Saku's proposal was already remarkably mature, and he had no intention of hiding anything from the Yukinoshita family. As long as someone had decent business judgment, they could see the economic value contained within it.
If Saku were approaching an ordinary investor, however, there was no chance he would've shown them everything.
Otherwise, he might simply get swallowed by capital.
After all, no matter how capable someone else was, doing it yourself was always better than letting someone else take control.
Capital was greedy by nature.
The reason Saku dared reveal so much to the Yukinoshita family was precisely because Yukino stood between them.
Compared with Haruno, Yukino was still a student. When emotions and profit came into conflict, she would instinctively lean toward the former.
Rather than maximizing returns at any cost, Yukino cared more about principles, reputation, and keeping one's word.
As long as she served as the bridge between them, even if Haruno ever considered swallowing the entire project, Yukino would stop her.
That was exactly why Saku had chosen Yukino as his partner.
...
"It's hard to believe a proposal this complete was written by a high-school student."
After finishing every document, Haruno placed the game design document aside and finally looked up at Yukino, who had already taken a seat nearby.
At some point, the hangover soup had finished cooking.
Yukino had brought it over and left it on the glass table for quite a while, but Haruno had been too absorbed in the proposal to notice, so Yukino hadn't interrupted her.
Now that her sister had finally looked away from the documents, Yukino pushed the bowl slightly closer.
"So?"
She looked at Haruno.
"What do you think?"
Haruno didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she picked up the bowl, shifted into a more comfortable position, scooped up a spoonful, and took a sip.
"Ahh... that's nice."
She visibly relaxed.
"I already feel more alive."
Then she smiled at her sister.
"Yukino-chan, this is definitely a project worth investing in."
"But..."
Her eyes curved slightly.
"Why shouldn't I simply do it myself?"
"Now that I have the entire proposal in my hands, I could spend some money, build my own team, and develop it myself."
"Wouldn't that be better than investing in an outsider?"
Yukino's brows immediately furrowed.
Without the slightest hesitation, she reached over and took the proposal back from the table.
"Onee-san, if that's what you intend to do, then I'll have no choice but to draw a clear line between us."
Her expression barely changed and her voice remained controlled, but the anger beneath it was unmistakable.
"This project doesn't need your investment."
Haruno immediately understood.
Trying to seize someone else's project so blatantly had crossed Yukino's bottom line.
"Oh?"
Haruno rested her chin against one hand.
"But without my investment, this project probably can't even get started."
"I'll find another way."
Yukino had already made up her mind.
If Haruno genuinely intended to take Saku's work by force, then Yukino would oppose her even if it meant turning against her own sister.
"Hahaha!"
Haruno suddenly laughed.
"Yukino-chan, you really aren't suited to inheriting the family."
In business, profit came first.
Yukino clearly didn't think that way, which meant she was fundamentally unsuited to becoming the family heir.
Yet in another sense, Haruno felt relieved.
More than anyone else, she didn't want Yukino to become someone who valued profit above everything.
"Are you mocking me?"
"Of course not."
Haruno's smile softened.
"I'm actually happy for you."
She took another sip of soup.
"Fine. If Yukino-chan feels that strongly about it, Onee-san doesn't mind taking a step back."
Haruno had only been teasing her.
She'd never truly intended to steal the project.
This was the first serious project Yukino had personally brought to her. Compared with whatever additional profit she might gain, her little sister's feelings mattered far more.
"However, the proposal doesn't clearly state how much investment he actually needs."
Haruno set down her spoon.
"So if possible, I'd like to meet this classmate of yours in person."
Yukino personally disliked letting people around her come into contact with Haruno.
Still, the request itself was perfectly reasonable.
This involved a real investment.
Naturally, discussing it face-to-face would be far more reliable.
And...
Yukino seemed to remember that Saku actually liked this sister of hers quite a bit.
'Hmph. That idiot really does have nothing but indecent thoughts in his head.'
'She's only a little more mature than me and... a little bigger.'
'What's so special about that?'
'It's not like I'm not cute.'
"...Fine."
Yukino nodded.
"I'll arrange it."
"The sooner, the better."
Haruno smiled brightly.
"Onee-san is already looking forward to it."
...
The next day, Friday, Saku followed Yukino to a new classroom after school.
From this moment onward, it would officially serve as his clubroom.
The room was still completely empty, but all the necessary furniture and equipment would be brought in later.
This was the special treatment Sobu High had granted him after discussions involving the Yukinoshita family and Hiratsuka Shizuka.
"Saku, you seriously need to thank Yukino properly for this."
Hiratsuka-sensei folded her arms.
"She's spent a lot of time and energy these past few days securing this room for you. You understand that, right?"
As the saying went, capable people were always given more work.
Naturally, Hiratsuka Shizuka had ended up becoming the club advisor.
Yukino hadn't been the only busy one lately.
Hiratsuka had also spent plenty of time dealing with the school, though she had no intention of taking credit for it.
In her view, helping her students was simply part of a teacher's duty.
If she'd had enough money herself, she might even have funded Saku's project.
But among everyone involved, Yukino had still contributed the most.
Convincing Hiratsuka, negotiating with the Student Council, persuading the school administration, and even contacting the sister she normally had a strained relationship with...
None of it had been easy.
The fact that Yukino had gone this far surprised even Hiratsuka.
That was why she deliberately emphasized Yukino's contribution.
She didn't want Saku overlooking it.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, you make it sound too formal."
Saku smiled.
"I'll probably spend the rest of my life repaying what Yukino's done for me."
"The rest of your life?"
Hiratsuka blinked.
"Uh... isn't that taking it a little too far?"
For once, even she didn't know how to respond.
Yukino, on the other hand, remained remarkably calm.
Perhaps after hearing enough of Saku's shameless inner monologues, she'd developed an extremely high resistance to lines like that.
"Stop saying ridiculous things."
She looked at him evenly.
"If you accomplish what you promised, that will be the best repayment you can give me."
Then she glanced around the empty room.
"More importantly, what are you planning to call this club?"
"HoYoMix Game Studio."
「The name of miHoYo will become famous in this world through my hands.」
「And I'll keep the old slogan too: 'Tech Otakus Save the World!'」
「This place... will be where everything begins!」
Saku looked around the empty clubroom, but in his mind, it already seemed filled with possibilities.
His enthusiasm burned like a flame.
For the first time, his own game studio had taken physical form.
"Oh, right."
Saku suddenly remembered something and turned toward Hiratsuka.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, I'll need you to get these things arranged for me."
A game studio couldn't exactly operate without proper equipment.
Saku had planned everything he needed long ago, so he reached into his pocket and handed her a prepared list.
Hiratsuka stared at him.
"You brat... are you seriously treating your teacher like your personal assistant now?"
She complained, but still accepted the paper.
Then she read it.
And immediately sucked in a sharp breath.
"Whoa."
"The school agreed to give your club special treatment, and they'll even give you the highest possible club activity budget..."
She looked at the list again.
"But this goes way over the limit."
"Then I'll have to trouble you to cover the difference for now, Sensei."
Saku answered without hesitation.
"I'll pay you back once the investment comes through."
"Oh, and keep all the receipts."
He added matter-of-factly, "I'll put the expenses through the club accounts later and reimburse you properly."
Seeing that Saku had already considered even the accounting side, Hiratsuka stopped arguing.
It wasn't an amount she couldn't temporarily cover.
After all, she was a single woman who rarely went shopping, didn't have many expensive hobbies, and mostly just enjoyed drinking occasionally.
Her daily expenses were surprisingly low.
As a result, Hiratsuka Shizuka had built up quite a respectable amount of savings.
Most people simply hadn't realized what an excellent marriage prospect she actually was.
Saku then noticed two other people wandering around the new clubroom.
"Come to think of it, why did you two follow us here?"
Hikigaya answered lazily without even turning around.
"This was technically a Service Club request."
"Coming to see the result seems perfectly reasonable, doesn't it?"
Yui immediately nodded.
"Mm-hm!"
Yukino didn't particularly mind their presence.
Her attention remained on Saku.
"If you're satisfied with the clubroom, then there's one more thing."
She looked directly at him.
"Come with me."
"My sister wants to meet you."
…