Chapter 146
After Mineo set her down, Nozomi stood on the boulder with great care. She scanned her surroundings and asked in a tone of pure disbelief:
"Are we really at the very top of the mountain? In... such a short amount of time, you brought me all the way here?"
Mineo smiled and replied.
"It took about two minutes. Mostly because I was worried that if I flew too fast, you wouldn't be able to handle it. But yes, we are at the very summit now."
"The view here is quite nice. It looks like the entirety of Tokyo's night lights can be seen from here!"
Mineo sat down cross-legged on the large boulder. Nozomi hesitated for a moment before walking over to join him.
She slightly lifted her long red skirt, hugged her knees, and sat down closely beside him.
Following Mineo's gaze, the sparkling night view of Tokyo stretched out beneath the veil of darkness. The sprawling streets, the never-ending flow of traffic, and the neon signs blinking in a kaleidoscope of colors—it was a sight beautiful enough to enchant anyone.
Hugging her knees tightly, Nozomi tilted her head back to look at the night sky. She spoke in a soft, gentle voice.
"Tokyo's night view really is beautiful! This is the first time I've stood at such a high point to look at the world I live in."
"It's a shame that it seems cloudy today. There are so many dark clouds in the sky. If I could see the starry sky as well, I would be completely satisfied."
"You want to see the stars? No problem! Leave a small matter like that to me!"
Mineo stood up and waved his hand toward the heavens. In the next moment, the dark clouds drifting above began to pull away slowly.
With the obstruction gone, a sky filled with a scattering of stars appeared in an instant.
At that moment, not just Nozomi, but many others living across Tokyo who happened to be looking up felt a surge of shock at the sheer beauty of the scene.
Covering her mouth in surprise, Nozomi's beautiful eyes sparkled with immense joy.
A moment later, she stood up as well and faced Mineo directly.
"Mineo-kun! Are you a god? I... am I really dreaming?"
"If you want to know if you're dreaming or not, Nozomi-chan just needs to pinch herself. Then you'll know."
"Pinch myself?"
Hearing that, Nozomi gave Mineo an adorable "white eye" look.
"I thought Mineo-kun would ask me to pinch him. How can you say something like that to a girl? A Mineo-kun like this might make girls hate him, you know."
Mineo looked at her with a smiling expression.
"Whether other girls hate me or not, I don't really mind. My main focus is just knowing whether Nozomi-chan hates me."
"Is Mineo-kun hitting on me?"
Nozomi looked at him with a meaningful smile, reaching up to gently tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.
"If I didn't know Mineo-kun's true nature, I might actually be moved by those words!"
"Did Mineo-kun say he doesn't care about being hated by other girls? Does that include Eli-chi? Does it include Minami Kotori-san? Does it include Sonoda Umi-san? Does it include Kosaka Honoka-san? And those are just the ones I know about. In places I can't see, Mineo-kun surely has many other girls he cares about, right? So, Mineo-kun really is an undeniable playboy!"
Mineo let out a slightly awkward laugh.
"Nozomi-chan, you really are something! It turns out you knew everything. This won't do—a girl as sharp as you can't be an enemy. I'll have to think of a way to make sure you're on my side..."
"On your side? In other words, Mineo-kun is indeed targeting me? Oh dear, facing a man with such incredible power, how am I supposed to protect myself?"
Nozomi's smile turned a bit mischievous as she playfully held her chest, pretending to be afraid.
"If I don't agree, is Mineo-kun going to silence me tonight so his secrets don't leak out?"
Mineo rolled his eyes at her antics.
"Nozomi-chan seems very happy today to be cracking jokes like that. My dream is to be Nozomi-chan's guardian deity. How could I ever hurt you?"
"Your dream is to be my guardian deity?"
Nozomi narrowed her eyes, smiling.
"Is that being a guardian deity for me alone, or for a whole group of people? Could Mineo-kun give me an accurate answer on that?"
Pinned down by Nozomi's direct gaze, Mineo laughed awkwardly.
"That's a complicated question. Let's discuss it when we have more free time another day. Can we change the subject?"
"Today is our first face-to-face meeting, after all. It's okay to talk about fun and happy things."
"Mineo-kun wants to dodge the topic, doesn't he?"
Nozomi smiled like a little fox.
"Fine. Since Mineo-kun wants to talk about something else, let's chat for a bit!"
"To be honest, I really am very happy today, because a dream I've had for a long time has actually come true."
"I've always believed that people with superpowers really exist in this world, but I never imagined one would appear so close to me."
"And that person turned out to be you, Mineo-kun! My heart is truly filled with a sense of shock and emotion that's hard to put into words..."
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