"When it came to the marriage, I wasn't the legal wife back then, so I couldn't really say anything…"
Yata-Grandma began seriously, the two of us alone in the office.
"Yes…"
I, Misago, replied with equal seriousness.
"Now that Hisui has officially proposed to me, I've essentially become Wife Number Three…"
"Congratulations."
I already knew since I was there, but still, congratulations are in order.
"The paperwork hasn't been filed yet, so it's not official, but this means I'll be able to have a proper say in things."
"Right."
"So, let's at least sort out the money stuff."
"That's… pretty blunt."
"Well, we can't just ignore it. Honestly, if everything stayed within the ryokan and everyone involved remained family, we could work the costs out through the business. Everyone's expenses would practically balance out to zero."
At this point, it's pretty much expected that all employees will eventually become legal wives.
"And now the two from the Protection Bureau have proposed, too."
"Yeah, and with that crowd of customers showing up even before anything was officially announced… If they only wanted kids, it wouldn't be an issue. There'd be no lingering attachments."
"There were proposals on my end too…"
Even just from observing, it's obvious that some of them want more than just a casual encounter.
"Hisui doesn't seem entirely against it either. He'll probably agree to more wives eventually."
"Well, Hisui is a wonderful man…"
We can't restrict his free will, so there's not much we can do to stop it.
"Sure, we could try to say something, but forcing him would just be suffocating. That said, we do need to talk about how to handle the financial burden externally."
"There are three of us right now, so maybe ten thousand yen a month each?"
In this world, it's generally the wives who support the husband together. The more wives there are, the lighter the financial load per person.
In theory, if one man had a hundred wives and each contributed 10,000 yen, he'd have a 1,000,000 yen monthly allowance—plenty to live on.
That's one of the benefits of a polygamous system.
Incidentally, 1,000,000 yen is the breakeven point for running this ryokan per month, so that's the baseline.
(The 100,000 yen per night plan is a luxury course—handled separately.)
"I'd like to say I'll cover it myself…"
"But then the external perception becomes an issue, right?"
If one person contributes a lot just because they have more money, the power balance gets skewed, and it can lead to dictatorship. That's why it's best to split things equally.
"We'll aim for a total of 1,000,000 yen a month, keep each person's contribution at about 10,000 or 20,000 yen, and make up the rest as business expenses. With how things are going, we'll easily get a hundred members."
It might seem absurdly cheap, but even a student's allowance could cover it—not even part-time work necessary.
"Pros and cons, huh."
Rotating one night per person means everyone might only get a turn every six months or once a year.
That's the downside of polygamy—less personal time.
That inevitable future made me sigh quietly, even though it hadn't come yet.
"The honeymoon monopoly period is the most luxurious time, even if you're the lead wife and get to stay close later on. You should take paid leave and enjoy it to the fullest."
"But… things are chaotic right now."
Business exploded, and I had to fully shift gears to deal with the workload.
Modern information spreads way too fast.
"All the reservations are already full. We can just stop accepting calls. Set the website to online bookings only, and shut down the phone lines."
"You say it so casually…"
This from the same person who, just weeks ago, complained about having no work and lazed around sleeping all day.
Not that it matters—this person's already in semi-retirement, so no matter how busy I get, it doesn't affect them.
They mostly hang around entertaining guests or pretending to be a spirit of the inn—it's more of a hobby than a job.
Apparently, people who are Borbaki-compatible don't die of old age, so they typically die in accidents or from boredom and starving while napping. No idea how old she really is.
Also, inheritance taxes are terrifying, so honestly, we'd be in trouble if she did die.
"More importantly, you need to rely on him more. You're still holding back, aren't you?"
"Huh?"
I tilted my head at her sudden words.
"Holding back…?"
"You are—towards Hisui and towards us, too."
"Ugh…"
She hit the nail on the head, leaving me speechless. Yata-Grandma always sees right through people.
"If you don't fully open up and rely on Hisui, it'll make it harder for those who come after to do the same. And…"
"And?"
"If you're already feeling lonely about the future, that means you're not getting enough now. You don't have to be told to rely on him—you should already be receiving more."
"But there's a line forming behind me…"
With so many candidates—my sisters, the guests—I feel like I need to pull away from Hisui early.
I was even prepared to skip over my honeymoon period altogether.
BOP.
"Ow!"
She poked my forehead, making me clutch my head and glare.
"Honestly, a youngest daughter or little sister shouldn't be the one holding back. If you hesitate, you take the right away from everyone else to lean on him too."
"Ugh…"
I groaned in frustration.
"Skipping turns is off-limits. Fully enjoy your honeymoon time. As for the guest candidates—no one ever said we'd accept all of them. And if more show up, we can just shut down one of the wings—new or old."
"Can we really do that?"
"The new wing was originally for wives, remember? It only became guest space after Kohaku's old man left and there were no wives left. If we just double the prices, we'll get the same revenue, and the odds of guests hitting the jackpot will double—might even make them happier."
"Well… you've got a point."
The food quality and other stuff might become an issue, though.
"It's really just going back to the original price. The food was always high-tier, so we were practically underselling."
"That's true…"
Aoba-sis's cooking is unbeatable around here. I've never tasted better.
"Well, we'll deal with price hikes and room adjustments later. If we rush it, people'll just call us greedy."
"Yeah, fair enough."
I couldn't help but let out a wry smile. Reviews and word of mouth are pretty important, after all.