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Nanana’s Buried Treasure Volume 9 Chapter 1.1

Episode 1: In an Upside Down World

1

Let’s talk about something obvious. The sky is above us, and the ground is below us. That’s obvious. That’s common sense.

Well it seems obvious, but the scene before my eyes right now goes against such common sense. There is a ground above me and a sky below me. This is a world where common sense has collapsed. Things that I took for granted are no longer obvious.

I was coming to a realization that the things I believed in were not common sense. I had been taught that these things were just how it is, and so I simply assumed it was.

「…Well, actually, I’m just upside down.」

Sweat pours out from all over my body, dripping down my neck, face, nose, and onto the dojo floor. As I exhale, I bend my arms that are supporting my body, stopping just before my forehead touches the floor.

「Wheeew, ninety-eight.」

Then, gritting my teeth, I push my lower body upwards.

When people realize that the things they believed in are not common sense, they feel confused and perplexed. It is in that movement they realize that the absolutes within themselves and the absolutes that make up the world are not the same. Faced with this, people accept it. No, they have no choice but to accept it. And so they are absorbed into the absolutes that make up the workd, and the things that were absolute within themselves are reviled as foolish reliefs and forgotten…

What the hell am I thinking? This is bad, my head is so full of blood I can’t even think straight.

「One hundred and ten…. Whew.」

My arms reach their limit and I fall headfirst to the floor. My breathing is irregular and my body is completely motionless, exhausted.

A man in a gi who had been watching me as I was doing inverted pushups approached me. Genzou Fugi, the second in command of the Phantom Thieves <<Matsuri>>, was the boss.

「Let’s get started, young man.」

Pushing past my limits, I somehow manage to stand up, protecting my numb arms, and confront the boss.

「Please.」

Hearing my words while I was still not breathing properly, the boss closed the distance and swung his fist. I narrowly avoided the punch that was thrown at me, and stepped back avoiding a front kick.

It is a one-sided offensive assault by the boss. It’s all I can do to avoid it. After all, I’m exhausted and covered in wounds, and on top of that, both of my arms are immobile. I’m also under the restriction that I must not take even one hit from the boss. If I fail, despair awaits, which is as bad as death.

In this extreme situation, I move efficiently, patiently waiting for an opportunity to minimize the drain on the last bit of my energy and stamina. What I need is calm judgement and analytical ability that will never waver under any circumstance.

「Ha!」

It was the determination to take advantage of the opportunity I found and execute the move I could only use once without hesitation. My fist hit the boss ‘s side. Of course, I put no force into it, because my fists were already dead. It was a strike that took advantage of the momentum of my body.

「Well done.」

Hearing the boss’s words made me feel relieved.

「T..thank you.」

After those words, I collapsed to the floor, sprawled out, and looked up at the ceiling. Even though he’d only used less than 10% of his strength, I was honestly happy to have landed a hit on the boss. After all, if I’d been hit instead, I’d have had to do the vertical push-ups again, to the point of exhaustion. If that had happened, I’d really have died.

「That’s enough for the morning, it’s about time…」

「You two, it’s time for dinner.」

A beautiful woman in a kimono and apron comes into the dojo, interrupting the boss. Her name is Shirayuki Fugi. She is the boss’s wife, and in fact, Yukihime’s mother.

2

After the <<game>> ended, I went out the next day to buy some pudding, and the next thing I knew, I was on a ferry leaving Nanaejima. I had my wallet and cell phone in my pocket. I was wearing sandals and carrying a bag of pudding in one hand. I returned to the mainland, but with no destination in mind, and before I knew it, I was back in my hometown.

Of course, after being disowned, I had no way of returning to my parents’ house, nor did I intend to. In the end, I found myself staying with Yukihime-neesan’s family, the boss’s house.

「Eat up.」

It’s the Showa era in Japan, and in a living room with tatami mats, I, the boss, and Shirayuki-san are sitting around a low table. Today’s lunch is chilled somen noodles in a glass bowl. I scoop up the noodles floating in the ice water placed in the middle of the table with my chopsticks, dip half of them in the soup, and slurp them up in one go. The noodles, covered in bonito broth, flow from my mouth to my throat. The spices of green onion and myoga ginger linger on my tongue, and the flavor of the bonito broth escapes from my nose. It is delicious.

「Eat up.」

Shirayuki-san recommends a platter of soot tempura. As if that wasn’t enough, she also serves me fried chicken, stir-fried vegetables, and white rice cooked in a kiln.

「Shirayuki-san’s cooking is always delicious.」

I’m not jus saying this to flatter her, it’s really delicious.

「If you want to eat it, just ask Hime-chan and she’ll make it for you anytime.」

By the way, Hime-chan is Yukihime-san. Yukihime-san has Shirayuki-san’s recipe book and is a certified cook. Furthermore, she has been drilled with all household chores since childhood, so she can do anything.

「Really, I wonder why she can’t get a boyfriend. Glance.」

Don’t’ look at me. Also I have no comment for that question.

I keep eating the food that’s coming out, as Shirayuki-san keeps talking with a smile, and the boss’s just nodded along and occasionally chiming in. That’s the dining scene at the Fugi household.

「Thank you for the meal.」

「Yes, thank you for the meal.」

I lie down on the tatami mat, rubbing my full belly.

As I savor the feeling of satisfaction, I suddenly remember something. When I suddenly returned from Nanaejima, the boss and Shirayuki-san didn’t ask me any questions, they simply greeted me with a ‘welcome back’. I was hidden away by my disowned family, and the boss trained me every day.

The smell of the tatami mats, the cool breeze coming in from the veranda, the gentle sound of wind chimes. The Fugi house is a Japanese style house in the mountains, surrounded by lush greenery, is very comfortable.

I casually turn my attention to the calendar hanging on the living room wall. A few days have passed since it turned to the August page. It’s been 2 weeks actually.

I spend some time relaxing and sipping barley tea that Shirayuki-san offered me as she went down to the kitchen to do the dishes.

The boss is also in the living room, but he is still the same taciturn man who lets his back do all the talking, so he basically doesn’t initiate any conversation. So I decide to consult him about my troubles.

「Boss, there is actually a very troublesome opponent out there. He counters almost all my attacks and throws them back at me.」

This was the opponent who had given me trouble at the very end of the <<game>> held before summer started.

「Oh, is he using jujutsu or something?」

「I think it was an ancient martial art of the Aikido type. In any case, the attacking technique is difficult to deal with.」

So, I decided to try to imitate Ikusaba-san in the living room after moving the low table aside. Mimicking the stance of Ikusaba-san, I put my right foot forward and both hands in front of me.

The boss slowly attacks me. I guard against it, and then uses it as a base to match my opponent’s movements and bring it into the throw. …..Still, I’m only copying what I saw, and only managing to emulate the form with slow movements.

「I see.」

The boss rolled across the floor as if thrown in time with my movement, then suddenly rose to his feet and, from the same position as before, threw a light jab this time.

As expected of the boss, he delivers an attack that is easy to throw.

「That’s right. I can’t throw an attack from an opponent with a solid center of gravity like that.」

「The basis of the throw is to disrupt the opponent’s posture. In any case, it seems to be a fighting style that requires skill and training.」

「But that’s the most reliable way.」

「No, I’d rather do something about it myself if possible.」