My love index is at its maximum.

Kuriyama Sakura turned around with puffed-out cheeks and pressed her foot down on his shoe.

"what……"

"Is there a problem?"

"No." Tazaki Tsukasa endured the pain, revealing an expression of enjoyment: "Please continue stepping on me, Minister."

"Dirty!"

Kuriyama Sakura rolled her eyes at him, let go of his foot, and walked forward.

The two walked into the school gate side by side and immediately saw the huge oak tree on the school emblem.

Looking up from under the tree, the layers upon layers of green leaves make it seem as if even the sky is being obscured.

The paved school path winds through the shade of trees, leading straight to the school buildings. The four school buildings are arranged in a square shape, with elevated walkways connecting each building. The courtyard in the very center of the school buildings, filled with various flowers and plants and a pond, is the sanctuary for those who want to be part of the community—the central courtyard.

After changing his shoes, Tsukasa Tazaki carried several love letters up the stairs.

Kuriyama Sakura also carried a stack of love letters and climbed up in sync with his pace, their shoulders always no more than 20 centimeters apart.

"The Minister is very popular."

"You're the same."

"But as the Empress, you are far too inadequate."

"Me?"

"That's right. Even though you're the main girlfriend, I still receive so many love letters. Doesn't that just show that you don't have enough of a deterrent effect?"

Kuriyama Sakura rested her chin on her hand and pondered for a moment.

Then, she turned her fair face and glared at Tsukasa Tazaki with sharp, knife-like eyes: "The reason you receive so many love letters even though you have a girlfriend is because everyone knows that Tsukasa Tazaki from Class 1-F is a scumbag who plays with girls' feelings?"

"...?" Tsukasa Tazaki gave an awkward laugh. "That's a rumor..."

"Oh, so you mean you don't have a lover?"

"...It's pointless to expose someone's secrets!"

Having lost the argument, Tsukasa Tazaki quickened his pace guiltily.

As Kuriyama Sakura watched his retreating figure, a pleased smile curved her lips.

Upon reaching the fourth floor, Tsukasa Tazaki didn't return to the classroom. Instead, he stopped and waited for Sakura Kuriyama to come up. He then turned around and asked, "I remember we both still owe each other a maid outfit. How about we wear them together on your birthday?"

Kuriyama Sakura flashed her sharp little fangs: "Minister, you approve this proposal!"

After saying that, she walked up the stairs to the fifth floor, her long ponytail swaying happily in an arc.

We must be more vigilant towards him.

The minister smiled as he silently admonished himself.

Tsukasa Tazaki has a great charm—aside from his womanizing ways, the other qualities he possesses are enough to make people fall in love, whether it's his strength, his handsomeness, his humor, his carefree attitude, or his sincerity...

When a man with so many virtues decides to treat a girl well, it's not surprising that even if he already has a girlfriend, the girl he treats gently would willingly become his lover.

and so.

We should be more vigilant... right?

……

Back in Class 1-F, Tsukasa Tazaki hung his schoolbag next to his desk, wiped the dust off the desk with a tissue, and arranged his pencil case, notebooks, and other items before sitting back down in his seat.

The classroom was noisy, as if everyone had something they had been holding back all summer and were eager to say it all today.

He picked up the mechanical pencil with his right hand and opened the Italian dictionary with his left.

Tsukasa Tazaki focused all his attention on his studies.

"Tasaki-kun~" A girl ran over to greet him, "Good morning! I went to the kendo tournament to cheer you on. I wonder if you saw me in the audience?"

"Sorry, I didn't see it."

"Hey, Tazaki-kun, did you have a good summer vacation?" another girl asked.

"happy."

"Does this remind you of Saori-chan?"

Tsukasa Tazaki looked up: "Who is Saori-chan?"

"It's me!" The girl who spoke covered her flushed face and ran back to her seat.

The other girls remained around Tsukasa Tazaki's seat, laughing and joking for a while. Only after Mizuiro Murakami walked in did they tactfully disperse and return Tazaki to his only friend, Murakami.

The world suddenly fell silent.

Tsukasa Tazaki lowered his head and began to study Italian again.

The autumn wind rustled the curtains.

A breeze blew in through the window, slightly lifting the bottom of the notebook pages to reveal the dense, neat handwriting underneath.

After this scene repeated itself two or three times, Tsukasa Tazaki stopped writing and turned his attention to Murakami, who was constantly making small movements from the edge of his line of sight. This guy was like a thirsty dog, panting on his desk with his tongue lolling out, which was very annoying and distracting, making it impossible to concentrate on studying.

"What happened?" he asked, pointing to Murakami's dark, watery eyes.

"Tasaki, you have to save me!" Murakami grabbed his hand, sobbing uncontrollably, "I don't want to get engaged to that 100-kilogram woman!"

Tazaki Tsukasa forcefully pulled his hand back: "Speaking of which, I haven't settled the score with you for what happened in Fukuoka yet."

"This isn't my fault!" Murakami Mizuiro blushed with shame and exclaimed, "It's all because your childhood friend forced me to do this. You know, her family is very wealthy and powerful, while my dad just runs a lousy foreign trade company. How could I dare not listen to her?"

That makes sense.

"Now that everything's done, I still have to get engaged. Isn't that awful?"

Tazaki Tsukasa rested her cheek on her right hand, her gaze puzzled: "If you don't want to get engaged, just break it off. She has no reason to force you anymore."

“Your childhood sweetheart didn’t force me anymore…” Murakami Mizusaka said, then suddenly burst into tears, “But the girl they found comes from a family that owns a shipping company, and my dad took a liking to that and insisted that I get engaged.”

“Sea freight + foreign trade, a match made in heaven.” Tazaki Tsukasa patted him on the shoulder sympathetically. “Just accept the loss and get engaged.”

"Are we still friends?"

"You're only getting engaged because you're friends. Otherwise, do you want your dad to break your legs?"

Murakami Mizuiro sighed helplessly, "It's not necessarily about getting engaged. My dad said that if I can find a girlfriend, he'll consider letting me pursue the life I want."

“Then let’s look for it.” Tsukasa Tazaki twirled his mechanical pencil. “You’re not bad looking, there’s no way you can’t find one.”

"I don't like women!"

?

Something's wrong with you!

Tazaki leaned back, creating distance between them, and crossed his arms defensively.

"Hey, Tazaki, what do you mean by this?!"

"I know better than anyone that handsome boys need to protect themselves when they go out."

You said I like men?

"No, I didn't say that. This is just my self-reminder."

Several girls covered their mouths and chuckled when they heard what Tsukasa Tazaki said. One of them, who was probably a fujoshi (a female fan of male-male romance), was drooling as she looked at the two of them.

Murakami Mizuiro's eyes twitched, and she loudly defended herself: "My heart is only for football, you know? Dating is nothing compared to playing football, right? Besides, when I was four years old, I swore that I wouldn't get a girlfriend until Arsenal won the Champions League!"

Regarding his Arsenal vow when he was four years old, Tsukasa Tazaki commented: "He made a vow when he had none."

Murakami Mizuiro was about to say something when he heard the sound of high heels at the door. He quickly turned around and went back to his seat.

"Good morning, everyone." Dressed in a neat uniform and carrying lesson plans, Hoshino Hanami walked up to the podium. "The morning meeting is now starting. Please return to your seats."

The classroom quickly quieted down. She stood there with a stern face, her stern gaze slowly sweeping across the room.

Tsukasa Tazaki raised his hand to the edge of his cheek and made a peace sign.

Lovely.

"Pfft~"

"Cough cough cough~"

Hoshino Hanami had just started to laugh when she suddenly suppressed it, hurriedly covering her face with her lesson plan and coughing several times.

The whole class looked at Tsukasa Tazaki, who had his hands quietly folded on the table, looking as dull as if he hadn't done anything.

"You want a beating, don't you..." Hoshino Hanami calmed her breathing, put down her lesson plan, and looked again at the window seat in the back row with a slightly flushed face.

"Tsukasa Tazaki!"

"Get to the back and stand there!"

Her voice was devoid of emotion, unlike that of her older sister at all.

Tsukasa Tazaki obediently went to the back of the classroom and stood against the wall as punishment. Light streamed in through the open glass window, illuminating the classroom brightly.

"Everyone got so tanned after summer vacation." Hoshino Hanami's gaze swept across the classroom again, and she chuckled as she spoke, "Is there anything interesting you'd like to share with the teacher?"

"Going to Hawaii, how could I not get a tan?"

"Hey, Qiuyue, you're still so fair-skinned! What did you do during the summer vacation?"

"Me? I've been working to earn money while learning shoemaking."

"Wow, that's impressive. Unlike me, I just played games at home all summer."

"Playing games is so comfortable, but I don't have that kind of luck. My family dragged me to Africa to feed on mosquitoes for a month."

The classroom was noisy with everyone talking at once. Hoshino Hanami would occasionally ask a few questions with a smile, and when it was almost time, she clapped her hands together and said, "Alright, everyone had a fulfilling summer vacation. Now that the new semester has begun, please keep up the good work. I'm going to talk about the key points to focus on this semester, so please be quiet. First, there's the monthly test in September. If anyone's grades have dropped compared to last semester, please have your parents prepare to come to school."

"Ah—" The classroom was instantly filled with wails.

Hoshino Hanami continued, her smile still on her face, but her voice devoid of emotion: "Last semester, our class's overall performance was only slightly behind Class A, ranking second in the grade. I hope you can make further progress and surpass Class A, okay?"

"Okay!"

The atmosphere, which had just become gloomy, was rekindled.

"It's not just about getting good grades. I also hope you'll actively participate in the cultural festival in September and the school sports meet in November. Any questions?"