"Eriri-chan, you…" Mrs. Yotsuya opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out.
"Auntie, let's sit down and eat first. I know what you want to ask, and I'll explain everything during the meal."
Eriri didn't rush to explain the existence of supernatural powers. However, the fact that she had revealed her abilities in front of Mrs. Yotsuya meant she had no intention of hiding them.
Besides, she was about to revive Miko's father soon. Compared to supernatural powers, bringing back someone who had been dead for nearly a year was bound to be even more shocking.
On the other side of the table, Miko's father was equally stunned by Eriri's display, even though he was now a ghost.
In truth, he was fully aware of his status as a spirit. That's why he wasn't surprised when his family ignored his greetings—he had long accepted that they couldn't see or hear him.
When Miko and Eriri entered the dining room and also seemed to ignore him, he naturally assumed that Miko's special friend was unable to perceive him as well.
But what happened next completely shattered his expectations.
"Eriri is right, Mom. Just sit down first—after all, Eriri isn't an outsider." Standing beside Eriri, Miko quickly chimed in.
However, as she mentioned that Eriri wasn't an outsider, a faint blush crept up her cheeks.
Mrs. Yotsuya found Miko's reaction a little odd but didn't think too much of it.
She decided to follow Eriri and Miko's suggestion and returned to her seat, giving up on the idea of preparing additional dishes.
After all, Eriri had already placed the food on the table, and insisting on cooking more at this point would be unreasonable.
"Alright then, you two should sit down and eat as well. There are just enough seats for everyone." Mrs. Yotsuya smiled at Eriri, unaware that one of those seats was already occupied.
"Auntie, I'll sit next to Miko. As for the seat across from us, let's not leave Uncle out, shall we?" Eriri chuckled and glanced at the man sitting opposite them.
Mrs. Yotsuya's movements instantly froze, and her face was once again filled with disbelief.
"Uncle? You mean…"
Before she could finish her trembling sentence, Miko interrupted her with words that sent a surreal shock through her mind.
"Mom, you guessed right. Dad is sitting right there. He's actually been with us this whole time."
Tears welled up in Miko's eyes as she turned to look at her father, who was still frozen in shock.
"I'm sorry, Dad… I've been able to see you for days now, but I pretended not to because I was afraid you might turn into one of those evil spirits outside." Miko's voice was filled with emotion.
She had wanted to acknowledge her father earlier, but as she had just admitted, she never had the courage to do so. The oppressive presence of the malicious spirits she had encountered had simply been too overwhelming.
But now, with Eriri by her side and having already promised to resurrect her father, Miko no longer had anything to fear.
She believed that no matter what happened, Eriri would handle it perfectly.
Hearing Miko's words, her father finally snapped out of his daze and smiled warmly at her.
"So that's how it is… Miko, you could see me all along?" Her father said gently. "I'm sorry, Miko. Last year, I ate the pudding you left in the fridge without telling you. I always wanted to apologize, but it was hard to say it out loud. In the end, we never made up… Can you forgive me?"
"I should be the one apologizing, Dad. I was too stubborn. I'm sorry." Miko shook her head, tears finally spilling down her cheeks.
Even though she had already learned from the memory projections that her father's lingering regret as a spirit was tied to the pudding incident, hearing his apology firsthand still filled her with both deep emotion and guilt.
"I see… As long as you forgive me, that's all that matters." Her father sighed in relief, but soon, a bitter smile crossed his face. "But you shouldn't be able to see me, Miko. The more I linger here, the harder it will be to move on. Staying by your side as a spirit will only cause problems sooner or later."
"That won't happen, Dad. Don't worry," Miko reassured him, wiping away her tears with a bright smile.
...
Watching Miko talk to what seemed like an empty chair, Mrs. Yotsuya couldn't help but cover her mouth as tears streamed down her face, revealing just how shaken she was.
"Is… Is this real? Honey, are you really here?"
She stared intently at the seat beside her, desperately wishing she could see her husband again.
Kyousuke, too, reacted intensely. He turned to Miko, his voice filled with longing. "Sister, why can't I see Dad? I miss him so much."
"Mom, Kyousuke." Miko glanced at both of them before turning her gaze toward Eriri.
Understanding Miko's silent request, Eriri didn't hesitate. Her calm voice echoed in the dining room.
"In that case, let me help you reunite with your family."
"Reunite?"
"To put it simply, I'll bring Uncle back to life."
Without paying attention to Mrs. Yotsuya, who was now completely frozen in shock, Eriri raised her right hand and pointed at Miko's father.
A stream of pure white energy shot from her fingertip, enveloping his spectral form instantly.
As Mrs. Yotsuya and Kyousuke watched in astonishment, Miko's father, now surrounded by brilliant light, materialized in the once-empty seat.
"Honey!"
"Dad!"
Two ecstatic voices rang out simultaneously.
"Mom, Dad is really there! It's really him!" Kyousuke stammered in excitement, his joy overflowing at the sight of his familiar figure.
However, their excited voices received no response.
At that moment, Miko's father was still unconscious. Since Eriri was in the process of fully reviving him, he was unaware of his wife and son's calls.
His body initially appeared translucent, unmistakably non-human.
But within seconds, his form solidified, the ghostly transparency vanishing completely—he now looked no different from a living person.
And in truth, he was alive again. The transition from spirit to human had taken mere seconds.
For Eriri, reviving a soul with an intact essence was nothing more than a flick of the wrist.
"Alright, revival complete."
With a snap of her fingers, the white energy surrounding Miko's father dissipated instantly.
With Eriri's intervention, the last lingering ghost in the Yotsuya household was gone, replaced by a living, breathing human.
She then took care of the aftermath of the resurrection.
Although Miko's father had returned to life, society still recognized him as deceased, making it impossible for him to move around freely.
So, Eriri directly altered the memories of everyone who knew about his death, resetting their perceptions to how things were before he had passed away.
...
"Where… am I?"
Regaining consciousness, Miko's father felt something different about his body, his face filled with disbelief.
"I'm really… alive again?"
He had overheard Eriri's conversation with Mrs. Yotsuya before losing consciousness, so he had known she was planning to revive him.
But he never imagined that such an unbelievable feat could actually be achieved. His astonishment at Eriri's abilities only grew.
"Honey!"
Before he could process his thoughts, Mrs. Yotsuya cried out and threw herself at him.
"Be careful!" he exclaimed instinctively. Without hesitation, as if by reflex, he opened his arms and caught his wife.
Holding her trembling form as she sobbed into his chest, he removed his glasses and wiped the moisture from the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand, a warm smile appearing on his face.
"Dear… I'm back. Thank you for everything you've endured."
...
Watching her parents embrace, Miko's face lit up with happiness. She knew that all of this was thanks to Eriri.
In that moment, her love for Eriri deepened infinitely.
If she had once hesitated about revealing her relationship with Eriri to her parents, she now had no more doubts. She could openly and confidently acknowledge their relationship in front of her family.
Overcome with emotion, she turned and wrapped her arms around Eriri.
"Eriri, I love you so much," Miko whispered passionately into Eriri's ear, pressing their bodies closely together.
Meanwhile, in the corner of the room, Kyousuke sat alone at the dining table, tearfully watching his reunited parents.
Unable to hold back any longer, he lunged forward and squeezed himself into his father's embrace.
"Haha, I didn't expect Kyousuke to still be so clingy at his age."
Miko's father chuckled as he held both his wife and son in his arms, unfazed by the sudden intrusion.
Then, realizing he had another child, he instinctively looked up—only for his heart to nearly stop at the sight before him.
His daughter was locked in a deep embrace with the very girl who had revived him, their lips pressed intimately together.
His precious daughter… was being kissed by another girl?
Wait… no, that didn't seem like the right way to phrase it. Could two girls even "steal" each other away?
Regardless, his emotions were a whirlwind of complexity. After all, society didn't widely accept relationships like this.
But what could he even say? He certainly couldn't separate them.
Not only was Eriri his daughter's savior, but there was also a good chance that Miko had been the one who initiated things.
He had already regretted their last argument over something as trivial as pudding, an argument that had left lingering regrets even after death. The last thing he wanted was to strain his relationship with his daughter again.
"Forget it… Children have their own paths to walk. Let them be happy," he sighed inwardly, resigning himself to his final decision.
He quickly averted his gaze, lowering his head to fully immerse himself in the warmth of his wife and son's embrace.
A few minutes later, everyone had finally calmed down from the overwhelming emotions.
By the time the Yotsuya couple and Kyousuke finished their heartfelt reunion, Eriri and Miko had already ended their intimate exchange.
However, the two were now sitting side by side at the dining table, leaning closely against each other, practically nestled together.
Miko's father watched this scene with an expressionless face, while Mrs. Yotsuya glanced at them with mild surprise but chose to remain silent.
Kyousuke, on the other hand, spoke his mind without hesitation.
"Sister, you and Eriri-nee are really close! I wish I had a same-gender friend I could be that close with."
Hearing this, both Eriri and Miko exchanged amused yet awkward glances.
"Ahem." Miko's father, his expression still slightly stiff, cleared his throat loudly to change the subject. Then, without wasting another moment, he quickly said, "You must all be hungry. We've been delayed for quite some time because of me. Let's eat now."
Eriri, of course, knew exactly why he was reacting this way. When she and Miko had been "biting lips" earlier, she had noticed Miko's father's gaze lingering on them.
It was clear that he had realized their relationship, but Eriri wasn't particularly concerned.
After all, neither she nor Miko had any intention of hiding it. If they had, they wouldn't have been so openly affectionate just moments ago.
With that, dinner officially began, and Miko finally got to taste the dishes that had been making her mouth water.
Even though several minutes had passed, the food on the table was still steaming hot. Given that it wasn't the middle of winter, it hadn't cooled down too quickly.
Unsurprisingly, Aoi Kujo's cooking was unrivaled.
The moment they took their first bites, Miko, her parents, and Kyousuke were all completely captivated by the exquisite flavors.
Compared to these dishes, the few home-cooked meals Mrs. Yotsuya had prepared, which were usually considered quite decent, now seemed rather plain.
However, that didn't mean they went to waste. At the very least, Miko's father savored them wholeheartedly.
After all, he hadn't had the chance to eat his wife's cooking in nearly a year. Now that he was finally alive again, he was determined to cherish every bite.
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