Lys and Sara stepped out into the bright morning sun.
They walked side by side, not too close but close enough that their arms brushed now and then. Sara let out a big sigh as soon as they were out of earshot from the house.
"Phew, somehow I got through that," she said, fanning her face with one hand. "I thought for sure your mom was gonna ask about last night. Thank the gods she didn't. I don't think I could ever look her in the eye again if she did."
Lys glanced at her, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Hey, no need to worry about it. I'll talk to her later. I don't think she'll be against it."
Sara stopped walking for a second, turning to stare at him with wide eyes. "Huh? What are you talking about? Why wouldn't she be against it? Who wants their kids doing... that? I mean, I know you're not her real son, and yeah, after the curse hit, with so few men around, people have gotten into all kinds of relationships just to keep things going. It's changed the whole country. But still, it's super taboo for a lot of folks. I'm pretty sure your mom's one of them. She'd freak out."
Lys kept walking, his hands in his pockets, that same small smile on his face growing a bit wider and a little wicked. "It's okay. Trust me, I know exactly how to convince her."
Sara caught up, eyeing him sideways. She saw the sly glint in his eyes, the way his smile curved just a tad too much. It made her stomach flip, but not in a bad way. "What... what does that even mean? You're not planning something crazy, are you?"
Lys chuckled softly, bumping her shoulder lightly with his. "Nothing crazy. Just... talking it out. You'll see."
She shook her head, but a small laugh escaped her. "You're weird sometimes, you know that? But fine, if you say so. Just don't make things worse."
-----
A few neighbors were already up, tending to gardens or doing something else. The neighborhood of this new house was very different compared to the hut Lys used to stay. Although most of them were women, he saw some men too. Which surprised him a little, given how rare men are in this world, especially healthy and young men like he was seeing now before him.
It sparked a question in his mind. He asked Sara about it, "Hey, Sara. Is this area of the village reserved for wealthy or well-off families or something?! I don't see any huts or poorly built houses around here. Also, I see many men roaming around, too."
Sara gave a warm smile, "Yes, I chose this area specifically for that purpose. Here you can walk around or interact with men and women more easily than in the slum. As you can see, many men live here too. Many of them are already married or have well suited job, which gives them this good quality of life. You'll feel at home here. Most of the men, many nobles from the capital, take their home are mostly from around areas like these. I think every village in our nation has an area like this. Wealthy and well-off people stick together, and others live in the rest of the area, mostly scattered. But wait a second, I thought everybody knew this fact. But you seem surprised to hear this. Lys, are you not feeling well? Should I take you home?!"
Lys gave her a reassuring smile, "It's okay, Sara. I feel fine. I just asked to be sure, that's it."
----
They kept going down the path. A couple of villagers waved hello, and Sara waved back with a polite smile, too. Most of them knew Sara, given how influential she was in this village. Lys also nodded, but his mind was already running at full speed.
Sara's words from earlier stuck with him, the part about nobles from the capital coming to areas like this to pick men for their families. It made sense to him, in this cursed world, where men were so rare.
He thought about the possibility of him getting selected by some wealthy nobles. Pros of it jumped out in his mind: living in luxury, no more scraping by like his old life, maybe even having power and respect from others. Plus, he could even breed a whole generation, with influential people supporting him. After all, this is what those nobles want, right? Having as many child-heirs as possible, to secure their future.
But after thinking it through, the cons hit harder. Leaving his family? Elara and Mira needed him. And what about the goddess's task? She sent him here to fix this world his way, not to be some noble's stud horse in a fancy house.
'No, that won't work.' He pushed the idea away, shaking his head slightly.
Sara noticed and tilted her head. "You okay? You look like you're thinking hard about something."
Lys blinked, pulling himself back. "Yeah, just... stuff. Nothing big."
She bumped his arm playfully. "Stuff like what? Come on, spill it. We're almost at my house, might as well talk while walking. It is boring to just walk silently."
He glanced around. A woman waved from her garden, and Sara waved back with a friendly "Morning!" Lys nodded politely.
He lowered his voice a bit. "That thing you said earlier, about nobles taking men from places like this. Does that happen a lot?"
Sara nodded, kicking a small stone out of the way. "Oh yeah, all the time. After years of that curse not being erased, it made it normal, you know? Nobel families with power need heirs, and there aren't enough guys to go around, plus the ones you can find, most can't….perform well. You know what I mean, right? So, they scout villages, pick healthy ones, and offer money or land to the family. It has become almost like a business deal nowadays around here. Why? You worried someone's gonna snatch you up or something?"
Lys laughed, but it came out a little forced. "Nah, just curious. It sounds... complicated. What if the guy doesn't want to go? Do they force him or what?"
She shrugged, her shoulder brushing his again. "Umm, most do, I think. It offers them a better life, right? Why wouldn't they! Food, nice clothes, and women fawning over you. Even I think that kind of life has its advantages. But yeah, some say no. Most of the nobles don't force it, usually. They just move on to the next village, I hear."
Lys nodded slowly, his thoughts racing again. A better life sounded good, but not if it meant ditching everything. His mission was bigger than that. "Hmm, makes sense. Guess I'm the unlucky one then. Seeing how one came knocking at my door yet."
Sara grinned, poking his side. "Yeah, I'm also surprised at that. Although I don't know how you were before, but experiencing how healthy you were yesterday, I think it is only a matter of time before someone comes to take you away. So better be prepared for that, Lys. Stick with us, simple folk."
She said it with a joking tone, but Lys knew she was serious about it too.
He smiled back at her, "Yeah. Simple sounds better to me, too."
They rounded a bend, and Sara's house came into view.
Author note: Chapters will come daily as usual.