That Half-Finished Drink Was Lethal— What Happened When I Left My Bottle Behind in a 1:4 Male-to-Female World - 4

Chapter 4: That Cloth Is Fatal

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Rin Asami’s POV

(…This is crazy. Right now, I have undoubtedly lost my mind.)

Only the rhythmic, low-frequency hum of the spinning ventilation fan manages to barely tether me to my sanity. And yet, from the dressing room behind me… the sound of the rushing shower echoes as if stroking my eardrums directly and relentlessly. As I warmed up milk for the cat in my kitchen, I desperately tried to steady my trembling fingertips.

《A world ruled by this distorted ratio: four women to every one man. In this world, men are born as the “exploiters,” and it is considered their natural right to drain the devotion of women dry.》

They make no effort, treat a woman’s love as disposable, and surround themselves with multiples as if it were the most natural thing in the world. To men, that was “normal.” I had despaired of such men and decided never to sell pieces of myself again.

Those two years of hell I endured from my university days through my first year of work. My ex-boyfriend had been rotting away after failing his dream of becoming an artist. I used my natural positivity to support him, telling myself, “I have to be the one to support him.” I cut back on my own food expenses to buy him the equipment and instruments he needed. Even after coming home exhausted from my sales job, I cleaned his room, cooked him meals, and constantly encouraged him in hopes of a comeback.

I bowed my head to acquaintances, friends, shops, and companies, begging them to promote his live shows and recordings. As a result, he grabbed a major debut.

(…I was so truly happy back then.)

But the moment he succeeded, he threw me away.

“Being with you reminds me of when I was miserable. It’s too heavy,” he said.

(That is just too much…! Even now, the memory makes my stomach churn! I was nothing more than a disposable battery used to jump-start his dream…)

…And yet, why. Why did I let a man I just met into this room? It all began just after noon today. 

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A man was stroking an abandoned kitten as if cherishing it.

“…Sorry I can’t keep you. I hope you find a good owner.”

The man, who possessed refined features and wore an air of ethereal purity, spoke those words while giving the kitten a pouch of cat food.

(It’s probably just an act or a performance, right? He’s just faking kindness, the typical cowardly male tactic to dump the troublesome aftermath onto a woman later.)

However, when I returned through the downpour, he was there again. He had skillfully set up an umbrella so the kitten wouldn’t get wet, and without regard for getting soaked himself, he was transferring food onto a small plate.

(Ah… Oh, no. You shouldn’t do that. You mustn’t do that…)

A pain like a tightening in my chest shot through me. In him, I saw the same “selfless service” that I once possessed. In this world, such devotion is nothing but a weakness to be exploited.

(At this rate… just like me, he’ll be sucked dry, broken, and thrown away…!)

“There’s no way we can leave it here like this… My place is really close. Just for today, I’ll take it in!”

I had spoken those words unconsciously. To me, as I shouted that, he said without hesitation, “I’ll carry it,” and picked up the mud-stained cardboard box.

(This is the first time I’ve ever seen a man in this world with the strength to not let a woman lift a finger.)

Watching his back as he ran, cutting through the rain, I became certain.

(This person is a “good person.” And at the same time, he is the “prey most easily preyed upon” in this cruel world.)

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When we reached the entrance of the apartment, I glanced at him and saw him shivering. Despite that, the moment he handed me the cat, he tried to head back into the rain as if it were the obvious thing to do.

“Wait a second! You’re not seriously planning to go home like that, are you!?”

“Eh? But, it would be a bother and I can walk home.”

The flashbacks wouldn’t stop. I was just like that, once. Putting myself last so as not to bother the other person, only to lose even my place to belong in the end.

“Don’t talk nonsense! Take a shower. I’ll even lend you some clothes!”

I naturally decided to invite him inside. Once in the house, he sat in the living room looking apologetic. Without even noticing the droplets dripping from his hair and staining the floor, he began to wipe the mud off the cat with the warm towel I gave him, doing so carefully and tenderly.

“Sorry, you were cold, weren’t you? You’ll be okay now.”

When he finished wiping the cat, before saying thank you, he used kitchen paper to carefully wipe up the entrance floor he had dirtied. I was stunned.

(…Why? Why can he care for that little one before himself? And to clean the entrance floor he dirtied himself… If it were my ex, he would have ordered me to clean like it’s only natural for a woman to serve him…)

He was desperately searching for what he could do himself so as not to trouble me, and then carrying it out. My heart continues to sound an alarm at that precarious figure who “gives too much.” Wanting to do something about my wet body, I stood up to take a shower first. For a brief moment, I wondered if it was okay to leave a man alone in my room? But that thought was instantly erased.

(A person this kind couldn’t possibly do anything bad.)

After getting out of the shower, I felt thirsty.

“Ah, I’m thirsty. Oh, right. I ran out of water.”

I noticed I had just run out of water.

“Ah, Rin-san. Are you out of the shower? …Would you like some water? It’s half-finished, but if you don’t mind… Ah, but you probably have water in your house. Sorry for being so presumptuous…”

He held out the plastic bottle he had been drinking from, which had been in his pocket.

(Eh…? This isn’t a proposal, is it?! Does he want to stay the night?! No, no, no! That’s not it! Knowing him, he’s definitely doing it out of pure goodwill. Aahhh, my heart is pounding///)

“…No. I was just getting thirsty… I’ll take it.”

I accepted his bottle, almost snatching it away. The place where Yuu-kun had put his lips. The moment I stared at it, an indescribable urge surged up my throat.

《In this world, the act of a woman drinking the “leftovers” of a man is defined as a substantial transfer of purity (a kiss), or a minor sexual act.》

(I mustn’t. If I drink this now… I don’t know what will happen to me in front of this person…! If I drink it all, something will break…!)

“Ah, but… maybe I wasn’t that thirsty. I’ll enjoy this slowly later.”

“…Eh? Ah, okay. Is that so…?”

Yuu-kun wore a slightly puzzled expression. It was only natural, since I had just said I was thirsty and then said I’d drink it later. It was a nonsensical response, a fatal mistake for someone in sales. But that was the best I could do right now.

“Then, I’ll take a shower next. Ah, I’m sorry for borrowing your clothes. I’ll wash them myself later.”

(…Wash them himself? Is he serious? This person truly isn’t making me his “prey.” I thought all men had rotten personalities, but here is one person with an independent soul, trying to live without parasitizing women…!)

(No. Absolutely not. I can’t let a person with such a beautiful heart go out like this. Someone will definitely exploit him. …I’m the only one who can protect him.)

(He is so kind, and so defenseless. If he goes out into the city, women will swarm over him like hyenas. They will fight over his leftovers, take advantage of his kindness, remodel him into their own convenient “prince,” and then throw him away when they get bored.)

(I won’t allow that. I’ll never allow it. …I’m the only one who has seen the same hell who can protect him.)

Yuu-kun entered the dressing room. The sound of the rushing shower followed not long after. 

(Right now, he is stark naked. In my house. Using my soap, taking a shower I use every day.)

The more I savored that fact, the more I felt my “sense of justice” transforming into an unidentifiable, murky “something.”

(…I’ll leave a towel here for you.)

I prepared an excuse for myself and opened the dressing room door. In an instant, the steam and moisture filling the room enveloped my entire face. The familiar scent of soap—and the thick, raw “scent of a man” that seemed to overwrite it with violent mass.

As my vision blurred white, my gaze caught “it” in a straight line. The laundry basket placed on the floor. At the very top, tossed aside, was the piece of cloth that had enveloped his most secret part.

(Ah…, aah…! …Boxer shorts, fresh off his body…!)

《That is a remnant of a sanctuary that eighty percent of women will never even lay eyes upon in their entire lives; for the women of this world, it is equivalent to a “lethal, potent drug.”》

The lingering scent of his intense body heat drifted in the steam. Before I knew it, I was on my knees. My trembling fingertips touched that heat-retaining cloth. The sensation of cotton that had moistly absorbed the humidity of his skin. I scooped up that cloth with both hands, and then—driven by impulse—buried my face deep, deep inside.

“Ngh…! Ah…, amazing…, haa…!!”

Directly from my nasal cavity to my brain, the existence known as “Yuu Yuuki” flowed in. My battery, which had been empty from being constantly exploited until now, was rapidly being filled with the energy known as his scent.

(…I’ll protect you, Yuu-kun. Because I—only I—will protect you…! Every time I inhale Yuu-kun’s scent into my lungs, every cell in my body screams with joy…!)

(This is not a perverted act. Because this is a “medical procedure.” A medical procedure necessary to fill my battery—in other words, to make me healthy. I don’t even quite understand what I’m saying myself.)

(I’m going to lose it… this is… I’m going to lose it! Everything, everything, will be mine alone…!!)

My waist felt unnaturally hot, and my knees trembled so much I couldn’t even stand.

(This is a real “man.” The true love, the one who doesn’t exploit, that I have been searching for my entire life.)

I once held this, and because of that, it was stolen from me. So, this time, I’d be the “one who takes.” I’d isolate this person from the world, place him under my care, and love him to the fullest without letting him take a single step outside.

(…That is the only way to save you from this filthy world. Right, Yuu-kun…?)

…I heard the sound of the shower faucet closing, and I snapped back to my senses as if struck. I hurriedly put the underwear back—no, I didn’t want to lose even a bit of that scent, so I carefully hid them between other clothes—and in their place, I laid out a new pair of trunks my ex had left behind.

Then, I dashed out of the dressing room.

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“…Idiot. It’s fine. I’ll take care of everything.”

I couldn’t look him in the eye properly as he talked about washing the clothes and returning them. Glancing outside, the rain from before had stopped as if the earlier downpour had been a lie.  When Yuu-kun confirmed that, he tried to leave quickly before it could rain again. I thought about holding him back for a bit, but I decided against it, thinking that any more excitement might be life-threatening.

Soon, Yuu-kun opened the entrance door and left. After seeing him off, I locked the entrance door.

Click.

To me, that was the “starting signal.” I returned to the dressing room once more and scooped up the “lethal fabric” I had hidden between the clothes in the basket.

“Thank goodness. It’s right here. He didn’t find out…”

I pressed those underwear firmly against my face, my neck, and then my heart.

(…I’ll do everything for you. The laundry, the meals, and looking after you. Yuu-kun, you just need to stay in my room and live on nothing but my love.)

(The men of this world are all the type who just take from you. Right now, at the bottom of that hell, I have thought of a most beautiful, most sweet “certain plan.”)

(Yuu-kun, you don’t understand just how precarious an existence you are, do you?)

(Being that kind to everyone like that… what do you intend to do if a woman other than me finds your underwear now?)

“…That’s why I’ll ‘protect’ you. So you never have to feel sad like I did again…”

Alone in the dark room, I pressed my lips to the bottle he left behind. It was a ritual to reclaim the “sincerity of my own self” that was once stolen, and to sublimate it into “monopoly.”

“…I’ll never let you get away again. Yuu-kun.”

(I don’t need that fake sales smile anymore. Because now, I have someone I must protect more than anyone else in the world.)

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