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For Mrs. Hoshimi, time seemed to have stood still, only beginning to flow again just now.
"So… I've been in a coma for ten years… No wonder Miyabi has grown so much. You were so small back then, and in the blink of an eye, you've become such a young lady."
Mrs. Hoshimi kept stroking Miyabi, looking her over from left to right, as if she were getting to know her daughter all over again.
"And husband, you've aged quite a bit too."
After her daughter, she turned her gaze to Souichirou.
His appearance hadn't changed much, though he looked more worn, with strands of white threading through his hair.
"Hehe, my lady, you haven't changed a bit from ten years ago. I wonder what kind of remedies the masters at Yunkui Summit gave you—after all these years, your appearance hasn't changed at all."
Souichirou wiped away his tears and smiled. Having his wife awake felt like a dream.
As for the mysterious hero who rescued Mrs. Hoshimi and Miyabi, there was very little information to go on. All he knew was that the hero was also a fox Thiren, wore a Yunkui Summit robe, and, combined with the note left in his wife's hand, Souichirou assumed it must have been a senior master from Yunkui Summit.
Now that Mrs. Hoshimi had woken, perhaps they could learn more about this benefactor?
"Mm… I can still remember some of how that benefactor looked."
Hearing her husband mention the rescuer, Mrs. Hoshimi put on a concentrated expression. Her memories from before the coma had not vanished.
Miyabi and Hoshimi Souichirou had different thoughts.
Miyabi was considering what to say if she ended up revealing too much. After all, Arden could resurrect the dead and change the past to affect the future. The fewer people who knew, the better—otherwise, Yunkui Summit would be swarmed with requests, and other factions would start keeping an eye on them.
Ideally, not even her parents should know.
"Who was it? Do you remember her appearance? Such a great favor deserves full repayment from the Hoshimi family!"
At this, Souichirou straightened up. For years, he had wanted to repay the person who had saved his wife and daughter. He had even gone to Yunkui Summit personally, but received no answers.
Currently, the only information he had was scant: a young woman, a fox Thiren, wielding a crimson flying sword, dressed in a Yunkui Summit robe.
The last two details matched Daoist Xu, but he wasn't a fox Thiren, and he was a man.
Souichirou suspected that the benefactor might have been Arden's mother or a relative; otherwise, they wouldn't have left the note saying, "If you want to repay the favor, marry your daughter to Daoist Xu."
Yet as far as he knew, Daoist Arden had only recently joined Yunkui Summit in the past year or two, which made everything very puzzling.
"Mm… she seemed about the same age as our Miyabi?"
After a moment of recollection, Mrs. Hoshimi gave a vague answer.
Souichirou fell silent. When he had asked the family members who had brought back Mrs. Hoshimi and Miyabi back then, he had gotten nearly the same answer.
In reality, the girls of the Hoshimi family dressed similarly. For example, both Miyabi and Mrs. Hoshimi had fox ears and long black hair. By those traits alone, it was impossible to determine the identity of the benefactor.
However, the Yunkui Summit robe and crimson flying sword—Miyabi had also worn the apricot-yellow robe, and the Sword of Red Heaven, a gift from Master Arden, served as a token of their bond.
Could it… hehe, what am I thinking? There's no way it's my daughter going back to the past to save my wife and herself, right?
With so few clues, Souichirou could only shake his head with a wry smile.
Phew…
Watching her parents, Miyabi let out a quiet sigh of relief. Thankfully, she had switched back to the Hollow Special Operations Section 6 uniform when leaving Yunkui Summit, or she might have been exposed.
...
"Miyabi, come let your mother take a look—you've grown into such a young lady."
Mrs. Hoshimi didn't dwell much on the benefactor. If the person truly wanted repayment, they wouldn't hide their identity. Since no one had come forward, it was safe to let things be.
Now, Mrs. Hoshimi cared more about her precious daughter.
Then, Miyabi, like a doll, was scrutinized by her mother, touched and inspected from every angle.
"Hmm… not bad!"
Though she had grown, she still felt familiar. Mrs. Hoshimi realized that this Miyabi was exactly like herself before marriage.
Indeed, my little Miyabi!
For this, Mrs. Hoshimi felt an indescribable joy. No parent could resist wanting their child to resemble them, especially in all the good ways.
After all, Mrs. Hoshimi had been a famously beautiful woman in her youth, and naturally, Miyabi was too.
Her gentle gaze fell on Miyabi's face, and Mrs. Hoshimi nodded.
Aside from temperament, it was like looking at a mirror image from her younger days.
"You're growing more beautiful every day—this will surely leave all the boys in New Eridu swooning!"
This wasn't a parent's biased perception. Mrs. Hoshimi recalled the many young men who had pursued her back then, winding their way through New Eridu countless times. With Miyabi resembling her so closely, it was bound to be the same.
"Mother!"
Miyabi stared at her living mother, stunned.
Knowing the truth made it all feel unreal. She clenched her fists, afraid that if she relaxed, everything before her would vanish like a mirage.
"When you were a child, mother always wondered what you would grow up to be, praying every day that you'd turn out well."
"Now, it seems everything is perfect."
"But mother must apologize for sleeping so long… Your childhood must have missed me terribly. Now that I'm awake, I will do my best to make up for all the years you've lost."
Mrs. Hoshimi gently stroked Miyabi's fox ears.
Without a doubt, the most obvious changes in Miyabi's body over the past ten years were her chest and her fox ears.
Back then, one hand could cover both ears; now, even two hands couldn't hold one.
Truly a naturally gifted daughter, surpassing her mother.
"Waah… wuuu~~!!"
Unable to hold back, Miyabi hugged her mother and cried.
The "crying for parents" that had just stopped echoed through the room once more.
"Mother, I won't let you leave me again."
Now, Miyabi could be certain—this was real, not an illusion. Her mother would never have said such caring words unless she truly loved her daughter.
"Daughter, don't cry, don't cry."
Just like over a decade ago, Mrs. Hoshimi gently patted her daughter's head.
She knew how much her daughter had suffered, growing up without a mother's love, and the thought alone was heartbreaking.
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