Volume 4 Chapter 4 Part2 (1/2)
Translator
Corner
Minasan oideyasu. This is Yukkuri demasu!
The last chapter for today. I’ll post the
rest as fast as possible…
I got dual morning-night s.h.i.+ft tomorrow, so…
cross your finger!
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 B
『Lagoon City』, the central city of the Walter Duchy.
It lies in the northeastern part
of the Friedonian Kingdom and was the pivot of the Friednian Kingdom’s Self Defense
Force. Just like the name suggested, it was a city constructed over the water
in the lagoon. The city’s appearance was like Venezia(Venice) of Italy with the waterways running
throughout it. Looking at the scenery of this city made me remember a manga that
I had read in the past, but unfortunately there were no cute gondolier girls.[1]
Instead, I could see the scenes
where muscular men loaded and unloaded cargo from the boats. Because it was winter
right now, the men were properly wearing thick clothes, but if this was summer
(in this continent, it become warmer as one moved north, so Lagoon City was in a
hot and humid region), the men’s appearances would be mostly “naked”. Just
imagining it doubled the sultriness. I was watching the scenery of Lagoon City
from inside the carriage I rode with Juna.
「Was Juna-san
born in this town?」(Souma)
「No,
I was born in a small port town a bit north-west from this city, close to the
borderline with the Eastern Nations Union. It was not as vibrant as this city,
but they caught many delicious fish.」(Juna)
「Is
that so? I'd like to go to that place someday.」(Souma)
「Yes,
please do.」(Juna)
While having such a trivial conversation
like this, the carriage arrived at Excel’s 『Mansion』. Or
rather, although this city served as the navy’s headquarters, even though there
was a naval base, there was no 『Castle』. It was because this city wasn’t meant to be a place for
a land battle. Since the Navy demonstrated its full ability only when fighting
in the seas, they applied a concept where if the land was invaded by enemies, they
would board the s.h.i.+ps and annihilate them completely, along with the city via
naval bombardments. Because they love this land more than anyone, they wouldn’t
surrender it to anyone else. The affections of the Sea Dragon Tribe to this
land was pretty much Yandere-ish.[2]
When the horse carriage entered
the mansion premises, I saw Excel standing awaiting me on the front of the mansion’s
main entrance. Her blue hair shone under the sunlight and her beautiful face
peeped through her hair. As always, Excel was so beautiful that you could
perceive it even from a distance. As expected from Juna-san’s grandmother (although
I believed that the word grandmother didn’t suit her).
She was wearing a blue-colored attire,
that looks like a combination of a kimono and a dress, which really suited her.
When I was thinking about such a thing, I noticed that Juna-san's expression became
a bit stern.
「Ju-Juna-san?
Is something wrong?」(Souma)
「That
kimono……」(Juna)
「Kimono?」(Souma)
「That
is the Great Mother’s favorite dress. This is…… We need to seriously be wary of
her.」(Juna)
「Umm~,
more or less, the purpose for this visit is solely to inspect the military……」(Souma)
I replied like that during such an
out of the ordinary mood, so Juna-san spoke to me while giving me a serious
look.
「Your
Majesty. Do not show any weak spots in front of a sea snake…… Or else……」(Juna)
「Or else?」(Souma)
「You will
be eaten.」(Juna)
「………」(Souma)
……Umm. I didn’t really understand
the meaning behind her words, but I believed that I should be careful.
◇ ◇ ◇
「It
has been awhile, Your Majesty. Welcome to Lagoon City.」(Excel)
I alighted from the carriage and Excel
came to greet me while smiling. It was indeed like what Juna-san had said to
me, but for now, I didn’t see any unusual appearance yet.
「It
has been a while since you were appointed as the Supreme General of the Self Defense
Force. I am glad to see that you are healthy.」(Souma)
「Fufu,
Your Majesty, you jest. To push such a heavy responsibility onto the elderly me
(since she said it herself, it was fine).
Even so, I am thankful. Juna, you too. How are you?」(Excel)
「It
has been awhile, Sea Princess.」(Juna)
Juna-san calmly bowed her head. In
the former Navy, Excel was called the 『Sea Princess』. Perhaps it was a term that was similar to the navy
lingo 『Ma’am』. However, Excel shook her head.
「Juna,
you are not a member of the Navy anymore and you will marry His Majesty as his Royal
Consort. What remains between us are only familial ties.」(Excel)
「Sea-……
Great Mother……」(Juna)
Juna-san’s eyes were a bit wet. What
a good family scene…… Just when I thought of this.
「That’s
why you and I are on “equal” grounds.」(Excel)
……What is this? Just now, for
some reason Excel emphasized the 『equal』 part. The moment Juna-san heard the word 『equal』, a
vein appeared on her forehead……
「……What
do you mean, Great Mother?」(Juna)
「Well,
the knack to not being bored in your very long life is to always have an interest
in somebody.」(Excel)
「Do
you mean…… His Majesty?」(Juna)
「Since
he is a Hero after the Founder King, I really took an interest in him.」(Excel)
Excel laughed with a sweet smile.
However, I could only see a strange pressure in that smile. In response, Juna-san
also faced her with a very similar smile…… What is with this situation? I really
wanted to flee from this place.
◇ ◇ ◇
After the greeting (?), we were
guided into the mansion. The interior decor was a graceful and Western-style in
design and the furniture placed inside was also not that gaudy, which blended
in to the calming atmosphere. Even the art-illiterate me recognized that the
owner of this mansion had a good sense of art. Eventually, we entered a room
with the word “parlor” written on its nameplate.
Then, in that parlor, one person had
already been waiting in place. He was a tall man dressed in the Friedonian
Navy’s officer uniform, with bat-like wings and a lizard-like tail. The man
saluted towards me and began to brew the tea. After we sat on the sofa, he distributed
the tea, and then that man stood behind Excel. I rubbed my temple.
「…… I
can’t help, but be bothered by him standing behind you.」(Souma)