“Eh, memory impairment?”
Masanojo was confused when the doctor told him that.
But it was understandable.
Not many people could stay calm after suddenly being told something like that.
On top of being bewildered by the string of events that had happened, being told he had memory impairment was enough to shake anyone.
However, Masanojo himself couldn’t think of any specific memory that was wrong or impaired.
As far as he could remember, nothing seemed out of place.
When he honestly told the doctor this, the doctor began explaining by comparing Masanojo’s memories with reality.
If he had to sum up the common sense of this world that the doctor told him in one phrase…
“What the hell is this???”
That was it.
The name of the country he was in was apparently Japan.
…Duh, of course it was.
What else would it be if not Japan?
Why was the doctor saying something so obvious with such a serious face?
But the next thing he heard made Masanojo want to retort immediately.
Tokyo Central Special District?
What was that?
What was a Special District?
The capital of Japan was supposed to be Tokyo.
But according to the doctor, Japan’s capital was this Tokyo Central Special District.
He had never heard of such a thing.
Furthermore, Tokyo didn’t have 23 wards but 13 wards centered around the Special District.
Cities like Machida and Tama had completely disappeared from Tokyo.
It made no sense.
When Masanojo pressed the doctor, asking what kind of joke this was, the doctor stubbornly insisted it was common knowledge.
His expression didn’t look like he was joking at all.
As proof, he showed a map, and sure enough, it clearly said “Tokyo Central Special District.” Other shocking facts were also written on the map.
Hokkaido was gone.
The area where Hokkaido should have been was now called “Ezo no Kuni” — some strange name — and had become a special autonomous region.
Shikoku and the Okinawa area also had completely different names from what Masanojo remembered.
He couldn’t hide his shock.
These shocking facts from the doctor, however, were nothing more than a prelude compared to the truths he was about to learn.
“It’s not Reiwa…?”
The current era name was not Reiwa.
When he asked if it was Heisei, he learned that neither Showa, Heisei, nor Reiwa existed in this world.
He could somewhat accept that place names had changed.
But era names?
Those shouldn’t change so easily.
Era names represent a country’s history itself.
Changing them meant the history itself had changed.
There was no way he could accept something like that so easily.
He couldn’t understand it at all.
Yet the Western calendar year was still 2023, which made the whole thing sound like a poorly made joke.
But when even more facts were added to this bad joke, Masanojo could no longer stay calm.
“What did you just say…?”
With an expression like a pigeon that had been shot with a bean gun, Masanojo stared at the doctor.
The doctor spoke slowly and gently, as if trying to persuade him.
“Currently, in our country, men make up approximately 0.1% of the population.
That’s about 120,000 people.”
“120,000…?”
“Yes.”
No no no, what kind of joke was the doctor making?
Only 120,000 men in the entire country?
That was absurd.
A gender ratio of 1:1000 would mean the country was finished.
There was no way something like that could exist.
Japan wouldn’t even be able to function as a nation.
But according to the doctor, Japan was still relatively well-off.
In other countries, the gender ratio was often even worse, and there were even nations with zero men.
That couldn’t even be called a country anymore.
Actually, it shouldn’t even be counted as one.
But apparently, this was the normal common sense of this world.
Then Masanojo realized something, and a cold sweat ran down his back.
Impossible.
There was no way.
But if this was true…
Masanojo looked at the doctor in front of him.
The doctor was a woman of a certain age.
And it wasn’t just the doctor.
Masanojo remembered.
Ever since he woke up in the hospital, every single person he had met was female.
Hospital staff, police officers, even the convenience store clerk — everyone had been a woman.
Masanojo felt dizzy.
“Mr.
Kasumi!”
The doctor hurriedly supported him.
“This must have been a lot to take in all at once.
Let’s stop here for today.”
She said this while checking on his condition, but Masanojo, despite his pale face, asked her to continue.
“But…”
“Please.
Keep going.”
But please don’t push yourself.
If it becomes too difficult, tell me right away.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Masanojo then heard many more things from the doctor.
Same-sex marriage, artificial insemination, male protection policies — the common sense unique to this world was so different from what he knew that he couldn’t keep up.
What surprised him the most was the advancement of genetic research in this world.
Perhaps because the world was so crazy, genetic research here had progressed far beyond what he knew.
It was apparently possible for same-sex couples to have children together.
Moreover, it was extremely common.
In Japan, about 90% of births were from same-sex reproduction.
That explained how a country could function with only 0.1% men.
If this world had the same genetic technology as his original one, the country would have gone extinct long ago.
It was a completely absurd world, but he had no choice but to accept it.
This was how things were here.
Even so, it wasn’t something he could immediately come to terms with.
He would probably struggle with the differences for a while.
Thinking about the various hardships he would face living here, Masanojo could only slump his shoulders and let out a deep sigh.
After that, Masanojo asked the doctor about this world for as long as time allowed.
Even after the doctor’s examination ended, he lay alone in bed, thinking about what was to come.
“This has turned into something really serious…”
Emika, who had been silently watching the doctor’s examination, heard Masanojo’s muttering and gently spoke to him.
“It’s going to be okay, Masano-chan.
Mom is right here with you.”
She held his hand and smiled gently.
For a moment, Masanojo felt as if his body had become lighter.
“…Thank you, Mom.”
Touched by his family’s kindness, Masanojo felt his heart calming down.
Family.
That thought reminded him of something, so he asked Emika.
“By the way, how are Dad and Ririka doing?
Are they both okay?”
He asked about his father Kazunari and his younger sister Ririka.
Emika looked surprised for a moment, then quickly recovered and answered with a somewhat sad smile.
“Ririka-chan is currently away at a club training camp.
And… Masano-chan, there is no father in our family.”
“…Huh?”
“You and Ririka-chan were both born through artificial insemination.
So there is no father.”
“Oh…”
Dear Dad,
Dad.
It seems that in this world, fathers are considered nonexistent.
My deepest condolences~~~~