This World's Common Sense

"Could I ask about Protection Officers and maids?"

I was in the middle of a briefing on this world's common sense from Ichijou Reina-san, the secretary who had come with my mother.

"Yes. A Protection Officer is a bodyguard assigned to a male once he reaches the age of entering his first year of high school, to safeguard his personal security. They are granted numerous privileges, such as being permitted to carry weapons with prior clearance."

So men get a bodyguard on top of a secretary? And they're allowed to carry weapons… is this world really that dangerous?

With a male-to-female ratio of 1:200, I supposed women had to be desperate to land themselves a man.

"Next, regarding maids: these are personnel who handle a man's day-to-day needs. In the modern era, even after marriage, it has grown rare for couples to actually live together, and most men leave cooking, laundry, cleaning, and similar tasks to maids. Unlike Protection Officers and secretaries, however, having one is not strictly required."

Maids are just maids, then. But people in this world don't even live together after they marry, huh. So a "visiting wife" setup is the norm.

"I see. And how are Protection Officers and maids chosen?"

"As a rule, Protection Officers and maids are selected by the secretary in conjunction with the man's guardian. Some men do choose them directly. The secretary, incidentally, is selected the same way, by the guardian."

As she said that, Ichijou-san shot my mother a quick, meaningful glance.

"I'm the one who picked Ichijou-san, Taku-chan. She was chosen before your accident, so I thought we might have to bring in a new secretary now that you've lost your memory, but it looks like there's no problem at all♡"

"So that's how it was… I'm sorry for worrying you. But I do think I'll be able to get along with Ichijou-san. She's been answering all my questions so politely."

"Not at all. I'm glad if I've been of help. The details are all compiled on that terminal, so please give them a read when you have time."

When I said I thought we'd get along well, Ichijou-san looked a touch bashful.

So this reference material was put together by Ichijou-san? I'd been sure Kudou-sensei had done it. I'll read through it until everyone comes for visiting hours.

I'd planned to ask about anything I didn't understand, but today's schedule was just the introduction, and Ichijou-san apparently had to return to the Male Ministry.

We hadn't spent long together, but I could tell that Ichijou-san was diligent and thoughtful. After greeting me, she left the hospital room with my mother.

"Well then, Shouya-san. I'll take my leave as well. If anything comes up, please use the nurse call as usual."

"Yes. Understood."

Kudou-sensei saw the two of them off, checked over my condition, then left the room as well.

Alone now, I figured I'd look over the material Ichijou-san had prepared for me.

With every flick of the screen as I scrolled, I could feel the common sense of my past life crumbling away with an audible crash.

A skewed male-to-female ratio caused by the spread of an unknown virus.

That alone had apparently triggered all sorts of changes.

Women's physiques were one of them. I'd thought Houzawa-san and Nakano-san were unusually tall, but that wasn't a quirk of theirs. In this world, women simply tended to grow taller than men to begin with.

As I read on, my heart gave a sudden, hard jolt.

[A Man's Duties]

Milking, and marriage.

For the sake of humanity's continued survival, submitting semen and marrying five women were both obligations in this Japan.

To put it bluntly, a [Stud].

If I'd been dropped into a world like this knowing nothing, I might well have been trembling in fear.

But I could believe this world wasn't one that would hurt men.

The way my mother and sisters had wrapped me in their warmth, gentle as a cradle, was proof of that.

[Becoming Happy Is My Mission]

I remembered Goddess-sama's words.

Of course my unease wasn't zero. But more than that, my chest was overflowing with hope.

If I was going to be worried over and cherished this much, then surely there was meaning in my life too.