Inside the little foot-massage parlor under Sakuraba Ryo's name in Tokyo, the familiar scent of medicinal herbs filled the air.
Belno Light was holding a ledger, carefully checking through it line by line. When she heard the door open and recognized the footsteps, she didn't even look up.
"Sakuraba-san, you're back? I was glued to the TV for Oguri's Japan Cup, you know. She was incredible!"
Her voice was light, full of the pride of someone who felt honored just to be associated with it.
"Yeah... she was..."
Sakuraba Ryo answered, his tone a little complicated.
He walked over to the counter, looked around at how orderly the shop was, and cleared his throat.
"Belno, how's the shop been running lately?"
"Very well!"
Only then did Belno Light close the ledger. She pushed up her glasses, her face glowing with the particular satisfaction of a capable manager.
"Thanks to you, Sakuraba-san—and to the changes we made to our business strategy—our shop's reputation just keeps growing. Appointments are already booked out through next month, and our revenue is both steady and very impressive!"
Business was booming.
"Uh, that's good."
Sakuraba Ryo nodded. His fingers tapped lightly against the counter as he went on in a seemingly casual voice.
"So... how much liquid capital does the shop have right now that we could, well, move around for a while?"
That was his real reason for coming back.
Putting together a galactic superteam was going to cost a lot of money.
The system was currently refreshing about 800 million yen for him every month.
If he wanted to use that money to build a galactic superteam, it probably wouldn't be enough.
So if he wanted to make sure the galactic superteam lost even more money, he'd first need to build up a bigger reserve of funds.
And so Sakuraba Ryo thought of his foot-massage parlor.
By now, his shops had opened branches all over the country.
There should be a fair amount of liquid capital he could tap into...
If he used that money to set up the galactic superteam, it ought to be enough.
Belno Light blinked, then held up two fingers and waved them in front of him.
Sakuraba Ryo's heart skipped a beat. Testing the waters, he asked, "Tw-two million?"
That kind of money wouldn't even make a splash in the world of Central Umamusume.
Sigh... Figures. Can't expect a money-losing shop to cough up real money...
Guess I'll have to find another way...
Belno Light only smiled and shook her head.
The corner of Sakuraba Ryo's eye twitched, and his voice rose a little.
"Twenty million?"
That was a more respectable number, but if he wanted to lock down a world-class Umamusume investment, it still felt a little shaky.
Wait.
The shops already had twenty million in liquid funds?
Well...
It was a nationwide operation by now...
That much money wasn't actually that strange.
Belno Light still shook her head, the smile on her face seeming to deepen.
Sakuraba Ryo stared at those two utterly unmoving fingers. His lips began twitching on their own as an absurd possibility rose in his mind, drying out his throat in the process.
"D-don't tell me... two hundred million?"
That was already the kind of number he'd only dare imagine in his most optimistic dreams.
At last, Belno Light lowered her hand. With both hands behind her back, she leaned forward slightly and spoke clearly and brightly, enunciating every word.
"It's two billion yen, Sakuraba-san!"
The foot-massage parlor fell into a brief silence, broken only by the faint noise of Tokyo traffic outside.
Sakuraba Ryo stood frozen in place, his expression locked up as though he'd just heard some fantastical fairy tale.
Two BILLION?
That tiny little foot-massage parlor he'd opened practically on a whim had somehow produced two billion yen in liquid capital?
Looking into Belno Light's shining eyes, practically begging to be praised, Sakuraba Ryo felt something close to reverence for his seemingly soft and delicate employee for the first time.
This wasn't an employee. This was a financial god who could turn stone into gold.
"...T-two billion?"
Sakuraba Ryo repeated the number, his tongue starting to tie itself in knots.
He was getting dizzy...
...
In Tokyo, at a famous hospital.
Moonlight Lunacy stood outside the hospital room with Tony Bianca's name on the plate. She took a deep breath, then pushed the door open.
"What the..."
The corner of Moonlight Lunacy's mouth twitched.
Inside, Tony Bianca's hospital bed had been nearly buried under a mountain of roses. The queen from Europe could barely stick her head out of the sea of flowers.
"Ah... These are flowers from my Japanese fans..."
A regretful expression appeared on Tony Bianca's face.
"It's truly embarrassing. To be loved by my fans this much, and yet to have ended up like this..."
Moonlight Lunacy, standing beside her, wasn't buying it at all. She set the gifts she'd brought in the corner of the room and said,
"Why is the monster who broke a bone in the race and still finished fifth acting like she's got it so rough?"
"Ahaha..."
Watching her old European rival lying in bed with a troubled expression, Moonlight Lunacy let out a sigh.
"What are you planning to do now? I heard from the doctor. This injury is serious. You probably won't be racing anymore after this, will you?"
"Ah... It seems that's the case."
At that, a trace of loneliness flickered through Tony Bianca's eyes as well.
"To think the Japan Cup would become my retirement race..."
Moonlight Lunacy looked at Tony Bianca, her own expression turning subdued.
Was this really how the King of the Arc would end?
It felt far too regrettable.
Knock, knock...
The atmosphere in the room stiffened slightly at the sudden sound. Then the door slowly opened.
Sakuraba Ryo leaned halfway in, his gaze quickly sweeping over the flower-buried bed and Moonlight Lunacy standing beside it. A polite, slightly apologetic smile rose to his face.
"Excuse me. Is this Miss Tony Bianca's room?"
Moonlight Lunacy frowned. A stranger she didn't know...
Almost by reflex, she stepped forward and blocked the bed, her tone carrying an unquestionable distance.
"Visiting hours aren't really convenient right now, so if you'd please—"
"Wait, Lunacy."
Tony Bianca's voice came from the sea of flowers. It was weak, but the note of restraint in it was unmistakable.
Moonlight Lunacy stopped and glanced back at Tony Bianca. Only after seeing her give a small nod did she press her lips together and step aside half a pace, though the scrutiny in her eyes remained fixed on Sakuraba Ryo like a silent warning line.
Tony Bianca tilted her head slightly through the gaps in the roses and looked toward the doorway. A flicker of thought crossed her eyes, then softened into recognition.
"I remember you. Weren't you the one who came looking for me before?"
Sakuraba Ryo let out a breath of relief, stepped into the room, and closed the door behind him.
"Oh, if you remember me, that helps a lot~"
He looked toward Tony Bianca, almost buried in flowers, and spoke sincerely.
"My name is Sakuraba Ryo. Just an ordinary investor."
"..."
Moonlight Lunacy muttered under her breath.
Wasn't that the name of the investor Oguri Cap had thanked...?
And now that she thought about it, this man's face did seem vaguely familiar...
Wait.
Wasn't this the same guy who'd come talking about cooperation, only to stir up trouble instead?
Tony Bianca let her gaze rest on Sakuraba Ryo's face for a moment. Even the fragrance of the roses couldn't fully dispel the faint medicinal smell and heaviness hanging in the room.
She spoke softly, her voice gentle but direct.
"Mr. Sakuraba Ryo, thank you for visiting, but... you didn't come all this way just to check on me, did you?"
Sakuraba Ryo nodded. He straightened his back, let his gaze sweep over Tony Bianca and the still-wary Moonlight Lunacy beside her, and decided to stop beating around the bush.
He cleared his throat. His voice was clear and steady, dropping an unexpected stone into the flower-scented room.
"Mr. Tony Bianca, you're right. I didn't come just to check on you."
"I came here to formally extend an invitation."
He paused, meeting the gaze of the Umamusume on the bed, whose queenly bearing still shone through even amid the sea of flowers.
"I understand that because of your injury, you may be facing retirement. That would undoubtedly be a tremendous loss to the Umamusume world. But I would like to offer another possibility."
Moonlight Lunacy's brows drew even tighter. She seemed to sense that something unusual was coming.
Sakuraba Ryo took a deep breath and laid out his offer.
"I, Sakuraba Ryo, in the name of an affiliated investor of Nishikino Academy, would like to formally invite you to join us. Not as an active Umamusume, but as an indispensable part of the academy's future plans. Perhaps as a mentor, perhaps as an image and strategic advisor. The exact role can be discussed together according to your wishes and your recovery."
Then he gave the most crucial number, his tone solemn.
"As for compensation, I am prepared to offer you a one-year contract with an annual salary of..."
He paused slightly, letting the number settle into the air.
"One billion yen."
The room instantly fell into stunned silence.
Moonlight Lunacy's eyes flew wide open, as if she suspected she'd misheard.
One billion?
As an annual salary?
This wasn't merely generous. It was a figure so high it bordered on the absurd.
Even for a top Umamusume, reaching that level through sponsorships and race prize money would be no easy feat.
Tony Bianca was clearly stunned as well. She tried to push herself up slightly from among the flowers, but the movement tugged at her injury and made her suck in a soft breath. Even so, the shock and disbelief in her eyes was more obvious than the pain.
She looked at Sakuraba Ryo. Those eyes that had once been as sharp as a hawk's on the track were now filled with tangled emotions—astonishment, confusion, an instinctive trace of suspicion, and deep down, the faint glimmer stirred by so massive a turn in her fate.
"One billion... as an annual salary?"
Tony Bianca repeated the words, her voice a little dry.
"Mr. Sakuraba Ryo... are you serious? In my current condition..."
Her eyes dropped involuntarily to her injured leg, fixed securely in place and unable to move.
"I am very serious."
Sakuraba Ryo's tone was firm.
"What I value isn't just your past glory as the King of the Arc, but also your experience, your eye, and your influence."
"I believe that even away from the track, your value remains immeasurable. As far as I'm concerned, this investment is worth it."
At last Moonlight Lunacy found her voice again and couldn't stop herself from cutting in, her tone sharp.
"Hey! What exactly are you after? One billion? Give me a break! What Tony needs right now is rest, not this kind of ridiculous—"
"..."
Tony Bianca's voice was softer than before, but calm in a way that couldn't be disputed, and once again it made Moonlight Lunacy swallow back the harsher words about to come out.
Her gaze refocused on Sakuraba Ryo. That faint glimmer swayed deep in her eyes, mixed with scrutiny and an almost absurd lucidity.
"Mr. Sakuraba Ryo," she said slowly, as if each word had been carefully weighed.
"I admit, that figure... is extremely striking."
"But precisely because of that, I need to understand."
She shifted slightly. Even surrounded by flowers, the pride that belonged to a queen had not been diminished in the least by injury.
"Why me? If I were still active, if I were still racing on the track, then perhaps I could understand."
"But now, the doctors are telling me I may never be able to run as an Umamusume again."
She paused, her gaze falling to the leg beneath the light blanket, its outline stiff and immobile. A trace of bitterness and self-mockery she could not fully hide crept into her voice.
"An Umamusume on the verge of retirement—or rather, already retired. A... wounded soldier who can no longer create value on the track."
"Do I really deserve that price? I can't understand the logic behind your investment."
The room fell quiet again. Moonlight Lunacy fixed Sakuraba Ryo with a hard stare as she waited for his answer.
Even the scent of the roses seemed to freeze in place.
The smile on Sakuraba Ryo's face didn't diminish in the slightest. If anything, he looked even more at ease.
He didn't answer her question about whether she deserved it. Instead, he leaned slightly forward, resting both hands lightly on the rail at the foot of the bed, and looked at Tony Bianca with a gentle but unwavering gaze.
"Miss Tony Bianca," he said, his voice not loud, yet clear enough to echo through the room.
"Questions like whether it's worth it, whether you're worth it... those are things the investor—that is, me—has to worry about and judge."
"My judgment is based on my eye, my plans, and my evaluation of your future potential. And that potential isn't limited to the racetrack."
He shook his head slightly, his tone carrying a peculiar certainty that made people want to believe him whether they meant to or not.
"As for you, as the one being invested in, as the partner I want to invite in, maybe there's only one thing you need to think about right now—"
The smile on Sakuraba Ryo's face deepened. There was no calculation in it, no perfunctory politeness—only something almost pure, an absolute confidence in his own judgment.
"That is whether you're willing to trust my judgment, and trust the price I'm willing to pay for it."
He spread his hands a little, his posture relaxed.
"You only need to tell me whether this is a possibility you're willing to consider. The rest—questions of value, returns, and how to make this one billion yen 'worth it'—that's my job."
"Trust me!"
"Take my one billion yen and become part of my plan!"
Looking at the stunned expression on Tony Bianca's face, Sakuraba Ryo howled with laughter inside.
A plan?
Of course it was a money-losing plan!
Did they really think he was trying to make money?
Heh heh heh... come on, agree already!
Come aboard this pirate ship with me, O King of the Arc!
---
T/N: YES!!! YOURE BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!!!!
also uhh they are speakibng in english so no honorifics
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl