Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

Morning flew by in what felt like no time at all. Together with Alistair and Sienna, they moved her things into Alistair's home. There wasn't a lot of it—one trip was all it took to move her clothes and bedding and other things she managed to accumulate during her stay in Sunglow.

She felt sad and even a bit guilty about moving out of the room so soon. But when she mentioned this to Gilbert, he grumbled, saying that she still lived in the same town and would be spending most of the time in the bakery anyway. She couldn't deny that.

Once her things were moved, they got the boards out of the attic. Coincidentally, Milo arrived with new shelves. She offered the slightly sooty boards to him, and he took them without a second thought, even going so far as lowering the price of the shelves. Apparently, even sooty boards were good materials.

Once Milo had installed the new shelves and all the boards were moved into his cart, Alistair offered to help get the boards back to his shop using Knight. Melina used the time to remove the old furniture from the attic and sweep away the largest clumps of dust.

"Is it really alright for me to use this place?" Adrien asked, looking at the attic.

"I'm sorry we don't have a better room ready for you. It might take a while before we get you a proper bed and other furniture," Melina said, but was interrupted by the boy.

"No! No! I love it! It's really huge. My room back at home was so small, I barely had space for anything. Not to mention that you're letting me live here for free," he noted.

"You will have to work," she reminded him.

"Of course, but it's better than any apprentice can hope for. You teach me magic, give me room and food. I couldn't ask for better," Adrien said in satisfaction.

"I'm glad that you're happy."

Once the hectic morning was over, and they'd all eaten lunch, Alistair left for his patrol. Remi came to guard Melina in his place, bringing Leon along, who was vibrating with excitement.

"I know you've been busy with preparations for reopening, but I was hoping you might spare a moment for a lesson. I wanted to show you the progress I've made," Leon pleaded.

"Yes! I'm sorry I've had to cancel multiple lessons in a row, but today I'm definitely going to check your progress. And I've got another student now," Melina said, pointing towards Adrien, who was peering at Leon from behind her back.

"Hello," the boy greeted. "I'm Adrien."

"Hi. I'm Leon, the only mage in Sunglow," he puffed out his chest proudly.

"Isn't Miss Melina a mage?" The blonde boy asked in confusion.

"Oh, right… I've introduced myself for such a long time that it has become a habit," Leon scratched his beard sheepishly.

"Now there are three mages in Sunglow. Or at least there will be three once I'm done training you," Melina said.

"Hey, could you teach me too!" Remi asked excitedly.

"Remi, you don't have the patience for magic. You'd get bored five minutes into the lesson," Leon chastised.

"No, I wouldn't!" The elf puffed out her cheeks angrily.

"You're welcome to observe our lesson," Melina said, pacifying the elf. She had a feeling that Leon was right.

They moved to the depths of the garden, beyond the rows of strawberries, peppers, and tomatoes. Melina couldn't help but glance proudly at the things she'd grown. Although Gilbert was the one who mostly cared for the garden. He seemed to prefer working outside rather than in the bakery.

"Okay, so what do we start with? Fireballs? Manipulating water? Creating icicles?" Adriena asked excitedly.

Leon shook his head while Mango, who had been running around them in circles, yipped at the mention of icicles.

"We have to start with understanding mana itself," Leon said sagely.

"Leon is right. Especially for someone who is already manifesting his powers, mastering the control of mana is more important. If you can control mana, then you have nothing to fear—you'd never lose control of your powers," Melina nodded with her head.

Adrien nodded in understanding.

"Could you perhaps show what you've learned, Leon? How has your progress been?" Melina asked.

The mage smiled smugly—he clearly had been waiting for this question. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and then moved his hands in slow, deliberate motion. To anyone else, it would look like an odd dance of sorts. However, Melina saw it—there was mana coming out of his hands, but instead of dispersing like it had before, he was able to guide it. There was some mana lost in the motion, but it was much less than before.

"Set it on fire," Melina commanded, wondering how he'd react.

Leon sputtered for a moment, and his mana turned into a quick burst of flames before dispersing.

"Aww… I lost control…" Leon whined.

"You did really well. I didn't expect you to progress so much in such a short time," she praised him.

"Fishing really helped. It was like some third eye opened within me. One moment, I had no clue what mana was, the next—I could see it all around me."

"Can someone explain what just happened?" Adrien asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Leon was manipulating his own mana in the air around him. The brief flash of fire was him redirecting the purpose of the mana, but as you saw, it needs great concentration to achieve something like that," Melina said.

She then let a thin strand of mana flow around herself and let it burst into flames. Like a fiery ring, it spun around her. Mango chased it relentlessly, and even Sienna, who had been lounging on the hot rocks, peered over.

Melina then began to rapidly shift the element. Changing fire to lightning, then water, then ice, then air, and back to fire.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Adrien stared in amazement.

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"By the end of these lessons, you two should be able to do it too."

"What?" Leon sputtered. "I don't know how to create lightning or air magic."

"We'll learn," Melina assured him.

"I don't know where to even begin…" Adrien said dejectedly.

"Don't worry, we'll begin with something simple," she said and picked up two small pebbles, handing one to Leon and one to Adrien. "You'll be levitating rocks with your mana."

"Shouldn't Adrien also be doing the meditation techniques to understand his mana?" Leon asked.

"Yes, of course. But I first need to see how good his innate control over mana is. Place the rocks on the ground in front of you," she instructed.

They did, but Melina saw that Remi and, surprisingly enough, Mango also took a pebble and placed it in front of themselves. When did she acquire four students?

She took a pebble herself and sat down in the grass, placing it in front of herself. "Your task is simple. You must concentrate on the pebble and move it above the ground. Fundamentally, what you're doing is guiding the mana from your body to the pebble and then lifting it."

Melina effortlessly made the pebble float up. It felt so nice to be able to do this again without the need to rely on Sienna's mana. It must be easier on Sienna, too, not constantly having to share her mana with Melina.

"I can definitely do it!" Leon said and stared at his pebble, while gesturing with his hand in weird directions.

"Try to do it without using your hands first," Melina instructed.

"Without hands?" The man deflated a bit, but nodded. "I can do it."

Adrien stared intently at the pebble, as did Remi. For a few minutes, this staring contest continued without much progress. Then something surprising happened. Mango's pebble floated up a few centimeters from the ground.

"Mango! You did it!" Melina cheered.

Sienna chittered proudly while Mango jumped up and down happily.

"I was beaten by a fox?! No way!" Leon exclaimed in frustration and redoubled his effort.

His pebble soon floated up too, although it appeared somewhat shaky. It appeared that he based his control of mana on his hand movements. It wasn't inherently wrong; however, controlling mana with your hands meant longer casting times. If Melina was going to teach them, then she would teach them right.

Not to mention that she had full confidence that Leon could do it. He was determined when it came to magic.

Melina turned out to be right. Not even a minute later, Leon's stone was floating much more stably. His fingers would twitch occasionally, clearly wanting to use them for support.

"Wonderful! You can practice lifting it up and down and moving it left and right," Melina said.

Leon diligently continued the exercise, carefully moving the rock. Mango began running around while levitating the rock in front of herself. Or perhaps she was chasing the rock? In either case, the fox was having a lot of fun, and soon Sienna joined in the rock chase as well.

At one point, Mango began to throw the rock with her magic, and then Mango and Sienna would race to see who would get to it first. Most of the time, Sienna would reach it first, but occasionally Mango would be faster by leaping over the wyrm. Sienna was a faster runner, while Mango was a better jumper.

Remi had lost interest in the whole exercise at some point and instead observed the game of two familiars. It appeared that she wanted to join, but was holding herself back.

Adrien didn't seem to show any progress, however. He stared at the rock for the longest time, sweat beading on his forehead, but the rock stayed where it was. Melina was about to suggest a meditation technique first when suddenly the rock exploded with a loud bang.

"What?" Adrien stared in shock.

Leon had jumped back a step while Remi had withdrawn her daggers. Mango instantly ran to Melina, frightened, while Sienna looked ready to turn into her large form.

"What did you do?" Leon asked in shock.

"I-I just wanted it to float…" Adrien said, dejectedly hanging his head.

But for Melina, this was a valuable outcome. An unexpected one, but it showed her that she was right to bring Adrien to Sunglow.

"You used too much mana," she explained.

"Too much?" The boy blinked. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"How much mana does one need to make a rock explode into… nothing? I don't see it anywhere," Leon said in horror, staring around and searching for the rock.

"Quite a lot. That's why you've had these accidents in the past. You have way more mana than a normal person, so occasionally it leaks out of your body, so to speak," she explained.

"Leaks?" Adrien blinked at her.

"Like the sparks you produced in your father's shop. It happened when you were excited. Mana can be influenced by our emotions, and the more you have, the harder it might be to control."

"So I really could endanger other people?" He asked dejectedly, pulling his arms around himself protectively.

"Don't worry. With me around, you couldn't do it even if you tried," Melina said confidently.

"B-But what if it happened like with that rock and you didn't manage to react in time," he asked nervously.

Melina smiled. It was cute for this boy to worry, but Melina hadn't been an Archmage just for show. Her instincts had been honed to react instantly.

"Concentrate on that pebble again. I'll make sure it doesn't explode," she urged, throwing a pebble at him.

Adrien caught it, then placed it on the ground in front of himself, staring intently at it. A minute passed, and then a loud explosion happened. Melina instantly surrounded the rock with her mana, severing Adrien's mana and preventing the rock from exploding.

"W-What happened this time? I heard the noise, but the rock is still intact," Adrien blinked.

"I cut off your mana from the rock. The loud cracking noise wasn't actually from the rock exploding, but rather your mana being cut off. If it's cut off instantly, the rock remains intact."

"Wow…"

"Now, how about we work on your mana sense. We'll find out which method works best for you."

The magic lesson continued for several hours. Leon kept practicing his mana control with the pebble while Melina slowly went through each mana-sensing technique. Turned out that slow movement training was most suitable for the boy. It helped him to relax and feel the mana flow. To an extent, at least. He'd need more time to properly grasp it. Probably longer than what it took Leon.

While Leon had been missing his fundamentals, his patience and acceptance that magic could take time to react helped him learn faster. Adrien was much more impatient to see immediate results.

The best student turned out to be Mango. She was levitating and throwing multiple pebbles by the end of the lesson. Melina worried about what would happen to her stuff indoors since she accidentally taught Mango how to levitate it. Little rascal would undoubtedly try to get all of her favorite snacks from the high shelves.

"Remi, would you accompany me to the market? There are a few things I need to buy for Adrien and for the opening day," Melina said.

"Sure. You should also tell Erina about the reopening day. Have her spread the news. Otherwise, nobody will know that you're opening the bakery again," Remi noted.

"Oh yeah… I kind of forgot about that," Melina admitted sheepishly.

"Should I come along? I'd like to see Sunglow. I can help you carry stuff," Adrien offered.

"Of course," Melina nodded.

The three of them, plus the two familiars, headed off to the market. It took a while to get there. People were extremely curious about Mango and kept asking Melina about her.

The little fox hid herself in Melina's arms, too shy around the many new people. Or perhaps, she just didn't want to be petted. Melina patiently explained that Mango is her new pet, and conveniently added the fact that the bakery would be reopening on Tuesday.

This brought cheer to many faces, and they promised to come. Melina had to wonder whether they could accommodate that many people on the opening day. No doubt many would be eager to see their favorite and only bakery open for business again.

Erina was twice as excited as everyone else combined about the reopening. She promised to make posters to stick around her inn and invite every guest she had available to it. She even offered to throw a party, but Melina politely declined, saying that she would be too busy to attend any parties.

Shopping at the market was also slow as she had to reiterate about Mango and the bakery's reopening many times. At some point, Remi jumped in and helped her explain things while she focused on purchasing the things she needed—new trays, a few potted plants, and a new pillow and blanket for Adrien.

It all seemed to be going well. Melina was excited for the reopening. But then, among the market crowd, she noticed a dark form. It was the man in black, watching her from afar. But unlike before, when his expression remained neutral, his furrowed brows and narrowed eyes showed clear signs of anger.