Chapter 7: Something is wrong

Ten days since school started.

Lately, I’ve been in a really bad mood.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I was sulking.

My mood swings wildly in real-time, as if I have bipolar disorder.

Of course, it’s good.

Across my past and current life, my lifelong wish has come true.

The chance to enter a girls’ school and indulge in yuri fantasies as a student isn’t common.

No, rather than uncommon, this is definitely my last chance.

Thankfully, it wasn’t a disappointing situation where reality differed from my imagination once I got in.

In fact, it’s beyond my expectations.

Just seeing incredibly pretty and cute girls chatting makes me think, ‘I’m glad to be alive.’

So, I should be beyond just good; I should be happy…

Lily.

Why do I keep getting involved with people around me?

No, in the first place, why are pretty, dramatic, white flower-like girls becoming the people around me?

Dana is a childhood friend, so that’s understandable, but Alicia.

And Serina too?

Serina.

As soon as I recalled those three bewitching syllables, I wanted to tear my hair out.

‘It’s, it’s so lewd.’

‘Clipping nails, of all things.’

‘That alone was lewd enough, but a hand massage with hand cream…’

Kyaaak….

‘So, ugh,’

‘To put it bluntly, and this is really blunt…’

‘…It’s no different from having s*x in the classroom…!’

‘That foxy girl.’

‘Looking so innocent.’

‘Think you can get away with anything just because you can smile sweetly?’

‘Huh?’

Thanks to that, I wasted my entire weekend.

Of course, it wasn’t for some sweet, fluffy reason like constantly thinking about it and my heart pounding.

If I were a girl suited for yuri, it definitely would have been like that, but I’m not.

I spent the whole weekend agonizing over how to get less involved with other girls because of that incident.

‘If things go on like this, we’ll really end up becoming close.’

‘That is absolutely not the outcome I want.’

I felt like I wanted to appeal my true feelings to someone.

‘Just because I have a rotten core packaged plausibly in the form of a girl doesn’t mean I have the slightest intention of crossing the line.’

‘Yeah.’

‘That kind of act, it’s not anyone else, but I myself cannot forgive it.’

‘Please, pleeeease, don’t try to insert trash like a TS girl into pure yuri.’

‘Are you an idiot who doesn’t even know the basic rules of the industry…!’

“Lily.”

‘What’s the problem?’

‘What is it about me that keeps attracting these girls?’

‘Is the problem ultimately that Alicia and Serina are too nice?’

‘But just being nice isn’t a reason to have s*x in the middle of the classroom, is it?’

‘It’s unfair.’

‘I don’t have a problem.’

‘Even excluding my rotten mental state and inherent limitation—being a TS girl—that’s true.’

‘People naturally want to make friends who are on their own level.’

‘Of course, one might misjudge their own abilities, but that’s usually when they aim too high, not knowing their place;
they’d never want to associate with someone they think is below their level.’

‘Being considerate once or twice due to awareness of others’ gazes is something that can happen,
but if what’s happening to me stopped at that level, I wouldn’t be agonizing like this.’

‘Dana might be an exception.’

‘She’s too accomplished and pretty to be my friend, yet we’re often involved.’

‘When she was too young and not fully socialized, she had the misfortune of meeting me, and so…’

‘In short, she was scammed by me and her life was ruined.’

‘TS exposure—isn’t that the worst possible punishment one could inflict on a flower-like yuri pretty girl?’

“Lily.”

‘Anyway, in that sense, I must be a substandard human being itself.’

‘Objectively speaking, I don’t have a single outstanding strength.’

‘Am I good at studying? Not really.’

‘Even with memories from a past life, being an idiot doesn’t change, so my grades weren’t all that great.’

‘Getting into a prestigious school like this was barely possible,
a result of painstaking effort and a miracle combined, just scraping by.’

‘Well, I often make excuses like I don’t have the capacity to study because of my yuri thoughts.’

‘Also.’

‘My hair color might have been a standout feature in my past life,
but here, people have all sorts of wildly colored hair as they please.’

‘Pink hair?’

‘It’s treated as, “Oh, that’s a bit unusual,” and that’s about it.’

‘Pink hair aside, what’s with these breasts?’

‘I have no use for them, so why are they so big?’

‘Am I some kind of boob monster?’

‘Large breasts on a pure and gentle beauty like Serina are a plus, plus, super-duper-highly-favored element,
but for me—who isn’t particularly a beauty, is barely above average height,
and is a million light-years away from words like ‘pure’ or ‘gentle’—having them is useless.’

‘Beyond not being yuri-like, it’s a design you’d see in some kind of erotica, so it even feels somewhat grotesque.’

‘This is why I can only rate myself as not fitting into the yuri world.’

‘Lest you misunderstand, no matter how well I might seem to fit in externally,
I have zooooooo much as zero intention of putting it into practice.’

‘Anyway, that’s just how it is.’

“Lily.”

‘It’s the same with the name Lily.’

‘How is that “lily” (yuri)?’

‘It doesn’t suit me at all.’

‘I don’t like it.’

‘It doesn’t stick well to my mouth or ears, so sometimes I wouldn’t even recognize it as the word calling me.’

‘It’s ridiculous.’

‘I’ve been hearing it for 17 years already.’

‘Let’s just say it’s because I’m an idiot.’

“Lily.”

While I was lost in thought for a good while longer,

I was forcibly pulled out of my stream of consciousness.

The moment my vision cleared, Alicia’s sulky face was right in front of me.

Since I couldn’t dare to utter harsh words like, ‘Holy sh*t, you scared me!’

I, somewhat uncharacteristically, shrieked ‘Hieeek!’ and faced her.

“Why don’t you answer when I call you?”

“No.”
“It’s just, I didn’t recognize it…”

“What?”

“It’s just, yeah, something like that.”
“Ah.”
“I’m fine today too.”

It was obvious she was going to ask, ‘Are you okay today?’ so I beat her to it.

It was my secret trick to reduce the time spent next to her by even a second.

‘Though it’s a bit pathetic that I agonized all weekend only to come up with this as a solution.’

“What about your cold?”

“Cold?”

“You had a cold, remember?”

“Did I…”

“Ah.”

“The cold.”

“Right, I had one.”

“It got all better over the weekend.”

“Hmm.”

“Wh-why?”

“Nothing.”

“Never mind.”

“More importantly.”

“I have something I’m really curious about, can I ask?”

She said, broaching the subject with a serious face,

I automatically tensed up and gulped.

“Why the box…?”

“Ah.”

“This.”

I was, in fact, currently inside a f*cking huge cardboard box.

It was big enough to easily hide my entire body.

“Uh.”

“Well.”

“About this.”

‘It’s to stop you and Serina from approaching me, you see…’

There was no way I could say that, so I ended up beating around the bush.

“B-but.”

“How did you know?”

“What?”

“That I was in here…?”

“…”

Alicia’s blue eyes, meeting mine through a hole punched in the cardboard, seemed to be screaming, ‘Are you an idiot?’

“No.”

“You don’t have to answer.”

“No, please don’t answer…”

“This is your seat.”

“Ah.”

“Don’t make that face.”

“I won’t say any more.”

“More importantly, it’s conspicuous, so I’ll get rid of it.”

“Uhm…”

‘This was the result of my agonizing all weekend.’

After coming out of what I had believed to be my ‘Yuri Flag Prevention Fortress,’ I saw Dana in a corner, laughing her head off at me.

‘Hey.’

‘You told me to do this!’

‘Th-th-th-th-that sly girl is making fun of me?’

‘When I first got the advice, I genuinely rejoiced, thinking, “My friend is a genius!” Give me back my childlike innocence…!’

“So.”

“Why do such a foolish thing?”

“Keuk.”

“Looks like it’s hard for you to answer.”

“…”

“Well, whatever.”

“More importantly, are you busy today?”

[Beep-beep-beep-beep—.]

The Yuri Flag Evasion Radar in my head sounded a warning.

[Emergency.]

[Emergency.]

[Alicia is trying to get involved again.]

[Respond quickly.]

I steeled myself to answer firmly.

“Yes.”

“Make some time even if you’re busy.”

“…”

‘Why did you even ask in the first place?’

“I have things to do today…?”

“I’ll wait.”

“Well, you see.”

“It probably won’t be finished until tonight?”

“I don’t mind.”

“…R-really…?”

Her attitude suggested she hadn’t even considered the possibility of being refused.

‘Where’s the fairness in this?’

‘Are you saying you refuse my refusal?’

“Um, well, ah.”

“Actually, my cold isn’t completely gone yet?”

“It’s not healing well, huh.”

“We should go to the hospital first after we’re done.”

“Together.”

“…”

She showed no sign of understanding whatever I said.

‘No, she’s deliberately pretending not to know.’

‘It’s obvious.’

‘She might have seen right through my excuses.’

‘Since I’m bad at lying.’

I desperately tried all sorts of excuses, almost like struggling, but she was so stubborn that none of them worked.

In the end, Alicia’s ‘invitation’ steadfastly continued until after school,

and with no room left to escape, I was led by her hand like a pig to the slaughterhouse.

‘W-well, it wasn’t a big deal.’

‘I just stopped her when she was really trying to head to the hospital for me, saying, “Ah, I’m all better now, it doesn’t hurt at all,” then we just had parfaits together at a cafe, and, um, dinner, somehow we ended up eating a meal together, and then she just walked me to the dorm.’

‘Yeah.’

‘Other than that, we really didn’t do anything else.’

“…”

…

…Ah.

‘M-maybe, things went a little… wrong.’

‘This isn’t it, huh?’

‘Well, when I came to my senses, ah.’

‘…I think something terrible has happened…!’