The unusual thing with this year's story — well, while it's a first for this type of story, it's actually very typical of Kawahara — is that Kawahara once again wrote too much content for the story... and that extra stuff didn't make it on the leaflet due to size restrictions. So instead, Kawahara released half of the story in leaflet format, while the second half was published on his own website (http://wordgear.x0.com/novel/omoide.htm). Heck, Kawahara went so much over the page limit that the part on the website is about twice the size of the leaflet portion, so this "short" ended up half as long as a typical Material Edition. As for the story itself... it basically summer ice v2.0, which was probably one of the reasons for the title.
Like in my previous translation, I'll put some technical stuff about the translation itself here to avoid translation notes about minor stuff and my translation choices (feel free to skip this paragraph if you don't care about this stuff... oh, and you might want to read the story itself before stopping here due to possible spoilers). For starters, in one instance I used the word "mister" in the translation; the original text was おやっさん (oyassan), which would literally mean "dad", but I treated it as a way to indicate the head male of the household and I couldn't come up with a better way to account for it other than just "mister". One of the Sacred Arts elements is mentioned in the story; the formal name for the element is "cryogenic" (クライオゼニック), but it was only referred to by its Japanese name (凍素) in this story, so I translated it literally as "freezing element". In one instance, Kirito merges the names Telure (テルル, pronounced "teh-lur") and Teline (テリン, pronounced "teh-leen") into a combo "Teluline" (テルリン, pronounced "teh-lu-leen). On that note, I decided to just go with Yen Press's translations for the girls' given names and surnames. On the other hand, Yen Press translated the tournament's name as "Northern Norlangarth Swordfighting Tournament", but I decided to go with a more literal translation, especially since region names in Underworld have a set format that Yen Press broke with that translation. I hope that covers everything.
Now, I did give this story a once-over before publishing it, but I'm only one man and could have easily missed some blatant fuckups, so if anyone notices anything wrong, be sure to inform me. Feel free to drop any other suggestions or impressions in the comments below as well.
Markup explanation:
Itallics mark text that was written in katakana English (I only highlighted the cases where the author uses both English and actual Japanese equivalents for the same thing, or when I needed to emphasise that an English word is used there). Some instances of the original text used furigana (ruby text) and I maintained this format for instances where the furigana differed from the base text or used some English word for it; the furigana format should be understood as follows: What it means. Courier font indicates that the original word was written in kana for emphasis (when such a word usually isn't written in kana). I used single quotation marks (') for when Kirito went into an inner monologue in the middle of a narration, as it wasn't separated by an actual punctuation in the raw; actual dialogue lines or quotations (with 「」 punctuation marks) within a narration line are indicated with the usual double (") quotation marks.
-Gsimenas
Credits
Raws: Takazuki (leaflet), Kawahara's websiteTranslation: Gsimenas
The End of the Summer and the Straw Hat (Choukansha 2018 story)
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Bluish Memories (Choukansha 2021 story) |
Summer Memories - First Half (Leaflet)
In Underworld, stats like Strength and Agility do not exist… at least in any visible form.The only representation of the person's physical strength is their 《Object Control Authority》 value. For example, if a person with an OC Authority value of no higher than 9 were to wield a Class 10 sword, the sword would feel so heavy that it couldn't be swung properly; on the other hand, if your Authority were to be over 20, it would feel as light as a wooden sword.
My OC Authority went up to 48 when we drove back a large group of goblins at the End Mountain cave five months ago. This value was so high that it would be practically impossible to achieve for any commoner; thanks to that, I can now easily handle pretty much any item, though if you were to ask me if that means I could handle farm work so easily that I could start humming a tune as I worked… the answer would be no.
"Heave…… ho."
After pulling up a wooden bucket from the well once it was filled to the brim, I poured the water into a large bucket nearby. In order to fill up this large, nearly sixty centimetres-wide and eighty centimetres-tall bucket, I needed to repeat this process at least thirty times. For one used to being able to easily get some water anytime one wanted at the turn of a tap such as myself, this process felt truly tedious; however, considering that this water would be used to support the Walde family's livelihood for an entire day, I couldn't afford to be shoddy. Careful to prevent the drawing bucket from hitting the well's sides and drawing junk into the water, I continued with my work.
Before Eugeo and I began living in for work here, this large bucket used to be stationed at the kitchen in the main building; the twins Teline and Telure would bring water from the backyard well to this large bucket every morning, one wooden bucket worth of water at a time, from what I've been told. Upon hearing that it took the two of them an entire hour for thirty round trips to fill the bucket, I devised the plan of bringing the large bucket itself to the backyard and filling it with water there, before returning it to the kitchen, though I honestly couldn't help but think that there had to be a more efficient way of doing this.
'In the event that I were to become ruler of this world, I'm gonna make sure to set up proper water and sewer services as swiftly as possible……', with such thoughts in mind, I finished filling the large bucket to about eighty percent of its capacity, when…
"Uwaaah, today sure is hot, huh!"
Hearing that voice from behind me, I turned around with the full wooden bucket still in hand.
Walking up to me with a fodder tool in his right hand was a flaxen-haired young man. It was my partner, Eugeo. Beads of sweat were glittering on his longish forelocks; his unbleached linen shirt was all dripping wet on the front as well. The temperature was indeed on the higher end today, but compared to the exceedingly hot heatwaves I had experienced in Japan, it wasn't that big of a deal. On the other hand, as Eugeo was born and raised in Rulid Village at the northernmost tip of the Human Empire, he probably wasn't used to dealing with the summer heat.
Suddenly coming up with a prank, I gave my partner a broad grin.
"In that case, I'll cool you off in an instant."
At that very moment, his green eyes blinked in alert.
"……I sure hope you're not planning to use a freezing element for that. If the Zakkarian sentinels were to find out that you were using Sacred Arts without good reason like that, your right to participate in the swordfighting tournament is as good as……"
"Oh no no, I'm not going to use such a roundabout method."
Once I walked up to him with a smile and raised the wooden bucket I was hiding behind me, I dumped its content over Eugeo's head. As the cold well water splashed him, my partner jolted up.
"Pwah!"
After a full three seconds of Eugeo being frozen in shock as water droplets dropped down from his head like a waterfall, a scary smile slowly found its way on his face. Upon setting the tool in his right hand against a nearby tree and snatching the empty wooden bucket from my hands, he briskly walked up to the well and threw the bucket in. The moment he heard a splash, he began pulling on the pulley rope. Boasting an OC Authority as high as mine, he easily pulled up the wooden bucket, before looking at me again with it in his hands. His intentions were clear as day, but I had to resign to my fate and accept this…… as a partner.
"As thanks, I'll cool you off too, Kirito."
The mass of water assaulting me from below at an angle, rather than from above, exploded in my face and scattered into countless minute droplets, forming a small rainbow in the backyard of Walde's farm.
Summer Memories - Second Half (Website)
Upon finishing my water collection work while still soaked, I put my hands on the sides of the large bucket.
Of course, carrying a large bucket filled with ninety litres——ninety lirs in Underworld units—— of water wasn't an easy task even with my OC Authority. From the perspective of pure weight, it was well within my capabilities, but if I were to recklessly put in too much force into it, the low-object-class bucket would end up pulverised by it. In order to avoid damaging it, I had to lift the bucket while fastening it between my immobile arms.
"Heave……"
As I slowly rose up with the bucket, a still-amply-wet Eugeo opened his mouth with a worried look.
"You alright, Kirito. Shall I give a hand?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine…… feeding the cattle is your job, while drawing water is mine, after all."
"Well, that's true……"
Giving a wink to the worried-looking Eugeo, I stood up straight in an instant. I staggered a slight bit but somehow regained my stability and began walking slowly.
Four months had already passed since we started working on the Walde farm. Our very first job each morning is to look after the horses and, as there are as many as ten of them to manage, the two of us do this job together; after getting breakfast in the main building, Eugeo then looks after the cattle, while I draw water. We're only able to have our sword practice sessions after all of that, though the 《Norlangarth Northern Area Swordfighting Tournament》 is not even a month away by now. I would like to increase the length of our training period just a bit more to ensure that we achieve our goal of winning the top places in the tournament, but I can't very well neglect my work if I want to repay the kindness that mister Walde has shown by agreeing to employ a couple of suspicious wanderers like us.
'Considering that carrying this damn heavy bucket may as well be part of my training, I'm sure this will help me boost some hidden strength parameter by a point or two……', as I had such thoughts in mind, it was about time I left the backyard and made a turn right. Perhaps because I was so enthralled by these idle thoughts of mine, I stepped with full force on a stone lying right at my feet that I had overlooked. The pleasantly round stone twisted wildly under my left foot, causing my body to tilt to the right.
"Owah……"
Shouting, I desperately attempted to hold my ground, but once the over ninety kilogram-weighing bucket lost its balance, it was impossible to restore it even with my OC-Authority-48 strength. The only thing I could do was simply watch as all the well water I had painstakingly gathered would be dumped cruel- ——
"Watch out!"
With that voice, three pale lights came flying from my right and plunged right into the bucket.
'Bakiiiiin!', came an intense boom as my vision was dyed in pure white. My body acted on its own even as I fell under shock, straightening the greatly tilted bucket before I landed. Falling on my butt, I gazed as the white mist was blown away.
The moment I saw what appeared from the mist, I once again let out an 'Ngah' in shock. The water that had been a mere moment away from spilling out from the gigantic bucket in a grand fashion was now stuck in that form, towering high. It was completely frozen.
When I turned my face to the right, I saw that my partner Eugeo was staring at me flabbergasted with wide-open eyes as his right hand pointed to me. I no longer had any doubts about what had happened. Eugeo had fired off three freezing elements from his hand at the same time, freezing the water that was about to spill out.
"……Well, guess I should express my gratitude here, Eugeo-kun. Thanks."
When I called out to him, my partner finally lowered his right hand; after a long gaze at his hand, he once again looked at the pillar of ice sticking out of the bucket.
"……Was I really the one who did that?"
"What are you being shy for at this point; you're the only one here, after all."
"But…… I hadn't even chanted the rite for it. I merely thought, 'watch out'……"
"Hmm……?"
Remaining in my seated position, I tilted my head. If what Eugeo's saying were true, that would mean he managed to use magic——Sacred Arts without an incantation. Can you actually do——
""Aa————h!""
Two shouts rang out completely in sync, interrupting my thoughts. Once I turned my head to the left, I noticed a couple of girls with reddish brown hair tied into ponytails standing there. Their facial features, figures, and even their garments were like two peas in a pod, the only difference between them being the colour of the ribbon tying their hair.
The red-ribboned Teline Walde and the blue-ribboned Telure Walde briskly rushed over and looked up to the pillar of ice towering from the bucket.
"The heck happened here!", shouted Teline,
"Don't tell me you used Sacred Arts on……", Telure started saying, prompting me to quickly stand up.
"Oh no no no, as if we could have done that, you guys. This is just, umm, a spear of ice just fell down upon us a moment ago, you see……"
""Eeeh~~~~?""
Teline and Telure now had dubious looks on their faces. I myself would only be able to utter "Eeh~~?" if I heard a story like that, but my only choice now was to run with it.
"More importantly, Teluline, bring two…… make that four bowls about this size, plus four spoons and a bottle of Siral water from the kitchen. If you keep what happened here a secret, I'll give you something tasty."
"Hey, Kirito, I thought we told you not to lump our names together like that!"
Beside the pouting Teline, Telure tilted her head.
"What exactly is that something tasty you were talking about?"
"Something that's absolutely great to eat in summer."
"Hmmph, oh well."
When Telure, the younger twin who had the exact same face as her elder sister but had more inquisitiveness than her, nodded at that, Teline also shrugged her shoulders with a “guess we'll just have to leave it at that” look. Seeing off the two as they rushed off to the main house, Eugeo came to my side to whisper something.
"Kirito, you've thought up something strange again, haven't you."
"It's our only way to keep those two quiet. Eugeo, lend me your knife."
"You have your own, don't you, Kirito?"
"Mine hasn't been sharpened lately."
Shrugging his shoulders, my partner took out a single-edged knife from his back belt and handed it to me. Taking it, I inspected whether the blade was sharp enough.
At that point, the twins rushed back. Teline was holding four glass bowls in her hands, while Telure had a bottle of Siral water in hers.
"We've brought them!"
Having taken a bowl from Teline's hands when she shouted this, I approached the pillar of ice. I placed the knife on the ice and began sliding it along it, causing thinly-shaved ice to fall neatly into the bowl. As it would all be a matter of speed now, I continued moving my right hand with such force that I couldn't even catch sight of it, creating a heap of white ice flakes. I gave them to Eugeo to hold on to, as I repeated the same process with another bowl.
Once I filled the four bowls in a flash, I sprinkled loads of Siral water onto each of them. Then I put in the spoons that were in Teline's apron pocket and prompted them, "Have a taste."
"Eeh? But that's just some simple shaved ice."
"Our mouths are going to freeze up if we eat something like that."
Giving the incredulous Teline and Telure a smile, I thrust a spoon into my own bowl and stuffed my cheeks with the heap of flakes, namely kakigoori(1). As the refreshing coolness, as well as the bittersweetness of the Siral water, spread through my mouth, the summer heat was banished away in an instant.
"Hah…… this is just the best……"
Seeing me mutter this, the twins and Eugeo gulped, before grabbing their spoons simultaneously and putting some ice into their mouths. 'Shaku', the trio's eyes shot open.
It didn't even take a minute for all of them to finish eating the kakigoori. After a deep sigh, Teline and Telure thrust out their empty bowls in sync as they shouted.
""Kirito, seconds!""
Once I saw off the successfully-bribed twins as they returned to the main building, I heard Eugeo's faint murmur.
"……Midsummer ice, huh……"
"Hm? What's up?"
"Oh uh…… nothing at all."
With a smile, I looked up at the now-somewhat-smaller pillar of ice. The ice had already begun melting at the surface because of the exposure to midsummer sunshine; at this rate, it wouldn't even take it thirty minutes to return to its original water state.
"Now then, let's have some sword practice, Eugeo."
When I gave him a light slap on the back, Eugeo nodded, "Sure."
(The End)
The End of the Summer and the Straw Hat (Choukansha 2018 story) | N/A |
Notes
1. ^ Kakigoori (かき氷) is a Japanese shaved ice dessert flavored with syrup and a sweetener, often condensed milk. Basically, the Japanese equivalent of a shaved ice dessert. I chose to leave the Japanese word for this, because there were two ways of calling the ice in the raw: Kirito used the proper name for it in this instance, while previous instances used the verb 削る (kezuru, "to shave") in the past or past passive forms (削った and 削られた respectively) with the noun 氷 (koori, "ice"). Easier to tell the two different phrasings apart this way.
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