3 bar menu

Nanana’s Buried Treasure Volume 9 Chapter 5.5

Ulysses lightly touched my cheek with her lips.

「I’m sure we’ll meet again soon, Juugo.」

「Of course.」

I send them off with a smile. I couldn’t help but mutter to myself though, 「Oh man. I’m getting a little excited, which is not my style.」

So even when the Korunald family comes running from the other side of the hallway, I don’t feel shaken at all. How many are there…?

「Oh, only five people?」

It’s not a problem at all. After all, I’m a bit different now. So…

「If you want to stop me now, you’ll need a hundred times more people.」

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

「Hey」

「So you’re ‘Sad Man A’, whose bride was kidnapped.」

「Stop calling me that.」

In the middle of a huge brawl in the wedding hall, Sougo Yama (the leader of <<Matsuri>>) comes face to face with his useless son.

「It’s good to see you haven’t been hurt at all.」

「That’s the result of your rigorous training. Thanks to you, things will be a lot easier from now on.」

「So?」

「I’m going now.」

「So, are you finally ready to go back to Nanaejima?」

His son was clearly at a loss for words.

「Hey Dad. Maybe you’re thinking that I ran away from Nanaejima and that’s why I’m doing this…」

「What? What are you talking about? Are you stupid? There’s no way that’s true. Even if you’d thrown a tantrum and said, ‘I want to stay on Nanaejima’, I’d have had Yukihime bring you here, right?」

「I thought so.」

「What, you think you’re the protagonist of the world? Don’t do that, you aren’t that kind of person. Kunon is the one who will play that role.」

「I know.」

「So you do what suits your personality.」

「Sougo’s words made his son frown.

「What’s that?」

「Think for yourself.」

「You say all that, and now you won’t explain it?」

「What? So will you live as I say?」

「No I won’t.」

「What’s the third  family motto.」

「Lessons are the precious teachings of our ancestors. But they don’t necessarily have to be the right answer for you.」

「What does that mean?」

「You have to decide your own life.」

「You already know that, don’t you?」

Then there’s nothing more to say.

「There’s something I want.」

「What’s that?」

「Yukihime-neesan and Shuu-san.」

「What? You’re bisexual? As your father, I’m really put off by that.」

「NO! I mean, don’t bring up dirty topics like that with your family, it’s disgusting!」

「Then what will you do if you get them?」

「We’ll do bad things together.」

Sougo laughs at his son’s mean words. 「If you want it, go ahead and take it.」

「Well, I’ll do just that then.」

「Also, go to the riverbed on your way back.」

「I’m going to go. There’s someone I need to meet and talk to again.」

If you already know, there’s nothing else we need to talk about.

「So once again, I disown you, Juugo Yama. Get outta here.」

「Okay. See you later, Dad.」

Moving nimbly through the chapel’s brawl, Sougo’s son leaves the chapel. Sougo sees him off with a grin.

「Well, I’m glad for you, Yukihime.」

Yukihime Fugi peeks out from behind an overturned table, her face red with anger.

「I’m not happy about it at all!」

But her expression clearly shows she is happy.

「I really don’t understand why that idiot just left alone.」

「What was that?」

「No, I’m just talking to myself.」

Yukihime then asks Sougo with a serious expression on her face, 「Boss, did you know that Young Master was worried?」

The son of a noble thief who was against helping others. Before being disowned, his son told Sougo that it was wrong to help someone you didn’t love. That’s the truth. It’s obvious. That’s why Sougo thought this way.

「When we’re born, we’re probably pure as snow. But as we live, more and more darkness gets mixed in and we turn gray.」

「? Boss?」

「The only people who can truly practice pure justice are probably those who are pure as snow. Justice is pure, through and through. But most of the grey folks just scoff at it. It’s just a kid’s ignorance who doesn’t even know what darkness is. But most also think strength is cool. Because they can’t do that anymore. Because they know darkness. Because their bodies are polluted.」

「…..」

「Gray cannot carry out white actions, because doing so would be egotistical. To carry out pure white while also carrying the contradiction of darkness is a selfish act, and there is no pure justice like that which white carries out.」

「…..」

「But I do it. Because it’s cool. I can embrace any number of contradictions. In order to save the one thing in front of me, I’ll easily discard everything else. Because that one thing I want to save is more precious to me than anything else. So I do what I believe is justice, and I don’t care if others call me evil. I’m a real villain.」

And he remembers the faces of his son and daughter.

「Kunon is a pure person. Pure white and has yet to be tainted. That’s why her words and appearance seem to shine so brightly. But Juugo has been gray for a long time. And he’s a gray who endlessly aspires to white justice. And he’s a complete idiot. He knows that we, <<Matsuri>>, are gray. On top of that, he thinks that the imitation of white that we admire and act upon is an endlessly noble thing. He accepts the false white justice that the grays aim for. But he himself is a gray who doesn’t aim for white justice… No, he’s decided that he’s a gray who can’t aspire to it. He denies himself, saying he doesn’t have the qualifications, and struggles.」

Then he shook her head.

「That’s not true. Even if you’re no longer pure white, but gray, or maybe even dark, you can always aim for it. The justice practiced by white that is. You can’t change your color anymore, but the color of what you do with your own hands is decided at the time you do it. White justice created by pure white people, and white justice created by gray or dark people, are both still white.」

When Sougo had finished sharing his thoughts, Yukihime said to him, 「Boss, I don’t get it at all.」

「Yeah, I guess you just don’t get this analogy. I think it’s a pretty good one.」

「You guys are really similar in that way.」

「What do you mean?」

「No, I’m just talking to myself.」

Sougo then tells Yukihime, 「I leave everything about Nanaejima to you. If you want to team up with that idiot, then go ahead. As long as you get results, I won’t say anything. Tell that to Shuu, who’s still on Nanaejima.」

「Okay.」

「Yeah, but I’ll tell you this. Don’t force Shuu under any circumstances. This is an order form me as the head of <<Matsuri>>.」

Hearing this, Yukihime carefully asks, 「Boss, if Todomatsu-san were to defect from <<Matsuri>>…」

Sougo laughs after hearing this.

「You don’t get it, Yukihime.」

「Eh?」

「There’s no point in forcing someone like him to obey you. He’s the kind of guy that’ll obey you of his own accord.」

Yukihime understands what Sougo is saying. No, she already knew this.

「That’s why I’m the leader of <<Matsuri>>, and I have so many irreplaceable friends around me.」

After all, Yukihime is one of them.

5

「Oh, I was wondering who it was. It’s Juugo-kun.」

The location was the riverbed near my house. There, just like the other day, was a young woman in overalls running her brush across a canvas.

「Hello there.」

「How was the wedding?」

「My sister messed with me so much that the marriage was cancelled.」

「Oh, is that so? I’m sorry to hear that.」

She gave me a sympathetic look, which made me feel annoyed.

「So please don’t look at me like a murderer looking at his prey.」

「I’m really not. That’s the way I feel right now.」

At that, the expression on the woman in the jumpsuit’s face suddenly disappeared.

「Is this the situation you expected Kasumi Konjou?」