Souen no Historia Vol 1 Chapter 17

Having boarded the ship of the attacking pirates, Mayuki, nervous that she might be troubling them, was cooking with Sheila using the kitchen inside the pirate ship.   “Okay! It’s done!”   Mayuki was looking at the boiling liquid inside a large pot, nodding in satisfaction. However, Sheila next to her was somewhat…… no, her face was completely frozen.   “Th-That’s…… Mayuki-san?” “Nn? Wha~t is it, Sheila?” “...... a-about this dish…… what is it?” “Heh? It’s curry, you know?” “...... eh?” “After all, when I was still in j.a.pan, I saw on TV that the navy designated curry one day a week. It’s hard for them to know what day it is because they are always over water. That’s why they created a curry day so as not to lose sight of what day it is.” “Eh, yes…… Sheila understands that, but….”   Somehow, there was a curry roux-like ingredient inside the kitchen, so the pirates might also eat it. However, that didn’t matter. What Sheila currently worried about was that even though it was curry………………………… only red can be seen inside the pot.   Occasionally, pop, the boiling bubbles burst, and it made Sheila think she was watching magma.   (Sh-Sheila wonders if this is…… curry…… no matter how Sheila sees it, it is not something edible….)   She didn’t know whether she was sweating because the kitchen was hot or because of the curry (temporary designation) before her, but Sheila could feel that sweat was dripping from her forehead.   “U~n, I thought of making it redder to make it look more delicious~”   Mayuki began to talk as if there’s nothing wrong. Although Sheila didn’t see the cooking process and couldn’t know why it turned red, she can tell that there are definitely red pepper-like things inside. That’s because her eyes had been stinging since a while ago.   She guessed that the steam contained the stimulant that stung her eyes because of the too much added red pepper. It was a mystery as to why the person who was right in front of the pot, Mayuki, didn’t feel any damage.   By the way, what Sheila made was simple salad and fried fish. It wasn’t a problem to make seafood because they were at sea. Inside the salad was delicious looking sh.e.l.lfish and fish meats which intertwined with the vegetables.   Sheila was good at cooking, so she was dumbfounded by the totally red and deadly smell before her. At that moment, the pirates came crowding inside the dining hall while saying, “We are hungry~.” Mayuki filled the plates with her curry (temporary designation).   “............ Oy Mayuki, what is this?”   After everyone entered the dining hall and sat around the table, the head, Eula, had her cheeks cramp up when she saw the plate before her.       “Nn? This? You didn’t know this? This is curry!”   Since they boarded her ship, Mayuki and Sheila found out that Eula was a good person because of their small talk.   “N-No, I know what curry is…… eh? This is curry?”   Not only Eula, everyone was looking at the red liquid that seemed to be capable of burning holes.   “...... hey, somehow my eyes are hurting.” “Aa, even I can’t stop my tears.” “I-I can’t see what’s in front of me….”   Eula, Reiss, then Gazi, they stated their impression in that order. Tears were flowing just like a waterfall from Gazi’s eyes. The other pirates were also rubbing their eyes.   “Mou~ doesn’t it looks delicious and stimulating? Come on, you’ll feel it once you eat it!”   Mayuki innocently recommended them to eat. Everyone was gokuri, gulping. They timidly took their spoons, and they quietly sunk the spoon into the magma. Only one person, only Sheila had predicted what might happen after this as she joined her hands in prayer, but no one noticed her.   The first of the victims was Eula.   “Bogafuuh!?”   Her tail that grown from her hip and her beast ears on her head were reflexively pin, straightened towards the sky. Sheila saw fire coming out of Eula’s mouth.   “Ababababah!?” “H-Hit hurt!? Hy houth hurttttts!?” “WHaherrrrr!”   It was just like a portrait of h.e.l.l. Everyone’s lips were swollen to twice their sizes, there were some who was crawling on the floor in search of water, there were those with the whites of their eyes shown and foaming in their mouths, and there were those that were convulsing with completely red faces.   The red magma mysteriously looked like blood. It was a scene where those who didn’t know anything would misunderstand it as a place of tragedy.   “Mh-Mhayukiiiiiiih! N-nywhat’ch wich dis choo siicy obcect!?”   Eula, with her whole body dyed in red, rose up and she approached Mayuki but,   “Eh~? Is it that spicy?”   Mayuki took her spoon then she carried one spoonful curry (temporary designation) into her mouth. Sheila thought Mayuki would notice her cooking’s destructive power and become more prudent with it but,   “Mogu mogu…… un, I think it’ll be better if it was a little more spicy, right?”   Sheila wasn’t the only one who doubted their ears. Apparently Mayuki’s taste buds were already broken. When they heard her words, everyone’s feelings became one.   “””” You IDIOTTTTTTTTTTTTT!””””   Needless to say, since then the kitchen was off limit for Mayuki.       One day Yoyo Yatsugi Crowtail was looking over the doc.u.ments piled on her desk as she worked inside the study. A knocking sound came from the door and she allowed the person to enter. As she thought it was Souji. After all, only Souji would visit the room when she was at work.   However she recalled that Souji would without fail greet her, and when she raised her face she noticed that it was not him. The one standing there was someone she has never seen before. She was a woman with an abnormal, doll-like expression. Light blue short hair and almond eyes gave off a cold impression. But what’s more noticeable was that she wore maid clothing.   “Who are you?”   Yoyo tried to calmly ask her. Naturally she wasn’t an invited guest or someone from this mansion. Furthermore no atmosphere could be felt from her. The question as to why no one noticed her coming here resounded in Yoyo’s mind. There should be maids who were working in the garden, and there’s also Souji inside this mansion. No matter how excellent one is in stealth, no one should have been able to come here at this time or at least not without anyone noticing…. Even so, Yoyo kept sitting in the chair without showing any sign of being shaken by it. However she was desperately thinking of a plan inside her head. Then from behind that woman,   “Fufufu, as expected of Yoyo Yatsugi Crowtail.”   A girl with silver blonde hair appeared. It could be seen that she was younger than Yoyo. To put it bluntly, she was a child. Though she might be older than Ninthe, there’s not much difference between them. However, a strong mind can be felt from her eyes and her confident appearance. Because the light blue haired woman was tall and the girl beside her was small, they looked very unbalanced. But the two were definitely a beautiful woman and a beautiful girl. Since the beautiful girl took the initiative, Yoyo judged that perhaps the beautiful woman was her maid.   “It looks like you don’t show any fear in your expressions in the face of strangers who suddenly appear.” “Answer me. What are you?” “Fufufu, please relax. I’ll surely introduce myself…… after you are captured.”   At the moment the girl said that she narrowed her eyes, and the woman beside her moved towards Yoyo at a tremendous speed. Though Yoyo stood up to try to counter attack, her arms were instantaneously twisted behind her. She then felt something cold placed around her wrists.   “Kuh… a Magic Sealing Lock... kh!?”   It was a handcuff with the additional effect of literally sealing one’s magic. Moreover, the maid-like woman’s movement was much more refined than a mere maid. It was the movement of someone who received advanced combat training.   (... no, this is…!?)   When she was caught, she noticed something.   “Fufufu, your expression finally changed.”   The girl smiled happily. When Yoyo tried to shout, her mouth was covered as if they had predicted what she’d do.   “Looks like the capturing is complete. Well then, I’ll introduce myself as promised. My name is Femme D. Dresoj!”   When she saw the girl giggling with her hand before her mouth,   (Dresoj? Certainly there is such name related to the Ozwine Province in the South continent….)   Yoyo surmised the other person’s ident.i.ty with the vast knowledge stored in her mind.   (Holy Kingdom Lavahha should be in Ozwine Province. Among the royalty and n.o.bles, there is a Dresoj….)   As she arranged the information in her head, she looked up at Femme who drew closer with each pa.s.sing step. Femme looked down at her in amus.e.m.e.nt.   “Because you’re knowledgeable, about me, you should’ve noticed it, right?” “............” “Well, my ident.i.ty doesn’t matter. Let’s go, Testa.”   When the woman called Testa touched Femme’s outstretched hand, Femme’s body gradually turned transparent.   (...... magic!? Moreover, invisibility? I see. That’s how they got inside….)   Though she seemed to understand on how these women entered the mansion, she couldn’t do anything in her current state with her magic sealed and her body restrained. Yoyo’s body also became transparent.   (............ Souji….)   The three suddenly disappeared from the study. I am undecided on how to translate j.a.panese verbal expressions. For now I will see what happens when I use English equivalents.↩ What does having ones cheeks cramp up mean? I a.s.sume that this makes more sense in j.a.panese than English. Does it have the same meaning as someone “face froze?” ↩