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Wait… was she really that easy to read?
Rika quickly schooled her expression, determined not to let them peek into her thoughts again.
But just then, Frieren noticed something strange about someone else—Yuriko Takagi.
"That woman over there. Her expression's suspicious."
The elf's sudden remark made everyone turn toward the elegant, violet-haired woman who looked more mature than Rika.
"Mom?"
Saya blinked in confusion as all eyes landed on her mother.
Yuriko's face shifted through a range of emotions before she finally let out a heavy sigh.
She knew she couldn't keep hiding it anymore.
"…I didn't expect things would spiral this far when it all began."
Her words left Rosen surprised.
He hadn't expected Frieren's casual observation to uncover something big.
"Wait—Auntie, don't tell me you're some Umbrella researcher? Did you… make the virus?!"
Gabriel blurted out her "theory."
The others froze, stunned.
But Yuriko immediately shook her head. "How could I be a virologist? And I've never been employed by Umbrella. Back then, because of my profession, I had a few dealings with them, that's all."
She had studied abroad as a child, later graduating and working on Wall Street. In just a few years, she'd built her name into that of a powerhouse businesswoman.
During her time overseas, she'd even founded her own investment company, one that at one point had connections with Umbrella.
Before the outbreak spiraled out of control, there had already been hushed rumors online about random violent attacks. But the authorities buried every report.
Around then, a biopharma company approached Yuriko, asking her to invest.
To convince her, they leaked some insider information: those so-called "violent maniacs" were actually infected with a virus that had leaked from Umbrella's labs. Their company, they said, was working on a vaccine to counter it.
The evidence seemed credible, so Yuriko funded them.
But as progress stalled and no results came, she pulled her money out before things collapsed.
After that, research slowed to a crawl—until the outbreak finally exploded.
Since then, Yuriko had regretted it more than once. If she had just kept backing them, maybe the world wouldn't have ended up like this.
When she finished, the room was silent—especially Saya, who stared at her mother in shock.
Even Rosen was taken aback.
This wasn't in the original storyline, was it? It didn't seem familiar. But damn, it did make a lot of sense.
"I see. But you can't blame yourself for that."
Rosen spoke honestly.
Anyone else in her shoes would have made the same call. No one could keep pouring money into a company that kept failing to deliver. Capital chased profit—it never bet on tiny chances.
But the world could be cruel like that.
"Mom… you… you almost…"
Saya's voice trembled.
Just a little more, just one stubborn decision, and her mother might have saved the entire world.
"I'm sorry, Saya."
Yuriko's guilt was heavy. Of all people, her "daughter" was the one she felt she had failed most.
But back then, she'd had her own struggles.
Alone, she could never have protected both her empire and her daughter. So after returning to Japan, she struck a deal with Soichiro Takagi—she provided the funds for his political organization, and in exchange, used his power to shield herself and her child.
But once the outbreak hit and the world collapsed, everything she had built turned to dust.
Frieren nodded lightly. "She's not lying. Everything she said is true."
Yuriko blinked. That staff in Frieren's hand—had she been using some kind of truth magic on her?
"…So it really was all man-made. Just like those Resident Evil games—it's always humanity messing around that brings the apocalypse."
Gabriel sighed deeply.
But soon her attention wandered to the pile of firearms scattered across the floor.
Now this was real-life Resident Evil.
"Either way, regrets won't change the past. Let's focus on finishing our mission."
Rosen wasn't naive enough to think that beating back the Lickers meant they were safe now.
The shelter was compromised—they couldn't stay here.
And on top of that, Umbrella had already taken notice of Saeko.
With the way they had intervened tonight, Umbrella might be targeting all of them by now.
After all, Rosen knew well that Umbrella wasn't just about viruses. Their other specialty was genetic engineering—cloning.
In both the games and movies, Umbrella had shown terrifying skill in creating clones and bio-weapons. Rows of Alice clones, mass-produced monstrosities—the works.
No doubt the lunatics running Umbrella were already eyeing their genes.
And just as Rosen feared, it was true.
Through the cameras mounted on the Lickers and the surveillance systems still running nearby, Umbrella had already marked Rosen's group as prime targets.
"..."
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