Melina stopped walking at Elowen's cold words. Did he really just suggest to… kill the other Archmage candidates? She couldn't quite believe her ears.

"No… If you're going to go about this the worst way possible, I won't tell you anything," Melina said in a low growl.

"The whole world is at stake here," Elowen snarled, not daring to raise his voice in a public place.

Melina resumed working so as not to attract the attention of others. Elowen followed after her, walking close.

"Even so, that doesn't give you the right to go around murdering people. You don't know whether they would make the same choice I did."

"We don't have to kill. Just make sure that they can't become the next Archmage," Elowen said.

"Then somebody else that we don't know will take their place. The Church is not lacking in new fighters, you know. Each year, more and more people awaken to the System. No, we need to find a different solution. Weren't you trying to go for a more diplomatic approach?" Melina accused, narrowing her eyes at Elowen.

The elf flinched back. "That would be preferable, but you surely haven't forgotten what will happen if the realms are separated."

"You don't have to say it like that, I'm well aware. However, it's unlikely to happen tomorrow or even this year. We have time. We should try less… drastic methods first," Melina argued.

It looked like Elowen wanted to object at first, but then nodded. "Yes, you're right. I might have been hasty. It's just that the memories of what happened are still fresh in my mind."

"I understand, but let's not resort to something so... brutal. I'll tell you about the people who are most likely to become the new Archmage if you promise not to harm them."

"I cannot promise that, but I can promise that I will not harm them unless we run out of options."

Melina wasn't quite satisfied with that answer, but she figured Elowen wouldn't budge any further than this.

"Very well, but we should approach this from a different angle. Perhaps, we could have them pursue a different route just like I have," Melina suggested.

"Didn't you say that the Church had no shortage of candidates?" Elowen questioned.

"Yes, but losing the most promising ones would surely set them back and give us more time," Melina retorted. "Besides, it would be beneficial if we could convince these powerful mages to join our cause instead."

"You're right. Converting them to allies would be a far more favorable outcome," Elowen nodded.

"Exactly. Three likely candidates have remained competitive with me for years. One of them is two years older than me, a man named Gerald. Although…" Melina paused, remembering the man.

"What?" Elowen asked and opened the door of the bakery for Melina.

She inclined her head in thanks and stepped inside. "I'm back, Master! I've brought Elowen with me."

"Welcome back," Gilbert peeked his head out of the kitchen. "Have you had lunch yet?"

"We ate at the cafeteria. Thank you for your gracious offer," Elowen replied.

"Some tea, perhaps?" Gilbert asked.

"I'll make some. Have you eaten yet, Master?" Melina asked.

"Yes, just a sandwich. I don't want to eat much in this hot weather," the old baker said dismissively.

Melina beckoned Elowen to sit in the kitchen while she prepared tea. She used a bit of Sienna's mana to heat the water in record time and then poured the hot water over some tea leaves. Gilbert was already used to Melina preparing tea this way, but the elf was a bit surprised.

"That's an unusual way of preparing tea," he commented.

"It's quite easy. Sienna's fire mana makes anything related to heating extremely easy. Even a little bit is enough to heat water in seconds."

Elowen frowned at that but accepted the tea nonetheless. He was likely uncomfortable with the fact that Melina could use magic so easily from Sienna.

"How much can you do?" The elf asked.

"Not much. There's a limit to how much of her mana Sienna can share with me. Any bigger spells that would require me to hold mana in my body are beyond me now. I am incapable of holding mana within myself. It was the price that I paid," Melina said.

Elowen relaxed a little bit, taking a careful sip of the hot tea.

"Are you going to take care of the dough for tomorrow?" Gilbert asked.

"Yes, you can go rest."

"Good. This hot weather is killing me," the old baker muttered, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Should I contact Heilia?" She asked, looking at him in worry.

"No, it's not so bad. Heat just makes me sluggish. I'll go lie down. Don't abuse my apprentice," Gilbert said, shooting a warning glare at Elowen.

"I won't. I'll leave as soon as we're done with our discussion," the elf noted.

Master Gilbert gave him a last appraising look, then nodded. "Very well. Yell if something comes up, Melina."

With that, he hobbled upstairs, while Elowen looked behind him. "Your master is a formidable man."

"Indeed, he is," Melina said proudly. "Anyway, about the possible Archmage candidates. As I said, one possibility is Gerald. He is a very serious and stoic young man, born to one of the priests within the Church. So he follows their teachings very seriously."

"Is there a chance of getting somebody like that on our side?" Elowen questioned.

"It might be possible," Melina said, scratching her chin. Elowen narrowed his eyes. She relented. "Yes, it's not very likely. I was fully convinced that the Church had people's best interests in mind, so imagine someone who has been with them from early childhood. However, there is one key quality that might play in our favor."

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"Which is?"

"I believe Gerald is genuinely a good person. He doesn't follow the Church just because he was raised there. He wants to make this world a better world. Perhaps, if we could convince him that separating the realms would lead to disaster, he might change his mind."

"Alright, but you said that he's been with the Church his whole life. How would we even get to him?" Elowen questioned.

"Yes, that's the main issue… We can't really get to him if he's in the main monastery…"

There was a moment of heavy silence as Melina and Elowen both sipped their tea.

"Okay, then what about the other two candidates?" Elowen asked.

"Alright, we might have better luck there. One, an illegitimate daughter of a count, named Eris. She's been neglected by her father since her stepmother couldn't stand her mere existence. As such, she had always been striving to impress people around her," Melina said.

"Sounds like a difficult person to deal with…" Elowen noted. "If the Church gives her the recognition she desires…"

"Here lies our advantages. Eris is almost a year younger than I am. She hasn't awakened to the System just yet," Melina said with a smile.

"If we could get to her before she gets taken to the Church, then you believe we could sway her?" Elowen asked.

"Absolutely. We actually got along rather well during our time in the Church. Well… Until I became the Archmage," Melina said, remembering the hatred in Eris's eyes once she took the title the girl had coveted for so long.

Eris had believed that if she became the Archmage, all of her troubles with her family would go away. That she'd be recognized as the count's daughter, and she would be able to get along with the step-siblings who hated her. When Melina became the Archmage, Eris felt that this chance had been stolen from her.

"So where can we find her?" Elowen asked.

"Well, here lies the problem. She's probably in the manor of her father, but it is located far in the south. Not to mention that even if she is an illegitimate child, they'd still never let a commoner like me go see her."

"I doubt they'd be happy to see an elf either."

"Exactly. Perhaps Alistair could arrange a meeting, but meetings among nobles are always a messy affair. Alistair and Eris have never met before. We'd need a good reason to arrange a meeting," Melina explained.

"Another dead end… What about the third one?"

"A younger boy, who I believe is currently sixteen, named Adrien. He is the son of a merchant in Pertia."

"Pertia? The town right next to Sunglow?" Elowen asked in disbelief.

"Yes! He should be the easiest one to convince. Adrien has always been quiet and shy, but he has an incredible aptitude for magic. He probably would have become the Archmage if there hadn't been one thing. Critical flaw in the Church's opinion."

"What is this flaw?"

"Adrien doesn't want to fight or kill."

"But… But that's great news!" Elowen noted.

"Exactly! Since he's living in Pertia, I believe it would be easy enough to convince him not to go to the Church," Melina said happily.

"We could probably convince him to help our cause instead," the elf noted.

"Uh… I'm not sure about that."

"Why not?"

"He's an incredibly timid boy. I doubt he'd be willing to face the Church directly."

"It's worth a shot at least," Elowen said, finishing his tea.

"Agreed," Melina noted.

"Excellent, then we should meet the boy at the first opportunity!"

"Wait, don't rush. If you show up and say—Hey, you'll get a System in a few years, but the Church is evil—do you really think he'll just believe you?" Melina frowned.

"No, I was thinking of explaining everything more gradually."

"Just telling him the truth would only scare him. He's still a child. I think we should try to approach him naturally first," Melina said.

"Naturally? How do you intend to do that?" Elowen frowned.

"Go visit his father's shop in Pertia, of course. Although there is a slight problem…"

"What would that be?"

"I can't just leave the bakery. Especially now. I need a good reason to close the bakery and head to Pertia," Melina noted.

"I could go—" Elowen began, but Melina cut him off.

"People in Pertia aren't comfortable with elves. When I went there with Remi, everyone really stared at her, so we ended up hiding her ears and making up a lie that she's a half-elf," she said.

"That is unfortunate," Elowen frowned.

"Don't worry. I'm sure I'll find a time to go there, but you'll have to be patient."

"So what do we do for the time being?" The elf asked.

"I was thinking of focusing on my pastries. Creating new ones that could be useful for adventurers. Antidote pastry, pastry to increase fire-resistance," she said, taking a sip of the last bit of her tea. "Would you like more tea?"

"No, thank you. I think I'll be going now. I still have a horrible headache from all the memories returning. Until we can head to Pertia, I'll focus on helping Leliana with her project."

"We should also prepare for the Church's arrival sometime during summer," Melina noted.

"What? Why would they come here?"

"The passageway near Sunglow is new. They're going to explore it properly."

Elowen rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It's one problem after the other, isn't it?"

"Don't forget that Monster Lord is trying to assassinate me," Melina said with a nervous chuckle.

Elowen suddenly froze, then looked at Melina. "That's it!"

"What's it?" Melina asked.

"The Monster Lord. We should get him to help us, especially if he remembers the past events," Elowen said excitedly.

"Didn't you hear that he's trying to assassinate me? Or is that what you're trying to accomplish?" Melina frowned.

"No, I'm not. But imagine how strong an ally the Monster Lord would be for us!"

Melina shook her head. The Monster Lord didn't seem like the kind of entity that could be reasoned with. In fact, she thought it was far more likely that the Monster Lord would gather an army and strike at the Church before anybody could strike at him. She felt as if the weight on her shoulders had just doubled.

"Let's think about that some other time. I don't think I can handle more today," Melina said, rubbing her head. It was beginning to throb.

"Fair enough. Let's give ourselves a bit of time to think things through. I hope to talk to you again soon," Elowen bowed gracefully and left the bakery.

Melina slumped in her chair as soon as she left. She couldn't believe the whole mess she was in. Where could she even begin to unravel and fix it all?

Sienna suddenly stuck out her hot tongue and licked Melina's neck.

"Hey, what was that for?" Melina exclaimed, touching the stop that's been licked. Sienna's tongue was rather hot. She was worried that she would get burned. But thankfully, her resistance protected her, and it was merely wet with sticky wyrm slobber. "Gross!"

Sienna chittered mischievously. Oddly enough, the gesture calmed Melina.

"You're right. What use is it worrying about things I cannot influence right now? We've got to take things one step at a time," Melina said.

Sienna nodded approvingly.

"Alright. Let's make the dough we need for tomorrow."

But even as she got into the rhythm of making dough, there was an uneasy feeling sitting in the pit of her stomach. It felt like things with Elowen went too smoothly. He hadn't argued against her, but at the same time, did he even agree with her at any point?

Despite the throbbing headache, Elowen felt rather satisfied after his talk with Melina. It appeared she really didn't want the disaster to repeat itself, although it was concerning that she wasn't ready to take more drastic measures. The Melina in his memories had been more decisive. Perhaps the lack of magic had mellowed her out somewhat.

Elowen didn't intend to wait around and do nothing. Sure, they supposedly had time until the disaster, but it was better to act sooner rather than later. So he decided that the first thing he could do was get in contact with the Monster Lord.

"I'll organize a party for the Monster Realm under the pretense of acquiring more materials. The Guildmaster would surely approve of it, not to mention that Melina herself is constantly looking for new ingredients to cook with," Elowen muttered quietly to himself.

Some people gave him curious looks as he passed by, but he ignored them.

Once in the Monster Realm, I'll get in contact with Monster Lord and together with him come up with a plan that would prevent the realms from separating. I'm sure he'll be ready to take more drastic measures rather than just sit and hope for the events to change on their own.

Melina doesn't even have to know this. She wouldn't be able to negotiate with him anyway.

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