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Nanana’s Buried Treasure Volume 10 Chapter 1.4

After finishing his conversation, he sees Kagetora off to the entrance of the building.

「I’ll take off for the day now.」

「You’re backing off rather easily.」

「I’ve confirmed that what I’m after is here. I’m not in a rush. After all, once I get it, I’ll have to return to the village.」

This seems to imply that he doesn’t want to leave the island.

「Next time, come with that handsome club president.」

「If I do, every last girl in this school will be sacrificed. Is that ok?」

「…Maybe you shouldn’t come after all.」

Kagetora Tsurezure gives a fearless smile.

「See you again, Taisei Amagi. If you need any work done, contact me anytime.」

「I’m not giving you the seal as a reward.」

「I don’t mind a different reward. Also, don’t underestimate your opponent.」

Kagetora laughs fearlessly at Taisei, who is confused and doesn’t understand Kagetora’s intentions.

「It’s just a word of advice. It’s not like I want to fight with you.」

Having received this retaliation from him, he grins.

「I’ll keep that in mind, Tsurezure-senpai.」

After seeing Kagetora off, he returned to the reception room to find Homura there.

「How was Kagetora?」

「I don’t think he’s a bad person, but I don’t understand why he would volunteer to commit evil.」

As Taisei sits down, Homura says to him, 「Taisei, you’re mistaken about one thing. All the people Tsurezure’s ninjas sacrificed in the past were women on the verge of death from rare diseases.」

「Oh?」

「That was the only way the Tsurezure men could protect those they loved. It’s called a sacrifice, but it’s also called reincarnation as a demon.」

「…..」

「If Asumi was dying, could you just stand by and watch?」

「I couldn’t.」

「In truth, we too wished to become demons. Fearing death, learning how to survive even after becoming inhuman, and living with the ones we loved. This is what we became. Of course, I oppose what my descendants are trying to do.」

「I see.」

「I would like to believe that Kagetora truly shares your views.」

「In that case…」

「But even so, Kagetora is a ninja. If there is life, I will risk it and sacrifice myself for it. I will not go against that life for my own reasons.」

Homura then looks up into space.

「I hope Kagetora finds a master worthy of his loyalty.」

Taisei scratches his head as Homura shows her motherly side.

「Even though I don’t know the circumstances, maybe I went too far. Should I go after him and apologize?」

「That’s fine. That’s one option.」

The truth of history that Homura had spoken earlier stirs Taisei’s heart.

「Even if you’re no longer human, would you still want to be with the person you love?」

「As a result, we both found ourselves in the opposite position, having to say goodbye to someone we loved. But we also made new encounters and nurtured new lives.」

「That’s profound.」

「My master is still a child.」

「Shut up.」

「If Asumi is on the brink of death, I hope she chooses to become a demon so we can live together.」

Homura has a mischievous smile on her face. Taisei simply turns away in a sulky mood.

「Well, don’t worry if you get rejected. We’ve got Taisei.」

Homura claps her hands.

Suddenly, the gate began to glow. The women, who were demons, began to appear one after the other.

「Hey, you guys. Don’t just come out here without being summoned!」

「It’s only because our master, Taisei, allows it. Now, enjoy yourself to the fullest.」

Taisei screamed as he was pushed around by the smiling demons. But then…

「Hey, Taisei. Are you done showing him around? There’s something I need your help with…」

The door to the room was opened by Asumi.

Taisei is frozen in the demon’s embrace, and her eyes meet with his.

「…..」

「N..no, Asumi. This is…」

Asumi closed the door without a word.

「Hey, Homura. You knew Asumi was coming, didn’t you?」

Taisei hurriedly chased after Asumi, pushing away the demons who were smiling maliciously.

Homura chuckled as she saw Taisei off.

「Well, I don’t like it when people say bad things about my son.」

This was also revenge.

3

As he chases after Asumi, Taisei is reminded of the past.

When he came to this island alone, longing for something intangible, and then painfully realized that he had nothing to aim for. When he was stuck in a place that was supposed to be filled with dreams and hopes, but couldn’t take a single step outside. Instead playing online games endlessly in his room, wandering aimlessly with no goal in sight.

That’s where a hardcore player named ‘Sashimi’ he met said, 「Taitan, you’re always there, every day, at all times.」

「Shut up, you’re the same.」

「Don’t you go outside?」

「There’s nothing to do even if I go out.」

「I guess that’s how it is. I wish I could go out though.」

「Well then, just go outside.」

「Even though I want to, I can’t. Due to circumstances. So I think it’s just a shame.」

That seemed like a very selfish thing to say.

So Taisei responded, 「What on earth is out there? Is there anything worth going out for?」

「Everything is out there.」

His hands stopped typing.

「There’s nothing out there that doesn’t exist.」

The anger-like emotion that had been building up inside me was about to explode, and he wanted vent it out by typing. …But he couldn’t type anything. He didn’t know what to type, or what to shout at the person on the other end of the computer. Just emotions, unable to put them into words.

Finally, after a pause, Taisei finally managed to type this sentence: 「There’s so much out there, I don’t know what I want to do.」

That was Taisei’s true feelings. All the students who came to this island at the same time as him all had something they wanted to do, clear goals. But he didn’t have that…

He felt truly miserable without it.

「Then I’ll tell you something nice.」

「Something nice?」

「This island harbors an incredible secret.」

「Amazing, a secret?」

「On an island where students pursue their dreams, there’s a treasure even more filled with dreams.」

「There’s no way treasure like that really exists…」

「Then why don’t you go looking for it? A hidden treasure hidden away, unknown to anyone.」

「I’m telling you, there’s no such thing.」

「Yes, there is. I can assure you. It definitely exists on this island. And there’s quite a bit of them. A lot of them.」

Taisei felt a flutter in his chest. His back was pushed by the person he was talking to, the online gaming addict Sashimi.

「So, go and find it. If you want to go somewhere other than here.」

Those words were probably the moment Taisei finished playing the game Seven’s Dragunar. Nowadays, he only logs in to ask Sashimi (Ryuugajou Nanana) for an explanation of the Nanana collection.

That was when Taisei found a place for himself outside of that game. He found a place he truly belonged. He had things he wanted to do, irreplaceable friends, and a girl he liked.

He cherished the time he had now. He wanted to protect this place. He wanted to stay like this forever.

That’s why he’s going to help Asumi Nishi get revenge.

The Second Account – Tetsunoshin Tsujima’s Summer Vacation. (Demon Sword <<Utsusemi>>)

1

‘I’m probably happy right now.’

Tetsunoshin Tsujima thinks this objectively. That’s because he recently got a girlfriend.

「Hey, Tetsu.」

It’s dusk. The location is Nanaejima’s Third High School. Across the hallway, a uniformed first-year girl approaches, waving cheerfully. It’s Saki Yoshino. Everyone calls her Yun, and she’s Tetsunoshin’s new girlfriend.

Saki may be full of energy now, but she was only recently released from the hospital.

About two months ago, Saki submitted a leave of absence for family reasons and left Nanaejima. She only returned just the other day, just as summer vacation began. However, that day, Saki was hit by a car (a rare sight on Nanaejima) and taken to the hospital. Unfortunately, she was involved in this truly unfortunate accident.

Although her injuries were minor, she was hospitalized for tests just to be safe. When Tetsunoshin came to visit her, Saki confessed her feelings for him. Tetsunoshin also confessed that he shared Saki’s feelings, and the two officially became a couple.

The two had only just started dating, but what awaited them wasn’t a sweet and sour relationship, but a hellish series of extra classes during their summer vacation.

「Ugh, I’m tired.」

As they walked home together, Saki (who had been stuck at her desk for the same amount of time as her normal school season day… in fact even longer) looked exhausted.

After taking roughly two months off school, Saki was forced to give up her summer vacation to make up for lost time so she could rejoin her previous classes in the second semester. In a way, this could be considered a supportive measure on the part of the school.

「Cheer up, Yun. I’m going home now and have homework to do.」