For an entire year, I believed I had been transported to an ordinary world—one where the male-to-female ratio just happened to be a little skewed.
But that was a massive mistake on my part.
“I love you. I can’t hold it back anymore! …It’s fine if it’s impossible right now…! But please don’t see me as a little sister… see me… see me properly as a girl..”(Yuka)
“At the very least, I… ever since that day I first met Masato-kun, I haven’t been able to see anyone else but you.”(Seira)
“I love you. Ever since that day… Katasato Masato-kun, I’ve loved you so much…. This feeling—only this feeling—is not a lie.” (Mizuho)
“So, let me say it. Let me tell you. Since the day I met you, Katasato Masato-kun—I love you.” (Koumi)
“I-I l-love you too, Masato-san!” (Shiori)
Five girls whom I had grown close to in this world.
I came to realize just how much weight my casual actions carried inside their hearts.
I discovered just how large a place I occupied in their lives.
—Now that I knew, I had to face them. I couldn’t run away.
Driven by that determination, I turned to Aika-san, my legal guardian in this world, for guidance. After giving me a thorough piece of advice, she left me with a clear directive.
“Give them your answer by March.”
A strict deadline was drawn: March 31.
Over the next three months, I would need to reach a conclusion. I had to sort out my own true feelings.
…The problem was, I didn’t possess the emotional benchmarks to make that judgment.
Before being transported here, I had grown up in an orphanage. Though I lacked a birth family, the manager who cared for me taught me a fundamental lesson: “Always be kind to others.”
Treating people with kindness was baked into the very core of who I was; I had never once questioned it. It had never even occurred to me that such kindness could be mistaken for or turn into romantic affection.
And now I was completely lost.
I cared about all five of them. I could proudly say that I loved having them in my life. I was genuinely glad to have met them and become close with them. The time spent with them was undeniably wonderful, and if I was able to enjoy living in this parallel world, it was unquestionably thanks to them.
Yet I couldn’t tell if what I felt for them was romantic love.
I cherished all five of them equally, unable to rank one above another. In fact, trying to place one over the rest felt like an insult to their feelings.
Even so, keeping my answer on hold forever would mean failing to face them with proper sincerity.
Which meant I had no choice but to find out.
In these coming three months, I had to discover what “love” truly meant to me. I needed to face each of them once more, figure out who held my heart… and decide who I truly wanted to be with.
A peaceful daily life spent alongside the people I loved most.
I used to hope that those precious days could simply go on forever.
Reality, however, doesn’t work that way.
So I will find it—my true answer.
And when the time comes, I will convey it to them.