Kyou kara Ma no Tsuku Jiyuugyou! Vol 4 Chapter 3

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      Gwendal von Voltaire hates letting his work pile up.  It’s hard to imagine from his stubborn and unapproachable appearance, but he gets irritated when he’s given work all at once or if there are a number of unresolved problems.  Get today’s work done today and then do a little bit of what needs to be done tomorrow.  That’s his motto.

      His third cup of black tea is growing cold.

      ‘Who would listen!?’ he yells bitterly in his heart, but all he did was just push the point of his pen into the paper.  A blue-black stain spreads there.

      “At this rate, the men’s magical power is only going to keep falling.  Only around one quarter of this year’s new male adults are at the standard level.  This is a serious situation.  In order to combat this present condition, we need to obligate that the boys undergo special training before they become adults.  Here’s where my thought comes in.”

      Her course of action isn’t necessarily correct, though.

      What’s up with the familiar name for this plan? (1)

      While signing a permit for building a welfare facility within his territory, his face became even more bitter.

      “This is why I’m always saying that you think too nearsightedly!”

      “Haven’t I been telling you this since we were children?  Men should be strong and women should be kind.”

      “Did you just say ‘worst example?’”

      “Anyway, your dream was for women to be strong in the world.  If so, wouldn’t just leaving the weakness of the boys alone bring you closer to your ideal kingdom?”

      As he thought, it’s another invention.  There’s no way he can escape her experiment now, no matter how hard he struggles.  Behind him, Anissina pulls out a long object that looks like a sword and grasps the handle in the center.   A moment later, the wing-shaped boards on either side started bending wildly with the vibration.

      “If you keep doing this for a whole day, you’ll have six times normal results!  I call it The Magical Blade.”

      “Isn’t that the machine that trains your abdominal muscles…”

      I’m begging you, please go home!

      ‘Neon-lit Las Vegas, the city without night, ah, Las Vegas of youth, the brief life of Las Vegas.’  I sang a little song of praise to Vegas as the scenery unfolded before my eyes.

      “It’s not ‘Atahmee,’ it’s Hildyard’s resort town, the world famous pleasure town.”

      “I believe they are all gathered.”

      “Vegas isn’t a city like this?”

      Rather than strong old men with slumped shoulders going home from being exploited at the casinos, it seems more suited for guys wearing large kimonos and wooden sandals happily shooting porno writers at a gun range.  Of course, the people who are really walking around here are all blondes and brunettes and their clothes and shoes are all of an other-worldly design and there is nothing Japanese here.  But it’s still like Atami.  I wonder why?

      “Anyway, it’s great that we got here safely.  I don’t know how much more of being in that boat I could have took.”

      Greta’s fever subsided, but now I feel like staying in bed from anxiety.

      At the entrance to town, Conrad pays a bellboy and hands over my trunk.  When I look up, there is a red, Torii-shaped gate in front of me with a round mirror at the top. (2)  Immediately, the second son explains.

      “The Demon Mirror?  Does that mean we’ve discovered another treasure of the demons!?  Should we rip that down and take it home?”

      Diagonal rays of orange light from the setting sun stretched towards the mirror.  I thought they’d get reflected, but the light shined right through it.  In the center of a circular area of the stone paving, several designs appeared with that orange light.  All of the tourists passing by gave a shout of joy.

      “That is the true form of the Demon Mirror here.  At first glance it seems to be a completely normal mirror, but if light hits it from a certain angle it passes through without being reflected and projects several patterns.  I think it’s supposed to have something to do with this country’s god.  In the morning, there’s another pattern on the other side-”

      Stealing his older brother’s words, the third son lifted his nose in the air.  I suppose that means there are other demon mirrors.

      “We haven’t come here to go looking for that treasure, but to get some treatment from the hot springs, right?  Just to be clear, I’m not searching for any treasure.  I’m here to take it easy soaking in the water and healing my foot.”

      “That’s right.  We came here for the rehab of His Majesty’s foot so we shouldn’t worry him needlessly.”

      “… Actually it’s more like over-boiled eggs…”

      Oh so that’s what it is.  I’d been thinking it was a really unappetizing smell.

      A bizarre old man with a protruding belly is yelling while collecting tickets.

      There’s a picture of a monster on a showy billboard with red writing.  It’s a short phrase that even I might be able to read.

      “Not ‘dongs,’ dangerous.  It says ‘The World’s Dangerous Animals,’” said Conrad. (3)

      In order to check in, we move through this area and head for the hot spring zone.  It’s at least a thirty minute journey after we get out of the carriage. That’s a world famous pleasure town for you.

      “Hey there, are you free?”

      But no matter how exposing her clothes are, if I look closely she’s still a middle-school student.

      Since I get bad endings even on Tokimemo, this is the first time in my life I’ve been approached by a girl.  Is this what they call a reverse-pickup!? (4)

      Another lanky girl comes forward with a sluggish gait.  Instantly, my happy feelings plummet to earth.

      “I’m sorry, but we’re on our way to our hotel.  We don’t have time to have fun.”

      “That girl seems to not be feeling well.  It’s bad for your health to be wearing clothes like that in this cold weather.”

      The middle-school girl is relentless.  She must really have taken a liking to Conrad if she’s asking to not have to go home for the night.  With his handsomeness and personality, I can understand why she wouldn’t want him to get away.  But if you hear one of his jokes… you’ll freeze to death.

      “Hey you guys.  I was happy for a moment that I got hit on, but in my opinion, you have to be at least 15 to spend the night out somewhere, alright!?  Go home and ask your parents.  You’re probably worrying them sick…”

      Greta had let go.

      “Hey you, stop messing around!  Calling out to people with children is a horrible thing for us streetwalkers to do!” yelled a coquettish girl from the opposite side of the street.  She had a cigarette in her mouth and disheveled hair and even though she was a bit messy, she was very sexy.  I could see some real cleavage through her crossed arms.

      The underage girls run into the store to hide.  With a laugh, the girl puts a hand on Conrad’s shoulder.  This may seem repetitive, but his jokes are… oh I give up.

      “Three months ago, a bunch of young ones came flooding in.  It seems like the leading authority changed and that sort of plan was put in place.  There are boring customers coming in who are interested in those inexperienced kids.  The younger the better, or something like that.  Seriously, it’s making it hard to do business nowadays.  By the way…”

      “You’re quite the looker.  How about it?  We can have some fun after your companions go to bed.”

      And once again, Lord Weller whips out another technique with a smile that an around-hundred-year-old would never be able to pull off.

      Greta, who had been completely silent so far, suddenly makes a short noise.  She starts to move as if to run away, but she stops when she sees who’s coming.

      At that moment, I finally realized that Wolfram hadn’t been around.

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(2)    Torii gates are those Japanese archways most commonly found in front of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.  If you’ve watched anime, you’ve most likely seen one before.  They are used to mark the entrance to somewhere sacred.  You can google image search them here.

(4)    In case you didn’t know already, Tokimemo is short for Tokimeki Memorial which is a dating game.

      Baths, baths, baths, as far as the eye can see.

      “Wow, awesome!”

      “Hold on, Your Majesty… I mean, Young Master.”

      “No, that’s not why I stopped you.”

      Blathering on with his weird aesthetic sense, Wolfram quickly walks away.  I guess baths for bruises and sprains are farther in.  For someone who looks like a prince, the fact that he isn’t even wrapping a towel around his waist isn’t very manly.

      “… No way.”

      “They’re for swimming.”

      On top of that, there’s tails on the butt part like a tailcoat!?

      So, I got in the baths in a swimsuit so embarrassing if someone took a picture of me I’d cry.  The bruise and sprains bath is right next to the sword wounds bath and there are five scary old guys bathing there who say nothing to us, but when they stand up, they’re all wearing the same thongs.  It took all I had to not laugh.

      Compared to our rough treatment on the ship, the hotel was first class and comfortable.

      Because it would be a problem if the assassin and the target were paired together, Wolfram and I are in the same room.  It’s the same as usual.

      “… Conrad went out!”

      “Hey, Conrad went out.  I wonder if he went to go see that woman from before.”

      “Why?  Even if you are brothers, aren’t you a little too confident?”

      When I first came here, he wouldn’t even acknowledge that he was a demon, let alone his brother.  I wonder what changed that he would actually know what sort of woman Conrad preferred.

      “He likes them more pure, or should I say plain, maybe even rude.  I guess... girls like Suzanna Julia.”

      I feel a bit conflicted after hearing a familiar name.  From what I overheard that night, she was a very important person to Lord Weller. (1)

      “Yeah.”

      “It didn’t happen.  I can assure you.”

      “She was Adalbert’s fiancé.  Even the date for their wedding was set.  But for some reason, one day mother said that the engagement between Julia and Adalbert would probably be broken off.  The head of the Wincott territory is a man who values equality and he respected Conrad’s skill with a sword, so rather than give his daughter away to the von Grantz family, he may have wanted her to succeed the Wincott house instead… if they could do something about the feelings of those involved.”

      “… Wincott has the oldest history among the ten noble families.  It’s said that the founder even fought by the side of the True King against the Originators.  On top of that, Julia was said to be the greatest practitioner of magic in the kingdom.  Everyone acknowledged that.  But Conrart was… well he definitely has my mother’s blood but…”

      “Yeah.”

      “Yeah… no, it wasn’t an issue about whether someone would object to their relationship… it was during wartime so the problem was more serious.”

      “Anyway, the prime minister at the time… you met him, right, the man named Stuffel?”

      “That’s right.  He was a foolish coward who only wanted to cling to his authority.”

      “There was someone giving him bad counsel, so Conrart was forced to go to the frontlines.  By the time he miraculously returned… Suzanna Julia had died.”

      Wolfram’s voice becoming low and stiff implied that he was talking about something he didn’t want to be.  Even I don’t have the intention of persistently asking questions about painful truths, but there is just one thing that I do want to know.  Not about the past, but of the present.

      “About what?”

      As his little brother, this question seems to trouble him.  He lets out a low grunt and falls silent.

      “… That’s…”

      “How long are you going to sit there drinking alcohol like an old man?  Well, I guess there’s no helping that since you're 82.”

      “Hey, let’s go have some hot spring town nightlife fun.  Like ring toss or target practice or smart ball.” (2)

      “Nightlife fun?  I’ve gotten bored of that childish nonsense.”

      Without even waiting for me to finish talking, he lays down for bed.

(2)    I’ve heard smart ball described as similar to pinball, but I gotta admit, every time I see a smart ball machine I think of a giant, ping-pong ball spewing version of those cheap toys that you shake around and try and get all the balls in the little bucket/U-shaped things.  Here’s a video of a dude playing smart ball because that’s the best explanation I can come up with XD

Chapter end