In a World Where Chastity Is Reversed, I Kept Provoking Girls Until Things Went Too Far - Chapter 23-24

Chapter 23: Reflection and Photos

After that, the police arrived at the karaoke box.

Once everyone had been questioned one by one, the group dispersed with a stern warning.

Mina, who kept causing a scene even after the police showed up, got taken to the station for further questioning. She hadn’t crossed any real lines, so she probably wouldn’t get arrested.

It was completely dark outside by then. The air in the taxi on the way home was freezing cold, like hell itself.

Mom stayed silent the whole time. Sis kept her arms crossed and glared at me nonstop, while Mio stared down at her lap with a blank expression and didn’t move.

When we got home, the family meeting—which had become a kind of routine court session for me—started up.

This time, Mom’s lecture was on a whole new level of intensity, something I’d never heard before.

…I ended up crying a little.

By the time the scolding from all three of them wrapped up, the morning sun was already shining into the room.

As reflection on this incident, I realized I’d been too lucky with the people around me and had underestimated women’s desires in this world… Maybe I just lacked any sense of danger.

But it really made me happy that they seemed to see me not just as a boy, but as a genuine friend…

The gaming, bowling, and restaurant were all actually fun…

This whole mess dealt a huge blow to Kouta, but it might have been a good chance for him to rethink the relationships between men and women in this world one more time.

After school, Kouta had come to the photo club’s clubroom because going home felt awkward after the other day’s fiasco.

“…U-Um, please treat me well.”

Kouta entered the after-school clubroom and quietly closed the door.

“Oh? What’s up, Kouta? That’s the first time I’ve heard you greet like a scared little animal.”

Mashiro-senpai, the club president, turned around.

Today, she had her hair tied up and wore serious-looking glasses, but she still had that same carefree vibe.

She stopped polishing her camera and tilted her head.

“Huh? Oh, no, it’s… nothing…”

“That doesn’t look like a ‘nothing’ face, does it?”

Sliding in from the side was the usual Narumi-senpai.

She gave him a half-smile and that signature sticky gaze.

“Could it be because of yesterday’s incident?”

Kouta flinched and his shoulders jerked.

“H-How do you know about that…!”

“Your big sister was yelling complaints all over the classroom.”

Mashiro answered flatly.

“I figured your lack of caution would drag you into something big sooner or later.”

“H-Hey… Even the president…!?”

“Thanks to your sister, you’ll be the talk of the school for a while. Word is you even got the police involved.”

The two seniors exchanged looks and chuckled together.

“So, how was it? Surrounded by girls—must’ve been that popular, everyone-loves-you vibe you adore, right?”

Narumi-senpai leaned on the desk with her elbows and leaned in with a grin.

“P-Please stop… It’s turned into a trauma for me…”

“Hee hee. Who knew the day would come when Kouta-kun used a word like ‘trauma’?”

Mashiro-senpai shrugged.

“But yeah, news like that is all over the world these days. You learned the scary side of girls the hard way, huh?”

“It’s scary and all that, but… now it feels like no matter what I say, I’ll step on some massive landmine…”

“Landmine, huh… So you’re scared of us right now too?”

Narumi-senpai peeked in, half-amused.

Kouta looked away.

“N-No, it’s just… you’re kinda close…”

“Huh, so you’re running away?”

“I didn’t say that!”

“Hit the nail on the head. You do have some cute sides.”

“Stop it, Narumi-senpai! Lines like that are the scariest!”

Mashiro burst out laughing.

“Hahaha, nice. You’re not your usual self today—you’re all meek and humble.”

“Come on, just stop…”

“Okay, enough teasing for now. The light outside looks beautiful today, so let’s head out for some shooting. It’ll be a good change of pace.”

Mashiro-senpai smiled lightly as she readied her camera.

A few minutes after passing through the school gate after classes—the three members of the photo club were at a small nearby park.

Late spring, the sky was still bright, and sunlight filtered through the trees swaying in the breeze.

It was the perfect time for taking photos.

“Okay, Kouta-kun. Sit on this bench here.”

Mashiro-senpai beckoned lightly.

“Huh, am I the model?”

“Of course. You’re the perfect subject—no one better.”

With that, Mashiro-senpai snapped the shutter.

“—Yeah, that expression.

…The way the breeze catches your hair and moves it isn’t bad either.”

“Hey, Kouta.”

Mashiro-senpai said as she lowered her camera.

“You know, photos are super honest—they capture your expression and heart just as they are.”

“…Huh.”

“So that face from earlier? It was great. It caught the real ‘you right now’—all genuine.”

“G-Getting praised like that… makes me embarrassed.”

“Hee hee. Looks like you’re starting to get your groove back, bit by bit?”

“D-Don’t point it out every time!”

The shutter clicked again.

In the park, where spring breeze mixed with laughter—somehow, it felt a little like salvation.

—

Chapter 24: The Class Assignment Commotion for the Nature Study Trip

It was the end of spring, around the time when the cuffs of school uniforms started feeling a bit warm.

More than a month had already passed since the start of school.

“Hey, did you hear? The ‘nature study trip’ next week.”

“Yeah, the overnight one, right? We’re going to the mountains by bus.”

The classroom after school had a slightly more excited vibe than usual.

Talks about group assignments and what to bring popped up all over the class, mixed with laughter.

Kouta was peeking at a printout with his friends Yuri, Otowa, and Aya from the seats behind him.

Every year at this time, the first-year students at this school went on a two-day, one-night nature study trip.

The main events were a 20 km walking hike called the training excursion and a camp fire as the highlight. The purpose was to build on the community that was starting to form by this point and strengthen friendships and class unity through the event.

Since it was an overnight trip, quite a few boys skipped it for one reason or another, and the teachers went along with that.

But I figured I’d join since I wanted to enjoy high school life anyway.

Staying home alone gets boring after all.

“By the way, it says here it’s mostly group activities… Kouta, you’re in our group, of course, right?”

“Kouta, you can totally come to our room at night ♡”

“If we go to your room, it’ll be a huge problem, so you come to us.”

“No way, I’m absolutely not going!!!”

I couldn’t help raising my voice, and Yuri grinned mischievously.

“It’s a joke. Even we’re not ready for ‘that’ yet.”

I shrugged at the usual teasing.

“Anyway, I’d like to get along with other classmates sometimes, so another group sounds good too.”

The moment I muttered that, every girl in the class turned to look at me all at once.

“Huh!? Wait, then join our group!”

“No fair! My group will definitely be way more fun!”

“Yuri! You guys are always together, so let us have him this time!!”

“That’s got nothing to do with it! Kouta, think it over!”

In just a few seconds, the classroom turned into a battlefield.

The girls surrounded the desks in a circle, sparks flying around Kouta as they went, “Our group,” “No, ours,” “No, no, ours is the most comfortable!”

“H-hey, calm down! Let’s think about this coolly…”

“Then let’s decide it fairly with rock-paper-scissors!”

“No hard feelings no matter who wins!”

“No way, there’ll definitely be hard feelings!!”

Kouta stood up to stop them, but the girls weren’t listening at all.

If anything, his flustered look just got them more riled up, like “Kouta’s so cute when he’s troubled.”

“Kouta, if you can’t decide, I’ll make some lots for you!”

“No, you’d totally rig it!”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Hey, calm down a bit!”

Kouta waved his hands, but no one was stopping anymore.

Sometime along the way, a paper saying “Kouta Custody Rock-Paper-Scissors Tournament!” got stuck on the blackboard, and the girls were glaring with serious eyes.

“I’m not giving him up no matter what!”

“God, this is my one wish in life. Let me win this rock-paper-scissors!”

“Rock, just rock. The only thing I can trust is my fist…”

The chaotic classroom door slid open with a bang.

In came the homeroom teacher, Mr. Yamamoto, with a frown on his face.

“What’s all this noise?”

“T-Teacher…!”

“…It’s probably about which group Kouta joins, right?”

The classroom fell silent. The girls exchanged glances, and someone muttered softly, “We’re in the middle of a war.”

Mr. Yamamoto let out a deep, deep sigh.

“Alright, that’s enough. Everyone gets decided by lots.”

“Ehhh!?”

“If you’ve got complaints, you don’t have to go on the nature study trip at all!!”

That shut everyone up.

Then they wrote names on slips of paper, put them in a box, and the teacher drew them one by one.

“Let’s see, Group Three… Kinoshita, Sato, Izumi, Aida… and—”

The whole classroom held its breath.

The teacher’s hand pulled out the last slip.

“…Kouta Takeda.”

“Yes!!!”

“…For real.”

Joy from some parts of the room mixed with clear sighs of “We lost.”

Otowa looked quietly at Kouta and gave a small smile.

“We’re together again, Kouta.”

“Y-yeah. Feels kinda fateful.”

“Fateful… That’s a nice word. Makes me a little shy.”

The other girls nearby grumbled in low voices at the exchange, like “No fair” or “I’ll totally curse you.”

Mr. Yamamoto, still holding the stack of printouts, slumped his shoulders.

“…This much fuss just over groups… I wonder what it’ll be like at the actual site…”

Then, in an exhausted voice, he said.

“Okay, everyone take your printouts and head out for today!”

And so, the nature study trip group assignment commotion came to an end.