In This World That Favors Men, I... ~Starting a Sweet School Life in a World With a 1:8 Gender Ratio~ - 159

Chapter 159: Romeo and Juliet: Shinto Priest Version

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A certain young man and woman fell in love. If they had been the children of ordinary families, they probably would have officially started dating, and that would’ve been the happy end of it.

But that was not how it turned out. Because both of them were heirs expected to take over their respective family businesses, passed down by heredity. The two of them were obstructed by adult circumstances, and in the end, they were unable to be together.

Even though it was obvious they were in love with each other, they had no choice but to part ways.

“…And that’s how it is.”

“I see. But hey, can I ask something? Why did you call me out here today?”

“Come on, I’m not done yet. This is where it starts to get important. Just hang in there and listen a bit more.”

Right now, I was in a private room inside the adventurer’s tea house at the starting point of the VR game Battle Flower Gale. Yuuki said he wanted to talk directly, so we coordinated our login times and met up in-game.

He went out of his way to summon me personally, so I figured it must be something really important. But when I showed up… For some reason, I got hit with a sudden story about Rin-san, the eldest daughter of the Yuuki family, and her past love life.

Apparently, Rin-san once fell in love with a man she met at a training institute for Shinto priests. But it didn’t work out because of family circumstances. It was a pretty unfortunate tale.

“They broke up once, but Rin-nee still hasn’t gotten over him. It’s kind of frustrating to watch, you know?”

“Got it. Ah, but that actually explains a lot.”

I first met the four Yuuki big sisters during New Year’s shrine visits last year, and later we hung out during the ski trip project. But Rin-san had always taken a sort of guardian role, and I got the impression that she didn’t see us high school guys as potential romantic interests.

“Exactly. Even you could tell, right? Rin-nee has been really passive when it comes to romance, and I figured something had to be done. That’s why we went all out with this year’s bean-throwing event. I lured Katagiri and the others in with the idol appearance.”

“I heard about the bean-throwing event from the messages, but I didn’t really get the strategy of calling in Katagiri and an idol.”

Katagiri isn’t a bad guy, but he’s a hardcore idol otaku. So naturally, if his oshi is right in front of him, he’s going to get all excited.

“That event got broadcast on national TV. I made sure of it.”

“Wow, that’s impressive. If you’d told me, I would’ve watched it.”

“When they were tossing beans from the stage to the visitors, I deliberately paired Rin-nee with Katagiri. And they got screen time, oh did they get screen time. Of course, the TV station wouldn’t miss a chance to air a young man on national broadcast. The coverage turned out even better than I hoped.”

No way. Don’t tell me Yuuki’s real goal was…

“I sent a letter to the guy beforehand. Said, ‘It’s not too late, but if you don’t act now, a younger man’s going to snatch her away. Are you really okay with that?’”

So that was the plan. A love that didn’t come to fruition because of family circumstances. But the feelings were still mutual. And to push the two of them into taking a step forward, Yuuki provoked the guy.

It was now or never. Decide whether to move on or not.

Because the number of men was low, the market leaned in heavily toward the seller. That made it harder for women to just wait around. As they aged, their options decreased, making them less advantageous in marriage. It made sense that Yuuki would want to speed up the decision.

“Katagiri was the foil?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“That’s kind of harsh, don’t you think? Katagiri was making a serious approach to Rin-san, wasn’t he?”

“That’s why I made sure to bring in his oshi. If he could resist the idol’s temptation and prove he was serious about Rin-nee, I might’ve actually supported him.”

I see. So Katagiri couldn’t pass the trial Yuuki had set up, and ended up getting swayed by his oshi idol.

“Can I ask what the result was?”

“They’re in love. He came rushing over immediately. Said, ‘I can’t give up on you after all. Just because I’m the eldest son and you’re the eldest daughter doesn’t mean we can’t fall in love. I can’t accept something that unreasonable. I’ll convince your family—so let’s get married.’”

“Wow, so that idea really worked out. Sounds like something out of a romantic drama.”

To dramatically change the path you were born into, or to make your partner change theirs—it was bound to affect a lot of people. It was a bold move to say the least.

“Yeah. I’ve never seen Rin-nee look so happy. Normally, eldest children inherit, but while the guy’s family is super prestigious and strict, ours isn’t that rigid. So if she’d really wanted to, she could’ve walked away. In the end, it came down to whether love could overcome Rin-nee’s sense of duty and guilt. And so, Rin-nee’s going to get married soon.”

“Married? Not a live-apart marriage?”

“The guy is the heir to a major shrine, so Rin-nee’s going to enter his household. It might be a bit stifling, but as long as she’s with the man she loves, I think she’ll manage just fine.”

“To think all that was happening behind the scenes of the bean-throwing and live events. But even after hearing all this, I still don’t get why you called me out here. What’s the matter?”

I really wanted him to just get to the point already, but for some reason, Yuuki kept dragging it out.

“We’re almost there, almost there. So, with Rin-nee getting married, the question came up—who’s going to inherit the shrine? Next in line would be An, but she’s doing great with Hirano, and she doesn’t want to go through another two years at the training institute. So we can’t really force her.”

“So then… It’s either Moemado pair?”

“If those two took over, the shrine would go under. So, no.”

That felt a bit harsh, but yeah, those two aren’t exactly management material. They’re way too free-spirited.

“Wait, so that means… It’s you, Yuuki?”

“Yep, that’s right. I ended up inheriting the shrine myself. Since I’m already enrolled in a university with a priesthood qualification program, I just have to keep attending like normal.”

“So you’re going to become the head priest. Meaning you won’t be marrying into someone else’s family?”

“That’s part of why I took the role. After all, I might not be able to refuse any more marriage offers.”

I see. Yuuki never liked the idea of marrying into another family, so this worked out well for him too.

“So, anyway. Takeda, could you marry Moemado? I know I’m the one saying this, but they’re actually really cute. They can’t do housework, but maybe they could be your ‘sports wife’ or ‘seasonal wife’ or something. Please, just take one of them.”

“Wait. Is that why you called me here?”

“Yep. They’re too selfish, so no one wants to date them right now. At this rate, they’re headed straight for old maid status. I don’t mind them helping out with shrine work, but if they’re stuck living here with marriage ambitions and no spouse, they’re just going to be a huge pain to me. For the sake of my peaceful married life, please take one.”

Even if you put it that way… I’ve got my own life, you know? I can’t just take someone in like it’s no big deal.

“This is not like adopting a dog or cat. It’s not that simple. Besides, what do they think about this?”

“Like I said before, they both want to marry the same guy.”

“Oh yeah, the in-house work-sharing thing, right?”

“Exactly. They want to marry the same person, live in the same house, raise kids together… and they’ve got all these other absurd conditions. And the person who currently meets the most of those conditions… is you, Takeda. Actually, you’re the only one that fits their conditions.”

“Even if you spring this on me out of nowhere… You don’t marry someone just because they tick your boxes.”

I’m the type who wants to fall in love before getting married. Super sweet, lovey-dovey kind of love. The rest can come after.

“Remember the Moemado guessing game? The one where you had to guess which twin was which?”

“If you mean the name guessing thing, we kind of did it during the roasted sweet potato event—wait, no, during that volunteer cleanup event.”

Back then, I suddenly sprouted some kind of protagonist aura skill, and it really caught me off guard. The game itself was just a casual little thing, nothing to get worked up about.

“Did you know? Besides their family, you’re the first and only person who ever perfectly cleared that game. So take responsibility for that.”

“No, I didn’t know that. And I absolutely refuse to take responsibility over something that trivial.”

“Then how about this: we present them to you as the grand prize for clearing the game perfectly?”

“You don’t have to force it that hard. A guy like me isn’t that rare—you could find someone else if you looked.”

There’s even an older guy out there who looks just like me. Given Moemado’s amazing look, I bet they could find someone like me pretty easily. 

“I’m telling you, it’s precisely because there isn’t anyone else. They couldn’t find a guy they’d both say ‘yes’ to without hesitation. The old requirement was ‘a handsome guy who’s good at sports and can tell them apart.’ But now it’s changed to ‘plus, tall, with an incredibly charming smile, someone who naturally draws your eyes and has a radiant presence, but also has this childlike quality that makes you want to take care of him.’ That’s literally you, Takeda! If you don’t hate Moemado, just take them already!”

Whoa. Yuuki’s going on the offensive way more than usual. Does he hate having a meddling aunt that much? 

I didn’t hate Moemado. They were free-spirited, open, and fun to be around. And they were cute enough to be models in teen magazines. But, you know… I felt kind of complicated about it. It was only thanks to that protagonist perk, 【Keen Eye L – Twin Identifier】, that I was able to get acknowledged by both of them. If I were to earn someone’s affection, I wanted to do it the proper way. 

“I get where you’re coming from, Yuuki, but the timing is way too bad. And this isn’t something I should decide lightly, so for now, I’m putting it on hold.”

With that, I logged out. Yuuki might’ve brought it up knowing full well what I was thinking, but it might all just be a misunderstanding. If I were to talk about this with them, they might just go, “Huh? What are you talking about?”

Either way, I was still in the middle of university entrance exams. Meeting up to clear the misunderstanding in person wasn’t something I wanted to deal with right now. Knowing Yuuki, he probably knew that and yet… He still chose to do that. Still, I decided to put this issue on hold. 

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