Melina clearly saw the man in black—the same man who had been stalking her for weeks—appear in the dense market crowd. Their eyes met, but Melina didn't feel afraid of him anymore. If previously he was an unknown element that could counter Sienna's fire magic, then with her magic regained, she felt confident that he wasn't a danger anymore.

  She wondered whether she should capture him right then and there—Sunglowers certainly would mind if she made a ruckus to catch a Church spy. But before she could make that decision, he disappeared into the crowd. Not this day. Not yet.

  Melina knew that the confrontation with the Church was growing closer each day. She had regained her powers and gained valuable allies in Sunglow, but would that be enough? How hard was the Church willing to push its agenda? How far were they willing to go? Because if they went all out, Melina wasn't sure if even she could stop them, as vast as her magical knowledge was.

  Maybe I should set up some safety wards around Sunglow in my spare time. Not that I have much of it.

  "Is something the matter?" Adrien asked, noticing her staring into the crowd.

  "No, nothing. Just thinking about some things. Let's finish the shopping and get home," she said.

  There was no reason to panic before time, Melina decided. She'd deal with each problem, one at a time, as it came, while doing her best to prevent the tragedy. She would prevent it—Melina was determined. The presence of Adrien and Remi, as well as Sienna and Mango, next to her assured her that this time she was walking down the right path. She wasn't alone anymore.

  Melina looked at the bakery with great satisfaction. The new shelves were installed, the display cases looked great, and the fresh paint made the whole place look brighter. It didn't look like the old bakery anymore, yet it still retained the same warmth. Or at least so Melina hoped.

  "It looks good," Adrien confirmed. "Small, but good. Although without any pastries to fill the shelves and cases, it does appear eerily empty."

  "They'll be all filled out in no time," Melina said, and peeked outside, wondering whether Roxie would be arriving anytime soon.

  Just as she expected, a cart coming down the road with Guildmaster Beck and his daughter sitting on the coach. The girl looked nervously, fidgeting next to her father, while the man was looking around with a nostalgic look in his eyes.

  "Our other hire is here. Let's go great with them," she told Adrien, ushering him outside.

  They both went outside to greet them, Sienna observing the situation by sticking to the outer wall while Mango ran circles around Melina.

  "Good day, Miss Melina!" Guildmaster Beck called and waved with a smile on his face. "This place looks so different from before. I thought I had gotten lost somewhere."

  "Good day, Guildmaster Beck. I thought that a bit of renovation was in order," she said, approaching the cart. "Nice to see you too, Roxie."

  "H-Hello!" The girl said shyly, clutching her braids.

  "And who is this fine young lad? I don't think we're acquainted," the large man said, jumping out of the cart.

  "I'm Adrien! I'll be helping Miss Melina out as a salesperson," he replied.

  "Oh, very clever! Hiring someone specifically for sales while you focus on baking itself," the Guildmaster praised. Then he turned to the cart and helped Roxie get down. "This is my daughter, Roxie. She's a bit of a clutz, but I'm hoping you will all get along."

  "Dad!" Roxie protested, her cheeks flushing red. But the embarrassment quickly disappeared once she noticed Mango running around Melina. "What is that adorable creature?"

  "That's Mango. She hatched just recently and is very energetic. I hope you won't mind her," Melina said.

  Roxie's eyes lit up in excitement, and she crouched down. "Hello, Mango. I'm Roxie. I hope we can be friends."

  Mango stopped zooming around and tentatively sniffed at Roxie from afar. The girl slowly outstretched her hand, and the little ice fox approached. After a bit of sniffing, Mango allowed the girl to pat herself.

  "Oh, her fur is so soft but also cold," Roxie noted excitedly.

  "Awww… No fair. Mango won't let me pat her…" Adriend sulked.

  "That's because you keep chasing her," Melina reprimanded.

  Guildmaster Beck laughed. "I see you all are already making fast friends. Seems I have nothing to worry about."

  "I'll see to it that your daughter feels comfortable here," Melina confirmed.

  At that moment, Master Gilbert shuffled out of the bakery, likely curious about the ongoing commotion.

  "Master Gilbert, pleasure to see you," the Guildmaster greeted him.

  "To think that your daughter would end up in my bakery anyway. You have a knack for getting your way, don't you?" Gilbert sighed.

  "There, there. I give all the credit for this result to your granddaughter."

  "She does have a knack for causing trouble," the old baker grumbled, causing Melina to flinch and look away.

  "Don't all children? It'd be boring if they didn't cause some sort of trouble. Now, where do I bring all of Roxie's things?"

  "Right this way. I'll show you," Melina said, pointing towards the back of the house.

  After turning the cart around and leaving it near the back entrance, everyone worked on unloading the cart. It appeared that her parents had prepared everything the girl might ever need—multiple sets of clothes, two blankets, four pillows, four sets of bed linen, as well as some books and other knick-knacks.

  The atmosphere in the bakery was rowdy as everyone worked to get Roxie situated. The girl herself looked embarrassed to be in the center of attention, and often would go to Mango, who was happy that somebody was paying attention to her.

  Master Gilbert also made dinner for everyone, which Guildmaster Beck praised. He even said he was jealous that Roxie would get to eat his cooking every day. Roxie herself just mostly remained silent. Melina figured that the rowdiness was too much for her.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  After dinner, she let her and Guildmaster Beck sort things out on their own. He'd be staying in Sunglow for the evening and going back to Pertia the next day. After making sure that everyone had what they needed, Melina decided to head home. Or rather to Alistair's home.

  She actually felt nervous. When they had brought her things to Alistair's home in the morning, it was such a rush that she didn't even get time to think much about it. Now, it finally felt like she had time to think.

  "What a busy day, huh?" Remi noted, having been in the thick of it all day.

  Thankfully, Guildmaster Beck and Roxie didn't seem to think much about her presence. It was known that elves lived in Sunglow, but it was likely that seeing one was a different experience. Still, neither of them had said anything, so Melina assumed they were fine with it.

  "Tell me about it. I fear what's going to happen during the opening day," Melina said, holding Mango, who was slowly falling asleep in her arms.

  "It's going to be marvelous! Biggest opening ever! I bet the whole town will come," Remi cheered.

  "I don't think I'll have enough pastries for the whole town…"

  "You might want to start preparing early. I doubt people will leave until they get one of your delectable tarts. Or cakes. Or both. I definitely want both."

  Melina smiled, but in her mind, she was already thinking about what she could prepare ahead of time tomorrow. The dough for bread, puff pastry, shortcrust pastry, pastry cream… There were so many things. She'd have to go out in the morning on a supply run with Knight.

  This first time, Master Gilbert promised to go with Melina to show her where he usually got his supplies. But after that, she'd have to manage it on her own. To think that there would be so many things aside from baking that she had to do to keep the bakery running smoothly.

  "I'll do my best," Melina said nervously.

  "Hey, it'll be fine! Don't worry about it. Your beloved will cut down anyone who would dare to say a single bad word about your pastries," Remi chuckled.

  Melina shook her head and exhaled another nervous breath. They had arrived at Alistair's house.

  "Here we are. Delivered all safe and sound. Rest well, Melina!" Remi said cheerfully.

  "You too, Remi," Melina said and waved, watching the elf leave.

  When Melina didn't step inside right away, Sienna peered at her quizzically.

  "Just preparing myself mentally is all. It's a bit odd that I'll be living here now…" Melina said, looking at the house as if to take it for the first time.

  It was a beautiful house. Probably the most beautiful in the Sunglow. It had large windows to let in a lot of light, smooth white walls which were decorated with dark wooden beams. The tiled blue roof stood out from afar, as did the balcony on the second floor with a metallic railing. To think that she would be living here.

  She stared at it for a while longer, then finally gathered enough courage to dig the key out of her dress pocket and slide it into the lock. The door opened, and she entered slowly, feeling as though she was sneaking in somewhere where she shouldn't.

  But the magitech lamp at the entrance instantly turned on, as if to greet her arrival.

  "Wow… He even has fancy stuff like this," Melina noted, looking around. For a moment, she considered whether she should take off her shoes.

  But seeing that the floor at the entrance was already trampled up with dirty boot marks, she decided to clean up the place properly and then worry about dirty shoes. Her things were placed in a pile near the staircase—they hadn't had the time to put things away in the morning.

  Melina gingerly placed Mango in the soft cushion of the couch. Sienna yawned, looking at the sleeping fox.

  "Why don't you go to sleep too, Sienna? Your trough is right there," Melina said, pointing to the stone trough which Alistair had placed in the corner of the living room. Melina couldn't believe he actually carried that heavy thing all the way here without so much as breaking a sweat.

  She lifted the sleepy wyrm off her shoulder and carried her to the trough. Sienna let out another sleepy yawn, then curled up and closed her eyes. Melina watched both of her familiars sleeping for a moment, then began sorting through her things.

  Toiletries, she took to the bathroom, which was located on the first floor. It was large and light, nothing like the tiny bathroom in Master Gilbert's home. Floors and walls were lined with beautiful tiles with a light blue pattern running through them. The bath was also much larger—Melina suspected that it could easily fit in two, maybe even three people at the same time.

  Of course, it also had the warm water available at a moment's notice. There was likely a magitech boiler somewhere in the house that heated the water through the whole house. This made her wonder just how much this place was worth. Far more than Melina could ever afford.

  She felt even guiltier since she got to stay in this comfortable home while Master Gilbert and others couldn't even have warm water unless they boiled it in pots. Of course, when Melina was in the bakery, she could heat it in a matter of seconds, but she wouldn't be there all the time. Not anymore.

  With a sigh, she returned to the pile of things. There was the blanket and flowery bedsheets Master Gilbert had gifted her. She wondered which to take when the door opened and Alistair stepped inside.

  "Welcome home!" She greeted him, peering into the entrance hall.

  He seemed surprised to see her at first, then smiled warmly.

  "I'm home," he muttered softly, then pulled her into a hug. "You have no idea how nice it is to be greeted by you after coming home."

  "It feels odd to call it home… I feel like I'm breaking in…" She admitted.

  "Most definitely not. I want you here. Very much so," he said and planted a kiss on her cheek. "In fact, I don't think I will ever let you leave."

  She didn't know how to respond to his warmth and kindness and instead chose to bury herself in his embrace. "Are you hungry?"

  "Yeah, quite. I had to fight two hobgoblins today. For some reason, they thought it would be fine to try climbing the wall."

  "They tried to climb the wall?" Melina exclaimed.

  "Yeah. First, they tried to distract us by sending a horde of marsh boars our way, and while we fought those, they sneaked all the way to the wall. Thankfully, Illitran noticed them, and I managed to rush back before they got over."

  "Should I perhaps—"

  "Let me stop you there!" Alistair said firmly. "You're a baker now. Your job is to make sure everyone's belly is full. It's my job to make sure that everyone within these walls is safe," Alistair said firmly.

  "But it seems like there are more monsters than ever, and they're becoming more clever."

  "Not clever enough. If things get bad, then I'll hire Sienna before I let you do anything," he said, patting her hair gently. "How about that dinner?"

  Melina nodded. She understood what he was saying—it was time that she took a step back from the battles. He was right, of course. Her magical knowledge can be applied in many different and completely non-violent ways. She should trust him to do what he did best.

  She heated some sausages with her magic and prepared a nice heap of hashbrowns for Alistair to enjoy. He praised her, saying that food cooked with magic had this pleasant aftertaste that he loved. They chatted about the day's events and Melina's plans for the next day.

  But after he was done eating, Melina's previous nervousness returned. She looked at her pillow and blanket and asked, "So which room can I use?"

  Alistair walked up to her, regarding her as if she were a piece of particularly delectable pastry. She shifted nervously, but he reached out and gently held her hand.

  "I was hoping you'd sleep with me," he said, almost pleadingly.

  Her heart raced like crazy. Was she ready for it?

  "I won't do anything you don't want me to, but I'd like to be by your side during the night," he said in a whisper and kissed her fingers.

  Her breath hitched. She could feel her heart flutter as their skin touched. For the longest time, she'd been in love with him but never able to show it. Now, when she finally could do that, she felt afraid, nervous, but also excited. Part of her fear was that he might yet reject her. But the look in his eyes, one filled with love and longing, told her that she had nothing to fear. This was something they both wanted.

  Melina was ready, so she nodded at him.

  Alistair smiled and, in one fell swoop, grabbed her into his arms. Before long, his lips pressed against her, hot and full of desire. That night, she didn't get a lot of sleep. But despite that, it was one of the most peaceful and fulfilling nights she had had in years. For once, she let herself forget all about the Church, the bakery, and the burdens of the Archmage.

  Together with Alistair, she was simply Melina.