Are Men Really a Rare Species?

“Ooooooohhhh~!”

Awesome!

It’s a shopping mall!

It’s been 6 years!

Nostalgic!

No, it’s not quite nostalgic, I think.

Because the shopping mall here on this Earth is more high-tech than the one over there on the previous Earth.

It seems similar but is quite different.

What I’m straining my neck to look up at is the mall ceiling.

The entire ceiling is a display, serving as a substitute for signboards and advertisements.

What is being displayed are the routes to the stores, today’s special deals, and other information to enjoy the mall.

Of course, it’s not just still images; it’s all pop videos.

It’s not quite a sci-fi hologram, but it’s still quite spectacular.

The only place with a monitor this large, apart from Earth, would probably be Las Vegas.

There are emotions that you wouldn’t know just by watching TV.

This alone is already fun.

“Hehe, getting so captivated by the ceiling, Yuu-chan is so cute~~”

Mom said that with a gentle smile.

Of course, she was standing next to me while holding my hand.

I’m not “holding hands” with her.

She’s “holding my hands.”

Like an agent transporting important secrets, Mom tightly grips my hand and won’t let go.

If there were handcuffs, I would definitely be connecting my wrist to yours.

Of course, her grip is very gentle and doesn’t hurt at all.

Even so, no matter how much I try to shake it off, I can’t shake it off at all.

What is this exquisite balance of force and restraint?

Is Mom some kind of master of catching techniques or something?

“Are you having fun, Yuu-chan?”

“Yeah! It’s my first time riding in a car and going outside, so it’s really fun!”

These are my true feelings.

After all, Mom takes care of all the shopping, and when we need a doctor, the government sends one to our house.

Even if I think about going out, there’s no reason to do so.

In other words, it seems that the government has created a system so that people can live without going out.

So, sadly enough, today is not only my first time going out, but also my first time riding.

Ah, of course, the car is an escort vehicle that Azuma-san and the others prepared for us.

I’ve never seen one before, a car that’s really bulletproof and even armed…

“Thank you for bringing me here, Mom.”

To be honest, Mama made a slightly troubled face.

No, that’s not right.

This is the face of confession.

“…I’m sorry, Yuu-chan. I couldn’t take you outside as much.”

“No, it’s fine. I understand that it’s just how boys are.”

“Yuu-chan…!”

Oh, Mom is starting to tear up again.

I didn’t mean it that way, though…

Shall I change the subject a bit?

“More importantly, Mom, let’s hurry up and check out the stores.”

“Y-Yeah! Let’s go, Yuu-chan!”

As I start walking cheerfully, Mom holds my hand and walks beside me.

Since today is Saturday, the Gion Mall was bustling with activity.

It’s just that there are only women.

There are women shopping alone, and there are also middle-aged women with young girls.

I can see groups of girls who look like students wandering around the mall, and elderly ladies sitting on benches and chatting.

As far as the eye can see, women, women, women.

“This is amazing, Mom.”

“That’s because it’s a holiday. On weekdays, there are fewer people.”

According to Mama, not only does the number of customers decrease on weekdays, but the customer demographic also changes.

On weekdays, it seems that mostly middle-aged and elderly women come, and customers under 50 are rarely seen.

Even if they are there, they are at most university students without classes, off-duty public servants, or mothers on maternity leave.

Well, I guess that’s only natural.

Because everyone is working full-time.

Here on this planet, there is no word for “housewife.”

Since artificial insemination is the norm, the family structure is generally a single-parent household without a father.

If the mother doesn’t work, there will be no source of income, so the concept of a “housewife” doesn’t even exist.

What exists are only the concept of “househusband” and the profession of “full-time househusband.”

The woman goes out to work, and the man supports her at home.

It’s a reversed version of the traditional nuclear family from the pre-Earth era.

Apparently, this is the ideal life for a few married women… no, rather, it seems to be the dream life that all women aspire to, as I often hear in street interviews, “I want to be a woman with a stay-at-home husband.”

In fact, women tend to have more energy and stamina, so when it comes to working, women might be more suited for it.

This is also the opposite of the previous Earth.

However, ideals are ultimately just ideals.

The gender ratio of 1:2400 means that simply put, only one out of 2400 people can marry a man.

In this country, polygamy is permitted… or rather, encouraged, so the actual ratio is a bit higher, but the fact that married people are still a small minority remains unchanged.

So, anyway, women have to work full-time.

I don’t have any time to just hang around at the shopping mall on weekdays.

So, if they talk about men—stay-at-home husbands coming to the mall, well, there’s not a single person here.

In the first place, men don’t really want to go out much, so they don’t see them regardless of whether they are married or not.

According to the common sense of the previous Earth over there, supermarkets on weekdays should be a paradise for housewives, but here on this Earth, that’s not the case.

So, on weekdays, it’s normal for Gion Mall to be less crowded.

From a managerial perspective, it must be a headache, but it’s unavoidable due to the social structure, so we have no choice but to accept it.

Instead, on holidays like today, it gets quite lively, so the mall also puts a lot of effort into holiday events.

It seems like they’re having a lottery event again today.

“Since there are a lot of people, make sure not to let go of Mama’s hand, okay?”

After saying that, Mama squeezes the hand that she’s holding.

No, it’s not that I don’t want to let go, it’s that I can’t let go…

“Yeah. I’ll be careful not to get lost.”

Well, even if I tried, I couldn’t get lost.

Because Azuma-san and the others should be somewhere nearby.

I was wondering why we had to go out on such a crowded day, but it seems it was for security reasons.

According to Azuma-san, on weekdays when there are fewer people, they can’t move in a tight formation, so they have to spread out their protective formation.

That would create a distance between us, and they wouldn’t be able to rush to my side when it matters.

Also, because there are fewer people, it tends to attract more attention.

In short, “If you want to hide a tree, hide it in the forest.”

For me too, it’s better if there are fewer people around.

If it doesn’t attract attention, the likelihood of it causing a commotion decreases.

Well then, shall we enjoy the shopping mall?