Just as Adrien had promised, he bravely went along with lina to help her out with the macaron stall. But he wasn't the only one. Roxie, seeing the boy muster his strength and trudge along with lina, also decided to co along. She looked nervous as they drove the cart to the town centre, where Barrett and a few more adventurers were almost done setting up the stall.
"lina, good morning! We're almost done with the booth," Barrett said, waving his hand in greeting.
"It looks great," lina said, getting off the cart and admiring their handiwork.
It wasn't anything fancy, just a basic market stall with an awning to shield her and custors from the sumr heat. Although it was still overcast, an uncharacteristic gloom still hung over the town. Aeriganta claid that a powerful storm was approaching, and lina believed her. One didn't have to be a siren to know that the weather would soon turn nasty.
"We'll also be staying close while you sell your macarons. To make sure no incidents happen," Dorian, the middle-aged archer, said, tapping on his bow for emphasis.
"I really appreciate it. But I'm hoping that the macaron selling event will pass by without any need for your services."
"Trust , we're hoping the sa," Barrett nodded. "Now, we'll finish the booth. You can bring out the goodies. We do get so, too, right?"
lina chuckled. "Of course. Guards a box for free while every Sunglower gets a 30% discount."
"Erina will be delighted to hear that," Barrett laughed as he returned to work.
anwhile, Adrien and Roxie nervously stuck as close to lina as possible, each for a different reason.
"It'll be fine, you two. All you have to do is sell macarons. Help set up the booth," lina instructed, pointing to the many boxes at the back of the cart.
"I do have a question," Adrien said, then pointed at Knight, who was glaring daggers at every person passing by. "Are we keeping him around?"
Knight snorted in response, as if sobody had insulted him. lina knew that the nightmare wouldn't leave willingly at this point. He got to taste a few of the macarons as well, and it was needless to say that he would seize every opportunity to get one. On the bright side, if sothing were to happen, then having a nightmare horse by one's side would surely be reassuring.
"Extra security never hurts," lina shrugged in response.
Adrien nodded. "I agree. Watch our backs, Knight."
Knight just snorted in response while eagerly looking at the boxes of macarons they were all carrying over to the stall.
"I'll give you so in the end if you behave yourself," lina warned, and Knight seed to perk up at that. Perhaps, she wouldn't have to worry about him trying to kick anyone.
Another hour was spent in busy preparation—setting up the stall, putting up the sign and setting macarons out on display. Milo had quickly made her a simple sign saying "lina's Macarons," which should be more than enough for the day.
As they bustled about, people were already gathering, peering curiously at the treats on display. Roxie looked more nervous the more people appeared, and Adrien was looking at the people, no doubt searching for the priests.
"Are you two ready?" lina asked once everything was set up.
"No…" Roxie admitted honestly.
"As ready as I'll ever be, which admittedly isn't very ready," Adrien said.
"It'll be fine. We'll just be selling macarons. The only thing you two need to worry about is giving macarons to custors and taking money. Any talking you can leave up to ," lina said.
Both of them nodded, still looking nervous. But with them here, lina would be able to keep a proper eye on exactly who visited the booth instead of rushing to service custors.
Once she announced the booth to be open, the people rushed to form lines. It was mayhem as everyone tried to push in to be first, but lina politely but sternly told everyone to form two orderly lines. Adrien quickly forgot his fears and turned on his best custor face, smiling graciously and servicing them with great efficiency.
Roxie was… struggling. She was very nervous, often stumbling with her words or even ssing up orders. lina would step in to correct her mistakes and apologise to custors if necessary. Initially, this would make Roxie even more nervous, but lina reassured her that it was expected on her first ti and encouraged her to keep going at her own pace, instead of matching Adrien's.
Eventually, things settled down as the first flurry of custors passed by. Most of them were Sunglowers, so they got the generous discount. A few tourists got curious, but there was no sign of any priests yet. lina was evaluating any strangers whether they could be System users, but she saw no signs.
No typical twitchiness of the warrior, no odd glances in Knight's direction. A System user should be able to recognise him as a nightmare, especially if they have an identification skill of so sort. lina also made a point of opening her Status Screen once in a while and deliberately reading it. See who would react. So Sunglowers did recognise the notion, but likely because they already knew she was a System user.
As the last trick to catch System users, lina would secretly let Sienna scuttle about their place. Priests and others from the Church always got nervous around her, while others were mostly curious about the oddly colored gecko. Sunflowers obviously weren't by Sienna at all; so even went out of their way to pet her.
But after a few hours, the main mass of custors shifted more towards tourists and also reluctant but curious priests. Adrien tensed up when he saw one of the priests approach; however, Roxie swiftly jumped in and serviced him instead, earning a grateful nod from the boy.
At first, it was just a few priests who ca, most likely to check what exactly lina was doing. But then more and more of them appeared, coming in at a slow but steady flow. It was clear that even they, with all their Church discipline, couldn't resist her delectable treats. lina wasn't surprised about that—after all, luminfruit invoked a sense of happiness in anyone who ate it. Who wouldn't want to feel happy?
lina also caught a glimpse of a few System users. An unassuming woman who at first glance might be mistaken for a local, if not for the way a bit of mana appeared at her fingertips, when Knight let out an annoyed snort. lina brought up her Status Screen, reading over it just to make sure.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from . If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
[Na: lina Dufour]
[Level: 41]
[Class: Arcane Baker]
[Familiar: Sienna — Ember Wyrm Level 49; Mango — Ice Kitsune Level 1 (unique)]
[Intelligence: 26]
[Agility: 10]
[Strength: 10]
[Skill: 32]
[Charm: 15]
[Active Skills: 11]
[, , , , , , ]
The woman stared at lina for a good while as she read the Status Screen. She was definitely a System user, so lina signalled Barrett. He was noting down every System user noticed, writing down their features and profile to later show to the Guildmaster.
After her ca a few more. A tall man with a lean, muscular build, whose gaze instantly snapped to Sienna. He never stopped watching her. There was a bulky man who most obviously was a System user. One couldn't get so huge with just training alone; there were definitely so System enhancents going on. He didn't seem to notice either Knight or Sienna, rely chowing down on the macarons without a care in the world.
Most of the System users, however, were unassuming. They blended with the crowd well, and sotis it was difficult to tell whether they really had the System. But lina trusted her gut and signalled about every man and woman that seed suspicious. It was better that she identified sobody wrongly than missed soone.
They continued selling the macarons for a few more hours before Heiliger appeared, a pleasant smile on her lips as she approached the booth. Adrien flinched noticeably at her approach, and she could see how the boy was struggling to keep up a calm appearance. Roxie noticed that too and grabbed his hand underneath the counter, making him flinch in response, but then slowly relax.
"Bishop Heiliger, how wonderful of you to co visit my humble macaron booth," lina greeted her with a smile, inserting herself in front of both teenagers.
"I just heard that there was a booth with treats being sold by the famous Sunglow baker. It'd be a sha if I didn't get any, wouldn't it?" Heiliger said, looking down at the macarons.
"A sha indeed," lina said, but she could feel herself tense.
"I imagine this is a way for you to unload stress. A very admirable hobby indeed. I do hope that you're going to be prepared for what's to co in two days. You cannot forget about the things you need to do," Heiliger said with a smile.
lina didn't even need to ask to know what she was referring to. The expedition to the Monster Realm. She wondered how best to respond when lina noticed that people surrounding the booth were mostly priests and strangers. So were the System users she identified before, and there must have been more of them around.
anwhile, lina only had Sienna, Knight, Dorian and Barrett. Heiliger was displaying just how much power she had, and she was doing it in broad daylight. Had she co to make sure that lina would do as she was told?
"I'd never forget my goal," lina said with a smile.
The Heiliger picked up one of the macarons, assessing it from every direction. "Your goal? I do hope this goal is the one that aligns with ours. You haven't forgotten our conversation from a few days ago."
lina wanted to do nothing more than to say that she can shove her plans in the place where the sun doesn't shine. lina would make sure that Heiliger would not get her hands on whatever it was she wanted to gain from the Monster Realm. But she couldn't do it when she was so obviously outnumbered. Not to ntion that it was for the best that, for the ti being, she went along with what the woman demanded.
It wasn't easy. lina didn't want to appear weak in front of her. She didn't want to give this woman the satisfaction of that. But she had to play her cards smartly. So lina inclined her head towards Heiliger in a show of respect. "Of course. I'll do anything within my power to aid you."
The grin on Heiliger's face grew wide, almost predatory. "My, I'm so glad you understand. I'm sure that donating the rest of these small treats to the Church would be the first step to achieving that."
lina froze. Give up her remaining macarons to the Church? It was ludicrous. These were expensive goods. The ingredients were expensive and rare. lina was selling one macaron for 15 silver coins, which was by no ans cheap. For Sunglowers, she lowered the price to 12 silver coins. She couldn't just give them away for free.
But at the sa ti, could she even reject her? Was she in a position to say no? The System users lood behind Heiliger, exuding palpable pressure on the area. Barrett and Dorian both shifted uncomfortably, while Roxie's and Adrien's hands trembled behind the booth. They did their best to hide and put on brave faces. But it was clear they weren't feeling brave at all.
"You see—" lina began, trying to think of an excuse. She couldn't just give up her macarons to this woman. They still had so many left to sell.
"It's such a small thing, isn't it? You could easily make more, couldn't you?" Heiliger continued to exude pressure, and a few of the System users stepped closer.
Dammit! What do I do? If I give up the macarons, then it's like I'm admitting defeat. But if I don't, then who knows how Heiliger will react to it?
lina had witnessed firsthand how quickly this woman could change her expression. One mont calm and smiling, the next—cold and cruel as she watched sobody get whipped to near death because they disobeyed her orders. Heiliger could easily decide to punish everyone else but lina, just to make a point.
"I'm afraid that she's sold out," a familiar voice said loudly, making lina's heart skip a beat. She turned and saw none other than Alistair approaching her booth with about fifty Sinclair soldiers following after him. "I promised so of the macarons to my soldiers, so I asked lina to reserve so for them. Isn't that right, love?"
lina wanted to drop everything and run into his arms. He was back! He was finally back. The real Alistair, not Aeriganta taking his shape. How did she know that? Besides the obvious troop of Sinclair soldiers behind him. Little Mango was nuzzled in his embrace, wling happily. How did she get to him so fast?
"Yes, of course!" lina confird, tears of joy forming in the corner of her eyes. "I'm afraid the rest of the macarons have already been sold."
Heiliger narrowed her eyes as Alistair strode up to the booth, soldiers neatly following behind him.
"Why have you brought so many soldiers with you?" She asked suspiciously.
"To assist your expedition to the Monster Realm, of course. I was hoping to make it back before you departed, and I'm glad to see that I did. My father and I wish for this mission to be an absolute success. We want to see Sunglow grow and flourish."
Heiliger took a step back and plastered her polite smile on her lips again. "Of course. I'm overjoyed to hear that. I hope you'll be open to discussing the details tomorrow. We'll need to make a few adjustnts to account for so many new soldiers joining the cause."
"Of course," Alistair replied diplomatically.
Heiliger nodded. "Very well. I do hope that you'll treat us to your delightful macarons so other ti, lina."
The bishop didn't wait for the reply, instead turning on her heel and leaving. So of the System users gave lina a long look before leaving themselves.
"I thought we'd have to give it all up…" Roxie exhaled in relief.
"You couldn't have co at a better ti," lina turned towards Alistair in joy. But she even realized it, he had pulled her into a tight embrace and was planting small kisses all over her face.
"I missed you so much! I'm so sorry I was gone for so long. So many things happened," he said, nuzzling into her hair.
lina buried herself in his warmth. He was finally back, and suddenly everything was right again. She felt whole, she felt strong. With him by her side, she was ready to tackle the world again.
"As long as you're back," she muttered, and backed away to look at him properly. "We have a lot to discuss."
"We do. There's no ti left. I'll tell you about everything that my father and I talked about," Alistair nodded in confirmation.
User Comments
0 comments from readers