“Things look more serious than I expected. Even at a glance, the condition of the fields isn’t good.”
Since my family’s territory also made a living through farming, I’ve had some general knowledge about agriculture from a young age.
While I might not be as knowledgeable as skilled farmers, I still knew enough to recognize the current state of the Marcel territory at a glance.
“You’re right… There hasn’t been any recent drought or bad weather, so if things look like this, does that mean the monster damage is worse than we thought?”
“But something feels off. No matter how much damage the monsters caused, is it really possible for there to be so few people working at this time of day?”
“Right. And if you look closely, you’ll notice that the only ones working in the fields are women.”
Following the saintess’s words, I looked again and saw that it really was only a few women sweating and laboring in the fields.
I didn’t hold the narrow-minded belief that certain jobs were strictly for men or women, but farming was physically demanding by nature, so it was common for the workforce to be mostly male.
You’d normally expect at least one or two men to be there for tasks like lifting heavy loads or plowing.
But in the fields before us now, it was only women who were doing all the work.
“Has the gender ratio always been this skewed in this region?”
“There’s no way. Even I don’t know every single corner of the Empire inside out, but I’ve never heard of a region with such a skewed gender ratio.”
“True. If something like this had happened anywhere else in the Empire, they would’ve responded to it long ago.”
Just then, the women working in the fields seemed to notice us and hurriedly ran over.
At first, I thought they were just coming to help some lost travelers, so I waited for them to approach.
But something about the way they were running felt undeniably suspicious.
It wasn’t the welcoming approach of someone greeting a friendly visitor. It was the frantic, desperate dash of someone pleading for help, someone under threat.
As they drew nearer, our group instinctively tensed and began assessing the situation.
“H-H-Have you… come from outside?”
“Yes. We’re from the Academy. We heard that there was damage from monster attacks some time ago and came because it seems the request for support was lost in processing. We’re here to apologize and offer assistance—”
“They’re from outside!”
“Oh my god! We’re saved!!”
The moment they realized we were outsiders, the women began cheering with pure joy. Their faces were full of hope.
They looked like slaves who had just been set free. And the sight left us all exchanging confused and shocked glances.
“Um, excuse me, but… has something happened in this territory—”
“What do you think you’re doing?! Get back to work this instant!”
Just as I was about to ask about the secret behind this territory, a furious male voice rang out from behind us.
When I turned around, I saw a man dressed like part of a village vigilante force approaching us, flanked by several other men armed with swords and spears.
“You’re all slacking off here?! Are you asking to die or what… Huh? A man? And unfamiliar women too?”
The man who seemed to be the leader of the group stepped forward to drag us away, but froze when he realized he didn’t recognize our faces.
To his eyes, it must’ve looked like the women were slacking off and gossiping, but upon closer approach, he was clearly thrown off by the presence of strangers in the village.
“You there. What’s your name and rank?”
“What the hell?! Who do you think you are, you half-witted wench, daring to question me?!”
It was obvious to anyone that the princess didn’t have an ordinary appearance.
Though it may sound a bit rude, it was objectively clear that she shone far more brightly and beautifully than the local women here. And yet, the man brazenly insulted her as a dim-witted girl.
His shocking words were so outrageous that even the Princess, known for her composure, was left momentarily speechless.
“Half-witted… Are you talking about me?”
“Th-That’s right! Except for Her, all other women are just ugly, brainless bumpkins—!”
“My name is Asteria Von Caelum. Second princess of this empire and currently serving as the student council president of the academy. I haven’t fully solidified my position yet, but I am already working to claim the title of the next emperor. Let me ask you again. Do I still seem like a half-witted girl to you?”
“P-Princess!!”
“Ah, my apologies!!”
At the word “princess”, the group behind the leader began to fidget anxiously, then soon dropped to their knees.
Even the women who had been with us were startled by the revelation and quickly lowered their heads, dropping to their knees in a hurry.
Left standing alone, the leader didn’t know what to do and, after a moment of hesitation, slowly knelt like the others to show his respect.
“For your information, this one is a duke’s daughter, and the other is a saintess. These two men are also sons of noble families, so it’d be best not to entertain any foolish thoughts.”
“H-Hurk!”
“Now then, explain. What exactly is going on here? Where have all the men gone, and why are only the women left to do the farming?”
“Th-That is…”
Even faced with a question from the princess, they struggled to answer.
It could’ve easily been mistaken for defiance, but for some reason, I had the sense that it wasn’t that they wouldn’t speak, but that they couldn’t.
“B-But…”
“W-We can’t tell a woman…”
What is this?
The state of the men was clearly not normal.
It felt like there was a battle raging within them. A clash between two sides of themselves.
One side urging them to kneel before the noble figures before them, and the other seeming to resist and push back against it.
The men, caught in the clash between their two selves, were confused and didn’t know what to do.
“Princess, judging by their reactions, it may not be of their own will. They might be under some form of control. Perhaps we should first meet with the lord of this region to understand the situation.”
“Hmm… Yes, that sounds like a good idea.”
I approached the confused leader of the patrol with a gentle smile and spoke to him.
“Please, calm down. May I ask you to guide us to the lord of this territory? This is a serious matter, and it would be more appropriate for the lord to make a judgment than any of you.”
“Ah, the lord…! Y-Yes, understood.”
When we shifted the responsibility of decision-making to the lord, the men seemed relieved and proceeded to lead the way.
Thump–!
“Be careful! It’s not just the men here. Something’s wrong with the lord too. He used to always care about us, but at some point, he stopped showing himself, and now he controls us through the men.”
Just as we were about to follow those walking ahead, one of the women behind grabbed my hand and whispered something strange.
“This is odd. No… I should say suspicious.”
“Is this region always this male-dominated and oppressive toward women?”
“That can’t be. This is an empire that has even produced empresses several times. Such ideologies became obsolete and disappeared long ago. Sure, there are still a few old-fashioned elders who hold on to those beliefs, but even so…an entire territory, however small, being like this is a first.”
“We came here to hunt monsters, and now this… what the hell…”
Swallowing our confusion, we followed the backs of the patrol members leading us toward the lord’s castle.
***
“It sounds noisy outside… What’s going on?”
The lord’s castle of the Marcel Territory.
Inside the lord’s office, a woman’s voice rang out.
Her voice was captivating. It was almost too alluring to simply ignore in passing and carried a strange charm that seemed to grip the hearts of men.
“H-Hmm… Should we… check it out?”
The older man attending her didn’t appear to be an ordinary servant; his clothes suggested otherwise.
“Well, it’s probably nothing. Who would bother coming all the way out to this backwater place anyway? So, Lord~ how are the other men doing?”
“Y-Yes… They’ve grown a bit weak, but they’re still holding on. However… those who were born with weaker constitutions have fallen ill…”
“That’s fine. Set those ones aside. We’ll send them off as test subjects~”
The man referred to as the lord had the same vacant, unfocused eyes as the rest of the territory’s people.
The lord of Marcel had always been known as an exceptionally frugal man. So much so that he was famed for using even what little he had entirely for the sake of his people. His integrity was beyond reproach.
Yet now, his office was dazzlingly decorated with gold and jewels, flaunting an extravagant wealth.
“Tsk. What a filthy little territory. There’s nothing here. Just a few shabby antiques at best. You should be grateful I’ve decorated it like this.”
“Y-Yes… I’m very grateful.”
“I know we’re trying to erase all traces quickly, but I’d really like to be done with this backwater dump. Let’s drain the men’s life force as fast as we can and turn all the women into test subjects—”
Knock knock.
At that moment, a knock on the door broke her train of thought.
“Excuse me.”
“What is it now?”
“Your Highness, the princess and the duke’s daughter have arrived in our territory. What shall we do?”
“What?!”
She shot up from her seat and beckoned the waiting attendant inside.
“What did you just say? Repeat that!”
“It’s exactly as I said. The imperial princess, the duke’s daughter, and someone claiming to be a saintess have arrived in the territory. They’re being guided here as we speak.”
“Damn it! Useless idiots! What were they thinking, bringing them here—no, wait a moment….”
She erupted in anger at the foolish actions of the men who had become her puppets, but her expression quickly brightened as a new idea came to her.
“Line up all the servants; have the maids help me get dressed. Go out there and get the situation under control. Quickly.”
“Yes, understood.”
As the servant who had brought the news hurried out, she recalled the mission she had been given before coming here.
“If I can bring back the imperial princess, the duke’s daughter, and the so-called saintess as test subjects… that’d be a far greater accomplishment than anything those other fools have done, right? Hm~ Let’s see… I should pick out the pretty ones first~”
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