IT WAS MIDNIGHT.
Leon was fast asleep as Luxion hovered in their shared room. The lens of
Luxion's red eye trained on his master. "Leon Fou Bartfort. Male, sixteen years
of age. Claims he was reincarnated in a dating sim."
Had Leon been less fascinating, Luxion would have refused to let the man use
him. Indeed, he would've self-destructed on the spot.
"It's intriguing that he calls himself Japanese as well," Luxion mused. "He's
seen through every fake I've presented."
Leon was convinced of his Japanese heritage. Luxion was skeptical at first, so
he tested his master numerous times to check the validity of his claims. For
example, when Luxion gave him a "katana," Leon looked utterly puzzled. What's
this supposed to be? Some kind of fantasy katana? he asked. Clear proof that
either Leon was Japanese as he claimed, or he knew of the Japanese people and
their culture.
This made Leon acceptable. The second Luxion discovered Leon was lying, he
would turn on him. Granted, the chances that Leon was successfully deceiving
him even at this point were low, but Luxion had to be sure.
"So this world truly is an otome game, then?" Luxion muttered.
Leon said as much, anyway.
It was true Holfort Kingdom conformed to a kind of matriarchy; they showed
women favoritism over men. An illogical amount, really.
"Women are the ruling social class. Matriarchal tendencies are especially
pronounced at a certain level of the hierarchy as well. This is curious, since it
isn't as if society has a particular abundance of men to discard."
Given the new humans had magic, it was impossible to classify the
technological advancement of their civilization compared to that of the old
humans. Nonetheless, on a social level, it wouldn't be odd for men to be
favored over women, given their rarity.
In addition to war, this world suffered from monsters. The fatality rate for
men was exceedingly high, lowering their population rate. It wasn't as
noticeable at the academy, but the ratio of men to women changed drastically
in women's favor a few years after graduation due to the severity of the threats
to them.
Among the old humans, men typically held the power to choose their
partners, not the other way around. Given the circumstances among the new
humans, it would have made sense to Luxion if men continued to hold that
power. In addition, men remained the breadwinners and held titles and status
in this world, and they were furthermore expected to defend these on the
battlefield.
"The present context accords ownership and responsibility to men, so why
are women perceived to hold authority?"
It was difficult for Luxion to comprehend. He was even further puzzled by
Leon's situation.
Leon had nearly been sold to a fifty-year-old woman. On top of that, men
were expected to accept unfavorable terms in order to be married and acquire
heirs, but then had to cope with the fact that their wife had other lovers with
whom she might bear children. This world had no technology with which to
verify DNA, so how could any man whose wife enjoyed the company of other
men confirm a child truly bore his blood?
Luxion simply couldn't believe this had naturally become a norm; the rules
didn't bear out under closer inspection.
"Did someone purposefully force society to favor women without altering the
undergirding principles? Or is this truly a frivolously structured otome game
world? No, that's impossible."
Leon flipped over in his sleep. He seemed to be resting peacefully. Convinced
this was simply an otome game world, he didn't bother to contemplate why
society functioned the way it did.
"This truly is an entertaining world. I suppose I'll continue to watch it
alongside my master." Luxion had little genuine investment in the world now
that the old humans had perished. The only thing that drew his attention was
Leon. "Ah, but my master truly is a fool."
The way Leon looked at situations was so very naive, after all.
"Most people wouldn't venture to my island alone simply because they were
about to be sold off. If he had the courage to successfully pull something like
that off, why didn't he make a move sooner?"
Leon wasn't incompetent. In fact, he had a reputation for being "slightly
above average," to the point it almost seemed he was intentionally aiming for
the middling scores he achieved. Luxion was certain that if he'd put in a little
effort, Leon could be at the top of his grade.
Alas, Leon lacked the essential quality needed for that: motivation.
"The only thing he has any motivation to pursue is tea." Luxion glanced in
exasperation at the expensive tea set and high-quality tea leaves scattered
around the room. If you really are Japanese, you should be more interested in
the tea ceremony than this type of tea!
All in all, Leon was competent but lazy. However…
"He isn't evil. Though it would be a bit…difficult to call him 'good.'"
Leon wasn't a bad person. The fact that he insisted he wouldn't get involved
with Olivia or Angelica but still intervened when they were bullied was proof of
that.
"I'm sure he could have gone about it in a better way."
Leon had Luxion, after all. There was so much else he could have done. If he'd
focused on gathering intel from the beginning, he'd have anticipated Marie's
predicament earlier. Then there would have been no need for him to intervene
and dirty his own hands. He got involved because his opponent inadvertently
put herself on the path to achieving his own goals over hers.
Leon made excuses—so many excuses—but he really was a good-natured
person. He'd wanted to help Olivia and Angelica. Marie, however…
"According to Master, she also reincarnated into this world. I wonder what
she'll do from here on out?"
Luxion shifted his gaze to the window, peering at the moon hanging in the
sky. It was one thing for his master to realize Marie's true nature, but it hadn't
stopped her from stealing the spot that Leon saw as rightfully Olivia's.
If what Leon said was true and the story continued the way it was, Holfort
Kingdom would soon be caught up in a war. How would things play out when
that happened? Olivia didn't have her love interests to support her. Worse yet,
Marie had taken all five of those men hostage, and being the idiots that they
were, they had thrown away their inheritances for her. Meanwhile, Leon had
both Angelica and Olivia at his side. Things were going far differently than Leon
had said they would.
As Luxion took in his sleeping master, he became convinced Leon wasn't
putting much thought into the repercussions of these events. He spent such
little time contemplating the future.
"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. If anything unforeseen should occur, he
and anyone else involved with him can ride aboard me to escape. That was the
reason he sought me out to begin with. I'll protect him, no matter what
happens."
Luxion turned his gaze back to the moon. "Though…I do wonder if my
comrades carried out their mission safely."