In This World That Favors Men, I... ~Starting a Sweet School Life in a World With a 1:8 Gender Ratio~ - 97

Chapter 97: Saturday – Hinano Saw It!

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“Hey, Taka-kun, what do you want to try next?”

“Do you think they sell baby castella here? I really like those.”

“I like them too. They’re pretty standard at these things, so I’m sure they have some. Let’s get some if we find a stand.”

“Yeah!”

Walking arm in arm down a lively street lined with food stalls on both sides was a young couple who looked like they were having a great time. It was Takayuki Houjou from Class 3-A and Hinano Tachibana.

Their main goal today was to go stall-hopping, indulging their shared love of sweets.

With Hinano’s skill in baking, there were plenty of treats she could make herself. But this was something else. Sweets eaten in the festive setting of a fair had a special kind of deliciousness.

“Huh? That guy coming toward us… Doesn’t he look like Uesugi?”

Hinano, who had been gazing at Houjou’s face while they walked, looked ahead when prompted.

“You’re right. That’s Uesugi-kun. I wonder if he’s on a date too?”

In the crowd, Uesugi stood out—literally—a head above the rest, making him easy to spot.

As the distance between them closed, they could clearly see three unfamiliar girls clinging tightly to Uesugi—hanging onto his shoulders and arms.

“Well, well. Looks like Ran-chan and Chika-chan aren’t with him.”

There was no sign of their classmates Ran Akizuki and Chika Fukami, who were supposed to be dating Uesugi. As Hinano and Houjou commented on that, Uesugi noticed them and called out to them.

“Houjou! And Tachibana too. What a coincidence. You guys are here too?”

“Yeah. It’s been ages since I’ve been to a festival. We’re here to hang out.”

“Hi, Uesugi-kun. Are you here on a date too?”

“Yeah. I told them about the festival, and they said they wanted to come.”

“Are they your friends? Who are they, who are they?”

“Are they students from Eika Shuuei?”

“Hey, Ken-chan, are they your school friends?”

“Yeah. They’re my classmates.”

One girl tugged on Uesugi’s sleeve, another poked his shoulder, and the third swung their joined hands back and forth as they peppered him with questions. Uesugi, seemingly used to it, responded without breaking a sweat, calm as ever.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

“You want an introduction?”

“””Yeah!”””

“Alright. Houjou, Tachibana, let me introduce you to my fiancées. From left to right: Ai Naoe, Kei Kakizaki, and HShino Honjou. Nice to meet you.”

After exchanging “Nice to meet you”s and a brief round of introductions, the two groups soon started walking in opposite directions again. After going a few meters, Houjou and Hinano couldn’t help but look back. Sure enough, Uesugi was still walking along, dragging the three girls with him.

“I don’t know how he even walks like that. It looks super awkward.”

“Uesugi-kun must be really strong. Or maybe… He’s more assertive than he seems?”

“…No, I think he just doesn’t think about it. Uesugi is the kind of guy who just accepts everything as it is.”

“I see. So he doesn’t turn anyone away, huh? Maybe Uesugi-kun is actually more incredible than we thought… In his own way.”

While oddly impressed, Hinano also thought it must be tough to have a guy like that as a lover. She silently wished good luck to Ran-chan and Chika-chan.

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“Ah! Taka-kun, there’s a baby castella stand over there!”

“You’re right. Yay!”

Finally spotting a stall selling their favorite sweets, they bought a large bag of baby castella and continued their walk while munching on them.

“I’m getting kind of thirsty. Want to get some ramune?”

“Let’s do it!”

Stopping for a fizzy ramune drink, they quenched their thirst. From a distance, they noticed a few familiar faces.

“Isn’t that Satou-sensei and Mizushima-sensei?”

“Yeah. Who are they talking to? Another student from school?”

Their homeroom teacher Satou-sensei and year coordinator Mizushima-sensei were chatting amiably with someone.

“Wait… that’s Saitou. Oh—there go the teachers.”

“Should we go say hi?”

Now that the two teachers had left, Houjou and Hinano approached Saitou.

“Saitou!”

“Oh, hey. I’m running into a lot of people I know today. Yume, these are my school friends, Houjou and Tachibana.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Yume. Thank you for always looking after Mamoru.”

“Just so you know—this is my wife. And this here is our daughter.”

With a soft, gentle smile, the adorable woman greeted them. Saitou, wearing a front-facing baby carrier, introduced her as his family.

“I’m Houjou. Nice to meet you. Saitou is always helping me a lot too.”

“I’m Tachibana. Nice to meet you. Oh wow, a baby! She’s so cute! She’s grown so much already.”

“Yeah, finally. She’s stopped crying at night, and she’s getting sturdier.”

“…That sounded super dad-like. Saitou, do you help out with the baby too?”

“Just a little? I try to visit as much as I can, but I’m still not really used to it.”

“That’s not true at all. Mamoru helps me out with shopping and bath time. He’s been a huge help.”

“Really? I’m glad then.”

The sight of the married couple laughing together struck a chord with the two unmarried teens. It was dazzling, heartwarming and honestly a bit surprising to see this new side of always-cool Saitou.

“Well then, enjoy your family time!”

“You two enjoy your date too.”

After parting ways, Hinano suddenly realized something she’d forgotten to ask.

“Ah! I forgot to ask why Satou-sensei and Mizushima-sensei were here.”

“Maybe they’re here doing patrols for student discipline?”

“..Hmm. That’d make sense on a school day, but during a weekend festival? Doesn’t that seem a little odd? Plus, there’s a rumor going around that those two are dating.”

“Really? I had no idea.”

“There was a witness report of them on a date before. What we saw today might have confirmed it.”

“Huh. I guess even teachers go on normal dates like everyone else.”

“Yeah. They seemed like they were having a nice time. Maybe the day we can all celebrate together isn’t far off.”

Half-convinced of it already, MizuP Fan Club member No. 3232—Hinano Tachibana—was quietly racking her brain over how best to report this to the rest of the fan club.

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