Nifuji returned to his office, and as expected, everything quickly settled down, especially since he was the type who was efficient.
Instead of wishing to be seen as busy and working hard, so everyone could see how dedicated he was, despite how meaningless the action was, he wanted everything to be over as soon as possible, so that everyone could go home instead of staying in the office all the time.
He knew that this thought of his was shared by many, but he knew that some people were just mean, which caused everyone to enter the cycle of hatred.
Yes, due to their past of being bullied and troubled by their superiors or seniors in the past, when those juniors had become the seniors, they would also do the same to their juniors, which caused this cycle to continue and caused everyone to treat each other rudely with hate.
Frankly, Nifuji wondered why they were assholes, but some people were just born assholes, and everything around them shaped them into one.
Still, he didn't care since he was in positions where he had no need to meet such people.
If he was being honest, even if he didn't do anything, everything would be okay, but once again, as he had become the largest individual shareholder, or even the owner of this company, naturally, he wished to make the best of it, taking care of it till it grew into a gigantic giant that couldn't be shaken.
Yup, this was what he planned, and naturally, because of that, he decided to go all out to make this toy department into one of the best, or even the one that generated the most revenues till he took control over everything.
"So, what's next?"
He thought so, but he knew that the market of "Kidult" from his market was immense, and it was also a cash-delicious business.
After all, at this moment, the global toy market is currently being driven by "Kidults" (adults who buy toys for themselves).
When he thought of that, he realized how much this company (Gakken Holding) had buried its treasure, as this company owned vast IP from its publishing arm (anime/manga guidebooks, occult magazines like "Mu").
"What if I use that IP?"
Currently, the company is licensing the IP to other toy companies. While it gave them a sizeable sum of money from the licensing fee, he saw that the potential for income was far better if he did the business on his own.
He used that IP and produced high-quality, limited-edition figures for the nostalgic adults who grew up with Gakken's "Science and Learning" (Kagaku to Gakushu) magazines. He knew that he would make a lot of money!
Also, while the toy department might seem like shitty, to be honest, it had a lot of potential that it hadn't tapped.
In the eyes of others, it was treated as a sideline business of selling plastic bricks and stationery, but in his eyes, it held the key to connecting the two massive silos of this company (Education and Elderly Care)!
So, how did he do it?"
He must stop this department from just selling "toys" and start selling "Cognitive Hardware"!
It might be hard to understand, but what he wanted was to transform physical toys into data-gathering and brain-training devices that span generations.
If he had to give an example, the best was Gakken's "New Block," the most popular in his department, famous for its simplicity and open-endedness.
Frankly, if one saw this toy, they would see nothing, and just be happy that it sold a lot in the country, and all others, but he saw the potential to further make it better, which was to create a digital footprint on it!
"Gakken AI Blocks..."
"What?"
As Nifuji murmured, Eri, who stood by his side, enjoying their dinner time together, looked at him curiously.
"No, I am thinking about the next project."
When everything finished, instead of going somewhere else, he went with his girlfriend, Eri, as they also waited for Mayuri, who was on the way to the restaurant, which they booked.
Where did they eat?
It wasn't a special place; instead, they just ate at the family restaurant near their place. It was strange, especially when he didn't lack money, and if he spent more money on the luxurious restaurant, wouldn't he make a lot more?
Still, Eri and Mayuri didn't know that Nifuji could make a lot of money by just spending his money on them, and he didn't plan to say anything about his system to them, as it would cause a lot of problems, and frankly, it was hard to explain!
After all, how could one believe that he could get ten times the return as long as he spent money on women?
And, if he could also gain a supernatural-like ability if he also spent a certain amount of money on them, they would think that he was exhausted and needed to sleep before they would tend to him like a baby, as he was too stressed from his work.
Still—
"Sorry, I am thinking about work again."
"No, it's fine." Eri didn't mind if Nifuji thought about a business, especially when she knew that sometimes, a businessman and a creative worker alike would have a moment of inspiration when they would get their idea. "So, what is this Gakken's AI block?"
"Well, you know our most popular product, right?"
"Of course, it's the Gakken's New Block, right?"
"Yes, I am just thinking about what if I improve it by embedding them with simple, low-cost sensors or QR codes in high-tier block sets."
Eri was confused and even asked, "What's the use of it?"
"When a child builds a structure, they scan it with a tablet, I mean with the app that I am thinking to develop, and the wll AI analyzes how the child builds (spatial reasoning, creativity, logic). This data feeds into their ID app, allowing us to recommend specific Gakken books or classes based on their physical play style."
"....." Eri.
Nifuji sighed helplessly and said, "Let's say that we have a child in the future."
"O-Okay!" Eri's face flushed in excitement as she thought of having a child with Nifuji. Still, this also made her hold her belly, as if she expected that one would be born in the future.
"..." Nifuji.
Regardless, he continued with his explanation, "Let's say that our child shows exceptional structural logic in their block play. By then, we will know what kind of path will give him the most potential to grow or even become the best in that area."
"In other words...?"
"We know what kind of education is best for our children, so they can further develop their talents."
"...."
"I-Isn't that amazing?"
"Yup, and I am sure that it will make a lot of money."
"NO, I will make A LOT, A LOT OF MONEY!"
Education, even a child knew how important it was, as it was the only way for one to change their fate. No matter what people said, including how many CEOs had dropped out, those with a university diploma were trusted more than those who didn't have one.
Also, those famous CEOs had wealthy parents, so unless you have wealthy parents, it was better not to play with the demon, who told you that education wasn't important.
Still, if Nifuji was successful with this plan, he knew that, as Eri had said, he would make a lot, a lot of money; after all, what kind of parents didn't want to know the best for their children?
If the parents knew what kind of talent their child had and supported them to bloom that talent, would there even be misery in the world?
Though in many cases, some people wanted to chase something that they weren't good at. Sometimes their passion wasn't something that they were good, or even so bad that people would advice them that it was better for them to stop, but in many cases, people didn't know what they wanted to do and they just wanted to live in a comfort, so instead of having them to walk around aimlessly then became a failure in the end, wasn't it better to just led them to be the best on what they were good at?
"Hey, what are you talking about?"
As they had their chats of this future project in his home, Mayuri also came, as she looked at them curiously.
"Mayuri, come here! Listen to him!"
"What? What's wrong?"
"The truth is—"
"...how about we do the takeout since it will be dangerous if people hear my idea."
Nifuji knew that even if people heard about what idea that he would do, they wouldn't posses an ability to execute it, he knew that it was better to be careful.
"Okay!" 2x
Still, as usual Mayuri's boobs were as huge as ever, but as he thought of boobs, this also reminded him of a certain someone, who had given him a huge surprised about her decision that made him sigh helplessly.