Recently finished reading and this was an enjoyable story so far. Here are some thoughts on characters so far.
Warning Spoilers below
MC pays a wage every week or so right? having a small reminder of this would show their increased financial independence. MC could help Lucy open her own bank account as well. This might be a surprise for Catherine, as even a contract can't negate the need to pay a minimum wage (at least in a just society). This will give her the opportunity to pay off the debt or double down and commit.
Brian as a villain hasn't really shown much vileness, other than some words. Is he being secretly abusive to mika? but careful to do it in private and in ways that doesn't show? Gives an opportunity for MC to find out and help Lenny to break her away from Brian, maybe they'll eventually get a mildly decent ending together. This will further isolate Brian and make him more dangerous.
Akatsuki's dad is a bit eccentric, and it seems like the families use this against him by reminding him of MC's granddad all the time in order to "keep him in his place". MC doesn't seem to care about secret recipes and just cares about making good food, so eventually they'll get along pretty well and MC could learn a bunch from him.
MC and Akatsuki jointly made a mistake in the kitchen, one might expect him to take some "punishment" as well to be fair and all.
Are the families dangerous to each other in ways more than financial? Should the MC be on the lookout for votes that will destroy the balance of power even if he's voting with one side only?