Chapter 179
While looking at Mineo, Nozomi gave a thin smile and said:
"Starting tomorrow morning at exactly eight o'clock, Mineo-kun will begin his private dates with everyone."
"This is the best result I could manage."
"I believe in Mineo-kun's abilities. If you face them separately, you should be able to settle everything quite easily."
As she spoke, Nozomi pulled a small slip of paper from her pocket.
"Written here are all the date times, locations, and the names of your dating partners."
"Eli-chi and the others didn't object, which shows that in their hearts, they still care about you deeply. So, how you present yourself tomorrow so as not to make them sad or disappointed depends entirely on Mineo-kun's performance."
"Once we go back inside, just order food and eat. There's no need for extra words. We've agreed that until tomorrow's dates arrive, no one is allowed to ask you any questions."
Nozomi-chan really is a reliable assistant.
She has already set the stage; the rest of the performance is up to me.
"Nozomi-chan, thank you!"
"After I finish sorting all this out, I'll definitely take you out to have as much fun as you want."
"Wait until Mineo-kun settles everything before you give me that invitation."
After their final exchange, the two of them returned to the room.
Because of the agreement with Nozomi-chan, everyone maintained absolute silence during the meal. Not a single person opened their mouth to speak.
Once dinner ended, Eli was the first to leave the room, picking up her bag.
Immediately after, Maki also left without a word after giving Mineo a single glance.
Hanayo and Rin had felt awkward being there from the start, so they fled as soon as they finished eating.
Nico also shot a fierce glare at Mineo before leaving without looking back.
Once almost everyone had gone, only Nozomi, Honoka, and the others remained in the room.
Nozomi's gaze met Mineo's in the air for a moment. Wearing a sweet smile, she picked up her bag and departed.
Kotori's gaze toward Mineo held a trace of complexity that invited pity, while Umi's look also contained many unspoken things.
Honoka, especially, had so many questions in her heart that she wanted to ask Mineo. However, remembering the promise regarding the agreement they had accepted at Nozomi-senpai's request, Honoka ultimately forced back her curiosity.
After returning to his lodgings, Mineo opened the small slip of paper Nozomi-chan had given him.
The paper revealed an incredibly packed date schedule.
Starting at seven in the morning, the first person he had to meet was Eli. The location was by the shore of the artificial lake, and he was only given 2 hours.
After those 2 hours, he had to go meet his second private date partner, Nishikino Maki. Honoka and the others followed in sequence. For some reason, Nozomi had even included Rin and Hanayo in the list.
Aside from feeling a bit confused, those two probably didn't know anything, right?
Regardless, Nozomi had arranged all of this. Now, it was his turn to perform.
How to interact with the girl he liked was not something Nozomi could decide for him, so tomorrow's dates still required him to settle everything himself.
That night, Eli and the others suffered from a bit of insomnia. Almost every girl was deep in thought.
It wasn't until very late at night that everyone finally fell into a deep sleep, and in the blink of an eye, it was morning.
Prompted by his alarm clock, Mineo woke up exactly at six. After finishing his bath and cleaning up, he changed into clean, neat clothes and headed straight for the shore of the artificial lake.
Under the shade of a tree, he saw a figure wearing a school uniform sitting quietly on a long bench by the lake.
Ayase Eli's waterfall-like blonde hair was tied in a ponytail, draped lazily over her shoulder.
Eli sat on the bench with her knees pressed tightly together and her hands resting flat on them. Her gaze seemed fixed on the surface of the lake.
Mineo walked up to her side and sat down.
"Eli, what time did you get here?"
"You haven't had breakfast yet, right? I bought a portion on the way. If you don't mind, please have some."
Eli glanced at Mineo for a second, then looked at the plastic bag of breakfast he was holding.
The next second, Eli turned her gaze away.
"Is this the only thing Mineo-kun wants to say to me?"
"How could it be just this? Actually, I have many things I want to talk to you about, Eli-chan, but at the very least, you should fill your stomach first..."
"I'm not very hungry right now. I just want to know what Mineo-kun's plan was in coming here to talk to me today."
Even though Eli was looking at the lake, her fists were tightly clenching the hem of her skirt.
From her slightly unstable breathing, Mineo could feel that she was very nervous.
Staring at Eli's beautiful profile, after a few seconds of silence, Mineo said helplessly:
"Why show such a serious expression? Hasn't Eli been looking forward to my arrival all this time?"
"Looking forward to it?"
Eli bit her thin lip tightly and turned her gaze elsewhere.
"Mineo-kun feels like he understands me that well?"
"Why should I look forward to it?"
"What reason do I have to look forward to it?"
"Because I feel that in her heart, Eli cares about me deeply. If you didn't, you wouldn't be acting like this..."
"At least, the Eli in my memory only becomes emotional because of someone she cares about."
Eli suddenly turned her head, her eyes crystal clear as she stared sharply at Mineo.
"Are these the only words you want to say to me?"
"It's not like that. Actually, there are many things in my heart I want to say to Eli."
"For instance, that Eli is much more beautiful than I imagined, and has much more of an aura than I imagined."
"I was also thinking about when I might have some free time to see Eli dance. I think I would be very satisfied then."
"Mineo, you're a scoundrel, aren't you?"
"How can you still say these kinds of things at a time like this? You clearly know what I want to hear most!"
"Why can't you just say it to me? That you came to Tokyo only because you wanted to see me, Eli?"
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