Ch.35 How to Address Each Other. Aristia's Family Problem has been Solved.

I have unexpectedly found myself with an increased number of wives.

"I've finished writing it!"

"Um... yes, all's good. Now, please have your parents fill in the remaining."

"Okay! So... Mahiro-kun, I look forward to working with you from now on!"

"U-umu. I look forward to it too, Tokino."

"Boo! You can't!"

"What is it so suddenly ja?"

When I replied her back, she made an "X" with her arms and suddenly said "You can't."　

What on earth ja?

"Mahiro-kun, even though it's not official yet, I think it's strange to call me by my surname."

"Mu, now that you mention it, Indeed."

Tokino is right about that.

'Tis due to circumstances and all, but we have ended up getting married, so calling her "Tokino" feels a bit strange now.

"Right? Right? So, I want you to call me by my name!"

"So, should I call you Aristia?"

"That's fine, but giving me a nickname is fine too, you know!"

"Well, Aristia is a bit long, isn't it? Come on, Mahiro. It's a big responsibility. You should come up with a nice nickname for her."

"For a girl, it's quite touching when the person she likes uses a special way of addressing her. So, Mahiro-chan."

"Do not rush me. I will think about it carefully."

Upon hearing this, Tokino's face lit up with a smile, and she turned her expectant gaze towards me.

Fumu... addressing someone... a nickname, huh...

Tokino was usually called "Alice" or "Alice-chan" by her female colleagues. To be honest, I think calling her that is fine... no, 'tis not.

Just a moment ago, Mizuki said that women would be really touched by the special way of addressing someone.

If I consider that this statement comes from the perspective of a girl, just like Tokino, then Tokino herself must surely think the same way.

In that case...it would be better to think of a different nickname.

Tokino C. Aristia.

Fumu... Tokino... Clock... Watch... No, that is not it. Besides, using her last name and middle name as a nickname is definitely weird.

In that case, it seems best to somehow come up with a suitable nickname for "Aristia."

However, the name "Alice" is already taken...

Therefore, I must consider other options.

Riste... does not sound quite right. Tia... is not bad. A candidate. Litia... feels a bit forced. Not it. Aria... hmm. Aria, huh. Not bad.

"How about 'Aria' ja? It might be a little too simple, though."

I said the nickname I personally think is the best out loud.

Tokino closed her eyes and thought for a moment, repeating the words to herself, then nodded once and said with a big smile.

"Yeah! That's great!"

Apparently, she took it well.

'Twas a rather simplistic idea, but... well, if she is kay with it, then I guess all is well.

"Then I will call you Aria."

"—! Mahiro-kun!"

"Mu, what is it ja, Aria?"

"Wow...! I'm so happy!"

When she heard her name called, she blushed and smiled shyly, saying "Aria," with a very happy expression on her face.

Fumu, it seems that girls do indeed appreciate being called something special.

I will remember that.

"...Hey, look at that pink space."

"That bastard... I'm so jealous..."

"Even after changing into a woman, she continues to be loved so faithfully, I really think Tokino is the heroine."

"Even Ouka, a dense, oblivious, sleep-loving jerk, would fall for that."

"But she already had two wives."

"""Damn it!"""

...These onlookers are so noisy.

Or rather, the men's resentful stares are intense.

It seems they cannot help but feel jealous of me, who is in a harem situation.

I do not really care what happens to other people, but 'tis fairly normal for most men to feel jealous. After all, there were guys at the academy who were jealous of Yuya's popularity.

Kengo and I did not think anything of it though.

"Wow Alice-chan's smile! It's absolutely wonderful!"

"It was something I'd always dreamed of, for her to be united with Ouka-kun."

"But Ouka-kun is amazing. I mean, she already has two husbands, and yet she's willing to take on another one? There's definitely something a little off about her."

"She must be Don Juan!"

"Well, she's a natural womanizer, after all."

Women are annoying in their own way.

I mean, what do they mean by "natural womanizer"...?

I do not recall ever becoming something like that...

"……Ah."

"Mu, what is wrong ja, Aria? You suddenly look so awkward."

"Oh, well, um... I'm embarrassed to say this, but my family is poor, so a wedding would be really tough for us..."

"Oh, really?"

"Well... Actually, you see..."

Then Aria began to speak.

Apparently, Aria's family—or rather, the company her father works for—is a pretty terrible place to work, with hardly any days off and low pay.

Life itself is tough, and even with Aria's part-time job, 'tis barely enough to make ends meet. Also, her parents are too kind; when Aria gives them her earnings, they say "It's okay" and let her save it herself.

However, their household finances are getting increasingly dire, and although they are managing somewhat for now, they say it may get even worse by summer.

"I see. Aria, what about your grandparents?"

"...Dad's parents have already passed away, and Mom basically eloped, so she's been disowned... I can't expect any financial support."

"That's quite a family..."

"Hmm... Now that I think about it calmly, I might end up causing trouble for Mahiro-kun and the others..."

Aria looked dejected.

It seems like she's about to retract everything.

...Fuumu, what should I do...?

"Um, Aristia-san"

As I pondered what to do, Mizuki spoke to Aria.

"Oh, um, Uishi-san, what is it?"

"Oh, you can just call me Mizuki."

"Okay, then, Mizuki-chan it is. And, um, what is it?"

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but is your father's name William, Aristia-san?"

"You know Papa?"

"Ah, I thought so. Yes, I know. Otou-sama knows too. Apparently, he thinks highly of your father."

It seems that Mizuki knows Aria's father.

And her father knows as well.

"He does?"

"Yes. I know he works in sales. And I hear he almost always manage to gain the trust of the people he does business with."

"Is that so?"

"There's no mistake. I believe the company where Aristia-san's father works is one of the subsidiaries under the company Otou-sama runs."

"A company...? Huh? What kind of person is Mizuki's father...?"

"Oh, that's right, I haven't mentioned that yet. Um, my father is the chairman of the Uishi Group."

When Mizuki casually mentioned her father, the store erupted in commotion.

Well, if the daughter of the Uishi Group were here...

"Wait, Uishi Group? Did she just say Uishi Group!?"

"Wow, that's an absolutely massive corporation!"

"Wait a minute! So that means... that bastard Ouka has married into wealth!?"

"I'm so jealous!"

"Wow, Ouka-kun married someone incredible."

"...He's married to that young lady, but he doesn't make a big deal out of it at all. He's just not on the right track."

"His natural charm extended even to the aristocracy."

"That's just incredible..."

Mu, 'tis quite noisy inside the store...

Well, that is to be expected.

"W-What? Mahiro-kun married the daughter of such an outrageous person?!"

"Well, that is indeed what happened"

"Why didn't you tell me sooner!"

"Haha, sorry, sorry. I thought you would figured it out from her last name... What, you did not realize?"

"I won't notice!"

Aria speaks angrily and forcefully.

Fumu fumu. For the energetic Aria to end up like this, the Uishi Group must be an incredible company.

... Fuumu. In that case, I am all the more curious about my father and mother.

Why were they acquaintances?

No, now is not the time to be thinking about such things.

"That's strange..."

"Is something wrong, Mizuki?"

"Ah, yes. It's about Aristia-san's house."

"My house? Um, is there something strange about it...?"

"That's right. Even though it's a company under Otou-ama's group, the salary your father earns at the company where he works must be decent. So I thought it was strange that your family's finances were in such dire straits."

"Fumu... So, does that mean that for some reason, he is not being paid his full salary?"

"It's possible. There's no way someone with such a good reputation that Otou-ama knows him would be paid so little."

I see.

I do not know much about management or salaries, but even so, I can somehow imagine that there might be some bad possibilities.

"...Hey, isn't that a pretty bad thing?"

"Indeed. It's possible someone is cutting salaries. There's also the possibility that Aristia's father has been secretly spending money—"

"Papa would never do something like that!"

"Now, calm down. 'Tis just a possibility ja. Nobody is saying your father is doing anything bad."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's alright. I'm also at fault. ...Anyway, it's about Aristia's father. Let's ask about him."

Saying that, Mizuki took out her smartphone and started making a call.

This lasts for several minutes.

Meanwhile, Mizuki was giving a thorough explanation.

The conversation seemed to be going smoothly, as Mizuki's expression was relaxed.

"Thank you very much. Yes, I've confirmed it."

After a while, as soon as the call ended, Mizuki said that.

"That was quick."

"When I said 'confirmed,' I'm only referring to the company itself. However, there are suspicions that the company where Aristia-san's father worked was involved in some kind of wrongdoing."

"I-Is that so!?"

"That's surprising. For a subsidiary of the Uishi Group to do such a thing..."

"Even though they're all under our umbrella, there are still quite a few of them. It's impossible to keep track of everything in detail. It seems that this has backfired. However, it appears that there are instances where Aristia-san's father hasn't been paid the salary he's rightfully entitled to."

"Eh!?"

Aria looked utterly astonished by the sudden revelation.

This surprised not only Aria but also Miho.

"So, Otou-sama said he would have an investigation done immediately."

"That's fast... Immediately, huh?"

"Yes. This is a serious matter. Well, since they were engaging in wrongdoing, it looks like we'll have to cut ties with them."

"So, then, what about Papa's job...?"

Aria was worried that her father might lose his job, but Mizuki smiled kindly at her.

"Don't worry. Otou-sama said, 'Then this is a chance to bring Tokino up to a higher position! And those who weren't involved in the wrongdoing will be transferred to another company.'"

"For him to go that far..."

As expected of Mizuki's father ja. He says some outrageous things.

"So please don't worry."

"So, what about the wedding ceremony...?"

"Yes, I can. Or rather, Otou-sama will take care of a lot of these things, so you don't really need to worry about them."

"Oh, really?"

Mizuki's father is so generous that he mobilizes all his employees to find land to build a house on...

That is only natural of him, I suppose.

"Therefore, as a result, Otou-sama ended up supporting Aristia's family."

"Huh, how did that happen!?"

"He probably said something like, 'Getting married means indirectly gaining a daughter. In other words, we'll have another daughter. So there's absolutely no problem with providing financial support! In fact, we'll provide tons of support!', like that ja."

"Ah, that's correct, Mahiro-chan."

"... Mizuki's father is outrageous."

"But somehow I feel kind of bad about it..."

She seemed rather reluctant to accept the assistance.

Certainly, even if the other person is incredibly wealthy, it feels quite awkward to accept their assistance almost entirely for free.

However, as if she had anticipated even that, Mizuki said this:

"By the way, if you receive assistance now, you'll be able to attend Minazuki Academy."

"Really!?"

"Yes. It would be strange if Miho-san and I were the same, but Aristia-san was different. Besides, Aristia-san seems to have a promising future. It's like an investment in her. Minazuki Academy has everything, and the career paths are excellent."

"I-I guess so..."

As Mizuki said, from the perspective of Aria's academic performance, Okinari High School might be a bit of a mismatch. She's quietly doing quite well, you see.

Considering that, attending Minazuki Academy, which is also a prestigious school, might be the best option.

"I would be happy if you could attend the same school as me."

"Okay, let's go!"

"You decided right away!"

Just because I said I was happy, she immediately made her decision with a dazzling smile, as if to say, "What was all that apologetic attitude from earlier for?"

How amazing.

"That's good to hear. I'll contact Otou-sama then. Oh, you will have to take the exam...is that alright?"

"Yes! I've been diligently reviewing and preparing for classes, so there's no problem!"

"That's good to hear. So, let's do is then."

"I'm looking forward to it."

Well, that is something...

After that, we had a late dinner that we had forgotten about, and then the day came to a close.

Later, the fraud was actually discovered, and they ended up cutting ties.

Consequently, it seems that everyone who was not involved in the misconduct was transferred. Ultimately, it was to a different company within the same group. So, you could say it was a relocation.

Anyway, thanks to an incredibly convenient turn of events, Aria's poverty was resolved.

This young lady is too strong.

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