Kyou kara Ma no Tsuku Jiyuugyou! Vol 4 Chapter 4

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I don't have anything to ramble or comment about today!  At least, not anything I can comment on before you read the chapter XD Soooo, I guess all's I can do is apologize for this chapter not having any pictures?  And maybe get excited about Attack on Titan tomorrow?

ANYWAY, here's chapter 4!

      Quite literally staying at his desk from morning to night, he was working on approving four days worth of documents.  His Excellency, Gwendal von Voltaire, stands up unsteadily from his chair.

      He had to leave the castle the next morning.  That’s the reason he pushed himself so hard.

      “… Honestly, what’s the point of having a royal advisor?”

      On the other hand, if you get involved with that kid, 9 times out of ten it ends up not being a decent situation.  He unconsciously grabs his right wrist.  There’s still a scar there from where he was chained to Yuuri.  It’s completely healed, but when it gets cold like this, sometimes the bones creak.

      “Are you inviting me to go to a hot spring?”

      “I, I wasn’t inviting you.”

      “You’re… going on a journey?”

      “That’s right, by myself… I’m going for it.  There’s nothing more disgusting than tea that a man has made…  And the magical power of the men in this country is too weak.  There has to be somewhere in this world where someone with even greater magical powers than the demons is waiting to meet me!”

      “But anyway, why don’t you hire a secretary in this castle?  Your work efficiency won’t improve otherwise.  If you would like, I can let you borrow the Magic-Powered Secretary No. 1 I invented, Ms. Voluptuous.”

      She pours red tea into a white porcelain tea cup.  Steam comes up in between the two.

      “Yes, I said so.  Do you have an objection?”

      “No.”

      “You’re the strongest and you’re only at this level, so I have no interest in weaker men.”

      Just in case, I wait until I can hear Wolfram’s signature ‘Gghgpihh-ghgpihh’ before I get dressed and leave the room.  I don’t really think I need it, but to alleviate some of my guilt, I bring along Windpipe No. 1.  Wearing round sunglasses at nighttime and a flashy pink knit hat and using a cane even though I can walk perfectly fine, I’m a very suspicious nightwalker.

      “Huh?”

      “You’re not… on your way to the toilet, are you?  It’s a little shabby here, but there’s a bath and toilet connected to your room.  So that means, you’re running away?”

      “Ah, that’s fine.  If you’re going to escape, now’s the time to do it… is what I’d really like to say.”

      “Go back to your room and go to bed.”

      “I’m looking for someone.  I saw them this afternoon.”

      “No.”

      “Hey now, think hard.  Was it really them?  Are you sure you didn’t just mistake them for that person?  Hey wait.”

      “I have something for them.”

      Well, she might be fine since she’s not wearing ruby slippers.

      “However you look at it, it seems like this isn’t really a place the two of us belong.”

      As I was thinking that, I saw a lady clutching her stomach and crouching down in a dim part of the roadside and none of the passersby stopped to help her.  Maybe she was pretending to be struck by a chronic illness and was really a pickpocket like on period dramas.  In any case, I had a child with me and I decided it was best to avoid risky behavior so I just grip Greta’s warm hand.  If the lady really was sick with a stomach ache, someone would definitely help her.  I tell that to myself and move to walk past her but…

      It was contrary to my middle class sense of justice, but my mouth and body moved on their own.

      “… my stomach hurts… I’d really appreciate it if you’d let me ride on your back.”

      As long as I was careful not to get my wallet taken, giving her a ride on my back was okay.  Handing Greta Windpipe No. 1, I move to place a hand on the woman’s hunched back.

      With the angry words coming at me from over my shoulder, my hand stops immediately.  Damn!  She wasn’t a pickpocket, it was a straight up blackmailing scheme!

      It was a very clichéd threat.  Hesitantly turning around, I saw a group of three ill-bred looking men.  They had long straight hair parted down the middle like a bunch of folk singers had back in the day.  Their muscles were bulging and they all looked fairly strong.

      “No way.  First of all, I haven’t been constipated lately, and second of all, it’s just absurd that emptying myself out would put you in a better mood.”

      The hand I had moved to defend my wallet to the last was grabbed from behind.  Pulled with all of their strength, I’m forced a few steps backwards.

      The owner of the voice drags us through the nighttime shopping district at a run.  The pale green hem of their slip dress is lifted in the wind.  Panicking, I return my gaze to the back of our savior’s head.  The swaying locks of their dirty blonde hair are cut off at the nape of their neck.  Their thin, long, sun-tanned legs are kicking up as high as an athlete’s.

      “Those guys are persistent, but we should be fine this far away.  You had a cane so I was worried if you’d be able to run, but you’re not injured or sick, huh?”

      “I loved running when I was a child.  If I was a man, I’d have liked to deliver letters.”

      “Huh?”

      “Are you the girl who hit on us earlier this evening?”

      She holds up her palms.

      “Hey, those under 15 have an 11 o’clock curfew… oh I guess it’s still early.  But still, a middle-school student walking around at this time of night with those super exposing, sexy clothes isn’t right!”

      “I might seem like an idiot for saying this after you saved me, but where do you live?  I’ll walk you home.”

      “You can’t take me home; it’s far away.”

      “Yeah, I do that too, but… I usually stay in the store.  You walked by it before, right?”

      “Eh?”

      But I’d probably say it anyway.  I believe I’d be able to force a smile as well.

      “I know it’s really annoying that I sound like your parents or your teachers, but in this case they kind of have a point, and you know, me saying something so shamelessly is kinda, well, you might even say ‘It’s my life!’ or something like that, but you, you should take… take better care of yourself, or something.”

      Please someone tell me I’m right.  Give me a pat on the back.  Take away this embarrassment.  But even if nothing gets solved, I’m going to say it anyway.  In short…

      Trying to hide my embarrassment in vigorous movement, I rip off my down jacket.  It’s a lot heavier than a ‘Made in Modern Japan’ version, but the warmth is the same.

      “Ah, yeah, and anyway, your home.  Even if it’s far, I’ll take you there.  You saved me so I’ll handle the bus fare… oh there’s no buses.  Carriage fare, then.  If you spend the night at a store, your parents will worry, you know?  If you worry them too much, they’ll age prematurely.”

      “I’m not talking about you, Greta.  I’m not going to force you to go home.  Right now I’m talking about Wild Goat Girl.  I’m talking about her home.”

      I’ve heard that name before, but I’ll start with the place name.

      “My home and family is in the country even now.  I guess it’s been three months since I came to Hildyard.”

      “Why did you specifically come here from Svelera… why did you run away from home?” (3)

      Wild Goat Girl’s, or rather, Izura’s red-brown eyes clouded with tears.  Perhaps thinking it bad, she roughly shakes her head and wipes them away.

      What!?  But the rain they were wishing for fell!  Even if it was just the one part, wasn’t that part of the suffering in their rough environment taken care of?

      If it would rain, Nicola said that everything would get better in Svelera.  If it would rain, the people wouldn’t have to live in thirst, they wouldn’t have to buy imported alcohol and fruit, the wells and fields would have water, grass would grow and they’d even be able to raise livestock.

      “Then Wild-… Izura, are you working in Hildyard for living expenses?  So you were hitting on me for rent… I’m sorry…”

      On the other end of the narrow street, a warm light was coming closer.  It would swing back and forth and then stop, gradually getting larger.

      “Hi… Higomokos….?”

      As far as literacy rate goes, the child is about 7% smarter than me at the moment.

      On the other side of a curtain that said ‘Hinomokou,’ an obstinate old man was stirring a pot with his super-secret soup base.

      Yuuri screamed, “I’m against making out without love!” and he replied with “If you’re talking about love, it’s right here,” but in his mind he was thinking, ‘what does he mean, ‘making out?’’ (4)

      Have a nice dream.

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[Spoiler to pic]

(3)    Yuuri actually messes up here and accidentally says ‘shukke’(become a monk) before correcting himself.  It’s a throwback to the joke from a few chapters ago with Yuuri’s note to Günter.

      “Brother, you’re a real man for lending a woman your jacket nei?”

      Eating ramen on a cold night is appealing, but what was handed to us was a soup that’s hard to call a Chinese dish.  The bowl is filled with amber-colored broth right up to the brim with a shrimp and clam topping and the noodles are 100% semolina flour cooked to a perfect al dente.  The contents of this bowl are…

      “No, hinomokou.  It’s food they serve at the palace in Zorashia nei.”

      Deciding children are first, I push the bowl in front of Greta.  I lightly tap the wobbly bench next to me for Izura, who looks like she’s uncomfortable standing.

      “But-”

      “Prostitute!?”

      “Weren’t you just messing around for some change?  A prostitute is well, you know, a profession, and if you’re in a profession that makes you a pro!?  A professional… uh, sex worker?  A person in the sex industry?”

      “The sex work… or rather, prostitution I guess… even though you’re so young!?  You’re still in your teens, and not even halfway through them yet.  Even if you gain four or five years you still won’t be legal, you know!?  You absolutely should not be involved in sex work or prostitution!  Uh well, minors pursuing jobs in the sex industry will create a problem in the infrastructure of the country…”

      “Anyway, stop that sort of work immediately!  If there’s a problem with your boss… ah damn it!”

      “What are you thinking, damn it!?  You should be ashamed of yourself!  In any case Izura, you can’t continue prostituting.  You shouldn’t ever go back to that shop.  If you have nowhere to stay… ah.”

      “Clothes,” said Greta, her head still turned in that direction.  Wild Goat Girl had run off wearing my jacket.

      “Brother, don’t get so down on yourself.”

      “You’re a good person nei.  I’m impressed.  At the very least, have some hinomokou poured in this family heirloom, cheer up and get home.”

      It’s a ramen bowl that is clashing with the romantic, swords and magic atmosphere of this world with its bright red, Chinese style patterns.  I imagine if I ate it all, there’d be a dragon painted on the bottom.

      “My future?  No way.”

      “Uwah!”

      Glancing to the side, I see Greta peering into my bowl.  Oh, that’s the face that was in my soup.

      That’s right.  The future isn’t something you can easily understand.  Like I’m going to let some old guy in a ramen stand tell my future.

      Greta has nestled her warm body against mine and is grabbing onto my right hand.

      I’ve got Windpipe No. 1 in my left hand and a child in my right.  Luckily, at least my stomach was full so I could walk forward without worries.  The alley gradually widened and we came out into the open.

      “Ah, this place was on the way.”

      “It’s pretty far, but can you walk?”

      The events for the day seem to have ended and the surroundings are growing quiet.

      Greta stops abruptly.

      “I heard something.”

      Pulled along by the now suddenly running child, I slam my right foot down as if I’m falling on it.  I’m now completely ignoring the warnings of the veteran health care provider, Gisela.

      Using some sort of underhanded trick, Greta rips open the cloth seams and enters the backstage of the freak show.  There are several cages the size of small trucks in the room and a three-headed animal is casually yawning.  It’s that smell unique to livestock.  The largest one moos.

      “Freaky animals!”  Greta exclaims happily, holding a lamp from the corner.  It’s the first time I’ve seen her acting like a child.

      “But it only has two horns.  Usually they have five, right?”

      Because it would be dangerous to let a child carry around a flame, I hold the slightly hot, golden object and point the light into the cage.  I notice that there’s a slip of what looks like a bill of money under the straw that an animal is curled up on.

      Sticking Windpipe No. 1 through the bars of the cage, I try and drag the money out.  If I can just push the dry grass to the sides…

      There wasn’t just one single bill of money, but a mountain of thick bundles.  I pull one out with the T-shaped part of my cane.

      The bundle was so thick and heavy, if these were Natsume Sousekis, this would be around 200,000 yen.   If these were Fukuzawa Yukichis, it’d be 2,000,000 yen.  If these were Nitobe Inazous… that’s hard to calculate.(3) But under the straw, these same bundles are spread all over.

      “Mosa--!”

      But why would they think of hiding this much money in this bizarre spot?  And on top of that, the bills in the bundle are all unwrinkled and brand new.  What’s the advantage in getting new money covered in animal feces and urine?  If my banker father found out about this, he’d bawl his eyes out.  I bring it closer to my nose as if I’m about to smell something scary.

      As I thought, or as I feared, it smells of ammonia so bad it could be an insect repellant.  I drop it without thinking.  It makes an especially loud noise as it hits the dry ground and flips over.

      The reverse side is blank.

      There are cranes on the back of Souseki and pheasants behind Yukichi.  There’s a high probability that these cheap, one-sided prints are still being worked on.

      Have I just discovered something I was not supposed to see?  The best course of action should be to retreat immediately and leave the rest to the police.  I don’t know if it’d be the police, the FBI, or the Secret Service, though.

      “I’ll let you see the animals tomorrow after we have properly paid the entrance fee, so tonight we should leave quickly.”

      “Hey Greta, your nose is running.  Well I guess since it’s proof that you’re healthy it’s fine… huh?”

      I thought up a little joke that a doggy is by my side so this is a ‘doggycide,’ but it wouldn’t understand the pun. (4)

      I’m pushed down and trapped with just one of its front legs.

      Standing there is a man with a body build like a bouncer wearing a Russian style fur hat and holding Greta down with one hand.

(1)    This was some made up animal noise.  It kinda looks like an unfinished word now that I’ve typed it, lol.  To be honest, every time the topic of animal noises pops up in this series, I immediately think of this Family Guy clip XD  It was verytempting to type ‘shazzuuuu.’

(3)    This book was written in 2002.  Before 2004 (when all the banknotes in Japan were redesigned because of the massive amounts of counterfeits), Natsume Souseki was the guy on the 1000 yen bill and Nitobe Inazou was on the 5000 yen bill.  Fukuzawa Yukichi survived the redesigns and is still on the 10,000 yen bill.  ANYWAY, this all means that there’s roughly 200 bills in that bundle.  If you change this sentence to use American currency, it’d be something like, ‘If these were Alexander Hamiltons, this would be around 2000 dollars.  If these were Benjamin Franklins, it’d be 20,000 dollars.  If these were Ulysses S Grants… that’s hard to calculate.’  Of course, I don’t know many people who can name the guy on the ten dollar bill right off the top of their heads.  Testing that theory, I asked a friend of mine and she said Thomas Jefferson XD  I’m sorry if you’re not American and/or everything I just typed now was pure gibberish ^-^;;
(4)    Oh god, puns again XD  Luckily, I didn’t have to think too hard for this one!  The original Japanese is ‘wanko ga soba ni iru kara, wankosoba’ which means ‘a doggy(wanko) is by my side(soba) so ‘doggy-side.’’  Yeah, the English version practically wrote itself.  ANYWAY, ‘wankosoba’ is actually a never-ending bowl of soba noodles. They just keep refilling your bowl until you’re stuffed.  In this usage, ‘wanko’ means a wooden bowl and soba is soba.

Chapter end