and bakers enhanced coordination, improved focus, and a slight boost to the quality of prepared baked goods.]

"Support skill for cooks?" Melina asked in confusion.

"It could be useful if we had a kitchen full of apprentices. I don't think it'll do much help in our case," Gilbert pointed out.

Melina had to agree. Gilbert's skills with pastries was already second to none. He didn't need some flimsy skill to boost him.

[Arcane Panacea — Allows you to create pastries that cure afflictions such as poison, burn, paralysis, among others. The effectiveness of the pastry depends on skill rank as well as the rank of and the ability to manipulate mana.]

"This is it! This is the skill I need to create the antidote pastry!" Melina cheered.

"Don't cheer too soon. Did you already forget the second part of the description? It depends on the skill rank. I doubt you'll be able to do much at Rank F. It'll take a while to get to a usable level. sounds more useful currently," Gilbert said.

"Don't worry. I have a method to quickly get any skill to a usable level. Something I figured out in my time as [Archmage]," Melina said and chose the skill .

"Method? What method?" Gilbert looked suspiciously.

"It is called grinding! I'll have at Rank B by the end of the week," Melina said victoriously.

"Well, if you're so confident, then go ahead. I'm leaving all the creation of magical pastries up to you," Gilbert said. "How's your status screen looking, by the way?"

"Oh, it's been a while since I checked it. Let me look."

[Name: Melina Dufour]

[Level: 25]

[Class: Arcane Baker]

[Familiar: Sienna — Ember Wyrm Level 49]

[Intelligence: 18]

[Agility: 10]

[Strength: 9]

[Skill: 22]

[Charm: 15]

[Active Skills: 9]

[Unassigned stat points: 4]

[, , , , , , , , , ]

[Passive Skills: 3]

[, , ]

"A lot of my skills appear to be stuck at Rank C," Melina mused aloud. It obviously took longer to get skills to a higher rank. However, it was almost as if she hit a wall of sorts. Thinking back on it, something similar happened with her magic, too. It was especially hard to breach into Rank B. "Maybe I need to grind all of my skills."

"Don't forget about your unassigned stat point. And what is this grinding you are referring to? I never heard of the term," Gilbert asked curiously.

"I'd be surprised if you did. It's a training method I devised after all, meant specifically for System users," Melina said proudly, then winced. "Please, don't tell Alistair about it."

Gilbert narrowed his eyes. "Why not?"

"He might get a bit too worried. Alistair is rather overprotective. But the method is completely safe," Melina assured him nervously.

"Now I am definitely telling that boy!" Gilbert said and went into the bakery.

"No!" Melina wailed.

She knew that Alistair wouldn't support this idea. After all, it involved doing the same thing for hours on end, which could be very taxing for the body. It wasn't such a big deal when she was [Archmage] as her body had been much stronger then. But the few months in Sunglow weren't enough to offset years of neglect and malnutrition in the orphanage life. Melina had to improve her skills quickly if she wanted to make those antidote pastries. She wouldn't budge this time, not even for Alistair. Not for Gilbert. Not for sore wrists and blisters.