I cannot go to the Monster Realm. I cannot go to the Monster Realm. I cannot!

Melina kept repeating this chant in her head from the moment she opened her eyes in the morning. She knew it was an awful idea. Absolutely horrendous idea. Not only was she forbidden from going beyond the wall without proper escort—which probably meant she had to talk to the Guildmaster about it first—but she also had no guarantees that she would even find any useful ingredients in the Monster Realm.

After all, it was a world in its own right—huge, unexplored, and dangerous. Even as an [Archmage], she had not ventured there often and when she did, it was only around the closest vicinity near the passageway. Except for one time. But that ended in disaster.

But surely I could handle the dangers together with Sienna. She's a high-level evolved monster—not many things could threaten her and by extension me.

Melina vehemently shook her head. No, this was the fearless [Archmage] within her speaking. The one who jumped into danger without a second thought, because she had a spell ready for every occasion. Melina was not that [Archmage] anymore—her status screen clearly stated her class as [Cook].

Mere [Cook] has no business going into the Monster Realm just to search for ingredients. No, it is absolute madness.

So she kept trying to subdue the curious person within her. But possibilities swirled in her mind, filling her with excitement. It was difficult to temper it, but she did her best by considering very realistic bad outcomes for this excursion.

[You've made <Strawberry-Blueberry Tart – Rank B>. You've gained + 3 exp.]

The notification brought Melina out of her contemplation, and she thanked the System. Otherwise, it was likely she would have burned the tarts. The repercussions would have been disastrous as people were now signing up in a queue ahead of time just to get one.

She pulled the tarts out of the oven one after another when she was greeted by a different notification.

[Congratulations! You've reached Level 30.]

[You've unlocked advanced class <Arcane Baker>. Would you like to equip it?]

Melina almost dropped the tart she was holding, barely managing to set it on the counter.

"What's wrong, Melina? Did you burn yourself?" Gilbert asked, noticing the sudden shock on her face.

"Master… Have you ever heard of a class called [Arcane Baker]?" She asked, although she already knew the answer to that question.

"What? [Arcane Baker]? There isn't such a class," he said firmly, but when he saw the look on Melina's face, he didn't appear so certain anymore. "Is there?"

Melina looked back at the System screen and demanded it to give her an explanation of the class, reading it aloud to Gilbert.

[Arcane Baker: Master of magical bread and pastries. Arcane baker uses their mana as well as magical ingredients to enhance their dishes with magical effects and properties.]

They were both silent for a while. Melina wasn't sure what to think. She had wanted to just become a regular baker and slowly grow the Sunglow bakery—living a simple life. Yet here she was presented with a class that would most certainly make her life anything but simple.

"What should I do, Master?" she asked, looking at him helplessly. He scratched his beard thoughtfully.

"I'm honestly not sure. This class could bring you a lot of new interesting and useful skills. But on the other hand, it sounds like magical pastries will become the norm for you. I'm not sure if it'd be wise, especially if you still want to stay hidden from the Church."

Melina was torn. She wanted to accept the class. It was new and unknown, and she had always yearned to learn and study everything new, especially if it was in any way related to magic.

"Hold back on deciding for now. It's not like the option will disappear just because you didn't decide right away. We'll talk about it some other time."

"But then all the experience I could gain from the remaining pastries will go to waste," Melina pouted. Once you reached Level 30, you'd be stuck at it until you chose an advanced class. She hated this part of the System because if you wanted to unlock other advanced classes, you'd be stuck without gaining experience and levels. It wasn't the end of the world, but Melina hated being wasteful.

"It's just one day's worth of experience. Don't worry about it so much."

With a heavy heart, Melina nodded and resumed her work. As she stacked the fresh bread and pastries on shelves, she realized that if she accepted [Arcane Baker] as her class, then she'd basically be forced to head into the Monster Realm to seek out magical ingredients.

When Melina opened the bakery in the morning, her first customers as always were the people from the Adventurer's Guild. They waved at her from afar as she lit up the sign.

"Good morning, Miss Melina!" Leon greeted her, running to the front of the line. Despite how her healing rolls had forced him to learn the intricacies of the toilet bowl, he had been extremely grateful to her—often exaggerating by saying that she had saved his life.

Other injured were also grateful, although for different reasons. They definitely regarded the bakery pastries with suspicion initially. Of course, their worries were quickly laid to rest. Melina was only getting better at making regular pastries.

"Good morning, everyone," she returned the greeting with a smile. The adventurers smiled back—an odd feeling bubbling within Melina. It's not like she had been scorned as an [Archmage]. Far from it. Masses of people would greet her with adoration after she had returned from a dangerous mission.

But that was different. They smiled at her and they cheered about her accomplishments, but they also feared her. They feared her power and their happiness came from the fact that Melina chose their side. But the smiles Melina saw on the adventurers' faces were genuine. They didn't fear her. She was that petite baker's apprentice who could make slightly unusual pastries.

"It's always so refreshing seeing Miss Melina first thing in the morning."

"It gives me energy to fight for the rest of the day."

"How could it not? Melina fills both our bellies and our hearts," Remi said, pulling Melina into a deep hug. She returned the gesture—the elf's closeness helped her ease her troubled thoughts.

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"I made an extra batch of lamb bundles this morning," she told them, untangling herself from Remi and holding the door open for the adventurers.

"Oh! I'm definitely taking at least three of those."

"Five for me!"

"Don't forget about me, Miss Melina!"

"There should be enough for everyone," Melina replied, hurrying behind the counter to take their orders. Gilbert was busying himself organizing the shelves, not even bothering to stand behind the counter. Men often complained that they wanted to be served by Melina, so Gilbert allowed her to handle the adventurers.

She didn't really mind and she didn't blame the adventurers either. Not because Master Gilbert was an old man, but rather because he couldn't force a smile in front of customers to save his life. Melina had already grown used to it, and could sometimes even handle the whole morning of service without activating <Mask of Deceit>. On the good days at least.

"Are you planning to sell the healing pastries in the bakery?" Leon asked when it was his turn to order. Melina's hands which hadn't stopped for even a moment froze.

Keep calm. It was just an innocent question.

"I don't think they'd be a good addition due to their… taste. Not to mention that I can't make them without Lord Sinclair's assistance," Melina said calmly. But her calm exterior was only thanks to <Mask of Deceit> which she had activated in a hurry. So much for one of the good days.

"You should recruit him as an assistant because I swear those healing rolls are more effective than healing potions. What was it that they said about medicine? The nastier it tastes, the better it heals," Leon laughed, and some of the other adventurers muttered in agreement.

"It was really effective. I wouldn't mind stacking up on a few."

"Perhaps, you could plead Captain to help you out sometime."

"The number of potions we receive from the main branch is limited so extra healing options would certainly help," Remi added. Melina felt the crushing weight of the expectations on her shoulders.

I can't add healing pastries to the bakery's regular stock. It is madness—I'll be discovered the moment somebody from Church arrives here.

"Don't be ridiculous, Remi. We couldn't afford to recruit a noble to help us bake pastries," Gilbert interjected.

"Maybe there is a way to make the healing pastries without the help of the System!" Leon said excitedly. "Perhaps a bit of magic could help!"

Melina grew pale at the mention of magic. Keeping a calm exterior was becoming harder and harder as everyone grew more excited by the idea.

"There must be a way!"

"You managed to tame a beast with just a tart!"

"We'll help in any way we can."

Melina's smile wavered. Their enthusiasm and willingness to help made Melina happy. But she knew this feeling was dangerous because it made the prospect of becoming an [Arcane Baker] so much more tempting. This was the perfect excuse to go to the Monster Realm.

"Oh, sod off, will ya? Don't ask for the impossible. Giving a beast its favorite snack to calm it is one thing. Creating a healing pastry without ingredients or magic or System is just plain impossible," Gilbert reprimanded.

"I'm sorry," Melina added, downcast.

The bakery went silent, the previous cheer gone. Melina felt almost as if she was betraying them. She knew that she could create the pastries they desired—the only problem was getting the ingredients that would taste good. But then her secret would be exposed for sure.

"Perhaps, I could help," Leon suddenly said, breaking the heavy silence.

"How do you intend to help?" Gilbert asked suspiciously. "If you're offering to act as our freezer box then I'll gladly hire you."

"Will you?" Leon seemed interested in the offer but shook his head. "No, that's not what I meant. I could try teaching Melina some magic."

"Teach magic? Isn't it something you're born with?" Barrett asked dubiously.

"Natural aptitude does come into play, but anyone can learn to do magic if they work hard enough."

Leon isn't wrong there. It is possible to teach magic, however, the amount of mana each person possesses is limited. There are ways to grow it, but only if their starting mana is already significantly large enough to foster growth.

Melina frowned. The situation was getting out of hand and she wasn't sure how to stop it. If she agreed to be "taught" by Leon, she'd have to pretend to not understand anything he was teaching which sounded like a horrendous waste of time. Or if she pretended to learn the magic from him, then it was likely that she'd have to manipulate him into believing she was using her own mana and not Sienna's mana. Even a mage novice like Leon would eventually notice that something isn't right.

Not to mention, that she was undoubtedly more skilled at magic than Leon. Melina didn't know if she even could pretend to be bad at it. It was like asking a fish to suddenly swim badly. Could it even do that?

"Or how about you get your head out of the clouds and let us do our work? If you want more potions, then hire an alchemist," Gilbert spat, putting an end to the debate. Melina didn't say anything more on the matter, instead continuing to package the pastries for the customers.

But she couldn't put the idea out of her mind. Melina really wanted to make those pastries. She wanted to become the [Arcane Baker] and she wanted to go to the Monster Realm and find new, never-discovered ingredients. Her whole being yearned for it like a parched man yearned for water in a desert.

Even with <Mask of Deceit> active for as long as the skill cooldown would allow it, Melina was barely able to keep up her calm smile as more and more customers came into the bakery.

It turned out that adventurers weren't the only ones who were interested in the healing pastries. There were townsfolk asking for them too, wondering if they could cure any illnesses, even if it would be just a minor cold. She kept repeating that she couldn't make them without a System user to help, but nobody seemed to care about that part. They had witnessed what she could do and finer details didn't matter.

Even Gilbert was growing increasingly irritated as he had to fight back more demanding customers. Melina nearly jumped up when the doorbell of the bakery rang again, fearing somebody else would be asking for the pastries. Much to her relief, it was Alistair. However, her happiness was short-lived when she noticed how he was out of breath, looking worried.

"Melina, could I speak with you for a moment?" He asked, masking his emotion in front of the other customers.

"Of course," Melina said, looking at Gilbert for permission to leave. He nodded and took over the counter, earning a few dissatisfied groans from the customers in the line.

She guided him to the kitchen, but he hurried into the hallway next to storage. Melina guessed that whatever he needed to say, he wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be overheard.

"Is something the matter?" She asked.

Alistair looked around, leaned in closer to her, and whispered, "They're here! Official visitors from the Church arrived in Sunglow early this morning. They're currently asking questions at the Guild."

Melina staggered for a moment, leaning against the nearby wall for balance.

They're here?! Already? I knew they were coming, but I never expected them to arrive so soon. I'm not ready…

Melina's first instinct was to hide. To run away from Sunglow and wait until they left. It was only natural as that was what she had done for years before the time rewind. But she knew that in this case running would only make matters worse. After all, you wouldn't be running if you had nothing to hide.

"Don't worry. I'm going to do everything to divert their attention away from you," Alistair reassured her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Melina nodded, taking a deep breath to steady herself. There was no running this time. She'd have to act normal and face the members of the Church head-on. It wasn't like they had a poster with her face and name on it this time. They didn't know who she was. All she had to do was remain hidden.

"Thank you. I'll remain in the bakery for the time being. Perhaps, they won't even be interested in coming here," Melina said nervously, but then she remembered something Alistair had said before. "Wait… Is Amaris Heiliger among the priests?"

Alistair looked a bit confused for a moment. "Yes, she is. Are you familiar with her?"

Panic returned to Melina as she remembered the woman with pale pink eyes and white hair. Her hands became clammy and raspy wheezes came from her mouth as she struggled to breathe. "She has the <Identify> skill."

Alistair didn't even demand an explanation. He knew that if the woman saw Melina, she would be able to instantly tell that she was a System user.

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