Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 1167: Buying Time [3]

Aunt Mia let out a quiet laugh.

"Jester actually offered to help but i wanted to try myself."

She smiled sheepishly, her expression becoming brighter than Michael had seen in years before slowly softening into something gentler carrying a trace of nostalgia as she looked through the kitchen window toward the peaceful lake outside.

"…It's been eleven years."

Michael remained silent, sensing the change of mood in the atmosphere.

Aunt Mia continued quietly.

"Eleven years since I started taking care of you."

Her fingers absentmindedly adjusted one of the fish lying on the cutting board.

"And thirteen years since my husband passed away."

The kitchen fell quiet, with only the faint sizzling from the stove remaining as Aunt Mia smiled faintly.

"You know…"

"I actually met him during a fishing trip."

Michael looked up.

"I had just graduated from university and was attending a cooking academy afterward."

She laughed softly.

"A few classmates invited me to spend the weekend fishing."

"I almost didn't go giving so many excuses But they dragged me there anyway."

Her eyes gradually became distant as she recalled the past.

"As it turned out there were actually a few cooking academies there too. That was where I meant your uncle."

Aunt Mia smiled to herself.

"He was terrible."

"…At fishing?" Michael spoke slowly.

Aunt Mia nodded, unable to suppress a laugh.

"He barely caught anything But he kept insisting he knew exactly what he was doing."

"He spent more time untangling his fishing line than actually fishing."

Michael couldn't help laughing.

"…That does sound like him based on the stories you told me."

"It really does."

She chuckled.

"By the end of the day…"

"I had caught more fish than he had."

"He refused to accept it."

"He insisted the fish were simply biased."

Michael laughed harder.

"Biased?"

"Those were his exact words."

"The fish preferred me."

She shook her head, still smiling at the memory.

"He was ridiculous."

"…And somehow…"

"I married him."

Silence returned, but this time it wasn't uncomfortable; it was peaceful as her smile slowly became quieter and more fragile.

"When I saw the fishing rods here…"

"I couldn't help myself."

She glanced toward the doorway.

"Jester offered to catch the fish for me."

"But…"

She looked back toward the lake.

"I wanted to sit there."

"Just for a little while."

She smiled again.

"It felt familiar."

Michael finally understood that it hadn't been about catching fish, but about remembering someone and recalling a happier time.

Aunt Mia let out a slow breath.

"I haven't gone fishing in years. I don't think I've touched a fishing rod since…"

She stopped herself, knowing there was no need to finish the sentence because both of them already knew it had been since her husband died.

After that, life had simply become too busy, too full, and too demanding as she was left with two children to raise, facing school fees, rent, groceries, cooking, cleaning, and working to make sure neither child ever felt the absence of a parent.

Day after day, month after month, and year after year, her own hobbies had quietly disappeared somewhere along the way.

Michael remained silent as he truly thought about Aunt Mia herself—not as the dependable adult who always had everything under control, but simply as a woman who had lost the love of her life thirteen years ago.

Thinking back, he wondered when the last time she had gone out with friends or taken a vacation was, realizing the only period she had truly begun living for herself again was after he brought the family to Brightgate City, causing a tight ache in his chest.

Then Aunt Mia quietly spoke again.

"…Michael."

He looked up.

Aunt Mia hesitated, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the kitchen towel in her hands before speaking very softly.

"Are Lily and I…"

"…a burden to you?"

Michael's heart skipped a beat, his expression freezing.

"What?"

He immediately opened his mouth.

"Aunt—"

But she gently shook her head before he could continue.

"I'm not saying this because you've done anything wrong."

Her voice remained calm.

"In fact…"

"You've done far more for us than anyone ever could."

She lowered her eyes.

"You've given us a better home."

"You've protected us."

"You've made me younger."

"You've shown us things I never thought could exist."

A faint smile appeared on her face.

"But…"

"It also made me realize something."

She slowly looked at him again.

"You seem to be carrying a lot on your shoulders. I don't know what it is but it's always like you're in a rush for something and sometimes I feel like Lily and I are part of the cause."

"I've raised you for eleven years."

"You don't hide your worries from me as well as you think."

Michael fell silent, feeling it wasn't entirely because he had inherited this body and its habits, but also because his original self was lacking in many departments.

Aunt Mia let out a quiet sigh.

"I know we're ordinary and we can't fight or protect you."

"We don't even understand half the things you talk about."

She forced a small smile.

"Sometimes…"

"I wonder…"

"If Lily and I are only making your life harder."

Her voice became softer.

"I don't want that."

"I don't want to become chains around your feet."

Michael's chest tightened painfully as he reflected on how much he treasured this new life compared to his previous lonely, hospital-bound existence on Earth.

Having a mother figure like Aunt Mia, a sister figure like Lily, and if he stretched it a bit more tightly, a brother figure like Jester meant everything to him.

Aunt Mia smiled gently.

"If we weren't here would your life be easier?"

That was enough. Michael stepped forward, and before she could continue another word, he firmly took both of her shoulders with a grip that was resolute without being painful.

"Aunt Mia."

His voice was unusually serious as she looked at him in surprise.

"You are not a burden."

"Neither is Lily."

"Not now."

"Not ever."

He didn't give her an opportunity to interrupt.

"You are family."

"Do you understand?"

"Family."

The word echoed through the quiet kitchen before Michael slowly pulled her into an embrace. For a brief moment Aunt Mia stood there in complete surprise, then she slowly relaxed as he held her tightly.

"I only need a little more time."

His voice was quiet.

"Just a little longer."

"I'm almost there."

"When everything settles down…"

"We'll go back."

"We'll go back to living peacefully."

A faint smile appeared on his exhausted face.

"I'll make sure of it."

"No matter what happens."

"I promise."