My love index is at its maximum.

Shiori Ninomiya interlaced her fingers, raised her hands above her head, stretched, and said resentfully, "Because I'm just a rumored mistress, I can only act very considerate so that he won't dislike me. If I were really a mistress, I would have grabbed his ears and kicked his butt to make him go to the event."

Kana Shimamoto blinked and smiled gently.

"I'm going back now."

Ninomiya Shiori waved her hand, looking slightly bored, and left the activity room with her schoolbag.

Kana Shimamoto turned to look at Sakura Kuriyama, a warm smile blooming on her face once again: "Kuriyama-san, would you be interested in doing me a favor?"

Kuriyama Sakura shook her head directly.

"How heartless! The teacher hasn't even said anything yet."

Kana Shimamoto slumped her shoulders dramatically, sprawling on the table, and looked at Miss Kuriyama with a pleading gaze: "The kendo club has over twenty members, and from July 23rd to August 10th, for almost twenty days, the teacher had to be solely responsible for all their food and drinks. That must be exhausting. Can't you, Kuriyama-kun, help me share the workload? I don't need you to do anything, just record the financial expenditures every day, okay?"

Miss Kuriyama replied curtly with a cold gaze and a despairing tone: "I'm not interested."

"Don't refuse too quickly..." Shimamoto Kana intertwined her fingers, a gentle smile on her lips, and slowly said, "What if I could invite Tazaki-san to come along?"

Sakura Kuriyama's shoulders twitched slightly.

The temptation of those words was quite strong, and the minister's cheeks couldn't help but flush.

Kana Shimamoto remained slumped over the table, a glint of triumph flashing in her deep-colored eyes.

……

The following afternoon, after classes ended, a school-wide cleaning began.

Tazaki Tsukasa's assigned task was to clean the windows on both sides of the classroom together with Murakami Mizuiro.

"Snapped"

The towel had just been thrown into the bucket of water, and before Tsukasa Tazaki could even fish it out and wring it dry, someone called his name from the doorway.

"Tazaki-san, come out for a moment."

It's Shimamoto-sensei!

Tsukasa Tazaki turned around instantly and ran out.

So, despite it being a task for two people, Murakami Mizuiro was the only one wiping and cursing from beginning to end.

The teacher and student walked down the stairs one after the other and stopped in a corner of the courtyard.

Tazaki Tsukasa stood behind her, quietly admiring her sexy figure in the black business suit, the taut lines of her buttocks, and her plump legs tightly wrapped in flesh-colored stockings, all of which were very beautiful.

After looking at him for about ten seconds, Shimamoto Kana turned around. This perfectly poised and beautiful married teacher smiled gently and happily patted Tazaki Tsukasa's head: "How do you plan to spend this summer vacation, Tazaki-kun?"

What a perfect smile.

So gentle that Tsukasa Tazaki felt that the world would end the moment that smile faded.

That's right.

This is God's mercy on humanity, a final act of tenderness left before the end of time.

Kana Shimamoto tapped his forehead with her middle finger: "You can't think about lewd things."

"pain……"

Tazaki Tsukasa covered his forehead and said, "My head is spinning. Please come home with me tonight and take care of me."

"Come on, you didn't even use any force."

Kana Shimamoto smiled gently, a tender maternal glow appearing in her eyes: "Are you planning to spend another month-long vacation alone in the library?"

There are two people.

Tsukasa Tazaki corrected, "It's just me and Hoshino-sensei."

“Now that you have Hoshino-sensei…” Shimamoto Kana stared at him with her transparent, glass-like eyes, “then why do you still want Shimamoto-sensei to go home with you?”

"Well, knowledge... the more the better."

"You really are awful."

"I should say I'm very lucky to have met two such outstanding and beautiful teachers."

Kana Shimamoto smiled and said, "You're not very old, but you know how to please women."

Overjoyed, she proudly puffed out her chest, the last rays of the setting sun filtering through the gaps in the oak branches, outlining the curves of her high breasts beneath her uniform—a truly pleasing sight.

Tsukasa Tazaki held his breath, gazing intently at her silhouette.

A gentle breeze blowing from the direction of the teaching building quietly swayed the oak leaves overhead, and various smells wafted into the nostrils: the smell of sweat, disinfectant, and the smoke from burning fallen leaves. All these smells mingled together, making one somewhat reluctant to leave this ordinary summer evening.

"Tasaki-kun..." Shimamoto Kana saw that the time was right and gently tempted the little boy: "Would you like to join the kendo club's training camp and then participate in the national high school kendo tournament in August together?"

Tsukasa Tazaki shook his head immediately: "I'm not interested."

"Don't be so quick to refuse!" Shimamoto Kana glared at him angrily. "Our Kitagawa Academy hasn't won a national championship in twenty years, not just in kendo, but in every other sports-related category. This year, the kendo club has a chance to bring a championship back to the school after twenty years, but Kikawa-kun is a girl, so the impact of the championship is definitely not as great as that of a boy. If you can bring back the Jade Dragon Flag, you will be a hero of the entire Kitagawa Academy!"

“I’m not interested.” Tsukasa Tazaki shook his head again.

The first attempt at persuasion failed.

Kana Shimamoto didn't give up and continued gently, "Let's go take a look at the playground first."

"it is good."

The two walked together toward the school playground.

Every window I saw along the way was spotless, and the weeds on the lawn had been cleared away. The whole school had a refreshed feel—clean, tidy, and orderly—as if it were basking in the summer afternoon sun…

The playground was packed with students from various sports clubs, and the noise reached the sky.

The second half of the year is the selection period for various national competitions, and the sports clubs at Kitagawa Academy will take advantage of this time after the final exams to train.

There is only one goal: to pass the selection competition and enter the final national competition or the national high school sports meet.

"Look over there."

Kana Shimamoto pointed to the soccer club's internal training match taking place on the field. Tsukasa Tazaki looked over and saw a person wearing the number 7 jersey being tackled to the ground.

"Ah~"

The screams were instantly drowned out by the rumble of trains coming from Yotsuya Station.

Kana Shimamoto continued, "This year's National High School Soccer League had 4080 participating teams, but only 48 teams made it to the national finals."

Tsukasa Tazaki remained silent.

In his view, the football department's efforts were destined to be in vain.

Judging from the strength of Kitagawa Gakuen's soccer team, they would be eliminated in less than three rounds of the Tokyo regional qualifiers, and wouldn't even be able to get close to the national tournament.

Kana Shimamoto then pointed to the baseball field on the other side: "Take a look at the baseball club again."

Tsukasa Tazaki turned his head and saw a small baseball being hit high into the air with a "bang" of metal colliding. The runner, covered in mud, was running in the sunset, sweating profusely.

"This summer's Koshien qualifying tournament also had more than 4000 teams participating." Kana Shimamoto looked at the baseballs in the sky and smiled with a touch of emotion: "But in the end, 98.5% of them will be blocked from entering the Koshien stadium."

Needless to say, this group of people that Tazaki Tsukasa is seeing now must be included in the 98.5% of people.

"Also, take a look at the members of the support team."

The girls, dressed in cheerleading outfits, swayed their skirts to the rhythm of the slogans, radiating vibrant energy.

Kana Shimamoto pushed up her glasses, which had slipped down due to sweat, and smiled at Tsukasa Tazaki: "In Tazaki-kun's opinion, all of this is just a waste of time, isn't it?"

Tsukasa Tazaki replied simply, "That's right."

“That’s what I thought at first too.” Kana Shimamoto said with a faint, shadowy smile, as if recalling something, “But after being a teacher for a long time, I have a different feeling. These children’s dreams are dreams, and even if they can’t be realized, they are still beautiful dreams. I’ve imagined many times what shape they would take if they ran every lap on the playground and shed every drop of sweat.

Tsukasa Tazaki shook his head.

Kana Shimamoto tilted her head and looked at him, smiling gently: "All of this will converge at the Saitama World Cup Stadium, at Koshien Stadium, into the ultimate moment of glory for our student days. More than a hundred media outlets will broadcast it live, more than 50,000 spectators will cheer in the stadium, and millions of people will cheer for their hometown's children in front of their televisions. Doesn't that make your blood boil?"

Tsukasa Tazaki gave a wry smile: "It feels a little unfamiliar..."

My last high school experience consisted of endless exercises and a perpetually sick PE teacher. I had no idea what it felt like to have 5 spectators flock to a high school soccer or baseball game.

“You’re really something else sometimes.” Shimamoto Kana stared at him as if he were an alien, and said with a smile, “You’re very handsome, smart enough, and have a peculiar way of speaking, but you always lack the youthful energy of a boy. How should I put it, that’s not good.”

Just as Tsukasa Tazaki was about to speak, she gently patted his head, interrupting him.

"I know you want to say those things are childish and boring. But I have to correct your point of view. A youthful spirit is not the same as being childish. It represents an attitude of loving life. As a man, even as you grow up and even grow old, please always maintain your youthful spirit."

As they were talking, Shimamoto Kana suddenly leaned closer, and the two got very close.

The intoxicating fragrance emanating from the mature woman lingered at the tip of his nose, and Tsukasa Tazaki's face flushed slightly.

“Never giving up is also the most important part of youthful spirit,” she said gently. “Just like the group of people you see now, their youthful dreams may never come true, but the memories of pursuing those dreams will remain forever in their hearts. When they are old and gray, they can say to themselves, ‘I was someone who tried my best.’ That’s the experience you’re missing.”

Tsukasa Tazaki thought for a moment and answered her seriously, "But if I participate, I'll definitely get first place. In order not to affect these young people's memories of their bumpy youth when they get old, I'd better not join in the fun."

"..."

Kana Shimamoto's smile froze for a moment before she slapped him so hard his head was tilted to the side.

"Fool!"

Are you an idiot?!

This usually dignified and gentle married teacher cursed him several times as an idiot, then stomped her feet angrily and shouted, "Let's have dinner together tonight! I refuse to believe I can't convince you!!!"

Chapter 178 To reiterate, Kana Shimamoto is absolutely the epitome of a perfect woman!

At 6 p.m., Tsukasa Tazaki arrived at the backstreets of Harajuku.

On a clear evening near the end of July, bright red tulips were displayed in front of many flower shops. A gentle breeze blew through the gaps between office buildings, carrying the fragrance of flowers and softly lifting the skirts of the older girls.

Following the navigation on my phone, I strolled leisurely along the shopping street toward the restaurant where I had arranged to meet Kana Shimamoto.

Children can be seen playing with their parents everywhere along the roadside, melodious piano music drifts from the open-air cafes, and the air is filled with the cozy aroma of dinner. Walking through it feels like passing through a series of transparent time portals.

The phone's signal light flashed, and a message from Kana Shimamoto appeared in the notification bar.

[Shimamoto: Have you arrived yet? (angry.jpg)]

[Tazaki: Almost there, almost there, just a few more minutes.]

[Shimamoto: Making a woman wait for you is incredibly ungentlemanly!]

[Shimamoto: I even dressed up so carefully, I'm so angry!!!]