Adrien's father was initially completely against the idea of Adrien going anywhere, be it the Church or Sunglow. But lina and Alistair both explained about life in Sunglow—how everyone there couldn't stand the Church, how elves lived there.
lina explained a bit more about herself—how she was a baker currently searching for hired help. She didn't shy away from the fact that she would use magic in her pastries or that they would possess unique properties. Adrien's father was both intrigued and terrified.
Adrien, on the other hand, only cared for one thing—monsters. He wanted to study Sienna extensively, along with any other monster near Sunglow. The boy was fascinated by seemingly everything they did and asked what kinds of monsters could be encountered in Sunglow. lina had half a mind not to ntion the passageway to the Monster Realm. He'd undoubtedly like to visit the place filled with new monsters.
"Are you sure you'll be able to protect my son from the Church?" Jonathan asked for like the hundredth ti.
"It won't be just , it'll be the whole of Sunglow. We, Sunglowers, don't appreciate interference from the Church. If sobody tries to take your son, you can be assured that the whole town will be fighting for him tooth and nail," lina said. "And I'll make sure that his powers remain firmly controlled and don't hurt anyone."
"Stuck between a rock and a hard place," the father muttered, running his hand through his thinning hair. "I guess if I have to chose, then I'd rather my son be sowhere nearby. Not swept away to the monastery on the other side of the kingdom. But it's not like he can just stay there for free."
"I'm going to employ him in my bakery," lina said.
"But he knows nothing about baking," the father objected.
"There is plenty of other work to be done—cleaning, serving custors, making deliveries," she explained, although she was already imagining Gilbert being angry that she brought back an apprentice who can't even cook.
"I'm confident in serving custors," Adrien nodded resolutely. "I'll do whatever you want if you let study the creatures."
"Pay attention, boy. You'll be learning to control your powers," the father chastised.
After so discussion, the father, Jonathan, decided that sending Adrien to Sunglow under lina's watchful eye would be better than sending him to the Church. Alistair did have to pull out his father's na and use his noble status to seal the deal.
lina, in turn, promised to pay him a fair wage and teach him to control his magic. She would expand the magic study class with Leon to include Adrien as well. They worked out a contract and signed it, after which lina and Alistair left the tailor shop, promising to return the next day to retrieve Adrien.
The night had already descended by the ti they were done, so after a quick dinner, lina and Alistair rented a room in the inn and went straight to sleep—too tired to do much else.
Co morning, they were up early and heading to the Bakers Guild. She still needed actual help around the kitchen. Although Adrien dealing with the custors ant that lina could spend more ti cooking in the morning, she still required soone else to cook with her if she wanted to produce a reasonable amount of pastries.
Ideally, her helper could deal with simpler, non-magical pastries while lina concentrated on the magical ones.
The Bakers Guild, as expected, was busy first thing in the morning. The sll of bread could be felt all the way down the street, and made lina feel nostalgic. It's been far too long since she slled it in her ho.
After taking a deep breath, savoring the sll of bread, lina opened the door and stepped inside, Alistair following closely behind her.
"Good morning," she greeted.
The cooks in the background didn't pay her any mind, except for the Guildmaster, who turned to see her. His face twisted in a smile, and he wiped his flour-covered hands on his apron.
"Miss lina. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visiting the Guild?" He said his attitude was surprisingly pleasurable. It was like he had completely forgotten what he had previously said about lina.
She wasn't going to hold it against him either. In fact, she was eager to let bygones be bygones.
"Well, I've found myself in a rather unique situation and I was hoping that you would be able to help out," she said.
"What's this unusual situation?" Guildmaster Beck arched his eyebrow.
"My grandfather's health has taken a toll lately, so he's decided to fully retire and leave the bakery up to ," she began slowly.
"Wait, wait… Grandfather?" He blinked in confusion, scratching his ginger hair.
"Yeah. Master Gilbert is my grandfather," she nodded.
"I thought you were an orphan."
"So I was until recently. But he revealed that he always knew that I was his granddaughter."
Guildmaster Beck blinked at her for a mont, then roared into laughter. His employees paused for a mont to glance at him, but only for a brief mont. Once he cald down, he looked at lina with a victorious smile on his face. "Well, no wonder he chose you over Roxie. Can't bla a man for letting his own kin take over the business."
It appeared that this knowledge had given him great relief, just as lina predicted. With Guildmaster pleased, she decided to push for what she wanted from him.
"Indeed. But it is all very sudden for , and I don't think I can manage a whole bakery all on my own. I was hoping to hire so help, but I need soone who is ready to jump into work straight away since we don't really have ti to train a new baker," lina explained.
"Hmm… Yes, I understand. It is quite a predicant. But as you see here, my bakers are already busy from early morning. I don't really have anyone to spare, not to ntion that I doubt anyone would be willing to leave their hos on such short notice," the man said.
lina sighed. She had expected this answer, but it was still disappointing to hear it. She was wondering what exactly she could do. Maybe she should try to train Adrien to bake pastries after all. Or at least assist her in the easiest task.
"Is there really nobody? A gifted apprentice?" Alistair asked, seeing lina's desperation.
"A gifted apprentice?" Guildmaster Beck drawled out. "We do have soone, if you're willing to take a chance."
"Who?" lina's eyes lit up, and she leaned over the counter.
"Roxie! Co here!" He called.
The ginger-haired girl peeked nervously from the adjacent room. "W-What is it?"
Her eyes went wide when she noticed lina. lina waved at her, hoping to appear friendly. Roxie managed to return a shy smile of her own.
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"Do you rember Miss lina?" The Guildmaster asked his daughter.
"Of course. How could I forget? That Sparkle Pie was amazing! I wish I could have had a taste," the girl said dreamingly.
"You just might get the chance. Miss lina is looking for a new hire," he said.
"What? Really?" She asked excitedly, but her eyes t with lina's, and she flinched nervously back. "I-I'm sure you'll find soone worthy of the position soon…"
"Roxie, how about you? Didn't you previously want to beco Master Gilbert's apprentice? This isn't the sa thing, but I've learned all my recipes from him," lina said encouragingly.
"I-I'd love to… Really, but—"
"Roxie knows what she needs to do, but her hands don't obey her will. Poor girl is her own worst enemy," the Guildmaster said. "If only you could muster a bit more confidence in yourself, you'd do just fine."
"I don't mind a few broken bowls. They're easy enough to fix with magic," lina shrugged nonchalantly.
"So you really can use magic!" Roxie's excitent re-sparked again. "The way dad was describing the Sparkle Pie, I knew it must have been magic."
"So that's your secret? You're a woman of many talents, it seems," Guildmaster Beck said. "If the bakery proves too much, you're always welco to work here. I certainly wouldn't be against selling so magical pastries."
"I'll pray that such a day doesn't co. But what about you, Roxie? I'm ready to hire you and pay you a proper wage if you work in my bakery. You'd be responsible for making the non-magical pastries."
"Wait… I'd be making whole batches of pastries? On my own? I-I couldn't possibly manage that…" She squeaked out ekly.
Guildmaster scratched his head awkwardly, then crouched down before his daughter. "I know this is scary for you, little lass, but this is a big opportunity. The pastries Miss lina makes will soon attract the attention of the whole country. If you work for her, then it will be a stronger head start in your career than anywhere else. Don't let this chance slip by! Grab it and hold it tight, no matter what. It's through hardship that we grow better."
The girl listened intently to her father, then nodded. "I'll give it a try."
"Wonderful!" lina cheered. She had already witnessed that Roxie knew how to cook, and having spent her childhood in the Bakers Guild, she might have more insight into the industry itself than lina. All she needed was a little confidence boost.
"Good! Good!" Guildmaster Beck laughed. "It's the best outco for everyone. I'll be able to visit you over the weekends if I want to."
"Were you just trying to keep your daughter close?" Alistair asked.
"Guilty as charged. Sunglow is just next door. Not sure what I would do if I had to send my little girl away to Tuvia or so equally faraway place," he breathed a sigh of relief.
"We are heading back to Sunglow this evening. Will you be ready by then?" lina asked and wondered how quickly she could move her things out of her room and into Alistair's ho. Maybe she could ask sobody from the Adventurers Guild for help.
"That's quite soon. Are you opening tomorrow?" The baker asked thoughtfully.
"No, on Tuesday."
"Ah! Perfect. I'll bring Roxie to Sunglow myself on Monday. You can head back without her."
lina nodded, and they proceeded to discuss the contract of Roxie's employnt. Guildmaster Beck was a tough man, demanding a rather high wage for her daughter. It was tough to talk him into a lower price, but in the end, her wage would be higher than Adrien's.
It was fair since she'd be doing the most important part, but it did make lina nervous about whether she'd be able to pay it. With all the renovations, there weren't many savings left, so if things didn't go according to plan, then the bakery would go bankrupt very quickly.
With everything settled, lina and Alistair headed to the market to find so useful ingredients that she could use for cooking. Mostly, she looked for spices that would be easy to transport back, since they didn't have a cart. Her eyes fell on the bright red saffron, wondering how it would taste in her pastries.
But once she saw the price, she quickly wandered away. Just five grams of it cost five gold coins. She couldn't imagine ever being able to afford sothing so expensive. Alistair, on the other hand, didn't seem nearly as shocked. In fact, he was more surprised by how cheap everything else was.
"The prices in Sunglow are just as cheap," lina noted.
"I don't really pay attention to prices," he admitted sheepishly.
"You should. Aren't you living off your Captain's salary?"
"I am."
lina wanted to protest that it should have taught him to be at least a bit more frugal. But apparently, his salary was enough for him not to worry much about it. Maybe he wasn't really spending all that much money in Sunglow? Besides food and new clothes, she hasn't really seen him spend money on luxuries nobles typically would. His house was already equipped with everything he needed.
Thinking about it, the biggest chunk of his spending would probably be the pastries he was buying from the bakery. He also paid for his food while staying with them. lina had insisted he didn't have to, but Gilbert had accepted the money—he did eat quite a lot.
In the end, lina purchases so cashews and dates, ingredients that rarely appeared in Sunglow, and they set out to retrieve Adrien from his ho. The way back would probably take them a bit longer, to spare the boy from losing his stomach contents, racing on a monster at full speed. So they decided to leave after having an early lunch.
"Are you sure about this, son?"
"Dad, there are monsters over there! Ta monsters! There is no way I'm missing this chance," Adrien said eagerly, then turned a bit more serious. "I don't want to go to Church. The way they treat anything that cos from the Monster Realm is… abhorrent."
"Y-Yes, you're right. Church is not a place for a kind soul as yourself," Jonathan nodded and pulled his son into a hug. "Send letters often."
"Every week," Jonathan nodded. "And I'll co visit once a month."
"How about I go visit instead? I have business in Sunglow anyway," he said.
"I'll be waiting," Adrien nodded.
They held each other for a mont longer, and then Adrien grabbed his backpack.
"Is that all your stuff?" Alistair asked in surprise.
"It has my notes, my clothes, and a spare pair of shoes. I can't think of anything else I might need," he confird.
"Very well. Then let's go," lina nodded, and waved Jonathan goodbye.
The father and son watched each other for a long ti as they waved goodbye. This parting was difficult for them, but if Church had taken Adrien instead, then they would barely see each other. It wasn't often that System users were allowed to visit their families.
"So how are we travelling?" Adrien asked as he brushed tears out of his eyes.
lina pretended not to notice that. "With Knight and Sienna."
"Wait… really? Not in a cart but on a wyrm's back?" He asked in excitent, looking at Sienna.
"You're getting on Knight along with ," Alistair said firmly, pointing at the nightmare.
Adrien looked disappointed at first, no doubt thinking that Knight was just a regular horse. But as he looked him over, a realization dawned on his face. "Wait… That's a nightmare!"
"Indeed, he is!" lina confird.
"Oh. My. System! This is the happiest day of my life!" He exclaid, ready to climb on the nightmare's back.
Knight sputtered in disapproval and took a few steps back.
"Wow, slow down. We'll walk to the edge of the city first, then get on their backs. Not to ntion that if sobody gets to ride a Knight in the town, it should be lina as she is a lady," Alistair pointed out.
"Why would being a lady matter?" Adrien asked in confusion.
Alistair was stunned by the question. "Because ladies should always be given the most comfortable available arrangent. A man needs to step back and make sure that his lady is happy."
"Is Miss lina your lady? No offense, Miss lina, but you don't strike as a noblewoman," Adrien said.
"I am not," she confird.
"And yet she is still your lady?" The boy turned towards Alistair.
"Yes, she is," he proclaid proudly.
"Is that even allowed?" Adrien wondered.
"There are no obstacles too great for love to overco," Alistair said smugly, flashing lina a charming smile which instantly made her cheeks flush.
"Ooookay…" Adrien drawled, clearly not interested in the topic. "Tell more about Sunglow."
So they kept chatting, explaining that for the ti being, Adrien would stay in the living room while Roxie would be staying in the available room upstairs. The boy wasn't at all peeved by the arrangent, but this did make lina think. They couldn't have him sleep on the couch all the ti.
The best solution would be to remake Gilbert's trophy room into a bedroom. To be honest, having so many valuable magical artifacts stashed in the bakery wasn't very smart—it'd be better to keep them in the Guild's vault. But would Gilbert agree to that? He seed quite attached to his trophies. Was it even right for lina to suggest moving them?
But the real problem was obviously the Church. How would they react once they found out that lina had snatched one of the Archmage candidates, the most talented one at that, from right underneath their noses?
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