My love index is at its maximum.

"Her haughty look is so cute."

"What are you trying to achieve by praising me so much?" Kuriyama Sakura turned to look at him, her expression calm and elegant.

"The Minister is really interesting."

"If you don't tell me, I'll kick you out."

"Let me play with your tail."

Kuriyama Sakura looked him in the eyes, a slight smile on her face: "Get lost!"

"Then let's each take a step back," Tsukasa Tazaki said persistently. "Come closer, and I'll rub your ear while I talk."

“…You’re really shameless.” Kuriyama Sakura rubbed her temples a few times as if she had a headache, then leaned her head over gently. Tazaki Tsukasa reached out and gently rubbed her soft cat ears.

The lively chirping of insects outside the window has completely disappeared, leaving the space utterly silent.

Tazaki Tsukasa lay on his side on the sofa, while Kuriyama Sakura sat on the floor, her head resting on the sofa. Her ears were being kneaded and pinched incessantly in his hands. Gradually, her snow-white cheeks were flushed again. She half-closed her eyes, revealing an expression of enjoyment, and low, pleasant breathing sounds came from her throat.

"How are the preparations for the school festival going?" she asked lazily.

Tazaki Tsukasa watched her neck slowly turn red: "We should be about 70% complete. Why are you suddenly concerned about that?"

"Just asking." Kuriyama Sakura yawned.

"Let's participate together. Our ATF club has also prepared some challenges for others to compete in during the school festival."

"Not interested."

"You have to be interested!" Tsukasa Tazaki said, suddenly increasing the force in his hands and lifting the cat ears upwards.

"Ouch, that hurts!"

With her ears pulled up, Kuriyama Sakura was forced to raise her head, her sharp gaze glaring fiercely at him, her delicate, fair face flushed with shyness.

The adorable angry catgirl made Tsukasa Tazaki's heart race. He mustered his courage and reached out his slightly trembling hands to Sakura Kuriyama.

Kuriyama Sakura just slightly clenched her little tiger teeth and didn't dodge.

Tazaki gently put his arm around her shoulders, their eyes met, and they could both feel each other's hot breath.

“You will become amazing,” he said, “but before you become amazing, you have to make yourself mediocre first.”

Kuriyama Sakura remained silent.

She appeared aloof, but her body was trembling with shyness, and her ears were twitching uncontrollably.

“We two are really strange,” Tsukasa Tazaki said.

"That is indeed very strange."

"Read outdated books, listen to old songs, and only do what you like to do."

"Unparalleled in intelligence."

"Only take action based on your own thoughts and ideas."

"So-called knowledge can only refer to knowledge of oneself."

"So-called jealousy can only refer to jealousy of oneself."

"Other people's behavior is insignificant."

“We can only understand wisdom and pain from the happiness we experience.” Tsukasa Tazaki gently cupped her cheeks. “This kind of life is so beautiful, so beautiful that it’s unrealistic. So, now I’m going to bring you back to the human world, to be an ordinary girl who’s hopelessly mediocre.”

Kuriyama smiled slightly, a smile that was more elegant than usual.

His heart was pounding, and he couldn't think straight. The minister's mood at that moment was like standing on a mountaintop facing the wind, with nothing around him to hide from the wind.

"How do you plan to contaminate me?" she asked, gritting her little tiger teeth.

“There’s nothing I can do…” Tsukasa Tazaki answered honestly. “Your personality is too similar to mine. No one can force you unless you want to. All I can do is stay by your side and hope to corrupt you through the physical rule of being influenced by your surroundings.”

“If you stay by my side forever, you’ll fall hopelessly in love with me.” Kuriyama Sakura played with her cat tail with her left hand, her eyes beneath her long eyelashes looking at him curiously: “But it’s impossible for me to be with you, you should know that very well.”

“Liking someone doesn’t necessarily mean we have to be together,” Tsukasa Tazaki said. “Besides, I only like you tonight. I’ll stop liking you when the sun comes out tomorrow.”

"You can't do it."

"why?"

"As long as there is any hint of that, you will continue to like me, to the point of being unable to extricate yourself."

"Hey, you're underestimating my ability to control my emotions."

"I simply believe in my charm. And liking me is the only option humans have after getting to know me. Even someone as arrogant as you only resisted for a few more months."

Kuriyama Sakura said calmly.

Although his expression remained calm, his smug tone was full of confident pride.

“Perhaps,” Tsukasa Tazaki said, a dreamy look on his face as if he were gazing into the future. “Sometimes, just being able to talk to you alone makes me incredibly excited. If one day in the future I had to wave goodbye to you and never see you again, I would definitely feel terrible. I long to stay by your side forever, I long to be able to touch a certain part of your body with my hands. This feeling is somewhat different from a simple longing.”

"Why would you do that?" Kuriyama Sakura tilted her head slightly, feeling the warmth of his palm on her cheek. "Could it be because you like pure and beautiful girls?"

"You're just asking a question you already know the answer to," Tsukasa Tazaki said irritably.

"Anyway, I just want to hear why you have feelings for me." Kuriyama Sakura smiled gently, her expression unusually mischievous.

"You clearly just want me to praise you."

"You got it right, so Tazaki-san, please praise me quickly, or the club president will get angry."

Tazaki Tsukasa looked up at the wall clock; it was 11:30 PM, and the catgirl's time was about to expire. He shifted further into the sofa, patting the empty space in front of him, and said, "Sit down, I'll tell you slowly."

Kuriyama Sakura sat down on the sofa, flicked her cat tail, and slapped it across Tazaki Tsukasa's face with a "smack".

"That feels so good, Minister, please give me a few more slaps."

"..." Kuriyama Sakura put her hand to her forehead, seemingly at a loss for words, and asked, "Are you really a masochist?"

"That's possible."

"Really?"

"Hmm, when Hanami-nee hit me, I wasn't angry at all. Does that count as a sign of being a masochist?"

"You were in the wrong first, how dare you be angry?"

"You don't get angry at all when you step on my foot, is that a sign of being a submissive?"

"I'm so cute and charming, it's an honor for you to step on me, what's there to be angry about?"

"Then please, Minister, grant me your favor one more time." Tsukasa Tazaki leaned closer. "Let's not beat around the bush, please step on my face with those little feet in black stockings."

“As expected.” Kuriyama Sakura nodded knowingly. “You’re just a superficial person who likes pretty legs and feet.”

"How is that superficial?" Tsukasa Tazaki protested, "Men's aesthetic standards for women tend to shift downwards as they get older, starting with a woman's face!"

"What kind of conclusion is this?"

"Haha, just kidding." Tsukasa Tazaki grabbed her tail and sniffed it lightly. "When I'm with you, I really feel like I'm only sixteen years old. I like to tease you and be cheeky and irreverent."

Are you sixty years old?

Do you believe in the existence of the soul?

"Soul?" Kuriyama Sakura was taken aback, unable to answer the question immediately, her face showing a puzzled expression as if she were gazing at a distant landscape.

“It’s normal not to believe,” said Tsukasa Tazaki, gripping her hand tightly with his other hand. “After all, the soul is something invisible to the eye; only a fool would believe it exists.”

Kuriyama Sakura lowered her gaze. His hands were much larger, and her small hands were held in his arms as if they were wrapped up, like a bean tightly wrapped in a pod, warm and smooth inside.

The silvery moon, like a sensible child, floated silently in the window frame. Tazaki Tsukasa held her hand, gazing intently at her. Kuriyama Sakura's gaze shifted to his eyes, where she could see her own bright reflection imprinted on his dark pupils. Beyond that, there was an indescribable sense of estrangement in those eyes, as if they were a gaze cast upon her from another planet across a vast starry sky.

This sense of isolation is probably the source of his consistently lonely demeanor... Kuriyama Sakura smiled slightly, a captivating light appearing in her eyes: "If you say it's true, I'll believe you."

"Don't you think it's absurd?" Tsukasa Tazaki stared intently into her eyes, his gaze piercing, as if he were about to retaliate.

At the bottom of her clear pupils, like waves churning in a torrent, several silent ripples of emotion rolled by. It would take some time for her emotions to subside.

“I think I understand what you’re trying to say,” Kuriyama Sakura said in a rather mature tone, pulling his hand to her lips. “There’s nothing to worry about, and no need to look so gloomy. We’re so compatible and well-matched, and no matter what changes you’ve gone through, it won’t affect that.”

"Whoo~"

Tazaki Tsukasa breathed a sigh of relief, his whole body slumped down, like a spring that had been released from all its pressure.

A surge of desire welled up inside me, a yearning to hold her tightly in my arms, a desire to give her everything I had. If this wasn't love, then the very fluids flowing through human veins would have to be replaced with tomato juice by tomorrow morning.

“Sakura…”

Tazaki Tsukasa called out and pulled her into his arms. Kuriyama Sakura gazed at him for a moment, her soft, cherry-colored lips becoming increasingly alluring.

“Just once,” he said, pressing his index finger to her lips and leaning in to kiss her through the finger. He had mentally prepared a dozen apologies for her anger before making this offensive gesture, but he didn't need to use them.

Kuriyama Sakura didn't say anything, but slowly closed her eyes.

In the past, she gave the impression of being overly calm and intelligent, which some might even perceive as coldness and arrogance. However, Tsukasa Tazaki could sense the warmth and vulnerability lurking beneath her cool exterior—like a child playing hide-and-seek, hiding deep within yet hoping to be discovered sooner or later.

"Do you remember why you went to Kamakura for training?" Tsukasa Tazaki said, wrapping his arm around her back and pulling her closer. The cat's tail flicked, then coiled around his arm like a snake, clinging tightly.

"I wanted to hang out with you," Kuriyama Sakura said softly.

“Yes, come play with me.” Tsukasa Tazaki’s palm touched the bra hook on her back. “It’s a childish reason. Relatively speaking, you are indeed a child, and you should experience more happiness.”

Feeling his breath on her neck and the hook coming off her back, Kuriyama Sakura's heart pounded as if it were about to burst out of her body.

Something hard was stuck between their thighs, and she shifted her body slightly, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

But that was all; the minister's expression showed no sign of discomfort or displeasure.

The two embraced on the sofa.

Tsukasa Tazaki didn't go any further, but simply smelled the scent of her hair and kissed her cat ears. "To be honest, I rarely feel lost. It's because I have confidence in myself or firmly believe that I have talent. Of course, I make mistakes in what I do, and sometimes I start things but don't finish them, or I do things my own way, but overall I believe that I am moving in the right direction."

“…Mm.” Kuriyama Sakura responded.

She felt she had to say something to dispel her shyness, but not a single word came to mind. Besides, being held like this by him made her feel warm all over, and with her heart pounding, she couldn't even breathe properly, let alone speak.

"In short, for now, just follow in my footsteps and explore."

Tazaki stroked her hair and said carefully, “I think this is appropriate. If you feel the time is right, don’t be polite with me. Put everything aside and just make your request to me frankly. You are a girl full of spirituality. Compared to the hesitation of ordinary people, you only need to spend a little time to truly grasp a certain decisive need.”

Kuriyama Sakura opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a sound, so she could only nod silently to show her agreement.

“Then it’s settled,” Tsukasa Tazaki gently embraced her soft, boneless body. “Participate in the school festival and be an ordinary high school girl.”

"it is good……"