Ryuji could more or less guess what Mai was thinking.
And that was exactly the effect he wanted.
"I told you before that when I come to this world, I'd revive your grandfather for a period of time, right?"
Ryuji extended his hand.
Mai nodded, but she had never intended for Ryuji to keep her grandfather alive forever.
"Yes, just one day is enough… and then when we get married… two days. When we revive the Shiranui style and bring it to glory, two days. When our child is born... two days..."
When it came to her grandfather, Mai kept listing the moments when she hoped he could be resurrected.
She had no intention of letting Ryuji consume his own lifespan just to keep her grandfather alive indefinitely, because she herself didn't believe she would live forever.
Her earlier request was merely to gauge Ryuji's attitude.
After all, although her grandfather was assassinated, he had long known that his time was running out.
Back when he attempted to assassinate Geese, he had already been gravely injured. Coupled with the countless battles in his early years and the pain of losing her parents, her grandfather was nearing the end of his strength.
Otherwise, during that joint attack with his friends against an old enemy, that enemy wouldn't have survived.
So, Mai only wanted her grandfather to acknowledge the man she had chosen to love, to attend her wedding, to be present when she and Ryuji revived the Shiranui style, and to personally see his great-grandson or great-granddaughter.
As for anything beyond that, she didn't dare to hope for more.
After all, lifespan is something that is extremely precious no matter how one look at it.
Moreover, if her grandfather stayed with them for an extended period of time, wouldn't she eventually want Ryuji to revive her parents as well?
That would consume far too much; lifespan shouldn't be wasted like that.
Sacrificing the lifespan of the living for the sake of the dead, Mai wasn't that despicable.
Using it on me would also be a waste. My talent isn't that great, I can't help Ryuji much… so it would be better for Ryuji to use it himself, or save it for our future children.
Mai looked at Ryuji's face, unable to stop herself from imagining the scene of the two of them raising a child together.
Ryuji's and my child would definitely be beautiful, strong, and very smart…
Before she realized it, Mai had already begun picturing their child in her mind.
A child like that, wouldn't it be a good thing if they lived a little longer?
She couldn't help but think this way.
Ryuji's strength and constitution are both far greater than mine. If nothing unexpected happens, he'll live much longer than I will. If I'm gone, then when he misses me… he can occasionally revive me.
Mai didn't expect Ryuji to settle down completely, but she did hope that after her death, he would still think of her from time to time.
That would be enough.
"…I see. Then do you need some time to prepare?"
Ryuji nodded. After meeting Seria, he honestly didn't care much about the conceptual lifespan anymore. Because, he could easily grow more than two years of lifespan within a single year of his own. To be honest, even if Mai wanted her grandfather to live on permanently, it wouldn't really be a problem.
But since Mai said it like that…
Ryuji chuckled inwardly.
Giving Hanzo Shiranui just one day of life wouldn't make Mai unhappy, but giving more would definitely make her even happier and love him even more.
That was only natural.
"And besides, what girl wouldn't want her parents to attend her wedding?"
Ryuji muttered this to himself, then snapped his fingers.
He didn't consume too much conceptual lifespan, he only gave one year.
After all, he was confident that within three months he could make the name of the Shiranui style resound once more. Moreover, by doing this, some of his actions would also be less likely to be scrutinized too harshly by Mai.
As for the conceptual lifespan consumed…
Ryuji glanced at Mai in his arms.
The wool comes from the sheep.
Golden specks of light drifted out from Ryuji's palm, floating in the air and gradually forming three human figures.
An old man with a white beard.
And a young-looking couple.
The woman in the couple shared 30 to 40 percent resemblance with Mai, though her figure was clearly inferior to Mai's and at a glance it was obvious that she was not a martial artist.
"Grandpa!!"
The moment she saw the white-bearded old man, Mai burst free from Ryuji's embrace and rushed toward him, throwing herself into the arms of the white-bearded elder: her grandfather, Hanzo Shiranui.
Hanzo, meanwhile, stared at his own hands and at the bewildered couple beside him, then hugged the Mai who had leapt into his arms and cried out in shock.
"Mai! How did you die so young?! Where is that bastard Andy?! Why didn't he protect you?!"
Hanzo looked at his granddaughter in disbelief. He remembered very clearly that he had been suffering punishment in hell. After all, as a ninja, he had killed no small number of people, so he was absolutely certain that he had been in hell.
But feeling his granddaughter's heartbeat, and his own heartbeat, Hanzo couldn't tell whether this was a new punishment bestowed by hell or whether he had finally completed his sentence and attained enlightenment.
But what was going on with my granddaughter?!
Why had my granddaughter died?!
Had Andy failed to protect Mai?!
Anger instantly welled up in Hanzo's heart, which was why he roared like that. Yet even as he grieved that his granddaughter had died so young, without even knowing whether she had left any descendants for the Shiranui family, he turned to look at his son, the one who had disliked the Shiranui style and had even married an ordinary woman, and tears uncontrollably streamed down his face.
Though his child had gone against tradition, and had ultimately been killed by his enemies due to neglecting his training, something that wouldn't have happened had he trained properly.
But that was still his child. After taking revenge, the reason he spent the latter half of his life making friends everywhere, constantly helping others in fights, and even staking his own life and the family's inherited martial arts, was all to find a reliable husband for Mai and leave her enough connections to live happily.
He truly cared about his family.
Mai was stunned as well. She really hadn't expected her grandfather to think she was dead, but in a sense, that wasn't entirely wrong. She had indeed almost died once; if not for Ryuji, she would have truly died.
"Grandpa, I'm not dead… It's my, my..."
Halfway through her sentence, Mai suddenly remembered that it was precisely because of Ryuji that she had nearly died once. For a moment, she felt helpless, lamenting at fate and at how much she herself had changed, before continuing her introduction.
"This is my husband, Ryuji. He possesses a treasure that can allow you, all of you, to be revived for one day."
~~~~~~~~~~
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