"Steeped in love and loneliness,
"I was incubating feelings that would never reach you.
"Unable to say the words, this first love
"Has the heart of a rag doll."
Karaoke.
This was the activity they did after they finished the meeting. They booked a night bar, accompanied by beautiful women, drinking alcohol, and eating some light snacks.
As the chairman sang Kozo Murasashi - Hatsukoi, everyone cheered or talked with the others. Nifuji tried his best not to get involved with the women around him, as they wanted to gather around him, like ants that were attracted by sugar.
His name was Nifuji, and his name Sato (has a meaning of sugar in Japanese), like the protagonist of another novel by the same author, but he was like sugar in front of those women, especially with how high his position was in the company, as he could sit alongside those old people.
Then again, he didn't have much interest in them, since they couldn't trigger his system, yet he had to say, even if they weren't the most beautiful, as they put on their make-up, each of them had their own charms, which would make him feel like it was impossible to say that his girlfriends were the best.
There are over 400,000 known species of flowering plants in the world, yet it is impossible to say which is the most beautiful, right?
Each of the flowers had its own charms, but he could tell that some of them planned to bring some of the women back to the hotel nearby, making him speechless.
Was this their way of socializing?
Could their wee-wee work after a long time of work, alcohol, and all other stress?
Still, this wasn't his problem, as they were paid money, and the women also just worked for money, so as everyone's demands were complete, everything was fine, right?
Yet, this was a rare case, okay?
After all, a nightbar wasn't a place for sex, and it was just a place for exhausted men to drink and talk about their concerns to a beautiful woman, as it was impossible for them to tell everything to their families.
Everyone wore a mask, and each of those masks was different, depending on whom they met, whether it was a family, friends, superiors, subordinates, or all others, but during this moment, during this time when they just finished their work, exhausted, and didn't really want to do anything, they just wished to be listened to, heard, or even be a baby, as in the house, it was impossible for them to show this side of them.
Nifuji understood that, so he just quietly drank his alcohol as he talked with the chairman.
"What do you think?"
"It's a good place to relax."
"Right?" The chairman nodded, then asked, "Nifuji-kun, what's your goal?"
"Goal?" Nifuji thought for a moment and said, "Probably, a comfortable life."
"Hahaha..." The chairman laughed. "But, that's impossible, right?"
"That's true."
The wealthy might seem full of glamor, luxury, and the rest, but the two of them knew well what kind of crazy, difficult problems those at the top faced.
Their company, Gakken Holdings Co., Ltd., might seem like a good, stable company that would continue to grow, but Nifuji and the chairman knew that this company had a lot of problems, and its growth was limited, especially with many things in this company.
"I believe that digital is the only way for our company to grow, but..."
"But?"
"I'm not sure which direction we should be focusing on."
"That's true, but I thought that you would propose to make a game department, making a profit from a game."
"Is that what you think I would do?"
"You young people are more knowledgeable about that, right? And, frankly, I would be lying if I was not tempted by that area as I know that there is a lot of money to be made working there."
"It is." Nifuji nodded. "But at the same time, this is also a fickle industry."
"You are right."
Fickle.
This was a familiar term, but if it was combined with the word of industry, it made people feel helpless, yet that was how it was, since those businesses, especially those that were in the entertainment industry, were all fickle and impossible to predict.
If it made a lot of money, then it would make a lot, but if not, then it would end up as a failure.
This was also the reason why most companies took a safe route by making the spin-off of the original works that was successful, trying to squeeze the value, or simply expand its possibilities, so it would increase the profit.
Either way, this was the way for one to make money in the world of entertainment, such as those movies, which were being recreated over and over again, but it couldn't be helped, right?
After all, if they didn't do that, they wouldn't have a stable income, and this was also the reason why their company also dabbled in the nursing home and hospital areas, which also slowly dabbled into the diapers area, and probably developed into medical aids, such as mobility aids, homecare, safety aids, sensory aids, and all others.
Or, rather, as long as they could make money, they would do anything.
As for the digital area that Nifuji had talked about before, he felt like... There was a way to do it, but to develop such a business, it needed a good amount of healthy cash to support it.
With how their company was, unless they borrowed from a bank or sold their shares, it was impossible to get more capital to develop their plan, and because of that, it was necessary to get another stable income; thus, diapers, which were practically bought by the majority, could give them a fast income.
Still, as they talked, the chairman suddenly asked, "Nifuji-kun, can you lead this new area?"
"....."
Could Nifuji refuse?
No, he knew well that someone reliable and of high prestige had to take the helm for this new venture.
Still, it could be others, right?
However, as he met the chairman's eyes, he took a deep breath and said, "I need someone reliable and someone who will stop me from making every decision."
One was to support and the other was to stop him.
It was better to have those two people, so that way, he could do whatever he wanted, yet also stop him when he had gone too far.
"Don't worry."
As they made their talk, it was already late, so Nifuji planned to go back, as everyone had planned to rest. Naturally, he didn't go with the women, as he wasn't sure whether they carried a sickness or anything. Yes, they might not sell their bodies, but it was better to be careful, right?
Still, when he thought of going back to Eri and Mayuri, he received a chat from Chizuru, asking him something, which he had ignored before as he was in a meeting, but as he had just finished, he decided to call her directly. However, when he thought that she was sleeping, she seemed to accept his call directly.
"What's wrong, Chizuru?"
"Ah, um, am I bothering you, Hirotaka-kun?"
"No, I just finished here. Do you miss me?"
"...."
Chizuru felt a bit guilty when she heard that Nifuji had just finished his work, thinking that she had bothered him, but hearing his next words, her feelings leaked, "Um."
"...where are you? I will go there."
"It's..."
Chizuru quickly told her address, where her home was, and Nifuji, with his fastest speed, went to her place, so how did he achieve that?
By using the most expensive transportation in this country, a taxi!
"Take me to this address."
"Yes, sir."
As he lay on the back sofa, his lazy body grew hotter as his lower area grew harder, thinking of what would happen between him and Chizuru tonight.
What about Eri and Mayuri?
Forgive him, let's take care of them tomorrow.