Chapter 151: The Miracle Beyond Magic—Resurrection of the Dead
There's no need to explain Yatsufusa.
A Teigu that controls the dead—it was the gift he prepared for Kurome.
After all, without Yatsufusa, could she even be called Kurome?
Moreover, with Kurome's current strength, using Yatsufusa to control eight corpses wouldn't drain her stamina in the slightest.
However, after obtaining Yatsufusa, Kurome didn't return Kiriichimonji.
Instead, she kept it under the pretext that gifts given should never be taken back.
Well, let her do as she pleases.
As for Power Surging: Balzac, it was something he had prepared for himself.
This mask-type Teigu was said to unleash 100% of the wearer's latent potential.
So he wanted to see just how powerful he would become with his potential fully unleashed.
But the result...
It shattered on the spot before he could feel anything.
Even though it was made from a Super Danger Beast and the hardest Orichalcum, it still couldn't withstand it.
Or perhaps, Balzac simply couldn't handle his potential.
After repairing the mask and scanning its information matrix, Mahiro originally intended to let the elite group try it out.
But none of the girls had a compatible wavelength.
Left with no choice, he could only store the mask away for the time being.
"Little Mine, Womyn, Remus, I'm home~"
After handling matters with the assassination unit and the guard corps, Mahiro headed straight home.
The maids carried out their duties in an orderly manner. It seemed that even after half a year away, a few new faces had joined the household.
The new maids were momentarily stunned upon seeing Mahiro, wondering how a man had appeared in this all-female residence—until the experienced maids who had met him before gave them a light knock on the head, reminding them that this was the master of the estate!
"Wah... Master, I missed you so much!!!"
Just then, Mine, Womyn, and Remus, having heard of his return, rushed over upon seeing him and couldn't hold back any longer.
Remus and Womyn boldly hugged him, while Mine went even further—wrapping her pale, lotus-like arms tightly around his neck and hanging from his waist.
"Master, Mine missed you so much. Every night you were away, I dreamed of you. You were gone for so long, I thought you had abandoned me, that you didn't want Mine anymore..."
Mine looked up, her light pink eyes glistening with tears.
The other two nodded in agreement, lifting their heads with pitiful expressions, afraid that they had truly been cast aside.
It made sense—while half a year meant little to Mahiro, to them, it felt like an eternity.
Especially for Mine.
Since following him in the western borderlands, they had never been apart for so long.
The fact that Mine hadn't run out of the Imperial City to search for him showed remarkable restraint on her part. Surprisingly, this half-year separation seemed to have cured Mine of her tsundere tendencies, at least for the moment.
"There, there, don't cry. I'm back now, aren't I?"
He gently patted Mine's smooth, jade-like back, signaling for her to let go.
But instead of releasing him, Mine held on even tighter.
"No, no, this isn't enough! Mine demands compensation from Master!"
"Compensation?" Mahiro was taken aback.
"Well, Mine demands that Master sleep with me tonight!" Mine stared at him with her round, slightly teary eyes.
"Sigh..."
Mahiro couldn't help but shake his head with a smile. "Why are you acting like you haven't been sleeping with me all along?"
That's right.
Although Mine had her own room, it was essentially just a dressing room. In reality, Mine had the duty of warming his bed, so for convenience, she had always slept with him, serving as his hugging pillow.
And this arrangement hadn't changed even after Womyn and Remus arrived.
According to her words—this was what a personal head maid should do!
Anyone who tried to take this privilege away would be challenging her authority as head maid!
Hearing him say this, Mine's cheeks flushed slightly. She immediately turned her head and glared at Remus and Womyn.
They immediately understood the hint, bid farewell to Mahiro, and claimed they still had work to do.
Clearly, they were glared away by Mine.
But Mine would naturally never admit to such a thing. Grabbing his large hand, she headed toward the room.
After so long apart, she had so much she wanted to say to her Master!
However, after returning to the room, Mahiro sat in his favorite armchair while Mine wrapped her arms around his neck, sitting sideways obediently on his lap.
Her suspended white-stockinged legs swayed lightly as she recounted various interesting things that had happened over the past six months.
Though they were all trivial matters, to her, they were precious memories she had accumulated and wanted to share with Mahiro.
So he had no intention of interrupting, quietly listening to her.
After Mine finished speaking, he also shared various experiences from his mission during this period.
Of course, this didn't include his intimate relationships with those six girls.
But how could such things possibly escape Mine's notice?
Though she would nervously clutch his clothes when hearing about dangerous moments, such as when the Revolutionary Army came to rescue General Najenda, most of the time Mine puffed up her cheeks as if sulking.
"...Master, Mine has grown over the past six months too."
"Hmm? What growth?"
She didn't seem any different from six months ago, did she?
Just as he was thinking this, Mine had already unbuttoned her clothes, grabbed his large hand, and pushed it inside her garments until his fingers touched her warm, jade-like skin.
"Mmm... Master, Mine has been maintaining the habit of eating papayas and drinking milk all this time... Mine must have grown quite a bit, right?"
"It does seem a bit larger..." Mahiro commented with careful consideration.
Once again experiencing Mahiro's familiar caresses, Mine comfortably narrowed her large eyes.
Finally unable to hold back any longer, she leaned fully against him, breathing slowly.
Even the shoes covering her suspended white-stockinged feet accidentally fell to the floor, her rounded toes curling together.
She looked as adorable as a pet.
However, seeing that Mine couldn't hold on any longer, he didn't continue.
After all, there was still serious business to attend to.
Then, he took out the Roman Artillery: Pumpkin he had taken from Najenda and handed it to Mine.
"Master, what is this...?"
Mine stared at the massive firearm in her hands, nearly as tall as her entire body, unable to conceal her astonishment.
For some inexplicable reason, the moment she gripped this gun, an uncanny sense of resonance blossomed within her—as if this weapon had always been destined for her grasp.
"This is one of the 48 Teigu forged by the First Emperor," Mahiro explained. "It's called Roman Artillery: Pumpkin. It previously belonged to General Najenda, but I... acquired it for you as a greeting gift."
"T-Teigu?!!!"
Mine gasped at the term, immediately trying to push the weapon back into his arms in panic. "I can't accept this, Master! It's far too precious! How could someone like me deserve such a thing!"
Though she felt drawn to this firearm, though some fated connection seemed to pulse between them—how could she possibly accept?
This was a Teigu!
Before meeting Mahiro, she had only heard of such legendary artifacts in fairy tales. How could someone of her station wield such an exalted weapon?
"Take it when I tell you to take it."
Mahiro firmly pressed Pumpkin back into her grasp, his hands closing hers tightly around the weapon. "Just as I said when we first met—you are my maid. You must always hold your head high with pride. What's a mere Teigu compared to that? If you're my maid, only a Teigu is worthy of you. Understand?"
"..."
Mine pressed her lips tightly together, her shoulders trembling with involuntary emotion.
She no longer knew what actions or words could possibly convey the storm of feelings swirling within her.
In the end, all she could do was clutch the Teigu tightly against her chest, repeating her gratitude like a prayer.
Just a few years ago, she was merely a street urchin, a little girl who never knew when she might starve to death.
Yet now, a few years later, she had become the personal maid of Mahiro—a high-ranking official who even Minister Honest and the young emperor dared not provoke—and had even received such a precious weapon.
If this were all due to fate, then her fate had been far too tumultuous, the contrast between past and present far too immense.
This kindness, this debt—she could never repay it!
All she could do was swear a silent vow in her heart.
No matter what challenges or dangers the future held, she would remain by Mahiro's side.
If her master were to die, Mine would never live on alone!
"Alright, enough of this sentimental talk. I need to head to the vault now to take care of some business."
Mahiro habitually patted Mine's hair.
Hmm, even after all this time, it still felt familiar—especially the soothing sensation of her strands slipping through his fingers. He quite liked it.
Mine felt the warmth from his touch, but upon hearing Mahiro mention business, she immediately grew serious.
"Is there anything Mine can do for you?"
"Nothing special. Just make sure no one disturbs me during this time—no one is to come near, understood?"
"What about dinner?"
"Not needed."
"Understood. Mine will go instruct the others right away."
Mine climbed down from him, still holding Pumpkin, bowed respectfully, and left the room.
Efficiency was her hallmark.
This was one of the things he appreciated about Mine—she never required excessive explanations or asked probing questions.
She simply carried out his orders with precision.
"Now then, it's your turn."
Mahiro rose from his chair, glanced back at the leather-wrapped bundle on the carpet, picked it up, and headed straight for the mansion's vault.
Though called a vault, it was originally the dungeon of Aria's family.
The gloomy atmosphere was all too fitting for what he was about to do.
Placing the leather bundle on the floor, he unwrapped it, fully revealing Taeko's corpse.
He had long since cleaned off the grime and discarded her clothes.
If not for her deathly pale complexion and the gruesome wound on her chest, Taeko would have looked as though she were merely asleep.
And what he was about to do was simple—
"Resurrecting the dead... I wonder how far I can take this."
As he spoke, Mahiro drew "Nightmare," aimed it at Taeko's body, and slowly pulled the trigger.
[Initiating trace of individual information body change history]
[Confirming restoration time point...]
Tatsuya's "Regeneration," or rather, "Information Body Overwrite," could trace back up to 24 hours at most.
But Mahiro had no such limitation. His only constraint was his own power—the stronger he became, the further back in time he could reach.
However, resurrecting someone who had been dead for nearly two months... this was his first attempt.
Gradually, his face grew pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
All the information bodies transformed into experiences flooding his mind—even the experience of death itself.
Finally, he determined the exact point in time Taeko had reverted to.
[Beginning restoration.]
Everything appeared as if time was flowing backward.
The ferocious wound on her chest was healing, becoming clean and unblemished as before. Shattered bones were reassembling and reconnecting, the sunken chest slowly returning to its original curvature. Those long-dead nerves were regaining life and vitality like new sprouts.
Her pale skin gradually took on a rosy hue with renewed blood flow.
Ultimately, Taeko's lost breath returned, her chest rising and falling gently.
"It's done!"
Mahiro felt pleasantly surprised, with an immense sense of accomplishment.
This was different from previous information body overwrites—he had actually brought back someone who had been dead for a long time.
If this was possible, a bold idea suddenly emerged in his mind.
Could Miyuki's deceased mother, Maya's elder sister—Shiba Miyuki—also be revived using this method?
Though he didn't understand matters of the soul, perhaps... the souls of deceased humans were stored within their perished flesh!
At the very least, Taeko had proven this point quite well.
Gradually, the sleeping girl slowly awakened. Perhaps because her body was completely exposed to the air, the chill stimulated her, causing her to open her heavy eyelids once more.
"...An unfamiliar ceiling."
Not only was the ceiling unfamiliar, but the surroundings were also quite dim, with waves of cold air stimulating her nerves.
Where was this?
She didn't know. The only thing she remembered was that she seemed to have been killed by Cornelia.
But after waking up again, she found herself here.
"So... is this the underworld?"
She sat up, looking around, and finally saw a blurry figure sitting not far away.
"Hey, you're awake."
The person there even greeted her.
"Are you... the ferryman of the underworld?"
As soon as she spoke, she saw the blurry figure stagger as if about to fall.
Are all underworld ferrymen like this?
Even stumbling while walking?
"This girl is unexpectedly a bit airheaded...Mahiro straightened himself and silently complained in his heart.
"I say, do you remember me?"
"You... it's you?!"
Seeing the figure emerging from the darkness, Taeko's pupils instantly contracted sharply.
Instinctively reaching to her side, she found nothing there.
Only then did she remember.
She was already dead, this wasn't the human world, and she no longer needed to bear the responsibilities of an assassin.
Taeko felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders, experiencing an inexplicable sense of relief.
She raised her head again to meet the figure's gaze: "Mr. Yotsuba, besides being the head of the Imperial Assassination Unit, are you also the ferryman of the underworld?"
"I say... are you just going to cling to this 'underworld ferryman' title forever?"
Mahiro smiled helplessly.
This was understandable, after all, the name of her organization was borrowed from the god of death, and she had heard many fairy tales about the underworld since childhood.
But he didn't know this, only sighing faintly:
"Is it possible that you're not actually dead, and I was the one who saved you?"
"Impossible!"
Taeko hesitated for a moment before immediately dismissing this possibility.
Leaving aside the fact that this man was her adversary, she knew exactly how severe her injuries had been—her chest torn open, bones shattered throughout her body, and internal organs crushed by debris. Survival had been utterly impossible.
"Fine, whether you believe it or not is your business, but I suggest you listen carefully to what I have to say next."
Mahiro cleared his throat and spoke to Taeko with an extremely solemn expression:
"Regarding the battle with Oarburgh, your teacher Babara Oarburgh died in combat, your junior Chelsea went missing after a failed assassination attempt, and you were rescued by me and imprisoned here."
"Impossible."
This was Taeko's second denial.
But this time, she seemed to accept the premise that she was still alive, though her tone grew noticeably colder.
She reverted to her cold, beautiful demeanor, her gaze sharp and icy as she stared at Mahiro.
"My teacher, Babara Oarburgh, was known as The Eyes of the Oarburgh Grim Reaper. She ranks among the greatest assassins in history—the most powerful killer! How could she die!"
"It seems you only care about your teacher Babara and show no concern for your junior Chelsea~ I truly feel sorry for her."
Mahiro spread his hands, his tone teasing.
"That's not true, I..."
"Alright, just joking." Mahiro waved his hand dismissively.
"Believe it or not, that's your own affair. I'm here to inform you that from this moment on, you are my prisoner, my slave."
"Of course, you can resist."
"If you want to run, go ahead."
"But the world is only so big—where could you possibly go? No matter how far you flee, I will hunt you down."
"And if I catch you... there will be terrifying training waiting for you~"
"If you don't believe me, feel free to try."