Working for an underwear manufacturer, wearing our own products was just part of the daily routine. It wasn't rare to be told I looked good or that the items were beautiful during customer service. However, the words I heard today were a bit different. It felt like I was being looked at not as a professional, but as an individual. On the way home, I found myself remembering that gaze over and over. The moment I got home and took off what I was wearing, my body felt suddenly light. A sense of liberation that made me sigh involuntarily, and a feeling of relief. But at the same time, the gap between that and the "state of being conscious of others" I felt until a moment ago remained all the more strongly. I was supposed to have been complimented, but what remained deep in my chest was an indescribable sense of wrongness and a restless feeling.

The moment I got home and took off what I was wearing, my body felt suddenly light. A sense of liberation that made me sigh involuntarily, and a feeling of relief. But at the same time, the gap between that and the "state of being conscious of others" I felt until a moment ago remained all the more strongly. I was supposed to have been complimented, but what remained deep in my chest was an indescribable sense of wrongness and a restless feeling. I didn't clearly understand what that feeling was. However, it wasn't small enough to ignore. I thought about it for a while, but in the end, without finding an answer, I reached for my smartphone. I typed in words as they came to mind and searched. I wanted to see if there were people with similar feelings, or if it was just me. Among the pages that appeared, there was a forum where anonymous exchanges were taking place. In that place I opened casually, there were words lined up talking about a sense of wrongness similar to mine and an awareness of other people's gazes. As I read on, I felt the things deep in my chest and the content written there slowly begin to overlap.

It was slightly different from the exchanges until then.

Amidst the flow of matter-of-fact questions, a single, distinct sentence was mixed in.

It was different from the confirmation items B was listing. A sentence with warmth, as if someone had cut in from the side.

—Those words were the closest to the form Kaori had been seeking.

Staring at the screen, I steady my breathing.

Then, it appears.

"I will fulfill you."

My breath hitches slightly.

I should understand the meaning, but I can't quite grasp it.

Yet, the words remain ambiguous.

A sensation as if something is being offered from the other side of the screen.

I can think of reasons to refuse.

But the words to reject them won't come out.

After hesitating for a moment, my fingers move.

"...Please do."

Staring at the screen, my fingers stop.

A name.

It should be just that, yet my heart stirs.

Several words come to mind. Something light. Something distant.

But they all felt a bit wrong.

The flow of this exchange. The words from earlier.

*—"I will fulfill you."

Only the way that lingered was strangely strong.

Normally, there should be many reasons to pull back.

Even so.

The expectation that I would be given various commands from now on won out slightly.

Before I knew it, my fingers were moving.

After a short pause, I type it in.

"...Master."

Sent.

That single word remains on the screen.