"Mom, he's not a stranger. He's the current CCG Bureau Director, and also my..."
At this point, Akira Mado hesitated slightly.
Perhaps she felt shy in front of her mother. The usually bold Akira found herself wavering at this moment.
Akira Mado composed herself, and after a moment spoke in a serious tone: "He's also my boyfriend."
"Oh my..."
Kasuka Mado was so surprised that she covered her mouth with her hand.
After all, her last memory before being resurrected was of a daughter who was only a few years old. It was as if overnight, her daughter had not only suddenly grown to twenty years old but had also gotten a boyfriend...
Any normal person would need time to adjust to something like this.
"Akira... you really have grown up..."
Kasuka Mado said with deep emotion.
Then her gaze turned to Kureo Mado. "Kureo, you've aged so much too..."
"It's been more than ten years. It's hard not to age."
Kureo Mado laughed heartily.
In truth, if he hadn't exhausted himself mentally every day in pursuit of revenge, he wouldn't have aged so quickly.
"But you don't seem very surprised. Did Byakuya already tell you what happened?"
Kureo Mado asked.
"Yes."
Kasuka Mado nodded. "So his name is Byakuya."
"I didn't introduce myself earlier. I'm Amaha Byakuya, and I'm currently dating Akira."
Amaha Byakuya smiled.
"So you're actually Akira's boyfriend... But what's even more unbelievable is that you could bring me back from the dead..."
Kasuka Mado couldn't help but wonder if she was dreaming.
She clearly remembered dying at the hands of the One-Eyed Owl. Her last conscious moment had been frozen at the instant the One-Eyed Owl lunged at her...
She didn't know what happened after that—she only knew she was certainly dead.
And yet... she had actually come back to life. Something that should have been absolutely impossible had happened to her...
She had even met the future versions of Kureo and Akira. It was like being in a dream, yet everything before her felt incredibly real.
"I can't tell anymore—is this a dream or reality? Or is this heaven...?"
Kasuka Mado murmured.
"This is reality! You were killed by the One-Eyed Owl back then, and eleven years have passed since. But now Byakuya has resurrected you. If you come outside with us, you'll understand."
Kureo Mado explained.
"Alright..."
Kasuka Mado's face broke into a smile.
She didn't need to see the outside world to accept this reality.
After all, she had once been the strongest female investigator. Her adaptability was far greater than ordinary people.
Looking at her husband's haggard appearance, Kasuka Mado understood something...
She walked up to Kureo Mado and Akira Mado, pulling both her husband and daughter into an embrace. "I'm sorry... during all these years I was gone, you both suffered..."
"That's not true. I was always thin, wasn't I?"
Kureo Mado didn't want to worry Kasuka Mado and was unwilling to bring up what had happened over the years.
"I remember very clearly—you were just a bit thin, nothing like this haggard. It must have been so hard for you all these years..."
Kasuka Mado's voice was full of heartache.
"By the way, what happened to the One-Eyed Owl? Did you succeed in eliminating it?"
Kasuka Mado asked with some concern.