"No, um... did you just... call me Mom?"
"Did you get it wrong...?"
Yae Miko stared at Yae Sakura before her. Though she found it incredibly unlikely, after all... no matter how she thought about it, there was no way a daughter this grown could suddenly pop up out of nowhere!
Yet the problem was that Yae Sakura looked far too much like her. If she said they were unrelated, no one would believe it!
And more importantly, she could somehow feel a peculiar fondness for her as well.
Even Yae Miko began to wonder if this really... was her child. Had she forgotten about her own daughter?
If so, her sin would be far too great.
"My apologies, I called you the wrong thing! When I saw you just now, I couldn't help thinking of my mother."
With the mission complete, Yae Sakura naturally could not let herself inexplicably gain a mother. Seeing Yae Miko say that, she went along with it and hurriedly explained.
Besides, it was not exactly a lie. Yae Miko and Yae Sakura looked nearly identical, so it was not difficult to make the connection... Yae Miko did resemble Yae Sakura's mother in some ways.
If Flame Sakitama Yae Sakura was a gentle and virtuous young woman, then Yae Miko carried the mature aura of a refined older beauty who had seen the ways of the world. Calling her seductive would not be an exaggeration.
Although both looked young and beautiful, if Yae Miko and Yae Sakura stood together, most people would feel that... Yae Miko was just a little older.
It was not apparent in their appearances, but in their temperaments.
"I see... no wonder..."
That gave her quite a fright.
Upon learning that the girl before her was not her child, Yae Miko