If somebody had told Melina that she'd be going to the market together with Leliana, Barrett, and an ember wyrm on her shoulder a week ago, she would have called them crazy. Leliana clearly didn't like her and she had barely exchanged a word with Barrett before. Yet here she was.

They were heading to a yet unknown part of the town to her—way past the Fireside Inn. The streets were narrow, the cobblestones uneven, and the buildings in sight also looked rather old. Despite that, they had held up surprisingly well as many of them were made of stone instead of wood.

As the market itself came into sight, Melina was surprised to see that it was situated quite close to the sea. She could see the vast shimmering water in the distance while the market square itself bustled with life.

It was quite different from the market in Pertia, which seemed to stretch on without an end in sight. There was a large central building in the middle of the market, and then various stalls set out in the relatively small space around it. But even despite its size, it was still bustling with life as eager customers and vendors argued over the best prices.

"The seedling vendors usually take spots behind the main pavilion," Leliana indicated, and Melina nodded.

Quite honestly, she had hoped that this visit to the market would remain unnoticed by the townsfolk. After all, she was just a single girl among the sea of people here. But it appeared that she had already become a local celebrity of sorts as many eyes turned towards her when they made their way through the crowd.

"Is that Gilbert's apprentice?"

"Oh, yes! I saw her working in the bakery each time I went to buy bread in the morning."

"Is the thing about the ember wyrm true?"

"Yes, she carries it on her shoulder."

Such and similar whispers followed them, although nobody confronted her directly. Melina attributed it to Leliana's charming smile and Barrett's bulky presence which clearly stated that he was there to uphold order. Not that his character was fierce, but his bulk alone made people part way, lest he accidentally bump into them.

Melina imagined that it would result in the poor person who happened to be in his way turning into a pancake. She kept some distance away from him too. Sienna also decided that she did not want to show herself to people, hiding underneath Melina's dress.

When they finally reached the far side of the market, a wide array of greenery and colors came into view. There were vendors selling flowers, vendors selling vegetables and fruit, and vendors selling seedlings and saplings of all kinds.

"Wow, there are way more plants here than in the Pertia market," Melina said as she took in the amazing variety before her.

"Of course! Pertia is a city so they don't care much for growing their own fruits and vegetables. They just import it. However, we in Sunglow have always prided ourselves on being self-sufficient. Hence why the seedling and sapling market here is far more impressive," Leliana said proudly.

"Really? I never realized that." Barrett hummed thoughtfully, and for a moment Leliana's expression showed that she wasn't surprised.

But she hid it quickly and instead turned her attention to the seedlings. "Let's find suitable chili seedlings, and perhaps tomatoes and strawberries too. You mentioned that you would like some of those."

"Yes, I think there's enough space for all of them in the plot we cleaned up."

Leliana nodded and began browsing the seedlings on display. Melina followed her, wondering how many she could carry back and how many she could ask Barrett to carry. Looking back at his bulk as he desperately tried not to knock any of the displayed plants over, she concluded that there was no reason to hold back on her purchases.

"Oh, come see here!" Leliana called out after a while, having run ahead of Melina. She made her way to the stall the red-hair was standing at, and noticed a wide array of chili, hot pepper, and bell pepper seedlings. "Father purchases bell peppers here each spring and they always turn out wonderful."

"Thank you, Miss Leliana," the vendor, a tan, corpulent woman, smiled, then turned her attention to Melina. "And you must be Miss Melina. I've heard so much about you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you…"

"Lorelai Veilcroft. I live on a farm not too far from the bakery. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to go there myself as this spring is awfully busy, especially since I need to grow almost double the amount of seedlings."

"Double?" Melina asked curiously.

"Yes. Traveling merchants don't come here as often anymore due to the increased monster activity. They can't travel without guards anymore and many people think it's just not worth it coming to Sunglow," Missis Veilcroft sighed.

That makes sense. We got attacked both ways when going to Pertia. I really hope Alistair isn't attacked by some monsters again.

"All the more reason for us to grow our vegetables isn't it?" Leliana said with a smile—a genuine one this time.

"Indeed, so what can I offer you?" Missis Veilcroft asked, gesturing at the many seedlings in front of her.

"Some chilies and hot peppers."

"Oh, has Gilbert decided to add some spice to his meat buns," she asked jovially.

Melina wondered whether she should tell the truth or not. But then again everyone knew about Sienna already, there wasn't much point in hiding it. "It's for the ember wyrm."

The smile on Missis Veilcroft's face faltered and her eyes widened in surprise. "The rumors were true?! The tale sounded so unbelievable that I thought that the true story got blown out of proportion by the time it reached my old ears."

"Well, I'm not sure what exactly you heard, but if it's something along the lines of me bringing an ember wyrm into the town after I calmed its rampage with a tartlet—then yes, it's true," Melina confirmed, although saying the events aloud like this made them seem even more surreal.

"Holy System! I can't believe it. So this… monster is now in the bakery?" She asked in horror.

"It's hiding under Melina's dress, but there's absolutely nothing for you to worry about, Missis Veilcroft. The creature is actually very adorable. I mean… mild-mannered," Leliana said. Melina was a bit surprised to see the girl support her like that.

"Indeed. I've been sent here by the Guildmaster to watch over the wyrm but to be honest, more people are threatening it than the wyrm threatening the people," Barrett confirmed. "Some thugs came into the bakery yesterday and tried attacking it."

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"Oh, did they? That's awful." Missis Veilcroft gasped.

"Is that why the front door is missing?" Leliana asked.

"Yes. Luckily Lord Sinclair was there to... take care of them," Melina confirmed.

Leliana's expression suddenly darkened. "Lord Sinclair?"

"Yes, he was the one assigned to guard Miss Melina and Master Gilbert from the wyrm at first, but he left for Pertia this morning so I took over," Barrett explained and Leliana's expression seemed to grow darker still.

"Why did he leave?" she asked, eyeing Melina suspiciously. For some reason, she got a distinct feeling that telling the truth would only foul a red-haired woman's mood even further. So Melina decided to steer the topic in a different direction and activated <Mask of Deceit>.

"It's a rather long and unpleasant story. Let's return to the matter of those seedlings. How many would be a good amount to start with?" Melina asked Missis Veilcroft who went on a lengthy explanation of how much could she grow from each seedling. They tried to figure out how much an ember wyrm wanted.

Melina even convinced Sienna to peek out from the dress, and the woman was absolutely delighted. Her cuteness was just too powerful of a weapon–it made everyone completely forget about the attack a few days ago.

However, the whole time Melina talked with Misses Veilcroft, she could feel Leliana's piercing gaze. She had thought they were starting to get along if only a bit, but now it felt like a huge icy wall had suddenly grown between them.

It happened when Alistair was mentioned. She couldn't actually be hoping to seduce him, could she? He's a noble. He lives in a completely different world than us. A world to which he will no doubt return to sooner or later. People like me and her do not belong in that world. She should know that.

After their shopping was done and Melina had spent over a gold coin on a whole load of seedlings and even a single pear sapling, they returned back to the bakery. It was strangely addicting to buy seedlings and imagine them growing into delicious fruits and vegetables. Their applications in their pastries were endless.

Barrett's presence turned out to be invaluable as he carried most of the seedlings, not in the slightest bothered by the weight. Instead, the man seemed just as excited about them growing, retelling in great detail how his grandmother used to own a farm where he spent his childhood.

Leliana, on the other hand, was silent the whole way back, deep in her own thoughts. Even when they were planting seedlings, she was unusually silent, giving only the bare minimum instructions on how to properly plant and care for them.

Initially, Melina decided not to question it. Let the sleeping dragon lie, so to speak. But in the end, the redhead's gloomy mood got the better of Melina and she asked. "Is everything alright, Leliana?"

The woman looked at Barrett who was going to the well to fill up both of the watering cans, to make sure that he was out of earshot. Then her eyebrows furrowed. "Yes, I am quite fine. But I believe you are forgetting your place."

"My place?" Melina questioned and looked at Sienna who was busying herself by chasing a dragonfly. It didn't look like she actually had any intention of eating it, but rather was doing it for sport. Melina had to admit that the wyrm was doing a good job, mostly keeping up with the speedy insect.

"Yes. You as an orphan should be aware that you have no right to even be in Lord Sinclair's presence."

Melina sighed. So it really was about Alistair. It was as if Leliana's brain fogged over whenever he was mentioned.

"Am I supposed to chase him out of the bakery whenever he appears? Or order him to leave when he was tasked with watching over Sienna?" Melina retorted and Leliana flinched back.

"Y-You should keep away from him!" She hissed.

"So I should leave my apprenticeship and Master Gilbert because Lord Sinclair is here? You do realize that your requests are unreasonable."

"Lord Sinclair is far above you! He shouldn't have to interact with someone of such low social standing. It is beneath him."

She's not exactly wrong there, but it's not like I'm trying to get close to him. In fact, I'm trying to achieve the exact opposite but things never seem to align my way.

"Do you think your status is much higher than mine?" Melina snapped, starting to feel irritated by the exchange.

"Why, of course! I have studied a lot. I know proper etiquette, embroidery, all the popular dances of high society and I'm even learning how to play the piano," Leliana said proudly.

Melina smiled bitterly at that. It was honestly impressive how driven Leliana was if she was indeed telling the truth. But she already knew that no matter how hard you worked or studied, there were some gaps you couldn't cross.

"I've brought the water," Barrett came running towards them with two full watering cans. However, his smile disappeared as he sensed the tension in the air. "Did something happen?"

"No, it's alright, Sir Barrett. None of it really matters in the grand scheme of things, does it, Miss Leliana?" Melina said bitterly. She knew it was a petty thing to say to a young woman who was probably hoping to live a better life. But Melina's hormones were still raging due to her monthly visitor, so she didn't feel like holding her punches.

Leliana ground her teeth, understanding the meaning of her words. She knew that as a farmer's daughter, she was almost as far away from Alistair as Melina was. With a graceful twist, she turned on her heel and stormed off, leaving Melina and Barrett alone.

"Did I do something wrong?" the man scratched his head in confusion.

"No, it's not your fault. Sometimes it's hard to accept reality," Melina said and took one of the watering cans. Looking at the seedlings, she got a strong sense of melancholy. She really hoped that Leliana would soon realize that her pursuit of Alistair's affection was bound to be fruitless.

After all, Melina knew better than anyone how painful it is to watch someone you love be completely out of reach. Even the System couldn't close that gap. Even the strongest magic in the world couldn't do it.

***

After Leliana left, Melina's mood turned somewhat dour. She didn't regret what she told her, but at the same time, she didn't feel good about it either. If the girl wasn't so obsessed with Alistair, then it was likely that the two of them could get along quite fine. Master Gilbert seemed to like her too, and that was high praise since the man grumbled and found faults with everyone.

In this half-sullen state, Melina finished watering the newly planted seedlings and returned inside the bakery where she prepared the dough necessary for the next morning. Barrett kept watch over Sienna until it was time for sleep when he deemed it safe to leave them alone for the night and returned home.

First thing in the morning, Barrett returned eagerly watching Melina and Gilbert prepare pastries for the day. His presence was just as disturbing as it had been the day before, and Gilbert often snapped at him to keep him away from the freshly baked pastries. At one point, even Melina had to scold him as the man seemed to lose all sense of reason where pastries were involved.

Through all this morning's mayhem, Melina gained another level but unfortunately, things were so busy that she never got the chance to check her status screen. Townsfolk were still curious about Sienna and many new people had come to the bakery just to see her. But she also noticed that some people who used to come every day were missing.

Some people must be scared of Sienna so they haven't been coming to the bakery anymore. I hope they change their mind after some time. I'd hate for Master Gilbert to lose loyal customers because of my actions.

But at least things are not as grim as I thought they would be. Nobody has tried to harass Sienna these two days, and everyone who has seen her seems to agree that she is harmless. Still, I have to remain careful and make sure nobody sees her as a threat.

Melina watched the last of the customers leave the shop, and turned off the sign outside, when she noticed a cart heading in the direction of the bakery. Alistair was sitting in it, along with one more person. It took a moment for Melina to discern that it was Milo, looking rather haggard.

"Good day, Miss Melina," Alistair greeted her, stopping the horse and gracefully hopping out of the cart.

Milo seemed half-asleep, nearly falling to the ground face-first before he managed to grab hold of the cart and stabilize himself. But as he noticed Melina, a smile grew on his face. "Miss Melina! Hello. I'm so happy to see that the sign I've made is being used. Does it still glow?"

"Hello, Lord Sinclair, Milo. Yes, the sign still glows. It's doing a wonderful job. But how did you two get to Sunglow so fast?" She asked in surprise as she expected them to appear in the late evening.

"We woke up early…" Milo grumbled.

"I figured we best have the door fixed as soon as possible," Alistair said solemnly then turned to Barrett. "You are dismissed. I'll take care of things from here on out."

"Are you not tired after traveling early in the morning? I don't mind keeping the watch for a bit longer," Barrett said.

"No, that won't be necessary."

"Let's eat lunch first," Melina suggested, and relief washed over Milo's features.

"I'd love to. I hope there are still some pastries left because I was hoping to try some of your cooking," Milo said somewhat bashfully and they headed inside the bakery.

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