Chapter 119
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: How to Become a Concubine?
"H-how does one become a concubine?"
"I can see the future. And... if you don't go out with me, something terrible is going to happen to Shizune."
To justify taking Shizune as our fourth member so urgently, I had no choice but to spin a tale like this. I sure as hell couldn't tell them I was a dimension-hopper who'd possessed a character in this game's scenario after living in the outside world... So this was a slightly tweaked version of the truth.
"Ha...?"
"What kind of nonsense is this now...? Seriously..."
Saki furrowed her brow, while Ren covered her eyes with her hand.
"Yu. Look, I've stayed quiet so far out of affection for you, but at this point, I'm starting to worry for real. Is this really the time for jokes? Even if I believe you're emotionally committed to loving and caring for us, what about the money?"
Of course she's taking it as a joke.
Flinch.
"Saki, maybe ease up a bit..."
"I know, Ren. But this needs to be said."
She's right.
"Obviously, after we get married, if we need help with living expenses, I'll work hard. That's a wife's duty. But Ren, me, and even Harumi—though I hate to admit it—are all carrying your kids. Can you really take responsibility?"
Even Ren, who'd always been on my side, nodded with a serious expression this time. The natural anxiety any woman would feel.
Saki's pent-up outburst showed no signs of stopping.
"We can both work as much as needed. But what about when we're full-term? Right after giving birth? Even if we're waddling around to jobs with our bellies swollen, we'll be out for at least two or three months minimum."
Ah, I see where the misunderstanding started.
Ren and Saki only knew that I'd saved Harumi and returned the Tachibana Trading heir position to her. They had no clue about the details—like how I'd borrowed money from Mesui, turned it into a 40,000% return, or become a major shareholder.
I'd never flashed foreign luxury cars or bought mansions to show off my finances, so it made sense they'd feel insecure.
"-And as a mom, I think raising the baby comes first. You might call it old-fashioned, but until the kid starts walking, you need to breastfeed, bond, shower them with love, and all that. But if Yu isn't prepared, then those things..."
Once Saki got started, she seemed determined to unload everything. I silently pulled out my smartphone from my pocket and opened the stock app.
"Huh...? Hey, Yu, what are you doing? I'm talking here, and you're just whipping out your phone!? Don't you think that's too much!?"
True to form as a girl who'd hung with the guys and led the theater club, she went full aggressive when the situation called for it.
I wordlessly shoved the stock account screen in front of her eyes.
"What are you look...ing at...?"
"Eh?"
Saki, who seemed to short-circuit for a moment, rubbed her eyes furiously before staring wide-eyed at my screen again.
"Ah? Uh, um. That's impressive, Yu. You made 4.71 million yen through investments in the meantime...?"
"Whoa... Is that real, Sanghyeon-kun? Don't tell me you're a natural at investing?"
Ren said that, coming over with joy as if it were her own achievement.
Saki scolded her.
"Ren, don't praise him like that. Sure, making 4.71 million is huge... Um, definitely impressive... Kinda cool... Heh heh heh... As expected of my boyfriend~ Makes me proud... Heh heh... Ah!? That's not the point...!"
Saki had started off sternly but veered off into mumbling about how much she adored me, then snapped back to her strict tone.
"A-anyway! Even so, the future's uncertain. It's a big sum, but to support four women and four kids-"
Ren, peering at my screen right beside her, made a face like she'd misread it, then rubbed her eyes just like Saki had and looked again.
"...Huh?"
Ren narrowed her eyes repeatedly, as if she couldn't comprehend what she'd just seen.
"Th-this... This isn't 4.71 million... yen."
Shiver shiver shiver.
Her trembling hands grabbed my phone for a closer look.
"Eh? Not 4.71 million? 410 thousand then? That's still amazing! There's that saying—99% lose money in stocks, so even a 1-yen profit makes you a pro-"
Saki tried to cheer me up, assuming I was bragging about a smaller amount. But Ren grabbed Saki's finger and pointed it at the screen.
"No, it's one... ten... hundred... thousand... million..."
"...Ha?"
Saki finally scowled and checked the screen herself.
Soon, her eyes widened like Ren's.
"F-for... four... four billion... seven... yen...?"
Holding over 40 billion won in liquid assets put me beyond VIP—practically a walking corporation. For girls who'd lived normal lives, it must've felt like reality itself glitching.
I pocketed my phone in front of Saki and Ren, who still couldn't speak, and took their hands.
"I didn't show you this to brag. I'm not joking—I really can see the future. Or feel it, maybe...?"
"Eh, uh... ah?"
I brought Shizune and Harumi over and explained together how I'd saved them both.
Harumi's crisis from the paparazzi, Kenji's schemes, taking down the board and reclaiming her rights. Shizune's plight under threat from that human scum Yusuke. The Hudahara Workshop's peril, and so on...
So many stories piled up that Ren and Saki just looked dumbfounded.
"Sigh... If Kamijo-san were here right now, she'd sort this all out neatly..."
"Kamijo? Who's that?"
Bang!
"You called, President?"
Gasp!?
"Wh-what the-?"
"Who are you!?"
"Greetings. I am Misaki Kamijo, legal counsel for Tachibana Trading, where President Yu serves as CEO."
What the hell? Is she a psychic?
"Forget that—how did you just pop out of nowhere!?"
Kamijo-san pulled out a pair of glasses from who-knows-where and said,
"This much is basic for an exclusive legal counsel. A lawyer must be at their client's side whenever and wherever needed."
Ridiculous...
Snap-
Kamijo-san adjusted her glasses with her index finger.
This world really drops rom-com clichés in the most unexpected places.
"In any case, everything President Yu said is true."
She shut down the skepticism the moment she arrived.
Kamijo-san's cool tone and impeccable demeanor inspired instant trust just by looking at her.
"From what Sanghyeon-kun said... so you can predict outcomes from choices you've made yourself?"
"Exactly."
"That's not fortune-telling—sounds more like computation...? You're basically saying you're a genius."
Is that how it lands?
"Right. It's not like anime visions of the future—it's just predicting outcomes from your own choices, which means you've got an insanely smart brain."
I hadn't framed it quite that way, but Ren and Saki filling in the gaps made it easier.
"U-um. Fine, no complaints on the money front. 4.7 billion yen... 4.7 billion... Ha... haha. Unreal. Can't not believe it when it's right there..."
Saki made a face caught between thrill and worry, taking deep breaths.
"Haa... So, with your genius future-predicting brain that saved Ren, earned 4.7 billion, and rescued Harumi's company, you're saying that if we don't let you date Manager Hudahara, a horrific future awaits—so please approve?"
Oh.
Saki gets it quick.
I bowed my head immediately.
"Please! Like I said before, it's pure intuition—I can't explain it logically."
Shizune had sidled up beside me at some point and bowed with me.
"W-we humbly beg forgiveness... But... this lowly one has come to not wish to lose Lord Sanghyeon... Might you grant your permission? If you do, I shall always treat you both as my betters and show utmost respect..."
Her speech had shifted to full honorifics. Seeing her embrace the concubine role, Saki and Ren let out small sighs before nodding.
"Fine. But promise us, Sanghyeon-kun. No more girls."
"Yeah, promise right now."
I nodded readily.
"Of course. I promise. I won't bring home any more girls ever."
Mesui and Reina's faces flashed in my mind for a second, but they were just side flings—not girlfriends—and already accounted for, so I ignored it.
"Well then, I'll take my leave and return to work, President."
"Ah, y-yes..."
Kamijo-san bowed flawlessly and exited the room. We returned to our conversation.
"Harumi-chan?"
Ren, quietly treated as the principal wife among her girlfriend peers, spoke up. Harumi, usually the hyperactive clown, tensed and replied.
"Y-yes?"
"From watching you, I think you'd make a fine official addition. I didn't see it myself, but you helped with things between Hudahara-san and Sanghyeon-kun, right?"
"Ooh...? You... get it...?"
Harumi clasped her hands, moved to tears.
"Of course. Sanghyeon-kun talks all fancy, but he's got a clumsy side that needs a woman's touch."
"My deepest gratitude, milady of the house."
"Milady of the house? What's that?"
"Ah, well..."
She explained it was how a lowly concubine addressed the principal and second wives. Ren and Saki subtly brightened.
"Ho ho. I see."
Ren covered her mouth, smiling warmly.
"Hey, Harumi. Try taking after Hudahara-san half as much. She treats us so nicely. And you're always goofing around."
"Hmph! Not my job!"
"Tsk tsk. Mind your words."
Shizune timidly approached the bickering Harumi and Saki.
"Um... Second Wife, I have a question."
Saki clearly liked being called second wife.
"Oh ho ho. Yes? What is it? Tell me anything."
Saki replied not in her usual tomboy tone, but like some elegant noblewoman.
"I've heard you're the theater club president... So you must know all about role-playing, yes?"
"Role-playing...? Well, theater is basically that, right?"
Shizune blushed faintly and asked something totally unexpected.
"H-how does one become a concubine?"
"Pardon?"