Chapter 417 – Awkward and Chatty
〔Me havin’… met you… in this here place…… that’s daft… what’re ya on about?〕
Hakuki muttered, but there was no way he could have figured it out right away.
〔Right, I knew ‘bout Hiro’s lad, sure, but…… but I only clocked Earth Lagann proper after that Imperial Tourney debacle.〕
In the first place, it’s hard to imagine that I’ve traveled through time to a past era……
〔No, wait, now I think on it…… them eyes… yeah… them burnin’, unshakable eyes—can’t say they don’t ring a bell… seen ‘em before, have I? Back then? Here, in this land?〕
So there is no way Hakuki will come to the answer……
〔The only folks I crossed paths with here back in the day were…… little Espie …… the hunter bloke there…… the Dark Elf Larou’iph…… them pointy-eared elves… and one other…… Hmm! Oi…… oi oi…… Fuhaha, well I’ll be! So that’s how it is!〕
“…… Huh?”
〔It weren’t just ‘cause I was buzzin’ to meet you indirectly, The reason me heart was racin’…… ’cause the soul of that one, Aonii, livin’ inside me, was fair shakin’ with joy at the reunion, was it?〕
He shouldn’t have… reached that conclusion……
〔No mistake! You’re that bloke from back then!〕
“…… eh……”
But Hakuki got there.
〔The one who clocked me one all them years ago…… the same man Aonii risked his bloody life to save! Ha! So it was you. Aonii chuffed to bits seein’ the life he spared still burnin’ so bright.〕
This surprised even me.
Espie, Slayer, and Larou’iph all seemed surprised, their eyes widening.
“Heh, heh, that’s surprising. I thought that after I told you, you’d be like, ‘I can’t believe it!?’, but I never expected you to actually figure it out.”
〔Hmm, it is a bit of a funny one, mind. Back then, you, Hiro’s boy, weren’t even born yet…… unless you’ve gone gallivantin’ through time somehow, that’d be impossible. But seein’ as how you’re standin’ here now, seems somethin’ impossible’s gone an’ happened, eh? You’ve jumped through bloody time, haven’t ya?〕
“…… Is that so?”
〔Just ‘cause it don’t fit my logic don’t mean it’s all hogwash? I ain’t so full o’ myself to think I know everythin’ about the world.〕
Hakuki’s words, conveyed through Uncle Ben, left me both stunned and flustered. At the same time, my impression of Hakuki changed completely.
〔Specially after pokin’ round Shiznautmy’s ruins…… The ancients were a mad lot—could make livin’ things with identical blood, brainwash folks without magic, build iron golems, craft machines what move things with no hands, gadgets that translate beast-talk just from sound… and even reach the worlds beyond the stars. World’s a big place, and the sea o’ knowledge’s got no bottom, no end.〕
To be honest, the first time we met, it was a very desperate situation, and I think it only lasted a few seconds.
So, I didn’t really know much about Hakuki, and I had simply assumed somewhere that he was a “ridiculously strong guy”.
But just from our conversation, I could tell that he was more than just strong.
『Indeed, child…… this one led the Six Supremacy…… not only that, but unlike the other Six Supremacy…… is a being that has battled both me and Vasalar over the fate of the Demon Realm since ancient times…….』
He’s not just strong…… he’s also troublesome… that’s how I felt.
It truly felt like talking to someone unfathomable, someone who seemed to be in the same league as Tre’ainar.
“…… E, excuse me, Koujiro. What does that mean, Earth-kun traveling through time and meeting Hakuki? Norja being so infatuated with Earth-kun? I don’t understand.”
“Ah~, Goroukou…… that will have to wait…… I too have a headache…… but maybe that story was true after all……”
Granpa Mikado was getting flustered and unable to keep up with the conversation…… Well, honestly, I wish Hakuki had reacted like this.
And
“Ugh, Hakuki! Like, how long are you gonna totally ramble on with my Hubby? And, like, how dare you ruin my fun! And before that, how dare you totally thrash us at the ruins! Get out here, ‘cause I’m, like, so getting revenge!”
“H, hold on, General, c, calm down.”
Norja, who had been feeling a lot of anger and other pent-up stuff, snarled furiously, baring his fangs.
But Hakuki sighed……
〔Now then, Earth Lagann… seein’ as we’ve crossed paths again after all this time… I got two things to ask you.〕
“What……”
〔First off, you’ve been gallivantin’ round the world since you scarpered from the Empire…… You got a goal? Are you plannin’ somethin’? Just a bit curious, is all.〕
Ignoring Norja, he continued talking to me. Ignoring that thing? That takes some nerve. Or rather, they were formerly colleagues, so maybe he’s used to it?
Well, aside from that, what is my goal and what I’m planning?
The answer is to travel the world and achieve a feat that surpasses my father.
And now, together with Espie and Slayer……
“…… Why do I have to tell you that? I don’t have any obligation to do so.”
But declaring, “I’ll surpass my father someday,” right here, in front of all these big shots who know my father? That’s just embarrassing.
But, it seemed that Hakuki guessed something just from that……
〔Oh-ho…… that reaction, bit of a blush there, eh… Somethin’ so soppy you’re too shy to say out loud?〕
“What!?”
〔From what went down at that tourney, wouldn’t blame ya for wantin’ to stick it to them daft Imperials…… But nah… that’s not it, is it? Not revenge… somethin’ more like… provin’ ‘em wrong, eh?〕
“…… eh……”
Whoa… He’s actually hitting the mark on a lot of things…
〔No bother. I reckoned revenge was a long shot, but if you was plannin’ to get even with the Empire lot, I might’ve roped you in as an ally. You don’t seem the type to have any bias against us demons, and I’ve heard the Jamdi’el an’ that doll girl’ve both taken quite the fancy to ya. If takin’ you as a partner’d keep that doll girl in line—〕
“Who’s that?! And wait, ‘doll girl’— you’re not talking about Kron, are you? Don’t call her a doll!”
〔Hah…… looks like you’re proper loved, eh? By the by, them lot—roamin’ the world, are they? How they holdin’ up?〕
“I don’t know! No clue where they went, no way to contact them.”
〔Ah, that so? Well, no matter. Now then, second thing……〕
While I was getting flustered from him hitting so close to home, Hakuki posed his next question.
And that was……
〔How in blazes are you usin’ Breakthrough an’ the Great Demon Spiral?〕
“Huh!?”
〔If you’ve really been muckin’ about in the past… you didn’t happen to meet the Great Demon King himself, did you?〕
It was a natural question, one that hit the core, and one I felt was the real point he was getting at.
“OMG, that’s, like, totally what I was wondering too! I asked Espie and Slayer, but they were, like, totally clueless.”
Norja, and in fact everyone else, nodded their heads, saying, “Actually, I was curious, too.”
Hakuki, who had been ignoring Norja’s reaction until then, snorted in laughter.
〔Hmph, to be curious about that but still not chased it up… Call yourself one o’ the Six Supremacy—pathetic! Used to stand shoulder to shoulder servin’ the Great Demon King himself, and now look at you. Shameful, that is…〕
“What!? You, like, totally snorted at me!?”
〔The Six Supremacy had their ups and downs, but La’iphant was the only one I respected as a warrior… Gouda, the only one I rated as a man. Jamdi’el’s loyalty was all twisted… and you, Norja, you’re just a pervert.〕
“As if! Ugh, what’s wrong with being a pervert! And seriously, you are, like, always acting all high and mighty, but you just chatter on! That’s what, like, totally ticks me off!“
Chatter…… Ah, I thought the same thing…….
But, things are getting complicated again because of Norja, so let’s calm things down for now……
[Hihahahaha! Hey, hey~, Aren’t you being mean Panay ~? Why aren’t my accolades mentioned at all? What is this, bullying? Hey~, Hakuki~? Isn’t that too harsh on one of your Six Supremacy comrades? Isn’t it terrible Panay?]
〔…… Hmm?〕
“What… is it?”
Ah… Don’t tell me, at a time like this……
“Um… Uh… Koujiro…… what was that? That voice just now. And it sounds familiar…….”
“G, Goroukou…… I’ll explain later…… No, I really must calm down and explain, as impossible as it seems……”
The magic crystal in my pocket……
“Hey, you… I seriously told you not to come oooooooooout!!??”
[Hihahahaha, here we go again, whee!]
Just when things were getting tense, some clueless guy who doesn’t know how to read the room had to butt in.
Author’s Note
Three-day weekend. I’d like this too.
“Reborn In Another World – The Long, Long Journey Until I Reunite with You”
Sads Translates 