3 bar menu

Nanana’s Buried Treasure Volume 9 Chapter 3.3

「Didn’t Nanana tell you?」

「I simply wasn’t interested.」

「Oh, that’s strange to hear.」

「Really? If you ask me, it’s pretty rare to be interested in antiques or items with mysterious powers. If you want an item that accomplishes a task you can make it yourself right?」

The genius mad scientist snorts as if it’s as simple as that, then continues:

「Well, it’s true that Nanana-chan wasn’t the type to brag about such things. In that respect, it seems like Nanana-chan was similar to me.」

「What do you mean?」

「I mean what I said. It just seemed like Nanana-chan wasn’t interested in collecting those things.」

The opinion Saito just gave was quite surprising.

「But Nanana-dono actually calls the things she collected the Nanana collection right?」

「That’s just what it was called afterwards. They weren’t things that she collected with that purpose in mind. I’m just saying that she called the things she acquired a collection as a by-product.」

「Hmmm, that’s a very interesting opinion. So let me ask you this: if the Nanana collection was a by-product, What did you view Nanana-dono’s purpose as?」

When asked, Saito Futaba looked up at the ceiling and said, 「What was it…」

「For the challenge.」

「For the challenge?」

「For Nanana, the process was the purpose and the result was just a side effect.」

Another strange explanation. In any case, that seemed to be Saito Futaba’s view of Nanana.

「I see. That was helpful.」

After hearing the whole story, Tensai and D’ark thanked him and got up from the sofa.

「Great detective, have you met Nanana-chan?」

As they were leaving, Saito asked Tensai this.

「Yeah, I see her almost every day, since we’re neighbors.」

Hearing this, Futaba laughed happily.

「Oh, so you’re a resident of Happiness Dorm?」

「Yeah.」

So Saito Futaba asks Tensai.

「Hey, great detective. How is Shiki doing at Happiness Dorm?」

Tensai was confused for a moment by the unexpected question, but she answered.

「She drinks every day and seems to be having a lot of fun.」

「I see. That’s good.」

Maybe it was just Tensai’s imagination that the mad scientist looked a little kind.

3

Next, Tensai traveled under the scorching sun and arrived at the headquarters building of the Nanaejima General council. There they were to meet Tsuki Kakyouu, one of the GREAT7.

A member of staff who was waiting at the reception desk guided Tensai and the others to a room on the 26th floor. The entire back wall was made of glass, making for a large window with a panoramic view of Nanaejima. This was surprisingly a tea room.

A tatami mat is laid out in the center of the mirror-polished obsidian floor. The sound of wind chimes ringing out from nowhere creates a cool atmosphere.

「Welcome, you two.」

The one giving Tensai and D’ark a beautiful smile is Tsuki Kakyouu, who is sitting on the tatami mat with good posture and wearing a cool-colored kimono. Her seductive beauty makes not only D’ark (who is a man) but even Tensai feel flustered.

「Come on, don’t just stand there. Come in.」

The two who had been standing at the entrance were urged by Tsuki to take off their shoes and sit down on the tatami mat. Incidentally, while they foreigner D’ark was sitting upright, Tensai was sitting cross-legged. Seeing this, Tsuki chuckles and reaches for the tray that is nearby.

「I would really like to make you some tea, but it’s hot today so I think this is better.」

She proceeds with the preparations with practiced hands and places a beautiful bluish glass cup in front of the two. It contains cold green tea with ice. The two take a sip as he is encouraged to, 「here you go.」 The cold green tea passes down their throats, and their bodies, which had been exhausted by the heat, instantly recover.

As the two take a breather, Tsuki is the first to speak.

「So you came all the way here. Why did you make this long trek, Tensai Ikkyuu?」

Tensai flinches when she hears her name called.

「I don’t remember telling you my name yet.」

「It’s only natural to remember the name of my precious daughter.」

「I’d like you to correct a few things. First of all, I’m not Tsuki-dono’s daughter.」

「You’re my future daughter. You can call me mom from now on.」

Tensai glared at her smile, but Tsuki didn’t seem to mind at all.

「I thought our affairs were supposed to be private, right?」

「My main job is helping Haru-san. I’ve been by his side for longer than Yuya-kun. So I have plenty of opportunities to learn about such things. Even if they are things that Haru-san does in private.」

「Are you peeking?」

When Tensai asks this, Tsuki chuckles.

「Don’t be so rude. There are so many things in this world that you can see even if you don’t try. It’s the same as when you walk outside and you can tell the sun’s mood even if you don’t pay attention.」

Tsuki continues without even looking out the window.

「What you see differs depending on your point of view. The view from the first floor and the view you can look down on from here. Even if you’re looking at the same thing, there’s a difference in what you see. From the first floor, you can only see the front of the building across the street. But from here, you can see beyond that, all the way to the end, all the way to the back.」

「….」

「Plus, my eyesight is a bit better than most people’s. I can see things well even if I can’t see them at all.」

As Tsuki looks over with a smile, Tensai looks a little nervous.

「You don’t need to be so cautious though. I want to be good friends with you, Tensai.」

「I don’t particularly want to be friends with you though」, the great detective declared in front of her face.

「I can’t take it anymore, Tensai-chan. Well, if I keep bothering her, she’ll just end up hating me, so let’s get down to business.」

「Well then….」

「So, what do you want to know about the incident ten years ago, Tensai-chan?」

Tensai is at a loss for words when the question she was wanting to ask was presented. Just like her name, did she research them beforehand? Or something else…?

Staring at the smiling Tsuki, various possibilities cross Tensai’s mind. But for now, she decides to go ahead and ask the question.

「What do you think about the incident ten years ago, Tsuki-dono?」

「I don’t’ know. I’m not interested in it at all, so I don’t really know what to say.」

Tsuki answers very frankly.

「You’re not going to answer my questions?」

「No, that’s not true. I don’t have any thoughts about it because I’m not interested in it. It’s the same as not caring about what the weather was a week ago. That’s all.」

To be honest, Tensai was even taken aback by Tsuki’s response that she had no interest at all in Nanana’s death.

「Is there anyone who benefits from Nanana-dono’s death?」

「Back then, it was the Alpamestes and the country’s bigwigs… well, they were all adults.」

「Adults?」

「Isn’t that strange? We were like that when we were young.」

「So the young GREAT7 were hostile towards adults?」

「Well, Nanaejima is a money tree. It’s only natural that the adults back then wanted to get their hands on it. It’s really interesting. The guys who were hesitant because it would cost so much to make it all changed their minds when it was done. In the end, they gave us toys that were too much for kids and asked us to give them all back.」

Tsuki laughs heartily, blushing and saying, 「Well, to be honest, those guys weren’t your enemy, Haru-san.」

「What exactly is the Alpamestes Corporation?」

「Before this island was created, even though we had raised a lot of money thanks to Nanana-chan, all of us were underage. Because of that, the seven of us couldn’t have done anything on our own. Futaba-kun used to say that ‘the theory of not having lived long enough is a fool’s theory.’ So we appointed a certain adult as our agent and created a company. In a way, it was an agency for us, the GREAT7. And through that, Nanaejima was created.」

「That’s the current Alpamestes Corporation?」

「It’s a bit different. The agent I mentioned earlier is the former president, but he’s a bit of a problematic guy. He embezzled money without telling us, he colluded with the country’s bigwigs and leaked information about Nanaejima, he did a lot of messing around. In the end, things got so complicated that the fate of Nanaejima was decided by whether we won or lost against him. Even so, it should have been a piece of cake, but a lot of things got in the way. It was quite difficult. But in the end, we won… No, Haru-san won.」

「When you say you’ve been busy with all sorts of things, does that mean when Nanana-dono was killed?」