"I am Nifuji Hirotaka. I will be the one who leads you from now on. All the executives came and brought all the documents."
When the break was over, Nifuji went directly to the toy department, which had been announced. The executives wanted to argue, but in front of the board of directors, all resistance was futile.
If he made a comparison, it was like how a group of tribal groups gathered together, holding their axes, ready to chop down the enemy, but Nifuji came with the cutting-edge modern naval warship, which fired railguns.
In front of such a huge difference in power, could they do anything?
So, when Nifuji came, even if they wanted to resist, they couldn't do it, especially when he was accompanied by two influential people in the company.
"Come on. Don't waste my time."
"...." Everyone.
They all looked flabbergasted, but in the end, nothing could be done except that everyone quickly gathered all the data of the toy department, which made everyone feel helpless as they knew that they had to overwork, and those who had been at the top and used the company for their benefit were already trembling in fear.
"Is it okay for you to be so cold, Nifuji-sama?"
Meanwhile, Nifuji, who was all cold, glanced at the person who asked him such a question, but he didn't say anything and just kept staring at him in silence.
"...."
The man was naturally in a panic, and his heart quickly raced before he quickly apologized. "I-I am sorry! I have overstepped my boundary! Please forgive me, Sir!"
The other was also nervous, as Nifuji didn't say anything.
Yes, they might have a lot of influence on the company, but once again, they were just employees!
No matter how high someone's position was in a good company, they had to bow down to one of the directors!
So, the two of them bowed down naturally, like how they were trained to be.
Bowing down.
While it was something expensive as it destroyed the dignity of someone, for the salarymen, it was an easy thing, as their bowing down meant a submission to the higher position, which led them into a higher chance to grow.
Still—
"I was just kidding." Nifuji smiled softly.
"..." 2x
Was he kidding?
No way!
However, Nifuji ignored their thoughts and asked them as he walked to the meeting room, "Have you heard of a book called The Prince?"
"The Prince?" 2x
"It was a banned book in the Renaissance era. During that era, this book was seen as written by a devil, but now? It is a bible for the leader."
"....." 2x
"Well, still, for some people, it is still the devil's work, though."
"...who wrote it, Sir?"
Previously, they thought of Nifuji as a greenhorn, someone naive, but as Nifuji's position grew, his fangs also grew sharper, which caused all of those people below, the sheep, to tremble.
"It's Niccolo Machiavelli." Nifuji didn't hide it. "You might have heard the word Machiavellism, and that came from this man."
Machiavellism is a belief that comes from those who believe in the ways a ruler could succeed in politics, and believe those who flourish engage in deception, treachery, and violence.
Machiavelli advised rulers to engage in evil when political necessity requires it, at one point stating that successful founders and reformers of governments should be excused for killing other leaders who would oppose them.
Machiavelli's "The Prince" has been surrounded by controversy since it was published. Some consider it to be a straightforward description of political reality. Many view The Prince as a manual, teaching would-be tyrants how they should seize and maintain power. Even into recent times, scholars such as Leo Strauss have restated the traditional opinion that Machiavelli was a "teacher of evil."
So, Nifuji, who thought of this book as his favorite book, was evil?
He wasn't sure, but he just thought that the reality was like this, and even if the world had been at peace, the war had changed its form, and if one wanted to become the victor, it was impossible to rely on kindness alone.
Yes, with all of that, was he a good person?
Then again, in this situation, especially when he needed respect and obedience from everyone instead of being loved, he wanted them to fear him, so that no one would resist him.
However, he also knew that it was impossible to rule on the tyranny alone.
Fear might make people afraid to fight, but love and kindness can make people work tirelessly like a cute hamster running on a wheel.
Like how a trainer would train an animal, they would punish it when the animal didn't listen, and would reward them when they did a good job.
Still, before all of that, Nifuji needed to know everything about the toy department, as he lacked information about it.
So, at this moment, everyone quickly worked, gathering all of the documents within the department.
Nifuji, who had removed his suit, loosened his tie as he smoked before he started to read the documents along with everyone, trying to understand better about the company.
Meanwhile, Eri, who had returned to her job, received many kind approaches from everyone, flattering her, and even offered to do her job.
"....."
Eri was speechless, but she knew that they had tried to kiss her buttocks.
The woman aside, she avoided all the men as she didn't want any misunderstandings to happen, and if they were persistent, she would just stare at them in silence, which made all of them quickly beg for mercy as they bowed down.
Silence.
The best way to beat someone who thought that they had the upper hand and was being aggressive, screaming, was just to stare at them in silence.
The silent gaze was the most powerful weapon, and also a sign of maturity.
Being calm when they faced a beast, but becoming a beast when they faced a human.
Handling a human heart was quite simple, especially when one was in a high position.
Eri's position might not be high, but her boyfriend was one of the people with the highest positions.
Still, fortunately, she could escape all the troubles, but she had to say, this feeling wasn't bad at all.
'Should I just become a housewife?'
Somehow, such a thought crossed her mind, especially when her man's career was secured, but she felt like it would be interesting to become Nifuji's secretary more, so that they could work together, as they traveled to many places, too.
As she thought so, suddenly, she got a chat from Mayuri, asking her about last night's event.
"That woman..."
Eri felt like she should refuse, but unlike her, who had Nifuji's backing, it would be hard for Mayuri to refuse the invitation of her senior, and because of that, it was necessary to accept it.
However, considering how busy Nifuji was, she could postpone it since Eri had to admit, she didn't like Mayuri's senior that much.
"That bitch..."
Even if that woman had dressed in a way that made her appear pure and gentle, it still couldn't erase the stench of whore from Eri.
Regardless, while Eri could stop one of Mayuri's seniors, it was impossible for her to stop another of Mayuri's seniors who might later meet Nifuji.