Chastity Reversed: Part-Time Life by the All-Girls High School - Chapter 57: Resident of a Different World

“…What did you say?”  

“A different world…?”  

Of course. That would be their natural reaction.  

But it was fine.  

If they thought I’d gone insane and decided to throw me into a psychiatric hospital, I wouldn’t complain.  

“On that day—before I woke up in the hospital—I wasn’t the same ‘Sora Sato’ as before.”  

“A member of a sports club, hanging out with guy friends outside, loving cola and the snacks that went with it… that wasn’t me, right?”  

“And to add to that… the ‘world’ itself was reversed.”  

Somehow, the words flowed out of me effortlessly.  

Maybe… maybe I’d been waiting for a chance like this all along.  

I’d kept the brakes on myself for so long because I feared being labeled a lunatic if I spoke about it.  

But now? It didn’t matter.  

Because at this point, I was already someone they saw as abnormal.  

“For example… all household chores were considered ‘women’s work’, while it was ‘men’ who went out to work.”  

“Proposals came from men. Lipstick was something only women wore.”  

“Tuxedos were for men, while wedding dresses were for women.”  

Really, everything—completely reversed.  

“…”  

Their wide-eyed expressions told me all I needed to know.  

“The role of men to protect women… all of it, nothing more than stereotypical, fixed ideas.”  

I laughed as I said it.  

Yes, all of that was just prejudice. Just casual chit-chat.  

The real point started here.  

“I had parents once. A dad and a mom. They looked exactly like you two.”  

“But they were completely different people. My dad was terrible at housework, especially cooking! Everything he made turned into blackened charcoal…”  

“My mom was usually kind, but if I didn’t finish my meals, she turned into a demon. Thanks to her, I stopped being picky with food. Though, even she forgave dad’s ‘wreckages’ in the kitchen.”  

Ah, those nostalgic memories…  

But now wasn’t the time to get lost in sentimentality.  

“…So. To me, you two… you only look like complete strangers. Strangers with familiar faces. Honestly… it feels utterly wrong. I’m sorry. Talking to you… it hurts.”  

“…”  

“And isn’t it the same for you, too? Even just a little?”  

I spoke to the two, who had fallen silent, their gazes lowered.  

I softened my tone as much as I could.  

“…Yes. That’s true. After all, you’re not even like the ‘Old Sora’ we knew…”  

“…I feel that way too. It’s embarrassing to say, but even now, I’m still trying to process it all.”  

Their strained expressions betrayed the pain they tried to contain.  

…They were good people. Really.  

“Haha! It’s fine. Now that we both understand, we can finally move on.”  

“…”  

“…Then Akari… no, wait, that can’t be right…”  

“Yes. In my world, Akari didn’t exist.”  

“…What?”  

“So there was no room for any feelings of wrongness. To me, she’s simply ‘a girl’.That’s how I see her.”  

To me, Akari was supposedly my little sister… but all I saw was a younger girl. And that, in turn, distorted things further.  

If only I’d had a sister in my previous world, things might have been different.  

“Akari hated the old me. With a passion. That’s not something that hurts me, unlike with you two.”  

“And just like you, I stopped seeing her as ‘family’. And when that happens, do you know what follows?”  

“…She’d see you as an older guy who’s kind to her, someone she can get close to.”  

“Exactly. So… it makes sense why things ‘turned out this way’.”  

“That’s right. I should’ve realized earlier that this might happen someday. But I chose to close my eyes to it, and instead, I let us end up in the worst-case scenario.”  

I closed my eyes to reality, all for the sake of my own ‘place to belong’. 

That shared room with Akari—that was my only safe haven in this world.  

I didn’t want to lose that.  

The only place where I didn’t feel completely alone.  

Well.  

In the end… I lost it anyway.  

“So that’s the gist of it. I know it’s too absurd to believe.”  

“I don’t think you’re joking.”

“Neither do I.” 

Perhaps their belief in something as fantastical as a parallel world stemmed from the deep-rooted unease they’d felt about me all this time.  

“Even though I brought it up, I don’t mind if you decide to send me to a psychiatric ward.”  

“S-Stop saying such things!”  

“Honestly… the previous Sora might still return one day.”  

“They ran scans of your brain right after the accident happened. You also underwent counseling, right? You’re completely healthy.”  

“The ‘old’ Sora isn’t coming back. We’ve already accepted that.”  

Ah. I’d underestimated their kindness.  

Even though I—someone who effectively ‘stole’ their Sora—stood right before them, they showed no signs of resentment.  

“So… you’re really going to take this utterly ridiculous story at face value?”  

“…It’s hard to say ‘I believe it’, but we want to believe it.”  

“Regardless of what the papers say or don’t… if we, as your ‘parents’, don’t believe in you, then who will?”  

Their words. Their sincerity.  

I didn’t deserve parents like them.  

It seemed that no matter the world, that part hadn’t changed.  

“I understand. Let’s stop this digression and discuss what comes next.”  

Neither I nor they should keep suffering like this.  

Which was why… I have to go live on my own.  

****

“So, once I leave, Akari will come back home?”

“…Yes.”  

“Are you really okay with living on your own?”  

“Yes. To be honest… I’d prefer it that way.”

“…”  

“…I see.”  

“I’m sorry. But I think it’ll be better for all of us.”  

And so, it was decided that I would start living alone.  

I would move to a place at least ten train stations away from this house.  

Wataru-san and Nozomi-san even considered the idea of one of them living with me to ease the transition. But I knew that if that happened, I’d only end up suffocating from the pressure.  

Akari would worry too. After all, dealing with her rebellious phase alone would probably be hard enough for just one of them.  

“Please make sure that Akari doesn’t find out where I live.”  

“…I understand.”  

“Haha, it’s fine. She’ll lose interest soon enough. At the end of the day, I’m just some guy to her. Sharing a room was probably the only reason she started noticing me in the first place.”  

“…But are you really okay with that?”  

“What do you mean?”  

“To you… Akari must be an important person too, right? More than just a sister. I can see it in your face.”

Wataru-san’s words pierced through me.  

“And so… despite everything that’s happened, if you truly want to stay with Akari for the rest of your life—”

I couldn’t let him finish that sentence. I wouldn’t.

“Please stop. No matter how we feel about it… she and I, whether we like it or not, are siblings.”  

When I woke up in that hospital bed, the body I saw—it was undeniably Sora’s.  

This soft, weak body, the kind that couldn’t run far without getting tired. The kind that wasn’t used to physical labor.  

Everything about this body belonged to the ‘Sora’ of this world. And Akari… she wasn’t just some distant relative or a step-sister.  

She was my actual, biological little sister.  

“No matter how society sees it, no matter if by some miracle we stayed together… we couldn’t get married. We couldn’t have kids.”  

“Love or whatever… I’m not even trying to think about that right now.”  

“No matter how you look at it—Akari would end up miserable.”

I stood up abruptly, my voice rising with conviction.  

I knew they must’ve thought long and hard before saying something like that. And it was because of that—because they cared so much—that I needed to firmly reject the idea here and now.  

“My feelings for her don’t matter. What’s important is that you separate us, even if it hurts.”  

“…I understand. The sooner, the better. You should go check out some apartments with Nozomi today.”  

“…Yes. That’s probably for the best.”  

“Thank you. I’m sorry for dragging this out.”  

“No, it’s us who should be apologizing… really.”  

“You’re more composed than either of us… it’s embarrassing.”  

And just like that, my first-ever family meeting came to an end.  

****

“This place is really cheap, and the convenience store and train station are both nearby! It’s fully cleaned and ready—you could move in immediately!”  

“What do you think, Nozomi-san?”  

“Hmm… but isn’t this the infamous ‘Aimei’ area?”  

“Ah! I promise, those rumors are old news! The police patrol here regularly now, and it’s perfectly safe!”  

“Is the area dangerous?”  

“Well… my alma mater, Aimei Girls’ High School, is nearby. It used to have a bit of a rough reputation.”  

“Ahaha! But times have changed—you wouldn’t believe how quiet it is now!”  

The real estate agent was really pushing this one apartment.  

A 1DK (one bedroom, dining, and kitchen) for just 23,000 yen¹. Unbelievably cheap, considering its location.  

“Alright, looks like that’s everything.”  

“Yeah, we’ve got everything moved in.”  

“Utilities are set up, the Wi-Fi is connected, and you’ve got all the basics covered…”  

“If anything breaks, just let us know right away, alright?”  

“Thank you. Don’t worry, I’ll manage somehow.”  

With everything settled, I officially moved into my new home.  

The move itself had been completed smoothly. I’d even bought all the appliances I needed to live comfortably.  

Now, this was it.  

Me. Living alone for the first time in my life.  

****

It was the last day of summer vacation.  

[Hey, Akari. How are you?]

After several days of silence, I finally called her.