In This World That Favors Men, I... ~Starting a Sweet School Life in a World With a 1:8 Gender Ratio~ - 143

Chapter 143: New Year’s Eve

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〈Ding-dong!〉

“Someone’s here. Maybe a delivery?”

Even working on New Year’s Eve… Delivery workers really have it tough, huh?

That was what I was thinking as I peeked at the monitor. And there stood a familiar wild man.

“Welcome home, Dad.”

“I’m back, Yuusei. It’s been a while, but you look well. Where are Yuko and Yui?”

The wild man looked around curiously. It seemed he found it strange that I was the only one in the living room.

“They’re out shopping. Probably won’t be back until this evening. Oh, right! Can I ask you something real quick? I wanted you to take a look at the vanilla plant.”

“Sure! How’s it growing?”

“The vines have gotten pretty long. So I moved the shelf. But the pods don’t seem to be changing much… Is this okay?”

“When the pods start to ripen, the tips of the pods will turn yellow. That’s when you harvest them… Looks like it’s going to take a bit more time before we can harvest them.”

“How much longer, do you think?”

“Maybe about a month? If that’s the case, I’ll still be in Japan, so we can harvest them together.”

“I’m glad to hear that!”

After a while, the shopping team returned home, arms full of bags. They wrapped and plated the food they bought or stored it in the fridge, and preparations for an early dinner were soon finished.

Now freshly cleaned up, Dad was whispering sweet nothings to Mom while catching her up on things, so the rest of us moved over to the TV.

“It’s about to start. Recording set… OK. I’ve been really looking forward to this! You wore a costume, right, Onii-chan?”

“Yeah. A really huge one.”

“Was it hard?”

“At first. But once I got used to it, it was manageable. It’s an air-inflated costume, so the whole body is surrounded by air. It was like being inside a big balloon. So moving around wasn’t hard, but making it look convincing took some skill.”

“Yui wants to try too!”

“You want to try wearing a costume? Well, I get it.I was excited when I put it on, too.”

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『EXA Kitchen Year-End Special Program! ‘Surprise Tour: Let’s Go to the Pudding Factory!’ “Tonight’s show will be greatly extended. The program will begin shortly! Stay tuned!』

When the commercials started, Dad came over too.

“I can’t miss the show Yuusei’s in.”

“What about Mom?”

“She’s prepping the New Year’s soba. It’s not that much work, so she told Yui she can keep watching TV.”

“Yaaay!”

◇◇◇

At the gathering spot where the tour begins, a large tour bus was parked. Peeking from its shadow was a big yellow object that couldn’t quite hide its bulk.

〈Now that everyone is here, let us introduce the tour’s mascot character!〉

Time for my first appearance. I operated the stubby legs and slowly waddled out… In a giant chick costume.

〈Whoa, huge!〉

〈But it’s kind of cute?〉

〈Would be cuter if it were smaller!〉

Seeing the participants’ reactions, I tried to make a bigger impression by hopping up and down on the spot.

〈It jumps despite that size!〉

〈Surprisingly nimble. Like a hopping chick!〉

Then, I saw the participants off as they boarded the bus and the tour began. I performed the farewell wave I’d practiced so many times: right hand flap-flap, left hand flap-flap.

〈Bye-bye, Chick-chan!〉

〈You know, it’s kind of starting to look cute in its own way.〉

〈OK, great! Now we’ll move on. Chick-san, time to get changed!〉

〈The chick’s changing!? Who could be inside!? Find out after the break!〉

Wait, what!? They’re showing that part too? Why are they spoiling the twist right at the start?

After the commercial, the scene changed to the now-empty parking lot, showing the costume deflating.

〈And coming out from inside is… Ta-da!〉

With flashy sound effects, there I was—captured clearly as I emerged from the costume. The problem was, I had no idea the camera was still rolling at the time. I wasn’t paying attention to it at all.

Ugh! What’s with that dramatic hair flip? So embarrassing!

I thought the identity reveal was supposed to be at the very end of the show. I was wearing casual clothes for ease of movement, too. I didn’t do anything weird unconsciously, right? 

…Yeah, aside from the cheesy hair flip, I think I’m safe.

“You don’t stay in the costume when moving around?”

Yui asked, puzzled, seeing me out of the suit so early in the show.

“Not the whole time. The air pump’s battery only lasts about two hours, and I couldn’t ride the location bus in that getup.”

“…I see. So the tour participants don’t know that Yuusei’s inside the costume until the very end. But for the TV audience, they get to enjoy watching your changing scenes over and over. That’s the plan, huh? Clever.”

“That’s not… I mean, is it?”

Now that she mentioned it, I did feel like the cameras were constantly filming during the shoot. I thought maybe the equipment was too expensive to put down carelessly, but… Were they recording the whole time? And even inside the location bus? Oh no! I was totally relaxed there.

I’m pretty sure I even fell asleep….

〈Did Takeda-kun stay up late last night? It seems the gentle rocking of the bus has lulled him into a nap. Well, it is early morning, so no surprise there. I’m sure everyone watching is curious, so our reporter will go take a peek.〉

With a suspiciously staged whisper, the reporter crept toward the rear seats, curtained off from view.

So that’s why the bus was unusually spacious and luxurious—for this stunt!

〈…Ladies and gentlemen, our prince is currently asleep. We can only catch a glimpse from this angle, but our cameraman is practically snorting with excitement, so let’s go!〉

Seriously!?

〈Can you see it? The hoodie’s in the way a bit, but you can glimpse that handsome face. Completely defenseless. So vulnerable. An angel, perhaps? There’s even a sweet scent for some reason. I’d like to sniff his breath to find out the source, but—oh, no! Director’s orders: if I get too close, I’m getting my head chopped off. Gotta hold back!〉

“Onii-chan, I think that reporter’s the one from when we made cookies on EXA Kitchen.”

“You recognized her?”

She didn’t show her face much during that episode, mainly doing narration.

“After that show, people started calling her ‘Eroporter.’ She got pretty famous.”

“Really? But that nickname is kind of…”

“She likes it. I heard she’s been getting a lot more job offers since then.”

“Huh. Well… Good for her, I guess?”

Wait… Is that really good?

The screen changed again, showing the tour participants arriving at the pudding factory. They headed to a conference room to hear the factory overview and safety instructions, while we arrived and I transformed into the chick once more. It was a hectic schedule, but I had to be there to greet the participants when they finished the factory tour and came back through the main hall.

〈It’s Chick-chan!〉

〈We meet again!〉

〈Can I shake your hand?〉

A handshake request! I was totally fired up. Sure, no problem! I already practiced this! I operated the control rods and offered a handshake. At that moment, I felt like someone stared right into the eye section of the costume, but I shouldn’t be visible from the outside… right?

〈No good. I can’t tell.〉

〈But there’s no way, right?〉

〈I thought there might be a slim chance… but things never go that smoothly, huh.〉

It looked like I was in the clear, but some people were just incredibly sharp. Or maybe it was just hope? Either way, I was happy that she wanted to see me.

At both the designated poultry and cattle farms, we made pinpoint appearances in costume, strongly imprinting the image of the chick onto both the participants and viewers. After that, the group returned to the factory. The participants had been told that, once they received their souvenirs in the main conference room, they would board the bus and head home.

It had been a constant cycle of changing clothes, moving around, and changing again—but this was the last of it.

In the waiting room connected to the main conference room, I changed from my casual clothes into my costume. Before getting into the costume, I also had to get some light makeup and hairstyling done, so I just quietly let the staff, who were moving quickly and efficiently, handle everything.

〈It looks like the prince is getting changed. From his casual everyday wear, he’s switching into his big reveal costume. While all of you will be watching this on a recording, I’m seeing it live and will report it in full. In the commercial, we couldn’t see much because of the bath salts, but now we’ll get a full view of that tight, glistening skin—wait, what? No good? Aww. The director said live changing is a no-go because someone might get fired.〉

〈But maybe with a little negotiation… Yes! If we use a mosaic, it’s okay? We did it! Well then, everyone, here’s the moment you’ve been waiting for—enjoy the changing scene through the mosaic scene!〉

No, no, wait a second. What kind of report is this? I’m wearing an undershirt under my T-shirt, okay! Putting a mosaic over it just makes it look even more pervy!

“A mosaic on the changing scene, huh. The Male Protection Law is still a high wall to climb. But I think it’s loosened up a bit compared to before.”

“It used to be stricter?”

“Yeah. There was a time when even joking about showing a man getting changed was off-limits. It’s been just under twenty years since the male birth rate started showing signs of recovery. Before that, we went through an era where male suicide risk was sky-high, so even ten years ago, society was much more sensitive.”

“So that means things are changing for the better, right?”

“I think it’s fair to say that. People have room to fall in love naturally now, and having men appear on variety shows like this helps women feel more comfortable with them. Give it another twenty years or so, and Yuusei might even be able to strip down without hesitation.”

“I am not doing that!”

On the TV screen, the moment of revealing the person inside the costume had finally arrived. They said the contrast between the costume and the real person was important, so I’d been told to make a cool entrance.

So I went into it while consciously activating my special skill 【Sparkling Photogenic】.

〈And now it’s time to say goodbye to the little chick that’s been cheering us on throughout this tour. Let’s all give a big round of applause!〉

The participants, all in high spirits, clapped enthusiastically together.

As I waited with the fan inside the costume turned off, a staff member quickly unzipped it from the outside. The air rushed out in an instant, and I caught the deflated costume like a limp skin in both hands, then gently took it off.

〈What’s this? The chick suddenly deflated… and like a prince freed from a magic spell, the one who emerged was—none other than Yuusei Takeda, the rising star of the EXA commercial!〉

…Huh? That’s when I realized something was off. 

I had expected that, once I revealed my identity, everyone would gasp in surprise and the place would erupt in noise, but my expectations were completely off—the room had gone silent.

“Whoa, they’re crying.”

“Yeah. I wanted to surprise them, but for some reason, they all ended up crying instead.”

I didn’t know what to do.

“They must’ve been overwhelmed. I could never make this many women cry all at once. You’re amazing, Yuusei.”

No, no, Dad is the amazing one!

〈It looks like everyone was moved to tears, beyond just surprise. They’ve lost their voices after unexpectedly meeting someone they’d wanted to see so badly. So until everyone calms down, let’s ask Takeda-san a few questions. You’ve been in costume since this morning—how was it?〉

〈Seeing everyone having so much fun made me happy too. I’m really glad I practiced how to move in the costume.〉

〈This time it was a factory tour, but how about a hot springs tour next time?〉

〈I’d love to go to a hot spring too. But please, no costume that time.〉

〈You can’t bathe in a costume, after all! We’d love to see you in your birthday sui—oops, that’s sexual harassment, right, okay, cutting that. Now then, shall we move on? Takeda-san will now personally hand out the EXA souvenir sets to all participants. The bath salts included in the set is a brand-new release for this winter…〉

In the end, everyone smiled, and the show wrapped up smoothly.

Alright, time for dinner, I guess.

“The Eroporter-san was just as wild as ever. But are you really going to a hot spring,?”

“Not sure if it’ll happen on the show. I mean, I did a commercial for bath salts, but it’s not one of those classic hot spring mineral packs.”

“Do you two want to go to a hot spring? Actually, I’ve already made a reservation at a hot spring inn for a family trip.”

Seriously? A family trip? And we’re staying overnight?

“When is it?”

“Over the New Year holidays. When I heard Kousei-kun might be able to come back to Japan at the end of the year, I rushed to book it.”

Of course, that’s just like Mom. 

When Dad came home in the summer, he murmured something about wanting to go to a hot spring when it got colder—I remember that. She must’ve heard it too and planned everything perfectly. That must be why she’d insisted earlier that we keep the New Year holidays open.

“Wow, a trip with Dad sounds so exciting. Thanks, Mom!”

“A family trip sounds wonderful!”

“I’m looking forward to it too.”

“I’m glad you’re all happy. Since the show’s over now, why don’t we all have some New Year’s soba?”

“””Okay!”””

We all dug into soba topped with a giant, luxurious shrimp. We spent New Year’s Eve with the whole family together. Once the new year began, we had a family trip, and in the spring, I would finally be a university student.

It looks like next year’s going to be a great one!

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