Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

After Melina's magic lessons with Leon were over, she decided to visit Erina in the inn and find out more about these strangers asking around for her. On her way there, she observed that the town was bustling with people. Many were dressed in light clothes due to the heat, although wealthier ladies looked rather exhausted in their elegant, but layered dresses.

The presence of strangers unnerved Melina. She had come to trust Sunglowers as they knew how to keep secrets. But these tourists certainly would spread the word of her pastries. More people like Auden Speziale would come to try to sway her to work for them. There would surely also be people who would consider her dangerous.

Her biggest worry was still the Church and Heiliger. When the expedition would arrive in Sunglow, then Heiliger would surely be with them. At this time, she should have gathered enough evidence to prove that Melina is a System user, meaning that they would act upon their right to take her to the monastery.

Melina did feel a bit better knowing that she wasn't alone anymore. She had Master Gilbert, who had been able to resist the Church for years. She had Alistair, who certainly wouldn't be siding with them anymore, and she also had Sunglowers who wanted to keep her in Sunglow. But would that be enough?

Of course, Alistair, as a nobleman's son, had certain influence, but if Duke Sinclair decided that Melina wasn't worth it to make the Church his enemy, then that influence would mean nothing.

"That's quite the deep frown you have on your face, Miss Melina. It absolutely doesn't suit your gentle complexion," a voice brought Melina out of her thoughts.

She looked at the source and saw Etrian carrying a bundle of blue cloth in his hand.

"Good day, Sir Etrian," she greeted, forcing a smile on her face.

"Good day. What has gotten you so worried on such a beautiful summer day?" The drow asked.

"Oh, it's nothing too serious. Just some stuff relating to the bakery," Melina waved her hand dismissively.

"Is that so? Could it have something to do with the man who has been asking about your pastries?" Etrian said with a knowing look.

"He's asked you too?" Melina lowered her voice and shuffled closer to the drow.

"Why don't we discuss it in my shop? The street is hardly an appropriate place," he suggested, pointing towards his shop, which was nearby.

"Yes, that might be wise," Melina agreed and followed him.

The drow's shop had a vast array of new clothing, which attracted Melina's attention. She was impressed by his skill, and for a moment she wondered whether she should buy some new clothes for herself. Then she remembered the price and discarded the thought.

"So who has been asking for me?" Melina asked.

The drow set down the bundle of cloth on the counter and turned towards her with a serious expression. "One man came into my shop dressed in black—a dreadful sense of style in my humble opinion—and asked about the pastries in the local bakery. Although the way he looked at me made me feel that he did so while combating his disgust for me."

If he loathed talking to Etrian that much, then it is likely that the man is associated with the Church. In which case, they are being very thorough if they are even asking a drow for information.

"What did you reply?"

"I said that they are incredibly delicious. He then asked whether I felt something unusual after eating them, to which I obviously replied no. After that, he stormed off. But I've heard that he's been asking many people about you."

"Yes, Leon told me as much. I was just on my way to the inn to find out more from Erina," Melina explained.

"Smart choice. She'll surely know more. But do be careful, Miss Melina. I believe we have tough times awaiting us in the future."

"I suspect so as well," Melina sighed.

Etrian walked up to her and put a soothing hand on her shoulder. "If you need help, don't hesitate to ask. I'm more than willing to help my friend's precious apprentice."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Melina nodded and turned to leave. Then she paused for a moment and turned to look at the drow.

"Is there something else?" He asked.

"I'm sorry."

"For what? I don't believe you've done me any slight," he cocked his head quizzically.

"For how I treated you when we first met. It was unfair of me to judge you by your race. I just realized that I never apologized for it."

Etrian smiled. "Apology accepted."

Melina nodded and headed to the inn. Erina was lounging at the front counter, fanning herself as sweat dripped from her forehead.

"Melina! It's a pleasure to see you," the innkeeper perked up the moment Melina walked in. "How are you doing in this System-awful heat? I'm ready to melt into a puddle!"

"Pleasure to see you too," Melina said. "I'm alright. Heat has never really bothered me much."

Or rather, it hasn't bothered me since I bonded with Sienna.

"I'm so jealous! I'd give anything to cool down right now," Erina groaned.

"Why don't you ask Leon for help?" Melina inquired.

"Why Leon?"

"Because he can do ice magic?" Melina questioned.

"He can? All I've ever seen him do are those silly fireball tricks! Oh, I need to get my hands on that man," Erina perked up.

Melina didn't have the heart to admit that Leon would probably not be available today. She had sent him to meditate, and he would likely take the task very seriously.

"But I'm really glad you came. I have something to talk to you about," Erina said in a quiet voice.

"Yes, Leon and Etrian told me," Melina noted, and Erina nodded.

"Then you already know the gist of it. Good. Barrett, take over the counter for a moment. I need to talk to Melina," Erina called out, and suddenly Barrett poked his head out of one of the adjacent rooms.

"Sir Barrett? Shouldn't you be on patrol?" Melina asked quizzically.

"It's my free day, so I'm helping Erina out," the man said. "Go ahead, I'll watch the counter."

Melina had to wonder when Barrett became Erina's personal errant boy. But the man looked more than pleased to help her out. Judging by how he looked at Erina, there was definitely something going on between the two, even if the innkeeper looked unfazed. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

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Erina led Melina to a small office on the second floor and closed the door behind them.

"I'm really glad that you came by, because I think you need to be very careful about where you are from now on," Erina said, her face scrunched with worry.

"What do you mean? From Etrian, I understood that there is a man, likely from the Church, who has been asking around about me and my pastries. I think I saw that man skulking around the bakery," Melina said.

"He went to the bakery? Damned Church rat is getting bold. Melina, listen carefully, you cannot walk around alone!" Erina said fiercely.

"I'm never alone," Melina said, and Sienna squirmed out of her dress pocket.

"Oh, right. You have Sienna. That does put my mind at ease a little bit. But I still suggest you walk around with a human or elf or Etrian if he happens to be along the way to avoid any nasty confrontation. Let me tell you why. This creep has been asking about every detail imaginable about you," Erina said in worry.

"I thought he was just asking about the bakery."

"Oh, no, that's just the start of his probing. He evaluates people first, checking how much they are willing to expose. Most Sunglowers clam up and don't say anything, but I went along with this question."

"You went along with them?" Melina asked in horror.

"Oh, I lied, of course. It was tough since he asked about your magical pastries. I just said they made you see sparkles and fun visions when you ate them," Erina chuckled.

Did she turn my pastries into drugs?

"But the worrying part came afterwards. He was asking about your daily schedule and where you usually went. Not to mention that he knew about Sienna as well," Erina said.

Melina wasn't surprised about him knowing about Sienna. She wasn't really hiding the wyrm. But him asking for her daily schedule was concerning. Was he trying to figure out a time when she was alone?

"That's bad…" Melina muttered.

"Yeah, it is. I mean, I don't want to sound like some crazy old lady with a conspiracy theory, but I have a strong suspicion that he'll try to confront you when you're alone and… take you away. Or do something. While I understand that Sienna is strong, if he knows about her, then I doubt he would come unprepared. Please, Melina, don't walk around alone."

Melina nodded. Sienna was strong, but not invincible. She had her weaknesses. He could try to poison her or use ice magic. She shuddered at the thought of her familiar getting hurt again and patted Sienna gently.

"You're right. I'll be careful," Melina said.

"Don't worry! We're going to eject this nasty man from Sunglow in no time. Everyone is already on edge due to all the questions he's been asking," Erina said.

"Thank you, Erina. I really appreciate the warning."

"You don't have to thank me for something as simple as that. Do you have any plans right now?"

"No, I came to talk to you."

"Good, then how about an early dinner. I'll pack something up for Master Gilbert, too, and then send you back together with Barrett," the innkeeper said.

Melina agreed to her offer. But as she ate her food, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. Things were getting more serious.

As promised, Barrett escorted Melina back to the bakery, but halfway through, they were intercepted by Alistair, just returning from his patrol.

"Odd that I see you hanging out with Melina on your day off," he said suspiciously.

Barrett grew nervous for a moment, but Melina could see that Alistair was just teasing, a mischievous grin playing in the corners of his lips.

"Erina asked him to escort me back," Melina said, deciding to spare the man.

"Escort you? Why for? You have Sienna," Alistair asked.

"I'll explain everything at the bakery. Thank you for coming with me this far, Sir Barrett," Melina inclined her head in thanks.

"Anytime, Miss Melina," Barrett nodded and headed back towards the inn.

"So what exactly happened?" Alistair asked.

"I'll tell you at the bakery. I want Master Gilbert to hear this, too. How was your patrol? Is everything ironed out for the next expedition?" she asked and then gasped as she noticed a bruise on his forehead and sizable scratch marks on his armor. Not to mention how dirty he was. "Wait, what happened?! You're injured!"

"I'm injured?" he appeared surprised.

"Your forehead!" She said, reaching up and touching the wound gently. He winced.

"I didn't even notice that. It's just a scratch. Had a scuffle with a mirror spider," he shrugged, not too bothered.

"A mirror spider?!" Melina exclaimed. She absolutely hated mirror spiders. They were extremely resilient to magic and could even redirect magic attacks back at the mage. It was the one foe she feared to face even as an [Archmage].

"Don't worry. You know a good stab is all it takes to defeat it," Alistair took her hand and gently urged her forward.

She was still worried. Even if for Alistair it was an easy enemy to deal with, a mirror spider appearing near Sunglow wasn't a good sign.

"Monster activity is increasing, isn't it?" She asked dejectedly.

"Yes…" Alistair admitted.

"It feels like it's happening so much faster here. What happened in Sunglow last time?" Melina asked.

"I don't know. After I received that scar from Sienna, I never returned here. But the odd thing is that I never heard of Sunglow being mentioned ever again. You'd think that with the passageway being here, we'd be sent here at least once or twice," he said.

"That is odd… Geez, it's one problem after the next," Melina grumbled.

Alistair squeezed her hand reassuringly. "It's okay, we'll figure it out."

Soon they arrived at the bakery where Gilbert was shuffling about in the backyard.

"Master, I brought dinner from the inn," Melina called out to him.

"I already ate. Give to your man. I'm sure he's hungry after the patrol," Gilbert scoffed.

Melina flushed. It was still odd to hear somebody refer to Alistair as "her man". Alistair, however, looked very pleased to be called that.

"Alright, but could you come inside anyway? There's something I'd like to discuss."

Gilbert rolled his eyes dramatically, but hobbled inside nonetheless. Before long, the three of them were sitting at the kitchen table—Alistair eating the meal prepared by Erina, while Melina and Gilbert drank some tea.

"So what did you want to tell us?" Gilbert asked, somewhat impatiently.

Melina then proceeded to tell them what she heard from Etrian and Erina, as well as her own observations of the man in black in the bakery. Gilbert listened intently while Alistair grew more irritated with every word.

"I'll just find this man and deal with him," Alistair said when Melina finished talking, jumping up from his seat.

"No!" Melina protested, grabbing his arm.

"Calm down! You think the Church will just accept you killing one of their spies?" Gilbert said.

At this, Alistair sat down, albeit reluctantly. "I won't accept them just stalking Melina!"

"You don't even know if he's going to do anything. Perhaps, he is just gathering information," Gilbert noted. "They sent plenty of spies after me, too."

"We cannot act complacent," Alistair objected.

"I'm not saying to act complacent. I'm saying you shouldn't murder people as the first solution to the problem," Gilbert sighed.

Melina had to agree. Bloodshed would only lead to more bloodshed. She had already learned this harsh lesson.

"Let's not do anything rash, alright?" Melina said, putting a hand on Alistair's shoulder.

"But we must do something!" Alistair insisted.

"I suggest that for the time being, we do what Erina suggested. Have somebody with Melina at all times. Somebody besides Sienna," Gilbert said.

Sienna let out a dissatisfied puff of smoke.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want you to get injured either. They must already know about you," Melina said, consolingly patting Sienna's scales.

A moment of silence descended in the room as everyone seemed deep in contemplation. There was a deep crease in Alistair's brow. Finally, he said, "I think Melina should move into my home. At least for the time being."

"What?!" Melina asked in surprise. She wasn't ready for such a sudden change.

"No offense, Master Gilbert. But you're not exactly able to protect Melina if somebody were to try to attack Melina at night," Alistair said sternly.

"I can protect myself, especially in a place where I don't have to worry about staying hidden," Melina protested.

Gilbert shook his head. "This is the Church we're dealing with. Do you really think that if they were serious, they'd send some weaklings after you?"

Melina slumped. She knew that the Church had strong people in its arsenal. As [Archmage] she had been the strongest one. But now…

"It's for the best, Melina. You'll be safer with him."

"But what about you, Master Gilbert?" Melina asked nervously. "I don't want to leave him alone."

Alistair frowned. "Yeah, leaving Master Gilbert alone isn't wise either. Very well. Then I shall stay here. I hope you don't mind, Master Gilbert."

"The couch is all yours, lad," Gilbert said dismissively.

"I guess it's settled then," Alistair said with a satisfied nod.

Wait, no! Staying in the same house as Alistair. My heart isn't ready!