Chapter 182: Mother and Daughter Reunited — The Love of an Elemental Lineage
"Mahiro-nii, you came to watch Miyuki's match!"
As soon as the competition ended, Miyuki excitedly ran down from the stage and threw herself into his arms.
She was truly overjoyed.
Because she knew exactly how busy Mahiro was.
He had been overwhelmed with work for this Nine Schools Competition.
Yet despite that, he still made time to watch her match.
How could she not be excited?
"There, there."
Mahiro habitually patted Miyuki's head to calm her down.
"First, congratulations on winning your first match. Then, I want you to meet someone."
"Eh? Who is it?"
"I can't tell you that. You'll have to see for yourself. But I can tell you that person is very much looking forward to seeing Miyuki again."
Mahiro smiled mysteriously.
...
Although Miyuki wasn't quite clear about it—at least she couldn't recall such a person in her memory—she still allowed Mahiro to lead her into the competitor's passageway.
Until in the dim, shadowy depths of the passage, she saw a familiar figure.
Wearing a light blue fitted dress and a sun hat, her hair seemed to be tied up.
Though she couldn't see the other's face clearly under the wide brim of the hat, the silhouette felt very familiar, gradually overlapping with a certain figure in her mind.
It couldn't be...
Miyuki seemed to realize something, her cherry lips slightly parting.
"Um... This might be rude, but could you let me see your face?"
Then, she saw the other person slowly raise her head, remove the sun hat, and a faint smile curve on her lovely red lips.
When Miyuki saw the other's features and face, she suddenly froze in shock, tugging at Mahiro's sleeve and looking up at him stammering.
"That... Mahiro-nii, she... she..."
Could she possibly be Aunt Maya?
Miyuki wanted to say that, but she knew very well it was completely self-deception.
Because the color of her pupils wasn't purple, but an intoxicating crimson like red wine!
The position of the beauty mark was completely different too, and her aura was entirely distinct—not like Maya's bewitching charm, but full of intellect.
All these characteristics pointed to that person in her memory!
Am I dreaming? Am I actually seeing my deceased mother?!
"Miyuki, my daughter, it's been a long time."
"....."
These words were like the final straw that broke the camel's back, instantly shattering Miyuki's emotional defenses and striking her most vulnerable spot.
Miyuki covered her mouth, her eyes sparkling with tears of joy.
"I'm really not dreaming, am I? Mo... mother... is it really you, Mother?"
"No, Miyuki, you're not dreaming. Come here..."
"Mother!!!"
Miya slowly opened her arms, and Miyuki threw herself forward, directly into Miya's embrace.
"Mother, Mother, Mother..."
Miyuki in her arms sobbed quietly, her shoulders shaking, tears gradually dampening Miya's dress.
According to the proper lady etiquette she had taught Miyuki in the past, such undignified behavior wasn't allowed in public. But this time, Miya chose to indulge her daughter.
Her hand gently stroked Miyuki's long hair, her eyes overflowing with affection.
"You've suffered, Miyuki."
"No, Mother, as long as you're alive, it's enough..."
Miyuki shook her head, looking up tearfully at her long-missed mother from within Miya's embrace.
"But Mother, how... I clearly saw you buried back then. Even Nii-sama said you were beyond saving, yet..."
At this point, Miyuki's voice suddenly paused.
She recalled some time ago, in the car, what Mahiro-nii had said to her—
"By the way, Miyuki, if you could see your mother again, what would you say to her?"
At the time, she only knew she was very sleepy and thought it was just Mahiro-nii teasing her.
But now...
"Mahiro-nii, was it you?!"
No, it should be said it was definitely Mahiro-nii!
In the entire magic world, even the whole world, only Mahiro-nii could accomplish such a thing!
Mahiro-nii...
Miyuki's gaze toward Mahiro gradually grew complex.
Originally, she should have died in Okinawa years ago. That she could be here now, able to cry, to laugh, to stand here like this—it was all thanks to Mahiro-nii.
Her very life was given by Mahiro-nii. One could say her life, everything, belonged to Mahiro-nii.
But now...
Mahiro-nii had also snatched Mother back from death's grasp and brought her to her side.
Not long ago, he even had Aunt Maya transfer the FLT company shares to her name, and even shattered the marriage between Father and that woman, the one that betrayed Mother.
How could she ever repay him...
"Alright, alright, I know what you're thinking, Miyuki. But I'm your brother, even if just a cousin. You don't need to think about all that. And didn't you miss Miya very much?"
"Don't you have a lot you want to say to her?"
"Go on quickly."
"Thank you, Mahiro-nii!"
The words "Go on quickly" made the emotions in Miyuki's heart swell to their peak. She clasped her hands in front of her abdomen and bowed deeply to him.
Her dark bangs slightly fell forward, making it hard to see her expression, but the teardrops hitting the ground made it clear how moved she was at this moment.
But when she turned back to face Miya again, she only parted her cherry lips slightly, unsure what to say for a moment.
Even though she had so much she wanted to say to Mother, she didn't know where to start.
And Miya felt the same.
Though for her it was only a short period of days, for Miyuki it had been several solid years.
Seeing her daughter had grown into such an elegant young woman so quickly, as a mother, she felt both gratified and somewhat at a loss.
Mother and daughter stood facing each other in silence for a moment before Miyuki finally spoke first.
"...Um, Mother, do you want to see Nii-sama? I think Nii-sama must miss you too..." d
"You mean Tatsuya? It's better not to see him for now. I don't know how to face Tatsuya."
Miya regretfully shook her head.
She felt guilty toward Tatsuya.
As for Tatsuya wanting to see her? That was simply impossible. After all, she was the one who had personally made Tatsuya what he was.
If anything, hatred would be more likely...
But for Tatsuya, he probably couldn't even develop emotions like hatred.
"Mother, there's another thing I don't know how to tell you... It's that Father has remarried."
"I know."
"And it was not long after you passed away..."
"Yes, I know."
"I heard that Father and she had feelings for each other even before he married you."
Miyuki's voice grew softer, but Miya's expression remained calm.
"But Mother, don't worry! Mahiro-nii has already helped me, helped you get revenge! That woman coveted the Yotsuba family's wealth and was sent to prison, and Father has also received due punishment!"
She said this as if wanting to comfort Miya.
Miya naturally understood, so she smiled and reached out to pat her head.
"Alright, Miyuki, I know all about what you said. You still have matches coming up, right? Go and prepare."
"Yes, I'll go now... Mother, you'll keep watching my matches, won't you?"
"Yes, I'll watch."
...
Miyuki went off to prepare for her next match.
Meanwhile, Mahiro and Miya remained in the competitor's passageway.
"You're really quite mean-spirited," Miya murmured with a sigh.
"How so? I don't think so."
Seeing his innocent expression, Miya immediately shot him a glare. Gazing at the girl working hard on the field, she said softly:
"You know, Miyuki actually likes you very much."
"Of course I know."
"Then from now on, you mustn't bully her like you did today. Using guilt to bind and crush her feelings—such methods are despicable."
"Heh."
Mahiro couldn't help but laugh.
He naturally understood what Miya meant.
It was simply because by bringing Miyuki to see her, he made Miyuki feel deeply moved, but also guilty and inferior because of this unrepayable debt.
If this continued long-term, he could even mold Miyuki into a slave of guilt, allowing him to do whatever he wanted without objection.
After all, in Miyuki, there occasionally appeared not just queenly attributes like Maya's, but sometimes a slight masochistic tendency too.
If it were him, Miyuki probably wouldn't refuse; she might even obediently let him do as he pleased.
But the problem was—
"You've misunderstood me. I just wanted to witness the touching reunion of mother and daughter. It's not as sordid as you think."
"Hmph, it better be that way."
Miya let out a somewhat haughty light snort.
"But speaking of which, Aunt, how do you plan to explain the relationship between you and me to Miyuki?"
"What relationship do we have? It's just a simple aunt-nephew relationship."
"Really?"
Although Mahiro still smiled, there was a hint of teasing in his expression.
Actually, it wouldn't be impossible for him and Miyuki to have their own separate terms.
For example, Miyuki calling him "Father" while he still treated her as a little sister.
Thinking about it was quite thrilling.
"Don't think nonsense!"
Miya saw right through his indecent thoughts and scolded him slightly sternly: "According to our agreement, I can satisfy whatever you want, Mahiro. But no matter what, you are not allowed to tell Miyuki about these things, understand?!"
"For example, unlocking a few more positions... Alright, alright, I won't say anything."
Under Miya's death glare, Mahiro ultimately chose to obediently shut his mouth.
After all, those were just thoughts. He wasn't shameless enough to actually act on them—that would hurt not just Miya, but Miyuki as well.
"By the way, Aunt, are you planning to stay and watch the rest of the Nine Schools Competition matches?"
"...What are you trying to do now?"
"Sigh, so cold. I was just asking."
Mahiro innocently spread his hands, but then his tone shifted.
"But if you really want to know what I want to do, there is one thing. I was thinking about when to take you to see that woman, Maya."
"What are you planning?"
Miya instinctively grew wary.
Whenever Maya was mentioned, it definitely meant nothing good—this was the experience she'd gained from being with Mahiro these days.
One could say that every time she tried to improve her relationship with Maya, Mahiro would take it out on her thoroughly afterward.
As if transferring those emotions onto her.
And this time he brought it up proactively—could there be anything good?
"Don't worry, I won't do anything. I just want to take you to see her. Now that Miyuki knows you've come back to life, Maya will probably find out soon too. Hiding you any longer is impossible.
Besides, don't you want to see your sister Maya?"
Miya: "..."
Her gorgeous red pupils narrowed slightly as she stared at him for a long time. Finally, Miya let out a sigh as if compromising.
"When?"
"After the Nine Schools Competition ends. After all, I don't want to be the culprit who ruins your reunion with Miyuki."
In the following days, the Nine Schools Competition continued.
And Miya indeed stayed at the venue without returning, always sitting in the audience seats admiring Miyuki's impressive performance during matches.
After each match ended, she would spend time with Miyuki, having breakfast and lunch together, leaving dinner time for Miyuki to be with her friends.
But even so, Miyuki's unusual behavior was eventually noticed by others.
They noticed Miyuki was often spending private time with a woman and asked about her identity.
But Miyuki remained silent about it. However, Tatsuya had already figured out who she was.
Although it did cause quite a stir in his heart, he was more curious about how Mahiro had managed to do it.
By the time of the "Ice Pillars Break" finals.
This year almost perfectly replicated last year's "Ice Pillars Break" results—the finals were once again a match between Miyuki and Shizuku.
But this year's winner was different.
Perhaps because Miya was watching from the stands, or perhaps because the Enhancement Drug Mahiro gave her had a stronger effect, Miyuki went all out from the start and cleanly defeated Shizuku.
Winning the championship.
Because of this, Shizuku specifically came to him seeking comfort.
The two spent a warm, intimate night together in his room, and Shizuku only slipped away at dawn.
It's said that when she returned to her room, Honoka stared at her with a resentful look all day.
This also led to today's incident—
"... Mahiro-kun, do you hate me?"
On the second day of the rookie competition, during a rare break when he had no competing students under his charge, he originally planned to get some proper sleep in his room and then go watch some matches.
But then Honoka cornered him in his room and immediately asked such a blunt question.
It simply confused him on the spot.
"Why do you ask? When have I ever hated you, Honoka? You're so cute—I like you more than enough."
"...."
His praise made Honoka's face turn red, like a ripe tomato.
Normally, with Honoka's easily shy personality, she should have been speechless by now.
But this time was different. Despite her shy, flushed face, she looked up and met his gaze with a rather sharp and serious look.
"Then why won't you accept me, Mahiro-kun?"
"???"
Mahiro slowly typed out a few question marks. "No... Honoka, are you still half-asleep? When have I not accepted you?"
He instinctively reached to check Honoka's forehead temperature, but—slap!—his hand was swatted away.
"Don't try to dodge the question! Clearly... clearly you've already done that kind of thing with Shizuku. Why won't you do it with me? Clearly I like you very much too, Mahiro-kun!"
Enduring her shyness, suppressing the urge to run away, Honoka closed her eyes and shouted out these words as if mustering all her courage.
Actually, she had noticed the relationship with Shizuku early on.
Or rather, she knew from the day they returned from America.
Because she noticed Shizuku had suddenly matured quite a bit, feeling somewhat like the maturity of Sayaka-senpai.
Not only that, she also saw the exquisite brooch on Shizuku's chest.
Judging by the craftsmanship style, it was exactly like her hair ribbon. That's when she understood—Mahiro had given it to Shizuku.
Moreover, every time they talked about Mahiro, Shizuku's eyes would drift slightly.
That's when she realized Shizuku must have a special relationship with Mahiro.
It wasn't until a few days ago that she learned Shizuku and Mahiro had already done it.
So today she mustered her courage and came to find him, seemingly using all her strength to say these words.
But after saying them, Honoka immediately regretted it.
She didn't know what to do next, even somewhat regretting why she had been so impulsive.
What if Mahiro-kun hates me? What if he thinks I'm the kind of woman who likes to cause trouble...
For a moment, Honoka's heart became flustered.
"...."
"Yes!"
She replied to Mahiro as if startled, but her shoulders couldn't stop trembling slightly.
She was extremely anxious inside.
Until a pair of large hands rested on her shoulders. Until she looked up and felt the warm touch on her cherry lips. Honoka gradually widened her jewel-like brown eyes.
A faint light swirled in her pupils.
Mahiro-kun... kissed me?
Only after what felt like a long time did she snap out of her shock. She wanted to respond, but they had already separated.
"Sorry. Actually, it's not that I dislike you, Honoka. I just don't know how to interact with you."
Yes, that's right.
He really didn't know how to interact with Honoka.
This girl was sometimes bold, sometimes timid; seemingly shy but surprisingly strong-willed deep down, and sometimes prone to impulsive little blunders.
Simple, yet very complex...
"I-It's okay, actually... I, I know my own problems..."
"No, actually it's my fault. As a man, I've been somewhat indecisive. But I still want to ask—Honoka, you won't regret it, will you? Once you take this step, there's no going back."
"Even if you regret it later, I will never let you go."
"..."
Honoka was silent for a moment, then pursed her lips and looked up to meet his gaze again, tears of determination welling in her eyes.
"I won't regret it, Mahiro-kun!"
After saying that, Honoka suddenly threw herself at him.
As if to prove her resolve, her arms tightly wrapped around his neck, pressing her cherry lips against his once more.
"..."
He felt the passion and directness coming from Honoka.
Elemental Families.
They could be considered relatively ancient families in the magic world, even older than the Ten Master Clans. It's said they were experimental types from several generations earlier.
And the Light family was a rather special existence among these Elemental Families.
Legend says that when creating the 'Light' elemental family, a dependency trait was added—they are born with a tendency to depend on and rely on others. Regardless of whether the feelings are real, they exhibit intense, blazing...
The most loyal love.
Now, Mahiro was experiencing this firsthand through Honoka.
"...Mahiro-kun... Mahiro-kun... Mahiro! It's okay, please be rougher...!"