"Well then, shall we go file some paperwork?"
After the celebration of our victory and getting thoroughly pampered, we were guided to a separate room when someone suddenly spoke up. I blinked in surprise.
"Huh? What paperwork?"
"This."
A sheet of paper was suddenly held up, and everyone froze.
"Marriage Registration Form"
What's more, the groom's name was already filled in.
(This is definitely ripe for abuse, you know?)
I swallowed that instinctive comment—this wasn't the time to make waves.
"We need some kind of save point, or milestone, or a formal commitment, right?"
Hisui said this with a devilishly charming smile on his face.
Husband: Hisui Umino
Wives:
Misago Umino
Hachikuma Yamano
Yatta Umino
Yamada Tsuburi
Suzume Tagami
Tsugumi Umino
Witness: Toki Umino
The names of the first two were printed—apparently already officially registered—while the newer additions were handwritten.
"So with that said… your name, please?"
"Y-Yes!"
I was caught off guard by the prompt and blurted my reply, my voice cracking embarrassingly. I glanced around, afraid I'd disappointed anyone.
But instead, I was met with gentle, amused smiles. Hachikuma silently gestured, like, "Just sign it already."
7. Kiyora Minazawa
I wrote my name and let out a heavy sigh. It was only a few characters, but it felt like all the energy had been drained from me. Am I about to die or something? I thought absently.
"Good job. Next," Hisui said cheerfully.
Kotori stepped forward to sign.
8. Kotori Akeda
She collapsed into a tired slump once she finished.
"And that's the trick. Satisfied now?" Hisui asked.
The others, especially the ping-pong crew and the persistent reporter, nodded solemnly. Was there really no deeper reason we'd been hiding this?
"By the way, there are still blank spaces…"
He said it with a sly tone.
"Me!" someone immediately raised their hand.
"Go ahead."
"So it's okay if I sign?"
"Sure."
"What about, like… financial support?"
A valid concern. We'd already talked about it before, and honestly, it was practically free.
"It's extremely cheap. Basically free," Hachikuma chimed in.
It must be their style—not pushing but staying open, testing the seriousness of anyone bold enough to go for it. After taking a deep breath, she quickly scribbled her name.
9. Iroha Kiriya
10. Kanako Doi
The two reporters added their names. Any meaning behind their earlier victory seemed to vanish, but oh well.
"Well, since we're at it—how about you?"
Apparently, the fellow warrior from earlier was also a candidate.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely," Hisui nodded.
11. Yozora Kurai
It was inevitable at this point. I sighed internally—of course it'd end up like this.
"We're open to anyone who's serious and prepared to go all-in. But since things are getting a bit crowded, let's keep this under wraps."
The reporter team nodded earnestly.
"By the way, if anything goes wrong, we'll just remove the name from the form. That's all, okay?"
Yata smiled as if to say, Obviously, but there was a certain intimidating aura to her words.
Everyone, who just moments ago had been basking in warm happiness, suddenly sobered and nodded stiffly.