When we returned home, Mina was in the middle of setting up a table and chairs she had gotten from who-knows-where.
“Oh, that was surprisingly fast,” she said.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Look, I was just thinking, since you guys always provide me with such good entertainment, I might as well treat you to something once in a while.”
“Then, would you mind not looking like you’re so delighted? It just makes me feel anxious.”
“Truly... Yes, truly.”
Reina looked incredibly suspicious of what Mina said. She had been the subject of her constant harassment, and she trusted her the least out of anyone on this island. However, I personally didn’t think she was a bad person—just annoying.
“Grooar,” Tailtiu grumbled threateningly at Mina.
“Oh, jeez, there, there,” I said.
She may not have been in her right mind, but she did seem to understand that Mina had done something to her. Even so, when I pet her, she instantly cheered up and made a happy sound.
“Hah hah hah, you’ve got her wrapped around your finger,” Mina said. “Even Bahamut is cute when she’s like this.”
“And whose fault is that?”
“Don’t care.”
After curtly dismissing me, Mina went on and continued briskly getting something ready.
As always, she never listens to anything she doesn’t want to hear.
“By the way, what are you doing, Wilhelmina?” Reina asked.
“I said it already, didn’t I? You guys are always entertaining me so much, so I’m going to treat you to something.”
Before I knew it, Mina was holding a pot. The moment she set it on the table, a rich aroma filled the air.
“I-Is this...”
“Heh heh heh.”
I wasn’t even hungry, but for some reason I suddenly had an appetite. The smell was borderline violent in the way it directly stimulated my instincts.
“It’s my special stew. Don’t worry, there’s nothing unhealthy in it,” Mina said.
Both Reina and I were silent.
Tailtiu let out a brief, “Groar.”
“What’s with those skeptical looks? As a rule, I never lie.”
“You may not lie, but you’re definitely trying to pull something by not telling the whole truth, aren’t you?”
“That’s debatable. Let me give you some good advice: What words mean depends on who hears them, not on who says them.”
I was about to call that logic ridiculous, but I suddenly remembered my office job in my past life. There, what something meant changed based on the different relationships between people. For example, it was totally normal for the same project to be accepted if the person who came up with it was seen as a capable employee, but rejected if they were seen as incapable. Then again, I got the feeling that Mina’s words were a bit different.
“But this is about how trustworthy your own word is, not how it can be taken, right?”
“You can also say that.”
“That’s the only thing you can say. To go even further, I’d say that we’re suspicious of you because of your constant bad behavior.”
Reina and Tailtiu nodded along.
“How impolite...” Even as she spoke, Mina didn’t stop stirring her pot. It gave off a tremendously appetizing smell, and it was no doubt delicious. But at the same time, it had a threatening aura.
“About that stew...”
“You aren’t really going to refuse to eat this food I made myself, are you?” Mina smiled brightly. She didn’t look like she was going to take no for an answer.
“Could you at least tell me what you did to Tailtiu first?” I asked.
“Oh, it’s nothing much. I just placed her under suggestion and made her behave more like herself, that’s all.”
“Suggestion?”
“Yeah, with these mystic eyes.”
The moment Mina said those words, her eyes shone with a golden light. I was looking right at her, and for a second I felt a shock, as if someone had wrapped my heart in an iron grip, but...
“Huh?” I exclaimed.
“Hmph, as always, you’re no fun.” Mina looked fed up that nothing had happened. It seemed that she had tried to use those special eyes on me, but they hadn’t worked. “There are all sorts, but the one I tried to use on you now stimulates your base instincts. I’m just playing around, basically.”
“Just playing around...”
But that was the reason Tailtiu was like this, so I hoped she would feel sorry. Not that she ever would, of course.
“I really am just playing around, you know. If I used my mystic eyes on Reina, for example, she would only be a bit more honest with herself. I had no idea that Tailtiu would become so much like a wild animal, honest.”
She looked at Tailtiu, exasperated. It didn’t seem that she was lying.
“Grah.”
“Oh, there, there,” I said. “That’s only because Tailtiu is already true to herself.”
“Grah!”
As we talked without her, Tailtiu squirmed in my arms, as if to say, Pay more attention to me. She wasn’t that heavy, so it wasn’t a big deal, but I felt at a loss as to how to respond.
“She really is sort of cute,” Reina remarked.
“Are you enjoying this a little, Reina?” I asked.
“No, not at all. Also, Wilhelmina? How long will it be until she gets better?”
“Who knows?”
She’s so infuriating...
Reina and I were thinking the same thing.
Even after we gave her irritated looks, Mina still nonchalantly stirred her pot. Then, she flashed a smile, as if she had just come up with a good idea. “Oh, I know. She might get better if you feed her this.”
“That’s definitely a lie!” Reina and I retorted in unison. The vampire girl had said just moments ago that she didn’t tell lies. But, she just went and dished out the contents of the pot into multiple bowls, as if she weren’t listening to a word we said.
We aren’t going to get anywhere at this rate, I thought, and I tried to set Tailtiu down so I could take a seat at the table.
“Grah!”
However, Tailtiu was in absolutely no mood to leave my arms, so with no other choice, I continued to hold her.
“Hey, Tailtiu, can you get down already?” I asked.
“Grah.”
“You’ll be embarrassed if Luna sees you like this.”
“Grah.” Tailtiu turned her face away in a huff.
She isn’t listening to me at all...
Mina must have found my confusion funny, because she had a nasty grin on her face. “Mwa ha ha, now isn’t this nice?”
“You sure know how to make the most of other people’s troubles.”
“Oh, don’t praise me.”
I’m not praising you. I’m being sarcastic.
Of course, if she could understand sarcasm, she wouldn’t have been such a nuisance, which was why I didn’t voice those thoughts.
“Now, now, don’t be so touchy, and eat up. Here,” Mina said.
“Do you think that casually passing me that totally suspicious dish is going to make me any more likely to eat it?”
“If you won’t, then I’ll force Reina to eat it.”
“Now you’re just getting desperate.”
“Not at all.”
Regardless, I looked at the small bowl she had given me. It was full of vegetables, and the soup vaguely reminded me of some miso soup I’d had in the past. It smelled good, too, and it was probably delicious. But that didn’t make it any less dangerous.
“Could you step away for now, Reina?” I asked.
“G-Got it... Um, be careful, Arata...”
Despite what she said, there was nothing I could be careful of—I had no other choice but to eat it.
“You all are way too cautious. Can’t you accept someone else’s kindness?”
“Hey, Tailtiu, it’s dangerous, so step away.”
“Gwaahh...”
I gave her to Reina. She was reluctant to leave me at first, but when I looked her in the eyes and earnestly tried to win her over, she reluctantly clung to Reina.
“All right,” I said.
Psyching myself up, I looked at Hazardous Substance X. Everything about it whetted my appetite. It was like a man-eating flower with a beautiful exterior that devoured any prey that came near.
“You know, it’s actually kind of a shock that you’re this wary of me...”
“Don’t you think that’s your fault for always doing things that make me wary of you?”
I slowly took a sip of the soup. The next moment, I tasted herbs, and a slight saltiness that excited my taste buds. It was the flavor of nature itself, but for some reason, it was vaguely warm, and nostalgic...
I instantly swallowed what was in my mouth, then unconsciously let out a breath.
“Hah, I can tell from the look on your face that you enjoyed it,” Mina said.
I paused. “It was delicious.”
“I made it, so of course it is.”
“Also, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything strange in it.”
“I only said that countless times...”
The stew really seemed like it didn’t have anything suspicious in it at all. It just made my body feel pleasantly warm and comfortable.
“Are you okay, Arata?” Reina asked.
“Yeah... I can’t believe it, but it really doesn’t seem like there’s anything wrong with it.”
“I see...”
Even so, Reina looked suspiciously at Mina, but seeing as I was fine, she sat down next to me. At the same time, Tailtiu crawled onto my lap.
“Want some?” I asked Reina.
“Sure... Wilhelmina spent time making this for us, so if you say there’s nothing strange in there, then I’ll trust her...right?”
“Like I’ve already said countless times, you guys are always entertaining me, so to show my thanks, I’m treating you to some of my cooking, and that’s all.”
I still couldn’t believe it, but the fact of the matter was that I was fine. And I was pretty sure that I’d notice if there was anything poisonous in the soup.
“All right... I’ll have some,” Reina said.
“Grah.”
Reina and Tailtiu got a serving of the contents of Mina’s pot, then ate a mouthful.
“Hahh...”
“Grah...”
They both partially closed their eyes, and the expressions on their faces were ones of relieved nostalgia. I could definitely understand how they were feeling. Somehow, the flavor reminded one of home.
“All right, all right, so you’ve finally eaten it. Oh, there are seconds, so have as much as you please.”
“You aren’t having any, Mina?” I asked.
“I’ve already had my fill. And, I have to leave enough room for dessert...”
I looked at her quizzically.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s not your business,” she said bluntly.
With a sidelong glance at Mina, we ate another helping—and none of us noticed the suspicious glint in her eyes...