The 8 million yen goal the system had given him was turning into quite a headache for Sakuraba Ryo.
At the moment, between the foot-massage parlor project and Oguri Cap's stomach, spending five million yen in a month was still manageable.
But if he had to add another three million on top of that... Sakuraba was going to need a new idea if he wanted to lose that much money.
"As expected, just investing in Oguri alone isn't enough."
He needed to invest in another Umamusume.
That was the only way he was going to digest that extra three million.
But if he was going to pick another Umamusume to invest in, then this time he really had to choose carefully.
This time, Sakuraba wasn't going to ask Kitahara for help.
After a month of dealing with him, Sakuraba had more or less figured out the limits of Kitahara's abilities.
As a Trainer, Kitahara had all the basic qualifications. If Sakuraba asked him to help choose an Umamusume, then whoever he picked probably wouldn't be all that bad.
So this time, Sakuraba planned to choose properly for himself.
And he already had a rough idea in mind.
This time, he was going to pick another gray-haired Umamusume!
Damn it, Oguri Cap had just been that one-in-a-thousand fluke. If he picked another gray-haired Umamusume, there was no way he'd hit the jackpot again, right?
How could that be possible!
Nobody could be that unlucky, could they?
Sakuraba refused to believe it.
Absolutely impossible!
Still, just in case, this time he wasn't going to choose from among Umamusume who hadn't debuted yet.
The logic was simple enough.
Results were the clearest proof of an Umamusume's ability.
An Umamusume with poor results probably wasn't all that strong.
And that kind of Umamusume was exactly Sakuraba's target.
A Saint Seiya doesn't trip over the same stone twice, and Sakuraba was no different.
If he invested in undeveloped, pre-debut Umamusume, there was no telling when he might run into another Oguri Cap—someone who looked completely ordinary but secretly had real talent.
For Sakuraba's money-losing plan, that kind of Umamusume was a complete land mine.
If he could avoid them, then he had to avoid them.
To better pick his next investment target, Sakuraba even went online and dug up the entry lists for some recent minor races, all for the sake of finding an Umamusume who fit his criteria.
Heaven rewards the diligent!
And sure enough, he actually found one.
"Nishikino Cross. Originally from Hokkaido, transferred from a regional Tracen academy to Central Tracen Academy this year."
"Now renamed Tamamo Cross..."
"Failed to debut twice, barely managed to win her third maiden race, then lost again in the following allowance race..."
"And most importantly, she's a gray-haired Umamusume!"
The moment Sakuraba pulled up her profile, his eyes lit right up.
Holy hell, she fits my requirements perfectly!
Regional background, gray-haired, and a record packed with race losses!
There was no better candidate to be his next investment target~
"Perfect. I choose you!"
Sakuraba grinned like a Trainer who had just found his dream Pokémon, rubbing his hands together—no, wait, more like cracking his knuckles in anticipation.
And just like that, Sakuraba immediately bought a train ticket to Tokyo, told Oguri Cap and the others he had to go on a business trip, and ran off.
"First things first—I'll sign her."
...
"So I still can't do it..."
Inside a ramen shop on the shopping street beside Tracen Academy, a small-framed Umamusume was slumped over the table, completely drained.
Tamamo Cross was worrying about money.
News had come from Nishikino Academy, her former school in Hokkaido, that it was on the verge of bankruptcy, and the blow had left her deeply frustrated.
The real reason Tamamo Cross had agreed to transfer from the regional Nishikino Academy to Tracen Academy in the first place was money.
Back then, she had learned that her alma mater had fallen into financial trouble and was in constant danger of going under. Deeply attached to her old school, she had immediately decided to transfer to Tracen Academy, debut there, win prize money, and use it to keep her alma mater afloat...
But things had not gone the way she had hoped. She had succeeded in transferring to Tracen Academy, but when it came to her debut, she had crashed and burned.
In her first newcomer race at Hanshin over 2000 meters, she led for part of the race before fading badly.
Her second attempt was also at Hanshin, an 1800-meter maiden race, and she lost again.
Only on her third try, after switching to dirt, did she finally manage a successful debut and earn her first bit of money.
But in the race after that, she lost once more.
Ordinarily, losing by itself would not have been such a big problem, but this time, it seemed Nishikino Academy would not last long enough for her to win again.
"What am I supposed to do... The school's about to go bankrupt and shut down, and I can't do a thing..."
With a miserable expression, Tamamo Cross stared at the steaming bowl of ramen the owner had just set in front of her. The pressure weighing on her was so heavy that she had no appetite at all.
What she needed right now was a sum of money to keep the school stable...
As Tamamo Cross sat there blankly staring at the ramen, too distracted even to pick up her chopsticks, someone suddenly dropped into the booth across from her without the slightest hesitation.
Tamamo Cross couldn't even be bothered to lift her eyelids. She assumed it was just another customer sharing the table. Her head was so full of the gloom hanging over her alma mater's imminent bankruptcy that she had no energy left to care about anyone else.
But in the very next second, the man's calm, even voice struck her taut nerves like a perfectly aimed needle.
"You're worrying about money, aren't you? More precisely... you're at your wit's end over the imminent bankruptcy of your former school in Hokkaido, Nishikino Academy."
Tamamo Cross jerked her head up. Her somewhat dim eyes flew wide open as she stared at the person across from her in disbelief. Sitting there was a young man wearing a placid smile that somehow made him look like he could see through everything, and it immediately irritated her.
How does he know that?
She had barely told anyone at Tracen about this!
"Who are you? And how do you know that?"
Tamamo Cross asked warily.
"Sakuraba Ryo. Just call me Sakuraba. I'm nothing more than an ordinary investor."
"An investor...?"
Meeting her guarded stare, Sakuraba's smile didn't change. He leaned forward slightly, elbows on the table, and lowered his voice a little, though his tone remained utterly certain.
"That's right. An investor. Simply put, my job is to look for promising prospects like you, then put money into them."
His gaze swept over the bowl of ramen in front of Tamamo Cross, which she had hardly touched at all, and he continued pointedly.
"And what you need most right now is funding to help your school through this crisis, isn't it? Otherwise, you wouldn't be sitting here with your favorite ramen in front of you and still not tasting a thing."
Tamamo Cross's heart jolted.
Not only did he know about her predicament, he even understood exactly what she needed most right now.
She opened her mouth, wanting to refute him, only to find her throat dry.
Sakuraba didn't give her a chance to gather her thoughts. He tossed out the bait directly, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather.
"I can invest in you, Tamamo Cross. Enough money to keep your former school stable for the time being. Three million yen—how about it? That ought to be enough to deal with your urgent problem."
"Th-Three... three million?" Tamamo Cross sucked in a sharp breath. To her, that number was astronomical—and it was also hope for saving her alma mater.
"That's right. Three million."
Sakuraba confirmed it, lifting a finger and tapping lightly in the air.
"The terms are simple. You just sign a contract with me, accept my investment, and in your upcoming races... well, just do your best."
He deliberately slurred the words do your best a little. What he was truly hoping for, deep down, was naturally a very different outcome.
He looked at Tamamo Cross, whose eyes were trembling violently, like a fish already caught in the net, and delivered the final push with a smile.
"So? For you, this deal comes with no downside—only the hope of saving your alma mater. Whether or not you want to seize it is up to you."
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T/N: oh boy! now this one truly is a loser umamusume! man almost not being able to debut! theres no way shes like oguri cap! this tamamo cross is a loser! but we love losers!