After sending off that reassuring batch of "money-burning fresh meat," Sakuraba Ryo felt even more relaxed and cheerful.
With both hands in his pockets, he strolled leisurely down the broad, spotless paths of Nishikino Academy, already plotting his next grand money-losing scheme.
"Just the international class's daily expenses and the upkeep on all those luxury facilities hurts, sure, but it still doesn't feel foolproof enough... I need to open up a few more avenues."
Rubbing his chin, he looked toward the state-of-the-art indoor training hall in the distance.
"Should I build an even more specialized rehabilitation center? One with a heated pool and a spa? Use the best materials, hire the most expensive team, and jack the maintenance costs through the roof... Mm, not bad. It improves the student experience and burns money perfectly..."
Just as the losses in the financial statements inside his head were soaring and the corners of his mouth were about to split from grinning, the phone in his pocket vibrated at the worst possible moment.
It was Principal Nishikino.
"Sakuraba-san!"
From the other end came the principal's usual respectful voice, tinged with urgency.
"A representative from Hokko Academy has come. They say they want to discuss the cooperation matter we mentioned before in more detail. They're already in the reception room, so I wanted to ask..."
Hokko Academy?
Sakuraba blinked and dug through the corners of his memory.
Oh, right. That was a thing.
Principal Nishikino had mentioned before that Nishikino Academy already had partnerships with other academies.
And Hokko Academy was one of them.
At the time, Sakuraba had been too busy figuring out how to lose money at Nishikino Academy, this blessed land of financial ruin, to care much about any so-called win-win cooperation. He had only given a vague response or two. He hadn't expected them to actually come knocking.
"Cooperation, huh..."
Sakuraba drew out the words as his thoughts turned quickly.
Cooperation between regional academies?
It was probably the usual stuff: exchange students, joint training, shared facilities, that kind of thing.
He vaguely remembered hearing something about borrowing a few students from their side before.
But hadn't that already been settled?
Why were they here again?
It didn't feel like there was any obvious opportunity to lose money here...
Still, since they had come all this way, it would be rude to leave them hanging. Besides, on the surface, he was still a passionate investor actively promoting Nishikino Academy's growth.
And who knew? Maybe there was something here he could work with.
For example, if they accepted a batch of exchange students from Hokko Academy and let them enjoy Nishikino Academy's top-tier facilities, that would drive expenses up. Or maybe they could launch some kind of joint development program...
Come to think of it, this might not be bad at all.
At the very least, it was one more direction to throw money in.
"Alright, I understand."
Sakuraba's tone returned to its usual lightness.
"Bring them to... hmm, the meeting room on the second floor of the main building. It's quieter there. I'm nearby anyway, so I'll head over now."
After hanging up, Sakuraba adjusted his expression, putting away the loose, lazy air he had while wandering the campus and replacing it with the practiced look he used for business negotiations: warmly engaged, but sharp.
He turned and headed unhurriedly toward the main building.
"Hokko Academy... your timing's not bad."
He muttered under his breath, a glint of interest flashing in his eyes.
"Let's see whether this cooperation can become another beautiful piece of my grand money-losing blueprint."
At this point, anything that could reasonably move money out of his pocket without any obvious return was something he was very interested in exploring.
...
On the second floor of the main building, Sakuraba gently pushed open the heavy wooden door to the meeting room.
The room was softly lit and bright. Principal Nishikino was seated on one side of the table, and across from him sat an elderly woman in a plain but elegant kimono, her hair meticulously arranged.
Her back was straight, her hands folded neatly on her knees. Even sitting there quietly, she carried the kind of dignity that only came from age, experience, and character.
At the sound of the door opening, both of them turned to look.
"Sakuraba-san, you're here."
Principal Nishikino quickly rose, smiling with practiced politeness.
"This is Principal Kitano of Hokko Academy. Principal Kitano, this is Sakuraba Ryo-san, the investor behind Nishikino Academy."
Sakuraba put on his standard social smile, stepped forward, and gave a slight nod.
"Principal Kitano, it's a pleasure. I'm Sakuraba Ryo."
His tone was calm and respectful, fitting for speaking to an elder, but there was still a trace of youthful energy and investor's confidence beneath it.
Principal Kitano's gaze settled on his face, and a flicker of surprise passed through her experienced eyes. She clearly had not expected Nishikino Academy's most important investor to be such a young man.
"And also Nishikino Academy's most important investor."
The moment Principal Nishikino's added emphasis landed, a visible shift finally appeared on Principal Kitano's otherwise composed face.
Her eyes widened slightly, her pupils tightening as her gaze moved back and forth between Sakuraba's youthful features and his calm bearing, as though checking whether she had misheard—or whether what she was seeing was even real.
"The... most important investor?"
She repeated it almost involuntarily, her voice lower now, edged with disbelief.
Her eyes drifted toward Principal Nishikino, seemingly looking for confirmation, then quickly returned to Sakuraba. The steady poise expected of a school principal was still there, but now it had been overtaken by unmistakable curiosity and assessment.
She had assumed the person investing in Nishikino Academy would be much older.
After all, plenty of people had talked about consolidating Hokkaido's Tracen academies, but only one person had actually gone and done it.
Her eyes sharpened immediately as she studied him from top to bottom.
This man is not simple.
Principal Nishikino hurried to confirm it.
"Yes, Principal Kitano. Nishikino Academy owes everything it has today to Sakuraba-san's tremendous support and farsighted vision."
Principal Kitano drew a quiet breath. The surprise in her gaze gradually faded, but the scrutiny only deepened.
She slowly rose to her feet.
"This truly is... astonishing. Sakuraba-san is so young, and yet you possess this kind of boldness and vision, enough to support Nishikino Academy's remarkable growth. I must apologize. I truly did not expect it."
She dipped her head slightly, a gesture of courtesy, but also one that betrayed how interested she had become in the force and intent behind this young man.
"It seems I came to the right person to discuss cooperation with today."
Sakuraba maintained his smile, though inwardly he found her undisguised surprise a little amusing.
"You flatter me, Principal Kitano. I've only made a few investments within my means."
He modestly brushed it aside, then gestured to the seats.
"Please, have a seat. We're very interested in your academy's proposal for cooperation. We can go over the details at our leisure."
The three of them sat down again.
Because Principal Kitano now understood who Sakuraba really was, the atmosphere in the room subtly shifted.
And so the discussion began in earnest, with both sides sizing each other up behind their polite expressions.
Normally, a negotiation like this would involve endless back-and-forth at the table.
But Sakuraba had no intention of wasting that much time.
So he went straight for the point.
"Principal Kitano, thank you for making the trip. Time is valuable, so let's be direct."
His tone was even, but there was a clear sharpness to it that made it plain he had no interest in circling around the issue.
"What exactly is your academy hoping to deepen cooperation with Nishikino Academy on this time? Or to put it another way—what can we start moving on right away?"
Principal Kitano seemed caught off guard by how straightforward he was. Her fingers tightened slightly around her teacup, and the fine lines at the corners of her eyes deepened as she paused to think.
The room fell quiet for a moment. Only the faint sounds of activity outside drifted in through the windows.
She gently set her teacup back into its saucer with a soft clink.
Then she raised her eyes to meet Sakuraba's. The surprise from earlier was gone, replaced by the caution of an administrator and the faintest trace of embarrassment.
"Sakuraba-san is certainly a man who speaks plainly."
She spoke more slowly now, her voice a shade lower than before.
"In that case, I'll be frank as well. The main reason for my visit today... is not exchange students or shared facilities."
She paused, as though carefully choosing her words. Her gaze flicked once toward Principal Nishikino, sitting stiffly at the side, before returning to Sakuraba.
"To be honest, Hokko Academy is currently facing a shortage of Trainers... especially experienced Trainers with major-race coaching backgrounds, the kind who can specifically improve an Umamusume's aptitude for middle- and long-distance races as well as her tactical ability. The gap is quite serious."
She spoke clearly, without rushing, but there was helplessness beneath every word.
"The academy's own training and recruitment efforts cannot fill the need quickly enough, and the racing calendar will not wait."
Sakuraba listened quietly, tapping the table once with his fingertip without realizing it.
Trainers?
That was a little unexpected.
He had assumed this would be the sort of cooperation that leaned more directly toward burning money.
Seeing that Sakuraba had not interrupted, Principal Kitano continued. The hesitation in her tone gradually gave way to a kind of firm resolve, the sort one only showed after deciding to go all in.
"After much internal discussion, we came to the conclusion that we must ask Nishikino Academy... for a favor."
She drew in a breath, looked Sakuraba in the eye, and finally stated the real purpose of her visit.
"We would like to request a temporary secondment of a small number of Trainers from your academy. Two or three would be enough, but we hope they would be experienced, capable core staff. The secondment period would be one season."
"During that time, Hokko Academy would naturally cover their salaries, benefits, and all related costs."
"In addition, we would give Nishikino Academy priority access in matters such as student exchanges and the sharing of certain research achievements as compensation."
Once she finished, Principal Kitano's gaze locked onto Sakuraba's face, watching closely for even the slightest change in expression.
This request was, in effect, asking an academy on the rise—one that also needed a great deal of top-quality faculty—to lend out part of its own core staff, even if only temporarily.
She knew it was abrupt. But Hokko Academy's current difficulties had forced her to ask anyway.
For a moment, the air in the room seemed to go still.
Principal Nishikino looked as though he wanted to say something, but held back. Clearly, he also found the request difficult, and his eyes drifted toward Sakuraba, waiting for his decision.
Sakuraba, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow slightly.
Borrow Trainers?
And not just any Trainers, but core staff?
His mind started moving quickly.
At first glance... this didn't seem like a project that would directly lose money.
But what if he looked at it from another angle?
If Nishikino Academy lent out the excellent Trainers it had worked so hard to assemble, wouldn't that hurt the training quality of its own Umamusume?
Especially those international-class "money-losers" he had personally taken such care of. If they lost capable guidance, wouldn't they have even less hope of producing results?
That sounded... helpful for preserving their mediocrity.
So maybe this was a good thing...
But then again, Hokko Academy had already promised to cover all expenses. Which meant Nishikino Academy would effectively save on labor costs for a while.
Absolutely not.
The hell is this? I'm here to lose money, and you want to help me make it? How is that supposed to work?!
Sure, the amount saved would be pocket change to him.
But meat was meat, even if it came off a mosquito's leg.
As for the so-called compensation through priority access...
Sakuraba sneered inwardly. What use was that vague nonsense to his goal of losing money?
None, as far as he could tell.
And yet... this might actually be an opportunity.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, a plan sprang up in his head.
Because Sakuraba had gone quiet with only a slight lift of his brow and a thoughtful expression, the atmosphere in the room grew even more delicate.
As his silence dragged on, Principal Kitano's heart sank lower and lower. Her fingers unconsciously rubbed at the side of her teacup.
But just as she was starting to think this young investor was weighing the pros and cons, calculating the gains and losses, perhaps even preparing to refuse—
Sakuraba suddenly smiled.
It was different from the formulaic social smile he had worn earlier. This one carried an almost naive enthusiasm, as though it had shattered all the calculation one would normally expect in a business negotiation.
"Principal Kitano."
His tone lightened, and he leaned back into his chair, giving a small wave of his hand.
"The way you put it makes us sound like strangers. We're both working toward the same goal: raising excellent Umamusume and helping revitalize regional Tracen. Talking about 'secondment' and 'compensation'—measuring our relationship with cold transactional terms like that—doesn't it feel a little too impersonal?"
Principal Kitano froze, plain confusion written across her face.
She had spent years navigating the world of education and had seen every style of negotiation there was.
But this opening... was utterly beyond anything she had expected.
Even Principal Nishikino blinked and turned to look at Sakuraba, clearly unable to follow where this was going.
"What does Sakuraba-san mean...?"
Principal Kitano asked hesitantly, completely unable to read his approach.
The smile on Sakuraba's face brightened, as if he were about to share a truly brilliant idea.
"What I mean is, Nishikino Academy won't be 'lending' Trainers to Hokko Academy."
Principal Kitano's heart dropped.
So in the end, he was refusing after all—
But then Sakuraba's next sentence made her eyes fly open, to the point that she half wondered if she had misheard him.
"However, Hokko Academy can send over any Trainers you believe have potential and need further development—and your Umamusume students too, of course, if you think it's necessary—to Nishikino Academy for one season of exchange training."
He paused, paying no attention at all to the identical shock appearing on both Principal Kitano's and Principal Nishikino's faces, then threw out the most unbelievable condition yet in a tone that suggested this was a gift from heaven.
"As for all expenses incurred during the training period—including but not limited to room and board for all exchange personnel, wear and tear on our facilities and equipment, any additional educational resources they may require, even their travel stipends—every single bit of it will be covered by Nishikino Academy. Hokko Academy won't need to pay a single yen."
The moment he finished, the room fell into dead silence.
Principal Kitano opened her mouth, but for a long while, no words came out.
What... was this?
Was this really how charity worked?
Looking at Sakuraba's young face, full of sincerity and generosity, her mind genuinely struggled to keep up.
What was this supposed to be?
A free talent development center?
And room, board, and travel all included?
What sort of thing was this?
Why would Nishikino Academy do it?
Just for the sake of solidarity between regional academies?
That explanation was far too... dreamlike.
Damn it, even Tracen Academy has never treated us this well.
Principal Nishikino nearly lurched out of his chair. The look he gave Sakuraba was full of, Boss, are you feeling alright?
This wasn't a matter of saving a little money anymore.
This was pouring money into helping a rival train its people.
Sure, Hokko Academy was a partner for now, but fundamentally they were still competitors.
Sakuraba seemed completely oblivious to the sheer shock radiating off the other two. He kept smiling at Principal Kitano, his tone as easy as ever.
"Well, Principal Kitano? Personally, I think this proposal is far more constructive than simply lending you a few Trainers."
"It solves your academy's urgent Trainer shortage, and it also promotes deeper talent and technical exchange between both academies. A win-win, wouldn't you say?"
He deliberately stressed the words win-win, though deep in his eyes flashed a hint of calculation that only he himself understood.
But Principal Kitano could not make sense of it.
A win-win?
Yes, I'd definitely be winning... but where exactly are you winning?
Of course she couldn't understand Sakuraba's kind of victory.
This was the money-losing opportunity he had been waiting for.
And better yet, it came wrapped in an impeccable justification: "supporting fellow academies" and "promoting the joint development of Regional Academies."
Taking in a batch of exchange students from Hokko Academy, providing them with top-tier room, board, and training, and covering all related expenses...
That would cost far more, and for much longer, than simply lending a few staff members out.
And on top of that, it would further cement his public image as a passionate investor and a selfless supporter of regional Tracen.
Perfect.
As for whether Hokko Academy might grow much stronger because of this...
Sakuraba chuckled inwardly.
If they get stronger, they get stronger~
He was here to lose money. If his competition got stronger, wouldn't that just help him lose even more?
No matter how you looked at it, he won!
A true win-win meant I win twice!
Now all that remained was to see whether Principal Kitano, still half-stunned by this pie falling from the sky, would dare accept such a generous and deeply suspicious proposal.
Sakuraba personally thought no one in their right mind would refuse it.
But seeing the hesitation still lingering on Principal Kitano's face, he added one more line in a meaningful tone.
"This is all for the growth of Hokkaido's Academies strength as a whole, Principal Kitano. Please think it over carefully."
"..."
Principal Kitano felt faint.
What kind of person was this, so desperate to let other people take advantage of him?
Just what kind of man was Sakuraba Ryo?!
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T/N: wow im suprised her name wasn't principal hokko (looks at principal nishikino)