As he sat on his sofa lazily, Nifuji stared at the ceiling of his home absentmindedly before he reached his pocket, about to take a sip of nicotine subconsiously, but when he was about to light it up, he forcefully stopped himself.
"This isn't good..."
He should stop his habit of smoking, especially when his mind was so overwhelmed, but what could he do?
He was just an imperfect human, and even if he had a system, he didn't believe that he was above many.
Even those men who stood above many, such as Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, or even Alexander the Great, even if they had almost conquered the world, in the end, they fell, showing their fragility, and nothing was permanent.
No matter how high he stood above many, as a human, he would die sooner or later.
Then, had he thought to live forever?
"Hmmm...."
Nifuji hadn't thought of such a fantasy-like development, and as long as he was still addicted to nicotine, he might die from lung or throat cancer first.
"But the good scent is really great."
He knew well that his scent, whenever he smoked, was far from being pleasant, and when he kissed his women, he would wash his mouth first, and also put on a fragrance that had a tobacco nuance, so it could disguise the smell of nicotine and tar on his body and clothes.
Also, even so, he felt like it was better for him to stop, especially when, as Wakana had said, if he continued to smoke, he would ruin his expensive clothes.
He might not lack money now, but it was just wasteful if all of his suits and clothes were ruined just because of his cigarettes.
So, it was because of that—
"Let's get naked."
Nifuji knew that he couldn't stop smoking immediately, so he might as well smoke while naked.
Anyway, he was at his own home, so it was all fine, even if he didn't wear anything, right?
There was still time before Wakana came to his place to pick up his laundry, and if possible, he wanted to ask her to clean up his place, too.
"If I had a wife, then it would be great..."
If he had a wife, then he had no need to worry about the house problems, and could leave it to her, but considering the current era, if he didn't help his woman at home, he would be seen as lazy, and frankly, it was hard for him to bear to see her doing everything alone, as he could help her with the house problems, ended it as soon as possible, and then they cuddled up and had sex, then slept when they got tired.
Still, the wife aside, he had girlfriends, so he had no need to be in a hurry.
As for Eri and Mayuri, for now, let's not contact them and just tell them that he was a bit exhausted, so he had been sleeping for a while, and while it was fun to be with others, he just wanted to have a quiet moment where he could rest and calm himself.
The role of a man had been the protector, the one who led, but he wasn't a perfect man, a Superman, so because of that, he knew that sometimes, he could be overwhelmed and probably lash out at the people that he cared about.
During such a time, he just wanted to be quiet, thinking of nothing, as he smoked, staring into the distance absently.
"Fuhh...."
Nifuji sat on the balcony of his home, as he stared at nothing while feeling the nicotine calm his body. He started to calm down, as his mind became relaxed, but he just didn't want to think of anything.
So, what should he do?
The pressure of money wasn't a problem anymore, and frankly, with his wealth, even if he retired, it didn't really matter, but he hadn't found the direction of what he wanted to do, and just doing nothing, having a world trip, while it sounded fun, he felt that this 70 sqm2 of space was more comfortable than any places in the world.
Some people might say that he was a frog in a small well, but who said that a frog was unhappy to stay at the well?
At least, in that place, the frog was happier than those who had seen the vast world, realizing that they weren't the best and could only succumb to being ordinary, knowing that no matter how much they worked, it was impossible to reach what they wanted.
Also, his focus was on the company that he got, since he knew that as he gained such an amount of shares, whether he wanted to or not, he had to be the one who made the decision, the one who owned the company.
Er... did he not want to become the owner?
Did he appear to be someone who wanted to become an owner?
Frankly, Nifuji didn't really want to, and as expected, on weekdays, he was called directly by the CEO, as the company would hold a meeting of the board of directors, together with the commissioners, since he held 19% of the company's shares, which meant, he would be chosen as one of the board of directors, too.
If possible, he didn't want to change his position and just stayed as an employee as usual, as it was the most comfortable position, considering he only needed to focus on completing his target.
Yes, for those others would look down on him since, instead of becoming an employee, wasn't it better to create your own company, be your own boss?
If he were Zukkyberg or Elon Musk, then it would have been all fine, but he wasn't, after all.
Nifuji knew his own limit, and instead of working hard toward a dream, he just wanted to live a quiet, peaceful life.
"But, it should be fine, right?"
As he became part of the board of directors due to the amount of his shares, his work should be less busy, right?
When he thought of that, he felt calm and better somehow.
As for why he hadn't thought of this before, it was all because he didn't want to show his pathetic self to Chizuru, who looked up at him, or his other women, thinking that he was such a worrywart, and also a coward, so this was why it was better for him to be alone, as he needed to gather his courage and confidence once again.
Now, he was ready, and he thought to tell Eri and Mayuri to visit his place instead, but—
"....." 2x
Nifuji was in a daze as he saw a creature before him.
"...a dog? No, a raccoon dog?"
Yes, in front of him, standing on the handrail of the balcony, was a creature known as a raccoon dog, a wild life creature that shouldn't be living in the domestic area.
Naturally, as it was a wild beast, there was also a concern that it carried a sickness, but when he couldn't react, the animal suddenly took out a piece of paper, which it patted, telling him to read it.
"...smoking isn't good?"
The raccoon dog nodded in satisfaction at Nifuji, who read the words it had written.
"..."
What was this?
Was this a youkai?
Was it a tanuki?
That mischievous spirit animal that was often used as a symbol of wealth, and its statue was put on the entrance of the izakaya?
Subconsciously, Nifuji wanted to refute such a strange, fantasy-like creature, but as there was a system, it shouldn't be strange to have such an animal, right?
However, he felt that it was impossible, and just thought that it might be an animal from a circus nearby, even though he knew that there wasn't one at all nearby, but when he tried to think about the source of this animal, two hands grabbed this creature as it was chidded.
"Don't be too naughty! You can't visit the neighbor's place like that!"
The voice was filled with some panic; it contained anxiety, and as expected, soon, the face of the owner was seen as she apologized. "I am sorry for my pet! I don't know why, but it is so naughty—"
"..." 2x
It would be fine if they met on a different occasion, but at this moment, Nifuji just wore his boxers as he smoked, and naturally, his naked body was seen by his beautiful neighbor, which—
"I-I am sorry!"
"...."
As her flustered voice echoed, Nifuji didn't say anything and just smoked once again, as he thought that it was quite hard for him to stop smoking, at least, for a short moment.