"...."
"Stop that! Don't bother him when he's sleeping!"
Nifuji felt something on his head, which made it hard to breathe, but it was lifted, then, as expected, what he saw was Fuji with her tanuki.
Good morning!
The tanuki made such a message on the board, looking at him with its silly smile.
"...good morning."
"It's in the evening, though."
"...have I slept that long?" Nifuji rubbed his eyes, turned over, trying to get up, but he didn't want to; he wished to sleep once again. Still, as he opened his eyes, he could see the orange color of the sky that painted over the city, telling him that the night was about to come.
Did he sleep that long?
After that decision, Nifuji couldn't remain calm, but there was nothing he could do, so in the end, he decided to sleep, trying to calm his mind by entering the land of dreams, and, to be honest, it did.
Slightly.
"Are you fine?" Fuji asked worriedly, as Nifuji had been silent for a while.
"...I need to go to the toilet."
"Go." Fuji rolled her eyes, letting him enter the toilet.
"Are you not going to join me?"
"Go take a bath. You stink~!"
"...."
Nifuji was helpless, but he did what he was told, taking a bath to wash away everything, since he smelled like a mess. Yet as the warm water hit his body, he curled up, feeling guilty and all the other things jumbling up.
While he could erase it with cold water, somehow, he was just tired of everything.
Frankly, sometimes, this type of feeling hit him, especially when he still worked as a salaryman before. When he took a bath, alone, a thought came to him: he should stop and not have to do anything, even considering quitting his job, but in the end, he continued, as he didn't want to become poor or a NEET.
This country was hard; no, living in the world was hard.
The majority, the 99%, lived in constant torment, as only the one percent enjoyed.
Still, let's stop thinking about all of this, since what he just wanted to say was that, when he heard Tayama's words, instead of sadness, he realized what he felt was... a relief.
Yup, he didn't have to take care of her, as she decided to walk her own path, which was what she wished for, even though, probably deep inside, she wanted him to turn around, hug her, and tell her how much he loved her.
However, he wasn't young anymore, and he had been with so many women. While he still thought of Tayama as a wonderful woman, and while he knew that he would be beaten to death by what he was thinking, he knew well that his feeling wasn't so intense that he would give up his rest time to handle all the women.
Frankly, even now, he had to admit that he couldn't be fair to all of them, especially when instead of facing them one by one, he had to face them at the same time, so they couldn't have a chance to be with him properly.
If he were somehow with Tayama, he could imagine Tayama inviting Goto and all the other beautiful women to the supermarket.
"...."
Yup, he had to admit that it would be an interesting sight, as he saw how he would take down all the women in the supermarket, making them fall for him, but... how was that different from what he did?
First, everyone in his office; then a certain school where Mayuri worked; then his neighbor; the university; then various other things.
Yes, it was wonderful, the life that was filled with all of the romance that every man wished for, but when he stopped, thinking of all of the responsibilities that came from the sheer number of all of his women... He realized it was cheaper to live on his own, and, frankly, if he didn't have the system, he was afraid he would be a pauper sooner or later.
Regardless, he still tried his best, working hard. At the same time, it was also fortunate that his system gave him ten times the return on everything his women spent, so it might be called passive income, as he practically made a lot of money by doing nothing.
Yet, as he lay in his bathtub, he realized that he didn't feel as much regret as he had thought he would.
What was the reason?
Why did it feel like he was practically living like a machine?
"...do you not even have a heart in your chest, you bastard?"
Or, was this what Tayama had said?
Nifuji really had no feelings for Tayama at all, if he did. He would fight for her, but as he didn't, he realized that his feelings weren't so strong, and, to be honest, once again, instead of regret, all he felt was relief, as he knew he didn't need to take responsibility.
Regardless, he didn't like this feeling when he kept thinking about everything, which almost overwhelmed him, and, frankly, he was thinking, what would change anything?
Everything was too late, and he also didn't think to go back to Tayama, yet even so, he just wanted someone to make him stop thinking all of those bothersome things, and—
"Have you finished taking a bath?"
"....."
Nifuji was silent, staring at Fuji, who opened the door of his bathroom.
"What's wrong? Why did you look at me like that?" Fuji asked with confusion.
"...no, it's just in the past, I wouldn't imagine that you would open my bathroom door so suddenly like this."
"...." Fuji.
Nifuji was right, as if it was before, Fuji would definitely knock on the door of his bathroom, but this time, she didn't and just opened it. "Well, I am just worried about you."
"Worried?"
"Um." Fuji nodded. "Do you want me to wash your body? It will feel good, you know?"
While she said so, she made some strange, lewd gestures.
"....wait for a bit. I will get up after this."
"Okay." Fuji smiled softly and said, "I am waiting for you in the living room. There is good there. Go and eat, then we can relax together."
While she said so, she left, moving her buttocks in a sway, so it made him unable to look away.
Still, Nifuji couldn't look away and just kept staring at it, then looked at his lower body, which was as hard as ever.
"....."
As he saw the reaction of his body, Nifuji let out a helpless sigh, as he thought that he was the same as ever.