How to Live as a Genius Scholar in another World

Chapter 27 – Future Dreams (6)

—–CROW—– 

Harem.

Otherwise known as polygamy. In 21st-century Earth, it was nothing more than a male sexual fantasy.

However, it wasn’t illegal in this world.

In my experience, the sexuality in this world was more open than on Earth.  This didn’t mean women were promiscuous. Respect and consideration for virginity existed here too.

On the contrary, some men, like the Vikings, even boasted about remaining virgins until death.  Crazy bastards.

Anyway, “open sexual观念” meant this:

In this world, there wasn’t just polygamy. There was also the opposite case, polyandry—where one woman had multiple husbands. I was shocked that such a unique marriage culture existed, regardless of gender.

‘What the hell is all this harem and reverse harem nonsense?’

It was a daunting reality, but I had to accept it.  This world of tier-obsessed people ethically allowed those with abilities to monopolize many things.

After all, this was a world where an individual’s military power could sometimes surpass that of a nation.

It wasn’t surprising that the culture of “survival of the fittest” and “might makes right” had spread even before human civilization properly took root.

If a ridiculously strong primitive man declared himself chief and impregnated all the women, no one would dare object for fear of getting their head bashed in.

This could also be considered a form of penis selection theory.

There were records of a single individual possessing immense power and taking all the women of a conquered tribe as wives during the early days of humankind.

A total of 98 wives.  There were some truly amazing primitive men.

Anyway, this was a common occurrence in the wild.

Wild animals followed a system where one superior male controlled multiple females.  Many animals, from lions to gorillas, shared this characteristic.

This culture, where the strong took much, turned this world into a paradise for the tier-obsessed.  It meant the people here were still living in the Animal Kingdom.

Polygamy was one result of this.

Parental qualities were inherited to some extent by their children, and frankly, those in power, whether male or female, wanted to have many wives or husbands.

But honestly—this messed-up otherworldly practice had nothing to do with me.

I was someone who would eventually develop teleportation technology and return to my home, 21st-century Earth.

Starting a family when my goal was to leave this world? That would be irresponsible and disrespectful.  I couldn’t just abandon my family and run back to Earth, saying, “I can always make more children,” like that asshole Liu Bang from the Han dynasty.

Therefore, even this culture, which challenged my Earthly common sense, was none of my business if I simply ignored it.

Or so I thought.

—Hey. Are you going to get married when you’re freed from slavery?

It was when a long-term project at Carmine University ended. Dana asked me that during a drinking session where it was just the two of us.

—No? I’m not really thinking about marriage.

Back then, still a slave, I answered respectfully. I had a long-held dream—to return to Earth—and I had no intention of marrying until I achieved it.

—This kid still doesn’t understand how the world works.

Dana sighed and took a drink after I explained my dream.

—To achieve that dream, you have to get married.  And preferably to multiple women.

—Huh?

Surprisingly, that was the reality.

—The moment you gain the ability to achieve your dream… no, even with your current abilities, you’re enough to be coveted by nobles. You’re a sought-after talent.

—Isn’t that a good thing?

—No, you idiot. Don’t you know what “sought-after” means? It means weak nobles from the backwoods will try to force you to marry their daughters.

—Oh my.

Forced marriage! Was I going to be the victim of this otherworldly variation of the Mongolian abduction-rape?  I was stunned by Dana’s words.

—Forget about doing research on your own. Where will you get the funding?  Someone sponsoring your research means they acknowledge your abilities.  You have no idea how many people are after Professor Yernara.

—I can just reject them like the professor does.

—Well. You’re 26, right? Then, assuming it takes 30 years to establish yourself without a sponsor like the professor, you’ll get your doctorate and a lab at 56.

—Life is starting to feel really shitty.

—That’s reality, kid.

Dana’s words made me face reality.

In this world, polygamy symbolized ability and authority.  Polygamy wasn’t illegal in Britannia either.

This was a world where neither Puritan nor Confucian ideals had ever taken hold.  As long as a man could afford it, he could have as many wives as he wanted. Nobles even ranked their wives and concubines.

As a result, unmarried men were often considered incompetent.

Even on Earth, until the 80s and 90s, unmarried men and women were treated like losers.

Being bombarded with insults and nagging during holidays was commonplace, and one of my uncles wasn’t even allowed to visit our extended family during holidays until he got married.

This trend was even more pronounced in this other world.  There was a joke on the internet, wasn’t there?

—Polygamy should never be allowed.

—Why?

—If polygamy becomes legal, women will want to be Gang Dong-won’s ninth wife, not date me.

—You don’t have any potential wives now anyway.

—Where do you live, asshole?

Thus, the system of polygamy could become an enemy of men.

Just as a weak male monkey lived a solitary life, scavenging for insects in a corner, an individual’s ability represented their worth in this tier-obsessed world.

—It doesn’t matter what you do. But to avoid being targeted by nobles, you need multiple wives.

Dana said,

—If you’re single or only have one or two wives, you’ll be snatched up as a son-in-law by some unknown noble.

—It would be difficult for me to refuse their proposals. They might retaliate, not just cut off funding.

—You know it. Right.  They wouldn’t believe you if you said you weren’t interested in marriage.  I don’t know how it was in your country, but in Britannia and surrounding countries, they wouldn’t accept a scholar of your caliber from Carmine University remaining unmarried.

It wasn’t wise to refuse a noble’s marriage proposal. If I was unlucky, they might think I rejected them because they weren’t good enough for me.

“I’m not satisfied with the level of your family! I’ll wait until a better noble proposes!”

That’s how my refusal would sound to the nobles.

—Is one wife not enough?

—Ahem. Well.  I don’t know?  But having only one wife means you’re wasting your potential. Wouldn’t your wife be upset if she heard people say, ‘Your husband is so capable, why is he living like that?’

Dana added, drinking heavily,

—And this is just a rumor, but I heard that in Romania, a loving husband with only one wife had his wife killed so that he could be taken as a son-in-law.  Romania is known for its ruthless political battles, so it might be an exception, but it’s not safe to assume Britannia is any different.

—…Wouldn’t it be better to hope that a decent noblewoman takes me in?

I sought refuge in that thought, faced with the hopeless reality.

A proud and beautiful noblewoman (blonde, hair in a bun) pulling on my collar, saying, “Be my one and only slave!”  It didn’t sound so bad.

—Decent and beautiful noblewomen are used for political marriages with other nobles. The marriage proposals you’ll get… will probably be from a fat, grumpy 30-year-old woman looking for her fourth husband.

—I’ve always dreamed of polygamy.

What kind of country was this?

Later, I found out that Dana was absolutely right.  In most countries, polyandry was much rarer than polygamy and viewed negatively.

The main excuse for polygamy was “to have many heirs,” but the logic was that since a woman could only be pregnant with one child at a time, there was no point in having multiple husbands.

For this reason, except for women with a “tarnished image,” polyandry was rare.

It was more common for a woman with a marriage score of 80 to become the nth wife of a man with a score of 150.

Well, the marriage brokerage culture in the 21st century was the same. I would rather be a kept man for a rich oil tycoon’s daughter than have three high-school-dropout convenience store workers as wives.

In short,

The head of a noble family would marry off their hopelessly messed-up daughter to capable commoners, turning them into legal slaves for the family.

That was the reality of polyandry.

Even if the target wasn’t a slave, if their abilities were desirable, they could be put on a leash called marriage and exploited like a slave!!

—I never thought I’d understand how women felt when they found harems disgusting.

When I learned this, I felt sick thinking about the men who were being sexually exploited as indefinite slaves somewhere out there.

It was like the pitiful larvae stuck to a fucking hatchery!

A living hell!

A wicked spin-off of the “bride kidnapping” practice that existed until the early Joseon dynasty!

How could anyone endure a life as a baby-making machine (and doing various other chores), not a baby-bearing machine?!

Moreover, the women in this world seemed to have a sexual fantasy related to this, as stories about noblewomen exploiting men were all the rage in the publishing industry! Damn it!

—Wow, my life was almost ruined.

I was truly grateful to Dana for telling me this.  If I had foolishly insisted on remaining single, my otherworldly life would have ended in slavery.

Think about it.  Macho harem protagonist VS feminist reverse harem member. How could I not be consumed by machismo?

—Stop it! Do you think you’re the protagonist of an erotic novel just because you came to another world?! A harem that disregards women’s dignity?! Don’t be ridiculous!

Sometimes, the unfounded Confucian Taliban dragon within me would lash out, but the otherworldly macho Nord wouldn’t even blink.

And I, too, sided with the macho Nord.

—Fuck off! If I do nothing, I’ll become the fourth husband of a 150kg, gluttonous, hysterical woman and share her with other pathetic losers like me!

I would rather die than live in such an environment.

I absolutely refused to live as a collared husband slave, being bossed around with all sorts of chores, from translating ancient documents to interpreting for foreign guests and tutoring kids.

Moreover, a mandatory defense battle with a 40-year-old obese woman?

Every night would be a desperate struggle, like a soldier fighting in the Battle of Haengju.

Eventually, I would be crushed and moan under my wife, whose waist was thicker than mine.

Even my parents wouldn’t object to me having a harem if they knew my situation.

And honestly, I was a man.  I wouldn’t dislike having multiple beautiful wives!

Of course, I hadn’t given up on my research to return home. If I had, I wouldn’t have come to Sargardis.

I had to start a family.

But abandoning that family and running back to Earth was out of the question.

—Then wouldn’t it be better to find a way to travel between Earth and this world?

It wouldn’t be impossible.  Just as no one imagined space travel was possible before the invention of spaceships, technological advancements turned the impossible into possible.

From the same perspective, two-way dimensional travel would surely be possible! I just had to recreate it in this otherworldly version.

Even if I failed or couldn’t return to this world after going back to Earth, I didn’t care.

I could either return with my otherworldly family, or give up on returning to Earth, stay here, and send letters to my family back home.

I would write down memories and secrets only my family knew in the letters. Then my family would believe that I wasn’t missing or dead, but alive and well.

Therefore—I was prepared to have multiple wives in this world.

To build a family befitting my abilities and research achievements, so I wouldn’t be threatened with marriage by those who coveted them.

That was why I became an otherworldly macho man.

—–CROW—–