In This World That Favors Men, I... ~Starting a Sweet School Life in a World With a 1:8 Gender Ratio~ - 31

Chapter 31: A Promotional Video

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《Due to the expected direct hit of the typhoon on the capital region from tomorrow morning through midday, school will be canceled tomorrow. Please be careful not to come to school by mistake.》

In the evening, an emergency notification email from the school arrived on my smartphone. An unscheduled school closure. Some people would have a hard time because of the typhoon, so it wouldn’t be right to celebrate too much, but as a student, an unexpected day off was still something to be happy about.

“Onii-chan, school is canceled tomorrow. Don’t go out half-asleep by mistake, okay?”

Maybe because of my usual behavior, Yui made sure to warn me.

“It’s fine. I’m about to play games now, so I’ll probably sleep in tomorrow.”

“Got it. I’ll have breakfast ready, so eat whenever you want.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

Yeah. Tonight was going to be all about gaming. Lately, I had been too busy with my summer assignment reports to log in much. Staying up late once in a while should be fine, right?

After dinner and a bath, I logged in right away.

＊

Today, the boys from Class A and C were going hunting together. During joint P.E. class, I had a chance to talk with three guys from Class C and found out they played the same game. Since it was a rare opportunity, we agreed to play together sometime. And today, that plan was finally happening.

“Is this everyone?”

“Yeah. Five from Class A, plus Imagawa, and three from Class C. That makes nine.”

“What about the party setup? Feels like we’re a bit unbalanced.”

The three from Class C had these jobs:

Katagiri [Samurai] 【Spear】【Bow】【Katana】

Hirano [Samurai] 【Spear】【Bow】【Katana】

Wakisaka [Samurai] 【Spear】【Bow】【Katana】

“All of you being samurai is fine, but why do all three of you have the spear as your main weapon too?”

“Well…”

“You know…”

“When you think of Sengoku warriors, it’s gotta be the spear, right?”

I got what they meant. The Sengoku era had famous swordsmen like Kamiizumi Nobutsuna and Tsukahara Bokuden, but in actual battles, spears were used the most. Bows too.

As for the Class A guys:

Yuuki [Shinobi] 【Dagger】【Hidden Weapons】【Kusarigama】

Takeda [Samurai] Light Warrior 【Spear】【Katana】【Bow】

Uesugi [Samurai] Balanced Warrior 【Katana】【Dagger】【Spear】

Houjou [Samurai] Defense Warrior 【Shield】【Great Shield】【Axe】

Saitou [Monk] 【Shakujo】【Scripture】【War Mace】

Imagawa [Hana Master] 【Hana Staff】【Water Hana】【Fire Hana】

Thanks to gamer Yuuki’s planning, our jobs were nicely varied. But with the three from Class C joining, we were seriously lacking in rear-guard roles.

“I know a few girls who play rear-guard jobs.” 

I suggested, just in case.

“But since we’re here, let’s keep it an all-guys party. If we bring enough potions, we should be fine even with just physical attacks, right?”

Rejected right away. I figured as much. Most of the guys valued the relaxed, all-male gathering. So, we set off as we were. Our destination was the “Trent Forest,” west of the second town, “Shinra.” As the name suggests, the main enemies there were plant-type monsters called Trents. Trents were weak to fire. But using Fire Hana techniques in the forest had a 100% chance of triggering a field-based status effect called “Forest Fire,” which basically caused friendly fire on a massive scale.

Fortunately, our only Hana Master, Imagawa, mainly used Water Hana for attack spells, so that wasn’t an issue. Trents were as tall as an average adult male, even just at the trunk. Including their branches and leaves, they towered above us.

There were two types of Trent mobs in this forest: “Dead Trents,” which looked like dried-up, withered logs, and “Young Trents,” which were so fresh and leafy they blended in with normal trees. The latter were the real problem. They stayed still when players passed by, waiting for the perfect moment to ambush from a blind spot.

Or at least, that was how it was supposed to be.

Right before my eyes, something unbelievable was happening. It was Houjou. Usually quiet and easygoing—the very definition of “gentle”—he was now a completely different person, wildly swinging his axe in every direction. It was a full-on personality shift.

“Man, this makes things easy.”

Wherever Houjou passed, the trees were completely stripped of their branches, leaving a clear path behind him. He wielded a pair of forest axes—one large, one small—also known as logging axes. These Western-style axes had curved handles and broad, curved blades. In his hands, they struck tree trunks and branches with pinpoint accuracy, cutting through them effortlessly. The sheer destructive power of his swing was incredible.

All we had to do was follow behind him and finish off whatever trees still moved.

“What the heck is that?”

“Oh, Houjou? He’s got real-life skills.”

Wait, what? In what? Swordsmanship? Naginata? But with an axe?

“You mean… An actual skill with axes?”

“Yeah, you could say that. Technically, he’ss in forestry work, though.”

Forestry. Houjou, who seemed like he came from a sheltered background? The gap was unreal.

“How does someone our age even learn that?”

“Houjou’s mother’s family is famous in the timber industry. They own multiple mountains. His grandfather still works in forestry, managing mountain conservation firsthand. Apparently, he’s still active even now.”

As a kid, Houjou had often been sent to his grandfather’s place because of family circumstances. He never actually worked in the mountains, but he was a natural at tree climbing and branch trimming.

Guess you really can’t judge people by appearances.

“Still, that’s amazing. It’s really helpful, though.”

“Right? With his tank build, he’s tough to take down, and even if he goes ahead alone, it’s completely safe. Things change when it comes to area bosses, but for small fry, we can just leave it to Houjou.”

Progressing smoothly through the forest, we finally arrived at the open space known as the “Forest Navel,” where the area boss battle would take place. The area boss was the “Ancient Trent,” a massive treat. Its main body sat imposingly at the back of the battle area, completely stationary, but it made up for that by unleashing troublesome tree magic.

Suddenly, the ground in front of me split open with a loud crack, and thick roots shot up aggressively. Dodging them in an instant, I swung my sword down, slicing through the roots, and used 【Strong Arm】 to forcefully sever them. The remains of the roots, which had been sharply cut apart with a splintering sound, tumbled onto the ground.

Since Houjou’s Forest Axes had a special effect against trees, he took the role of main attacker here, with Uesugi as the sub-attacker due to his firepower and skill. The rest of the samurai, including me, took on the role of a mobile unit, wielding swords to deal with the roots that emerged from the ground due to tree magic.

“It’s coming soon! Fall back!”

At Imagawa’s warning, we, the mobile unit, quickly retreated to a safe zone in the back. Looking ahead, I saw Houjou, who had switched to a large shield, with Uesugi positioned within its protective range.

Then came the tree magic, “Razor Leaf Storm.” A massive number of razor-sharp leaves shot out from the Ancient Trent, slicing through the air in every direction. If we got hit by that, it wouldn’t just be painful—it would be a devastating blow. Well, this was a VR game, so we wouldn’t feel the actual pain, but still. Our armor would be in tatters.

Once “Razor Leaf Storm” ended, another “Root Attack” began. After that wave settled, another “Razor Leaf Storm” followed… The cycle continued in a repeating attack pattern. But thanks to our teamwork, we successfully handled the situation and ultimately defeated the first area boss, the “Ancient Trent.”

“We did it!”

“Good job, everyone!”

This is great. Working together like this as a team is seriously fun.

◇◇◇

In mid-September, after homeroom, Yuuki came up to me.

“Takeda, did you see the email? Our avatars are going to be in the promotional video for BatFla next week.”

“A promotional video? Like a commercial?”

“Yeah. When we signed up as testers, there was a consent form saying they might use footage of our avatars for promotional purposes. You seriously didn’t notice that?”

“Uh… No? Was that section really in the consent form?”

“It was, it was. That’s why we made our avatars look as fantasy-like as possible to avoid being recognized in real life.” 

Saitou chimed in.

“So that’s why everyone looked so colorful? Did I make a mistake then?”

“Nah, you’re fine. If we thought you’d messed up, we would’ve told you to remake your avatar from the start.”

“Yeah, Takeda, since you already have naturally light coloring, going with black was the right call. Plus, you made yourself look way older, so you’re totally safe.”

Everyone gathered around to reassure me. I did think something was off. Even the usually stoic Uesugi had gone all out with flashy colors. Damn, I really screwed up.

“Don’t worry about it. The game company knows what they’re doing, so they’ll add effects to blur things out.”

“Yeah, they wouldn’t want male testers to completely quit the game outright.”

I hope that’s true. I should really start reading consent forms properly. Lesson learned. From now on, I’ll be more careful.

◇◇◇

The screen was filled with an intense battle—clashing swords, cavalry charges kicking up clouds of dust, and elegantly dressed warriors fighting in style. The visuals were dynamic and full of energy.

“Sengoku Emaki Kafuuden: Battle Flower Gale! From the legendary simulation game series ‘Sengoku Onimusha Reppuden: Bloody Rain’ comes a brand-new RPG, blooming into life!”

“Onii-chan! The Battle Flower commercial is on!”

“I’m coming!”

I quickly moved to sit next to Yui in front of the TV. Just as I got there, the opening movie ended, transitioning into a video that appeared to be edited from in-game footage.

This is from when we went to take down the treants. Houjou was the MVP back then, so I probably won’t be in the footage much…

That expectation was immediately shattered. I was all over the screen.

“Wait, are those the guys from your class, Onii-chan?”

“Yeah, plus some guys from Class C.”

A close-up shot even.

From an outside perspective, do I really look this… Pretentious? No, no, this is definitely the editor’s fault.

“A party made up entirely of guys is pretty rare, huh?”

“Yeah, I haven’t really seen any others.”

The footage soon switched to the other guys.

Whoa, Uesugi looks awesome. He really shines when he’s swinging a sword.

“Do you ever play with the girls from your class?”

“Yeah, sometimes we team up.”

“Then why do you think they specifically chose this footage? Because it’s all guys?”

That was definitely possible. A male-only party was unusual, so it was bound to attract attention. But…

“Would seeing a bunch of guys playing a game really make people want to try it?”

“Depends on the guys. If they’re as cool as you and your friends, then yeah, it could definitely lure people to play it.”

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