Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

Melina didn't care that she had left the bakery without a word. She didn't care about the strange glances the townspeople gave her as she ran past. She even didn't care about the guards standing by the Adventurers Guild entrance door, instead nimbly bypassing them and rushing inside.

"Miss, the Guild is closed right now. Could you please leave?" The receptionist, a tall woman with distinctly short brown hair, stood up from behind the counter with the clear intention of guiding Melina out.

"Where is Lord Sinclair?!" Melina demanded in such a firm voice that the woman flinched back. They stared each other down, Melina's ragged breaths the only noise around them. Sweat was dripping down from her temples, but she didn't even notice it. She only cared for one thing at that moment. "Where is he?"

"I'm afraid I can't divulge that information." The woman shifted uncomfortably, but then a group of people emerged from a nearby room, Remi and the Guildmaster among them.

"What's the ruckus about? I thought I said nobody is to be allowed in while—" the Guildmaster stopped mid-sentence when she noticed Melina.

"Where is Lord Sinclair?" Melina demanded again, her heart hammering with worry. Her mind was already trying to come up with possibilities of how she could use some more powerful healing magic if necessary. It couldn't be done with Sienna's fire mana, but perhaps she could make a pastry with a powerful healing effect, using her skill and the remaining feyfruit.

"Calm down, he's fine. Damn, the word in this town spreads way too fast," the Guildmaster grumbled looking rather exhausted.

"I heard he was injured!"

"Heilia has already taken care of the injury. It's not life-threatening," Remi said, coming to Melina and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. Melina slowly began to calm. She realized that her reaction had been over the top. She'd demanded to see Alistair when she didn't have any connection to him. This could start some unsavory rumors.

"Guildmaster, perhaps it'd be alright to let Melina go see him. She's not a stranger after all," Remi suggested. "Not to mention, she must be incredibly worried."

The playful connotation wasn't lost on Melina, and she wanted to groan. What a mess! But even so, she didn't want to leave just yet. She wanted to make sure that Alistair was alright.

"Just for a brief moment. I'll be gone before you know it," Melina pleaded.

"Alright, alright! I don't want an angry lecture from Gilbert later on because I slighted his apprentice. Go in then, but don't stay for long. We have a situation on our hands here," she grumbled.

"Thank you!" Melina bowed gratefully towards the Guildmaster and went inside the room.

It was a large space with many beds and a heavy odor of medicine. There were dividers between beds, and some people were sleeping in them. But Melina could already see Alistair on the far side of the room, the elven apothecary sitting next to his bed with her palm outstretched above him. Judging by the gentle green glow coming from her fingertips, she was using healing magic.

Melina approached slowly and quietly, hoping to take a look without disturbing him or the apothecary and then leave. But as she got close, Alistair noticed her. "Miss Melina?"

Okay, so he really did drop the polite form in the heat of the moment. I guess I got rattled, because it felt like he might have remembered more of the past.

She was both relieved and a little disappointed, although she quickly shoved the disappointment deep inside herself, burying it to be forgotten. "Hello. I heard that you were injured, so I came to check on you. Sorry if it's a bother."

Heilia gave Melina an appraising look, but didn't say anything, instead continuing to work on her healing spell. Coming closer, Melina saw that she was mending a rather nasty gash on Alistair's arm. He had a few smaller scratches here and there, and there was a large tear in his shirt with blood around it.

The sight made Melina's heart clench with worry again. It looked like it had been a serious, perhaps even a life-threatening injury.

As Melina observed the flow of Heilia's magic, she saw that the stream was very concentrated and clear. Unlike Leon, who was wasting a lot of mana with his magic, the elf didn't waste a single drop. She was very experienced, at least when it came to healing magic, Melina was sure of it. Elf's magic was likely the reason why Alistair was fine.

However, as Melina saw the light pink skin on Alistair's chest, she grew worried. The monster had managed to slice through his breastplate, meaning that it must have been a powerful one. Perhaps, even more powerful than Sienna.

"What happened?" She asked, sitting in the chair by the end of the bed.

"He charged into danger alone like a fool is what happened," Heilia spat, then removed her hand. The cut had closed up, leaving red tender skin behind, similar to that on Alistair's chest. "This is as much as I can do. If you value your life, you'll do better than charge at a monster alone in the middle of the night."

Heilia turned on her heel to leave, but then glanced back, the same calculating glint in her eyes as the first time when Melina went to her shop. "I'll send the bill to your house."

Alistair nodded, and the elf left. Melina had a feeling she would demand an exorbitant amount of money for this healing session. But more importantly, Melina glared at Alistair. With the fear for his safety alleviated, she became angry over his actions.

Melina had suspected that he would have gone on his own—Alistair had always been that way—but part of her had hoped that he'd at least take somebody along with him. "Why did you do something so dangerous?"

He looked down guiltily. "I thought I could handle it on my own."

Melina wanted to yell at him. Call him a fool. But she knew it would be like that. She knew he would have gone on his own, yet she had chosen not to follow.

"I'm sorry…" Melina muttered.

"What are you apologizing for? Is it because you suggested following Sienna's scorch marks? Please, don't worry about it! In fact, you've saved everyone a lot of trouble. I just hadn't expected another frenzied monster to appear."

No, I apologize because I did not go after you. But I can't say that now, can I?

"Another frenzied monster?" Melina asked, looking at Sienna, who had crawled out from her hiding place in Melina's apron pocket.

Stolen story; please report.

"Please, don't worry about it, Miss Melina! We'll be able to deal with this on our own," Alistair said, half a smile appearing on his lips. "This monster is not as powerful as Sienna, we'll be able to deal with it if we work together. There is no need for you to trouble yourself."

Melina didn't say anything, but she got the distinct feeling that this monster was even more powerful than Sienna. Alistair was trying to keep her out of danger by downplaying the seriousness of the situation. But Melina knew she wouldn't just stay back when there was a good chance of him getting injured again.

She activated . "No, I don't think I'd have the courage to do something like that again."

"And there's no need for you to do that. Miss Heillia did a great job of healing me, so after the Guildmaster comes up with a plan, we're going to take care of that monster."

"Of course," Melina forced out a smile, then got up from the chair. "I won't bother you anymore, then. Have a good rest!"

She left in a hurry, so Alistair would not have the chance to pick up on her intentions. There was a ruckus going on at the entrance as the Guildmaster was physically trying to pull Leliana out of the Guild. When the girl noticed Melina leave the infirmary, she redoubled her efforts, while wailing that if Melina had been let through, then so should she.

But Melina couldn't be bothered to care about Leliana's theatrics. She turned to Sienna and whispered to her. "I have to take care of something. Will you help me?"

The wyrm chirped in determined approval.

By the time Melina returned to the bakery, it was already closed. Master Gilbert, contrary to her belief, looked concerned rather than angry. She had been readying herself for an earful when she got back.

"So? How is he?" Gilbert asked as Melina removed her apron.

"He's fine now—Heilia healed him."

"That's good." Gilbert nodded, and for a moment there was a heavy silence. "How bad was it?"

"He had a deep gnash on his arm and chest, apparently from a monster. But he would not say what kind and insisted that it was merely due to his negligence that he got injured."

"You aren't going to—" Gilbert narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Melina began pacing around the kitchen, trying to sort through past events.

I suspect that due to my intervention with Sienna, the events have changed. It is very likely that the first time around, when Alistair got his horrible scar, he was taken away to the Sinclair estate or the capital and treated there by the best healers in Alemahria. Punishment or not, Duke Sinclair would not let one of his children die.

Meaning that at this point, Alistair likely wasn't even in Sunglow, and whatever problem the passageway is causing now, Sunglow had to solve it without his help. The problem is that I don't know whether they even solved it. It is just as possible that the passageway and the monster near it just kept terrorizing the town until either the Church intervened or the monster went away.

However, I can't just wait around and see how it all plays out, because Alistair will attempt to defeat that monster as soon as he can stand.

"Melina," Gilbert grumbled in a warning tone.

"Don't worry, Master. Nobody will even know I was there this time," Melina said.

"Listen, girl, I don't know what made you think that you have to be a hero, but—" There was an urgent knock on the bakery door. Gilbert and Melina shared a look and then went to check who it was.

"Good day, Master Baker, Miss Melina! I have come under the orders of Captain Sinclair to guard you," Barrett said dutifully, looking awfully rigid.

Gilbert grinned victoriously. "He sent you a babysitter. Good. Now I don't need to worry that you'll do something stupid."

Melina didn't show any dismay on her face and instead smiled pleasantly at Barrett. "I'm not sure why Lord Sinclair thinks I need to be guarded, but you're welcome to stay at the bakery while I prepare dough for tomorrow."

"It's merely a precaution, nothing more," Barrett said, looking a bit guilty. But his presence never bothered Melina. After all, right from the start, she had intended to do everything at night.

So Melina just continued preparing dough and pastries like she usually would. She prepared bread dough, puff pastry, and shortcrust pastry while Barrett chatted, telling her about the monsters they had encountered in the forest while searching for the passageway. Melina deigned only mild interest, although she keenly listened to his every word, searching for clues.

"It sounds tiring—having to deal with so many monsters!" Melina noted while kneading the shortcrust pastry. Sienna was sitting on her shoulder, her little eyes glued to the process. It seemed innocent, but in reality the wyrm was channeling her mana to Melina. With every press of her hand, she was imbuing the dough with a little bit of mana. Not enough to be visible but enough to be present.

"It's a good exercise. All of us are getting stronger, especially Captain Sinclair, since he's a System user," Barrett said, completely oblivious to what Melina was doing.

If someone more observant had been sent to watch Melina, like Remi, she probably wouldn't be able to do this. But she had already picked up that Barrett wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

"Indeed. We're lucky to have him. I'm just worried about that monster that managed to injure him so badly," Melina said with a dramatic sniffle. "What kind of beast could even do such a thing?"

"Oh, please, don't worry, Miss Melina! We can take care of this one no problem."

"It's just one?" Melina prodded, hoping to glean more information.

"It is only one, and I promise it's not a giant fire-breathing wyrm. It's a strange creature, but not as dangerous," Barrett tried to convince her, but his lies were very obvious and his expression—forced.

"Strange how?" Melina asked, lining the pastry into the tart molds.

Barrett hesitated for a moment, then finally said. "It's hard to describe. It's not as fleshy… Don't take me wrong, it's not a skeleton monster. No, no, nothing of the sort. It just seems more mechanical than alive, yet at the same time more alive than we are. If that makes sense."

"I'm afraid not," Melina chuckled awkwardly, pushing the tart shells into the oven. In reality, she got a feeling that she knew exactly what kind of monster Barrett was talking about. "It must be a huge beast."

"Oh, no! It's not huge at all. Sienna was bigger. It's long and thin, almost like a twig, and has these really long limbs and a very sturdy outer shell. Almost like a bug. Yes, that's a good way to describe it—a large bug."

"That sounds scary," Melina said, and Barrett diverted the topic to non-scary bugs and butterflies, no doubt feeling quite smart. But in reality, Melina had all the information she needed.

Alistair was probably attacked by the passageway guardian. Odd that it would be guarding the passageway from the Human Realm, as usually they remain in the Monster Realm. But the fact that it has attacked at all already means that something unusual is happening. Normally, guardians don't attack people unless provoked.

Melina continued working on the pastry cream, seamlessly pouring mana into it. Barrett was none the wiser of her plans, and once she was done with the cream and had set it in the chill box to cool down, she continued her work in the garden.

If initially Barrett had seemed nervous, then after seeing her just going on with her day as if nothing at all had happened, he began to relax. Melina chatted with him about small things, occasionally asking for his help around the garden, which the warrior was happy to provide.

When the evening came, Melina excused herself to sleep after preparing a place for Barrett to rest in the living room. Props to him as Barrett did not go to sleep right away, but kept watch for another hour or so. Sienna occasionally would go and check whether he was asleep.

But obviously, he couldn't remain awake for the whole night, so somewhere around midnight, Melina snuck down into the kitchen to finish her work. Quietly, she took one of the tart shells, lined it with pastry cream, inside the storage room where she would make less noise. But instead of finishing with blueberries and strawberries, she took a whole feyfruit, cut it up, and lined it over the cream.

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

[Your skill has ranked up. It is now Rank E.]

Alright, I've imbued this tart with as much intention of calming the guardian as possible. The smell alone should be enough to settle it. Although I get a distinct feeling that the guardian isn't going to be my main problem. Something must be wrong with the passageway.

Melina put the tart into the box and then slid it into her bag. "We're going for a midnight stroll, Sienna."

Sienna released a happy chitter, and they left the bakery quietly, the darkness covering their escape.