3 bar menu

Nanana’s Buried Treasure Volume 8 Chapter 3.1

Episode 17: The Third Stage Begins ~Objectives and Actions~

1

There were certainly signs of change. The mysterious black humanoid snowmen known as kumagoro that emerged from the Nanana collection cloak that M wears had changed appearance once again. When M was Nanana-chan, she had the real kumagoro that looked like real Asiatic Black bears. But now they are something else. A completely human-shaped black humanoid. It has the body of an adult male, but its face has no eyes, nose, mouth, or hair. It is simply a human-shaped alien clad in all black tights.

In the grand hall where the second stage had been taking place just moments ago, the five people who had advanced to the second stage lined up after changing out of their costumes. The participants who had lost were watching on.

It was Tensai, Ikusaba-san, Ageha-ojousama, Tetsu-kun, and me that were there. Standing before us was M, the organizer of tonight’s <<game>>. She was accompanied by a group of strange looking people in black.

「Now, let me explain the third and final stage.」

I could intuitively understand something from the way she spoke, her gestures, and the atmosphere. This is not Yun-chan, but something that is controlling her.

「Is this really the end?」

Ikusaba-san smiled fearlessly. Is this the final stage? If we win here  will we get the grand price, the <<Sword of Nanana>>?

「So, M, where on earth is the grand price?」

In response to Ikusaba-san’s question, M pointed the index finger of her right hand straight down.

「It’s hidden in the <<ruin>> beneath the castle.」

The <<ruins>> exist secretly in various places on Nanaejima, and are the secret hiding places where the Nanana collections are. They are still being built and growing.

I had expected this to some extent, but it was also here at Sevens Land, which is about to open.

M continues, 「There are many traps set up in the castle <<ruins>>, and behind the doors at the very back lies a treasure chest containing the <<Sword of Nanana>>.」

Behind the doors at the very back?

「So there is multiple doors?」

Just like me, Ikusaba-san seemed to have been troubled by M‘s phrasing and pointed it out. M nodded.

「The doors are locked, and here is a piece of the key.」

As if in sync with M‘s words, a man in all black carrying a silver square tray walked in front of us. On the tray were five pieces of metal. Each one had a strange shape, and at first glance, they looked like puzzle blocks.

「I will now hand out each of you a fragment of this key and guide you to the entrances to the various <<ruins>> within the castle.」

I see, the full story is starting to emerge.

「So, if we enter the <<ruins>> from there, we have to fight over the key fragments and complete the whole key to open the door, right?」

「That’s right,」 replies M to Ikusaba-san’s question.

In the first stage players had matches to win coins, in the second stage the remaining players formed teams and battled, and in the third and final stage those former teammates will go against each other in a battle royale. This is a cruel story.

「Finally, I will announce the conditions for winning. Bring back the <<sword of Nanana>> from the underground <<ruin>> and bring it to me.」

「Bring it to you?」

「Yes. As the organizer, once I confirm that someone has the <<sword of nanana>> in their hands, I will recognize that person as the winner of the <<game>>.」

I see, the winner isn’t the one who gets the <<sword of Nanana>> first but the one who shows it to M.

Ageha-ojousama raises her hand.

「M, where do you plan on waiting?」

「I will be waiting in the waiting room behind that door on the second floor of the great hall here. If you are returning with the <<sword of Nanana>> from the <<ruins>>, please bring it there.」

M pointed to a pair of double doors on the second floor of the grand hall. It seemed the real finish line was there.

「That’s all for now. Do you have any questions?」

「Can I ask one?」

That was Tensai of course.

「What is it?」

「If everyone is caught in the traps in the <<ruins>>, what will that mean for the <<game>>?」

It’s shocking to hear this from Tensai, but it’s not an impossible situation.

「In that case, there’s nothing we can do. There would then be no winner of this <<game>>.」

「Hmph, I see.」

Tensai does not pursue this any further. Instead, M continues.

「Let me be clear that I think that the possibility that you fear is unlikely. This challenging of the <<ruin>> is just one part of the <<game>>. The difficulty of the <<ruin>> is not that high.」

「So it’s not that hard after all,」 Tensai interrupted with a grin, making M chuckle.

「I think that this level won’t be an issue for everyone who has made it this far.」

「This far?」

「Well… on a scale of 1 to 10, I’d say it’s a 3…. No, a 2.」

「I see. That’s definitely low.」

「The third stage is all about ‘fighting’. The traps in the <<ruins>> are just a way to add excitement to this final stage. By the way, this time there are no mechanisms that activate after opening the treasure chest.」

This is quite a big tip, Tensai thought to herself.

「Are you convinced?」

「Oh, that’s good to hear.」

And so Tensai was finished.

「Does anyone else have any questions?」

「Is it ok if I have one?」

The one who raised their hand this time wasn’t one of the five of us, but Yukihime-neesan. She was one of the contestants who had lost already and was watching everything from afar.

「What is it?」

「As soon as you (the organizer) were defeated, the risk imposed on us participants of our Nanana collections being confiscated disappeared. Is it true that there is no need for us, who have been defeated, to remain here any longer?」

「Of course you may go home. We will immediately return any mobile phones and other items that you have entrusted to us. However, we will not provide transportation home. Please go home at your own risk. By the way, the first tram from the nearest station leaves at 6:13.」

Hearing M’s blunt response that seemed to indicate she was no longer interested, Yukihime-neesan stepped back and said, 「I understand.」

「Now, all of you who have survived, please follow the directions of the men in all black and head to the various entrances to the <<ruin>>. We will start in ten minutes.」

And now the final stage of tonight’s long game is finally about to begin.

2

With the guidance of one of the men in all black, we arrived at one of the entrances to the <<ruin>>. Apparently there are many entrances. The entrance I was shown to was a hidden door behind decorative curtains in a certain room, which opened by pushing in part of the wall.

When the mentioned time came, the man in all black handed me a palm-sized cloth bag. I took it and checked the contents. Inside was one of the pieces of the key I had been shown earlier. He then urged me to hurry up.

And so I set off alone, heading down the long staircase to the <<ruin>> that was said to be located underground in the royal castle. The long staircase was structured in a spiral leading underground, and there were lights installed here and there so visibility wasn’t a problem. I could definitely feel the unique atmosphere of a <<ruin>>.

Then, after walking a certain distance up the stairs I stopped in my tracks and a smile grew on my face.

「Well, I’m certainly glad that all my preparations didn’t go to waste.」

I took off the shoulder bag I had been carrying all night and checked what was inside. Inside was not only the Nanana collection <<Yugototh’s one eye>>…. But also a variety of other items. It was a variety of thieves’ tools actually. The reason I have them is because I had prepared in advance.

I found out the date and time of the <<game>> on the night of the Tanabata Festival. There was about a month until it started, so there was no way I wouldn’t prepare something during that time. Following the rules, I only brought one Nanana collection. But instead I brought a bunch of thieving tools that looked like they might be useful.

Before the <<game>> started, I had assumed that there would be some kind of <<ruins>> because it was related to the Nanana collection. When it started though, it was quite different than what I imagined and I was confused. I was quite relieved that the things I had prepared at the very last moment turned out to be useful.

By the way, I got them from Tsukyuomi-machi of course. Or more specifically from the Three Skulls. I asked my connection (the informant Hajiki Sanada) to order the items on my behalf. If you want to know why, it’s because I didn’t want to have anything to do with that one-eyed lady, and then I was totally freaked out when she showed up in person.