Chapter 30
Mineo had no idea at the moment that Erina and Alice were currently embroiled in a heated debate over the "maid uniform" issue.
Shortly after seeing the two young ladies off, he used the instant cleaning feature to thoroughly sanitize every corner of the restaurant, erasing any trace of its recent use.
Just as he was about to lie down on the sofa to catch a quick nap, Mineo's phone suddenly vibrated.
Did a new message come in?
"Mineo-oniichan.... are you there?"
The moment he opened the phone, Mineo's eyes immediately lit up. It was a message from Minami Kotori.
Minami Kotori was one of the very first friends to appear on Mineo's phone. His chat frequency with her had already surpassed 9,000 messages, creeping closer and closer to the ten-thousand mark.
"Kotori-chan, I'm right here! Have you been really busy lately? I haven't seen you reach out to talk to me in a while."
"Mineo-oniichan, things at school have been a bit hectic lately, so I haven't had much time to play with my phone...."
Before Mineo even had a chance to reply, Kotori quickly sent another message.
"Mineo-oniichan, s... something has happened at our school..... I... I feel so sad.... but.... but I really don't know what I'm supposed to do right now....."
Something happened at school?
Seeing Kotori's message, Mineo immediately realized that the plot of that world had likely begun.
In other words, Otonokizaka Academy was starting to face its school-closure crisis?
Even though they were only communicating through text, Mineo could practically feel how heartbroken Kotori was at this moment.
Kotori had always possessed an incredibly gentle and kind heart, and she held a deep emotional attachment to Otonokizaka Academy. Now that the academy was facing a crisis, it was only natural for her to feel devastated by the situation.
Sure enough, the next message Kotori sent validated Mineo's suspicions.
"Mineo-oniichan, over the past two years, the number of new students choosing to enroll at our school has been getting smaller and smaller!"
"Because we can't get new students, the academy is facing a closure crisis!"
"Mother... she.. today at a general assembly for all staff and students... s... she announced this too!"
"Even though Mother didn't say much on the surface, I saw her secretly spacing out in her room.."
"Honoka and the others... they are all so sad too!"
"I... I want to do something for them.... but I... I can't think of a way at all....."
"Mineo-oniichan, w... what should I do now...."
At this very moment, Kotori was locked away in her room. She leaned against the headboard of her bed with her knees pulled up tight against her chest.
The cheerfulness and joy she usually displayed had vanished completely. Kotori lowered her head, staring at her phone screen in silence.
The next second, her phone lit up.
Seeing the incoming message from Mineo-oniichan, Kotori opened it immediately, her heart full of hope.
"Kotori-chan.... don't panic just yet! Don't you still have me here?"
"Calm down, I will definitely think of a way to help you solve this problem... Kotori-chan, don't feel sad, your school won't be shut down! I promise you!"
Seeing Mineo's message, a glimmer of hope sparked in Kotori's heart. Her beautiful eyes began to shine with light once more.
"Mineo-oniichan... really? Can you really think of a way?"
"I can help you.... no matter the difficulty, I... I will try my absolute best!"
"Kotori-chan, wait a moment, I'm going to contact Honoka-chan."
"Okay, Mineo-oniichan!"
The first person Mineo had gotten to know was Minami Kotori; then, through Kotori's introduction, he had also become good friends with Honoka and Umi.
Initially, Mineo had thought these three best friends were just obsessed with anime. Now, he realized he had been far too naive.
If he had known this was the real Kotori, he would have increased their chat frequency past ten thousand a long time ago just so they could meet in person!
Mineo let out a sigh. The next second, he opened his contact list and found the friend with the profile name Kosaka Honoka.
"Honoka-chan, are you there?"
After waiting for two minutes, Mineo still hadn't received a reply from Honoka.
This girl was likely so devastated by the school issue that she hadn't had a chance to look at her phone. Therefore, Mineo sent a message to Sonoda Umi instead.
"Umi-chan, are you around?"
"Mineo-kun... I'm here...."
"I sent a message to Honoka-chan, but she didn't reply. Are you with her right now?"
Behind the phone screen, Umi stared at Honoka, who was slumped over the table with an expression of pure daze in her eyes. She then replied to Mineo's message with a resigned sigh:
"Honoka is right beside me, it's just that her current condition isn't exactly great."
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