Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

When Melina turned on the sign that morning, indicating that the bakery was open, her hands were shaking a little bit. It felt odd because she never was one to care much for public opinion as an [Archmage]. Then again having all of the world's strongest magic at your fingertips made one feel they were above it all.

Although, now that I have Sienna I'm not as helpless anymore. I can use fire magic, although I'm not sure to what extent yet. Not to mention, that Sienna is certainly the most powerful monster in the near vicinity, so I have nothing to fear. Yet I still feel nervous.

Figures of first-morning customers appeared on the far side of the street, so Melina dove back inside the bakery, taking her rightful place behind the counter. Alistair was there too, sitting on a stool in the corner, munching on a pear roll and sipping a cup of coffee for breakfast. His presence made her even more nervous, fearing she might slip up in front of him.

As if sensing her anxiety, Sienna let out a quiet chitter and kneaded her little feet on Melina's shoulder. She scratched the little wyrm gently under her warm chin, earning a satisfied hum from the creature.

"Whatever happens, we're in this together, Sienna," Melina whispered and hid the little wyrm behind her hair. The front door creaked open and the first customers poured into the bakery. As every morning, it was the adventurers who were chattering among themselves with more enthusiasm than usual.

"Good morning, Miss Melina! Oh, Captain Sinclair is also here," Remi waved at them happily.

"Good morning, Remi," Melina said, plastering on her best smile.

"Morning," Alistair replied, seemingly too caught up in his meal to truly pay attention to the sudden influx of people.

"Not fair! Captain is already eating fresh pastries," one of the adventurers growled, a bulky man with a longsword strapped to his back. Melina tried to recall his name as they had introduced himself at some point, during one of the morning rushes.

Barry? No… Barlow? No, that's not it either. It definitely started with "Bar". Oh! I got it—it's Barrett.

"There's plenty for everybody. I made sure to make an extra batch of pear rolls this morning, Sir Barrett," Melina said with a smile. All of the previous annoyance on his face melted away as he took the first spot in line, a wide grin on his face.

"I'll take five of those, Miss Melina," Barrett announced. "And three meat buns too."

"Hey, leave some for the rest of us!" Other adventurers grumbled, quickly forming a line behind him. Melina chuckled at the light atmosphere, placing Barrett's requested pastries in the paper bag. But there was a nervous tingle sitting in Melina's stomach—she was waiting for the moment when somebody would say something about Sienna.

"So where's the little wyrm?" Remi asked when it was her turn in the line. The air in the bakery seemed to become still as everyone stopped their chatter and listened for Melina's reply. But the elf hadn't asked the question to make a stir, instead, she seemed genuinely curious, a spark of excitement dancing in her eyes.

"Well…" Melina stammered, not quite sure how to reply. Another round of customers trickled into the bakery, this time the regular townsfolk, Erina among them.

"Good morning," Erina and the others greeted, and they appeared far more nervous than the adventurers, their eyes darting around as if searching for something. No doubt the ember wyrm that attacked the town.

"Don't worry about that, Remi. It will not bother anyone," Alistair said from his corner, having finished his coffee. He had not noticed the elf's expression, likely interpreting her question as worry.

"Aww, but I wanted to see it! It looked so cute in its little form yesterday," Remi gushed, completely oblivious to the nervous energy permeating the bakery.

"Why don't you just show her?" Gilbert suddenly spoke up. "I'm sure others would like to see as well."

Erina along with a few older women scuttled a bit closer to Melina while the majority remained in the back. Melina threw a nervous glance at her Master who just nodded. It appeared that the man was convinced that showing the wyrm was the best course of action. Melina didn't know these people as well as he did, so she decided to trust his judgment and moved her hair aside, revealing the little ember wyrm underneath.

"Is this it?" Erina asked in surprise, pointing at Sienna. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Yes," Melina nodded, extending her hand towards the wyrm and letting her settle into her palm where everyone could see her better. Sienna didn't seem to mind the attention and was curiously sniffing the air around her.

"Awww, she's so cute! You know, when I was still living with my elf parents in Eunroa, we had a wyrm pet. Granted it was a river wyrm, but it could also change from its large form into a pocket-sized one. Oh, how I miss her!" Remi said with a sigh.

"You kept a wyrm as a pet?" Erina asked in surprise and more people scuttled closer to take a look at Sienna.

"Yes! They are wonderful pets, fiercely loyal to their master, and real fun to be around. I never thought I'd witness the day when a human would have a wyrm pet but I am glad that I did," Remi said with a wide smile.

"I mean… now when you look at it… It is kind of cute," Erina admitted, looking at the wyrm who was still sniffing around.

"But it attacked the town yesterday, didn't it?" One of the older women in the back asked nervously. This was it. This was the sentence Melina feared. It was only a matter of time before their fear would spiral out of control.

"The beast was merely spooked by something. It calmed down as soon as it was offered a snack," Gilbert said and turned towards the adventurers. "Isn't that right?"

"Oh, yeah! It was a sight to see! Melina just rode out on this black stallion and pulled out the tart. We all worried that she'd get turned into fried wyrm food, but it calmed down right away and just kept eating the tarts or whatever they are called," Barrett said proudly and other adventurers nodded alongside him, including Alistair.

"Just with a tart?" Erina asked curiously.

"We all get a bit cranky when we are hungry," Melina said sheepishly, and there were hushed murmurs of agreement.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Master Gilbert, your pastries are so good they can even calm wild beasts now," one of the older women joked.

"It was my apprentice who prepared the tartlets. I merely told her the recipe," Gilbert said dismissively. "Now are you going to buy bread or not? A line is starting to form outside."

Looking outside the window, Melina noticed that there indeed was a small crowd forming at the entrance, so she settled Sienna on her shoulder and turned her attention to Remi. "So what would you like?"

"Right! Sorry for the holdup. I'll have two raisin pastries, one pear roll, and two braided herb bread," the elf said, then leaned in to whisper. "But you have to let me play with that cutie on your shoulder later."

"After she gets settled," Melina nodded, and quickly packed her order into the paper bag. Things got busy afterward, although the line moved much slower than usual. Many people wanted Melina to serve them, no doubt to see the ember wyrm close up. This put Master Gilbert in a rather bad mood as he had to remind people that he could take their orders as well.

Some people did look rather nervous when they looked at Sienna who would sometimes scurry down from Melina's shoulder to pick up some stray crumbs on the counter. But most looked intrigued, especially children who were absolutely amazed by the wyrm. Melina attributed their rather positive response to the fact that none of them had actually seen Sienna in her large form.

After all, she currently looked no more threatening than a lizard you'd find by your porch, the only real difference being in her deep black color and bright orange underbelly. Of course, Sienna herself worked hard to leave a good impression as if she was somehow able to pick up on Melina's wishes. She did her best to appear harmless, dutifully sitting on the shoulder most of the time.

She doesn't seem bothered by a large number of people so could it be that Sienna actually was somebody's pet before? No, I doubt that she would propose a familiar pact so readily then. But she certainly is no wild wyrm either.

Almost all of the bread and pastries were sold out when an unfamiliar group of men entered the bakery. Melina had never seen them before so it was safe to assume that they were not regulars. She hid Sienna behind her hair—something told Melina that these men did not come here for pastries. Alistair also seemed to tense, watching the men closely.

"How may we help you?" Gilbert asked nonchalantly.

One of the men scoffed and walked up to Melina, staring at her with a disdainful sort of look. "So yer the girl who stopped a monster from attacking the town?"

"I did calm it down," Melina said cautiously. She could feel trouble brewing and eyed Alistair who was observing the situation.

"So yer also the one who brought it inside the town. Where is it?" The man asked, looking around the shop as if an ember wyrm would be hiding among pastries. Well, she probably would have if the eagerness with which Sienna ate the crumbs was any indication.

"That is none of your concern," Master Gilbert grumbled. "The only thing we can offer you is bread."

"We don't care for your bread, old man!" One of the men snarled, taking a step closer to the counter. "I was forced to come to this mangy town in search of a job, so I hoped that I could at least live without fear. But then I hear that some teenager has decided to bring a monster within the walls!"

"Yea, and the local adventurers couldn't even defeat it. It's pathetic," the largest one of the men spat. This seemed to tick off Alistair who stood up from his spot in the corner.

"If you're not going to buy anything, then I shall ask you to leave," Alistair growled.

"And who are you? Oh, I know! I bet you're one of those adventurers who were unable to defeat the lizard. Pathetic!"

"Now, now! Not everyone can be as strong as us. So we've come to solve the wyrm issue. Get rid of it and save the townsfolk," the smallest one of the three men said with a calculating smile. "For a fair price, of course."

So they're intent on playing the heroes and extorting people out of their money while they're at it. I am honestly tempted to just set their clothes on fire and be done with it. But Alistair is here so I can't use magic. I think it's safe to leave this matter up to him.

"Nobody asked you to get rid of anything. Get out," Gilbert grumbled.

"We're trying to help you here, old man!" One of the men turned towards Gilbert and gave him an intimidating look. Gilbert wasn't scared in the slightest instead staring deadpan at the thug.

"Master Gilbert, is it alright for me to take out the trash?" Alistair asked calmly.

"Please. I'll give you free meat buns for a week if you do."

"Who are you calling trash?" The largest man snarled and launched a fist at Alistair. He blocked it effortlessly by catching his fist and then twisted his arm behind his back.

"You heard the master. Please vacate the premises," Alistair said with a satisfied smirk and began pushing the burly man towards the exit.

"Who gave you the right to push us around, you pipsqueak!" The remaining two thugs launched themselves at Alistair, their fists raised high. But he moved their friend in front of himself, forcing them to collide with his bulk and crumple to the floor in a large heap.

The largest man stood up with an almost animalistic roar, his companions sliding off him and falling to the floor with a loud thud. "You'll pay for that!"

Alistair once again stopped the incoming punch without an issue. The picture was almost comical—a large hunk of muscles unable to even budge the rather lean-looking Alistair. Melina suspected that he could have overwhelmed all three thugs even without the boosts gained from System's stats but with them, they never even stood a chance.

"I really believe that you have overstayed your welcome here," Alistair said and knocked the large man to the ground with a quick sweep beneath his feet. The whole building shook from the impact, but Alistair wasn't bothered. He grabbed the man by scruff and threw him towards the door. He must have miscalculated his strength, because the thug crashed into it with such force that the glass pane shattered.

"That's it! We tried to be civil, but you just had to be rude," the smallest of the men snarled and grabbed the stool where Alistair was sitting before, throwing it at him.

"Watch out!" Melina warned, stopping herself from burning the stool to cinders at the last moment. Alistair ducked out of the way of the flying stool at the last moment and it collided with the disoriented thug, making him crash into the door again and breaking it completely out of its hinges.

"Not the door!" Melina and Gilbert called out at the same time.

Alistair glared at the thug so hard that the man flinched back. "You will pay for that!"

"Like hell, I will! You're the one—"

He didn't finish the sentence when Alistair grabbed him by the collar and lifted him in the air, leaving his feet dangling.

"You will pay for the damages you've caused and never bother Master Gilbert or Miss Melina again or in the name of Duke Sinclair, I will make sure your neck ends up in a hanging noose!" Alistair snarled, his golden eyes crackling with anger.

"A noble? Oh, shit!" The remaining thug quickly ran out of the bakery. The two men outside ran off as quickly as they could while the last one was struggling desperately to escape.

"Would you please let him go, Lord Sinclair?" Melina asked, walking up to him.

"But he—"

"It's not worth the trouble," Melina said, looking forlornly at the broken door.

"If you say so," Alistair conceded, dropping the thug on the floor. He scampered up on his feet and bolted away after his buddies, running so fast that he soon caught up to them.

Melina sighed, looking at the broken glass shards on the ground.

This is all my fault. This wouldn't have happened had I not been so greedy in regaining my magic. I doubt these men will be the only ones who'll oppose Sienna's presence here—more will surely come.

"I'm sorry, Master Gilbert," she said and began to pick up the glass shards from the floor.

"What are you apologizing for, Miss Melina? If anything, it was my fault. I broke the door."

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is. The fact is that the door is broken," Gilbert said with a heavy sigh. It would be yet another expense of his already thin pockets, not to mention that they'd once again have to travel to Pertia.