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Nanana’s Buried Treasure Volume 7 Chapter 3.1

Episode 10: Second Stage Begins – Rules Explanation by M

1

「And here it begins, the irregular broadcast of the experimental program ‘Anything Goes’. This show aims to take exciting concepts submitted by the public and turn them into on-air realities. On the eve before summer vacation begins, tonight’s program features ‘Sugoroku de Pon’. Out of the four teams gathered…」

The chattering and applause in the grand hall are suddenly drowned out by the voice of a college-student announcer, marking the long-awaited opening of the second stage.

「Let us introduce the first team, the 《Cat Ear Team》.」

With the introduction, M and Nishi-san appear in the grand hall amidst murmurs. I caught a peep earlier, but the sight of them decked in cat ear school uniforms unequivocally captured all male desires.

M (or rather Yun-chan) has her usual mask covering her eyes and a cloak that brings to mind a performer. She strikes an energetic cat pose.

While M is striking, Nishi-san’s red face and downward glance suggest overwhelming embarrassment. Well, those gestures are undeniably lovely though.

Observing the pair garners a mix of reactions, but Tetsu-kun who is standing beside me seems particularly restless. I can’t help but smirk.

「What? What’s wrong, Tetsu-kun?」

「Nothing.」

「Next up is the 《Great Detective Team》 entrance.」

Out of the billowing smoke comes a peculiar figure striking a pose – the self-proclaimed great detective, Ikkyu Tensai. Funnily enough, I recognize that pose from room 202.

It seems like she’s keen on debuting her skills. Decked in the same detective costume crafted by D’ark as always.

Opposite her stands Ikusaba-san in a classic suit, black cape, and silk hat. It’s an outfit reminiscent of a typical ‘phantom thief’.

What a… somehow annoying pairing it is to watch.

「Following them is the 《Sakura Team》.」

「Wow!」

I couldn’t help but let out an involuntary exclamation – Yukihime-neesan’s hakama style is strikingly gallant and beautiful.

A ponytail lets glimpses of the nape of her neck beneath the bundle of her black hair appear – a view that’s quite spectacular.

If I hadn’t had my phone snatched away, I would’ve been shooting snapshots nonstop.

Beside her stands Haruto in classic military attire. Unsurprisingly, his matching appearance triggers cheers from the female gallery.

Truly, their pairing epitomizes couple aesthetics. An impressive sight to say the least.

「Lastly, the 《Lady’s Team》.」

Their introduction is accompanied by grand orchestral music. Lady Ageha descends the grand hall’s staircase, her demeanor reminiscent of that of a noblewoman from the medieval era.

And following behind her are Tetsu-kun and I, both in sleek black suits and sunglasses. Well, it’s quite clear, we’re hardly conspicuous.

With all four teams standing by, the names of each team appear on the grand hall’s big screen.

Cat Ear Team
-Cat Ear Mask (Probably referring to M)
-Cat Ear-chan (That must be referring to Nishi-san)

Great Detective Team
-Great Detective (Of course that’s talking about Tensai)
-Phantom Thief (Ikusaba of course)

Sakura Team
-Yamato Nadeshiko (Definitely Yukihime)
-Military Uniform. (That’s Haruto)

Lady’s Team
-Lady (Obviously Lady Ageha)
-Servant A (That’s gotta be me)
-Servant B (Very likely Tetsu-kun)

As Producer Baba-san mentioned before, our true identities seemed to have been taken into account. Although, I can’t say I don’t have some complaints about the treatment of the last two in black…

「And with that, which team will prevail tonight? Stay tuned!」

And thus, the commercial starts.

2

In the center of the grand hall there is a pedestal approximately just above waist height. It is about twice the size of a billiards table. Surrounding it were the four teams, each ensconced in their respective encampments.

Looking again at the pedestal it was covered with a huge Sugoroku board. The course itself was a square circuit with routes extending around it, and once completed a straight path led to the goal location in the center of the board.

Peering closely at the course, I noticed a large starting square in the center of one side of the board.

Stretching clockwise from the left side of the start square were arrows with numbers ‘1’ through ’40’ on each space. However, each square was marked only with numbers, nothing else.

Concluding the circuit brought one back to the right side of the starting square. However, this right side wasn’t quite the starting square.

On the right in red letters was marked 《crossroads of fate》 with a note that read, ‘Take whichever one you like’.

Two arrows emanated from there. One led down a six-space straight path to the goal point in the middle of the Sugoroku board. The other pointed back to the starting point to the left side of the starting square.

Various three-dimensional objects adorned the game board’s course, with a literal gated wall prominently dividing the starting square in half being especially eye-catching.

There was another feature that caught the eye above the wall; a rabbit figure standing upright. The rabbit, which was dressed in clothes, held a pocket watch as big as itself. Yet, the watch face did not exhibit the usual clock face. Instead it had a large ‘1’ drawn on it.

「And so, I’d like to hand over the proceedings and explanation for tonight’s live broadcast of 《Sugoroku de Pon》 to the team leader of the Cat Ear team, Masked Cat Ear.」

As the announcer signaled us to pay attention, the cat ear clad M fluttered her cloak dramatically.

「First, I’d like to decide the order and the pieces for each team. So could the representatives please come here?」

Responding to M’s call, who spoke with an artificially infused politeness (perhaps someone’s influence) representatives from the Detective Team, the Sakura Team, our Lady’s Team, and from the Cat Ear Team gathered. From the Detective Team came Tensai. From the Sakura Team came Yukihime-neesan. From our own Lady’s Team came Marie Antoinette herself, Lady Ageha. From the Cat Ear Team, Nishi-san.

M presented the four representatives with overturned cards.

「Numbers 1 through 4 are written on the back of these cards. The order doesn’t particularly matter in this game, so feel free to draw casually.」

Prompted by M, each representative drew a card. By the way, Nishi-san, perhaps out of courtesy, picked her card last.

As a result, the card with the number one was drawn by Tensai, two by Yukihime-neesan, three by Lady Ageha, and four by Nishi-san.

(TL/n: Sugoroku is a game that Mario Party is inspired by. It’s not exactly the same though so read up on the wikipedia page for a better understanding)

「Then, in numerical order, please choose your favorite piece from among these four,」 the host offered.

The pieces were as big as chess pieces. The pieces were ‘blue spade’, ‘yellow diamond’, ‘red heart’, and ‘green club’.

From among these, Tensai chose the Blue Spade. Yukihime-neesan selected the Yellow Diamond. Lady Ageha chose the Green Club. Nishi-san was left with, and thus chose, the Red Heart.

「The team pieces have been decided. Now, please place your pieces at the starting point on the board and then return to your groups」, instructed the host.

As instructed, the representatives placed their pieces on the board’s starting point and returned to their respective teams.

As they watched, a display corresponding to each team’s name appeared on the monitor, now adorned with the Spade, Diamond, Club, and Heart icons.

It was then that four gorokuma approached, each extending a square silver tray with a gesture of respect.

「What’s this?」

On the square trays were bundles of paper with two dice depicted on them and miniatures resembling the pieces that each team had just chosen.

Once each camp had taken these items, M began to speak.

「What we’ve distributed, as you might guess, are the 《dice tickets》 for rolling the dice and stamps for each team.」

「Dice tickets for rolling dice? And stamps?」

「We’ll explain about the stamps later. First, let me tell you about the 《dice tickets》」, said M, holding up one ticket to illustrate.

「This game 《Sugoroku de Pon》 is turn-based. At the start of each turn, each team must use one 《dice ticket》 from their possession. In exchange for that ticket, the team earns the right to roll the dice for that turn. In sequence, two dice are rolled on the board. After all participants have rolled we’ll move each team’s piece across the board together.」

M moves all four pieces across the board in one sweeping motion, demonstrating the process.

Observing this, Tensai asked, 「So not one team at a time, but all four teams move simultaneously?」

「Yes, in 《Sugoroku de Pon》 there’s no concept of rolling dice in a specific order to move ahead of others.」

M continues, 「Each square on the board corresponds to a room in this castle, and one representative from each team will head to that room to take on a simple game as a challenge. Depending on the outcome of these challenges, each team’s coin count will increase.」

I see, so that’s how we’ll increase our coin holdings.

「As I’ve mentioned several times already, the final ranking will be determined by the number of coins each team holds at the end of the game.」

And only the top two teams will advance.

「Additionally, the game 《Sugoroku de Pon》 will end once all the distributed dice tickets, fourty each for each team totaling one hundred and sixty, have been used.」

Everyone reacts to this explanation.

「Isn’t advancing determined by the team that finishes first?」

Tensai asked this and M nodded.

「Yes, that’s one factor. When a team reaches the goal, they’ll exchange any remaining dice tickets for a goal bonus of one hundred coins. Therefore, at that point the team that reached the goal will lose all their dice tickets and will not be able to do anything for the next turns. They will have to wait for other teams to use all of their dice tickets.」

I see. In that sense it’s the same as finishing a normal game of Sugoroku.

Tensai asked, 「The first team to reach the goal gets one hundred coins?」

「No, if you reach the goal, you get one hundred coins.」

「So, regardless of order, any team that reaches the goal will get one hundred coins?」

「Yes.」

「Does the number of tickets you have when you reach the goal change the goal reward?」

「No, whether you have any number of tickets, you’ll exchange them for one hundred coins.」

Participants consider this peculiar rule.

「So, as long as you have dice tickets, you can continue circling this track?」

Tensai preempts this question, and M nods, indicating the 《crossroads of fate》 on the right side of the starting square.

「Upon completing the circuit, a team decides whether to aim for the goal in the center of the sugoroku board or proceed to the next loop through the gate. Let me add an additional rule regarding this course.」

「An additional rule?」

「Once the first team at these 《crossroads of fate》 decide to proceed to the next circuit and pass through the gate, four random squares of the forty-numbered course will vanish.」

「So with each circuit the number of squares is reduced by four?」

「Yes. The first circuit has forty squares, the second has thirty-six, the third has thirty-two… and eventually, you can reduce to just four squares per circuit.」

Four squares per circuit, what a peculiar Sugoroku.

「Do the six squares leading to the goal remain unchanged?」

「Yes, these six central squares will not disappear and will remain the same until the end.」

Glances are exchanged among the other participants, each considering the implications of these odd rules and what they could suggest.

「Next, let me introduce the bankers.」

As M speaks, the grand hall doors open and two individuals enter the scene.

「Ah, is that…?」

Entering were two people, a man and a woman, dressed in banker attire. They were like M, wearing masks over their eyes. However, these two are familiar. There is no mistaking it. They’re Misao Imawano-san and Masaaki Kishitani-san.

These two were both members of the Sevenths High School community led by Nishi-san and, more than that, former first stage dropouts.

I instinctively looked toward Nishi-san, who despite looking displeased didn’t seem particularly surprised. It seems she already knew about this.

Why are these two doing this?

The reason is unclear, and M continues to explain.

「The bankers will serve as a neutral body, supporting the 《Sugoroku de Pon》 game. Their main role is to manage the coins used during the game, including distribution, movement, and purchasing. They ensure fairness in all dealings with coins.」

「Purchasing?」

Lady Ageha frowns.

「That’s literal. If there’s something you wish to sell, it can be presented to the 《bank》 for purchase.」

「Anything? Like what?」

「Anything. If the bank assesses it as valuable, it will be exchanged for coins. Note, aside from the bank, teams may freely conduct sales and purchases among themselves.」

The inclusion of such trading mechanisms begins to stir up the other participants.

「However, there’s one absolute rule regarding these 《trades》 that must be followed. All transactions must be documented in writing and submitted to the bank.」

Following M’s explanation, Masaaki Kishitani-san held up a form.

On top of the form read ‘Details of Transaction’, with various fields listed. Fields for team names involved in the trade, the time of transaction, items being traded, and at the very bottom is a section labeled ‘stamp’.

「For 《transactions》, you must fill in the details and stamp the respective teams’ stamps in the slot labeled ‘stamp’ at the bottom. If multiple teams are involved in a 《transaction》, stamps from all consenting teams are needed. Make sure there are no mistakes.」

I glance at the stamp recently given out by the gorokuma. The back of our miniature piece, a club, is indeed indented for stamp usage.

「Stamps hold significance. Stamped equals consent by that team. So, be cautious not to lose them, and ensure all 《transaction》 forms are completed and submitted to the bank. If there are no discrepancies, the transaction will be accepted.」

Misaki-san pockets the square stamp and stamps it onto the form with a pon. A red stamp reading ‘transaction accepted ★5’ appears.

Confirmed by M, the speaking continues.

「Once stamped, the 《transaction》 is considered accepted. The bank will keep the form and ensure its safekeeping. Once a 《transaction》 is accepted, it holds absolute effectiveness during 《Sugoroku de Pon》. Thus, once a 《transaction》 is made it must be honored. Arbitrary cancellation or invalidation of transactions is a violation. If a report of such violation is received the bank will investigate, and if a trading violation is found then penalties include seizure of five dice tickets and confiscation of half of the violating team’s coins. Furthermore, half of the seized coins will be distributed to the team victimized by the trade violation.」

It seems the penalties are considerably harsh.

「To add, once a 《transaction》 occurs with the 《bank》, it will be publicly announced as they are processed. However, team-to-team 《transactions》 will not be disclosed unless a report of a trade violation occurs. Only then will details related to said 《transaction》 be shared by the bank and discussed. So, any questions regarding the 《transaction》 explanation?」

No one raises their hand. There seems to be more concern about each other’s movements than transactions.

「Additionally, transaction forms are available next to this great hall in the 《bank》 and by bank staff members around the hall. They will be freely distributed without limit, so feel free to ask.」

Pointing towards the supposed location of the 《bank》, M continues.

「The 《bank》 next to this room not only handles selling and other rule-related inquiries but for your peace of mind during transactions, private rooms are provided to ensure confidentiality.」

And at this point, a comment from the student announcer lady.

「Incidentally, this is done so that other teams will not be aware, and the footage will be broadcast on TV. Private rooms have been set up with television cameras, but since this is not for other teams’ spying activities, please do not damage them. Our television station is not particularly wealthy.」

Laughs echo from somewhere.

「That’s all for the explanation of the 《bank》. Any questions?」

Still, no hands are raised.

「Then, let’s discuss the 《forced acquisition game》.」

「Forced acquisition game?」

「Should teams land on the same square in the same turn, they will engage in direct confrontation, competing for coins in a hands-on battle.」

「Oh?」

「《Forced acquisition game》 participation will be by one representative from each team. The game’s content and the number of coins at stake will be determined prior to the game, based on criteria provided by us.」

Winning a confrontation for coins… this seems similar to the first stage.

「Additionally, there is an additional rule for the 《forced acquisition game》. If the coin wager exceeds the team’s possession, a loan from the bank allows the game to proceed in case of overtime.」

「Hmm, so this means, in 《forced acquisition games》 a considerable amount of coins could change hands.」

「When the game is played a victory ensures the loaned amount is returned, and the remainder of the profit is obtained. However, loss results in 《debt》.」

「《Debt》, huh?」

「The concept of 《debt》: literally, if your team’s coins go negative, you’re in a 《debt state》, requiring some maneuver to cover the negative amount. Any method is acceptable; just arrange for the needed coins. If you can’t manage it then that team is 《bankrupt》 and thus defeated.」

I see, so in 《Sugoroku de Pon》, there’s also a possibility of losing during the game.

「However, that might be difficult. So to accommodate you we have prepared a one-time relief measure for all teams.」

「A relief measure?」