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[Translation] Scrapped Princess | Canzonetta of the Unforgiven | The Travelers Come | Part 4/4
. . . I did it again. Well, whatever. This chapter is four parts instead of five, I guess.
[Content Notes]
[Disclaimer]
Scrapped Princess | Canzonetta of the Unforgiven | The Travelers Come | Part 4/4
"U--um . . . !"
Completely at a loss, Winia cast her eyes this way and that as the luggage was briskly put in order.
They had probably always done it this way. That efficiency--born of thorough familiarity--reflected sadly in Winia's eyes.
An expeditious and precise evacuation.
They left nothing behind. Now that she thought about it, their stay at the Big Bear had lasted a mere week. Once they departed, there was no reason to think that the days they had spent here would leave any trace behind. All that would remain were reminiscences, just as though it might all have been an illusion.
Day after day without any place to go, without any friends, only being pursued and continuing to fight. Winia had never even imagined what sort of life that might be, but . . .
"Sorry I ended up dragging you into trouble like that," Pacifica said, after they finished their brief packing stint. "It's just, I was being kind of naive. We've been traveling for so long, I just got tired of it, you know? So even though I knew better, I just couldn't help thinking . . . that maybe I could have an ordinary life in this town."
"Pacifica . . . ?"
"That I could have friends, a home to come back to . . . Even though I should know better, I ended up thinking naive things like that."
Things that everyone takes for granted. Things that even they had once had, without realizing how happy it made them. A joy that was usually surpassing ordinary and modest.
To Pacifica and her siblings, that joy was terribly far away . . . far beyond their reach.
"But you don't have to worry. Once we're gone, I don't think you'll be in any danger, Winia."
. . . they're leaving, Winia thought.
From the beginning, they had only been travelers who had stopped here for a time. Once they left, she would never see them again. At the very least, Pacifica and her siblings would make an effort not to see her again . . . So as not to cause her trouble, they would keep their distance from her.
The turmoil in Winia's chest worsened.
I thought we could become friends.
And just when . . . Pacifica had reached out to me, too. She had reached out to someone like me. And I . . . I genuinely thought I could come to like them, too.
And despite all that, Pacficia . . . even you and your siblings are going to leave me?
If you just hated me, then there'd be nothing for us to do but part. If you had something you were chasing after, then I couldn't hold you back. But for us to part because of something as senseless as this--
"U--um . . ."
At sea though she was, Winia tried to speak the words that would hold them back. But words always failed her at times like this.
Just a single word from the heart--that alone would have been enough, and yet . . .
" . . . damn. They're already here," Shannon murmured.
At that same moment, the sound of breaking glass rang throughout the Big Bear.
The Purgers smashed through a window and burst into the Big Bear's dining room.
In the split second before their feet hit the floor, the Purgers were able to make visual contact with their target and switch to the offensive. To such an extent that the moment the sound of their landing footfalls rang out, it could all be over.
While they were still airborne, four sets of eyes locked on Shannon, who stood in a corner of the dining room.
. . . Purge target sighted.
Voicelessly, and without even exchanging glances, the four assassins reached their conclusion at the same time, with the same thought.
. . . Purge!
Four blades surged forth.
It was an absolutely simultaneous attack. It was not something that a single sword could defend against.
A pure whiteness spread out.
Every last one of their thrown twin moon blades was knocked away by the flourished tablecloth. Ordinarily, it was just a cloth that tidily adorned a dining table, but when spun in just the right way and at just the right velocity, it could become a shield that would flick away deadly weapons.
The twin moon blades fell lifelessly to the floor, or else stuck into the walls and stilled.
"Ahh, and after I went to all the trouble of washing it, too . . ." Shannon groaned, throwing the tablecloth aside.
The Purgers had already positioned themselves for their next attack.
The four men spread out to enclose Shannon in a semi-circle, and, taking new twin moon blades in each hand, they assumed a stance like that of a pugilist.
While the dining room was the Big Bear's largest room, it still restricted movement considerably, compared to fighting outdoors. Originally, twin moon blades were thrown as a way to compensate for their short range, but during indoor combat, that same weak point becomes a strong point.
A sword's long range, on the other hand, means that it requires sufficient space to wield it. Compared to the twin moon blade--which can inflict a fatal wound with a simple strike--it goes without saying which of the two would be easier to use in this fight.
As expected, the men gave each other no signals, but four sets of hands and feet assailed Shannon simultaneously.
Shannon nimbly twisted out of the way, or else used his katana to stop their blows. However, one blow that he did not manage to evade grazed his cheek.
He was just a moment too late . . . As though recalling it, a bead of blood rose up on his cheek.
"Tch . . ."
They were formidable enemies. None would be unbeatable had Shannon faced them individually, but the assault capabilities of the four of them together exceeded him. If he lost his focus for even a moment, the twin moon blades would most likely thrust into a vital point.
For the time being, the girls were holed up back in the kitchen, so he did not need to worry about them, but . . .
"Purgers, huh . . ."
The blades lunged at him, one after the other.
There was absolutely no gap between one attack and the next. On top of being one against four (an unfavorable position even at the best of times), the Purgers' movements were abnormally controlled. They used the same type of taijutsu1 without even the tiniest deviation, and they targeted the same vital points. It was just as though the four of them formed a single beast.
"I'd heard about the Church having its own assassination unit, but . . . You're a stuffy bunch, aren't you? Every one of you wearing the same face like that."
The homogeneous nature of their attacks meant that once you were used to them, defending against them individually was simple. However, people with the same looks--using the same taijutsu, the same weapons, and the same techniques--were driving those attacks in one after another. Handling them without any respite, Shannon's ability to distinguish between them grew so hazy that they seemed to blur into a single person.
A never-ending nightmare within a pair of facing mirrors.
And this nightmare carved people to shreds.
The twin moon blades had already carved wounds here and there into Shannon's body. The wounds themselves were shallow, and none was bleeding significantly, but . . . the shed blood was accompanied by the slow consumption of his strength.
". . . !"
Watching through a crack in the kitchen door, Winia bit back a scream.
Blood covered Shannon's entire body, just like a profuse sweat. Seeing a real battle up-close for the first time, Winia could only gulp down gasping breaths and watch.
However . . .
"All is for the Lord Mauser."
"We are all as one, and as one, we are."
The Purgers' voices resounded solemnly. It was just as though they were chanting scripture.
"There is no betrayal; there are no broken promises."
"Through our faith, we have become one."
"Faith itself is our absolute bond."
They had no sense of camaraderie.
Each considered the others a part of himself. For that reason, they needed no prior arrangements or signals--using the same techniques, possessing the same power, and thinking the same thoughts, they could act in perfect coordination. In the same way that a beast is not conscious of the individual movements of its feet.
". . ."
The Purgers' words echoed sharply in Winia's heart.
A perfect bond.
A connection that could never be severed.
In it, there could be no betrayal, no loneliness, no despair . . .
Winia took a gasping breath.
The sight of those men--who, without a sliver of suspicion, regarded each other as their own selves, and who trusted each other to the end--filled Winia with envy. So much envy that it was unbearable.
But . . .
". . . 'bond' my ass." Though his wounds shed drops of crimson every time he moved . . . Shannon's voice held neither fear nor unease, only an echo of weariness. "Sharing a connection with someone is a big deal."
In reality, Shannon could not find any way to launch a counterattack. Even defending, it was not as though he could go on forever. If the blood loss continued as it was, his fatigue would worsen and eventually give rise to a fatal opening.
"But you bastards--you don't have trust or anything like it. You were all afraid, weren't you? Afraid to come in touch with other people . . . afraid of being betrayed or hurt, so you rejected everyone outside yourselves, didn't you?" For a moment, Shannon wore a fierce, bestial smile.
". . . !"
Seeing his profile . . . Winia got the mistaken impression that his words were meant for her, and she trembled.
"Faith? Don't make me laugh. You bastards didn't have the courage to believe in anything, so you just stopped thinking!"
The Purgers were silent.
But just for a moment, Winia saw their movements lose their smoothness.
Facing the nearest Purger, Shannon made a brutal charge and drove his katana in. Of course, the Purger used his twin moon blade to catch the blow, but he could not overcome Shannon's momentum.
Their blades still locked, Shannon used the force of his entire body to slam the Purger into the wall of the Big Bear. Crashing into the wall, the Purger let out a pained cry, as though he had damaged his spine, and fell still. But at the same time, Shannon's back was left wide open to the remaining three.
. . . this is our chance!
With this conclusion, the remaining three moved as one to face that back--
"And that's why you'll fall for such a simple trick," Shannon said, keeping his back to them . . . and suddenly dropping to the floor as though he had collapsed.
This unexpected movement caused all three Purgers' twin moon blades to miss. It probably did not occur to them that they had been herded together.
". . . O Mjölnir, strike!" Raquel's voice rang through the wall.
The offensive spell whose activation she had prepared was loosed, and it scythed forward in a horizontal sweep. The intense bolt of lightning tore straight through the wall and, in the next instant, struck the Church's assassins.
After loading the luggage into the coach, Pacifica looked back.
". . . 'bye, then."
She disguised her expression with a smile, but Winia felt that she could see the loneliness imprisoned within it.
"I had fun this week. Thanks," Pacifica said, turning her back on Winia.
Seeing that terribly small-looking back, Winia said, ". . . wait."
Making an effort to conceal their shock, Shannon and his sisters looked back to see . . . Winia smiling so sweetly and graciously that it was alarming.
"You can't possibly be thinking of leaving as though nothing has happened, can you?"
"Eh . . . well . . ." Cold sweat broke out on Shannon's cheeks.
For her part . . . looking closely at Winia's smiling face, an angry vein stood out on her cheek.
"As long as we're here, we'll just cause trouble for you and the other townspeople . . . so . . ."
"You shouldn't dodge the question like that. Just what do you intend to do about this?"
So saying, Winia pointed at the miserable state of the Big Bear, whose outer wall had been utterly destroyed all the way from the kitchen to the dining room, as though it had been excavated.
On top of being worn out to begin with, Shannon had run riot with the Purgers, and even worse, Raquel's offensive spell had delivered the finishing blow, thereby leaving it in its current state.
"Well, that's--"
"I expect you to pay for this, Casull-san. The Big Bear must receive proper repairs, and be restored to a state in which it can greet its guests."
"But, it's just . . . we don't have that kind of money on hand."
It had already been more than a year since they had set out on their journey. They had gradually exhausted the funds they had brought with them from home, and the money they brought in doing work to pay for their accommodations amounted to very little.
Shannon and his sisters could not possibly have enough money on hand to reimburse Winia on the spot like that. If they could have afforded such a thing, they would not have stayed at the Big Bear in the first place, and certainly would not have had to haggle over the fee.
"If you don't have the money, then please find some work until you do. I won't allow you to go running off until then!"
"Well, but the hitmen--"
"That excuse won't work. I won't be able to do business like this, anyway, so I'm as good as hung as it is," Winia said, glaring at the three of them with her arms akimbo. Before the unexpected force that she projected, Shannon and his sisters could offer no objection; they could only stand there, dumbfounded.
Nevertheless, while she was supposedly infuriated, Winia's expression seemed somehow happy.
"Uhh . . . but, I mean . . ."
"Until then, I'll drop your lodging fees to actual cost, so you work hard and pay me back for the repairs. Is that clear?"
"But, it's just that--"
"Is that clear?"
". . . yes, ma'am."
The three hung their heads as one.
Thus.
It was decided that Shannon, Raquel, and Pacifica's sojourn in the city of Taurus would be prolonged for a bit.
---
[Next] [Previous]
Notes:
1) 体術, literally, "body techniques." Refers to Japanese martial arts techniques involving body movements. Back
Attagirl, Winia.
[Content Notes]
[Disclaimer]
Scrapped Princess | Canzonetta of the Unforgiven | The Travelers Come | Part 4/4
"U--um . . . !"
Completely at a loss, Winia cast her eyes this way and that as the luggage was briskly put in order.
They had probably always done it this way. That efficiency--born of thorough familiarity--reflected sadly in Winia's eyes.
An expeditious and precise evacuation.
They left nothing behind. Now that she thought about it, their stay at the Big Bear had lasted a mere week. Once they departed, there was no reason to think that the days they had spent here would leave any trace behind. All that would remain were reminiscences, just as though it might all have been an illusion.
Day after day without any place to go, without any friends, only being pursued and continuing to fight. Winia had never even imagined what sort of life that might be, but . . .
"Sorry I ended up dragging you into trouble like that," Pacifica said, after they finished their brief packing stint. "It's just, I was being kind of naive. We've been traveling for so long, I just got tired of it, you know? So even though I knew better, I just couldn't help thinking . . . that maybe I could have an ordinary life in this town."
"Pacifica . . . ?"
"That I could have friends, a home to come back to . . . Even though I should know better, I ended up thinking naive things like that."
Things that everyone takes for granted. Things that even they had once had, without realizing how happy it made them. A joy that was usually surpassing ordinary and modest.
To Pacifica and her siblings, that joy was terribly far away . . . far beyond their reach.
"But you don't have to worry. Once we're gone, I don't think you'll be in any danger, Winia."
. . . they're leaving, Winia thought.
From the beginning, they had only been travelers who had stopped here for a time. Once they left, she would never see them again. At the very least, Pacifica and her siblings would make an effort not to see her again . . . So as not to cause her trouble, they would keep their distance from her.
The turmoil in Winia's chest worsened.
I thought we could become friends.
And just when . . . Pacifica had reached out to me, too. She had reached out to someone like me. And I . . . I genuinely thought I could come to like them, too.
And despite all that, Pacficia . . . even you and your siblings are going to leave me?
If you just hated me, then there'd be nothing for us to do but part. If you had something you were chasing after, then I couldn't hold you back. But for us to part because of something as senseless as this--
"U--um . . ."
At sea though she was, Winia tried to speak the words that would hold them back. But words always failed her at times like this.
Just a single word from the heart--that alone would have been enough, and yet . . .
" . . . damn. They're already here," Shannon murmured.
At that same moment, the sound of breaking glass rang throughout the Big Bear.
The Purgers smashed through a window and burst into the Big Bear's dining room.
In the split second before their feet hit the floor, the Purgers were able to make visual contact with their target and switch to the offensive. To such an extent that the moment the sound of their landing footfalls rang out, it could all be over.
While they were still airborne, four sets of eyes locked on Shannon, who stood in a corner of the dining room.
. . . Purge target sighted.
Voicelessly, and without even exchanging glances, the four assassins reached their conclusion at the same time, with the same thought.
. . . Purge!
Four blades surged forth.
It was an absolutely simultaneous attack. It was not something that a single sword could defend against.
A pure whiteness spread out.
Every last one of their thrown twin moon blades was knocked away by the flourished tablecloth. Ordinarily, it was just a cloth that tidily adorned a dining table, but when spun in just the right way and at just the right velocity, it could become a shield that would flick away deadly weapons.
The twin moon blades fell lifelessly to the floor, or else stuck into the walls and stilled.
"Ahh, and after I went to all the trouble of washing it, too . . ." Shannon groaned, throwing the tablecloth aside.
The Purgers had already positioned themselves for their next attack.
The four men spread out to enclose Shannon in a semi-circle, and, taking new twin moon blades in each hand, they assumed a stance like that of a pugilist.
While the dining room was the Big Bear's largest room, it still restricted movement considerably, compared to fighting outdoors. Originally, twin moon blades were thrown as a way to compensate for their short range, but during indoor combat, that same weak point becomes a strong point.
A sword's long range, on the other hand, means that it requires sufficient space to wield it. Compared to the twin moon blade--which can inflict a fatal wound with a simple strike--it goes without saying which of the two would be easier to use in this fight.
As expected, the men gave each other no signals, but four sets of hands and feet assailed Shannon simultaneously.
Shannon nimbly twisted out of the way, or else used his katana to stop their blows. However, one blow that he did not manage to evade grazed his cheek.
He was just a moment too late . . . As though recalling it, a bead of blood rose up on his cheek.
"Tch . . ."
They were formidable enemies. None would be unbeatable had Shannon faced them individually, but the assault capabilities of the four of them together exceeded him. If he lost his focus for even a moment, the twin moon blades would most likely thrust into a vital point.
For the time being, the girls were holed up back in the kitchen, so he did not need to worry about them, but . . .
"Purgers, huh . . ."
The blades lunged at him, one after the other.
There was absolutely no gap between one attack and the next. On top of being one against four (an unfavorable position even at the best of times), the Purgers' movements were abnormally controlled. They used the same type of taijutsu1 without even the tiniest deviation, and they targeted the same vital points. It was just as though the four of them formed a single beast.
"I'd heard about the Church having its own assassination unit, but . . . You're a stuffy bunch, aren't you? Every one of you wearing the same face like that."
The homogeneous nature of their attacks meant that once you were used to them, defending against them individually was simple. However, people with the same looks--using the same taijutsu, the same weapons, and the same techniques--were driving those attacks in one after another. Handling them without any respite, Shannon's ability to distinguish between them grew so hazy that they seemed to blur into a single person.
A never-ending nightmare within a pair of facing mirrors.
And this nightmare carved people to shreds.
The twin moon blades had already carved wounds here and there into Shannon's body. The wounds themselves were shallow, and none was bleeding significantly, but . . . the shed blood was accompanied by the slow consumption of his strength.
". . . !"
Watching through a crack in the kitchen door, Winia bit back a scream.
Blood covered Shannon's entire body, just like a profuse sweat. Seeing a real battle up-close for the first time, Winia could only gulp down gasping breaths and watch.
However . . .
"All is for the Lord Mauser."
"We are all as one, and as one, we are."
The Purgers' voices resounded solemnly. It was just as though they were chanting scripture.
"There is no betrayal; there are no broken promises."
"Through our faith, we have become one."
"Faith itself is our absolute bond."
They had no sense of camaraderie.
Each considered the others a part of himself. For that reason, they needed no prior arrangements or signals--using the same techniques, possessing the same power, and thinking the same thoughts, they could act in perfect coordination. In the same way that a beast is not conscious of the individual movements of its feet.
". . ."
The Purgers' words echoed sharply in Winia's heart.
A perfect bond.
A connection that could never be severed.
In it, there could be no betrayal, no loneliness, no despair . . .
Winia took a gasping breath.
The sight of those men--who, without a sliver of suspicion, regarded each other as their own selves, and who trusted each other to the end--filled Winia with envy. So much envy that it was unbearable.
But . . .
". . . 'bond' my ass." Though his wounds shed drops of crimson every time he moved . . . Shannon's voice held neither fear nor unease, only an echo of weariness. "Sharing a connection with someone is a big deal."
In reality, Shannon could not find any way to launch a counterattack. Even defending, it was not as though he could go on forever. If the blood loss continued as it was, his fatigue would worsen and eventually give rise to a fatal opening.
"But you bastards--you don't have trust or anything like it. You were all afraid, weren't you? Afraid to come in touch with other people . . . afraid of being betrayed or hurt, so you rejected everyone outside yourselves, didn't you?" For a moment, Shannon wore a fierce, bestial smile.
". . . !"
Seeing his profile . . . Winia got the mistaken impression that his words were meant for her, and she trembled.
"Faith? Don't make me laugh. You bastards didn't have the courage to believe in anything, so you just stopped thinking!"
The Purgers were silent.
But just for a moment, Winia saw their movements lose their smoothness.
Facing the nearest Purger, Shannon made a brutal charge and drove his katana in. Of course, the Purger used his twin moon blade to catch the blow, but he could not overcome Shannon's momentum.
Their blades still locked, Shannon used the force of his entire body to slam the Purger into the wall of the Big Bear. Crashing into the wall, the Purger let out a pained cry, as though he had damaged his spine, and fell still. But at the same time, Shannon's back was left wide open to the remaining three.
. . . this is our chance!
With this conclusion, the remaining three moved as one to face that back--
"And that's why you'll fall for such a simple trick," Shannon said, keeping his back to them . . . and suddenly dropping to the floor as though he had collapsed.
This unexpected movement caused all three Purgers' twin moon blades to miss. It probably did not occur to them that they had been herded together.
". . . O Mjölnir, strike!" Raquel's voice rang through the wall.
The offensive spell whose activation she had prepared was loosed, and it scythed forward in a horizontal sweep. The intense bolt of lightning tore straight through the wall and, in the next instant, struck the Church's assassins.
After loading the luggage into the coach, Pacifica looked back.
". . . 'bye, then."
She disguised her expression with a smile, but Winia felt that she could see the loneliness imprisoned within it.
"I had fun this week. Thanks," Pacifica said, turning her back on Winia.
Seeing that terribly small-looking back, Winia said, ". . . wait."
Making an effort to conceal their shock, Shannon and his sisters looked back to see . . . Winia smiling so sweetly and graciously that it was alarming.
"You can't possibly be thinking of leaving as though nothing has happened, can you?"
"Eh . . . well . . ." Cold sweat broke out on Shannon's cheeks.
For her part . . . looking closely at Winia's smiling face, an angry vein stood out on her cheek.
"As long as we're here, we'll just cause trouble for you and the other townspeople . . . so . . ."
"You shouldn't dodge the question like that. Just what do you intend to do about this?"
So saying, Winia pointed at the miserable state of the Big Bear, whose outer wall had been utterly destroyed all the way from the kitchen to the dining room, as though it had been excavated.
On top of being worn out to begin with, Shannon had run riot with the Purgers, and even worse, Raquel's offensive spell had delivered the finishing blow, thereby leaving it in its current state.
"Well, that's--"
"I expect you to pay for this, Casull-san. The Big Bear must receive proper repairs, and be restored to a state in which it can greet its guests."
"But, it's just . . . we don't have that kind of money on hand."
It had already been more than a year since they had set out on their journey. They had gradually exhausted the funds they had brought with them from home, and the money they brought in doing work to pay for their accommodations amounted to very little.
Shannon and his sisters could not possibly have enough money on hand to reimburse Winia on the spot like that. If they could have afforded such a thing, they would not have stayed at the Big Bear in the first place, and certainly would not have had to haggle over the fee.
"If you don't have the money, then please find some work until you do. I won't allow you to go running off until then!"
"Well, but the hitmen--"
"That excuse won't work. I won't be able to do business like this, anyway, so I'm as good as hung as it is," Winia said, glaring at the three of them with her arms akimbo. Before the unexpected force that she projected, Shannon and his sisters could offer no objection; they could only stand there, dumbfounded.
Nevertheless, while she was supposedly infuriated, Winia's expression seemed somehow happy.
"Uhh . . . but, I mean . . ."
"Until then, I'll drop your lodging fees to actual cost, so you work hard and pay me back for the repairs. Is that clear?"
"But, it's just that--"
"Is that clear?"
". . . yes, ma'am."
The three hung their heads as one.
Thus.
It was decided that Shannon, Raquel, and Pacifica's sojourn in the city of Taurus would be prolonged for a bit.
---
[Next] [Previous]
Notes:
1) 体術, literally, "body techniques." Refers to Japanese martial arts techniques involving body movements. Back
Attagirl, Winia.