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=== Partie 3 ===
== Chapitre 5 : Pour répondre (Pragmatisme)==


── Et ainsi, les chocs provenant de la planche de sugoroku de l'Ancien Dieu commencèrent à s'atténuer.
Et donc,


Et dans le paysage urbain où ils pariaient autrefois le continent contre la pièce d'Imanity, deux personnes se battaient maintenant pour le territoire de la Fédération de l'Est et d'Elven Garde.
la marionnette s'enfuit vers le ciel que l'oisillon désirait tant,


En utilisant les données personnelles de Sora de la dernière fois, et même les souvenirs de Kurami, ils ont créé des PNJs avec l'apparence de Sora et les ont rendus aussi réalistes que possible. Quand il les voit crier, Hatsuse Ino pense que c'était peut-être une erreur et grince des dents de frustration. Même si son intuition s'était émoussée depuis qu'il s'est retiré des lignes de front il y a longtemps,  c'était encore─ !!!
vers ce monde étroit et sombre.


"Salut, mon pote. Non, hé toi homme parmi les hommes...."
Oui...


Il y avait une voix dans son dos. Un PNJ Sora avec les statistiques d'Imanity l'avait surpris──
Un ciel pour que la marionnette soit à l'abri du mal, pour sourire du cœur.


Était-ce parce qu'ils avaient utilisé les données personnelles de Sora pour créer la meilleure copie possible ?
Un endroit où personne ne les piétinerait, où personne ne les blesserait,


Tout comme l'original, le PNJ Sora était capable de prédire leurs lignes de mouvement, et il se déplaçait d'une manière aussi insaisissable qu'un fantôme. Ino a claqué la langue une fois, s'est retourné à la vitesse de Dieu et a dirigé son arme vers la voix précédente, à savoir :
aucune force ne les contraint, aucun besoin de changer.


“..... Comment c'était ?......... Je voulais me rapprocher de toi, même si c'était un peu, ça t'a plu ?"
Un nouveau monde où ils pourraient voler.


"──────Meurt !"　
 


Sora s'approcha timidement avec un visage rouge et des pupilles en forme de cœur dans un fundoshi, mais même s'il avait en quelque sorte évité sa perception, Ino fit son premier tir à une vitesse divine. Il l'a lancé à plusieurs mètres dans la rue principale, comme un boulet de canon, jusqu'à ce qu'il passe à travers un bâtiment avec un grondement orageux. Quand il l'a frappé, le poing d'Ino a fait un bruit explosif en franchissant le mur du son.
Ce jour-là,


".........oups……… je l'ai encore fait…...."
L'oisillon savait très bien que ça ne serait probablement jamais le cas.


Il avait oublié le fusil d'amour sur l'impulsion du moment, ayant senti le devoir d'éliminer tout le mal dans ce monde.
L'oisillon implora la marionnette, qui jura de se battre :


── En touchant Sora, son pouvoir amoureux avait diminué.
Aucun ciel ne vaut la peine de te voir souffrir.


Puisqu'il s'agissait d'un face à face avec Kurami, s'il n'avait plus de pouvoir amoureux, il perdrait.
Alors la marionnette, elle aussi, s'enfuit dans cette même cage.


Même si c'était un contact instantané, Ino s'énerve devant la diminution de la puissance amoureuse et se lance dans une course à pied.
Jusqu'à ce que nous trouvions un moyen de créer ce ciel,


Sora était collée au mur comme un poteau, et Ino le frappe dans les couilles pour mettre fin à sa vie. Après avoir frappé son coup de grâce, Ino saute dans la rue principale en reprenant son calme.──
c'est ce que pensait la marionnette dans ce monde étouffant.


"Hé attendez une seconde !? Tu ne m'avais pas dit que tu l'avais emmené loin !" cria Kurami alors qu'elle continuait à tirer sur une foule de Sora qui s'approchait.
Pensée et seulement pensée...


── Les règles du jeu n'avaient pas changé, bien sûr.
Doutant et vacillant, ne trouvant rien à chercher,


Naturellement, si Kurami a frappé Ino une fois, ou si Ino a frappé Kurami une fois, le jeu serait décidé. De plus, lors d'un face à face entre un Imanity et un Thérianthropes, il était évident de savoir qui allait gagner, cependant :
la marionnette pensait toujours à cette promesse :


"Whoah ? Regarde, regarde ! C'est Ino-sama♪"
 


"Tu es si infidèle.～ Même si tu pourchassais Kurami-chan depuis peu de temps, à quel point es-tu une salope !"?
Ce jour-là,


"Puisqu'ils n'ont pas de seins, il est évident que les seins d'hommes costauds sont meilleurs !"
dans un nouveau pays, regardant les cieux,


Dit certains des Sora. Il y avait Sora A, B, C.... et beaucoup d'autres qui causaient une agitation, habillés d'une grande variété d'atours : jupes, culottes, pantalons courts... Il y avait beaucoup de variation.... Dans des vêtements de femmes.
voyant le bébé oiseau déployer ses ailes et sourire,


Elle a été frappée par une agitation. Kurami a été frappé par une tempête et n'a même pas eu le temps de respirer.
la marionnette vide - le ciel - Sora -


“...... Il était donc impossible de ne pas les frapper........ Il semble que j'ai échoué à huh～"
Traduit avec www.DeepL.com/Translator (version gratuite)


Une voix regrettable a dit.... Il y avait de multiples Sora collées aux murs, au sol, et tombant dans les airs. Ino a continué à les frapper avec ses attaques et à les disperser, avec un sourire inversement proportionnel. Kurami lui crie dessus les yeux à moitié ouverts :
== Partie 1 ==


"Était-il vraiment nécessaire de les faire bouger et jouer comme ça ?"
...Une scène remplie de l'écho de l'éruption de la Forge Sacrée... le site d'élimination des déchets.


"C'est comme vous le dites Kurami-dono. Mais c'est la conduite de Sora-dono, vous savez ?"
Une gigantesque machine humanoïde argentée avance à pas lourds dans les ruines souterraines ensevelies sous les déchets métalliques. Des larmes coulent dans les yeux ardents de Veig qui marmonne avec désolation le premier souci de sa vie.


C'est vrai, c'étaient des PNJ faits pour imiter Sora de la manière la plus réaliste possible. Cela signifie que Sora a été " transformée " en programme...
"... Ai-je vraiment fait quelque chose de si mal... ?"


── Il ne pouvait pas voir Sora et ne pas le frapper.
Il se souvint des deux âmes qu'il avait fracassées après une lutte inattendue - l'âme de cette petite herbe étrangement coriace aux seins excellents, et l'âme de cette vipère incompréhensiblement toxique qui avait fait craquer son épée pour la première fois. Se balançant sombrement, vacillant en avant, il pensait :


"Ino-samaaa, ce sera notre "secret" ! Tuez-moi de plus en plus... s'il vous plaît, faites-moi plus !"
...Que diable ai-je fait... ?


──'Secret', c'est ce que tout le monde en dehors du jeu a entendu.
Veig se souvenait avoir été remercié, mais jamais blâmé. Pourtant, tout ce qu'il ressentait maintenant était un mystérieux sentiment de culpabilité gravé dans son âme trop profondément pour le nier. Maintenant, il se tenait là, devant la masse métallique tombée, la machine gisant sur le sol avec ses membres totalisés.


Cependant, seul Ino a entendu : " 21. A 8 heures. Distance : 600' résonnent avec ce mot.
"...Ho... J'ai bien dit que je serais en retard, mais pour faire une sieste, tu as du cran, hein ?"


"Hah, c'est le 64ème Sora... Je vous laisse l'extérieur, Plum-dono !!"
Veig a regardé attentivement le cadre cassé. Par le biais du système de communication, il a accusé ses pilotes de faire les morts.


"Laisse-moi faire ! Tu peux juste frimer et t'amuser autant que tu peux !"
Dans ce jeu, les attaques ne causent aucun dommage direct à la machine adverse. Par conséquent, tout dommage doit provenir d'une défaillance du rite ou d'une erreur de tir - ou être auto-infligé. Et honnêtement, c'était les deux. L'intuition de Veig lui a dit. Il a soulevé le corps brisé et a hurlé.


Une fois de plus, Ino se précipite avec l'onde de choc, et Kurami crie :
"Hey, je te parle !! Ton adversaire, c'est moi. Ne te retourne pas et ne meurs pas. Tu n'as aucun sens ?!"


"Fii ! J'en suis toujours à 24 Soras ! Il ne cesse d'augmenter son avance !?"
En effet... Sora et Shiro n'ont jamais eu la moindre chance contre Veig dans une bataille d'armes spirituelles. Il était donc inévitable qu'ils perdent. Mais quand même...


“..... J'essaie..... Quelque chose........... Attend un peu plus longtemps──"
"Tu n'as pas l'intention de te taire sans dire un mot sur ton âme, n'est-ce pas ? !"


A un moment donné, ils avaient commencé à se faire concurrence pour voir qui pourrait tuer le plus de Soras, cependant──
Oui, ils avaient tenu tête à Veig avec une tempête de balles impensable. Mais ils n'ont rien emporté de leur âme, le barrage était trop fragile. Tout ce qu'il a fait c'est rejeter l'attaque de Veig et dire non à son âme...


C'est tout à fait naturel ", pense Kurami en se rongeant les ongles.
Il n'a rien dit. Il n'a rien admis. Leur âme avait seulement rejeté la sienne et était restée inébranlable. Veig a serré les dents. S'ils pouvaient faire autant, alors pourquoi ?


── Comme Plum avait une confiance absolue qu'il n'allait pas perdre contre Feil, même si c'était un jeu qu'il pouvait terminer rapidement, il a fait du plaisir de tourmenter Sora sa priorité, et comme Ino avait confiance en Plum, il a sauté à bord.
Il souleva le cadre en ruine comme s'il le tenait par le col et se mit en colère :


Kurami en était reconnaissant.
'''“Quand allez-vous répondre à ma question ?!”'''


Jusqu'à ce que Fiel puisse forcer le sort de contre-mesure, elle ne pouvait que faire de son mieux pour s'enfuir le plus long possible.──
Et il a enfin obtenu une réponse.


“... Vraiment... à quel point je suis inutile..."　
"...Tout de suite, je le ferai. Je vais vous donner votre réponse, je vais le faire."


"Aah... sérieusement. Kurami, tu es vraiment, une idiote, hein ?"
... Une voix a murmuré à travers la porte.


「────!!」
"Whuh ?!"


Tandis que Kurami s'apitoyait sur son sort, Sora apparut derrière elle, mais elle réagit trop tard.
L'épave a soudainement répliqué en explosant, libérant un torrent d'âme fou. Elle lui répondit par une puissante imagerie qui lui vola momentanément sa conscience.


Alors qu'elle se retournait, son arme s'est facilement prise avec sa main et elle a été poussée contre un mur. Avec une main prise, Kurami ne pouvait plus bouger. Le PNJ de Sora continue :
—……


"....ça me met sérieusement en colère. Es-tu en train de me dire que tu ne te rends pas compte de tes propres capacités et de ta beauté ?"
'''Il était au fond d'un petit trou, sombre et exigu. Veig connaissait la fille qui pleurait en regardant le ciel, seule. Il la connaissait bien... la fille incapable de voler, qui plus que quiconque admirait les oiseaux qui volaient si haut.'''


"Quoi.... ?"
'''Une fille paradoxale, elle savait qu'elle ne pouvait pas voler et pourtant elle levait les yeux au ciel... Elle pleurait même si elle avait abandonné... Le monde l'interrogeait avec des questions sans réponse - pourquoi elle avait fui, pourquoi elle n'avait pas essayé - puis lui demandait pourquoi elle pleurait... et la méprisait pour cela. Il l'a laissée dans ce trou... sans rien vouloir...'''


Déconcerté, Kurami a essayé de résister, mais il lui a levé le menton et,
'''La fille solitaire... balançant son marteau à travers les larmes...... Il-'''


"── Tu es trop sans défense. Tu pensais sérieusement que j'étais le seul à te viser ?"
—……


────　
Veig a essayé de tendre la main... mais blam, l'explosion a secoué la grotte et l'a tiré de sa rêverie. Dès qu'il a jeté un coup d'oeil autour de lui, peut-être plus tôt, il a deviné ce qui se passait. Il grimaça et hurla d'impatience.


".... q-quu...... Qu'est-ce que tu dis ?..."
"Quelle blague... Vous n'avez jamais eu personne là-dedans depuis le début ? C'était télécommandé... ?!"


Il était si près qu'elle pouvait sentir son souffle et avait une expression sérieuse. Les pensées de Kurami étaient en désarroi.
Maintenant que tu le dis, il n'y avait aucune règle qui disait que tu devais piloter la machine... si ? S'ils le contrôlaient depuis un cockpit à l'extérieur du cadre, ils pouvaient le balancer sans problème.


── A part Fiel, personne ne l'avait jamais traitée de mignonne.
Mais même si c'était télécommandé, ils devaient être connectés à leurs bras spirituels. Ce qui signifiait que faire exploser leur propre cadre si négligemment aurait des répercussions. Et en effet, le sol a tremblé avec une réaction en chaîne d'explosions l'une après l'autre dans toute la décharge.


Qui plus est, nul autre que Sora (bien qu'elle savait qu'il était un PNJ) ne l'avait reconnue.
Les esprits générés ont dessiné des lignes de lumière comme si elles circulaient dans des circuits gravés sur la scène. Le circuit de lumière convergeait pour le montrer :


Comme le visage de Kurami devenait de plus en plus confus, une bouée de sauvetage est venue de l'extérieur du jeu.
La véritable unité !


"Kurami, dépêche-toi ☆ et tue le～♥ C'est bien de le tuer en lui arrachant les doigts un par un aussi."
Désireux de voir où se trouvait le vrai cockpit, Veig a suivi la lumière de l'esprit jusqu'à sa destination. Il s'est avéré qu'il se trouvait au centre de la scène tremblante, si loin que sa fonction zoom était tout juste suffisante pour le distinguer. Au sommet d'une plante particulièrement haute, ses yeux ont trouvé leur cible et se sont ouverts en grand. Il s'agissait d'une fille qu'il connaissait bien, debout sur le siège d'un cockpit ouvert.


"Fii, qu'est-ce que tu dis── !?"
"Vous demandez pourquoi j'ai fui ce monde sanglant, n'est-ce pas... ? ...C'est une question stupide, en effet."


Cette planche de salut venait d'un vaisseau armé. Quand Fiel lui a dit de l'exécuter sans merci, Kurami a crié.
Mais c'est une fille qu'il ne connaissait pas qui lui a murmuré. Ses yeux, embrasés d'un feu inextinguible, regardaient sa machine au loin. La fille, avec un morceau de ferraille en forme de marteau dans sa main, a parlé comme si elle déposait une déclaration de guerre. De son cœur, elle a dit son âme... pas des faits objectifs, mais ses sentiments :


[[File:NGNL V08 - P219.jpg|thumb]]
"C'est parce que je méprise ce monde, vraiment."


── Cela dit, Kurami ne pouvait toujours pas tirer avec le pistolet amoureux pressé contre le mur comme ça.
== Partie 2 ==


Elle essayait de résister, mais même si ce n'était qu'un avatar, il avait toujours les mêmes capacités physiques que Sora, donc il avait la force d'un homme. Elle n'a pas pu s'échapper. Elle n'était pas à la hauteur de sa force physique et pour une raison quelconque, son cœur a sauté un battement à ce moment-là.──
Til’s voice, resolute, was yet like her limbs…jittery. She couldn’t help but tremble, because of what she saw down there from the open cockpit—Veig standing there in the venue that still quaked from the blasts—and because of the sparkling hammer in her right hand. Regardless—


"Ces cheveux noirs soyeux.... cette peau blanche comme de la porcelaine──"
“Don’t worry. We’ll blast off with you. We promised, didn’t we?”


Il la caressait doucement tout le temps, ce qui faisait que Kurami se sentait en état d'ébriété involontairement,
“…Brother…always…keeps, his promises… Trust us, okay?”


"Et même ta poitrine mince est à moi──"
—Sora’s and Shiro’s voices intoned from the seat in front of her, joyful but firm. And Til felt them holding her left hand tight. She broke into a smile to realize her trembling had somehow stopped…and she continued with her eyes fixed straight ahead on Veig’s machine, all the way through to the man inside.


───── Dans cet instant. Ses pensées désorientées se sont refroidies.
“…I hate this country. I hate Hardenfell, I do.”


Quand elle comprit qu'elle ne faisait que se faire beurrer, Kurami se déplaça avec une précision mécanique.
She reaffirmed her feelings—her belief. This arrogant world told her not to run. This


Avec une froideur extrême et sans hésitation, elle leva le genou et le frappa là où ça faisait le plus mal. Sora s'est effondrée avec un saut d'été. Kurami l'a regardé comme s'il était une ordure pendant qu'elle le poignardait avec ses talons.
oppressive world told her not to be ashamed. Til looked up at its tireless way of life and sneered at it.


"Fii, tu te concentres sur l'activation du sort de contre-mesure... Je vais me débrouiller, d'une façon ou d'une autre..."
“I love the sky, I do… In this country…the sky is closed off, it is.”


"Oui ! Kurami, fais ton de ton mieux～ !"
The cave’s ceiling reminded her; lost and confused, she’d ended up in this dump before she knew it, and the world asked her, Why did you run? Now, Til knew the feeling of a hand in hers. Now, she knew another world—that of those two. Now, she could say it:


Kurami a rejeté ses sentiments. La voix qui lui a répondu lui a dit de " faire de son mieux ", mais ce qu'elle voulait vraiment dire, c'était " Faites de ton mieux pour intimider et vaincre Sora ", mais il n'était pas nécessaire de le dire.
Ah…there never was a place for me here.


Après cet échange, Kurami, avec des yeux qui avaient perdu leur lumière, tourne son arme vers la chose sur laquelle elle marchait.
—Screw this place—!!


"J'ai deux choses à dire.... D'abord, meurt"
So—!


Pendant ce temps, son pouvoir amoureux diminuait aussi, mais elle s'en fichait.
“I also hate the chieftain of this country. I hate you, I do…!”


── Elle a continué à tirer à plusieurs reprises.
The hammer sparkled ever brighter as Til’s words spilled out uncontrollably, with the pain that burned her up. What came back was a lonely, sorrowful chuckle. Til ground her teeth.


Les coups de feu n'ont touché que ses vêtements, mais l'un après l'autre, ses vêtements ont été détruits. Quand il était complètement nu, elle n'arrêtait pas de lui donner des coups de pied et le forçait à s'agenouiller. Quand ils le voient ainsi, non seulement Fii, mais aussi Ino, et même Plum se réjouissent joyeusement, cependant──
…She’d known—no, she’d had a hunch—that he’d say that. What he was saying. As if it was everything—


"Et je n'arrête pas de te dire que je grandis encore !!!!!!!"　
'''“I hate that…how everything’s just as you expected… I hate iiit!!”'''


Elle a tiré, et comme Sora a disparu dans une pluie de particules roses, elle se retourne et réfléchit.
Her voice impulsively swelled with the pain that only grew:


── Depuis que Leila a été ajoutée à la plaque de pari, Plum et Ino ne pouvaient pas se permettre de perdre.
'''“I hate how you act like you’re so great, I do! I hate even more that you actually are, I do!!”'''


Cependant, même s'ils gagnaient comme ça, les prix seraient tous pris par Sora et Shiro. Gagner serait frustrant.
The dam had burst, and her feelings could no longer be contained.


── En plus de pouvoir déjouer Kurami et Fiel dans cette mesure, essayer de déjouer les plans de Sora et Shiro, " gagner contre Sora et Shiro ", était déjà une perte. En plus, ils ont aussi utilisé celui qui les a amenés ici, Plum. Et dans le cas peu probable où Sora et les autres perdraient, cette victoire ne serait pas souhaitable non plus.... Puisque si ces deux-là perdaient, il n'y aurait rien que nous pourrions faire──
“I hate how you advertise yourself as a genius, I do! I hate how I can’t argue because you actually are a genius, I do!! I hate how you look down on me, I do! I hate so much that it’s only natural because you’re above me, I do!! I hate how you’re so hairy!! You shaved too much, you say?! So what? Are you trying to rub it in? I wish you’d go to hell, I do!! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you—U-Uncle, you’re a pervert!! I hate you very, very, veeery much, I do!!”


"Alors, essayons au moins de devenir une distraction.... fufu──"
«Whoa!! Come on, stop already or I’m really gonna cry! Goddamn!»


C'est vrai, c'était devenu un jeu de quatre personnes, deux contre deux.
The momentum had flushed out everything Til wanted to say. Inattentive to the tearful begging over the comm system, Til caught her breath. As the shaking of the stage and the sparkling of her hammer and her pain all grew in speed, she wiped her tears. With a sharp, firm voice, she mulled over her words carefully and gave her answer:


Ayant enfin compris cela, Kurami accentue dangereusement son sourire──
“I hate you. That’s why I run. If that’s not enough for you to understand—”


"Amusons-nous bien... Je vais te tuer, Soraaaa !!"
Then in the spirit of the game:


Et ainsi, les PNJ avec l'apparence de Sora ont continué à voler dans les airs, vers le sol et vers les murs, et à exploser.
“—I’ll sock it to you like this—and then I think you will understand, I do.”


=== Partie 4 ===
Yes—seeing behind her eyelids the place the feeling of those two had taken her as they held her left hand, that black sky with a white bird, Til laid down the gauntlet sonorously.


── Et, observant les scènes désastreuses et erratiques à l'extérieur et à l'intérieur du jeu, Steph. Elle n'a pas pu s'empêcher de faire une grimace raide, elle était accompagnée par──
“I fled to win—to honor my promise, I did.”


"Aussi réaliste que possible, vous dites !? Ne sont-ils pas stupides !? Il n'y a aucune chance que mon chérrriii♥ dise de telles choses ! Il te maltraiterait verbalement !?"
…A tactical withdrawal was made when one had a chance of victory… She had been just lost, but now it would be redefined—no. Each time another explosion went off, the spirits converged into her hammer, and it was that pain.


Soulevant des plaintes en secouant son réservoir d'eau, il y avait cette idiote de représentante, Leila.
And now it had been redefined—!!


──'Bien qu'elle soit si certaine, je n'en suis pas si sûre' Pense Steph.
That pain had turned her conviction into that of the past. Til savagely swung her hammer as she—


Cependant, voyant l'intention de tuer que chacun avait pour Sora :
—bellowed forth her soul with the stirring of a power beyond all normal conception throughout the venue.


"Mais... c'est devenu une situation où personne ne perd... pas vrai !?"
'''“I fled for the sake of this day, when I’d surpass you, I diiid!!”'''


Dépassant sa peur des autres, Steph a rassemblé son courage et a exprimer son opinion──
== Partie 3 ==


"C'est vraiment vrai !? Le stress peut me faire perdre la vie à la vitesse du son !" Dit Ino.
It was a power that all feared instinctively. The memories sleeping deep in their blood awakened. An outrageous power of a whole different rank, a whole different status, a whole different order of magnitude—quite literally a different level. The future brought on in the next few moments by this power beyond reason didn’t take someone like Veig to foresee. It was a strike from the heavens that sneered at every one of heaven’s gifts crawling atop the earth, judging them likewise of null value. No one could mistake that power. It was


"J'avais enfin élevé mon charisme, mais ils m'ont aussi fait perdre la tête.～♪" Affirma Plum.
a Heavenly Smite……


"Quant à moi, ils m'ont gracieusement utilisé, ce que j'ai fait n'était qu'une perte de temps ! Toutes mes difficultés ont été une perte de temps totale !!" Déclara Kurami.
“Hey, whoaaa! I thought the Flügel wasn’t—hey, isn’t that against the rules?!”


"Et, ils me font perdre ma fierté～ en ce moment même, progressivement～ ", Énonça Fiel.
From his machine—his cockpit—Veig screeched, blanching. Someone who wasn’t in the game—with magic that wasn’t even a seal rite!! His one eye searched in a panic for the Flügel, but in the next moment—


Elle a été congédiée avec les quatre réponses instantanées. Mais même dans ce cas. Non, à cause d'eux, Steph a souri.
—he realized that the center of the crawling power…was Til’s hammer. And his one eye was opened by the roar over the comm system and the unheard-of shock that followed… Yes:


"Mais vous avez tous l'air de vous amuser"
'''«Ultra-large-scale spirit-arm expansion—connect all!! Ariiiise!!!»'''


────
Til’s face wrenched in agony as she brought down the hammer. There was a flash as it bore through the cockpit…and through the plant below. With that, there came a moment of silence to the blast-stricken venue. And then…


"Si Sora ne t'avait pas arrêté, personne n'aurait pu jouer à ce jeu avec ces visages ", poursuit Steph le visage en bas, et soudain :
“—?!!”


“...... Que saviez-vous, Stephanie-dono ?" Dit Ino, de l'intérieur du jeu.
…a vertical oscillation unlike anything that had gone before tossed them. A heavy shock came from behind Veig. He dodged instinctively on the spot, but from the mass of metal that had only grazed him flowed a tempestuous soul.


Tout le monde attendait la réponse à cette question.
'''……'''


── Depuis qu'ils avaient fait un 'Imposteur', Steph était en dehors du jeu tout ce temps. De quoi se souvenait-elle ? Que savait-elle du passé ── ou peut-être même de l'avenir ? C'est ce que demandait Ino, et la réponse de Steph était :　
'''A girl who wanted to imagine things that could not be imagined. A girl who wanted to fly though by no effort could she fly. Saying she could do nothing, she chased the bird in the sky for which there was nothing to do…'''


"....Je n'ai aucun souvenir de juste avant le début du match non plus"
'''They said she was just running. They mocked that it was impossible. Her soul…'''


── Naturellement.
«I…knew it! …I knew it!! Better than anyone, I did…!!»


Quand ils ont entendu la réponse qu'ils attendaient de Steph, tout le monde s'est concentré sur le jeu une fois de plus. Même s'il s'agit de l'Ancien Dieu, les Dix Commendemants sont des principes absolus.
The transmission helped Veig crawl back to reality. But another—no, ten more—no, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand—innumerable storms of metal whipped through the stage and assaulted his unit like squalls.


Elle ne pouvait pas nuire aux cibles des candidats, les Exceed, du tout. Elle ne pouvait pas violer leurs droits. Il était impossible de modifier ou de lire les souvenirs sans permission. Même les reproduire sans autorisation était hors de question. Dans ce cas, lorsque le jeu a commencé, Steph était là et a consenti à la création de son propre imposteur. Penser que ses souvenirs ont été prélevés de la même façon est probablement aussi correct, cependant :　
Just scraps, they hadn’t much in the way of force or even speed. But every time the fierce soul contained in them scratched by his frame, it left residue. As Til’s voice, wheezing in agony, continued to come through, it pounded at Veig’s will, hard, so hard—


"Je me souviens de ce que ces deux-là ont dit quand nous sommes partis d'Elkia."
«So…you wanted me to live like you…? Fa-kew!!»


C'est vrai, quand ils sont partis d'Elkia ; ce qu'ils avaient appelé une carte d'atout, Leila dans un sac à dos, était déjà porté par Steph. Ces deux-là lui avaient dit :
To live like them. Like a Dwarf. Without giving up. Without going astray or tiring. To try to overcome natural gifts. To live without shame or retreat. Indeed… Putting themselves on pedestals, though they couldn’t overcome Veig!! Looking as if they understood, talking as if they knew!! They’d called her rubbish, and then!! They’d all said it. They’d basically said this…


"── Nous devrions pouvoir négocier le contenu du jeu dans une certaine mesure...."
—Everyone else is doing it, so you should, too.


C'est vrai, ils ne savaient pas exactement quel serait le contenu. Mais d'un autre côté, ces deux-là avaient dit qu'ils savaient dans une certaine mesure.
—You can dream you’ll be rewarded. Just do it—


"Quand ils ont dit ça, ils m'ont donné ce journal... et m'ont dit de le lire le moment venu..."
—just shut up and do your work!!—


Déclara Steph, alors qu'elle sortait le morceau de papier, les 'Instructions' qu'elle avait reçues de Sora, et elle s'en souvient.
«I don’t like a world that tells me what to do… I hate it, I do!!»


Oui, elle se souvient quand ce moment est arrivé, il y a 41 jours....
I’ll never give in…


── Dans les jardins de Miyashiro, Steph était seul.
I’ll overcome the chieftain and destroy those dictates—!!


Elle a senti un coup de pied venant du sac sur son dos. Leila s'était-elle réveillée ? Elle ne savait même pas pourquoi ils étaient là, alors elle a réalisé qu'elle avait perdu la mémoire. Steph a donc ouvert en hâte le journal qu'ils lui avaient donné──
I’ll use measuring instruments and Elven theory. I’ll use anything to find a different way!


"....Je m'étais évanouie. Vous pouvez déjà deviner ce qui y était écrit."
I’ll show him… So she thought…


Quand Steph à affirmer cela, tout le monde a répondu avec un sourire amer. Aah, ils pouvaient en effet deviner : c'était tout, n'est-ce pas ?
«But…no matter what I did…I just…couldn’t find anything!!»


C'est vrai, il y avait écrit tout ce qui s'était passé pendant ces 41 jours.　
Just piling up failures. Bathed in error, lost, confused, making one mistake after another. At last surrendering to a false resignation, as paradoxical as ever. Unable to say anything in return… At some point…she came to think she’d forgotten those feelings, and just wandered, pathetically.


── Ce sera un jeu où nous nous trahirons et nous tromperons les uns les autres. Ils demanderont très probablement une pièce raciale comme prix pour participer au jeu. Plum nous trahira, et de là, Fiel et Kurami viendront nous attaquer. Dans ce cas, il s'agira d'une partie perdue d'avance avec la possibilité de se retirer au milieu de celle-ci. Comme c'est probablement Miko qui s'est préparé, ce sera un match qui ne peut pas être gagné normalement. C'est tout.
«…But—hee-hee… Now I know what to say—I do…»


C'est vrai, tout y était écrit. Vous pouvez sûrement deviner ce que Steph a pensé quand elle a lu ça :
Weeping, sobbing, yet the two souls grinned. At last Veig realized the true nature of the maelstrom of metal pounding his unit. And for the first time in his life, he said, It couldn’t be—he doubted his own intuition.


"... C'est fou, n'est-ce pas... fufufu..."
“……Hey… Ho. I must be hallucinating, ain’t I?”


Pourquoi avait-elle accepté de perdre la mémoire ?　
He saw the whirlwind of metal converging. Not the ground shaking, but the stage moving. Not the metal flying, but just gathering. The parts, the catalysts were joining and coupling and assembling. The majestic waste disposal site was rising as one. The stage itself was wakening—and standing up. That was his impression. It was confirmed by Til’s announcement to everyone watching in Hardenfell, I’ll tell you, and the thing that towered before his eyes—a thing inconceivably gargantuan.


Et ainsi, Steph doutait de sa propre santé mentale. Quoi qu'il en soit :
«You forge ahead without shame…as you will—but I, too…will do as I will, I will!!»


"Je ne comprenais pas pourquoi ils en ont fait un jeu où ils savaient que vous vous trahiriez mutuellement et où s'ils perdaient, cinq races seraient détruites. Ou pourquoi si ce n'était pas comme ça, il y avait la possibilité que quelqu'un meure. Je n'ai rien compris."
She’d led a life of shame—failing, contradicting herself, getting lost without end. Today, this moment, was what it had all been for, and for that she was proud. She trumpeted to all the world that had rejected her, just as they were taught:


Elle était pleine de confusion et de malaise, et soudainement──
'''«Shut up!! Your stupid world can eat shit, it can!! Pft!»'''


"Mais je me suis souvenu que Sora et Shiro avaient aussi dit ceci"
Having asserted her freedom to rebel, the girl crumpled. The siblings embraced her and kept her from falling. Veig gaped at last.


Sora avait dit : "Ne t'inquiète pas. Ce sera très bien"
It wasn’t from finally observing the giant object towering over him. It was the girl held by the siblings in the now-empty cockpit at the top…the girl weeping tears of heartfelt joy that she was not alone—a girl beyond his knowledge, who looked down at a bird from heights beyond its knowledge…with a dazzling smile…beyond all knowledge.


Shiro avait dit : "Nous ne laisserons personne mourir"
«…Uncle, did you…ever imagine…this…?»


Et en plus de ça.──
She asked him whether this was a sight that effort and sensibility could get to—and that moment, a torrent of violence descended upon Veig’s unit…


"── Il a dit 'Croit' ...'Croit que tout le monde nous trahira à coup sûr'..."
== Partie 4 ==


Mais à l'époque, Steph ne comprenait pas ce qu'ils voulaient dire.
Neither Veig nor any of the Dwarves watching through all of Hardenfell had ever imagined it, most likely. However, aside from Dwarves…the three who were watching at Til’s hideout did not seem all that surprised. Their eyes still on the monitor, they spoke admiringly…


Croire ? Qu'ils seraient trahis ? ── Il n'y avait aucun moyen qu'elle y croie.
“…Wow… A city can walk, can it…? Oh, is that also a spirit arm?”


"Alors ça deviendra quelque chose de terrible." C'est ce qu'elle pensait.
“To be more precise, it is a spirit-arm expansion connected to her hammer, on which she engraved my one-percent Heavenly Smite.”


"Si ça se passait mal, cinq races, ou au moins quelqu'un, deviendraient un sacrifice." Pensa t'elle.
“Observation: Height 9,700 meters. Length 74,200 meters. Cannon count 982. Definition: High-maneuver fortress class. Evidence of brilliance of Master. Excessive. Zero maturity. This unit loves that part of him, too… Blush.”


Elle passait jour après jour remplie de malaises et d'inquiétudes, incapable d'arrêter de trembler, et levant les yeux vers le ciel.
Steph knew those siblings… She’d imagined they’d do something unimaginable. No, she’d known it. So she watched the screen with a sense of resignation, as a shadow desperately ran from the storm falling from the mountain of steel…


Elle ne pouvait rien faire d'autre qu'attendre des dizaines de jours en dehors du jeu.
== Partie 5 ==


── Malgré cela, il n'y avait qu'une seule chose.
At the venue, rain fell from the heap of scrap—torrential rain deep underground where there was no sky. Each drop sliced the wind, pierced the ground, and created a deeper depth below the bottom.


Même si elle ne croyait en rien à l'époque, il n'y avait qu'une chose. Elle croyait aux dernières phrases écrites sur ce morceau de papier, dans les "instructions".
“What a little man you are, Veig!! You talk big, but you’re the one who’s smaaaall!!”


── "Nous comptons sur toi pour les arrêter afin que personne ne perde rien, Steph."
It was a hailstorm of scrap that accompanied the raucous laughter.


── "Nous comptons sur toi. Pardonne-nous aussi de t'exclure, d'accord... ?"　
“You called this stage our hunting grounds?! What puny thoughts—what a tiny imagination!! As would be expected from someone so small-minded as to only appreciate big boobs—ah, it’s a veritable microcosm of your life!!”


Croyant qu'elle ne pouvait pas croire──
“…You said…we could use any machines…and do anything with the venue, didn’t you?♪”


Tenant Steph à ce point près de cœur, elle a réussi à aller aussi loin. Cependant, c'était...
Towering with a sneer on top was a giant mecha of junk—of the unwanted. Of unvalued failures and rejected scrap.


"── Maintenant, après vous avoir tous vus, j'ai enfin pu me calmer !!"
This was the gathering place for the things that might have not been mistakes. This was their home turf, they indicated with a sneer.


En secouant la tête, Steph souri──
“Who’s gonna take the time to hunt their prey after they’ve already lured them in?”


"Après tout, on dirait que vous vous amusez beaucoup !"
Sora uproariously exposed the truth that was now assaulting Veig.


Ayant vu cela, Steph était maintenant capable de le dire avec un joli sourire.
“If you’re gonna lure in your prey, obviously you’re gonna go straight to a trap, aren’t you, you scrub?!”


Ce sourire était juste un peu solitaire....
It was a cage, a trap. The junk itself, the venue itself, the soul of a girl who had patched failure to error itself—


"Voilà pourquoi. Je peux maintenant croire que le jeu avec l'Ancien Dieu peut se terminer en s'amusant."
'''“Ladies and gentlemen—the venue itself is our machine!! How do you like that?!”'''


Steph a fait cette déclaration unilatérale, et pense.　　　
'''“…We of Blank call it…the Spirit of Mother Til…♪”'''
　
La raison pour laquelle ils ne l'ont pas laissée participer doit avoir été.....


── Parce qu'ils ne pouvaient pas croire qu'elle les trahirait avec certitude.
It literally looked down on Veig, nine hundred seventy times his size. Sora and Shiro cackled, back at the reins for their big counterattack.


A l'origine... ça aurait été quelque chose dont on aurait pu être fier. Il y a de quoi être heureux. Cependant, en regardant les gens devant elle, et combien ils s'amusaient en jouant au jeu, elle se sentait juste un peu jalouse.
—Come, O ye who declare yourselves infallible, those of the righteous world. Now our patchwork heap shall speak with iron and lightning and fire to test our Mother’s spirit. We shall now question the refuse that you have shorn away and discarded in your quest to forge. We ask: On what grounds did you reject us—?!


Steph pensait qu'être incapable de les rejoindre était juste un peu frustrant.
“Personally, I’m not as into the NEXTs as the Arms Forts built by average schmucks to confront them.”


=== Partie 5 ===
In fiction, raw size is destined to be overthrown.


── De l'intérieur de l'espace virtuel, Ino sourit amèrement aux mots de Steph.
Which is how we know that reality is different!! Indeed—!!


Il comprit alors que le dernier message de Sora n'était pas un mensonge.
'''“Raw mass is the secret to defeating genius, biiitch!! We haven’t designed this bullet hell with any place to hide! You trap ’em and smash ’em with sheer numbers! There’s no better tactic!! All you gotta do is win, baby, win!!”'''


── "J'ai cru en vous, que vous nous trahiriez sûrement, je vous aime !"
In reality—overkill is all the better!!


"Je vais vous montrer que nous pouvons battre un dieu sans un seul sacrifice, et sans croire en personne ", Dit-il.
Seated in the cockpit, Sora and Shiro controlled the massive body and filled the screen with projectiles.


Miko-sama avait réussi à trouver le sens de ces mots, mais pas Ino. De plus, il avait l'impression d'avoir compris la partie sur la croyance, au moins en partie──
«The fock?! How’d you get such a crazy machine?!»


".... Cependant, il reste encore quelques questions..."
Veig screeched as he just barely managed to demi-shift from one empty location to another.


C'était, bien sûr, qu'est-ce que Miko avait préparé ? Non. Avant cela, c'était la véritable intention de ce jeu, quel était même leur but quand il a commencé ?
«What kinda Dwarf has the power to run a barmy monster like that?!»


Il restait encore beaucoup de questions, mais Ino pense à la plus déconcertante.
Between that and the Heavenly Strike, Veig was sure now there were some spirits involved far outside the regulations. He raged at their perceived violation of the rules.


──'Pourquoi Sora et Shiro ont-ils agi ensemble avec l'imposteur?'
……Ha. His opponents laughed in unison. They knew it: Dwarves were the perfect negative examples. After all, they were just half-right. Just as he guessed that the stage itself was their machine, but that wasn’t even close to enough. On Sora’s lap sat Shiro—and on her lap sat a girl whose face was scrunched in pain, but who still sneered with fearless irony—


Sora et Shiro savaient certainement que " ce Steph " n'était pas le vrai. Ils ont su immédiatement après le début du match. Et pourtant,
“Chieftain… You ask that now? I couldn’t even start up our first machine without boosting, I couldn’t.”


"Même s'ils ne savaient pas quand elle les trahirait, ni même ses vraies attentions, ils ont quand même donné leurs dés à l'imposteur... ?"
It seemed he had still overlooked the trick in Shiro’s arms. Yes, it was the murmuring of Til, the real trick, most impossible of all—


Ino a chuchoté ça, et repense à il y a 23 jours.
“To begin with…I can’t even use magic without boosting, I can’t.”


Dans les bains, Sora et Shiro avaient calmement transféré leurs dés à l'imposteur. C'est bien ce qu'il avait dit,
«—Huhhh?!»


"Le problème est le même pour nous deux'' C'était extrêmement dangereux... pourquoi feraient-ils une telle chose.
—that made Veig cry out in long-delayed recognition. Sora chuckled. Yes, a Dwarf so great as Veig probably couldn’t have imagined such a trick. Til, by nature, couldn’t even use magic, much less operate a supermassive spirit arm. For Til—


Tandis qu'Ino réfléchissait tout seul,
'''—WAS AS SMOOTH AS DOLPHIN—!!!'''


"E-excusez-moi... Ino-san ?"
Dwarves used catalysts because of the spiritual overload caused by their mithril—to synchronize externally. But Til didn’t have that mithril!! She wasn’t subject to such overload, or even load for that matter!! That was why she used boosting… Yes…the hidden truth that astonished Jibril when Til used her shift. Til couldn’t use magic without boosting. Conversely, that meant she could if she used boosting…


"Oui ? Qu'est-ce qu'il y a, Stephanie-dono ?"　
…It meant she could use boosting. For example: She could chain boost to boost on the chain reaction of explosions of the huge number of demi-shift anchors they’d planted, funnel the spirits into her hammer on which she’d engraved a Rite of Heavenly Smiting, and synchronize it into her body! With the vast amount of spirits thus summoned under her control, she could operate this leviathan assemblage of parts, this scrap on the stage on which she’d engraved seal rites…!!


La voix de Steph résonnait de l'extérieur et Ino répondit d'une bonne humeur inhabituelle.
… Yes, if a normal Dwarf tried this, they’d blow right up. It would be impossible and meaningless. Just as Til said, it would be as perverse an idea as building an underwater breathing apparatus for a fish. But for such an abnormal dwarf, it was both possible and essential. For Til—


Comme s'il y avait quelque chose de mal à cela, répond Steph d'une voix très tremblante :
'''—WAS AS SMOOTH AS DOLPHIN—!!!'''


"Euh... J'ai pensé que peut-être ! Vous devriez arrêter.... de monter et de frapper Sora à plusieurs reprises !? Oh-hohoho ～"
«Wha—? Wait, whoa— Niecey, don’t tell me yours still hasn’t growwwn?!»


Steph a parlé contre Ino, qui n'arrêtait pas de frapper les PNJ de Sora.
“Heh…heh-heh, Ch-Chieftain…I’d like to see you burn in hell! I would…”


En un seul coup, la terre a tremblé et la route s'est brisée. Il y avait déjà un cratère.
Listening to their exchange, Sora, to be honest, was fairly sure by now this was not the case. But he still insisted: they had to be talking about beards!! So anyway—!


Ne se souciant pas de la diminution du pouvoir de l'amour, Ino continuait à produire des sons émoussés.──
“Heh, this is the difference in natural gifts… Bow before the absolute wall you cannot overcome, Veig!!”


"Stephanie-dono, connaissez-vous le dicton : "C'est ceci, et c'est cela" ?" Il a répondu avec le plus beau sourire qu'il ait fait de ce siècle.
«Fock!! How can a Dwarf’s body endure that shite? You wanna kill my fockin’ niece?!»


Il était convaincu que ce jeu avait été créé juste pour ce moment.
The transmission to Sora roared full of naked rage. Understandable. One percent of Jibril’s power—the power to run a supermassive machine like that—was as reckless as pouring rocket fuel into an automobile. Therefore…


"U-um ! C-c'mon～, ils ne disent pas que les bons amis sont ceux avec qui on peut se battre ?" Steph a désespérément essayé de faire un suivi.
“…Didn’t you say no mercy? A man’s word isn’t worth much these days, huh?”


"Dans ce cas, à l'époque de la Grande Guerre, tout le monde était déjà le meilleur des amis♥" Répondit Plum de l'extérieur du jeu.
«—!!»


"E-ehm, Sora a aussi dit que même la folie peut boucler la boucle !!"
…Sora saw that Veig was thinking of taking a bullet and losing the game for Til’s sake, and Sora stopped him, making a face. If Til died, it would probably spell death for Sora and Shiro, who were holding her, too. Til was barely conscious, but still she held firm to her hammer and smiled.


Mais, une fois de plus, Plum a répondu par une conclusion logique :
—Veig meant to lose intentionally.


"Alors, l'inimitié peut aussi boucler la boucle et vous deviendrez les meilleurs amis ! Tu veux dire que tout peut boucler la boucle ?"
This man didn’t seem to understand what a humiliation that would be—!!


Les sons émoussés résonnaient encore aujourd'hui, et Ino──
“To hell with your patronizing sympathy!! This is a trap—there’s no place for you to hide and no room for you to choose!!”


"Je... je... en premier lieu !!! Tout le monde n'a pas été trahi dans la même mesure !?"
Sora’s howl what seemed like a signal to that which sat somewhere in the supermassive machine behind the giant cannon that opened its mouth with a roar: another machine. Sora and the operator inside the additional cockpit announced savagely:


── S'arrête soudainement. Et réfléchit.
“There’s only one future: Til’s complete victory!!”


"Sora l'a dit aussi, n'est-ce pas !? "J'ai cru en toi, que tu nous trahirais sûrement !"!"
«Whyyy, it’s time for the showwwdowwwn.♥»


<pre>00b : ── Il y a une personne parmi les porteurs de dés dont les souvenirs n'ont pas été prélevés, un "traître".</pre>
That moment, the light of the Holy Forge flashed from the barrel, and suddenly a metal glob blocked the opening. Connected to the muzzle, the object sparkled—and this time, Veig froze, mech and all. It was another legacy of the past that he could not mistake.


... Un "traître", dit-il.
“Can you dodge a bomb? If you know a way, as a gamer, I’d very much like to know!”


Pas un imposteur, ni un menteur. Un 'traître'.
A bomb indeed, leaving no place to hide. A bomb called…yes, that’s right:


Sora avait dit : " Je croyais en toi, que tu nous trahirais sûrement ". Si tout peut boucler la boucle, s'ils n'avaient pas foi en cette croyance non plus....
…The E-bomb…


"Ce n'est pas possible. C'est ça, Miko-sama... Mais c'est impossible..."
== Partie 6 ==


Ino se souvient avec étonnement du début du match. Les mots que Sora avait utilisés pour les instiguer avaient un sens caché.
In the cockpit behind the blazing E-bomb was Fiel, smiling.


──'Peu importe qui est le traître, tout le monde va bien'.
“Why, you’ll note that we’ve followed the rules to a T. And in a most sustainable way, if I might add.♥”


Il comprend ce qu'il veut dire maintenant. Qui est le traître ? ── Eux-mêmes.
No magic other than seal rites. You lost if your core broke. And the players here were everyone…


Tout le monde. Tout le monde a trahi tout le monde. Tout le monde croyait qu'ils seraient trahis. Dans ce cas, celle que l'Ancien Dieu avait fait des pieds et des mains pour établir les règles en tant que " traître ".
“Anyone can very well recycle the unit we lost in, caaan’t theyyy?♥”


Mais──　
True, Til could connect and use Fiel’s unit. Also:


── Qui allaient-ils trahir ... ?
“Incluuuding the seal of protection of that boorish fire, and incluuuding the seal rites on the unit.♪”


=== Partie 6 ===
Fiel had in mind the seventh player, and their fifth trump card.


Que tout le monde trahirait était à la hauteur de ses attentes.
They hadn’t bothered with any seal rites for the specs, but they had bothered with seal rites.


Cependant, si celui qui ne peut pas les trahir allait les trahir de toute façon...
They had implemented an eighty-four-fold rite using the seal of protection of an Old Deus. And they’d used the Holy Forge, the power of Ocain, to enable shifting.


La, la réponse serait que── que, c'est comme ça ──
Til had subsumed Fiel’s unit and commandeered it under the protection of Ocain. And there was no rule that Til couldn’t use that thing shifted from her hideout!! Chlammy asked suspiciously of the merry Fiel, who occupied the same cockpit:


────…………　
“…Fi, I’ve been wondering: Whose idea was it to use the seal of Ocain’s protection?”


── 42 jours se sont écoulés depuis le début du jeu, en plus de la case 306.
She’d heard of the “rites of spirit-breaking” or whatever that they’d used in the War, such as Áka Si Anse—spells that used seal rites to call upon the protection of Kainas, creator of the Elves. But it was said they were no longer usable after the Ten Covenants. In that case, this thing Fiel produced must have been newly compiled, after the War.


Ils se dirigeaient vers l'ouest, vers la capitale d'Elkia. Les bruits des sabots et des roues de charrette se faisaient entendre.
…Who would have implemented a seal rite to call upon Ocain, of all gods? For that matter, even having grown up in Elven Gard, Chlammy had never heard of a spell that could un-quasi-shift such a large mass.


Ils s'étaient réapprovisionnés dans la ville d'El Roble, et ils se balançaient maintenant dans une voiture hippomobile. Shiro était sur les genoux de Sora, il a fait un petit sourire sarcastique.
“Mmm, I don’t know, myself. It’s been the Nirvalens’ ace in the hole for generations.”


Il s'était déjà habitué aux panneaux d'affichage, ils avaient lettre pour lettre, mot pour mot, la même tâche, c'était :
Fiel tilted her head. Yes, and they’d said this…


── 【Parmi les sept âmes que l'Ancien Dieu détient, choisissez celle qui sera libérée et tuée, alors, soyez transféré sur la dernière place】
“They said trump cards are trump cards because you don’t reveal them until the showdown.”


C'était la sixième fois consécutive que la【Tâche】en était là.──non ? Le plus sympathique, c'est qu'ils ne cessent de répéter, de la case 301 jusqu'à la fin.
Howeverrr… She gave Chlammy her greatest smile as she continued.


Quelqu'un les avait écrites avec une sorte d'intention, puis avait réussi à les rassembler ? ──
“Why, my ultimate trump card is you, Chlammy.♪”


"Qu'est-ce que c'est ? Une sorte de jeu de mots cliché que tu dois résoudre ? Sora réfléchit tout seule.　
Fiel had gone to such lengths as to reveal her family’s secret. She smiled at her best friend: They had lost—and that therefore was the victory planned. Chlammy beamed and reflexively looked away, embarrassed.


──'Essayons d'arranger les règles' Sora pense avec un petit sourire.
“If you say we can’t win…why, then we can’t win.”


<pre> 03 : Le résultat du lancer des dés est déterminé de manière aléatoire, et après cela, un dé parmi ceux utilisés est perdu. </pre>
Yes…from the moment Chlammy had concluded that they couldn’t win…


<pre> 10 : Chaque【Tâche】sera décrite sur un panneau d'affichage, et elles doivent être placées de façon irrégulière à travers les carrés du panneau. </pre>
…Fiel had resigned from this game…


Les résultats des dés sont 'aléatoires'... en utilisant le générateur de nombres aléatoires que Shiro a spécifié.
So, they had requested of Sora and Shiro a friendly token of appreciation for their friendly cooperation. It was a condition of the deal, in other words: No matter who won—


Mais la position de la【Tâche】 est 'irrégulier'.... Il semble que ce ne soit pas un hasard.
—Veig must be commanded to bear shame for the rest of his life…


<pre>01 : Les 7 personnes se voient accorder leur propre "Masse Temporelle" divisé proportionnellement en 10 "Dés".</pre><ref>C'est à peu près intraduisible. Comme Sora l'a dit, c'est un jeu de mots, les règles en sont truffées. 七名 signifie littéralement sept personnes, 七=seven, 名=comptoir formel pour personnes. Cependant, le kanji 名 signifie aussi nom, donc il signifie aussi sept noms.</ref>
“Whyyy, it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you win!! Our objective is to convict that thing, the offender! In which caaase, it doesn’t maaatter who uses whose power to win. As long as the crook gets his just deserts, we have wooon!!”


<pre>06 : Lorsque le jeu commence, chaque joueur a le droit de créer 50【Tâches】.</pre>
Fiel’s bright demeanor made Chlammy chuckle.


Il semble que les dés aient été accordés à... sept personnes.
“…Well, we do have to regret a little we didn’t make good on our chance to win directly.”


Mais ceux qui ont écrit les tâches étaient... des joueurs.
“But we must count ourselves blessed to have been able to pummel you a bit.♪ After allll—”


── Ensuite, les trois règles qui ont dû être déterminées uniquement par l'Ancien Dieu étaient :
“Yes. We are really perfect outsiders to this matter. We’re not even friends, you know?”


Tout d'abord, la règle qui dit que seul le joueur en tête serait sauvé sans rien gagner.
As they snidely echoed Veig’s remarks, Chlammy had a thought.


Deuxièmement, la règle qui fait de celui qui a emmené Miko le premier joueur.
—They could win an unwinnable match through someone else’s power. Then how might they answer an unanswerable question?


Et troisièmement, la règle concernant le "traître".
“We’ll make others answer for us… In other words, as usual, we win through sophistry.”


C'est vrai, ce jeu a commencé parce que l'Ancien Dieu a été menacé, ou peut-être mis en place, par Miko.
—Having had their past questioned: Have you paid your tab?


Normalement, il n'est absolument pas possible que tout le monde soit d'accord avec un " traître " qui a préservé ses souvenirs.
—They answered with their future: I will when I can…


Du fait qu'ils avaient autorisé ces règles, on pouvait deviner que ── non ?
……


Supposons qu'ils aient pu déterminer ces règles. Si c'était le cas....
“…And so the puppet continued building the sky… The sky only they still could not see…”


── Qui a écrit ces tâches, et comment ont-elles été organisées de façon continue comme ceci── ?
In the cramped cockpit, Chlammy smiled subtly as she gazed upon the sky before her. They’d opened it for her, for Fi, for Jibril, the Werebeasts, the Old Deus, and Ex Machina… And now…


"Ça devrait être évident, non ?" Dit Sora en souriant alors qu'ils étaient en calèche, qu'ils continuaient à rouler et qu'ils arrivaient finalement à la case 307.
“They’re opening up Til’s sky… Going on until they find their own…”


Après l'écran de chargement, ils sont finalement arrivés à la place résultante. Mais quelqu'un était déjà là.
== Partie 7 ==


Sora a aidé Steph et Shiro à descendre de la voiture. Il avait ce quelqu'un en vue. Ils s'y prélassaient, inlassablement et inébranlablement, ils étaient là, tout simplement, c'était là,
At last, brilliant, blinding light.


"C'était vous, n'est-ce pas ? Le septième joueur, l'Ancien Dieu-san sans nom"
Til had gathered things from outside—welded them, forged them, patched them together in one wrong way after another. Now her fire melted them all together, and cast them as ingenuity, which she used to reach the sky.


── C'est exact. Elle avait un pinceau d'écriture sec dans une main, et reposait son menton de l'autre. Elle flottait sur un espace vide, assise sur une ligne d'encre aussi grande qu'elle. Elle avait l'apparence d'une jeune fille.
“…Uncle…have I…kept…my promise…?”


Elle se tourna vers Sora et les autres. Elle avait des yeux noir-rougeâtre qui semblaient refléter tout dans la création.
The spirits raged, and her body ached as if it was about to break.


Elle était juste là. Rien qu'avec ça, elle avait la présence écrasante d'une catastrophe naturelle. Cependant....
“Have I…reached a sky…that no one has seen before?!”


En ce moment, pour Sora, tout cela ressemblait à une fabrication ── quelque chose de creux.
The heat threatened to burn out her spirit corridor junction nerves. But alas, Til smiled regardless…


Elle ressemblait à une poupée artificielle. Sora ose continuer ses provocations :
“…Do you…want…to know…what it’s…like…?!”


“ Vous n'êtes pas un porteur de dés, mais vous êtes toujours en tête. Vous pouvez vous téléporter où vous voulez, mais aussi téléporter d'autres personnes, et pourtant vous êtes un joueur . Si l'Ancien Dieu, c'est à dire vous, n'étiez pas là, cette tâche serait invalid──"
By now, only one thing entered her muddied consciousness: the distant sky Til was sure she’d never imagined, and that no one else ever had—the feeling of floating in a deep, black sky, Veig too far behind to see, uncertain of whether he could hear the voice she wrung out, or even whether it was coming out at all—


Pour un Dieu, c'était un piètre tour.
Still, she’d fulfill the promise of that distant day. She’d vowed that she would surpass him—and promised something to the bird of that day. She spelled out the wish she’d held in her heart, that her words, her smile would reach their destination.


"Vous l'avez écrit vous-même, en disant irrégulièrement que vous pouviez les mettre à la fin du plateau── comment serait-il possible autrement ?" dit Sora en se moquant, et en même temps que la【Tâche】résonnait :
'''“You piece of shit, you’ll never understand, you won’t!! Serves you right, it does!! Pft!”'''


── 【Parmi les sept âmes que l'Ancien Dieu détient, choisissez celle qui sera libérée et tuée, alors, soyez transféré sur la dernière place】
«Niecey!! You got to get back at me, huh?! Ain’t ya imitatin’ me?!»


──'Eh bien, continuons avec la réponse suivante' pense Sora, et approfondit son sourire.
Veig’s transmission came through at trace volume. Til did hear it, though, and she closed her eyes and grinned.


"Si nous atteignons le but normalement, probablement, presque certainement, l'Ancien Dieu mourra"
…Please. I’m about to fall under the delusion that I have become a bird, I do. But I know…that it’s just an illusion, I do. By tomorrow, perhaps even by one second in the future, I’ll be made to know


C'est un jeu qui a commencé parce qu'elle était menacée. C'est ce qui arriverait normalement si la partie menacée perdait. Et de plus, même s'ils atteignaient le but, et qu'ils faisaient une demande, serait-elle capable d'éviter de l'atteindre ?
Very well then…!! Making mistakes is my only specialty—!!


Comme Sora et les autres avaient leurs souvenirs prélevés avant le match, ils n'avaient aucun moyen de le savoir.
—Assuming I can… Assuming that nothing’s impossible! I’ll fail again, and build up my mountain of mistakes, I will!!


Cependant, puisqu'il n'y a aucune chance que Sora et les autres aient voulu sacrifier cela, alors c'est facile. Ils avaient juste besoin de ne pas penser normalement... Bref :
She’d lose her way, she’d get confused, she’d blunder—and every time, she’d cry and wail and gnash her teeth in vexation! Til would take the long way around like a perfect fool, getting lost repeatedly, pathetically drenched in tears and shame. She might never even know if it had meaning. But there was a sight that could only be seen by taking that foolish path.


"Si celui qui sait quelle demande empêcherait la mort de l'Ancien Dieu d'atteindre le but, alors il n'y a pas de problème."
It could never be seen by those born with natural talent…by the birds that didn’t build airplanes.


“... Es-tu en train de dire que... c'est toi qui le sais... Sora ?"
It could never be seen by the birds that had never felt that obsession: I want to fly anyway. There was such an entertaining sight to see, to be found in a place no one imagined.


Demanda Steph derrière lui, mais Sora inclina la tête, et avec un sourire qui ressemblait à une crevasse gravée sur son visage, il se retourna et répondit :
…I’m ready to make as many mistakes as it takes. I can say that now, I can…


"Il n'y a aucun moyen que je le sache. Mais tu sais, n'est-ce pas ? ”
And so, while Til went limp in Shiro’s arms—


Quand Sora a fait cette déclaration étrange, Steph ── Non ? Celui dont les souvenirs n'ont pas été prélevés, celui qui sait quoi exiger ──　
“…Well, bet this is news to you smart folks. Here’s the common knowledge of the weak. Listen with gratitude, yeah?!”


"C'est ton tour "traître"... ou devrais-je dire "imposteur" ?"
—Sora howled at the shell of the E-bomb, which glowed like a star to announce it was ready for blast-off.


"........................quu….oi……...？"
“…Generally speaking, things in the world don’t go the way you imagine…”


Le truc avec l'apparence de Steph avait un visage tordu par la confusion et la peur. Elle a fait un pas en arrière.
Just as they had sailed for India and mistakenly arrived in the New World; as they had tried to prove everything with mathematics and mistakenly refuted their mathematics; as they had built rockets to reach the moon and mistakenly dropped them on Earth…


"── Vous accomplirez cette tâche et atteindrez le but."
…As far as humans were concerned, perfection was a waste of time. They’d mess it up anyway. To seek mere perfection wasn’t going to do it. Therefore—!!


Comme s'il la pourchassait, Sora fit un pas vers elle, et continua comme s'il lui donnait des ordres.
“Your thinking is too damn small!! If you want to fly, you’re not gonna have a chance unless you have the guts to go past the damn moon and crash into Mars by mistake!!”


Elle était encore confuse, et elle hurla d'un cri rauque :
Well…yes…?


"T-tu veux dire que je dois dire le nom de quelqu'un ── et le tuer, pour que je... puisse grimper au sommet !?"?
“Even if you get up and down backward, you might be able to go through the planet to the sky at the other side, right?♪”


"Pas quelqu'un... Vous direz correctement le nom de celui qui ne serait pas tué même s'il était relâché."
You might end up with a result better than perfect, right?


──'Eh bien, révélons la réponse finale' Sora sourit en disant cela.
«…You fockin’ with me? Shit—»


La tâche les pressait de libérer une des sept âmes en possession de l'Ancien Dieu, mais de quelles sept âmes s'agissait-il ?
A man born with natural talent… A bird that flew by sensibility alone…transmitted back with a sense of awe at the unknown he’d never had before—or not in a long time at least.


Il était raisonnable de penser que ce serait les sept porteurs de dés. En divisant le " Corps " en dés et en confiant l'" Âme " à l'Ancien Dieu, ils ont pu rester en vie ── si l'Ancien Dieu les lâchait, Sora et les autres allaient mourir.
Indeed…they couldn’t use the E-bomb. So he didn’t know what it was they were on the verge of launching. He didn’t know what it was to accomplish. He didn’t even know a thing about the heights where his niece floated now.


Cependant ! Steph est une imposteur ! Et l'Ancien Dieu est aussi un joueur !? Non, attends, et Miko ?
But even so! There was one thing he was sure about. He howled with a longing he’d never felt.


Aah ── Oh mon Dieu, qui devrions-nous sacrifier alors ?── !??
«So you’re saying you don’t know what the hell will happen. You’re bloody daft, aren’t ya?!»


... Ils auraient dû s'inquiéter comme ça, non ?
If it might be the case that Til couldn’t take it—!! That instant, Veig’s unit appeared to get blown away and then vanished from sight. One soul raced forth through the air, with maneuvers uncapturable by Sora’s eyes, or by the venue’s cameras. It left no trace; the unit broken down, it raced past its limits, riding the force of a fist.


Sora et Shiro se sont regardés dans les yeux et ont ri. Si la question habituelle était : Qui devrions-nous sacrifier, alors la solution serait de répondre par : Nous ne devrions sacrifier personne ! Es-tu un idiot ?".　
—I’ll overcome even that—


S'ils ne voulaient pas sacrifier ne serait-ce qu'une seule personne, il n'y avait pas de place pour les soucis.
Detecting the single strike to end it, Sora smirked and answered inwardly.


“ Nous allons nous débarrasser du sacrifice qui a déjà été fait. Simplement dit, nous ranimerons la personne qui est morte..."
—Yeah. That’s right! That’s how we live, as fools incapable of anything but straying and failing and erring. Bet it’s a breath of fresh air for smarty-pants jerks like you who live with all trial and no error, huh?


C'est vrai, c'est vrai. Ils sont même allés jusqu'à forcer des règles comme : Le premier joueur sera sauvé.
What’s gonna happen? How the hell would I know?!


Celui dont le 'conteneur' est sauvegardé par l'Ancien Dieu après avoir été soigneusement emporté par elle.
“That’s why you gotta test that shit! That’s what we idiots call science!”


Celui qui, contrairement à Sora et aux autres, n'était pas divisé en dés. Même si leur âme était libérée, ils ne mourraient pas.
Sora sneered and activated the contents of the E-bomb in the muzzle, and a moment later Veig unleashed one soulful strike that pierced the shell.


── Celui qui était déjà mort, donc ils ne pouvaient pas mourir plus que ça.
== Partie 8 ==


Celui qui a disparu avec l'Ancien Dieu, bien que Sora et les autres n'aient pas pu le voir.
It was a full-on collision of Veig’s and Til’s souls, entangling, stirring, radiating white. No one could tell whose soul it was anymore. Everything raced through the catalysts and through the minds of all present…


── Celui qui doit être juste à côté de cet Ancien Dieu car il flottait avec une expression composée.
……


Bref, la septième des sept personnes.
…The man had been born with outstanding sensibilities. Everyone knew him to be a genius. He too knew this, not as a matter of presumption or conceit, but as a proud matter of fact. He swung his hammer without guile, yet with ferocity. To create a work that was better—no, the best. An unprecedented masterpiece. A divine revelation!! He would enter that


"── Vous n'avez qu'à répondre avec 'Miko-san'"
realm only one before in the history of Dwarf, his ancestor, had laid eyes on. His eyes reflected the back of that genius who had laid his fingers on creation—the alteration of concepts. He would reach that extreme none had approached in six thousand years. The man who kept piling up successes was the second coming of that sublimity. Everyone was certain he would be the next chieftain. Amidst all this, the man was hurling invective at a strange kid who was following him around:


Shiro réagit à la conclusion de Sora comme si elle était naturelle. Mais le truc avec l'apparence de Steph était juste stupéfait. Il n'y avait pas de mots, ils se contentaient de se regarder, et pourtant, Sora élevait la tension par lui-même.
“Hey… Get lost already, would ya, fockin’ brat?! You’re gettin’ in the way of my work!!”


"Et ainsi ! L'âme de Miko-san reviendra dans son corps ! Avec ceci, d'abord, nous reprendrons un sacrifice !"
“I’m not getting in the way, I’m not. I’m seducing my future husband, I am.”


Il tourne la main vers le " traître " comme s'il dansait et dit, comme s'il chantait :
The one contradicting him as if it was nothing was, at the time, a little girl. The one who called herself his future wife.


"Soyez transféré sur la dernière place ── Félicitations !!! Vous êtes le 'Gagnant' ! Maintenant, faites un tour gagnant pour célébrer votre victoire, montez sur le podium, baignez-vous dans le champagne et faites la demande── !"!
“If you think I’m getting in your way, that just proves you have feelings for me, doesn’t it, Uncle? Doesn’t it?!”


Il s'est soudainement arrêté de bouger quand il a dit cela, et il conclut :
“Niecey, you’re gonna stand there winkin’ and blowin’ kisses at me like some bloody fool? I’ve feelings, harsh feelings!”


── La troisième des règles qui n'auraient pu être déterminées que par l'Ancien Dieu. En d'autres termes,
She was the precocious daughter of one of his older stepsisters, and she’d taken an inexplicable shine to him.


ils ne pouvaient savoir quoi exiger qu'en trafiquant les faux souvenirs de Steph et en se conduisant ──
“I ain’t got no interest in some kid who ain’t even got any hair grown in yet—can’t bear to look at ya. Piss off,” he commanded.


"... que seul vous, le "traître", pourriez savoir, exiger que l'Ancien Dieu ne meurt pas── okay?♪"
The child shuddered at the man’s sharp one-eyed glare.


───── Confusion. Il a créé un silence né de l'étonnement.
That was that. Everyone kept their distance from him. His eye had the gift of ending the conversation. Even children always grasped the point that he lived in a different world…until then…


La traîtresse secoue la tête et montre une réponse naturelle.
“H-how do you know that I’m smooth?! Have you seen it?!”


"Je ne comprends pas.... d'abord ── Je suis une imposteur... ?"
But this child shuddered because she suspected he had looked at her naked. Incidentally, this was the fifth time this exchange had occurred. In other words—


C'est vrai, Sora et Shiro savaient qu'elle n'avait pas cette conscience.
“You peeped on me?! You licked me all over with your eyes, how can I get married now, you should take responsibility, and then I’ll be the wife of the chieftain, what a way to marry up, it is! Come, come, come, Mr. Sir? If you’ll marry me, I can show you my body aaany—”


Dans ce cas, elle était une " réplique " créée avec le véritable accord de Steph ──, c'est précisément pour cela.
“I can see from your face you ain’t got no beard, all right?! Don’t blush. Why are ya strippin’?!”


L'accord de Steph ── en d'autres termes, cette copie trahirait selon les intentions de Sora et de l'autre, Sora en était maintenant plus certaine.
“Ah!! No, I don’t want to be the wife of some pervert who lusts after children, I don’t!!”


C'est la raison pour laquelle Sora met cette vérité en avant sans passion.
“Listen to me, will ya?! Wait, didn’t you just say you were seducing me? What do you want?!”


"── Vous. Vous souvenez-vous d'avoir soumis vos tâches ? Il n'y a que 350 cases, mais seules les Tâches écrites par l'Ancien Dieu existent, alors où sont vos tâches ? Pouvez-vous me dire ce que je vous ai dit juste après notre départ d'Elkia ? Où est Leila ? Où sont les notes et les ordres qu'on vous a donnés ?"
No matter how he tried to get rid of her, she kept coming. The man clutched his head.


Il n'y a pas moyen que cette chose puisse réponde. Mais si c'était Steph, elle pourrait facilement répondre à ces questions,
—The hell’s with this fockin’ brat? His niece had a strange way with words. But more than anything, it was his own sense of discomfort that confused him. Never having experienced failure or discouragement, the feeling was altogether unfamiliar to him. It would be a while before he realized it was his first experience of anger.


"...même si je cédais à contrecœur et faisais ce que Sora dit... Ce serait à contrecœur, d'accord !?"
“…Listen, Niecey. I’m a fockin’ genius. And that makes me a bloody fine man. You followin’ me?”


Elle a dit, et a essayé de s'y opposer, mais──
“Ah! S-so you mean, when I marry you, I’ll be a fine woman?!”


"Si je montais au sommet et disais les exigences de l'Ancien Dieu, le dernier ne gagnerait-il pas ? ── L-La vie de tout le monde et tout ce que nous parions aussi ! Au pire, elle pourrait exiger absolument tout──"
“Argh, that ain’t it at all. This is the problem. You ain’t good for me, is what I’m sayin’.”


"Elle ne le fera pas. Parce que l'Ancien Dieu ne gagnerait pas "
Back then, he had concluded thus:


Sora interrompit avec une réponse instantanée. Tout d'abord, les règles le disent :
“You’ll never be a fine woman.”


<pre>13 : Lorsqu'un Porteur de Dés atteint la case finale, il sera déclaré "Gagnant" et la partie sera jouée. prendra fin.</pre>


<pre>14 : L'Ancien Dieu en question accepte l'obligation de satisfaire toutes les demandes dans le cadre de ses droits que le "Gagnant" réalise.</pre>


La portée des droits de l'Ancien Dieu ── Sora et les droits de l'autre étaient en dehors de cela.
“…Uh-huhhh… What is a fine woman…?”


".... C'est exact. Vous serez le 'Gagnant' après tout. Je t'ai dit ── vous êtes la traître, vous vous souvenez ?"
“First of all, she’s an adult with hair. You’re out of the question. And she’s a woman who fits me. Let’s see… So first, she has big boobs. And then, if her spirit-arm craft ain’t at least on my level, I ain’t messin’ with that, either. Otherwise, hmm, she’s damn beautiful and damn chaste and damn sexy as far as I’m concerned. That’s what it means to be a fine woman.”


Si celui qui ne trahirait absolument jamais, trahissait encore, alors ──
“…Uncle, that’s just a fantasy woman, it is.”


"Tu me trahiras, trahiras Shiro, trahiras Jibril, trahiras Plum, trahiras Ino, trahiras Izuna, tu trahiras même toi-même ── Tu trahiras tous les participants, tu vois"
“Rngh?”


Les exigences de l'Ancien Dieu : les pièces raciales, la vie de Miko, tout. Ils ne la laisseront pas tout obtenir, c'est juste qu'ils peuvent gagner en ne faisant aucun sacrifice.
“I-I—I mean, there are no Dwarves with big boobs, there aren’t! And everything after the ‘Otherwise, hmm’ is exactly what my aunts told me virgins fantasize about, it is! Uncle, are you a virgin? By the way, what is a virgin?!”


── C'est tout ce qu'ils voulaient, et la seule raison pour laquelle ce jeu a commencé. C'est leur victoire.
“Shut up! What’s wrong with an outta-this-world man wanting an outta-this-world woman? Those fockin’ sisters of mine!!”


"L'Ancien Dieu croyait que le traître n'atteindrait jamais le but, alors trahissez aussi l'Ancien Dieu, d'accord♪"
And then:


────…………　
“Heh, you’re hopeless, you are. I’ll just have to become a fine woman for you, I will.”


Seul le vent soufflait, c'était un long silence.
……Suddenly…


L'Ancien Dieu était juste là avec une expression illisible. Sa simple présence était écrasante.
“In another thirteen, I’ll be an adult, I will. I’ll be downright bushy, I will!! I’ll be beautiful, and oh so chaste, whatever that means, I will! Then you just have to get me sexy, and that’s that, it is!!”


Depuis combien de temps était-elle comme ça ? La petite fille avec l'apparence de Steph regardait en bas et marmonnait.
…the child whose pale blue eyes sparkled as she spoke started to feel extremely dissatisfied.


"... Sora... Shiro... Suis-je... un imposteur ?"
“I’ll do my best to make spirit arms like you, I will. If you just give up on the big boobs, I’ll be such a fine woman, right in front of you! And I’ll help you stop being a virgin, I will!!”


Demanda t'elle d'une voix tremblante, mais Sora et Shiro répondirent avec un ton extrêmement naturel :
She smiled as if to ask: So what is a virgin? He thrust back feelings he didn’t understand himself—


"... oui... après tout... dès le début──"
“It ain’t happening. Such a good-for-nothin’ ain’t ever gonna get how to make spirit arms.”


"Nous n'avions pas l'intention de laisser Steph participer à ce jeu depuis le tout début"
…And that—


La vrai Steph devrait être en Fédération Orientale avec Leila. Il souriait quand il essayait d'imaginer le genre de visages que ce macho faisait──
was the man’s first misreading…


"Alors... Qui suis-je..." ?
“……A good-for-nothing…? …What? You mean me…?”


Elle regardait encore en bas quand elle a crié ça.
…What? What’s with those teary eyes like you can’t believe what you just heard?! The man felt ever more uncomfortable.


"Une poupée créée juste pour ce jeu !? Qu'est-ce qui m'arrivera à la fin du jeu ?"
“Wh-why nottt? I-I’ll d-do my best, I will.”


Elle tremblait. Elle ne s'était pas plainte comme ça, même pendant le match de Jibril.　
“Your best ain’t gonna do it…!! Why can’t you see?!”


"── On a besoin de moi juste pour gagner ce match... ?"
Ah—the child truly didn’t understand.


Même si Sora lui avait dit que s'ils ne voulaient pas faire un seul sacrifice, tous les participants seraient inclus. C'est pourquoi elle avait désespérément repoussé ses peurs, et c'est pour cela qu'elle a fait une grande impression sur son site ──
Dwarf was a race that created exactly what it imagined. But she didn’t see that she didn’t see what he saw. She’d never even imagined she might not have talent. The man stood bewildered as to why that was so uncomfortable for him.


"Est-ce que c'est bien pour moi de disparaître juste parce que je suis... un imposteur... ?"　
“…I…I just don’t—understand, I don’t… A-after all…”


── Cependant, en réponse à ce cri rempli de ressentiment, Sora bégaya :
She rebutted between sobs.


"Eeeeh, aaah non, c'est fauu── ce n'est pas çaaaaaa !?? Shi-Shiro, à l'aide !"
“…Uncle, you don’t understand why I don’t understand, you don’t!”


"... Nii... tu es vierge... parce que tu perds ton sang-froid... avec une seule larme... d'une femme"
And at last the man had his answer.


Cependant, comme Sora était vraiment énervée de ne pas savoir quoi faire, Shiro se tourne vers lui avec les yeux à moitié ouverts. Il semblait que Sora voulait dire que quelque chose n'allait vraiment pas, alors Steph tourne ses yeux larmoyants vers lui aussi.
'''“U-Uncle—you can’t overcome the limits of your own imagination, you can’t!!”'''


"... Vous ne disparaîtrez pas, vous ne mourrez pas... Tout ira bien..."
“R-really…I’ve already surpassed your imagination, by being unimaginable to you, I have. I’ll make a spirit arm that surpasses you easily… S-see, I’ve won the argument, I have!”


Pour continuer ce que Shiro disait, Sora prend quelques respirations profondes, se racle la gorge une fois et dit :
…Indeed…the man himself did not understand the child. He couldn’t imagine what she was thinking, what she was feeling, what…she was crying about… The man she admired over all others had told her she was good for nothing. But she argued against that absolute pronouncement and declared that she’d yet overcome it, weeping and despairing while her eyes burned with blue fire. It was that paradox that baffled the man who never strayed or erred:


"Ah～ Combien de fois dois-je le dire. Personne ne sera sacrifié, on ne laissera pas ça arriver. ”
…He feared that unimaginable child…


──Retour à la rubrique précédente. Pourquoi cette personne n'était-elle pas l'une des âmes de l'Ancien Dieu ? C'était parce que :
…The man had been born with outstanding sensibilities. They grasped even that divine realm only his ancestor had seen. And thereby he became the first in history to reach the extreme that in over six thousand years no one had been able to approach.


".... L'Ancien Dieu n'a pas l'âme de Stephanie Dola. En raison des Dix Commandements, sans l'accord de Steph, un duplicata ne peut être fait. Voilà pourquoi ! Il n'y a pas moyen que moi, Shiro et Steph soyons tous d'accord pour dire que puisque tu es un imposteur, vous n'aurez plus d'utilité après le jeu" C'est pourquoi, et bien, ils auraient au moins besoin d'elle pour transférer les souvenirs du jeu à la Steph en dehors du jeu, mais──
And then? What next?


"Aah～, c'est juste que... tu vois... Steph ne peut pas trahir tout le monde... c'est pourquoi ──"
The man could only imagine following in the footsteps of his ancestor, but still he had a hunch. Given all this, what was it that his ancestor had seen before he reached this realm?


Il détourne un peu les yeux. Comme si c'était déplaisant, ou peut-être embarrassant, dit Sora :
He couldn’t have been a normal Dwarf. He must have been different, something unreadable, incomprehensible, unimaginable… Rather like that well-endowed lady his ancestor was said to have loved…or—


"── Tant que vous êtes un traître, je ne peux pas vous appeler Steph"
“I—I promise I’ll make a spirit arm that surpasses you, I do.”
　
Au lieu de cela, Shiro lui donne un pouce levé, et avec une bouche en forme de châtaigne <ref>[https://www.google.com/search?q=%E6%A0%97%E3%81%BF%E3%81%9F%E3%81%84%E3%81%AA%E5%8F%A3&client=firefox-b-ab&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiN35a37d3fAhVN-6wKHafvD18Q_AUIDigB&biw=1280&bih=606 栗みたいな口]</ref> dit :


“... Retrouvons-nous dehors... plus tard... et disons nous 'je suis rentré'."
—like the paradoxical child declaring this irresolute resolution—


"Ah.... eh bien, si on fait ça ── Je vous répondrai en vous appelant par votre nom, ok ?"
“…Arright then. Go make a spirit arm that surpasses mine and bring it back here.”


……….. Soudainement.
—to overcome six thousand years of Dwarven stagnation…and the limits of sensibility—


"Hahahaha" Elle a éclaté de rire──
“I’ll be here waiting for the damn fine woman who can beat me. It’s a promise.”


=== Partie 7 ===
—to become a damn fine woman.


── Le Steph qui n'était pas Steph, le traître, marchait vers l'Ancien Dieu. Ses petits membres tremblaient, cependant, Sora et Shiro étaient les mêmes, et faisaient un sourire amer.
The man and the child joined pinkies in a solemn oath. He didn’t understand what was meant by her eyes, which looked up at him holding back tears. But he decided that, until he understood, until he was surpassed—he’d be the finest man imaginable…to be a good match for such a fine woman.


D'une manière qui ne convenait pas à Steph, elle en comprenait la raison. Sora et Shiro.... n'avaient pas de preuve absolue qu'ils avaient raison. De plus, dans ce jeu, y compris l'incident avec Jibril, ils avaient fait plusieurs erreurs.
But the child fled…


── Et si même si le traître atteignait le but, ils ne pouvaient toujours pas faire la bonne demande ?
She was still a paradox, while he still did not understand her at all, running even as he chased. The days and months passed idly—until one day…


Peut-être qu'une fois l'âme de Miko libérée, elle mourrait ?　
…the man fell right into the trap of two strange Immanities. The otherworlders were winning while running from their past. The contradiction made the man sure: These two would know why the child ran.


Ou peut-être qu'une fois le jeu terminé, ils seraient exterminés après tout ?
…And his hunch was proven right. However—


Et si, dans le pire des cas, c'était un plan de l'Ancien Dieu, et qu'ils avaient tous perdu ?
“…A damn ham-fisted resolution… I was the one running, huh?”


── D'innombrables soucis l'envahirent, mais le traître sourit.
—as their consciousnesses melded and the man touched the soul of the child from back then, he laughed at himself. He’d been called out on his limits—and he himself had run from overcoming them.


"Je peux croire" Pensa-t-elle.
And from trying to imagine why the child had cried that day. Her eyes, heavy with unease, had sought—


Il n'y a aucune chance qu'elle les trahisse, c'est la raison pour laquelle elle a été choisie pour être le traître. C'est précisément pour cela qu'ils ont pu confier ce coup, et tout ce qu'ils ont parié, à celui qui les aurait certainement trahis.
—someone to be her place of belonging, to take her fumbling hand as she looked up to that sky where she knew she couldn’t fly…in that darkness as deep as her will. That was all… The man shouldn’t have waited to be surpassed. He should have sought with the child a way to surpass his limits.


Ils ne sacrifieront personne. Ils sont allés si loin avec Jibril juste pour ça. Le traître croit que cela peut se terminer par le rire de tous les participants.　
“… Really? Is that really how it is? You were running? Are you sure?”
　
── Elle regarde directement l'Ancien Dieu, et dit le nom de l'âme à libérer :


"── Je choisie...'Miko-sama' !"
In their melding consciousnesses, the sarcastic laughter of a young man interrupted their thoughts.


Et soudain....
“You think falling into the junk heap with Til and becoming like Shiro and me is not running? You think that’s being right? Yeah, maybe it is. But maybe it isn’t.”


Le paysage change, à cet instant──
Was the man running from his tab? From the paradoxical child who hoped for what he couldn’t imagine? From his paradoxical self who tried to understand a child he couldn’t? Chasing after the child who fled against his sensibilities that told him it was impossible, going so far as to put us on the hook…


Le visage de l'Ancien Dieu était robotique et insensible, mais... pour une raison quelconque, à ce moment-là... Il ressemblait au visage d'un enfant qui était sur le point de pleurer──
So, what’s the difference between running and running from running…?
 
== Partie 9 ==
 
And so…the impact that shook to the surface left the cave. The force that connected the parts of the massive body ceased, and pieces of metal fell like hail. Through the whirlwind of dust walked a man who carried an unconscious girl. A rusty man. His mithril had lost its luster due to spiritual overload, his hair and his beard now rusted over… But strangely it seemed to be the true form of a man with the surname Drauvnir. It seemed proof of the way of life of a fool, using and abusing himself to overcome himself, not knowing what would happen, unafraid of overload—the only one to overcome the limits of his race…
 
I won’t let her die. The man had sacrificed his frame and overcome his limits to save his niece. But then suddenly—seeing her unconscious in his arms yet unwilling to release her hammer, looking genuinely happy, her chest rising and falling dramatically in sleep, smiling—
 
“……Ha…ha…! Haaa—ha-ha-haaa…!!”
 
—the man at last collapsed, like his broken soul sword, spread-eagled over the ground laughing.
 
“…Ahh… My fockin’ niece beat me good… The future is hers… I’ve lost…”
 
Yes: Veig recognized his defeat. He looked up to the heavens—and at last, he and all the Dwarves watching the broadcast—
 
—saw…the sky…
 
An unknown sky, inconceivable underground…yet they saw it. That of which Til had spoken—just as that which had closed off the sky before had broken, for the first time in six thousand years, it was pried open—that which lay beyond the high blue sky…
 
“…You feel that, Veig Drauvnir? You see how small you are, how shitty your taste?” asked one of the shadows peering down at him. The shadowy figure glanced at the group that Jibril had saved the moment Veig’s core had broken.
 
[[Image:NGNL V10 12.jpg|thumb]]
 
“You gotta fight with people on your level. Sorry, man. You’re just not up to playing me yet.”
 
Ah, what a small man he had been. Veig looked up at Sora, seeing in him a very different kind of man.
 
“…Small boobs, big boobs, even humongous boobs; fake boobs and real boobs… They are all boobs…”
 
A big man… Such a big man. Sora eyed him calmly.
 
“If you claim to love boobs, how can you speak of right or wrong? Speak of love.”
 
The big, big man’s voice was so clear you could hear him all the way to nirvana.
 
“To reject boobs other than those of the uniform ponderous size you favor as fake, and to impose this view on others…”
 
No censure, no blame, no scorn or spite could be heard in his voice…only the sound of a man who had obtained enlightenment and imparted to the world the truth.
 
“To speak to such a soul is less than my soul is worth.”
 
…Dost thou find it wonderful? Then may it be wonderful. No one can violate thy freedom to so find it. Then why, in speaking thy feelings, shalt thou denigrate others’? Indeed…
 
“Ideal tits? They’re perfect if you work on them? Ahh, how small, how small!!”
 
It was he, Veig, who had lacked confidence. Whereas this immeasurable man, as vast as the sky, had stood from the beginning far beyond Veig, on a higher plane.
 
…He was one truly great virgin. Yes…
 
“If ya want ideal boobs, you’re not gonna have a chance unless you have the guts to go for the woman who goes way the hell past your ideals, are ya?!”
 
Ah…it was just as his fockin’ niece had said. The child that day had already surpassed him…and now she’d become a fine woman who surpassed his imagination. Sora smiled at this, too.
 
“…Yeah. It was my limit to pursue mere perfection.”
 
Veig felt he’d seen for the first time what that child kept yearning for. She hadn’t been looking at the birds. From the very start, she’d been looking at the sky in which they flew…
 
“…Ah, finally I can see what my fockin’ niece saw.”
 
That sky one wished for and longed for and pined for and yet could never imagine: that which he’d always pursued…the ideal big tits that surpassed the perfect… Ah, yes…
 
Bwoing…
 
Veig gazed innocently at Til as she slept, her rising and falling chest—her humongous boobs. Tits of such excess as to look a little unbalanced, allowing statuesque beauty to crumble. He smiled at this ideal he’d finally found, an ideal beyond limits. He was happy……
 
== Partie 10 ==
 
Indeed… Only two in history had seen that divine realm. A third who had opened the door without being able to see it was responsible for this by-product of a successful failure. In the E-bomb shell had been placed two false ethers to conceptually resonate.
 
“Hey—th-these are heavy; I can’t even stand! ‘Big’ doesn’t even describe these!”
 
“You see, Dora, this is the conceptual rewrite of ‘big boob(?) essence’—”
 
“Analysis: Bust value of woman of unknown name. Provisionally categorized under handle ‘megatits.’ Very niche support.’”
 
“What are you talking about?! These are going to turn back, aren’t they? I can’t live like this!”
 
“Why, I’m fine if we don’t turn back, insofar as I’ve happened to match Chlammy. ”
 
“You must be joking! Why do I have even less now?! I won’t tolerate having no boobs! Hey, Fi, saying your small boobs match me, are you indirectly dissing me?! Give me back my boobs!”
 
“Query: This unit’s bust provisionally categorized under ‘ample bosom’… Questioning conceptual rewrite of ‘big boob essence.’”
 
“You see, it is not ‘big boob essence’ but ‘big boob(?) essence’—”
 
And there the ladies cavorted, their boobs changing randomly. Exactly as in the experiment four days earlier, except that this time it worked without an explosion. The conceptual rewriter used Lóni Drauvnir’s “big boob essence” along with one other false essence. Yes, just the same thing had happened as four days ago—instead of an explosion, it was its by-product. In other words:
 
“To summarize, it seems to be as in the experiment of four days ago, when, according to the sublime teachings of my masters, I engraved on unprocessed essence a seal identical to that for the big boob essence and activated this unidentified essence,” Jibril rehashed for the two who hadn’t been there. “I posit that a two-way reaction with the big boob essence
 
has generated a composite conceptual rewrite.”
 
Indeed…the principle was unknown. No one even understood how conceptual falsification worked. Thus, even Jibril was unable to explicate or elucidate this incomprehensibility. But she described it in words in such a rough manner as was possible. So:
 
“In short—the conceptual rewrite is in the form of a question: ‘Are these big boobs?’”
 
“These clearly cannot be described as big boobs!”
 
“Yes, you see, it is ‘big boob(?) essence,’ such as to make everyone ask, ‘These are big boobs?’”
 
……
 
== Partie 11 ==
 
“For the record, this is the first and last time I’m gonna play Cupid for anyone, all right?!”
 
Sora paid no attention to the commotion. He took the hand of his sister, apparently the only one unaffected: Big boobs? Where?
 
“For God’s sake, I’m still updating my years alive and without a girlfriend!! And now I’m supposed to help some d00d land a heroine?! And not just any heroine, but the one and only—the real thing—the brown legal Loli monster girl!”
 
“…I hope you find…happiness.♪ That’s one heroine…out of the running…”
 
The siblings walked away. Veig heard them loud and clear. He grinned softly at the sleeping face of his niece, who still smiled happily in his arms.
 
“…Ho… Bitches, I’ve heard your answer… I feel your soul…”
 
There was something the otherworldly siblings had never spoken of to the end. They hadn’t put that answer into words, or even returned it in their souls. Indeed…
 
“I was wrong to question you. Thanks for showin’ me…the sky…”
 
He got the sense that if they could beat this game world, they could say they’d fled to win… So:
 
“Lemme help ya build the sky of your future. Let’s be bosom buddies.”
 
They’d overthrow this game world, its rules, everything. They’d beat the world. Just you wait.
 
We’re coming for you next, friggin’ Earth…
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
<noinclude>
 
== Références ==
<references />
 
<br /><br />
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Revenir au [[No_Game_No_Life_:_Tome_10_Chapitre_4|Chapitre 4]]
| Retourner au [[No_Game_No_Life_-_Français|Sommaire]]
| Passer à l' [[No_Game_No_Life_:_Tome_10_Épilogue|Épilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Latest revision as of 18:18, 28 September 2022

Chapitre 5 : Pour répondre (Pragmatisme)[edit]

Et donc,

la marionnette s'enfuit vers le ciel que l'oisillon désirait tant,

vers ce monde étroit et sombre.

Oui...

Un ciel pour que la marionnette soit à l'abri du mal, pour sourire du cœur.

Un endroit où personne ne les piétinerait, où personne ne les blesserait,

aucune force ne les contraint, aucun besoin de changer.

Un nouveau monde où ils pourraient voler.

 

Ce jour-là,

L'oisillon savait très bien que ça ne serait probablement jamais le cas.

L'oisillon implora la marionnette, qui jura de se battre :

Aucun ciel ne vaut la peine de te voir souffrir.

Alors la marionnette, elle aussi, s'enfuit dans cette même cage.

Jusqu'à ce que nous trouvions un moyen de créer ce ciel,

c'est ce que pensait la marionnette dans ce monde étouffant.

Pensée et seulement pensée...

Doutant et vacillant, ne trouvant rien à chercher,

la marionnette pensait toujours à cette promesse :

 

Ce jour-là,

dans un nouveau pays, regardant les cieux,

voyant le bébé oiseau déployer ses ailes et sourire,

la marionnette vide - le ciel - Sora -

Traduit avec www.DeepL.com/Translator (version gratuite)

Partie 1[edit]

...Une scène remplie de l'écho de l'éruption de la Forge Sacrée... le site d'élimination des déchets.

Une gigantesque machine humanoïde argentée avance à pas lourds dans les ruines souterraines ensevelies sous les déchets métalliques. Des larmes coulent dans les yeux ardents de Veig qui marmonne avec désolation le premier souci de sa vie.

"... Ai-je vraiment fait quelque chose de si mal... ?"

Il se souvint des deux âmes qu'il avait fracassées après une lutte inattendue - l'âme de cette petite herbe étrangement coriace aux seins excellents, et l'âme de cette vipère incompréhensiblement toxique qui avait fait craquer son épée pour la première fois. Se balançant sombrement, vacillant en avant, il pensait :

...Que diable ai-je fait... ?

Veig se souvenait avoir été remercié, mais jamais blâmé. Pourtant, tout ce qu'il ressentait maintenant était un mystérieux sentiment de culpabilité gravé dans son âme trop profondément pour le nier. Maintenant, il se tenait là, devant la masse métallique tombée, la machine gisant sur le sol avec ses membres totalisés.

"...Ho... J'ai bien dit que je serais en retard, mais pour faire une sieste, tu as du cran, hein ?"

Veig a regardé attentivement le cadre cassé. Par le biais du système de communication, il a accusé ses pilotes de faire les morts.

Dans ce jeu, les attaques ne causent aucun dommage direct à la machine adverse. Par conséquent, tout dommage doit provenir d'une défaillance du rite ou d'une erreur de tir - ou être auto-infligé. Et honnêtement, c'était les deux. L'intuition de Veig lui a dit. Il a soulevé le corps brisé et a hurlé.

"Hey, je te parle !! Ton adversaire, c'est moi. Ne te retourne pas et ne meurs pas. Tu n'as aucun sens ?!"

En effet... Sora et Shiro n'ont jamais eu la moindre chance contre Veig dans une bataille d'armes spirituelles. Il était donc inévitable qu'ils perdent. Mais quand même...

"Tu n'as pas l'intention de te taire sans dire un mot sur ton âme, n'est-ce pas ? !"

Oui, ils avaient tenu tête à Veig avec une tempête de balles impensable. Mais ils n'ont rien emporté de leur âme, le barrage était trop fragile. Tout ce qu'il a fait c'est rejeter l'attaque de Veig et dire non à son âme...

Il n'a rien dit. Il n'a rien admis. Leur âme avait seulement rejeté la sienne et était restée inébranlable. Veig a serré les dents. S'ils pouvaient faire autant, alors pourquoi ?

Il souleva le cadre en ruine comme s'il le tenait par le col et se mit en colère :

“Quand allez-vous répondre à ma question ?!”

Et il a enfin obtenu une réponse.

"...Tout de suite, je le ferai. Je vais vous donner votre réponse, je vais le faire."

... Une voix a murmuré à travers la porte.

"Whuh ?!"

L'épave a soudainement répliqué en explosant, libérant un torrent d'âme fou. Elle lui répondit par une puissante imagerie qui lui vola momentanément sa conscience.

—……

Il était au fond d'un petit trou, sombre et exigu. Veig connaissait la fille qui pleurait en regardant le ciel, seule. Il la connaissait bien... la fille incapable de voler, qui plus que quiconque admirait les oiseaux qui volaient si haut.

Une fille paradoxale, elle savait qu'elle ne pouvait pas voler et pourtant elle levait les yeux au ciel... Elle pleurait même si elle avait abandonné... Le monde l'interrogeait avec des questions sans réponse - pourquoi elle avait fui, pourquoi elle n'avait pas essayé - puis lui demandait pourquoi elle pleurait... et la méprisait pour cela. Il l'a laissée dans ce trou... sans rien vouloir...

La fille solitaire... balançant son marteau à travers les larmes...... Il-

—……

Veig a essayé de tendre la main... mais blam, l'explosion a secoué la grotte et l'a tiré de sa rêverie. Dès qu'il a jeté un coup d'oeil autour de lui, peut-être plus tôt, il a deviné ce qui se passait. Il grimaça et hurla d'impatience.

"Quelle blague... Vous n'avez jamais eu personne là-dedans depuis le début ? C'était télécommandé... ?!"

Maintenant que tu le dis, il n'y avait aucune règle qui disait que tu devais piloter la machine... si ? S'ils le contrôlaient depuis un cockpit à l'extérieur du cadre, ils pouvaient le balancer sans problème.

Mais même si c'était télécommandé, ils devaient être connectés à leurs bras spirituels. Ce qui signifiait que faire exploser leur propre cadre si négligemment aurait des répercussions. Et en effet, le sol a tremblé avec une réaction en chaîne d'explosions l'une après l'autre dans toute la décharge.

Les esprits générés ont dessiné des lignes de lumière comme si elles circulaient dans des circuits gravés sur la scène. Le circuit de lumière convergeait pour le montrer :

La véritable unité !

Désireux de voir où se trouvait le vrai cockpit, Veig a suivi la lumière de l'esprit jusqu'à sa destination. Il s'est avéré qu'il se trouvait au centre de la scène tremblante, si loin que sa fonction zoom était tout juste suffisante pour le distinguer. Au sommet d'une plante particulièrement haute, ses yeux ont trouvé leur cible et se sont ouverts en grand. Il s'agissait d'une fille qu'il connaissait bien, debout sur le siège d'un cockpit ouvert.

"Vous demandez pourquoi j'ai fui ce monde sanglant, n'est-ce pas... ? ...C'est une question stupide, en effet."

Mais c'est une fille qu'il ne connaissait pas qui lui a murmuré. Ses yeux, embrasés d'un feu inextinguible, regardaient sa machine au loin. La fille, avec un morceau de ferraille en forme de marteau dans sa main, a parlé comme si elle déposait une déclaration de guerre. De son cœur, elle a dit son âme... pas des faits objectifs, mais ses sentiments :

"C'est parce que je méprise ce monde, vraiment."

Partie 2[edit]

Til’s voice, resolute, was yet like her limbs…jittery. She couldn’t help but tremble, because of what she saw down there from the open cockpit—Veig standing there in the venue that still quaked from the blasts—and because of the sparkling hammer in her right hand. Regardless—

“Don’t worry. We’ll blast off with you. We promised, didn’t we?”

“…Brother…always…keeps, his promises… Trust us, okay?”

—Sora’s and Shiro’s voices intoned from the seat in front of her, joyful but firm. And Til felt them holding her left hand tight. She broke into a smile to realize her trembling had somehow stopped…and she continued with her eyes fixed straight ahead on Veig’s machine, all the way through to the man inside.

“…I hate this country. I hate Hardenfell, I do.”

She reaffirmed her feelings—her belief. This arrogant world told her not to run. This

oppressive world told her not to be ashamed. Til looked up at its tireless way of life and sneered at it.

“I love the sky, I do… In this country…the sky is closed off, it is.”

The cave’s ceiling reminded her; lost and confused, she’d ended up in this dump before she knew it, and the world asked her, Why did you run? Now, Til knew the feeling of a hand in hers. Now, she knew another world—that of those two. Now, she could say it:

Ah…there never was a place for me here.

—Screw this place—!!

So—!

“I also hate the chieftain of this country. I hate you, I do…!”

The hammer sparkled ever brighter as Til’s words spilled out uncontrollably, with the pain that burned her up. What came back was a lonely, sorrowful chuckle. Til ground her teeth.

…She’d known—no, she’d had a hunch—that he’d say that. What he was saying. As if it was everything—

“I hate that…how everything’s just as you expected… I hate iiit!!”

Her voice impulsively swelled with the pain that only grew:

“I hate how you act like you’re so great, I do! I hate even more that you actually are, I do!!”

The dam had burst, and her feelings could no longer be contained.

“I hate how you advertise yourself as a genius, I do! I hate how I can’t argue because you actually are a genius, I do!! I hate how you look down on me, I do! I hate so much that it’s only natural because you’re above me, I do!! I hate how you’re so hairy!! You shaved too much, you say?! So what? Are you trying to rub it in? I wish you’d go to hell, I do!! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you—U-Uncle, you’re a pervert!! I hate you very, very, veeery much, I do!!”

«Whoa!! Come on, stop already or I’m really gonna cry! Goddamn!»

The momentum had flushed out everything Til wanted to say. Inattentive to the tearful begging over the comm system, Til caught her breath. As the shaking of the stage and the sparkling of her hammer and her pain all grew in speed, she wiped her tears. With a sharp, firm voice, she mulled over her words carefully and gave her answer:

“I hate you. That’s why I run. If that’s not enough for you to understand—”

Then in the spirit of the game:

“—I’ll sock it to you like this—and then I think you will understand, I do.”

Yes—seeing behind her eyelids the place the feeling of those two had taken her as they held her left hand, that black sky with a white bird, Til laid down the gauntlet sonorously.

“I fled to win—to honor my promise, I did.”

…A tactical withdrawal was made when one had a chance of victory… She had been just lost, but now it would be redefined—no. Each time another explosion went off, the spirits converged into her hammer, and it was that pain.

And now it had been redefined—!!

That pain had turned her conviction into that of the past. Til savagely swung her hammer as she—

—bellowed forth her soul with the stirring of a power beyond all normal conception throughout the venue.

“I fled for the sake of this day, when I’d surpass you, I diiid!!”

Partie 3[edit]

It was a power that all feared instinctively. The memories sleeping deep in their blood awakened. An outrageous power of a whole different rank, a whole different status, a whole different order of magnitude—quite literally a different level. The future brought on in the next few moments by this power beyond reason didn’t take someone like Veig to foresee. It was a strike from the heavens that sneered at every one of heaven’s gifts crawling atop the earth, judging them likewise of null value. No one could mistake that power. It was

a Heavenly Smite……

“Hey, whoaaa! I thought the Flügel wasn’t—hey, isn’t that against the rules?!”

From his machine—his cockpit—Veig screeched, blanching. Someone who wasn’t in the game—with magic that wasn’t even a seal rite!! His one eye searched in a panic for the Flügel, but in the next moment—

—he realized that the center of the crawling power…was Til’s hammer. And his one eye was opened by the roar over the comm system and the unheard-of shock that followed… Yes:

«Ultra-large-scale spirit-arm expansion—connect all!! Ariiiise!!!»

Til’s face wrenched in agony as she brought down the hammer. There was a flash as it bore through the cockpit…and through the plant below. With that, there came a moment of silence to the blast-stricken venue. And then…

“—?!!”

…a vertical oscillation unlike anything that had gone before tossed them. A heavy shock came from behind Veig. He dodged instinctively on the spot, but from the mass of metal that had only grazed him flowed a tempestuous soul.

……

A girl who wanted to imagine things that could not be imagined. A girl who wanted to fly though by no effort could she fly. Saying she could do nothing, she chased the bird in the sky for which there was nothing to do…

They said she was just running. They mocked that it was impossible. Her soul…

«I…knew it! …I knew it!! Better than anyone, I did…!!»

The transmission helped Veig crawl back to reality. But another—no, ten more—no, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand—innumerable storms of metal whipped through the stage and assaulted his unit like squalls.

Just scraps, they hadn’t much in the way of force or even speed. But every time the fierce soul contained in them scratched by his frame, it left residue. As Til’s voice, wheezing in agony, continued to come through, it pounded at Veig’s will, hard, so hard—

«So…you wanted me to live like you…? Fa-kew!!»

To live like them. Like a Dwarf. Without giving up. Without going astray or tiring. To try to overcome natural gifts. To live without shame or retreat. Indeed… Putting themselves on pedestals, though they couldn’t overcome Veig!! Looking as if they understood, talking as if they knew!! They’d called her rubbish, and then!! They’d all said it. They’d basically said this…

—Everyone else is doing it, so you should, too.

—You can dream you’ll be rewarded. Just do it—

—just shut up and do your work!!—

«I don’t like a world that tells me what to do… I hate it, I do!!»

I’ll never give in…

I’ll overcome the chieftain and destroy those dictates—!!

I’ll use measuring instruments and Elven theory. I’ll use anything to find a different way!

I’ll show him… So she thought…

«But…no matter what I did…I just…couldn’t find anything!!»

Just piling up failures. Bathed in error, lost, confused, making one mistake after another. At last surrendering to a false resignation, as paradoxical as ever. Unable to say anything in return… At some point…she came to think she’d forgotten those feelings, and just wandered, pathetically.

«…But—hee-hee… Now I know what to say—I do…»

Weeping, sobbing, yet the two souls grinned. At last Veig realized the true nature of the maelstrom of metal pounding his unit. And for the first time in his life, he said, It couldn’t be—he doubted his own intuition.

“……Hey… Ho. I must be hallucinating, ain’t I?”

He saw the whirlwind of metal converging. Not the ground shaking, but the stage moving. Not the metal flying, but just gathering. The parts, the catalysts were joining and coupling and assembling. The majestic waste disposal site was rising as one. The stage itself was wakening—and standing up. That was his impression. It was confirmed by Til’s announcement to everyone watching in Hardenfell, I’ll tell you, and the thing that towered before his eyes—a thing inconceivably gargantuan.

«You forge ahead without shame…as you will—but I, too…will do as I will, I will!!»

She’d led a life of shame—failing, contradicting herself, getting lost without end. Today, this moment, was what it had all been for, and for that she was proud. She trumpeted to all the world that had rejected her, just as they were taught:

«Shut up!! Your stupid world can eat shit, it can!! Pft!»

Having asserted her freedom to rebel, the girl crumpled. The siblings embraced her and kept her from falling. Veig gaped at last.

It wasn’t from finally observing the giant object towering over him. It was the girl held by the siblings in the now-empty cockpit at the top…the girl weeping tears of heartfelt joy that she was not alone—a girl beyond his knowledge, who looked down at a bird from heights beyond its knowledge…with a dazzling smile…beyond all knowledge.

«…Uncle, did you…ever imagine…this…?»

She asked him whether this was a sight that effort and sensibility could get to—and that moment, a torrent of violence descended upon Veig’s unit…

Partie 4[edit]

Neither Veig nor any of the Dwarves watching through all of Hardenfell had ever imagined it, most likely. However, aside from Dwarves…the three who were watching at Til’s hideout did not seem all that surprised. Their eyes still on the monitor, they spoke admiringly…

“…Wow… A city can walk, can it…? Oh, is that also a spirit arm?”

“To be more precise, it is a spirit-arm expansion connected to her hammer, on which she engraved my one-percent Heavenly Smite.”

“Observation: Height 9,700 meters. Length 74,200 meters. Cannon count 982. Definition: High-maneuver fortress class. Evidence of brilliance of Master. Excessive. Zero maturity. This unit loves that part of him, too… Blush.”

Steph knew those siblings… She’d imagined they’d do something unimaginable. No, she’d known it. So she watched the screen with a sense of resignation, as a shadow desperately ran from the storm falling from the mountain of steel…

Partie 5[edit]

At the venue, rain fell from the heap of scrap—torrential rain deep underground where there was no sky. Each drop sliced the wind, pierced the ground, and created a deeper depth below the bottom.

“What a little man you are, Veig!! You talk big, but you’re the one who’s smaaaall!!”

It was a hailstorm of scrap that accompanied the raucous laughter.

“You called this stage our hunting grounds?! What puny thoughts—what a tiny imagination!! As would be expected from someone so small-minded as to only appreciate big boobs—ah, it’s a veritable microcosm of your life!!”

“…You said…we could use any machines…and do anything with the venue, didn’t you?♪”

Towering with a sneer on top was a giant mecha of junk—of the unwanted. Of unvalued failures and rejected scrap.

This was the gathering place for the things that might have not been mistakes. This was their home turf, they indicated with a sneer.

“Who’s gonna take the time to hunt their prey after they’ve already lured them in?”

Sora uproariously exposed the truth that was now assaulting Veig.

“If you’re gonna lure in your prey, obviously you’re gonna go straight to a trap, aren’t you, you scrub?!”

It was a cage, a trap. The junk itself, the venue itself, the soul of a girl who had patched failure to error itself—

“Ladies and gentlemen—the venue itself is our machine!! How do you like that?!”

“…We of Blank call it…the Spirit of Mother Til…♪”

It literally looked down on Veig, nine hundred seventy times his size. Sora and Shiro cackled, back at the reins for their big counterattack.

—Come, O ye who declare yourselves infallible, those of the righteous world. Now our patchwork heap shall speak with iron and lightning and fire to test our Mother’s spirit. We shall now question the refuse that you have shorn away and discarded in your quest to forge. We ask: On what grounds did you reject us—?!

“Personally, I’m not as into the NEXTs as the Arms Forts built by average schmucks to confront them.”

In fiction, raw size is destined to be overthrown.

Which is how we know that reality is different!! Indeed—!!

“Raw mass is the secret to defeating genius, biiitch!! We haven’t designed this bullet hell with any place to hide! You trap ’em and smash ’em with sheer numbers! There’s no better tactic!! All you gotta do is win, baby, win!!”

In reality—overkill is all the better!!

Seated in the cockpit, Sora and Shiro controlled the massive body and filled the screen with projectiles.

«The fock?! How’d you get such a crazy machine?!»

Veig screeched as he just barely managed to demi-shift from one empty location to another.

«What kinda Dwarf has the power to run a barmy monster like that?!»

Between that and the Heavenly Strike, Veig was sure now there were some spirits involved far outside the regulations. He raged at their perceived violation of the rules.

……Ha. His opponents laughed in unison. They knew it: Dwarves were the perfect negative examples. After all, they were just half-right. Just as he guessed that the stage itself was their machine, but that wasn’t even close to enough. On Sora’s lap sat Shiro—and on her lap sat a girl whose face was scrunched in pain, but who still sneered with fearless irony—

“Chieftain… You ask that now? I couldn’t even start up our first machine without boosting, I couldn’t.”

It seemed he had still overlooked the trick in Shiro’s arms. Yes, it was the murmuring of Til, the real trick, most impossible of all—

“To begin with…I can’t even use magic without boosting, I can’t.”

«—Huhhh?!»

—that made Veig cry out in long-delayed recognition. Sora chuckled. Yes, a Dwarf so great as Veig probably couldn’t have imagined such a trick. Til, by nature, couldn’t even use magic, much less operate a supermassive spirit arm. For Til—

—WAS AS SMOOTH AS DOLPHIN—!!!

Dwarves used catalysts because of the spiritual overload caused by their mithril—to synchronize externally. But Til didn’t have that mithril!! She wasn’t subject to such overload, or even load for that matter!! That was why she used boosting… Yes…the hidden truth that astonished Jibril when Til used her shift. Til couldn’t use magic without boosting. Conversely, that meant she could if she used boosting…

…It meant she could use boosting. For example: She could chain boost to boost on the chain reaction of explosions of the huge number of demi-shift anchors they’d planted, funnel the spirits into her hammer on which she’d engraved a Rite of Heavenly Smiting, and synchronize it into her body! With the vast amount of spirits thus summoned under her control, she could operate this leviathan assemblage of parts, this scrap on the stage on which she’d engraved seal rites…!!

… Yes, if a normal Dwarf tried this, they’d blow right up. It would be impossible and meaningless. Just as Til said, it would be as perverse an idea as building an underwater breathing apparatus for a fish. But for such an abnormal dwarf, it was both possible and essential. For Til—

—WAS AS SMOOTH AS DOLPHIN—!!!

«Wha—? Wait, whoa— Niecey, don’t tell me yours still hasn’t growwwn?!»

“Heh…heh-heh, Ch-Chieftain…I’d like to see you burn in hell! I would…”

Listening to their exchange, Sora, to be honest, was fairly sure by now this was not the case. But he still insisted: they had to be talking about beards!! So anyway—!

“Heh, this is the difference in natural gifts… Bow before the absolute wall you cannot overcome, Veig!!”

«Fock!! How can a Dwarf’s body endure that shite? You wanna kill my fockin’ niece?!»

The transmission to Sora roared full of naked rage. Understandable. One percent of Jibril’s power—the power to run a supermassive machine like that—was as reckless as pouring rocket fuel into an automobile. Therefore…

“…Didn’t you say no mercy? A man’s word isn’t worth much these days, huh?”

«—!!»

…Sora saw that Veig was thinking of taking a bullet and losing the game for Til’s sake, and Sora stopped him, making a face. If Til died, it would probably spell death for Sora and Shiro, who were holding her, too. Til was barely conscious, but still she held firm to her hammer and smiled.

—Veig meant to lose intentionally.

This man didn’t seem to understand what a humiliation that would be—!!

“To hell with your patronizing sympathy!! This is a trap—there’s no place for you to hide and no room for you to choose!!”

Sora’s howl what seemed like a signal to that which sat somewhere in the supermassive machine behind the giant cannon that opened its mouth with a roar: another machine. Sora and the operator inside the additional cockpit announced savagely:

“There’s only one future: Til’s complete victory!!”

«Whyyy, it’s time for the showwwdowwwn.♥»

That moment, the light of the Holy Forge flashed from the barrel, and suddenly a metal glob blocked the opening. Connected to the muzzle, the object sparkled—and this time, Veig froze, mech and all. It was another legacy of the past that he could not mistake.

“Can you dodge a bomb? If you know a way, as a gamer, I’d very much like to know!”

A bomb indeed, leaving no place to hide. A bomb called…yes, that’s right:

…The E-bomb…

Partie 6[edit]

In the cockpit behind the blazing E-bomb was Fiel, smiling.

“Why, you’ll note that we’ve followed the rules to a T. And in a most sustainable way, if I might add.♥”

No magic other than seal rites. You lost if your core broke. And the players here were everyone…

“Anyone can very well recycle the unit we lost in, caaan’t theyyy?♥”

True, Til could connect and use Fiel’s unit. Also:

“Incluuuding the seal of protection of that boorish fire, and incluuuding the seal rites on the unit.♪”

Fiel had in mind the seventh player, and their fifth trump card.

They hadn’t bothered with any seal rites for the specs, but they had bothered with seal rites.

They had implemented an eighty-four-fold rite using the seal of protection of an Old Deus. And they’d used the Holy Forge, the power of Ocain, to enable shifting.

Til had subsumed Fiel’s unit and commandeered it under the protection of Ocain. And there was no rule that Til couldn’t use that thing shifted from her hideout!! Chlammy asked suspiciously of the merry Fiel, who occupied the same cockpit:

“…Fi, I’ve been wondering: Whose idea was it to use the seal of Ocain’s protection?”

She’d heard of the “rites of spirit-breaking” or whatever that they’d used in the War, such as Áka Si Anse—spells that used seal rites to call upon the protection of Kainas, creator of the Elves. But it was said they were no longer usable after the Ten Covenants. In that case, this thing Fiel produced must have been newly compiled, after the War.

…Who would have implemented a seal rite to call upon Ocain, of all gods? For that matter, even having grown up in Elven Gard, Chlammy had never heard of a spell that could un-quasi-shift such a large mass.

“Mmm, I don’t know, myself. It’s been the Nirvalens’ ace in the hole for generations.”

Fiel tilted her head. Yes, and they’d said this…

“They said trump cards are trump cards because you don’t reveal them until the showdown.”

Howeverrr… She gave Chlammy her greatest smile as she continued.

“Why, my ultimate trump card is you, Chlammy.♪”

Fiel had gone to such lengths as to reveal her family’s secret. She smiled at her best friend: They had lost—and that therefore was the victory planned. Chlammy beamed and reflexively looked away, embarrassed.

“If you say we can’t win…why, then we can’t win.”

Yes…from the moment Chlammy had concluded that they couldn’t win…

…Fiel had resigned from this game…

So, they had requested of Sora and Shiro a friendly token of appreciation for their friendly cooperation. It was a condition of the deal, in other words: No matter who won—

—Veig must be commanded to bear shame for the rest of his life…

“Whyyy, it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you win!! Our objective is to convict that thing, the offender! In which caaase, it doesn’t maaatter who uses whose power to win. As long as the crook gets his just deserts, we have wooon!!”

Fiel’s bright demeanor made Chlammy chuckle.

“…Well, we do have to regret a little we didn’t make good on our chance to win directly.”

“But we must count ourselves blessed to have been able to pummel you a bit.♪ After allll—”

“Yes. We are really perfect outsiders to this matter. We’re not even friends, you know?”

As they snidely echoed Veig’s remarks, Chlammy had a thought.

—They could win an unwinnable match through someone else’s power. Then how might they answer an unanswerable question?

“We’ll make others answer for us… In other words, as usual, we win through sophistry.”

—Having had their past questioned: Have you paid your tab?

—They answered with their future: I will when I can…

……

“…And so the puppet continued building the sky… The sky only they still could not see…”

In the cramped cockpit, Chlammy smiled subtly as she gazed upon the sky before her. They’d opened it for her, for Fi, for Jibril, the Werebeasts, the Old Deus, and Ex Machina… And now…

“They’re opening up Til’s sky… Going on until they find their own…”

Partie 7[edit]

At last, brilliant, blinding light.

Til had gathered things from outside—welded them, forged them, patched them together in one wrong way after another. Now her fire melted them all together, and cast them as ingenuity, which she used to reach the sky.

“…Uncle…have I…kept…my promise…?”

The spirits raged, and her body ached as if it was about to break.

“Have I…reached a sky…that no one has seen before?!”

The heat threatened to burn out her spirit corridor junction nerves. But alas, Til smiled regardless…

“…Do you…want…to know…what it’s…like…?!”

By now, only one thing entered her muddied consciousness: the distant sky Til was sure she’d never imagined, and that no one else ever had—the feeling of floating in a deep, black sky, Veig too far behind to see, uncertain of whether he could hear the voice she wrung out, or even whether it was coming out at all—

Still, she’d fulfill the promise of that distant day. She’d vowed that she would surpass him—and promised something to the bird of that day. She spelled out the wish she’d held in her heart, that her words, her smile would reach their destination.

“You piece of shit, you’ll never understand, you won’t!! Serves you right, it does!! Pft!”

«Niecey!! You got to get back at me, huh?! Ain’t ya imitatin’ me?!»

Veig’s transmission came through at trace volume. Til did hear it, though, and she closed her eyes and grinned.

…Please. I’m about to fall under the delusion that I have become a bird, I do. But I know…that it’s just an illusion, I do. By tomorrow, perhaps even by one second in the future, I’ll be made to know

Very well then…!! Making mistakes is my only specialty—!!

—Assuming I can… Assuming that nothing’s impossible! I’ll fail again, and build up my mountain of mistakes, I will!!

She’d lose her way, she’d get confused, she’d blunder—and every time, she’d cry and wail and gnash her teeth in vexation! Til would take the long way around like a perfect fool, getting lost repeatedly, pathetically drenched in tears and shame. She might never even know if it had meaning. But there was a sight that could only be seen by taking that foolish path.

It could never be seen by those born with natural talent…by the birds that didn’t build airplanes.

It could never be seen by the birds that had never felt that obsession: I want to fly anyway. There was such an entertaining sight to see, to be found in a place no one imagined.

…I’m ready to make as many mistakes as it takes. I can say that now, I can…

And so, while Til went limp in Shiro’s arms—

“…Well, bet this is news to you smart folks. Here’s the common knowledge of the weak. Listen with gratitude, yeah?!”

—Sora howled at the shell of the E-bomb, which glowed like a star to announce it was ready for blast-off.

“…Generally speaking, things in the world don’t go the way you imagine…”

Just as they had sailed for India and mistakenly arrived in the New World; as they had tried to prove everything with mathematics and mistakenly refuted their mathematics; as they had built rockets to reach the moon and mistakenly dropped them on Earth…

…As far as humans were concerned, perfection was a waste of time. They’d mess it up anyway. To seek mere perfection wasn’t going to do it. Therefore—!!

“Your thinking is too damn small!! If you want to fly, you’re not gonna have a chance unless you have the guts to go past the damn moon and crash into Mars by mistake!!”

Well…yes…?

“Even if you get up and down backward, you might be able to go through the planet to the sky at the other side, right?♪”

You might end up with a result better than perfect, right?

«…You fockin’ with me? Shit—»

A man born with natural talent… A bird that flew by sensibility alone…transmitted back with a sense of awe at the unknown he’d never had before—or not in a long time at least.

Indeed…they couldn’t use the E-bomb. So he didn’t know what it was they were on the verge of launching. He didn’t know what it was to accomplish. He didn’t even know a thing about the heights where his niece floated now.

But even so! There was one thing he was sure about. He howled with a longing he’d never felt.

«So you’re saying you don’t know what the hell will happen. You’re bloody daft, aren’t ya?!»

If it might be the case that Til couldn’t take it—!! That instant, Veig’s unit appeared to get blown away and then vanished from sight. One soul raced forth through the air, with maneuvers uncapturable by Sora’s eyes, or by the venue’s cameras. It left no trace; the unit broken down, it raced past its limits, riding the force of a fist.

—I’ll overcome even that—

Detecting the single strike to end it, Sora smirked and answered inwardly.

—Yeah. That’s right! That’s how we live, as fools incapable of anything but straying and failing and erring. Bet it’s a breath of fresh air for smarty-pants jerks like you who live with all trial and no error, huh?

What’s gonna happen? How the hell would I know?!

“That’s why you gotta test that shit! That’s what we idiots call science!”

Sora sneered and activated the contents of the E-bomb in the muzzle, and a moment later Veig unleashed one soulful strike that pierced the shell.

Partie 8[edit]

It was a full-on collision of Veig’s and Til’s souls, entangling, stirring, radiating white. No one could tell whose soul it was anymore. Everything raced through the catalysts and through the minds of all present…

……

…The man had been born with outstanding sensibilities. Everyone knew him to be a genius. He too knew this, not as a matter of presumption or conceit, but as a proud matter of fact. He swung his hammer without guile, yet with ferocity. To create a work that was better—no, the best. An unprecedented masterpiece. A divine revelation!! He would enter that

realm only one before in the history of Dwarf, his ancestor, had laid eyes on. His eyes reflected the back of that genius who had laid his fingers on creation—the alteration of concepts. He would reach that extreme none had approached in six thousand years. The man who kept piling up successes was the second coming of that sublimity. Everyone was certain he would be the next chieftain. Amidst all this, the man was hurling invective at a strange kid who was following him around:

“Hey… Get lost already, would ya, fockin’ brat?! You’re gettin’ in the way of my work!!”

“I’m not getting in the way, I’m not. I’m seducing my future husband, I am.”

The one contradicting him as if it was nothing was, at the time, a little girl. The one who called herself his future wife.

“If you think I’m getting in your way, that just proves you have feelings for me, doesn’t it, Uncle? Doesn’t it?!”

“Niecey, you’re gonna stand there winkin’ and blowin’ kisses at me like some bloody fool? I’ve feelings, harsh feelings!”

She was the precocious daughter of one of his older stepsisters, and she’d taken an inexplicable shine to him.

“I ain’t got no interest in some kid who ain’t even got any hair grown in yet—can’t bear to look at ya. Piss off,” he commanded.

The child shuddered at the man’s sharp one-eyed glare.

That was that. Everyone kept their distance from him. His eye had the gift of ending the conversation. Even children always grasped the point that he lived in a different world…until then…

“H-how do you know that I’m smooth?! Have you seen it?!”

But this child shuddered because she suspected he had looked at her naked. Incidentally, this was the fifth time this exchange had occurred. In other words—

“You peeped on me?! You licked me all over with your eyes, how can I get married now, you should take responsibility, and then I’ll be the wife of the chieftain, what a way to marry up, it is! Come, come, come, Mr. Sir? If you’ll marry me, I can show you my body aaany—”

“I can see from your face you ain’t got no beard, all right?! Don’t blush. Why are ya strippin’?!”

“Ah!! No, I don’t want to be the wife of some pervert who lusts after children, I don’t!!”

“Listen to me, will ya?! Wait, didn’t you just say you were seducing me? What do you want?!”

No matter how he tried to get rid of her, she kept coming. The man clutched his head.

—The hell’s with this fockin’ brat? His niece had a strange way with words. But more than anything, it was his own sense of discomfort that confused him. Never having experienced failure or discouragement, the feeling was altogether unfamiliar to him. It would be a while before he realized it was his first experience of anger.

“…Listen, Niecey. I’m a fockin’ genius. And that makes me a bloody fine man. You followin’ me?”

“Ah! S-so you mean, when I marry you, I’ll be a fine woman?!”

“Argh, that ain’t it at all. This is the problem. You ain’t good for me, is what I’m sayin’.”

Back then, he had concluded thus:

“You’ll never be a fine woman.”


“…Uh-huhhh… What is a fine woman…?”

“First of all, she’s an adult with hair. You’re out of the question. And she’s a woman who fits me. Let’s see… So first, she has big boobs. And then, if her spirit-arm craft ain’t at least on my level, I ain’t messin’ with that, either. Otherwise, hmm, she’s damn beautiful and damn chaste and damn sexy as far as I’m concerned. That’s what it means to be a fine woman.”

“…Uncle, that’s just a fantasy woman, it is.”

“Rngh?”

“I-I—I mean, there are no Dwarves with big boobs, there aren’t! And everything after the ‘Otherwise, hmm’ is exactly what my aunts told me virgins fantasize about, it is! Uncle, are you a virgin? By the way, what is a virgin?!”

“Shut up! What’s wrong with an outta-this-world man wanting an outta-this-world woman? Those fockin’ sisters of mine!!”

And then:

“Heh, you’re hopeless, you are. I’ll just have to become a fine woman for you, I will.”

……Suddenly…

“In another thirteen, I’ll be an adult, I will. I’ll be downright bushy, I will!! I’ll be beautiful, and oh so chaste, whatever that means, I will! Then you just have to get me sexy, and that’s that, it is!!”

…the child whose pale blue eyes sparkled as she spoke started to feel extremely dissatisfied.

“I’ll do my best to make spirit arms like you, I will. If you just give up on the big boobs, I’ll be such a fine woman, right in front of you! And I’ll help you stop being a virgin, I will!!”

She smiled as if to ask: So what is a virgin? He thrust back feelings he didn’t understand himself—

“It ain’t happening. Such a good-for-nothin’ ain’t ever gonna get how to make spirit arms.”

…And that—

was the man’s first misreading…

“……A good-for-nothing…? …What? You mean me…?”

…What? What’s with those teary eyes like you can’t believe what you just heard?! The man felt ever more uncomfortable.

“Wh-why nottt? I-I’ll d-do my best, I will.”

“Your best ain’t gonna do it…!! Why can’t you see?!”

Ah—the child truly didn’t understand.

Dwarf was a race that created exactly what it imagined. But she didn’t see that she didn’t see what he saw. She’d never even imagined she might not have talent. The man stood bewildered as to why that was so uncomfortable for him.

“…I…I just don’t—understand, I don’t… A-after all…”

She rebutted between sobs.

“…Uncle, you don’t understand why I don’t understand, you don’t!”

And at last the man had his answer.

“U-Uncle—you can’t overcome the limits of your own imagination, you can’t!!”

“R-really…I’ve already surpassed your imagination, by being unimaginable to you, I have. I’ll make a spirit arm that surpasses you easily… S-see, I’ve won the argument, I have!”

…Indeed…the man himself did not understand the child. He couldn’t imagine what she was thinking, what she was feeling, what…she was crying about… The man she admired over all others had told her she was good for nothing. But she argued against that absolute pronouncement and declared that she’d yet overcome it, weeping and despairing while her eyes burned with blue fire. It was that paradox that baffled the man who never strayed or erred:

…He feared that unimaginable child…

…The man had been born with outstanding sensibilities. They grasped even that divine realm only his ancestor had seen. And thereby he became the first in history to reach the extreme that in over six thousand years no one had been able to approach.

And then? What next?

The man could only imagine following in the footsteps of his ancestor, but still he had a hunch. Given all this, what was it that his ancestor had seen before he reached this realm?

He couldn’t have been a normal Dwarf. He must have been different, something unreadable, incomprehensible, unimaginable… Rather like that well-endowed lady his ancestor was said to have loved…or—

“I—I promise I’ll make a spirit arm that surpasses you, I do.”

—like the paradoxical child declaring this irresolute resolution—

“…Arright then. Go make a spirit arm that surpasses mine and bring it back here.”

—to overcome six thousand years of Dwarven stagnation…and the limits of sensibility—

“I’ll be here waiting for the damn fine woman who can beat me. It’s a promise.”

—to become a damn fine woman.

The man and the child joined pinkies in a solemn oath. He didn’t understand what was meant by her eyes, which looked up at him holding back tears. But he decided that, until he understood, until he was surpassed—he’d be the finest man imaginable…to be a good match for such a fine woman.

But the child fled…

She was still a paradox, while he still did not understand her at all, running even as he chased. The days and months passed idly—until one day…

…the man fell right into the trap of two strange Immanities. The otherworlders were winning while running from their past. The contradiction made the man sure: These two would know why the child ran.

…And his hunch was proven right. However—

“…A damn ham-fisted resolution… I was the one running, huh?”

—as their consciousnesses melded and the man touched the soul of the child from back then, he laughed at himself. He’d been called out on his limits—and he himself had run from overcoming them.

And from trying to imagine why the child had cried that day. Her eyes, heavy with unease, had sought—

—someone to be her place of belonging, to take her fumbling hand as she looked up to that sky where she knew she couldn’t fly…in that darkness as deep as her will. That was all… The man shouldn’t have waited to be surpassed. He should have sought with the child a way to surpass his limits.

“… Really? Is that really how it is? You were running? Are you sure?”

In their melding consciousnesses, the sarcastic laughter of a young man interrupted their thoughts.

“You think falling into the junk heap with Til and becoming like Shiro and me is not running? You think that’s being right? Yeah, maybe it is. But maybe it isn’t.”

Was the man running from his tab? From the paradoxical child who hoped for what he couldn’t imagine? From his paradoxical self who tried to understand a child he couldn’t? Chasing after the child who fled against his sensibilities that told him it was impossible, going so far as to put us on the hook…

So, what’s the difference between running and running from running…?

Partie 9[edit]

And so…the impact that shook to the surface left the cave. The force that connected the parts of the massive body ceased, and pieces of metal fell like hail. Through the whirlwind of dust walked a man who carried an unconscious girl. A rusty man. His mithril had lost its luster due to spiritual overload, his hair and his beard now rusted over… But strangely it seemed to be the true form of a man with the surname Drauvnir. It seemed proof of the way of life of a fool, using and abusing himself to overcome himself, not knowing what would happen, unafraid of overload—the only one to overcome the limits of his race…

I won’t let her die. The man had sacrificed his frame and overcome his limits to save his niece. But then suddenly—seeing her unconscious in his arms yet unwilling to release her hammer, looking genuinely happy, her chest rising and falling dramatically in sleep, smiling—

“……Ha…ha…! Haaa—ha-ha-haaa…!!”

—the man at last collapsed, like his broken soul sword, spread-eagled over the ground laughing.

“…Ahh… My fockin’ niece beat me good… The future is hers… I’ve lost…”

Yes: Veig recognized his defeat. He looked up to the heavens—and at last, he and all the Dwarves watching the broadcast—

—saw…the sky…

An unknown sky, inconceivable underground…yet they saw it. That of which Til had spoken—just as that which had closed off the sky before had broken, for the first time in six thousand years, it was pried open—that which lay beyond the high blue sky…

“…You feel that, Veig Drauvnir? You see how small you are, how shitty your taste?” asked one of the shadows peering down at him. The shadowy figure glanced at the group that Jibril had saved the moment Veig’s core had broken.

“You gotta fight with people on your level. Sorry, man. You’re just not up to playing me yet.”

Ah, what a small man he had been. Veig looked up at Sora, seeing in him a very different kind of man.

“…Small boobs, big boobs, even humongous boobs; fake boobs and real boobs… They are all boobs…”

A big man… Such a big man. Sora eyed him calmly.

“If you claim to love boobs, how can you speak of right or wrong? Speak of love.”

The big, big man’s voice was so clear you could hear him all the way to nirvana.

“To reject boobs other than those of the uniform ponderous size you favor as fake, and to impose this view on others…”

No censure, no blame, no scorn or spite could be heard in his voice…only the sound of a man who had obtained enlightenment and imparted to the world the truth.

“To speak to such a soul is less than my soul is worth.”

…Dost thou find it wonderful? Then may it be wonderful. No one can violate thy freedom to so find it. Then why, in speaking thy feelings, shalt thou denigrate others’? Indeed…

“Ideal tits? They’re perfect if you work on them? Ahh, how small, how small!!”

It was he, Veig, who had lacked confidence. Whereas this immeasurable man, as vast as the sky, had stood from the beginning far beyond Veig, on a higher plane.

…He was one truly great virgin. Yes…

“If ya want ideal boobs, you’re not gonna have a chance unless you have the guts to go for the woman who goes way the hell past your ideals, are ya?!”

Ah…it was just as his fockin’ niece had said. The child that day had already surpassed him…and now she’d become a fine woman who surpassed his imagination. Sora smiled at this, too.

“…Yeah. It was my limit to pursue mere perfection.”

Veig felt he’d seen for the first time what that child kept yearning for. She hadn’t been looking at the birds. From the very start, she’d been looking at the sky in which they flew…

“…Ah, finally I can see what my fockin’ niece saw.”

That sky one wished for and longed for and pined for and yet could never imagine: that which he’d always pursued…the ideal big tits that surpassed the perfect… Ah, yes…

Bwoing…

Veig gazed innocently at Til as she slept, her rising and falling chest—her humongous boobs. Tits of such excess as to look a little unbalanced, allowing statuesque beauty to crumble. He smiled at this ideal he’d finally found, an ideal beyond limits. He was happy……

Partie 10[edit]

Indeed… Only two in history had seen that divine realm. A third who had opened the door without being able to see it was responsible for this by-product of a successful failure. In the E-bomb shell had been placed two false ethers to conceptually resonate.

“Hey—th-these are heavy; I can’t even stand! ‘Big’ doesn’t even describe these!”

“You see, Dora, this is the conceptual rewrite of ‘big boob(?) essence’—”

“Analysis: Bust value of woman of unknown name. Provisionally categorized under handle ‘megatits.’ Very niche support.’”

“What are you talking about?! These are going to turn back, aren’t they? I can’t live like this!”

“Why, I’m fine if we don’t turn back, insofar as I’ve happened to match Chlammy. ”

“You must be joking! Why do I have even less now?! I won’t tolerate having no boobs! Hey, Fi, saying your small boobs match me, are you indirectly dissing me?! Give me back my boobs!”

“Query: This unit’s bust provisionally categorized under ‘ample bosom’… Questioning conceptual rewrite of ‘big boob essence.’”

“You see, it is not ‘big boob essence’ but ‘big boob(?) essence’—”

And there the ladies cavorted, their boobs changing randomly. Exactly as in the experiment four days earlier, except that this time it worked without an explosion. The conceptual rewriter used Lóni Drauvnir’s “big boob essence” along with one other false essence. Yes, just the same thing had happened as four days ago—instead of an explosion, it was its by-product. In other words:

“To summarize, it seems to be as in the experiment of four days ago, when, according to the sublime teachings of my masters, I engraved on unprocessed essence a seal identical to that for the big boob essence and activated this unidentified essence,” Jibril rehashed for the two who hadn’t been there. “I posit that a two-way reaction with the big boob essence

has generated a composite conceptual rewrite.”

Indeed…the principle was unknown. No one even understood how conceptual falsification worked. Thus, even Jibril was unable to explicate or elucidate this incomprehensibility. But she described it in words in such a rough manner as was possible. So:

“In short—the conceptual rewrite is in the form of a question: ‘Are these big boobs?’”

“These clearly cannot be described as big boobs!”

“Yes, you see, it is ‘big boob(?) essence,’ such as to make everyone ask, ‘These are big boobs?’”

……

Partie 11[edit]

“For the record, this is the first and last time I’m gonna play Cupid for anyone, all right?!”

Sora paid no attention to the commotion. He took the hand of his sister, apparently the only one unaffected: Big boobs? Where?

“For God’s sake, I’m still updating my years alive and without a girlfriend!! And now I’m supposed to help some d00d land a heroine?! And not just any heroine, but the one and only—the real thing—the brown legal Loli monster girl!”

“…I hope you find…happiness.♪ That’s one heroine…out of the running…”

The siblings walked away. Veig heard them loud and clear. He grinned softly at the sleeping face of his niece, who still smiled happily in his arms.

“…Ho… Bitches, I’ve heard your answer… I feel your soul…”

There was something the otherworldly siblings had never spoken of to the end. They hadn’t put that answer into words, or even returned it in their souls. Indeed…

“I was wrong to question you. Thanks for showin’ me…the sky…”

He got the sense that if they could beat this game world, they could say they’d fled to win… So:

“Lemme help ya build the sky of your future. Let’s be bosom buddies.”

They’d overthrow this game world, its rules, everything. They’d beat the world. Just you wait.

We’re coming for you next, friggin’ Earth…












Références[edit]




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