"Interesting, but I'm not signing!"
Sakuraba Ryo knew very well that the whole point of developing this game was to lose money. If he actually signed that agreement, wouldn't he be selling himself off? Absolutely not.
Sakuraba had come here to lose money, not to sell himself.
Business was one thing, but once it involved an unreasonable wager agreement like this, he naturally had no intention of agreeing.
Faced with President Satono's weighty wager agreement, Sakuraba's expression hardly changed.
He did not explode or argue right away. He only slowly straightened, drew back the hands he had placed on the desk, and shifted from his slightly aggressive negotiating posture back to a businesslike distance, one that even carried a hint of detachment.
"President."
Sakuraba's voice was calm and clear.
"I came here today in good faith, seeking a business partnership. I provide the funding and the core concept, while your company provides the technology and channels. We each get what we need and share the risks—of course, the financial risk will mainly be borne by me. That should already show my sincerity and determination."
He paused slightly, meeting President Satono's sharp gaze with an open look.
"But 'joining the Satono family'... that already goes beyond the scope of a business partnership. I, Sakuraba Ryo, am here to do business, not to sell myself."
The words were direct and crisp, leaving no room for compromise.
"I understand your concerns regarding the project's risks, President, as well as... your assessment of my personal abilities. The Satono family's Umamusume may indeed need assistance, but my ability and my future belong only to me. They are capital I use to serve my own dreams and plans, not insurance to be pledged against the failure of a single business deal."
Sakuraba's tone remained polite, but there was now a clear distance in it.
"If you cannot trust me, Sakuraba Ryo, or if you believe trust cannot be established within a purely commercial framework, then..."
He bowed slightly, taking the posture of someone ready to end the meeting.
"I will have to take this deal elsewhere. In Tokyo, or even across the world, Satono is not the only company with the strength to produce a top-tier game. It may take a little more effort, but I believe I will eventually find a suitable partner."
His attitude was very clear.
A partnership could be discussed. Conditions could be negotiated. But any wager that bound his personal future to a certain family was out of the question.
This was not a matter of courage, but of principles and bottom line.
Sakuraba threw the choice back to President Satono.
Would he insist on that insurance full of possessiveness and control, or return to a purer business partnership with clearer risks and returns?
That was a decision President Satono needed to make.
And Sakuraba had already adopted the stance of someone ready to leave at any moment and seek another partner.
Seeing that Sakuraba was not hesitating or dragging his feet, and that he truly intended to end the meeting and go elsewhere, a trace of surprise passed through President Satono's eyes. It was soon replaced by deeper thought.
Just as Sakuraba turned to leave, his steady voice sounded again, breaking the slightly stagnant atmosphere in the room.
"Sakuraba-kun, please wait."
Sakuraba paused, turned slightly to the side, and showed no surprise on his face. He merely waited calmly for the rest.
The amused smile on President Satono's face had long since disappeared, replaced by a more cautious expression.
He stood, walked around the broad desk, and slowly made his way to the window. With his back to Sakuraba, he looked out at the bustling city skyline beyond.
"You are right. The proposal to 'join the Satono family' may... indeed have exceeded the bounds of a simple business partnership."
He spoke slowly, his tone no longer as pressuring as before.
"I was a little too impatient."
He turned back around and looked at Sakuraba again. In those sharp eyes gleamed both a merchant's shrewdness and the foresight of a family's helmsman.
"Your reaction proves your value precisely. Someone who could so easily agree to make his own future a bargaining chip is either a gambler with nowhere left to go, or someone with no plans for himself. And you, Sakuraba-kun, are clearly neither."
He walked back to his seat, but did not sit down. Instead, he braced both hands against the back of the chair and leaned forward slightly.
"You were able to discover Oguri Cap in an unremarkable place like Kasamatsu, then push her onto the stage of Tracen Academy in such a short time, even making her the focus of everyone's attention today... That is no coincidence. You must have a unique eye and method for identifying and cultivating an Umamusume's potential. That kind of talent is extremely precious."
"A young man with such talent, clear principles, and the courage to place a heavy bet on his own vision has immeasurable possibilities ahead of him. The Satono family may be a business family, but we also understand that in this era, what is truly valuable is talent and foresight."
He paused, his tone turning more pragmatic, with a little less of the probing and desire for control from before.
"To risk offending a promising prospect who may very well shine brilliantly in the future, all for the sake of insurance on a single partnership project, would not be wise."
"In business, gaining one more friend is far more profitable than creating one more potential opponent of considerable ability."
President Satono sat back down in his chair and folded his fingers on the desk, returning to his initial composed posture of someone in control of the whole situation. But the words he spoke were entirely different now.
"In that case, let us return to a purely commercial framework. Regarding the Umamusume game project you proposed, Satono Company can provide the very best development team, technical support, and publishing channels, and guarantee that the final quality of the game will reach a first-class standard."
"In return, we will need to collect reasonable development fees and a share of later operational revenue, proportionate to the development costs and risks. We can discuss the exact percentages in detail."
"As for the financial pressure you are concerned about, such as licensing fees, that is indeed within your area of responsibility. We will not interfere, but we will provide the necessary convenience and resource connections during our cooperation."
His gaze fell on Sakuraba. This time, there was less scrutiny in it, and a few more traces of sincerity as a partner.
"Using this as an opportunity to establish a stable business relationship may... pave the way for even more possibilities in the future. What do you think, Sakuraba-kun? Shall we begin again and discuss terms that are more practical and more in line with the rules of business?"
These words gave Sakuraba an out, and also showed the Satono family's willingness to adjust its strategy and cooperate from a more equal and open position. At the same time, they quietly expressed the hope of building a long-term, positive relationship with Sakuraba.
From beginning to end, President Satono had never given up on trying to draw Sakuraba in.
After all, Sakuraba truly had that much value.
...
By the time Sakuraba walked out of the brightly lit Satono building, the city lights had already come on, and night hung low over the streets.
Urban neon lit up one sign after another in the deepening night, reflecting the sparse points of starlight in the sky.
After half a day of negotiation and back-and-forth, the matter had finally settled.
Although the process had been somewhat rocky, and had even come close to breaking down entirely at one point, a formal cooperation agreement regarding the development of an Umamusume mobile game had ultimately been successfully reached.
President Satono had shown the pragmatic and flexible side of a top businessman. After removing that "selling himself" wager agreement, the two sides efficiently and rigorously negotiated concrete terms such as development fees, revenue-sharing ratios, technical standards, and schedule milestones, then reached a preliminary consensus. The legal teams would refine the details afterward.
More importantly, Sakuraba could finally, with perfect justification, inject the several hundred million yen remaining in this month's loss KPI into the newly established cooperation project in one lump sum as the game project's first round of startup capital and prepaid licensing fees.
When he signed his name on the advance payment confirmation letter and transferred that enormous sum out, the invisible pressure in his heart suddenly eased.
This month's target was finally, perfectly complete!
He had even overfulfilled the task, laying a solid foundation for a long-term meal ticket in the future.
Standing in the plaza before the building, he let out a long breath. The night breeze brushed past him, bringing a trace of coolness and allowing his nerves, strained tight from the intense negotiations, to relax slightly.
Things seemed to be steadily moving forward according to the blueprint of his perfect loss-making plan.
However, that ease did not last long.
The phone in his pocket vibrated, and the screen lit up with a soft glow in the night.
Sakuraba took out his phone and unlocked the screen. A message from Obey Your Master leapt into view.
He paused slightly.
Due to the significant time difference between America and Japan, nighttime in Tokyo was daytime where Obey Your Master was.
[Obey Your Master]:Today is the Preakness Stakes. Remember to watch the livestream!
Sakuraba thought about it. It had been almost a week or two since he returned to Japan from America.
It was just about time for the Preakness Stakes!
Now that work was done, it was time to watch his girlfriend's race!