Vermillion

Editor: ShinonomeResearchLabs, Proofer: Hakou

The members of the caravan gathered around the bonfire with rumbling stomachs, wooden bowls in hand, waiting for their turn to get the risotto . Having gotten their share, Kei and Aileen sat down and started eating under a large tree near their tent .  

“You know, I think some words just can’t be conveyed in this world . ”

Complained Irene while absentmindedly stirring her risotto . Of course, both of them are currently speaking English .

“Yeah, I didn’t think it was like this in the game, but if I say something in English, it gets translated to a different language when we’re talking to the people of this world . ” (ED Note: The mechanics for the language are either poorly explained, or I just can’t translate it . Either way, sorry for the confusion at this part: it’s best if you don’t think too much about it as it’s mostly for context . )

To Kei’s reply, Aileen simply took a large bite out of her salami and exhaled, throwing her head back in resignation .

“Is ‘trauma’ derived from Latin?”

「いや、たしかギリシア語だったと思う。ゲーム内に、ギリシア語圏はなかったからな……多分ギリシア語そのものが存在しないんじゃないか」

“No, I think it was Greek . However, there were no Greek-speaking groups in the game… it’s likely the Greek language as a whole doesn’t exist in this world . ”

　【DEMONDAL】は、北欧のデベロッパが開発したゲームであり、運営会社はイギリス資本であった。プレイヤー人口の八割以上はヨーロッパ圏の住人だったため、ゲームの主言語は英語に設定されていたが、それと同時に雪原の民ロスキ、高原の民フランセ、海原の民エスパニャなど、幾つかのヨーロッパ言語に対応したエリア・民族も実装されていたのだ。

Demondal was developed by a scandinavian company, but operated from a server in Britain . Since more than 80% of the player base was composed of European residents, the main language of the game was set to English . Nonetheless, several European languages were a.s.signed to different groups in-game: Russian to the Snowfield people, French to those from the plateau, and Spanish to the rest living by the sea .  

“The French language was derived from Latin, but if we traced back Latin too, wouldn’t it end up as Greek as well?”

「うーむ。『トラウマ』みたいにダイレクトな形じゃないにせよ、英語にもギリシア語起源の語彙は多い筈だからな。こっちの言語がどういう形で成立したのか、言語学的に興味はあるな……」

“Umu, even though most of them are not as direct as ‘trauma,’ there still are a lot of Greek words in english too, but given that it doesn’t exist here, I’m really curious as to how the language in this world was formed… ”

“Wouldn’t it be interesting if you looked into that kinda thing at the Uruvan library?”

「時間があったら挑戦してみたいところだ……が、学術的な英語は俺にはちょっと難しいんだよな」

“I’d like to do it if I had the time… but academic English is rather difficult for me . ”

Kei let out a small sigh as he worked away at the contents of his bowl .

English was Kei’s second language .

　VR技術の黎明期、世界中の似たような境遇の患者たちと交流するために、ケイは比較的幼い頃より、コツコツと英語を学んできた。おかげで、というべきか、普通の日本人の子供よりも遥かに、生きた英語や、その他のヨーロッパ言語に触れる機会があったのだ。英語に限っていえば、日常生活に支障のないレベルで、訛りなどもなく流暢に喋れるようになっている。しかし、基本的に実地での叩き上げによる語学力ゆえに、殆ど縁の無い学術的な英語は苦手としていた。

Kei had been studying English since the dawn of VR technology, when he was relatively young, to be able to talk with other patients with conditions similar to his own . Thanks to VR, he had been exposed to English and other European languages much more than the average j.a.panese student, so much so that he had been able to pick it up to the point where it was usable in day to day life . Nonetheless, Kei was still blindsided by academic English, as there was no opportunity to use or learn it in his avant garde education in the language .

「俺はバイリンガルじゃないからな……アイリーンが羨ましいよ」

“Since I barely count as bilingual… I’m jealous of Eileen . ”

“My English isn’t perfect either, you know?”

Aileen shrugged her shoulders with an embarra.s.sed expression as Kei stared at her enviously .

「あくまで、オレの母語はロシア語だからな……はぁ、ロシア語が懐かしいぜ」

“It’s because my native language is Russian… ha~, I do miss Russian . ”

Aileen deliberately sighed in an exaggerated manner .

Then, suddenly .

『――In that case, you can speak Russian with me . 』(ED Note: I’m going to abuse these weird brackets for any foreign languages in the future, cuz G.o.d d.a.m.n are there a lot . )

A voice from behind them offered .

The two turned around as if spun like a top .

「……お前は、」

“… You are―”

Kei swallowed his words .

A blond man leaned against a nearby tree trunk while sporting a thin smile .

――It was the young man that Kei met while he was helping repair the carriage in the afternoon .

『You speak Russian!?』

Aileen blurted out in surprise .

『Yes, I’m Russian in fact . 』

The young man nodded as he confirmed Aileen’s suspicions, who continued,

『What a surprise! I’d never have thought that there’d a fellow Russian on this caravan . 』

『Yeah, me neither, but it’s true . My name’s Alexei, and you?』

『My name’s Aileen . 』

『Ai-lean? That how you p.r.o.nounce it in English?』

「Именно так . Это потому, что мои родители англичане…」

『Precisely . Both my parents are English, you see… 』

Aileen and the young man happily chatted away in Russian .

「…………」

“ … ”

Kei, having been left out, had an unmistakably puzzled expression on his face .

“――Oops, I’m sorry Kei . ”

Noticing Kei had quietly slipped away to finish his meal, Aileen returned to speaking English .

「いやいや、その……、驚いたな。雪原の民なのか」

“No, no, don’t mind me . It’s just that… I was surprised . Are you one of the Snowfield people?”

While giving an awkward smile, Kei addressed the blonde youth .

“Oh, that’s right . I met you earlier today . ”

Smirking, the young man extended his hand to Kei .

“Nice to meet you, my name’s Alexei: a warrior of the Snowfield people . ”

「……俺は、ケイという。よろしく頼む」

“… I’m Kei . Nice to meet you too . ” 

Kei took Alexei’s hand and introduced himself . He noted to himself that Alexei had a very firm grip .

“Is Alexei also an escort?”

“No, I am a warrior, but I wasn’t hired as an escort . Rather, I’m an acquaintance of Mr . Pierre . I tagged along because I was planning on heading to Uruvan as well . ”

「そうか、なるほど……」

“Ah, I see… ” 

Giving a vague reply, Kei desperately grasped for the next topic, but before he managed to find one, Alexei turned to Aileen again .

『But I’m surprised . I never thought I’d find such a beautiful girl here . 』

「…Хватит шутить」

『… Don’t joke around . 』

『I’m serious . You’re really amazing . 』

And, the foreign language dialogue continued, leaving no room for a third party . While the two conversed, Kei simply looked on silently, a twitching smile plastered to his face .

“Oi~, Kei, are you free right now?”

Dagmar called out from across the bonfire on the other side of the clearing .

“Sorry to bother you, but we’re gonna have a talk about today’s work and plan the night watch, so can you come here for a sec?”

“Ah, I understand . ”

As it couldn’t be helped since it was in boss calling, Kei stood up to go . As he was about to leave, a lost expression crept back onto his face as he nervously turned towards Aileen .

“――So then, excuse me, I’ll be going for a moment . ”

「Честно говоря, Я не принадлежу к… あ、うん。Я не принадлежу к никакому клану в этом регионе… . 」

『Honestly, I don’t belong to… ‘Oh, yeah, sure . ’ Like I was saying, I’m not from any clan in this region… 』(ED Note: Words in single quotation mark spoken in English to Kei . )

Aileen briefly glanced at Kei and replied before turning back to her conversation with Alexei .

Kei thought he saw an amused expression cross Alexei’s face momentarily .

「…………」

“ … ”  

Kei couldn’t quite put his finger on the feeling that he was having, but it was something like alienation .

As he turned away from the pair chatting away, Kei felt like his stomach was aching .

†††

Edda looked at the light of the bonfire with a face that practically screamed of boredom .

「…………」

“ … ”  

She glanced towards the opposite side of the camp .

Two men and a woman were talking to each other under a small tree .

Aileen and Alexei .

「……魔法、見せてくれるって言ったのに」

“You said you’d show me magic… ” 

Edda pouted in annoyance . She had been waiting to see magic the whole evening, but Aileen’s conversation never seemed to end .

　直接頼みに行こうか……とは思うものの、アイリーンと話している革鎧の青年が、どうにも恐ろしく感じられた。顔つきのせいか、雰囲気のせいか。あるいは――どうやら彼が、雪原の民であるらしいためか。

She thought of going directly to her… but the young man in the leather armor talking to Aileen was scary . Did he seem that way because of his face or the atmosphere? Or perhaps it was because he was one of the Snowfield people .

(But, onee-chan isn’t scary . ) (ED Note: Internal dialogue syntax reverted to parenthesis: fixed in earlier chapters . )

Aileen spoke the language of the Snowfield people fluently . Still, Edda still thought of her as a friendly big sister .

Nevertheless, the other man was still frightening . He gave off the feeling of a wild beast .

（……もう一人のお兄ちゃんは、怖くないのにな）

(… I’m not scared of the other onii-chan either . ) 

The dark-haired young man who had been with Aileen this afternoon had gentle eyes .

However, the young man with black hair was now back in his tent .

From his exchange earlier with Dagmar, he seemed to have a night watch shift, and in preparation, he said he was going to sleep early .

Edda wanted to talk to Aileen before going to bed, but wanted to avoid the scary young man . In the end, she felt like a bear running back to its burrow after losing its food .

(What kinda relationship does onii-chan and onee-chan have?)

That thought suddenly slipped into Edda’s mind .

――Are they friends?

――Or maybe they’re lovers?

“They seemed too close to be called friends,” Edda thought . With her pure, childish curiosity Edda fantasized about the pair’s relationship .

「……うーん」

“… Unnn . ” 

Edda tilted her head up and looked up at the sky . As Edda gazed as the stars, she was. .h.i.t by a wave of drowsiness, which she adamantly brush off with a “well, whatever . ”

「……エッダや。そろそろ、おねむかい？」

“… Edda, are you going to sleep?”

Something warm gently wrapped itself around her .

「……おばあちゃん」

“Grandma… ” 

Edda didn’t need to look back to tell who was hugging her . A baggy robe, arms as thin as sticks, and a soft, lingering scent: it was Heidemarie .

“I’m not sleepy yet . ”

“Fufufu . Alright, alright . ”

Hugging Edda tighter, Heidemarie simply let out a small laugh .

「……ねえ、おばあちゃん」

“… Hey, grandma . ”

“Uun?

“Where the Snowfield people are from, Yukihara: what’s it like?”

「……そうだねぇ」

“… Ah, Yukihara?” 

Heidemarie thought for a moment while stroking Edda’s hair as she was sitting on her lap .

「雪原は、”公都”ウルヴァーンよりさらに北、国境を超えた『北の大地』に広がる地域で、山々に囲まれた険しい土地じゃよ。まあ、とてもとても、寒いところじゃ。夏は涼しいが、冬は長く、厳しい。そこに住まう人々、雪原の民は、その環境にも負けない強い人々と聞く」

“Yukihara is the region stretching north from the outpost city Uruvan, beyond our country’s border, and is a barren land surrounded by mountains . The winters are long and harsh, and the people who live there, the Snowfield people, are a fierce tribe that have learned to withstand the demanding environment . ”

“Hey, but why do they live in such cold places?”

「遥かな太古の時代には、緑豊かな土地であったとか……何故、今も住み続けているか、といえば、やはり先祖から受け継いできた土地だから、かのう」

“In ancient times, it was a fertile land… I suppose the reason they continue to live there today is because they inherited it from their ancestors . ”

“Fuun… ”

「……ああ。それに、彼らの使う秘術も関係するかもしれん」

“… Ah, in addition, it could also be because of their mystic arts . ” (ED Joke: “I-it’s a secret family technique!!”)  

“Mystic arts?”

“――It’s called ‘Crest Arts . ’ At the peril of one’s life, the technique allows a person to manifest powers that are impossible for a normal person, though even I don’t know the details . ”

“Is it magic?”

In response to Edda’s barrage of questions, Heidemarie spoke in a hushed voice .

Even in the clans of the Snowfield people, only a limited number of people know how to use it . However, a warrior who has attained a Crest is incomparably stronger compared to a normal warrior . That’s the only thing I’m sure of . ”

“How do you know?”

“A long time ago, I once met a warrior of the Snowfield people how had a Crest engraved on him . That warrior was as strong as a demon . There are people like that in Yukihara . ”

Edda’s eyes shined hearing Heidemarie’s story .

“Wow, I want to go there!”

“Fuwehehe, that might be a little dangerous . ”

Heidemarie slowly stroked Edda’s head, combing through the girl’s long, curly hair with her fingers .

「かの”戦役”より昔、その『紋章』の秘術を巡って、公国は雪原の民に戦争を仕掛けたんじゃ。今では、”戦役”のせいで、公国内では殆ど忘れられておるがの。殴った側はすっかり忘れても、殴られた側はその痛みを忘れない――かの地では未だに、公国に対する深い恨みが残っていると聞く」

“The Princ.i.p.ality went to war with the Snowfield people in order to obtain the secret ‘Crest Arts . ’ Nowadays, it’s almost entirely forgotten by the public . However, enough one side forgot, the side who suffered the attack won’t do the same so easily . I hear that there’s still a deep grudge against the Princ.i.p.ality in that place . ”

“Oh… ”

Interjected Edda blankly,

「……むずかしいね」

“… It’s hard to go to Yukihara, isn’t it?”

She muttered in a small voice .

“Yes, it might be a little difficult for Edda . Even adults have trouble . ”

「……じゃあ、わたしも、大人になったらするの？」

“… Then, do you think I’ll be able to do it when I grow up?”

“Fuwehehe . Well, that depends on you, Edda . ”

Edda, who resigned herself to having her head comforting stroked, yawned a little .

「さあさ、エッダや。夜はもう遅い……そろそろお眠りなさい」

“Now, now, Edda . The hour is late… it’s time to go to sleep . ”

「……まだ眠くないもん」

“… I’m not sleepy yet . ” 

“Fufufu, is that so?”

Heidemarie let out a small laugh .

The warm, vivid night slowly wrapped its arms around everything, its mollifying darkness gently drawing to a close the curtain of sleep .

Silently, peacefully, twilight slipped by, giving way to the dawn of a new day .