Chapter 226
Regarding Erina, Mineo actually felt that he understood her quite well.
Many people saw her as a mere tsundere, but in reality, no one deeply considered the environment she had been in from childhood through adulthood.
Take right now, for example—the fact that she was able to expose her softest side from within her heart was enough to prove that Erina was actually a very gentle and even fragile girl.
From childhood to adulthood, Erina's reputation in the Japanese culinary world had been immense.
Almost everyone who saw her would call out with deep respect—the Young Miss of the God's Tongue!
However, was Erina's ability to grow to today's stage really based solely on the God's Tongue?
As Mineo had said just now, talent for an outstanding person is merely a tool; the true strength lies in tireless, diligent learning.
One grain of white sugar and two grains of white sugar might taste the same, but with the difference in the amount added to a dish, and the difference in timing, the level of sweetness in that dish will undergo a very noticeable change.
The God's Tongue is able to capture the flavor changes in a dish because, before this, Erina had already recorded the evolutionary process of various tastes within her brain.
She wasn't like Mineo; Mineo had a life enabled by cheats, whereas the achievements Erina reached came from the accumulation of bit by bit since she was a child.
Therefore, when she was in the culinary world, she hoped to hear people praise her efforts rather than her talent.
Strong on the outside, soft on the inside—it was precisely because of this contrast that her tsundere characteristics appeared. So, hearing her complaint now, Mineo felt a bit of the same sentiment.
Under the star-studded sky, Erina's sitting position—hugging her knees and curled up—looked very much like that of a goddess.
Her blonde hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, and a single strand on her forehead swayed left and right in the gentle breeze.
Looking at her beautiful eyes and pupils, Mineo felt an urge to pamper her. And for Erina, the thing she longed for most in her heart, the thing she wanted to obtain most, was exactly this.
Accompanied by Erina and Alice, Mineo sat quietly on the silent mountain peak for a long time before finally bringing the young miss and the second young miss back down.
Senzaemon had already been pressing them, so they had to return soon to rest.
Before leaving, the two were once again pulled into Mineo's arms for a brief moment of intimacy.
"I'm going home now."
"Over the next few days, I have to handle a pile of commissions, so I might not be able to visit your place for a short while."
"But once I've finished the business at hand, I'll definitely come as soon as possible."
Standing in front of the restaurant, Erina gazed at Mineo quietly, while Mineo seemed to remember something and spoke up immediately:
"Wait here for a moment. I have a gift to give you two. I almost forgot! I'll go inside and get it now."
"Eh??? There's a gift too?"
Hearing Mineo's words, Alice's eyes flashed with a hint of excitement.
"Mineo, did you get more of those magical food items?"
"It's not ingredients; as for those, wait for me to go looking for them in a few days. What I've prepared now is a different gift!"
Soon, Mineo brought out two small boxes from inside his restaurant. He then handed the two boxes to the young miss and the second young miss.
Erina and Alice accepted the boxes with curiosity and opened them. Inside the boxes lay two strands of extremely exquisite gemstone necklaces.
Alice's piece was red, and Erina's was purple—essentially identical to the color of their pupils!
Seeing the exquisite necklaces inside the boxes, Alice's eyes shone with surprise.
"Eh!? It's a necklace!"
"Is this a confession gift Mineo is giving us? It's so beautiful... it must have been very expensive, right..."
Alice and Erina were young misses from a wealthy family; naturally, they didn't lack gemstone jewelry. However, they were still students, so they rarely wore such items, only dressing up seriously for official events.
But despite that, when it came to the quality and price of gemstone jewelry, the two girls still had an eye for it.
The necklaces Mineo had given them now—just by looking at the size of the gemstones—made it clear that the quality was extraordinary.
At the very least, without a price tag of millions of dollars, these items definitely couldn't be bought. However, the even more shocking revelation for the two girls was yet to come, as Mineo spoke slowly:
"These two necklaces—if we're just talking about value—should be in the range of several million. However, what's truly important isn't the gift itself!"
"See these two gemstones on the necklaces? I have embedded a bit of my spiritual power into them!"
"As long as either of you encounters any danger, they will protect you, and I will realize it at the first opportunity!"
"So you don't need to worry about the value of the gift anymore. Giving these to you, my greatest hope is to see you both safe and sound!"
Erina and Alice hadn't expected that the gifts Mineo gave them would have such a profound meaning. For a moment, a warm current flowed through the hearts of both girls.
After being silent for a few seconds, Alice suddenly looked up and showed a very sweet smile. She took an elegant step forward, her high heels clicking as she arrived in front of Mineo.
"Mineo-kun really is a big dummy. You don't give a gift to a girl like this, you know!"
"It's not given like this?"
"Are there specific rules for giving gifts?"
Mineo looked at Alice with curiosity. Alice smiled sweetly, showing her bright and playful grin.
"Giving a gift should usually be done after dinner ends, accompanied by lamplight and candlelight..."
"How can there be a time when you're seeing someone out the door and only then take out a gift? And... the most important thing is... when giving a gift to a girlfriend! Shouldn't you put it on her yourself?"
"Handing it directly to a girl's hand in such a simple way is really not attentive enough, you know..."
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