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Nanana’s Buried Treasure Volume 1 Chapter 7.3

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“Translator: Goma/Editor: TheNix”

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Section 4

 

「Ah, returning back home in the morning, huh?」

    After parting ways with the famous detective, I met with the landlady in front of the Happiness Dorm. As usual, her outfit was a tank-top and short shorts.

「What are you doing at this hour, Ms. Shiki? 」

「I went to the convenience store to buy some alcohol, because I ran out」

「That does not mean you should buy one whole case. Isn’t that too much? 」

    The way she lugged the box of beer on her shoulders was so weird.

「How about you, Jūgo? 」

「I was enjoying my youth, meeting a girl」

「Just die! Actually, may you be destroyed! 」

    The lazy woman who was reaching 30 shouted with a serious face. Ah, please don’t shout「Bals, bals [1. TL Note: “Bals” is the famous Spell of Destruction in the movie “Castle in the Sky”.]」 so many times. The neighbors might complain.

「Oh by the way, Kadono was chased off of this island」

    After activating the word of destruction for a total of 49 times, the landlady finally calmed down and told me.

「Oh, why」

「It seemed that the authorities figured out he was doing part-time work illegally」

「Well, weren’t you the one who had given him the job? 」

「It was because he said please wait one month for the rent」

「Wow you reported him to the police!? 」

「When poverty comes through the door, love goes out the window」

「Geez, you are such a merciless landlord! 」

「Starting tomorrow another person is going to live in that room」

    I know about that. I was greeted before they moved in just now.

「It is a cute girl and a cute boy」

「Oh, how did you know that he is a guy? 」

    Wow, what kind of ability did she have that she was able to know that he is a guy at first glance?

「I was really surprised you know. When I hugged him, there was that thing in that place」

「Sexual harassment! 」

「Well aren’t you quite innocent. The true sexual harassment is going to start tomorrow」

    She made a legitimate criminal statement. A true criminal was here. I should secretly call the police tomorrow.

「Now then, I shall go home and drink」

    After smiling, the owner of the Happiness Dorm unfit for society turned her back on me.

「……What? 」

 

    I could not believe my eyes at the sudden thing.

    While looking at her back, I could not believe my eyes.

「Was that a dragon’s birthmark? 」

    I felt like I saw a black birthmark on the back of her neck behind her hair. It looked like a dragon.

「No no, that can’t be」

    Most probably, Ms. Shiki’s long hair looked like one.

    It seemed that I was quite tired today. My whole body was in rags. I should just go home and sleep.

    Then, my phone rang.

「Who is this calling at this time? 」

    The time now was 2:08.

 

    The caller was my dad.

 

Section 5

 

「Hey, dad. What time do you think it is? 」

    I complained to the person at the other end of this phone call.

「Is it 2 o’clock in the morning, but so what? 」

    What you mean so what.

「What do you want to ask? 」

「I received a report from Yukihime. I was curious, so I called」

「Ah, I see」

「I thought you were tired of the ((Matsuri))? 」

「Yep, I am」

「Then don’t interfere. You are just making trouble」

    Don’t just call me after so long to tell me I’m making trouble.

「Ah, sorry. I shall try not to interfere from now on」

「Well, that is all as the head of the organization. Other than that, how is life on the island? 」

「Nothing much, I am fine」

「I see」

    The conversation ended there. Wow, what an unamicable father-son relationship. It was almost like the Ikari [2. TL Note:  The family of the main protagonist, Shinji Ikari in the anime “Evangelion”. The main protagonist and his father are known to be almost like strangers to each other.] family.

    Well, I did not want to say anything, so I decided to complain about what I had noticed a few days ago.

「Oh yeah, that family moral lesson. 『People can lie with their expressions but cannot with their eyes』. Isn’t it a lie? I could not tell the difference」

「You fool. You just lack the training」

「Of course not. I looked at how my opponent moved their eyeballs, you know」

    When I said this, he sighed.

「That is why you cannot do it. The truth cannot be determined just by observing the human reflex. You must see what is beyond this, the person’s heart」

「Of course you cannot see that」

 

「You are just looking away, right? 」

 

    I fell silent.

「You don’t like people, Jūgo」

    I could not refute him.

「Even though your face is quite handsome like mine, that is why you cannot get a girlfriend」

「Wha, I do have a……. 」

「Do you really have a girlfriend? 」

    Of course not. Don’t tell me that so easily.

「Of course. I am quite popular, you know. The blond hair girl that I recently met is just head over heels for me」

    I was acting tough. Of course, I was not popular with girls. I was being stalked for a different reason.

「Then how much do you like her? Just tell me」

    He suddenly said so in a serious voice.

「……erm, I do respect her. I truly think she is amazing」

「But that’s it, right? You aren’t willing to give up everything for her, right? 」

「That is why I did not say I like her」

「Then if she relies on you, could you do what you need to for her? 」

「Of course I would try to help her as much as possible」

「What do you mean by as much as possible. To what extent」

    I fell silent again. Although I had the intentions, once asked about it, I could not reply immediately.

    When I remained silent, my dad on the opposite end of the phone laughed.

「It means that you can only value people to such extent. You don’t love other people. If you are sought after you will respond, but if not you do not take the initiative. That is why you do not intend to save anyone. Even though you do have some power, you do not intend to use it for others」

「……Ugh」

「Well in the end, before you can refute me, that meant that you did not even deserve to be my heir」

「I don’t need you to tell me that. I don’t want to become a good thief! If you want to continue the ((Matsuri)), just do it alone with the others! I am not going to do it! I am never going to do it! I rather die than doing such troublesome things」

    I snapped at him. I was annoyed at how my dad can read my mind.

    Meanwhile, my dad said.

「Jūgo, I shall teach you a new family moral value. It is, 『No one accomplishes things although it is cumbersome and they don’t want to. So I am going to do it for society』」

「What is that family lesson? I never heard about it before」

「This is not the words of our ancestors. It is my words」

「Your……words? 」

「These days, I genuinely hate the world. That is why I decided to change the world」

    My dad started saying such things.

「Huh, so what. Don’t tell me your goal is world domination」

「Yes」

「……What? 」

 

「I am going to change the world」

 

    Hey, what was my dad saying?

「Are you stupid, you middle-aged man. Think of your age. You shouldn’t be dreaming those kinds of things at your age」

    It was different from president Yugia’s circumstances. It was not a youth’s dream. It was a middle-aged man’s exaggerated empty imagination.

「I had thought about it before. Should I just be saving others? Shouldn’t I be doing something more fundamental? You had told me that day. 『I don’t have anyone around me that I want to save』」

「Yes, I had said that」

    I had meant it.

「Jūgo, tell me the number one moral lesson」

「『We save others. That being said, we are not gods. We must not forget that we are humans as well』」

「What does it mean? 」

「That one must never boast of being superior to others. That one must never look down on others while helping them. We are also humans just like them. We are not being merciful to them. We are helping them」

「Then that day, you also said, 『Even so I would only do this if I liked them.』」

「I had said so」

    I did not intend to help anyone. I did not think it was right to help those that mocked us for helping others. 

That was my answer.

「My conclusion for you Jūgo. Although you might dislike humans, I like humans. I do admire people who created history, and I do respect those dudes who control the world. I do think it is fun that youth are noisy all the time, and I do adore children. Most importantly, I love women. That being said, it is not everyone. I do have people I dislike. I even despise the very existence of some people, since their existence itself is harmful」

「What are you trying to say? 」

「I had thought hard about what I like about other humans. Then a few days ago, I concluded that it was 『potential』. The potential to do something so amazing. The potential that they might do something so extraordinary that a middle-aged man like me might not even imagine it. The potential everybody has in which they can move other’s hearts, or make others happy. I realized that this potential is what makes humans attractive」

「So? 」

「That is why I am going to build the necessary foundation」

    Then world domination, huh.

「For starters, how are you going to change the world? Do you intend to become a member of parliament? 」

「You are starting to make quite decent jokes, huh? But there is no reason to do so, right? 」

「What? 」

「There is the Nanana Collection」

「Hey, dad…… 」

「World domination seems possible, you know」

    Don’t tell me this middle-aged man……using the inheritance of Nanana!

「Hey stop fooling around, you middle-aged man! Stop playing with such outdated imaginations! That’s not very popular these days! 」

    I had not intended to say the same thing again. What I had said when I had lost to president Yuiga in an argument.

「You are the fool, Jūgo. Don’t you understand? That there is no meaning in age? The most important thing is 『Whether there is a meaning to what you do』」

    He refuted me once more.

「A new idea? Don’t make me laugh, you brat. If there is no meaning to it, such crappy thinking would disappear in no time. Why do you think it is outdated? It is because there is the history and the culture that our ancestors had built up for hundreds and thousands of years. Why did it remain? Because it had a meaning to it. Surely there were bad kinds of philosophy then. But those did not remain. It is the same as the current way of thinking. There is no meaning to it. It was just trash, so such ways of thinking disappeared. That’s all」

    He continued rattling. I could not say anything. My dad finally said.

 

「Since you are being swayed by what is trendy, there is no meaning to how you think」

 

    He said so with confidence.

「Then is there meaning to your world domination? 」

「Yes」

    He said so again with confidence. He really annoyed me.

「Your way of changing the world is illegal」

「There is no way of doing things that is absolute in this world」

「It is cheating to use the Nanana Collection」

「It is a power that exists in this world, you should fully utilize it」

「Are you going to change the world forcefully using its power? 」

「Somebody else is already doing that, so I am going to change the world with my heart」

    Argh, if I say something, he says something else.

「What, Jūgo? Are you the same as a bastard who does nothing, but criticizes others? 」

「If you want to do something, really take the time to do it the proper way! 」

    I was surprised at how empty my words were.

「I don’t have time」

    He cut me down in one line.

「Well, our family business has become a secret evil organization, huh? We have really fallen, huh?」

「I guess so, besides our family business is over in my generation」

    I fell silent for the third time.

「……Hey, is that a complaint to me not inheriting the family business? 」

    When I said so, he laughed at me again. This time, he was laughing out loud. He was laughing his mouth off at the opposite end of the phone.

「Don’t look down on me, you brat. I don’t care about your way of thinking. I am proud of what I am doing. It is just that coincidentally, I lost my heir. I am just going to finish this in my generation. World domination, it is the last and biggest change we are going to make in this world」

    Last and biggest change in this world. I could not help but laugh. I laughed so heartily as loud as my dad just now.

「You are so cool huh? I’m disgusted dad」

    I honestly thought he was amazing. It seemed that my dad was really a fool. Well, I am amazed at how he can say such exaggerated things to his son. Although I felt frustrated, I haven’t felt so passionate from hearing my dad’s words in a long time.

「What, do you want to inherit the family business now? 」

「Isn’t that why you had brought me to this island? 」

    At this point, I finally realized.  This is why the place I was exiled to was this Nanae Island.

    The answer was simple. There were so many treasures that one could change the world.

    That meant that this middle-aged man had planned this all along. I was the person who would gather the treasure here on behalf of my dad.

「How did you get to know about the Nanana Collection? 」

「A girl I met one year ago told me about it」

「What, are you cheating on mom? I must tell her」

「No, of course not! Stop joking around, I am loyal to mom! Hey stop, don’t make up trouble between us as a couple! Hey, actually please stop! 」

    The middle-aged man of good ripe age seriously begged me. He was extremely annoying.

「Then tell me her name」

「I cannot tell you that. I promised her so」

    He was weirdly loyal to her……Hm, he resembled someone, but well that aside.

    My dad continued.

「But I shall give you a hint, she aspires to write picture books」

    What is that hint? I did not understand. Who would understand such a hint?

「Well, this conversation became quite long, but I shall ask you your answer. Then in the end, what are you going to do on that island that has everything, Jūgo Yama」

    My dad’s question was not directed towards his son.

    It was directed to a man.

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