What should he do?
This thought kept creeping into him, eating him from the inside like termites.
Nifuji knew well what he should do, but could they accept this relationship where they shared him with each other?
Normally, it was one male and one female, yet why in the end did it become one male with many women?
Even if he knew that it was cruel, this was the law of the world, he thought.
The world isn't kind, and no matter what era, women, with the resources they have, always move toward the strong instead of the weak.
If he were cold, who devoured everything, and just moved based on his lust to eat those beautiful women, turning them into his, and a greedy one, who wanted to get wealth, and a unique ability, he wouldn't be in this torment.
Why was he like this?
It was because he was afraid to see them crying.
When he thought about how they had given their everything, loving him so much, giving their entire bodies and hearts to him, choosing him for the one who yet in the end, he abandoned them without caring, it was just... unbearable for his heart somehow.
Yet, at the same time, part of him was also cold, since even if they parted, Nifuji believed that he was okay.
The world wasn't kind; it was cold, and he knew that if he didn't do something, he would rot and die.
At the same time, he also knew that the reason he could get all the women easily was that he was wealthy.
Yes, he was handsome, and he was also strong in the below, but if he wasn't strong enough economically, which made them able to give those women a peace of mind where they could live without worry, then would they gather around him?
His love might not be complete, yet he could give them the peace of mind that the men, who could give all of their hearts, couldn't do.
In the previous era, we might have seen that no matter what we did, we could live, but now?
If one wanted to survive, they had to work till they die unless one had someone they could rely on.
Or rather, this is how the structure of the society was.
One became the pillar, holding up everything, like Atlas, who bore the weight of the heavens, while the others lived in the heavens in comfort.
This situation was also similar to the company he worked for and even owned most of the shares, yet he also understood it, as he knew that most of the people in the company, 80% of them, were useless, and that the ones who supported the company were only 20%, which was the normal practice in this country.
Unlike the international firm, where the strong devoured and the weak disappeared.
In the domestic firm, what people cared about was loyalty, and as long as one had loyalty to the company, then their lives would be as good as guaranteed.
This wasn't good for him, as he knew well that he was the one who worked hard, while everyone just wanted to rest lazily and enjoy his hard work. Yet, he knew that it was impossible for them to change, and they had given up on changing, as they were too comfortable in their own places, and never thought to improve.
As for why this happened, he could only say that it was because the government pampered them since, in most cases, many companies made no profits or even worked at a loss, but somehow, the government kept funding them, giving them low-interest loans, to keep them alive and stop the unemployment.
"If I am not wrong, they are called "zombie companies."
They were dying, but somehow, they were alive, being fed by the government, but he knew that it was almost impossible to do it, as the yen had become weak, and it had become expensive to keep those zombie companies.
The era of feudalism was gone, and the mini-country type of company in this country could no longer work, so instead of working for those who he didn't care about, taking care of all the burden as they tried to slow him down with their "seniority," "useless traditions," and "all others," he might as well go and focus on his equity firm as it was owned by him alone.
If he worked hard, it was only for him, and he had no need to face those old shits, who thought that they were better because they were older, and always talked about loyalty, when the truth was that the company was on the verge of destruction.
Still, even if Nifuji didn't think to return to his position, it was fine—why?
What the previous company needed wasn't a specialist, a visionary, who wished to make everything better, but just someone who maintained the status quo, as they knew the government would save them no matter how hard they had worked.
Unemployment was bad for a country, so they had to keep those companies no matter what.
The country was bleeding, the person in a high position was a greedy glutton who would never stop, and those below were even more so.
Nifuji had a choice, so he decided to change his strategy, and many also decided to follow him, such as Koyanagi, who quickly integrated into his equity firm smoothly.
As for the others?
Chizuru, if she didn't have him, could only work as a rental girlfriend to keep up her daily expenses, her grandmother's education, and all other things.
Mini, Rui, and Chika were the same, with the unknown future and the crushing student loan, how could they live if they didn't make a move now?
As for Fuji, the writer, Wakana, the owner of the laundrymart, they had no one to rely on and could only stand on their own, so with Nifuji, they could take a breath and take a moment of rest.
As for Hina, Eri, Narumi, and Mayuri, they were all women, and while people said that there was no difference between the two genders, the ceiling limit for women was low, and they could hardly earn with the high inflation.
Yup, all of them relied on him.
If he were gone, their lives would be much harder, and they could only work till late at night.
From nine in the morning to nine at night, and for six days a week.
No sane person could handle such work at all, and it was even worse for the competent people who were forced to handle the useless coworkers or seniors, who forced them to work till midnight, or even the next day, which forced them to stay at the office for a few months, and returned home to find the rice in their rice cooker had become a different type of entity.
"...when I think of this, somehow, it isn't bad for them?"
Nifuji knew that he couldn't give them complete love, yet he could protect them from the cruelty of the world.
Wasn't that enough?
When he thought of that, he sighed in relief somehow, but he knew well the emotions; the chaotic element wasn't so easy to handle, yet he would work hard for all of them.
"Onii-chan..."
Chika muttered softly as she slept soundly on the bed.
Nifuji looked at Chika, who, despite being exhausted, appeared so radiant and beautiful, making him smile, then decided to sleep.
Today, he had done a good job, he thought.