— — — — — —
The next day — On the fourth floor of the Beastn Casino in Gamble Street
Inside the manager's office—
Ryo lounged in a leather chair like he owned the world, casually trimming his nails with a clipper. His legs were kicked up on the desk, totally relaxed, like a guy who didn't have a care in the world.
Across from him stood Black Rabbit, looking absolutely drained.
Her goddess-like features were undercut by dark circles and a stack of paperwork in her arms.
"We got an offer—850 gold coins for the casino," she reported. "100 for the bathhouse and the inn, just like you said. No haggling."
"Oh, and the café, the farm, and the ranch—we kept those, per your instructions. I've got Jin and the others checking them out."
"Mm..."
Ryo glanced up, smiling as he saw how tired she was. "Knew I could count on you, Black Rabbit. You always co through."
That simple praise made her smile. She looked like she wanted to say sothing grateful, but it ca out as a complaint instead.
"Ryo, don't do sothing like this again. In Little Garden, everything's supposed to be settled through Gift Gas. Pulling shady moves outside of that can get you hunted by the Floor Masters!"
"You're not acting alone anymore, rember? You've got responsibilities! You never used to be this reckless."
She didn't say it outright, but the implication was clear—she considered the two of them a team now. Ryo didn't comnt, but there was a kind of unspoken understanding between them.
And honestly, he got it. What he pulled last night was skating dangerously close to a full-on rules violation.
Little Garden had laws—and people to enforce them.
Those people were the region's rulers: the Floor Masters of each side—East, West, North, South—or the territory overseers of specific gates. Usually, those roles went to powerful individuals or elite communities.
Using a divine-level disguise to trick soone into a Gift Ga? Yeah, that was asking for trouble.
But Ryo just shrugged. "You don't need to tell . My own patron goddess is the Floor Master of the East side—Shiroyasha, rember?"
While still focused on his nails, he continued, "You think I want to get hunted by Shiroyasha? I've pulled this stunt once, and once is enough."
Even among the gods, Shiroyasha was a terrifying powerhouse. Getting on her bad side? Not a great plan.
But Ryo wasn't stupid. He knew she wouldn't actually co after him.
After all, this whole sche had roots in a bet she herself proposed. If anyone started digging too deep, she'd have a scandal on her hands too.
In Ryo's mind, he was playing it smart—calculated risk, zero fallout.
First: win the bet with Shiroyasha.
Second: bring in cash to stabilize the community's finances.
Third: test out his own power.
Check, check, and check.
Black Rabbit, hearing his answer, let out a long breath of relief and—like any professional at dodging awkward tension—quickly switched topics.
"Ryo! I did so quick math! Between what you brought in yesterday and the deals we made today, we've raked in 900 gold coins!"
"And with the café, farm, and ranch still under our na, we've probably pulled enough from this one operation to fund the whole community for the foreseeable future!"
She'd made sure to sell off only the adult-oriented stuff like the casino, bathhouse, and inn—there was no way she'd let the kids in No Na be around that kind of business, much less Ryo himself.
But the café, farm, and ranch? That was a different story. As long as they were managed well, they'd generate steady inco and provide food—more than enough to feed the kids.
Just thinking about how one day had solved their long-running food crisis made her feel like she was floating on clouds.
Honestly, even if Ryo started calling her dumb or useless or a stupid bunny every day from now on, she'd let it slide—this much gold bought a lot of forgiveness.
"900 gold coins, huh?" Ryo raised an eyebrow, flipping through the report. "Even counting today's deals, that's... what, 1750 total? Add in the properties we didn't sell, and maybe we've made 2000 coins tops? Sheesh. These guys really were small-ti thugs."
He clicked his tongue in disappointnt. He'd expected running a casino would bring in way more. In his old world, this kind of payout was basically pocket change—like 400 million yen (¥)?
"Feels pretty underwhelming..."
Black Rabbit slamd her hands on the table and gave him a death glare. "Ryo, you seriously have a ssed-up sense of money."
She looked like a wife scolding her clueless husband. "Two thousand gold coins is a huge deal. In this outer gate, there are barely 30 communities that have that kind of wealth. It's rare!"
Ryo ignored her, still staring at the report and mumbling to himself. "This place really is backwater... real estate's cheap as vegetables. No wonder everything's worth so little."
"Real estate?"
Black Rabbit blinked. "You do realize Little Garden's landmass is the size of a star, right? One house doesn't exactly move the needle."
"That's 'cause you've never seen the housing market back in my world," Ryo said, rolling his eyes. "It's insane out there."
Black Rabbit's face twitched ever so slightly. She glanced at him, then casually asked, "...So, um, have you ever thought about going back?"
"Back?" Ryo paused, then shrugged. "Not happening. Door's closed for good."
He didn't believe his old world had any connection to Little Garden—and even if it did, there was no way back.
Hearing that, Black Rabbit looked almost relieved. She clutched her chest and smiled. "Is that so? That's... that's good."
And then—bam. Realizing how that sounded, she panicked. "Wait! I didn't an it like that—I just, um, I an, well, you've got now, right?"
"Ohh?" Ryo whistled, eyeing her playfully. "Bunny, are you saying you're into ?"
"...Huh?!"
Her whole face turned crimson. "You're filthy! Pervert! Dirty-minded jerk!"
"Oh wow, really going hard on insulting there, huh?"
He stood up and grabbed his coat off the rack. "Anyway, about those beastman slaves we won from [Great Shark]—get them working on the farm. They're beastn, right? Should be good with their hands."
In Little Garden, losing a Gift Ga ant surrendering everything, including the community's formal mbers. And since Ryo beat Great Shark, that ant the beastn were now his property.
Black Rabbit frowned. "I don't know... maybe we should just sell them off. I don't think the kids in No Na can keep an eye on that many slaves."
Ryo blinked. "Huh. I figured you'd say sothing like 'let them go' or whatever. Guess not. That's a surprise."
"Let them go? Why would I?" she said, looking baffled. "They're community assets now."
Ryo smiled. "That's good. Wasn't in the mood to deal with a bleeding heart today."
He waved it off casually. "If managing them gets too tricky, just pick one of them to lead the rest. Soone easy to manipulate... like that lion-head guy. What's his na? Whatever, you know who I an."
He scratched his head. The guy who got pissy when Ryo impersonated "Ag" and got attention from Taigo—that guy.
"Let them self-manage. We'll just oversee the ones in charge."
Black Rabbit nodded. "So... dog-eat-dog, huh? Ryo, you really are scheming to your core."
"I'll pretend that was a complint." He smirked, slipping on his coat.
Today, he was dressed sharp—full suit, neat and clean, a far cry from the casual jeans-and-shirt look he normally wore. He looked like a proper businessman now.
"Heading out?" Black Rabbit asked, watching him straighten his collar.
Ryo nodded and placed a black hat on his head. "Ti to visit my patron goddess and collect my spoils."
Black Rabbit took a deep breath, then bowed with a dazzling smile. "Then safe travels, Leader~"
That one word—"leader"—felt like two heavy boulders had been lifted from her shoulders.
Ever since the original Arcadia collapsed, she'd been carrying everything on her own.
If Ryo hadn't shown up, she'd still be losing sleep over how to feed all the kids.
Now, her biggest problem was how to spend their surplus funds and deal with too much manpower.
When she thought about it like that... it was obvious.
No one else could've taken the reins like Ryo. And no one else would've cared this much for a community so broken it didn't even have a na.
For No Na, there was no better leader.
Hearing her call him "leader," Ryo froze for a mont—then chuckled.
"Leader, huh... Feels like you're trying to crush under all this responsibility."
"Am I that kind of person?!!" Black Rabbit pouted.
"Hahaha! I'm kidding!"
Laughing out loud, Ryo strode out of the office.
His destination: the Thousand Eyes branch.
Waiting for him there... was the key to getting stronger.
The key to gaining power from every ani world he was about to connect to.
.
.
.
(Teeny teaser: certain peak ani villain—smug, god-tier manipulator we all kinda love—is coming soon… 👀)
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