While the food was likely something they could have sold at a stall, they would have probably had to sell limited amounts and close down when they ran out. Ash could imagine it would happen far too swiftly and cause a fair bit of disappointment considering how delicious it was. It would also likely be a tad annoying having to deal with the enchantments necessary to keep the food tasting fresh.
Considering their main foods were in the form of deliciously baked pastries stuffed with food that likely also took some time to prepare, it would actually be very difficult to engineer an enchantment to keep it fresh. Keeping the bread fresh without letting it get soggy or over-baking anything wouldn't be easy.
Seeing her seemingly very contemplative, Ailanthus spoke up, "Something on your mind?"
Ash laughed slightly, a bit embarrassed, "Just thinking the kind of enchantments that it would take to keep something like this fresh. Even the logistics of making enough to not sell out nearly instantly are rather staggering," she scratched the back of her head at his gaze, "I-," she hesitated a bit, "Enjoy magic and everything you can do with it. I can't do enchanting work here, but all of the enchantments on and around my home on Terra are custom work."
That interested him immensely and he found himself leaning forward to listen eagerly after finishing his meal off, "What kind of enchantments do you use around your home?"
"Ah," she laughed slightly, directing her gaze away in embarrassment, "Most people find it boring. There are a few enchantments to confuse people's sense of direction, some teleportation arrays including a few undetectable ones, that kind of thing."
"So your home must be terribly hard to find unless one is invited," he mused, still sounding interested.
"The area around my home has come to be called the forest of lost souls, considering most that enter end up exiting from the same location," she confided, "Though it isn't all enchantments."
They spoke for a while and she ended up explaining that she also made use of various magical plants that looked exactly like normal ones to a casual observer to confuse people's sense of direction with things like moss that didn't grow on the expected side of a tree. Ailanthus remained interested, unlike most that listened to her talking about her magical experiments and gardening.
Ailanthus grinned slightly, enjoying seeing someone that cared so much for something and in particular someone that cared for something not necessarily related in a direct way to the god that they worshiped. Most of the bound races were incredibly boring to him, even his own brethren, never wanting to venture outside of their duties as the enforcers of contracts and warriors. Ashterra was refreshing to speak to, someone that didn't just look at the job she was given and never at the rest of the wide and beautiful world they helped create.
As they walked through the town once more, chatting amiably, Ailanthus decided to ask after one of the things that had led him to eagerly accept the request that he escort her and make certain she was safe and kept out of trouble for the Starlight Festival.
"Would you be interested, once you are free, in having an exhibition match against me?"
"You mean a duel?"
He shook his head, "No. Those things are different. A duel generally involves some form of wager, though that part isn't necessary, and a fight with both combatants at their full strength, which is the key part of it. An exhibition match will involve magic that will draw the stronger fighter down to the same damage level as the weaker of the two. I mean it as no insult, of course, but right now my strength far exceeds yours even if I've a feeling you will close in on me much faster than most."
"So you want to fight me on my level? Why?"
He paused and remained silent for several long moments as they walked along, his wings twitching and resettling as he put his thoughts in order. He rarely found opponents of similar ability to himself anymore that were willing to fight against him. Most that were as strong as he was were the dedicated members of temples such as the paladin Ro. He wouldn't accept either an exhibition match nor a duel because they did not coincide with his duties within the temple and had no impact on his ability to guard Redwood Stars from danger.
"I enjoy fighting strong opponents," he said, "And I think that were we on the same level, you would definitely be a troublesome one to fight, likely even able to beat me. That kind of fight brings me a lot of joy because it pushes me to want to improve myself further. As strong as I am, though, it has become hard to find anyone that can provide it. With your ability at weaving magic you are also likely to give me an ongoing challenge rather than just a single fight that could help me improve myself and then nothing."
She frowned slightly, thinking seriously over whether or not she wanted to face him in a fight, "I fear you may find me far weaker than you might be thinking I am," she said quietly, "Truly that dungeon showed me that I have much to work on in order to improve myself."
He sighed roughly, having feared she had gotten that impression while not knowing exactly what she had gotten herself into purely on accident. The dungeon that the meadow had morphed into was not one she should have ever been allowed to set foot in given how new she'd been to Fantastoria at the time. He was almost certain that was part of what had caused the rewards of the dungeon to be so poor and voiced it after a bit.
"I had feared you would come to such a conclusion," he said, "But the truth is that you performed well in a situation that paladin Ro and his party would have never put you into had they known what they were facing before they entered. You faced down three bosses at a time when your level of strength was likely only high enough for at most a ten-floor dungeon. On top of that, the first boss you faced was at a level of strength on par with that of a twentieth-floor boss. They only got stronger from that point. That last opponent was one that you truly should have been unable to harm had you not been so skillful with your ability to weave magic itself to your will. While paladin Ro and his party often take on such dungeons, they do so with a great deal of preparation and at a far slower pace than that. You are already very powerful, Ashterra, even if you have much room left to continue growing."