I Suddenly Became Rich, But I Have No Idea How to Spend the Money

“It’s been a while, Kirishima-kun.

Looks like you’ve been living it up quite extravagantly!”

Nakamura-san called out to me in his usual youthful voice as he slid open the restaurant’s wooden door.

“It’s been a while, Nakamura-san.

I finally have enough leeway to treat you to sushi, so I reached out!”

Saying that, I walked over to the entrance to greet him and led him to a seat at the far end of the counter.

“I heard you took down a casino, Kirishima-kun?

That’s impressive! Even I’ve never gone that far!”

“Well, rather than taking it down, it’s more accurate to say I acquired it.”

As we sat down, I started telling Nakamura-san about everything that had happened recently.

Winning an absurd amount on the WIN5 horse racing bet, raking in billions in Las Vegas, winning so much in Macau that I ended up buying the casino, meeting a man in Monaco who runs mines all over the world.

He listened to every story with great enthusiasm and enjoyment.

“Listening to young people talk is really fun.

Your perspective is completely different from mine, 180 degrees apart!

Hearing your stories is refreshing and truly enjoyable!”

Feeling humbled, I thanked him while picking up a piece of sushi.

Nakamura-san was currently focused on mentoring the next generation, having established something like a business school. It was apparently quite popular, with a long waitlist of students eager to join.

He asked me if I would give a lecture there sometime, to which I readily agreed, saying, “Of course! Anytime.”

At that moment, I decided to ask him about something that had been on my mind.

“I recently acquired a casino in Macau, which resulted in me becoming an executive at a major international casino company.

Because of that, I feel like my ability to move freely has been somewhat restricted.

If you were in my position, what would you do, Nakamura-san?”

“I see. So even you have concerns like this, huh, Kirishima-kun?

But if it were me, I wouldn’t worry about it at all.

Becoming an executive at a global company isn’t an opportunity that comes around often, so of course, I’d take it.

At the same time, though, I’d make sure everyone understands that my greatest strength is my ability to move freely and act on my own terms.”

“I see…”

A sense of clarity began to form in my mind.

No matter how boldly I spoke, the reality of becoming a corporate executive had weighed on me more than I had realized.

I came to understand, thanks to Nakamura-san, that just because I had become an executive at a major corporation didn’t mean I had to change who I was.

I felt ready to embrace my position without letting it bind me.

“Thank you, Nakamura-san.

Your advice has given me the motivation to push forward.”

“Experience in your youth is a priceless asset.

Try everything, and turn every experience into something valuable.”

I was genuinely glad I had the chance to talk with Nakamura-san.

We ended up moving to another location midway through, and by the time we finally parted ways, it was already past 2 a.m.

“Thank you for today, Nakamura-san.

I learned so much from our conversation.

Let’s have dinner together again soon.”

“I should be the one thanking you. I got treated to quite a feast.

Being able to talk with young people like you is a privilege for an old man like me.

Let’s definitely go again. I’ll be waiting for your invitation.”

With those parting words, Nakamura-san got into his pure white Rolls-Royce—one that was as long as a train.

Incidentally, it wasn’t the same Rolls-Royce he had when we first had dinner together.

After seeing him off, I took a taxi to Hotel Nikko Osaka. I couldn’t be bothered to go all the way home, so I decided to stay the night at the hotel instead.

Without specifying a particular room, I just let them assign me whatever was available and ended up in a standard double room.

“Ahh, this small space feels oddly comforting…”

It wasn’t actually small, but compared to the suites in world-class hotels, it certainly felt more compact.

I took a bath in the hotel room, then sank into the plush bed, letting sleep take over.