In This World That Favors Men, I... ~Starting a Sweet School Life in a World With a 1:8 Gender Ratio~ - 37

Chapter 37: Joyous Occasion

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The winter break ended, and the third semester began.

“Takeda, long time no see. Oh, and happy New Year!”

“Oh! Saitou, it’s been forever! Happy New Year!”

“Did you go anywhere during winter break?”

“Nope. I mostly lazed around at home. Played some games too. What about you, Saitou? You barely logged in at all. What were you up to during the break?”

“Me? My wife is in her final month of pregnancy, so I was visiting her all the time.”

“Final month!? Then…”

“Yeah. I’m about to become a father.”

“Whoa! Congratulations!”

Becoming a father at the same age as me! I was really surprised, but seeing Saitou, who usually handled everything effortlessly and smoothly, looking a little embarrassed yet incredibly happy, felt refreshingly new to me.

“Good morning. Happy New Year. What’s with this celebratory mood?”

“Saitou’s having a baby.”

“Oh! That’s amazing. You’ll be the first among us to become a father.”

“Yeah. I always wanted kids, so I’m really happy.”

“Wait, Saitou, do you actually like kids? That’s unexpected.”

“Is it? I never thought so myself.”

“When’s the baby due?”

“At the end of this month.”

“I see. So, the shrine visit for the baby’s blessing will be in March? When the time comes, please consider using my family’s shrine.”

“Haha! You’re already promoting it. Speaking of which, what did you do during the break, Yuuki?”

“Of course, I helped out at home. It’s the busiest time of the year, so there was tons to do.”

“Yeah, your family’s shrine was packed for New Year’s. I figured that must’ve been tough.”

“It was crazy afterward. My sisters were all squealing, asking me to bring you guys over next time.”

Hearing the happy news about Saitou’s family instantly shook off my lingering holiday sluggishness. A bright topic really lifts the mood. And then—

“Good morning, everyone. Happy New Year!”

“Long time no see, Houjou. …Wait, aren’t you oddly tanned?”

Houjou, who usually had a soft and gentle aura, looked tanned and a bit sharper, giving him a more refined appearance.

“I spent the whole winter break at a ski resort. Snowboarding non-stop.”

“Ah, that explains it. Snowboarding sounds fun.”

“It is. I’m going again during spring break. Wanna come?”

“Spring break? If I can, I’d love to go. But actually, I’ve never snowboarded before.”

“There are beginner lessons, so don’t worry. I think you’d pick it up quickly, Takeda.”

“Really? Then I’d like to try it.”

Since we hadn’t seen each other in a while, our conversation flowed effortlessly. After a while, Uesugi, who had spent the break swinging a bamboo sword at his family’s dojo, joined in, turning it into a full-fledged catching-up session. For third-years, the third semester was mostly free attendance due to university entrance exams. The school felt emptier than usual. In just a few months, we’d be in our final year. These past six months really flew by in an instant.

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“Good morning.”

“Good morning, Takeda-kun.”

Huh? That day, when I arrived at school as usual, Saitou, who was almost always here before me, was nowhere to be seen.

“Is Saitou absent today? Does anyone know why?”

When I asked the three others who arrived late…

“Oh, he’s probably with his wife. Her due date should be around now.”

“With her?”

I wasn’t quite sure what that meant, so I must’ve looked clueless to them.

“For about two weeks before and after the scheduled birth date, absences are still counted as attendance. So, most people take the full time off.”

“Really? So, he won’t be coming to school for about a month?”

“Probably. Since it’s a long-term absence, the homeroom teacher will probably make an announcement.”

I see. I’d looked into this world’s marriage system out of curiosity, but I hadn’t really thought about childbirth and childcare. There were probably still tons of societal rules I didn’t know. I had a lot left to learn.

When I got home, I immediately started researching. Since my friend was becoming a father, I wondered—what do people do for a baby gift? Even if I planned to ask someone, having some background knowledge would help.

And this was the information I found. In this world, where the population had drastically declined, childbirth was treated as an extremely important event. In the original world, even with legal protections in place,  discrimination like “maternity harassment” and “paternity harassment” persisted, and truth to be told, the change for the better was going extremely slow.  

But in this world, such issues simply didn’t exist. Both parents could take parental leave easily, with strong support from both the government and workplaces. This was the result of a heavily promoted work-sharing system and repeated trial-and-error efforts to create a sustainable society due to the declining birth rate.

The “Childcare and Care Leave Law” had undergone numerous revisions before reaching its current form. If a pregnant woman felt unwell or if a mother hadn’t recovered post-birth, domestic and childcare helpers could be dispatched easily. Returning to work was smooth sailing. There was no risk of being unable to secure a spot in public daycare, and extended-hour or sick-child care services were the standard here.

Children were considered treasures of society, and the mentality of raising them as a collective effort was deeply ingrained as a whole. Beyond that, parent-child relationships—especially with mothers—were given great importance. School events for parents followed standardized rules set by school associations. No one was forced into parent representative roles. Missing an event wasn’t frowned upon, and video recordings allowed parents to watch from anywhere.

So that was why my mom, who was overseas for work, always knew so much about my school.

Instead of just lamenting population decline, this world had taken it as a challenge and found real solutions. The drastic population drop may have been the trigger, but in many ways, this society was far more structured than the one I knew.

Understanding this, I started to think—maybe this world wasn’t just easy on men, but actually a better place for working women, too. Alright, now that I was done researching childcare policies, it was time to look into baby gifts.

Let’s see…

“Gift Guide: Perfect Presents for Classmates Who Become Parents!”

This looked good. Oh, there was a section called “Important Things to Consider When Giving Gifts.” Better read that first.

Hmm…

-Be mindful not to spend too much on gifts between students, as it might burden the recipient with a return gift.

-If handling money isn’t an issue, group gifts from several people or the entire class are a good option.

-Avoid toys, as the receiver often receives duplicates of toys. It’s best to ask about preferences beforehand.

-Clothes for one-year-olds are practical, as they’ll fit in the same season they were bought for. But be mindful of design choices.

-Baby product catalogs make excellent group gifts.

After discussing it with the class, we decided on a “baby product catalog” as the safest option. I had expected the girls to want to pick out cute baby clothes, so this surprised me.

When I asked why, they said…

“The sentiment is there, but parents should be the ones choosing their child’s things.”

That made sense. Prioritizing the parents’ feelings over the givers’ was definitely the better choice. We also prepared a handmade congratulations card where everyone wrote messages.

A heartfelt celebration. A new life welcomed by so many well-wishers. I was sure our feelings would reach them.

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Tokyo. 

In a quiet maternity clinic surrounded by greenery in the city, a young woman, who had just given birth, lay in bed. A nurse held her newborn baby, and beside them stood a boy—her husband.

“Congratulations. It’s a healthy baby girl.”

Wrapped in a white onesie and swaddle, the tiny newborn was gently handed to her father. This was their first meeting.

“…She’s adorable. You did great, Yume. She’s a healthy girl.”

“Mamoru, are you crying? Fufu, I’m so happy. I finally gave birth to your baby.”

The boy, who had received and held the newborn baby so carefully as if he was holding something fragile,  was overcome with emotion. Tears welled up in his eyes, and his voice trembled.

“Yeah… Yume, thank you.”

“With this… My wish has come true. Right now, I feel so happy.”

The mother’s only wish was to give birth to a healthy child for her beloved husband, Mamoru, and to build a warm family together. That was all she wanted.

“We can become even happier, the two of us.”

“That’s right. No, not just the two of us anymore. It’s the three of us now. Let’s be happy together, as a family. Since we’re living in this world.. I’m sure that wish will come true.”

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