My love index is at its maximum.

"Uh, don't worry." Tazaki Tsukasa smelled the fresh fragrance on the girl and said sternly, "We have nothing to fear if we are upright."

"Hahaha, who asked you to clarify?" Shiori Ninomiya laughed happily, her hair fluttering slightly in the wind. "The reason I'm angry is simple: why am I just a concubine?"

"Eh?"

"Kiki, tell me, why can't I be the main wife?"

"...Aren't you focusing on the wrong thing?"

"No, that's the point." Ninomiya Shiori gulped down her marble soda, let out a long sigh, and stared intently into his eyes: "I'm pretty, aren't I? Even next to Kuriyama Sakura, I'm not inferior at all, am I?"

“That’s right.” Tsukasa Tazaki nodded.

"Besides, I'm good-looking and have a great figure. I'm also hardworking, cook amazing meals, and I'm devoted to you. So why can't I be your wife?"

"Hmm, you're right. Why don't they let you be their official wife?"

“It’s probably because I’m the only one in the whole school…” Shiori Ninomiya said, resting her chin on her hand, in a fairly calm declarative tone, “I’m the only one who would fill in ‘growing potatoes in Hokkaido’ in the ‘father’s occupation’ section of the college application form.”

“Sigh, that’s the problem.” Tsukasa Tazaki sighed and said realistically, “People in Tokyo are the most pragmatic, and our school happens to be the one with the most money.”

“Yeah, it’s so annoying.” Shiori Ninomiya scratched her hair in frustration, her face scrunched up. “They all have such neat teeth and boring conversations. They’re driven around in suits and ties, they eat high-class kaiseki cuisine, and they live in places like Chiyoda Sanbancho or Moto-Azabu in Minato Ward. Their table manners alone are more extensive than I know about high society…”

"Well, I don't understand those either. The curry set meal I eat most often in the cafeteria costs 300 yen."

"Hehe... So, you see." Shiori Ninomiya grinned, tossing her curly hair with her hand: "I'm the one who eats the 300 yen set meal with you, right?"

“None of you are…” Tsukasa Tazaki put his hands behind his head, stood up, stretched, and turned to say, “I’m going back now.”

"Huh? Wait a minute..." Shiori Ninomiya jumped up from her chair and grabbed his sleeve. "Since we're already here, why don't we go inside the shrine and have some fun? Let me, the real shrine maiden, be your guide!"

Tsukasa Tazaki corrected him, "You're a part-time shrine maiden."

“A part-time shrine maiden is still a shrine maiden…” Ninomiya Shiori said angrily, her lips slightly pursed and her eyes sparkling.

The azure sky, the girl's swaying red skirt, and her blushing cheeks filled with sadness—everything about her was incredibly endearing.

Especially the fair collarbone slightly exposed at the neckline, in Tsukasa Tazaki's eyes, its white color was like sunlight piercing into water and shimmering and scattering, exuding a sense of spirituality and vitality.

After a moment of distraction, Tsukasa Tazaki said helplessly, "It's agreed beforehand that I won't spend any money inside the shrine."

"Haha... I'll pay for it!"

Ninomiya Shiori turned around happily, took his hand, and walked towards the torii gate not far away. The wooden clogs on her feet made a clattering sound as they walked on the asphalt road.

The male cat with half its ear broken off woke up and yawned.

Tazaki Tsukasa yawned, then took out his phone and sent a message to Hoshino Hanami.

[Tazaki: Hurry back, or I'll be kidnapped by high school girls!]

Chapter 72 Hoshino Hanami is getting anxious

[Tazaki: Hurry back, or I'll be kidnapped by high school girls!]

I received this message around noon.

Hoshino Hanami glanced at it quickly, then put away her phone, carrying the gas stove and casserole to the veranda of the yard. Her younger sister and grandmother sat on the ground, and the comfortable early summer breeze blew the teru teru bozu (Japanese teru bozu dolls) hanging under the eaves.

"Sister, hurry up!" the younger sister said in a drawn-out, coquettish tone, "I'm hungry."

"It will be ready soon."

Hoshino Hanami smiled as she heated the clay pot and added the meat. Next came soy sauce, sake, and other seasonings. Only after the meat was almost cooked did she add the vegetables.

Shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, cabbage, grilled tofu... add them in order according to the different cooking times of each dish.

After filling the pot with ingredients and covering it with the lid, she finally had time to reply to Tsukasa Tazaki's message.

[Hanami: What happened with the kidnapping?]

[Tazaki: When I went out for a stroll today, I ran into a student from the next class named Ninomiya Shiori. You should know her, right?]

[Hanami: Oh, that child? Of course I know. What happened to her?]

[Tazaki: She works part-time as a shrine maiden at Suga Shrine. After meeting her, I was dragged into the shrine for a tour, and later I'll be learning how to make a shrine knot.]

[Hana: That's a good thing! At your age, you should interact more with your peers. What's the point of worrying about your teacher all the time? You go play, I'm going to have lunch with my family first.]

I put down my phone, and soon after, the pot started to make a "pop-pop" sound. As the steam rose, the aroma of the ingredients spread to the maximum extent.

"Can we eat now?" Hoshino Shika sniffed hard with her small nose.

"Not yet..." Grandma Hoshino tapped her forehead. "We need to wait two more minutes for the aroma of the mushrooms to fully develop. Didn't I tell you how to cook sukiyaki last time? How could you forget? This is our family's ancestral recipe, and we've always..."

"I'll go get a drink..." Hoshino Shika suddenly stood up, giving her older sister a mischievous smile: "Big sister, would you please take this educational time in my place?"

"Hurry up, and get me a bottle of sake while you're at it."

Once inside, Hoshino Shikami took out her phone and couldn't stop smiling when she saw the photos her subordinate had sent her.

It was originally just a simple rumor.

Now that the two parties involved are together, surprises always come unexpectedly.

They took a bottle of orange juice and a bottle of sake from the refrigerator, and the three of them sat down at separate tables.

"I'm starting it up."

After a brief meal ceremony, Hoshino Hanami cracked an egg into her bowl, added some enoki mushrooms, and coated them with the egg mixture.

“Sister…” Hoshino Shikami clicked her tongue twice, holding her phone and exclaiming, “That Tazaki Tsukasa in your class, oh, he’s such a jerk.”

"How could that be? He's such a good kid."

Hoshino Hanami put the enoki mushroom in her mouth, "Mmm... hot, delicious... mmm~~ the meat flavor has completely permeated the enoki mushroom, delicious."

"Who is Tsukasa Tazaki?" Grandma Hoshino asked from the side.

"One of my students is a really nice guy. I'll be waiting for Dad's birthday next month... Mmm, this beef coated in egg is so delicious! Thank you, dear Niu Niu! And the little hen too!"

Grandma Hoshino's hand, which was holding a piece of beef, froze for a moment. Judging from her granddaughter's tone, this Tazaki Tsukasa was the high school student she said she liked.

"Wait a minute... Sister, look at this."

Hoshino Hanami took her sister's phone, glanced at it a few times, and then returned it.

"The posts on these anonymous forums are so unreliable, you can't trust them." She picked up a piece of tofu, blew on it, and then ate it in one bite. "Hmm... Tazaki, although he usually likes to be with me... um, it's hot. Anyway, if he were the kind of womanizer who would act all cold and aloof, he wouldn't be putting on that cold act."

She had just swallowed the tofu in her mouth when she shoveled a big mouthful of rice into her mouth, her cheeks puffing out like a hamster's.

Such a cute older sister can only be mine... Hoshino Shikami smiled and handed over her phone: "Older sister, take a look at this photo."

"What photo?"

"Look, Ninomiya posted this on her WeChat Moments just now, a photo of her and Tazaki."

Hoshino Hanami chewed on a chewy beef tendon ball: "Hmm... Tazaki told me about it, it was just a coincidence... Is there a problem?"

"Of course there's a problem. Look at these steps, this is a popular spot for couples to take photos. And look at Ninomiya's shoulders, they're almost touching his chest."

"Eh?"

"He's showing off his affection for his mistress!"

"Eh?"

Hoshino Hanami was stunned for a long time, her expression shifting between light and dark.

The feeling of having my home stolen is unpleasant; the sukiyaki in front of me suddenly doesn't taste good at all.

"What's going on?" Grandma Hoshino frowned and looked at her eldest granddaughter: "Is what Shikami said true?"

“How could that be?” Hoshino Hanami shook her head, forcing a smile. “I already said it’s a rumor, Grandma doesn’t need to pay attention to these things.”

"Sister, give him a good beating!"

Hoshino Shika stuck out her tongue and then happily drank her orange juice.

"Enjoy your meal properly." Hoshino Hanami picked up her sake cup, took a small sip, and found it not very strong. She then ate a piece of tofu, silently savoring it, but the taste was not as good as before.

Her slender fingertips lifted the wine glass once more.

Sake goes down the throat.

I took out my phone and sent a few messages.

[What's going on? Didn't you say it was a chance encounter? Why are you posing so intimately for the photos?]

If you have a relationship with her, just say so. The teacher won't blame you. After all, at your age, it's normal to like a high school girl your own age.

【That's settled then. From now on, show me some respect and don't flirt with me again, or I'll break your ribs!】

Five or six minutes passed, and all messages were read but not replied to.

Hoshino Hanami gritted her teeth and then sent a message.

Why aren't you replying?

You think you don't need to explain anything to me, right?

What exactly happened in that post?

[Stinky pig!]

[Useless younger brother!]

Reply to this message quickly, or I'll never talk to you again!

Five or six minutes passed, and there was still no reply after the message was read.

Hoshino Hanami took a big gulp of sake and, fueled by the choking effect, sent a few more messages.

If you can't eat anything, you're responsible!

【(Cracked.jpg)】

Okay, I admit I was wrong. I shouldn't have come to Kyoto without saying a word.

【But I left in a hurry, you know, I didn't have time to tell you. Didn't I promise to take you next time? Why are you angry!】

That's going too far! If you don't reply to my messages, I'm really going to block you!

【(Cracked.jpg)】

I'll question you again on Monday, so you'd better behave yourself then!