If a jealous man who wants a boyfriend-girlfriend type of relationship realizes that the girl he likes needs far more money than he can provide and has to see other men at the same time to reach her goal, could he lose motivation to pursue her and start keeping her as a backup?

Maezawa from the Corporate Planning Office here as well. If you found out that was the reality, wouldn’t you give up rather than keep her as a backup? With that in mind, as Mac says, there’s no need to go out of your way to mention other men, so I think it’s okay to say you aren’t seeing anyone else—even if that isn’t true. That said, if she’s asking despite being unable to meet your desired allowance, it probably means she’s considering compromising on the amount and trying the relationship. If you’re comfortable with it, I think it’s fine to date her without mentioning the other men.

I’m Saito, the column writer♪ If someone is seriously considering a dating club, they’ll work to improve their own means—how much they can afford to pay—and try to make it work. If they can’t, they’ll accept that they’re out of their depth and walk away. This is probably a concern men never stop having. I wouldn’t say the allowance always rises proportionally, but once you start looking upward, there’s no end to it. You want to try offering allowances that climb from ¥100,000 to ¥200,000 to ¥500,000—and see what level of woman you can meet, too. If the man has the financial means, wouldn’t he simply increase the allowance—or rather, pay the target amount outright? If that seems impossible, the only way I can interpret it is: “At that amount, this pseudo-romantic relationship is a good deal, so I should cherish it.” However, if he’s very jealous while offering a low allowance, I think the latter is more likely. As Mac said, he probably benefits more from continuing to lie.