Someone Who Believes They Can Live Normally in a World Where Chastity Is Reversed (Did You Think You Could Live Normally in a World With a Male-To-Female Ratio of 1:5?)

Waking up to the notification on my smartphone has become increasingly common lately.

“Ugh…”

I groaned, reminiscing about how the main heroine in a game I used to play often made cute moaning sounds like this.

Realizing that my own voice sounds just like a mere groan.

“What time is it?”

I checked my phone.

The lock screen showed 10:28 AM. Looks like I slept in till almost noon, even though it’s Sunday.

But it couldn’t be helped. Last night, Yusuke-san (the boy) invited me out for ramen, and I ended up committing the sin of eating late into the night, so I couldn’t just fall asleep right away. I think I finally drifted off around 3 AM.

By the way, as Yusuke-san was leaving, he got a call from a woman and hurriedly rushed off. The darkness ran deep.

I scratched my head absentmindedly and headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

After washing my face, I brush my teeth. Then, I remember that I woke up to a notification and decided to check my pocket for my smartphone, which I had left there.

Notification:

<Koiumi>: [Good morning!!]

[So, how about we go to the batting center next time for real!]

[I’m confident, you know!!]

…What were we talking about again?

Oh, right! We were talking about how Koiumi was playing softball or something like that.

I’m confident in baseball too, so I was probably boasting about being better than her.

In this world, it seems like girls are generally better at sports. Well, when you see someone like Yuka, you can’t help but wonder, “Are there really middle school girls this good at sports???,” you know?

I think it’s just a difference in sample size. If it were just a difference in physical strength, men would still be stronger… I think.

I’ll leave Koiumi’s message on read for now and reply after I finish breakfast.

Along with Seira-san, Since I exchanged SNS contacts with Yuka and Shiori-chan, my smartphone has been quite lively lately.

They’re all so diligent. They could just contact me when they need something. I opened the refrigerator and looked for something that could pass as breakfast.

There’s not much… I’ll make some toast with cheese and ham since there’s ham. I never feel like eating breakfast in the morning. But I still try to eat something since skipping meals during the day isn’t healthy.

“What should I do today?”

Days without work or university are relatively free for me. I’m grateful for my part-time job, even though it’s only a few times a week. Shiori-chan’s tutoring job pays so well that I can’t help but wonder if some mysterious force is at work…

Come to think of it, I checked my phone again. Yuka mentioned that the tournament is coming up soon. She’s been contacting me since early this morning, so she’s probably at club practice by now.

She’s really something.

Alright, I’ve decided.

Today, I’m going to play some basketball. I need to get some exercise in.

And, I should probably start taking it seriously soon, or else I might lose to Yuka.

She’s such a kind girl. Even if I win, she won’t kick me out of that park like she promised, but still, losing to a middle school girl would be a blow to my pride from a past life.

I take a bite of the perfectly toasted bread and prepare to head out for basketball.

—

The park was fairly crowded today, probably because it’s a holiday.

It’s not the type of park with lots of playground equipment; rather, it’s the type with benches and a pond for enjoying nature, so it’s not overrun by children like some parks.

And tucked away in the back of this park was a quiet basketball court, making it a hidden gem.

“Hmm… But it looks like someone’s already here.”

Today was a holiday.

Even at this secluded basketball court, it seems there’s already someone here on a holiday.

As I approached listening to the sound of the basketball bouncing on the ground…

“Huh…?”

And when I could finally see into the basketball court, I noticed something.

Among the four or so people playing basketball, there’s one with fresh black short hair and a glinting blue hairpin.

Today, she was probably wearing the school-designated jersey. It was none other than…. Yuka Maeda, whom I’ve already become quite familiar with.

And the other girls around her… Wait, there’s also a boy.

They’re all wearing the same jerseys as Yuka. So, they must be students from the same school.

“Yuka’s practicing with her club members here… She’s really something. I should pat her next time.”

Watching Yuka lately has stirred up my protective instincts.

The contrast between her cute appearance and her serious expression when playing basketball was really something.

I wonder if this is how you’d feel about a little sister.

“Huh…?”

I had been thinking about just dribbling around in another empty spot and going home, but something seems off.

I decided to keep a close eye on the situation.

Yuka’s expression looked quite painful.

Considering they were practicing in this heat, it’s understandable, but what’s strange is the other members.

Clearly, they’re laughing as they watch Yuka. And it’s not a friendly laugh; it’s more of a sneer.

…Bullying?

A bad feeling rushes through my head. If it’s bullying, I have to stop it. But barging in and interrupting might seem like meddling… Ultimately, it would’ve been better if I hadn’t hesitated.

One of the girls near Yuka swings her elbow, hitting Yuka square in the face.

Yuka falls to the ground forcefully. Seeing this, the others around her laugh. Something snaps inside me.

Yuka is dominating. How did it come to this? Seeing Yuka being bullied, I completely lost it.

Looking back now, I realize I got so angry back there because Yuka had become someone important to me without me even realizing it.

She’s such a good kid. I wish I had a little sister like her… Wait, saying stuff like that might get me arrested. That’s dangerous.

Well, anyway, right now, Yuka was flawlessly demonstrating the results of her usual practice, showing off her skills to her seniors. Honestly, I could tell the skill difference after the first play.

Yuka was clearly superior, and, Ah, that’s just how it is with normal middle school girls. It’s reassuring, in a way.

And once that realization dawned on me, it became abundantly clear that I was overstepping my bounds.

Sure, if I went all out, winning would be a certainty. But that wasn’t the goal here.

The goal was to show that Yuka had earned her spot on the starting lineup through her own efforts.

Right now, Yuka was putting on a show, facing off against three senior girls from the team.

And there was something else that had caught my attention.

When they were all ganging up on Yuka earlier…

A certain boy, standing off to the side, watching with an uneasy expression.

Wearing the same school jersey as Yuka, he seemed uncomfortable throughout the whole ordeal.

I couldn’t shake the feeling, so I decided to approach him.

“Hey. Why are you participating in bullying Yuka? It doesn’t seem like you have any grudge against her.”

“That’s… Ayako asked me to… My girlfriend, Ayako, was feeling sad…”

Ayako… Hearing that name jogged my memory.

When Yuka had been excited about the possibility of playing in the game… She had mentioned receiving encouragement from a senior named Ayako. …Somehow, things were starting to make sense.

“So, did she ask you to do this?”

“N-no! Ayako didn’t want something like this…”

“Then, hypothetically speaking, if Yuka gets seriously injured because of this, can you proudly report that to her?”

“But…”

And from what I gathered, that girl, Ayako or whoever she was, probably wasn’t a bad person.

At least, not compared to the others here. I couldn’t say for sure what was going on in her mind, but at the very least, she had encouraged Yuka to do her best.

Maybe she felt frustrated. But being able to genuinely support someone in that situation showed a commendable character.

“Be someone your girlfriend can be proud of.”

“…”

“What you should be doing isn’t bullying Yuka, causing her injury, or helping your girlfriend play in the game. It’s cheering for her, supporting her. It’s watching her practice and lending a hand when she steps onto the court with her own abilities, don’t you think?”

“…”

…I guess I might’ve sounded preachy there.

But, well, it’s what I truly believe. I don’t know if this boy was coerced by those girls or had some other motive.

He did participate in the bullying. That much was undeniable. But while the past couldn’t be changed, the future could. All I could do now was hope that this boy would choose the right path.

Shifting my gaze back to the court… Yuka’s dribbling skills were improving.She bypassed one, then another.

I recognized those moves well. Ones I often used. Maybe she saw and learned from me.

Truly… she was a hardworking girl.

And as she faced the last opponent… She jumped. Backwards.

Haha… so she finally picked up on that move. I think I mastered that around my second year of high school…

The destination of the ball, tracing a beautiful arc, was already apparent. So, I looked at her. Even as she leaned back to shoot, her profile was shining brightly.

And when it was all over, I rejoiced with Yuka over her victory.

That guy, with a stern tone, said something to the girls, and afterward, the girls apologized to Yuka. To say that their actions deserve forgiveness would be stretching it, honestly.

It was fortunate that it only ended with minor injuries, but it easily could have escalated to the point of needing an ambulance. But throughout it all, Yuka’s reactions remained subdued.

She didn’t seem very interested. It seemed like she was only thinking something along the lines of “It’d be nice if I could play basketball at school more easily from now on.”

Seriously, she’s such a basketball nut! Show a little more concern! As I watched Yuka tidying up the ball… I saw blood on her cheek.

Apparently, when she got elbowed, her cheek got cut.

Ah! Come to think of it, I thought about buying band-aids when I fell off my bike the other day! I shoved them into my bag thinking, “I should bring these just in case!”

Thinking that, I reached into my bag and quickly found the band-aids. Oh well. Yuka worked hard today, so it can’t be helped.

I’ll put it on for her. (Who do I think I am?)

“Yuka, wait a moment.”

“Huh…?”

Um… There’s a slight cut on your right cheek. I can’t forgive seeing a scar on Yuka’s cute face, can I? (Extremist)

My eyesight has been getting worse lately, and I can’t see the wound well unless I get closer. Huh? Wasn’t I supposed to disinfect it first?

Oh well, I don’t have any disinfectant with me, so whatever. She closed her eyes tightly and I stuck the band-aid on Yuka’s cheek.

…? Why did I put so much effort into that? She’s cute though.

“I’m glad~ Since I fell off my bike and got injured the other day, I stocked up on band-aids in my bag! There was a little blood coming out of your cheek, but this should be fine now. I should have noticed it earlier… sorry, sorry!”

“…”

With a bewildered expression, Yuka touched her cheek.

There, was the band-aid I had just put on.

And in the blink of an eye, Yuka’s face turned bright red.

“……!!”

“Whoa?! What’s wrong, Yuka?!”

Before I knew it, she lunged at me.

I instinctively held Yuka close to my chest.

…Maybe she’s tired from everything that’s happened.

I don’t know what Yuka has been through at school.

But just from seeing what happened today, I could easily imagine the extent of the harassment she must have endured. Yet despite all that, she always played basketball with me with a smile. There must have been many difficult times.

“…You did really well, Yuka. You were amazing.”

And that was the truth. Today, Yuka was incredibly cool. I continued to stroke her glossy black hair for a while longer after that.