Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

"Archbishop, is this what you wished for?" One low-ranking priest brought her the ring that the previous Archbishop wore on his finger. It signified his position.

The old coot had dared to hide it from her in the last pathetic attempt of rebellion. One would think that at such an old age, he would have enjoyed some free time in the form of retirement. But he had gotten greedy and refused to give up his seat.

But it's alright. He didn't have much choice in the matter.

"Thank you! You shall be rewarded for your service towards the System God," Amaris said and outstretched her hand.

The priest slid the golden ring on her finger nervously and then retreated with his head bowed. Amaris admired the ring. It was beautiful with the Church's symbol engraved in the middle and a small crystal embedded on the sides. The ring also doubled down as the Church's official seal, and with it she would be able to pass official decrees.

"Your Holiness, should we have the scribes prepare the Sacred Treasure decree right away?" One of the Holy Knights asked. He was one of the true followers of the System God. One who understood the cause and what was at stake.

Many of the Holy Knights understood the vision of the System God and gave aid to Amaris once she came to fix the cesspool that had formed at the Church's top.

The inner circle, consisting of old coots similar to the previous Archbishop, resisted Amaris's idea right away. They were happy with the status quo and didn't understand the horrid path the world was heading down. Despite her explaining the previous timeline and the wonderful paradise they had achieved in the end, they said that it wasn't the right time. That they had to wait.

Amaris was done waiting. She found the Church members who were true to her cause. It wasn't difficult. All she had to do was rack her memories to find her most avid supporters in the previous timeline. With a bit of explanation, they were more than happy to help her.

So she removed the old obstacles from her path. Sent them to meet the System God early. They were far more useful when they weren't preaching their old, outdated ideologies.

It was time for action.

"Not yet. First, we need to educate the populace. Let them know about the history that was long forgotten," Amaris said with a smile. "After all, isn't it tragic that nobody knows about the Sacred Treasures. How the first human king sacrificed his life to safeguard them from the Monster Lord. About all the sacrifices made over the centuries to keep us safe and hidden from our enemy."

Amaris got up from her seat and raised her hands. "The people deserve to know the truth. As harsh as it may be, they deserve to know that to this very day, the Monster Lord seeks humanity's destruction. They need to know that those aiding him are enemies of all humankind."

"Of course, Archbishop! We shall spread the news throughout the kingdom," the Holy Knight Captain bowed before her, and others in the Archbishop's chamber followed suit.

"Make sure every rat knows of this story," Amaris said sternly and waved her hand, ordering the Holy Knights to get to work.

They turned on their heels and left the room, leaving the priests behind.

"Meanwhile, you all have some serious cleaning to do. We need to cleanse the rot left behind by the old Archbishop," Amaris announced. She didn't want to spend time in a chamber that smelled like an old man.

In less than a week, it felt like everything Melina had been trying to build up had been torn into pieces.

An official announcement of a new archbishop had been made the same day Alistair told Melina the news. The Church didn't sleep on this matter at all, spreading the news fast to all corners of Alemahria. Alistair confirmed this information with his parents in Fenrora while receiving a magical message from Count Speziale confirming the same thing.

Heiliger's official inauguration happened two days later. It apparently had been a grand ceremony in the Central Monastery, which received a lot of fanfare. She had even set up a procession to greet the people and show her face to the public.

The Royal Guard was left helpless as they watched the people cheer about the new, beautiful archbishop. They claimed that her white hair was a gift from the System God, although Melina was completely sure that this was a rumor Heiliger herself had fabricated to curry favor with the clueless populace.

The worst part, however, was the end of the procession. Heiliger had revealed the Chalice of the World to everyone and told people the story of the Sacred Treasures. Her version at least.

In Heiliger's version, the Sacred Treasures were a gift to the first human king from the System God and were supposed to aid him in the prosperity of the human lands. But the Monster Lord had stolen these treasures and killed the king.

After that, he allegedly sent his monsters to plague and pillage the human villages and cities to this very day. Heiliger claimed that during her time in the Monster Realm, she worked hard to recover the Chalice of the World from the Monster Lord.

But she also insisted that by recovering all three Sacred Treasures, the Human Realm would finally be safe from the Monster Realm, so it was crucial to recover the remaining two treasures.

The fact that this story had reached Sunglow so quickly, despite likely being the last place where such news would spread to, was concerning, to say the least. Melina and Alistair both agreed that this was likely already known through all of Alemahria and perhaps even beyond its borders.

"I don't understand one thing…" Guildmaster Arianne said, scratching her chin thoughtfully.

She, Gilbert, Elowen, Alistiar, and Melina were gathered in Town Hall, in one of the soundproofed conference rooms, to discuss the ramifications of this event.

"Why didn't she throw Melina under the bus? This would have been the perfect chance to do so. Heiliger already painted herself as the misunderstood martyr acting for the greater good. It would have been a perfect time to point a finger at Melina and say—hey, this girl helps the Monster Lord!" She finished the thought.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"That is suspicious…" Melina agreed. "Although I think that only means that she has figured out something even more sinister for me."

"I won't let her harm you in any way!" Alistair announced loudly. "She so much as utters a bad word about you and I—"

"Calm down! This isn't the kind of situation we can solve with brute force. I believe the main reason why Melina was left out of her narrative this time was so she could focus people's attention on the Monster Lord. I mean, with just this one story, she managed to convince everyone in the kingdom that he's the ultimate evil," Elowen said with a deep frown.

"Not everyone. Sunglowers instantly refused her story as blatant propaganda," Gilbert pointed out.

"If Sunglowers had believed her, then we would have stood no chance whatsoever. After all, the people here have seen Lord Eidranis, and the fact that Sunglow now has increased ambient mana has only benefitted us. Minus the pesky poison birds," Arianne pointed out.

"What can we even do? She's taken the Sacred Treasure and turned the story about them completely on its head," Melina muttered. "Even if we try to refute her and claim that's not true, who would believe us?"

"Do you really think that everything you've done until now has been undone?" Gilbert asked.

"Is it not?" Melina asked.

"No, most certainly not," Alistair said. "Your demonstration for all the nobles during our engagement party left quite a mark. Do you know how many of them hope to buy your service or your shop, or just have one of their staff join your apprenticeship programme? I get a dozen new requests each week."

"Well, that's different. They only want the pastries," Melina objected.

"Pastries made from Monster Realm ingredients. That alone is a strong message. Actually…" Elowen hummed. "Can't we use these pastries to push for an opposite point of view?"

Guildmaster Arianne looked at Elowen as if he were crazy. "How can I push back against that crazy Archbishop's story with pastries? Have you all been eating too much ice-cream cake, and it has frozen your brain?"

Gilbert shook his head. "Once again, you're underestimating the impact mundane things have on our lives. Especially something as essential as food. I'd argue that food holds more power over people than anything else, including money."

Arianna let out a derisive snort. "Master, you're surely joking. Money will always be the driving force of this world."

"I disagree," Melina said firmly. "Once the order of society breaks down, nobody cares about money anymore. At the end of the day, every scrap of food is worth fighting for and dying for. I've witnessed it first-hand."

Alistair and Elowen nodded in agreement.

"Well, fine, but we're thankfully not in a doomsday scenario. Food is abundant, so nobody will really pay much attention to it," Arianne objected.

"That's what you think, but we're not talking about any regular food over here. Or have you forgotten what is the main supply you give to all your adventurers now?" Gilbert prompted.

"Melina's healing waffles…" Arianne admitted, and her face lit up. "I have an idea!"

Elowen and Gilbert both nodded with a smile. But Melina didn't quite feel so confident.

"But anything I do is going to take time. I don't think Heiliger will just sit around waiting for us to get everything going. She'll already be pushing her agenda hard. I'm honestly afraid that she might show up in Sunglow with a squad of Holy Knights to force us to give her Sacred Treasures," Melina said.

"We're definitely increasing security in Sunglow. I requested more men from the duchy. They should be arriving here within a few days," Alistair put a hand on her shoulder.

"Also, let me tell you my idea before you go all gloomy. Your healing waffles are by far the best healing supply we have. The amount you provide is ample to deal with injuries we sustain, not to mention that they taste great, they keep for a long time, and they deal with both injuries and status ailments. Every Adventurers Guild would be delighted to have your waffles on hand."

"I can't make enough waffles to supply every guild in Alemahria," Melina muttered.

"No. But isn't this the perfect opportunity to take advantage of that waiting line of apprentices? Take them all in at once, teach them your techniques. Adventurers Guild could offer boons to cooks specializing in healing waffle making, while your noble cooks can further endear the nobility," Arianne explained.

"That would certainly be a strong step in the right direction. But it'll be slow and ultimately introduce only Monster Realm ingredients to people. It's a resource. They will likely still call Monster Lord evil along with all the inhabitants of the Monster Realm," Melina argued.

"You will need a lot of ingredients to make this idea come to fruition. I don't think Count Speziale will be able to provide you with everything necessary," Elowen said, a small smile appearing on his lips.

"Are you suggesting trade with the Monster Lord?" Alistair asked.

"Exactly. Open trade. Let people see that elves, drow, and the Monster Lord are all ready to support the Human Realm," Elowen nodded.

"Lord Eidranis needs to agree to this first. What if he doesn't?" Melina worried.

"You're such a worrywart!" Gilbert chastised. "Would you rather we sit than do nothing?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Then let Elowen handle the Monster Lord. Alistair should secure a large building with all the necessary equipment to set up the cooking class. And you need to come up with a lesson plan. And don't go all perfect this time. Have a small elite group which will learn all the intricacies, then a group purely for healing waffles, and have the biggest group learn just the bare minimum."

"Hmm… I guess Milo and our new carpenter will have to work a bit overtime. Although I imagine it'll still take some time to get everything ready," Alistair said.

"We need to get this whole thing moving as soon as possible," Melina said, thinking about whether there was something she could do to speed up the process. Then an idea crossed her mind. "Why don't I build the structure of the new building using magic?"

"Magic?" Arianne asked in surprise. "You can just wave your fingers and create a building?"

"Not create a building. I can create the foundation and walls and a roof using the materials available in the area, like clay, stone, and wood. It likely won't be the prettiest building either since it's not exactly my specialty."

"Why don't you make a foundation, and the builders can worry about making it pretty. Foundation is usually the most time-consuming part anyway," Alistair said.

"Why don't you talk it through with someone who has built something before. I have no doubt you've made some crude shelters before with your magic, but a proper house needs to be measured," Gilbert warned.

"I'll find someone who can help with that," Alistair offered.

"Oh, I just had an idea," Elowen suddenly said. "Why don't you allow drow and elves into your class, too? That way, the cooks at the very least will come in contact with elves and drow directly. Once they see that they are not so different from humans, they might spread that knowledge."

"That's a great idea! In fact, shouldn't we message the Duchess? She suggested bringing elven tailors to Fenrora to tailor more magical dresses," Melina said, looking at Alistair.

"I will contact my mother and ask her. If we could start spreading magical dresses alongside your magical pastries, that would be another strong weapon against Heliger."

Melina nodded. Just this morning, Melina felt like Heiliger had once again beaten her. But now, together with everyone in Sunglow and the people she loved, Melina felt like she could push back.