Striving to Become the Ideal Man in a World of Reversed Chastity

“Hey, Hikasa.”

“Eh? Ah, y-yes! What is it, senpai?”

I hesitated for a moment about what to say to Hikasa… but decided to ask directly because it was too troublesome to beat around the bush. Why should I overthink things in a dream world?

“Why are you so nervous?”

“Eh!? I-I’m n-n-not nervous at all! Not one bit!”

“Oh, okay? I see.”

But she was clearly flustered, wasn’t she? And for some reason, my “puberty-driven pervert radar” was going off strongly. Hmm, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but there was something about Hikasa right now that reeked of that distinctive virgin awkwardness.

(That’s it, when in doubt… “reverse the concept”!)

I felt like some wise person from the past once said that when you were troubled, it helped to “reverse your thinking”. So I tried reversing not my “thinking” but the “concept”.

In other words, instead of wondering why Hikasa was acting suspicious, what if I thought about how I would act if I were in her position? Well, thinking about it probably wouldn’t…

(…Oh!)

…Actually, I had experienced the same situation. During my first year of high school, I’d once gone to the sports center with a beautiful female senior manager from the soccer club (who had a boyfriend) to purchase supplies, just the two of us.

(Ah, I see now. I also felt nervous in the same situation during my first year.)

Back then, I was excited about going out alone with a female senior for the first time. I was nervous and my heart was racing, so I kept talking to her non-stop… but it all fell flat, and I just remembered the sad memory of making her smile awkwardly the whole time. Thinking about it now was embarrassing.

(But would Hikasa really get nervous being alone with me?)

I tried to look at myself objectively. Did I have enough charm to make a girl’s heart race? No, I didn’t have that kind of appeal. It was sad to admit it myself.

I mean, my looks were just slightly above average (according to me)… Oh, but according to Kashima-san, my body was “insanely erotic”… Wait a minute?

(…Oh! Is this a situation where she’s going shopping alone with an “insanely erotic” senior with a muscular body!?)

Ah, no wonder she was nervous—even I would get excited hearing a description like that!

Plus, just being alone with someone of the opposite sex made you a little nervous. I even said earlier that being alone with Hikasa was like a “date”.

…But honestly, maybe because of the “I think this is a dream” buffer and the “had my chest thoroughly fondled by Kashima-san” buffer, I was not fazed at all by this kind of situation. In a way, maybe I’d become an invincible man right now. It was kind of like the feeling of playing a dating sim game.

But for Hikasa, like the old me, this must be a heart-pounding situation.

“…I see, I understand now.”

“W-what do you understand!? I told you I’m not nervous!”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.”

“D-do you really understand?”

My junior denied it with all her might, but it was okay, Hikasa. Getting flustered and having trouble speaking properly with someone older of the opposite sex was an everyday occurrence for us, so don’t worry.

And I also realized that Hikasa had plenty of potential. Potential for what, you ask?

Of course, to become a puberty-driven perverted boy… no, a puberty-driven perverted girl. Surely Hikasa would someday become a full-fledged girl like the complicated Kashima-san.

For the sake of this future comrade, what I could do for Hikasa now was… let her experience “that puberty-specific erotic imagination” and help her grow. Yes, that was the only way.

(Hikasa! I never got any help with my growth from the female manager senior, so you’re lucky!)

With these thoughts in mind, I pondered what I could do for Hikasa. I could make her happy with words like I did with Kashima-san earlier, but… hmm, what would be good?

(Well, let’s take a little break first.)

I couldn’t come up with a good idea, so I decided to stop thinking and take a break. Then, to get some sugar, I took out the lollipop I always ate from my bag. I liked these lollipops, so I bought a variety pack and usually kept them in my bag.

While humming a tune, I took out my favorite cola-flavored lollipop from the variety pack and gave it one lick.

“…”

“…Huh?”

Hikasa was staring intently at me.

“Do you want one too, Hikasa?”

“Eh? Ah, yes! I’d like one.”

“Okay. What flavor would you like?”

“Oh, then I’d like cola flavor too!”

“Sure. Let’s see…”

I looked through the variety pack searching for cola flavor. But…

“Sorry, I’ve been eating all the cola flavored ones, so there aren’t any left. This was the last one.”

“Oh, I see…”

“Sorry about that, all the other flavors are still there though.”

“No, no! It’s fine, I like the other flavors too!”

“Is that so? Then… ah.”

At that moment, while looking at the cola-flavored candy I had just licked once, I thought about the current situation. If there was something that would make me happy to have the female manager senpai do in this situation, it would be…

“Well then… would you like this one?”

“…Eh? …EHHH!?!?”

Saying that, I handed the cola-flavored lollipop that I was holding to Hikasa.