The system's new "8 million yen investment KPI" had become a real headache for Su Luo.
With the foot spa project on one hand and Oguri Cap's bottomless stomach on the other, spending five million yen a month was still within the realm of "reasonable."
But if he had to tack on an extra three million…
Su Luo would have to come up with a new way to lose that money.
"As expected… investing in just Oguri still isn't enough."
He needed to invest in another horse girl.
That way, he could properly "digest" the additional three million.
Of course, if he was going to pick another horse girl to invest in, this time he had to choose carefully.
So he didn't go to Kitahara this time.
After a month of dealing with him, Su Luo had pretty much figured out Kitahara's limits. As a trainer, Kitahara had the basics down; if Su Luo let him choose, it probably wouldn't turn out too badly.
And that was the problem.
This time, Su Luo planned to pick for himself.
He already had an idea in mind.
This time, he was still going to choose a grey-coated horse girl.
Damn it—Oguri Cap was a one-in-a-thousand fluke. If he picked another grey, was he really going to "hit the jackpot" again?
No way!
How could anyone be that unlucky?
Su Luo thought it was impossible.
Absolutely impossible!
Still, just in case, this time he decided he wouldn't pick from the horse girls who hadn't debuted yet.
The logic was simple.
Results were the clearest proof of a horse girl's ability.
A horse girl with poor results probably wasn't that strong.
And that kind of horse girl was exactly Su Luo's target.
A Saint never trips over the same stone twice—and Su Luo was the same.
If he invested in an undeveloped, not-yet-debuted horse girl, he might end up with another Oguri Cap: someone who looked ordinary but was secretly talented.
For Su Luo's "lose money" plan, that kind of horse girl was a landmine.
Better to avoid them whenever possible.
So, to pick the right investment target, Su Luo went online and pulled up entry lists from recent minor races, searching for a horse girl who fit his criteria.
Hard work pays off.
And sure enough—he actually found one.
"Nishikino Cross, from Hokkaido, transferred this year from a local Tracen to Central Tracen Academy."
"Now renamed Tamamo Cross…"
"Failed her debut twice, barely won her third maiden race, then lost again in the next allowance race…"
"And most importantly—she's a grey-coated horse girl!"
The moment Su Luo found her profile, his eyes lit up.
Holy—this was the perfect match for everything he wanted!
Local background. Grey bloodline. A record full of losses.
There couldn't be a better choice for his next investment.
"Perfect. You're the one."
Su Luo grinned like a Pokémon trainer who'd just found his favorite, rubbing his hands together like a fly—no, wait, that was called rolling up his sleeves in anticipation.
And with that, Su Luo bought a ticket straight to Tokyo. He told Oguri Cap and the others he had to go on a business trip… and then he bolted.
"First, I'll get her to sign."
"Still can't do it…"
In a ramen shop along the shopping street near Central Tracen, a small horse girl lay slumped over her table, looking completely drained.
Tamamo Cross was worried about money.
News had come from her alma mater—Nishikino Academy, under Hokkaido Tracen—that it was about to go bankrupt. The blow left her frustrated and helpless.
The reason Tamamo Cross had been willing to transfer from the rural Nishikino Academy to Central Tracen in the first place was, frankly, money.
Back then, she learned her school had fallen into mismanagement and might go under at any time. With a deep attachment to her alma mater, she immediately decided to transfer to Central, debut there, win prize money, and keep her school running…
But reality didn't cooperate.
She did make it to Central Tracen—but debuting there went horribly.
At Hanshin's 2000-meter newcomer race, she led for a while before fading and losing.
The second time—also at Hanshin, in an 1800-meter maiden—she lost again.
Not until the third time, when she switched to a dirt track, did she finally succeed in debuting properly and earn her first payout.
But in the very next allowance race, she lost again.
Ordinarily, losing wouldn't have been such a big deal.
But this time, Nishikino Academy didn't look like it could survive 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 anything…"
Tamamo Cross stared gloomily at the steaming ramen the owner had just set down. Under the weight of stress, she didn't even feel like eating.
Right now, she needed a large sum of money—fast—to keep the school stable…
She was still staring blankly at the bowl, not even moving her chopsticks, when someone sat down across from her in the booth without a hint of hesitation.
Tamamo Cross didn't even bother to lift her eyelids. She assumed it was just someone sharing the table. Her head was full of the dark cloud hanging over her collapsing alma mater—she had no energy for anyone else.
But the next second, the man's calm voice pierced her taut nerves like a needle.
"Worried about money, huh? More precisely… you're at a loss because your alma mater in Hokkaido—Nishikino Academy—is about to go bankrupt."
Tamamo Cross snapped her head up. Her eyes, once dull, widened in disbelief as she stared at him.
A young man sat there, wearing a tranquil smile that looked as though it could see through everything—so tranquil it was almost infuriating.
How did he know?
She'd barely told anyone at Central Tracen about this!
"Who are you? And why do you know that?!"
Her tone was sharp with caution.
"Su Luo. Just call me Su Luo. I'm just an ordinary investor."
"Investor…?"
Meeting her wary gaze, Su Luo kept smiling. He leaned forward slightly, elbows on the table, voice lowered—yet filled with undeniable certainty.
"That's right. An investor. Simply put, my job is to find 'potential stocks' like you, and then put money into them."
His eyes flicked to the bowl of ramen in front of her—barely touched—and he continued, pointedly.
"What you need most right now is funding to get your school through this crisis, isn't it? Otherwise, you wouldn't be staring at your favorite ramen without even being able to taste it."
Tamamo Cross's heart lurched.
Not only did he know her situation—he understood exactly what she needed.
She opened her mouth to argue, but her throat felt dry.
Su Luo didn't give her time to form the words. He tossed out the bait, as casually as if he were talking about the weather.
"I can invest in you, Tamamo Cross. Enough money to keep your alma mater stable for now—three million yen. How's that? It should cover your immediate emergency."
"Th… three million?" Tamamo Cross sucked in a sharp breath. To her, it was an astronomical sum—hope powerful enough to save her school.
"Yes. Three million."
Su Luo confirmed it, raising one finger and tapping lightly at the air.
"The conditions are simple. You sign a contract with me, accept my investment, and in the upcoming races… well. Just do your best."
He deliberately blurred the words do your best—because deep down, he was hoping for a very different outcome.
Watching the fierce turbulence in Tamamo Cross's eyes, Su Luo looked like a man staring at a fish already caught in his net. He smiled—and delivered the final push.
"So? This deal costs you nothing. All it offers is a chance to save your alma mater. Whether you seize it or not… is up to you."
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (180 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (190 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (78 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (130 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (80 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (140 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (50 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (60 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (80 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (35 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (50 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (30 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it