The boon had come too suddenly, leaving her with a sense of unreality.
Moreover, she had always believed that only effort brought reward. Now, she had done nothing, yet a huge pie had fallen from the sky. She simply could not accept this boon with a clear conscience.
Perhaps the boon Mei Ji had offered was not a free cake... but a long fishing line. It was hidden for now, but someday in the future, when it drew taut, the hook would firmly catch in her mouth?
It was precisely because of this that Jeanne, filled with unease, had asked Angel for his opinion.
After hearing her out, Angel smiled and replied, "I think you may be overthinking it. Miss Mei Ji may not mean what you think she does."
"Because, in my view, your contribution was actually not small."
Jeanne looked utterly bewildered. I... contributed something?
Angel said, "You entered Silver Coral Island and became the first person to take part in the Little Treasure Pagoda challenge. That itself was a contribution."
Jeanne said, "???"
By that logic, would not every person who entered the Little Treasure Pagoda afterward be making a contribution?
Then why had Miss Mei Ji not given any boons to those who came later?
Angel said, "Because those who came afterward, people like us, did not actually bring Miss Mei Ji any useful information. But you truly did bring her new intelligence."
Jeanne: ...I brought intelligence? How did I not know that?
Angel said, "If you carefully reflect on Miss Mei Ji's words, you will realize that after you came out of the Little Treasure Pagoda, she began speaking with premises she had never used before. For instance, 'After your trial, I discovered such-and-such.'"
"The implication was that without your trial, she would not have