Secretary Appointment Ceremony

A few days had passed since I'd officially become a member of the Izumi family again.

My condition was steadily improving, and bit by bit I was getting more movement back in my body.

Since then, my family had been visiting me almost every day. I kept telling them they didn't need to push themselves to come, but hearing them say, "I just want to see you," made me happier than I could say.

"Here, say ahh. ♡"

I was in the middle of a meal. My dominant arm was locked stiff in a cast, and my left hand still couldn't manage fine movements, so Nakano-san was feeding me. Before, it had all been gloopy slop, but today I was actually being fed something with a bit of texture, and I was enjoying every bite.

The food had recovered enough flavor that being spoon-fed by Nakano-san was starting to feel embarrassing.

"Thanks for the meal."

"Yes ♡ You're very welcome ♡ Shouya-san, you eat everything you're given without complaint, and it really is such a help ♡"

Honestly, up through yesterday meals had been a chore, but from today on I felt like I could manage them just fine.

The people at this hospital praised me for every little thing. It made me happy in a way, but it also made me feel like I'd been turned into a child. Then again, compared to all the nurses, I guess I really am a child.

Come to think of it, I hadn't seen a single male nurse or doctor since I'd been here. I'd ask about that during the next checkup.

I was resting after my meal when Kudou-sensei and my mother walked into the room.

Huh? It shouldn't be visiting hours yet, should it…?

"Shouya-san, are you experiencing any abnormalities? Your meals changed today as well. Has that been all right?"

"Yes. So far, no problems."

"That's wonderful to hear. It's a great help that you're eating properly."

"You're being so good, eating all your food. ♡"

This time Kudou-sensei and my mother were both praising me. Honestly, being praised by beautiful onee-sans felt great.

But never mind that. I had to ask the thing that had been bothering me.

"Sensei, are there really no male staff at this hospital?"

"Male staff? We do have male physicians who come in part-time on occasion, but… is there something you find difficult to discuss with me?"

She must have taken my question about male staff as saying she wasn't enough, because a faintly hurt look crossed her face.

"Ah! No…! It wasn't that, I just genuinely hadn't seen any and was curious…"

"I see… I'd actually been hoping to discuss matters in that area together with your mother. Let's move right into the main topic, then."

My answer seemed to put her at ease, and once the checkup was done she left.

Even so, was the topic really one she couldn't broach without my mother present? Was I finally going to hear the truth about that "thing" Houzawa-san hadn't been able to tell me the other day?

"Shouya-san, to jump right to it, do you happen to know the current male-to-female ratio of this world?"

"Um… slightly more women than men?"

Kudou-sensei shook her head at my answer.

"The current male-to-female ratio in the world is 1:200. That is the reason there are no male staff. Shouya-san, you are a precious male-sama, born only one in every two hundred in this world."

1:200?! Sure, with a ratio like that I probably wouldn't see any male staff, but…

And the way she tacked "-sama" onto "male" made it sound like just being alive made me somehow worthy of reverence.

"The nurses have reported that you appear to be missing a great deal of common knowledge about this world, Shouya-san… but I hadn't expected the gap to be quite this wide."

It wasn't as if I'd expected the world to be like this either… I'd assumed a parallel world would be mostly the same, but to find such a pitfall here, of all places…

"Based on what we've observed of you so far, Shouya-san, we've compiled the information that seems to be missing into this document. Please read it through when you have time."

"Taku-chan, you have to actually read it properly, okay? Mom has been so worried… at this rate, even once you've recovered, I won't be able to let you go outside."

"Okay. I will, Mom."

Even without being told, learning that common sense was this different had me in a panic, so I fully intended to read it cover to cover. I owed Kudou-sensei one for being so considerate.

"And there's one more thing. In the near future, we'll be having you undergo a semen examination."

Huh? A semen examination? Not blood?

"Taku-chan, I don't think you'd know about this, but men have an obligation to leave behind as many children as possible. So we have to examine your semen to make sure there aren't any abnormalities."

I see. With a 1:200 ratio, if a single man didn't have children with many women, humanity would simply go extinct…

"Originally it was supposed to be done at a specialized facility rather than the hospital, but… given Taku-chan's current condition, we decided to do it at the hospital instead. Thankfully, this hospital has the proper equipment for it, so don't worry. ♡"

In my past life I'd heard about things like freezing and storing semen, so maybe this was something along those lines?

"And now, let me introduce the person who'll be helping with the semen collection. Please come in～ ♡"

With that, my mother ushered someone into the room.

The person who walked in wore a pair of glasses over keen, sharp eyes, with navy hair pulled back and bound, looking every bit the part of a capable career official.

"It's an honor to meet you, Izumi Shouya-sama. As of today, I have been appointed as your secretary. My name is Ichijou Reina."

The woman gave a crisp, formal bow and held out a business card. Printed on it was the name of an unfamiliar government office: the Ministry of Male Protection.

"Um… what's a 'secretary,' exactly? And the Ministry of Male Protection?"

I figured I should just ask anything I didn't understand right away. If it was vital common sense like the male-to-female ratio just now, I'd be in trouble if I didn't know it.

"Of course. The Ministry of Male Protection, as the name suggests, is the agency that protects men and guarantees their living conditions so that they may father as many children as possible. A secretary is personnel dispatched from that Ministry of Male Protection, or 'Male Ministry' for short, exclusively assigned to a specific man."

Ichijou-san fielded what was probably an embarrassingly basic question without so much as a flicker of distaste.

"A secretary's primary duties cover a wide range of matters pertaining to a man's daily life: selection of Protection Officers and maids, milking, marriage support, and so on."

So basically, one secretary is assigned per man. Literally a personal secretary. Talk about being waited on hand and foot.

Ichijou-san answered each of my unending questions politely, one by one. Of course, that meant more unfamiliar terms kept cropping up.

It looked like the best move was to take Ichijou-san up on her kindness and keep asking away.