Tokyo: After years of stagnation, the heiress of the yakuza arrives.

"What are you babbling about? Watch my devilish mind activate!"

"This, this, and this—start them all! Start them all!"

In the bedroom of a luxury apartment.

Kuroba Shido lay on his side in the center of the soft bed, his left leg straight and his right leg pressed against the corner of the blanket. His tablet was propped up in front of the pillow, and his fingers were frantically tapping the screen with a speed and dexterity that no disabled person should ever have. His loose pajamas were rubbed and wrinkled, and he was completely immersed in the wooden world of the nocturnal corner.

On the screen, the male protagonist is cornered on the rooftop of an abandoned school building by three female protagonists...

On the left is a cold-faced young lady holding a student council disciplinary notice, and on the right is a childhood friend carrying a long sword and smiling gently...

In the middle, there's a mysterious transfer student who just crawled out from behind the water tank, saying, "Finally found you!" His three affection levels are getting progressively redder...

The danger level below has exceeded the system's limit, and it has begun to flash with an incomprehensible black light.

Normal players who get to this point either need to diligently read through the plot information from the previous twenty hours and figure out what each of the three female protagonists wants to hear, or they need to strategically save their game and be prepared to be sent back to the title screen if they say the wrong thing.

Kuroba Shido is different.

He pressed all six one-time use item cards.

[The Tears of a Poor Boy, Begin!]

Selective amnesia, activated!

[Supermarket discounted bento boxes, now available!]

[Jump from the third floor, but there's a cardboard box right below. Activate!]

[Give everyone present a "good guy" card, activate!]

[Ghost Brain, Activate!]

Six colors of special effects exploded simultaneously: pink hearts, blue tears, gold bento boxes, green cardboard boxes, and a black skull that appeared out of nowhere, filling the screen. The male protagonist stood in the center of the storm with his arms outstretched, and a confession line that was carefully written by the production team but completely overlapped because the six plot points were triggered at the same time began to play automatically.

"Good!" Kuroba Shido's eyes grew brighter and brighter. He didn't even hear what the game character was saying. He grabbed the tablet and sat down on the bed. "That's it! Language doesn't matter. Momentum is everything. As long as I don't even know what I'm saying, the three heroines can't possibly find any loopholes. This is the ultimate logic that transcends logic!"

The game screen froze for two seconds.

[Cold-faced young lady's favorability +20]

[Childhood Sweetheart Murder Intent +30]

[The Mysterious Transfer Student is Incomprehensible]

[The system is recalculating the plot...]

"Hehehe, bow down before my powerful demonic mind!"

Kuroba Shido nodded smugly, completely unaware that the cold-faced young lady's favorability rating had only increased by twenty, while his childhood friend's murderous intent had increased by thirty. He also failed to notice that the rooftop railing behind the male protagonist had been blasted open with a large hole in the special effects.

buzz-

My phone, which I had left next to my pillow, vibrated again.

Kuroba Shido glanced over and saw Miyazaki Ritsuko's name. He didn't stop what he was doing, but used his little finger to slowly hook the phone in front of him.

The previous round of secret investigations into meals, the zoo, and whether Miyazaki Kiyoshi went out today has ended. Aunt Ritsuko even specifically instructed him not to tell the department head. Kuroba Shido, relying on his professional reputation honed over many years in the rat district, gave a solemn promise: "The department head will absolutely not know."

Logically, this greeting from an elder that spanned several kilometers should have ended there.

But Ritsuko Miyazaki did not end the chat.

[Kuroba-kun, Auntie has another question for you, is that alright?]

Kuroba Shido glanced at it and replied with one hand.

Sure, as long as it's not about borrowing money.

After sending the message, he immediately put down his phone and threw himself back into the game. The system on the screen had already completed its calculations, and all six item cards were activated simultaneously, granting the protagonist a temporary status.

[Current status: Nobody can understand it.]

[Effect: All characters on the field will be unable to determine your true intentions for 30 seconds.]

"I knew it!" Kuroba Shido slapped his thigh, almost knocking the tablet off its stand. "Unable to determine their true intentions, it's practically impossible to attack. All I need to do is climb over the fence within thirty seconds, go down the drainpipe to the second floor, and then leave the school building through the ventilation window in the girls' restroom. That should be a safe escape!"

The three female protagonists in the game chased after them at the same time.

Kuroba Shido, controlling the male protagonist, turned and ran, muttering his tactical instructions: "Hey buddy, it's just a dating sim! Why are you all running faster than middle-aged women grabbing discounted eggs at the supermarket? Where's the basic trust between people? Stop right there and let me explain!"

buzz-

My phone vibrated again.

Your aunt won't borrow money from you.

Ritsuko Miyazaki seemed somewhat helpless, and then quickly sent another message.

[Auntie just wants to know, what does Kuroba think of Kiyoshi?]

As Kuroba Shido was controlling the male protagonist to climb over the fence, upon seeing the words "Kiyoshi," his survival instinct briefly regained control of his brain.

This problem has occurred before, and it is extremely dangerous!

When an ordinary person is asked by an elder, "What do you think of my daughter?", they might start by answering about her personality, appearance, learning ability, or how they feel about being with her. But Shido Kuroba is different. He has already completed a full training session with the Miyazaki family mother and daughter, and he knows very well that all seemingly ordinary descriptions will eventually be led to the same destination by Ritsuko Miyazaki.

Kuroba-kun, do you like Kiyoshi?

There is no standard answer to this question, but there is a safe zone that was approved by Kiyoshi Miyazaki himself.

Classmate relationship.

The relationship between ministers and their staff.

This is the relationship framework personally defined by the Minister, and it's also the underground air-raid shelter where Kuroba Shido managed to save his life when Miyazaki Ritsuko questioned him on the spot in the clubroom.

Kiyoshi Miyazaki once acknowledged this.

That's an imperial edict!

Kuroba Shido paused the game and replied very carefully.

[Your Excellency is an outstanding minister, and I am an outstanding member. We have a normal minister-member relationship.]

send.

Safety.

safe.

Even if the minister suddenly popped out of the closet right now, there wouldn't be any logical problem.

Kuroba Shido put down his phone and continued climbing over the rooftop railing, completely unaware that several kilometers away in the Miyazaki family's first-floor reception room, Miyazaki Ritsuko's expression gradually became subtle as she read the reply.

She asked what she thought of Xiaoqing.

Kuroba answered that it was about the relationship between the club president and the club members.

These two questions are not entirely unrelated; rather, Kuroba had already evaded all the questions she was prepared to ask, and even used her club affiliation to build a seemingly reasonable but actually suspicious wall between the two of them.

Ritsuko Miyazaki picked up the warm water, took a small sip, and was not discouraged.

Last time, she directly asked Shido Kuroba if he liked Kiyoshi. That child did the same thing, insisting that they were just classmates. His stubbornness was almost the same as when Kiyoshi said, "There is only one possibility, and that is that we are just classmates."

However, what happened later proved that the classmate relationship these two people described was not the same as the classmate relationship as understood by ordinary people.

Normal classmates wouldn't let Xiaoqing break her years-old eating habits by staring at her phone while eating, much less let her leave home for more than seven hours on her day off and then refuse to say anything when she comes back.

Normal classmates wouldn't keep saying things like "dangerous," "gloomy," or "unsafe," yet repeatedly appear around Miyazaki Kiyoshi, assign her club tasks, take her to the Miyazaki house, and even solemnly tell her in the garden that Kiyoshi isn't a problem that needs fixing.

The more Miyazaki Ritsuko thought about it, the more she felt she couldn't be fooled by the words "department head and members".

Xiaoqing can put anything into her own logical framework, while Heiyu can put anything into her own survival framework. The two children sing in harmony, one defining and the other executing, until in the end, only she, the mother, is left sitting outside, repeatedly knocking on the door of a wall called "classmate relationship".

After thinking for a moment, Miyazaki Ritsuko changed to a more specific question.

The aunt wasn't asking about your relationship; she was asking if, in your eyes, Xiaoqing was different from other classmates.

In the upscale apartment, the game just happened to pop up a new selection screen.

The male protagonist had already climbed over the fence, and below him was the three-story outer wall of the teaching building. The three female protagonists stopped behind him. The cold-faced young lady crossed her arms and asked the male protagonist to explain whether he treated other girls differently.

First, each of you is unique.

Second, you are unique.

Thirdly, we are all classmates and should not be treated differently.

[IV. Jump.]

"What a cunning question!" Kuroba Shido's eyes widened, completely oblivious to the strange overlap between the question on his phone and the game question: "Choosing the first option makes you a player, choosing the second will immediately trigger the other two's hatchets, choosing the third shows a lack of emotional intelligence. The developers gave four options on the surface, but in reality, only the fourth will allow you to leave alive!"

Without hesitation, the finger clicked.

Jump!

The male protagonist leaps over the fence, and the three female protagonists simultaneously tumble to the edge. The background music instantly changes from an ambiguous love song to a life countdown.

Kuroba Shido was filled with excitement. He frantically searched for a foothold with one hand while reaching for his phone with the other, quickly replying based on the keywords he had just seen.

Of course they're different.

The first floor of the Miyazaki family home.

Ritsuko Miyazaki's eyes lit up slightly.

There's progress!

She knew that as long as she didn't directly mention her feelings or push the issue too hard, Kuroba would still tell the truth.

Before Miyazaki Ritsuko could even feel happy, a second reply popped up.

[The minister is the minister, and the other students are just classmates; their statuses are different.]

Ritsuko Miyazaki: "..."

We went back again.

It even has an extra layer of identity compared to before.

Ritsuko Miyazaki remained silent for a few seconds, then continued to ask, still unconvinced.

What if Xiaoqing wasn't your minister?

Kuroba Shido is controlling the male protagonist to grab the drainpipe on the second floor. The screen is shaking violently. The three female protagonists have already surrounded him from the stairs. The system prompts that there are only twenty seconds left to escape.

They were classmates too.

What if I graduate later?

[Alumni.]

[If they are not in the same school?]

[Someone I know.]

What if Xiaoqing invites you out alone, not under the guise of a club activity?

Kuroba Shido paused for a moment, finally managing to free half a brain cell from the game to seriously consider this hypothesis.

The minister invited him out alone, not under the guise of a club activity.

is it possible?

Kiyoshi Miyazaki is meticulous about rules, efficiency, purpose, and information increment in everything he does. Even when he goes to the park to investigate stray cats, he can organize a complete activity process. If you suddenly ask him out alone and refuse to give a reason, there are only three possibilities left.

First, he committed a crime.

Second, the minister has evidence of his wrongdoing.

Third, prepare to find a place without surveillance cameras to dispose of the body.

Neither of these approaches seems suitable for discussing favorability.

[Aunt Ritsuko, the Minister wouldn't do something without a clear purpose; this assumption is invalid.]

Ritsuko Miyazaki looked at the replies, her finger hovering over the top of the screen.

Well-reasoned and supported by evidence.

That cannot be refuted.

But he didn't answer a single word.

She suddenly understood why every time she chatted with Xiaoqing, she would feel like she was participating in a logic defense without realizing it. Kuroba could not read minds, nor did he have Xiaoqing's ability to expose all questions. But once it came to the relationship between the two of them, he would immediately become another form of Miyazaki Kiyoshi.

One person is responsible for telling the whole world that they are classmates.

The other person is responsible for carrying out this interpretation unconditionally.

The coordination is tight and watertight.

Is this really just a classmate relationship?

Ritsuko Miyazaki didn't believe it.

She put down her water glass and decided to skip over the definition of a relationship and approach it from an emotional perspective.

Are you happy when you're with Xiaoqing?

In the upscale apartment, the male protagonist successfully stepped on the second-floor air conditioner unit. With only ten seconds left on the system countdown, Shido Kuroba controlled his character to smash open the ventilation window of the women's restroom, his face already displaying the unique confidence of a Tokyo escape master.

"So happy, so incredibly happy!"

He was shouting about games.

The reply from the finger was a message from Ritsuko Miyazaki.

【good.】

Is it just okay?

[A normal level of interaction among classmates.]

[Kiyoshi is very pretty, I think Kuroba-kun thinks so too, right?]

[Objective facts.]

She is very smart.

[This is also an objective fact.]

She also has a special feeling for Kuroba.

When Kuroba Shido saw this sentence, his finger paused for half a second.

The male protagonist in the game had already squeezed into the ventilation window, leaving only his legs sticking out. The cold-faced young lady chasing behind him reached out and grabbed his shoes, while the other two female protagonists flanked him from both sides of the corridor, and the entire screen began to flash red.

"Let go! Let go of me! Men and women shouldn't touch each other. Grabbing a strange male classmate's foot is a serious violation of personal boundaries!"

Kuroba Shido frantically clicked to break free while replying.

[Because I am the minister's only member, club members are irreplaceable.]

Ritsuko Miyazaki: "..."

well.

The logic is now complete.

Because he was the only member, Xiaoqing paid special attention to him. As for why only Kuroba Shido could be the only member in the huge Kamikawa University, why Xiaoqing allowed him to stay, and why the two of them could turn an ordinary club activity into a long and drawn-out struggle, Kuroba Shido selectively skipped all of these questions.

She looks exactly like Xiao Qing.

Ritsuko Miyazaki suddenly felt powerless. She opened the input box, typed a line, deleted it, typed another line, deleted it again, and finally asked in the most direct way.

[If we were to measure affection level out of 100, how many points would Kuroba give Kiyoshi?]

Message sent.

In the upscale apartment, the game character finally managed to get rid of his shoes and fell through the ventilation duct into a women's restroom stall, with a huge golden notification popping up in the center of the screen.

[Successful escape!]

Overall Rating: SSS

[The favorability ratings of all three female leads have exceeded 90!]

[Congratulations to the player for simultaneously unlocking three special romance storylines!]

The Black Feather Warrior said, "???"

He was clearly running the whole time, never uttering a single human word, and even jumped off a building in front of the three female leads, losing one of his shoes in the process. So why did his favorability rating not only not drop, but instead all of them exceeded 90?

Do the Ga La Ge Mu Production Team even understand love?

Is it possible that these days, female protagonists no longer prefer gentle, considerate, brave, and reliable male protagonists, but instead prefer wild escape masters whose first reaction to a problem is to jump out of a window?

Kuroba Shido stared at the three glowing red hearts on the screen, lost in thought for a moment, until his phone vibrated again, and he looked down to see the question about Miyazaki Ritsuko's affection level.

100 points.

How many points?

Very insidious.

If the offer is too low, Miyazaki Ritsuko might think he dislikes the department head, so she'll arrange a family relationship repair meeting tomorrow to try and understand if there's a conflict between the two young classmates.

If you give too much, Ritsuko Miyazaki will automatically convert that number into a love progress bar, and then start preparing for the next stage of the matchmaking plan, and may even have already thought of what to name their future children.

Specific numbers cannot be provided.

Kuroba Shido's survival radar started alarming wildly!

then……

[Aunt Ritsuko, feelings of affection among classmates shouldn't be quantified; it will ruin pure, normal, and healthy relationships between classmates!]

Ritsuko Miyazaki: "..."

Is this pan really non-stick?