I Went About My Life Normally Without Noticing It Was a World With Few Men, and Things Went Terribly Wrong - 1

Chapter 1: The Sudden Transformation of the World

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Looking back afterward, I think it would be fair to say that the cause of my failure lay in a coincidence I couldn’t do anything about from my perspective and that it happened at midnight. I was lying on my narrow bed, in what you might call post-climax clarity, escaping from reality.

It was a July night when the heat became unbearable unless the air conditioner was running, even past midnight. For a moment, I felt like the floor might have shaken. Wondering if there had been a small earthquake—maybe around seismic intensity 1—I searched it up, but couldn’t find any information that suggested one had occurred.

This kind of illusion happened often enough. Without giving it much thought, I stood up from in front of my computer in my room and decided I might as well go to the convenience store. Like most men who lived alone, I hardly ever cooked for myself, so convenience store bento boxes were basically my staple food.

The time was 1:20 a.m. Around here, there should hardly be anyone out at that hour, so without worrying about my appearance, I headed outside in casual clothes, taking only my wallet and my room key. The apartment building I lived in had an auto-lock on the first floor, which was why I brought my key.

I knew it was careless, but when I just stepped out to the convenience store late at night, I had a habit of not locking my room door. Since I lived on the seventh floor, it wouldn’t be easy for someone to get in from outside anyway, and even if a burglar did break in, there was hardly anything worth stealing.

Just as I was about to call the elevator to go down, someone happened to be riding it up. That elevator stopped exactly on the seventh floor where I lived, and through the glass door, our eyes met. She widened her eyes in surprise and flinched, her shoulders jerking. She was a young woman who looked rather quiet.

She had slightly long black hair that gave off a neat, refined impression. She was wearing a cool-looking one-piece dress, and even over the loose fabric, it was obvious that her chest was large. If she took it off, it would probably be even more impressive. Aside from the convenience store shopping bag she was holding, she didn’t seem to be carrying anything else, which told me she had gone out for the same reason I had.

Maybe it was just bad timing that I had witnessed this slightly sloppy side of a woman like her. She lowered her face and averted her gaze from me, and feeling a bit awkward myself, I gave a small bow. I hesitated, but when the doors opened, I figured I should at least say something, so I said to her. 

“Good evening.”

At that, she flinched again and looked up at me as if she had seen something unbelievable.

“Ah, um, h-hello… I’m sorry!”

She said that in a small voice, flustered, then hurried out of the elevator, shrinking in on herself as she trotted past me.

Hmm… I might have scared her…

I regretted it, thinking I might have done something wrong by speaking to a woman who was alone late at night. I stepped into the elevator in her place and pressed the button for the first floor. On the other side of the closing doors, she was fumbling in a panic, trying to unlock her room. Apparently, she really was the resident of the neighboring unit.

The scent lingering in the cramped elevator was probably hers. It was a calm, gentle fragrance. Aware that it was kind of creepy, I still ended up taking a deep breath. Since I was down there anyway, I checked my mailbox. After confirming it was filled with pointless flyers and direct mail, I thought I’d just throw them out in a few days. After all, the mailbox hadn’t overflowed yet. 

Because it was a hassle, I didn’t turn the combination dial, leaving it so it could be opened anytime. This was part of my carelessness too, but there were security cameras, and it was a building with good residents, so I wasn’t worried at all.

My eyes drifted to the name on the neighboring mailbox. On the mailbox for room 702, only the surname “Shirasago” was written. It had to be the name of the woman I’d just run into. I wondered how it was read. Since it was a surname, it probably wasn’t read in the on’yomi. Was it “Shirasuna” or “Shirasago”? “Shiro” might be used for the first character too. There were all sorts of possibilities.

Anyway, it felt like a beautiful name. It matched her neat, quiet appearance perfectly. Today was the first time we’d ever met, but thinking that the neighbor next door was such a cute girl made me feel lucky as I headed outside.

“Ah… Maybe I should’ve locked the door.”

Only at that point did it cross my mind that leaving my room unlocked when there had been someone around might not have been a good idea. But no matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t imagine that girl breaking in to steal anything, so I quickly shrugged it off.

If anything, she was probably the one on guard. The way she’d acted—like she wanted to hide in her room as quickly as possible after I spoke to her—made me think she had probably locked her door and engaged the double lock immediately afterward. It must be exhausting for young women, having to be careful all the time to protect themselves. I was glad I’d been born a man.

The convenience store was only a three-minute walk away. Even as I walked along the quiet street, I couldn’t get that woman out of my head. She looked to be about the same age as me; maybe she was even a student at the same university. No, no. I wasn’t planning to stalk her or anything. It was just that if we happened to run into each other again by chance, that would be nice. That was all.

Just knowing that the person in the neighboring apartment was a cute girl put me in a better mood. We might run into each other again, so I should pay a little more attention to my appearance. I should also be careful not to make too much noise in my room, I thought.

It was fine to have little perks like that. Nothing that bothered anyone, just a bit more spark in everyday life.

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While I was walking and somehow making excuses to myself, I arrived at the convenience store. Reacting to the familiar chime that rang when I entered, the clerk at the register spoke up reflexively.

“Welcome—uh…?”

For some reason, the greeting cut off midway and turned into a rising, questioning tone. Normally I wouldn’t bother looking up, but the oddness caught my attention, so I glanced over. The clerk was also a young woman.

Hey, seriously? A girl working alone this late at night? What happened to the usual middle-aged guy? 

Whenever I came at this hour, he was almost always there, working alone. That was exactly why I could come dressed practically in pajamas without worrying. Being seen by a young woman made me uncomfortable. Well, I knew there was no real reason for me to care. I was just being self-conscious. No matter how sharp my outfit was, it wouldn’t mean I could date her.

In the end, she was just a part-time clerk and I was just a customer. Our lives would never intersect. There was no need to worry so much about how I was being seen. Even so, I felt her gaze on me. When I checked, every time, the girl would be looking at me and then quickly avert her eyes awkwardly.

What’s that about? Do I look like some suspicious guy who is about to shoplift? 

That was the only reason I could think of. Being suspected without cause felt unpleasant. Keeping a slight distance from the shelves to show my innocence, I quickly picked out what I needed and headed for the register. Without saying anything, I placed my basket on the counter and waited for her to scan the items.

“Your payment will be—”

“Cash.”

Wanting to get out of there as fast as possible, I cut in with a brief answer and paid the displayed amount. By chance, the amount was perfect for clearing out the loose change in my wallet. It was a trivial thing, but my mood lifted a little.

“Here’s five hundred yen in change.”

When I held out my hand to receive the single five-hundred-yen coin, she took my hand with one of hers and placed the change into it with the other. Sandwiched between her smooth hands, I could feel her body heat. They felt slightly damp, as if she was sweating a little. The way the hand supporting the back of mine moved felt strangely like she was groping me.

“Um… Could you let go?”

“Ah, sorry!”

As if snapping back to her senses, the female clerk quickly released my hand. I put the change into my wallet, took the shopping bag, and left the store.

“Thank you very much!”

Well, she was fairly pretty, and I didn’t exactly feel bad about having my hand touched by a woman. Maybe she was just being very polite with her customer service. She probably did that with everyone. Having never really been popular, I decided that was all it was and hurried home.

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“Ah…”

After unlocking the auto-lock and passing through the automatic door, I ran into another resident by the cluster of mailboxes on the first floor. It was the woman from the neighboring apartment I’d met in the elevator earlier, Shirasago-san. She must have noticed someone coming from the sound of the auto-lock, because she hurriedly slammed her mailbox shut.

She was probably checking it because she’d forgotten earlier when she got back. She was holding a stack of flyers. I recognized them as the same kind I’d seen, but since they were probably delivered to every unit, that wasn’t surprising. I’d already checked my mailbox, so I had no reason to stop there. We weren’t acquainted enough to chat, so I gave a small nod and headed straight for the elevator.

Then Shirasago-san followed after me. Well, since she’d just returned and only came down to check her mail, it wasn’t strange… But was it really okay for her to be alone in an elevator with a man? I’d always thought that in situations like this, young women would avoid contact with men, even letting an elevator go by. So her behavior surprised me.

Putting myself aside, I was worried that she might be lacking in caution. Of course, I didn’t say any of that out loud. It was our first meeting, after all. I was supposed not to know her name, so I couldn’t even address her. I stepped into the elevator first and held the door for Shirasago-san. Just that much seemed to delight her. She hurried in, looking oddly grateful. Somehow, the distance between us was very close.

“Um, the seventh floor is fine, right?”

“Yes!”

I was a bit worried about being seen as a stalker, but we’d already mutually confirmed during our first encounter that we lived on the same floor. Saying this much should be safe, I thought and her reply came back strangely cheerful.

Riding an elevator with someone you’ve barely met is nerve-wracking…

The ride up to the seventh floor felt oddly long. And her chest seemed to be pressing against my arm… Even for a single-occupant apartment building, the elevator shouldn’t have been that cramped, yet for some reason she was pressed right up against me. 

Since it was summer, I’d gone out in a T-shirt, so my arm was bare. I could clearly feel the sensation of her breast. Just as I’d thought when I first saw her, it was quite large. And this sensation… Could it be that she wasn’t wearing a bra? Separated only by a single linen dress, a soft, yielding mass of flesh was pressed against my arm.

“Mmh…!”

When Shirasago-san suddenly let out a sultry sound, I flinched as well. For an instant, I thought I felt something hard. Could it have been an erect nipple? Her breathing also seemed a bit ragged. The sweet, feminine scent filled the elevator. But it was also possible that I was imagining things. There was no reason for her to do something like that.

If I said something strange at a time like this and got accused of being a molester, I’d be done for. It was only for a short time anyway, and for me, it wasn’t exactly an unpleasant situation, so I decided to stay silent. After what felt like an eternity, the elevator arrived at the floor where we lived. Before I knew it, the doors that had opened once were already starting to close again. I hurriedly pressed the open button, held the doors, and gestured for Shirasago-san. She bowed her head lightly and scurried off toward her room.

“What was that about…?”

After watching her enter room 702, I went into my own apartment and took a deep breath to calm myself. I’d planned to eat the convenience store bento right away, but I no longer felt like it. More than that, there was my sexual desire. 

Before I forget that pleasant sensation, maybe I should take care of my erection first…

It was while I was thinking that… The front door, which I still hadn’t locked, suddenly rattled open behind me. Startled, I turned around, and there stood Shirasago-san, the very woman I’d just parted ways with. Looking excited, she stepped into my room, quickly locked the door behind her, and even fastened the door guard.

“Uh, what…? You’ve got the wrong room.”

Completely confused by the sudden turn of events, that was all I could say. But it was obvious she hadn’t made a mistake. I’d just seen her enter her own room correctly. Meaning, she’d deliberately come here afterward.

“D-Don’t move!”

“Huh!?”

In the hand she’d been hiding behind her back, she was gripping a kitchen knife that glinted dully in the light.

Wait, wait?! Why is she doing this!? Some kind of grudge? But we just met for the first time tonight! There’s no way she… Unless… Because her chest had been touched and she’d moaned, she decided to kill the one who knew? No way. She was the one who pressed herself against me! None of this made sense!

Panicking, I dropped my shopping bag and held both hands out in front of me to try to stop Shirasago-san. That said, I had no training in martial arts or self-defense. Even though she was about fifteen centimeters shorter than me, I couldn’t imagine subduing someone armed with a knife without getting hurt.

“W-Wait, calm down—”

“Don’t make a sound!!”

The woman who had seemed so quiet until just moments ago shouted loudly enough to shatter that image. I wasn’t even making a sound, but this wasn’t the kind of situation where I could point that out. The hand gripping the knife was trembling violently.

“W-What’s your objective?”

“Isn’t it obvious!?”

She was doing something like a robbery… No, this WAS a robbery, but I had absolutely no idea why. I wasn’t rich, and I didn’t look like it. Besides, Shirasago-san lived in the same building, so she should know how much the rent here was. That meant she and I were probably in roughly the same socioeconomic bracket. Even if I wasn’t poor, this wasn’t a place worth throwing your life away over. She should’ve known that.

As I continued to stare at her in confusion, she snapped, clearly frustrated, and finally stated her goal out loud. And her demand was something I never could have imagined.

“Take off your clothes!!”

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