After the atmosphere warmed up, everyone sat down in the living room, enjoying tea and snacks. Mother and daughter sat close to each other, Manranyama Souren and Tachikawa Wakaba, with their blood connection evident. They discussed the combination of black tea and pastries. Manranyama Uminari sat at a distance, observing the mother and daughter converse. Van and the Yagyu butler served on either side.
Everything appeared to be a normal family living room scene, albeit a first for the Manranyama household. It was all surface level. Manranyama Souren only showed affection towards Tachikawa Wakaba, as she was innocent. She still maintained her cold attitude towards Manranyama Uminari, oblivious to her presence. While engaging emotionally with Tachikawa Wakaba, Manranyama Souren also contemplated the significance of this meeting.
First of all, how did Tachikawa Wakaba come back to life? Although Manranyama Souren didn't show any shock about someone being resurrected, she had doubts. Resurrection of the dead; supernatural phenomena or advanced technology beyond common knowledge? From what Manranyama Souren knew, Tachikawa Wakaba's case involved cutting-edge technology. To bring Tachikawa Wakaba back to life, Manranyama Uminari had collaborated with Yan for a long time. Initially, Yan caught Manranyama Uminari's interest with his human preservation technology. After learning about Manranyama Uminari's loss of his wife, Yan proposed resurrecting Tachikawa Wakaba. To prove he was serious, Yan contacted Manranyama Uminari a month later and provided a detailed plan.
From that point, the project began, and fate's gears started turning. Manranyama Souren was skeptical about the project's success. She had never believed that the dead could come back to life. Death meant finality to her. Since the call from the Yagyu butler till now, she found it hard to believe. However, it would be impolite to question a resurrected person, especially when they were her biological daughter. Hence, Manranyama Souren said nothing, portraying an acceptance of the situation.
But deep down, she still felt that this was no longer the same "Rikawa Wakaba".
Completely identical, but a different person.
And Manranyama Uminari's arrangement for this mother-daughter reunion was quite evident, aiming to make Rikawa Wakaba more "complete".
Manranyama Souren could guess that before today's meeting, Manranyama Uminari must have already explained to Rikawa Wakaba about the difficult childbirth and the subsequent events.
A soul without memories is incomplete.
The purpose of today's reunion between mother and daughter was also to make these "informed memories" feel more real.
And then, they would each continue with their own lives.
That's how Manranyama Souren thought.
After this make-believe play, she would return to her own battlefield, trying to deal with Bai Yaxin.
The half of the kingdom that Manranyama Uminari had lost, she, Manranyama Souren, would reclaim.
And then confront Manranyama Uminari head-on.
But at that moment, there was an unexpected turn of events that even Manranyama Souren had not foreseen.
"Hey, I was thinking." (Rikawa Wakaba)
Rikawa Wakaba, holding a cookie in one hand, spoke with a soft yet firm voice, expressing her own thoughts.
"Can you come back to live here?" (Rikawa Wakaba)
Rikawa Wakaba looked at Manranyama Souren and said so.
