In This World That Favors Men, I... ~Starting a Sweet School Life in a World With a 1:8 Gender Ratio~ - 61

Chapter 61: The Ski Trip Plan Part 1

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“Yahoo!”

Snow, snow, snow. As far as the eye could see, a snowy landscape stretched out before us. The sunlight reflecting off the snow was blinding. The weather was great, and there was hardly any wind. It was the perfect day for skiing.

“Takeda-kun, you’re really good at skiing! Are you an advanced skier by any chance?”

“Even the way you glide looks so cool. Seriously, what are you?”

“Th-That’s… You’re overestimating me too much. I’m not that good. If anything, you two seem pretty experienced yourselves.”

I was a little—no. I was quite flustered.

The truth was, this was all thanks to an “installation” of the diary’s skill…. It almost felt like doping, but there was no way I could say that. The Moemado duo were showering me with praise, so I just gave them a vague smile and brushed it off. Just as we finished getting ready and were about to head out to the slopes, it happened. Yep, as always, the diary’s announcement popped up out of nowhere.

《Even beginners can ski with confidence! Instantly transform into a “Prince of the Slopes”! You can install the “Advanced Skiing Instruction” course. Would you like to install it?》

Uh, straight to the advanced course?

“Prince of the Slopes”… and “even beginners can ski with confidence”? There’s so much to unpack here. But I’m curious too… Especially about that “even beginners” part. Did that mean I never skied before? Really?

《A separate version for the advanced snowboarding course is also available. Would you like to install both?》

Oh, so you’re just going to ignore my question?

…So, I went ahead and installed them. Both courses, of course. Unfair? No, no. Come on. On the bus ride here, we were all having a great time, chatting about how we’d ski together. But if I had to say, “Actually, I’m a beginner, so I’ll be off at ski school,” that would’ve been way too sad.

So, I decided to just embrace the diary’s mysterious powers. Thanks to that, my skiing started off smoothly. As we took lift after lift, the group naturally split up, and before I knew it, I had ended up on a more difficult course with the Moemado duo.

“Should we start heading back to the lodge soon?”

It was still a bit early. But we had rushed out without organizing our things in the room, so I suggested heading back a little ahead of schedule.

“Yeah, I kinda feel like going just a bit longer, but we still have the rest of the trip ahead of us.”

“Plus, before we meet Miyoshi-san, I’d rather change into something more presentable. Let’s head back.”

“Alright! But let’s have one last run before we go!”

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“Looks like no one else is back yet.”

“Yeah, it seems to be that way.”

The lodge, surrounded by deep snow, was in a prime location right next to the slopes. After brushing the snow off our skis and boots and stepping into the drying room, we realized we were the first ones back. When our bus ride had ended and we arrived at the lodge, Houjou and Miyoshi-san had already headed out to the slopes and weren’t around.

〈We went o the slopes first. Everyone, have fun at your own pace.〉

With that message from Houjou and a generous supply of lift tickets prepared for us, we happily took him up on the offer and hit the slopes right away.

“So, should we meet up in the living room after we change?”

“OK.”

“Got it.”

After parting ways with the others, I entered the room assigned to me.

It was a twin room, and I was sharing it with Yuuki. Houjou had a room to himself, while Katagiri and the others were in a spacious three-bed room. The guys had been split into these three rooms.

“I’m back~”

“Welcome back. That was quick.”

The only one who hadn’t gone out to the slopes, Yuuki, turned around while still tapping away at his game console. For some reason, he had brought his own gaming device on this trip. I had invited him to come skiing with us, but he had just said, “I’m feeling lazy today, so I’ll pass.”

Are you sure?

I couldn’t help but think that way, but, well, that was just like Yuuki.

“It’s the first day, so I just want to take it easy first.”

“What about the others?”

“Moema… I mean, Tomoe-san and Madoka-san came back with me. The rest of the group split up, so I’m not sure what they’re doing now.”

“Ahaha~ ‘Moemado’ is fine, you know. So, you’ve gotten close with those two?”

“Yeah, we ended up skiing on the same course a lot.”

“What do you think of them?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, first impression—’yes’ or ‘no’?”

Oh. As in, are they potential romantic interests?

“You’re jumping the gun. It’s only the first day. But yeah, my first impression is good. They’re both cheerful and cute.”

“So, a ‘yes’ then? Alright, alright, good start.”

Hey, come on.

“Good start? You don’t have to pair me up with them. They wouldn’t have any trouble finding someone, right?”

After all, the two of them were objectively adorable. No one could deny that. 

“That’s the thing. Sure, they’re popular. But there’s a bit of a catch.”

“A catch?”

“Something like a family tradition?”

“Nope. Just their own personal preference. They want to marry the same guy.”

Whoa. I definitely didn’t see that coming.

“They want to marry the same person, live in the same house, and raise kids together.”

“Huh. The two of them are really close, huh?”

“They do. But that’s not the only reason. It’s a calculated move. By sharing one husband, they can divide the workload and time commitment efficiently.”

“Like a division of labor?”

“Exactly. A household work-sharing system. Basically, they want to make life as easy as possible. They’re not big on housework, you see.”

I see. That did sound like a plausible mindset in a polygamous setup.

“Hmm. But you can’t really control who you fall for, right? What if one of them likes someone but the other doesn’t?”

“That’s exactly the problem. One of them will be like, ‘I think this guy is good,’ but then the other will go, ‘I don’t like this about him,’ or ‘This part bothers me,’ and it never gets anywhere.”

Right. They both seemed pretty carefree… Well, actually, they were extremely free-spirited. Even though they were twins, it was only natural that their opinions wouldn’t always align.

“That sounds complicated.”

“It is. Seriously. Which is why our shining new star, Takeda, enters the picture.”

“Me? There’s no reason it has to be me.”

“Handsome, kind, athletic, and has a calm personality. No complicated family ties. The right age. A guy who meets all those criteria is actually pretty rare. Someone they both wouldn’t complain about is even rarer. Just to be sure… You don’t have any unusual fetishes or anything, right?”

“I’m completely normal, thanks.”

“Good. That means I can proceed with peace of mind.”

“What are you even talking about? Look, I appreciate the high praise, but just because you think that doesn’t mean your sisters will. They could easily decide I’m not their type.”

“Wait, did you just say that?”

“Of course I did. Sure, I know my face is… Well, decent, I guess. But personality-wise, I’m nothing special. I’m just an average guy. Maybe you’re just biased because we’re friends? I think you’re overestimating me. Anyway, I’m gonna go take a shower.”

I cut the conversation short and decided to warm up my chilled body. This lodge was enormous for a privately owned property, with nine bedrooms in total. At first, I had assumed it was a rental villa, but apparently, it actually belonged to Miyoshi-san. That explained why the interior was so lavish.

The furniture was high-end, each room had an intercom system, a mini-fridge, cable TV, internet access, and even its own bathroom with a shower. It was basically a hotel or maybe something even better.

“Phew… So refreshing.”

The hot shower melted away the cold from my fingers and toes.

“Yuuki sure says some weird stuff.”

Sure, my appearance had been “remade,” and my physical abilities had probably improved. But inside, I was still just me. I wasn’t a natural leader, nor did I have any dazzling talent. Just an ordinary guy. Maybe it was pathetic to think this way, but that was what I truly thought of myself. If Yuuki was trying to match me up with his sisters, that meant he trusted me and that made me happy, but this and that was an entirely separate issue. 

Then, it hit me.

I had come on this trip thinking it was just for fun, but… Wasn’t the real purpose of this trip something more like a matchmaking event? Or maybe even a group date? Still… Could I really see the girls here as romantic prospects right away? Probably not. I wasn’t that quick to switch gears.

I mean, I had just started dating three people. Emotionally, I didn’t have the bandwidth for anything else. Was that weird? Katagiri and the others seemed pretty hyped about it. Was that the normal reaction? …Speaking of which, when were the “Elders” supposed to arrive?

Dating an older woman… I still couldn’t quite picture it. The only vague image I had was someone kind and doting. Was that too simplistic? Or maybe I was being a bit too self-indulgent?

I probably had almost zero experience with love and romance. I had no clue how to interact with older women in that way. Obviously, the working adults in the group were older than me, but even Yuuki’s sisters were all older, too. Rin-san and Anzu-san were already adults, while the Moemado duo were still minors.

An Elder Partner, huh.

When I first heard about the system, I had thought it sounded easy—just leaving everything to the women. But after actually meeting them, I realized it wasn’t that simple. 

Could a high schooler even have meaningful conversations with working adults? What common topics would we even have? There had to be some kind of gap. The more I thought about it, the more I started to worry.

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