I Thought It Was a World Where Chastity Norms Were Reversed, But It Turns Out I Was Just Surrounded by the Overly Intense Girls in My Class - Chapter 2.1: I Just Want to Play One Game with the Beautiful Girl Next to Me!

Chapter 2.1: I Just Want to Play One Game with the Beautiful Girl Next to Me!

In my previous life, I loved shogi.

My father ran a shogi parlor, so I learned the rules as soon as I was old enough to understand anything.

I never thought about going pro, but I grew up touching shogi every day and growing alongside it.

When I got to high school, I joined the shogi club.

I balanced schoolwork and shogi, sinking deeper into the game. It wasn’t glamorous, but I think I had pretty fun days.

There was just one thing I wasn’t happy about.

I had zero connection with girls.

Almost all shogi players are men.

There wasn’t a single girl in the shogi club.

Basically, I lived surrounded by sweaty guys.

I hardly ever talked to girls. Even when I did, it was just the bare minimum for school stuff or small talk.

In short, my previous life was nothing but playing shogi with gross dudes.

That’s why, in this high school life, if possible, I want to play shogi with a girl. I want to have a conversation through the board.

I want to live a flashy shogi life. That’s what I decided.

Since the gender ratio is reversed, there should be way more girls, and maybe someone will be even a little interested.

With that hope in my heart, the entrance ceremony day arrived.

I walked into my classroom. Most of the students were already there.

Some were chatting on their desks, others who didn’t know anyone were just staring at their phones.

Since it was the first day, the air felt restless, everyone sizing each other up.

Looking around quickly, the boy-to-girl ratio seemed about 1:2.

There are definitely more girls, but compared to manga and light novels where it’s 1:1000, this feels normal.

Well, the fact that chastity norms are reversed hasn’t changed.

In the end, that’s the biggest problem.

Just like Mom, Big Sis, and the terrifying siblings I saw at Senbonhama Park, the girls in my class are probably all ferocious predators.

Just imagining it gave me goosebumps.

Thinking there might be tons of girls like my sister made me want to hold my head.

Still, everyone has different personalities.

I want to believe the other girls are a bit more normal.

Besides, what I’m looking for is a girl who will play shogi with me.

Whether chastity norms are reversed or not doesn’t matter. The important thing is shogi.

Is there even one person in this class who knows shogi?

While thinking about that, I sat down in my seat, and the girl next to me glanced over.

“…………………………”

Long black hair. Perfect features.

She had a calm aura and carried herself with the grace of a refined young lady. She gave a light bow and immediately looked away.

It was just that small gesture, yet it looked like a painting, and she stood out even more in the classroom.

The guys around us were whispering, “Yukimi-san is seriously cute,” “I got rejected by her so many times in middle school,” “For real?” “Shut up,” and so on.

You could totally understand why she was that popular.

But a beauty like her is definitely worlds away from shogi.

She’s from a completely different universe than a gloomy guy like me.

After looking around a bit longer for anyone who might be interested in shogi…

The chime rang, and everyone stood up to head to the entrance ceremony.

As we lined up and started walking, the girl from earlier—Yukimi-san—was right in front of me.

She was still drawing every eye and seemed completely fed up with it.

She walked with her back straight, but her expression looked stiff, and her energy felt low for an entrance ceremony day.

In this world, I thought guys were the ones who got sexual stares and confessions and had it rough.

But when a girl is that beautiful, she probably still gets hit on by guys and overwhelmed by attention.

It’s not good to be trapped by preconceptions.

In the end, what these eyes see is the truth.

※

After the entrance ceremony came homeroom.

The homeroom teacher explained the details of our upcoming school life, and then we were dismissed for the day.

I’m sure my classmates will go check out clubs they’re interested in or head to karaoke to make friends and enjoy their youth.

Even before homeroom ended, they were already whispering plans to each other.

As for me, I didn’t talk to anyone and just sat there while time passed.

No matter how reversed the chastity norms are, if I don’t take any action myself, I won’t make friends, let alone get spoken to.

Well, that’s only natural. It’s my own fault.

But I wasn’t worried.

Because after school is the perfect time to look for shogi friends.

“I wonder if there’s a shogi club?”

I left the classroom and headed to the third-floor hallway lined with club rooms.

I scanned the recruitment posters covering the walls, searching for the word “shogi.”

“…Not here.”

Tennis club, baseball club, soccer club, light music club, basketball club, cooking research club.

There’s even a shady “Human Observation Club,” but no sign of a shogi club anywhere.

“If it doesn’t exist, I’ll just have to make one.”

In my previous life, my dad started a whole shogi parlor. Compared to that, creating a school club is nothing.

“All right!”

The moment I took a step toward the faculty office…

“Hey, you interested in tennis?”

Someone suddenly called from behind.

I turned around and saw an upperclassman girl.

“Huh?”

She wasn’t alone. Several girls had formed a perfect circle around me.

“Beginners are totally fine! Everyone starts as a beginner!”

“You can just try it out! We’ll lend you a racket!”

“There aren’t many guys in the club, but that means we all get really close!”

I stood there stunned by the sudden ambush.

Is this what club recruitment is like in a chastity-reversed world!?

Just as I thought that, I noticed the exact same thing happening right next to me.

The one surrounded and being recruited was—Yukimi-san.

My classmate and seat neighbor still carried herself gracefully, but her eyebrows were drawn together in distress.

So the tennis club’s aggressive recruitment isn’t because of reversed chastity norms; they’re just that kind of club.

They go hard on everyone, guys and girls alike.

“Just come try it once, okay?”

While my eyes drifted over there, one of the girls in front of me grabbed my arm in that opening.

“I’m really bad at sports.”

“It’s fine. Everyone starts as a beginner.”

She started dragging me away by force.

I tried to resist, but I was completely surrounded and couldn’t move.

“Come on, let’s go to the tennis courts!”

And that’s how I ended up forced into a tennis club trial.

※

““Haa……””

What a nightmare.

The first time I ever held a racket, they threw me straight onto the court to rally with upperclassmen.

I kept whiffing every ball. Even when I managed to hit one, it never went where it was supposed to…

Whiff, go pick up the ball, whiff again…