Translator
Corner
Minasan oideyasu. This is Yukkuri demasu!
Juna’s chapter!
DISCLAIMER: There is no
guarantee that my translation is 100% correct. Please correct me if I was
wrong.
Author:
Dozeumaru(どぜう丸)
Translator:
Yukkuri Oniisan
Editor:
So-Chintzy
Enlightenment Arc
Chapter 4 FDF A
――― One day on the middle of the Second
Month of 1547 CE (Continent Era)
「Oh! Your
Majesty, I bid you welcome!」(Moltov)
After pa.s.sing through the doors
of the recording studio, of the Royal Voice Broadcast, that was constructed inside
the castle, I was greeted with an exaggerated gesture from a nice looking middle-aged
n.o.bleman. He was the father of Ivan Juniro ――the person behind Friedonia's
first tokusatsu hero 『Silvan』――,
Moltov Juniro.
「Hi, Moltov.
How goes the program production?」(Souma)
「I am
producing it by seeing Your Majesty's example.」(Moltov)
Actually several days ago, his son
Ivan, as Silvan, had become popular, so I took a momentous decision to appoint Moltov
as the production director of the broadcast program. I wanted to create a
system where we could still produce the programs even when I was busy with other
work. I thought that since Moltov himself had the same special effects ability
like Ivan, wouldn’t he be remarkably cut out for this task? Moltov put his
hands on his beard while speaking.
「My, producing
this program is a profound task. What the citizens want to see, what they don’t
want to see, what we want to show to the public, what we don’t want to show……
balancing these aspects is very difficult.」(Moltov)
He seemed to be seriously thinking
about this, so I felt relieved.
「……Do
you want to quit?」(Souma)
「Not
at all! This is something worth doing!」(Moltov)
Moltov smiled lively as he said
this. Somehow I felt that he had a better expression than when he was pressing his
daughter Siena to be my consort. Siena herself had appeared in the tokusatsu program alongside her older
brother Ivan as Silvan’s support heroine (a position similar to Electro-Wave
Human Tackle in Kamen Rider Stronger, or Diana in Spielban).[1]
『I
think I had found my life’s calling. The n.o.bles’ path of advancement is
limited. It will be either through increasing merits in military or domestic
affairs, or through becoming a relative of the Royal Family. Because there were
no other ways, they ended up trying their utmost best on that path. But His Majesty
has taught a new way to my father. A joy to produce broadcast programs that can
delight the citizens. I am truly grateful.』
She said this while smiling
softly. Geez, what a praiseworthy girl. I couldn’t believe that she shares the
same blood as that noisy pair of father and son. Let’s get back to the topic. Just
like what Siena had said, Moltov was rigorously working on the program’s production.
I extended my hand out to Moltov.
「I'm
expecting much from you, Moltov. If you continue to learning diligently at this
pace, perhaps one day I might be able to entrust you with one of the orbs.」(Souma)
「It can’t
be! An orb!?」(Moltov)
「Yes.
And then, it will not just be public broadcasting, but I'd like for you to open
an independent broadcast station.」(Souma)
In other words, I want him to establish
a 『commercial broadcasting station』. If
we only perform public broadcasting indefinitely, the number of programs that we
could produce would be limited. Well, in order to implement this, we would have
to wait for more technological advancements and legislations related to broadcasting,
so it wouldn’t be something that was going to happen soon. However, I expected
it to happen in the next five to ten years, so we should still prepare for it. Moltov
smiled cheerfully.
「So I
will be entrusted with an independent broadcast station?! My dreams spread out even
more!」(Moltov)
「Yes,
so please do your best.」(Souma)
「Please
leave it to me!」(Moltov)
Moltov hit his chest.[2]
「By
the way, Your Majesty, why are you here today?」(Moltov)
「Oh,
yes, that’s right. I thought that Juna-san might be here……」(Souma)
「Juna
Dohma-dono is it? Right now she is in the middle of the 『Educational
Program』 broadcast.」(Moltov)
Mortov pointed at the studio.
Right now was the time for Juna-san’s 「Educational Program」 live broadcast. The song that Juna-san was currently
singing and dancing was the 『West Breeze One After Another』[3]. It was my favorite song in the NHK’s Educational TV children’s
music program 「Singing Odoronpa!」[4]. The appearance of Juna-san dancing with flowing
scarves attached to her sleeves, fluttering and trailing behind her as she moved,
was truly like that of a celestial maiden(Tennyo).[5]
I instinctively thought of the poem: 「The
pathways of the clouds, seal up!」[6]
When the broadcast was eventually
finished, Juna-san ran towards me while still in her costume.
「What's
the matter, Your Majesty? You shouldn’t have any appoinments in your schedule to
visit here today, right?」(Juna)
「No,
I’m not. Just, there is something that I wanted to ask Juna-san for a bit.」(Souma)
「Me?」(Juna)
Juna-san asked and I nodded.
「For three
days starting from tomorrow, I will depart from the capital to meet with a
certain person, so I'd like Juna-san to come with me as my companion.」(Souma)
「I
don’t mind, but…… That means you will be absent from the Capital for three days?」(Juna)
Juna-san slightly tilted her head.
「With
all due respect, but wouldn’t the government affairs be stalled in Your Majesty’s
absence?」(Juna)
「Ah, it
wouldn’t be a problem, since the thing that I asked Ginya to make had been completed.」(Souma)
I asked Ginya Maxwell, the self-proclaimed
『Over
Scientist』 and the fiancée of the Royal Knights Commander Ludwin,
to construct “a certain thing”.
My ability, the 【Living
Poltergeist】, is an ability to split my own consciousness and to transfer
it into objects to make them float and manipulate them from a bird's-eye perspective,
but the effective range was only about 100 meters. Hence, when I made the pens work
in the office, I must stay within the 100 meter radius from the office at all
times. For that reason, I was so busy with my work that I couldn’t go outside
the Capital for more than a day excluding emergency situations.
It became obvious afterward that
the effective range of this ability can be disregarded when the object that my consciousness
was transferred into was a doll, but unfortunately, I couldn’t write that well
with dolls. Even though I could write well when manipulating the pen directly,
but it was extremely difficult to make the doll hold the pen and write. It was as
if you were using a remote control to operate a robotic arm holding a pen. Even
when I concentrated intently, I could only write earthworm-like letters.
I mustn’t leave such a messy
handwriting in important doc.u.ments. There were many doc.u.ments where any
misreadings can become serious problem, after all. To conclude, even if using the
doll could disregard the ability’s limited range, it didn’t change the current situation
where I couldn’t leave the Kingdom for a prolonged period of time. So I thought
like this: “I wish I had 『a doll that can write letters』”.
That way I can work even if I am in a faraway place, and thus I could leave the
Capital completely rea.s.sured.
Then, Ginya appeared on the stage.
With the dragon bones as the basis, combined with various metals and biological
materials, she was able to construct the mechanical dragon 『Mechadra』. Then,
I discovered that my ability could move it just like a real dragon. So I wondered
if she could make a doll that was able to perform a human-like hand movement. I
asked her to construct it, and she finished it just a few days ago, the 『Kobo
Arm Mark I』[7].
「This
is…… How should I say it……?」(Juna)
After waiting for Juna-san to have
a change of clothes, we went to the government affair office room to show her the
object in question, and Juna-san was at a loss for words. It was unusual for
Juna-san to be this dismayed, but this wasn’t that surprising, since 『Kobo
Arm Mark I』 was remarkably “disgusting”. There was a single weirdly
life-like arm attached to the L-shaped base. To put it into simple terms, it
was like an artificial arm manipulator, but…… Ginya… Why did you make it in
such a realistic shape?
I attached the 『Kobo
Arm Mark I』 to the prepared mannequin and tried to actually move
it with 【Living Poltergeist】.
Then, the 『Kobo Arm Mark I』, that became the mannequin’s arm, started to move
smoothly, hold the pen, and write letters on the paper. Due to the shape of its
body, the disgusting feeling was doubled. Perhaps, this is what we called the 『uncanny
valley』?
「The officials
who saw that this working were always paralyzed in an instant. The maids and
butlers who brought tea to this room oftentimes screamed and fainted.」(Souma)
「What
they felt……. I understand it really well.」(Juna)
As expected, even Juna-san had a
cramp on her smiling face. Because this was like a scene out of a ghost story.
「Well
anyway, thanks to this, I am able to leave the Capital. This seems to use valuable
materials and so it might be impossible in short span of time, but perhaps it
won’t even be necessary for me to stay in the castle at all when this is
ma.s.s-produced.」(Souma)
「I
don’t want to see the scene of a bunch of duplicates of this thing moving
together……」(Juna)
Juna-san said so, and I strongly
agreed. In a room where no one is there, single-armed dolls kept on writing
letters…… Just imagining this could sc.r.a.pe off the SAN stat.[8]
Juna-san shook her head as if she had regained her composure again.
「However,
Your Majesty, why are you making me a partner this time? Why not Princess,
Aisha-dono or Roroa-san?」(Juna)
「Well……
It’s because the person I will be meeting is a formidable one. I wish for Juna-san
to a.s.sist me. If it’s the others…… I feel…… that they would be facing an
opponent that is too tough for them.」(Souma)
「…….
And that person you will be meeting is?」(Juna)
「The
current Friedonia Self Defence Force Supreme Commander, Excel Walter.」(Souma)
「…… I
see. So it is Great Mother……」(Juna)
When I mentioned the name of the
person who could be referred to as her grandmother, Juna-san nodded as if she
could understand my reasoning. However, she quickly tilted her head.
「But,
Your Majesty. Great Mother has always been Your Majesty’s ally, right? By
saying ‘a tough opponent’, is there something that needs such a confrontational
stance?」(Juna)
Juna-san made an uneasy face, so I
shook my head.
「No,
it’s not. The reason for me to leave the Capital for three days is to inspect
the state of progress of the project that I have been working on with Excel,
but…… apart from that…… actually, it seemed that Hakuya and Marx recently made contact
with Excel.」(Souma)
「The
Prime Minister and the Chamberlain? Just why……. Is there something serious?」(Juna)
「Ah,
no, it’s not that a big problem. It’s not a secret either. It seemed that she was
simply consulted by the both of them, but…… the topic of that consultation……」(Souma)
「……What
is the topic of that consultation?」(Juna)
「That
is…… it seemed that they were discussing about the “a.s.signed woman” for me……」(Souma)
The moment I mentioned this, there
was a slight twitch in Juna-san’s mouth. An “a.s.signed woman” is a custom of this
country's upper society (the n.o.bles above the Knight t.i.tle), when a boy of that
House was recognized as an adult, an “experienced” woman will be a.s.signed to
him. So that in the future, the boy wouldn’t be embarra.s.sed when welcoming his
new wife, the woman will teach the boy…… “night etiquette”. The teaching method
will be through a cla.s.sroom lecture similar to a health and physical education cla.s.s,
but…… there are also “practice lessons”. I roughly scratched my head.
「I am
also a healthy man and Liscia, Aisha and Juna-san are always on my side. Even
if they leave me alone, they thought that I would lay my hands on one of you,
so this matter was never brought up…… But, since I never laid my hands on anyone
mo matter how much time had pa.s.sed, it seemed that Marx grew impatient and then
said that there ought to be some education for this matter. Hakuya also seemed
to agree with that opinion.」(Souma)
「I
see…… So it’s like that.」(Juna)
Juna nodded with a cramped expression.
I continued my story.
「And then,
they consulted with Excel who had lived for 500 years and was experienced in romance.
『Do
you happen to know the right woman for this? 』 and
then……」(Souma)
「……Somehow,
I have a bad feeling.」(Juna)
「Excel
nominated herself.」(Souma)
「WHY
THAT LADY!」(Juna)
Juna-san yelled, which seemed
really out of character. It looked like she couldn’t stay calm when imagining the
situation where her fiancé (even though it was still a secret) and her
grandmother having a ‘relationship’. It felt like there was a mix of impatience
and anger on her face…… This was a bit novel. By the way, when Excel proposed
this,
『Ara, won’t it be better if I am the
one, then? I am well experienced in this and since I am from a long-lived
tribe, I will not be able to be impregnated, if ‘it’ is just for several times.
Ufufu .』
She seemed to have laughed like
this. However, according to Marx and Hakuya who asked for the consultation, in
contrast to her beautiful mid-20s appearance, her eyes were shining like a 『serpent
who found the prey』. We-well, as expected from a member of the Sea Dragon
Tribe. Juna-san was greatly troubled by this.
「This
is what I heard from Axera-oba-sama(aunt) (Excel's daughter, Carla’s mother).
When oba-sama was still a girl, Great Mother seduced the men who were falling
in love with her and then teased her with this.」(Juna)
「Whoa……
that’s the worst……」(Souma)
「Well,
more or less, the target was only the people that oba-sama wasn’t interested in
at all and it was to make them completely give up on their love for her…… Obaa-sama
said with a tired expression, 『I don’t want to see my cla.s.smates who were completely
rejected when courting my own mother.』」(Juna)
That is…… yeah. Certainly, when I
first met with Castor, it was mentioned that he had courted Excel. Indeed, she
was charmingly beautiful and if I didn’t develop a resistance thanks to Liscia
and others, I might have been at risk for falling for her too.
「Ww-well,
that's why I'd like Juna-san to accompany me. So?」(Souma)
「…… I
understand. I will protect Your Majesty with my body and soul.」(Juna)
Juna-san bowed with a face that as
if hiding her resolution. Of course, I wouldn’t ask what it was that she wa.s.s protecting
me from. Then Juna-san looked as if she remembered something, and she then turned
away her face as if she was embarra.s.sed for some reason. Wondering what it was,
I waited for Juna-san to ready herself and speak up.
「Ano…… Your
Majesty…… The matter this time…… Umm…… Wouldn’t everything…… be resolved if Your
Majesty laid your hands? Either on Princess, Aisha-dono, Roroa-san……. or…… me……」(Juna)
She said this while looking down
at first before peering up at me with slightly upturned eyes. This sight struck
home to my heart, however, I firmly endured it (although Marx might have said
that I shouldn’t do that)
「I believe
that…… to do …… that thing, it’s better when I have firmly settled down. Since it
is an act to usher in a “new family”, before that, I want to build an “unshakable
home”. That’s why, after the wedding ceremony is finished and we become a
proper couple, then……」(Souma)
「I
see……」(Juna)
Juna-san looked a bit disappointed,
but she soon smiled gently.
「I
think that it is so Your Majesty-ish. I feel that you really cherish us.」(Juna)
「Of
course I do!」(Souma)
「Then,
I will look forward to “that time”.」(Juna)
That smile was so superbly lovely
that I drew Juna 's body to me firmly. While embracing her, she felt soft and smelled
nice.
I have not built an unshakeable home
yet…… but this much is fine.
☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽
Don’t worry Juna. It won’t stay PG-15 for
long. LoL.