Chapter 123
To be honest, if anyone had ever claimed to possess superpowers in front of Alice before this, she would have guaranteed a swift slap to their face.
*Please, I am a young lady of the Nakiri family who has dedicated her life to scientific research, okay?*
Mentioning superpowers to someone whose entire world revolved around molecular biology—wasn't that basically the same as challenging their entire existence?
But now, Alice was utterly speechless.
With so many miraculous ingredients laid out before her eyes, they truly didn't look like anything that could have been born on Earth. In other words, was it possible that the words Mineo just spoke were actually the truth?
At this moment, the feelings swirling in Alice's heart could only be described as a chaotic mess of emotions.
Erina was no different. She, too, harbored a complicated mix of feelings. Perhaps it was because Mineo's presence here gave her strength, but she walked up to his side and reached out her small, fair hand, touching the massive crab claw in front of them.
Beneath the cold sensation of her touch lay the incredibly hard outer shell of the pincer. Erina could sense that with an ingredient like this, even if it were given to her to cook, she feared she wouldn't even be able to crack the shell using a standard kitchen knife.
Just then, Alice suddenly ran up to Mineo with an excited sparkle in her eyes.
"Mineo-kun! This crab claw... can you give it to me!?"
"I... I want to thoroughly research its composition! Even if you just told me everything, I still want to verify for myself what exactly this food is!"
"Give it to you?"
Seeing the look of hopeful anticipation on Alice's face, Mineo smirked.
"Didn't I just give you a slab of meat earlier? That was Elephant Kong meat, which also comes from a creature with a massive body volume. Speaking of its value, it definitely won't lose out to this crab claw of mine."
"You shouldn't be greedy... surely you don't plan on sweeping my entire warehouse clean, do you?"
Hearing Mineo's words, Alice immediately put on a heart-wrenchingly pitiful expression.
"Mineo-kun!"
"Be a little more generous and give me this crab claw too. Look, I can even buy it from you with money. Besides... we're good friends who have known each other for a long time! Our relationship is so close, you could just treat this as a 'meeting gift' for me."
"I... I even invited you to eat at my house!"
"Hold on, Alice. When exactly did *you* invite me to eat at your house?" Mineo countered. "Wasn't it your grandfather who invited me? And if I recall correctly, on the first day you arrived, I was the one who treated you to a meal, right? See, I didn't even let you pay the bill. Are you still not satisfied after all that?"
"Mineo! Then let me ask you, why is Kobayashi-senpai allowed to use the ingredients here as she pleases!?"
"In your heart, am I still not as good as Kobayashi-senpai? Why can't I enjoy the same treatment she does! I... I could even wear a maid uniform and work in your restaurant..."
Alice puffed out her cheeks, looking incredibly cute with her pouting expression. She scurried over to the crab claw and hugged it tightly.
"I don't care! This thing is mine from now on! Even if you try to kick me out, I've decided I'm not leaving!"
"Today, I must dissect this and perform a proper laboratory test on it."
"Alice, are you a bandit?"
"This person isn't a bandit, this person is a little fairy! Mineo-kun, you wouldn't actually take harsh measures to throw me out, would you?"
"I... I'm telling you, my cousin Erina is still here! If you dare to bully the two of us, I'll definitely ask Grandfather to bring us justice!"
"..."
Alice continued to hug the claw, a glint of excitement flashing in her eyes.
"A pincer this big... the meat quality inside must be incredibly dense! I wonder what it tastes like!"
"Mineo-kun, do you have tools here? You'd definitely need a drill to break through this shell."
"Oi, oi, Alice. I haven't agreed to give this to you yet! Do you plan on just robbing me in broad daylight?"
"I don't care! It's mine now! If you're capable, Mineo, then kick me out! I... I'll just squat in front of your restaurant's main entrance and cry... I'll cry until you can't stand it anymore! I'll cry until you feel sorry for me!"
Watching Alice acting so spoiled, showing off her cuteness, and being completely unreasonable, Mineo couldn't help but roll his eyes.
If he had known it would turn out like this, he wouldn't have brought her down here to "open her eyes" in the first place. This really was a little bandit he was dealing with, wasn't it?
Honestly, a single crab claw wasn't a big deal in Mineo's eyes. Since Alice wanted it so badly, giving it to her wasn't a problem. But if he just gave it away that easily, he felt like he'd be losing out a bit.
What was that saying again? *If there's a profit to be made and you don't take it, you're a fool.*
Therefore, Mineo looked directly at Alice and said:
"You want my crab claw, right? Fine. But we have to make a deal!"
"Alice, come here for a second."
"Come here? For what?"
Hearing that Mineo was willing to give her the pincer, Alice ran over with a face full of joy. Mineo then leaned into her ear and whispered a few sentences softly.
Instantly, a deep flush bloomed across Alice's fair face. Her beautiful eyes widened slightly, and she glared at Mineo.
"I... I knew a jerk like you would propose a condition like that! You... can't your brain think about anything else? Do you have to bully us... just to feel happy?"
"Now listen, Alice, this is a fair trade. Just say directly whether you agree or not! Regardless, if you don't agree, I'll just give this crab claw to Kobayashi-senpai. Senpai once said that when Totsuki starts the new term, she'll introduce me to a girl! And it's the kind that's a guaranteed success. See? You're not giving me any benefits, yet I'm giving you such a great item for free—wouldn't I be the one losing out?"
"Mineo, you..."
Alice looked at Mineo's nonchalant attitude and stomped her foot in frustration.
"Fine... I agree to the deal!"
"But it's limited to today only! In the future, you absolutely cannot use this kind of thing to threaten me again..."
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