"But, are you sure? Is it okay?"
While Chika was happy for Nifuji to take her on a trip, she couldn't help but worry about him, knowing he was so busy. After all, despite the fact that they hadn't met each other, she had watched the economic news, and somehow happened to see the name of his company, the Ishizue, a newly rising company in the area of property.
"Yes."
"But, aren't you going to become a king of property?"
"That's all just a title, and if there is no you when I take that title, it won't matter."
"...."
Chika blinked her eyes, as her heart was so overwhelmed that she was about to cry. "I LOVE YOU, ONII-CHAN!"
"Cough! Cough! As I have said before, don't choke me!"
While some people loved being choked because of their "unique interest," Nifuji was normal, despite being a scumbag.
'Hmm...'
Was he?
In certain cases, he often liked it when his woman was assertive, the one who made the move, as they made him into a helpless, virgin boy who knew nothing about sex, before, in the end, he realized his hidden talent or prowess from the system or his ancestors, which transformed him into a sex master.
It was like the setting of a hentai story, but let's just move on.
"So, do you want to go?"
"Go!"
Why shouldn't she go?
Of course, she would go, especially when her "Onii-chan" was the one who asked her out. "But, it's really okay, right? You aren't busy, right?"
"Yes." Nifuji nodded. "However, I have cleared up most of my schedules, and I am not so busy."
"When are you the busiest, Onii-chan?"
"The busiest?" Nifuji thought for a while, thinking of the times that made him the busiest, which were probably those three times of the year. "If I had to say, would it be early, the end of the year, and also the time for the tax? But, the time of the tax is the time that I am the busiest."
"...." Chika.
"...is it so troublesome for the tax?"
"It is." Nifuji sighed helplessly when he thought of tax time. "You should learn about it now. Your manga might not be sold, but once you make money, the official will come to you and take a chunk of your money."
"....." Chika.
"Also, it's fortunate that your reward money is one million yen."
"What if I have more?"
"Then, you will have to pay a gift tax."
"....." Chika.
If there was a reason Chika was able to keep all her money after she won the newcomer mangaka award, it was that her total reward was 1 million yen, just under the tax gift limit in Japan, which was about 1.1 million yen.
"However, once again, you don't have to worry. For you, I can do it."
"Onii-chan..."
Chika was moved.
Yes, especially if Nifuji wasn't a scumbag!
Sometimes, within her mind, she wondered how special she was compared to his other women. Still, she knew well that she had a special place within his heart, especially since they had known each other for so long, and she was the only one who could call him "Onii-chan," which was his kink, too, as she could tell that he was even harder when she called him that way.
"So, where are we going?" Nifuji asked.
"Er..." Chika took her smartphone and posted a poll on her social media right away.
"...you are using the same method?"
"It's more fun this way, right?"
"It's true, but..."
"But...?"
"Okay. It isn't like I have any places I want to visit either."
When Nifuji thought about it, he realized he didn't really have any places he wanted to visit, yet he had to admit that the places he and Chika had gone were mostly in the north. The north area was fine, but in most cases, those places were more or less the same.
"I think that I can use this trip for my next chapter of my manga."
Aizuwakamatsu and Matsushima: those two cities were conquered by them and also served as Chika's inspiration for her manga. Even if those two cities were enough for three chapters, it wouldn't hurt to have more inspiration, right?
Regardless, her decision had been made, and Nifuji also agreed, so this time, once again, they took a random trip to a random city based on the pool that was decided by her followers.
"I wonder where we are going..."
"Do you look forward to it so much?"
"I do!" Chika stared at him and asked, "Are you not looking forward to it?"
"Hmm..."
"I will bite you if you don't say yes!"
"I am! I am!"
"Really?"
While she asked such a question, she tried to appear cheerful, but her eyes betrayed her as she was worried that Nifuji forced herself to follow her whim.
After all, wasn't that how it was?
Whether it was their first or their second trip, instead of enjoying it, she felt like Nifuji was dragging her along, feeling worried for her to go alone, especially since she was young.
No, she wasn't young; she was an adult, but unlike Nifuji, who had a lot of experience because he had been in society for a while, she fortunately met him.
If it were others?
"....."
Hmm... Chika wasn't sure, but even if Nifuji wasn't someone who could give his all, she felt that it was fine, as it was enjoyable with him.
As for the other things, she didn't think about that problem, but somehow—
"Say, Onii-chan."
"Hmm?"
"Have you thought of marrying?"
"...."
Nifuji glanced at Chika strangely, as he wasn't even sure what to answer when she asked him such a straightforward question.
"Answer me, Onii-chan!"
His answer made Chika feel panicked, as if he might leave her.
"I would be lying if such a thought never crossed my mind."
"R-Really?"
"How old am I again?"
"...how old?"
"27 years old." Nifuji flatly stated the fact that he wasn't young anymore. "Many of the men of my age have become fathers."
"But many of them are still NEET, a virgin, and rely on their parents!"
"...don't be so cruel, okay?"
Nifuji was speechless. "Or, do you want me to become a NEET or something? To become a household husband for you?"
"....have such a thought crossed your mind?"
"No. Not a single time at all."
"....." Chika.
Nifuji tapped Chika's forehead and said with a sigh, "You aren't even sure that you can do well with your manga. How can I stop working and just become the household husband? That's irresponsible, okay?"
A mangaka was similar to artists, novelists, and all other art-related professions. If they did well, they would make a lot of money, so wealthy that they were the king of the world, but when they lost their popularity, which was so easy, as the world continued to move, revolve, moving into the direction, where no one was sure, as everything moved so fast, and when they couldn't adapt, they would be left behind, and by then, they would lose all of their money, kept working by singing a nostalgia song on a far away country from their hometown despite their old age.
Yes, the profession was fun and passionate, but, like any passion, it was fickle, and no one was sure what would sell. Sometimes you make a lot of money, but many times you lose money.
This was different from Nifuji's job, which was boring and predictable, since he just bought energy, transportation, and water infrastructure-related businesses.
Infrastructure is needed by everyone, and people would be inconvenienced without it.
It was clear and simple, right?
Yet, this also made him bored, as he couldn't think of anything fun like Chika, who struggled, desperate, and all others, but at the same time, if one was in survival mode, as they were unsure about their future, money, and life, then it was also impossible for them to create creative works.
The best example?
It was those Japanese novelists who kept dying one after another, with the death of Ryunosuke Akutagawa, followed by many famous ones such as Osamu Dazai, and others.
While many people tried to make their suicide poetic, as if they were too fragile for the world, Nifuji felt that it was because they didn't have money, especially Ryunosuke Akutagawa, who was being haunted by debt, his sick mother, and a lot of his family, who needed money from him even though what he wrote wasn't the popular genre, which made him to have less money.
Everyone in the creative industry was in a mess, and if some could live well, it was because they had other jobs, such as Natsume Soseki, who worked at a newspaper, and Franz Kafka, who worked as an actuary.
Even the legendary writer J.K. Rowling lived in a mess before the success of Harry Potter.
Nifuji couldn't deny Chika's potential, and with his business, he should be able to make her talent bloom and attract many investors, making her a lot of money, but he had to admit it was definitely hard.
If there were no him in Chika's life, Nifuji was afraid that when she hit her 30s, she would be at a loss, wondering whether she could live well, especially when her popular works had finished.
The royalty might be good, but could it be enough to support her and her family later, especially when the burden of inflation and taxes was real?
"Ah, uh..."
Chika couldn't say a proper word, realizing that she was too naive.
"Don't worry. You are my precious one, after all, so of course, I won't abandon you."
"...really?"
"Yup."
"Have you thought about marrying me?"
When Chika asked that question, she felt her face burn up, and she was too shy to meet his eyes.
"No."
"..." Chika.
"When you grow up a little, let's think about it."
"I WILL BITE YOU, ONII-CHAN!"
Yup, their night was a mess.