YnO27

GDoc here… There are some places that are uncertain, but it’s mostly done…

Tranquility and Shadows

In the mountains near the border of the Remulshil Empire.
They were marching along a narrow trail away from the highway.
They reached a clearing where the trees had been felled by human hands.
It was a plaza overrun with grass, with the shabby ruins of buildings.
However, for a village, neither fields, tools, nor livestock were to be seen.
Even though it was a village, there were no children nor elderly people.
There were only traces of people having lived there.
The houses were simple enough to be merely called cabins.
It was the base of a bandit group that robbed travellers, merchants and surrounding villages.
This was a gathering place for people who committed crimes at villages or town who couldn’t continue to live normally, those became ruined by debt, and even soldiers who had deserted from the army, all sorts of people gathered there, committing misdeeds in the village.
They raided defenseless villages nearby, and robbed caravans passing by on the highways.
By acquiring provisions like that, they continued living hedonistically without worrying about tomorrow, it became a collection of wild men.
But now, those men from the bandit group had taken up arms, and scattered among the simple huts.
Standing around the huts, the men’s eyes glistened, not missing even the slightest abnormality.
They wore similar armour, and were gripping the swords hung around their waists.
Somebody who appeared to be the commander, wearing better armour than the rest, was giving out instructions. From his disciplined movements, it was clear that he was a trained soldier.
Five men were within one of the huts, the one that seemed bigger than the rest.
One of the men was tied to a chair with his hands tied behind his back , surrounded a middle-aged man and three knights, who appeared to be guarding him.
“Shit… ya bastards. I’ll never forgive ya.”
Although the man was tied up, he glared at the men surrounding him.
He was the leader of the bandit group.
As expected of somebody who had gathered 50 people into the bandit group, even when he was tied up, he would have been trembling if he were a weak-willed person; and he would instinctively try to run away if he had the strength.^[1]
However, the knights did not move an inch.^[2]
The middle-aged man’s face also didn’t change, simply looking down at the bandit leader.
“Hmmm, for you to not beg for your life, even in this situation, you have some courage. However, don’t forget that if we felt like it, we could slaughter you and your cute underlings easily.”
“Damn!”
The leader’s face contorted as he glared at the middle-aged man.
Because what he said was true.
If they decided to attack, they could slaughter everybody.
Despite this, these people left those of the bandit group alive.
They must have seen some use in the bandit group.
That’s why, instead of killing them, they were merely incapacitated.
Even they were aware that they weren’t working honestly.
That’s why they were always vigilant.
Nevertheless, they were ambushed, and subdued without being able to resist.
Even if they had fought back, their opponents were more skillful, so it was better to obediently give in.
With these mental calculations, the leader swallowed his anger, and opened his mouth.

“… Now, what will you have us do?”

“Hou, for a leader of a bandit group, your head is screwed on tightly. Getting straight to the point, we want you to become our pawns.”

“… In this situation, I have no choice, but to concede. Who should we attack? Do ya wanna kill some nobles or merchants? Or do ya want us to kidnap somebody?”

“A wise choice.”

The middle-aged man nodded, and gave the leader several names and places.
The leader heard this, wide-eyed and his mouth opened.

“Hey, are you serious? This is excessive. You, are you planning to start a war?”

“Well, something like that.”

“So, you’ll reward us?”

“You want more rewards than this way of life? On that matter, the compensation will allow you all to leave your lifestyle.”

“… It’s fine. We’ll do it. It’s fine if we do it our own way, right?”

“Of course. Rather, that will be convenient for us. Moreover, we also have other collaborators, and will recruit more people to work for you.”

“… I see.”

Those were wise words.

The leader thought about it.

He would be able to gain more subordinates, and expand the bandit group.
And so, the armies raised by the feudal lords in the vicinity, and the soldiers and adventurers hired by the villages came to subjugate them.
If they were in it for quick riches, then they would have changed jobs.
But they would have considerable power, being backed by this middle-aged man.
In these delicate circumstances, it wasn’t a bad gamble.

“First, untie these ropes. You gonna put your words into action, right?”

The middle-aged man assented, and ordered that the rope behind the leader’s back be untied.

“Huh? Oh my? Leti-chan, When did you come back?”

“It has been a long time, Oba-san^[1] I returned just last spring.”

“I see. You were really cute as a kid, I’m really surprised that you grew up to become so beautiful.”

“Ahaha, you flatter me.^[2]”

“Speaking of returns, Brave-sama also returned last spring. Brave-sama was also pretty, but I’m sure she’s no match for Leti-chan’s beauty.”

This woman didn’t imagine, even in her wildest dreams, that Brave-sama and Leti were the same person.

After they finished working at the Wandering Bird’s Mistletoe, Wynn and Leticia walked around the capital.^[3]
They were headed to the palace in the middle of the capital.
Cornelia had invited them to tea.
Since the school was still closed, they had nothing else to do in the afternoons, so the two were delighted to accept the invitation.
Locke also planned to join them after he finished all of his apprentice knight work.
As they walked towards the capital, they met the old lady from the apothecary, whom they had helped when they acted as adventurers.

“I heard that you went somewhere far away, but will you have to leave again?”

“Yes, in the meantime I do not expect to leave yet. Of course, I can’t say for certain that I will not be called upon again…”

Leticia peeked at Wynn for a moment, then smiled.

‘Leticia’s in a really good mood today…’

Leticia was having a conversation with the lady from the apothecary while occasionally laughing.
He was fascinated by her smiling face.^[3]
As a matter of fact, besides Wynn, Locke and Cornelia, to Leticia, the first friends she who were close in age to her.
Walking alone with Wynn, was one reason for her good mood, but since she was often alone as a kid, spending time with new friends cheered her mood up.
Wynn on the other hand, looked forward to the rare opportunity to visit somebody he considered a friend.
However, though he thought of her as a friend, she was a princess, and though he looked forward to visiting her, he was anxious about going to the castle.

They didn’t notice, but the people along the way all turned their heads to look at her.

Leticia was extraordinarily beautiful.
Although they were simple and easy to move in, her clothes were clearly made of high-quality materials.
It was natural that she attracted everybody’s attention.
Upon noticing Wynn’s gaze, Leticia bid the auntie farewell, and jogged up to him.

“Sorry, I made you wait, Onii-chan— Huh? What’s wrong?”

“A-ah. No, it’s nothing.”

Feeling that something was amiss, Leticia tilted her head.
Wynn averted his eyes to hide his embarrassment, bowed to the old lady, and started walking.
Leticia walked beside him.

“I got some sweets.”

Leticia chewed on one of the candies from the small bag.

“Here, Onii-chan.”

Wynn took a candy from the bag she held out, and put it in his mouth.
The sweetness of the sugar spread through his mouth.

“It’s tasty.”

Leticia looked up at Wynn with a smile.^[4]

“Onii-chan?”

“Ah, yes.”

To hide the fact that he was fascinated by her smiling face, Wynn threw another candy into his mouth.

“Speaking of, Leti often brought sweets when we were young, didn’t you?”

Sugary sweets were expensive, so normal people rarely ate them.
When they were young, Leticia sometimes brought sweets with her when she snuck out, eating them together with him.
Until he met with Leticia, Wynn, who had never tasted the sweetness of fruits, enjoyed the sweets she brought, but he also enjoyed these sorts of candies.

“Yes, we sure ate a lot after studying.”

They would secretly eat the sweets in Wynn’s shed, or by the riverside while listening to the flowing water, where Mark and Abel, from the Wandering Bird’s Mistletoe couldn’t steal them.

“I really enjoyed the sweets that Leti brought back then.”

“It couldn’t be, were you playing with me because of the sweets?”

“Ahaha… No way…”

Wynn averted his eyes.
It was true that he was partly enticed by the sweets.

“Good grief. A cute girl comes to see you everyday, you were so blessed!!”

“No, no, no, I was happy to be together with Leti. But the sweets were hard to resist.”

“Sheesh!”

Leticia, slightly annoyed, lightly pinched Wynn’s arm.

“But, I may have also enjoyed eating sweets with Onii-chan back then.”

Unlike Wynn, Leticia was never troubled by food.
Even though she was neglected by her family and her surroundings, as a noble daughter, she could get as many sweets as she wanted.
For that matter, as long as it was something that could be bought, she could obtain just about anything.
However, rather than eat sweets alone, or read stories alone, it was much more enjoyable to eat sweets, or read stories with her beloved Onii-chan.

“Even now, I feel more happy eating these sweets than any sort of banquet or feast.”

“Leti…”

Leticia discretely got closer to Wynn.
Her soft hair tickled Wynn’s face, and her fragrance enveloped Wynn.
He gently caressed Leticia’s head.
It was unthinkable that such a slender, soft body had slain the Demon Lord.

“After the journey, it has become calmer.” ^[4]

“Is that so?”

It would be great if that moment lasted forever.

Their bodies close together, Leticia smiled softly as she looked up at the slightly red-faced Wynn.
Translator Notes

1. Granny/Auntie… older woman —back
2. Leticia is modestly denying the complement… —back
3. I wanna say something, but there’s a lot to say… —back
4. The classic upturned eyes thing… I would put a google image link if I found one… —back

Translator Not Sure

1. not sure—back
2. Connotations of kaze, other than wind?—back
3. link the user qianweijia had a pretty good suggestion so far…—back
4. Possible alternate translation: “It seems that you’ve calmed down.”—back

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I enjoyed my Thanksgiving, and I don’t regret it. But it is slightly late. I have started Chapter 28 though…

I have changed the way I translate the name of the inn where Wynn works multiple times, and am considering changing it again… The raw has this as the name of the inn: 渡り鳥の宿木.

渡り鳥 means migratory bird. 宿木 means mistletoe as a whole. But 宿 itself means Inn. As mentioned in the [?3?] footnote that doesn’t really makes sense without context,  somebody did suggest that the name could be describing a tree where a wandering bird rests. Any suggestions? Anybody who actually knows Japanese welcome to give their opinions, but English-proficient people suggesting a name that fits these ideas also welcome.

Current name: Wandering Bird’s Mistletoe.

Possible names I’m considering

• Wandering Bird’s Rest
• Wandering Bird Inn
• Wandering Bird’s Roost
  • Inspired by Qianweijia from NU (and I’m pretty sure he translated something I’ve read…)

I may just keep it the same, but I want to know what the phrase means, in the name of my education, and my inconsistent perfectionism…

P.S. Has anybody had issues with Syosetu (the raw site) on mobile? It is one of my suspect sources for an adware on my Android…