In the end, the dreaded thing happened.
Starting with her first restricted race win in October, Tamamo Cross went on a winning streak.
In November, she took first in the Fujinomori Tokubetsu—7.7 million.
Since it was a restricted race in Central, the winner's purse was obviously on a completely different level from what the regional circuit paid.
And in December, Tamamo Cross still showed no signs of slowing down!
She actually won the GII Naruo Kinen, taking home prize money totaling 33 million!
When Sakuraba Ryo saw that news, he felt like his heart had stopped.
How much did you say?
Thirty-three million??
Even after splitting it in half, that was still 16.5 million in income!
Holy shit!
That was more than all the money he had lost in his first two months combined, just from Tamamo winning a single race!
What the hell happened to my gray-haired Umamusume who was supposed to keep losing race after race?
Tamamo!
Did I invest in you so you could go make money?!
You were supposed to be my one of my stars for losing money!
What exactly are you trying to do here?!
And that was not even the worst part. In Sakuraba Ryo's eyes, the scariest thing about Tamamo was not just that she had won a GII race…
It was that after winning a GII race, she was already thinking about challenging GI races.
Sakuraba Ryo did not even dare look up how much prize money a GI victory paid.
He was afraid that one glance would make him pass out on the spot.
At that moment, he genuinely wanted to climb into Doraemon's time machine, fly back to the past, find the version of himself who had decided to invest in Tamamo Cross, and punch him as hard as he could.
Now this was a real problem!
Cold sweat poured down Sakuraba Ryo's back.
Even with Nishikino Academy, that giant money-devouring beast, still there to soak up losses, Tamamo's rate of making money was enough to make his scalp go numb.
No…
If Tamamo kept this up…
Could she save the school all by herself even without him…?
Sakuraba Ryo could not help seriously considering that possibility.
And on the other side, Oguri Cap was also charging ahead without slowing down.
In just two short months, she had won two more restricted races in a row.
But the one thing that barely gave Sakuraba Ryo some comfort was that Oguri's two restricted race wins on the regional circuit only added up to 5.1 million…
Compared to the prize money Tamamo had won, the amount Oguri earned by steamrolling the regional circuit really was much smaller.
Both of the Umamusume under him were out there winning races like crazy…
So why could he not feel happy about it at all?
Damn it.
Am I just fundamentally incompatible with gray-haired Umamusume or what?!
The books all said gray-haired Umamusume were weak!
So why?!
Why—?!
Why is it that the moment I pick Umamusume to invest in, every last one of them turns out to be insanely good at winning?!
Sakuraba Ryo felt like he was being targeted.
He just had no idea by whom…
Was this heaven's will?
To hell with heaven's will!
Next time! Next time, I am absolutely not investing in a gray-haired Umamusume again!
Gray-haired is a no-go! Ugh!
...
At the same time, at Nishikino Academy.
This "strategic loss project," into which Sakuraba Ryo had poured nearly half a year of effort and close to a hundred million in funds, was also quietly undergoing earthshaking changes.
The school gate, once old and peeling, had been replaced with an imposing wrought-iron entrance with decorative detailing. Beside it stood a newly installed name stone, its polished surface gleaming stately in the sunlight.
Stepping onto campus, the old pothole-ridden concrete paths had already been paved over into smooth asphalt roads. On either side stood neatly planted ginkgo and cherry saplings. They had not yet grown enough to cast shade, but the intended design was already clear.
The field had been refurbished, a new indoor training facility had been built with a full set of equipment, and even the Umamusume rest rooms had been converted into individual air-conditioned rooms.
The principal had not failed Sakuraba Ryo's hopes for losing money. Every single yen had been spent on improving the school's class.
The exterior walls of the teaching building had been fully renovated with imitation European-style stone facing. Crystal chandeliers and high-end audio equipment had been installed inside the auditorium. Even the cafeteria's tableware had all been replaced with custom bone.
Today's Nishikino Academy had completely shed its former rundown, shabby look. At a glance, it truly carried the air of a low-key but luxurious aristocratic academy.
"Aristocratic, sure…"
"But how am I supposed to spend money next…?"
Looking at the campus's brand-new appearance, he muttered under his breath, his feelings complicated.
Yet as Nishikino Academy changed with each passing day, Sakuraba Ryo's brief satisfaction at having raised a noble academy soon gave way to a new kind of anxiety—
He realized that the places where he could keep pouring money into this "money-devouring beast" were actually growing fewer and fewer!
The large-scale infrastructure projects were basically finished, and most of the expensive equipment had already been purchased.
The principal was still trying hard to dig up finer details that could further improve the school's class—like installing intelligent constant-temperature systems in every classroom, or replacing all the landscaping on campus with rare, high-maintenance trees—but in the end, those were only piecemeal expenses. They could no longer swallow tens of millions at a time the way the earlier projects had.
As he watched the expense curve for Nishikino Academy on the financial report gradually flatten out, Sakuraba Ryo not only failed to feel relieved—he felt a chill run down his spine.
"No, this won't do… this won't do…" he muttered, pacing restlessly. "This hole called Nishikino… it's about to be filled in!"
The horrifying image of Tamamo Cross and Oguri Cap steadily making bank on the racetrack refused to leave his mind.
On one side was the terrifying profit-making power of the Umamusume, closing in step by step. On the other side, his biggest loss-making project was on the verge of losing its ability to suck blood…
The nightmare of breaking even felt almost within reach.
He suddenly stopped in place, and his eyes sharpened.
"I need to open up a new battlefield and find the next project that can burn money steadily, continuously, and on a large scale!"
Sakuraba Ryo clenched his fists, feeling a level of urgency he had never known before.
"I can't keep staring at this little patch of land that is the school anymore. It's time to cast my sights toward a broader world!"
That said, it was not as if a project like that would just appear because he wanted one…
Unless…
Thinking of something, Sakuraba Ryo immediately ran to the principal's office at Nishikino and shoved the door open.
"Hm? Sakuraba-san, what brings you here? Why didn't you let me know first? Then I could have welcomed you properly!"
Seeing that it was Sakuraba Ryo, the principal of Nishikino hurried forward with a smile all over his face.
"That kind of thing isn't important."
"Principal, do you know any other well-known academies in Hokkaido?"
"…?"
Though surprised by the question, the principal lowered his head and began to think.
"Among the academies under Tracen in Hokkaido, aside from our Nishikino Academy… the most famous ones should be those few."
"Hokko Academy, Daikō Academy, Versailles Academy… those three should be the best-known academies in Hokkaido right now."
"Is there a way to pull them over to our side…?"
Sakuraba Ryo gave the principal a cool look as he asked.
Could it be that Sakuraba-san meant…?!
The principal's eyes lit up.
Was Sakuraba-san planning to unite all the academies in Hokkaido first?
"It would be difficult… but not impossible!"
The corner of Sakuraba Ryo's mouth curled upward.
"Then let's try pulling them in. It'll be good for my plan!"
Investing in three academies at the same time would obviously lose even more money!
But the principal, at that moment, was thinking of something entirely different—
Doo doo doo—!
Sakuraba-san is about to lead us in sounding the horn for a counteroffensive!
---
T/N; one more chaptert until the update speed slows downteehee (that was for patreon teehee)
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