My love index is at its maximum.

The taxi fare from Shinjuku Station to the coast near Rainbow Bridge is 2000 yen.

Sitting on a small folding stool used for fishing, two bored people yawned and lazily stared at the float that occasionally swayed on the sea surface.

The sun is gradually setting in the west.

In the end, both of them failed to advance.

Chapter Seventy: Your Shrine Maiden, Little Cutie Ninomiya is Online!

On Sunday, Tsukasa Tazaki suddenly realized that he hadn't yet explored the city of Tokyo.

As Camus said in The Plague: "The easiest way to understand a city is to understand how its people work, how they love, and how they die."

So he put on sweatpants and a stand-up collar sweatshirt, put a baseball cap on his head, and went out of the house.

It was 10 a.m., a bright and sunny morning.

Upon arriving at Shinjuku Station, I showed my monthly pass and randomly went to one of the platforms.

As soon as any train pulled into the platform, Tsukasa Tazaki jumped on.

There was no specific destination.

Since there's nothing I absolutely have to do today, I'm free to go wherever I want and do whatever I want.

The Tokyo trains weren't too crowded on the weekend, but there weren't any empty seats in the carriages. Tsukasa Tazaki leaned against the door, gazing absently at the street scenes rushing past the window.

Sitting next to him was a female passenger who was still wearing her uniform even on the weekend. She glanced up at the display screen on the door and saw a bohemian young man with downcast eyes and no expression.

The female office worker felt a sudden pang in her heart, and her already upset mood, which stemmed from having to work overtime on the weekend, became even worse.

"Um... if you're not feeling well, please sit over here."

Tazaki Tsukasa looked up at her with clear, bright eyes: "Thank you, I'm fine, I was just waiting for someone."

The train travels through Shinjuku, Yotsuya, Ochanomizu, and finally arrives at its final destination, Tokyo Station.

Emerging from the station exit, Tsukasa Tazaki walked along the moat of the Imperial Palace. He had intended to visit the palace grounds, but staff informed him that reservations were required, so he abandoned the idea and headed towards Akasaka Bridge and Yotsuya along the sidewalk.

As he walked near Hibiya High School, he saw a small tempura shop tucked away in an alley. The hydrangeas in front of the shop were in full bloom, their blue flowers contrasting beautifully with the white curtains, creating a refreshing atmosphere in the summer.

Just like... Shiori Ninomiya.

For some reason, Tsukasa Tazaki thought of the girl from Hokkaido.

He shook his head and smiled, then bought a serving of tempura and ate it as he walked.

As noon approached, the temperature rose higher and higher.

Passing by a simply decorated coffee shop that looked like it didn't cost much, Tsukasa Tazaki went in and ordered a coffee and a slice of buttered toast.

While waiting for the kitchen to make bread, he picked up a book from the bookshelf in the dining area and started reading.

A pretty, graceful waitress bent down and placed the tray on his table: "Here is your meal, please enjoy."

"Thank you," Tsukasa Tazaki said, offering a cherished smile.

The waitress felt a sudden flush on her face as she looked at his clean smile.

"No...you're welcome." She held the plate to her chest with both hands, blushed, and ran away, the hem of her beautiful uniform fluttering in the wind.

After enjoying the 600 yen student coffee set, Tsukasa Tazaki reluctantly left the air-conditioned cafe.

As he passed the slope in front of Kitagawa Academy's gate, he glanced inside and continued walking.

Shinjuku Avenue was congested, with massive amounts of car exhaust fumes piling up, making people feel suffocated.

Tazaki Tsukasa turned into the alley and walked aimlessly for more than ten minutes, staring at the crisscrossing power lines overhead, until a long flight of stairs blocked his way.

The slope is very steep, with about thirty stone steps, and the handrails are all painted red. On one side is the outer wall of a courtyard with many lanterns hanging on it, and on the other side are houses with blackened walls.

Many people are taking pictures here... It seems like I've seen these steps somewhere before.

Tsukasa Tazaki thought for a while but couldn't come up with an answer.

The sunlight streaming down from the sky was both dazzling and scorching.

He lifted his foot and walked up the stone steps, stepping over the weeds growing in the cracks.

There is a tree at the top of the steps, and the wind blows through it, making the green leaves rustle.

The dappled sunlight dancing in the shade of the trees caught the eye of the priestess in her white dress and red skirt. After a moment of stunned silence, a radiant smile bloomed on her face.

With a "plop".

Tsukasa Tazaki could clearly hear the sound of his own heartbeat.

Why are all the beautiful girls so good at blending into the scenery...? He couldn't help but want to take a picture of what he saw, but as soon as he took out his phone, the shrine maiden lifted her skirt and ran straight towards him.

"Hey, Kiki, did you come to see me?"

Tsukasa Tazaki swore that he really was just wandering around and hadn't come specifically to see her, he had even forgotten that she was working part-time as a shrine maiden.

How could I run into this... Is Japan really just a village?

Then, Tsukasa Tazaki nodded, shamelessly deceiving the Hokkaido girl.

“Haha…” Ninomiya Shiori stood on a step two steps higher than him, leaning slightly forward: “Do I look pretty like this?”

Tsukasa Tazaki pushed the brim of his baseball cap up and gave her a serious look.

She had dark eyes, delicate and pretty features, and her hair was tied back with a plain white ribbon. She wore a white top, red trousers, short white socks, and wooden clogs.

It looks like bellflower...

The thought flashed through his mind, but he quickly rejected it.

Kikyo's expression was resolute yet tinged with melancholy.

The shrine maiden before them radiated a smile brighter than the sun, a completely different aura from Kikyo's. One glance was enough to convince anyone that she must have grown up in a happy environment.

A gust of wind blew by, causing the girl's skirt to flutter. She remained motionless, a stubborn smile on her face as she awaited the answer.

Tazaki could only nod: "It looks great. Compared to when she's wearing a school uniform, Ninomiya-san has a particularly fresh and delicate beauty now."

"Haha..." Shiori Ninomiya laughed happily, then her face fell: "No way, how can you use so many words to praise me?"

This inexplicable remark left Tsukasa Tazaki completely baffled.

“I used to think you looked a bit unreliable, but the moment you open your mouth, I feel really safe.” Ninomiya Shiori looked down at him and chuckled, “The fact that you suddenly know how to compliment girls makes me feel really insecure.”

Tsukasa Tazaki paused for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh.

To be honest, he himself is quiet and reserved, and not inclined to waste energy on things that young people today are willing to spend a lot of time on. Ninomiya Shiori, on the other hand, is the complete opposite; she is optimistic, lively, and dazzlingly youthful.

He didn't know if it was because they complemented each other, but every time he met Shiori Ninomiya, he was always infected by her innate vitality, and his mood would improve.

Shiori Ninomiya walked down the steps and stood beside him.

"Kiki, let's take a picture."

"Photograph?"

"These steps are the filming location where Mitsuha and Taki finally reunited in 'Your Name'."

Tazaki Tsukasa suddenly realized, "No wonder it looked so familiar."

Shiori Ninomiya took out her phone, leaned her head slightly closer to his shoulder, and smiled sweetly. The camera focused, framing the boy and girl in the viewfinder, and the image froze.

A breeze blew from behind them, causing their white hair ribbons to flutter in the wind.

Chapter 71 Why am I just a concubine?

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the leaves, making the vending machine beneath the tree gleam. A tabby tomcat with half an ear missing lay dozing beneath it, and Tsukasa Tazaki glanced at it several times.

"Oh!"

The cap of the marble soda bottle was pried open, and a thin wisp of coolness escaped from inside.

"Kiki, here you go."

Shiori Ninomiya handed over the soda; bubbles floated inside as the soda was shaken, refracting the various colors of sunlight.

Tsukasa Tazaki took a sip; it had a refreshing lime flavor.

The early summer breeze is filled with gentle vitality, the verdant leaves sway and tremble slightly, and the fresh scent of deodorant on the girl's body stimulates the nasal cavity, making one feel a strange flutter.

"Ah... marble soda is so delicious~!"

A clear, melodious voice, like that of a nightingale at dawn, rang out beside him, calming the restlessness in his heart.

Shiori Ninomiya sat on a bench under the shade of a tree, her hand slightly pulling open her collar, fanning herself with a round paper fan. In the sunlight, the girl's long, slightly wavy hair shimmered with a golden sheen, making her very beautiful.

"Hey, Kiki, come sit here."

"Oh, here it comes."

Tazaki Tsukasa sat down on the other side of the bench. Across the shade of the tree was a vast expanse of blue sky, with the outlines of the clouds clearly visible.

"I have something fun to tell you..." Shiori Ninomiya eagerly moved closer to him, and the two of them were very close. She fanned them both with one hand, and took out her phone with the other and handed it to him: "Look."

The screen displayed the Kitagawa Academy anonymous forum. The top post, in bold and marked "Hot," had nearly seven hundred replies—Kitagawa Academy only had about eight or nine hundred students in total.

The reason there are so many comments and discussions is probably because the title of the post is very sensational.

[Tsukasa Tazaki from Class 1-F is a total scumbag who plays with girls' feelings!]

"What did the post say?" Tsukasa Tazaki looked away, took a sip of his soda, and savored the wonderful sensation of the carbon dioxide bursting on his tongue.

"Well... the main point is that you and Yui Kichikawa were childhood friends, but after entering high school, you started dating both Sakura Kuriyama and Shiori Ninomiya at the same time, and you even manipulated Onodera, who already had a boyfriend, to make her your servant."

"..." Tazaki Tsukasa shook his head. "You're really good at making things up."

“I’m not finished yet…” Shiori Ninomiya swiped her fingers across the screen a few times, looking at him with a dandelion-like smile: “The post said that Yui Kurikawa discovered your philandering and wanted you to break up with the other girls. And Sakura Kuriyama, in order to become your main wife, encouraged you to have a tennis match with her. As a result, Yui Kurikawa felt insulted and broke up with you. Sakura Kuriyama successfully became your wife, and I went from being your third lover to your concubine.”

Tazaki Tsukasa leaned back in his chair, turning his head slightly to look at the Hokkaido girl. Her beautiful figure was tightly bound by her shrine maiden outfit, and she looked like perfectly proportioned cream, full of the softness unique to girls.

"Then, Onodera's boyfriend discovered that she was cheating on him and angrily confronted you. But you ruthlessly abandoned Onodera, letting her get slapped into the pool by her boyfriend."

After briefly summarizing the post, Shiori Ninomiya smiled mischievously and leaned closer to him: "Kiki, is there anything you want to say?"

“Boring gossip…”

"But I'm very angry!"