Elowen never thought that he'd care about Melina opening the Sunglow Bakery again. It seemed like such a frivolous thing—to make pastries when the fate of two realms rested on their shoulders. But Leliana knew nothing of the world's impending doom and insisted that he go to the opening along with her.

  For the sake of fostering good relationships with humans, he went along with other inhabitants of Sunglow. People were really excited, and Elowen saw them buying both bread and the colorful, magical pastries. He was surprised to see a young boy selling pastries along with Melina. His body was vibrating with mana on a scale he'd never seen before, and he wasn't even an adult yet.

  In the brief moment Elowen spent buying the pastries, Melina whispered that he was one of the Archmage candidates. It made him feel foolish for doubting her. His rash actions had caused nothing but trouble, yet Melina, with her calm approach, had safely secured one of the strongest people and taken him under her wing.

  Not to mention, the spark pie and little healing cream puffs were quite delicious. Especially the little cream puffs. After eating one, the headache that's been plaguing him for the longest time eased, and he felt a bit more like himself again.

  "I told you that it would be a good idea to come," Leliana said with a smug smile, watching him eat his third cream puff. "Melina's pastries are great."

  "They are rather good," he admitted. He found it amazing that she managed to turn the disgusting sapmelon ooze into something so delicious. It was used in strong healing potions, but even then sparingly because the flavor of the ooze often reminded people of rotting corpses.

  Yet apparently, when prepared in the right way, together with caramel, it had this vaguely herby flavor which actually made the creampuffs feel not so heavy. Elowen felt like he could easily eat a whole box of them, especially since they helped with his headache. The whole atmosphere made him feel more at ease than he had in a long while.

  That was until he suddenly heard a change in Melina's voice. As an elf, he could easily hear everyone talking within the bakery, even the whispers. By concentrating on a particular conversation, he could essentially shut down the rest. The man was threatening Melina.

  He wondered whether he should intervene, but it sounded like she got things under control. Eventually, the suspicious man left, and Melina called for Remi. She asked her to do something with the phoenixflies. He didn't understand what exactly she meant by that, but it was clear that she was sending Remi in pursuit of the man.

  "Excuse me, there are things I need to handle," Elowen said, handing his pastries to Leliana.

  "All of a sudden? What happened?" Leliana asked.

  "A message from another elf. We have excellent hearing, you know," he said, gently tapping his ear.

  "Oh…" Leliana said, appearing disappointed.

  "I'll come check the progress on the plants in a few days," he said and left the bakery.

  He instantly searched for the man who had just left and identified him further ahead on the street. Elowen followed him. Not openly, but rather appearing nonchalant.

  Before long, Remi passed by him on the street, and he grabbed her arm, forcing her to an abrupt stop.

  "W-What? Elowen? What gives?" She asked indignantly.

  "Don't make a fuss. I heard what happened in the bakery. What do you intend to do?" He asked.

  Remi straightened and took up a calm gait next to him. She lowered her voice to a whisper to make sure that nobody would overhear them.

  "I'm going to plant phoenixflies in his bag and get him out of the town, of course."

  "Phoenixflies?" Elowen asked in disbelief. She did say phoenixflies, but he thought it was a codename for something else. "Actual phoenixflies?"

  "Yes!" Remi replied with a wide grin, giddy with excitement like a child. She was barely over a hundred, but surely she should have outgrown such childish pranks.

  "I say we go for a more subtle approach. Melina just wants him gone from the town, no?" Elowen asked.

  "Yeah. This creepy thing has been hovering around here for too long."

  "Then I believe there is no need for any phoenixflies. If this man works for the Church, then we already have all we need."

  "What is that?" Remi cocked her head.

  Elowen sighed. "Ourselves. We're elves. If I understand correctly, then people from the Church aren't exactly fond of us."

  "Oh yeah… We should scare him!" Remi snickered, rubbing her hands together.

  Oh, Melina, you really shouldn't leave matters like these up to Remi.

  But then he paused. Last time he didn't trust Melina, it ended up rather poorly. Maybe there was a reason she was sending Remi after this man. She was more than aware of Remi's personality.

  "Actually, let's do both things. You go ahead with those phoenixflies. I'll follow up afterwards," Elowen said.

  "Yes! Double attack! I love it!" Remi whispered and then sped away somewhere. Likely to get those phoenixflies.

  Meanwhile, Elowen continued tracking the man, making sure to stay well out of his sight. It wasn't difficult—human senses were much duller than those of an elf. He stayed at a distance at which the man wouldn't even be able to tell whether he was an elf or not.

  The man walked at a calm, unhurried pace, heading towards the pier. At one point, he sped up and then disappeared into the side street. Elowen couldn't see him anymore, but he heard a door opening and closing on the street where he had rushed in. He must have gone inside.

  Elowen didn't hurry to follow him, instead taking a casual stance next to the street. He took only a brief peek to determine which was the most likely house that he would go into. According to what he heard, it could be one of the three houses in the middle of the street. One was a jewelry shop, one looked like an empty abandoned building, and one looked like a typical home.

  He didn't need elf ears to hear kids screeching and running through the houses, creating a big ruckus just like all human children did. It was unlikely that the suspicious Church man had gone there, so it really left him with only one option.

  Short after, Remi came running, holding a jar with phoenixflies buzzing within. The little glowing insect looked agitated, firing small, fiery balls at the glass in an attempt to melt it. But the jar remained intact. Elowen suspected that it was elven-made, specifically for keeping these bugs.

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  "Where did you even get these so fast?" Elowen asked.

  "Oh, I have a bunch of them at home. They're rather lovely pets," Remi chuckled.

  "Don't you feel bad using them like this?"

  "Nah! They'll be fine and fly back home once they're done. In fact, letting them go crazy once in a while is therapeutic. They make less trouble at home," Remi explained enthusiastically.

  Elowen just rolled his eyes. "He's in the empty house. Make sure your flies don't set it on fire."

  "Don't worry! I got this," Remi snickered and then swiftly jumped on the roof.

  Silently, like a cat, she jumped from roof to roof until she made it to the right house. Elowen saw her listening carefully for a minute, likely trying to understand whether it really was the right house. Her face lit up with a smile, and she joyously tossed the jar with phoenixflies in, shattering the window.

  Elowen heard the angry buzzing of insects, followed by curses from the man inside. There was a lot of throwing and the noise of phoenixfly buzzing. There was screaming and yelling until finally the man rushed out of the house, followed by the swarm of phoenixflies.

  "W-What are these? Get them off me!" He screamed, attracting the attention of nearby people.

  Much to Elowen's surprise, the people didn't rush to his aid. There were a few who looked concerned, but many just outright ignored him and passed by. He couldn't understand how humans can be so heartless when seeing someone in trouble, but then he heard somebody mutter.

  "That's what Church dogs get."

  So they already knew who he was. Nobody really seemed perturbed or worried about the phoenixflies either. It appears that Remi had let them out on at least a few occasions before.

  Elowen decided to use the opportunity. While the man was flailing, trying to get rid of the angry buzzing insects who kept burning small holes in his clothing, he jumped on the roof, much like Remi had. He snuck up to the house and jumped in through the broken window.

  The room has a few small scorchmarks here and there, but nothing was burning. Elowen was impressed by the control those bugs had. Had Remi trained them in some fashion? He would ask her later.

  But at that moment, he looked around the room. It was meticulously clean for an abandoned house, and while it didn't have any proper furniture, there was a sleeping bag on the floor, along with several suitcases. Elowen went straight for those.

  One of them was just a regular suitcase and contained the man's clothes, among which Elowen saw the typical priest outfit. This pretty much confirmed everyone's suspicions. But there was nothing else of interest in this suitcase, so he turned his attention to the other one.

  At first glance, it appeared just like another suitcase. However, Elowen could sense that this one was warded with magic. He approached it cautiously. He wasn't a mage, but he could undo the most basic wards if given enough time. Thankfully, the phoenixflies were keeping the man plenty distracted.

  Elowen guided his magic towards the suitcase. However, he pulled back as soon as his magic touched the ward. It was far too powerful for him to break. In fact, wrong prodding might set off some sort of magical trigger, which might cause the suitcase to self-destruct, destroying the contents.

  But why would he need such powerful wards on a simple suitcase? The conclusion was simple—there was something valuable inside. Not just mere gold. Few coins were worth such complex wards. No, it was something far, far more valuable.

  Realizing that, Elowen grabbed the suitcase and left the room, going back the same route he had come from. Glancing from the rooftop, he saw that the man was still busy trying to get rid of phoenixflies, yelling at the sailors to do something. One of them tried to pour a bucket of seawater over the flies, but the clever insects just moved out of the way before resuming their assault. Remi was rolling with laughter at the sight.

  Elowen didn't linger. He jumped down onto the neighboring side street and went to the bakery at a brisk pace while holding the suitcase in his arms. Melina would definitely be able to undo the wards.

  The opening day was a big success. After the official opening hours were over, Erina and a few other regulars stayed behind and organized a little celebration. They had brought over drinks, including wine and a few other lighter alcohols. There was Barrett, Illitran, a few more adventurers, Etrian, Milo, and even the grumpy blacksmith Etan.

  "This bakery really is quite something," Etan praised. "Nothing like it used to be. Your pastries are little works of art."

  "Thank you, Master Etan," Melina smiled, pouring him some ale.

  "No kidding! It's a good thing this is the only bakery in Sunglow, because you'd be putting anyone else out of business," Milo chuckled.

  "I wouldn't go that far. Sunglow is steadily growing. But the re-opening is a big success. Congrats, Melina!" Erina lifted her wine glass.

  "Congrats!" Milo joined in, as did everyone else.

  "I knew you'd do well," Alistair said with a warm smile, raising his own glass.

  Mango yipped happily by her feet while Sienna hung above their heads, curiously eyeing the liquid in their glasses.

  Melina felt so happy at that moment, she didn't know whether she even deserved it. The bakery was a success—they sold out completely. Even the simple breads were sold out. People loved the suns Roxie had scored on them. Gilbert was also smiling, although he was trying to stand aside and not to show it.

  Melina didn't pester him, but she did feel relieved that the old baker was satisfied with the result. That's what had worried her the most.

  "Are you sure you can't lend your wyrm to me? I'd love to have her at my forge," Master Etan said, looking at Sienna.

  "No. She's in charge of cooking the pastries. I'm afraid you're going to have to get your own wyrm," Melina said.

  "You can get them? Where?" He asked seriously.

  "You'd have to get in contact with the elves of Euroa. They have plenty of wyrms. Perhaps, they'd be willing to make an arrangement," Illitran said.

  "Oh? I'd like to discuss this in more detail, Master Elf," Master Etan hummed and pulled Illitran aside for a discussion. Melina wondered if the blacksmith really would acquire a wyrm. She hoped that he would, then Sienna would have a friend in town.

  Their little party carried on for a while, although Melina was getting sleepy from all the merriment. It had been a long day, and she had woken early.

  "Are you tired?" Alistair asked.

  "Just a little bit," Melina admitted.

  "Why don't you go rest, Melina? Don't worry, I'll take care of the cleanup," Erina said.

  "Are you sure?"

  "I'll help her out," Barrett offered.

  "Then… just for a moment," Melina nodded, and allowed Alistair to lead her to the kitchen. She might be feeling a bit tipsy from the wine that she had drunk.

  "Do you perhaps want to lie down? We could just go home," Alistair offered.

  Melina didn't get to answer when a knock sounded on the back door.

  "Oh, that must be Remi," she said, getting up to open the door.

  "Where was she the whole time? I didn't expect her to miss the party," Alistair noted. "Even Leliana came."

  "I sent her on a little mission," Melina admitted, and opened the door.

  But much to her surprise, it was Elowen who stood at the back door with a large suitcase in hand. Melina's eyebrows instantly furrowed as she felt powerful magical wards on it.

  "What is that?" She asked, pointing at the suitcase.

  "I decided to borrow this lovely suitcase while a certain individual is busy studying the temperament of phoenixflies," he said with a victorious grin.

  "What?" Alistair arched his eyebrow.

  It didn't take long for Melina to realize who the suitcase belonged to. She wanted to question why Elowen would go out of his way to steal it. But the ward coming from it was an indication enough. Why would something need wards so powerful on a simple suitcase? There must be something important inside it.

  "Let's go open it," Melina said. "Mango, Sienna, come here."

  She sent a mental tug to both her familiars. Both of them were by her side at a moment's notice.

  "Where are you two suddenly going?" Master Gilbert asked, hobbling after the two of them.

  "We have a bit of Church mystery to solve," Melina said, and Elowen lifted the suitcase.

  Realization dawned on the old man's face. "Take it back once you're done."

  "We'll be quick," Melina assured.

  "Where are we going?" Alistair asked.

  "The shed will do. We just need a place away from prying eyes and where we can let some accident happen," she explained.

  It had been a while since she's broken a ward, especially one this strong. But it was certainly worth a try. Maybe they could get a good grasp on the plans the Church has in store for Sunglow.