Struck by Asuka’s shocking words, I was left speechless.

“You… don’t know me?” 

“I feel like I might’ve seen you somewhere before… but I can’t remember…”

Asuka frowned thoughtfully. 

“Wait—hold on. We went to the same middle school, didn’t we? Same class, and we even graduated together!”

“You know my name, so that means… ah, were you the only boy?”

“…The only boy?”

Words I couldn’t begin to understand were hurled at me one after another.

Just when I thought she’d finally remembered, she said I’d been the only boy in our middle school class? That couldn’t be right.

Besides, if we had shared a classroom for three years and seen each other’s faces daily, there was no way she could forget me. 

And if we’d shared the same classroom for three whole years, there was no way she wouldn’t remember me.

A cold shiver ran down my spine as I pulled out my phone from my pocket and frantically checked my contact list. 

Then— 

“No way… Bunta! Kaito! Hori! Masato! Korosuke! …Have you all disappeared…?”

The teammates I’d sweated alongside in the soccer club back in middle school.

The male classmates I’d laughed with right up until graduation.

Every single one of their names was gone from my contacts, as if they’d never existed in the first place.

Even Asuka’s contact information, something I should have had, was nowhere to be found.

The only two contacts left were my mom and my sister.

…My dad’s contact wasn’t there either.

“Are you done yet? I need to go to the entrance ceremony…” 

“Uh… yeah…” 

I couldn’t hold Asuka back any longer. 

Despite the heavy haze weighing on my chest, today was still the day of the entrance ceremony.

After seeing Asuka’s back as she walked away, I somehow pulled myself together and headed to school on my own.

◇◇◇ 

A large sign at the school gate read “Entrance Ceremony.” 

The cheerful scene that should have been bright and welcoming now felt oddly distant and cold to me. 

I walked toward the school building and checked the class assignments posted on the bulletin board. Finding my name, I made my way to Class 1-A. 

As I slide open the door with a clatter— 

“……” 

A sudden barrage of gazes. 

For some reason, the classroom was filled only with girls. Their gazes felt cold and at the same time, completely devoid of even a shred of interest.

They quickly looked away, and my chest tightened. It felt slightly frightening. 

Then another shock hit me as I stepped further in. 

…What is this smell!? 

A sweet, floral, soft fragrance permeated the entire classroom. 

Could the air really change so drastically just because there were more girls? 

Up through middle school, there had clearly been more boys than girls. But now, looking around this place, all I could see were girls.

Asuka’s words about “the only boy” echoed in my mind. 

At first glance, it looked like a dreamlike harem setting.

But that sweet illusion was about to be shattered far too easily.

A seating chart was posted on the blackboard. My seat was in the very last row by the window. 

It felt like the protagonist’s designated spot in a romantic comedy. 

Feeling just a little bit reassured, I headed over to it.

And the person sitting right in front of me was… Asuka. 

We had just met about ten or fifteen minutes ago. 

Yet, as soon as she saw me, she turned her face away and looked out the window. 

A complete display of indifference, as if rejecting my very existence. 

My chest ached painfully. 

Even though she was someone I’d once been lovers with, had those days we laughed together truly vanished forever?

Still, I didn’t want to give up. 

So I decided to speak to her, even if it was one-sided.

“Sorry for suddenly calling out to you this morning. …But I still want to get along with you, Asuka. So, for now, let’s at least get along this year.”

“…” 

There was no reply.

The Asuka who used to smile at me might already be gone for good.

Just as I set my bag down, a student came over to the seat next to mine.

When I lowered my gaze—trousers. Clearly, a boy.

“…Nice to meet you.” 

I hesitantly called out. 

If I got ignored here too, my heart might actually break.

“H-Hello. I never thought there’d be another boy here… I’m Hareruya Aoi. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Fukase Kazuto. …Wait, you’re a really pretty boy.”

The boy standing in front of me looked just like a beautiful girl, with how well-formed his features were.

He was short and slender, with a small frame. His soft, golden hair reflected the light, giving him an androgynous air that suited his name perfectly.

“Is it okay if I call you Aoi?”

“Of course. Then I’ll call you Kazuto-kun.”

“That’s a relief. …Asuka—the girl in front of me—ignored me, and it almost broke me.”

I lowered my voice and whispered what had just happened into Aoi’s ear.

“Eh… You actually talked to her!?” 

In that instant, Aoi’s expression froze.

Without understanding the reason, another chill ran down my spine— 

“Oh? I just greeted her normally…” 

At that moment, Aoi stopped me, his voice trembling.

“W-what are you doing!? Talking to girls is absolutely forbidden!” 

“Huh? Why!?” 

“Why…!? isn’t it obvious!?” 

And then, what he said next made me doubt my ears.

“Because we boys…. are an inferior species.”

“…Huh? Inferior species?”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. 

Aoi had definitely said it just now.

Who could ever imagine a boy with such refined features speaking so disparagingly about himself?

Small and slender, with a delicate build. Somewhat androgynous, with an air that made you want to protect him. A pretty boy who wouldn’t look out of place even among a group of girls.

Just judging by his appearance alone, wouldn’t his life be on easy mode?

There must be girls who like cute boys too. 

Especially someone like Aoi should normally be in high demand and naturally popular.

But what he said didn’t fit that picture at all.

The very existence of “boys” themselves—meaning all the men in this world, myself included—were inferior species.

That was what Aoi’s words implied.

A creeping sense of dread crawled up my spine.

My mind conjured the worst possible scenario. 

Seeing a world filled entirely with women, this was what I’d been thinking to myself.

Had I somehow wandered into a reversed chastity world?

But the reality was different.

Rather than being doted on, men held no value at all. If anything, we were something to be excluded.

The girl sitting in front—Otomi Asuka. 

In the world I knew, she should have been right beside me, laughing with me right now.

But she didn’t know me. As if her memories of me had been wiped away from the very beginning.

Even the very existence of the male friends I’d spent my middle school years with had vanished.

The same was true of my dad. The reason he hadn’t shown up that morning wasn’t because he’d overslept. Most likely, his very existence had been erased from this world.

Everything was vanishing. 

Everything was being cut away. 

The worst possible world for men that I could imagine, based on the meaning of the word inferior species.

It was a world where love, marriage, and even having children could all be completed between women alone.

In other words, this wasn’t a reversed-chastity world created by a broken gender ratio.

—It was a world where men had been culled, resulting in a severely skewed gender ratio… a self-sufficient yuri world.