I feel like a lot of male members ask me, “About how many people have you met so far?”

Maezawa from the Corporate Planning Office here as well. > Do you really want to know the actual number? If a man asks, then yes, he wants to know the real number. That said, he’ll be disappointed if the number is high. It may seem complicated at first, but it’s actually simple. He’ll be satisfied if you give a lower number. (笑) > Does knowing that change anything? It changes how he sees the woman. As I mentioned above, it’s generally better for the number to be low. However, men who have absolute confidence in themselves—and who are certain the woman will come to like them—are an exception. In those cases, telling the truth (though I assume most women receive quite a few offers, so this would probably mean giving a higher number) may actually lead to a higher allowance. If she’s seeing a lot of men but he’s the only one receiving a small allowance, he may feel it makes him look bad.

I’m Meg, a female member. Please wrap me in a kind lie ♪ I want to be wrapped in one too... (*^^*) Why, you ask? Because reality is just too harsh for both of us, isn’t it, Flag Maker?

I’m Date◎Yume, a male member. I ask as part of the overall flow of the conversation. To be honest, the actual number doesn’t really matter to me. After all, it may include things from before she joined the club. Still, as everyone has said, I see it as information that helps determine how she and I fit together—what kind of relationship we’re going to have. My impression is that most of what I hear is probably close to the truth. In my case, once I start seeing someone, I don’t stop until we naturally go our separate ways, so I eventually come to understand the things she may have been vague about at first. The important thing, I think, is to create an environment where we can talk things through when something we didn’t know comes to light, or when either of us has questions or starts thinking, “I’d like you to do this differently.” When we talk things out, it feels like the relationship itself grows even closer.

I’m BB7, a male member. I get asked that a lot too. If a woman is getting a lot of offers, I ask because it helps me gauge what kind of arrangement we might have—for example, whether I’d only be able to see her about once a month, whether scheduling would be difficult, or whether she’d be more comfortable dating because she has a lot of experience with men. I also look at how she responds and try to figure out what kind of person she is: does she hesitate, answer clearly, or tell an obvious lie? Her reaction can tell you a lot about her. If someone asks me, I’ll answer honestly and directly.

I’m Basil, a male member. Like everyone else, I consider this valuable information when deciding what kind of arrangement I want. Even when I don’t ask directly, I often try to feel things out. A lot of women seem to hedge or understate things, but inexperienced, serious girls tend to answer relatively honestly, almost like they’re at a job interview. Since I’m into newcomers, that makes me like them even more.

I’m a male member in Seattle. When you meet for the first time, it can simply be one topic of conversation, so there’s no need to overthink it—just keep it casual and make small talk.

I’m Flag Maker, a column writer. This is just my personal reasoning, but since I lie to and keep secrets from even my own family, telling the women I’m seeing the truth wouldn’t be fair to my family. In fact, I feel it’s better to lie to them a little more. Of course, that assumes the lies will absolutely never be discovered and that I’ll stick to them. Sorry m(_ _)m It may sound odd coming from me, but I don’t think you should lie to the people who truly matter to you. With everyone else, though, I think it’s okay to lie. I’m not a big fan of the belief that lying is inherently wrong. Depending on the person, I don’t think lying is necessarily a bad thing. If you tell them the truth, they’ll probably only get hurt. So wouldn’t they be happier hearing something like, “I’m not seeing that many people, and you’re the only one I’m continuing to see”? I think having a relationship based on kind lies is the safest option for both men and women.

I’m Hikōki, a male member. As for how to answer, I think it’s better to give a smaller number—or keep it vague. Ideally, you could say, “From now on, it’s just you. I’m not accepting any more offers.” Would continuing to believe that without question also be considered a man’s way of showing respect? If the two of you become close enough to confirm that you’re each seeing only one person, the man will eventually learn that, since she joined, she has received offers and may have been seeing someone, unless she has taken a break or left the club. If you can have a deeper conversation about it at that point, your intimacy will grow. If not, I suppose she’ll simply remain one person in a more distant, ordinary relationship. Also, when a woman asks a man how many partners he has, I think it may be best to ask him the same question in return. Unlike with women, it seems you can’t tell when men joined the club. From a man’s perspective, knowing the number makes it easier to decide how to approach the relationship: Whether he’s one of several men, whether he’s expected to take care of her completely, or whether he’s just one of several men despite her saying he’s the only one. Unless he has some idea of the situation, it’s difficult to control how much energy to invest or hold back. So perhaps he asks in order to align his expectations with the woman’s feelings. After meeting several times, the truth will naturally become clearer, and you probably won’t worry about it as much either. In my case, I usually made offers to women who had just joined because I hoped I’d be their first date, so I rarely asked. Naturally, the conversation would turn to things like whether it was their first date, their third or fourth meeting, where the office was located, where the interview took place, and so on—topics related to having just joined. I sometimes asked women who had been members for a few months, but that was so I could decide how to respond to them.