Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

Chapter 208 – Winter is Here

"What?" Melina and Alistair asked in shock as they stared at the siren.

"I'm returning to Sunglow," the siren said slowly. "I mean, the Monster Realm is nice in that I'm not starving for mana anymore. Look at my scales, they have returned to their natural sheen."

The siren pointed at the blue, vibrant scales on her forearms and the side of her face.

"Focus!" Melina chastised.

"Right, well, the Monster Realm is a bit too hot for me in these parts. There are rivers and lakes, but they're not very large. I much prefer the vastness of the sea. Not to mention that I heard that there's an abundance of mana in Sunglow now," Aeriganta said excitedly.

"That is… true," Alistair admitted.

"See! And it's also getting colder. I love cold weather," the siren gushed.

This gave an unpleasant pang in Melina's heart. Her beloved familiar couldn't handle the cold, while this annoying siren felt more than comfortable with it. It fouled Melina's already glum mood even further.

"Are you just going to live in the sea?" Melina noted somewhat bitterly.

"No. I'll live with you," Aeriganta said without batting an eyelid.

"Absolutely not!" Melina and Alistair replied at the same time.

"What?! But I saved your life," the siren pleaded with Alistair.

But the man wasn't swayed, glaring daggers at Aeriganta. "You also tried to kill me."

"But I didn't in the end," she cheered.

"Not for the lack of trying," Melina snapped.

"Please! It's so dull and boring here! I have nothing to do," the siren whined.

"If you want to live in Sunglow, then you must earn your own keep. Find a job!" Melina said firmly.

"A job? If it's cooking in the kitchen, then it's a hard pass. I hate anything to do with dryness and heat," Aeriganta said.

"You can work at the docks. Help fishermen maintain their ships," Alistair suggested.

"Oh! I can totally do that. Yes! Sign me up," Aeriganta said cheerily. "I want a place filled with loads of water. In fact, could my house be a giant tub?"

Melina and Alistair sighed. This was not what they wanted to deal with in the near future. But it was true that it could be helpful to have a siren around the docks to check the ship for any damage. Not to mention that Aeriganta could serve as yet another connecting piece between the Monster and Human Realms.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure she does a proper job. You focus on your classes," Alistair said soothingly.

Melina nodded. It was time to introduce a new hurdle for her students.

Today was the day to push boundaries. Her students have been diligently working on their skills with Monster Realm ingredients. Some were learning slower, some were faster, like Philip. But the point was that the people here were open-minded and eager to learn about the Monster Realm ingredients.

None of them recoiled from them, not even from the weeping sapmelon. They were more than eager to learn how to refine its sap into something that could be used for healing. Admittedly, it wasn't easy to work out a method where the sap could be refined without the use of magic. But in the end, by pinpointing the precise temperature when the ooze crystallized, it was possible to do so by using a cooking thermometer.

But that wasn't the point today. This day, it was time to get these cooks used to elves and drow.

"Good morning, everyone! Today, a new group of students is going to join our class," Melina said cheerily, although she was a bit nervous about their reaction.

Elowen and Lord Eidranis had talked matters through, and the Monster Lord agreed to do open trade with Sunglow, and Sunglow only for the time being. He was more skeptical about sending his drow to Melina's cooking class. It was clear he didn't trust Melina fully yet.

But he also knew that they couldn't let Heiliger get away with her narrative, so in the end, he had selected a few drow to join Melina's class, while the elder council from Euroa sent a few elves to Sunglow for the same purpose. The question was—how would humans react to these new additions to the class?

"First, we'll have elves from Euroa joining. These elves are System users, but don't worry. They don't have a combat class. Just like you, they are cooks and have cooking classes such as [Cook], [Baker], and [Chef]," Melina explained.

The elves who had been patiently waiting in Melina's office, located in a room at the end of the large class, came out. In total, six elves came from Euroa, all excited to learn Melina's techniques. While cooking with Monster Realm ingredients was by no means a novelty for them, they usually opted for ingredients that were easier to work with and required little to no processing.

There were some gasps and nervous mutters among Melina's students, but nobody seemed outright hostile. That was a good sign. It means she could introduce the drow, too.

"And I have a few drow who are very interested in human cooking techniques. They also possess a cooking class and have come here all the way from the Monster Realm," Melina said.

The three drow cooks came out of the office, looking more nervous than the elves.

Shock on Melina's students' faces was obvious as they stared at the drow. A few hands shot up instantly.

"Yes?" Melina asked one of the students, a young woman who was from one of the many Bakers Guilds.

"Are they not going to… hurt us?" She asked nervously.

"Why would we hurt you? We're cooks," one of the drow answered nonchalantly.

The woman flinched back, as if not expecting the drow to answer her.

"Don't drow serve the Monster Lord?" Another student asked, an older man with a scrutinous gaze.

"That's correct. Sunglow and the Monster Lord have established a partnership. Soon, official trade will begin between Sunglow and the Monster Realm for Monster Realm ingredients and resources. After all, you all will need to get your ingredients from somewhere. Count Speziale alone can't supply the whole country," Melina explained patiently.

"We're going to trade with… monsters?" A younger man asked in disbelief.

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Melina noticed that some of the drow narrowed their eyes in annoyance. Elves didn't look too pleased either. But she hurried to speak before things could get out of hand.

"I understand that there has been a lot of misinformation going around, since inhabitants of the Monster Realm have been keeping mostly to themselves until now. There weren't as many passageways in the past, and those that have appeared have been meticulously guarded by the Church."

"However, neither elves, nor drow, nor the Monster Lord—contrary to his name—are actually monsters. They are people just like us. In fact, many elves have been living in Sunglow for generations. You surely must have noticed them around Sunglow by now," Melina said patiently.

"The tailor was a drow. He was very kind in accepting a special order from me, and his work seemed immaculate," Philip said.

"I have noticed the elves… They were working as guard and seemed very polite," another one of Melina's students said.

"Exactly. They are kind people, not monsters. Most monsters act completely independently from the Monster Lord. Do not think that their attacks have been under his orders," Melina clarified.

"But the Church said—"

Melina raised her hand to silence the student before they could start preaching the Church's doctrine.

"I'm sorry, but this is a cooking class. We will not be discussing various political viewpoints here. The point is that these elves and drow are going to be learning to cook alongside you. If you're uncomfortable with that, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Melina said firmly.

There was a tense moment of silence, but everyone remained in their places.

"Wonderful! Let's begin today's class," Melina cheered, although inwardly she was nervous to see how the day would turn out.

Three days later. Things were going far smoother than she had expected. Her human students were rather wary of the elves and drow at first, but Melina made sure to keep them busy so they wouldn't have time to worry about their company.

As a result, they've grown to accept the new addition to the class, some more readily, others remaining reluctant. Melina decided to test exactly how far she could push her students. Hopefully, it won't backfire.

"Today we're going to work in a group. One group should consist of either one drow or an elf and two or three humans. In this group, I would like you all to create a dish using feyfruit while following elf's or drow's instructions," Melina said.

Humans glanced around nervously, clearly not being comfortable with this request.

"What I want you to learn is the techniques people from the Monster Realm might use to work with unique ingredients. This might help you elevate your own cooking. Not to mention the fact that in your jobs, you'll likely have to work with all sorts of people. You might have to take directions from somebody you don't like."

"This will be good exercise for that. Of course, ideally, I would love for you to treat your elven and drow comrades the same way you would treat any other person," Melina said.

"Is this mandatory?" One of the older students asked while eyeing the drow warily.

"I can't force you to do anything. If you feel so uncomfortable working with somebody from another race, feel free to sit this class out. But I believe you'll be missing out on a lot of potential knowledge," Melina said, not masking her disappointment.

Some students instantly voiced that they wouldn't be participating in this class, much to Melina's chagrin. She would have loved to force them to do the task, but knew that brute force was unlikely to yield any positive results.

"Very well. It appears eight of you don't wish to participate in the exercise. However, I will ask you to remain in class and observe. If you do change your mind, feel free to join in at any point."

Despite the initial apprehension, some people were actually excited to learn new techniques. Philip, in particular, hurried up to one of the drow right away, eager to learn new cooking techniques.

Most students wished to pair up with an elf, but in the end, each drow and elf got at least one partner with them. Some did look a bit hurt by the people who had chosen to remain aside, but Melina distracted them with questions about unique dishes from the Monster Realm, quoting the ice-cream cake as one of the more interesting recipes she had learned.

This really ignited their interest, and some of the students who had been adamant about staying out of this exercise ended up rejoining the class. One of the drow was teaching how to make a feyfruit ice-cream sandwich, which essentially was ice-cream placed between either two waffles or a cookie.

One of the elves taught how to make a super moist carrot-feyfruit biscuit, which sparkled delightfully on the plate. The dessert was so beautiful on its own that it hardly needed any other additions. Tasting it, Melina was amazed at how well the sweetness of the carrot went together with the mild tanginess of the feyfruit.

Another elf introduced feyfruit muffins, which glittered ever so beautifully and were nice and airy. But by far the most interesting creation was the brownies made by Philip's group. The drow of the group told them about brownie while the humans were racking their brain of how to incorporate the feyfruit in it.

The result was a thick, fudgy delight with a few feyfruit pieces scattered throughout. The fact that they couldn't add too much feyfruit actually played to their advantage, so the occasional pops of the fruit tasted just right. Any more would have diluted the chocolatey goodness that the brownies provided.

"I wish I could steal this recipe for myself," Melina joked.

"I'm afraid I'm going to present this dish to my beloved back home. She would be delighted to taste it," Philip said with a slight blush in his cheek. "If that's alright with you, Mister Gramdil."

"Of course! Food is meant to be shared, not stashed away and hidden. Imagine how many wonderful recipes have been lost to time because of greed," the drow said sagely.

After that particular class, things improved drastically. Humans were eager to learn new recipes from the drow and elves, almost to the point that they were neglecting the recipes they had to learn to pass the class. Elves and drow were likewise interested in learning recipes from humans, and it quickly became clear that everyone just wanted to improve their craft.

Melina and Alistair also received positive news from Fenrora. Three elven seamstresses had been hired by Duchess Sinclair, and it had started a new trend among noblewomen.

Apparently, the Duchess had hosted a tea party with herself, and Charlotte dressed in clothes adorned with magic, just like Melina's engagement dress. If Melina's dress had garnered the interest of noblewomen, then Duchess Sinclair was the nail on their proverbial coffin.

Everyone wanted magic dresses. Everyone was seeking out elven seamstresses and tailors who could make magic dresses and even searching for System users who were capable of making something similar.

Melina felt hopeful. Despite Heiliger's narrative about the Sacred Treasures, people were not repulsed by the Monster Realm inhabitants. In fact, they were rather accepting as long as they were given the chance to see the products and the people firsthand.

Once her first class had completed their lessons and returned to their home, Melina suspected that more and more people would become accepting of the Monster Realm. All she needed was time.

But as was the case with most things, time was not a resource they had.

One morning, when Melina woke up, she saw a thin layer of snow outside, signifying the arrival of winter.

"To think that winter was already here…" she muttered to herself, slowly getting ready for the day.

Alistair was still sleeping peacefully in bed. She would let him sleep in for today. He had stayed up until late to finish his work yesterday. Instead, Melina tiptoed downstairs quietly, made breakfast for herself and Alistair, and together with Mango left to help Roxie with morning preparations at the bakery.

"It sure is cold this morning," Melina told the fox, who was jumping and running and brushing her fur against the fresh layer of snow. Mango was loving the snow; that much was clear.

But despite the cute sight, there was an unpleasant knot sitting in Melina's stomach. Something told her that something wasn't right. She wasn't sure what—it was a perfectly peaceful morning.

With each step she took, her uneasiness seemed to grow until she noticed a hooded figure walking from the pier. While it wasn't exactly unusual for somebody to be up this early, for some reason, this figure gave her the creeps. Melina slowed her step, glancing at the figure from time to time, and it headed closer and closer to her.

Getting closer, she saw that the person was a man with tanned skin, far darker than that of any Alemahrian she'd ever seen. This person was likely from Su Xien, which was further strengthened by the fact that he had the typical light grey eyes most people from Su Xien possessed.

People come here from Su Xien all the time. He must be a merchant.

So Melina tried to tell herself, but something about the man really put her on edge.

"Excuse me," the man asked, his voice low and friendly. It made Melina's hair stand on end. "I'm looking for something, but I'm new here. Could you please help me?"

"Sure. What are you looking for?" Melina asked.

"I think it'd be better to say who I am looking for. Perhaps, you're acquainted with a girl named Melina Dufour," the man said, his expression twisting into a sick smile.

It was then that Melina realized her mistakes. This man was a mage. The air around him whizzed with electricity as a powerful lightning bolt shot straight at Melina.