In near-future Japan, a sudden genetic mutation has caused the birth ratio of men to women to collapse to 1:50. Men are protected by the state as living national treasures, while women fight desperately to win a man's heart and secure a future. High school student Yuma Arimura transfers into a mixed-gender school where boys are almost nonexistent. The moment he walks into class, girls scream, faint, snap photos, and whisper about wanting to be his. Yuma just wants a normal life, but everywhere h
National Treasure High - A hunting ground in the name of a social gathering.
The notification from the Human Form Management Agency was as bland as always.
"Notice of Exchange Meeting Schedule: The next session will be held today. Participation is mandatory."
At my desk in the classroom, I read the text projected on my wrist gear over and over. Participation is mandatory—those words sank heavily into the pit of my stomach, bit by bit.
(An exchange meeting, huh.)
At National Treasure High, there was a weekly event called the "Exchange Meeting." Students from the girls' classes gathered in the gymnasium for a time of free interaction with male students. The official pretext was "promoting healthy communication with the opposite sex." But the reality was completely different.
I remembered the first time I attended, last week. The moment I opened the gymnasium doors, the gazes of over a hundred girls pierced me all at once. Cheers that sounded like screams. Hands surging toward me. Bundles of paper with contact information written on them. That wasn't an exchange meeting. It was a pack of beasts before food.
I, Arimura Yuuma, am a seventeen-year-old male high school student in this country where the male population has dwindled to four percent of the total. On my left wrist is a silver ident tag—an individual identification bracelet mandated for all males by the Human Form Management Agency. My location is tracked by GPS, and even my heart rate is monitored. As long as I can't remove this, I will continue to be a "national treasure."
I just want to live normally. That's all. But this world won't allow it.
"Arimura-kun, do you want to walk around together at today's exchange meeting?"
The girl in the seat in front of me turned around and said that with upturned eyes. Her name was... let's see, Miyoshi-san, I think. There were still too many people whose faces I couldn't match to names.
"Ah... I kind of have a prior commitment today."
I put on a smile and declined. I didn't actually have any plans. It was just that being with someone would make me stand out even more. Even if only during the exchange meeting, I wanted to be alone in a corner.
"I see. Well, another time then."
I felt like Miyoshi-san's smile twisted with dissatisfaction for just a moment. Maybe I was imagining it. I hoped so.
―――
The gymnasium was wrapped in an eerie heat.
Four in the afternoon. The sun was still high, yet every window had its curtains drawn, and only the white light of fluorescent lamps illuminated the venue. The air conditioning should have been working, but the heat of bodies and the smell of perfume mixed together, making the air thick and heavy.
Nearly three hundred female students had already gathered in the venue. Most were from the girls' classes. National Treasure High was a former girls' school that had become coeducational, and the majority of each grade still belonged to girls-only classes. For them, the exchange meeting was one of the few opportunities to legally make contact with male students.
The moment I stepped forward from the entrance, the atmosphere changed.
"He's here...! Arimura-kun is here!"
"He really does look different in person... his skin is so pale, his eyelashes are so long"
"Hey, isn't he the cutest among this year's new boys?"
Whispered voices spread like waves. With a smile plastered on my face, I headed toward the edge of the venue. The stares hurt. I could feel countless eyes boring into my back.
Before I had taken five steps, the first one approached.
"Um, Arimura-kun! I'm Miyahara from Class 2-D! Would you please exchange contact info with me!?"
A wrist gear thrust toward me. The projection screen displayed a friend registration QR code.
"Ah... my wrist gear is acting up right now."
"Then I'll write my contact info on paper! On this memo!"
"No, I mean..."
Before I could finish, another girl cut in.
"Hey, Miyahara-san, don't cut in line. I was here first."
"Huh? You just got here."
"Shut up. Don't be satisfied just because you got to stand in front of Arimura-kun."
The two of them started arguing right in front of me. I could tell that other girls around us were slowly closing in.
(...You've got to be kidding me.)
Is this how pandas at the zoo feel every day? If so, pandas must have nerves of steel.
"H-hey, both of you, calm down..."
The moment I spoke, Miyahara-san's hand reached out.
It touched my arm.
"Oh... your skin is so pale and soft...!"
That voice became the signal.
"Me too!"
"Just for a moment, let me touch you!"
"I want to be your mate! Please make me your mate!"
Shouts. Countless hands reaching out. Fingers grabbing at the hem of my shirt. Some were reaching for my buttons. Hands trying to touch my hair. Hands grabbing my arms. Smiles here were no different from the bared teeth of beasts.
"S-stop it...!"
I couldn't keep the smile on my face anymore. I desperately twisted my body and broke free from the crowd. My heartbeat pounded in my ears. I swallowed the nausea rising from the pit of my stomach.
"Quiet down! Arimura-kun is scared, can't you see!?"
The female teacher in charge came running with a megaphone in hand. It had little effect. The heat in the venue didn't drop at all. If anything, even more intense gazes gathered on my back as I tried to escape.
I didn't care if I looked pathetic. I dove through the gymnasium's emergency exit and sprinted down the hallway at full speed.
―――
Behind the school building was quieter than I expected.
The shaded backyard was overgrown with vegetation, and no one was there. Unlike the gymnasium, the air smelled of damp earth and leaves. I leaned my back against the wall and let out a long breath.
My breathing was ragged. My shirt clung to my back with sweat.
(What the hell was that?)
My heart was still pounding. Being surrounded by girls might be a "guy's dream" by conventional standards. But that wasn't it. That wasn't being treated as a human being. My will, my feelings—none of it mattered. They were just swarming around the signboard that said "national treasure" with genes attached.
"...Hah."
A sigh escaped me. At the same time, the coldness of the concrete seeped through my back.
That was when it happened.
"Hey, who's there?"
Three girls appeared from around the corner of the school building. They were from the group in the gymnasium earlier. They looked at me, their eyes gleaming.
"It's Arimura-kun! What are you doing here?"
"Are you okay by yourself? If you're lonely, let's talk with us."
The three of them slowly approached. Still smiling, but their eyes weren't smiling. I was pinned against the wall, unable to move.
"Look, you're sweating so much. Let me wipe it for you."
The girl in front took out a handkerchief and tried to touch my cheek. At the same time, another one grabbed my arm.
"Your arm is so thin. But it feels nice to touch."
"Stop... let go..."
A hand reached for the hem of my clothes. My stomach turned over.
I wrenched my arm free with all my strength and slipped between the three of them.
"Sorry, I have somewhere to be!"
I ran. Voices chased after me from behind. I sprinted up the stairs, turned the corner in the hallway, and dove through the first door I saw.
―――
The door I flung open led to a dim room. There was a faint chemical smell. It was the chemistry prep room. Shelves lined with beakers and flasks, old textbooks piled on the floor.
The evening sun streamed through the window, dyeing half the room orange.
By that window, a girl was sitting.
She had a tousled short bob of reddish-brown hair tucked behind her ear, sitting with her knees drawn up. Sharp, upturned eyes with a reddish-brown hue that gave an intense impression. Displeased wrinkles gathered at her mouth. With a bento box in one hand and chopsticks in the other, she stared fixedly at my face.
"...Huh?"
Her voice was low. She looked eighteen—no, she must be a third-year at National Treasure High. Three piercings glinted in her left ear.
"Ah... um, sorry. I didn't think anyone would be here."
"A guy. Get out."
Without missing a beat, she said that.
I froze on the spot.
(What did she just say?)
In this world, it was almost unheard of for a man to be outright rejected by a woman. Men were "national treasure individuals" protected by the state. Everyone showed at least some interest, and most people approached openly.
But the girl in front of me was different.
There was not a trace of goodwill in the eyes looking at me.
"Didn't you hear me? I said get out. A guy being here is nothing but a nuisance."
She set her bento box on the floor and stood up. She approached. She was slightly shorter than me, but her slender frame radiated a killing intent that made it seem like she might punch me at any moment. Her hands bore several boxer's calluses.
"W-wait, back off. I'm kind of being chased right now..."
"Like I care. Whether you're being chased or dying, it's none of my business. This is my place. Don't come here."
Her sharp gaze pierced through my entire body.
But at that moment, I heard footsteps from the hallway.
"Arimura-kuuun, where did you gooo?"
"This door over here is open."
The trio. This was bad. My body tensed up.
At that instant, she—Suzui—clicked her tongue.
"Hey, you..."
"Shut up. Don't make a sound for a while."
Saying that, she roughly grabbed my shoulder and shoved me toward the back of the room. It was a signal to hide behind the cabinet. I hunched my back and crouched behind the dark shelf.
Suzui walked toward the door with a languid air.
The door opened.
"What's all the noise? This area is off-limits."
Through the gap in the door, I could see the faces of the trio.
"Ah, Hawata-senpai... I'm sorry, have you seen a male student around here?"
"A guy? No guy's been here. Are you people out of your minds? If a male student were here, there'd be guards around."
"B-but..."
"I said he's not here. And honestly, it pisses me off having starving people like you lurking around. Get lost."
The trio fell silent for a moment. They were completely overwhelmed by the intimidation in her manner and tone.
"...E-excuse us."
The footsteps faded away.
Suzui quietly closed the door.
I emerged from behind the cabinet.
"...You saved me. Thanks."
"Don't get the wrong idea. I just didn't want the commotion around you. I wasn't trying to help."
She turned her back and returned to the window. The evening sun wrapped around her silhouette, making her reddish-brown hair look like it was burning.
But I noticed something.
Her voice was slightly quieter than before. She was putting on a brave front. Behind her words of rejection, something else showed through.
(This person was eating her bento alone in an empty room.)
A place where no one could enter. An off-limits chemistry prep room. She called this "my place."
It was a castle to keep everyone away.
But the reason she kept everyone away wasn't because she rejected those who approached—it was because she wanted them to approach, but couldn't let them.
(...Don't go jumping to conclusions.)
I mentally retorted at myself.
"Hey."
I called out to her back.
"Huh? You're still here? Get out already."
"No, I'm leaving. But... can I ask your name?"
She looked back over her shoulder.
Her upturned eyes glared at me.
"If you're gonna introduce yourself in front of a woman, shouldn't you give your own name first?"
"Ah, right. I'm Arimura Yuuma. Class 2-A."
"I know. You're the national treasure transfer student who gets surrounded by women and children squealing over you. That's why I said it. A guy being here is nothing but a nuisance."
With that, she turned away again.
Her profile, lit by the evening sun, looked just a little softer.
―――
The exchange meeting was still going on.
When I returned to the gymnasium, it was still suffocating with heat. The girls who spotted me came over again, eyes sparkling.
"Arimura-kun, where did you go? I was worried."
"I made some snacks. Would you like some?"
"Hey, want to do a study session for the pairing e
Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.