While Wandering Around Naked, I Met An Exhibitionist, The Most Beautiful Half-Nordic Girl From School. - Chapter 9: Exhibitionist Who Screamed 'I' at the Center of the World.

Exhibitionist Who Screamed ‘I’ at the Center of the World.

“The time has come.”

“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”

In response to my sudden incomprehensible words, Shirogane naturally throws out her question.

“Up to now it has been like warm-up exercises, or like the salad or soup before the main course. From here on, I want to let you taste the ‘meat’ of exposure.”

“I’m more of a fish person, though.”

“From now on, I want you to taste the ‘fish’ of exposure.”

But what exactly is the essence of exposure?

In ordinary exposure, it might be ‘liberation from restraint’ or ‘the sense of taboo violation,’ or in more base terms, ‘sexual arousal from showing off to others.’

I won’t say those are fake.

But at least for me, if asked what the essence of exposure is, there would be only one answer.

I want to let her experience that now.

“However, I’m not good with words, so I’m not sure if I can explain it well. So please feel it with your skin literally. Then you’ll surely understand.”

“On what basis?”

“You should understand. We’re exhibitionists, after all.”

That’s not to say we’re okay with showing ourselves off to just anyone. We’re the same type of exhibitionists.

Surely she’ll understand.

“When people expose themselves, they tend to look around. It’s impossible for a normal person to be outside naked and stay completely natural.”

“That’s… true.”

“But what if we’re discovered? What if we’re in danger? Such fears and tensions can be like spices, but at the same time, they narrow our field of vision.”

I can’t say anything about others.

Even if I try to avoid people by sensing their presence and avoiding them, I still need to be on edge.

When exposing ourselves, we inevitably become conscious of others’ presence.

But if we do that, we can’t truly understand the taste of exposure.

Then all we see are two-dimensional scenes. We don’t see three-dimensional images.

“That’s why you should know the true essence of exposure.”

Pointing my index finger up.

Shirogane, with a question mark floating over her head, follows my finger and looks up at the sky.

And countless lights pour into her eyes.

“It’s… a beautiful, starry sky…”

It was a starry sky.

Far from the urban area, in this park near the mountains, you could see a vivid starry sky coloring the azure night.

Tonight is a new moon.

In the darkness where the queen of the night has hidden, countless sparkling lights transform the sky into a masterpiece of the ages.

“…The essence of exposure is to be ‘seen.’ If you don’t want to be seen by anyone, then you should just do it alone at home.”

“…?”

“Even if you don’t want to be seen, you want to be seen. From that contradiction, we walk around outside naked. So where should we direct that conflict?”

The answer varies from person to person.

Some commit blatant sexual crimes, while others earn money in the sex industry.

Some keep their impulses hidden, while others act on them and vent them outward.

But we are neither here nor there.

We don’t commit explicit sexual crimes, nor do we put price tags on our nudity.

While we expose our impulses outward, we resign ourselves to naked wandering, not showing ourselves to anyone.

Is there anyone or anything that accepts such a human being?

The answer has always been right beside us.

“We… exist in this world with our whole being.”

Slowly rising from the bench, I take a few steps forward.

Then, in front of her eyes, I spread my arms wide and strike a pose as if feeling the world with my whole body.

“Even if society, schools, and families don’t see us… the world alone accepts us as we are.”

It’s like, for example, the scorching heat of summer.

It’s like, for example, the piercing cold of winter.

It’s like, for example, the enveloping warmth of spring.

It’s like, for example, the caressing chill of autumn.

This world always watches over us, unchanging.

It gives us a sense of being not just affirmed but inherently belonging here, beyond mere acceptance.

“You turned to exposure due to the stress of daily life. Surely, you must be feeling some suffocation in your current life.”

“…”

“That’s why you need to understand. The world itself, larger than society, is always with us.”

There’s no need to overthink it.

Just grasping it conceptually is enough.

By doing so, an infinite self-affirmation wells up within us, giving us the vitality to live each day.

After a moment of bewilderment, Shirogane slowly speaks up.

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Huh?”

None of it got through.

“Even if you talk about the world or whatever, I don’t get it. Some kind of philosophical thing?”

“Well, I mean, it’s like… um…”

“You tend to speak in a rather pretentious way, so about half of what you say is incomprehensible.”

The weaknesses of someone who, having been a loner until high school, learned conversational basics through creative works were blatantly exposed.

Being exposed was enough to bear it all.

“Anyway, if you’re feeling a bit cold, come over here.”

“Okay…”

Despite the heartfelt persuasion, it didn’t get through.

Feeling down, he sits next to her as she suggested.

Then, her blonde head gently rests on his shoulder.

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you like it?”

“No, it’s fine.”

What’s she suddenly doing?

A high school girl resting her head on a high school boy’s shoulder is practically like saying she likes him, right?

More thrilling than any mere exposure, her actions paralyzed me.

“…I might not really understand about the world and all that. But I think I’ve figured out a new way to enjoy exposure.”

“If that’s the case… then I’m glad.”

“Hey, did you get excited?”

“I didn’t.”

“Oh, you seem like you did. Let me hear your heartbeat for a moment.”

“I didn’t, so there’s no need.”

Though he refused, he ended up lending his chest somewhat reluctantly, not wanting to hurt her soft skin.

As usual, Shirogane focuses her consciousness on my heartbeat.

“…Maybe it’s a bit faster…? No, I really don’t know. Are you really excited?”

“I’m not, so it’s natural.”

“But your reaction definitely suggests otherwise.”

Oh well, Shirogane withdraws unimpressed.

Then, laying her head on his shoulder again, she asks,

“Can we stay like this a little longer?”

“…I don’t mind.”

In the park illuminated by the stars, the two of us existed with all our hearts and souls in the world.