Chapter 12 Part 1
Spring Break (9) ~The Glass Boy~
Well then, for men, who had given up the leading role in society to women and fallen into the overwhelming minority, the early modern period was a history of hardship.
It was said that the upper classes in Europe jointly managed the few young men they had as stallions in order to maintain the pure-blooded society.
On top of that, in Christian (especially Catholic) countries, it was said that there was even a practice where the churches played a central role in keeping men together from the time they were babies in a facility called Men Protection Center in order to protect them from the Red Death, and at the age of 15, they were dispatched in groups to villages with only women to provide them with baby seeds.
However, the practice fell into disuse due to public outcry that the sisters of the churches were monopolizing the men as well as the tragedy of the entire men in the Men Protection Center being wiped out as they unluckily got infected by the Red Death, and eventually men were brought in from the colonies and had their sperm squeezed out of them until their bodies were ruined.
It was ironic that, in part because of this, mixed race had been growing and racism was less severe than in the world that Yuu knew of.
Nonetheless, the world changed in the 20th century with the spread of the idea of human rights and the idea of male protection.
At any rate, the world’s population was only about 70 to 80% of the world that Yuu knew of.
In relatively better regions, the percentage of men was about 10% of the total population. In Western Europe, which had suffered damage from the Red Death a number of times, the percentage was particularly low, only ranging from 2.0 to 2.5%.
Japan’s population was also on the rise until the period of rapid economic growth (1950s to late 1960s) due to emergency war demand, and at one time exceeded 80 million, but as they plunged into economic recession right after the bursting of the economic bubble, they had been seeing a gradual downward trend.
The percentage of men in Japan was 3.3%. Although this was somewhat better than in other developed countries, the male-to-female ratio was still 1:30.
According to 1978 statistics, the total population of Japan was 79 million.
Although the pace of decline was slow, as they were suffering from declining birth rates, it was predicted that if things stayed as they were, the population would fall below 70 million by the turn of the 21st century.
As expected, sensing an impending crisis, the government proposed a bold bill to address the declining birthrate, following in the footsteps of European countries that had been implementing drastic reforms in response to their remarkable population declines. The bill was adopted after overcoming objections from the opposition.
The bill also included a 『New Law for the Protection of Men』, which was designed not only to create a better environment for men than ever before, but also to promote marriage.
The so-called 『new law』 came into effect 10 years prior to the day Yuu was reborn in this world, in other words in April 1980.
Since then, as long as they fulfilled their obligations to marry multiple women and impregnate them, young men would be protected to the point of being overprotected, and they would also be spared from financial worries.
In return, not only was their action restricted, they faced the risk of being attacked by women if they let their guard down even a little.
In response to the growing idea of male protection, the Male Protection Agency (later merged into the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare) was established as a national institution in 1946.
Until then, wealthy families with boys had personally hired guards, but the country was hereby providing protection for men publicly.
The initial system set all men between the ages of 7 and 59 (later expanded to 69 and under from the time of birth) as protection subjects, who were protected by protection personnel dispatched by the Male Protection Agency.
The majority of the initial protection personnel posts were occupied by police and military alumni, and although they were skilled in anti-personnel battles, they tended to give priority to fighting the women who attacked them rather than protecting the men.
Not only were cases of organized abductions never ceasing as a result, the mass media also exposed the negligence of the Male Protection Agency in its duties, such as scandals in which the all-important protection personnel themselves committed sexual crimes against the men they were supposed to protect.
As a result, through a series of reforms, starting from the 『New Law for the Protection of Men』, the government established a new male escort personnel system and promoted privatization.
In addition to maintaining the nurturing and qualification systems through the escort personnel vocational school, the government provided support for families with boys, such as assistance with the cost of hiring security personnel.
In place of the public protection personnel, security companies played the central role in dispatching male security personnel, and the system had continued to the present day.
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At least it was fortunate that Yuu, who died in his original world, was not reborn in the period between late medieval and early modern era, which was said to be the dark ages for men.
The same was true for Yuu, after reaching middle age, it was not just once or twice that he dreamed 「If I were to be reborn into my younger days….」
As such an event would never happen in reality, he used to enjoy reading novels and manga, as well as watching movies that depicted stories about the so-called time travel.
When it occurred to his own self, he was quite surprised at the beginning, but once he regained his composure, he began to think positively about it, wondering how he could make the most of the situation.
As was often the case in time-travel stories, the so-called making a fortune by utilizing their knowledge of the future (or the past for him).
Unfortunately, however, Yuu had no experience in horse racing, cycle racing, or boat racing, and he had no recollections of when, where, or what won.
In the case of professional baseball, he felt like he could more or less remember which team would play in the Japan Series, but betting on baseball was prohibited in Japan.
Even if history progressed as Yuu knew it, it would be more than 10 years before football pools began.
There was also the option of investing in stocks of cell phones and IT-related companies starting from now, but Yuu, a new high school student, did not have such funds.
In any case, as the number of men had drastically declined and the society had become a women’s society, the political and economic situation had ended up changing, so Yuu felt like his knowledge would be of little use.
Instead, he had come to an understanding that for him, who was a man, a precious existence, and a 15-year-old exceptionally beautiful boy to boot, he felt like he could screw a woman very easily.
This world might be a paradise.
Joy slowly spread inside Yuu.
However, the Yuu inside had stayed as a 『good guy』 through the great majority of his 40 years of life, and the number of women with whom he had had relationships was only two. He was married once, but was divorced as his wife was unfaithful to him.
His courtship skills, such as communication and ability to take initiatives, were below average. Imbalanced to the outward appearances he had been reborn with.
Well, there is no mistaking that I’m popular, so I bet I’ll manage somehow or another.
Yuu deliberately thought of it optimistically.
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By the time Yuu noticed it, it had been more than an hour since he entered the men’s reading room.
The four books brought by the librarian boasted quite the volume, and although it was limited to the period from the early modern era onward only, he had gotten some understanding about this world that had ended up changing.
It was worth taking the trouble of going to the library.
After getting his male security personnel to call the librarian, he told her that he had achieved his goal and thanked her.
Filled with gratitude, he did it while holding her right hand with both hands.
However, mindful of the eyes of other women, he did not forget to be considerate and did it in the room.
The figure of her fumbling about with a bright red face was charming.
After finishing their business, Yuu and the others went out from the staff entrance to the parking lot.
That was because he had been told by Kanako that as expected, boldly going out from the front entrance would most likely subject them to a great deal of ordeal.
As when they came in, Kanako was in front of him and Touko was behind him, protecting him as they headed to the car.
「Hmm? The heck is that?」
Looking closely, he could see a crowd of about ten people around the Mercedes.
As soon as they recognized Yuu, they came toward him as they went kyaa-kyaa in high-pitched cheers.
At first, they seemed to be walking normally, but then one of them pulled ahead, and another pulled ahead, and as they competed with each other, in the end, they started running toward him, everybody for themselves.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
Reborn In A World of Chastity Reversal
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 70 hours
Tftc