At that moment, the massive plaza was packed with more than ten thousand people, both domestic and international.
It had become completely shoulder-to-shoulder—an overwhelming sea of bodies.
However, within the crowd was a group of personnel dressed like special forces, there to maintain order.
Takayuki glanced at the densely packed crowd and spoke to the company's head of security standing beside him."Ask the government to send over more officers to help manage the crowd. There are too many people here."
The head of security looked puzzled. "President, I doubt anyone would commit any crime during something like this."
He assumed the environment was perfectly safe.
Takayuki shook his head. "I'm not worried about criminal activity. I'm worried about the possibility of a stampede. Watch the flow of the crowd carefully."
"Stampede?" The head of security looked at the screen showing the massive throng of people and realized… yeah, that could actually happen. And since the warning came from his boss, if something really did happen and he had ignored it, the responsibility would all fall on him.
So he nodded. "I'll take care of it right away."
"If the government can't send enough people, have our own internal security team step in. Just don't let the area get too overcrowded."
"Understood."
After the head of security left, Aya Tsukino, who had been silent, turned and tilted her head toward Takayuki.
Feeling her stare, Takayuki grew a little uncomfortable. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"How did you know a stampede might happen?"
"Uh… just a hunch. Stampedes happen all the time in other big events when there's a huge crowd."
Aya nodded, then said, "I know, but it still feels strange how you always seem to predict accidents in advance. Nothing ever goes wrong for you—not even once. Everything just… works out. But for most people or companies, some missteps are normal."
Takayuki laughed. "Maybe I just have a strong sense of risk management."
"And what do you mean 'nothing went wrong'? Back when the company was just getting started, lots of companies tried to sabotage us. We only made it through because we pushed back every time."
Aya shook her head. "I've been with you for years, and you still seem like someone who can see the future. Are you sure you're not actually a time traveler?"
Takayuki's heart skipped a beat.
He didn't expect that his repeated foresight and market predictions would raise that kind of suspicion from Aya.
But she wasn't wrong.
Keeping his composure, Takayuki replied calmly, "You're overthinking it. There's no such thing as time travel in this world."
Still, Aya remained skeptical.
Takayuki's decisions, insights, and game development knowledge really weren't something a normal person should possess.
But honestly, it didn't matter much. She wasn't with him because of his success—she simply loved Takayuki himself. What she loved was his unique, undeniable charm.
"All right, stop overthinking. Look—the fireworks are starting. Let's just enjoy them."
At the top level of the carnival's main building, Takayuki and Aya had the best seat in the house, watching the spectacular fireworks display without any interruptions.
Aya smiled to herself. This is enough. There was no point in obsessing over meaningless doubts when the moment was this beautiful.
Takayuki, meanwhile, found himself deep in thought.
Time travel… yeah, it was a bit far-fetched. Even if he told people the truth, most would just treat it as a joke.
Besides, this world wasn't an exact replica of his original one. His predictions mainly applied to the market—not random disasters or acts of god.
For example, this world didn't even have the Twin Towers, nor any such terrorist incident. Something similar did happen in a small region of the U.S., but the scale was minimal.
Takayuki couldn't have predicted those.
Also, in this world, cryptocurrency had never been proposed. No one had invented or hyped Bitcoin, and the idea had never taken root.
Other things had become the new "hot investments" instead.
So even if there were historical parallels, the ways Takayuki could influence this world were limited.
Which was fine. He didn't need to stress about it.
All he had to do was enjoy the present. Obsessing over hypotheticals would just drive him mad.
Still, he did think about one day writing a memoir when he was old—sharing the differences between this world and the one he came from.
Maybe he'd release it posthumously. By then, even if it caused a stir, it wouldn't be his problem anymore.
That thought brought him peace.
He turned and smiled at Aya, watching the fireworks light up the night sky.
"I wish I could find a boyfriend like Professor Takayuki!"
In the crowd, Kazumi clasped her hands together in a mock prayer pose.
"You idiot, keep dreaming," Oto-chan snapped. "You? Find a boyfriend like Takayuki-sensei? He's one of a kind. You're gonna be single forever."
Kazumi immediately shot back, "Oh yeah? I've seen something in your bedroom—"
Before she could finish, Oto-chan jumped and clamped her hand over Kazumi's mouth."I have nothing in there! Nothing!"
"Mmmph…"
After a moment, Oto-chan gave in. "Fine. I won't tease you anymore. Just please don't talk about that."
Kazumi grinned wide. This was the first time she had actually won a verbal spar with Oto-chan so easily. She was elated.
"Hey Oto-chan, don't you have a wish too? Now's the perfect time—with all the fireworks."
Oto-chan wanted to say something snarky about how childish that was…But then she remembered Kazumi might throw that secret back in her face again, so she just played along.
"Fine. I wish… to find a good boyfriend too."
Kazumi frowned. "Boring. That's the same as mine."
Then she turned to Aiko. "What about you, Aiko? What's your wish?"
"I wish… that Gamestar Entertainment releases even more amazing games!"