“My name is Kokonoe Touka.” 

I am a high school freshman girl who just enrolled this spring.

As for my appearance… it’s a bit embarrassing to say myself, but I’m gloomy, introverted, plain, and unfashionable—basically, I’ve got all four covered.

My thick, round glasses and my unkempt hair could practically be said to symbolize just how unremarkable I am.

Of course, I understand this myself completely. 

But this is who I am. I never expected to change dramatically now, and I figured I’d just have to go on living like this forever—that’s what I’d always thought.

When I was little and began to develop a sense of self, starting to take interest in the world around me, I noticed something strange.

That this world contains two kinds of people: “women” and “men.”

I was still very young then. One day, while we were walking through town, my mother said this to me:

“—Touka, don’t get close to inferior species.”

With those words, the existence of men was deeply carved into my mind as something I must never involve myself with.

Don’t talk to them. Don’t take an interest in them. Don’t get involved.

Without even needing to consciously follow those rules, I grew up through kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school without ever having any connection to men at all.

As I grew older, the girls around me gradually started to dress up more, becoming cuter and cuter with their clothes and makeup.

But me… I just wasn’t the type to take an interest in those things. What I liked were manga, light novels, and yuri games—the kinds of hobbies people would call typical for a shut-in.

Of course, I had my longings.

Dating a cute girl, going on dates together, sharing a kiss—and maybe even going further than that.

But for someone as plain and unremarkable as me, there was no way such chances would ever come. My youth simply slipped by without anything happening.

The turning point came in my third year of middle school.

I had become a member of the library committee, and one day, while I was organizing the old bookshelves in the library—

By chance, a single book slipped free and fell to the floor.

It was so covered in dust that I couldn’t even read the title. Without thinking, I picked it up and flipped through its pages.

“……Huh?” 

What leapt out at me were countless secrets I’d never known before.

That hundreds of years ago, men had existed in numbers comparable to women.

But what really mattered was what came after that.

“—A woman… with a man’s body…?”

Because I’d picked up knowledge early on through manga and games, I immediately understood what it meant.

That men and women had once engaged in intimacy and produced children together. 

As I read on, the book even described the origins of the device now commonly known as the uribou.

It had originally gone by a different name, and as the number of men declined, its existence was gradually forgotten, its name and shape changing over time.

The surprises didn’t end there. 

It even recorded that, though rare, relationships between men themselves had once existed.

People had called it “腐” (fu) and enjoyed it as a form of culture in its own right.

From the perspective of modern society, where sexual relationships and marriage between women are the norm, it was a set of values utterly beyond imagination.

I was completely captivated by what the book contained.

From the moment I learned all this, I changed.

Despite being someone who was supposed to like women, I found myself, before I knew it, becoming strongly drawn to the unknown existence called men.

They were called inferior species, a presence that had long been scorned.

Normally, something one should feel disgust toward.

And yet, I couldn’t help but become deeply interested in men.

Ah—but if possible, the one I’d want to date would still be a woman… really, I mean it.

From there on out, I was desperate. 

I searched through all kinds of literature at nearby libraries, dug through materials in my school’s library, and even chased down internet rumors that bordered on urban legends.

But nowhere could I find information as vivid as what had been written in that dust-covered old book I’d picked up that day.

And then came the autumn of my third year of middle school.

While I was agonizing over my future path, I happened to overhear a conversation among my classmates

—Hanabira Academy High School has a long history, going back hundreds of years. Its library is enormous, and the policies are relaxed enough that they even allow manga.

Those words completely captivated me.

If it was Hanabira Academy, then maybe—just maybe—materials like that old book were still sleeping there somewhere.

I set my sights on Hanabira Academy—and passed the entrance exam without issue.

And then, after enrolling, I was shocked. In my class, there were actually two male students.

For the first time, I was able to see young men up close.

During class, I kept sneaking glances at them, careful not to get caught.

—Ah… amazing…

What especially caught my eye was a boy named Fukase Kazuto-kun.

He was completely different from the image of men I’d had until then.

Ordinary men are about as short as women, physically weak, and even their voices are soft and high-pitched.

But Fukase-kun was tall, broad-shouldered, and had a low voice.

He looked so confident and imposing that it was hard to believe he belonged to what people called an inferior species.

The girls in the class were all sneaking glances at him too.

But the fact that he was an inferior species seemed to snuff out that interest, and it was quickly forgotten.

I was different, though. I couldn’t take my eyes off him

During lunch break, I found myself following the two boys—Fukase-kun and Hareruya-kun—as they headed for the rooftop.

In this world, it’s unheard of for boys to get along with each other. Meeting one at all is rare to begin with. And yet, the two of them were talking and laughing together.

—So this is fu…!

I muttered to myself, and in my excitement, my glasses fogged up.

My chest pounded, my head grew hot, and my body started to tremble.

One day, I want to interact with them—

But someone like me, who could barely talk to girls, had no chance of ever speaking to a boy.

So instead, I decided to take action toward my original goal.

The committee assignments were decided during morning homeroom.

In a small voice, I desperately volunteered for the library committee.

And just like that, I successfully became a library committee member.

After school. I was immediately assigned library duty as part of my committee work, and I said to my senior:

“I-I’ll take care of the cleanup and locking up…! You can head home first…”

“Oh? All right, I’ll leave it to you then.”

After seeing my senior off, I was finally alone.

In the vast library, I headed for the spot I’d already set my sights on—the shelves lined with history books.

One by one, I took books off the shelf, flipped through their pages, then put them back.

“…Guess it won’t be that easy to find.”

As it turned out, I hadn’t made much progress.

I sank down onto the floor and let out a sigh toward the ceiling.

I stood up to start tidying, and just as I picked up a book and turned back toward the shelves—

My legs suddenly gave way, and I stumbled, bracing myself against the wall with my hand.

—Click.

A small sound echoed.

I’d meant to brace myself against the wall, but instead, a mysterious gap had formed there.

“……Huh?” 

I pressed on it cautiously. With a creak as old wood groaned in protest, a small room opened up beyond the darkness.

“No way… a hidden room?”

When I switched on my phone’s light, what appeared before me was—rows of old books lining shelves.

“—Books! Books, books, books…!”

The words slipped out before I could stop myself.

Even though I was alone, I was so overwhelmed with excitement that I couldn’t hold it in—my nose even started bleeding.

From a bookshelf along the wall, I pulled out a single book that looked especially old.

The moment I brushed off the dust and flipped through its pages—

“No way…!”

My heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst, and my legs gave out beneath me.

What was written there was knowledge that was supposed to have been lost—the structure of the male genitalia.

“——The forbidden book.”

A barely audible whisper escaped from my lips. 

Information that, in the modern age, had already been sealed away and erased.

And yet, here it was, sleeping in this hidden room.

And so, from that day on, I began secretly spending my days visiting the library’s hidden room.