"Yu, tell me, can people really return to life after death?"
The sudden question from Nakano Maruo echoed in Nakano Yu's ears, causing the young man to smile softly.
"Yes, of course they can."
Nakano Yu nodded without hesitation, affirming the seemingly fantastical idea of returning from the dead.
For Nakano Yu, nothing was impossible. In this world, there were so many pantheons, countless gods of death and life, whether it was Anubis from ancient Egyptian mythology, or Thanatos from ancient Greek mythology, or even the great existence with the True Name [God], who is omniscient and omnipotent.
In short, mythology was colorful and vivid, and Nakano Yu understood only a tiny part of it. Countless gods were as numerous as the stars in the night sky.
Therefore, Nakano Yu was absolutely certain that within mythology there must exist a power capable of bringing the dead back to life.
"Yu, I want your mother to return. I want Reina to come back…"
Receiving the young man's affirmative answer once again, Nakano Maruo spoke again, and there was a plea in his tone.
During Nakano Reina's severe illness, Nakano Yu had displayed a power before him that he could not comprehend. With just a single kiss, Reina, who had been bedridden for years, stood up again.
Only… it was short-lived. Although he helped Nakano Reina obtain a strong body, that strange illness did not ease in the slightest.
In the end, Nakano Reina still passed away. At that time, he was on the verge of despair, immersed in grief over the death of his beloved wife, but Nakano Yu told him that the dead could return.
From then on, he devoted himself completely to pharmaceutical technology. To him, the power Nakano Yu possessed was incomprehensible; technology could not explain it, but Nakano Maruo knew that if he developed technology to a certain level, he would be able to bring Nakano Reina back!
But how simple the path to resurrection sounds in words, and how difficult it is in reality?
Now Nakano Maruo could no longer see any hope of bringing Nakano Reina back through medical technology.
Now he could rely only on Nakano Yu.
"I want that too, but… I still can't. Wait for me. One day I will bring Mother back."
Facing such a humble Nakano Maruo, Nakano Yu felt uncomfortable for a moment. He took a deep breath and said.
How could he not want Nakano Reina to return? It was just that he did not yet have that ability. However, with the system he possessed, as well as those fallen gods who kept appearing, Nakano Yu eagerly looked forward to the day when he would have the authority to bring the dead back to life.
Of course, that kind of authority that enslaves souls was out of the question. Even if he obtained it, he would never use it on Nakano Reina.
"I've talked so much with you, Yu, that as a father I seem too sentimental. Alright, don't keep the girl waiting too long."
Seeing the expression on Nakano Yu's face, Nakano Maruo was momentarily stunned, then smiled and shook his head, as if mocking his own weakness that his son had seen.
"Ding-ding!"
Just as Nakano Maruo finished speaking, the urgent sound of his phone rang.
Hearing the ringtone, Nakano Maruo startled slightly, stood up, took out his phone, and answered it in front of Nakano Yu:
"What? You've already broken through the barrier?! Good, good, send the data to my email. Alright, I understand."
After excitedly ending the call, Nakano Maruo looked at Nakano Yu and said:
"Yu, I have urgent work, I have to go immediately. Please take care of Ichika and the others. Have fun."
After saying that, Nakano Maruo hurried away without even waiting for Nakano Yu to respond.
Watching Nakano Maruo's departing back, Nakano Yu slightly frowned.
From the phone conversation, he had heard the person on the other end say things like: "The research bottleneck has been broken through, experiments can now begin."
"Is Father still unwilling to give up the idea of bringing Mother back through medical technology?"
Muttering this, Nakano Yu stood up. He could understand Nakano Maruo. When Reina was ill, Nakano Maruo had also wanted to rely on his medical knowledge to snatch Reina from the hands of Death, but in the end he failed completely.
Perhaps now he simply could not let go of that last thread of persistence and hope.
Nakano Yu did not interfere too much with Nakano Maruo's thoughts. This world, with demons, gods, and urban legends, was already strange enough. Perhaps Nakano Maruo could truly, relying only on himself, use technology to trigger the evolution of life. You never know.
Of course, that was only a joke.
No longer thinking about it, Nakano Yu stretched, stood up, and went to find Katsura Kotonoha and the Ichika group.
When he returned to the bay, Nakano Yu found Ichika and the others each holding a net and catching fish and shrimp, while Katsura Kotonoha, Nino, and Miku watched curiously from the side.
Seeing Nakano Yu return, the girls immediately threw down their nets. The fish and shrimp had actually been bought at the harbor and thrown into the water just for fun. Yotsuba had suggested such a game; she truly was a little devil.
It couldn't be said that Yotsuba was cruel; they were mostly just too curious. After all, Nakano Yu was not there, none of them knew how to operate the yacht, and the staff only rented out the vessels, so they had to come up with a way to pass the time.
As soon as they returned to the dock, Nakano Yu was surrounded by Ichika and Yotsuba and boarded the yacht. After preparations, they left the harbor and sailed toward the open sea.
They had a wonderful time at sea, and only in the evening did Nakano Yu and the others return to the harbor.
"Uf! That was amazing! It's a pity Yu didn't let us go into the water."
Stepping off the yacht, Yotsuba's cheeks were flushed, clearly having enjoyed herself.
"Maybe next time. The sea isn't very clean."
Nakano Yu smiled helplessly and reached out to pat Yotsuba on the head.
"If Yu says so… By the way, it's time for dinner, right?"
Enjoying the young man's attention, Yotsuba did not dwell on it. Suddenly her stomach growled. Looking at the sky, she murmured.
"If we return to the hotel now, we'll arrive just in time for dinner."
Katsura Kotonoha took out her phone, checked the time, and after a brief estimate said.
"Great! Then let's hurry back to the hotel! We're all hungry!"
Hearing that, Yotsuba grabbed Itsuki's hand and headed toward the hotel.
"Wait, Yotsuba, don't rush!"
Seeing Yotsuba dash ahead, Ichika quickly ran after her.
Nakano Yu and the other sisters slowly followed behind them.
When they once again passed by the alley from which the statue of Frigg could be seen, Katsura Kotonoha unconsciously glanced over. Seeing the statue standing quietly in the sunset, she felt that something was not quite right.
"Yu, that statue looks… as if it's new, and… it looks more valuable."
Stopping, Katsura Kotonoha carefully observed the statue of Frigg and said.
"Hm? Indeed… When we came earlier, it was just an ordinary bronze statue."
Hearing that, Nakano Yu also stopped, his gaze following toward the statue of Frigg.
But that single glance surprised him. The position and expression of the statue had not changed, but… the feeling it gave off was different, as if it had become more splendid.
"Yu, what are you two looking at?"
At that moment, Miku walked over and asked, following their gaze.
When she saw the statue of Frigg, she paused, then looked at them and asked:
"Do Yu and Kotonoha want to pray?"
Coming back to his senses, Nakano Yu shook his head and said:
"There's no need, I was just curious."
"We already saw it earlier. We just passed by again and felt that it looks even more beautiful in the sunset."
Katsura Kotonoha also came back to her senses and explained.
"Then let's go quickly, Ichika and the others are waiting ahead."
Nodding, Miku said this. She had been walking slowly and was not far from Nakano Yu and Katsura Kotonoha. When Ichika noticed they had stopped, she sent Miku to see what was happening.
Hearing that, Nakano Yu and Katsura Kotonoha nodded, and after joining Ichika and the others, they returned to the hotel together.
After Nakano Yu left, a white feather was suddenly carried by the wind and fell where he had been standing moments earlier.
After dinner with the five sisters, Katsura Kotonoha called Katsura Kokoro, while Nakano Yu returned to his room alone.
Lying on the bed, Nakano Yu yawned and looked at the sea through the large window, illuminated by the last rays of the sunset. A faint excitement arose in his heart because of tomorrow's engagement banquet.
During dinner, Nakano Yu had already seen several familiar faces. Shinomiya Oko and Shinomiya Unyo from the Shinomiya family had already arrived. According to them, Shinomiya Gan'an had originally planned to come personally, but suddenly fell ill, so he sent them in his place.
The Fujiwara family had of course also sent representatives, but to Nakano Yu's surprise, Fujiwara Chika did not come. One would expect her to be present at such a lively event, but her absence likely meant she was busy with something else, so Nakano Yu did not pay much attention to it.
In any case, many distinguished families were attending this engagement banquet, but all had sent elder members. They probably understood that it would not be appropriate to bring daughters or nieces to meet Nakano Yu at someone else's engagement.
Nakano Yu was quite satisfied with that, because those young ladies from wealthy families were extremely hypocritical, outwardly humble and polite, yet privately having ambiguous relationships with drivers and assistants.
Such women disgusted and repulsed Nakano Yu.
"Ah~ I'll take a nap. Kotonoha hasn't returned yet. Whatever it is, we'll talk when she comes back."
Yawning, Nakano Yu lay down on the bed, intending to take a short nap. Tomorrow was the engagement banquet, he had to get enough sleep, especially since whether he would sleep tonight depended on Kotonoha.
Thinking of this, Nakano Yu casually summoned the Wind, intending for it to remove his clothes so he could lie down and rest, when suddenly there was a knock at the door:
Knock, knock.
"Room service."
A woman's voice was heard outside the door.
Hearing this, Nakano Yu dispersed the summoned Wind, frowned, and stood up. Room service? Do five-star hotels even have such a thing?
"I didn't call room service. You've got the wrong room."
Approaching the door, Nakano Yu opened it and said this, but froze when he saw the person standing outside.
His purple eyes reflected a figure that was both familiar and unfamiliar to him. After a long moment of staring, Nakano Yu finally murmured:
"Mother…"
-------------
Every 20/50/100 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter.
If you'd like to support me, check it out: patreon.com/_BlackRose
Enjoying the story? Read 100+ advanced chapters on Patreon.