Even though it was time to knock off work, Houjo Tower was still ablaze with lights, the sprawling complex of buildings like the World Tree dominating the sky, planted together by conglomerates and noble families, rooted in the soil of the People of Sky Ring's flesh and blood, nourished by the labor and lives of five hundred million people, unceasing and unending.
Fashionable white-collar workers laughed as they carried coffee past the turnstiles, discussing stocks when they opened their mouths and futures when they closed them, grabbing a quick bite of a rice ball before returning to their workstations.
Within the Houjo Clan, or more accurately within all of Sky Ring Country, there was a prevalent 'culture of shame' that, in the workplace, morphed into mockery and bullying of those who left work on time and settled for a basic wage.
But when you think about it, isn't that normal?
