3 bar menu

Nanana’s Buried Treasure Volume 8 Chapter 4.2

Although he frantically dodges the sword down at him from above, Tetsu-kun’s successive attacks continued unabated.

More than anything, the vibe was completely different from when they’d face each other on the way to the <<ruin>>. Without even the slightest hesitation, he unleashed his sword with murderous intent. This terrifying sense of pressure was very troublesome, and I was too scared to wait till the last second to dodge like I had done earlier. Even if I could dodge him I couldn’t get close to him. This pressure was called fear. I knew it because I felt it so strongly.

Tetsu-kun really is trying to kill me.

I want to regain my footing, but I can barely avoid the sword, there’s nothing I can do.

I can’t afford to waste time here. I glance at the passage to the treasure room I just came from. My purple smoke bluff is still working, so they don’t follow me, but it’s only a matter of time.

「What are you looking at?」

「!」

I heard the sound of Tetsu-kun’s steel cutting as a red line appears on my left cheek.

「That really hurt!」

Instinctively twisting my neck, I was able to avoid a deep cut under my eyes, but that was seriously bad. The wound on my cheek wasn’t that deep, but the cut was still very painful. Right after the blow, I did manage to put some distance between us though.

As I wiped the blood dripping from my throbbing left cheek, I confirmed the situation. There was no time left. I couldn’t afford to hesitate here. So I turned my back on Tetsu-kun and ran away as fast as I could.

「I’m not going to let him get away!」

Of the multiple passageways between the doors, I jump into the one that was the most bright.

These <<ruins>> have multiple entrances, so no matter which way you go, you should eventually be able to get out somewhere in the royal castle. For now though, I just keep running.

But unfortunately…

「Looks like he’s following me after all.」

As I run up the stairs of the hallway, I check behind me. Tetsu-kun is chasing me without losing any distance between himself and his sword and me. And behind him, I see a figure…

I put my hands in my pockets, take out a handful of an item, and scatters them behind myself. What is it? Firecrackers and smoke bombs, of course.

「This is useless.」

But it takes a while for them to go off, so Tetsu-kun passes by them following right after me as they are still in the air. It’s only after Tetsu-kun passes by them that they finally explode, sending up a plume of smoke.

Meanwhile, I pass through the passage and jump out into the wide open room. I quickly look around the hall. There are traps here and there. I step on a floor switch that had caught my eye, which sets off a trap. Countless arrows fly towards me. I get low and dodge all of them.

Tetsu-kun swats the arrows one after another with his drawn sword… this is insane. I can’t believe Tetsu-kun is capable of such a crazy techniques.

I think about how I’ve seriously underestimated Tetsu-kun’s skill and abilities as I head straight for the first passage I saw. Before I do though I touch the wall. Rocks start falling from above, but I had already jumped into the passage. Tetsu-kun was also able to jump in.

I ran up the stairs of the passage and looked behind me. A cloud of dust rises from behind as Tetsu-kun chases after me. Ok, I need to set off 2 or 3 more.

I continue running through corridors and halls towards the exit of the <<ruin>>, occasionally setting off traps.

It’s almost time. I feel like I have backtracked quite some distance, almost to the entrance of the <<ruin>>. As I came to the end of the passage I had been running up and reached an empty plaza, I slowly came to a stop and looked back.

「What happened? Have you decided to stop running away?」

Wary of me for stopping, Tetsu-kun keeps a certain distance and puts his hand on the hilt of his sword.

I asked Tetsu-kun, 「Tetsu-kun, let me ask you one last thing. You are going to help Yun-chan no matter what, right?」

「Of course.」

I was satisfied with that answer.

「Okay, then let’s do it.」

Then I tossed it towards Tetsu-kun.

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

Now that Juugo and the others have disappeared, two girls are facing each other at the treasure chest at the very back of the <<ruin>>. Ageha Kachou was fooled by a lie and while she was trying to get around to the other side of the pedestal, Juugo escaped, leaving her stomping her feet in frustration.

On the other hand, there was Ikkyu Tensai. She had followed Juugo’s plan and led Ageha and Ikusaba to the other side of the pedestal. The girl who was deceived and the girl who deceived her. Or the girl who was betrayed and the girl who betrayed her.

The vengeful hands of the smoldering rage reach out towards Tensai.

「Ha hals aheha hoho.」 (That hurts Ageha-dono)

Tensai complains as both her cheeks are pulled with great force.

「This is natural retribution for a traitor.」

Ageha asks again after giving Tensai’s cheeks a good squeeze, 「So then, why are you staying here instead of just running away, little mouse?」

「Hmph, I thought you’d bring that up. This great detective, Ikkyu Tensai, won’t run or hide!」

「I see, so you’re trying to say that even if you run away, you’ll just get caught anyway, so there’s no point.」

「I’m trying to cover it with cool lines, so please stop trying to ruin it by pointing out the truth.」

「You say that with confidence and a serious expression, like you’d expect from a mouse. I like it, so I’ll pet you.」

Then Ageha places both of her palms on Tensai’s cheeks and strokes them gently, making squeeking sounds.

「Ha.. Hahero!」

The poor detectives’ head shook along with her cheeks, causing her to lose her balance.

「Well, I’m getting bored of playing with you little mouse, so shall we have a constructive conversation?」

「Hmm, as expected of Ageha-dono. You get straight to the point.」

「So, how are you… no how is Yama going to satisfy me?」

The reason Ageha said this was because she thought that Juugo had no reason to just leave Tensai behind. And above all, it was Tensai that had stopped Ageha when she tried to chase after Juugo and the others.

「Well, let me tell you about Juugo’s plan.」

Tensai then tells Ageha everything about the plan she had heard from Juugo earlier.

「I see, I understand Yama’s plan. But asking me to accept it is the same as telling me to quit the game right now, right?」

「Ah, yeah.」

「So what exactly will Yama do in return?」

「Apparently he will provide information in the future, or unconditionally hand over what Ageha-dono desires if he gets it.」

Hearing the conditions presented by Tensai, Ageha’s expression darkens a little.

「Is that so?」

「By the way, I would like to know, what exactly was it that Juugo was talking about that Ageha-dono was looking for?」

「? Little mouse, weren’t you listening?」

「Yeah, but that’s the one thing he never told me.」

Hearing that answer, Ageha’s mouth once again formed a smile.

「Then I won’t tell you either.」

「Hmm. I guess there’s no helping it.」

「Oh? You backed down pretty easily.」

「A great detective should investigate things she wants to know by herself.」

「I don’t really like it when people pry too deeply into other people’s private lives.」

「Oh, so that’s the reason. In that case, I won’t pry any further. It’s not the kind of thing I’m after.」

Ageha chuckles at the nobility of her former kohai who backed down easily.

「Okay, go ahead and look into it. I’ll let you. If you’ve looked into it, then I’ll tell you about it later, little mouse.」

「Hmph, got it.」

「So, is that all from Juugo?」

「Oh, and I also have a message to convey along with the terms.」

「What is it?」

「He said, ‘Please make good use of us’.」

Hearing this, Ageha laughs happily.

「You’re very interesting, Juugo Yama. Now I want him even more.」

Ageha shows interest in Juugo. Seeing this, Tensai pouts.

「I told you to be careful of him.」

「Oh, are you jealous?」

「No! It’s just a warning from a former kohai!」

「Do you like Yama?」

Tenai’s face turns bright red in an instant after being taken by surprise by Ageha.

「Wh..wh..wh..why are you saying that? Juugo is just my…」

「Oh, come to think of it, Yama said that you were a worthy rival.」

「What do you mean, Ageha-dono? Did Juugo really say something like that?」

「Ah, that’s right. You weren’t in the robbery room the time he said that, little mouse. You see, that time…「