vivarina

This is chapter 3 of novel 8. It’s personally among my favorite chapters, as it really gives us a clear look at the difference of the characterizations between the anime and novels.

There’s a scene of Yuuri getting slapped by Wolfram, yes, NOT the other way round, too bad they cut it from the anime….

It’s also a very funny chapter, really, I was laughing as I translated XD

Translation of chapter 3, novel 8

The Duchars’ speed craft was zooming ahead at three times the normal speed (compared to usual boats/s.h.i.+ps).

Its hull was painted bright red, and it also had that extra air of grandeur, having been involved in the second naval war on the 中央茶sea, hence people tended to call it ‘The Red Starfish’.

“The Duchars have been warriors of the sea for generations, and this would have to start from the tale of Mindair Duchar-kyo, who fought the pirates in the north by himself….”

And so, our companion rambled on about the long history of the Duchars.

There was a golden (colored) sign mounted on the speed craft, with some text inscribed on it. I read the text by following it slowly with my finger, it would have been good if the books back in s.h.i.+n Makoku were this simple.

“It’s still somehow hard to believe that this craft is called ‘The Red Starfish’.”           (Murata speaking)

“It sounds like Gaia.” (Gaia is a character in 机动战士钢弹, an anime in j.a.pan. The nickname of Gaia is ‘The Red Comet’, comet and starfish in j.a.panese sounds similar) (still Murata speaking)

“Who do you mean? That German footballer?”    (Yuuri speaking)

Since I’m a complete idiot with regards to football terminology, what I had said made Murata frown. Probably deciding that there was no point in continuing our conversation, he just waved his left hand. Hey, don’t look down on me! At least I do know about the Series A of the German League and the Italian League.      (Don’t know if I used the correct terms for the football part, sorry. Guess I’m as bad as Yuuri)

Anyway, if I had to describe how it feels like to travel across the sea at three times the normal speed, I would immediately think of watching a video recording at three times the usual speed. Our surroundings slid past us in a blur, there was the ocean, the waves, the sky, the clouds, the seagulls and the algae. As we were going round the coast of the northern sh.o.r.e, a normal s.h.i.+p would take nearly fifteen days for us to get to Dai s.h.i.+maron. However, as this was the incredible ‘Red Starfish’, it would only take us approximately five days to get there.

“Five days is still too slow, we need to get there in four days!”                (Yuuri speaking)

The s.h.i.+p’s owner Descuss Duchar the Second (who had been talking about the history of the Duchars) told me a.s.sertively, “That’s impossible.”

“….then I guess five days would do just as well…..”

Although I was secretly coveting the experience of a real disaster on the sea, imagining situations where there would be speeches such as “Captain, we’re going down!”, “How long will it take to repair the speed device?!”, “We’ll need five hours!”, “That’s too slow, we’ll need to get it in shape within half an hour!” and other similar adventures, in reality I was no captain, and I really am so weak that I don’t seem like a king at all.

We had been busy making preparations to embark on the journey, we were prepared to leave the Gilbert business harbor the next day.

 I, forced to wear a mask when there was anyone else around, had been detained by the children who had risen early, in just a few moments I had been surrounded by a large crowd of them. These few days I had been playing the part of a good leader, constantly meeting with the people.

“Regent Norman, where’re you going?”

“Are we ever going to see you again?”

From their perspective, they had just undergone a sudden and incredible disaster. It was perfectly natural for them to start to have their doubts again when they learnt that their leader was going to leave the land, especially since the Calorians hadn’t seen Norman Gilbert for more than ten years. Just as their regent had come back, he had wanted to take his wife out for a trip on sea. No wonder they felt uneasy. Those little hands had been about to grip at my clothes, but they shrank back almost immediately.

Probably those children were hesitant to touch their n.o.ble leader so straightforwardly.

“Please don’t go, Regent Norman….”

“You’ll come back, won’t you?”

Don’t worry, I’ll come back, I’ll definitely come back.”

I felt an emotional turmoil inside me as I answered them.

It was because the real Norman Gilbert would never ever come back to this land. He was now lying in a cold grave, or maybe he was enjoying himself in paradise. Now, the person wearing the silver-colored mask was not the scar-faced regent, but was actually the wimpy Maou who had come from s.h.i.+n Makoku, which was far away on the other side of the horizon.

At this moment I felt that I was betraying these children’s trust with this big lie of mine.

Actually you’ve all been fooled! All fooled! Don’t look at me with your innocent eyes. This isn’t the real Norman Gilbert standing in front of you! However, all these children and their parents, they all believe that this stranger is their regent, they had even handed over the ruling of their land and their lives to me, a stranger.

“Hey, my friend!”

Murata, who had been about to board the s.h.i.+p, was turning around to talk to the children. His voice floated down from above.

“We’re about to represent Caloria in a battle with Dai s.h.i.+maron, you know!”

“Battle? Is there a war?”                    (the children are asking)

“No, no war, just a sport…. Hm… I should say a compet.i.tion. He’s going to partic.i.p.ate in the elimination tournament involving the combination of intelligence, speed and skill! The World’s Best Fighter Tournament. That really needs talent, you know…! We might even have to use phrases such as ‘For the honor of Caloria’!”             (Murata talking glibly to the children XD)

The children’s eyes shone.

“Representing our country in a tournament?”

“Because Norman Gilbert is our regent, so we as Calorians are the best?”

“That’s right, remember to tell your friends! Tell them he’s going to partic.i.p.ate in the World’s Best Fighter Tournament.”

“For G.o.d’s sake, don’t exaggerate so much.”             (Yuuri speaking)

Although in the past baseball had been the mainstay of my life, I hadn’t even qualified to become a catcher in my school team. Now I was in charge of the ruling of a country, and also about to represent that country in an important compet.i.tion. Isn’t this the equivalent of skipping past state champions.h.i.+ps and the leagues to represent j.a.pan in the Olympics?! I don’t think there would be anyone else on Earth who had taken such a great leap ahead.

Oh, my G.o.d….., what has my normal life turned into?

However, asking G.o.d about the fate of a Mazoku (demon), that seemed a bit unreasonable……

“Lady Flynn, are you leaving?”                                  (one of the children talking to Flynn)

“Yes, Cara, but I’ll return as soon as the tournament is over. And Meg, go and help your mother! Although your fathers, brothers and the other men will be coming back soon, your help will still be needed for now, you know!”

Flynn was stroking the cheek of the little girl, her long hair almost dragging on the ground. All the children were reluctant to leave, looking back frequently as they made their way back to the shelters.

“You know all of them?”                  (Yuuri speaking to Flynn)

“They always come to this area, but I can’t really remember ALL of their names, it would be so much better id I could.”

“Oh….”

I suddenly felt that I had lost (to her as a ruler), I could just look away. She really was a good leader, if the ruling kingdom (Dai s.h.i.+maron) hadn’t had a law forbidding women to rule, she might have been a wonderful leader, maybe even a good wife.

“This question might be a bit weird…. But I can’t really think of any clever questions anyway.”          (Yuuri speaking)

“What’s your question?”

“….do you like children?”

Flynn looked confused, then shook her head quickly. Her bangs floated up in mid-air.

“Wh…what? I don’t have any!? I don’t have any illegitimate child!”

“You’re mistaken, I didn’t mean to imply that. The one who has an illegitimate child is me.”         (Yuuri speaking)

“Huh?! You….you have a child?! Then…that must mean….you’re married?”

“Hm… well, I’m a single parent….. Aah!”

A familiar sword had sliced down onto the cracked pavement between us.

“You dirty human female!”

“Dirty…..”

“Don’t think about flirting with my fiancé!”

The beautiful 82-year old bishounen was glaring at us with his veins popping out from his forehead. However Flynn had not been shocked by the attacking weapon, in fact she seemed more intrigued by the complicated relations.h.i.+ps between the Mazoku. She was pointing at Wolfram and me while gasping, “F…fiance? Th…that must mean one of you had given birth…..”

“Aah! Please, stop asking for more details….!”                (Yuuri XD)

Murata can hear us here!

Just then my friend sauntered over to us, beaming and holding an iron box in his arms.

“Wow, s.h.i.+buya, you’re engaged? You’re just a high-school student! I see, that’s why you aren’t interested in girls your age.”

“W…what?!”

“I never thought you would be like this, I was thinking maybe you were only attracted to older women or Lolitas. Ah, I see, you’ve reached the age for marriage unknowingly?”

I had just realized…. Talking about age, Wolf was a lot older than I was.

“W…wait, wait, Murata! Actually this whole business is very complicated…. I would advise you not to ask more!”

“Heika, what’re you talking about? The engagement between His Excellency Wolfram and you is a great event of the country!”

“The whole country….?!”

I was sabotaged again by another person who was pa.s.sing by. It was Dakaskos, Gunter’s bald underling, he was holding a stack of boards in his arms, I wonder what he wants to do with them….

“No…no….It can’t be?! The whole country?!”

“Of course, I think His Excellency Gunter was so agitated, he was crying while dancing in the midst of flying feathers! They say he tore open seven pillows!”

“Heika, when are you going to celebrate this grand event?”

Even that usually silent Captain Saismoya had b.u.t.ted in on the conversation.

Everyone knows….. there’s no way for me to turn back anymore….

“Argh…. Pikakos…. Please don’t talk about this anymore.”

 “My humble name is Dakaskos, Heika.”

“Oh, right, Dakaskos. This might be public news in our own country, but please don’t talk about it here.”

 “Why’re you stopping him from talking about it?! Yuuri! I’m not allowing you to keep it a secret!”                 (Wolfram XD)

Are you planning on spreading this news everywhere?! Is there anyone who can tell him for me, we’re both boys!?

Murata’s reaction was the exact opposite of Flynn’s, he didn’t look surprised by the news at all. Maybe he had a relative who had that kind of interest.

“Hm…. Don’t you sound like you’re just hiding something….?”              (Murata speaking)

“Murata….. are you my friend or foe?!”

As the speed craft was preparing to leave, a crowd appeared at the harbor. The children were reaching out to touch the s.h.i.+p, they were busy waving their handkerchiefs or s.h.i.+rts, shouting the name of Norman Gilbert simultaneously. There were even people who burst out crying from emotion, it all looked like a grand farewell party, they stayed there for a long time.

The journey on sea was quite alright. Although this was a craft designed for maneuvering through narrow s.p.a.ces, ‘The Red Starfish’ still had enough facilities for more than ten people. As it was basically a craft built for war, there were no double beds. Although the three of us (Yuuri, Wolfram, Murata) slept in the Captain’s quarters, it was not really comfortable.

Not only were my days spent out on the deck, even my nights were spent in my stargazing. As nearly all our time were spent on deck, we really would have to make winter preparations.

Jozak had concentrated on his beloved woodwork from the very first day; Dakaskos, with his pencil behind his ear, was helping him with the coloring. Maybe Saismoya was not used to spending his time on board someone else’s s.h.i.+p, he kept pacing up and down (on deck). Only Flynn spent all her time in her cabin, probably she was worried about leaving the rebuilding of Caloria in the hands of a foreign rescue troop (from s.h.i.+n Makoku).

However, thinking about the rescue troop from s.h.i.+n Makoku… it was led by Gisela and made up of many healers. It was definitely better to leave the rescue mission in the hands of experts rather than let someone inexperienced handle it. Flynn would not be wrong to trust me on this.

“It…. It really is quite c….cold.”                         (Murata talking to Yuuri)

“And….and w…w…we’ll have to b…b….be careful not to b….bite our t….t…tongues w…while talking.”

As we were moving forward at three times the usual speed, we would have to be prepared to face three times the force (of the wind). The motor of this little craft was in really good condition, the inner portions of the motor had a strange smell. According to local customs, this proved that the magic speed device was functioning properly. If that’s the case, why is there the smell of sulfur?

This (the speed device) was the proudly made product of Anissina von Karbelnikoff-kyo, it was definitely different from the other products on the market.

“W…what ‘s the b….b…bishounen doing?”              (Murata speaking)

His voice sounded like the wailing of a ghost.

“Wolf? H…he’s t…t…throwing up at t….the other s..s…side of the sh…s.h.i.+p! H…he gets s…seasick v…v…very easily. Ouch!”

“A….actually he’s t…t…trying h…his very b…b…best, you know.”

Murata was gripping the railings, straightening himself as he faced the sea. His sun-bleached dyed-blonde hair was floating in the wind, revealing his forehead. Thank heavens he wasn’t wearing a wig.

“Wolf is t….trying his b…b…best? W…why would h..h….he try his b…best?”

“To help you become a good king.”

He was still looking at the ocean.

“I just hope that for all his efforts, he’ll get what he really deserves.”

After that he looked over to me slowly, blinking while taking out his colored contact lenses.

The two of us have eyes of the same color.

“Who’re you?”                                           (Yuuri speaking)

I had my back to the waves, my hands reaching backwards to grip the railings. I could feel the cold steel bars of the railings against my waist, there was no more s.p.a.ce for me to back down against anymore. Taking another step back would mean my falling into the ocean, and I didn’t plan on doing that.

“Who’re you really?!”

“Hey, that’s not nice! s.h.i.+buya, what’re you talking about?  We were cla.s.smates in the same secondary school….”

“It’s not just that, is it?!”

Jozak was looking up from the deck while waving a saw and calling out, “Your Highness, is this alright?”                       (Jozak is talking to Murata)

“Hm… I’ll go and take a look now….”

“Don’t go!”

I grabbed at my friend’s arm.

His name is Murataken. A bookish cla.s.smate from my second and third years in secondary school, and now a scholar in a really famous and distinguished private school. Since he had no girlfriend, to get over his summer holidays quickly, he had been working part time in a shop of his relative’s at the beach. It had seemed that way, but…..

It really would have seemed that way, but…..

“What had they meant by ‘Your Highness’? Why can you communicate with Jozak when it’s the first time you’ve come to this world?! Is the reason Wolf refuses to respond to your comments due to this t.i.tle of yours?!”   

As my questions burst out from my mouth, I couldn’t stop myself anymore.

“And your language! Even if you know a bit of German, it’s impossible for you to speak so fluently as soon as you get here?! And don’t you feel puzzled when the others call me King or Heika?!”

Murata…. Or at least the person I had thought was Murata, remained silent even when I grabbed his hand. But maybe because of the force exerted by my fingers, his flesh seemed to react slightly (to that force).

“Also…. In Shou s.h.i.+maron…. What had you meant on that battlefield? It might be because you’re smart, so you could speak glibly about international matters, social problems, or you might just have been reacting to the stressful conditions then.”

He had mentioned strange things then.

He had talked about traveling with me, getting lost in the desert lands, escaping pursuers.

“But I don’t remember going through those with you! I never saw cacti when I was together with you here, (your mentions of) the sun, the moon, a guardian, I don’t understand what you’re talking about!”

“That’s why I said you might not have remembered isn’t it?”

“How could you know about that?! When did you mean? Which desert? Who was my guardian?!”

“It’s Weller-kyo.”

Hearing the name that I had guessed he would say, my voice was shaking as I asked, “How could you have seen Conrad, Murata…..?”

“I never saw him face to face. At the time I had meant, you and I weren’t even in human form yet, even our destination hadn’t been determined.”

Jozak, who had realized something was wrong, had hurried over to poke me lightly with his finger.

“Heika.”

He was trying to control me from behind, plucking my fingers off from Murata’s arm, one by one. I felt suddenly weak, and had no more will to resist. A wave of nausea came over me, making me collapse backward. I could feel a pair of strong arms holding me back up instantly.

“You’re just pretending to help me, actually you’re trying to gain control over me and not let me attack him, aren’t you?”

“No, Heika, I don’t think you’d have attacked him.”

“You’re all confusing me. Even if you say so…. Murata, he….he has good brains, and he’s got the gift of gab…. Plus he’s a j.a.panese, so he’s got black hair and eyes. He’s not like me, I’m wimpy and useless, unable to perform the duties of a king…. Maybe you’re all thinking that it was a mistake to let someone like me become king, so you’re trying to find another candidate, that’s why you’ve brought this fellow over here, isn’t it?! As I’m impulsive and stubborn, unwilling to listen to your advice, as long as you can find someone better and more talented than I am, you can switch our places, that’s why Murata’s here, isn’t it?!”

I was repeating what someone (Adalbert) had once told me before, I had almost forgotten them, but I was reproducing them one by one. My head was starting to p.r.i.c.kle with heat, even my voice sounded so far away. Actually, it might be because of the humming in my ears that I couldn’t hear the noises around me anymore.

My sight was tinged with red, just like a blood pool spreading outwards.

A part of me, which not quite belonged to me, was making me spit out from my mouth, “…..but…..unluckily, he’s a j.a.panese just like me, you can say he’s human. I sincerely doubt that he has the Mazoku blood, which you all love, flowing in his veins! Actually the two of us can only count as half-Mazoku!! Even if we’re double blacks or if we’ve dark powers, our bodies are made up of the flesh and blood of filthy humans, not fit for the role of a Maou! Because we’re borne from the bodies of despicable human females……”

Suddenly, I felt a force bearing down on me from the left, making me bite down on my inner left cheek. It took me several seconds to realize that I had just been slapped. This kind of situation had happened once before, at that time I had also been slapped, loudly and sharply.

The other (person) was looking back at me blankly; it looked like he wasn’t planning on attacking me at the moment.

I was in a similar state (not planning on attacking either), looking silently at the one who had slapped me.

“Insulting someone’s parents, that’s a despicable act!”

“…..Wolf.”

“Wasn’t that what you had told me before?”

He was looking at me directly with his emerald green eyes which reminded me of calm lake water. My head and the back of my throat felt as if they had been dosed with overly cold mint, it still felt a bit painful.

“….what did I just say to Murata….”

“The exact same thing I said about your parents last time.”

I could never forget those words, but I hadn’t meant to say all that (to Murata), really. I’m not just stubborn, I’m also impulsive and a coward. No matter from what angle you look at me, I’m not mature or spirited enough. It’s easy to see who would be the better leader just by comparision.          (Yuuri compared to Murata)

But even so, I never thought that the Mazoku tribe would betray me.

(Thinking of) the relations.h.i.+ps we had built from the very beginning, I never thought they would be so heartless.

I’m not wrong (in thinking the Mazoku aren’t heartless), am I?

“I’m sorry, Murata.”

Gripping something with my right hand to regain my balance, I forced myself to look my friend in the eye. Of course, my face was red (with shame).

“It’s alright. We’re already high school students, I won’t be angry at you over something like this.”

“Huh?! But he (Wolfram) lost his temper!?”

The bishounen grabbed at my collar at once.

“Remember, my anger is as explosive as fire! But it seems like you still can’t control your own self-inferiority and feelings.”

“Wh…what? What self-inferiority and feelings?! And what do you mean by I can’t control them?!”

“Thank goodness I knew how to push you by angering you, succeeding in making you propose to me, otherwise I would still be having a one-way crus.h.!.+ Just thought I would mention that.”

Putting his hand which he had used to slap me on his hip, he cleared his throat and said confidently, “This is an old Mazoku tradition, I think now you could call it a ‘reverse proposal’.”      

(Explanation on the "reverse proposal" thingy:
Actually, I feel that Wolfram really slapped Yuuri to open his eyes and regain his senses, stopping him from hurting Murata and Yuuri himself further.
So....I"m thinking that the "reverse proposal" was just an excuse Wolfram used to lighten up the atmosphere.
The "reverse proposal" he meant might be that he had purposefully angered Yuuri into slapping him and thus accidentally proposing to him (at the beginning of the novels), but I think it"s just his excuse since he probably wasn"t feeling anything for Yuuri at that time yet.
Big thanks to miyuchan, ritsu2and lenainverse for the discussion on this part    *brain is fried*)

“Reverse root?”          (root and proposal has the same j.a.panese p.r.o.nunciation)

What is that thing? Is it the type of root that you dig up after it blooms in spring, then replant the next year? Or is it the last single recorded by my father’s favorite band before they split up?

“What? s.h.i.+buya, so you were indirectly admitting your feelings?”     (Murata speaking)

“Of…. Of course not!”

“Well, at least no harm came from it. But I never thought you would be reluctant to give up your t.i.tle (as ruler), looks like you’re starting to l.u.s.t after power, but s.h.i.+buya…..”

“Aah!”

He was examining me like an eye surgeon, flipping my eyelid outwards.

“You don’t seem like the type of person unwilling to relinquish power, you know.”          (Murata speaking)

“Why’re you talking like a psychiatrist!?”

“Now is a good time to get things clear. Murata, who’re you really?”              (still Yuuri)

Jozak was trying to explain in an apologetic tone.

“Heika, actually he is….”

“Excuse me!”

I cut him off abruptly.

“I would like to hear his own explanation.”

“If that’s the case, we should talk things over in different surroundings.”

After undergoing tremors three times repeatedly, the boat’s speed had suddenly reduced dramatically. Captain Saismoya came towards us, cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting, “Everyone please go into the cabin! Quickly!”

Wolf was asking, “Do you think that was a giant squid?!” while drawing out his sword. Why does he seem so happy?

“Is there anything wrong?”               (Yuuri)

“No, Heika. Do you see what’s in front of us?”             (Jozak)

Looking towards where Jozak was pointing, I could see the rocky surface protruding from the sh.o.r.e in the distance. There were yellow sails (of s.h.i.+ps) flapping in the wind while approaching us.

“It’s the sh.o.r.e patrol, nothing to worry about. We were invited by them (Dai s.h.i.+maron), remember? Nothing wrong will happen!”              (Jozak speaking)

“If that’s the case, why do we have to go into the cabin?”                (Yuuri speaking)

‘The Red Starfish’ had almost completely stopped.

Jozak was happily patting Murata and my shoulders.                       (Jozak is always happy to fight XD)

“Those who get selected for patrolling the sea are mostly really bad-tempered. If something should happen to either of you, we’ll get slain by s.h.i.+nou. But even if there’re any problems, they’ll only be minor fights, there won’t be any real trouble.”

To avoid any trouble, it seems that we had better listen to him. I pushed open the cabin door with my foot, tugging at Wolfram’s sleeve.

“Wolf.”

“Come in.”          (still Yuuri speaking)

He shook his head lightly.

“I’m not planning on going in.”

“Huh…?”

Before I could ask him about his reason (for not going in), I had been pushed into the cabin and the door shut in my face.

TBC

Here are my comments, feel free to skip^^.

As I’ve mentioned before, Yuuri in the novels is quite unlike the one we see in the anime, and it’s apparent in this chapter, isn’t it?

Just like he did in the last chapter, he can lose control of himself when he’s under stress or agitated, unlike in the anime, where he’s always the sweet and naïve young king. I always feel that there’s still something unresolved about this power of Yuuri’s in the novels. He can’t really control his powers yet.

That’s why I think Wolfram’s slap can be summed up in this sentence by Murata: “To help you become a good king.”

Yuuri certainly regained his senses quickly enough XD.

Also, it’s interesting to note that Wolfram slapped Yuuri for insulting Murata’s (and Yuuri’s own) human mother…..

As for Murata, his character is so much more defined in the novels, I wish they could have showed it more in the anime.