While Wandering Around Naked, I Met An Exhibitionist, The Most Beautiful Half-Nordic Girl From School. - Chapter 16: Discontent - UNCOVER -

Discontent – UNCOVER –

And so, we both stepped into the living room completely naked.

What exactly are a teenage boy and girl doing alone together?

While I kept a rational retort in the corner of my mind, I decided it would be boorish to face reality now and chose to look away.

“Wow… This is amazing. It’s so exciting.”

“It’s different from exposure outside.”

“Yeah. I don’t know, it’s still exciting to expose yourself outside, but it feels a bit different inside the house.”

“That’s because there’s no sense of danger.”

The lack of a sense of danger.

Saying something like that might be interpreted as negative, but it’s actually a significant factor in exposure.

As I mentioned before, if you pay too much attention to your surroundings, the taste of exposure diminishes greatly.

But if you expose yourself outside without caring about the people around you, you might lose the appreciation for it altogether.

In that case, it’s better to just do it alone inside the house or on the balcony from the beginning.

Therefore, balancing this aspect is crucial, but that’s not the main topic this time.

What would happen if, hypothetically, I actually did it alone at home?

“In a safe zone like your home, baring yourself completely— the pleasure and liberation at that moment are many times greater than eating barbecue alone on a day off.”

“Do you like barbecue?”

“I especially like beef tongue. I like it just the way it is, without adding anything.”

Let’s leave that aside.

“For example, you can lie down on the floor like this.”

“Rolling around.”

“Reach out to the ceiling for no reason and immerse yourself in a feeling of being like the protagonist of a story.”

“I’ve seen that in anime openings.”

“You could even start working out if you wanted.”

“The pull-up health machine…?”

“Just call it a chin-up bar.”

In short, it’s a pull-up machine. This convenient item allows you to train various muscles such as the biceps, trapezius, chest, and abs with just one machine.

“Chin…”

“…”

I’m not going to make a joke.

“Anyway, you can live a more stress-free life than usual like this.”

“I see… Indeed, it feels like a weight has been lifted. Even though I was just covering myself with a towel a moment ago, it feels a bit different.”

“Usually, it’s not a place where you go naked. That kind of unconscious conditioning is not to be underestimated.”

The reason we even bother going outside to expose ourselves probably stems from that.

If humanity hadn’t learned to “hide” without taking a bite of the fruit of knowledge, the concept of exhibitionism might never have been born.

By learning to hide, people paradoxically gained the pleasure of exposing themselves.

“It’s a bit crude, but I think it makes a big difference whether the genital area is exposed or not.”

“…Yeah, you’re right. Even just wearing underwear feels a bit uncomfortable.”

So, that’s conditioning too. Breaking free from the fixed idea of having to wear underwear gives you a better sense of liberation.

There are, of course, simple reasons like feeling cool, but the feelings that come from the experience itself, not just the logic, are also part of the pleasure of exposure.

“However, I’ve been a nudist for a long time, so this is becoming natural for me. I can’t experience the same level of liberation as you.”

“The sad saga of an exhibitionist…?”

“Yeah, it’s a sad saga…”

The more you do it willingly, the further you drift from the exhilaration you felt that day.

I call this the dilemma of exposure.

But honestly, I don’t really care.

For me, what’s important is the exposure outside, the self-expression directed at the world.

“So, you should expose yourself as much as you want. This big chest of mine can handle anything. I’m super tough.”

“Expose myself…”

“You can even vent your frustrations to me.”

I’m not very experienced in baring my soul, so I can’t explain it in detail, but I thought it might be necessary for her.

If we’re going to be open physically, we might as well free our minds as well.

Shirogane seemed to hesitate for a moment, but eventually, she slowly began to speak.

“So… let me tell you something.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“…People’s stares are so annoying!”

Wow, she just suddenly raised her voice.

“People keep staring at me even though I’m just going about my business…! And it’s not just that, guys keep talking to me for no reason…!”

“Because you look good.”

“Because of that, girls hate me and keep their distance, and stuff like today happens quite often!!”

“Wasn’t today the first time?”

“If you count from elementary school, I can’t even count how many times it’s happened!”

It seemed like even the perfect and ultimate school idol who stole everyone’s gaze had quite a deep darkness within her.

“I’m not trying to talk to them in a friendly way or anything! And ever since middle school, the way guys look at me has changed and it’s a bit scary… Even though I keep my distance from them.”

“Utsumi said he likes that kind of aloof vibe.”

“It’s not aloofness, it’s just that I don’t have any friends…”

I could really understand that feeling.

Since I’m usually seen as someone with a poker face and calm demeanor, people tend to think I’m fine being alone.

Even though the reasons for her and my situations were completely opposite, we seemed to end up in the same place.

“And there’s this too… Hey, do I seem smart to you?”

“I bet you’ve managed to stay within the top 10 of the class.”

“I was just around 60th place.”

“…But you’re good at sports, right?”

“I’m average, but I usually lose to the people in sports clubs.”

“I see.”

It’s, well… pretty normal.

I had this image that characters like her, beautiful girls, were good at studying or sports, and that it was natural for them to have better basic specs than others.

Maybe it’s the halo effect.

When people see someone who excels in one aspect, they tend to think that other parts of them are also superior.

“…And because of that, people treat me like I have a good personality too, just because I look good. Even though that’s not the case.”

“Do you admit that you look good?”

“I’ve heard it so many times since I was young… So, saying ‘Oh, no, I’m not’ would just make me seem like I have a bad personality, right?”

“That’s true.”

That’s what you call being a bit of an airhead.

If she did that, she’d probably be even more disliked by the girls.

“I’m happy to be considered good-looking, but… if it leads to this, I’d rather be normal.”

To those who aren’t blessed with good looks, it might seem like a luxurious problem.

But regardless of luxury, a problem is still a problem.

If you’re actually troubled by it, there’s no distinction between high and low.

“I’m already stressed enough, and lately, I’ve been feeling uneasy even at home…”

“Did something happen?”

“…My parents got divorced when I was little.”

“Hmm.”

“Recently, my mom got a boyfriend…”

“I see…”

It’s one of the typical examples where the parent-child relationship becomes strained during adolescence. I’ve seen it in manga and such.

“Even at school, they make weird accusations… I just started feeling fed up with everything, and before I knew it, I was over there.”

It must have been a stressful daily life. Because of her exceptional appearance since childhood, she couldn’t make friends easily. As a result, she couldn’t hone her interpersonal skills, and she attracted even more resentment from those around her.

It’s a vicious cycle. If she had been the princess of the otaku world, for instance, she might have received adoration from boys in exchange for popularity among girls. But given her personality, that seems unlikely.

“That sounds tough…”

“Yeah… it really is.”

We’re completely different, she and I. My ability to empathize and comfort others is low, so I can’t genuinely empathize with her.

But just listening to her story must be tough. That much is clear.

So, I said this:

“If that’s the case, you can come over to my place whenever you feel like it.”

“Huh?”

“At my place, it’s fine to be naked. And if you need to vent, I’ll listen.”

“Why would you go that far?”

“…Because I consider you a friend.”

Our meeting was strange and unexpected, but we’ve deepened our relationship through various experiences. And this time, she revealed her innermost feelings to me.

So, I think it’s safe to call this a friendship.

“I don’t have many friends. So if you could be my first female friend, I’d be grateful.”

I extend my right hand, as I’ve done before.

She hesitates for a moment, but then her face softens into a smile.

“…Thank you.”

Just like before, she returns the gesture, and that’s how it was.