Book 3: Chapter 3 (1/2)

”So, this is an airport then?” I asked contemplatively as we walked down the long corridor.

It might have seemed like a silly question, except that this airport was much different than any I had ever seen in my previous life. In a world with magic, flying didn’t require the same rules as they did in my previous world. Thus, the typical design of an airplane as I knew it that followed the rules of aerodynamics never came into existence. Rather, it was a port full of airships. These ships came in all shapes and sizes. Some were docked in the sea, while others were grounded. A few never even touched the ground at all, and giant elevator ropes were attached to them to trolley people up much like the floating islands my Academy had been built on.

While I use the name airships, one couldn’t compare these to the fantasy ships from your typical fantasy novel. While there were wooden ships with sails and helicopter propellers that resembled the traditional, as well as a couple of Zeppelin like monstrosities, the vast majority of ships were constructed like modern ships. They used steel and other metals to connect their hulls. They had a spaceship feel to them with no sails and large turbines on the back. Many didn’t have decks in the traditional sense, as there is no safe walking areas on the outside. Some looked just like airplanes, except they didn’t have wings at all, and were thus just long tubes. A common design resembled a boat if you cut off the bottom floors. They were like party barges with massive propellers to push them along.

There was a certain level of excitement in the airport. This was actually one of the few times I had been somewhere so busy so I couldn’t help let the atmosphere excite me. Thousands of women were moving all around me, going about their lives as if this was typical. Their appearances were far more exotic than I had ever experienced since I had come to this world. There were women with various skin tones. Although there were some that resembled races I knew, such as Asian and African, many had distinct features or clothing styles that didn’t exist in my old world.

There was a group of girls, each with half of their hair+6 shaved off, and an ear piercing with a long chain which ran down their clothing and attached somewhere underneath that I couldn’t see. Perhaps it was their nipple or their naval. Although the women of Amaryllis typically looked like European beauties with a somewhat new-aged Victorian vibe, this didn’t hold true for every culture. It was clear standards of beauty and fashion varied wildly in this world. Even compared to my old world, the diversity of fashion was much more extreme, from two-piece robes to dresses, to pant suits… I felt a much sharper divide in how people dressed internationally, with no typical or standard dress code.

The airport itself was a massive building with great views, but it had no roof. The area gave off an outdoor mall feel, or perhaps a bazaar, with shops on either side of the walking path. Occasional

Announcement

s would blare over a magical communication system, although even though it was loud, it could barely be heard over the cacophony of people.

Around me were the girls who decided to see me off. Rose, Hannah, Madison, and Brooke were with me at the moment. Aiko was too pregnant to come, and Mako still had responsibilities towards the school. Since some time ago, she had been helping other students recover from their traumas after the day of wrath. As for Morgan, she naturally returned to prison yesterday. After she left, I spent as much time as I could with the other girls. I felt a little regretful that my last few nights had been monopolized by my mother, but at the same time, her presence had soothed a lot of my fears and worries. I was walking forward now with a bit more confidence.

While Hannah clung to my arm, Madison and Rose walked to either side, showing a bit more discretion in public. Brooke took point, and around us was a group of other women I didn’t recognize. They were provided by the government to safely transport me to the airship. I supposed the city was worried about men getting hurt and wanted to prevent any other incidents from happening. I had heard rumors that some women still thought I was the blessed man, even though my next child had been revealed to be female. Well, it was still possible my seed was slightly better than the standard stock. For many women, that was enough to put me high on their list of men to impregnant them.

My presence did draw eyes, but in an airport that sported ten or twenty thousand guests a day, men were just common enough that it was not a spectacle. As for thoughts of discretion, I was advised by the city of Amaryllis to not attempt to sneak in or dress as a woman. I didn’t know if it was a policy thing or an appearance thing, but since this program was controlled almost exclusively by the government, I was at their whim when it came to these kinds of things. Thus, I had to let myself be seen.

“It’s him!” A girl cried out.

“Clyburn?” Another girl said.

Brooke grabbed my free arm and started ushering me forward faster while the security tightened around me. I felt strangely like a celebrity as more crowds of people turned towards me. The mumbling turned more excited and a few people even tried to approach me. I noticed Hannah also receiving many hateful and cold stares. She initially glared back defiantly and shot others a glare for a glare, but as the pressure increased, even she eventually started to falter more.

“We’ll need to head back out of the airport without the privilege of security.” Rose shot Hannah a warning look.

Hannah lowered her head, finally letting go of my arm while feeling defeated. Even then, she continued to receive many hostile looks. It wasn’t simply her. Everyone around me was a source of envy and jealousy. Rose and Madison also got their fair share of hot and cold glares, especially once Hannah stopped drawing all the hate to herself. I could only scratch my head and feel a little awkward. Was my family going to be safe once I left and took Brooke with me? I would be greatly disturbed if they were hurt on my account.

Why did the world have to be this way? It reminded me of Amaryllis Academy, but where a lot of that stuff was done behind closed doors, such as Madison’s harassment, here in the rest of the world it was shown blatantly on the surface. For not the first time, I realized that the world I lived in was the posh tip of a much more sinister world. I was used to dealing with the elites, the socialites and the wealthy girls of the city, those with status and decorum. Infinitely more of the city is dominated by the poor and middle class, whose chances of landing a man were much lower and their potential gains much higher, and thus their desperation was much greater.

We quickly reached the terminal where I’d be boarding the airship. This particular airship was a bit larger and fancier than many of them. It looked a bit like a cruise ship, and I could tell I was given a first-class flight. There was a deck and while the majority of the ship was metal, it also integrated some finely polished wood into the design, making the ship look incredibly elegant.

“So, this is my stop.” I sighed, looking out over the ship with wide eyes.

“Mm…” I heard a sobbing voice behind me.

I spun around to see three girls with tears in their eyes. Madison held up the worst and was openly sobbing. I let out a cry and went to hug her. As soon as I attempted to hug Madison, I noticed Hannah’s flat look and then grabbed both of them at once, pulling my sisters into a hug. With one hand I held Hannah’s waist, and the other patted Madison’s head. With nowhere to get close, Rose could only give a helpless wry smile. While her eyes were teary, she was older than the other girls and much more worldly, so her emotions were more in check.

“I don’t want you to leave.” Madison sniffled, rubbing her nose on my shoulder.

“Brother has to only think about me when you’re gone.” When Madison shot her a look, Hannah stuck out her tongue. “Madison too, I guess.”

“Watch after my kids, my daughters, and the ones not born yet,” I said, kissing each girl on the side of the head.

My displays were quickly getting the notice of a lot of people. Some girls were making noises of open disgust and anger, and even the security group was looking at each other uncomfortably. Although the crowds were smaller here, it didn’t make the scene any less distinct. With three women huddled around a single man, and that man in public openly showing them affection, it was something that even the airport didn’t have very often.

Sure, there were various women crying and holding each other too. A few girls even frenched each other in public romantically. However, that was a normal and expected scene. Female-on-female romance wasn’t odd for these women. Male-on-female romance in public was completely foreign though. Finally, I pulled back, and even I couldn’t keep myself from shedding a few tears.

“We better get on board soon,” Brooke spoke up. “You have an early boarding permit. Our security has other responsibilities.”

I nodded with a sigh, finally releasing the girls. Despite the time I had spent with Morgan, I really did try to give every girl a bit of attention as well before I left. At this point, we had said everything we could think to say to each other. I gave each girl a kiss despite the tense situation and then waved one last time. I noticed a few women looking on with burning jealousy at the attention I was showing these women.

Although, I realized as I parted from them it wasn’t all directed at the girls. Some of their anger was pointed at me as well. Some women felt that a man had a public responsibility to all people. Like a rich miser refusing to give a quarter to a poor person, from the outside, my affection looked selfish.

To some women, I should give out affection to all women equally. Although, I found that in practice, this was essentially the same as giving love to no one. Since I must treat every woman the same, that meant my actions were undoubtedly cold and distant.

Well, that wasn’t the way I wanted to be around anyone I cared about. Although, I recognized this cold aloof attitude among men, and after my time in Amaryllis, I had even gotten the sense that this was the preferred expectation for how men should act in Amaryllis. It seemed like the country I was heading towards wasn’t much different though. I was really looking forward to seeing a country that valued men differently and offered a different treatment. Well, preferably a better treatment, but I knew there were countries where they were treated worse as well.

I parted from my family and then handed my ticket at the stand. The girl who took the ticket smiled and winked at me for some reason. I nodded back with a typical cold expression and then headed up the ramp. The girl took the expression in stride. Other than Brooke, the security stayed at the bottom of the ramp. All bags were checked and the airship had their own special security, so now it was the airship company’s responsibility to keep me safe in the air.

After reaching the deck, I followed Brooke as she pulled me down a stairway into the underbelly of the ship. I blinked as I realized that we weren’t in some kind of seating area, but something that looked more like a train. We walked down a long hallway, and there were small cabins on either side. Each one had a few beds.

“How long is this trip supposed to take?” I asked.

“About a week,” Brooke responded.

I let out a cough, my eyes widening in shock. I had assumed that the trip would be similar to air flight, and it’d only be at most ten or twenty hours. Yet, this was much closer to a ship, and it looked like it’d be a multi-day journey. Suddenly, I realized that I didn’t have any carry-ons with me.

“What about changes of clothing?”

“Relax, our baggage was taken ahead. It’s in the room.” Brooke sighed, shooting me a raised eyebrow.

I sighed. That was right. Rich people didn’t need to worry about things like bags. Naturally, all of that stuff was handled for me. My only responsibility was to deliver my seed into a few foreign girls. I know that thought would be the fantasy of many guys in my previous world, but it made me feel somewhat bitter. I had no power or strength. All I could do was follow and do what I was told like the cum dispenser this world saw me as.

My mouth fell open in surprise when we were finally taken to our cabin. The bed wasn’t a small fold out, but a full sized bed in a suite. Admittedly, compared to my bedroom, it was still cramped, but compared to the other rooms on the ship, this one was incredible.

“Only one bed.” I noted out loud.

Brooke snorted. “Don’t be foolish. There is an adjacent quarter for ser… bodyguards.”

Brooke shot me a challenging look as if daring me to say she was a servant. I looked at the side door, and her room was much smaller than mine. Actually, her room was the size of many of the cabins, which were designed to fit four people. So, considering she was the sole occupant, that actually made her room quite large strictly speaking. Finding my bags, I went through everything. As I worked, a speaker announced that the ship would set course in a few minutes.  I wanted to go to the deck and watch the ship take off, so I immediately bothered Brooke.

“Yesh… fine, but wear a hat or something.” Brooke suggested.

I agreed. Although the ship was technically safe, there were still many women, and I didn’t want my time watching the launch to be plagued by women hitting on me. Yes, I understood my worldviews had severely changed from the person I was all those years ago. I couldn’t even imagine a life where I could go out in public and not have to worry about how my appearance affected the women around me.

As we reached the deck, I could hear the vibrations as the magical engines were powered on. There was no sail, but there were various massive propellers that had started speeding up overhead. The noise wasn’t nearly as loud as I expected it to be. There must be some kind of noise dampening spells or something. It was hard to say what lengths they could go for comfort when magic made just about anything possible. In fact, the loudest thing on the deck was the people, both those on the ship and those on the deck still waving.

I looked around at the crowds, trying to see if my family had waited for the ship to launch. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see them in the crowds. They could have left early, afraid of being recognized and accosted for their closeness to a man. On the other hand, Madison and Hannah grew up among the elite, and this sort of thing seemed more geared towards the commoner class.

“I heard there is a man on board!” I heard a girl nearby say to her friend. “I saw him enter at the ramp.

I instinctively lowered my hat while Brooke rolled her eyes.

“Really?” The other girl responded excitedly. “Maybe I can have a steamy romance!”

“As if! But don’t forget airline rules. Harassing another guests can get you in lockdown.”

“Wouldn’t it be worth it though?”