"Where is he?"
"He is about to be here, right?"
Eri and Mayuri knew that Nifuji was about to come to the Cosplay Festa, the cosplay event where Mayuri's student had her first debut as a cosplayer. Yes, they knew Nifuji was busy, and, frankly, this should have been the day they went around looking for their "new place," since he planned to buy a house where they could be together.
Nifuji's place was nice, but they knew well that it was a dangerous place, as many of his vixens were there to seduce him.
Still, Eri had to say, everything changed so fast, especially when she thought of how that man, who was slightly unconfident, yet still worked hard to change, would become like this.
No, she didn't hate him, but she hoped for him to be with her for a little longer, especially when they could only see each other when the work finished.
"What kind of work did he do today?" Mayuri suddenly asked. "He hates to work overtime and on weekends so much, what is he doing?"
"I don't know?"
Eri was no longer in the same department as Nifuji, so their work was different. Frankly, she wished to be on Nifuji's side more, even though she knew that it was difficult, but when she thought about how she could be with him, it was worth it.
Yet, she had to admit that when she looked at Mayuri, who appeared radiant despite how plain Mayuri dressed, as she only wore a white shirt and black pants, along with an expensive Leica camera, which she hung over her neck, a gift from Nifuji, when he learned that she was about to debut as a photographer for a cosplay.
'Well, she is hopeless.'
Yup, in the beginning, Eri wanted to clear up her feelings before she was with Nifuji, but in the end, Mayuri decided to join, and the three were together, yet unfortunately, instead of a threesome, Nifuji evolved and became a "Harem King," which made her helpless.
Yes, she noticed, as she knew well that it was impossible for someone as attractive as him not to attract any bees or vixens, but well, as long as Nifuji was still with them, thinking of them, as his most loved ones, Eri knew that it was the best.
Also, she should bring Mayuri a lot since the double combination of her and Mayuri would simply make him all over in love with them!
"Mayuri, you brought your costume in your bag, right?"
"We-Well, I do." Mayuri's face quickly turned crimson. "Why did you ask that?"
"What about my costume?" Eri ignored Mayuri's question and went on.
"I-I brought it with me, too, just in case..."
What kind?
Yet, as a teacher, Mayuri had always been well-prepared, as she knew well that it was better to prepare an umbrella before the rain. Instead of buying it, when it was raining, right?
Knowing Nifuji, Mayuri knew that it was impossible for them to just go home directly when everything was finished.
No, she didn't want to go home and wanted to be with him, too, so of course, she prepared well.
"Good."
Eri nodded, feeling satisfied by Mayuri's trait.
"..." Mayuri.
"Still, I have heard that he hasn't been in his office all the time," Eri said with a sigh.
"Huh, really?"
"Yup." Eri nodded, then explained with a difficult expression. "I have heard that he plans to go to the office three times a week for a few hours."
"Is he crazy?!"
Yup, Mayuri's reaction might be a little over the top, but this was normal.
After all, in this country, overtime or working on the weekend could be said as a social norm.
If one had a healthy complexion instead of a drowsy, unhealthy, tired face, then they would be said to be lazy!
Yet, for Nifuji, who was practically one of the highest positions and also one of the largest shareholders, so what?
"Is he going to be okay?" Mayuri asked worriedly.
"He told me that he should be okay, as he has another plan..." While Eri tried to reassure Mayuri, she couldn't hide her worry, since Nifuji was in a high position, so if he gritted his teeth and held on, then he would outlive those old cunts, whose age was old enough for them to be put in the nursing home.
"Even though he is so talented..."
"It can't be helped, the situation of this country is like this."
The nail that sticks out will be hammered down.
Nifuji might have had the power, but he wasn't the only owner, and even if only five percent of the shares were distributed among others, even if he had 95% of the shares, he had to answer to those people.
After all, in Japan, if you try to change things from the inside, you get bogged down by social hierarchy, "reading the air" (kuuki wo yomu), and endless meetings with elderly board members.
If there was a reason everything didn't go according to Nifuji's plan, it was that he had to face those elderly board members, and the original chairman only thought to maintain the balance by saying one thing to him and another to others to keep his position.
So Nifuji didn't play their game, and in the end, Nifuji changed his plan to become a lazy one, working only four hours a day and three days a week.
"...." Mayuri.
"...can he do the job?"
"Unexpectedly, he can, since you know how slow those people work at the bottom, right?"
"..." Mayuri.
While this part of him made her speechless, Mayuri wanted to laugh and kiss him somehow.
"Is there anything else?"
"Yes." Eri nodded. "He has set up to work early and then work till late."
Instead of working overtime till the dead of night, it was better for the employee to come to work earlier in the morning and be home at the right time, as morning was the best time to work.
Yes, while the other departments might be different, his department decided to work early, since that way, the faster they finished, the faster they could go home, right?
Moreover, since they came early, they didn't break the social norm, since their working hours were roughly the same, as Nifuji only banned them from working after eight, so if the employees wanted to work more, it didn't matter, but after eight, they had to go home no matter what.
The difference was that while one arrived at the right time and spent time in the office on overtime, the other arrived early and left at the right time.
"What do you think?" Mayuri asked.
"I think that it is better to go to work early than to go home at midnight."
"I think so too."
While Nifuji's other plan was rejected for now, this plan of his that made the employees come early was accepted well in the toy department, or rather, they worked extremely well, as they got a good sleep, and worked at a time when their energy was at its peak.
"There is talk that he wants to serve free breakfasts."
"Really?!"
"It is rejected, though."
"Well..."
For the employees, of course, they would be happy if the office prepared a free breakfast, but for the company?
Hehehe...
Yet, unless their company worked in the food sector, it might be hard to accept it, since the cost for the employees' food definitely wasn't cheap, but when they talked about his life—
"Eri! Mayuri!"
"HIROTAKA!" 2x
As the two were excited, they were then dumbfounded when they saw him, thinking that he really knew how to give them a surprise.