Chapter 159
"Is Mineo-oniichan actually the same age as us?"
Hearing Mineo's words, Honoka and the others were momentarily stunned. The three of them exchanged looks before Umi asked with a hint of confusion in her voice:
"Then, why did you say before that you were in your twenties, Mineo-kun?"
Faced with Umi's question, Mineo spoke with a slightly bashful expression:
"Please don't laugh at me after you hear this."
"Back then, Kotori called me 'Mineo-oniichan' in a voice message, and I thought her voice sounded so incredibly beautiful and adorable."
"Because of that, I wanted to hear her call me that more often, so I intentionally bumped up my age."
Upon hearing Mineo's explanation, Umi and Honoka immediately whipped their heads toward Kotori. Minami Kotori's face was already turning an extreme shade of red!
She lowered her head shyly, not daring to look her two friends or Mineo in the eye.
Honoka looked at Kotori, then said with a mischievous grin:
"Kotori's voice really is lovely. Forget about Mineo-oniichan—even I feel charmed by it sometimes. Come on, Kotori, try calling me 'Onii-chan' just once. Who knows, maybe I'll truly fall for you because of your voice too!"
"Honoka, you..."
Minami Kotori glanced at Honoka, overwhelmed with embarrassment. However, despite stammering for a long while, she couldn't manage to get the next sentence out.
She peeked up slightly and stole another glance at Mineo. A few seconds later, the flush on her face deepened even further.
Even though this was their first official meeting, the interaction between Mineo, Honoka, and the others was going very smoothly.
Honoka was a natural talker; when she was with Mineo, she was bold enough to talk about basically any topic.
Staring at Mineo, Honoka said with a playful smile:
"Mineo-oniichan, did you buy this Maid Cafe because you think the maids here are super cute? Personally, I think Umi and Kotori would look really good in maid uniforms. If there's time in the future, they could give it a try."
Hearing Honoka's words, Umi suddenly tensed up.
"Honoka, what... what are you talking about!"
"There's... there's no way I could wear something like that... it's just... too... too embarrassing..."
"What's so embarrassing about it? I think that style is quite nice. Kotori, what do you think? If it's you, you'd probably like this kind of outfit too, wouldn't you?"
Seeing Honoka looking her way, Minami Kotori felt a bit awkward. She did indeed love maid uniforms very, very, very much. However, admitting that in front of her two best friends was something that made her feel incredibly shy.
Seeing the tense expressions on Minami Kotori and Umi, Mineo smiled and said to Honoka:
"Now I'm suddenly feeling like Honoka would also look great in a maid uniform. How about it? Do you want to work part-time at my restaurant during your school breaks? I feel like with your help, business at my shop would definitely be amazing!"
"Does Mineo-oniichan want me to help attract customers?"
Honoka said cheerfully:
"That certainly wouldn't be a problem! Kotori and Umi can help out together too. None of us have ever tried a maid uniform, right? After our first performance is over, we can try coming to Mineo-oniichan's shop together to help him."
"Helping... is fine, but... but I absolutely cannot wear a maid uniform. I... I really don't think I can accept that..."
Umi gritted her teeth and gave Honoka a sharp glare. However, Honoka didn't pay her any mind and instead wrapped an arm around Umi's shoulder, saying:
"What's wrong with a maid uniform? A maid uniform is clearly a very cute outfit. Mineo-oniichan runs a maid cafe; how could we help out here without wearing the uniform? Look, Mineo-oniichan traveled a long way specifically to cheer us on, so we have to pay him back with real action! The matter of helping at the shop is happily decided. Once tomorrow's performance is done, during this weekend, the three of us will come here together!"
After chatting happily with the three girls for a while, Mineo stood up and said to them:
"It's about time for dinner. Today is our first meeting, and I didn't prepare any arrival gifts for you, so let me show off my cooking skills! I'll personally prepare the dinner you're about to eat!"
Hearing Mineo's words, Honoka's eyes immediately lit up with surprise.
"Mineo-oniichan is going to personally cook for us?"
"I've been looking forward to Mineo-oniichan's cooking for a long time!"
"I didn't expect to actually get to taste it today."
Back when they used to chat, Mineo often bragged to the girls. Mastery of the culinary arts was, of course, one of the mandatory subjects in his boasting.
Maybe Mineo was just bluffing back then, but things were different now. His boasts had become reality, so it was only natural for him to show the girls what he could do.
Seeing the expectant gazes of the three young girls, Mineo smiled and said:
"In that case, please wait a moment, you three adorable little ladies! I promise I'll use my best dishes to let you experience the bliss of delicious food."
After saying that, Mineo turned toward the kitchen. Once he arrived, he requested a single stove unit.
He recalled the types of dishes the three girls liked in the original work. A second later, he had decided on the concept for his cooking.
While Mineo was in the kitchen seriously preparing the food, Honoka and the others were chatting in low voices back in the restaurant.
"Mineo-oniichan is so handsome, and his voice is really so gentle!"
"Umi, Kotori, what do you guys think?"
At Honoka's words, a blush crept onto Umi and Kotori's faces. Umi spoke in a quiet, strained voice:
"I... I think so too... and it seems like he knows how to do so many things. I have a feeling he's actually very incredible."
Once Umi gave her answer, Honoka looked back toward Kotori. She then spoke with a slightly teasing tone:
"How does Kotori feel? Now that you've met your ideal guy, is that heart-pounding feeling getting even stronger?"
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