"...Yeah, it still feels weird not having it. Like this overwhelming sense of loss or something..."

The next morning.

As I stood in front of the full-length mirror in my room to change into my kindergarten uniform, I muttered to myself.

Before my memories returned—in other words, when I was purely the five-year-old Nanase Shizuku—this body had felt completely natural.

But now that the memories of my 26-year-old male self had fully come back, it felt nothing but strange.

That sense of things being 'settled' when putting on underwear was gone, and it felt oddly unsettling.

‘Well, nothing I can do about something that’s not there. Still… even objectively, I’ve seriously got high potential.’

I stared closely at my reflection in the mirror.

Instead of the typical round belly of a toddler, I already had a slender silhouette.

My chest was flat, as expected, but my limbs were long, and my waist sat unusually high.

Compared to the girls I dated in my previous life who loved the snowy mountains, my bone structure was clearly better.

It was the kind of balance that practically guaranteed an absurd supermodel physique in the future.

"Shizuku! If you don’t get changed soon, the kindergarten bus will be here!"

"Yeeah, coming now."

Hearing Mom’s voice echo from the first floor, I replied casually in my slightly raspy, husky voice.

I quickly buttoned up my blouse and slipped on my suspender skirt.

It was frilly and fluttery—so ridiculously cute it would’ve killed me in my past life—but I didn’t have a choice but to wear it.

As for my hair, of course I went with my new favorite since yesterday: a high ponytail.

I left my bangs slightly messy and finished getting ready.

"Alright, have a good day… Shizuku, are you really going to talk like that today? Don’t surprise your teacher and friends too much, okay?"

"I know, I know. See ya, Mom."

At the bus stop, I waved casually at my worried-looking mom, then boarded the yellow bus that had just arrived.

The moment I stepped inside, I instinctively frowned at the heat and noise filling the vehicle.

It was already like a recital… no, more like a bargain sale venue.

"Hiroto-kun! Sit next to me today!"

"No! Hiroto-kun promised me yesterday! Right, Hiroto-kun!?"

"I asked him first, you know!? Don’t cut in line!"

"Ehh? I’m not feeling it today, so I’m sitting alone. You guys are noisy."

...It was the kind of scene that could give you indigestion first thing in the morning.

Sitting arrogantly in the center of the back seat was Hiroto, one of the only two precious boys in the class.

From my previous life’s perspective, he was just a cheeky little snot-nosed brat.

But in this world, he was treated like a top idol.

Surrounding him and arguing on the verge of a full-blown catfight were girls our age.

Every single one of them had elaborate hairstyles, and some even faintly smelled of children’s cosmetics.

At five years old, their obsession ran way too deep.

This is a kindergarten bus, you know.

Is this some kind of survival competition on the savannah?

So this is what a 1:15 gender ratio looks like in reality.

Letting out a deep sigh, I sat down heavily in the seat closest to the driver, as far from the chaos as possible.

Resting my elbow on the window frame, I leaned my cheek against my hand and stared outside.

I felt exactly like a worn-out salaryman on a packed train.

"...Um, Shizuku-chan?"

Suddenly, a soft voice like the sound of a small bell came from beside me.

Turning my gaze, I saw a delicate girl who looked like a doll, with silky blonde twin-tails—apparently a genetic trait unique to this world.

I traced my memory.

Right, she was in my class—Hoshikawa Aoi.

We had never talked before.

"Can I… sit here?"

Aoi asked timidly.

It seemed she had been pushed out of the intense battle over Hiroto and had nowhere to sit.

Looking closer, I could see faint tears at the corners of her large emerald-green eyes.

"Yeah, go ahead. Sit."

I patted the empty seat next to me and gestured for her.

"Th-thank you…"

"Hey, your knee’s scraped. Did you fall in that mess back there?"

Looking down at Aoi’s legs as she sat beside me, I frowned.

The knee area of her white knee-high socks was slightly torn, with blood seeping through.

She must’ve been knocked over in that crowd of girls surrounding Hiroto.

There was no way a quiet girl like her could survive among those beasts.

"Y-yeah… I just fell a little…"

"A little? What if it gets infected?"

I resisted the urge to click my tongue and rummaged through my uniform pocket.

Ever since my previous life, I had the habit of carrying bandages in my snowboarding gear in case beginners got hurt.

Maybe that habit carried over subconsciously, because even before becoming 'me,' Nanase Shizuku had the same habit of keeping bandages in her pocket.

Thankfully, that worked in my favor.

Though, the one I pulled out had a cute bunny design.

"Here, give me your leg."

"Huh? But… your clothes will get dirty…"

"It’s fine. It’d be a waste if a girl’s beautiful skin got scarred."

I gently placed Aoi’s leg on my knee, brushed off the dust with the hem of my uniform, and carefully applied the bandage.

It was the exact same natural movement I used when helping girls who wiped out on the slopes in my previous life.

"Alright, all set. There, all better now."

I lightly tapped next to the bandage and gave her a reassuring grin.

At that, Aoi’s face turned bright red, like it might burst, and she covered her mouth with both hands.

"...Hm? What’s wrong? Still hurt?"

"Eek!? N-no, it’s nothing! Really nothing! Thank you, Shizuku-chan…"

For some reason, Aoi trembled like a small animal, sneaking glances at my face.

...What?

Was the bunny bandage lame?

Maybe childish designs weren’t popular with modern five-year-olds.

Oh well.

Still, girls who can honestly say thank you like this are cute.

Way more soothing than that brat acting high and mighty in the back.

"Don’t worry about it. Girls look better smiling than crying."

I said that in my still slightly unfamiliar husky voice, then turned back to gaze out the window again.

—At that moment, I had no idea.

* * *

That phrases like "beautiful skin" and "girls look better smiling," the kind of cheesy compliments I used as naturally as breathing in my previous life, along with my smooth first aid—would have overwhelming destructive power on girls in this world, who had never received such treatment, not even from boys their age, nor from their own female friends—because in a society revolving around men, even best friends became rivals.

That Hoshikawa Aoi sitting beside me had completely forgotten about idol-like Hiroto and was staring at my profile with moist, entranced eyes.

And my dense 26-year-old male mindset didn’t notice a thing.

'...Shizuku-chan is so cool… why does my chest feel all fluttery?'

Thus, the first glorious victim of Nanase Shizuku—the walking, unintentional yuri production machine—was born.