I’m a female member named Papuwa.

This is Mac. I like women like Papuwa-san. I looked at your profile, photos, and videos, and I thought you were wonderful and adorable. That’s why I reached out to you for the first time in a while. Then I was surprised to see the name of your club when I came across your answer on the Q&A site. What a coincidence. Your latest post there was wonderful too. It really reflects your natural, humble personality. You have absolutely no reason to feel inferior. This is a bit off-topic, but I’m confident I can make a woman happy in the short term. By “short term,” I mean…maybe around two years? It depends on how often we see each other, of course. When it comes to something long-term—five years or more?—I’m not so confident. I’m divorced, and I have a “record” of sorts. When Rula-san announced that she had found her “destined partner,” I made a comment that probably poured cold water on it. The truth is, I was simply dazzled. Rula-san, if I upset you, I’m sorry. Please let me apologize here. m(_ _)m If you date me, you’ll become even more beautiful. I can say that with certainty. Whenever we’re together, I’ll occasionally whisper things like, “You’re adorable,” “You’re beautiful,” and “I like you.” It’s just a habit of mine when I’m with a woman I’m fond of. Apparently, that alone makes women feel good and gives them more confidence. Let’s make it a wonderful time, even if only for a little while, at the end of this month. I’m looking forward to it.

I’m Basil, a male member. For me, transportation is included. At the outset, I make it clear that I’ll pay the agreed amount, as well as expenses incurred while we’re together, such as meals, admission fees, and hotel costs—but nothing beyond that. I’ve never dated anyone who lived far away, so the woman’s out-of-pocket expense is usually only around ¥1,000–¥2,000 at most. It’s never been an issue for me. I pay the transportation allowance for the first meeting because it’s part of the club’s rules, but I don’t feel there’s any need to give it after the second meeting, once those restrictions no longer apply. The women have never asked for it, either. That said, for a favorite girl, I may give her a few thousand yen to cover the actual cost of a taxi from the nearest station to her home on rainy days. I’m not sure how much that increases her favorable impression of me, though.

I’m Saito, a columnist♪ It’s reasonable to assume that amount is all-inclusive. Although you call it a discussion, judging by the circumstances, it was probably the man’s proposal, right? Negotiating these things can be difficult. If you’re not satisfied with it, why not try gradually raising your rate? For example, negotiate 40,000 yen with the next man. That may naturally mean the men offering 30,000 yen will drift away, though. Personally, I always pay the allowance the woman is asking for.

This is Mac-san. > Since I assume my class is probably on the lower end as well, As a general tendency, at Universe, younger women under 20 tend to be placed in somewhat lower classes, regardless of their looks. I imagine they’re judged to still be inexperienced with the world and often not very comfortable carrying on a conversation over a meal. Personally, though, I like those rough diamonds(^^). After reading your “question,” I feel a little proud that my eye for people was right after all. It may sound presumptuous to say this myself, but I’ve had a gold girl I liked promoted all the way from platinum to black by helping her grow. You could call me the male equivalent of a lucky charm. By “helping her grow,” I mean that I actively sent positive feedback to the branch and even went shopping with her for clothes to wear for her reshoot. I think Papuwa-san is a wonderful rough diamond, and I’d love to help polish her. I look forward to meeting you.

Maezawa from the Corporate Planning Office here as well. > Is it correct to interpret that the “¥30,000” implicitly includes the transportation expenses from the first date? Normally, if transportation expenses weren’t mentioned, I wouldn’t expect anything to be paid separately. I think it’s best to assume that the stated amount is all you’ll receive. That said, considering why you asked this question, I think there’s a good chance you agreed on the assumption that you would receive an additional ¥5,000–¥10,000. From the man’s perspective, bringing this up after everything has been decided might make you seem overly focused on money, which could put him off. However, if you continue seeing him without being fully comfortable with the arrangement, you may gradually start dreading your meetings. It’s a bit of a gamble, but you could ask something like: “Just to confirm, I was under the impression that my allowance from next time onward would be ¥30,000 plus the same gratuity as this time (¥5,000–¥10,000). Is that correct?” The way he responds may also give you a glimpse of what kind of person he is. Whether he tries to dodge the question, answers honestly, gets angry, or reacts in some other way.

I’m a male member based in Seattle. Basically, it’s pretty much as Mac described. I don’t know about Tokyo, but that may be about right outside the major cities. I make it clear from the start whether transportation costs are included or not. I include transportation in the allowance and don’t pay anything extra. However, if she needs to take a taxi or an airport express—anything with unusually high transportation costs—I give her that separately.