Narrator's POV
"Shit, another day with these capitalist vampires," Henry grumbled without hiding his annoyance as he opened his apartment door.
It was late. Henry had been forced to work overtime at the convenience store.
Why?
His boss had an "emergency," so he had to work more to compensate for this gap in their schedule.
Normally, anyone would have shown their dissatisfaction with this irresponsible boss, but Henry's financial situation forced him to stay quiet and endure this abuse of power.
Henry was a young mechanical engineering student. He wasn't exceptional in his studies, but he wasn't bad either.
Unfortunately, he had a complex social and personal life.
Having inherited anger issues from his abusive father didn't help matters.
"It's been a while since I've hung out online. I shouldn't become a zombie who only knows how to study and work," Henry thought while getting comfortable before opening his computer.
"What's this?" he said, frowning as he observed the notifications in front of him.
Henry observed several messages that were responses from a person with the username "Hera, goddess of women."
She had criticized all his comments under a novel named 'The Corrupt Empress'.
Henry had read this work to pass the time, and it had been a few months already.
Normally, Henry would have simply ignored such messages, but this person was indirectly insinuating that he was misogynistic.
Of course, Henry knew he suffered from a number of problems related to his complicated childhood with his parents, but he didn't see himself as a misogynist, despite an absent mother and a... complex father.
"OK, I'll play your stupid little game," Henry mentally concluded after checking the time. He started responding to the message trying to keep his calm and a polite tone.
Tomorrow, he had an extremely busy day. He wanted to relax as quickly as possible, so he wanted to get this over with quickly.
[You really think your statements refute my arguments?]
[You're the very embodiment of everything wrong with men in general]
"Not only is she attacking me online, but she's also making generalizations??" Henry declared with an evil smile forming on his lips.
Henry was angry about wasting his time because of this damn "Hera," so why should he debate honestly?
There was also the fact that he had written these comments under the novel "The Corrupt Empress" a long time ago.
Henry remembered that this work was about a matriarchal world featuring magus and a Dark fantasy universe, so he didn't really remember his state of mind at the time.
He recalls that he had just said "he would like women to take more initiative in romantic relationships like those shown in this novel."
"I'm going to use this AI to debunk all her arguments."
Henry quickly found his favorite AI online and started a war with the person using the Hera username.
Currently, he doesn't really care anymore if he's right or wrong nor about his state of mind when he wrote his comments.
He just wants to beat this woman online.
Yes, Henry has gone into malicious mode.
[You're the worst man I've ever met, and I have Zeus for a husband]
Henry felt like he was dealing with someone suffering from "chuunibyou" syndrome, but he ignored that to continue his relentless attack.
Henry continued exchanging arguments and (polite) insults with his interlocutor before finally blocking her after having the last word.
"Great, now I can start my..." Henry couldn't finish his words as there was a violent explosion coming from his computer.
Before he could die, Henry saw a holographic image. There was a message written on it:
[All men are predators worse than bears, I hope you suffer by living through the same situation as women]
The firefighters later discovered that a short circuit had been caused by Henry's favorite juice, which had spilled on his computer's central unit.
...
In the Black Kingdom, or Black Country
(Twilight Manor)
*Sound* Baby crying.
"Congratulations, you're now a mother."
A woman with blue eyes and blonde hair announced the excellent news while holding out the newborn baby.
"Finally, I was able to conceive... The Twilight family won't end with me." She held the child carefully in her arms.
Baroness Twilight knew she had to be careful because of her strength as a high-ranking knight.
This woman was named Chloe Twilight, a noble of baroness rank who had obtained her status through her own power rather than inheritance.
"Yes, your efforts to start founding your own clan have finally paid off despite your situation, but..."
The servant didn't continue because of her mistress's upset look.
Although Chloe was a strong woman who had risen to her current status despite her complex origins, her elven blood hadn't made things easier for conceiving.
She had had to pay many men to buy their seed, and this had had enormous repercussions on her territory's resources. She had also had to throw away her pride to hope for a child of another race.
"It was worth it, I was able to get a child and moreover a man." She didn't regret using all her savings to get an heir, and she hadn't had a daughter but a man who is better politically.
Chloe couldn't hold back the smile that was slowly forming on her face, which took her servant by surprise since she had never seen her mistress smile that way.
'A child can really change a woman, it's really unfortunate that I can't obtain a man's favor for now.'
For a commoner woman like her, buying a man's seed required too much money and would currently cause her financial problems.
She would still need to save for a few years before trying to conceive.
"Have you decided on a name?" the doctor who had remained in the background during their entire exchange suddenly asked.
"Yes, he will be named Merlin... Merlin Twilight."
After saying these words, the matriarch of the Twilight house felt slightly exhausted and her scarlet-colored eyes slowly closed.
She was still embracing her child in her arms.
'It's a good name, it's similar to a companion of the Northern Empire's founder and since he's a man, he should have frightening talent in the magus arts.'
The doctor who was observing their exchange between the baroness and her child nodded to no one in particular after her personal reflection.
She envied the baroness a bit, but it was temporary.
She gave a letter to the servant explaining how to take care of the baby and left.
She was the best doctor in Black Stone city, her time is extremely precious.
...
Merlin Twilight's POV
It's been 6 years since I reincarnated in this damn reality that should normally be a novel from my past life.
"Young master, it's time to wake up."
The woman who shamelessly entered my room is this manor's head servant, but also my mother's confidante. Her name is Susan.
She's a pure elf unlike me or mother.
"I'm coming, but you don't need to barge into my room." I couldn't help but frown at her behavior.
"Sorry for entering your room uninvited, but your mother desires your presence quickly." She bowed to apologize, but I can tell she's not sincere because of her playful little smile.
"Let's go after I'm presentable." At my words, Susan called servants to prepare me to meet the Twilight house matriarch.
"Please, young master." Two young human girls led me to help me take my bath.
I'm still not really used to my current lifestyle. This world is called Midgard or Gaia, depending on the region (South or North). It's a world of medieval technological level with some modern elements.
In my past life on Earth, this place was a Dark fantasy novel, but after an incident, I woke up inside as a baby.
My only memory before my death is a violent debate with someone in the comment section of the novel titled "The Corrupt Empress."
"I hope the water is to your liking." A young brown-haired girl started washing me slowly and delicately.
I just nodded before continuing to ignore her. There are two things that worry and excite me about this universe.
One is the magic and the other is global customs.
This universe is a matriarchal world, women rule but that doesn't mean they're the most powerful or that they have absolute control.
The reason why they are the current rulers of the world is the low quantity of men, caused by the miasma from the great catastrophe, long ago.
This made men much more compatible and in phase with mana, but it made them extremely infertile for birthing other men.
After a few centuries, men became extremely powerful but few in number, with an average percentage of 1 man for 1000 women.
"You're now clean, please follow us." A blonde young girl took my hand and brought me back to the room to get dressed.
Besides customs, magic also excites me for several reasons like the increase in life expectancy it causes through practice.
If men hadn't gained a long life expectancy by evolving thanks to mana, then humanity would have been screwed long ago. There's also the strength it provides.
So yes, I want women and to walk the path of magic to become a magus, a user of magical arts.
A path to power that very few women can take due to their magical talent being inferior to that of men.
That's also why there are fewer female magus than male magus
"Your mother is behind this door." The servant guided me to my mother's office before stopping and signaling me to enter.