In This World That Favors Men, I... ~Starting a Sweet School Life in a World With a 1:8 Gender Ratio~ - 126

Chapter 126: Oda’s Younger Brother’s Pure Heart

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“Hey, Ichi. How was Kanjurou doing? You went to see him, didn’t you?”

Kanjurou Oda, currently under “medical care” at the Oda family’s villa—though in truth, he was under house arrest after he had gotten entangled in Tsuzuki Kurara’s reverse harem scheme.

Unlike his unruly older brother Saburou, Kanjurou was an honor student acknowledged by all, a young man with a pure heart typical of a sheltered heir. Because of that, the prolonged exposure to Kurara’s charm skill had left him deeply affected, and he had suffered considerable psychological damage.

Two sisters, Inuka and Ichi, were monitoring the condition of their very different younger brothers. As the beautiful heiresses expected to carry on the future of the Oda family, they were troubled by the actions and current state of their siblings.

“Inu Nee-sama, he’s better than he was before, but still not in great shape.”

“That boy might look competent on the surface, but he’s really a pushover. I don’t think he’ll recover anytime soon. Saburou’s just as immature as ever, too. He keeps rebelling against the arranged marriage meetings we’ve set up. Honestly, the men in this family are so useless when it really matters.”

“That’s because Mother spoiled them too much. Neither of them has any awareness of their duty to the family.”

While society had begun to view sweet-natured men more favorably, in upper-class families where marriage played a crucial role in forming alliances, the standards were somewhat different.

“No matter how tolerant Sakaeko-sama of the Oogimachi family may be, she’ll eventually grow to dislike Saburou if he keeps acting like that.”

“I’ve also heard that Saburou has a bad reputation even among Catherine Academy’s senior students—especially after he went after the daughter of the Kougyoku family of all people.”

“Exactly. That’s why the Genshou and Gosakuramachi families are avoiding him too, leaving him with no choice but to select an elder partner. And yet, that boy is completely oblivious to his blunders.”

“I hear the boys from the Houjou and Imagawa families have entered stable marriages with elder partners of compatible family rank, and their relationships are going well. What could Saburou possibly be dissatisfied with in Sakaeko-sama?”

“Who knows? Even I think she’s a bright and lovely person. It’s probably just his usual selfishness. …Speaking of which, I heard something strange. Apparently, the girl who bewitched Kanjurou is now attending Catherine. If that’s true, it’s absolutely infuriating.”

“This is the first I’ve heard of it. After pulling something like that, she’s at Catherine now? What’s she planning to do this time? We can’t afford to let our guard down.”

“If even you haven’t heard, then it might not be a widely known rumor yet. Once we verify it, let’s make sure she’s sent as far away as possible. Before Mother or Kanjurou hears about it.”

“Even after all our investigations, we never figured out who’s backing that woman. So yes, that seems like the safest course of action.”

No matter how much they looked into her, they couldn’t uncover what kind of connections the suspicious woman had. To the Oda sisters, Tsuzuki Kurara appeared to be a shady, incomprehensible enigma.

◇◇◇

“Raito… no, Kurara. I want to see you. Where are you right now?”

Kanjurou Oda murmured wistfully before the pink hydrangeas beaten by the rain. At first, all he thought was that she was a strange person. The time they bumped into each other in the hallway and her thick, black-rimmed glasses fell off—that, he believed, was fate. Because the moment he saw her bare eyes, his heart trembled, and he found himself helplessly captivated by her.

She usually acted cheeky and spoke rudely, but at times she would show the fragile demeanor of a defenseless kitten. He felt as if, without him, she would break. She was so delicate and ephemeral. He could tell. That was the real her.

I want to protect her.

It was the first time in his life he had ever been aware of such a burning feeling, born from his instincts as a man. At first, he had thought she was a boy, so he tried to convince himself that this intense feeling was just an unusually strong feeling of friendship.

But then, that time came.

Yes, on a rainy day like today, when he happened to catch a glimpse of her by accident. She had shed all disguises and revealed her true form—a girl. Seeing that had made him certain of his feelings.

This is love.

Women had always seemed like overbearing, brazen beings who did nothing but throw his life into chaos. But she was nothing like the irritating girls who had surrounded him until now. She was pure and innocent, like a celestial maiden who had descended to earth. So honest, so delicate. Now that he knew she was a girl and not a boy, there was no reason for this love to be forbidden… Or so he thought.

“Ugh…”

A sudden dizziness hit him. He dropped his umbrella and collapsed to the ground.

“Kanjurou-sama!”

A maid who had been discreetly watching over him rushed to his side in alarm.

Kurara was starved for affection. When she said that just his heart wasn’t enough to make her happy, he reluctantly helped her attract the attention of other men. But to think that what Kurara truly wanted was affection from his own brother, Saburou… Why wasn’t he good enough for her?

Kurara, please tell me why.

Was it because he hadn’t said “I love you” enough? If that was all it was, then next time, he would shout it from the top of his lungs. He didn’t care who saw. In fact, he wanted the whole world to hear it:

I love Kurara.

＊＊＊＊

As Kurara’s reverse harem scheme progressed, Kanjurou’s first love was gradually consumed by the dark emotion of jealousy. His innocence was trampled, torn apart.

Emotional instability, loss of appetite, nausea, insomnia, dizziness—

These physical symptoms continued to torment the overly sheltered Kanjurou.

Tsuzuki Kurara’s special skills: the passive charm skill 【Become My Captive】 and the active skill 【Helpless Kitten-chan】were far too powerful for any normal human to be exposed to over a long period.

The deeper the feelings took root in his heart…

“Madam, I’m terribly sorry. Kanjurou-sama has gotten ill again. The physician has already been called, but he says he doesn’t want any food.”

“I see. What triggered it this time?”

The one most pained by her youngest son’s condition was the current head of the Oda family—his mother. She could not hide her concern and frustration at her son’s condition, which showed no signs of real recovery.

“We believe… It was likely the sight of the pink hydrangeas that set him off.”

“…Damn it. So he still reacts that strongly to the color pink.”

“I thought we had removed all objects of that hue from the estate, but I never imagined the hydrangeas would bloom in that color. I sincerely apologize for the oversight.”

“No, it’s fine. You’ve done well. In fact, ever since you came—with your nursing license—his condition has improved significantly. Still, it’s strange. Until last year, all the hydrangeas were a vivid blue. We haven’t changed the soil in the garden. Why would their color change?”

“Even the gardener was puzzled. He said they were blue just the other day when he did maintenance.”

They had no idea. They didn’t know that Kanjurou, having been completely conquered as a “target” within the game, was still bound by the in-game curse , 【Pink Curse】. Because of that curse, being separated from his “player” Kurara caused him to suffer an intense craving for love, manifesting as symptoms resembling heartbreak.

Even the hydrangeas’ mysterious color change was part of the curse’s mechanism—a way to ensure that, no matter how far away he was, the “target” would never forget the heroine.

“Poor Kanjurou. I can’t bring myself to forgive the girl who toyed with him, but if he loves her so much that it’s making him physically ill… Maybe it’s time to let them be together. If he shows no signs of recovery, I’ll consider it. Find out where that girl is.”

It was at this moment that his mother, who doted on Kanjurou above all else, began to seriously consider a change in her course of action.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー