I Wanted A Typical Fantasy Isekai, Not This!-Chapter 85: The Male Dorms…

A sensation like the one he felt back on the night of the witch cult attack surrounded James as he entered the gate to the grounds of the male dorms.

It reminded him of the weird stillness he and Violet were subjected too as pure quiet enveloped him. It was reminiscent of the dungeon back in his family’s forest.

The quiet was discomforting though and actually instilled a measure of peace in James’s mind.

He wasn’t too concerned with any of this however and marched right up to the older gentleman.

The man stood and greeted him with a smile.

"Hello, Prince James. I’m Aiden Hawthorn, head of the male faculty here at Skythorn academy."

James wasn’t exactly awestruck by the man, but words escaped him as he tried to find something to say.

Aiden smiled comfortingly down at him and rested an arm on his shoulder.

"It’s okay to be nervous, goddess above, I sure was when I attended this academy all those years ago. Come on in and let me show you around."

James nodded dumbly, still unable to speak because a prompt had entered his vision. The old man didn’t seem to get one and turned to the door.

Aiden led him inside to a large open area; it was filled with furniture and seemed liked it was intended as a hang out room. There were various games around the edges of the room as well and he saw a table that had wooden sticks leaning against it.

’What the hell.. they have pool here?’

A little further away was another table with various rods of metal shoved through the sides. On each rod was a humanoid figure and in the middle of the table was a little white ball.

’Huh!? They have foosball?’

James finally found some words when another table caught his attention. This one glowed slightly with the telltale sign of an enchantment. Thin, needle like holes dotted it’s surface as air pushed up through the little slits. A puck was in the center of this table.

"Is that fucking air hockey!?"

James’s blurted out question made the old man flinch back a little.

"Such language should be used at a bare minimum... it’s not very suitable for a man to speak like that."

He saw Aiden wearing a pained expression and apologized.

"Oh.. sorry. I’ll try to speak more politely in your company."

Aiden smiled and looked relieved.

"Thank you, it wouldn’t be good if our dorm started acting like those uncouth girl dormitories. And yes, that is air hockey. A famous invention of the hero from a thousand years ago."

James paused, completely flabbergasted.

"You’re saying the hero invented that game?"

Aiden nodded seriously.

"Of course, it’s a rather famous story actually. While he didn’t directly invent it, most of the games today are because of the hero. Scribes that poured through records of his travels were fascinated by his ideas and with the help of the royal family, created these games. He also influenced the creation of new sports like football and basketball."

James’s mouth dropped open, refusing to close as he realized something crazy.

’Holy... holy fucking shit. There’s no way... the hero was definitely isekai’d here like me...’

This revelation combined with the prompt he received earlier made him walk over and slump in a chair.

Aiden saw his look and grew worried.

"Is everything all right Prince James? Do you need me to fetch a glass of water or a cold rag?"

James shook his head.

"Ah.. no. I’m good but thank you for offering.. I guess I’m just tired from orientation haha..."

The old man looked relieved and sat next to him.

"That’s good, it must’ve quite the ordeal. I for one applaud your bravery for attending orientation. That was truly a spectacular thing to do... just imagining those hungry eyes in the crowd makes me..."

Aiden trailed off and shuddered like he had seen a ghost.

They sat in silence for a moment while James tried to collect his thoughts. He just shoved all his new concerns down in a very healthy manner and asked a question.

"So.. Aiden.. you said that there were other male staff here, right? What do you guys do? Any special classes just for the males or something?"

Aiden let out a small chuckle and shook his head.

"Not at all, nothing like that really. Unlike you Prince James, a lot of men are born to women of lower status. That means after our usefulness has run out, there’s really nothing for us to do, no estate to return to with a caring family. Most men retreat back into city walls and stay locked away for the rest of their lives after the quota, scarred by the trauma of forced copulation. Other males like me, grow bored of the same routine and apply to various positions in the academies to guide young men. We don’t teach any classes, but we do offer guidance and counseling to any young man who wants it."

James nodded slowly.

"That makes sense I guess.. but is it really so awful for most men to be intimate with women?"

Aiden raised his eyebrow at James before lightly laughing.

"I forgot! You’re a special case aren’t you! Everyone in the kingdom has probably heard of the famed Prince James by now. You’re still so young that it slipped my mind, but yes, to answer your question. Even though the quota was installed as a measure to protect men and keep up the population, it’s still a heavy burden for most. One of my jobs as a counselor and a role model is to help you young men process these emotions."

James nodded again, before speaking carefully.

"If I may ask, since you’ve already fulfilled your quota requirements... have you ever met the children you helped sire?"

Aiden looked taken aback by this question and thought for a long moment.

"Uh.. no. I haven’t. Why do you ask?"

The mood had turned serious, and James continued his careful line of questioning.

"Do you think.. it might help? Like.. you know... if you still have any lingering feelings about the matter. If you saw the life you helped make, and the woman you probably made very happy, do you think that it would make the hardship you suffered easier to process?"

The old man thought for a long time and James wasn’t sure if he was ever going to answer.

".... Maybe... just maybe..."

Aiden was completely lost in thought like the idea had never crossed his mind before and mumbled quietly.

Eventually he shook his head and looked at James with watery eyes.

"That could be something Prince James.. that could really be a terrific idea..."

The old man squared his shoulders and laughed after another long moment of pondering.

"You have just given me something that I thought I already had. You’re a smart lad James, I was sure that I was already at peace with myself but now.. hahaha! Maybe you should be the counselor instead."

He smiled softly and had a determined look in his eye.

"I’ll let you know how it goes if I do so, thank you for the suggestion, Prince James."

James looked at Aiden and smiled back.

"Please do! I’d love to hear about it, also please no more with the prince stuff. I’m a student like everyone else; James will do just fine."

The old man stood and clapped him on the shoulder and the same prompt from earlier appeared.

"All right then James, let me show you to the first-year floor, you get first pick on the rooms."

James got up followed close behind.

"First year floor? Does that mean all the male students stay in this dorm?"

Aiden nodded without turning around.

"That’s correct. The male student body does not make a up a very big portion of the academy, so it’s easier just to house everyone together. This first floor is for communal use, we call it the ground floor, so no one gets confused. The second floor is actually called the first floor and is for you first year students. The other two floors are for the second- and third-year students respectively."

James nodded, which was a wasted effort because Aiden wasn’t looking at him as he rounded a corner to the stairs.

They walked up to the ’first floor’ and James saw a large hallway with doors embedded in the wall every so often. There seemed to be about forty rooms in total.

"So, Aiden, is there a room you recommend?"

The old man turned and smiled at him.

"As a matter of fact, I do."

He led James all the way down to the end of the hallway.

"Inside this room is a bit different from the others, all the furnishings are the same, but it has its own balcony."

"Thank you, Aiden, that’s awesome!"

The old man smiled at him and turned to leave, speaking over his shoulder.

"Lunch will be in about three hours, I’ll send your servants up if they arrive before then."

James thanked him again and pushed open the door to his new room with renewed excitement.

’This is going to be a great year, I can already see it now!’

His excitement fell when pitch-black room and stale air greeted him. A cloud of dust made him choke.

He heard Aiden laughing as he retreated down the stairs, calling out to James one last time.

"I forgot to mention, nobody has used that room in years because of how far away it is from the stairs!"

’What a douchebag...’

James wasn’t too upset though; he actually smiled as he realized Aiden was just a normal dude who played a prank on him.

He rolled up his sleeves and covered his mouth with his shirt before walking inside his new home.