In This World That Favors Men, I... ~Starting a Sweet School Life in a World With a 1:8 Gender Ratio~ - 122

Chapter 122: Seikyuu Feet

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“Hey, do you know any place that sells disguise gear?”

It was a weekday morning. After Mom had left for work, the three of us were relaxing in the living room when Dad suddenly said that.

“Disguise gear? Like what exactly?”

“What I want most is a fake mustache. Also, some non-prescription glasses and a face mask. While I’m at it, I’d like to replace my drawstring backpack too. I shaved my beard, so I want to get them before I head overseas.”

I see. The contrast between his previous wild-man look and his current stylish older-man appearance was pretty stark indeed. Since Dad seemed to have a habit of wandering off, I could understand why he might be worried about being recognized.

“Wouldn’t online shopping work?”

“It’s something I’ll be putting directly on my skin, so I’d like to see the actual items. And if possible, I want to go out with you two, too.”

Whoa…. Look at him looking a little bashful while saying something like that…

“Yui, do you know something?”

“Hmm. I’m not exactly sure, but I think I heard that when people were getting costumes for the school festival, they went shopping at Seikyuu Feet.”

“Seikyuu Feet, huh? That might be good. It’s close.”

Mom wouldn’t be home until evening today, and Dad wasn’t familiar with modern Japanese geography. In other words, we couldn’t use the family car. That meant anywhere we went had to be accessible by train. Since Seikyuu Feet was located at the terminal station along our line, it was the perfect choice.

“Then shall we head out? We can have lunch outside too!”

“It’s still a bit early to leave. Dad, is Seikyuu Feet okay with you?”

“Yeah. Let’s try that place. I’m really looking forward to eating out with you guys. Get anything you want for lunch! Let’s make it a special treat from me.”

“Yay! I’m gonna get ready to go out!”

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We left home in time to arrive when the store opened. The weather was great today, and it was already warm in the morning, with temperatures likely to rise further toward noon. Yui had dressed up with extra effort—she wore a cute summer dress. I kept things simple: a white summer knit on top, and blue ankle-length pants made of a linen blend on the bottom.

And as for Dad…

He wore a V-neck cut-and-sew top with horizontal stripes and distressed denim shorts, giving off a casual, resort-like vibe.

“These are clothes from ten years ago. Do they look weird? Am I trying too hard to look young?”

“Nope. They look great. You know, standing like this, you and Onii-chan look more like brothers than father and son.”

“Yuusei’s big brother, huh? That’s quite the compliment.”

He really didn’t look like someone in his 40s. At a glance, you’d say early 30s at most. Mom also looked pretty young, but Dad might actually look even younger. We walked together to the nearest station. Then, Yui asked for confirmation.

“Um… Should Dad and Onii-chan ride in the men-only car?”

“No. I don’t want us to be split up. Let’s just ride in a regular car.”

“Yeah. It’s not every day we go out like this, so I’ll ride in the regular car today too.”

“Okay. I’m a little worried, but the trains aren’t that crowded at this hour, so it should be fine.”

So we ended up riding in a reg8lar train car. Naturally, the gazes of the female passengers we shared the car with were drilling into us.

“Whoa. What’s with those guys?”

“They look really alike, but they’re not twins, right?”

“Brothers? Father and son? Either way, just marry me. I’ll totally devote myself.”

“Hey, wait. Isn’t that the Pudding Prince?”

“It is! He’s got clothes on, but that’s definitely Half-Naked-kun.”

“I hope he dramatically rips them off like in the commercial.”

“No way. Both of them are ridiculously hot.”

…No, no. Stripping on the train would make me a pervert. Besides, what the hell is “Half-Naked-kun”? If I could choose, I’d rather be called Pudding Prince. 

While I was thinking that—

“What’s Half-Naked-kun?”

Right. That’s a good question.

“It’s one of Onii-chan’s nicknames.”

“Nickname? Yuusei, are you into exhibitionism or something?”

“No, not at all. There was a scene in a bath product commercial where I took off my clothes. I think that’s where it came from.”

“This one.”

Yui played the official video of the commercial on her phone.

“I see. Pretty bold. Yuusei, you’re more daring than I thought. This could be the first step toward male liberation in Japan.”

“Male liberation? What does that mean?”

It wasn’t a term I was familiar with. What did it mean?

“You don’t know? After the male population started declining dramatically, there was a general consensus that stimulating women too much wasn’t good, so men stopped showcasing their sex appeal. That’s especially true in countries like Japan, where male protection laws are strict.”

“So, like, showing skin is a no-go?”

“No, it’s more of a voluntary restraint. If a guy chooses to show some skin on his own, that’s okay. As long as it doesn’t violate public decency, of course.”

“Voluntary… So if it’s not voluntary, it becomes a problem?”

“Exactly. From the perspective of the Male Protection Law, forcing a man to expose his skin is a crime. A lot of men in this world dislike showing skin, so airing a commercial like that probably caused quite a stir.”

“The number of views on this video is… Whoa, that’s an incredible number… Oh wow. It’s already over a hundred million.”

What? A hundred million? Seriously?

“Makes sense. There’s no way this number happened without women across Japan—or even overseas—watching it repeatedly. Yuusei, you’re a full-blown celebrity now.”

Just from showing my back, shoulders, and legs? That’s wild.

“But Japan really is peaceful. A famous guy like you can still ride the train casually like this.”

“Is it different overseas?”

“Yeah. You might get kidnapped almost instantly. It depends on the country, but in places with poor security, the chances are pretty high. That’s why I always disguise myself when I go out abroad. Otherwise, one body just wouldn’t be enough.”

Yikes. That’s terrifying. Maybe I really should avoid going overseas for a while…

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“How do I look? I’m Santa Yui!”

Yui turned to us with a massive white beard bigger than her face.

“You look great, you look great.”

“Haha. That’s one cute Santa Claus.”

Thankfully, Seikyuu Feet had a legit cosplay goods section. The store was overflowing with all kinds of outfits, wigs, hairpieces, fake beards, and special makeup items.

“They’ve got all kinds of ponytail and twin-tail extensions. This is so fun!”

“There are a ton of hats too. This one looks like something out of a movie—pretty cool.”

There was even a pirate captain’s tricorn hat—your classic pirate hat.

“Onii-chan, try this on! I’ll take your picture.”

“Like this?”

Click!

“That looks amazing! I’ll send the photo to you, so you should send it to your girlfriends later.”

“Huh? Wouldn’t it be kind of weird to just suddenly send them something like this?”

It felt a bit inconsiderate, like I’d be rubbing it in their faces that I was out having fun while they were all studying hard.

“Not at all. They’ll totally love it. Just attach a little message of encouragement with the photo.”

Hmm. A message of encouragement, huh. If they’d be happy with a photo of me…

“Really? Then I’ll give it a shot.”

Then we moved on to the fake beard section.

“There are so many, I don’t know which to choose. Which one looks the most intimidating—like someone you’d want to avoid?”

“Let’s see… How about this one? It’s got a nice, grungy feel.”

“Ah, this might actually be good. This slightly tangled, bushy look is good.”

The color was also a bit patchy, which gave off a suspicious vibe—pretty perfect if that was the goal. But what on earth kind of cosplay was this supposed to be for?

“Over here, I found a wig that looks similar.”

“Nice! Then let’s try both together.”

“While we’re at it, I recommend these fake eyebrows and sunglasses too!”

And the finished look was…

“This is great! You look totally suspicious, Dad!”

“What do you think, Yui? From a woman’s perspective, would you want to approach him?”

“Absolutely not! He looks dangerous!”

Dad’s appearance suddenly transformed into that of a wild man. He bent his knees slightly, lowered his hips, and curved his back just a bit—he looked like a completely different person. As expected from someone with a decade of disguise experience. 

“I see. Hearing it from my daughter does sting a little, but this seems like the best option.”

“Oh, I know! Onii-chan, you should try it in a different color too!”

And so, the photo we took of me and Dad standing side by side with our arms around each other, both decked out as bearded weirdos, for some reason ended up being a big hit with Mom and the girls. It became one of my favorite memories of that summer too.

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