A few hours prior. When Aeriganta had swam out into the sea, all she had wanted was to escape from the needy humans. Clean the barnacles off the ships, keep breaking ice to keep the harbor open, bring this thing that I dropped into the water, bring that thing I dropped into the water, clean the bottom of the harbor. The list of jobs given to Aeriganta was never-ending.

When the cold got so bad that the harbor couldn't be kept open, the fishermen bothered her from early morning to late evening, begging her to assist them by finding the best fishing spots. Not to mention that many of them were flirting with her.

She was a siren—everyone knew that. She didn't hide her true form, instead displaying her scales in their full shimmering glory. Yet these weird humans… liked that? Maybe she had gone too soft because she didn't take any of their life essence.

In either case, Aeriganta found their attention annoying. She wasn't attracted to humans and their weird, dry skin. So in order to get some peace and quiet, Aeriganta decided to go for a lengthy swim out into the sea. There, she felt at peace. Just vast open waters. That's where she felt most free.

She got so caught up in the feeling of swimming through the cool waters that she ended up swimming way too far. Aeriganta was a rather fast swimmer, so the distance she had covered was vast. Most human ships couldn't even dream of keeping up with her. That made her feel incredibly proud. Never mind that she used a bit of magic to give herself a boost.

Aeriganta only realized how far she had gone once she felt the lacking mana in the air. Curious, she swam to the surface. There she saw it. Several large ships were swimming in the direction of Sunglow. On their masts hung the unmistakable white flag of the Church, adorned with a golden cross and quill.

She would recognize this flag anywhere. The same one that drove her people to their death. Aeriganta's whole being filled with rage. She yearned to destroy them. But there was no need to challenge them here, where she alone couldn't do much.

No, Aeriganta turned around and swam back to Sunglow as quickly as possible. Another reason why she returned to this human town was that they hated the Church just as much as she did. Together with them, she actually had a chance to destroy them.

"The Church is on its way here?!" Adrien exclaimed in horror.

"Yes, Aeriganta saw their ships at sea. She predicts at the pace they are sailing, it would take them about a day to get to Sunglow. So we need to get to cooking right away. I need you all to help me," Melina said.

Roxie was visibly shaking. "A-Are they going to attack Sunglow? Wh-Why? Nobody in Sunglow has done anything wrong."

"It must be because of all the elves and monsters here. The Church hates anything to do with them. We can't let them get their way. I'm going to help," Adrien said, lightning sparkling at his fingertips.

"Thank you!" Melina nodded.

"Obviously, I'll help too. I mean… even Sienna flew back, despite it being not that warm yet," Gilbert said, pointing at the wyvern who had attached herself to Melina's back. Somehow, Sienna had managed to find an optimal position by wrapping her wings around Melina's neck and latching her claws on her coat. Hopefully, Alistair wouldn't be too mad at the holes in the front. No, probably not.

"I-I'll help too! I can't forgive them for attacking people just because they are friends with monsters," Roxie said.

"Are you sure? Perhaps, you want to return to Pertia?" Melina offered. She didn't want the girl to be in danger if she still had time to head to safety.

"No! I want to help. I can make cloud muffins to restore everyone's stamina. I have mastered the recipe. Oh, and healing waffles too, although mine aren't as good as yours, Melina," Roxie said shyly.

"Any little bit helps. Then, if everyone is aboard, let's get to the Baking Hall. We have not even a moment to waste," Melina urged. "We're loading all the ingredients into the cart."

Within the next twenty minutes, Melina grabbed all the ingredients from the storage with her magic and loaded them into the cart. Gilbert summoned Knight, and the nightmare horse appeared within seconds, ready to pull the cart.

"You can still summon him?" Melina asked in surprise. She was sure that that nightmare was completely loyal to Alistair now.

"Of course. We've been together for over forty years. Just because Alistair is his official owner now, it doesn't mean Knight has forgotten me," Gilbert said, patting the nightmare affectionately on the neck.

With Knight pulling the cart, getting everything to the Baking Hall took less than five minutes. However, on their way, Melina noticed that with her frantic activity, she had stirred the Sunglowers even more as they watched the whole bakery staff rush to the Baking Hall with a cart stuffed to the brim with ingredients.

But just as some people were about to approach them, eyes filled with questions, the town bell rang. It was a constant ringing that indicated that everyone should gather together at Town Hall.

"What is going on?" The townspeople wondered.

"Miss Melina, you must know something?" Another asked, and soon the crowd that had gathered around was filled with questions.

"Go to the Town Hall. Alistair will explain everything," Melina said.

This seemed to put people on edge, but they nonetheless headed towards the Town Hall in a steady stream. Melina dearly hoped that Church's arrival wouldn't trigger a widespread panic. That was the last thing that they could afford right now. Perhaps some calming tea and pastries would have been useful at this time.

But Melina couldn't afford distractions. The moment they were inside the Hall, the ingredients piled in one corner, Melina instantly turned to Gilbert.

"Grandfather, I need to make a large amount of small pastries, but they need to be complex enough that I can place powerful spells within them. The more complex the structure of the pastry, the better, because then I can structure more complex spells inside."

Gilbert rubbed his chin. "Your spellbound pastries work only when eaten fully, meaning smaller size is crucial, but most of your pastries until now have been rather large. What about macarons?"

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"Macarons are good, but they only have two elements, the cookie and the filling. Not very good in terms of complexity," Melina explained.

"Okay, then how about petit fours?" Gilbert suggested.

Melina blinked. "Petit fours? You mean those tiny cakes the nobles are so fond of?"

"Exactly. It's likely the easiest and at the same time the most complex thing you can make in bulk. You need the sponge, the filling, perhaps even two complementary fillings, and the coating. You can even add garnish on top for increased complexity if you want," Gilbert said.

"Yes… That's perfect! I'm amazed that you can always find the recipe that I need, Grandfather," Melina said and hugged the old baker.

"How old do you think I am? I have seen desserts you could only dream of. Now, what do you need help with? How much am I allowed to help you with your spellbound pastries so you would still be able to weave the spell inside?"

"I have to be the one to assemble it, but elements can be made separately. So I would appreciate it if you could work on the sponge," Melina said.

"I'll make the sponge and caramel filling," Gilbert said. "I suggest we make various fillings for diversity's sake. It would help you determine which petit fours contain which spell," Gilbert suggested.

"Oh, oh! I could make garnishes to put on top of the tiny cakes! I might not be good at cooking, but that much I can do. What spells are you even placing inside the pastries?" Adrien asked.

"Fire and lightning spells for offense, wind magic for area control, but the vast majority will be barrier spells for protection," Melina explained.

"Is there a limit on how many of those pastries you can make?" Gilbert asked, eyeing Melina suspiciously.

Melina looked to the side. Each spellbound pastry required her to put mana within it. Not enough to cover the full cost of the spell—it would draw most of the energy from the ambient mana. But obviously, after making such a huge amount of pastries, her mana would run out eventually.

"I might need a few mana potions," Melina admitted. "If you could go and grab a few from Heiliger, Adrien, I'd be very grateful."

"How many?" Adrien asked.

"Ten," Melina said.

"Ten?! Girl, are you insane? Five is more than enough to give you mana poisoning. Are you trying to kill yourself?" Gilbert asked.

"Don't worry, when it comes to controlling mana, there's nobody better than I," Melina boasted and gave Gilbert a reassuring smile. "Besides, it's merely a precaution. I doubt I would require as many as ten."

Gilbert narrowed his eyes. "If I see you struggling, I'm smashing those potions."

"Don't worry. I know my limits well," Melina said with a smile.

[Your skill has ranked up. <Mask of Deceit> has reached rank A.]

Melina just barely contained a wince. This wasn't the skill that she wanted to rank up. Especially not when talking to her grandfather. But the fact was that Melina would push herself to her limits and beyond to protect Sunglow. She would do everything in her power.

Gilbert had clearly seen through her lie. That much was clear. But he didn't say anything; instead, he just sighed heavily. "Let's get started. How much do we need to make?"

"At least a hundred fire spells, a hundred lightning spells, twenty wind spells, and over a thousand barrier spells," Melina said.

"OVER A THOUSAND?!" Roxie choked out.

"That's actually doable," Gilbert said calmly.

"It is?" Roxie looked at the old baker in disbelief.

"Of course. We just need to establish a proper production line. Start with prep, where we prepare all the ingredients—dough, filling, coating, and garnish. After that, we focus on the cooking process, then trimming and cutting, assembly, and finally glazing. I've actually had to prepare close to a thousand similar desserts for a nobleman's wedding when I was young," Gilbert explained.

"When you put it that way, it doesn't sound so bad…" Roxie muttered.

"Let's not stand around chatting. Roxie, you focus on cloud muffins and waffles. These are not as important since the guild already has some in stock. But make them smaller than normal, so they are easier to eat," Melina instructed.

"Don't you need help with petit fours?" Roxie asked.

"Don't worry. I have all the help I need," Melina said, pointing at Gilbert, Mango, and Sienna.

Without any further discussion, they all got to work. Melina and Gilbert made many batches of sponge, being careful not to lose any airiness of the dough. After all, the pastries would be most effective at a higher rank. It would strengthen the spell and also provide the user with more charge. Each charge was crucial, so it was important that they didn't rush too much and lose the quality.

Perhaps, if Melina were alone, she would lose her bearings and rush too much, losing the quality. But Gilbert's presence helped immensely. His steady hand and unwavering movements helped Melina to steady herself. Her hands moved just as firmly as she folded the egg whites into the sponge mix.

"You're not using magic to cook?" Gilbert asked, watching her mix the dough by hand.

"No. I need to save every bit of mana I can," Melina replied. She couldn't draw power from her familiar either, since they need each bit of their mana too. Sienna would be cooking all of the sponges, while Mango would be cooling them.

Melina didn't even want to imagine what they would do without her two friends. Without Sienna, it would take far longer to cook the sponges, not to mention that Melina would constantly have to run to the ovens. Without Mango, she would have to spend a lot of time waiting while the sponge cooled.

But with these two, Melina could safely keep cooking without slowing down. With them, she could do this.

Alistair stood on the balcony of the Town Hall, all of Sunglow gathered in the square before him. They looked up at him nervously while muttering. He felt immense pressure on himself—one wrong word could send these people into panic. Panic was one thing they couldn't afford right now.

But there was something that calmed him. It was the familiar faces she saw among the crowd. Barrett was standing next to Erina with his hand draped protectively over her shoulder. Elowen was standing next to Leliana, firmly holding her hand. Everyone in the Guild looked at him with an unwavering gaze.

Melina. Even now, she was working hard in the kitchen, cooking pastries that would protect these people. Protect their home. That's right. This was their home now.

It was an odd realization. They were running from place to place in their last lives, without a place to truly call home. But Sunglow had become their home in such a short amount of time. And Alistair would protect it with everything he had.

He clenched his fist and announced loudly, his voice ringing clearly over the square. "The Church is coming!"

A wave of gasps rippled through the crowd, but the mutterings ceased. All of their attention was firmly on him.

"They come with the desire to destroy our home. Because we have learned to live with elves and drow. No, not just learned to live with them. We have accepted them into our family. For that, they seek to punish us, to destroy us, and to push their agenda in the whole Alemahria."

He paused, giving people a moment to digest this information. Many grew pale. Some children began crying. Nervous mutterings returned.

"But will we let them take our home? To destroy our slice of paradise simply because it doesn't fit their norms?" He bellowed.

"No!" Rang the strong voices of the adventurers. They were ready for the battle, their hands gripping their weapons.

"Will we let them destroy our homes and present us as evil for the rest of the world?" Alistair bellowed.

"NO!" More voices rang, some of them men and women in the crowd, who joined the adventurers.

"As we are speaking, Melina is working her hardest in the kitchen. She's creating pastries filled with magical spells. Each one of you will be able to use these spells to protect our home. Tell me—will you let her hard work go in vain? Or will you accept her powers and fight for your home?"

"We will fight!" The crowd roiled.