"Huh?!"
I bolted upright.
No one was there.
The familiar sight of my own room greeted me.
I was wearing a yukata I didn't remember putting on before bed, but it was one I was used to.
Just to be sure, I checked.
Yep. Still intact.
After everything that happened, we didn't do it?!
I felt strangely refreshed upon waking up. I had heard that after doing that, you're supposed to feel some kind of happy exhaustion, but… nope. Nothing.
I went over all the facts again and came to a conclusion—
It was all a dream?!
A heavy feeling of disappointment settled over me.
When did the dream start?
I mean, there shouldn't have been anyone in the submerged area of the Oyashirazu Coast in the first place. That should've been my first clue.
Yeah, men are basically mythical creatures—like UMAs (Unidentified Mysterious Animals).
Like Schrödinger's cat, unless you actually observe them, they exist in a state of being both real and imaginary. And the moment you check, of course, they're not real.
I couldn't even be mad.
All those sweet, bittersweet moments—my first love-like experience—were all just illusions.
A kind and convenient shota-like guy like Hisui? Yeah, no way he actually exists.
Everything was just my overactive virgin imagination.
All of it—just a dream.
Damn it all…
I curled up in bed, half-crying, rolling around in frustration.
This was it—The Virgin Flashback.
That painful self-loathing when you look back and think, If only I had done this differently…
That deep regret of not managing to graduate from virginity at the right time.
The sad, inescapable fate of a woman who can't fully accept herself.
Back in school, the peak time to find a boyfriend had already passed. Once you graduate, you're basically considered a leftover.
I was already labeled as past my prime.
If things kept going like this, I'd probably end up never knowing real love—never knowing romance—just skipping straight to artificial insemination to have a child on my own.
...Wow. That got bleak fast.
Somewhere in the depths of my frustration, a small part of me thought, Well, at least this will make for a great story to tell my friends—my sisters, really—over drinks.
My weird inner comedian was alive and well, even as I flailed around, waiting for my emotions to settle.
Knock, knock—creak.
The door to my room opened the moment the knock landed.
"How much longer are you going to take? If you don't decide soon, it's going to mess up the order for everyone else."
A familiar voice.
The tone clearly said, We've been waiting for you, so hurry up already.
"Decide? Decide what? Who? For what?"
I peeked out from my futon, mumbling in confusion.
"Hisui is waiting for you in the lobby. And honestly, he looks a little troubled. You're the one with the most authority here, so if you don't take the lead, nothing's going to move forward—"
I didn't even wait for them to finish.
I leapt out of bed, bolted out of the room, and ran barefoot down the hall.
"Ah, youth…"
I heard the amused remark behind me.
"Wait! At least fix your appearance a little!"
Another voice called after me, but I was already gone.
Author's note :
So yeah, Misago was that much of a mess. Without Yata-chan, this story wasn't going anywhere.
This novel has been lovingly translated by https://www.patreon.com/Jenuinez_translation