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After the heartfelt mother-daughter moment, Miyabi wiped away her tears and felt a calm settle over her.
Mrs. Hoshimi turned her gaze toward Hoshimi Souichirou.
"Husband, all these years you and Miyabi have been on your own… did you ever find Miyabi a stepmother?"
Suddenly, Mrs. Hoshimi's question hit like a curveball.
"Uh…"
Cold sweat immediately broke out on Hoshimi Souichirou.
Originally, Mrs. Hoshimi just wanted to lighten the heavy atmosphere—it wasn't like she'd died, after all—so she thought of switching to a lighter topic.
But Souichirou felt this was a death question.
"Ahem! After the Old Capital fell, I've been swamped handling the aftermath, who had time for that? And later, Miyabi and I got used to just the two of us, as such there was no need for outsiders."
Souichirou hurriedly explained, then glanced at Miyabi as if seeking backup, "Miyabi, right?"
"Father's right!"
Miyabi's ears twitched. "I heard Mother… uh—"
She almost let something slip.
"Only those familiar with us and the doctors knew you were here, so almost everyone else thought the matriarch of the Hoshimi family had passed."
Luckily, Souichirou covered for her.
"Yes, yes, that's right!"
Miyabi continued along with her father's lead. "So, some people did try to introduce potential stepmothers to Father, but both Father and I declined."
These were all facts she had experienced firsthand—Miyabi swore she hadn't exaggerated.
Souichirou gave her a thumbs-up—truly a good daughter.
"Is that so, hehe!"
Hearing this, Mrs. Hoshimi smiled. "Though… it's a little unfortunate, isn't it?"
Then she muttered something seemingly random—no one could tell what she meant by unfortunate.
"Ahem! Nothing to be unfortunate about."
Souichirou decided to steer away from the dangerous topic and explained the current situation to his wife. "Eridu has been swallowed by Hollow Zero. The Hoshimi family is now in New Eridu, just southeast of the Old Capital ruins, across the Great Chasm."
"The Great Chasm was formed by a blast tower to prevent Hollow Zero from expanding further," Miyabi added.
"I see… well, it couldn't be helped. The disaster came so suddenly. To minimize losses, some sacrifices had to be made."
Mrs. Hoshimi nodded.
Having faced life and death herself, she could accept things more readily.
To Miyabi, the Old Capital's fall had been over ten years ago, but for her mother, the disaster still felt like yesterday.
Hollow Zero expanded so abruptly that people were dragged into catastrophe unprepared. At that time, for the Eridu leadership to make those decisions was already no easy feat.
"Such a pity… I remember promising to take Miyabi all over Eridu… but now… sigh~!"
Mrs. Hoshimi let out a sigh, then noticed the atmosphere was getting heavy again, so she quickly corrected herself. "If Eridu can't be done, then let's do New Eridu. Miyabi, what do you think?"
"Mm, it's a deal!"
Miyabi nodded firmly.
...
Hoshimi Family, dining room.
Mrs. Hoshimi recovered quickly. Soon, she would be able to walk around, and after over ten years surviving on nutritional injections, she was beginning to feel hunger.
Sizzle…
She sipped a large bowl of rice porridge.
Her digestive system still needed time to fully recover, so she could only eat easily digestible food.
"By the way, Miyabi, at your age you must already be working, right?"
"Mm."
Miyabi replied obediently, behaving very differently from the absent-minded Miyabi that people remembered.
"Miyabi's work… don't tell me yet, let Mother guess!"
Mrs. Hoshimi said this while her eyes studied Miyabi's uniform. "If I guess correctly, Miyabi, you'll promise Mother one thing, okay?"
"…"
Miyabi was speechless and even wondered if her mother's mind had fully recovered, but she eventually agreed.
"Alright!"
"Mother guesses… you're an executor at HAND, right?"
Of course. Dressed in the HAND uniform—obviously she worked there.
"Wow~! Mother can even guess this, so amazing!"
Miyabi's tone was full of surprise, but her expression remained unusually calm. "Yes, I'm the head of Hollow Special Operations Section 6, and also…"
Perhaps as a playful "revenge" on her mother, Miyabi decided to give her a little Void Hunter shock.
"…the youngest Void Hunter in New Eridu."
"What! Void Hunter!?"
Mrs. Hoshimi admitted she was truly shocked.
She had expected her daughter to be talented, but not to this extent.
Then Mrs. Hoshimi grew concerned.
"Tailless…"
The Hoshimi family had produced Void Hunters before, but most relied on Tailless' power. Mrs. Hoshimi knew the sword's cost well—using it shortens one's lifespan significantly.
She didn't want her daughter to die young.
"Mother, don't worry. I didn't become a Void Hunter by relying on Tailless' power."
Miyabi understood her mother's worry and spoke confidently. "Besides, I've abandoned the sword in favor of the sword!"
"What!? Abandoned the blade for the sword!!?"
This revelation shocked Mrs. Hoshimi even more than hearing about the youngest Void Hunter in New Eridu. Not relying on the family's Tailless and still becoming a Void Hunter—this was unprecedented among Hoshimi heads of household.
Could it be… my daughter is a once-in-a-century… no! Once-in-a-millennium genius!?
...
Phew… she won't follow the old path of the heads of household. Thank goodness!
Mrs. Hoshimi let out a deep breath.
Before she died, she had handed Tailless to Miyabi. What she least wanted was for her daughter to follow the same path as previous Hoshimi heads who relied on Tailless.
"Then… what about Tailless?"
She turned her gaze to Hoshimi Souichirou, who wore the family's ceremonial ornament.
Since Tailless wasn't in her daughter's hands, could it be in the current head's hands, Souichirou?
Mrs. Hoshimi didn't want her daughter to die young, nor her husband, but she remembered that Souichirou's aptitude was average, and he hadn't gained Tailless' recognition, right?
"I… me?"
Souichirou pointed at himself, eyes wide in disbelief. "Impossible! Lady, you know I nearly got killed by the family witch when I tried to wield Tailless back then."
For some reason, he spoke with utter dejection.
Indeed—his daughter, recognized by Tailless, didn't need it to become the youngest Void Hunter in New Eridu, while he… could practically write a novel titled "The Useless Father and His Invincible Daughter."
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