Dungeon Streaming in a Chastity-Reversed World with 1:99 Male-to-Female Ratio! I Might Be a Rare Man, But I’ll Risk My Life to Find a Wife! - 36

Chapter 36: The Man Who Wants to Give Back and the Woman Who Wants to Give Back Part 1

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“Ni-Nice to meet you today, One Swordsman!”

“Ah, y-yes. Nice to meet you too…”

It was one weekend. Ittou, acting as the One Swordsman, was in the dungeon【Monster Workshop】, which could be entered from the 【Hole】 that appeared in The Museum of Package Culture in Shinagawa Ward, together with a certain woman. 

That woman was Orihime Oikawa, the receptionist of the Shinagawa Adventurer Office. She was clad in a purple combat outfit and wore a purple-and-yellow mask to match.

The whole matter began on the day Ittou challenged a dungeon in Tokyo for the first time. Orihime, believing Ittou to be a girl pretending to be a man, let him enter the dungeon solo, basically going straight to both her physical death and social death.

However, Ittou turned out to be far stronger than Orihime had imagined, and he returned safely. At that time, Orihime, drenched in various fluids and water, witnessed the legendary act that she had only ever seen in two dimensions—“a man gently offering a handkerchief.” 

On top of that, the handkerchief was offered directly to her, sending her into such a state of ecstasy that she fainted. Later, after being firmly scolded by Director Rindou from Adventurer Association, Orihime had been waiting for Ittou to return to talk. 

Her nose and eyes were badly swollen, but she still resolved to meet him. She carefully applied makeup so as not to be too much of an eyesore.

“Um, if you’d like to talk, c-could we maybe… I don’t know, get a little closer and talk?”

She kept her distance so it wouldn’t be too obvious. But from Ittou’s perspective, the distance was unnatural, and she had to speak loudly enough that others could overhear, which was kind of embarrassing. That was why he wanted to talk closer. But for Orihime, those words were divine revelation.

“Eh!? Y-you mean someone like me is allowed to come closer?!”

“Uh, y-yeah… Of course.”

While Ittou and Rindou had been talking, Orihime had regained her consciousness. She had heard of Ittou’s achievements, and received his handkerchief. Now, to be invited to “come closer” by this ideal gentlemanly man, Orihime’s heart pounded as she inched forward step by step.

“Um, it still feels…Too far…”

“S-still!?”

The distance was more than five meters—far to Ittou, but close to Orihime. In recent years, stalking men had become a social issue, with restraining orders often mentioned on TV. That was why Orihime was careful, thinking “a wise person should avoid danger.” For her, five meters was the sacred ground. 

With just two steps of a running start, she could leap and tackle him—that was far too dangerous in her mind. But since Ittou kept insisting “It’s fine, it’s fine,” Orihime was thrown into utter confusion.

(–Still? If I take a running step, I could pounce on him! W-whaaat!? Still? If I jump a bit I could attack him! S-still!? I could smell him and attack him!!)

Trapped between calmness and passion, reason and desire, Orihime endured. Seeing her pained expression, Ittou looked at her with concern.

“A-are you okay?”

“Gnnuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!”

The worried face of the high school boy, brows furrowed with protective instinct, was like a direct right hook to Orihime’s heart. She clutched her chest and collapsed.

“A-are you okay!? Umm..!”

“I’m fine… Just, don’t come any closer, please…!”

She held Ittou back with her hand as he tried to approach, while her other hand moved from her chest to her head, desperately trying to suppress her desire with reason.

“Gnnuuuuuu!”

“I-I don’t know what’s going on, but hang in there, Onee-san!”

“Guhaaa! O-nee… san…? That’s… the best…!”

Orihime’s reason collapsed under Ittou’s cheering voice. But at the same time, her desire also peaked—and once again, Orihime fainted. As Ittou tried to lift her up, her fellow receptionists rushed in to stop him.

“P-please don’t destroy Senpai’s emotional state any further! If you do, every last shred of her dignity as a human being will be annihilated!”

“Ub… Ubububububu…”

To protect Orihime’s pride—her face twisted in bliss while her eyes rolled back—the colleagues desperately shielded her. Realizing that what he was doing wasn’t good for her, Ittou hung his head and stepped back. Watching his small back, the colleagues tried to revive Orihime.

“Senpai! Senpai! Get a grip! You’re the chosen one who got to borrow a boy’s handkerchief! You’ll show us juniors something to be proud of, won’t you!”

“……!”

That was enough to rouse Orihime. A woman who had borrowed a handkerchief from a boy she wasn’t related to—such a person did not exist in Orihime’s knowledge. Thirty years ago, maybe, but in the present day it was a miracle.

To be the one who obtained that miracle was equal to pride. Forcing her powerless body, Orihime somehow stood. Ittou, meanwhile, thought calmly.

Eh? Something like this just from a handkerchief? I lent handkerchiefs to my grandma and her friends all the time, lent towels too, and they even wore T-shirts I was about to throw away… Why does one handkerchief have the effect of a powerful debuff spell here…?

He watched with quiet bewilderment as Orihime stood, encouraged by her juniors.

“Haa… Haa… Uum!”

“Ah. Y-yes!!”

As Ittou was spacing out, watching her trembling like a newborn foal, Orihime suddenly spoke to him. Flustered, his voice cracked in reply. He was embarrassed, but Orihime had no leeway to notice. Pulling out a handkerchief, she spoke.

“Ooooooooooo!”

“Oooooooo?”

“Thank you, um, I-I want to repay you for the handkerchief!”

Orihime shouted with an even higher-pitched voice than Ittou. And then—

“Pft. Ahaha… Oh, that’s what you mean. Thanks. Well then, if you don’t mind… I don’t know Tokyo very well, so could you take me somewhere?”

“Eh? …………………………………………………………Ah.”

“Aaaaaah! Onee-saaaan!?”

The repayment Orihime had in mind was nothing like this. Normally, it would be money or physical labor. At worst, a request to let him hit her. She hadn’t expected Ittou to ask for something that was not only not repayment but practically a reward. Unable to process it, Orihime’s mind shut down and she lost consciousness once more.

“Senpaaaaai!”

Seeing her eyes roll back, body convulsing, and frothing at the mouth, her juniors advised.

『Senpai, you’d surely embarras yourself if you were to go to an ordinary place. You shouldn’t go to any ordinary place with him!』

『It’s better if you go to a dungeon, Senpai. If you stream the dungeon run, you won’t be able to do anything stupid. That’s it! You should give him a rare item from the Monster Workshop! Listen, Senpai—though it may look like you’ve lost everything as a woman, you still have something precious! That is the chance to make memories with a boy! Even you, Senpai, who lost her dignity, probably had a gray, colorless student life just like us! This is your chance to take that back! Forget dignity—what matters is making memories, Senpai! Especially after you lost all shred of your dignity! 』

She thought they were overdoing the “lost dignity” bit, but Orihime chose not to think too hard.

And so—

“Fuuuu… Fuh! Okay… Then, shall we go?”

As her juniors said, in her school days there was never a boy beside her, barely even the chance to see one. And if she did make eye contact, it was always followed by a blatant look of disgust or fear.

But now, the boy beside her was smiling at her. This was her chance to revive her youth. Orihime knew that. So she returned the smile with all her might.

“Fu…Fuhihi…I-I’ll be in your… Care….”

It didn’t go well. But Ittou nodded with a kind smile, and together they entered the 【Monster Workshop】.

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