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Nanana’s Buried Treasure Volume 8 Chapter 1.2

「Wait, Juugo. You say we should use them a lot, but isn’t that hard to do? At the very least, my Nanana collection only lets me be replaced by Anego, so you should consider mine no longer usable.」

「That’s right, I really don’t need to see Sansa-san here again. On that topic, my <<Yugutoth’s one eye>> is a bit questionable. If someone was to ask me a question while peering through a gem, I’d be suspicious.」

「In that case, it’s just my <<Humpty Dumpty>> that we can use. Just like the others though, it’s not very useful during <<forced acquisition games>>, so it’s very limited. It might be useable for something like the karuta card game I used it for before, but it’d be useless in something like a race.」

「I’m saying we should use someone else’s Nanana collection.」

「Someone else’s….」

「…..like who?」

I point to the second floor.

「The Nanana collection of Lady Ageha’s real butlers over there.」

「Hey, wait a minute. What are you saying, Servant A?」

「I borrow the Nanana collection from those three. And I use it like crazy.」

「Wait, Juugo. Is it okay to do something like that? In the first place, according to the basic rules of the <<game>>, each person can only bring one Nanana collection.」

「That’s right. The rules state ‘you can only bring one’, not ‘you can’t use more than one’.」

「? What do you mean?」

「That bracelet is part of Tetsu-kun’s Nanana collection. Isn’t it true that it has the ability to switch places with Sansa-san who is wearing the same bracelet?」

「Uh, yeah.」

「That means that the Nanana collection that Sansa-san had after the body swap was the bracelet, just like Tetsu-kun’s. But that wasn’t the only Nanana collection that Sansa-san had. The eyepatch on her left eye was also part of the Nanana collection. In other words, Sansa-san participated in the second stage with two Nanana collections.」

「I see, that’s certainly true.」

「During the discussion on how the second stage would play, there was talk that the <<Bank>> would buy anything right? This was acknowledged not only by the <<bank>>, but by each team as well. That meant that they were implicitly condoning the <<transaction>> of the Nanana collection. In fact, when Sansa-san tried to make a deal to buy the skull ring from Ikusaba-san, M showed no reaction. This was because they know that the <<transaction>> would be acceptable.」

「Now that you mention it, that is true.」

「I understand the point Servant A. So, what exactly are you going to do?」

「We’ll do the same thing as Yukihime-neesan and the others did with Sansa-san. The representative who will be taking part in the <<forced acquisition game>> will be accompanied by the other two as spectators. It’s not the representative who is actually playing the <<forced acquisition game>>, but the two who are watching from behind who will use the Nanana collection to support the representative.」

「I see. In that case, the representative playing the <<forced acquisition game>> doesn’t need to have the Nanana collection, and since the cameras won’t be aimed at the spectators, there’s little risk of being discovered by the TV staff or the TV viewers.」

「Conclusion: At this stage, the abilities of the Nanana collection that the other participants will be using are almost all known. Starting with Ikusaba-san’s skull ring, it’s safe to say that the other participants understand each other’s Nanana collections to some extent. In other words, everyone thinks that there are no more surprises to come regarding the Nanana collections.」

「So that’s an opportunity to take advantage.」

「That’s right. So the first thing I want to confirm with you Lady Ageha is about the Nanana collection that those three have. What kind of abilities do they have? Can I actually use them in my strategy? At the very least, I expect that the baby-faced butler’s Nanana collection can be of some use.」

「Baby faced… I think you mean Hamaji. Why do you think so?」

「I was the one who defeated Hamaji-kun in the first stage. That being said, I haven’t actually seen him use it.」

At the end of the first stage, I chose a battle area where neither of us would have an advantage with our Nanana collections, and challenged him to a match. The rules of the battle area where I defeated Hamaji-kun were a quick staircase run. That’s because Hamaji-kun wanted to fight in a battle area that required intelligence. And the game type for that battle area was a card game.

「It certainly can be useful. Hamaji’s nanana collection is <<Reptile Eyes>>. It can see changes in the opponent’s body temperature.」

「The change in body temperature?」

「You know what is called a thermograph? I think you can imagine it like that. Although the accuracy is not comparable.」

「What exactly can you do with it?」

「You can see people in the dark or even see people that are in hiding. Besides those normal uses, once you get used to it, you can see other people’s reactions directly.」

「What do you mean by directly?」

「As an easy to understand example, imagine someone who is good at keeping a poker face. Their expression doesn’t change no matter how much you shake them. But inside their body is reacting in some way. With this you can see it with your eyes in the form of the change in body temperature.」

「That sounds extremely useful right?」

「That is, if we can accurately understand those minute nuances. Ultimately, the meaning of the change in body temperature is merely a guess on the part of the observer. Unlike Servant A’s <<Yugutoth’s One Eye>>, it is not something that can be clearly determined to be true or false.」

「I see, it sounds difficult.」

「Although anyone can sense simple reactions, I think there are many situations where the ability can be put to good use. However, your appearance will change when you use it, so if you don’t handle it properly you’ll definitely be spotted.」

「That won’t be a problem. Thanks to Sansa-san’s flashy entrance, I think it will be possible to use some magic tricks to cover up any minor issues. Also, I’m sure that M will be much more reluctant to point out the use of the Nanana collection after what happened with that incident.」

「If she says someone should be disqualified, she might end up being the one disqualified.」

「Normally, M is the judge of the rules, so we can manage to get by. The Sansa effect is working to our benefit. By the way, what about the other two?」

「Ryoto’s Nanana collection is an offensive skill, so we can’t use it. Inui’s Nanana collection… we can use it, but I doubt how useful it would be in this situation.」

Lady Ageha explained Inui-kun’s Nanana collection, and I grinned.

「That’s perfectly usable. In fact, it’s even more usable than Hamaji-kun’s.」

「I’m sure someone like you, who can come up with the most devious ideas, will find a very nasty way to use it, Servant A.」

I don’t like how Lady Ageha said nastily. Anyway…

「Now I have two more cards in my hand. I think this plan has a good chance of success.」

He then goes on to explain the full details of the plan, and their reactions when they heard it…

「That’s certainly not a bad idea.」

「I think it’ll work.」

Lady Ageha and Tetsu-kun both nodded.

「Well then, let’s get started. We’re still on lap number 7 and there are 16 squares left on the board. Since Nanana-chan is left, the <<forced acquisition games>> haven’t happened as often, but from now on the chances of them occurring are increased. I want to have all the preparations finished before they start.」

「Then I’ll find an opportunity to retrieve the Nanana collection from Inui and the others.」

「Please do, I’ll think of a sign.」

「Understood.」

「Now that we’ve covered the basics, there’s one more thing we can do.」

Hearing this plan, the two of them frowned.

「Does that mean anything?」

「Or rather, it’s a measure to deal with people of interest.」

「People of interest?」

「Yes, there are two people we need to be careful of as we approach the end of the second stage.」

Then on the thirty-first turn, the number of laps finally reaches 10. The number of squares on the board becomes the minimum of four. Furthermore, the number on the timer on the wall of the <<crossroads of fate>> says ‘MAX’. Imawano-san the banker gives an explanation about this.

「As of now, the maximum number of laps (10) has been reached. From now on, the number of laps will not increase.」

I was surprised for a moment at this unknown rule, but then my quivering lips relaxed.

This is a win. The number of laps has reached its limit, which means that the rate of the <<forced acquisition games>> will not increase any further.

I immediately turn my attention to the status of each team shown on the monitor.