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Nanana’s Buried Treasure Volume 9 Chapter 4.1

Episode 4: It’s My Choice

A few days ago, the Korunald family arrived in Japan and were staying at the Grand Hotel in the city, arranged by Sougo Yama, the head of <<Matsuri>>.

The hotel is a large 30-story building with a wide area lobby. It is also the venue for the wedding of Juugo Yama and Ulysses Korunald, which is scheduled to take place in three days.

In a suite on the top floor, two men are sitting on a sofa, facing each other.  Juras Korunald and Ishbal are the head and next head of the Korunald family, a European noble thief family with a long history, and also the father and older brother of Ulysses.

「I see. So the excavation site in the Middle East was empty too.」

Ishbal’s expression was gloomy after hearing the results of the investigation of the ancient ruins discovered by the Korunald family the other day.

The Korunald family’s main occupation at present is tomb raiding. Their mission is to be the first to find and uncover ancient ruins that have remained hidden all over the world, and to obtain the treasures hidden within. However, for the past ten years, the Korunald family has not been able to achieve any significant results. And it’s not just the Korunald family. None of their peers have achieved anything in the past ten years either.

In the heavy silence, Jurus gave a wry smile.

「Now that the existence of the Nanana collection has been confirmed, we may have to say that this is conclusive.」

A certain rumor is being whispered about in the tomb raiding industry. All the ancient ruins in the world have already been uncovered. And all by the same girl, ten years ago.

「Nanana Ryuugajou.」

Hearing his son say the name made Jurus grimace.

「Ishbal, do you think such a ridiculous story is true? Numerous ancient ruins left behind in this vast world over thousands of years couldn’t all be emptied in just a few years. And that the one who carried it out was a young girl from the far east who died ten years ago? You think our clan has suffered utter defeat at the hands of such a young girl?」

The accomplishments the family had accumulated over the eons paled in comparison to Nanana Ryuugajou’s impossible feat. There were no more ancient ruins to uncover in this world, no more treasures hidden within, and no more chances to restore the family’s honor and pride. That meant that the Korunald family had lost its purpose and meaning.

The dazed Ishbal bit his lip. Seeing his father (someone he respects) like this, he felt anger towards the ghost of someone who had died ten years ago. And yet, it was because he had truly experienced his father’s disappointment that Ishbal spoke as the next head of the Korunald family.

「Let’s change our way of thinking. What that means is that all of those treasures are now on Nanaejima. That doesn’t mean our hope and honor is gone…」

「You’re the only one who can enter Nanaejima, Ishbal. The other staff members and I can’t set foot there.」

That fact left him speechless.

Nanaejima has strict entry restrictions, so only students can enter. The only adults who can set foot on the island are former students of nanaejima. Even paying a large sum of money to Sansa Kurosu, one of the GREAT7 that governs the island, did not shake this restriction.

Ishval had potential, but Jurus, and the other family members who had walked alongside the Korunald family for many years, no longer had that. They had once longed for a treasure hidden deep within unseen ancient ruins, and gone to great lengths to find them, only to be shown that it was all just an impossible fantasy. The young people could understand the disappointment felt by the adults, and so Ishbal hung his head, unable to say anything else.

Seeing his son like that, his father placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

「I’m sorry, Ishbal. It was careless of me to complain in front of my son. It’s true that Akira’s current situation is dire, but I haven’t given up yet. We must find a way to get into Nanaejima no matter what.」

The son nodded firmly to his father’s determined words.

「That’s why we must make this marriage a success, no matter what.」

Recalling the family situation that Jurus had told him earlier, Ishbal asked, 「Is it that serious?」

「Ah, we don’t have much time left.」

Ishbal, of course, understood what that meant.

「What does Ulysses think?」

He still couldn’t help asking about his situation.

「She’s all smiles in front of me.」

Ishbal can easily imagine his little sister like that. Ulysses is a very kind child. She always has a smile on his face, encouraging his family and the staff. In fact, everyone is always comforted by Ulysses’ presence. Perhaps it’s because she lost her mother at an early age. She is reluctant to show her true feelings to her father or brother. She rarely shows the true feelings deep in her heart.

1

「Hello, Juugo-san.」

I heard my name being called, and when I turned around, there was a very cute blonde girl. Well, it was Ulysses-chan.

「What are you doing here? And why are you dressed like that?」

I encountered Ulysses-chan at the foot of the mountain behind my house, where I always go for a run. And even more surprisingly Ulysses-chan was currently dressed in running clothes.

「I heard from Hime-neesama that you were here, so I thought I’d join you.」

「Is that just an excuse?」

When asked, she seemed a little surprised and troubled but then nodded as if she’d given up.

「I just wanted to talk.」

「It doesn’t have to be here.」

「But in the few days since I’ve been here, you have always been running off somewhere with some pretext, Juugo-san. You just disappeared yesterday when we were checking out the venue.」

「Well, I was going to leave that up to my dad and the others.」

「It’s not good to leave it up to others when it’s your own business.」

She scolded me. Or rather, gently admonished me. She was absolutely right.

Well, anyways.

「I’m going to run around the mountain path now. Are you sure you want to come with me?」

「Yes, I’ll come with you.」

So that’s how I ended up working up a sweat with a cute girl.

We immediately started climbing the mountain path. However, it was not the usual animal trail, but a properly paved road that cars could also pass through. We climbed at a slow pace, trying to stay I the shade as much as possible along the gentle incline. Even so, it’s a fairly tough course, but Ulysses keeps up with me. As expected of a member of the Korunald family, she seems to have mastered the basics. If it were Sora-nee, she’d be exhausted long ago.

But I guess that’s about it.

「Let’s take a little break」, I suggest, as we come into view of a park about halfway up the mountain. I suggest a large bench with shade and hand her a cold sports drink I bought from a nearby vending machine.

「Thank you.」

Ulysses immediately opened the lid of the plastic bottle and gulped it down to quench her thirst. She was covered in sweat, and her porcelain-white skin was reddish from the heat. On top of that, her shirt was sticking to her body because of the sweat, which was just…

「Ah, don’t stare at me, Juugo.」

Ulysses looks down in embarrassment and tries to cover her chest with both hands while holding the plastic bottle.

Oh, the sight of her perfect sized breasts being pushed up was quite something… ahem, no. I’m not really looking that closely, okay?

I sit next to Ulysses and quench my thirst with the sports drink I bought for myself.

「It’s hot again today.」

「Yes. I really don’t like the Japanese summer.」

It’s a sunny day today. It’s very muggy because the sun is shining brightly.

「Won’t you get a sunburn?」

「I put on some sunscreen just in case, but I think it’s best not to go outside when the sun is out.」

「You’re right. You shouldn’t run outside at this time of day.」

「I don’t want to hear that from you Juugo… but it seemed like it would be best to part with you at this time Juugo Yama. I’d be getting in the way of your training.」

「Haha, that’s not true…」

「It seems like it’s been like this ever since you came back from Nanaejima during summer vacation.」

「…you already know this, huh?」

「Since you are the man who will soon become my husband, I did a little research.」

As expected of the Korunald family’s treasure child, she seems to be handling the advance scouting with ease. Actually, hearing such a cute blonde girl calling me her husband, I was quite touched.

「Is there something wrong?」