Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

The Family Yuiki Residence

The Yuiki family is a noble house that has existed since the Edo period, and it has been passed down for hundreds of years.

If Japan has a so-called 'Aristocratic Class', then the Yuiki family is undoubtedly a main member of that society.

The number of companies controlled by such a family is countless, and they can even influence the country's decisions to some extent.

Recently, they invested a lot in a baseball-related company which led the to-be professional agent here.

Robert sat calmly in the reception room of the Yuiki household.

The Yuiki family's hospitality was quite good. Even though they didn't know his identity or purpose, he was still treated well.

Though the reception wasn't particularly grand, at least they invited him inside.

The butler in charge of greeting him told Robert to wait for a moment.

When requesting a favor, Robert knew the proper etiquette and sat quietly in the reception room, waiting to be received.

During this time, he presented the same image he had when meeting Sawamura earlier.

The appearance of a successful person.

But no matter how you act, you are who you are. Robert's performance had failed to deceive Sawamura before, and it was no more effective against the butler, whose sharp eyes were three times keener than a hawk's.

'A fraud has arrived!'

If Robert hadn't had the face of a foreigner, the Yuiki family's butler would have kicked him out immediately.

But his professionalism kept him from reacting too drastically.

A full half-hour later, Robert finally met the head of the Yuiki family.

"Mr. Robert!" (in English)

Yuiki Yuishin appeared to be a very polite young man, no older than 30. It was surprising that he was already the head of the Yuiki family.

Even if this position was only ceremonial, it was still impressive.

Robert stood up politely and greeted Yuiki Yuishin.

The two exchanged pleasantries, talking briefly about the weather before moving on to the main topic.

Through their simple conversation, Robert developed a positive impression of Yuiki Yuishin. This man didn't have the typical arrogance of the rich and seemed very calm.

Of course, this might also be due to Robert's successful disguise.

Having disguised himself as a successful person, Robert found it easier to gain the favor of other successful individuals.

"Mr. Robert, you wish to organize a friendly match?"

Upon hearing Robert's suggestion, Yuiki Yuishin showed clear interest.

Especially when he heard the mention of baseball, his eyes even gleamed with unmistakable excitement.

Without the need for sophisticated negotiation skills, Robert could already tell that the man in front of him was deeply interested in the match.

'The goal was half-complete.'

"May I ask which two teams will be involved?"

Yuiki Yuishin asked directly.

'By asking such a specific question, it was clear that he had already made up his mind to invest.'

Robert could easily tell that.

"If Mr. Yuiki follows high school baseball, you must have heard of this team: the Seidou High School baseball team from West Tokyo."

Upon hearing the name Seidou, Yuiki Yuishin's eyes visibly shifted.

'Done!'

Robert's ability to read people's reactions was quite sharp, and he could tell that the matter was nearly settled.

What he didn't know was that after hearing this proposal, the butler—who had been largely indifferent up until now—quietly left the room.

The butler made a direct phone call to the Takashima family.

"I've heard that Seidou High School is planning to go to North America for a practice match?"

The person on the other end of the line, a representative of the Takashima family, confirmed this with certainty.

It was clear that the chubby principal of Seidou had already submitted a request for funding to the board.

Otherwise, the Takashima family wouldn't have known about it.

After receiving confirmation, the butler breathed a sigh of relief.

Now that he realized the other party might not be a fraud, he decided not to interfere any further.

However, he couldn't resist asking one more question.

"Have you heard the name Robert?"

The person at the Takashima family denied his association with any Robert in this event.

And the report from Seidou High School didn't mention anyone named Robert.

'Indeed, he was a big fraud!'

Although the Takashima family wasn't as prestigious as the Yuiki family, it was still influential.

'If such a match truly existed, why would they need to ask the Yuiki family for sponsorship?'

At that moment, the butler, almost as if possessed by Sherlock Holmes, pieced together the details and realized it was a huge scam.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, he rushed to the meeting room and made a certain sign to Yuishin.

Yuishin was in the middle of an enthusiastic discussion with Robert, and they were about to reach an agreement.

Suddenly, realizing that the other party was a fraud, the frustration in his heart was easy to imagine.

When Yuishin realized he had been deceived, he immediately called two bodyguards and had Robert kicked out.

During the process, there was even some unpleasant physical contact between the two sides.

Of course, this was a minor issue and not worth mentioning to outsiders.

Following Dawson's advice, Robert had started acting step by step according to the plan, but now he felt completely defeated.

When he first heard Dawson's plan, he was full of ambition.

He believed that even without Dawson's help, he could accomplish it on his own.

The difficulty of the task should have been lower than he imagined.

But when he actually tried to execute it, he realized just how naïve his previous thinking had been.

People simply weren't having his nonsense…

What made Robert feel most defeated was that even now, he still couldn't figure out where things had gone wrong.

He had faced four rejections in a row.

Eventually, with the help of a friend within the company, he finally found out what the real problem was.

He had been working hard, but Seidou High School had no idea who the hell he was.

As soon as sponsors began inquiring, they naturally took him for a fraud.

"F*CK!"

Robert never imagined he could make such a childish and simple mistake.

When he finally came to his senses and went to Seidou High School to negotiate…

The staff at Seidou had already decided he was a fraud.

To be honest, it wasn't Seidou High School's vice-principal's fault for being suspicious.

They had received several phone calls asking whether there was a fraud named Robert involved.

It was only natural that the vice-principal thought Robert wasn't a trustworthy person.

As a result, Robert was once again kicked out and turned away.

Robert felt so wronged he could almost cry!

He had ruined what should have been a simple matter.

For this practice match, he should have first secured Seidou High School's authorization.

'That wasn't supposed to be a difficult task.'

Seidou High School had already planned to go to North America for a practice match.

And someone was offering money for it; how could Seidou High School refuse?

Once he had Seidou High School's authorization, he could go to other sponsors, and things would go much more smoothly.

But now, everything was ruined.

Even Seidou High School no longer trusted him!

Even if he somehow managed to gain Seidou High School's trust, his efforts to approach sponsors wouldn't go smoothly.

The basic trust was gone, so how could they possibly invest significant amounts of money?

And if the money was too little, the North American 'Dream Team' probably wouldn't come together.

"Sigh…"

Robert deeply realized his incompetence. He had never been more frustrated than he was now.

When he listened to the plan of Dawson Jr., he had already suffered a huge blow in his pride.

This time, the blow was likely to be double.

Just as Robert doubted his own abilities, he received a phone call from his boss, Dawson Jr.

Dawson's enthusiasm for this matter far exceeded Robert's expectations.

"Trust me, boss. Things are progressing very smoothly."

Robert could only swallow his frustration at this moment.

If he told his boss about the stupid mistake he had made, he would be the same as asking to be fired.

Surely, no company would want to keep such an idiot, especially in the agent business.

As an agent, beyond professional skills, there's a high demand for both intelligence and perception.

Robert wasn't actually stupid to that degree, but the enormous potential profits had caused him to lose his way.

That's why he had rushed into finding sponsors…

Unable to ask his boss for help, and now the people in Japan had already pegged him as a fraud.

Robert had truly reached the end of the road.

Just when he was feeling desperate, he suddenly saw a familiar figure.

It was on a large LCD screen, showing an advertisement for a sports shoe.

For Robert, who didn't understand Japanese, the ad's words were hard to focus on, but what really caught his attention was the familiar model on the screen.

Sawamura Eijun!

Although Robert had already known during his investigation that Sawamura Eijun had taken on several endorsements…

He had never imagined that Sawamura had such a significant influence.

This was Tokyo's famous square, known worldwide.

To be featured on this LCD screen for an advertisement meant that the sponsor behind Sawamura Eijun must have incredible clout.

'Wait! Find Sawamura!'

As soon as he thought of it, Robert immediately took out his phone and tried to contact Sawamura.

...