"It did?" Melina asked in surprise, activating <Mask of Deceit> to keep up her smile. She had expected the people to notice that her pastries weren't normal—that much was inevitable. But she hadn't expected it to happen so quickly. The very next day she gave out healing cream puffs.

"Miss Baker, is it a secret?" The girl whispered, probably sensing some of her apprehension. "If it is, then I won't tell anyone."

"I'd appreciate it," Melina nodded at the girl. If the child had noticed then her mother likely knew as well. But the woman and child just smiled at Melina warmly and waved her goodbye. She felt like she should be more troubled, but she actually felt... happy. Happy to have helped them out.

The current customers didn't think much about the secrecy just smiling at the girl. But what would Melina do when somebody came to confront her about her pastries? Somebody who wasn't so positively inclined towards her? Should she have kept the healing pastries better hidden and given them only to the people she trusted?

"Don't you change your mind now," Gilbert grumbled, likely understanding what she talked about with the girl. His silent stare said everything she needed to know—he'd support her no matter what. Sometimes Melina wondered what she had done to earn Gilbert's loyalty. She had been nothing but trouble.

But nonetheless, Melina was grateful. She did not stop slipping her healing cream puffs to those who seemed under the weather. She was determined to accept the consequences. Part of her was sure that the Sunglowers were not the people she needed to worry about. They had already accepted Sienna, even if with some resistance.

The problems would surely arise once the secret left the confines of Sunglow. Melina just hoped that her position here would be stable enough that the townsfolk would take her side.

In the afternoon, Melina was cleaning the floors in the shop, when a knock resounded on the front door. She thought it was Remi or perhaps Erina—they occasionally stopped by to chat with her. But much to her surprise, it was Leliana looking at her through the bakery window impatiently. Her stare said one thing "Let me in right now".

Melina found it odd that the redhead would come for a visit, but she saw no reason to send her away. She opened the door for Leliana. "Good day. If you're here for pastries, we're closed."

"Hello. Do you really think I don't know that?" Leliana scoffed. "I'm here for a different matter entirely. Can I come in?"

"I'm in the middle of cleaning."

"You can clean and talk at the same time, no?"

Melina suppressed a sigh. She didn't feel like dealing with Leliana. Her thoughts were still filled with the little girl from the morning as well as Alistair, no matter how much she tried not to think about him. "Fine. Come in then, if you insist."

"I do," Leliana said. "No need for tea. Your brews are awful.

I can make good tea if I want.

Melina didn't say that aloud, instead glaring at Leliana as she waltzed into the shop as if she owned the place. Redhead sat down on the stool in the corner, crossing one leg over the other. But she didn't say anything.

"So… what is it that you wanted?" Melina prompted. She'd rather deal with Leliana quickly, so she could continue her work undisturbed.

"People have started talking."

"Talking?"

Leliana nodded. "Adventurers suddenly have been healed of all bruises. People with injuries healed as if… by magic."

The redhead gave Melina a significant look, but she pretended to be focused on cleaning. "Strange. Maybe it has something to do with the passageway to the Monster Realm. Some healing magic seeping through?"

"Nice try, but even I understand that it's not how magic works," Leliana snorted. "Do you see these?"

She lifted up her hands, showing her palms.

"Your hands?"

"Without a single callous in sight! I don't remember the last time my hands looked like this… clean," Leliana said and smiled. So the effect of the caramel had not gone unnoticed.

"I'm happy for you," Melina said emotionlessly and continued sweeping.

"Stop acting stupid. I know you did this with that caramel of yours."

"Perhaps."

Leliana crossed her arms over her chest. "Why are you here really? I don't understand."

Melina looked at her quizzically. "I'm here to make pastries?"

"But why here? In this forgotten place? You can make pastries that heal people. Healing pastries! Do you even understand the value of that? Who wouldn't want to be healed of all the injuries and illnesses with a single pastry?"

"It doesn't heal illnesses, only physical injuries," Melina corrected.

"Oh, whatever. It can HEAL. Do you know how much people would be willing to pay for that? Yet here you are selling them as regular cream puffs, earning peanuts in return."

"We've actually made a neat profit from the cream puffs."

This only seemed to anger Leliana more and she stood up. "That is not the point. You could get anything you want. You could be rich, famous! Heck, you could even marry somebody like Lord Sinclair with this kind of talent. Yet you sit here in this bakery, hiding away like a cowering dog."

The anger on Leliana's face could not mask what she truly felt. Jealousy. Melina understood her. If she hadn't gone through a whole lifetime already, she'd likely feel the same way as her.

"It's not what I want," Melina said solemnly, breaking Leliana out of her anger. "I don't want fame or money. I want to help the people in need. I want to grow this place and make new pastries. Discover new ingredients and see how far I can go with them."

"Alright, fine. Let's say that you're just that humble, which I honestly don't buy. You look like the go-getter type. But there is one thing I know you want for sure," Leliana's eyes narrowed. "Lord Sinclair. I've seen how you look at him."

Melina turned her back to Leliana, hiding her expression from her. "He's left Sunglow anyway."

"He'll be back."

"Only until the year is up. Afterward, he'll return home. He'll be way out of reach for women like us."

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"I didn't take you for a quitter," Leliana snorted.

"What's to quit? I know my place. Didn't you yourself say that I should know my place? That we're from different worlds?" Melina turned to face Leliana.

But the redhead was not dismayed. In fact, she looked victorious. "So I did but I'm not giving up. I have full intentions to leave my peasant status behind and elevate my family with me. I'll do whatever it takes. Grow those gross melons, marry a noble. Heck, I'd even marry an old bald fart, if it meant I could help my family, but if I have a chance at a young, handsome duke's son, I won't let it slip by without a fight."

"Where are you going with this?" Melina asked, feeling rather agitated.

"I'm telling you to stop hiding and use your talents for your own good already, you fool," Leliana snapped. "Stop hiding like a rat and show your talents to the world."

Melina frowned. Leliana didn't understand the situation she was in. She didn't know that Melina was a System user. She didn't know what the Church was capable of.

"Fine, fine, keep hiding if you want, but the word is already spreading around Sunglow," Leliana said, heading for the door. "And we Sunglowers respect honesty above all else. Perhaps, you should be honest for once."

The door snapped closed behind her and Melina was left fuming. "She doesn't understand anything."

"I believe she understands more than you think," Gilbert said solemnly, walking out of the kitchen.

"You heard all that?" Melina shrunk back, feeling ashamed that she had lost her cool because of Leliana.

"You two were rather loud."

Melina frowned. "You don't actually agree with Leliana, do you?"

"As I said—Leliana understands more than you think. Especially the bit about Sunglowers valuing honesty. It was thanks to people here that I was able to live a peaceful life."

"Master, you don't suggest I tell everyone that I can make healing pastries?"

"Don't people at the Guild already know?"

"Well… yes, but…"

"Then what's a few more people?"

"But Master, the word will spread."

"If you were so worried about that, then you should have abandoned the [Arcane Baker] class the moment you saw it."

"I… I couldn't do that," Melina muttered.

Gilbert walked up to her. "Of course not. It's a part of you. But you should accept what comes with it. Show people what you're capable of. At least to people in Sunglow."

"You think it'll be alright?"

"People in Sunglow have managed to keep my secret for several decades now."

"Wait… Everyone knows that you're a System user?"

"Not everybody, but most people. It's an open secret of sorts."

Melina groaned. She finally understood why Leliana was so adamant about her not hiding. Everyone basically already knew. If they knew that Gilbert was a System user then it was a safe assumption that his apprentice—who just so happened to tame a wyrm—was a bit unusual too. Heck, many people probably already suspected her of being a System user too.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Melina growled.

"I was waiting for you to discover it on your own," Gilbert shrugged.

She groaned. For all the experience and knowledge she had amassed through her previous life, Melina had never dealt with such a peculiar bunch before. She had been worrying for nothing. Or rather she had been worrying about the wrong thing.

Perhaps, I really should be honest with the people of Sunglow.

"It's alright. It's alright. Everyone already knows," Melina tried to calm herself the next morning as she arranged her samples of cream puffs. One of them was the regular kind but the other was the healing pastry. She called it the "Sunglow Cream Puff". She didn't intend to openly write that her pastries could heal. There were plenty of tourists in this town. But it should be a good enough hint for the locals.

"I'll have to thank Leliana later," Gilbert hummed, satisfied.

"You could have just told me if you wanted me to come out in the open with my pastries," she grumbled.

"I was going to ease you into it, but there's no harm in just getting it over and done with."

"You just like Leliana too much," Melina accused.

"She's a good girl."

"She's a bully."

"You two seem to be getting along anyway."

"We do not!"

"Wipe that frown off your face. Our first customers are coming."

Melina was about to activate <Mask of Deceit> to put on a more convincing smile but then stopped.

No, no deceit this morning. Today, I'm going to be honest. It'll be alright.

"Good morning, Miss Melina!" The adventurers greeted her with a wide smile. Was it her or did they seem happier this morning? More energetic?

"Good morning, everyone," she smiled, hesitating for a moment. "We're offering a new kind of pastry this morning. Although you might already be familiar with it."

"Oh, is it a healing pastry?" Barrett said so loudly that she winced. Illitran smacked the back of his head. After their excursion to the Monster Realm, the stoic elf would occasionally visit the bakery along with other adventurers.

"It is a secret," he reprimanded.

"Not a single subtle bone in your body," another adventurer said.

"Do you want others to discover our local heroine?" Dorian grumbled.

"That's right! I want Miss Melina to remain here!" Said a woman from town watch.

Melina was flabbergasted by the exchange. They had already known. Well, it was logical that they did—she had given them the first horribly disgusting healing pastries. She'd given them the healing cream puffs the previous few days. But she had not expected them to be so… nice about it.

"Thank you, everyone," Melina said, a genuine smile appearing on her face. The adventurers stared at her in silence. "I promise I'll make something that can keep for longer and that you can take along with you on your missions."

There was another long moment of silence, but then finally Barrett spoke. "Angel…"

"What?" Melina asked in confusion.

"The System has sent us an angel!"

Melina was surprised by their sudden, overly enthusiastic reaction. It was similar to how people had praised her when she was an [Archmage]. But this was more sincere, more heartfelt. Melina didn't hate the feeling and sold her pastries with a smile that day without the help of <Mask of Deceit>.

Aside from Barrett nobody openly mentioned the healing cream puffs, however, it didn't take long for people to catch on to the reality behind "Sunglow Cream Puffs". They didn't buy them in bulk either, instead buying only if they actually needed it. Like people with visible injuries and bruises.

Seeing those people leave with the little pastry in tow with a large smile on their faces convinced Melina that she had done the right thing by becoming an [Arcane Baker].

Now I just need to make the healing pastry I promised for the adventurers. Or I guess I should call it a healing waffle. That doesn't have a nice ring to it though. I'll have to make it a new name.

Luckily, Melina didn't have to wait long to start executing her plans for healing waffles. The next day, which happened to be Sunday, she headed towards the port again. Etan had promised that her waffle iron would be ready today, and she was eager to get her hands on it.

After all, just having the waffle iron wasn't enough. She has to get used to using it and perfect the waffle dough as well as the filling. Just smearing her caramel inside won't do—it'd just seep out and go everywhere. No, she needed the caramel to stay firmly within the waffle, meaning that she'd have to adjust its consistency.

As Melina passed by the port some bitter feelings resurfaced in her mind again. How Alistair had climbed aboard the ship, not even coming to say goodbye. But she quickly shoved those feelings down and hurried to the smithy.

"Good morning," Melina greeted Etan cheerfully, eager to see her waffle iron.

"Morning," Etan said, appearing somewhat smug. "Came for your waffle iron, little lady? I got it ready right here!"

As if he had been waiting for her, he pulled something from one of the shelves and presented it to Melina. It was the fanciest waffle iron she had ever seen in her life. Long elaborate handles, which had a special grip handle designed to prevent slipping. Griddle with a delicate criss-cross pattern. At the very center, there was an engraving saying "Sunglow Bakery".

"That's… that's…" Melina gaped at the waffle iron.

"Amazing isn't it? So don't you dare to say that I can't make a waffle iron," Etan stared at her pointedly.

"It is amazing! It's the best-looking waffle iron I've ever seen," Melina praised.

"Of course. Each one of my creations is a work of art," Etan hummed. "That'll be 5 gold coins."

"What?!" Melina exclaimed, shocked by the price. That was almost as much as the stipend she received from the government. She couldn't afford that.

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