Chapter 1

"Hey, Soya-kun. Your first volunteer activity is coming up soon, right? I heard that you chose a volunteer activity outside the Special Zone..."

She spoke in a slightly sweet voice. It was Hachiman Akami from the same class.

She seemed to be a well-off young lady living within the Special Zone, and people naturally gathered around her.

"Yeah, but how did you know that?"

Then, from the back of the classroom, voices could be heard: "Really?" "What? That rumor is true?" "Outside the Special Zone again?" "Is Soya-kun, by any chance, a hero!?"

I decided on my volunteer destination yesterday. The rumor spread too quickly, but that's just how it is.

There's something more important. I looked around the classroom, but as expected, there was no sign of my group members.

They were probably being held up somewhere. Even though they were not familiar with the formation outside the Special Zone, they managed to create a gap.

All the girls in the classroom were focused on me. Well... except for Shinohara, who was reading a book as if to say, "I'm not interested."

By the way, the term 'volunteer activity' mentioned in the conversation with Hachiman refers to 'male volunteer service,' where male students from co-ed schools visit companies or all-girls schools to encourage, converse, and have meals with them.

It's similar to how comedians visit prisons to entertain inmates.

In this world, the gender ratio is severely skewed, and males are quite rare.

Moreover, these rare males all live within the Special Zone.

Outside the Special Zone, males are so rare that they are almost like urban legends.

Given that I'm going to such a place, Hachiman's and the other girls' reactions are understandable.

However, for the sake of boosting employee morale, business owners outside the Special Zone desperately want male visitors.

The government institutionalized this desperate need as 'male volunteer service,' or 'volunteer activity' for short.

In fact, the demand for volunteer activities outside the Special Zone is overwhelmingly higher than inside.

"Someone saw you choosing from a thick stack of materials in the staff room yesterday... I'm sorry. Everyone wanted to know... If it made you uncomfortable, I..."

As I was thinking, Hachiman's face turned pale.

"No, it's fine. There's nothing to hide. But, you saw that, huh? I guess the thickness of the materials gave it away. Well... it's true that I chose a volunteer activity outside the Special Zone. Since it's my first time, I'm not familiar with the customs, so I decided to visit three places this time."

"What? Three places!?"

Hachiman, who already had large eyes, widened them even more. Is she that surprised?

"Yeah. I chose a cleaning company that will be honored this month, a transportation company that does business with my mother's company, and an all-girls school outside the Special Zone because I was interested."

---

*Thud*

Several girls stood up from their seats at once. Are they practicing a flash mob?

"S-Soya-kun... you're going to a girls' school? But it's outside the Special Zone?"

Hachiman seemed quite shaken, muttering to herself, "Why, why? We are..."

"Inside the Special Zone, I can kind of predict what to expect. I chose outside because... I'm curious?"

When I said this with a smile, Hachiman looked incredulous.

For someone like Hachiman, who has hardly ever left the Special Zone, it might feel like venturing into a realm of monsters. That might be an exaggeration, though.

However, half of the class comes from outside the Special Zone. Hachiman should be careful about saying unnecessary things.

The 'Special Zone' mentioned multiple times in this conversation is an area where males are prioritized to live, officially called the 'Male Special Residential Area.' However, such a long name is only seen in documents.

In the Special Zone, besides males and their families, specially selected females like Hachiman's family also live.

Living in the Special Zone is a status symbol, but it comes with a significant financial burden. Maintaining a residence in the Special Zone is challenging.

The conditions to live there are strict, and even if you want to, it's not easy to move in. Once you move in, maintaining your residence is also difficult.

Wanting to live there but not being able to, and not being able to live there but wanting to—this is the Special Zone.

Hachiman, shocked, wobbled back to her seat.

"..."

After finishing the conversation with Hachiman, I took a deep breath, and my neighbor, Kuno Jun, looked at me with a mix of sympathy and encouragement.

"That must be tough."

"I'm used to getting attention from the girls in the class. More importantly, Jun, you'll also have to do volunteer activities when you turn sixteen."

"Right. It's depressing. But I'll only do it within the Special Zone. I don't want to be traumatized by going outside."

Jun, with his pretty boy face, looked good even with a worried expression.

"I don't think you need to be that afraid of the outside... but, gradually getting used to it is fine. For now, try talking normally with girls from outside the Special Zone?"

When I said this teasingly, Jun shook his head, saying, "I can't stand in front of those breathless girls yet."

I understand Jun's point.

Among the girls who have no immunity to males, some even hyperventilate from nervousness. Even if it doesn't get that bad, heavy breathing, nosebleeds, and bloodshot eyes are common sights.

"If I talk to them, some might cry from being overwhelmed. For now, I'll be your lightning rod. If anything happens, just pass it to me."

"Thanks, always."

Jun showed me an unguarded smile that he never shows to girls. I could hear comments like "Ugh, nosebleed," "Noble," and "I'll take that smile" from around us.

"But, no matter how much you complain, the world won't change, right? So, let's accept it and have fun."

As I hugged Jun's shoulder, a chorus of "Squeal!" rose from the surrounding girls. Of course, I did it on purpose.

No matter how much you complain, the world won't change is a lie. After all, I am the embodiment of a changed world.

I didn't come from this skewed gender ratio world but from a world where males and females were equal, invited by a goddess.

"Jun, I really think it was good that I came here."

When I said this reflectively, Jun asked, "Was the co-ed school that good?"

I nodded ambiguously, recalling the circumstances that led me to come here.