Chapter 218: The Role of Doubt
Two weeks had passed since the rules for the cooking and costume competitions were set, and preparations were well underway.
With the tournaments scheduled for tomorrow, a visitor arrived.
“Milagros!? Long time no see! It’s Sato!”
The visitor was Milagros, and I couldn’t help but get excited at seeing her again.
On the other hand, Milagros looked exhausted, her low energy contrasting sharply with my high spirits.
“Hmm… it’s been a while. Sorry to bother you, but could I have some water? I’m really tired.”
“Of course! I’ll bring it right away.”
Milagros let out a relieved sigh and sat down. I quickly filled a cup with water and handed it to her.
“…gulp… ahh. I feel alive again. Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. You seem to have gone through quite a lot this time as well.”
“Being on alert constantly is really exhausting. Even if I’ve been here before, I never get used to it.”
“I’m sorry for always making you traverse dangerous paths. I wish I could go with you…”
“I know you can’t. If Sato came into the Demon Lord’s territory, she’d die immediately.”
“So the Demon Lord’s territory really is dangerous. Anyway, I’m glad we met again safely.”
“I’m glad too.”
I reached out my hand to Milagros, and she shyly returned the gesture. Despite her appearance being quite different from a human’s, her hand felt human enough, and I was certain that we could get along.
“If you’re thirsty, you must be hungry too. Let’s get you something to eat. A practical question, but what would you like?”
“Yay! I want egg porridge!”
“Got it. I’ll prepare it right away.”
As expected, Milagros requested egg porridge—a simple, inexpensive dish made with just rice and eggs.
Perhaps it was nostalgic for her, but since it was her favorite dish, I wanted to make it for her.
Just as I was about to head back to the villa to cook the porridge, she stopped me.
“Sorry, before we eat, there’s one thing I want to do… is that okay?”
“One thing you want to do? What is it?”
“I want to create a warp gate here. A gate to freely travel between my city and this place.”
A warp gate? Interesting. I wondered if it worked on the same principle as the one that brought us to this world.
“That sounds convenient. Of course, that’s fine—”
I almost agreed immediately, but before I could finish, Sheila’s face came to mind. Even if I thought it was fine, creating a gate connecting the Demon Lord’s territory without permission would definitely anger her.
I wasn’t doubting Milagros, but I didn’t want Sheila to be upset.
“Sorry, can I check with Sheila first? If we make it without permission, she’ll be angry.”
“Of course. I don’t intend to force it either.”
After saying that, I hurried to call Sheila, explained the situation briefly, and returned with her to Milagros.
“Milagros, long time no see. This is sudden, but I’m skeptical about installing a warp gate. Sato may not doubt you because she’s trusting, but there’s a possibility that the Demon Lord’s army could come through it, right?”
“Sheila, long time. No, we won’t ally with the Demon Lord’s army.”
“I can’t verify that myself. There’s a possibility you’re deceiving us, Milagros.”
“Deceive you? Me? Why would I?”
Milagros tilted her head with a genuinely puzzled expression. Even seeing this, she didn’t seem like she was lying.
“Well, if someone wanted to deceive, installing a gate would advantage the Demon Lord’s army.”
“Even if we sided with them, we wouldn’t betray our benefactors. Besides, a warp gate requires a huge amount of magic just to transport one person. Sending a whole army at once is physically impossible.”
“Hmmm… I don’t understand the mechanics of the warp gate, so I can’t say if that’s true…”
“Don’t you trust Milagros, Sheila? I can’t imagine her lying. And if you consider it similar to the principle of [Hero Summoning], it makes sense.”
“…I know! At first, I thought she wasn’t lying, but Sato trusts people too easily, so I’m just taking on the role of skeptic!”
Sheila puffed her cheeks and said this, clearly playing the doubting role because I trust people so readily. I felt truly sorry.
“Sorry, Sheila. I’ll try to be a little more skeptical from now on.”
“You don’t need to! Sato is who she is because she’s trusting! So, Milagros, you may install the warp gate.”
“…Huh? I can? I don’t really follow the conversation…”
“You don’t need to. I don’t fully understand it either!”
“Really? Then I’ll take you up on your offer and set it up.”
I had realized I tend to rely on others too much, but this situation made me think I could try changing.
Still, Sheila told me, “It’s fine if you don’t change.”
I wasn’t sure what the right approach was, but if it’s okay to stay the way I am, I would. I might continue to trouble Sheila in the future, but I would repay her with fun experiences.
With that promise in my heart, I watched Milagros set up the warp gate.