Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

Although Heiliger along with other priests had left, Melina couldn't help but feel uneasy. People around her cheered, presuming their victory but she didn't believe they had won yet. The Bishop wouldn't back away so easily.

But what did Leliana say to make her leave so abruptly?

Sadly, Melina didn't have a chance to ask. She had to continue the hectic service, fulfilling people's orders and watching how the pastries on the shelves slowly dwindled. As it became apparent that the priests would not return, people began to leave slowly.

It was just a few people at first, then as the pastries on shelves had noticeably dwindled, a large group left. It was those who had already gotten their pastries and had enjoyed them with a cup of tea and coffee. Once the pastries were gone, another large group left, looking very satisfied over their deed.

The ones left were those most active in organizing the whole thing—Erina, Barrett, and Remi. Of course, Alistair remained too, although he looked worried, unlike the others who were celebrating in full swing.

"We did it! We showed the Church not to mess with Sunglow!" Remi cheered, giddy with excitement.

"They never stood a chance," Erina agreed and gave Barrett a quick side hug. The large man flushed as red as a tomato and muttered something incomprehensible.

"You're far too happy about this. It's not like you've actually thrown them out of town," Gilbert muttered. "Not to mention, the mess you've made. Look at this!"

Melina looked around and barely managed to suppress a groan. There were muddy footprints all over the shop and the living room. Crumbs were mixed in with the mud on the floor, and also covered much of the furniture in the living room. Coffee and tea were spilled in various places, and Melina counted it a small blessing that the couch remained without stains. One of the soft armchairs, however, had a large coffee stain on the left armrest.

"This isn't so bad. Have you seen my inn after a Friday evening? This is tame by comparison," Erina chuckled.

"Don't you have a whole team of cleaners at your disposal?" Gilbert glared at her, and the woman shrank back.

"Well, yes…"

"It's okay. I'll take care of the cleaning," Melina interjected before the old baker could begin to worry in earnest. "All that matters is that the Church left and they didn't see Sienna."

The little wyrm squirmed out of Melina's apron pocket at the mention of her name. She had been sleeping through most of the mayhem, but even so, the wyrm looked tired. No doubt it was stressful for her to be surrounded by so many people, not to mention that she could probably sense Melina's nervousness the whole time.

"Knowing what those assholes have been saying about elves, I can't imagine what they'd do about this cutie. Who was it that snitched about her to the Church anyway?" Remi said with an angry pout.

"Many people must still be nervous about Sienna's presence in town. It's not all that surprising that these people would tell the priests about her," Melina noted.

"Oh, what a bunch of pansies!" Remi huffed. "Humans are such cowards."

"Give them some time, Remi. I'm sure that eventually, even the most skeptical people will come to accept Sienna. But letting a monster live inside a town is something unheard of. It'd be equivalent to a human living in an elf city in the Monster Realm," Erina said.

Remi raised her finger to object, then lowered it. "Okay, you make a fair point. That would definitely take some getting used to."

"Less yapping, you lot. Don't think my apprentice will be the only one dealing with this mess. You organized this, you help out too," Gilbert ordered.

"Of course, Master Gilbert. We would have done so from the beginning," Barrett said dutifully.

"Can I leave you here to oversee the cleaning, Barrett? I need to return to the inn. I'm already worried about my staff," Erina pleaded the burly man.

"Of course. Leave to it. I'll do your share of work as well," he said without hesitation.

"Thank you! You're the best, Barrett," Erina said and left in a hurry. Barrett gazed after her longingly, gentle flush on his cheeks. Melina wondered whether the man had some feelings for Erina. They were similar in age, so it was possible.

"I'll help out too," Alistair said.

"What?! You really don't have to!" Melina protested. He'd already done so much for them. But having a nobleman clean their floors? Melina shuddered. It was a step too far.

He looked dejected at her quick rejection, and she started to feel bad. "Maybe you could help carry the spare chairs and tables back to the shed?"

"Of course," he smiled brightly, grabbing the first chair he saw and carrying it away.

Despite the mess, the work of cleaning was going much faster than Melina had expected. She and Remi first took care of all the furniture, wiping away the crumbs and cleaning away the spillages. The coffee stain on the armchair was more stubborn, but after applying a bit of cold water and vinegar—a suggestion from Gilbert—Melina was able to clean that too.

Barrett, true to his word, made short work of the dirty floor. Melina had expected such a large man to be clumsy, but he used the broom and mop with surprising dexterity taking care of even hardest-to-reach places in the corner and underneath the furniture.

They were almost finished when a knock resounded. It was barely audible—Melina almost didn't hear over Remi's and Barrett's energetic chatter.

"Someone's knocking?" Alistair asked, glancing in the direction of the shop.

"Is it maybe Erina?" Melina wondered, however, she had a strong suspicion it wasn't her. She headed into the shop when the knock resounded again. Oddly enough, it didn't sound like it came from the shop's door. She couldn't see anyone standing outside either. It sounded like it came from the back.

"Do you often get guests coming in from the back?" Alistair asked suspiciously.

"No. At least I've never seen anyone come to the back," Melina said. There was an odd sense of foreboding. But the knock sounded for the third time. She couldn't just ignore it, and Gilbert was resting upstairs. "Sienna, go hide somewhere."

Wyrm peered at her curiously from her spot by the oven but didn't object, swiftly scuttling upstairs to Melina's bedroom. Alistair tensed. "Do you think it's Bishop Heiliger?"

"She shouldn't know about the back entrance, but I'm not taking any chances," Melina said and went to open the back door. Another knock resounded before she could reach it, more insistent this time.

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

Melina wasn't surprised to see Amaris Heiliger standing behind the door, a victorious smile on her face. She didn't panic or try to run or shout for help. It had always felt inevitable that she'd meet this horrible woman once again. The world seemed still as her blue eyes met with Heiliger's light pink ones. Melina had always found them creepy.

"Hello! Are you Miss Melina?" She asked in a sweet tone. Heiliger sounded very satisfied, as she always had when she got her way. But Melina wasn't going to give in so easily.

"Yes, I am. Who are you? Are you here to see Master Gilbert?" Melina said in a calm, polite tone.

"No, I already spoke with the baker. I am here to see you."

"Me? Why me?" Melina cocked her head, appearing innocent and clueless.

"I've heard some interesting rumors going around town. May I come inside?" Heiliger said, taking a step forward.

But Melina didn't budge from the exit. If she let this woman roam free in the bakery, then it would be the same as showing Sienna herself. She was certain that Heiliger had already checked her status screen and merely remained quiet about it for now. She would try to bring it up at the moment which would rattle Melina the most.

"No, I'm afraid you may not. Master Gilbert is resting and we are currently busy with work," she said sternly. The Bishop looked taken aback by the blatant rejection.

"No? Perhaps, you are not aware of who I am, so let me introduce myself. I am Bishop Amaris Heiliger. I've come on official Church business here to Sunglow," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. It was the official way members of the Church greeted other people. Melina had always thought that it looked somewhat silly.

"I am well aware of who you are," Melina said, looking at the distinctly white robes Heiliger wore. They were a little drenched by the rain which had lessened to a small drizzle. However, these were definitely different robes from the ones she wore before.

"Then surely you understand that you must let me inside," Heiliger smiled, but it was forced this time as the corner of her eye was twitching.

"With all due respect, but even if you are an honored Bishop from the Church, you cannot just trespass into private property as you deem fit."

"I am doing holy work in the name of the System God. You are not allowed to stand in my way."

"Do you have a warrant that allows you to search these premises?" Melina retorted, feeling rather proud that she was able to face this woman without showing a shred of fear.

Heiliger looked shocked that somebody would dare to speak to her in such a manner. Her polite smile was all but gone now, replaced by an angry scowl. "Miss Melina, I'm afraid that you are testing my patience right now. I have an ability that allows me to see status screens of people and yours shows a very unusual class."

Melina barely managed to keep up the calm appearance. She knew Heiliger would resort to her ability at one point. There was only one thing she could do. "Status what? Screen? Unusual class? I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Please, do not play dumb Miss Melina. The System is clearly showing me that you're a Level 1 [Arcane Baker], and the System never lies," she insisted, although she looked perplexed. "I'm not sure how you are Level 1 as any other Systemless person but rumors are going around that you can bake pastries that heal injuries."

I knew she'd go for the status screen. This will be difficult to explain, however, it appears she really cannot see that I have a familiar or my skills, otherwise, she would have called those out right away.

Melina's mind was reeling as she tried to come up with a plausible response, but her heart was racing and she couldn't come up with a good refute in such a short amount of time. "I'm not sure what to tell you. I'm just a baker."

"I'm afraid it is my fault that Melina's status screen looks a bit odd," Alistair interjected, appearing behind Melina. He had been standing close the whole time, but she hadn't expected him to jump into the conversation like that.

"Do tell, how it was your fault? It is impossible to tamper with somebody's status screen," Heiliger said incredulously.

"Oh, no, I didn't tamper with it. It is as you said—impossible. But I've asked Miss Melina to bake the pastries that would heal," he said calmly. "You see, after that horrible goblin attack, there were many injured and we were a few days away from a fresh shipment of potions. I thought that perhaps by putting healing ingredients into a pastry, I could make a healing pastry."

Heiliger arched her eyebrow. "So you're telling me Miss Melina made healing pastries by merely putting healing ingredients into a pastry?"

Melina was screaming internally. She'd never fall for such a lie. It'd be far too easy for her to test that theory. She looked at Alistair nervously, but he looked confident in his words.

"No, of course not. We worked on them together. Although I'm not sure how, we managed to make something with a weak healing effect."

"Weak healing effect?"

"Yes. It certainly could not replace potions. All they did was remove some of the pain and speed up healing by a small margin. You'd have to ask our local elf apothecary if you wish to know the effects in detail."

Heiliger scowled at that. There was no way she would ever discuss anything with an elf, Melina knew it. It was very clever of Alistair to redirect the Bishop to Heilia.

"So you're telling me this incident with failed pastries caused her class to change?" Heiliger prodded.

"I can't imagine it being anything else. Everyone in Sunglow knows that Melina is Gilbert's apprentice. We've all eaten her pastries," Alistair said.

"Alright, let's put the matter about the status screen aside for now. What about the supposed wyrm that you're keeping as a pet?" Heiliger pointed an accusatory finger at Melina.

"A what?" Melina blinked her eyes stupidly, and Alistair erupted into laughter. Melina was surprised to see how good of an actor he was.

"A wyrm? As a pet? Bishop Heiliger, do you even hear yourself? How could anyone keep a dangerous monster as a pet?" Alistair laughed, cleaning tears from the corner of his eye. "We've long since disposed of the wyrm."

Heiliger looked like she was fuming. "Even so I'd like to make a proper inspection of the place."

"What do you expect to find inside the small bakery? You aren't suggesting that a large monster could be hidden inside," Melina said.

The Bishop stepped back, realizing that indeed there wasn't any chance of hiding the wyrm inside. At least not in their full-sized form. She looked around the garden, surveying the garden, but of course, there was nothing there but plants. However, she grinned victoriously when she noticed the shed and stables.

Heiliger hurried towards the shed first, throwing the doors open. Melina and Alistair just watched her from the entrance. There was no need to go outside and get wet in the rain. When the Bishop didn't find anything in the shed, she hurried over to the stables, but of course, she only found Knight there.

"This is impossible, there must be something here," she said, as she came back to the door, her face red with anger. "I will do a proper search of this place sooner or later!"

"Feel free to do so, but remember that people of Sunglow love to frequent our bakery," Melina retorted with a smile. She knew that she was basically declaring war against her, but it would have happened sooner or later anyway.

Heiliger stared at her incredulously for a minute, then her expression changed and she appeared perfectly calm again. Melina looked at her nervously, wondering what triggered the sudden change. It felt ominous.

"I see how it is. This town wants to play games," Heiliger said, looking far more confident. "That's alright. The Church has a long memory. Me and my priests will retreat from Sunglow for now, but make no mistake, Melina, we will return." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Then Heiliger turned towards Alistair, glaring at him. "It's a shame that you've wasted your opportunity to fix your past mistakes. The Church will not be helping you with your matter and rest assured that your father will hear of what transpired here today."

She gave them both a pointed glare in the end and then left without glancing back. They watched her leave for a good minute until Melina let out a nervous breath. "Is it okay if she goes to your father?"

She imagined Duke Sinclair would not be happy to hear that his son jumped to the aid of some commoner girl who is suspected of harboring an ember wyrm. At least Heiliger wasn't able to confirm that Melina was a System user, although she surely would stick to her suspicions. Most importantly, they had managed to buy themselves precious time—something Melina intended to use to its fullest.

"I don't mind. I'm pretty sure my father's opinion of me has already hit rock bottom," Alistair said bitterly. Melina was surprised to hear that. She had always believed that the Duke cherished his son. After all, he was always first to praise Alistair's achievements before the time rewind.

Before Melina could think of a way to console him, Remi's excited voice resounded behind them. "You actually sent that Bishop packing! That is amazing, you two! I'm going to go tell everyone!"

"Remi, wait—" Melina reached out towards the elf, but she had already bolted out of the bakery, running with amazing speed towards town. No doubt the figure of Remi speeding past would leave Heiliger with the last nasty shock before leaving.