My love index is at its maximum.

This person is really strange. He just said that we should be clear about our social class... Tazaki Tsukasa looked up at him and asked in confusion, "Didn't you advise me to be cautious?"

"Really?" Murakami Mizuiro thought for a moment, then shook her head: "Even if you do, then pretend I didn't say anything. How can such a beautiful girl be given to someone else?"

"I'm not interested." Tsukasa Tazaki looked at the slightly burnt chicken cutlet and said seriously, "I only like gentle older sisters."

“You really are…” Murakami Mizuiro looked at his handsome but somewhat aloof face, sighed, and muttered softly, “You’re such a waste of talent. If I looked like you, I’d sleep with Kuriyama Sakura, let alone Kuriyama Sakura, I’d even sleep with Kuriyama Yui.”

Tazaki Tsukasa said expressionlessly, "I don't know about Kuriyama Sakura, but as for Kichikawa Yui, just give up on that idea. She could never like my face."

"Eh, why?" Murakami Mizuiro gave Tazaki Tsukasa a strange look. "You used to live at the Kikawa family's house too, and you were childhood friends for ten years. Didn't you make any progress with her at all? I'm not trying to be mean, but a blonde, blue-eyed, tsundere childhood friend like her is perfect for a 'raising' relationship. Whips, handcuffs, gags..."

“Tui…” Tazaki Tsukasa spat out a bone and said regretfully, “Life should be colorful, but in your current situation, it seems that you only see yellow.”

Murakami Mizuiro shrugged dramatically, not at all ashamed, but instead laughed smugly.

Tazaki Tsukasa shook his head, put on his headphones, and left the restaurant for the library. Halfway there, he suddenly felt like going to the rooftop for some fresh air, so he climbed up to the top of the teaching building and gazed at the clear, bright blue sky, spending the afternoon alone there.

Chapter Eight: You've Been Eliminated

As the sun began to set in the west, it lengthened the shadows of the school desks.

After the last exam, geography, was finished, it was time for a class meeting.

The playground outside the window became a giant reflector, filling the classroom with warm orange light. Hoshino Hanami walked in into the soft light, her beautiful face bathed in a faint halo, so stunning that it was impossible to look away.

Starting tomorrow, Japan will begin its traditional Golden Week holiday, which will run from April 29 to May 5.

Hoshino Hanami was rambling on about safety precautions during the holiday while she was on the podium. Tazaki Tsukasa listened for a while and then summarized a key word.

nice!

She has a fresh and elegant oval face, clear and bright eyes, and delicate skin that looks like it could be broken with a touch. But the most attractive feature is her long, smooth hair that hangs lazily down her back.

If I had to use a specific adjective to describe this kind of beauty...

One call and one hundred blows!

Unfortunately, he has a somewhat violent personality.

Tsukasa Tazaki prefers a gentle and intellectual older sister, not some taekwondo expert.

However, the teacher's beautiful legs in stockings perfectly matched his fantasies, making it hard for him to give them up.

How about... we think of a way to marry her?

Well, I'm not really in a rush to be in a relationship right now. It's not that I'm definitely not going to date, it's just that it seems like too much trouble, a waste of money, time, and energy. I'll think about it when I go to college.

The school bell rang, and Tsukasa Tazaki gathered his thoughts, which were spreading like seaweed, slung his schoolbag over his shoulder, walked through the elevated corridor, and arrived at the door of the ATF club.

He knocked on the door and, after receiving a "come in" reply, pushed the door open and went inside.

The wealthy young woman named Kuriyama Sakura was still sitting in the same spot reading a book, the sunlight streaming in from the window casting a hazy glow on her.

Time seemed to stand still, giving the impression that she would sit there forever, until the end of the world.

Occasionally, a few wisps of sea breeze would ruffle the glossy black hair, and the scene would shift from static to dynamic, making one realize that time is indeed passing.

Tsukasa Tazaki walked over to her and used the analyzer as he went.

Name: Kuriyama Sakura

【Intelligence: 8】

【Charm: 9】

[Stamina: 4]

[Individual Stock Information: A flat-chested girl at the top of the food chain; uses cats to relieve loneliness; dislikes clueless suitors; created the ATF department with the aim of understanding more about the "walls of the human heart."]

[Stock price increase suggestion: Become her observation target.]

Hearing footsteps, Kuriyama Sakura looked up, her gaze lingering on Tazaki Tsukasa for a moment before returning to the hardcover book in her hands.

Tsukasa Tazaki pulled up a stool and sat down opposite her.

Kuriyama Sakura lowered her head and asked in a flat, indifferent voice, "What are you doing here again?"

“There was one more question I didn’t get a chance to ask last time.” Tsukasa Tazaki glanced at the book in her hand, Albert Camus’s “The Stranger.”

"What's the problem?"

What does ATF mean?

Kuriyama Sakura closed the book and looked at Tazaki Tsukasa. Her beautiful, almost unfairly pretty face was completely expressionless.

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, her cherry-red lips parted slightly, uttering three English words: "Absolute Terror Field."

"Huh?" Tsukasa Tazaki was stunned, and after a moment of blankness, he asked, "Absolute Terror Domain?"

He originally wanted to use AT field, but considering that saying it would make Kuriyama Sakura think he was being childish, he could only ask the question using the direct translation of the three words.

A gentle breeze stirred the cotton curtains, and the setting sun cast its rays into the classroom. Kuriyama Sakura brushed her wind-blown hair behind her ear: "AT Field."

Tsukasa Tazaki: "..."

She wasn't a literary girl after all, but rather a chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) girl.

(AT Field, a concept in the anime "EVA". In a broad sense, the AT Field refers to a wall that separates the "self" from the "objective world". This wall is the wall of the heart, and the area it encloses is an inviolable sacred domain in everyone's heart.)

The classroom was quiet, and the clock on the wall ticked slowly but loudly.

Kuriyama Sakura looked at Tazaki Tsukasa with considerable interest and asked, "Is there anything you'd like to say?"

Tsukasa Tazaki answered quickly and firmly, "Asuka is my wife!"

"Shut-ups are disgusting!" Kuriyama Sakura said with a disdainful smile, puffing out her chest, which was as flat as the Kanto Plain.

Exquisite features, fair and translucent skin, a face that remains irresistibly cute even when mocked.

"Oh well, I just wanted to join a club where I can leave early anyway..." Tsukasa Tazaki consoled himself, then asked, "What are the main activities of our club?"

Why are you asking this?

"I've already submitted my application, so I need to be prepared to join the club."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you." Kuriyama Sakura let out a soft breath, then said, "Tazaki-san, you've been eliminated."

"Huh?" Tsukasa Tazaki asked, puzzled. "When did this happen?"

"yesterday."

"why?"

“We’ve added a condition at the last minute.” Kuriyama Sakura’s expression looked like she was smiling, but she wasn’t at all. “The applicant must be a person who is skilled in both academics and martial arts.”

Tazaki Tsukasa thought to himself, "These are conditions tailor-made for me?"

“I’ve investigated your situation. You’ve been frail and sickly since childhood, and you’re also weak-willed. You’re simply not cut out for martial arts. As for academics…” Kuriyama Sakura sneered, still using that unchanging, flat voice, “In the high school entrance exam, you were last among the freshmen, failing not a single subject. If it weren’t for the Kikawa family, you wouldn’t even be able to get into this prestigious school.”

Tazaki Tsukasa was somewhat surprised. In just two short days, the other party had managed to figure out his past so quickly. The top of the food chain was indeed no joke.

Kuriyama Sakura chuckled and pointed to the door: "Please go back."

Tsukasa Tazaki said earnestly, "I think I can still be saved."

“There’s no need for that.” Kuriyama Sakura raised her head, the slanting sunlight of late spring casting the shadows of her eyelashes onto her cheeks. If you looked closely, you could see the black shadows trembling slightly on her fair skin.

He didn't speak, but his arrogant demeanor said it all.

Tazaki Tsukasa chuckled. It's just a club. If this one falls apart, there's always another. He can just go bully the kids in the kendo club himself. There's no need to fawn over this young lady.

However, just as he was about to take his leave, a shrill laugh suddenly came from the doorway.

"Hahaha...Tsukasa Tazaki, you're so shameless."

Tsukasa Tazaki turned his head and saw that it was Shinhiro Kichikawa. He raised his eyebrows slightly and casually looked away.

Kuriyama Sakura was taken aback for a moment, then a playful smile appeared on her lips as she lazily twirled the mechanical pencil in her hand.

When Akira saw that Tsukasa Tazaki didn't reply, his mocking smile widened. "You came here because you can't get any food from the Akira family anymore, so you wanted to try the Kuriyama family's food?"

Tazaki Tsukasa stood up calmly, picked up his schoolbag, and prepared to leave.

"Kuriyama-kun..." Kikawa Shinhiro walked over and asked, "Could this timid guy also be one of my rivals?"

"Just a few seconds ago it was." Kuriyama Sakura nodded with a barely perceptible arc.

Tsukasa Tazaki picked up his schoolbag and walked towards the door.

"You're quite pragmatic..." Shinichi Kichikawa reached out and patted Tsukasa Tazaki on the shoulder. "You don't have the ability or the qualifications to climb up the ladder. Have some self-awareness... huh?"

Then, he stared blankly at his hand, which was being held by Tsukasa Tazaki.

He had beaten up Tazaki so many times since he was a child, and Tazaki had never fought back. Was this kid asking for a beating today?

“I hate it when strangers tap me on the shoulder.” Tsukasa Tazaki looked at Shinichiro Kichikawa, his expression and voice devoid of any emotion. “I can pretend nothing happened the first time, but the second time, I’m sorry, I’m angry.”

"You bastard..." Shinichi Kawakawa was a little startled.

Tsukasa Tazaki turned around and looked at the beautiful girl by the window: "Is this guy's martial arts skill passable?"

With her back to the sunlight streaming through the window, Kuriyama Sakura smiled, a beautiful curve forming at the corner of her lips: "Of course!"

Chapter Nine: Kuriyama Sakura is very curious

You have neither the ability nor the qualifications to climb the ladder. Have some self-awareness...

After leaving the ATF club, Tsukasa Tazaki stopped on the school path, carefully pondering the condescending disdain contained in those words.

The late-blooming cherry blossoms in April fall silently, staining the asphalt road with a faint white layer.

Standing in the center of this white landscape, Tsukasa Tazaki's furrowed brow and thoughtful expression were filled with mystery. This scene, as beautiful as a fantasy animation, immediately attracted the attention of most of the students passing by.

"Who is that person...?"

"So handsome."

"Saori-chan, wipe your drool first."

"That looks like a first-year student... Hurry up and ask him for his Line."

"No, he looks so cold... Why don't you go?"

After a long time, no pretty senior student mustered up the courage to strike up a conversation, and no new opportunities arose.