Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

Chapter 184 – Chocolate and Coffee

"Excuse me, but this has nothing to do with the case you are investigating!" Alistair said firmly.

Melina wasn't sure how to respond. She had no clue that everything she had been doing was known to someone. Especially not that the King's elite force was aware of it.

She wouldn't mind if it were just the magical pastries and other tiny things she had done around the town. But they even knew that she had been to stabilize the passageway. How was that even possible? Alistair had been the only one present at the time, and he definitely wouldn't have reported her.

"Perhaps not, but I believe some explanation is in order. How come you possess such vast magical knowledge? This is not something you could obtain even if you had access to the best resources in Alemahria throughout your childhood. Which you did not," Commander Connell pointed out.

"Melina is not the one you are persecuting!" Alistair objected, slamming his fist down on the table.

He was getting riled up and defensive. That wasn't good. But how could she de-escalate this situation? Was there anything she could say that would make her abilities sound believable?

But then she realized that there was an unknown element that she could rely on safely.

"It was all thanks to Lord Eidranis," Melina said calmly.

"Lord Eidranis?" Commander Connell blinked in surprise.

Alistair looked confused for a moment, then nodded in understanding.

"Please elaborate," the commander demanded.

"There's not much I can elaborate on, I'm afraid. I received my magical training from the Monster Lord and his drow. But I'm not allowed to expose his methods," Melina said.

"That's right. Even the King cannot demand that Melina expose the secret training technique of the Monster Realm."

"Were you aware of it, Lord Sinclair?"

"I was aware that Melina went through it, but I don't know what it is exactly. I'm not a mage after all," Alistair shrugged. "With that out of the way, can we return to the topic at hand? We have very little time."

Commander Connell didn't seem pleased by that answer, but thankfully, matters of the Monster Realm were out of his control. Melina could make up any number of things about magic, and he would have no way of verifying them. They both understood that, but there was nothing he could do about it.

The rest of the interrogation proceeded relatively smoothly. The commander asked about what happened during the expedition, and Melina answered completely truthfully. She told how Heiliger was deliberately luring Melina towards the Monster Lord, thinking that he would attack her.

But Melina and Lord Eidranis worked together. She felt no need to mention that he actually hated her passionately. Instead, she emphasized how drow, elves, and humans all worked together to apprehend the aggressive parties.

Alistair confirmed her story, and after a few more hours of intensive questioning, they were finally let go. It was clear that the commander was trying to find some kind of a hole in their story, but there really wasn't one. They really had worked together to apprehend Heiliger.

Once they finally left the room, they saw that the Town Hall was buzzing with activity. People were coming in and out, escorted by the Royal Guard. Some looked nervous, while some were already retelling the events as they walked. Erina, for example, was very enthusiastic in her story, telling it so loudly that it could be heard through the whole hall.

"I'm telling you, it was amazing! The Monster Lord himself sat at our feast table and talked with Duke Sinclair. It was a true show of unity between the two realms. What a sight it was to see! Monster Lord is unlike any other being. Did you know that his hair is made out of mist and his skin out of marble?" Erina said to the Royal Guard, who looked all but done with his duty.

"It appears we have nothing to worry about," Alistair said, looking at the Sunglowers who were holding out bravely despite the pressure.

"I really hope so…" Melina said. She couldn't help but worry.

The Royal Guard knew that her abilities were on par with or even better than those of the current Archmage. Melina wondered for a moment who the current Archmage was. Was it the same man she took the position from or his predecessor? She had no way of knowing right now.

But the problem was that the King likely knew that her abilities were rather extensive. What if he decided that he wanted Melina in his service? If he passed an imperial decree, then the only options she would have were either to obey or flee the country entirely.

"It'll be alright," Alistair gently caressed her shoulder, likely having guessed her thoughts. "You'll soon be a part of House Sinclair. Not even the King can order us around as he pleases."

"A-Are you sure?" Melina asked. Last time, she wasn't able to endure the pressure the King exuded on her and gave in to his request. That led to the world's untimely demise.

"I'm certain!" He said with a smile and gently kissed her forehead. "I'll leave you in Elowen's hands and return to work. There are a thousand documents still waiting for me."

Elowen had just come out of one of the impromptu interrogation rooms, looking rather tired.

"See you in the evening?" Melina asked hopefully. She wanted to spend some more time together with him.

"Don't worry about me and go to sleep. I will try to finish early," he said.

Melina nodded, but with how busy things were, it was unlikely that he would be able to finish things early. But there was nothing to be done about it. She would have to endure it until the engagement party was over; perhaps then things would get a bit easier.

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"I insist," Melina demanded, stubbornly staring down the Duchess.

"Melina, dear, I understand your plea, but aren't you busy enough as it is? I'm afraid of any more tasks, and your health won't be able to handle it. It wouldn't do any of us any good if the bride collapsed during her engagement party," the Duchess said.

"But it's who I am now. I'm not asking to cater for the whole party. I merely wish to show the nobles what I can do. Wouldn't it be impressive if I created a new pastry exclusively for the party? Using Monster Realm ingredients at that?"

"I'm not saying it wouldn't be impressive. I'm saying it would be quite a strain to make so many pastries right before the party. There are plenty of other preparations you would have to do. Can you really make enough pastries, even if it's just one kind, for a large engagement party? You would have to make at least several hundred of them, you know."

"I don't have to make them on the same day. I have a skill that can extend the shelf life of my pastries by several days. Making them in advance was my plan," Melina said.

"Okay… That does improve things somewhat. But even so, there will be many things we'll have to accomplish. After all, we only have two weeks left, you're still running your bakery, and now you want to create something new?" The Duchess pointed out.

"She does have a point. You're stretching yourself paper-thin, Melina," Elowen added. He had been dutifully remaining quiet most of the time, but it appeared even his patience was wearing thin.

"I'll do it during work hours. An hour each day to work on the new pastry," Melina tried to compromise.

The reason why Melina wanted so desperately to create something new for the party was that she had a bunch of new Monster of Realm ingredients sitting in her storage with no purpose. Some of them, like dreamplums, she had decided to trade away to the Monster Realm.

She didn't need them, and she didn't trust people not to misuse them. Lord Eidranis, however, could do whatever he wished with them. She had taught the drow chef, who was now a regular visitor at their bakery, how to properly add dreamplums to a dish so it wouldn't overwhelm the eater with its effect.

Oddly enough, Melina had completely grown used to the drow. In fact, he often even helped out. Apparently, he was one of the chefs working for Lord Eidranis. His main purpose was to nab the recipe for luminfruit macarons. But Melina didn't hide her recipes. She explained them openly as she taught Roxie, and the drow learned them too.

His presence was actually a big help at this busy time, so Melina was grateful. He worked for her while she showed him the recipes. They were both winners in this equation.

"Very well… I feel that you will not back down on this matter. And it would be quite impressive to present your pastries at the engagement party. But!" The Duchess said, raising her finger. "They have to be absolutely amazing. Both visually and taste-wise."

"Of course!" Melina confirmed.

With the Duchess's approval, Melina could finally begin her experimentation. The very next day, she finally opened the new Monster Realm ingredients she received.

"Oh, it's been a while since we made something new!" Roxie noted excitedly.

"Where exactly do you get all these Monster Realm ingredients from?" The drow, Ygril, asked suspiciously.

"I have a supplier who delivers them to me weekly," Melina explained. "All the way from Tuvia."

"Tuvia? I'm afraid I'm not well-versed in human cities," the drow frowned.

"It's across the sea on the other side of the country. It takes around three days to sail there," Adrien explained.

"Quite the distance. So they likely have access to a rather rich region in the Monster Realm," Ygril mused.

"Is the region near Sunglow rich?" Adrien asked.

"Despite what many might imagine, with it being our Lord's backyard, the Nethfern Region is actually rather poor when it comes to crops and fruits. Our nights are the longest in the whole Monster Realm, so the plants here have to be accustomed to the prolonged absence of sunlight," the drow explained sagely.

"That makes a lot of sense, actually," Melina nodded. "But how do scorchvine peppers grow without sunlight?"

"They don't need sunlight, but rather they need heat. The ones you found were likely near a natural hot spring. Is the area where the cragjaws live?"

"Yes, exactly!"

"That would indeed explain it. Cragjaw drakes only nest in places with hot springs," Ygril confirmed.

"Fascinating! How do cragjaws look exactly? What do they eat? What powers do they possess?" Adrien asked eagerly.

"Let's leave those kinds of questions for later. We need to check these ingredients first," Melina said, pointing at the two boxes with new ingredients.

"We have very little time to make something new. And it has to be something very fancy to suit noblemen," Roxie exclaimed in horror. "Do you think Master Gilbert has another hidden recipe somewhere?"

"I'm sure he does. But let's first check what we have."

Ygril opened the first box, and inside they saw dark purplish pods of some kind. Melina didn't recognize what they were at first.

"My, oh my, your suppliers appear to have access to the richest region in the Monster Realm. This is leafshade cacao. It is only found in our jungle region, growing under the shade of large verdonia trees. Very finicky plants because they love heat, but at the same time hate direct sunlight," Ygril explained.

"I've never even seen leafshade cacao. Only heard of it," Elowen said, curiously taking one of the pods.

"Take that to Leliana. See where she can do something with it. But for us, this means only one thing," Melina smiled.

"Monster Realm chocolate," Roxie cheered.

"Oh, I can't wait to taste it. But wait… Doesn't it take time to turn cacao beans into chocolate?" Adrien asked.

"I can show you the right technique. I've had several lucky occasions when I got to work with these," Ygril noted.

"Thank you! I would appreciate that," Melina said and turned her attention to the second box.

Ygril opened it, and inside they saw odd, dark blue berries clustered on branches.

"What is that?" Melina wondered.

"Aetherbloom coffee beans," Ygril explained. "It makes for a delightful drink which Lord Eidranis really enjoys, but I'm not certain how it could be turned into a pastry."

"It could go well with the pastries," Roxie said.

Melina pressed her finger against her lips in thought. There definitely were pastries that used coffee as an ingredient, but she has never made anything like that.

"I'll go ask Grandfather. I'm sure he knows a recipe or two that could utilize these," Melina said. Although leafshade cacao definitely would find its use. Who didn't like chocolate after all?

People with a sweet tooth could enjoy milk or white chocolate, while those who didn't like sweets could enjoy dark chocolate. She wondered how this chocolate tasted.

"Grandfather," she called out to Gilbert, who was pulling some weeds out of the garden beds, Knight grazing nearby.

"What is it, Melina?" He rose, looking at her curiously.

"Could you help me come up with a new recipe. I just got some Monster Realm cacao beans and coffee beans from Count Speziale, and I wondered whether I could create something from them. Something that would suit noblemen as well," Melina explained.

"Don't you have enough on your plate?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"I'm setting aside one hour a day to work on these."

"Hm… I'll be throwing you out of the bakery if I see you here after 4 p.m. But I do have a recipe that might suit your engagement party quite well."

"Really? What is it?"

"It has quite a few new elements. Are you sure you have time to perfect them? Without sacrificing your sleep in the process," Gilbert asked.

"Yes! I want to learn," Melina confirmed.

Gilbert sighed. "Not like I could stop you anyway. Very well. I'll teach you."