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Nanana’s Buried Treasure Volume 8 Chapter 7.4

Shunju Ikkaku tells this to her casually.

Sansa-san grinds her teeth and says, 「This guy is still as annoying as ever.」

Then, Sansa-san sighs deeply and asks Shunju Ikkaku, 「So? What’s the deal?」

「There are five people I want to negotiate with. I’d like you to set up the venue. The deadline is within 90 days, and my schedule is as follows.」

Shunju Ikkaku approaches, passing in front of Futaba-san, and takes out a piece of paper from his pocket. Sansa-san takes it and quickly glances over it.

「The CEO of a Japanese company and a politician. A state legislator in the US. AA European businessman and a bank president. They’re all really troublesome people. What’s more, they set deadlines that are always right at the last minute, which really pisses me off.」

「And I’ll have you accompany me to negotiations between the CEO of the Japanese company and the CEO of the European company.」

「Huh? Why are you dragging me into a business deal that you have no chance of winning?!」

「Because zero becomes one-thousand with you.」

「Do you know how much of a hassle that is, damn it?」

「I know. And you know that only Sansa can do it.」

「Heh.」

Sansa looks away in a sulky mood as Shunju Ikkaku speaks blatantly.

「I’m telling you to work for Nanaejima sometimes.」

「Ah geez, I get it! Sansa do this, Sansa do that….」

Sansa-san spat out with a sulky look on her face. It was so out of character for her to be manipulated…. Or more like she is just following his lead.

Shunju Ikkaku turned around in front of Sansa-san and continued as he returned to his original position.

「Now, I’ll give you instructions for the future. Koma, tell Daikuro to carry out a thorough inspection of the buildings in Seven’s Land as soon as possible. If repairs are necessary, we don’t mind delaying the opening date. Utsuki, I’m sorry, but I’d like to leave it to you to contact the relevant parties in this case. Can you do that?」

Mutsumi-san nodded with a smile, and Utsuki-san smiled happily and said, 「Leave it to me.」

「Shiki, if there are no problems with Kiyomi, please ask her to prepare the report by today or tomorrow. She probably won’t do it though.」

「Yes, yes.」

「Saito, do as you like.」

「Just because you don’t have any instructions doesn’t mean you need to call me out and tack something on.」

「You’ll get angry if I leave you out.」

「Shut up.」

Then, returning to his usual position, Shunju Ikkaku looks around.

「That’s all from me. Does anyone else have anything?」

Shiki raises her hand.

「Just to be sure, from now on, the Nanana collection will be handled the same way as before, according to Nanana’s will, right?」

「Yeah, there’s no problem with following the rules we decided on as usual.」

When Shunju Ikkaku repeated these words, Shiki looked somewhat displeased and backed down.

「I understand.」

「Well then, this emergency meeting will now be concluded. Dismissed.」

AS soon as he says that, I immediately confront Shunju Ikkaku.

「You used Yun-chan as a negotiation tool!」

「That’s right.」

「Why would you do something like that…?」

I started to ask this but I was cut off again, as Shunju Ikkaku once again put his hand up.

「Juugo Yama, you seem to be misunderstanding something. Nanaejima is an island run by us, the GREAT 7, and we have the right to make the rules and decide everything that happens here. But you do not. So what you have been trying to say up until now is merely an opinion based on ethics, but in this place, in this situation, it is nothing more than meaningless noise.」

「Huh!?」

「That’s why I said earlier that nothing you say will change anything. You’re not on our stage. You’re just a heckling member of the gallery. You have no right or power to say anything.」

「Guh.」

「With that in mind, let me ask you this: do you have any complaints about the decisions made at this meeting?」

Hell, there’s no way I don’t. Regardless of the process though, the result was that Sansa Kurosu obeyed, and most of all, I could really sense Sansa’s protective attitude towards Yun-chan. So I swallowed my frustration and could only say, 「No.」

「That’s all.」

I was angry at myself for being cut off with that one phrase and not being able to say anything back.

Sansa-san, who had been watching me from the sidelines, laughed fearlessly and suddenly spoke up.

「Oh, that’s right, I’ll tell you something interesting. Apparently, this guy is looking for the culprit who killed Nanana.」

Sansa-san suddenly shouts loudly, and the eyes of the GREAT 7, who had started to scatter, turn to me again. Moreover, they look at me with a slightly different look of curiosity than before. This really takes me by surprise.

Huh? What? What was that?

Then the GREAT 7 members approach me, each with their own thoughts.

「What was your name again?」

The first to speak was Saito Futaba.

「I’m Juugo Yama.」

Futaba-san looked me over from head to toe and grinned.

「Well, I don’t have high expectations, but if there’s anything you want me to do, come to me. I’ll make a special effort to listen.」

With that, she patted me on the shoulder and passed by.

The next person to stand in front of me was Koma Mutsumi-san. He held out his hand with a big smile, so I shook it timidly. Looking at his innocent smile, I felt like he was cheering me on and telling me to do my best. …To be honest, I’m a big fan of Mutsumi-san, so I thought I’d love to get an autograph later… Then Shiki Maboro-san, the landlord of Happiness Dorm, took his place.

「Juugo, are you really?」

Shiki-san looked surprised. Or rather, it was obvious. After all, the only people around me who knew about this were Nanana-chan and Tensai.

I nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed, and Shiki-san patted my head with an unusually gentle smile. Then she looked me straight in the eyes.

「Do your best. I’m sure you can do it.」

I sensed great expectation in those eyes, but for some reason I also sensed loneliness and melancholy.

Then Shiki smiled once more and passed by me.

I was somehow taken aback. Shiki’s behavior was unlike usual.

「You’re funny.」

That’s when I was startled. Then, in front of me stood the smiling face of Uzuki Kakyou-san.

If I had to describe Uzuki-san, she’d be an incredibly beautiful woman in a kimono, a peerless beauty. That’s why the smile she showed me startled me. That smile was filled with hostility. Her cold eyes dug into my heart all the more because they were so piercingly beautiful. They pierced my heart as if I was being stabbed with a sharp blade.

「Well, do your best.」

Suddenly, Uzuki-san’s hand rested on my shoulder.

Then she whispered in my ear, 「But they always end up regretting it. I wonder why they do.」

The beautiful, cold, and terrifying words that entered my ears crawled down my spine.

「What is that? A warning or something?」

「No, it’s a prophecy.」

With that, Utsuki Kakyou-san passed me.

Then I became aware of the large amount of cold sweat on my back. I also noticed another gaze fixed on me. It was Shunju Ikkaku’s gaze.

Shunju Ikkaku just stared at me. He didn’t say a word, just stared.

Meanwhile, a young man in a suit arrived at the hanging garden.

「Ikkaku-san, your car is ready.」

「Okay. I’ll be right there.」

Then the gazes that had been directed at me turned to the person next to me. To the great detective, Tensai Ikkyuu.

「I’d like to hear more about what you just said. At home tonight, please.」

「Understood.」

I was taken aback by his reply. I was surprised at how serious his answer was, unlike that selfish detective. Then, Shunju Ikkaku passed by me, just like the other GREAT 7. Unlike the other GREAT 7 members though, he didn’t say anything to me.

With most of the GREAT 7 gone, the hanging garden became quiet. So I turned to my neighbor and asked her something that had been bothering me.

「Um, what did you mean by that earlier? Does it have something to do with Shunju Ikkaku?」

When I ask that, Tensai looks away.

「It’s nothing.」

「Eh, don’t worry about it… Hey, no way! You aren’t in an inappropriate relationship, right!? Even if you are getting paid, you got to say no!」

「No way! What did you just imagine him and me to be like?」

Tensai’s face went red. Or rather, did she just say ‘him’? Did she mean Shunju Ikkaku?

「Anyway, it’s none of your business!」

She was quite annoyed by that.

「It’s none of your business, even if you are a worthy rival.」

Tensai went quiet and turned away with a sulky look on her face.

「That’s a mean way to put it.」

「Shut up. So what.」