"My name's Anri Sata. Yoshida-san, you don't look so good—should we take you to the nurse's office?"
Even though Takumi had stabilized Yuko Yoshida's condition, her natural constitution was still frail. Her adorable, soft demeanor was like cotton candy—just a bit of sunlight and she'd wilt immediately.
Yuko breathed weakly and shook her head. "I still want to attend the opening ceremony… If I sit for a while, I'll be fine."
"Then let's go together. Hop on." Knowing how fragile her body really was, Takumi crouched down and gestured for her to climb on his back.
Anri Sata immediately grinned mischievously and chimed in: "Your knight's ready, milady! Go on—mount your steed!"
"Uuu… okay."
Blushing bright red, Yuko couldn't bring herself to refuse. She carefully leaned onto Takumi's back, wrapping her arms around him.
The soft warmth pressing against his back felt like a living pillow—plush, delicate, and almost too comfortable.
"Hold tight, Princess~," Takumi teased, echoing Anri's playful tone as he stood up and started walking toward the auditorium.
With laughter and light chatter, the three soon reached the ceremony hall.
At the entrance, Shizuka Hiratsuka—who was handling attendance—spotted the trio. Her eyelid twitched. "This kid… works fast."
Seeing Takumi already physically close to one girl and chatting cheerfully with another made a pang of irritation rise in her chest. At nearly thirty, she couldn't stand watching these sweet, youthful rom-com vibes unfolding right in front of her.
"Ahem! You three—mind explaining this? You're turning heads like celebrities!"
Her sharp tone made Yuko's entire body stiffen; she buried her face deeper into Takumi's back in embarrassment. Even the outgoing Anri looked a little flustered under all the attention.
Takumi, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm. He gently set Yuko down and said seriously, "Yuko's health isn't great. I just carried her here to help."
"Hmm?"
Hiratsuka gave him a skeptical look, then turned to Yuko—whose cheeks were red as cherries. Still, she remembered the girl's file clearly.
"…Right. You do have a medical note. But next time, don't act on your own, okay? Call a teacher." She sighed, offering a motherly warning before ushering them inside.
Once among the crowd, Takumi's presence as the only male student naturally drew countless eyes, but most attention still came from those right around him.
Sitting beside Mio, he dozed through most of the ceremony—his attention fixated on the [World-Crossing Gate] progress bar, which suddenly surged upward as if on steroids.
By the time the ceremony ended, it had climbed another 1%. He hadn't seen progress that fast in years.
What a blessed place, he thought with awe. Too bad the effect faded the moment he stepped outside.
Still, he wasn't in a rush—his Gate was nearly full anyway.
"Next up, we'll be moving to our assigned classes for orientation. I'm in Class 1-D."
There were six first-year classes in total—A through F—packed with students. But Takumi had quietly made sure Mio would end up in the same class as him.
"Where'd that girl run off to? She disappeared as soon as we left the hall."
He'd been delayed earlier after being mobbed by curious girls—another side effect of his [Love Curse]. But interestingly, it hadn't triggered this time. Even though plenty of the girls he'd met were objectively attractive, not a single one had set it off.
So it only triggers for heroines or important side characters? Now that was a useful discovery.
Just as he pondered how to exploit it—
Thud! Thud!
He rounded a corner and collided head-on with two girls, sending all three tumbling. The girls yelped as they fell to the ground. Takumi steadied himself and looked down—only to blink at the sight before him.
One girl had long orange hair tied into twin low ponytails, each bound by a green ribbon shaped like rabbit ears. Her figure was petite and slim, brimming with energy. Her black pleated skirt fluttered slightly, exposing fair, porcelain-like legs that gleamed under the light.
The other had short, soft pink hair, adorned with a white flower accessory. Her figure, in stark contrast, was incredibly voluptuous. The uniform barely contained her ample chest—if the alphabet started at A, she was clearly G-level and beyond.
The conservative uniform somehow made her look even more seductive. Her smooth, bare thighs peeked from beneath the skirt, glowing with natural warmth and softness.
Childbearing type, Takumi thought automatically. Absolutely childbearing type.
He froze for a full second, stunned by their beauty before finally kneeling down. "Are you two okay?"
"Ugh, that hurt! Are you a wall or something? Watch where you're going!"
"I-I should be the one apologizing!"
The orange-haired girl—clearly the fiery type—pouted with indignation, while the pink-haired one instinctively bowed, flustered and shy. Then both girls lifted their eyes to him—orange and emerald meeting his deep gaze.
Zzt—!
It was like an electric current jolted through all three of them. Both girls froze, faces going blank as something invisible surged between them.
And right before his eyes, glowing text appeared in his vision:
[Inda Karane— Affection: 100]
[Hakari Hanazono— Affection: 100]
What the hell—?!
Even Hiratsuka's affection hadn't jumped that high! This… this was way off the charts!
The two girls, equally dazed, blinked rapidly. Inda's cheeks turned bright red. "W-what was that just now?"
Hakari pressed a hand to her chest, her voice trembling. "It… it felt like an electric shock running through my whole body… Ahh~"
Her soft moan sent shivers down his spine. For a moment, their eyes met again—then all three awkwardly looked away.
Regaining composure, Takumi extended both hands. "Are you two hurt anywhere?"
"Uh—um…" Toka hesitated, fingers twitching shyly. Beside her, Hakari suddenly tilted her head, a dreamy look crossing her face.
The "love brain" switch had flipped in her mind.
Without warning, she uttered a faint "Ah~" and slowly leaned sideways, collapsing onto the ground like a delicate, swooning heroine.
...
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