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?)

The facade of purity I had donned fell off too easily.

“Um… what happened?”

I couldn’t tell if he was pretending not to see it or genuinely didn’t notice, but Masato-san was trying to fix the curtain that had been protecting the bookshelf.

No… it’s impossible that he didn’t see it. I saw him clearly looking towards the bookshelf. But it was embarrassing. It was unbearable.

Masato-san is kind. He’s pretending like nothing happened.

…How pathetic. How embarrassing am I?

That thought made my heart ache terribly. Along with the shame, everything I didn’t want Masato-san to see welled up inside me.

“Ah!”

“Shiori-chan!?”

I dashed out. I left the room and hurried down the stairs without even hearing my mother’s voice coming from the living room.

I couldn’t help it, I just had to run out of the front door.

I kept running. Running. Until this feeling subsides.

In the distance, the sun was setting. Oh, was it already this late?

When that sun sets, will the time for me to be next to Masato-san also end? On the way, tears began to overflow.

I can’t let Masato-san see the tears of such a dirty girl, so it can’t be helped.

Ah, everything… is over.

I thought I might become the heroine of the story, but the world was too harsh for a village B character like me.

I learned that it’s not so easy to become a heroine just by buying something a little nice and putting on a little makeup.

Reality hit me hard.

Reality is really… not kind at all.

I ran to a nearby riverbank, exhausted, and tried to sit down on the grass…

“Ugh!”

I tumbled down the grassy slope due to my momentum.

“Ugh… hahaha… what am I doing?”

The nice outfit I had prepared was now covered in grass. My knees were bleeding from somewhere I must have scraped them.

My set hair was completely ruined, of course.

It’s good that there’s no one around. This posture, this disheveled breathing, it suits me perfectly right now.

“I’m such an idiot… He was always too good for a trash otaku like me, huh?”

I know. I know I’m someone who’ll never measure up no matter how hard I try. I should have known better.

When Masato-san looked at the bookshelf, I was in such pain because…

I still thought that maybe I could stand by his side.

Because he was a bit kind to me.

Because he took a picture with me.

I misunderstood.

I was so naïve. Me.

Oh, I’m so, so lame.

Even at a time like this, though…

Heroes always come, regardless.

“Shiori-chan!”

…Ah, heroes really are heroes, aren’t they?

Even though there should be other things he could be doing, I thought that. The sight of Masato-san running over to me with worry, it’s still so wonderful and cool.

It’s too dazzling for me.

“Are you okay?! Oh, you scraped your knees! Um… here, here… let me wipe off the grass from your clothes and… hmm, let’s stop the bleeding with this handkerchief…”

He brushed off the grass from my clothes with his hands and used a handkerchief to stop the bleeding from my knees.

I should probably stop him. If I were to act like a heroine, there are words and actions I should take.

But I don’t have that right anymore.

“Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you being kind to me?”

For the first time, I interacted with Masato-san as Shiori Shinomiya, showing my true self.

“You saw it, right? The bookshelf. I’m a huge otaku, you know. Well, it’s quite shocking, isn’t it? Like, ‘I gained three stepbrothers.’ I mean, it’s a pretty unbelievable story, right? Remarrying and suddenly having three stepbrothers? You must be thinking it’s quite a tale. Oh, but surprisingly, they’re all really nice guys. Especially the oldest one. He usually acts all tough because he’s got younger siblings, but when it’s just the two of us, he gets all clingy and adorable. You probably didn’t need to hear all that, huh? Haha.”

I thought, might as well.

It’d be better to just expose myself now than to have Masato-san think, “This girl’s actually an otaku,” while we were still spending time together. It’d be easier to handle being told “You’re gross” and getting him to quit as my tutor.

So, I went for it, full throttle. But even so, being rejected by someone you’re truly infatuated with was still painful.

I was too caught up in speaking rapidly and staring at the ground to see Masato-san’s expression. I was too afraid to look him in the eye.

Timidly, I glanced back at Masato-san.

“Huh? What’s that? Sounds interesting.”

“Uh, what?”

A weird noise escaped my lips.

“Huh, interesting. Is that how things work in this world? And then what? What are the other two like?”

“Oh, well, you see…”

He wasn’t rejecting or distancing himself. He wasn’t even showing signs of being overly cautious.

His expression was simply one of genuine interest.

Given my lifelong involvement in otaku culture, I’ve become somewhat adept at gauging genuine interest from others based on their expressions and language.

Thanks to this skill, I’ve managed to establish reasonably good relationships with my female friends.

And now, that same skill tells me that Masato-san in front of me is genuinely interested in what I have to say.

Huh? Is that even possible?

Lost in thought, I continued speaking.

Even in moments like this, I found myself effortlessly explaining my favorite works, which made me chuckle.

And so, we talked for a while.

“Haha! That sounds really interesting! I’ll make sure to read it before my next visit.”

“Huh?! Uh, really? Seriously? Oh, in that case, I’ll lend you the book…”

“Ah, thanks!”

How did things end up like this?

Confusion overwhelmed me. As I was still thoroughly bewildered, Masato-san stood up and stretched.

“Well, shall we head back?”

“Uh, um, wait a sec. Can you wait for me?”

With a perplexed expression, the cool and composed Masato-san turned towards me.

Every time I looked at him, I couldn’t tell if this was reality or not.

I just couldn’t tell.

“Um, I’m actually an otaku. Pretty hardcore.”

“Huh? Yeah…”

“No, I mean, yeah, but… you know, like, creepy stuff! You know what I mean!”

“Yeah…”

Why do I have to be the one saying all this?!

What about my feelings?!

“I wonder. I feel like I understand that you’re an otaku and has some kind of complex about it.”

“Well, yeah, most otakus do feel that way!”

“Hmm, maybe my reaction is weird and wrong. But…”

Masato-san gently brushed the grass off my hair. My heart pounded loudly.

This person, after all…

“Even though I know lots of wonderful things about Shiori Shinomiya, why would I suddenly start to dislike you or feel repelled?”

—He said it so casually.

This person, I feel like I wouldn’t mind them knowing everything about me.

With that thought in mind, I stood up energetically.

“Ugh! I’ve had enough! I won’t hide anymore! I won’t pretend to be someone I’m not! Take responsibility for it!! Don’t be repulsed by the real me!!”

“Haha! Good, you’re feeling better. I’ve actually been thinking for a while that I want to talk with you more, Shiori-chan, just as you are.”

“I’ll talk to you about anything!! I’ll tell you all about those gross games you’d wish you hadn’t heard about!! Just the thought of your beautiful face contorted in embarrassment gets me all excited, huh!!”

“Huh? You think my face is beautiful? That makes me happy.”

“What’s up with your ear structure anyway?!”

Ah, this is fun… so much fun!

I don’t need to pretend anymore. I can just be myself with Masato-san. Just that makes me so happy. It feels like my heart is clearing up.

“Ouch!!”

I completely forgot about the wound on my knee.

“Oh, your knee still hurts, huh?”

“Yeah, well, it’ll heal if you spit on it, right? Fufu…”

“What’s with that klutzy move?”

My emotions were like riding a rollercoaster.

I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore. Just blurting out words without involving my brain.

As Masato-san, who seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, murmured, he came up to me and squatted down.

Huh?

“Here, hop on. Might be a bit sweaty, though.”

“Huh? It smells more like flowers to me. It’s like every fabric softener in the world is apologizing…”

“That’s a little scary in its own way…”

W-wait, is this… piggyback ride?!

This is way too intense all of a sudden… squish…

But it’s clear that he really trusts me, so I can’t do anything weird.

Timidly, I climbed onto Masato-san’s back. Wrapping my arms around his neck.

And slowly… a feeling of floating.

Masato-san’s broad back. A faint scent of Masato-san.

The warmth I can feel. Everything is so irresistibly precious. It’s embarrassing, but I’m so happy.

What should I do? If I get too excited, it’s creepy, I need to keep calm.

“The history of the Universal Century¹https://gundam.fandom.com/wiki/Universal_Centuryis now–“

“…Gundam? And that’s a short history.”

This person who goes along with such silly banter, he’s truly the best.

I slightly turn back.

The sunset I saw in the distance has already sunk below the horizon.

—-

Once the day had ended beautifully, it could have ended with a simple “Great job today!” But, in my case, it seems it couldn’t be that simple.

“As for that guy, Miaki–“

“That’s awful!”

“Yeah, she’s really trash–“

On the way back, with Masato-san carrying me, it was a very happy time.

And yet.

It was truly just a fleeting moment. During this time when the streetlights began to illuminate the surroundings, I enjoyed the view of Masato-san’s back to the point where I could poke holes in it…

(Huh?)

It was there, at the base of his neck. A red, oval-shaped mark.

Even as a virgin, I could tell. This was a kiss mark.

“――Huh?!”

“…? Is something wrong, Shiori-chan?”

A voiceless voice escaped me. Whether Masato-san noticed I was holding my breath or not, he turned his face toward me for just a moment.

An innocent face. A perfectly proportioned… exceedingly pure expression.

Yet, there were indeed marks engraved on that body. Marks left by someone else. Masato-san is cool. His personality is perfect.

It wouldn’t be strange for him to have one or two girls around him. That’s what I thought.

But seeing it like this――

I felt… excited.

Huh? Why?

Normally, it wouldn’t be strange for feelings of despair or jealousy to arise. But I was terribly excited. Because if it wasn’t me, someone else had pinned down Masato-san.

If they had turned this pure and beautiful young man into a mess, leaving marks behind.

Just imagining that scene of passion, my body was overwhelmed.

“Ah…”

“Shiori-chan, what’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry… I have a nosebleed…”

“Huh?! Wait a moment, I’ll get some tissues…”

Ah, the depths of human nature were truly profound. But, I want to see more.

I want to see Masato-san accepting the desires of women without hesitation. And I certainly don’t think I can have such a wonderful person all to myself.

That’s why I want to share him.

I firmly grabbed the base of Masato-san’s neck as he fumbled to take out tissues from his pocket.

The person who should be the farthest from these dirty female emotions was accepting them.

In real-time, surely.

And this is the proof.

I stare at the part where the “mark” was left.

Ah, my body is unbearably hot.

For this, I could even prostrate myself in embarrassment. If only I could. If only I could do it.

Someday, I too…

Want to turn Masato-san, who is so cool and resembles a hero from a story, into a mess.

I want to make him a mess.