My love index is at its maximum.

Shiori Ninomiya pulled the tab on a can of beer and, before taking a sip, suddenly asked, "Is this Sakura's first time too?"

“Yes…” Kuriyama Sakura chuckled twice and opened a can of beer. Before the foam on the surface had even subsided, she brought it to her lips and made a gurgling sound.

"Cough cough..."

The next second, she choked.

Tsukasa Tazaki glanced at her: "Take it easy."

Shiori Ninomiya opened a can, but after just licking it with her tongue, her face immediately scrunched up: "What the hell is this stuff? It tastes awful."

"Just a taste, don't get drunk." Tsukasa Tazaki handed the popcorn in his hand to the little cutie, and then casually tore open a bag of potato chips and handed it to Sakura Kuriyama, whose throat was slightly undulating.

Then, he drank his beer while staring blankly out the window.

The damp, gloomy rain curtain casts indoor light onto the thick, upright leaves of the outdoor greenery. The light cannot penetrate the depths of the lush foliage, and it seems as if the trees' faint lamentations drift through the shadows to one's ears.

A tone that is out of tune is undoubtedly a form of auditory hallucination.

This kind of scene scores very high marks in the hearts of artistic youths.

"kiki~!"

My nose suddenly felt very itchy, as if something had brushed against it.

Tazaki Tsukasa turned her gaze back and saw that the little cutie had just let go of a strand of hair in her hand. Her hair gave off a wonderfully pleasant scent, like the fragrance of a summer morning.

"what's up?"

"Let's play a game!"

He took a sip of beer and shoved the potato chips from his mouth into his stomach: "What game?"

Shiori Ninomiya ran her fingers along the rim of the beer can, her eyes fixed on the metal can on the table: "I just wrote a bunch of questions on a notepad. The three of us will take turns drawing them, and whoever can't answer them will have to drink a shot of beer."

"That sounds boring," Tsukasa Tazaki replied, thinking to himself that tomato-flavored potato chips taste weird when mixed with beer, and he shouldn't eat them like that next time.

Kuriyama Sakura was also shaking her head, her long ponytail drawing a rather beautiful arc.

Shiori Ninomiya licked the beer foam off her lips and chuckled, "Then tell me something that won't be boring."

"Adding my questions will make it less boring."

Your question is even more pointless!

Kuriyama Sakura tilted her head slightly and stared at Tazaki Tsukasa: "Why don't you add a few too?"

After thinking about it, Tsukasa Tazaki felt that the game wasn't too boring, so he nodded in agreement.

The two of them each wrote down a few questions, and the first round was drawn by Shiori Ninomiya.

Who are you most grateful to?

The little cutie replied with a rather quirky laugh, "Thank you to my father who has two legs!"

Kuriyama Sakura picked at the foam from the corner of her mouth with her fingernails and stared at the ceiling in a pensive manner.

The second round was against Tsukasa Tazaki.

What are you currently working on?

"Learn Italian."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Shiori Ninomiya exclaimed in surprise. "English alone gives me a headache, and Kiki still has the energy to learn Italian."

Kuriyama Sakura propped her two delicate arms on the table and looked at Tazaki Tsukasa with the eyes of someone looking at trash.

Tsukasa Tazaki tore open the croissant packaging and took a big bite.

The third round was her own turn.

What's the most interesting thing you've done recently?

“I sent Eriri’s video to Yui Kikawa.”

Shiori Ninomiya couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Tsukasa Tazaki swallowed the bread in his mouth and said indignantly, "Why is everyone targeting Eriri?"

"Because she lost so stupidly." Ninomiya Shiori tilted her head back, flicked her messy hair, and said in a commentary tone, "Blonde hair, tsundere, twin tails, contrasting cuteness, absolute territory, super professional skills, the buffs are almost overflowing the screen, in other works, it would definitely be an overwhelmingly dominant character design. But in Eriri's case, she lost miserably."

“Childhood friends are indeed the most toxic buff…” Tsukasa Tazaki sighed, her tone wistful. “Although she’s a loser, I quite like her. And she has a very bright spot that many people in reality lack.”

"Hmm..." Shiori Ninomiya, her mouth full of croissants, asked with her cheeks puffed out, "What's your advantage... perseverance?"

Tsukasa Tazaki replied: "Looks!"

"I'm increasingly convinced I misjudged you," Sakura Kuriyama sighed, gently massaging her eye sockets with her fingertips. A breeze blew in through the window, greedily caressing the side of her hair before disappearing.

The fourth round.

What's the first thing you want to say right now?

"I hope the three of us can drink together again next year!" Shiori Ninomiya patted her soft palms, then suddenly turned and crawled towards Tsukasa Tazaki, saying in a clear, girlish voice, "Kiki will agree then, right?"

Tazaki Tsukasa slightly raised his head. The little cutie's face was very close to his. Her face was delicate, and her neck was slender and fair. When she saw him move his gaze over, she even blinked her right eye cutely.

He could feel her warm breath, which reminded him of the scene of warming himself around a fire pit in winter. It was a very warm feeling, but it was not just about warmth.

I really don't want to use that cliché adjective, but the atmosphere is indeed somewhat romantic.

Taking a big gulp of beer, Tsukasa Tazaki grabbed his messy hair and said, "Yes."

Shiori Ninomiya raised her hand and cheered, "Yay!"

Kuriyama Sakura looked at her, intending to say, "You didn't ask me," but after her gaze swept past the prominent curves of her chest in her school uniform... she looked down at her flat Kanto plains and chose to drink alone in silence.

It's okay, they'll grow up...

The fifth round.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

This question is too far-fetched; Tsukasa Tazaki had never thought about it. With the system, he could live a more carefree and willful life than anyone else, so for the time being, apart from marrying Hanami Hoshino, he didn't have any very clear life goals.

But this is a difficult question to answer. After all, you can't exactly tell two high school girls that you want to be a "florist" when you grow up, can you?

Tsukasa Tazaki chose to drink alcohol directly.

The sixth round.

Kuriyama Sakura stirred the contents of the tin can for a while before pulling out a piece of paper.

Do you hate lies?

Tazaki Tsukasa's eyes lit up. He had come up with this question himself, and while writing it, he kept praying that the tablet would pick him. Now, his wish had come true.

As for the reason... it's because she's too familiar with Hoshino Hanami. If she were as straightforward (and perhaps a bit dim-witted) as Yukinoshita, then Tazaki Tsukasa would have to consider which way of dying would be less painful.

Kuriyama Sakura stared at the handwriting on the note, narrowing her usually beautiful eyes into slits as she quietly observed Tazaki Tsukasa.

After a while, she let out a soft "humph".

"On my tenth birthday, I told my whole family that my birthday wish was to be a person who doesn't lie."

Shiori Ninomiya gave a thumbs up: "Absolutely amazing!"

Tazaki Tsukasa chewed on the half-eaten bag of popcorn that his little cutie had left, making a "crunching" sound.

"So I lied the next day." Kuriyama Sakura smiled slightly, then opened the second can of beer with slightly trembling hands, took a sip, and continued, "A guest came to visit, and I greeted him by saying it was nice to meet you. But then I realized I didn't even know him, so how could I be happy to meet him?"

“Basic etiquette…it doesn’t count as lying, does it?” Shiori Ninomiya blinked, not quite understanding.

"Interpersonal relationships are like wearing pants but not underwear," said Kuriyama Sakura, holding up a beer can, her fingers slippery from the water droplets on the bottle.

The little cutie asked doubtfully, "Whether or not you wear underwear after putting on pants doesn't seem to matter much, right? Of course, it's not good to be all lies, but I think as long as it's eight parts truth and two parts lies, we can get along very well. If there really is someone who never lies, I will definitely stay far away from her."

"I see." Kuriyama Sakura seemed to suddenly understand, so she put her hand back on the table and turned to stare at Tazaki Tsukasa: "Does asking this mean you plan to lie to me more often from now on?"

Tazaki Tsukasa pretended not to hear, staring at the beer can in his hand, repeatedly flipping through the ingredients list.

The seventh round.

If you could be a cat for a day, how would you spend it?

Shiori Ninomiya replied, "Let's go to the cat cafe for free coffee!"

The eighth round.

Is it okay to eat on an empty stomach?

Tsukasa Tazaki silently took a sip of his drink.

He intended to cheat others, but ended up shooting himself in the foot.

The ninth round.

Does God live in the stratosphere or the troposphere?

Kuriyama Sakura glared at Tazaki Tsukasa, then reluctantly drank her wine.

The tenth round.

Doesn't a kangaroo's constant hopping hurt its knees?

Shiori Ninomiya: "..."

Tsukasa Tazaki turned his face away, not wanting anyone to see his pleased expression.

Ok.

He wrote all the silly questions.

……

The city gradually quieted down, and the lights in the apartment buildings dimmed one by one. Whenever a breeze blew in through the window, the ceiling lights would sway slightly, and the light and shadow in the room would change accordingly.

Shiori Ninomiya lay on the floor, her eyes narrowing, muttering unconsciously, "I wish I could fast-forward to the second half of the year..."

Almost all of Kitagawa High School's major events take place in the second half of the year, such as school trips, cultural festivals, and sports festivals. Ninomiya Shiori comes from a small-town junior high school with only about forty students and has only ever participated in these colorful school activities on television.

Tazaki Tsuya lay down and looked at her sideways. Her small face was like an egg after its shell was peeled off, so white and tender that it almost reflected light.

Don't you blush after drinking alcohol?

He then turned his head to look at another girl's perfectly flushed face.

Noticing his gaze, Kuriyama Sakura rested her elbows on the table, propped her chin up, and closed her eyes as if to relax, her eyelashes fluttering slightly from time to time.