In This World That Favors Men, I... ~Starting a Sweet School Life in a World With a 1:8 Gender Ratio~ - 76-77

Chapter 76: More Delicate and Luxurious

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Everyone sat around the table in the meeting room. All eyes fixed on the large monitor in the center.

“This kid really is great. Yeah, I like this one.”

“Refreshing yet luxurious. He has a  sweet image, too. He looks great on camera and matches the product’s image perfectly.”

“He’s a complete amateur, so he seemed a little nervous at first during the photo shoot, but he managed to smile naturally pretty quickly.”

“Then it should be fine to go straight into filming with him.”

“The client has expressed their preferences too. Alright. So it’s decided then? We will choose this kid?”

◇◇◇

“Passed? Me?”

〈Yeah, that’s right. We just got a call from the agency. It’s official. Congratulations! Things are about to get busy~ There’s not much time left until the commercial shoot, so just make sure you stay healthy, okay? And whatever you do, don’t change your hairstyle or hair color.〉

“Yes. Understood.”

〈Then I’ll go ahead and move forward with the full contract with our agency, okay? I’ll also contact your guardian regarding the commercial contract and everything.〉

“Yes. I really don’t know anything about this kind of work, so I’m counting on your support from here on out.”

〈Leave it to me. I’m officially in charge of you now, Yuusei-kun, so feel free to ask me anything if something comes up. I’ll be in touch again soon.〉

After finishing the call with Jun-san, I put down my phone.

《Ping!》

《Pudding Quest “Let’s Promote the Ultimate Hexagonal Pudding” Part ② “Heart-Pounding Audition!” has been cleared. Coming up next is Part ③ “Exciting Commercial Shoot!”》

A voice echoed from the diary that had appeared beside me without me realizing it. I’d heard the voice plenty of times before, but it felt like it had been a while since I’d actually seen the diary itself.

Huh?

“Hey, don’t you think the patterns on the diary look more flashy than before?”

The egg-yellow fabric with gold foil embossing hadn’t changed, but the embossed design seemed to have become more intricate and luxurious.

《Thanks to your help, we’ve upgraded since last time you checked us.》

“Is that so?”

Hearing the word “upgrade,” I casually flipped open a page.

◆Profile◆

Yuusei Takeda

Birthday: August 30

Age: 17

Height: 181 cm

Weight: ?

Private Eikashuuei High School, 3rd Year

Family:

Father: Kousei Takeda, 39 – Company employee

Mother: Yuko Takeda, 41 – Company employee

Younger sister: Yui Takeda, 15 – First-year high school student

Parents are separated. Father is currently living overseas.

◆◆◆

Ah. I knew it. I had grown a bit taller. Yui looked a little smaller lately, so I figured I must’ve grown taller.  So my dad’s overseas. I always thought I’d never met him because of their separate living arrangement, but I guess it was because he wasn’t  in the country right now. If I ever get the chance, I’d like to meet him at least once.

Tap.

▼

Acquired Skills (Diary Holder Perks)

【Autumn Blue Sky】: The ability to maintain composure.

【Well-Dressed】: The privilege of living a comfortable life without worrying about food or warmth.

【Strikingly Handsome】: Exceptionally attractive appearance.

【Highly Gifted】: Being naturally gifted with extraordinary intellect.

Current Objective

【Cherish One’s Life】: Valuing one’s body and life.

Divine Blessing

【Blessing of the Pudding God】 → NEW! 【Divine Blessing of the Pudding God】

◆Protagonist Perks Installed:

【Prince of School PE: “Graceful Mat Exercises”】

【Visual Ability: “Slow Motion Replay”】

【Marine Prince: “Playing in the Sea”】

【Artistic Skill: “Diary of Love”】 (Diary)

【Field Prince: “Charming Soccer”】

【Situation Prince: “Kabedon!”】

【Protagonist’s Handbook: “Love Advice Book”】 (Diary)

【Slope Prince: “Ski Instruction – Advanced Course”】

【Slope Prince: “Snowboard Instruction – Advanced Course”】

Huh? A lot of stuff has changed, hasn’t it?

《Experience gained from the recent audition has caused held skills to evolve or upgrade into higher-level versions.》

“What’s this ‘Divine Blessing of the Pudding God’?”

《Due to increased contributions to pudding promotion, the blessing has evolved. You can now draw more power from the Pudding God.》

“What’s that power used for?”

《In short, it’s used to fulfill wishes. It can also be used to install protagonist perks and protect you from excessive interference from external sources.》

I see. I get how it installs protagonist perks just by looking at this.

“What do you mean by ‘excessive interference’?”

《The world you’re currently in is a place where many wishes gather and overlap. You could say it exists through a balance maintained by the interactions between these individual desires.》

Wait, what? That’s the first I’ve heard of this.

“This world work like that?”

This mysterious world the diary brought me to… It said it was “a world adjacent to ours, similar yet different.” But going by this new explanation, that meant it wasn’t just my wish. This world also tried to harmonize and fulfill many people’s wishes. 

《Correct. However, there are times when someone with an exceptionally strong and selfish desire appears, threatening that balance.》

“What happens then?”

《In the law of this world, maintaining stability and balance takes priority. Therefore, the gods who govern this world will act to suppress such excessive interference within an appropriate scope. The energy gathered is used for this purpose.》

I don’t really get it, but basically, divine energy is needed to protect and preserve the balance of this world?

《To efficiently collect that energy, we ask for your continued cooperation with the Pudding Quest.》

“So that’s why you were pushing the Pudding Quest so hard? You should’ve just said that from the start. Got it. I’ll help. If it’s to protect the world we live in, I’m in.”

《Thank you. Previously, we couldn’t disclose this information due to going beyond the authorized bounds and violating maintenance protocols.》

“And now?”

《Now that the blessing has evolved from “Blessing of the Pudding God” to “Divine Blessing of the Pudding God,” the scope of disclosure has expanded. Everything I just told you can now be freely discussed.》

“I see. You’ve helped me out so many times already, so I’ll do what I can in return. That said, I can’t take on everything. I’d like you to tell me the reasons behind all of these as much as you can. If it makes sense to me, I’ll help.”

《Understood. I will do my best to keep that in mind moving forward.》

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Chapter 77: SNS ◇ What the Schoolgirl Saw

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Chika: Hey, hey, I saw something.

Ran: What did you see?

Chika: A date. I saw someone on a date.

Yuuko: Who!? Who was it!? No way… Was it the Prince!? Nooooooo!

Shizu: Whoa, whoa! Calm down, Yuuko. Yuusei-kun is busy right now. He doesn’t have time for that.

Yuuko: Yuusei-kun!? Not fair! I wanna call him by his name too~~!

Shizu: Tehe. I figured it was about time. Calling him “Prince” forever feels too distant. You should do it too, Yuuko.

Yuuko: Y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y…

Kyouko: She’s totally flustered. “Yuusei-kun.” Go on, try it.

Yuuko: (Yuusei-kun). Kyaa!!!♡

Mika: Hey, you lot. You’re making me jealous, so take the lovey-dovey talk to private chat.

Shizu: Sorry. Let’s get back on topic. So, Chika, whose date did you see?

Yuuko: I sincerely apologize (bows deeply). I got carried away.

Kyouko: Sorry, Chika. Please tell us.

Chika: Hmm. Very well. The person who was on a date was… Satou.

Ran: Huh? Which Satou?

Chika: Our homeroom teacher, Hanako Satou.

Kyouko: Ehhhh!? Seriously!?

Chika: Super serious. Totally for real. Absolutely legit.

Saki: What’s totally legit?

Hina: Hmm. Satou went on a date. So who was her date?

Chika: That’s the thing. That’s exactly the thing. Her partner was a big shot!

Ran: A big shot? Like, someone we all know?

Chika: Someone we know very well.

Mika: Ugh. I can’t believe that Satou beat me to it…

Saki: Mika, think of it this way! Even Satou managed to pull it off. That means we still have a chance in the future too.

Mika: You’re right. You’re totally right. I feel better now. Thanks, Saki-chan. So, who is it?

Chika: Fufufu. Time for the grand reveal! It was Mizushima. MizuP. That’s right… THE Mizushima, heir to the family fortune!

Ran: Huh? No way. I didn’t hear anything about that. No, no, no. Tell me it’s not true! thud*

Hina: Ah, that’s right. Ran-chan’s a member of MizuP’s fan club, isn’t she?

Ran: Member number 3248. I’m in total shock. If that’s true, I’ll have to report it to the club officers.

Kyouko: No. 3248? That can’t be right. We don’t have that many students at school.

Hina: The off-school members are about twice as many as the school ones. I’m a member too. No. 3232.

Kyouko: I had no idea. MizuP is really that popular, huh?

Yuuko: No. 3225. I’m kinda heartbroken.

Mika: Whoa. So there’s quite a few of us.

Hina: Current students get in free and alumni only pay for mailing costs. It’s a great deal. The fan club is basically like a social circle.

Ran: But I heard it costs a good bit to register as an off-school member. They keep the price up so the numbers don’t get out of control.

Saki: I think Satou was a member too. Former fan → future darling ♡ Like, what a dream come true.

Mika: I always thought workplace romances were just fantasies.

Saki: But that really happened. Hearing a real life example like this totally gives me hope.

Mika: Yeah. I mean, it’s not like these stories are common, but still. Anyway, congrats, Satou!

Ran: Grr… Congratulations.

Hina: A happy occasion indeed.

Kyouko: Switching topics for a second. Hina, how did that thing go? The meeting with the Elder?

Mika: Oh yeah, I was wondering about that too. So?

Hina: About that… I met with them. Honestly, it was scarier than the Inrou Trial.

Ran: Scarier? Did they say something?

Hina: As expected from someone Houjou picked. They were all  good people, but they made their territory very clear.

Kyouko: Territory? What do you mean?

Hina: They said that from winter to spring, during resort season, I need to back off because they’ll be spending that time with Houjou.

Saki: What the heck!? A seasonal restriction!? That’s awful!

Hina: I’m the summer–autumn girl. A seasonal wife. That’s my fate. Haah…

Shizu: But it’s not like you can’t see him at all in winter or spring, right?

Hina: Well, yeah. As long as he’s not swept away on some long vacation, I can see him.

Kyouko: “Can” see him? So it’s not guaranteed?

Hina: I don’t think they’d be mad if we did meet. …At least, I want to believe that. It’s not like they’re denying my existence… They just want to share Houjou’s time fairly. It was actually a pretty friendly conversation.

Saki: I see. Even if the partner is all sweet, sometimes the Elder takes charge like that. That’s a valuable lesson to know indeed.

Ran: Then maybe we’re lucky not to have an Elder involved? Chika, what do you think?

Chika: Nah, those three childhood friends aren’t gonna be that easy to deal with.

Ran: I figured. I do want to get along with them as best I can, though.

Chika: The biggest issue is… We’re not gonna stop at five wives. There’s definitely going to be more.

Ran: It is Uesugi-kun, after all. I’m prepared for that. For now, I guess we have to move forward by teaming up with those three.

Chika: Yeah. The more allies we have, the better.

Mika: Haah… When you look at it like this, reaching the goal isn’t the end. It’s just as chaotic on the other side too.

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