My love index is at its maximum.

Since that's the case, we'll have to use our ultimate move!

"Who do you think you're talking to?" He placed his hands lightly on his chest and said casually, "Remember, I'm number one in the grade. The third-ranked student in the grade should show me some respect, understand?"

"..." Yui Kichikawa frowned.

Kuriyama Sakura couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Haha~"

"You too," Tsukasa Tazaki turned around and glared at the club president, "Second place in the grade isn't much better than third, so please don't yell at me!"

Done.

Before the minister could speak.

Tsukasa Tazaki immediately walked towards the cockpit of Unit-01.

He usually exudes a noble air, like a young master, but now, in such a good mood, his steps are unusually light, like a male protagonist from a youthful anime stepping out amidst cherry blossoms in springtime.

The people around him cast all sorts of glances at him, some with envy, some with admiration, and some with malice.

Even the girls in Class D disagreed on his opinion.

Rumors about his diligence and studiousness, or his womanizing and even his simultaneous pursuit of two rich girls, have never ceased on campus. Although he himself may not hear them, they certainly exist somewhere and will not disappear before he graduates and leaves.

However, this had absolutely no effect on Tsukasa Tazaki.

From the very beginning, he has been an extremely self-centered person, only acting on his own thoughts and ideas. This is an undeniable fact, and he doesn't care much about how others see it.

Again.

If there are objections, it's less a problem with the objectors themselves and more a problem with the bystanders.

A person enters the model and finds a staircase leading directly to the cockpit. On the wall next to it is the sign "NERV 3rd New Kyoto City Branch".

"Should we go up and give it a try?" Tsukasa Tazaki asked Sakura Kuriyama, who had followed him.

“Of course, that’s why we came.” Kuriyama Sakura pushed his shoulder with one hand, forcing him to climb the stairs: “Let’s hurry up, otherwise there will be a long queue.”

It's rare to see the literary-minded department head, Kuriyama, so eager; it seems that aside from cats, it's uncommon to see her show such anticipation for anything.

Arrive at the cockpit and buy a ticket.

The hatch opened just in time, revealing a mother with a child, a cute little girl who was about four or five years old.

The young mother saw the two standing in front of the door and assumed they were a couple. She quickly took her child out and greeted them with a smile, "Alright, it's your turn to go in together."

“No,” Tsukasa Tazaki replied politely, “we’ll separate…”

Kuriyama Sakura interrupted him: "Thank you, let's go together."

There was only one seat in the cockpit... Tsukasa Tazaki lay down directly in it, thinking to herself, "Do you want to lie in my arms like this child is being held by his mother?"

It turns out.

He's overthinking it.

"Hi~"

A sound of a steam valve loosening was heard, and Kuriyama Sakura also climbed into the cockpit. She didn't lean against Tazaki Tsukasa, but just stood in front of him and stared at him.

The staff slowly closed the hatch.

Her stunning silhouette against the light gradually blurred and dimmed, eventually disappearing completely into the darkness.

A display screen quietly lit up, showing several strings of text in yellow on a black background.

Synchronization rate: 32%

【Result Determination】

[Competent Level: C]

"Foolish!" Kuriyama Sakura suddenly muttered under her breath.

The dim light barely illuminated a small part of the space, and since Tazaki Tsukasa couldn't see her expression, he had no choice but to pretend to be deaf and dumb.

Kuriyama Sakura leaned against the cabin door, her neck tilted to one side. She remained motionless for a long time, with only her back trembling rhythmically with her breathing, though the tremors were barely perceptible.

Breathing was very light, a slight inhalation and a slight exhalation; because the cabin was very quiet, the sound of breathing was clearly audible.

On the display, the synchronization rate kept slowly increasing, and eventually reached 45%.

"What do you want to ask?" Tsukasa Tazaki asked.

“Of course I have to ask, otherwise why would I have come in?” Kuriyama Sakura said softly, swallowing hard with an unnaturally loud sound. “AT Field refers to the wall in everyone’s heart, the wall that keeps outsiders out of their inner world. Now that I’m here, I hope we can be open and honest and have a good talk.”

Tsukasa Tazaki replied, "I will answer anything I know."

"I need to make a clearer judgment about what's between you and me." Kuriyama Sakura closed her eyes, her breathing still light and calm. "Let's admit that you're very charming and have a great attraction for me. So, I need a definite answer: are you planning to seduce me and make me your concubine?"

Tsukasa Tazaki chuckled softly, "Is there something that has caused the Minister to misunderstand?"

joke.

I would never admit to such a thing until it succeeds.

If I just keep dragging my feet and don't confess my feelings, she won't have a chance to reject me!

I learned this trick from Xiao Ke'ai.

very effective.

"Didn't you promise not to lie, Tazaki-san?" Kuriyama Sakura bent down slightly, her almost flat chest pressed against his cheek. "Isn't being dishonest about this a breach of your promise to me?"

But then, in the dim light of the display screen, Tsukasa Tazaki saw a slight smile on her beautiful face.

A faint, sweet fragrance wafted into his nose.

Synchronization rate: 67%

【Result Determination】

[Competency Level: Grade B]

After the notification sound played once, Tsukasa Tazaki smiled and said, "To be precise, I didn't lie. If I really wanted to win you over, would I have said something like 'If Hanami-nee wants, then I can give up everything'?"

In the darkness, Kuriyama Sakura smiled slightly.

“That’s exactly what I’m wondering about,” she said. “You’re clearly going to like me more and more, so why would you say something like that so casually? You know, even if there was a 1% chance, it would become 0% because of that sentence.”

“As expected,” Tsukasa Tazaki frowned. “Of course I understand this outcome. Whether it’s you or Yui, it will become impossible. But for me, there are only two possibilities: 100% and 0%. There is no middle ground between 1% and 99%.”

"So, you're thinking of giving up?" Kuriyama Sakura asked.

"Based on the principle of not lying, it exists!"

“But you can’t let me go,” Kuriyama Sakura said with a natural smile. “I don’t care about others, but at least with me, you will only like me more and more, and find it harder and harder to give me up.”

Tazaki Tsukasa narrowed his eyes, looking at her face: "Perhaps... A beautiful girl with whom you have a deep connection, if she also deeply loves you, it is indeed hard to let go."

Kuriyama Sakura shrugged.

“But I’ve emphasized many times that we don’t necessarily have to be together,” Tsukasa Tazaki said. “Our living environments, lifestyles, and feelings and perspectives on things may be very different. Maybe we won’t be as compatible after living together, and we won’t be able to talk about many things. Don’t you think so?”

Kuriyama Sakura shrugged.

"The worst outcome is that we'll just go our separate ways right after high school graduation," Tsukasa Tazaki said with a cheerful tone, thinking about the past. "If you want to see me, it's simple, just give me a call. There's no obligation for people to meet; we can see each other whenever we want. We can share secrets that we've never told anyone else. How about that?"

Kuriyama Sakura shrugged again.

"I don't ask anything of you. If you have something to say, just say it directly. We are equals, we are in the same boat, we can understand each other and speak freely—even for this reason, it would be best if we could meet often in the future."

Kuriyama Sakura remained silent.

Those dark eyes stared unblinkingly at Tsukasa Tazaki, shimmering with a dazzling light like stars.

The air inside the cockpit seemed to be contracting, turning into a thick liquid, making it difficult to breathe.

“Don’t wait any longer…” Tsukasa Tazaki sighed. “I understand what you want to hear now, but I’m sorry, my answer is still the same, and it will never change. Even if you hate me because of this, the answer will not change.”

“There’s nothing to hate,” Kuriyama Sakura gazed at him with her clear eyes. “I’ve always understood what you’re thinking, and of course I know that what you say represents your clearest judgment. Even if we can only be friends forever, you will face this fact with optimism…”

Tsukasa Tazaki replied earnestly, "Of course."

In this world, no one is completely dependent on anyone else to survive. And no one appears in front of anyone else for anyone else's sake. Even someone as weak as Kana Shimamoto lived a healthy life to the age of twenty-eight.

“So,” he asked, “once I step out this door, will the Minister be far away from me?”

“No, not at all,” Kuriyama Sakura said with a smile. “After all, I have this arrogant idea in my heart that ‘the person you like the most will definitely be me.’ Until that happens, I’ll let you hang around in front of me for a while every day.”

Can I interpret this as reluctance to part?

Kuriyama Sakura rolled her eyes at him: "No!"

"Since you're asking me not to lie, you shouldn't lie either."

“I’ve never set such a standard for myself.”

"You're being a scoundrel!"

"It's a fait accompli!" Kuriyama Sakura smiled easily. "Hey, let me ask you something."

"Ask away."

"What would you do if I became your favorite person in the future?"

“Impossible!” Tsukasa Tazaki said firmly. “Absolutely impossible. Even if that day comes, you won’t get an answer from me. In fact, how much I like each person is completely different in my mind, and I distinguish them very clearly. But apart from Hanami-nee, I will not say who the second person is, or who the last person is. That will remain my personal secret.”

Kuriyama Sakura was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "What an unexpected answer. I thought you would say something like 'In my heart, everyone is equal'."

“I won’t say such hypocritical things.” Tsukasa Tazaki shrugged. “Even two pairs of shoes will be preferred based on their appearance or comfort, let alone living, breathing people with huge differences. I can do my best for each of them, but I can’t just spread my favoritism from one person to another.”

Synchronization rate: 87%

【Result Determination】

[Competent Level: Grade A]

The mechanical beeping sounded again.

“It’s clearly a shameless statement,” Kuriyama Sakura said with a helpless smile, “but I don’t seem to know where to begin refuting it.”

“Of course you can’t refute that,” Tsukasa Tazaki said seriously. “Because I’ve always known them very well, including what you’re thinking. I will interact with you the way you want, clearly and openly, without hiding anything. What’s there to refute?”

"To put it simply, it's about making people willingly fall into your trap."

"It's not necessarily a trap."

"What else could it be but a trap?"