Chapter 181
Feeling the burning heartbeat radiating from his chest, Eli felt her heart fall into a state of complete chaos for a moment.
At this very second, two clear streams of tears traced paths down her fair profile, dripping one by one onto the edge of her pleated skirt.
"You jerk!"
"Why do you always have to mess with me, you bastard!"
"Do you really think you understand me?"
"Do you think you can just make decisions for me?"
"You're so self-righteous! Mineo, out of everyone in this world, you are the jerk I hate the most, the one I hate the most!"
Biting her thin lip, Eli glared at Mineo with a complex gaze.
After forcing those words out, she felt as if all the strength in her body had simply vanished.
Meeting Eli's beautiful eyes, Mineo spoke with immense calm:
"In this world, besides yourself and your family, who else understands you better than I do?"
"Do you know what I was thinking right before I came to Tokyo?"
"I thought, if I could see Eli dance just for me, I would surely be the luckiest man in the entire world."
"And so, carrying that wish with me, I came here."
"I don't care if you hate me or blame me, Eli—for the rest of this life, you belong to me."
"And what if I don't agree?"
"Then I'll just keep chasing you until you do!"
"Then what if I never agree, forever?"
"Then I'll find a mountain peak to become a mountain king, kidnap you, and make you stay by my side as a bandit chief's wife."
Watching Mineo's gaze, Eli fell silent.
She looked down at the tips of her shoes and spoke with an expressionless face:
"Do you really feel like you've conquered me?"
"Spending all your thoughts on me like this... do you really think it's worth it?"
"What part of me do you even like? My face? My body? Or my aura? There's no shortage of women in this world who are superior to me."
"There may be no shortage of superior women in this world, but you, Eli, are the only one, aren't you?"
"At least in my heart, Eli will always be Eli. No one can ever replace you."
"Whether it's worth it or not isn't for you to decide. For me, as long as I can make Eli happy, anything I do is worth it..."
Hearing those sentences from Mineo, Eli looked up and stared at him seriously.
"Mineo, can I ask you one question?"
"Whatever the question is, please ask, Eli."
"Do you feel like you are a scumbag?"
"...."
Mineo hadn't expected at all that Eli would suddenly ask something like that.
He felt a bit flustered internally, then said rather helplessly:
"I think I should be a good person."
"But if Eli insists on feeling that I'm a scumbag, then I'm the scumbag who likes Eli the most..."
Even if he's a scumbag, he's still the scumbag who likes me the most?
Hearing this, Eli was stunned.
In the next second, a clear shimmer appeared in the corners of her eyes again.
But quickly, Eli hurriedly wiped them away, putting on an act as if nothing had happened.
Glancing nervously in another direction, Eli forced herself to stay calm and asked:
"I'll keep that sentence in my heart for the time being."
"Now, I have another question."
"If you say you really like me that much, you jerk, then what about Kosaka-san, Minami-san, and the others? What are they to you?"
"Do you really only think of them as good friends, is that right?"
Mineo was a bit taken aback.
He truly hadn't expected Eli to dive straight into such a difficult question.
However, since she had asked, Mineo didn't plan on hiding it anymore.
Carefully glancing at Eli, Mineo said in a slightly low voice:
"Minami Kotori and the others... I actually like all of them."
"Well, I think having a big family would be more lively. At least later when we play cards or mahjong, it won't be hard to find people."
"...."
Because Eli's attention was fixed entirely on Mineo, even though his voice was quite soft, his words reached her ears clearly without missing a single syllable.
After hearing that quiet murmur from Mineo, Eli's face instantly turned pitch black!
She lowered her head, her voice turning cold as she spoke:
"What do you mean by a big family being more lively?"
"You jerk, don't tell me you're actually thinking of... of chasing everyone at the same time?"
"Is that what you meant by what you just said?"
Seeing Eli's beautiful eyes staring at him sharply, Mineo suddenly reached out and pulled her back into his embrace.
"Well, Eli, before I answer that, can you listen to me say one more thing first?"
"Let go of me right now, you jerk! Before you answer my question, don't even hope to touch me!"
"I won't let go. Talking while holding Eli feels much more amazing anyway. Besides, whether you agree or not, I'm not letting go!"
"You..."
Eli struggled, wanting to push Mineo away, but she didn't expect her body to suddenly stop moving.
It felt as though she had completely lost control over her own physical form.
The sudden occurrence of this abnormal situation made Eli instantly lose her composure.
"How... how can it be like this!?"
"Why... why can't I move?"
"Mineo... you bastard, did you... do something to my body?"
"Hurry... let me go right now!"
"If... if this keeps up, I... I'm really going to get angry."
"Does Eli feel very scared?"
"It's okay, I'm right here, I'll protect you!"
"You jerk, let go of me! I... I don't need your protection! You... what exactly did you do to my body!?"
"I just cast a little spell on Eli's body, that's all..."
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