Starting a Business in the Saki Universe
Author: Moyuzai
Synopsis:
Kageyama Sora's hobbies were making money, making money, and making money.
Maybe he could flirt a little along the way?
But... why had all these girls inexplicably turned yandere?
Oh well. As long as it didn't get in the way of making money, nothing else mattered.
A money-making diary that began with Saki: The Nationals!
While developing software, he got to know some unusual girls. His original intention was to gather information, improve his game, and make more money. But somehow, the girls became obsessed with him instead?
Featuring: Saki: The Nationals and Kakegurui
Chapter 1: His Cousin in the Bathroom
In the twilight beyond the window, a private jet slowly taxied toward the runway.
Not long afterward, Kageyama Sora stood at the entrance to the Ryumonbuchi Villa, still wondering how to introduce himself, when an elegantly dressed butler hurried over to welcome him inside. "Young Master, the chairman had planned to greet you personally, but something came up at the Diet. As a member of parliament, he had to attend, so he asked me to receive you for now. I hope you won't take offense..."
"No problem. I'm only here to follow up on the National Tournament, which is one of the projects my company cares about most." The boy had short, glossy black hair, with a few loose strands falling over his forehead and lending his handsome features a casual air.
His dark eyes were as deep as a still pool. His nose was straight, his features crisp, and his lips curved slightly upward. He carried himself with a youthful confidence, tempered by a touch of elegance.
"Then you've come to the right place, Young Master. Our young lady, Ryumonbuchi Toka, is very skilled, and she was last year's prefectural individual champion. You can rest for a bit, and when she gets back, she can show you around the Mahjong Club..."
"That sounds good."
As luck would have it, while they were still talking, a sudden downpour began.
Caught completely unprepared, Kageyama Sora was drenched.
The butler, Ogira, was startled and immediately had the servants fetch umbrellas, towels, and other things... as if Kageyama Sora were a fragile doll.
Kageyama Sora looked exasperated and waved away their fussing. "There's no need. I'll just take a shower."
Ogira hurriedly replied, "Y-yes... Young Master, please follow me. The chairman knew you were coming and had the third floor of the main building cleared out for you, but it's still being renovated, so you'll have to use the guest building for now."
"That's fine. I'm not someone who minds that sort of thing."
Kageyama Sora waved casually. With Ogira looking worried that he might be blamed, the butler led him to the guest wing to take a shower.
Afraid of treating Kageyama Sora poorly, the butler naturally took him to the best room.
But... as Kageyama Sora headed toward the bathroom Ogira had pointed out, he heard a faucet running inside.
He was a little puzzled. "Didn't you say the main building was being renovated? Is there a leak here too? Or did someone forget to turn off the faucet?"
He opened the bathroom door, still wondering... only to find a beautiful blonde girl taking a bath.
It was his first time seeing her in person, but he'd seen photos of her before: Ryumonbuchi Toka, his... cousin.
"Ah!" The blonde girl let out a piercing scream and hurriedly covered herself. Water ran down her skin as steam swirled through the bathroom.
Kageyama Sora froze, his mind going blank. Even his apology caught in his throat.
"Pervert! Get out!" Ryumonbuchi Toka grabbed a bath sponge and hurled it at him. Kageyama Sora instinctively ducked.
...But things only got worse. In her panic, Ryumonbuchi Toka tried to grab a towel, but slipped on the wet tile and stumbled toward him.
The next moment, Kageyama Sora felt something soft collide with him. Ryumonbuchi Toka, smelling faintly of soap, had crashed into his arms.
The floor was already slippery, and the impact sent Kageyama Sora stumbling backward into the door.
Ryumonbuchi Toka lost her balance and slid down, grabbing his clothes as she fell. Her face ended up pressed against his abdomen.
Then... her lips accidentally brushed against his.
The warmth made Kageyama Sora's heart race. The sweet scent of shampoo filled the air, and everything had happened so suddenly. Ryumonbuchi Toka felt something bump against her face and immediately shoved him away.
Her blue eyes widened. "P-Pervert... Who are you?"
Kageyama Sora didn't have time to answer. Ryumonbuchi Toka's frantic movement made her slip again, and she fell hard.
This time, she hit the floor without Kageyama Sora there to break her fall, landing awkwardly on her backside.
Ryumonbuchi Toka had never been so humiliated in her life.
This disheveled state was utterly at odds with the elegance she expected of herself.
She hurriedly drew her legs together and tried to cover herself.
The blonde girl was soaked, with water droplets clinging to her eyelashes.
The sight made Kageyama Sora's face flush bright red. He quickly turned away, then tossed her a towel. "Cover yourself first... I'll explain in a minute."
At that moment, Ryumonbuchi Toka had no time to wonder how Kageyama Sora had gotten in.
She clutched the towel like a lifeline and wrapped it around herself. "Who are you? Get out! Is anyone there?"
Ryumonbuchi Toka had never imagined she could end up in such a miserable situation. Everything had happened so suddenly, and none of it made sense.
Why had a strange man barged in while she was taking a bath at home?
Even if he was handsome, he was still a stranger!
Kageyama Sora got to his feet awkwardly and nearly slipped.
But he only nearly fell. Without someone bumping into him, he wouldn't embarrass himself like that.
Just as the awkwardness reached its peak, someone outside the door gave a false cough. "Young Master, is everything all right? I heard a commotion. Is there anything you need?"
Hearing the butler's voice, Ryumonbuchi Toka looked as if she'd found a lifeline and shouted, "Ogira! Why is there a strange man in here?"
Ogira froze when he heard her.
He immediately turned around and called to the servants, "Quick! Bring clean clothes and towels, and prepare two cups of hot ginger tea!"
His voice betrayed his alarm. He hadn't expected to hear the young lady's voice coming from the bathroom.
The Young Master had come in to bathe, while the young lady was already inside. It didn't take much imagination to understand how awkward things must be.
Chapter 2: Pink Strawberries
Half an hour later.
Ryumonbuchi Toka and Kageyama Sora sat at opposite ends of the sofa, the tension between them thick enough to freeze.
Ryumonbuchi Toka had changed into an elegant white dress and regained her usual refined appearance... though her expression was still less than pleasant.
Kageyama Sora looked down at his phone. The information his assistant had sent him made his expression turn thoughtful, and his eyes flickered.
He'd come for the National Tournament, so he'd asked his assistant to look into some of the top players. His cousin, whom he'd accidentally seen naked not long ago, was last year's prefectural individual champion and had consistently ranked among the top three in the mahjong app his company developed.
Such an impressive record, contrasted with the sulky girl glaring at him, was almost comical.
She really was interesting.
Ryumonbuchi Toka had no idea that Kageyama Sora was looking at her profile. She was simply furious that, after seeing her naked, he was now acting cool and showing no remorse.
Her ahoge stood on end with anger.
The proud, willful young lady was not used to being treated this way.
Seeing Kageyama Sora sitting there with a cold expression as he looked at his phone only made her angrier.
With her ahoge sticking straight up, Ryumonbuchi Toka leaned over him.
The haughty young lady planted one foot beside him on the sofa, looking down at him.
But... leaning over like that, she exposed more of herself than she intended.
Ryumonbuchi Toka had no idea Kageyama Sora had noticed. She glared at him and snapped, "You did something so rude. Don't you know you should apologize? Or are you a pervert who's done this so often that you don't care anymore?"
Kageyama Sora thought that if he had to apologize, he might as well do it now.
He'd never run out of apologies otherwise...
"I already apologized, but you were too upset to hear me." Kageyama Sora looked up at his cousin, who was still glaring at him. "And I didn't barge in on purpose. I was going to take a shower and had no idea you were inside."
Just as they were glaring daggers at each other, Ogira hurried over with tea.
Noticing the tense atmosphere, he quickly tried to smooth things over with a smile. "Young Lady, please don't be angry. The Young Master didn't do it on purpose; he didn't know you were inside. Besides, he designed the mahjong app you like most."
That took Ryumonbuchi Toka by surprise. "You? You designed it?"
Seeing that the young lady was interested, Ogira hurried to keep things civil. "Yes. The chairman said that, despite his young age, the Young Master is exceptionally talented. His company sponsored the National Tournament, and he's here to discuss it."
"Really?" Ryumonbuchi Toka eyed Kageyama Sora suspiciously.
He looked about her age. Even if he was talented, could he really be that much of a... genius?
"That's right..." Kageyama Sora answered frankly this time. "I want to upgrade and improve some of my software, but I've noticed that several top players don't seem very interested in online mahjong. So I came to observe them up close and find out why. I might even enroll at Ryumonbuchi High School."
At that, Ryumonbuchi Toka gave him an answer. "Of course it's because mahjong players fall into data-driven and luck-driven camps. Luck-driven play can't be applied online, which is why so many mahjong players don't play online."
"Luck-driven?"
Seeing Kageyama Sora's bewildered expression, Ryumonbuchi Toka immediately mocked him with a smug smile. "Oh my, so even the supposedly genius cousin doesn't know everything..."
Whenever she talked about something she cared about, Ryumonbuchi Toka seemed to light up.
Her golden ahoge bounced as she spoke, and her whole expression grew animated.
Kageyama Sora watched her closely, thoughtful. "...You know a lot about it?"
Before Ryumonbuchi Toka could answer, Ogira said, "Young Master, there are many luck-driven players in the young lady's Mahjong Club, and she's played against plenty of them herself. If the young lady would be willing to help..."
"..." Kageyama Sora fell silent. If he'd known Ryumonbuchi Toka could be so useful, he would've treated her better earlier.
After all, this was all... for making money.
With no parents and money as his only focus, Kageyama Sora wavered.
Just as he considered whether he should take a shortcut for the sake of money, Ryumonbuchi Toka—whom he'd assumed would indignantly refuse—put on a breezy smile and said, "We're family, after all. Since Grandfather thinks so highly of you, I, as the young lady of the Ryumonbuchi family, shouldn't be unreasonable. I'll show you what makes luck-driven mahjong so special!"
Ryumonbuchi Toka's ahoge swayed wildly, a clear sign she was in a good mood.
And she was in a good mood, though not because she could show off in front of Kageyama Sora.
She was secretly thinking, That damned pervert of a cousin is in my hands now. I'm definitely going to make him pay.
Kageyama Sora could tell that Ryumonbuchi Toka was up to no good.
But so what? He could handle whatever came his way. He wasn't going to be afraid of a girl's schemes.
Ryumonbuchi Toka had no idea he'd already seen through her.
She put on a falsely sweet smile. "Since that's settled, Cousin, get some rest. Tonight, I'll find a strong luck-driven player for you to play against."
She smiled sweetly.
But... the whole thing looked like a scheme.
She wasn't even trying to hide it...
Still, it didn't bother Kageyama Sora. Instead, he thought the young lady was rather cute. Who else would make it so obvious that she was plotting against someone?
But...
Out of family courtesy, Kageyama Sora kindly reminded her, "It's pink."
"What?" The topic had changed so abruptly that Ryumonbuchi Toka didn't understand.
Kageyama Sora kindly gestured toward the hem of her skirt. "The way you're sitting, I can see... your underwear."
Ryumonbuchi Toka followed his gaze, then belatedly moved her leg off the sofa. Her cheeks flushed red. "P-Pervert!"
Chapter 3: Amae Koromo
The late-spring mist drifted through the window lattice, casting the grandfather clock in the villa in a bluish-gray sheen.
For the third time, Kageyama Sora pressed his pen to the paper. The spreading ink stain on the yellowed parchment looked like a sinister web.
He had meant to use the time to take care of some business.
Before you continue