Chapter 124
"Mineo, your... your condition... I accept!"
"But... remember this... it's only for this one time! Next time, you really can't use this sort of thing to threaten me!"
"Otherwise... otherwise I'll squat in front of your door and cry for three days and three nights! I... I'll let everyone in the school know that a jerk like you is bullying me..."
Mineo rolled his eyes at her dramatics. "I say, My Lady Second Young Mistress! In this transaction, I'm clearly the one suffering the loss! If it weren't for the fact that I like you two quite a bit, I wouldn't be bringing out my treasures just to give them to you!"
Hearing Mineo say that he liked the both of them, a crimson glow spread across Alice's face. She glanced at Erina a bit nervously, then gritted her teeth and said to Mineo:
"First, lend me your kitchen. Last time, I heard you say your kitchen has a very complete set of molecular gastronomy equipment, right? I need to use it for a bit!"
"Don't worry, the condition I promised you will definitely be fulfilled today!"
Upon hearing Alice's answer, Mineo gave her an 'OK' hand gesture.
"You two wait for me here for a moment. I'll go get the equipment now!"
As Mineo headed back upstairs, Erina walked over to Alice. Her beautiful eyes narrowed as she stared intensely at her cousin. In a low, heavy voice, Erina asked:
"Just now... what kind of deal did you make with Mineo-kun!?"
"I'm asking you, did you use something shameful again to tease Mineo-kun? Alice, you—"
Before Erina could finish, Alice quickly cut her off.
"Erina, don't ask too much! I'll explain it to you later. Now, look! Mineo-kun has so many incredible ingredients here. If we don't taste them for ourselves, wouldn't that be a huge waste?"
"Kobayashi-senpai has already gotten ahead of us. Do you really want to be left behind by others forever? In terms of looks, aura, or status, we don't lose to Kobayashi-senpai at all... so on what basis does Mineo get to give her so many ingredients while we can't enjoy them?"
"This time, I'm going to properly rob Mineo-kun's warehouse—oh, I mean, understand it thoroughly. Erina, do you want to come with me? I want to use some testing equipment later to check the composition of these ingredients!"
Before Erina could even offer a response, Mineo had already returned. He was pushing a small utility cart, and on the top shelf sat a large tray. On the bottom shelf, he had placed tools like kitchen knives.
"Mineo, you didn't bring an electric drill?"
"What would I bring that for?"
"To break the shell of this crab claw! If you don't bring a drill, do you really plan on splitting it open with a knife?"
"Using a knife? Honestly, Second Young Mistress, you underestimate me too much." Mineo chuckled. "Did you think that when I told you I had superpowers, I was just making it up to fool you? Now, stand back like a good girl. Your Onii-chan is going to show you some real power!"
"Make sure to remember to clap afterward!"
As he spoke, Mineo walked up to the side of the pincer. In the next second, he raised his fist and struck the massive crab shell directly.
A heavy, booming thud echoed through the basement!
The incredibly hard outer shell of the crab claw shattered into pieces instantly. With his hands, he cleared away the broken fragments, immediately exposing the pristine, translucent white crab meat to the air.
At the same moment, a dense, rich aroma suddenly flooded the entire room. Upon smelling it, Alice cried out in shock.
"This scent... it's like cream!"
"Why does this crab meat give off a creamy aroma!? Mineo, what on earth is going on!?"
"Because my ingredients are just that great," Mineo replied casually. "Amazed by just this? I told you I'd open your narrow eyes, but you didn't believe me! Now you've seen what a miracle looks like for yourself, haven't you?"
Mineo shot Alice a glance as if she were a naive country girl, and Alice immediately flared up in anger.
"Mineo! If you're so brave, why don't you say that again!?"
"I'm not repeating it. If you're unhappy, come here and bite me!"
While they bickered, Mineo took out a kitchen knife. After carving out a large section of the crab meat, he placed it onto the tray.
"Alright, the crab meat is out for you! How you choose to prepare it is up to you. You can borrow the kitchen upstairs for a while; the molecular gastronomy section is in the innermost room!"
Alice didn't need any more reminders. She had already rushed to the cart. Bringing her beautiful face close to the translucent crab meat, she inhaled the scent greedily.
"It smells amazing! Such a pure cream aroma! To think crab meat could produce this kind of scent... this world really is full of wonders!"
"I'm taking this piece to the kitchen now. Erina, do you want to come with me!?"
Seeing Alice's invitation, Erina, who was standing to the side, shook her head gently.
"I won't go. You go on ahead and research it yourself."
"That's true. Oh, and if you're going to do research, do you need to call Grandfather? I'm afraid if you come home too late, he'll..."
"I'll call Grandfather after I go upstairs! By the way, Mineo-kun, I remember your restaurant has guest rooms on the upper floors, right? How many are there? Can I borrow one tonight? I don't plan on going home today."
"I do have guest rooms. You can go up later and find one for yourself."
"Great! Then after my work is done tonight, I'll find one myself. I'm going up now! If you guys need anything, just call me!"
With those words, Alice pushed the small cart and ran upstairs, her heart full of excitement.
Once she had gone, Mineo looked at Erina and asked with a hint of curiosity:
"Why didn't you go up with Alice to research these ingredients? Are you not interested in rare, special ingredients like these?"
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