Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

"Wasn't feyfruit toxic for humans?" Alistair asked dubiously, as Melina cut one of the smaller fruits and threw it in a pot with a bit of sugar.

"Only in its raw form," Melina said, watching how the fruit slowly turned into a pinkish shimmering mush. She has worked with so much feyfruit as an [Archmage] that she was confident in discerning the safe quantity for human consumption. The question was whether she could gain the desired effect.

Alistair furrowed his brow skeptically, but didn't say anything more, instead watching Melina as she stirred. After a few minutes, the feyfruit had become sufficiently mushy, so she pressed it through the sieve to remove any bigger chunks. That left her with a silky smooth jam-like mass that shimmered as if she had captured a bunch of tiny stars into it.

With a satisfied nod, she took a teaspoon of the feyfruit jam, added it to the apricot glaze, and then heated it up in a pot. Before long, she had a beautiful shimmering glaze in her pot. Melina did not hesitate; she took a pastry brush and began smearing it over the strawberries and blueberries on the tart.

[You've made . You've gained +20 exp.]

[New skill unlocked: Arcane Infusion – Rank F.]

It took all of Melina's willpower to keep her expression calm, and she turned her face away from Alistair so he wouldn't see it.

Stay calm, stay calm! Dismiss the System messages for now. It doesn't matter. Everything is fine. Worry about that when Alistair isn't around. Wait… what if this tart has some sort of an effect just like the tartlets I made for Sienna? What if it's one of the effects that actually show up on the profile like ?

"Is everything alright?" Alistair asked, peering over Melina's shoulder to look at the tart. He gasped. "Is that… an actual tart?"

For a moment, Melina worried that the whole thing was up and she'd have to grab Sienna and flee. But then she realized that he was referring to how the tart looked. In shape, it resembled any other strawberry-blueberry tart, but there was a distinct, magical shimmer in the glaze that made it seem ethereal.

"I-I need to check something with Master Gilbert." Melina grabbed the tart and hurried upstairs, Sienna scurrying after her.

"Wait, I'll come—"

"No! I'll be quick!" Melina yelled, her voice sounding too panicked in her ears. But she didn't turn back and instead knocked incessantly on Gilbert's bedroom door. "Master, I need to talk to you! It's urgent!"

There was no reply, and she knocked on the door again. After a moment, Gilbert emerged from the room that always remained locked, instantly locking it behind himself. "What are you yelling—"

Gilbert stopped mid-sentence as he saw the shimmering tart that Melina held in her hands. "What did you make, girl?!"

The old baker shooed Melina inside his bedroom and closed the door behind himself so fast that Sienna barely had the time to get in.

"I-I'm sorry. I just wanted to improve the tart, so I decided to add a bit of feyfruit to the glaze. I thought it might create a nice shimmering effect, which it did. But—"

"But?"

"It unlocked a new skill—Arcane Infusion," Melina admitted. She expected him to get mad, but the old baker didn't appear angry. Instead, he appeared curious, taking the tart from Melina's hands and examining it closely.

[

This tart, made with delicious pastry cream and topped with strawberries and blueberries, shimmers as if covered with starlight, making it look especially enticing.

Effect: Customers are more inclined to purchase it.]

He read the description of one of his identification skills, and Melina relaxed a little.

"Oh, this effect wouldn't apply to one's status screen," she said.

"No, thankfully, it wouldn't. But the effect is certainly useful. What about that skill you got? Read it out for me—I've never heard of such a skill."

[Arcane Infusion: Gives you the ability to infuse dishes with mana either by using mana-rich ingredients or by channeling mana directly into the dish.

At Rank F: There's a very small chance of infusing the prepared dish with a positive buff or effect.]

"Mana-rich ingredient?"

"It must have been triggered by feyfruit," Melina said.

"Without a doubt. Hmm… this is an interesting turn of events," Gilbert thoughtfully scratched his beard.

"Miss Melina, is everything alright?" Alistair called out from downstairs.

"We'll discuss this some other time, when we're alone. For now, don't worry. You can give the tart to the noble brat if you want," Gilbert said solemnly, handing the tart back to Melina.

"Master, don't call him that," she narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, yes, now go, before he breaks down this door too."

"Very well," Melina said, but before she left the bedroom, she turned back to him. "Would you like a slice too?"

There was a brief pause as Gilbert thought about it. "Yes. With some tea."

She returned downstairs, cut a slice of tart, and poured some tea for Master Gilbert, while Alistair went to call for Milo. Once the carpenter managed to pull himself away from his work, she also cut a slice for both of her taste testers.

Melina nervously served a slice of shimmertart to Alistair and Milo along with a cup of black tea. Part of her was still worried that making something like this might make others think that she's a System user. But Alistair had seen her make it—the System had not been involved in it. So, theoretically, anyone could make this tart so long as they had feyfruit on hand. Theoretically.

"I can't believe it," Milo said in awe, turning his plate this way and looking at his slice of tart from all angles. The strawberries and blueberries on top were shimmering as if a bit of the starry night sky were scattered over them.

Alistair also appeared intrigued, holding his dessert fork, ready to tuck into the tart. "To think that this can be achieved with a clever application of feyfruit. But is it really safe to eat?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Freewebnovel; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Why wouldn't it be safe?" Milo asked, setting his plate down on the table.

"Do not worry. The amount of feyfruit used in the tart is minuscule. It shall do you no harm," Melina assured. Although tolerance towards feyfruit varied from person to person, with people with magical abilities usually being more tolerant toward it, Melina really had used the bare minimum amount. Even a newborn baby should not have any adverse effects.

Alistair and Milo both looked a bit skeptical, so she added. "Master Gilbert said it was safe."

"Oh, so that's why you went to him in such a hurry," Alistair hummed, and broke a piece of the tart.

Melina put a piece of the tart in her mouth, chewing it slowly to assess the flavors and textures. The pastry was crumbly and pleasant on the tongue, mixing together with sweet pastry cream and the tartness of the strawberry. But on top of this, there was also a bit of… tingle to it. It was difficult to describe, but the feyfruit-apricot glaze gave another dimension to the dish.

"This is amazing! I've never eaten anything like this before," Milo exclaimed and dug into his slice with gusto.

Alistair paused when the tart hit his tongue, his eyes widening a bit. Melina watched him nervously, part of her worried whether he would somehow learn of her skill. It was a ridiculous worry—she knew he's never had any identification skills. Another part of her just worried whether he'd like it. After all, Alistair's palette was far more refined, growing up surrounded by the best chefs in Alemahria.

"This… is really good," he finally said, chewing the tart slowly and then taking a sip of tea. "It's one of the best tarts I've ever tasted."

"There's no need to flatter me," Melina said, trying her best not to flush at the compliment. Unfortunately, her body was not willing to cooperate with her, and she could feel the heat rising to her cheeks.

"No, I mean it. I'd love to eat more of these kinds of desserts, so I hope you keep making them," Alistair said, taking another bite from the tart. Melina could see that he wasn't just saying that to be polite—he was clearly enjoying the tart.

"I will," Melina muttered in reply and turned to Sienna. "You'd like a slice too, wouldn't you?"

She cut a smaller slice for Sienna, and the wyrm nibbled it curiously. Much to Melina's surprise, she ate the whole thing. She had expected the little beast to only lick the glaze, as she wasn't a fan of raw fruit. But it seems like the glaze made the whole thing enjoyable even for her.

"Even Sienna approves," Milo chuckled, watching the wyrm eat, his own slice already gone from the plate. "May I ask for seconds?"

"Of course," Melina nodded, cutting another piece for him.

"This will be the new best seller in the bakery for sure," Milo announced, digging into his second slice.

"I wonder if I can even sell this at the bakery," Melina pondered.

"Why couldn't you?" Alistair asked as he nudged an empty plate towards Melina with a sort of pleading look in his eyes.

She nodded and cut him another slice while she wondered how to best reply.

I'm worried that this kind of new dessert might attract too much attention as word begins to spread. It might attract some important people to this bakery, some of whom might be nobles, members of the Church, and other System users. If possible, I'd like to avoid such people as they would only bring trouble along with them.

"I don't have that much feyfruit left. Even if the amount needed is minuscule, I'd run out pretty quickly. My guess is that it wouldn't even last us a week," Melina said instead. That wasn't a lie either. What was the point of introducing a new product if you couldn't procure the ingredients necessary to make it regularly?

"That is a valid point…" Alistair said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "I assume buying more of the feyfruit isn't an option?"

"Not a chance. It is far too expensive since it only grows in the Monster Realm," Melina explained.

"That's a real shame. This tart could take over Alemahria if it were possible to make it in large quantities," Milo said, picking off the last crumbs from his plate.

"Without a doubt," Alistair added.

"Causing such an uproar is not always a good thing," Gilbert said, hobbling downstairs with an empty plate in his hand. Melina hurriedly retrieved it while the old baker went to sit down by the kitchen table. "If the tart became widely known, many would search for Melina. That kind of attention can be very stifling."

"Are you referring to the time when the late Queen asked you to become her chef?" Alistair asked.

"Exactly. It sounds like a grand tale now, however, when the Queen was demanding me to become her chef again and again, getting angrier with each rejection, I began to worry whether I'll be able to keep my head on my shoulders," Gilbert grumbled.

"Why did you reject the late Queen?" Melina asked curiously. After all, it was the best kind of job anyone could ask for. Melina had jumped at the opportunity to do jobs on behalf of the imperial family, as it usually ended with rich rewards. Although there was one request, she fervently wished she had never accepted.

"Because I wanted to remain together with my wife. Working for the Queen meant that I would live in the palace and leave my wife behind in Sunglow."

"Wouldn't the Queen allow your wife to move into the palace together with you?" Alistair asked.

"Yes, but my wife didn't want to move. She wanted to live a simple life. So I remained by her side," Gilbert said, his expression forlorn.

I didn't know he even had a wife. Judging by his expression, she must be dead already. I wonder if they had any children.

Melina was curious, but in the end, she didn't dare to ask such a personal question, especially with other people around. It was probably a sensitive subject for him.

"It's okay, Master! The point was for me to learn how to make a tart, and I've learned it. Just because they won't have a few sparkles on top doesn't mean that we can't sell them," Melina said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Very true. Now, enough loitering around. I still have to teach you how to make proper rhubarb meringue pie."

Melina nodded, clearing out the dirty dishes, but as she did that, she noticed how intently Alistair was staring at the remaining slice of tart. Did he want to eat it?

Melina lay in her bed late in the evening, cradling her aching arms while Sienna lay lazily on her stomach, enjoying the warmth. Unfortunately for Melina, she wasn't quite able to get the rhubarb pie right on her first few tries.

The main obstacle was the copious amount of whisking required to turn the egg whites into a nice stiff consistency. No matter how much she whisked, it seemed like it was never enough, and the meringue turned out too runny in the end, making the whole pie into a slush.

After two failed attempts, which Alistair witnessed in their full horrid glory, Melina called it a day and retreated into the bathroom for one of her "cold" baths. She had offered him the last slice of shimmertart to help him forget about her failures, but remembering how he had chuckled at the sloshy pie, filled her with embarrassment all over again.

I wish that door would get fixed already so he would leave!

That wasn't entirely true. Part of her really enjoyed Alistair's company. But she didn't want him to see her failures. Melina only wanted him to see her best.

Oh, foolish girl. It's been more than a decade already. Let go of these feelings. Move on!

But it wasn't so simple. Melina gently prodded at Sienna's toes, at which the wyrm began to playfully nibble on her fingertip. Her company was surprisingly pleasant and distracted Melina from gloomy thoughts.

Come to think of it, I haven't really checked how my profile has changed after taming Sienna.

[Name: Melina Dufour]

[Level: 24]

[Class: Cook]

[Familiar: Sienna — Ember Wyrm Level 47]

[Intelligence: 11]

[Agility: 7]

[Strength: 9]

[Skill: 14]

[Charm: 7]

[Active Skills: 6]

[, , , , , ]

[Passive Skills: 3]

[, , ]

Sienna is close to level 50. I wonder if she'll undergo evolution if she manages to reach it. I'm sure she must have had at least one previous form before becoming an ember wyrm, but it's possible she had two, depending on which monster she was born as.

Not that it matters. I don't think there will be many chances for Sienna to gain experience since I don't intend to go out searching for monsters.

No, the bigger issue is . If I had gotten this skill as [Archmage], I'd be over the moon. It's a new kind of skill and a new type of magic. Finding out what it could do at a higher level would be fascinating. But can I even use it? It applies buffs and positive traits to dishes I imbue with mana, and it'd only be a matter of time before somebody realizes that.

What do I do?