Tokyo Soft Rice King.

"Yes... On the other hand, it's probably impossible to keep our marriage a secret any longer."

Tsukimi Rimi asked back with a 'so what' expression.

Even so, the marriage should still take place. You're not going to back out now, are you?

"No, I'm just telling you about the risks in advance. If you still want to pursue a career as an artist, this will be the most difficult hurdle for you to overcome."

"Then I might as well just announce my marriage to the public openly."

"Huh? Are you going to announce it directly?"

Am I going to become the one cursed by all the fans?

No, this world really does have curses! Please, please don't curse me to death!

"That's right, we should do it now, because this thing called a smartphone isn't widespread yet."

"Yes, the preview news just came out today. Mobile phone manufacturers around the world haven't followed suit yet. At first, only a portion of high-end digital users will be able to use it. It will probably take another year or two for it to become truly widespread."

"That's plenty of time; enough for me to make up for the popularity I lost because of my marriage."

"I think marriage has a permanent impact on the popularity of a popular star... Even if they get divorced later, it will leave a 'stain'. And if it is found out that you are actually a divorced woman, the public opinion will be even more intense, and you may even fall from your pedestal overnight."

Ayane's gaze suddenly changed, as if a drop of thick ink had been poured into her pupils, quickly spreading out in black.

What she cared about more was not the loss of popularity, but the 'divorce' that Kuroba Akira casually mentioned.

So, Kuroba Akira really planned to divorce me after we got married?

It's just a formality, isn't it?

That's right, he was just repaying a debt of gratitude.

But... why am I so upset? It's like he's abandoned me.

That dark emotion, like a pool of viscous asphalt, slowly seeped from the darkest corner of Lan Yi's heart.

It is neither as violent as flames nor as empty as despair, but something more chaotic, silently filling every crevice of the chest with a suffocating density.

"Heh, then I can also reveal your relationship with Shion Murasaki... And since I'm nominally your wife, and she's the one you're having an affair with, the public will support me out of sympathy, right?"

"That's such a despicable tactic!"

Ning is also a lowly woman!

"If you don't want me to do this, then don't mention divorce anymore. Just marry me first."

That's right, get married first...

Then whether or not to get a divorce is no longer up to you.

My dear 'husband'.

Chapter 472 Some Want to Be Masters, Some Want to Be Maids

Doesn't that sound a bit like a threat? No, this is a threat, isn't it?

Her eyes seemed to have darkened a bit, but Yiyi had no reason to object to the divorce at all.

However, the yandere radar is already beeping... Is this possessiveness at work?

Regardless of the reason for acquiring it, once it's yours, you don't want to lose it or give it to someone else. Indeed, some people do have this kind of feeling.

Kuroba Akira instinctively felt that if he continued to speak with low emotional intelligence, they might become enemies before the wedding, so he decided to back down for now and get back to the main topic after dealing with the situation.

"Alright, alright... Anyway, Yiyi, you came here today to confirm the engagement date, right?"

"Yes, have you mentioned it to your family? You said you had already contacted your parents, right?"

"Yes, I told my parents. We haven't been in touch for so long, and when they suddenly heard that I was getting engaged... they weren't surprised at all. They not only congratulated me on finding a girlfriend, but also said that she must be a good girl to be willing to commit to me so quickly."

It was actually Kuroba Akira who was a little surprised that his parents weren't surprised at all.

Seriously? Your son has been away from home for so long, and suddenly he contacts you saying he's getting married. Aren't you even a little surprised? You're so carefree!

But if you think about it carefully, you'll understand that they were forced to send their son away by the pressure from the Tianyu family, and they were prepared to never see him again. Not to mention the wedding, they might not even see their son again before they die.

Now that the Tianyu family has lifted the restrictions and can re-establish contact with their son, this in itself is much more surprising than the fact that their son has found a marriage partner, and the fact that their son has found a marriage partner is an even greater joy.

When Tsukimi Ayane heard that Kuroba Akira's parents had no objections to her and were even very welcoming, she was a little happy, but she kept this feeling to herself and instead asked them a question in a sarcastic tone.

"Huh... Don't you think your son was deceived by a bad woman?"

"Haha, it's alright."

In fact, the parents were worried that this might be a honey trap, and even asked Kuroba Akira if he had told the other party about the bank card.

Even Kuroba Akira himself had almost forgotten that he had a bank card with a forgotten password.

So Kuroba Akira casually asked for the password, and it turned out that the password was his sister's birthday.

No wonder he couldn't guess the password at all; after all, he didn't have a sister in this time-traveling world, so he couldn't possibly know her birthday.

Then, when Kuroba Akira's parents heard that Kuroba Akira hadn't mentioned the bank card to his fiancée, they were relieved. At least they could be sure that the other party wasn't after the money in Kuroba Akira's hands, and their cheerful attitude returned.

They also said they wanted to hold their grandchildren as soon as possible... Kuroba Akira deliberately didn't mention this, feeling that it might upset Yiyi.

"What about your family? What's their attitude?"

“My family has no objections, and they wouldn’t dare to object to me. After all, I’m Kikuri’s representative. No matter what I want to do, the Tsukimi family won’t stop me; they’ll only support me wholeheartedly.”

"It seems that the agents hold a very high position in the Divine Contract Family... Do they know that your real purpose in getting engaged to me was to see Kikurihime again?"

“I did talk to them about it, and they became even more supportive. They even said that all the related matters could be handled by them, and the expenses would be covered by the Tsukimi family.”

"That's quite generous, but actually my parents had already made preparations."

The money in the bank card includes expenses for Kuroba Akira's university education, maintaining his relationship with his girlfriend, as well as expenses for the wedding, honeymoon, and childcare after they have a child.

So it totaled eight million yen.

Although it's not enough money to live comfortably for a lifetime, it's not a small amount either.

The key point is that the parents continue to deposit money into the account every month, depositing 200,000 yen every month, and this will continue until Kuroba Akira turns 25.

Compared to the 30 million yen in the bank card given by Mr. Hokuriku, it seemed like a drop in the ocean. However, that money was for repairing the shrine, not for Kuroba Akira to squander. The money given by his parents, on the other hand, was entirely intended to support Kuroba Akira's future life.

As for things like houses and cars, Kuroba Akira would have to figure that out himself. His parents said that was all they could do to help. The Yu family wasn't exactly wealthy; they were the smallest branch of a collateral family, and couldn't compare to the main Yu family at all.

"Let our family cover the expenses. After all, Kikuri hasn't appeared for a long time. If she doesn't appear, the family will feel uneasy and wonder if the gods are going to abandon the Tsukimi family. So they really want to handle this matter well and won't ask too many questions about your background."

To put it bluntly, the Tsukimi family doesn't care who Kuroba Akira is, nor does it consider the issue of social status. Even if Kuroba Akira is a low-born, ultimate good-for-nothing gigolo, it doesn't matter. As long as he marries Tsukimi Ran and receives Kikuri Hime's blessing in this world, the Tsukimi family will praise him as a good son-in-law.

Therefore, there was no opposition from any major family, let alone obstruction. Everyone was eager for Kuroba Akira and Tsukimi Rii to get married as soon as possible.

The whole world is supporting and making this marriage possible.

"The only problem is that my family says it's too much trouble to get engaged before getting married. They suggest we just have the wedding and banquet, and then apply for citizenship when we're old enough. Actually, many people do have their wedding ceremony first and then apply for citizenship, it's just that we wait a little longer."

It means we shouldn't have an engagement ceremony; let's just get the wedding done first, and we can get the marriage certificate later when we reach the legal age.

"So now we need to decide on the wedding date and the style of the wedding, whether it's a Western-style wedding or a Japanese-style wedding... Do you want to see me in a wedding dress or a white kimono? Or we can have both, one here at my home and one in your hometown."

"Uh……"

"Since you live in the shrine, it would be more convenient to hold the Shinto ceremony, right? And since we're both agents, this also relates to the connection and cooperation between your deity and my deity..."

"Wait, wait, this is progressing a little too fast, I'm not keeping up..."

Getting married directly is much more complicated than getting engaged.

Engagement only requires the parents to meet and hold a "bride-giving" ceremony, which is similar to giving betrothal gifts. All that is needed is a "bride-giving fund," which is essentially the same as a dowry.

However, the bride doesn't just receive the betrothal money; she usually gives the groom a "return gift," which means that both families support the wedding and the new family that will soon be formed. It's really just a formality, and this money will be given directly to the new family after the marriage.

"It's just that the engagement has turned into a wedding, and I'm more supportive of getting married directly. After all, if it's just an engagement, I feel like Kikuri might not show up... If you don't want to make a big scene, you can have a small wedding with just your family. Is that alright?"

"Um……"

Should we get married right away?

Is there any room for negotiation?

If it were before, Kuroba Akira probably wouldn't have had any objections, but judging from how much Ranyi reacted to the word 'divorce' in Tsukimi just now, it feels like once you're married, you can forget about getting a divorce.

But Kuroba Akira had solemnly promised the class president and Shion that he would not become a real couple with Tsukimi Rii, and even proposed a "duty wife" system, where everyone would take turns being his wife. But now... Tsukimi Rii doesn't seem to be planning to let him go.

What are you still hesitating about?

Tsukimi Ryoui frowned, revealing an unhappy expression. Then she deliberately showed her left hand, displaying her left middle and ring fingers that had been cut off by Hikari, in order to evoke Kuroba Akira's sense of guilt.

Kuroba Akira surrendered immediately. The incident of the severed finger was caused by his sister, and he had to clean up her mess. Besides, he was the one who proposed the marriage in the first place, so there was no going back on his word.

"It's alright... Let's set a date then."

"Okay, I'd like to hold the wedding in early spring when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. What do you think?"

"Whatever you say..."

Cherry blossoms typically bloom in March, which means the wedding is next month.

It was supposed to be just a fake marriage... but there's a feeling that it's turning into a real one.

The key point is that most people probably still think that the two of them got married in the first place, since everyone knows the real reason.

So no one knew that Tsukimi's mindset had undergone a huge change. She wanted to use the collar of marriage to imprison Kuroba Akira by her side and turn him into her pet dog. Her S-queen attributes exploded.

Just like how people in high positions become arrogant because of their power, Tsukimi Ayane also became arrogant after obtaining the position of the main wife.

There was also a twisted sense of rebellion and revenge involved. She already disliked Kuroba Akira and his women, and now that she could control Kuroba Akira, it meant she could manipulate them at will.

Hehe, how about that? The man you love most is now my husband. You can only be mistresses to steal him, and you need my permission and to beg me for it. Otherwise, I will expose your relationship with him and ruin your reputations!

The future public opinion landscape that Kuroba Akira had just explained to her gave her a dark inspiration: she could use public opinion to control them.

It's impossible to completely ignore public opinion, especially for women like them who have already determined their career paths. They certainly don't want to ruin their future because of matters of the private life.

The key point is that Kuroba Akira would also compromise and obey him to protect them from persecution, and they would also obey him to avoid making things too difficult for Kuroba Akira. The result of this mutual tolerance is that they are controlled by him.

Why should I be the victim?

I will be your master!

Even education and training institutions need my permission!

I'm going to humiliate you both severely and destroy your freedom to love each other!