Chapter 177: The Innate Ability of Soulmates
"If this is all you wanted me to see, then you've lost this bet."
Miya's tone was so calm that it carried a chilling coldness.
It was evident she was suppressing the fury in her heart.
It was clear that this Sayuri indeed had an unusual relationship with Tatsurou, but this kind of interaction wasn't something that had developed overnight.
She had known about it all along, so it meant nothing to her.
As for their conversation—though it was insulting enough toward her daughter Miyuki, the Yotsuba main family, and displayed their insatiable greed...
None of it proved anything.
"What's the hurry, Aunt? Since we're already here, why not keep watching? We might stumble upon some unexpected surprises."
Mahiro leisurely settled onto the office sofa and gestured for Miya to join him.
With optical camouflage and a soundproof barrier, there was no fear of their voices being overheard by a third party. Even if the two of them were to do something here, the two people working in front of them wouldn't notice.
Miya hesitated for a moment but eventually stepped forward and sat on the other side of the sofa.
The direction she faced happened to be right toward the two people working.
Just then, however, Sayuri suddenly made a new move.
She abruptly set down her portable device, looked up at Tatsurou, and—with some unknown intention—stood up and walked over to him.
And then she sat in his lap.
"...S-Sayuri, what are you doing?!"
Tatsurou's face showed clear panic.
Perhaps it was this display of emotion that slightly eased the icy coldness in Miya's gaze.
But immediately after, Sayuri began loosening Tatsurou's tie and removing his jacket.
"Sayuri, stop this. I know what you're thinking, but this really isn't something we can do."
Tatsurou tried to stop Sayuri, but it was already too late. In the blink of an eye, even his brass-buckled belt was undone and tossed aside.
The crisp sound of the belt buckle hitting the marble floor seemed to echo Sayuri's determination.
Under Tatsurou's gaze, Sayuri let herself sink down under her own weight—
With a soft thud.
Her hands gripped Tatsurou's shoulders tightly.
Sayuri's body trembled slightly, and it took a long while before she slowly lifted her head, choking back moans as she spoke:
"What's... so impossible about it? It's just... replacing that little girl's... Guardian. What's so difficult about that?"
"I've heard... that Mahiro kid... is also an adjusted body from the Yotsuba Research Institute... and the two of them even attend the same school. Just figure out a way... to talk to that woman Maya... and have Mahiro take over as Miyuki's guard... Hnng?!"
Little did Sayuri know that every word she said was being heard clearly by Mahiro.
But unlike Miya, Mahiro didn't have much of a reaction. That careless smile never left the corner of his mouth.
How nice...
Someone actually has the nerve to set their sights on me.
If I recall correctly, the last one was the leader of Blanche, wasn't it? The grass on his grave must be several feet high by now.
Truly brimming with courage.
In his mind, he had already marked this Sayuri with a death sentence, but he was in no hurry to act, intending to listen further.
However, it must be said that this Sayuri was quite cooperative, quickly uttering words that greatly piqued his interest.
"Could it be... because Tatsuya and Miyuki are the legacy of that woman Miya, you can't bear to part with them? Or... because you see the shadow of that woman Miya in that little girl, so you're feeling nostalgic?"
"That woman left you alone for over a decade, guarding an empty room. Don't you love me?"
"How could that be?!"
Tatsurou looked as if he was wearing a mask of pain, hurriedly explaining: "There were never any feelings between us. The Yotsuba family took a liking to my strong psion count in my youth—they just wanted to borrow my genes. They never let me lay a hand on her."
"Moreover, I've been in love with you since twenty years ago! Although Miya was my legal wife, when she passed away, I couldn't wait to come to your side. Isn't that enough?!"
"..."
He had truly stumbled upon something astonishing.
His gaze gradually shifted to Miya. At this moment, her hands were tightly clutching her skirt, her fingertips turning pale from the pressure. Her frost-like beautiful face was twisted unpleasantly, and her wine-red eyes were filled with fury and disappointment.
Her delicate frame trembled faintly, unable to contain her emotions.
She never expected that everything Mahiro said was true—this man had truly betrayed her, and from the very beginning!
She had even tolerated his secret affairs behind her back, all for the sake of considering his feelings, and had even handed over Yotsuba Technologies for him to manage.
And this was how he repaid her?!
"Disgusting!"
Witnessing their sordid affair and their nauseating display of affection, Miya finally couldn't hold back those two words.
She now understood—the pain she felt earlier wasn't resistance but the exhaustion of middle age...
"Thinking of taking action? No problem. I can help you handle all the cleanup."
Mahiro smiled faintly, kindly offering his personal suggestion.
Hearing this, Miya shifted her gaze to him. Her wine-red eyes studied him for a long while before slowly turning away with a slight nod.
A trace of relief finally appeared on her face, along with a hint of gratitude.
How rare...
Even after he resurrected her, she hadn't uttered a single word of thanks. Yet, in this trivial matter, she expressed her gratitude to him.
But even without gratitude, he wouldn't have minded in the least.
Before Miya made her move, Mahiro promptly deployed a barrier to conceal the psionic light.
He knew very well that if this woman decided to act, she wouldn't use large-scale freezing magic like Miyuki.
Instead, she would choose to dissect them bit by bit from the mental aspect, bringing despair.
Just as he imagined.
When Miya fixed her gaze on the two entangled figures again, her wine-red eyes slowly began to glow with a faint light.
In an instant, she captured their "gates."
Intervening and rewriting through the unconscious realm—this is the ultimate application of mental interference magic!
But immediately afterward, an icy chill capable of freezing souls began spreading from Miya's entire being.
The world froze with her at its center.
Yet it wasn't a physical freeze—no frost formed on the ground or walls. What froze was the world of perception.
Like an invisible hand of deep winter gradually enveloping the two of them.
It even made them shiver abruptly.
The room wasn't cold; the temperature was perfectly regulated. Yet they felt an inexplicable chill eroding themselves.
It was practically the polar opposite of Esdeath.
Esdeath freezes living flesh and blood, while Miya freezes the target's soul!
However, the cold wave quickly receded.
The chill embracing them vanished without a trace.
"Let's go."
Miya immediately stood up from the sofa.
"Alright. I thought you'd just kill them outright."
Mahiro left Tatsurou's office with Miya, teleporting to the corridor outside.
After releasing her hand, Miya walked down the hallway toward the parking lot.
"Death is often an easy thing, even a form of release. True suffering is the feeling of being better off dead."
"Heh, I never expected someone who's died once to gain so much insight."
Watching Miya transform into a great philosopher, Mahiro couldn't help but laugh.
"But what exactly did you do to that despicable couple?"
"Your eyes didn't observe it?"
"No."
Mahiro replied frankly.
Mental and spiritual matters weren't his specialty. Capturing and eliminating spirits? He could do that.
But rewriting someone's mind and spirit? That was beyond him.
Let alone observing such delicate operations—he could only sense changes in the information bodies.
"Nothing much. I just made some minor adjustments to make him work more diligently from now on."
As if recalling something amusing, Miya finally showed a faint smile—like a rose blooming in full splendor.
"I deleted all his physiological-related emotions, preserving only his passion for work. He won't be interested in any women from now on. It's good for his health too—might even extend his lifespan."
Hiss
This woman is ruthless.
Starting with physiological castration? No—more like psychological-physiological castration!
"As for Sayuri..."
Miya suddenly halted, her high heels clicking sharply on the marble tiles.
She slowly turned to face him and said:
"I modified her physiological-related emotions to remain perpetually active."
"What do you think of that approach?"
Mahiro stared blankly before giving a thumbs up, "As expected of you, Aunt."
"Truly worthy of your title as Ruler of the River of Oblivion."
One castrated into sexual indifference, the other transformed into a severe sex addict.
What kind of sparks would fly when these two came together? You didn't need to guess.
"But Aunt, I'm quite curious—was what Tatsurou said earlier true? Between the two of you..."
"Mahiro, this isn't something you should inquire about."
The relationship that had just thawed a moment ago instantly froze over again.
He had only wanted to make casual conversation.
Ah, women...
...
The night was deep.
Just as they got in the car and began their journey back under the cover of darkness, Miya suddenly resumed the earlier topic.
"What Tatsurou mentioned earlier was true."
Mahiro: "???"
So abruptly?
Gazing out the window at the tranquil night, she began recounting the past to a stunned Mahiro.
"I believe you should know about the nightmare that occurred in 2062."
He did remember.
Though he hadn't witnessed it personally, he had heard fragments from many people.
Back then, Maya attended a magician exchange conference, was kidnapped by thugs, and subjected to inhumane human experiments. Her uterus was surgically removed, leaving her with lifelong physical disabilities.
Maya's spirit teetered on the brink of collapse.
She closed off her heart, staring blankly without responding to anyone.
She ceased acting on her own volition, becoming like a doll—even during medical treatments, she remained completely passive.
Thus, Miya used "Mental Structure Interference" on her sister Maya, converting those traumatic "memories" into mere "knowledge" in her brain.
While this successfully prevented Maya's mental breakdown, it permanently severed their sisterly bond.
Watching Maya's emotions gradually fade into apathy, Miya blamed herself entirely and began punishing herself by repeatedly overusing mental interference magic.
Consequently, she ruined her health before even reaching twenty.
She endured a decade of recurring hospitalizations and recuperation.
To prevent such tragedies from recurring, the Yotsuba family decided to cultivate dedicated personal guards for clan members—known as Guardians.
Thus, Sakurai Honami became Miya's Guardian, responsible for her daily life and complete security.
Later came her meeting with Tatsurou, their growing acquaintance, and eventual marriage.
However, her body had become too frail to withstand intimate relations.
The Yotsuba family resorted to in vitro fertilization, implanting the embryo into her—a fact even Maya remained unaware of.
This led to the birth of her son, Tatsuya.
As for Miyuki, that goes without saying.
She was genuinely one of the finest achievements of the Fourth Research Institute—a completely engineered being, perfectly inheriting Miya's talents and appearance.
That roughly covers the story. One could say neither child was born through conventional means.
But honestly, he thought Tatsurou's taste was rather questionable.
Despite Miya's exceptional beauty—if not the world's finest, certainly possessing city-toppling looks and figure—he neglected his lovely wife to chase after other women.
Could it be that only "forbidden fruit" tastes sweet?
But even so, if you'd found someone decent-looking with a good personality, I could still respect you as a man.
Instead, you went and picked that wretched Sayuri.
I simply can't understand it.
"My story is finished. Now it's your turn."
Miya withdrew her gaze from the car window and turned to look at him, her wine-red eyes swirling with seriousness and solemnity.
"Mahiro, what exactly is your objective?"
"Objective... that's quite a broad term. Actually, I have many objectives. I'm not sure which one you're asking about, Aunt."
"No evasive answers."
Unusually, Miya even invoked her authority as an elder.
"Fine, fine. Actually, digging you out of your grave and resurrecting you was originally just to satisfy a small curiosity of mine, while also dealing with Tatsurou."
"After all, I brought back many things from the other world—most of which I handed over to Tatsuya for processing, operating within FLT's research institute. And since FLT is Yotsuba property,"
"I thought it somewhat inappropriate to let an outsider hold a shareholder position!"
He was lying.
Miya could tell at a glance.
While his expression was flawless, the logic was full of holes.
She knew very well that with Mahiro's capabilities, simply eliminating the nuisance Tatsurou wouldn't require such convoluted methods that ultimately involved herself.
Though this had granted her rebirth, allowing her to begin her second life.
"But now, my objectives have undergone a slight change—I just haven't figured out the specifics yet."
Following the mountain road, Mahiro calmly turned the steering wheel.
Throughout this process, Miya had been watching him intently, as if trying to discern something from his face.
Unfortunately, Mahiro's expression was perfect, completely inheriting Maya's traits. The calm smile gracing his lips offered no glimpse into his inner thoughts.
That seemingly gentle smile that somehow felt inexplicably cold couldn't help but remind her of her younger sister—
The image of Maya seemed to gradually overlap with this nephew before her.
She even recalled something Maya had once told her: "All my joys and sorrows up to now have become mere data... Sister, you killed me with your own hands."
This statement marked the beginning of their sisterly bond's rupture.
And now, Mahiro—this child who inherited Maya's blood and was born with a powerful special magic calculation domain—was about to completely tear apart from Maya once again.
Thinking of this, Miya lowered her eyelids slightly and slowly said:
"Very well, I won't interfere with anything you want to do, and I'll honor our previous bet."
"But as your aunt, I hope you'll listen to one thing, Mahiro:"
"Don't treat Yotsuba as your enemy. You might not believe it, but your mother, Maya, actually loves you very much."
"Is that so?"
Hearing Miya's words, Mahiro smiled indifferently.
"If that's the case, then I can only say—"
"The way you two sisters express love is truly special, especially toward your own children."
"Is this perhaps the innate ability to love that is unique to you sisters?"
With just that single sentence, Miya was completely defeated.
Her delicate cherry lips parted slightly, yet she couldn't even utter a single word of rebuttal.
Setting aside the matter of Mahiro, her own biological son Tatsuya had been personally sent by her to the operating table, where he was forcibly implanted with an artificial magic calculation area while having all his emotions erased.
Including even her own love for Tatsuya.
Noticing Miya's rare display of despondency and self-reproach, Mahiro, who was driving, curled his lips into a pleased smile.