Chapter 212
Hearing Honoka's words, Yukiho lowered her head, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Mineo-oniichan's dishes are indeed much tastier than Dad's."
Once Yukiho finished her sentence, Eli glanced at Mineo and said with a flat expression:
"Thank you for the hospitality today, Mineo-kun!"
"But it's getting very late, so I have to take Alisa home to rest now."
"If you have some free time when you visit us again, please allow me to host you for once!"
Mineo looked at the girls and said helplessly:
"Since it's no longer early, go back and rest. You're all acting as if this is a life-and-death farewell, but on my end, this is just a temporary busy streak. Once it's over, I can come see you anytime."
"You're all my best friends. How could I ever forget you?"
Finally, after the goodbyes were finished, the girls led by Nozomi pushed open the doors and left the Dimensional Restaurant.
In the next second, their figures returned to the original world where they lived.
They were back in front of the shrine. The only difference from a few hours ago was that their group was now missing one person: Mineo.
"Alright, since the meal is over, everyone should head home and get some rest early!"
"Even though Mineo-kun has returned for now, for the rest of us, the journey has only just begun!"
"Starting tomorrow, let's all work hard together."
After Nozomi finished speaking, she pulled a set of Tarot cards from her pocket. Closing her eyes, she drew a single card from the deck.
Under the canopy of the starry sky, the card known as The Star in its upright position looked particularly striking and dazzling.
The scene shifted back to Mineo's side. After seeing Minami Kotori and the others off, Mineo immediately used the restaurant's instant cleaning feature.
The restaurant, which had been a bit cluttered moments ago, returned to its pristine, original state in a single second. Afterward, Mineo went into the bathroom and took a comfortable soak in the hot water.
Wearing his bath yukata, he stepped out of the bathroom and lay down under his covers.
He picked up his phone and began to browse through it. Sure enough, the girls who hadn't said much before leaving had sent him private messages to express their feelings before the parting.
Checking the time, the first person to send a message was Eli, so Mineo opened her message first.
He saw that what Eli had sent wasn't text, but a short video lasting 60 seconds.
After opening it, Mineo was instantly stunned.
A few seconds into the video, lights began to slowly illuminate the dark screen. Beautiful music flowed softly, and the figure of Eli, wearing a white ballet outfit, sat in a graceful pose in the center of a stage.
Accompanied by the elegant rhythm of the music, Eli's body began to move in a gentle dance.
Eli, standing in the center of that stage, truly resembled a graceful white swan. she showcased her entire posture and pride there to her heart's content.
Mineo immediately recognized the dance Eli was performing in the video: it was Swan Lake.
Was this a gift sent specifically for him?
Actually, Eli had always kept this dance video stored on her phone. And this video had never been seen by anyone else.
As far back as half a year ago, after she had recorded it with a camera, she had always wanted to send it to Mineo.
Unfortunately, due to the nervousness and shyness in her heart, Eli hadn't been able to gather the courage to do so.
But now, after leaving Mineo's restaurant, Eli had finally sent the video to him.
Her feelings were fully felt by Mineo. Holding his phone, Mineo sent a message back to Eli.
"Eli standing on the stage is truly beautiful and absolutely amazing."
"Eli, is this the gift you're giving me?"
Eli replied to Mineo's message almost instantly.
"You... don't go getting ideas. I... I don't have those kinds of thoughts at all."
"It's just... it's just that a jerk like you was always saying you wanted to see me dance, so I... I just took an old video I recorded a long time ago for you to see."
"Something like this isn't a gift at all."
Eli, dressed in pure white pajamas, leaned quietly against her headboard. At this moment, her eyes reflected an indescribable mix of shyness and tension.
Biting her lip gently, Eli sent another message to Mineo using her phone.
"Alisa just asked me when Mineo-kun can come over again. She still wants to eat your cooking one more time!"
Seeing the message Eli sent, Mineo let out a sudden laugh. This girl was still forcing herself to be stubborn even now.
It was obvious that she was the one who wanted to see him, but she used Alisa as an excuse instead. Eli, using your little sister as an excuse like this, doesn't your conscience hurt?
Holding his phone, Mineo replied to Eli's message.
"If it's Alisa who wants to see me, she might have to wait a while. But if it's you, Eli, who wants to see me, even if I'm super busy, I'll come over right away. After all, you are my girlfriend! Right?"
Seeing the message Mineo sent, Eli's face turned bright red again.
"Who... who is your girlfriend!!"
"I... I won't miss you at all!"
"I'm going to sleep now! I don't care if you come over later or not!"
After teasing Eli for a bit, Mineo opened the message sent by Nico:
"Mineo!"
"The next time you come to Tokyo, you have to tell me first! If you don't... if you don't, I'll make your shop go bankrupt! I'll make sure a jerk like you ends up begging on the streets!"
"I say, Nico, I treated you to a huge feast today. Is this how you plan to pay me back?"
"You even want to make my supermarket go bankrupt! I'm telling you, if you dare to do that, I'll dare to bring a marriage proposal to your house! When that happens, I'll tell your parents that Nico has to pay for my shop's losses, and if she can't afford it—hmph hmph—then she'll have to pay with herself!"
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