It Seems the Demon King Has Returned to a World Where Gender Roles Are Reversed - Chapter 49

 Chapter 49 :

In response to the boy’s shout, Ragna made an awkward expression and apologized.

The boy, seemingly flustered by his own loud voice, hurriedly accepted the apology. Along with the apology, Ragna introduced himself.

“Ragna Steiner. Sorry, my mistake.”

“…Eric Tranmier.”

With his introduction, the boy, Eric, gave a light cough. He didn’t seem to be in great health.

“…”

As Ragna heard Eric’s introduction, he scanned him up and down once more. Feeling Ragna’s gaze, Eric shrank slightly and said,

“W-What?”

“…No, I was just wondering if you’re really a guy.”

“I’m a guy! Isn’t that obvious? Only guys can be here in the first place!”

“Well, sure, but…”

Even so, his appearance wasn’t easy to judge at a glance. Pale skin and hair, large eyes, and a small frame compared to Ragna, he was easily a head shorter in sitting height.

At first glance, one might mistake him for a young girl. The only thing that distinctly marked him as male was his flat chest, which was impossible to mistake for a girl’s.

“…!”

Perhaps sensing the unsettling gaze directed at his chest, Eric hurriedly covered it. Seeing this, Ragna scratched his head and gave a wry smile.

“…Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’m used to it by now.”

His voice carried a hint of bitterness, almost self-deprecating. Ragna felt an instinctive urge to agree.

“Well, anyway… Sorry, but can I ask one more thing?”

“Hm?”

“That book… where’d you get it?”

At Ragna’s question, Eric glanced at the book he’d been reading moments ago. Unlike the plain books on the desks of others, it was large and had a flashy cover.

“This book? From the library, obviously.”

Eric answered as if it were the most natural thing, tilting his head as if wondering why Ragna would ask.

Nodding, Ragna said,

“Hm, I see… So that’s how it is.”

“…?”

“No, I have some business at the library myself. Thought it was a good opportunity. Could you show me where it is later, if you have time?”

“Huh? Well, I…”

“Can I ask you that favor?”

“…”

“…”

“…Alright.”

Overwhelmed by Ragna’s persistence, Eric reluctantly agreed.

Satisfied, Ragna nodded with a smile.

At that moment, the door burst open, and a woman strode into the classroom. All eyes turned toward the teacher’s podium.

“Attention!”

At someone’s command, the students stood up. As the woman reached the podium, the call came:

“Salute!”

Following the command, the students raised their hands in salute toward the figure at the podium. Ragna mimicked their actions, following along as best he could.

He glanced at the woman at the podium.

“…At ease.”

Her voice was husky, almost indifferent.

At her command, the boys lowered their saluting hands and returned to their seats.

“Before we start the lesson, there’s something to address. Um, let’s see… A new male first-year student has joined us.”

Scratching her disheveled hair, the woman glanced at a crumpled piece of paper in her hand.

“…Ragna, Ragna Steiner?”

“Yes.”

Hearing his name, Ragna stood up, starting to step forward.

“No need to come up. Stay there.”

“…”

“Anyway, starting today, Ragna will be training with us. Get to know his face. That’s all.”

With a light gesture, she signaled Ragna to sit. He quietly returned to his seat.

Confirming this, the woman flipped through her book and said,

“Alright… So, uh, Doyle Burken.”

“Yes!”

“Where are we starting today’s lecture?”

“…The section on His Majesty Amalie III.”

“Right. Let’s begin. Everyone, quiet down.”

At her words, the boys silently opened their books. Ragna followed suit, flipping through the pages. And so, the lecture began.

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_

“…That’s odd.”

“What’s odd?”

“No, I mean… Is this how lectures always go?”

After the morning session ended, during the lunch break, Ragna, packing his things, asked Eric with a serious expression.

Caught off guard, Eric replied,

“…Yeah, that’s right. Mornings are for general education. And in the afternoons…”

“Afternoons?”

“It depends on the person, doesn’t it? Everyone does what they want.”

“…No classes?”

“Well, we’re guys. Usually, girls have sparring and training in the afternoons, but guys don’t have a reason to do that.”

“Why not?”

“Why? Isn’t it obvious? Guys don’t go to war. Even if a guy becomes a knight, he can’t actually take a knight’s position. At best, he’d become an officer. So, teaching us how to fight is seen as pointless.”

“…”

Ragna recalled something he’d heard before about the differences between male and female knights.

Through a ritual called the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, women gain the ability to wield “black magic,” a power men can only possess innately, if at all. Moreover, black magic is a force not native to this world, making it difficult to increase. Women who acquire it through the ritual can continuously generate it within their bodies, allowing for easier growth.

Even if a man is born with strong magic, over time, a woman’s power surpasses his. Thus, teaching men swordsmanship or combat skills is deemed unnecessary since they’d have little use for it.

“…Makes sense. So, what’s your plan now?”

“Hm? Me?”

“Yeah.”

“…The cafeteria’s probably crowded right now, so I’m not keen on going. I was thinking of heading to the library to return this book.”

Eric spoke cautiously, almost warily. Ragna nodded.

“Perfect timing.”

“…?”

“I’ve got business at the library too. Mind if I tag along?”

“…”

Eric frowned, deep in thought, before nodding hesitantly.

“…Sure, alright.”

“…”

Nodding back, Ragna began packing his things. Together, they left the classroom as others trickled out. Glancing back, Ragna noticed the boys in the back seats, who had been chatting among themselves the entire class, unlike the attentive boys in the front.

Their behavior contrasted sharply with the front-row students, who had been focused on the lecture. What stood out more was the teacher’s attitude she hadn’t seemed to care about the back-row boys’ chatter at all.

As they walked out of the building, Ragna spoke up.

“By the way, earlier…”

“Yeah?”

“That teacher… our homeroom teacher, I guess? The one lecturing at the podium…”

“Oh, Teacher Fiona?”

Fiona, was it? Eric gave a wry smile.

“…She might seem a bit odd at first, but she’s not a bad person. Teacher Fiona’s a well-known scholar in her own right.”

His expression carried a hint of admiration. Was she his type or something? Shaking his head, Ragna said,

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“Then what?”

“Those guys sitting way in the back do you remember them?”

“The back… Oh.”

“Yeah, them. Why didn’t the teacher say anything when they were chatting during class?”

Even in a lax classroom, talking and goofing off during a lecture was a serious insult to the teacher. Five hundred years ago, they’d have been kicked out immediately. Having lived in that era, Ragna couldn’t understand why Fiona ignored them.

Eric sighed lightly.

“…It’s better not to worry about them. They live in a different world from us.”

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well… You probably noticed, but the class is split into two groups: the ones in the front and the ones in the back.”

“Yeah, I saw that.”

“The kids in the front come from ordinary families. Born and raised normally, then discovered to have magic, so they ended up here.”

“…”

“But the kids in the back are different. They were born into prominent families. That’s why they’re treated differently and can act like that.”

“…Even so, if they’re at the academy, aren’t they all the same? I never heard anything about the academy discriminating based on status.”

Ragna muttered, recalling what Karen had told him. But Eric sighed again.

“No, that’s not true.”

“…?”

“There’s definitely discrimination, even if it’s subtle. It’s inevitable when people from different classes are gathered together. Plus, those guys are… special.”

“Special?”

“…Simply put, their circumstances are different. Oh, by the way, why did you end up at this academy, Ragna?”

“…A few reasons. The biggest one is probably that I failed at marriage four times in a row.”

The decisive blow had been Annerose’s visit, but Ragna kept that to himself. His words shocked Eric, who covered his mouth in disbelief.

“F-Four times?!”

“…Yeah. Is that such a big deal?”

“Of course it is! It’s rare for marriage to happen four times, and failing all of them is even weirder! Was there… some kind of problem?”

“No, not really.”

“Hm… You look fine, and there doesn’t seem to be any obvious issue… Maybe there’s another reason… Wait, Steiner… Steiner… Steiner?!”

Eric suddenly shouted, then coughed violently. Alarmed, Ragna approached and patted his back.

“You okay?”

“…Yeah, I’m fine. It happens all the time, no need to worry. Anyway, Steiner… Hm, I see.”

“…?”

“No, it’s nothing. Just talking to myself.”

Eric forced a smile. Ragna stepped back.

“Four times, though… Was there really no reason?”

“I don’t know. Until recently, I was just a lumberjack working at a logging site.”

“Oh, really? I see…”

“…?”

“No, I just thought… it makes sense you wouldn’t know. Let me explain simply…”

Pausing for a moment, Eric pointed to himself.

“I’m not in great health.”

“…?”

“I’ve had a chronic illness since I was young. My body’s weak, and while I can use magic, it’s only a tiny amount.”

“…”

“That’s why I failed at matchmaking. And that’s why I ended up at this academy there wasn’t anywhere else for me to go. Most of the kids in the front are in the same boat.”

Eric muttered self-deprecatingly. Ragna listened quietly.

In summary, Eric explained:

About a hundred male knights are born each year. Some lose their magic, die, or fall ill and disappear at a young age. By the time they reach an age to have children, only about half remain.

Most are used in matchmaking arrangements, where noble families pay their original parents to adopt them, using them to form marriage alliances with other families.

“A tool, huh…”

“Male knights are the ultimate means to ensure the next generation. Ambitious families can’t resist reaching for them. They’re a great way to connect with powerful houses.”

Eric explained with a bitter tone, coughing as he continued.

“But not all male knights succeed in matchmaking. Your case seems a bit unusual, Ragna… but others fail for various reasons. In my case, it’s my weak body and minimal magic.”

“What about the others?”

“We don’t talk much, so I don’t know details. Probably things like unappealing looks or failing to find a suitable match. And those who fail end up here at the academy.”

“Why?”

Eric gave a bitter smile.

“The families that adopted these boys wanted to use them to connect with powerful houses. But if that fails, the boys lose their value. The families lose interest. They’re still part of the family, so incest isn’t an option though some families do that. The kids here didn’t even make it to that point.

These kids have lost their utility. But the money paid to their original parents is too precious to waste. Why do you think these families send them to the academy?”

“…”

Ragna let out a soft groan. A nauseating thought crossed his mind the same one he’d had when he first heard about male knights: “stud horses.”

“…No way.”

“You’re probably right. And you get why guys are educated separately now, don’t you?”

“…”

Ragna’s expression darkened. Eric continued with a bitter smile.

“…That’s why the kids in the front are working so hard. They know their situation and are desperate to escape it.”

“Does becoming an officer change anything?”

“It makes you harder to touch. Male officers usually get desk jobs or work like testing golems. They don’t go to the front lines or if they do, they get safe postings. It’s a definite improvement.”

“…What about you, Eric?”

Eric shook his head with a wry smile.

“Not quite. I wasn’t adopted I’m from the Tranmier family. But even so, the Tranmiers aren’t exactly wealthy… so after failing at matchmaking, I came here to find my own path.”

“…”

Ragna nodded, reflecting. He’d underestimated this world a society where women dominate men, twisted beyond what he’d imagined after 500 years. He might have been too naive.

“But still.”

“…?”

“Those guys in the back they’re different.”

“The ones in the back?”

“Yeah. They’re not like me, with flaws, or like the others who failed matchmaking for some reason.”

“Then why…”

“They’re here for a different reason than us, who came to find a way to survive. In short—”

Eric’s voice carried a self-deprecating tone.

“they’re here to find women to bear their children, without relying on matchmaking.”

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Translated by Reversalnovel.web.id