Interlude: World's Best Businesswoman

From an early age, I've been the one entrusted with the money.

Be it a friend's pocket money, my sister's loan, or even our household funds.

Once everyone realised what the inevitable outcome would be, they all just started giving me their money to invest or to safekeep.

The Measurement of Investment―when the people around me noticed that almost every penny I spent would return to me as a factor of ten, they went crazy.

Giving me every cent they owned, asking me to invest it all and give them some of the returns; even if it came back to them at only 50%, they would still receive a hefty profit.

As I grew up, I realised that I shouldn't waste my talents.

I wasted not a second of my time investing in every stock, deal and charity that appeared green in my eyes.

Red was a negative investment.

Green was a positive investment.

It was that simple.

Periodically, there was the odd gold investment that gave me mega-profits, as well as the occasional red that ruined my mood for a day, but it could hardly be called a setback.

Even when that was all I did, I became a millionaire before I knew it, and that million turned into a billion within 6 months.

Transitioning from a teenager to an adult, I had already accumulated enough wealth to last my family for generations to come, but what would it do to leave it at that?

I extended my roots into every branch of the business world there was; whether it was agriculture, banking, fast-food, make-up, jewellery, clothing, real estate or entertainment―you name it, I was involved in it all.

The world's most successful entrepreneur, they called me.

Someone who could never fail when it came to business, no matter what they became involved in.

That was me.

I did the things I wanted to do, whenever I wanted to do them.

Most of the time, it just worked.

If I felt like establishing a new movie theatre, for example, then I would find where I should do so to make the most money, and just do it.

By the time I was 20, I already became the youngest self-made billionaire in the world, and just two years later, by the time I had turned 22, I became the richest person in the world.

What I needed to do was simple.

Avoid the red investments.

Target the green ones.

That was all.

It never once occurred to me that I could be taken advantage of.

――Until that day.

[Truthseeker09: Mochizuki Minami. It's about time I claimed my wish from a while ago.]

One day, under the alias of Truthseeker, 'that man' showed himself.

From his first message, it was clear that this person was someone who had cleared my Tower of Desire, Mochitō, but who hadn't claimed the reward. That alone narrowed the scope down drastically, but it still left me with two people.

Two people who hadn't claimed the reward at the top of the Tower.

That is, a wish granted by me.

I could easily figure out which one of the two this man was due to his name, but I don't think he knew he wasn't alone in his achievement.

He probably thought he was the only person who hadn't claimed his reward, but in fact, there was one other person.

It was someone who only asked me to hide the fact that they had cleared the tower.

The first person to clear my Tower of Desire.

[Truthseeker09: And, by the way, if you don't respond to my messages, I'll uncover your secret about Selina.]

He mentioned a name that not one person in the world aside from me should be aware of.

If it wasn't for that, I could have simply ignored this person's demands, but for some unknown reason, he knew of something he shouldn't.

Selina was 'my' secret.

It simply wasn't something that should get into the wrong hands.

Even I, who got involved in the matter only to make a profit in the first place, understand that it is not something to mess around with.

It is the one thing I would not―should not ever sell.

[Truthseeker09: I'll be waiting for you atop Mochitō in two hours.]

That was the last message he sent.

I couldn't afford to take any risks, so I immediately contacted the government and asked for their assistance in the matter.

It was then that I found out some other clandestine organisation was sending their support.

That alone wasn't too uncommon, and because this was a matter which concerned Selina, I had no choice but to accept all the help I could.

Meeting that man on the roof at his desired time, he wasted no time in beginning his introduction.

"Greetings! I am Truthseeker! Mochizuki Minami, rest of the world; welcome!"

That smiling mask of his was certainly ominous―a result of the stark juxtaposition to the threat he currently posed―but was that all perhaps part of his plan?

He certainly appeared a bit different from the first time I had seen him, but his alias, Truthseeker, was exactly the same pseudonym he used before.

Was he this young...?

I also noticed he was either recording or live streaming the situation, which hindered the moves I could make a little.

He went on to say how he had an 'event' planned, which I was definitely not welcome to the idea of, but I also doubted whether I had a choice in the matter.

Suddenly, he mentioned a deal.

"Oh, don't be alarmed! It's nothing too spicy―after all, rather than chaos, I am here to offer you an accord, Ms Minami."

Of course, since he knew about Selina, I didn't question his knowledge of my Measurement of Investment, but I had to ask to make sure he knew what exactly it was he was dealing with.

"I assume from this play that you are aware of my capabilities...?"

If it was a good deal, I certainly wouldn't like it, but I would have no choice but to accept.

If it was a bad deal, however, then even if it meant I couldn't find out how he knew about my secret, I would have to eliminate him.

―Because I cannot afford to have that information get out, and I have reason to believe he hasn't told anyone else about it.

"My offer is as follows: follow my every command for the next twelve months, and you shall be the richest person in the world three times over by the end. What do you say?"

Ordinarily, such an atrocious deal would have been immediately turned down without hesitation.

In return for increasing my wealth by roughly 250%, I would have to follow his every command for twelve months?

It was a mind-boggling amount of money, unquestionably, but was such a restricting condition worth it? He could order me to do absolutely anything he wanted, after all.

For a woman, such a prospect is especially terrifying.

Despite all of that, however, the Measurement of Investment showed it as not just a green investment, but a gold one.

If that was the case, just how much of a profit would come of this deal...?

Even I found it difficult to make such calculations.

"I accept your proposal, Truthseeker, and I look forward to the gains that follow."

At the end of the day, what I would gain from this deal is far too much to disregard. If this man dared to go too far with his demands, although I wouldn't want to have to resort to it, there was nothing stopping me from annulling the deal at that point.

After I had confirmed that I was interested in his deal, I asked him to stop the filming so we could get right into the technical side of things, but he scarily declined.

"Now! We have a little time until the main event begins, so how about we play a fun game with Ms Mochizuki Minami?"

―Instead, he proposed a game.

For those who possess more than a certain amount of wealth, time is their most valuable asset. Everyone, whether they are rich or poor, has a limited amount of time on this Earth, and I am no exception to this.

"What are you talking about all of a sudden? We had a deal, but I don't have time for games."

As such, I do not enjoy wasting time almost as much as I despise wasting money.

Playing a game for the mere purpose of passing time is preposterous.

"Um, Minami? Because we haven't signed a contract yet, this isn't an order, but don't talk back to me, okay? Also, did you happen to forget what would be the result if you decided to ignore me today?"

He threatened me with the existence of Selina once again.

I had no choice but to wait until he had enough.

The game he challenged me to was Rock Paper Scissors, best of 9.

The conditions of the game were far too heavily in my favour that there was definitely something up. Of course, I didn't think that I would not win a single round, which in the end is still a gain for me since I could successfully get some information on him.

After all, Rock Paper Scissors isn't a hard game, is it?

"..."

――He proceeded to achieve a draw in the three preliminary rounds, and then five wins in a row for the actual game.

I don't know how he did it, but it happened.

There was no way he was able to read minds, but it seemed as if he had done exactly that.

The rest of the day was utter chaos; all of the bodyguards I had brought along were killed in an instant; the helicopters I had stationed as back-up were blown to smithereens; and even the terrorist group that appeared was eliminated in the blink of an eye.

I only found out later on that that group was supposed to be my support from the secret organisation by my government contact.

Fortunately, as a result of that, I received a talented new assistant to work under my wing, but that was just an extraordinarily thin silver lining.

I felt like I had lost a part of my soul that day.

Not long after that, Truthseeker sent me another person to employ―a young teenage boy. I heard that he possessed an interesting 'superpower', and that turned out to be true.

Absolute Contract Creation.

With that ability, not only can more creative and interesting contracts be created, pushing the boundaries of what was previously possible, but it also forced both the contractor and contractee to comply with the conditions of the contract no matter what.

Once they signed it, they had no choice but to obey.

With that, it has the potential to make millions or even billions if we can figure out more effective ways of using it, as well as for uses other than making money.

Moreover...

If I can get that Truthseeker to sign a contract, it won't be impossible for me to use him and his capabilities for even further profit.

I just need time.

Time, and a good excuse.

...Maybe, at that time, I can finally take a break from this mayhem.