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Nanana’s Buried Treasure Volume 9 Chapter 6.2

I just remembered that I went to Nanaejima just last spring.

「So at that time, I left Nanaejima so that the future I saw would come true, and contacted Sougo Yama, the leader of the Phantom Thieves <<Matsuri>>, and told him about the Nanana collection.」

Upon hearing this, my father sent Yukihime-neesan and Shuu-san as an advance party to investigate Nanaejima. Six months later, I was disowned and exiled to Nanaejima.

「When you came to Nanaejima and ended up living in room 202 of the Happiness dorm, you shut yourself into the bathroom and noticed the notebook I’d left behind.」

「Because you knew that would happen too, thanks to your future predictions. That’s why you tampered with the bathroom.」

「By the way, it took 792 times from when I saw you living in Room 202 until I saw the future where you come out of the bathroom and make Nanana smile. In other words, up until 791 of those times, I was reimagining from scratch the actions I should take up to that point in the future. I suffered unbearable headaches, fatigue, and a lot of stress.」

「It certainly seems incredibly troublesome after hearing all that.」

「Yes, troublesome. So much so that I’m surprised I didn’t go mad.」

I honestly still don’t like this after hearing all that. It’s creepy that all my actions were decided for me. At the same time though, it’s been an incredibly amazing experience. It’s crazy that someone like me, who should know better, has been manipulated so perfectly without even realizing it. It was the Kasumi Kanjou in front of me… no, it was fate.

「Why?」

「? Why what?」

「Why did you go to such lengths to send me to Nanaejima?」

「I’m sorry if you were imagining that maybe you were a destined hero, but frankly speaking, it didn’t have to be you, Juugo-kun… Well, that’s not quite right. If it wasn’t you but someone else who made Nanana smile in the future I saw, then I would have done all that to someone else.」

I was overcome with a feeling of disappointment. It was a statement that made me feel even less significant. But at the same time, a question came to my mind.

「What is your goal? Why have you gone to all this trouble to realize the future you saw and in doing so went through such hardships?」, I asked timidly.

I wanted to know Kasumi Kanjou’s true purpose. … But as soon she heard me ask, Kanjou-san sighed in obvious annoyance.

「Hey now. Don’t look at me like I’m some genius boss who was operating in secret with some grand ambition. I mean, you’re such a quick-witted person, why don’t you understand why I did that?」

「Um…」

「I wrote it in my notebook.」

「…could you mean…」

「Because I want you to save Nanana.」

The intentions of someone who read the future and controlled part of my life. It’s just that simple?

「So, kouhai, please save my best friend.」

That is exactly the same way I feel about Nanana right now.

「Juugo-kun, I can say this much for sure. It’s true that I may have orchestrated the fact that you came to Nanaejima, read the note I left behind in the bathroom, and went outside to make Nanaejima smile. But from then on, everything you did on Nanaejima up until now was undoubtedly done by your own choices and actions. There was no way for me to get involved at that point.」

Hearing those words, I felt as if the smoldering resentment inside me disappeared.

「I see… that’s how it was.」

I’ve done a lot of Nanaejima up until now.

I met Nanana-chan, I encountered Tensai, I met D’arc, I met President Yuiga and his friends. I met Tetsu-kun and Yun-chan… I met many other people too. And I traveled around the <<ruins>> and fought in the <<game>>…

Above all, I swore to myself that I would do my best to make Nanana smile. That was very important to me, and if I had been manipulated by someone, I would have hated that person so much that I wanted to kill them. In fact, I had actually begun to hate Kanjou-san because if it. But it turns out that was not the case.

All the steps I’ve taken and the decisions I’ve made so far have been my own choices. I’ve been moving forward on my own two feet.

「I’ve spoken at length now, but have I cleared up any misunderstandings?」

Of course I nod.

「Yes, sorry for doubting you.」

「There’s no need to apologize. If it were the other way around, I would have understood everything and then punched you. After all, I hate being told what to do by other people.」

It all made sense. This is the woman who founded the Adventure Club, who led Ikusaba-san under her command, and who was able to win the <<game>>.

「Now that we’ve cleared up the resentment, there’s one thing I’d like to say to you, Juugo.」

「Yes, what is it?」

Kasumi Kanjou suddenly grabbed me by the collar.

「Why are you moping around her and leaving Nanana behind? Just hurry up and go back to Nanaejima and apologize to her, you useless loser!」

Wow, I got scolded. By my sempai of room 202 of the Happiness dorm.

2

It took a while for Kanjou-san’s anger to subside.

Anyway, now that she has cooled down, I have a few more questions to ask.

「First of all, what are you doing here?」

「I showed you. I’m now a ‘cool’ person. I’m helping out with <<Matsuri>> and aiming to become a picture book author.」

Come to think of it, that’s what my dad said when I called him on the phone at Nanaejima.

「OK then, why don’t you go find the culprit who killed Nanana yourself?」

「How much do you know, Juugo-kun?」

「Everything.」

「Stop your bluffing, it’s annoying.」

Wow, how did you know it was just a bluff? You’re a grown woman after all, not like a certain middle school girl.

「Um, actually, I know nothing.」

「But you said you had peeked into Nanana’s past.」

「Yeah.」

Then I go ahead and tell Kanjou-san about the memories of Nanana’s past that I saw using the <<sword of Nanana>>.

「I see. So it goes back in time little by little, and we you were only able to see up until the time when Nanana woke up in Room 202, which is nine years ago.」

「That’s right.」

Anything else?’

「No, that’s all.」

「I see. So that’s all you know.」

Kanjou-san puts the end of the brush to her lips and thinks deeply.

「Then Kanjou-san, I’d like to ask you something instead.」

「What is it?」

「Wo on earth Is the culprit who killed Nanana-chan?」

Kanjou-san’s cheek twitches slightly.

「You know, don’t you, Kanjou-san?」

「Why do you think that?」

「You know how we just talked about me going back through Nanana-chan’s memories? I could tell this from the exchange between you and Nanana as you left the room. Kanjou-san used the <<mirror of life’s predictions>> to discover who the culprit was. But for some reason you didn’t catch the culprit. The reason is, you’ll get killed.」

「Juugo-kun is a great detective.」

「Ah, only call me that here, please.」

If the little great detective was here, she would obviously be furious.

「Yes, I know the culprit.」

Kasumi Kanjou admitted it.

That’s why I ask, 「You said earlier, you saw your own future in the <<mirror of life’s predictions>>. The future you saw is filled with despair…」

「It’s just as you think. If I try to catch the culprit, or if I tell Nanana about it, I will definitely be killed.」

「Absolutely?」

「Yes, absolutely.」

「Who will kill you?」

Kanjou-san gasps.

「I can’t say any more than that.」

「I see, so you will be killed by someone other than the culprit.」

「Hmmm…. Is that true?」

「By the way, why don’t you teach me?」

「Juugo-kun, you seem to be quite skilled. That surprise attack really hurt.」

「I guess so.」

「But why did you think I wouldn’t tell you who the culprit was?」

「If you were planning on telling me, you would have told me long ago. After all, if you found out who the culprit was, Nanana-chan would be saved.」

Seeing my smile, Kasumi-san nodded and said, ‘I see’.

「I understand. I surrender. I’ll accept it up to the point where I know who the person who will kill me is. However, I won’t say anything more than that」, she said decisively.

I laughed out loud.

「What’s so funny?」

It seems she didn’t understand. So I said it.

「No way, you’ve got to be kidding me. I’m telling you, I’m going to settle this right now.」

After all, the goal is right in front of him. There’s no reason to back down now.

「You look like an incredibly evil person right now.」

「That’s true, I am a villain, of course.」

「I see. But unfortunately, that’s not possible」, I declared seeing Kanjou-san’s determination.

「Why?」

「There are three.」