Chapter 158
As Honoka asked her question, Kotori also watched Mineo with a tense gaze.
Just a few days ago, she was still working here. How did the owner change to Mineo-oniichan in the blink of an eye? Could it be... that he already knew she worked here?
Seeing the three girls staring at him, Mineo smiled calmly.
"I only just bought this shop today."
"I happened to pass by and really liked the atmosphere of the place."
"So, I felt interested and took immediate action to purchase it."
Buying an entire restaurant just because he liked the vibe—it was the kind of move only someone with staggering wealth could pull off.
Mineo's casual admission nearly left Honoka and the others speechless.
Honoka took a sip of her juice to steady her nerves, then playfully stuck her tongue out at him.
"Mineo-oniichan really does whatever he wants, doesn't he?"
"Buying a whole restaurant just because you like it..."
"It seems Mineo-oniichan really is an incredibly rich person."
"Whether I'm rich or not isn't really important. By the way, Honoka, your performance starts tomorrow, right?"
"Is my entry pass ready?"
Hearing his reminder, Honoka quickly pulled an entry pass from her bag. After handing it over to Mineo, she spoke with a joyful grin.
"It's all done! I didn't expect everything to go so smoothly."
"Tomorrow after school, right around 5 PM, we'll be holding our very first stage performance in the school auditorium."
"Kotori and I will come out a bit early to pick you up and bring you onto the campus."
"I... I just don't know how many people will actually show up to watch us tomorrow."
Mineo, who understood the original flow of the story perfectly, knew all too well that their first performance was destined to be incredibly lonely.
The total number of spectators wouldn't even reach ten people, and most of those would be "insiders."
However, Mineo didn't want to see these three girls go through that kind of soul-crushing pressure tomorrow, so he had come prepared with an interesting proposal.
Looking at Honoka, Mineo said with a smile:
"Honoka, Umi, and Kotori,"
"I have a request I'd like to discuss with you."
"You have your stage performance tomorrow, right?"
"Would you mind if I did a live stream from the venue?"
"I have many friends who, for various reasons, can't be there in person to support you. But after hearing how hard you're all working to build an idol group for the sake of your school, everyone was deeply moved and said they wanted to cheer you on."
"Regarding that, do you have any objections?"
Hearing that Mineo wanted to live stream the event, Honoka chirped up enthusiastically.
"Since they're Mineo-oniichan's friends, of course it's no problem at all!"
"It's just... if our performance doesn't go well, won't everyone laugh at us? Thinking about performing in front of your friends, Onii-chan... I'm suddenly getting a little nervous."
"I believe you three will show everyone your own unique charm. So, you just have to give it your all tomorrow afternoon."
"Oh right, Honoka. How many members has your group, μ's, managed to... I mean, how many have joined so far?"
"Besides Nishikino Maki-san, is there anyone else interested in joining?"
At Mineo's question, Honoka glanced briefly at Umi and Kotori before giving him a sweet smile.
"Mineo-oniichan, you might not know this, but when I first proposed the idea of an idol group, it seemed like no one was on our side."
"The Student Council President, and even Nishikino-san... they all had their doubts about us."
"But I don't know why, suddenly everyone seemed to have a change of heart and changed their attitude instantly."
"I keep thinking, maybe my sincerity finally reached everyone's hearts!"
Seeing the group's energetic leader looking so proud of herself, Mineo couldn't help but inwardly roll his eyes.
If he hadn't pulled those strings behind the scenes, they'd likely still be facing a wall of skepticism!
Still, Mineo didn't burst her bubble. He looked at the three of them and said:
"Since everyone has started supporting you now, you have to work even harder."
"If there's anything you need help with, don't hesitate to tell me. Though with the talent the three of you have, I think you're more than capable of handling any hardship."
"Yes, yes! Thank you for the support, Mineo-oniichan."
"We'll definitely fight hard."
Honoka gave Mineo a brilliant smile, then turned to look at Kotori and Umi with a puzzled tilt of her head.
"Weren't you two looking forward to meeting Mineo-oniichan the most?"
"Why have you both been so quiet since we got here?"
"Umi, Kotori... don't tell me you're both still nervous..."
"No... no! I'm... I'm not nervous at all!"
Umi's face flushed a soft red as she stole another glance at Mineo.
"Mineo-kun... you don't actually look that old. Are you really in your twenties?"
"In my twenties?"
Mineo blinked, momentarily stunned by Umi's words. A second later, it clicked—he remembered that while chatting with Kotori and the others online, he had intentionally inflated his age.
He'd done it because hearing Minami Kotori's soft voice calling him "Mineo-oniichan" was just too pleasant to give up.
Just to keep hearing her call him that, he'd bumped up his age.
But now that they were meeting officially, Mineo decided it was time for the truth.
Looking at Honoka and the others, Mineo spoke with a slightly sheepish expression.
"About that... Umi, there's one thing I should apologize for first."
"Actually, I'm not in my twenties yet. I'm also a second-year high school student. I'm seventeen this year! If you do the math, I should be the same age as you all!"
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