"May I join as well?"
The voice was very pleasant to hear. Helena quickly turned her head and saw her somewhat weary-looking mother.
"Mother…"
Helena's mother looked at the ingredients prepared by Mai, the bodyguard who would be protecting her closely and Tifa standing nearby. She couldn't help but feel a flash of admiration.
In her eyes, these two girls, like her daughter Helena, were born actors and dancers. Their physiques were well-proportioned, and their physical condition as martial artists was beyond doubt. If they chose to become dancers, celebrities or even singers, it would be quite easy for them and they could even excel at it.
Especially the girl named Tifa. Although she hadn't fully grown up yet, it was obvious that once she grows up, she would become a stunning beauty capable of captivating the entire world.
Even with the disadvantage of Asian features in certain contexts, she could still dominate Western circles. Mai might be slightly behind, but she could achieve something similar.
Her artistic side was quickly awakened.
But when she looked at the ingredients in front of Mai, she sighed softly and suppressed the thought of bringing them into the entertainment world.
After all, that world wasn't exactly clean.Although they would have my protection and wouldn't have to worry about being forced to do certain things, who could say whether they themselves could resist temptation?
Lets forget about it.
"You mean…?"
Mai looked at the somewhat sorrowful woman in surprise.
"If you don't mind, please allow me to join your family dinner. It has been a long time since I've felt the warmth of family…"
Looking at Mai's parents on the balcony tidying things up while caring for each other, Helena's mother's face showed a look of envy.
"For my daughter and me, even just watching would already be enough."
There was a trace of melancholy in her voice.
There was no doubt that she and Douglas had truly loved each other; otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed her to bear his only child.
But the problem was, Douglas was an emotionally detached person, who cares more about his career. Although he had feelings for her, most of his attention remained on his work.
So, just like her daughter, she longed deeply for family.
But unfortunately, she could never obtain her husband's love again. All she could do was pour everything into loving her daughter.
"This…"
Mai hesitated. She didn't really want outsiders to join their family dinner. But seeing the faint anticipation on Helena's face and and considering Ryuji's connection with her, she finally nodded.
"Of course, but in that case, you'll have to wait a bit."
There were quite a lot of dishes to prepare.
"Ah, then I'll help too."
Marie Rose quickly raised her hand. She was hired staff and although she didn't know much, she was quite familiar with Helena and her mother's tastes.
"Thank you."
Helena couldn't help but express her gratitude. She knew this was a bit presumptuous, but looking at her mother, she felt helpless.
Because she felt that after her father's death, her mother didn't seem...
didn't seem to care about her own life as much anymore.
Up on the rooftop, Ryuji, who had his perception spread out, naturally heard all of this. But he didn't say anything. Since Mai had already agreed, he simply crossed his arms.
More importantly, a "family dinner" like this wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
If he wanted to start a company, then he would need people.
And in this world, Helena was undoubtedly the most suitable partner. She had connections, capital, and the backing of the Douglas family.
As long as he handed over the technology to her, there would be no need to worry about official problems.
After all, this was still an era where even mobile internet wasn't well developed. Just working on mobile networks alone could bring enormous profits.
"But that's also the problem… not just anyone is qualified to handle something like this. Mobile networks, smartphones, etc., if small groups try to do this, it's basically suicide. DOATEC barely qualifies."
Without him, the Shiranui-ryū wouldn't be able to protect such assets at all. Even with him around, it wouldn't be hard for others to destroy their company through business tactics.
If they went further, bribing officials to change laws wasn't even unusual, it was basic "business warfare."
So, Mai couldn't hold onto whatever resources Ryuji gave her. But Helena could.
She could protect it. Even if it meant sharing some benefits, but by that point…
Helena would naturally become his women.
That was interest bundling.
After all, Ryuji offered too much. And with his overwhelming strength, someone who couldn't be eliminated by force and wasn't someone she dared to offend, the natural outcome would be alliance… or even marriage.
So, even if Helena's mother suddenly wanted to join the family dinner for some reason, it wouldn't be a problem.
Because it really could become a family dinner.
Ryuji didn't feel any psychological burden about using resources to bind Helena Douglas to himself. After all, Helena never truly had freedom in marriage to begin with; her fate had been decided from the moment she was born.
And besides, this was a win-win situation. If she longed for her father, he wouldn't mind bringing him back to life during holidays to accompany her.
"I feel like like this resurrection ability has turned into something strange in my hands."
After muttering that, Ryuji prepared to head downstairs.
With his perception active, it didn't matter where he stayed.
But at that moment, Ryuji suddenly looked up in surprise.
In his perception, three or four helicopters were rapidly approaching under the moonlight. And what he saw through his Observation Haki was that missiles were mounted beneath these helicopters...
"Today's really been busy… but isn't this assassination method a bit excessive? Machine gun fire is one thing, but rockets and missiles too? Are the Japanese police all dead?!"
~~~~~~~~~~
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