Bachelor Party, Anyone?

"So. What do you propose?" Gharret asked. I blinked at him, uncomfortable with suddenly being put on the spot.

"Oh, well…uhh…" He chuckled again and shook his head.

"Don't feel the need to give me an answer immediately," he responded gently and Leigh giggled a little beside him.

"You never say that to anyone, Brother. I knew you'd like her." He nudged his other brother a little, stupid, cheesy grin on his face as he did so. Gharret was getting irritated, but he seemed to let it slide for the fact that Leigh was absolutely right in this case.

"It's not that," I said, tapping my chin with a knuckle as I thought aloud. "The problem is, I have too many solutions for that…but narrowing it down would be difficult. Taking the solutions to this problem from my world and creating a positive solution for this one involves stripping away much of what made those solutions effective." I ended up closing my eyes, but I could still feel their stares, so cracked one eye open.

Gharret was curious and Leigh was grinning.

"You're so smart," he gushed and I smiled at them again.

"I haven't even said anything…" I laughed a little nervously and Gharret could only smile gently and shake his head.

"The fact that you're thinking about them is more than enough."

Once again, I shrugged and felt my cheeks flush from all this praise, so I turned on my heel so they couldn't see, but I think they knew either way.

In all seriousness, I was juggling two things in my head. The masses of Earth tended to stay single for a while, but we had things like contraceptives to keep us from getting pregnant to help vent those 'frustrations' I talked about earlier. Obviously introducing that level and type of promiscuity to this world would likely be the end of it, so contraceptives were out the window. Next, I had to think of all the things I'd used to keep myself distracted and fell back on an old principle…

Maintenance of the Body and Mind, the ideology that improving or maintaining your physical strength while honing or improving your mental strengths would lead to ultimate happiness. And if anyone from my world were great at celibacy, it would be the Buddhist monks.

So basically…some form of working out or training, and a school of higher learning…or even games, would help these males with nothing better to do than trundle along until something good happened for them.

I figured since this world didn't really reward the potential some males possessed, only current power, it would also allow us to see who could grow the fastest as well – an often hidden trait among Neolithic and medieval isekai worlds.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you looked like a pot that was ready to boil over," came a rich, dark voice in front of me. I hadn't realized I'd closed my eyes in thought, but when I opened them, there stood the large elder male, Vernon. The one who looked to be a fraction of his actual age. He grinned at me and I grinned back.

"Why thank you. That would be an even better analogy if you knew what a kettle was," I responded with a polite courtesy. He laughed and shook his head before crossing his arms over his chest. This dude was so ripped, he made Gharret look like a skinny kpop star in comparison…no offense to kpop stars, of course.

"So. What's got your pretty little face twisted up like that, hm?" Vernon shifted his weight to one side as he focused on me. I felt Gharret and Leigh flank me, but not out of protection or anything, more that they wanted to join in on the conversation. Given how relaxed they both were, I got the feeling that Vernon was quite a likable guy. I mean, my first impression of him was pretty great, too, so…

"Recreation activities," I answered simply. Unfortunately, it caught everyone by surprise. I may have just sprouted two tongues and spoken an ancient Lovecraftian god's name for all they knew.

"Do…you need a tissue? Was that a sneeze?" Vernon teased and I huffed at him, making all three males laugh in response.

"Reh-cree-ay-shun," I said, then cleared my throat. "Things you do for fun or leisure." As I predicted, he frowned.

"Like playing? Cubs do that all the time. Us adults don't have much use for it." I shook my head in response, grinning widely.

"Unfortunately, that's the kind of attitude that leads to burnout. When there is ample time provided for recreation or breaks, it can greatly boost productivity in a workforce. It-" I paused once they all started frowning at me again and my palm found its way to my forehead again as I scrubbed my face in frustration. "It means that people can work harder and faster over a shorter amount of time." Vernon rubbed his chin in thought, glancing up at the sky, then over at the deer's cottage, where there were two young bucks chopping firewood. Both sported two marks each on their chests.

"Alright. It makes sense and is sound. But given what you were saying earlier, I take it you had something in mind." I bobbed my head in response, then cleared my throat.

"I'm trying to come up with some solid solutions before I reveal any details…but helping unmated males improve themselves physically and mentally could give them a competitive edge at gaining the favor of a female. Plus, there'd be a larger number of stronger males to defend the village and its females. Over time, we could see a greater number of females flocking to the village on their own."

Vernon threw his head back and let loose a loud, barking laugh that drew the attention of the two cutting wood. A third poked his head through one of the wide windows to see what all the racket was about.

"Leave it to the Otherworlder to fix problems we didn't even know we had," he finally said, then reached out a hand and ruffled my hair. He was surprisingly gentle and I couldn't help but giggle.