After finishing changing in the multipurpose restroom, I headed back to the classroom.

The moment I stepped inside, the sight that greeted me made me stop in my tracks.

—What… is this?

Not everyone was doing it, but several pairs of socks were lined up drying on the backs of chairs, the window-side railing, and on top of the lockers at the back of the room.

On top of that, the room was thick with the fresh scent of antiperspirant spray mixed with the damp smell of sweat. I couldn’t help but grimace at the raw, humid heat pricking my nostrils.

“Ugh…!”

“Kazuto-kun, another episode?”

Aoi tossed in the comment like it was nothing, completely unfazed by my confusion.

Right… if boys are treated as if they don’t exist here, then it makes sense this place would end up feeling like an all-girls school.

But wait, do all-girls schools normally dry their socks in the classroom?

“Don’t call it an episode! No matter how you look at it, drying socks out in the open is weird! It’s way too indecent!”

“Well, yeah. Seems like some classes don’t do it, but this class is the kind that does.”

“What do you mean, ‘the kind that does’…!? Make them stop…!”

Swallowing those complaints, I headed back to my seat—only to be struck speechless.

What I saw was Asuka—her appearance so different it threatened to overwrite my middle school memories of her entirely.

“Even though it’s only spring, it’s already so hot. I should’ve brought one of those mini fans.”

“Right? Also, Asuka-chan, your legs are seriously beautiful.”

“Really? I don’t work out or anything, so at least I try to keep up with massages.”

Her ribbon loosened, a few buttons undone at her chest.

Asuka chatted away, idly swinging her bare white legs back and forth.

…Honestly, it was a feast for the eyes. Being able to admire Asuka’s collarbone and bare legs like this was nothing short of a reward. But that wasn’t the real problem.

The socks hanging out to dry on the window-side railing—they looked like they belonged to Asuka.

Swaying gently in the breeze blowing in through the window, they sent my thoughts reeling.

…No! I wasn’t some pervert who got excited over girls’ socks!

Even if she was the same cute Asuka I’d fallen for!

I was desperately denying it to myself when it happened.

A sudden gust of wind swept in through the window, lifting the socks off the railing.

Then, tracing a perfect parabola through the air, they landed squarely on my face.

“…………”

I unconsciously flared my nostrils and took a deep breath.

Sniffffffffffff.

I was completely hooked.

“…Ah…”

Even Asuka, who’d been ignoring me up to that point, apparently couldn’t let this slide.

She stared straight at me, her cheeks rapidly flushing red.

“Sni—”

“Sni?”

“D-Don’t sniffiiiiiiiit!!”

“Ack!?”

“Kazuto-kun!?”

With a sharp, clean sound, the slap landed against my cheek.

Even if I was treated as an “inferior species,” it seemed that having her socks sniffed was apparently more than she could tolerate.

A completely unexpected, powerful blow from Asuka, who had never once laid a hand on me before. My left cheek burned bright red, throbbing with heat.

…But strangely, disgust wasn’t the only thing I felt.

It was the same with Shiramine Sanzu getting angry during the changing incident. If they truly treated me as if I didn’t exist, they wouldn’t react like this.

In other words, I definitely exist to them. Even if I don’t understand this world yet, and even if I’m just an inferior species.

And so, just for a fleeting moment, I allowed myself to imagine the future.

The possibility that I might genuinely become close with them.

For the record, Asuka’s socks smelled like fabric softener mixed with a faint, acidic smell.

…To be honest, I think my fetishes might have just been warped a little.

◇◇◇

After school. Just as planned, I headed home with Aoi in tow.

“I’m home.”

“Welcome ba—”

The moment I slipped the key in and stepped into the entryway, my mom greeted me in her usual bright voice.

But the instant she noticed Aoi peeking out from behind me, that voice cut off halfway.

“…………”

My mom’s expression froze solid in an instant.

I’d had a bad feeling about this. But there was no backing out now.

“Mom. I know what you want to say, but calm down. This is Aoi. I’m letting him into my room today.”

“I-I’m Hareruya Aoi! P-Please excuse the intrusion!!”

Overcome with nerves, Aoi bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle, like a triangular ruler.

My mom frowned slightly, a complicated look on her face, but she kept her eyes fixed on Aoi standing beside me.

“See? You said it yourself, didn’t you? That I should try getting along with boys.”

“I did… say that, yes, but…”

“He’s special to me. Please don’t judge him based on his gender alone.”

“Kazuto-kun…!”

Aoi’s large eyes shimmered with moisture as he looked up at me.

To be honest, it felt embarrassing, but I felt this kind of performance was necessary right now.

I knew my mom couldn’t bring herself to like any boy other than me. So I’d been prepared for there to be a wall between them from the start.

But if I wanted to live even a little more comfortably in this world, then pushing forward like this, one step at a time, was the only option.

“…All right. If you say so, Kazuto. Aoi-kun, make yourself at home.”

“Y-Yes! Thank you very much!”

At last, my mom relented.

With that, I’d managed to successfully invite Aoi into the house. Letting out a sigh of relief inwardly, I led him straight to my room.

“W-Woaaah…! This is my first time ever going into a boy’s room…!”

“…Coming from a guy, that doesn’t make me happy at all.”

My honest thoughts slipped out. If I had a choice, I’d much rather hear something like that from Asuka—or from a girl.

Aoi did have a cute face, sure. But no matter how you looked at it, a guy was still a guy.

My honest thoughts slipped out. If I had a choice, I’d rather hear that from Asuka or any other girl.

“My room’s totally different from yours! Your room’s really simple, Kazuto-kun.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah! My room’s full of cute stuff—like plushies I secretly won at the arcade!”

“Huh… I kinda figured, but I guess you really do like cute things.”

“Yeah! Actually, I’ve really taken a liking to that ‘chinchin’ word you told me about. It sounds so adorable!”

“You…! Don’t say that in public! That’s a term for genitals!”

“But you’re the only one who knows that word, Kazuto-kun. I don’t think anyone else would even know what it means if I said it.”

“I-Is that so…?”

That explanation somehow made sense to me, but it also sparked another question in my mind.

Come to think of it, I wonder if there are other terms for female genitalia in this world.

“Anyway. There’s a reason I invited you over today. I wanted to hear a lot of things from you, Aoi. From another guy like me.”

Mom and my sister are women. There are plenty of things I just can’t ask them.

But Aoi’s different. Since he’s a guy, I can ask him anything without holding back.

About how this world works. About what’s considered normal here.

“Yeah! If it’s me you’re asking, I’ll answer anything!”

“Then let’s start with something you mentioned earlier while we were changing. You said hot springs are off-limits to men, right? I’m a bit fuzzy on how things work, so I’d like you to explain it properly.”

I love baths, especially large public baths and open-air hot springs.

Not being able to use them at all… that’s nothing short of hell in this world.

“Oh, that. I guess the way I put it was misleading. You can’t use the large communal baths, but private ones, like family baths, are fine. It’s not like staying at an inn is forbidden, either.”

“W-What!? In that case—no, but when you say hot springs, you mean the big communal baths, right…? You can only really enjoy the benefits in a large tub…!”

I couldn’t help but groan.

A cramped family bath could never compare to that sense of openness.

“Alright, let’s put the hot spring thing aside for now. Are there any other things men are restricted from, or areas where men and women are treated differently?”

“Hmm… I think you already know about restrooms and changing rooms, but as for sports clubs, there basically aren’t any that accept boys. Cultural clubs should be okay in theory, but whether you’re accepted or not depends on the girls in that club… still, I’ve never actually heard of a boy joining one.”

“I see… then if I wanted to start a new club myself, there’s at least a chance I could do it, right?”

“I-I guess… it’s technically possible, but… whether a teacher would approve it is another matter…”

Aoi’s answer was vague.

But he didn’t say it was completely impossible. Which meant there was still a path open.

That’s right. I need to gather this kind of information, even if it’s only little by little.

So I can live and enjoy myself in this abnormal world.

“Aoi, tell me more.”

And with that, I kept drawing out one piece of information after another from Aoi about this world.

To organize what I’d learned so far, it came down to this.

・Men were always pushed to the back of the line, and women were given priority in everything.

・There are very few types of men’s clothing, with barely any options to choose from.

・The very idea of a man attacking a woman doesn’t exist and is believed to be impossible.

・There are shops that men are not allowed to enter on their own.

・Even as adults, men can’t hold positions of authority, and are relegated mostly to menial work.

・Many companies refuse to hire men at all.

・Across all forms of media—manga, television, advertisements—men basically don’t appear.

・And even when they do, they’re often portrayed as incompetent or as villains.

・Not just at Bira High, but at all schools, there’s a general push to encourage romance.

・Like Aoi, boys are generally frail in build, with cute, delicate-looking faces making up the majority.

・Women fall in love, marry, and have children with other women.

・For some reason, only girls are ever born.

—Just as I’d suspected, this world is a thoroughly female-centered yuri society.

Men aren’t needed here, pushed instead to the fringes of society.

If things go badly, it might even be possible to be shut out of higher education entirely.

“Ah, right.”

In the middle of our conversation, something suddenly came back to me, and I headed over to the bookshelf.

There was something I needed to check.

It was certainly still there.

Proof that, even in this world, I’d properly graduated from middle school.

I had no memories of how I’d spent my time in middle school here.

But… no matter how I thought about it, there was no way I’d been treated well.

I spread the album open on the table, flipping through the pages together with Aoi.

The first thing we looked for was the class photo for Class 3-A—

“……Ah. There you are, Kazuto-kun.”

“…Figures. Off in the corner…”

My family name is Fukase. Alphabetically, I should’ve been listed somewhere in the middle.

But my name had been left out of the main list, my photo placed in a separate section instead.

There I was in my uniform, captured with an expressionless face—as if all emotion had been drained from it.

And sure enough, I was the only boy.

All the other boys had been erased without a trace.

In their place were girls I didn’t recognize mixed into the class—faces I had no memory of… It was unsettling.

And then I found her—the girl who had been my girlfriend. Otomi Asuka.

Even in the photograph, she was dazzlingly cute.

So I really must have stood out as an oddity in this class as well.

If someone like that suddenly called her by name, it was only natural she’d reject him.

Which meant Asuka’s reaction when we talked in front of the park on the day of the entrance ceremony made perfect sense.

I kept turning the pages, but no matter where I looked, I wasn’t in any of the photos.

While the other girls appeared in pictures from the cultural festival, sports day, and various school events, I alone was nowhere to be found—as if I didn’t exist at all.

“It’s the same for me. This is how boys are treated in albums.”

“…I see. You’ve had it rough too, Aoi.”

I was his first friend.

Thinking about how lonely Aoi must have been all this time made my chest ache.

“Anyway, Aoi. Hang on a second.”

“Huh? W-Wait, what are you—?”

“Just trust me.”

Leaving Aoi behind, I snuck into my sister’s room.

I rummaged through her dresser and borrowed a few pieces of clothing. Apologizing silently in my head, I headed back to my own room.

“Here.”

“…Women’s clothes? And even a wig…”

“I found one close to your hair color. It should work just fine.”

“Ehhh!? What are you planning to do!?”

Maybe the concept of cross-dressing doesn’t exist in this world.

But from my perspective, Aoi’s features are almost too perfect. Honestly, he’s cuter than most girls.

“Sorry, but this is for what comes next. Try them on. The size should fit.”

“W-What are you saying!? I-I’m a boy, you know!?”

“Easy now. I don’t want to force you… It would be much better if you undressed on your own.”

“W-Wait, Kazuto-kun?! What are you planning to do with my clothes?! I’m a delicate boy, you knooow!”

That wasn’t just an act—Aoi really was weak.

Before he knew it, I had him stripped down in the blink of an eye and forced him into my sister’s clothes instead.

“…Damn. You seriously look like a girl.”

“T-This is… me…?”

Reflected in the full-length mirror was a blonde, beautiful girl.

A slender frame, perfectly symmetrical features, a small chin, and long eyelashes. Though he lacked a chest, his overall silhouette was distinctly feminine. Coupled with his androgynous voice, anyone who didn’t know his actual gender would undoubtedly take him for a girl.

“Hm… this could be useful. Aoi, do you have any siblings?”

“Um, yeah. I’ve got an older sister.”

“I see. That makes things easy!”

“H-Hey, what do you mean by ‘easy’?!”

“There’ll come a time when this is useful. So I want you to really master dressing like this. You’re incredibly cute.”

I need allies.

If possible, someone who can pass as a girl.

Someone like Aoi—who can exist on both sides—would make for the perfect trump card.

“Eeeeh!? …But Kazuto-kun, praising me that much isn’t going to get you anything, you know?”

“Even the way you’re blushing is just like a girl…”

With his cheeks flushed, Aoi looked like a girl no matter how you saw him.

…But I knew the truth. Back when I changed his clothes, I unfortunately had already caught a glimpse beneath his underwear—Aoi’s ‘ultimate weapon’.

Ignoring my thoughts, Aoi spoke up in a quiet voice.

“…Actually, you know. My sister’s made me cross-dress a few times before.”

“…Seriously!?”

It caught even me off guard—I could only stare at him in shock.

“So that’s why I know a little about makeup, too.”

“Hey, hey! that’s perfect!”

—This will definitely come in handy someday.

Convinced of that, I showered Aoi with praise.