Chapter 10

Izuki High School, where I attend, is one of only two coeducational schools in Tokyo Special Ward.

Each grade has six fixed classes, with two boys definitely assigned to each class.

In other words, there are only 36 boys in the entire school.

There are only 36 boys in the school. This is a small number.

I have already been informed of the class assignments. I am in Class 1-1.

When I entered the classroom, the atmosphere among the female students changed instantly.

Although they were not facing me, I could sense that they were listening intently with their whole bodies.

And for some reason, everyone was standing. Why weren't they sitting down?

Since no one would meet my eyes, I sat in an empty seat.

Then the girls started to sit down, leaving one desk between them and me. Were they avoiding me?

The awkward atmosphere continued for about five minutes. Then a small boy entered the classroom.

He was hugging his bag to his chest and bending over.

When he found me, he showed a deeply relieved expression and sat down next to me on the right.

I understood that the empty seat next to me was for him.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Jun Kuno, from Saimi Junior High. Nice to meet you."

"Yeah. I'm Takehito Soya. Nice to meet you. Can I call you Jun?"

He gave the impression of a boy who looked like a small, weak idol, with a face that reminded me of a hamster or other small animal. The type that would flinch if a snake hissed.

Until now, I had only hung out with guys who liked to playfully exchange horizontal chops. I had never had a cute friend like this.

Could we become friends?

"Yeah. Can I call you Soya-kun? I'm not used to calling people by their first names."

"That's okay. Well, since there are only two of us, let's get along."

"Thank you... but, didn't the ratio of girls suddenly increase? Don't you mind it?"

Jun asked in a voice that was careful not to be overheard.

In junior high, the ratio was one boy to three girls.

During breaks, we could gather and talk just among boys.

But in this class, there are 38 girls for every 2 boys.

The ratio has more than doubled.

"It's not that bad, is it? It just means more possibilities."

"Possibilities? What do you mean?"

"Well, of course, the possibility of being popular... I mean, being sought after... increases, doesn't it?"

"I don't know. Even if I'm sought after by girls, I don't really feel happy about it."

In a volume that wouldn't be heard by anyone around, Jun said, "Girls get satisfaction from doing that. Unless something extraordinary happens, it's better to accept it. That's what coeducational schools are for."

"Soya-kun, you're mature."

He seemed impressed, but I almost said something about the possibility of being popular and my own wishes.

By the time I woke up today, I had almost finished organizing my memories.

I understood why the owner of this body had been trying to avoid girls so much.

A boy's instinct to avoid girls is a manifestation of the survival instinct.

This is something that cannot be overcome by social norms, rationality, or common sense.

Even if you can understand it emotionally, your instinct will reject it.

After all, it is natural for women to seek men.

But men cannot respond to all women's requests.

Given the overwhelming ratio, it is inevitable.

Women have evolved in every possible way to be chosen by men.

Yes, evolved. Every possible evolution.

To become more feminine and to have a appearance that matches men's preferences.

But even so, the chances of being chosen are low.

There are so few men in this world.

The desperate numerical disparity makes women's survival strategies more radical.

Peacock feathers, crane dances, frog choruses—courtship behaviors during mating season are observed in animals.

What's wrong with human women engaging in courtship behaviors? It's for the continuation of the species. There's nothing wrong with it.

Male deer clash antlers in duels to show their strength and win a mate.

It's not at all strange for human women to develop their competitive instincts to win a mate.

In other words, throughout human history, women have honed their skills to acquire men.

Only the women who succeeded in this have won men as if they were trophies.

On the other hand, what about men?

Wherever they look, they see only women.

Men have lived in a way that makes them as inconspicuous as possible, so as not to catch women's attention.

If they don't, many women will clash over them, making them unwilling trophies.

In the first place, men in this world do not need to act proactively to leave descendants.

They are in an environment where they can easily get the women they want.

In other words, men do not need the women they do not want. They do not need to be around them.

For men, it is important to avoid unnecessary involvement with women they do not need.

As a result, men have become more passive and herbivorous over generations.

They have come to prefer a future where they choose their own partners over a future where they become trophies and are claimed by the victorious women after a brutal fight.

But if men stand out in society, such a future will not come.

Because the fight will happen right in front of them.

Even if a man finds a woman he wants to be with, that woman may not be the final victor in the fight.

Therefore, men have learned to live in a way that avoids standing out and attracting women.

As a result, the pattern of women pursuing men and men avoiding women has been established.

Even as society has matured and become more sophisticated, this has not changed.

Even though artificial insemination has made it possible to have children without men, women continue to seek men, and men continue to live in a way that avoids being noticed by women.

"By the way, I saw on the news the other day that sunspots are gradually getting larger. They were saying they might be ending, but now..."

"...Huh? Sunspots? Is that bad?"

Is it something related to astrophysics?