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Nanana’s Buried Treasure Volume 10 Chapter 4.2

And the person we were supposed to meet turned up 10 minutes late.

「It’s been a while, Young Master.」

「You’re late, Choromatsu.」

「My name is Todomatsu!」

Sitting down in front of us was Shuu Todomatsu. He is a member of the Phantom Thieves <<Matsuri>>, and was also Yukihime’s partner. They are active on Nanaejima.

「Anyways, I heard something, Young Master. Apparently, you made quite a big mess back at your parents’ house.」

Shuu girns, referring to the recent turmoil at his wedding to Ulysses.

「Let’s forget about that sad past, where my bride ran away.」

I laughed back, and Shuu burst out laughing.

「So, Young Master, what brings you to this meeting?」

And so I got straight to the point.

「Shuu-san, do you want to do something naughty with me?」

He then explains the materials he’s been working on over the past week and future developments. Shuu, who had been listening silently while looking at the materials, looks up and says, ‘I see’.

「I understand roughly what you’re saying. But this doesn’t mean you’re asking us, the <<Matsuri>> for cooperation like you did with the previous Tanabata Festival, right?」

I nod, understanding what Shuu is trying to say.

「Yes, the <<Matsuri>> has nothing to do with this. What this is now is an invitation to join my team.」

「The <<Matsuri>> has nothing to do with this?」

「I’ve spoken to my father, but I have no intention of acting within the framework of <<Matsuri>>. This is something I intend to do on my own.」

「I see. So Yukihime will cooperate with you Young Master?」

「I hope she does.」

「Then does that mean you will make me help too?」

Shuu-san narrowed his eyes and smiled, and Yukihime-san shook her head after a short pause.

「No, I have no intention of forcing you. You have to decide for yourself.」

「That’s different than usual.」

「This matter has nothing to do with <<Matsuri>>.」

「In other words, Yukihime chose you over <<Matsuri>>?」

At that moment, Yukihime-san’s ears went red.

「Please stop saying things that could lead to misunderstandings. The boss told me to do whatever I wanted as long as it produced results.」

「I see. So, the boss… or rather <<Matsuri>>, doesn’t care whether we cooperate with you or not. As long as we get results.」

「Right.」

「That decision is up to us.」

「That’s right. And I’ve decided to cooperate with Young Master.」

「I see.」

Shuu-san folded his arms and thought deeply. Then he came to an answer.

「Let me hold off for now.」

Yukihime-san’s cheek twitched.

「What do you mean, Todomatsu?」

「Well, if it seems like it will work out, I’ll help. If it doesn’t, I’ll decline. I’ll decide after I am convinced one way or another.」

「How can you be so selfish like that…?」

「Surely that’s ok. I’m the one being recruited, after all. The decision is mine. If joining a cause early is always good, and joining late makes me a bandwagoner, then I don’t mind being a bandwagoner.」

「Todomatsu!」

Yukihime couldn’t help herself.

Shuu just kept grinning, seeming like he didn’t care.

「You want results, right Yukihime? That’s the boss’s directive.」

Yukihime, angered by his rebuttal, opened her mouth to speak but, 「Well, that’s a clever way to do it.」

Yukihime-neesan glared at me for interrupting, but I continued to speak to Shuu-san anyways.

「Shuu-san, you’re always welcome, so please think about it.」

My smile made Shuu-san’s usual grin grow.

「Well, let’s see what you can do, Young Master.」

Shuu-san then stood up from his chair and left the store.

「Todomaki, that jerk…」

Yukihime’s anger is apparent, but I tell her to calm down.

「I thought this might happen, so I’m not too worried.」

「What if Todomatsu turns you down?」

「Well, I think Shuu-san is a professional. I thought that the first thing he would do was evaluate whether I was worthy of work with or not.」

「But then, like during the Tanabata festival, Todomatsu helped you out before.」

「Those were just him joining in on a kid’s game. But this time it’s different. I think he’s assessing whether I’m worth of working with him as a professional. Shuu-san has that kind of personality, but I think he’s the kind of person who knows how to draw the line. Do you have any idea Yukihim-neesan?」

When I asked her that, she seemed to have thought of something, admitting, ‘Well, it’s not impossible.’

「You have an eye for people, Young Master.」

「That’s not true.」

「By the way, when you said that earlier, it sounded as if you were saying I lacked professionalism.」

「No, not at all. You are definitely a professional who puts results first. On top of that, I think you really appreciate me.」

「You’re just being conceited now.」

「Yes, I am. But I still think you recognize me.」

When I said what I was thinking to her, Yukihime blushed and turned away.

「By the way, Young Master. You’ve been rejected by Todomatsu, but what about the other one?」

「Yeah, I plan to ask them out after this.」

「Shouldn’t you have gone the other way?」

「Really? After you comes Shuu. I thought it should be in that order.」

「In terms of importance, isn’t he the most important though?」

「I wanted to make sure things were in order before asking him.」

「Well, we don’t have Todomatsu though.」

「But we have me and Yukihime-neesan, and I’m planning to ask two more people to help out, so I think that should be enough.」

Yukihime-neesan, who knows them well, looks a little confused.

「What do you think about getting those two involved?」

「You’re worrying too much. They’re more reliable than you think, Yukihime-neesan. At the very least, they’re more reliable than me.」

「Stop putting yourself down like that. At the very least, you know I approve of you.」

「That’s not what I meant. But I think it’s largely thanks to those two that I was able to return to this island.」

「I see. Well, this is your plan, so let’s see how it goes.」

「You can watch, but please help me out properly. After all, Yukihime-neesan is my biggest supporter right now.」

「Biggest, huh? Understood.」

Yukihime-neesan seemed somewhat pleased.

「Well then, Yukihime-neesan. Do your best tomorrow.」

This made Yukihime-neesan chuckle.

「I’ll say exactly the same thing back to you.」

「I’m home.」

「Welcome back, Juugo. Where’s the pudding?」

「Here you go.」

The setting is room 202 of the Happiness Dorm. After returning home, I presented Nanana with a convenience store pudding, as usual, and she happily began eating it. I sat down in front of her.

「Nanana.」

「What’s wrong, Juugo? Why are you looking so seriousl?」

「I have something pretty serious to tell you.」

Perhaps sensing how serious I was, Nanana put the pudding she was eating on the table, straightened her back, and looked at me.

「Let me hear it.」

To Nanana, I said, 「Nanana, do you want to come and have some fun with us?」

*****************************************

It’s the day after meeting Juugo and Shuu. Yukihime, dressed in a suit, was standing in front of a certain building. It was the Seventh Building, of the 7 buildings which are the headquarters of the Nanaejima General Council. It was located in the center of Nanaejima. It’s one of the buildings assigned to the GREAT 7, the members of the General Council. The person originally assigned to this building was Sansa Kurosu. It’s currently the office building used by her successor Ruri Kanna, one of the GENERATION 6.

After introducing herself at the reception, she was immediately guided upstairs.

Yukihime’s reason for coming here is to discuss the wish she’s going to have Ruri Kanna grant her at the Tanabata Festival on July 7th.

The Tanabata Festival is a major event held in honor of Nanana Ryuugajou’s birthday, where each member of the GREAT 7 randomly selects one wish from those submitted by the other students, and makes it come true.

At that time, Yukihime and Shuu were working as part of the Phantom Thieves <<Matsuri>> and assisted Juugo in his evil plot. They worked behind the scenes to have the GREAT 7 choose their wishes and have them granted. In the end, Yukihime’s wish was successfully fulfilled, and was chosen by Ruri Kanna, who took Sansa Kurosu’s place. However, due to the Leprechaun’s machinations, Juugo was not chosen for the final slot.

Yukihime had written her wish on a piece of paper, which said to ‘start a company’. And today, Yukihime has come to this place to reap the rewards of the plan she began sowing back then.

「It’s nice to meet you, Fugi Yukihime.」

Welcoming Yukihime in the top-floor room, which could also be called the president’s office, was Ruri Kanna. She’s the same age as Yukihime, but her title is impressive: GENERATION 6. She’s attending the General Council meeting as Sansa Kurosu’s successor. She now plays a major role in Nanaejima’s decision-making. But there was another unexpected person in the room besides Ruri.

「Hey, it’s been a while since the <<game>>, Yukihime.」

Leaning back in a chair at a large desk by the open window was the one-eyed villain, Sansa Kurosu.