Melina from four months ago would have gone ahead with her plan, not discussing it with anyone. She would pretend to return to the Church and do her best alone, involving nobody else. However, the last four months have had a significant impact on Melina. She had learned more about other people during that time than she had in the twenty years she had spent with the Church.

  She wasn't going to charge into this without discussing it with someone first. Obviously, the very first person she decided to confide in was her grandfather. The old baker had been worried about the meeting with Heiliger, too, even if he didn't show it. But Melina had learned that the old man tended to touch his beard a lot whenever something was bothering him.

  When Melina returned from her meeting with Heiliger, Gilbert breathed an audible sigh of relief.

  "Well, how'd it go?" He asked, urging her to go inside the bakery. Talking outside wasn't a wise choice with how many priests there were in the town. One could never know whether there was another spy with an invisibility skill nearby.

  "I'll tell you inside," Melina said, offering a hand to her grandfather.

  He just gave her a look that said that he wasn't an invalid who needed special care, and hobbled inside with a huff. Melina followed him, and as soon as they were inside, she set up a privacy ward around them. This wasn't something that Roxie or Adrien needed to overhear.

  "It was abysmal!" Melina said, slumping her shoulders. Sienna let out an angry puff of smoke in response, while Mango ran off to the living room, not wanting to be part of this topic anymore.

  "What happened?" Gilbert furrowed his brows, motioning Melina to head into the kitchen.

  They went over to the kitchen table, where they sat down, Gilbert pouring a glass of water for Melina first. She downed it in greedy gulps, feeling parched.

  "Heiliger is fully convinced that I'll work for the Church and do whatever she wants without any objections. She pretty much acted like she owned me," Melina said, not hiding the annoyance and frustration that had been building within her.

  "Yes, that does sound like them. For some reason, they believe that all System users are bound to their will. Or rather bound to the will of the System God, but since they are the supposed preachers of the System God, then in their opinion, it means that all System users must do as they say," Gilbert shrugged.

  "I knew of this mindset, but I never expected that they would still stick to it, even if I've clearly shown through my actions that I don't support them. I rejected her the last time, I deliberately avoided all contact with them, sold magical pastries of my own volition, and carried two monster familiars with me everywhere."

  "That is nothing more than a tantrum in their eyes, especially if the Heiliger remembers your Archmage's past."

  "She does."

  "Yes, then it's obvious she's willing to give you more leeway, so to speak. You're a valuable resource. Especially since you turned back time."

  "She doesn't know I did it. She thinks it was the System God," Melina corrected.

  Gilbert hummed. "That's good. If she knew that you could turn back time… I honestly shudder to imagine what the Church would do to keep their hands on someone with such knowledge. I imagine you'd be guarded more fiercely than the Three Sacred Treasures. They'd likely use any and all methods possible to keep you under their control."

  Gilbert's voice was grim, and Melina understood that she had avoided the worst possible scenario. Gilbert was absolutely right. If the Church knew that Melina was the one who turned back time, then they'd do anything to retrieve her. While being an Archmage also put a large target on her back, she'd already seen that they were willing to budge in this aspect and resort to using other Archmage candidates to execute their plans.

  However, there was no guarantee that Heiliger wouldn't puzzle it out later. She likely had only remembered smart portion of what had happened before time rewind.

  Perhaps Heiliger lied in an attempt for Melina to give up more information. To figure out exactly what happened in the previous timeline. But Melina had no intention of giving her anything.

  "Let's hope she never figures that one out," Melina said grimly.

  "Let's hope indeed. So what else did she talk about? I imagine it was more than just the declaration that you belong to the Church," Gilbert said.

  "She demanded that I join the expedition to the Monster Realm and help them retrieve something important. She didn't say what, but apparently it will prevent the Human Realm from falling into ruin like it did last time," Melina said.

  Gilbert frowned. "That can't be good. Whatever they are trying to get, it must be something powerful. You said that after you split the realms, there was no mana left in the Human Realms so everything withered and died right?"

  "That's right. I suspect that it was also the cause of many plagues and diseases appearing. Our bodies might be using ambient mana as a way to rejuvenate themselves. Without it, we are left more vulnerable," Melina said.

  "If mana is the defining element, then it is likely that the Church is searching for a way to generate mana in the Human Realm," Gilbert said thoughtfully.

  "Is that possible? I always thought that mana was a natural byproduct of the Monster Realm. Through the passageways, some of it makes its way into the Human Realm, but there's no real way to generate it. It just is," Melina said.

  "Nothing just exists on its own. It has a reason, a way it is formed. The same goes for mana. I don't know what this source is. I imagine this is something an elf or a drow might know. But I do know that the Church cannot obtain it," Gilbert said.

  Melina nodded. "Absolutely. That is why I have decided to play along for the time being."

  "Play along?" Gilbert narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

  "I'll pretend to work with the Church and follow their expedition. Then I'll stop them from doing whatever it is that they are trying to do there," Melina said firmly.

  "Wait… you intend to go with the Church all alone?!" Gilbert exclaimed in outrage.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Melina winced. She had expected that he wouldn't be too pleased about her plan, but didn't think it would be this bad.

  "Sienna could probably stealthily follow me," she defended meekly.

  Gilbert shook his head. "Absolutely not. I get that you believe that you're invincible, but how many System users do you think the Church has brought to the expedition?"

  Melina thought about it for a moment, thinking about the past expedition she had been a part of. "At least thirty, but with how many priests I've seen around, it might be more."

  "Exactly. And do you think you can defeat over 30 System users all on your own?" Gilbert asked.

  Melina thought about it. If Sienna were to take her large form and Melina went all prepared with every magic boost available, then she could definitely take out around twenty System users, especially if they were less experienced. But that would only be possible if she attacked fast and with very powerful and destructive spells. She wasn't even sure if she could pull off such powerful magic anymore.

  Knowing how well Church doctrine worked, Melina didn't want to murder those System users. She'd rather capture them and try to convince them that the Church was wrong. However, capturing somebody when they were actively trying to kill you was always harder than just killing them.

  "You don't even look like you want to fight anymore," Gilbert sighed.

  "I'll do it if that's what it takes!" Melina said firmly.

  "Granddaughter, you need to stop trying to tackle the weight of this problem all on your own," he said, placing a gentle hand on Melina's shoulder. "Go to the Guildmaster. Talk to the elves. Talk to Etrian. Figure out a plan together. I'm sure that infiltrating their ranks can be useful, but not when you're acting alone."

  Melina nodded. "I was going to talk to Elowen."

  "Good to know you weren't going to rush into it," Gilbert said.

  "I wish Alistair were here… It'd be much easier with him around," Melina muttered, still acutely aware that he wasn't around. She was always aware of it, but there were times when she could make the ache feel more distant.

  "I'm sure he'll be back any day now," Gilbert soothed.

  "Of course," she replied, although she wasn't convinced. After all, his return depended heavily on Duke Sinclair's decision. If the Duke decided that it was wiser to keep working with the Church, then wouldn't he try to stop Alistair from returning?

  But Melina pushed those unpleasant thoughts aside. Alistair would certainly figure out a way to make his father see reason. She should believe in him, just like he believed in her.

  "I'm going to talk with Elowen now," Melina said, dropping the privacy ward that surrounded them.

  "Go ahead. I'd suggest having this talk with the Guildmaster and the elf at the same time, so you wouldn't have to repeat yourself," Gilbert said.

  "I'll try to arrange a meeting with them both," Melina said, and let out a low whistle calling for Mango. The snowy fox ran to her right away.

  "Let's go find Elowen," she said to her familiars and left.

  The next day, after the bakery was closed, Melina headed to the Adventurers Guild to speak with the Guildmaster and Elowen. However, since her plan involved Melina pretending to work with the Church, she couldn't just walk into the Guild. Not without arousing suspicion.

  Melina deliberately walked through the outskirts of the city, following along the dirt path near the wall, which was usually used either by people living nearby or the guards. Guards seeing Melina obviously wasn't a big deal, but there were no priests along the way. She also made sure to enter the Guild from the back entrance rather than the front door. Just in case.

  The Guildmaster and Elowen were already waiting for her, so she didn't waste her time. She retold every single detail about her conversation with Heiliger yesterday, not hiding any details. Both of them listened intently, not interrupting while she told her story. Melina also explained that she wanted to take advantage of the fact that Heiliger still considered Melina part of the Church.

  "I highly doubt she would just let you join the expedition when you haven't shown any real loyalty to them yet," Arianne said. "In fact, I find it odd that they would employ you after everything you done here in Sunglow."

  "Perhaps they believe that because I have retained the memories of my past life, I will act the same as before," Melina guessed.

  "That is certainly possible, but even so, I think they would take precautions. She didn't tell you exactly what they were after in the Monster Realm were they?" The Guildmaster said.

  "No," Melina said.

  "Most likely, they want to use Melina's powerful magic to achieve their goals," Elowen commented.

  "But what will they do once they fulfill that goal? Frankly, I don't see how this could end well for you, Melina," the Guildmaster said with a deep frown.

  "Nonetheless, I believe it is better than letting them do as they please in the Monster Realm. Whatever it is that they want to obtain, they shouldn't get it," Melina said.

  Both Guildmaster and Elowen nodded in agreement. "Agreed, but we can't send you there alone. Somebody needs to be ready to jump into action, if… No, when things go wrong."

  "We elves should have no issues following them silently. We can hear and see at great distances so we can maintain a good distance without anybody noticing us," Elowen said.

  "Yes, that's a good start. But it's not like we have that many battle-ready elves. Including you, Remi, and Illitran, there would be six elves I could employ. The remainder aren't ready to face such a strong opponent," Arianne said. "Not to mention that many joined the guard exactly to avoid facing any overly dangerous situations."

  Six elves and Melina against over thirty System users. It was better than before, but not by much. Elowen was the biggest support Melina could rely on as the only other System user.

  They all thought over the situation for a moment, thinking what else could be done to improve their odds. Some ideas were tossed back and worth, like trying to pull back from the Church rather than engaging them. It was a possibility, but not a good one, since Melina could teleport four people at maximum. That would mean leaving someone behind.

  Another idea was trying to lock the Church in the Monster Realm; however, Melina found it unnecessarily cruel, especially if there were System users among them who had been indoctrinated and could be persuaded to change. She didn't delude herself into thinking that all will change their opinion.

  In fact, she was sure that she would manage to convince a few people at best. But it would still be a point in their favor. Every little victory was crucial for them, so they had to reach out to everyone they could.

  "I believe we should work together with the Monster Lord on this matter," Elowen said thoughtfully.

  Arianne gaped at him. "The Monster Lord? You mean the same one who keeps sending monsters our way? The same one who nearly killed Melina?"

  "In his defense, she killed him first," Elowen objected, and Melina couldn't help but guiltily scratch her head. "But the point is that we need help. And I'm quite sure that whatever the Church wants to obtain from the Monster Realm, the Monster Lord doesn't want it taken away."

  Melina clapped her hands in understanding. "We don't even have to get along. We can work together with the Monster Lord purely because we have the same enemy."

  Guildmaster Arianne rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "That's all nice in theory. But how did your talks with the Monster Lord go last time?"

  "Wonderfully," Melina said.

  "Horribly," Elowen replied at the same time.

  "So which one is it?" Arianne asked with an arched eyebrow.

  "He wanted to kill me the moment I opened my mouth; however, he was quite willing to discuss things with Elowen," Melina said.

  "Oh, really?" The Guildmaster gave Elowen a significant look. "So we could acquire his support through elves."

  "We can try. Although this plan is also a long shot. We would need really good arguments to convince him to work with us," Elowen said.

  "A show of goodwill," Melina said, pressing her finger to her lips in thought. "I think I know exactly the thing we need."

  "What?" Elowen and Guildmaster asked in unison.

  "How best to show goodwill if not through a gift? I have this new recipe in mind," Melina said, thinking of her macarons. If she made them right, then anyone, even the drow and the Monster Lord, might be willing to hear them out and work together on this one occasion at least. She had to try at least.