Chapter 17: The Maidens of June Bride, Part One
It wasn’t long after returning from the hot spring trip that my final semester of high school began.
Time indeed flew by.
Dragging on, with who knows how much time in between, high school was finally coming to an end.
Including Hachi, who had taken ‘leave of absence,’ I might be the first person in the world to have attended high school for tens of billions of years… Thinking about it is rather amusing.
In a few more days, this infinitely prolonged high school life will also end.
Including my experiences in the Mirror World, this is already my second college entrance exam.
If none of this had ever happened, I should be a nervous candidate right now.
Yet, with the college entrance exam just two days away, I’m currently agonizing over what to eat for dinner (food) and what to eat (women) tonight. This has clearly become an abnormal situation. Just why did it turn out this way…
With a sigh, I placed my basket on the supermarket checkout counter. The cashier, whom I’d seen too many times, was staring at me blankly again.
“Um… excuse me, miss?”
If I’m not mistaken, this is the 33rd time I’ve had to remind her.
As if her soul had returned to her body, the cashier perked up, her face flushing red. She stammered while scanning the barcodes, “My, my apologies for keeping you waiting! I’ll ring you up right away!”
“Thank you, please do cheer up.”
“Haa~ Y-Yes!”
In the end, I didn’t intentionally leave her a pack of gum, nor did the cashier call out to me saying, “Hey, your X-Dha.”
But honestly, I think this cashier has fallen for me.
If thinking so the first time was just me being self-indulgent, this is the 33rd time. Even if I were dense, I would have noticed by now.
Moreover, it’s obvious… If you ask why, it’s plain to see.
The cashier’s flushed cheeks, as if she had a cold.
Her rapid breaths, like she was having trouble breathing.
The same terrible look in her eyes that Lan showed while watching my documentary (her pupils seemed to be imprinted with hearts).
And the most conclusive evidence is my sharp, perhaps overly keen, insight. Peering over the counter, I saw her tightly clenched legs and an unidentifiable sticky fluid on the floor in front of the counter.
This is more than just liking me; she likes me so much she wants to *have* me.
But this shouldn’t be it. I’m genuinely puzzled as to why she would fall for me. This cashier is already very beautiful…
…This is another great unsolved mystery.
Should I switch to a different supermarket to buy groceries?
I saw Miss Shirley waiting for me as soon as I walked out of the supermarket. This wasn’t the first time. Other regular customers were accustomed to it; they all knew that occasionally a maid would wait for a young man at the supermarket entrance.
“Young Master Juncheng, I’ve told you many times, shouldn’t buying dinner ingredients be left to the maid squad?”
“It’s just grocery shopping, I don’t want to trouble you all.”
“Your cooking already causes us maids a lot of trouble. If you start grocery shopping yourselves, the maids might face unemployment.”
“Whoa, is it that serious? I never intended to take the maids’ jobs. Can’t they at least help with the cleaning?”
“Unless you move to a more spacious mansion, we always have sufficient staff.”
“That’s no longer a maid squad; you could call it a maid legion.”
Somehow, Shirley’s maid force had expanded to several times its original size.
At first, there were only maids like Yan Yang, Yao Chun, and Bai. Then, the Seven Deadly Sins witches were incorporated, and after that, many familiar faces appeared, ones that made me feel awkward even to see.
Like Yinhua Jin, Zhao Zili and her follower Su Zhixia, etc. They are Young Misses, yet they all came to be maids. Even if they were down on their luck, do they really need to be maids?
Who knows what they are thinking, truly a nightmare.
“It’s precisely because I want to control the size of the maid legion that I hope you won’t go out.”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“Young Master Juncheng, whether you’re playing games at home, with women, or doing anything else, it’s still best to minimize your outings.”
“No, please! Lately, I feel like I’m truly thinking with my lower half. It hasn’t stopped for a single day.”
As a result, Lan succeeded.
I originally wanted to restrain myself, to cherish them a bit more. However, just before the hot spring trip ended, Lan confessed her feelings. My plan for self-restraint died before it could even officially begin.
What happens once tends to happen again and again.
The other girls’ ‘Lan-ification’ didn’t improve; it only worsened.
They were often in an excited state. That state seemed abnormal in every way. Their frequency of… was more frequent than rabbits.
How should I put it? Even their love for me is too fervent.
“I’m not a true otaku; I’m just pretending to be one. And I already go out very rarely. I only come out to run errands to catch my breath. Otherwise, even the air I breathe is filled with the scent of women!”
Moreover, more often than not, it’s mixed with other unpleasant odors.
“I understand how you feel, but your going out will only make the situation worse. Yes, just like that cashier earlier, you’ll attract many new women.”
“What do you mean?”
“Haven’t you noticed? Didn’t ‘Omniscience’ provide you with a corresponding answer?”
“Ah, I’ve blocked Omniscience. Knowing the outcome beforehand ruins the fun.”
It’s like being spoiled before watching a movie; wouldn’t that be unpleasant?
There needs to be a process, and one must enjoy the process.
“You mentioned the cashier earlier, Shirley. What did you mean? Do you know why she likes me?”
Miss Shirley smiled cheerfully and said,
“Heh, I didn’t expect I’d have the chance to explain it to you.”
“I’m all ears.”
“Young Master Juncheng, you currently possess a natural affinity. Everyone is influenced by it.”
“A natural affinity?”
“Yes. Because your essence is currently ‘the World,’ and humans are beings who live in the world, you are equivalent to the parents of humanity. Most humans will naturally like you.”
“But even so, it shouldn’t make me, uh, do *that* on the spot.”
I don’t think mere affinity can turn me into a *that* producer.
“It doesn’t cause such an extreme effect on men, but it’s different for women. Because the ‘world’ being male is extremely rare; in fact, there were no precedents before.”
That makes sense. The world initially had no consciousness, it was just a system.
Now that system is within me, so the concept of Juncheng has also been bestowed upon it.
“The world possessing the concept of ‘gender’ is already a ‘paradox.’ Because of this paradox, my abilities have been restored.”
“Is that so?”
Miss Shirley’s paradoxical abilities were significantly weakened before. Now they’ve recovered somewhat.
But the reason that I’m male… it feels a bit flimsy.
“Yes, all thanks to you. Now, to continue, in the original, normal world, there were certain ‘tendencies’ and ‘laws.’ For example, the world itself was male-dominated. Generally, the world or Earth is likened to ‘Mother,’ right? In reality, after the world split, its fragments also manifested as ‘human women.’”
I truly never wondered why Ling was a woman.
…
“This is related to the issue of inclination… The overly complex principles will not be elaborated on. You can also obtain the answer yourself through Omniscience.”
“Understood, just tell me the conclusion directly.”
“Because you are male, the ‘tendency’ of the world has been inverted. The ‘weight’ of men and women has been severely swapped.”
“The previous world was a patriarchal society. It’s highly possible that the future world will become a matriarchal society, and the status gap might become very large. Women will gain much higher status than they have now, become more open, and even their concept of chastity may be reversed.”
“The cashier just now is a prime example. Her desire to merge with you, the World, is simply a natural instinct.”
“Just because I’m male, even the world’s tendency has changed?! That’s ridiculous!”
“It’s not. Because you *are* the World, this world is constructed by you.”
“The Young Misses and the others were the first to be affected. You’ve noticed it, haven’t you? The Young Misses and the others are much more proactive than usual, their impulses have increased, and they’ve discarded their modesty and reserve. This is actually because their mindsets have changed.”
“No wonder! I was wondering why they all became so severely ‘Lan-ified.’ So that’s why!”
I knew it. Lan is a pervert, that’s one thing, but the others shouldn’t have been corrupted by her to become so perverse. It turns out this is the reason!
Truly, one is blind when they are in the thick of it. If Miss Shirley hadn’t told me, I might never have realized what was happening.
“So, what should be done about this?”
“Heh, the solution is simple. Since the world’s tendencies have changed because of the World itself, all that’s needed is for the World itself to change back. Do you…
…Are you truly willing?”
Miss Shirley asked, narrowing her eyes and teasingly looking at me.
Of course, I understood what it meant.
Changing the world’s tendencies means that as long as I stop being a man, or rather, if I become ‘genderless,’ the problem can be solved…
Ugh, this is truly a painful price to pay.
Should I continue being a man, and have all the women in the world become ‘Lan-ified’ into slutty devotees? Or should I give up being a man, and…
…Never mind, I’ll remain a man for now.
The future is uncertain. Perhaps a long, long, long time from now, when I’ve gone senile and felt tired of being a man, it’s not impossible that I might choose to become a woman…
“Then, you can only reduce your frequency of going out. Otherwise, the maid legion will continue to expand.”
“Why bring up the maid legion? …Wait, don’t tell me the maids are increasing because?!”
Miss Shirley nodded.
“Because Young Master Juncheng dotes on maids, women who admire you have joined the maid legion first. In reality, it can be considered your ‘harem’ that you’re selecting.”
“If this continues, one legion might not be enough. We might need to establish a separate city to accommodate your harem.”
Hearing this, I groaned, clutching my head.
“Gah! This is way worse than your ultimate stud status! I don’t want it! My balls are already overworked. Spare my balls!”
“So you can only try to avoid opportunities to interact with women.”
Damn it, this is the ultimate opposite of gynophobia!
It’s like I’ve become a non-existent male succubus, just like Lily back then. I have to hide myself using special methods and be constantly on guard.
“A constitution that gets you attacked by women just walking down the street… Therefore, the quality and standard of your harem will also be very high. Unlike the emperor’s harems of the past filled with ugliness, yours will truly be a 100% pure beauty harem, hehehehe.”
“I can’t be happy about this at all! You’re even laughing… Fine, I’ll stay home. I’ll forcibly become a shut-in.”
“It would be best if you were willing to stay at home. That way, the task Young Miss gave me will also be completed.”
Tsk, so Shirley explaining all this to me was also part of Lianbing and the others’ plan.
They definitely don’t want the harem to grow any larger.
That’s why they want me to stay home.
Knowing the truth, I listlessly returned to my doorstep and opened the door.
“Master (Brother), welcome home~” xN
Looking at the beautiful girls welcoming me home, all wearing alluring maid outfits and beaming with friendly smiles.
I suddenly realized.
Perhaps, this is also a form of ‘imprisonment,’ isn’t it…
After all, they are dangerous girls (bitter smile).
