"Welcome back, Ryo!"
At Tracen Academy, Oguri Cap greeted him excitedly.
"How was America? Was it fun?"
"Mm, it was pretty nice. Going over there for a little trip now and then isn't bad."
Sakuraba smiled and reached out to pat the gray-haired girl on the head as she crowded right up in front of him.
After returning from America, he had first gone back to Nishikino Academy to say hello to Tamamo Cross.
Since Tony Bianca and Obey Your Master had gone to America to promote Nishikino Academy, Tamamo Cross was currently filling in as the international class instructor.
So Sakuraba hadn't stayed long. Tamamo looked pretty busy managing the class, and he didn't want to get in the way of her happily teaching, so he had simply dropped by to say hello and then slipped right back out.
Though when he made his escape, Tamamo Cross had looked strangely resentful.
Of course, Sakuraba hadn't noticed that look at all.
The environment at Nishikino Academy was just too comfortable—he had practically built it into a nest for himself. Whenever he stayed there, he couldn't help getting lazy.
And that simply wouldn't do.
He'd come back to Japan to lose money like crazy!
He couldn't just stay holed up in his own comfy little base, sleeping his days away—
So Sakuraba quickly left Hokkaido behind and came to Tracen Academy in search of inspiration for his next money-burning scheme.
Well, since he was at Tracen Academy anyway, it was the perfect chance to stop by and check on Oguri Cap too.
"So, Oguri, how's your foot recovery going?"
"My foot?"
Oguri Cap jogged a few steps in place to show him.
"It's getting better really fast! If you wanted, Ryo, I think I could race right now!"
"Oguri... your stamina still hasn't fully recovered yet..."
Belno Light, standing nearby, couldn't help poking holes in her confidence a little.
"B-but! Kitahara said my stamina's already more than halfway back!"
"That still means it hasn't fully recovered..."
Watching the two girls bicker right in front of him, Sakuraba couldn't help smiling.
"Seeing you two still like this really puts me at ease."
"The way you say that makes it sound like you've been through something..."
"Been through something, huh..."
Sakuraba tilted his head.
Not being a grand wizard anymore probably counted for a lot, didn't it~?
At least in that area of life, anyway...
"Come to think of it, Sakuraba-san, what kind of work brought you to Tracen Academy this time? Is it really okay for you to just stand here chatting with us?"
Belno Light, notebook in hand, asked worriedly.
In her mind, Sakuraba Ryo always seemed incredibly busy, so she couldn't help wondering whether they were holding him up.
Sakuraba just shook his head.
"Oh, it's nothing that serious. I've at least got time to chat with you two for a bit."
"Hmm... actually, since we're chatting, there's something I want to ask you."
"Say you were in my shoes—what kind of thing do you think would cost a lot of money to invest in?"
Well, as the saying went, three cobblers with their heads together were worth one genius.
He might have run out of ideas, but that didn't mean everyone else had.
Maybe asking them would give him a new lead.
"What kind of investment costs a lot of money..."
Oguri Cap and Belno Light exchanged a look, each sinking into thought.
"A cafeteria!"
Oguri Cap's eyes lit up, and her tail started wagging furiously behind her.
"If you invested in a cafeteria where the food never ran out, that'd definitely cost a lot, right?"
"A cafeteria, huh..."
Sakuraba scratched his head. What could he say—Oguri Cap really was Oguri Cap. Even when it came to investment ideas, her first thought was still food...
"If you went with really high-end ingredients, then yeah, a cafeteria would definitely be a pretty huge expense."
"And if you opened them as a chain, that spending could get pretty massive too."
The only problem was that if he just invested in some fancy cafeteria chain, that kind of project had nothing to do with Umamusume, so it wouldn't count toward his loss KPI.
So if he wanted to invest in cafeterias, he would have to invest in the cafeterias of academies all across the country.
That way, the system would actually count it.
Though if Sakuraba really followed Oguri Cap's suggestion and invested like that... what exactly would that make him?
The man who controlled the stomachs of Umamusume across all of Japan?
Actually, that didn't sound so bad.
The more mouths there were to feed, the more money he could lose.
"That's a pretty good idea, Oguri."
Sakuraba praised her.
The only slight downside was that while investing in cafeterias nationwide would indeed lose money, because it was on a national scale...
What it really needed, more than money, was time.
Still, unexpectedly, it was a solid plan.
On the other side, Belno Light offered her own idea.
"If you're thinking about projects that burn through money... then honestly, just trying to become the very best in some field is already really expensive."
"For example, take your own foot massage business, Sakuraba-san. If you upgraded every shop just a little more, that'd cost a lot too!"
"So instead of opening a new project, you mean digging deeper into the ones I already have..."
Thinking it over, Sakuraba had to admit she had a point.
He already had quite a few money-losing projects under his control.
Several academies in Hokkaido, including Nishikino Academy...
Kasamatsu Academy was also flourishing under his investment.
And then there were the foot massage parlors spread across the whole country...
All of them were projects that could lose money hard.
If he kept developing those, there really was still plenty of room to grow.
But if he wanted to lose a huge amount of money in a short period of time, then opening an entirely new loss-making project was still the better option.
Just as Sakuraba was still thinking about what kind of new money-burning plan to choose, the voice of an unfamiliar Umamusume came from behind them.
"This is our first meeting. Forgive my rudeness, but I have come for one purpose alone—to challenge you!"
A declaration of war?
Sakuraba and the others turned around in surprise, only to find a twin-tailed girl standing there with her arms crossed, a fox mask covering her face.
What was this supposed to mean?
That was the look all three of them wore.
Wait, so there were actually still Umamusume at Central bold enough to challenge Oguri?
Sakuraba was genuinely surprised.
As things stood, Oguri was basically Japan's strongest racer. Even with an injury, she wasn't someone an ordinary racer could just come poking at.
And yet this Umamusume in front of them actually dared to challenge Oguri Cap?
"I was born in Oi, and was fortunate enough to be invited to Central..."
The girl removed her mask, revealing eyes as sharp as a wolf's.
"My name is Inari One!"
"A Regional Umamusume who'll make her name known at Central one day!"
An Umamusume from Oi?
That name sounded familiar somehow.
Those two words tugged at something in Sakuraba's memory, and he closed his eyes to think.
Oh!
Wasn't this the name Mr. C.B. had mentioned to him before?
Could the "Oi's ultimate weapon" she had talked about be this Umamusume named Inari One?
No.
He had to take this seriously.
At this point, Sakuraba no longer believed all that talk about some huge gap in strength between Regional Umamusume and Central Umamusume.
Damn it all—those Central Umamusume he'd placed such high hopes on kept losing to Oguri.
Meanwhile, regional Umamusume like Oguri and Tamamo Cross had come in and dominated Central.
For all he knew, this Inari One, whom a Triple Crown Umamusume had thought highly of, might be the same kind of monster as Oguri and the others.
Regional Umamusume were terrifying!
And sure enough, what the girl said next only confirmed Sakuraba's judgment.
"Oguri Cap! In the second half of the year, you and I are settling this once and for all!"
"We'll put your title as the strongest in the land on the line!"
"I've already taken the Tenno Sho Spring in the first half of the year!"
"And in the second half, at the Tenno Sho Autumn—the race where you lost to Tamamo Cross last year!"
"Tamamo Cross used you as her stepping stone to complete the spring-autumn double. This time, I'll do the same!"
"I'll prove to everyone across the country that you, Oguri Cap, aren't the only Regional Umamusume who deserves to be called the strongest!"
Inari One's face split into a wild grin. There was no attempt whatsoever to hide the ambition in those words.
In today's Japanese circuit, Oguri Cap was unquestionably a demon-king-like presence. She stood at the summit, holding multiple G1 wins, a towering mountain that countless Umamusume looked up to but could never reach.
And yet Inari One stood there before her, mask now removed, the fire in her eyes hot enough to set the air alight.
There was no fear in her voice, no hesitation—only naked ambition and almost arrogant confidence.
It wasn't the tragic resolve of some hero marching off to slay the demon king.
It was the domineering presence of a conquering warlord who meant to take that place for herself.
She brought up her victory in the Tenno Sho (Spring), and declared outright that at the Tenno Sho (Autumn), she would step on Oguri Cap the same way Tamamo Cross had and complete the spring-autumn double herself.
She didn't just want to win.
She wanted to carve her own name into the very road Oguri Cap had once illuminated.
Faced with such a direct challenge, Oguri Cap didn't answer right away. Instead, she first turned her head and let her gaze lightly brush across Sakuraba Ryo beside her.
In that instant, the sharpness in her eyes softened slightly—then gathered again into something even firmer.
Her reason for becoming the strongest had never been only for herself.
It was to repay him.
And besides, that title was something Tamamo Cross had entrusted to her. She had no intention of handing it over to anyone else.
That feeling had long since become the wind at her feet when she ran, the blazing spirit in her chest as she crossed the line.
The name of "the strongest" had long since become more than a title. It was an invisible bond between her and the people around her. It was the brightest proof she could offer them.
So...
Oguri Cap turned back to Inari One. Her gray ears stood straight upright, and her eyes were clear and resolute.
"No matter what you think," she said, her voice quiet but carrying an unshakable strength, "I will never give up the title of the strongest to you."
It wasn't an angry declaration.
It was a calm vow.
"You want to challenge me?"
"I'd be more than happy to!"
It felt as if the air itself froze in that moment. The two Umamusume's gazes collided in midair, as though sparks were flying.
On one side stood a rising conqueror determined to overthrow the one above her.
On the other stood the white demon king, firm upon her throne.
And this challenge, which had begun as words alone, truly opened at that very moment.
Inari One stared into Oguri Cap's eyes, and the wild smile on her face slowly faded, replaced by something like admiration—deep, satisfied admiration.
At first, seeing how blank and absentminded Oguri Cap seemed, Inari One had even felt a flicker of doubt.
Had she found the wrong person?
Was this gray-haired Umamusume who looked so harmless, even easy to bully, really the reigning strongest racer who was said to rule the track?
But just now, when Oguri Cap's eyes had drifted to the man beside her and then fixed back on her—
Everything changed.
That gaze had changed.
Gone was the softness she showed those close to her. Gone too was that everyday trace of simpleminded sincerity.
What burned in those eyes now was the purest, toughest fighting spirit of all—a calm sharpness forged through the harshest racetracks, absolute faith in her own strength, and a resolve to protect something precious that would tolerate no violation.
There was no contempt in that gaze, no anger. Only the composure of a ruler who accepted all challengers without flinching...
And the resolve to never yield so much as a single step.
"Heh..."
The corner of Inari One's mouth curled up again. This time, the smile reached her eyes.
Yes.
That was it.
Someone like this...
Didn't need to put on some fierce posture. Didn't need to puff herself up with bluster.
One look alone was enough to make it clear why she stood at the top.
No matter how she looked on the outside, no matter whether she was greedy for food or liked to cling to people in daily life, once she stood on the racetrack—once you stepped into the realm she ruled—
She became an absolute existence that could not be shaken.
The foolish thing had been that brief instant of doubt just now.
The one standing before her was, beyond any question—
"The real thing."
Inari One muttered it under her breath, her voice tinged with the excitement of having found worthy prey, and the burning anticipation of meeting a true equal.
Now this was interesting. Only by defeating a demon king like this—by stepping on a summit like this to climb even higher—could her victory carry enough weight to shake the entire Umamusume world.
Only a challenge like this would justify the trip she had made from Oi to Central, and the fact that she had aimed straight for the highest title of all.
Oi's ultimate weapon needed a final boss worthy of her!
"Someone like you would become the strongest in any field!"
"I'm really looking forward to the day we race, Oguri Cap!"
With that, Inari One turned and left.
Watching her back, the straightforward Oguri Cap called after her,
"I'm looking forward to racing you too!"
"Inari Sushi!"
"?"
"My name is Inari One! Get your opponent's name right already!"
While the two regional Umamusume bickered back and forth, Sakuraba had already been struck by inspiration from what Inari One had said.
"An Umamusume like Oguri... could become the strongest in any field..."
Huh?
Didn't that mean he had just found his next brilliant money-losing idea?
I'm going back to basics!
I'll make Oguri the top idol in the country—no, in the whole world!
I'll spend money to push her popularity all the way to the top of the world!
Holy crap, how much money would that cost?!
Sakuraba was pretty sure he'd just come up with a fantastic idea!
---
T/N: YOUR RIGHT!!!! SHE TOTALLY ISNT IDOL MATERIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ignores the real oguris lore