Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

"Good morning, Melina," Alistair greeted her with a bright smile, being the first customer that morning. Some adventurers had arrived shortly after him and were watching the exchange curiously.

"Good morning, Alistair," she returned the greeting, somewhat nervously. He looked a bit too… cheerful for the serious talk they had yesterday. As if she had told him that he would become the king, not that they destroyed the world together. "What would you like?"

"One of everything, please. It's been a while since I ate your pastries," he said jovially.

It's only been a week… Maybe a bit more.

"You seem to be in a cheerful mood, Captain. Did your trip go well?" Barrett asked.

"Oh, yes! I got everything I wanted and more," he hummed, glancing at Melina.

Is he happy about getting his memories back? Now, when I look carefully, he seems well-rested.

"How are your… nightmares?" Melina whispered, leaning over the counter. "Should I make something for them?"

"They didn't bother me tonight, don't worry, Melina," he said. "How are you on ingredients? Still have enough?"

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot," Barrett pulled out a piece of paper from his jacket pocket. "This is the contract from the Guildmaster. She told me to have this sorted out as soon as possible."

"Contract?" Alistair questioned.

"For the weekly supply of waffles," Melina explained.

"Oh, the one you gave me yesterday?"

"Yes…" Melina answered quietly. The adventurers looked very interested in their conversation. Wasn't Alistair worried that they'd appear too close? "I'll take this to Master Gilbert to read."

The old baker was resting by the kitchen table. He no longer took an active part in service time, unless it became really busy, and instead used the time for other things. One of the things he had grown to like was tending to the plants.

"Master, here's the contract from Guildmaster Arianne for the waffles," she said, handing him the papers. He took one look at them, retrieved a pen, and signed.

"Wait… Shouldn't we read through it?"

"That girl wouldn't dare to fool her old master. She knows she'll regret it," he explained nonchalantly. Melina couldn't believe how easily he trusted her. It made her a bit nervous, but on the other hand, it felt… pleasant to be able to just trust somebody without question.

She returned to the shop and handed the contract back to Barrett. "All signed and ready."

"That was fast," the man said in surprise.

"Master Gilbert said that it was fine," Melina replied, not wanting to admit how nonchalant the man had been. "Sorry for the holdup, Alistair."

She began to put one of every pastry in the bag for him.

"Don't worry, I don't mind waiting a little," he hummed, watching her. His newfound cheer would need some getting used to. While she was happy that he remembered her, him becoming so friendly felt almost jarring.

As Melina handed the pastries and bread to him, Alistair whispered. "Can you meet me in the afternoon? We still need to explain things to Elowen."

"Of course," Melina nodded.

"See you later!" He waved and left while the other adventurers looked after him.

"I hope he doesn't take Miss Melina back to Fenrora," one of the adventurers said glumly.

"I hope the Captain remains in Sunglow too."

"Oh, now that's an idea I can get behind!"

Melina ignored their talks, serving the pastries with a smile like always. But she did worry whether she was getting too comfortable around Alistair. From a side perspective, people would surely assume that they were closer than they appeared. But then again, how close were they really?

Alistair has regained a lot of his memories, so they were decade-old friends and companions, right? But nobody knew that, so they would most certainly appear differently to them. In the end, Melina pushed these thoughts aside and thought about how much she'd reveal to Elowen.

In the late afternoon, near dinnertime, Alistair came to get her. He was dressed in armor, his hair disheveled, so she assumed he had been fighting some monsters on his patrol.

"Let's go to the Guild. I've reserved a private room there where we can talk without being overheard. Apparently, it even has privacy wards installed."

Much to Melina's surprise, Alistair held out his elbow for her to hold. She stared, a bit confused.

"Do you not want to? We used to do that a lot," he snickered.

Melina racked her memory. "Do you mean all those times when I was out of breath and you half-carried me to our destination?"

"Yes!"

"Hey, I wouldn't get out of shape just by making pastries. Also, I'm in better shape now. You saw me digging Sienna's enclosure yesterday."

"Do you mean that small hole over there?" Alistair pointed to the area she had dug out. In her defence, it looked far smaller from a distance. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"You guys interrupted me, so I didn't get very far," she huffed and went ahead in the direction of the town.

"Don't get mad! I'll help you with it later," he caught up to her in two swift strides, looking not in the least bit remorseful. She'd already forgotten how mischievous this man could be once he opened up.

But Melina was glad that he seemed cheerful. She had expected that the memories of the past and what they had done would suffocate him, just like they had her for a while. But he appeared happy to remember. Perhaps, he saw it as an opportunity to do better. Melina certainly hoped that the future would be better this time around.

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Soon they arrived at the Guild, having exchanged a few fond memories of the old times, and saw Elowen waiting by the entrance.

"Thank you for coming to see me, Melina, Lord Sinclair," he bowed politely. "Let's go inside and continue from where we left off yesterday."

Melina was ready this time around, having time to think about what she would say to the elf. There was no way she could reveal everything to Elowen like she had with Alistair. Alistair had been her ally until the very end, always taking her side. Elowen was different. He saw her as an enemy at the end.

So Melina decided to pretend that she saw visions and only remembered some things, just like Elowen and Alistair. He'd eventually remember everything anyway; however, this way she'll have time to build trust and show him that her goal really was to live a simple, if a bit unusual life as an [Arcane Baker].

At the start, she wondered whether she even should reveal that she could make unusual pastries, but in the end decided that it'd be foolish to hide it. Elowen was a sharp individual, and he'd quickly caught on to Sunglow's open secret, namely her pastries.

So that was exactly what she told the elf. Alistair confirmed her words.

"I see. But why weren't you willing to share this yesterday?" Elowen asked dubiously once she was done.

"I've only seen glimpses of you once or twice, and in one vision you were pointing a sword at me," she said.

It was the time they first met. Melina had been sent on a mission to find Wyrm's Peak, but Elowen had barred her way, causing a small scuffle between them until it was established that wyrms weren't dangerous to humans. Melina had been brought before the Elders that day, where she slowly learned more and more about elves.

Elowen scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I-I apologize. I don't mean you any harm. I understand your apprehensiveness now."

"It's alright. I understand that now. Alistair reassured me yesterday."

"I'm glad we've come to an understanding. For the time being, I have decided to remain in Sunglow and see how these visions of ours evolve," Elowen said.

"Weren't you going to stay for just a few days?" Melina asked, not too pleased by this development.

"I've talked with the elves, and they assured me it wouldn't be an issue for me to remain here longer. Besides, the Architect wanted us to keep developing this skill and see more of this uncertain future. I have a strong suspicion that it wants us to prevent a disaster from happening," the elf noted.

"Really?" Melina looked at Alistair for confirmation.

"Yes. When I asked it to erase the skill, it seemed very unwilling to do so, insisting that I see a vision first," he smiled then. "I'm glad it showed it to me."

Why are you glad about seeing your own death? Sometimes I don't understand this man at all.

"Have you seen a clue as to why the Architect wouldn't want us to forget? Anything at all?" Elowen asked.

Melina thought about it. If she had to guess, then she was the most dangerous element that the Architect would want removed to prevent any future disaster. Best case scenario, she wanted them to know that separating the realms was a horrible mistake.

"What did the Architect show you?" Alistair asked, after a moment of silence. "You never told me that."

"You never really said what the Architect revealed to you either," Elowen accused.

"It's private."

"It might be crucial to understanding this mystery. I believe we should both reveal what we saw."

"You first."

"No, after you."

"Stop it," Melina cut in. Time rewind or not, these two still bickered whenever they could. "I think for now we should watch the events unfold and see what happens."

Elowen didn't seem pleased with this conclusion but didn't argue. "Very well. Since I'll remain in Sunglow for a while as an adventurer, I'm sure we'll be able to work together in time."

He had an accusatory sort of look. Elowen likely sensed that she was hiding something, but she just couldn't bring herself to tell the truth. If he really decides that Melina cannot be trusted and attacks, then Alistair would surely jump to her defense. She didn't want either of them to get hurt.

As the three of them left the private room, they ran into Remi standing by the reception. "Melina, hi! Hello, Captain and… Wow! Another elf?"

Remi was next to them in two seconds flat, looking excitedly at Elowen, who seemed a bit taken aback by her enthusiasm. "It's been such a long time since a new elf joined Sunglow! Are you staying for long?"

"I… Well, I do intend to stay for a while. My name is Elowen Freyer," he said awkwardly.

"Remi Shaelara! It's an absolute pleasure to meet you. Welcome to Sunglow! Let me show you around town," Remi said.

"I-I suppose that is acceptable."

"Excellent! By the way, Melina, I completely forgot to ask you this morning, but are you setting up a stall for the Summer Festival?"

"Summer Festival?" Melina cocked her head quizzically. She hadn't heard about any festivals from Master Gilbert.

"Gilbert didn't tell you, did he? Oh, that grumpy old man. Go and ask Erina. She'll tell you everything you need to know," Remi gushed, then turned her attention back to Elowen. "Come now. I'm going to show you everything. Do you know how fun it actually is to live with humans?"

Remi pulled Elowen along, and he was helpless to resist. Melina chuckled at the sight.

"So I guess you'll be going to Erina now to get some information about this Summer Festival?" Alistair asked.

"Might as well. I am curious what it's all about and why Master Gilbert didn't tell me anything."

"How about we have some dinner together? You must be hungry," he offered.

"Sure."

As most evenings, the inn was packed to the brim with people, leaving almost no free tables open. But luckily for Melina and Alistair, a small table vacated just as they entered. Melina sat down to reserve it while Alistair went to get food for both of them.

She wanted to give him the money for her portion, but he heard none of it and instead insisted on paying. Alistair came back with a large steak with potatoes for himself and salad with large succulent shrimp for Melina.

"That's too expensive," Melina muttered, remembering the price of the dish. She had always wanted to try it, but put it off to a time when she'd have more money.

"I've already paid for it. Will you not eat it?" He looked sad.

"Of course, I'll eat it!" She protested, pulling the plate in front of herself. He looked pleased by that.

"Don't worry about the price. It's nothing compared to all your pastries."

Melina didn't reply, instead focusing on the salad in front of her. She tentatively stabbed one of the shrimp and took a small bite. It was delicious! Perfectly seasoned slice of heaven. While Gilbert's cooking was wonderful each time, they didn't buy any expensive ingredients. Seafood, unfortunately, was completely off-menu since Gilbert didn't like it. Said it messed with the smell of bread. That nobody would buy bread that smelled like fish. But it's not like she wanted to bake fish into the bread; she just wanted some for dinner.

"Melina, Lord Sinclair! It's nice to see you two," Erina said as she noticed the two of them.

"Good evening, Miss Erina," Alistair greeted.

"Nice to see you too, Erina," Melina said.

"Oh, I see you two are having a good time together. I won't intrude," Erina gave Melina a conspiratorial look.

"Wait, I wanted to ask you something."

"What?"

"About the Summer Festival. What is it exactly?"

Erina groaned. "Gilbert didn't tell you, did he?"

"No."

"I should have known. Do you mind if I sit at your table for a moment, Lord Sinclair?"

"Not at all. I'm also curious about the Summer Festival," Alistair nodded.

"Wonderful. I'll make it quick. Basically, the Summer Festival is an event when we celebrate the arrival of summer. I'm sure you've encountered your versions of it in your own hometowns," Erina began.

Melina and Alistair nodded. She vaguely remembered the Summer Festival in Tuvia. There was a large magic show each year. It was so grand that she could see the display from the orphanage. It was mainly that which inspired Melina to become a mage in the first place.

"In Sunglow, we set up stalls and games by the beachside. There are all sorts of events, and some mages even come to Sunglow to perform. The town is usually swarmed with tourists. It's a chance not only to have fun but also earn a nice bit of money."

Melina's ears perked up. More money certainly wouldn't hurt.

"Lots of vendors also come from far and wide, so it's also the best time to shop for miscellaneous items. Some years, even magitech vendors come."

Melina was doubly invested now. Chance to earn money and possibly buy magitech. She would definitely participate.