In This World That Favors Men, I... ~Starting a Sweet School Life in a World With a 1:8 Gender Ratio~ - 48

Chapter 48: Boy Meets Girl

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　《St. Catherine Academy – Convention Hall》

“The students from Eika Shuuei Academy have arrived at the parking lot.”

“Understood. Come on, Karen, let’s go.”

So, the moment of truth had arrived. These guys were born male and got to enjoy this world effortlessly. I was completely envious of them. If things had been different, I would have been on their side too. Damn it!

According to the plan, Maya and I would first greet the invited guests as representatives of St. Catherine Academy in the waiting room. Of course, the teachers in charge of the exchange meeting would be present as well, but since this event was technically hosted by the student council, I was expected to serve as the face of the gathering. That said, my role was limited to the initial greetings. Maya would handle the proceedings after that.

As we waited in the waiting room, I sensed a large group of people approaching from the hallway beyond the door. My first meeting with boys of my generation. I was starting to get nervous. 

No, stay calm. Keep your composure.

The door opened. First, the teachers leading them entered.

Oh! They have male teachers? Wow, that’s totally different from St. Catherine. 

After them, a long line of high school boys filed in. Since no absences had been reported, there should be thirteen of them. Maybe because I was so used to seeing only girls, they all looked absurdly tall to me.

Alright, let’s get this greeting over with.

Once the teachers had finished exchanging pleasantries, it was my turn. As the host representative, I stepped forward confidently.

“Nice to meet you, everyone from Eika Shuuei Academy. My name is Kousaka, and I serve as the student council president of this academy.”

I put on a pleasant smile. Thanks to my past life as a working adult, I had perfected the art of the professional smile.

“Welcome to our academy. We have put our hearts into preparing this exchange so that we may deepen our understanding of each other and spend a fun and meaningful time together. We look forward to today’s event.”

After my formal greeting, a male student—who seemed to be their representative—stepped forward from their group.

Wait… What? No way!

I was stunned as I looked at him. Who was this dazzlingly handsome guy? Was this what a normal high school boy was supposed to look like? No, no, something was wrong! He was as stunning as a top-tier celebrity. Shocked, I glanced at the other male students, only to find that every single one of them was at least moderately attractive. It was like a lineup of idol group members.

I had heard that this school used money to gather male students, but this was insane. For them to be able to keep up this level of quality… Just how much were they paying these boys? (*Note: It’s just tuition fees. That’s all.)

“Nice to meet you. I’m Takeda, a second-year student at Eika Shuuei Academy. Thank you for inviting us today. Our school is co-ed, so we are used to interacting with women, but even so, this atmosphere is different from usual, so we are a bit nervous. At the same time, we’re looking forward to an enjoyable time today. Thank you for having us.”

Ugh! His smile was blinding. And even his voice was an ikemen voice. If I were a real girl, I might have swooned from his handsome charm. 

Oh no. Will our students be alright upon seeing this fine specimen?

“Now, while I believe you have already received the materials in advance, our vice president, Yamagata, will now go over today’s schedule.”

Though I was a little concerned, my main role was done. From here on, it was up to Maya.

… Wait. Huh?

“Maya?”

Hearing no response from Maya, I turned to check on her.

What’s going on? It’s not like her to be so out of it… Wait, what?

“Maya, are you okay?”

I tried calling out to her again out of concern, but she still didn’t respond… Until finally…

“…He’s real. My prince.”

Huh!?

Wait, wait, Maya, that line was way out of character. Weren’t you supposed to be a hardcore man-hater?

“Kousaka-san, why don’t you lead everyone to the hall?”

A veteran teacher must have noticed Maya’s strange behavior and swooped in for a rescue.

“Right. Everyone, we will now head to the main hall where the rest of the students are waiting. The staff will guide you, so please follow them.”

And so, the Eika Shuuei Academy group began filing out of the waiting room, but…

“Maya, what’s up? Shocked by the sudden appearance of a super ikemen?”

I tried to lighten the mood by teasing her.

“…A white horse… So dazzling…”

No, he wasn’t riding one. There was no horse. None. 

“Oi! Come back to reality!”

Ah. She was completely out of it. She probably wouldn’t recover for a while.

“Maya-san, are you alright?”

Watching the scene unfold, another student council member, Yuki, asked out of concern.

“She’s hopeless. Yuki, you seem pretty unaffected, though.”

“That’s thanks to my preparation.”

“Preparation?”

For what?

“That Takeda guy… He looks a lot younger than his avatar, but I’m pretty sure he’s the same guy from the official PV for Battle Flower Gale. I watched that video on endless repeat until his face was practically burned into my retinas.”

Huh. So, she had built up immunity to ikemen?

“I see. So you prepped yourself. That might have been necessary. I’ve never seen a guy that good-looking before myself.”

“Right? His avatar was cool, but in person, his radiance is on another level. He practically has a megaton aura of flowers surrounding him. And that smile! He never smiled in the PV, so seeing it now totally made my heart skip a beat.”

Oh, that smile. That dazzling, charming smile. His silky hair, his immaculate cleanliness… Indeed. He was like a prince straight out of a shoujo manga. Yeah… I had underestimated the men of this world. That was something I needed to reflect on.

I had assumed they’d be lazy, complacent guys who got pampered just for being male. But the reality couldn’t be different. I was assaulted by a group of highly skilled ikemen with advanced social skills. I had heard that Eika Shuuei Academy had been skyrocketing in academic rankings thanks to their influx of male students. Now I understood why. Having guys of this caliber was enough to motivate the female students to excel.

“Well, it is what it is. I’ll help with the event proceedings today. Yuki, run me through the schedule again.”

“Yay! That helps a lot. Maya-san looks like she won’t be back to normal anytime soon. Thank you, Kousaka-san! Let’s go over everything together.”

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