Is This Cheating? (Continued)

"Doll..."

Maria's tone was unusually flustered, but she quickly noticed the subtle, helpless smile on the woman's face.

These days, Doll are becoming more and more like people.

In the past, she definitely wouldn't have dared to play tricks on herself.

But compared to that, something else clearly intrigued Maria even more.

"Didn't you dislike Lamaline?"

She really couldn't understand why the Doll would suddenly bring up these things... Didn't she dislike Lamaline?

"That's not the case, you foolish Hunter."

Seeing Maria's troubled expression, the Doll gently pursed its lips, its eyes filled with Maria's image.

"I am just your Doll. I can't hate or like anyone... I will like anyone you like."

The Doll spoke, gently revealing its plain yet slightly humble emotions.

Maria was visibly taken aback when she heard this.

Meanwhile, Little Regret, who was hiding in the corner, was also looking over in astonishment.

Just because Maria likes it, does that mean I have to like it too?

Doll...

Was she really such a burdened woman?

"Huh?"

The big orange dog girl quietly leaned against Little Regret.

Perhaps because the current body of Little Regret is Doll modeled after Maria when she was a child, Ceobe especially likes to play with her when she has nothing to do.

It's worth mentioning that although she was considered a darling of Rhodes Island, Ceobe's treatment in Yharnam was clearly much better.

Especially when Maria doesn't show up and the Doll take care of everything inside and outside, Ceobe always gets a lot of leniency that others can't get.

For example, you can enter the Hunter's Cabin without giving any prior notice...

It was once known as Lady Maria's most beloved Puppy.

This made two Siracusa girls, who wished to remain anonymous, quite envious.

"Too heavy... this woman is really too heavy!"

The more I think about this Little Regret, the more terrifying it seems.

She wanted to escape, but after thinking it over carefully, she realized with a bitter smile that she had already been completely taken advantage of by these two vicious women.

Where else can I run?

With a bitter sigh, Little Regret gripped his mop and prepared to go back to continue cleaning.

But she had just turned around.

Then they saw Ceobe with those struggling, round eyes staring in their direction...

"Waaaaah!!!"

In a panic, Little Regret let out a strange, eerie cry.

This shout broke Maria's silence.

Maria and the Doll turned to look.

They then discovered Little Regret and Ceobe, who had been hiding and eavesdropping.

Normally, Maria should have been able to detect an outsider eavesdropping.

But perhaps because she was too relieved about Ceobe's Little Regret, Maria subconsciously ignored the presence of these two people.

Similarly, this proves that the Doll was indeed right.

Maria does indeed treat different people differently to some extent...

"Maria ~"

Of course, these problems were no big deal to the silly Puppy. She just laughed, waved her little paws, and pounced on Maria.

Finally, he bumped into Maria's waist, wrapping his arms around her slender waist...

"Maria ~ Maria ~"

She cheered; the little girl was always so happy.

This left Maria feeling helpless, but her eyes also sparkled with a hint of doting affection.

The Doll stood to the side, smiling with its eyes narrowed.

After watching Maria gently rub the girl's cheeks and hair, then pick her up and feed her cookies, she softly continued speaking.

So, where do you plan to go next?

"..."

Maria, who was teasing Ceobe.

Ceobe, who was grinning in her arms, also looked up in confusion.

But Maria simply reached out and quietly wiped the food crumbs from the corner of Ceobe's mouth with her thumb, then nodded slightly.

"Let's continue, heading to the Yan..."

Several more days passed, Yharnam soon drove into the territory of Yan.

Of course, as an undocumented immigrant, Yharnam had no way to directly enter the Yan.

Therefore, everyone activated Yharnam's ability to exist in both illusion and reality, and stayed inside the Great Yan.

I don't know if the Doll did it on purpose.

When Yharnam finally stopped for the first time, she had already returned to the Hundred Stoves.

As the most prosperous city in the Great Yan, Hundred Stoves is now thriving.

Crowds wandered around, and the streets were decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations.

The joyful people greeted every passerby with smiles.

"This is..."

Following beside Maria, Ceobe looked around curiously.

A unique fragrance permeated the surroundings, enticing Ceobe to look around.

This looks delicious...

This one seems pretty good too...

And this too!

Ceobe was overjoyed, and Maria, not wanting to spoil the fun, bought a few sweets and put them in Ceobe's arms, continuing to walk while holding his hand.

The familiar scenery was no different from the times she had witnessed before.

Are they celebrating something?

The Doll followed beside Maria, blinking its eyes and asking a curious question.

Although the two share memories, the Doll cannot constantly monitor Maria's previous actions in Yan.

Therefore, she wasn't very familiar with the customs of the Yan.

Maria, standing to the side, nodded slightly.

Having lived in Yan for over ten years, Maria wasn't an expert on the local culture, but she did have some understanding of it.

"They are celebrating a holiday... a holiday for family reunions."

"Holidays? Family reunions?"

The Doll looked curiously at Maria beside it.

"So how did you get through it before?"

"Me?"

The Doll's question triggered a wave of reminiscence in Maria. After a few pauses, she slowly continued, "I usually spend time with Sui."

As she spoke, Maria stopped again.

She blinked as she looked at the shop with the old-established brand sign in front of her.

In a daze, she seemed to see the scenery from thousands of years ago.

"Back then, Yan had a holiday. Although others wanted to study, they mostly wanted to spend time with their families... I had nowhere to go, and I didn't know how to spend the holiday... So the two of us would each bring some food and drinks, and go to a secluded place to eat, drink, and chat for a while."

Maria spoke softly, and her gaze revealed a hint of emotion.

Those days were truly indescribable for her.

It wasn't necessarily that important, but it wasn't necessarily that insignificant either; yet, she remembered it vividly.

All these complexities were etched onto her, leaving her somewhat bewildered.

She had lost these feelings for too long, and regaining them left her feeling somewhat lost.

Just like a little child...

The Doll beside him remained silent for a few moments before lowering its head again.

"So... do you want to see her?"

Doll spoke, it lowered its head again and looked at the ground.

She believed that Maria could sense it when she entered the Hundred Stoves.

A strange yet familiar aura lingered beneath the entire underground of Hundred Stoves.

Without a doubt, this is the true form of the Great Beast that disappeared thousands of years ago...

As Shu said in the second time travel episode not long ago, Sui didn't actually die; he was just in a deep sleep.

She will wake up again once the right opportunity arises...

Since that's the case...

They must have the ability to actively awaken the other person.

As for the consequences of awakening the old man... the Doll doesn't care.

As long as Maria is happy, she doesn't care what others do.

"No, that's alright."

Maria remained silent for a long while.

To be honest, she was actually somewhat tempted.

After things have changed and people have changed, one feels even more eager to connect with old friends.

However, Maria was truly worried about Maria's personality.

Given their personality, they will most likely still fight with the current Yan.

To be honest, Maria didn't really want to see that happen.

After thinking for a while, she simply looked at the other person.

"That's it for this holiday..."

"Is this the Hundred Stoves...? It's huge..."

On the other side, the black-clad Caster girl gazed at the distant city, somewhat amazed.

This is an extremely large urban cluster, the size of which is unprecedented!

The entire Rhodes Island appeared incredibly small in comparison.

Although Amiya and the others have experienced many big cities.