Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

The next day, Melina was sorting through the storage to make sure they had everything they needed for the bakery to run next week. More almond flour was required, since she wanted to sell opera cake in the bakery alongside chocolate shimmercake.

She wouldn't apply the floating effect to these cakes, much to Roxie's and Adrien's chagrin, but instead she would strengthen the rejuvenating effect that coffee provided. They would be the rich man's version of cloud muffins. She also hoped that this would remove the everlasting lines from shimmercake orders.

There were some new Monster Realms ingredients she hadn't had time to explore. Perhaps she could try to make something with them next week. It didn't seem like there would be anything urgent she needed to do. Elowen was in charge of finding the Codex of Origin, and until he had more information, there was nothing she could do.

So instead, she took Knight and Roxie, and together they went to the town to purchase the necessary ingredients for the week. Sunglow was filled with life, although the first signs of autumn were already creeping in. A few stray leaves on the street, as well as a slightly chilly breeze from the sea, signaled that the summer was almost over.

Nonetheless, there was activity everywhere. Alistair had worked hard to invite new workers, and they were busy fixing up the old houses to provide space for even more workers who would come next year to start working on new buildings.

The number of tourists had slightly decreased, although there was still a considerable amount of curious onlookers. They stared at Sienna and Mango, who were sitting at the back of the cart, looking proud. It was a pleasant outing, despite the fact that it was meant for work.

However, on their way back, Elowen caught up to them.

"Melina, mind if I ride with you to the bakery?" The elf asked.

"Sure," Melina agreed. The elf likely had learned something from Lord Eidranis, although whether it was good news or bad news, she couldn't tell from his expression alone.

He did tell them that the Sunglow's passageway between realms was still shrinking and that things on the Monster Realm's side were looking far more civil now. A special trail had been made for people to travel through, in addition to the mounts. Drow guards constantly stood at the passageway to make sure that nobody dangerous would try to sneak in.

Overall, Elowen described it as an improvement, but she did notice a slight twitch of his pinky finger once in a while. There must have been some problem.

After they returned to the bakery and unloaded all the purchases, Melina and Elowen went to talk in the living room. She set up a privacy ward to make sure her curious little employees wouldn't be listening in.

"So what happened?" Melina asked Elowen.

"I know where the Codex of Origin is," the elf said.

"That's great news! But… why do you look so disappointed? Is there a problem?"

"You could say that. It is currently in possession of the Grand Oracle of the Monster Realm," he said, his lips pursed together in a thin line.

"I… I've never actually heard of them," Melina admitted.

"It's not a position known to those living in the Human Realm. It isn't advertised, and the identity and the location of the Grand Oracle is usually kept a secret."

"So Lord Eidranis refused to tell where the Grand Oracle is?" Melina asked.

"Oh, no. He told me. It turns out that the Grand Oracle is his mother, however…"

"However?"

"Apparently, she won't see anyone. The death of her husband greatly affected her. The only one she ever allows close is her son and a few select servants," Elowen explained.

"I… That's tragic, but it's not like we have to meet her to get the Codex of Origin. Couldn't Lord Eidranis ask it of her?"

"Yes, I suggested the same thing. However, he said that his mother doesn't trust him with the Codex. She apparently believes only someone with exceptional skill is worthy of taking it. That's why we're going to need your skills, Melina," Elowen explained.

Melina nodded. "You know I'm willing to do anything within my power. Whatever the Oracles wish, I'll do my best to fulfill it. Anything to get the Codex. Wouldn't it be better to remove the Codex from her entirely? The Church did obtain it last time, and I doubt they just asked for it nicely."

"Yes, Lord Eidranis was worried about the same thing. But his mother remains stubborn. She won't see anyone, and she won't give up the Codex to anyone unless she deems them worthy."

"But… how can anyone be worthy if she won't see them. The magic I can show from afar is rather limited," Melina frowned.

"No, it's not magic that she wants. She wants a particular pastry," Elowen said, deadpan.

Melina stared at him for a moment.

"She's willing to give up the Codex of Origin… for a pastry?" Melina reiterated.

While she had certainly solved a fair share of problems using pastries, this seemed a bit overboard. It was the Codex of Origin they were talking about. The most powerful magical tome in both realms, which held the most powerful rituals and spells inside it.

"Not just any pastry. Apparently, she wants to taste the same pastry she ate with her husband during their first date," Elowen explained. "She wants to relive that memory again."

"Please tell me you know what that pastry is!" She begged.

"Ice cream cake made with glassberries and leafshade chocolate," Elowen said, not daring to look Melina in the eye.

"An… ice cream cake?" She repeated in disbelief. Ice cream as a dessert was already very rare. It could only be made with the help of special magitech devices, and since those were expensive, only the nobility ever ate ice cream.

But an ice-cream cake was something Melina had never heard of or tasted. Made with glassberries and leafshade chocolate, no less. Where exactly would one incorporate glassberries and chocolate in this recipe? Was the ice cream made with chocolate? Was it incorporated into the cake biscuit or used as ganache on top?

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What about glassberries? The only use she ever found for them was in the form of gel. The berries were too hard to eat on their own, unless you allowed them to melt. But if you put gel in ice cream, it would freeze over and basically be a hard piece of ice. There was no way that was enjoyable.

"Please tell me you know something more about this dish…" Melina begged.

"I'm afraid that was all I was told. Lord Eidranis promised to try and find out more details, but he said he couldn't guarantee that he would manage to get anything out of, and I quote, "his stubborn mother."

Melina clutched her head. The fate of the realms rested in the hands of her ability to recreate a dessert she had never even heard of before. No pressure at all.

"Perhaps you could ask Ygdril. He worked for Lord Eidranis. Perhaps he knows something," Elowen suggested.

Melina nodded and desperately hoped that the drow knew something. Although she would have to wait until tomorrow to find out.

"Ice cream cake?" Roxie, Adrien, and Gilbert all exclaimed at the same time.

"I've never heard of such a thing," Gilbert grumbled.

"Neither have I. It sounds crazy and tasty," Roxie said.

"I've never even tasted ice cream before," Adrien admitted.

"Really? There's no such thing as an ice-cream cake in the Human Realm?" Ygdril looked surprised.

"Magitech refrigerators are expensive, so ice cream in general is something only nobles or the wealthy can afford," Melina explained.

"We just use a skill to prevent ice cream from melting. It's called [Never-Melt

Dessert]," Ygdril shrugged. "But really? You don't have ice-cream cakes?"

"No. How do you go about making such a thing?" Gilbert huffed.

Ygdril looked smug. "Well, why don't I teach you, my human friends? You've certainly taught me a lot of new culinary delights. I don't mind returning the favor."

"Thank you!" Melina exclaimed in relief, then soured. "Although that will have to wait until the afternoon. We have a bakery to open."

Everyone nodded and got to work. Melina focused on the healing waffles, shimercakes, and opera cakes. Roxie worked on shimmertarts, cream puffs, eclairs, and breads while Ygdril focused on luminfruit macarons, cloud muffins, and regular cakes.

Mango cooled down everything that needed cooling in a matter of seconds, while Sienna cooked everything that needed cooking to perfection. The system they had perfected in the bakery was very efficient, and they could make more pastries than ever before.

Adrien and Mango later took the complete pastries to the shop. After the bakery opened, Adrien was the main seller with Melina and Roxie helping him whenever there were more customers.

There were also times when some nobles or their servants came in. Most of the time, they just bought the pastries and went on their way, but some did cause some trouble with their I-am-better-than-thou attitudes. Melina quickly pacified them by throwing Sinclair's name around and giving them a "discount".

They didn't know that the discount was actually higher than the normal price, but Melina figured if they were going to come here and cause a ruckus, they might as well pay up.

All in all, it was a successful day, and Melina could feel that she was extremely close to Level 50. Just a bit more would push her over the edge. She was so excited to see just what kind of Master class she would unlock. Soon she would find out.

But for this afternoon, they would be learning how to make ice cream together with Ygdril.

"Basis for ice-cream is actually rather simple, believe it or not. We, drow, really enjoy this dessert, especially during hot summer days. First, we'll have to heat milk, cream, and sugar in a saucepan. None of your heat, Sienna. We have to be careful so milk doesn't burn," Ygdril said.

"Doesn't milk burn?" Roxie asked.

"It does. That's why we have to heat it very slowly and keep stirring the whole time," the drow confirmed.

Melina and Roxie carefully followed his directions, diligently stirring the milk and watching it like two hawks watching their prey. Melina was constantly worried it would burn, so she barely even dared to blink.

"Now remove the pan from the heat. We're going to whisk egg yolk with sugar, and afterwards slowly add the hot milk to the egg yolk." The drow demonstrated, whisking the yolks until they had turned a pale color.

Then he took the saucepan and, in a slow stream, added hot milk to the egg yolks while whisking with amazing speed. Melina was amazed by his coordination. She was tempted to use magic.

No. I need to be able to use all of this without magic. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

So she did her best, although the bowl didn't seem to want to cooperate with her, sliding all over the counter. Nonetheless, she somehow managed to combine the eggs with hot milk without curdling them.

"Am I glad that you taught me how to make pastry cream! I don't think I would have been able to do this otherwise," Roxie said, wiping a bit of sweat from her forehead into a towel.

"The process is a bit similar," Ygdril agreed. "But we still have to cook this custard to 82 degrees."

"That's quite precise…" Melina muttered.

"Yes, that's why we use thermometers."

They all put their saucepans back on the stove and continued cooking the custard until the aforementioned temperature. After that, they strained it to get rid of any chunks from eggs, and with Mango's help chilled the mixture.

"Okay, next comes the step that makes custard into proper ice cream. We put this in a bowl, then put a bowl filled with ice and salt underneath, and keep whisking it until it turns into ice cream consistency."

"Wait… You get ice cream by putting custard in ice?" Roxie asked.

"Pretty much," Ygdril confirmed.

"Can't we have Mango freeze it for us instantly?" Melina asked.

"Absolutely not. If frozen instantly, then you're just going to get a block of ice. How are you supposed to eat that? Churning is the most important part."

Melina and Roxie nodded and then got to work. Mango watched them curiously the whole time, observing the process while Sienna scuttled closer to the oven the moment ice appeared.

So they kept whisking and stirring and staring at the bowl, watching how slowly, oh, so slowly the custard became more and more solid.

"Say, Ygdril, you worked for Lord Eidranis, right?" Melina asked while they churning the custard.

"That's right," the drow confirmed.

"Do you happen to know what the ice cream that Lord Eidranis' mother enjoyed looked like?" Melina asked hopefully.

The drow gave her an awkward smile. "I know which dessert you speak of. Lady Cecilia always said that it was that dessert that made her fall in love with the late Monster Lord. But I'm afraid I'm unaware of how exactly it is made."

Melina sighed. Of course, things couldn't be that easy. But she was grateful that Ygdril was teaching how to make ice cream cake at least, even if it wasn't the exact recipe the Oracle desired.

"I wonder how I could incorporate glassberries…" Melina muttered.

"Oh! In this regard, I can help. There aren't many ways to use them in desserts aside from gels," the drow said.

"Yes, that's what I thought too!" Melina nodded. "But won't it freeze inside the ice-cream?"

"In ice-cream—yes. But if you lay it in a thin layer between ice cream and semifredo, then it'll work just fine," Ygdril assured.

"Semifredo?" She cocked her head curiously.

"What's that?" Roxie asked.

"You could call it a type of ice cream, crucial for ice-cream cakes. I shall teach you how to make that too," the drow assured, then smiled. "I believe our ice cream is complete."

Melina looked down into her bowl and saw that the custard had indeed formed into a nice, fluffy, yet solid shape.

[You've made . You've gained +25 exp.]

[Congratulations! You've reached Level 50.]

[You've unlocked a new class – Archpatissier.]

Melina gasped. This was not what she had expected to see.