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Nanana’s Buried Treasure Volume 7 Chapter 5.3

「It’s quite subtle, isn’t it?」

「Besides, using it for evil could blind you.」

「That won’t be a problem. After all, everything I’m involved in is just and right.」

Ah, this young lady. She’s as confident as any famous detective out there.

「By the way, Servant A. The whole idea of ‘evil’ is too vague. Isn’t there a clearer line?」

「No, I haven’t really looked into it… I mean, researching that is kinda like not just risking your life but risking an eye.」

「Don’t worry, Servant A. You have two eyes, so even if you make a mistake once…」

「What’s there to be okay about?」

「Sacrifices are a part of uncovering technology.」

「That’s why I said I’m not doing it.」

In the end, the victor of the Jenga match was Yukihime-neesan. She skillfully pulled out the critical wooden blocks. Unphased by Nishi-san’s strategy to destabilize the tower she built it up with exquisite balance. Ultimately, Nishi-san caused it to collapse.

Despite it all, the game continued for sixteen rounds, moving a total of 32 coins, 2 coins × 16 times = 32 coins, from Team Cat Ears to Team Sakura.

Since currently all teams have over 100 coins, this might not seem like a big deal. But think about it. What if this had happened when the loop count was just 10? Wouldn’t 160 coins seem significant?

As of the end of the seventh turn:

– Detective Team (Blue of Spades), Great Detective & Phantom Thief, coins: 215

– Sakura Team (Yellow of Diamonds), Yamato Nadeshiko & Military Uniform, coins 142

– Lady Team (Green of Clubs), Lady & Servant A & Servant B, coins 149

– Cat Ears Team (Red of Hearts), Cat Ears Mask & Cat Ears-chan, coins 68

The next turn also brings about a 《forced acquisition game》.

And this time, an anticipated development was about to unfold.

3

「The 《forced acquisition gamecccccc will now commence.」

It’s the eighth turn, and the 《forced acquisition game》 erupts again.

This time, it’s between the unfortunate (or fortunate) Sakura Team and our Lady Team, continuously drawn into these games.

From the Sakura Team steps forward Haruto. And from our Lady Team, she comes up.

「All peasants, kneel before me!」

Lady Ageha. For some reason she makes a noble’s declaration upon her entrance.

Lady Ageha vs. Haruto

「So, Juugo. What are you doing here?」

Haruto is puzzled to find me (a non-representative) in a corner of the robbery room.

「Just watching. If that’s not allowed, I’ll leave.」

I ask this of the banker, President Yuiga, who oversees everything.

「It’s fine. There are no rules against it.」

So, with President Yuiga’s permission, I decided to watch the match from a corner of the robbery room.

Now, on a different note, why is the camera lady casting such adoring eyes at Yuiga-san? And why is President Yuiga returning her smiles so refreshingly? …Well, actually it’s obvious even without being a detective. But to avoid facing that reality, let’s just leave it at, 「Why?」

And back to the duel.

President Yuiga picks up a deck of cards marked with 2. It seems this number indicates the number of teams participating in the 《forced acquisition game》.

It’s Haruto from the Sakura Team who draws the card.

Upon seeing Haruto’s card, President Yuiga announces,「The game will be 《seven cards karuta》 this time.」

Seven cards karuta? What kind of game is that?

President Yuiga points to Table 2, a spacious square table.

And what he lays out in front of them are literally seven karuta cards.

Seriously, just seven? That’s so few cards! I’ve never heard of such karuta!

President Yuiga starts explaining.

「From these seven cards, I will read out five. You will compete to take them. A miss results in a one-turn penalty. The number of coins that will move in this game depends on the difference in the number of cards you each take.」

「A difference in the number of cards?」 Lady Ageha furrows her brows.

「Yes, the base rate times the difference in the number of cards. The base rate for this 《seven cards karuta》 game is capped at ten times the loop count, making it twenty coins this round.」

So, if the base rate is negotiated to the maximum of twenty coins, and let’s say the score is three to two. Then being a one-card difference, twenty coins will move. And if it’s a clean sweep of five to zero, that’s a hundred coins changing hands. Depending on the outcome, this could turn into quite the significant battle, couldn’t it?

So how will Lady Ageha, who holds the final say in betting as the team with fewer coins, wrap up this negotiation?

「There’s no need to think. Let’s go with twenty coins.」

Lady Ageha is confident. Or rather, is she good at karuta?

「If Servant A bets ten coins, then I’ll go with twenty!」

Ah, she just wanted to show off. But is this okay against Haruto?

And thus, the 《seven cards karuta》 begins.

Lady Ageha and Haruto glare at the karuta cards scattered on the table.

President Yuiga reads the first card.

「’Kilimanjaro is famous for its coffee, right?’」

Wow, that’s some really thin content.

But fortunately for Lady Ageha, the card starting with 「ki」 is right in front of her.

This is going to be an easy grab…

But just as Lady Ageha’s hand slams down on the table, another hand whizzes past hers from the side. Of course, it’s Haruto’s.

「First card for me.」

Haruto, feigning (or not, since he’s actually foreign) a foreign accent, smirks.

Wait, was Haruto’s movement just now a bit strange? It looked like he moved incredibly fast.

But then it hits me.

He used it, didn’t he? Haruto’s ability. His Nanana Collection, 《Milts Meer’s pocket watch》.

Haruto owns a Nanana collection that he showed off during the first stage against Tensai, which allows him to ‘speed himself up’. This makes everything else appear slow to him, allowing him to move faster than his surroundings.

And right before our eyes, literal high-speed movement occurs.

And he’s doing it blatantly, right in front of the TV cameras.

Though confused… in the end, that’s all there is to it. To onlookers, Haruto just looks like he’s incredibly fast at grabbing cards. To the average person, whether that speed comes from his physical agility or from using a Nanana collection, there’s no difference.

This means that in this karuta game, using Haruto’s Nanana collection is not an issue.

The next card, 「Sorry, can we extend the deadline a bit more?」 is also snagged by Haruto. His quick movements secure the card. Who even came up with this karuta content?

But, setting that aside, Haruto’s motive is clear.

He aims to win five to zero, stealing a hundred coins from our Lady Team.

The game and Haruto’s Nanana collection are a perfect match. This is indeed his moment to profit. And for us, losing a hundred coins here would be quite painful.

As we watch anxiously, the third card is read.

「The great tree of Laputa must be a conifer.」

Haruto, with incredible speed, aims straight for the 「ra」 card.

Bang.

The one who ends up wide-eyed is Haruto. That’s because his hand is stopped right before it can reach the 「ra」 card.

「Yes.」

Beneath his hand, Lady Ageha swiftly snatches away the 「ra」 card.

Glancing at the camerawoman operating the camera, she looks puzzled. Her reaction is understandable. To anyone watching, it looked like Haruto just stopped his hand right before grabbing the card. But the reality is different.

Haruto did try to grab it. But right before he could, he was blocked by an invisible wall.

《vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvHumpty Dumpty》, a power of Lady Ageha’s Nanana collection.

Sure enough, Lady Ageha’s left hand is clutching something tightly.

Haruto checked the air with his hand where he felt something once was, but now finds nothing. Whatever was there is gone, presumably because the egg has restored itself.

The next card, 「Please notice the love,」also follows the same pattern. Haruto’s hand is again stopped by an invisible barrier in the air, and underneath, Lady Ageha’s hand slips through.

Covering her mouth with a fan, Lady Ageha giggles elegantly. Noticing this, Haruto finally realizes the phenomenon’s cause, tightening his expression.

The score between them is now tied. The remaining cards are 「na,」 「hi,」 and 「tsu.」

Only one card left to be read.

High-speed movement versus an invisible barrier, which will prevail?

And then, the final card.

Yuiga-san flips the reading card and looks at it.

Bang.

Both President Yuiga (who was about to speak) and Lady Ageha (poised and ready) are stunned.

Before any words are spoken, Haruto grabs the 「tsu」 card.

「Is that correct?」

「’Tsumi to Batsu’… Correct.」

The winner, with a smile, is Haruto

Lady Ageha looks displeased and glares at the remaining cards.

「Three to two, victory for Military Uniform-sama. As a result, twenty coins will move from the Lady Team to the Sakura Team.」

After the 《forced acquisition game》 concludes, Haruto heads out of the room, and I quietly ask him.

「How did you do it?」

He doesn’t answer. Instead he points to his mouth and then leaves ahead of me.

Ah, I see.

Lady Ageha, seemingly having watched the scene, approaches with a displeased look.

「What does that mean?」

「Haruto… Military Uniform was watching Yuiga-san’s… the banker’s mouth movements.」

The shape of the mouth changes with the vowel sounds of spoken words. For instance, 「i」 makes you stretch your mouth sideways, while 「u」 protrudes your lips. This is taught in English classes, how the lips and tongue move to pronounce words. The same applies to the Japanese we use daily; we just don’t consciously notice it because it’s too natural for us.

「I think it was a draw in terms of using the Nanana collection.」

What decided the victory was something extra.

「Why does that Military Uniform have such knowledge?」

Well he is a thief, after all.

I laugh it off with a 「Who knows?」but Lady Ageha responds unamused.

「Whatever. It’s frustrating to lose, but at least we’ve got a feel for it now. Let’s consider the minimal damage a good thing.」

That’s Lady Ageha, always looking on the bright side.

And watching Lady Ageha and Haruto’s battle made me realize once again that to secure a large amount of coins, we need to win the 《forced acquisition games》 and take them from other teams.

And to win, participants will use their Nanana collections at any opportunity. While the compatibility and content of the game matter, integrating our actions to use the Nanana collections without getting caught is also necessary.

Anyway, it seems this 《Sugoroku de Pon》 and the struggle for dominance will indeed be decided by these 《forced acquisition games》.

As of the end of the eighth turn:

– Detective Team (Blue of Spades), Great Detective & Phantom Thief, coins: 235

– Sakura Team (Yellow of Diamonds), Yamato Nadeshiko & Military Uniform, coins 162

– Lady Team (Green of Clubs), Lady & Servant A & Servant B, coins 129

– Cat Ears Team (Red of Hearts), Cat Ears Mask & Cat Ears-chan, coins 88 (M finally succeeded in a room)

The ninth turn also sees the pieces on the Sugoroku board that were previously spread out, landing on the same square again. This triggered another 《orced acquisition game》.