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Nanana’s Buried Treasure Volume 5 Chapter 2.1

Episode 2: Yun-chan’s Whereabouts

1

It’s finally July on the calendar and it’s only a little longer till summer vacation. With less than a month left in the first semester, the mood and temperature are rising in summer. However the one thing left standing in the way of all that fun is the final exam. That is the final challenge of the first semester.

For the students of Nanaejima tests are barriers that cannot be avoided, and test halls are a place of inquisition where bad grades are not allowed. In Nanaejima, which is a place with the best environment for studying, students who are judged to have neglected the minimum effort for education will not only have supplementary lessons for the entire summer vacation but they may even be expelled from the island. In only that way is the island unusually harsh.

During the midterm test I was close to being forced to transfer to another school and being exiled from the island. I would like to avoid getting bad grades and being put on the list of bad kids that can’t come back.

「You can solve that by doing this. 」

「I see. 」

That’s why I’m studying for tests with Yumeji-san. I feel nothing but bliss to get to study after school in the library with a girl wearing glasses like this. Thanks to Yumeji-san I was able to get through the mid-term tests somehow. I am extremely honored to be able to study for the test again with Yurika.

After spending a meaningful and productive amount of time studying I invite Yumeji to tea as a thank you for teaching me.

「Yes, gladly. 」

「Really? I’m glad. 」

I practiced in front of a mirror on a daily basis and pretended to be a cool guy with a refreshing smile, but in my heart I pumped my fist and said ‘Hell yeah!’.

We enter a coffee shop in the downtown area near the school and I’m ready to let the flowers bloom. I’m super happy.

「But I’m really glad about Yoshino-san. 」

I remember the other day while smiling back at Yumeji-san when she was smiling like that.

We gathered again after school that day when we heard the shocking report from Tensai during lunch break. Tetsu-kun, Suruga-chan, Yumeji-san, Tensai, D’arc, and me. The place we gathered was a staff room that looked like a corporate office. Among the staff was Yun-chan’s homeroom teacher who was working at her desk. He didn’t look nice to all of us that were crowded around his desk. (Well, the main reason he didn’t look nice was because Tetsu-kun tried to hit him earlier, and I made him angry by saying that I mistook him for a thug.) Even so, thanks to Suruga-chan and Yumeji-san who spoke on behalf of me, he gave us a real response.

「I’ve heard about her leave of absence. It seems that she is returning to her parents’ house temporarily due to their health condition. 」

The homeroom teacher uses his computer mouse. Soon Yun-chan’s leave of absence notification was displayed on the monitor. The reason for the leave of absence was listed as the same as what the homeroom teacher just told us. Two things about this notice of leave of absence bothered me.

「Sensei, how long will Yoshino-san’s absence be? 」

Yumeji seems to have the same concern as me. The entry for the leave of absence displayed on the screen showing the start day as Monday, but the end date was left blank.

「Ah, it looks like her parents aren’t feeling very well. It’s treated as an indefinite leave of absence because she may need to take care of her parents for awhile. 」

If you scroll down the leave of absence entry on the computer screen, you’ll find that what the homeroom teacher just said is written in the supplementary column.

But I’ve been feeling a sense of discomfort for some time.

「Sensei, can I ask you a question? 」

「What is it? 」

While receiving a wary look, I asked about the discomfort.

「Sensei, did Yun…I mean Yoshino-san tell you directly about her leave of absence? 」

The homeroom teacher was just saying exactly what was written in the leave of absence form.

「That’s right, I didn’t create the leave of absence. 」

「Eh? Then who did it for you? 」

「It’s the administration. It seems that Yoshino went directly to the administration office to submit the leave of absence. 」

「What do you mean administration office? 」

「Well a student with a normal school life wouldn’t have much to do with that building. So it’s only natural that you don’t know much about it. In short, it is a place where clerical work is done in the management of the school. 」

Come to think of it, the elementary school and junior high I went to all had offices like that. I never really cared about it though.

「Eh, but is it ok to do something like that and bypass the homeroom teacher? 」

「I don’t really mind. Whether you take a leave of absence or drop out, it’s all your own responsibility. 」

「Self responsibility, huh? 」

It’s a self responsibility peculiar to this island.

「Well, I think it’s normal to tell your homeroom teacher directly, but lately I’ve been on bad terms with Yoshino. To be honest I’m sad that I wasn’t even consulted. But the reason is legitimate and there shouldn’t be any particular problems. In the end I heard that the student was taking a leave of absence, filled out these documents to submit to the administration department, and completed the procedure. It’s just that the normal order was reversed. 」

Hmmm. Is that kind of procedure dealt with by the administrative department? Well those details don’t matter.

When I finished hearing the question to the answer I wanted to ask I looked next to me. There was the great detective with the corners of her mouth lifted as she fearlessly smiled. It looks like you are itching to hear something from the homeroom teacher.

Certainly Tensai also had a realization. So…

「Shall we get going then? 」

I took the initiative to say thank you to the teacher and urge everyone to leave the staff room. Everyone follows my lead, bows their heads, and leaves the staff room.

「Was that a good outcome? 」

Meanwhile Tensai calls out to the homeroom teacher.

「What is it? 」

「It’s just the submission date of the leave of absence application written there. I wonder why it’s from a week before. 」

「? Oh, it’s written here」

「I see? 」

As expected, Tensai also noticed. And there was another point that I was worried about. I’m happy that everyone didn’t hear Tensai ask about it. Everyone was relieved to learn that Yun-chan was safe, and I didn’t want to make them uneasy because of something strange.

「What does it mean? 」

However, there was a person who muttered that while leaving the staff room.

It was Tetsu-kun.

 

「What’s wrong Yama-kun? 」

‘Haa’ I say and look up. Yumeji-san was looking at me with a worried expression.

「No, nothing. Sorry I got distracted. 」

God… thinking about what I did while having tea with Yumeji-san is unacceptable behavior for a spectacle worshiper.

I look around in a hurry to find a topic to talk about. Then I found it outside the window.

「 Come to think of it, the city has been noisy lately. 」

「That’s because the Tanabata Festival is coming soon. 」

Yumeji-san looks out the window like me. Directly in the line of sight is a bamboo tree with colorful strips of paper hanging from it. They are lined up on the street in front of the store. I saw a lot of them before coming here from school. It seems that the downtown area is really getting into the spirit of Tanabata in a big way.

「Is this going to be a big festival with stalls? 」

Yumeji-san’s response to such a simple question was to nod with a satisfied look on her face.

「Yama-kun just came to Nanaejima this spring so you don’t know yet. It’s probably going to be an even more amazing festival than you imagine. 」

「More than I imagine? 」

「Nanaejima’s Tanabata Festival is a bit special. 」

「What do you mean? 」

「Everyone living on Nanaejima write their wishes on strips of paper. 」

What’s so special about that? Well I guess it would be amazing if everyone writes their wishes. But my doubts were blown away by Yumeji-san’s next sentence.

「The members of the GREAT 7 will grant a few of the wishes that are selected. 」

「Eh? What do you mean by that? 」

Yumeji-san politely started from the beginning and explained the Tanabata Festival to me. I gave her my undivided attention as I was so interested in hearing about it.

To summarize, the Tanabata festival is not something that is held in a certain area or a specific downtown. It is a true island festival sponsored by the Nanaejima General Council. There is a whole history of this festival and it seems that this year will be the ninth festival.