"Master, don't you think you should have mentioned something as important as the whole festival to me?" Melina gave Gilbert an annoyed look.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Aren't you busy enough as it is with the bakery and your extra work at the blacksmith's?" He countered, taking a deliberately slow bite from his rye bread.

Melina narrowed her eyes. It wasn't like she had spent most of her Sunday scrubbing the floors at the smithy while Sienna was melting metal for Etan. Not like she'd have to go back there tomorrow. The thought alone made her wince.

"But you could have told me. It's a big opportunity to earn extra money. You think people will come to our bakery on the festival day? I was told the whole promenade and beachside will be covered in stalls."

Gilbert frowned. "Yes, I suppose nobody really walks this deep in the town during the festival days, especially during the morning."

"See! Wait… did you say days?" Melina's eyes lit up.

"Fine! Fine! I'll tell you everything, otherwise you'll just go pestering other people," Gilbert relented, chewing thoughtfully on a piece of meat from his soup and motioning Melina to eat too.

"The Summer Festival is one of the biggest events in Sunglow, which is meant to celebrate the arrival of Summer and open the swimming season, so to speak. It begins on the first Friday of June and continues for three days until Sunday night."

"But that's less than two weeks away!" Melina exclaimed. Her work in the smithy wouldn't even be done by then.

"Yes. Hence why I didn't tell you anything, I doubt you'll manage to make something new in time for the festival while repaying your debt to Etan. Not to mention, you're even trying to make an enclosure for this little beast, too. How do you hope to find time for anything else?"

"Sienna's enclosure is long overdue. Don't worry, I'll find time to make and prepare something for the festival."

"Girl, you're going to drive yourself into an early grave!" Gilbert narrowed his eyes. Even Sienna looked skeptical, lifting her head up from the meat feyfruit pastry.

"Give me a bit more credit! I'm stronger than I look!"

Gilbert didn't look convinced in the slightest. "You're going to make yourself ill, but fine. Don't listen to me. What do I know?"

"Master…" Melina huffed. "Please, tell me more about the festival."

Gilbert sighed but continued nonetheless. "It's meant as a big tourist trap. Many folks here make a big chunk of their yearly income during the festival, so everyone works hard. There are contests, performances, and attractions for kids and adults. People come from far and wide to enjoy the festivities."

"What about the monsters?" Melina asked, remembering how many they encountered on the way to Pertia.

"Yes, it's a busy time for adventurers as well. They have to watch and guard not only the town but the main road to Sunglow as well."

"Can they manage?"

"Don't worry. Pertia's Adventurers Guild helps a lot, as their people also benefit greatly from our festival. After all, not everyone can fit into our tiny town."

"But Pertia is a whole day's travel away."

"The father of your precious noble brat usually establishes a travel portal between Sunglow and a few other nearby towns for the three Festival days."

"Duke Sinclair does?" Melina asked in surprise. If the Duke was involved with the festival, would he come too? It wouldn't be too farfetched to assume that. The Duke would probably want a word with his son after the message he likely received from Heiliger.

"Yes. If you want to make a stall, then know that these regular pastries won't do. If you hope to sell anything, you will have to use all your [Arcane Baker] tricks."

"But wouldn't that attract attention to my abilities?"

"It will, but you will be discovered sooner or later anyway. It'd be better that you establish yourself on the big stage among those who outshine you, rather than to appear like a big fish in a tiny pond."

Master Gilbert has a point. If the festival is as huge as he says, then I won't stand out as much, and people might write my unusual pastries off as a part of the festival.

"I've decided! I will definitely participate and I'll make pastries, people won't be able to resist!" She said resolutely and quickly finished the rest of her soup.

"Oh, dear…" Gilbert massaged his temples.

Melina was brimming with ideas of what she could do for the festival. Most of them involved feyfruit in one way or another. The sapmelon caramel she decided to keep as bakery exclusive for the time being. She thought of making tiny tarts with plenty of feyfruit sparkle to attract customers.

Not only would the little tarts look great, but they also had a special effect that made them more appealing to customers. It wouldn't be a problem even if other System users came because the effect wouldn't be applied to their profile.

Melina tapped her pen against the paper where she had written down her ideas. But looking over them, she realized that it would be better if she avoided any pastries with very noticeable effects, like healing. Rather, it would be better to go for the flashy appeal and memorable flavors.

"I'll need more than just feyfruit. Sparkly tarts alone wouldn't cut it…" she muttered. Sienna lifted her head up from her trough and chittered at Melina as if to ask what she meant.

"We might have to visit the Monster Realm again."

Some time had passed since they went to the Monster Realm, so it was likely that the nighttime was over. With that gone, it would be much safer to explore and much easier to find unique ingredients for pastries as well as any rare materials the guild might find useful.

"I wonder if I can squeeze in some time to visit the Monster Realm…"

Monday morning began in Etan's smithy. The blacksmith was determined to complete a special order from the Guild as quickly as possible, hoping for some new record, apparently. Sienna and Melina both were put to good use as the wyrm blew hot flames into the furnace while Melina scurried about bringing Etan this or that tool while doing her best to keep the place clean.

She was sure that after all of this crazy work in the smithy, she would definitely gain some good muscle. If kneading dough had seemed like a difficult task before, then compared to everything she did in the smithy, it was a pure vacation.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Don't dawdle, girl! I need to complete this order by noon today," Etan growled, demanding that Melina bring him a specific hammer. She did that, huffing and puffing and drenched in sweat. The blacksmith began hammering the sword, then plunged it into a bucket of water and brought it in front of Sienna. Wyrm already knew what was expected of her and heated the blade just enough for it to glow red from the heat.

"I need cool water!" Etan ordered, and Melina suppressed the groan. She grabbed the large bucket and barely managed to pull it to the sink, where she emptied the warm water and poured in fresh, cool water. She just wanted to head home and think of new pastries to make.

Just as Melina dragged the bucket back to Etan, the door of the smithy opened and Alistair came in.

"Good day, Master Blacksmith," he said and then paused in shock. "And Melina and Sienna?"

"Ah, Lord Sinclair! Give me another half an hour and I'll finish the last sword Guildmaster ordered."

"Of course, it's not a problem. Melina, can I ask what you're doing here?" He arched his eyebrow suspiciously.

"Working off my debt," Melina said guiltily. She hadn't admitted to him that she wasn't able to pay the price of the waffle iron.

"Your debt?! Why are you in debt?"

"Girl, bring me the handles," Etan ordered, not paying attention to their conversation and instead focusing on work.

"At once!" She replied mechanically and rushed into an adjacent room where Etan kept the sword handles he had made in advance. Once she gave him that, Melina replied to Alistair. "I couldn't pay for the waffle iron."

"Master Blacksmith, let me repay her debt!" Alistair said.

This is why I didn't tell him anything. I knew he would offer to pay it off right away.

"No! You do not have to pay for me."

"Sorry, lad! But this one is far more useful to me as a worker," Etan rejected as he hammered the handle onto the sword.

"But you're not suitable for blacksmith work," Alistair protested, then looked at Sienna. "She doesn't look too happy either."

"It's just for a month, and I've already worked one week off."

"Indeed. Don't make such a fuss. It's not like I'm making her blow the bellows or hammer the swords. I'm only giving her the easiest jobs."

It was a good thing that Etan wasn't looking at Alistair, but he looked… well, pissed. Melina approached him hurriedly to pacify the man. "It's alright. I'll be done with this before you know it. Besides, I'd feel bad if you paid for something I bought. Let me handle it."

Alistair looked torn, but in the end, relented. "Tell me if it gets too tough, alright?"

"It'll be fine!" She forced herself to smile. "More importantly, I have something I'd like to discuss with the Guildmaster. Could you arrange a meeting with her this afternoon?"

"Of course," his expression softened. "I'll come get you at the bakery once I've agreed on a time with her."

In the afternoon, Melina and Alistair went to the Guild, where Melina asked whether it'd be possible to arrange another trip to the Monster Realm. Apparently, she needn't have asked as one was already planned. She hadn't been the only one who wanted to get her hands on something special before the festival.

"This will be a bigger excursion with more people. Captain Sinclair will be in charge, but the goal is to find valuable materials. You can grab your cooking stuff only if it happens to be along the way," Arianne warned.

"That's alright," Melina agreed.

"Excellent. Then I certainly won't say no to a vigilant little ember wyrm," she looked at Sienna, who chirped happily in response. "We'll leave on Saturday, 10 am."

Hmmm, I'll need to arrange for the Master to take over the service, but I'm sure he won't mind if it's just one day. As long as bread and pastries are made, it should be alright.

"Can you manage, Melina?" Alistair asked nervously.

"Of course. I'll just leave Master Gilbert alone for a few hours. I'm sure he can manage."

Melina was satisfied with how nicely everything was arranged. She spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening tending to the garden and digging Sienna's enclosure. It was beginning to shape up nicely as she left one end deliberately deeper for a little pond and the other end higher so she could arrange rocks around there.

She hoped to get large rocks in somehow, but for the time being, she'd lay it out with rocks she dug out of the garden. They should heat up in the sun and provide Sienna with a nice, hot place to lounge.

Suddenly, as Melina dug her shovel into the ground, her head grew a bit dizzy. She paused for a moment, weirded out by the sensation.

"Odd… Was I out in the sun for too long?" She pondered. The sun was long past its zenith; however, the weather was quite warm. Melina decided that it was enough for the day and headed inside, where she continued working on the designs of possible pastries for the festival.

None of them seemed good enough, and most designs ended up as ash inside Sienna's trough. The wyrm happily used the ash as an impromptu sand bath of sorts, getting the soot everywhere on the floor. But Melina wasn't angry. Instead, she just cleaned the soot and continued working on the ideas until late in the night.

Tuesday morning was busy as Melina prepared a large batch of tarts and Sunglow waffles for the adventurers. She generously applied <Preservation Glaze> on all the tarts, not shying away from feyfruit's shimmering effect.

Much to her delight, applying the skill to feyfruit glaze seemed to strengthen the effect. Gilbert analyzed her tarts and concluded that they would remain fresh at room temperature for 2 days. No refrigeration needed.

[Your skill <Preservation Glaze> has ranked up. It is now Rank E.]

Making the waffles also turned out to be beneficial for Melina. Since she infused the dough with Sienna's mana, her skill <Arcane Infusion> also ranked up. Not to mention that shortly before service, she also leveled up.

"This is turning out to be a very fruitful day. We haven't even opened the shop, but my status screen is already noticeably better," she said, proud of her achievements.

[Name: Melina Dufour]

[Level: 16]

[Class: Arcane Baker]

[Familiar: Sienna — Ember Wyrm Level 48]

[Intelligence: 18]

[Agility: 10]

[Strength: 9]

[Skill: 22]

[Charm: 10]

[Active Skills: 9]

[<Refined Edge – Rank D>, <Rhythmic Kneading – Rank C>, <Mask of Deceit – Rank C>, <Gilded Tongue – Rank E>, <Haste Bake – Rank D>, <Arcane Infusion – Rank D>, <Familiar Sense – Rank F>, <Ingredient Appraisal – Rank E>, <Preservation Glaze – Rank E>]

[Passive Skills: 3]

[<Archmage's Shadow>, <Chef's Intuition – Rank C>, <Food Manufacturing – Rank D>]

"It's good that you're growing so fast, but don't you feel… like you're pushing yourself?" Gilbert asked, glancing nervously at Melina.

"No? If anything, it feels like I'm falling behind. I need to hurry up if I want to set up that stall for the festival," she retorted, bringing the fresh bread out into the shop. First customers were already waiting at the entrance, and Melina welcomed them inside.

The service passed by in an almost dizzying blur. Tuesday was one of the busiest days as people were eager to get the fresh bread for the week. The fact that Melina openly sold shimmertarts attracted a fresh set of eyes. Many wondered how she managed to make it, and Melina was relieved that she could just say that it was thanks to fruit from the Monster Realm. It was the truth after all.

"Melina, are you alright?" Alistair asked. This time, he had arrived near the end of the bakery's closing time as he had an early morning patrol. But Melina had saved him a shimmertart and a few other goodies.

The sudden question startled Melina. "Yes? Why wouldn't I be alright?"

"Even you noticed," Gilbert muttered. "I'm worried."

"Worried about what, Master? I'm completely fine. Never felt better, in fact," Melina waved her hand dismissively and took empty baskets to carry them back into the kitchen. But as she straightened herself, she felt that same dizziness from yesterday take over her. Before she even realized what was happening, she fell.

"MELINA!" Alistair rushed behind the counter and caught her before she hit the floor.

"There. I knew it," Gilbert facepalmed. "I told you that you'll fall ill if you keep pushing yourself like that."

"I'm… ill?" She asked in confusion. Her head did feel a bit heavy, but otherwise she felt fine. It was oddly hot in the bakery, but that was due to the summer weather, wasn't it?

"Melina, you're burning up!" Alistair said, placing his hand on her forehead. It felt nice and cool.

"Mind taking her to Heilia? She won't listen to a word I say, but I'm sure she'll listen to you. Talk some sense into her, won't you?" Gilbert said.

"I'll take care of her, don't you worry!" Alistair assured.

"I can take care of myself," Melina huffed and tried getting up, but Alistair promptly scooped her up in his arms.

"No! We are going to see Heilia!"

"Wait… Put me down! I can walk on my own!" She protested, embarrassed to be in such proximity to him. Being carried like some princess, nonetheless.

"I left you alone yesterday because I thought you knew your limits, but you're clearly pushing yourself past them. Now we're doing things my way," Alistair said, anger clear in his eyes.

Melina had no choice but to swallow her pride and try to hide her embarrassed expression as Alistair carried her through the town all the way to the apothecary.

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