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Rakuin no Monshou:Volume1 Chapter3

2013-12-17T16:18:03Z

Draringi: Undo revision 311457 by Tasear (talk)

== Chapter 3: A New Mask ==
=== Part 1 ===

These past few days, Tarkas had indeed been busier than normal, bustling about all over the place. And the busier the busy man became, the livelier he got too. So light on his feet as if they’d grown wings, he showed them the peak of pride.

Whether it was building a stadium exclusively for the use of the Tarkas Gladiatorial Group, or planning to buy a dozen of a new dragon species, Tarkas had large-scale future plans for his sword-slaves. As usual, Orba wasn’t of the same mind.

“If you’re able to get appeal in front of the imperial families, I might think of rewarding you, Orba. The opponent will also be exceptionally prepared. Make it a good fight. Look, if you can’t get worked up, you’ll just have to do like you always do.”

Although he smacked his shoulder with an ear-to-ear smile, it honestly had a weird taste to it. Gowen, who heard it all, also gave a wry smile, but it immediately turned into a serious look.

“I have no doubt that the Tarkas Gladiatorial Group is a major company in this industry. Even so, I never heard of Tarkas having connections with the imperial family and other top brass. He’s only worked with nobles like Fedom, the Lord of Birac and director of the Gladiator’s Guild. Although Tarkas has apparently only met him face to face during meetings. Nevertheless, until now, he had never even received a single direct job from Fedom. But I think it’s such an enormous job, this. I constantly told him that it’s better to request the cooperation from other places, but Tarkas has refused them all.”

“You’re prone to worry, old man,” Shique said, shrugging his shoulders. “Isn’t it fine? Even if we get their disapproval, it won’t be our heads that roll. It only means we’ll have to find another place to fight as gladiators.”

Orba, too, shared the same sentiment. It made little difference where he was. The only way for a gladiator to secure his life, was to earn gold. And if it meant his road to freedom got even one step closer, he would continue to fight wherever. That was all there was to it.

Several more days passed after that, and the preparations for their departure to Seirin Valley had finally started. They loaded their weapons and armour onto carts, and performed the arduous task of taking the dragons from their cages.

Inside the spacious dragon’s abode, Orba was wordlessly watching over Hou Ran guiding the dragons. Although he’d seen several animal trainers here, he didn’t know another human being who could handle dragons like this.

There had been one such expert trainer who could ‘make three Sozos’s dance to music” using a flute, who fed them every day at a fixed time, gently brushed their snouts, and kept doing just that as a daily routine. He was killed easily, eaten by the Sozos’ on a whim.

That was primarily a dragon’s nature.

A human showing affection and training them, could achieve results to some extent, but there was never something like complete certainty. Even dragons that should have been domesticated for a long time, nested feelings within. In reality, they were not so sure about their intelligence, after being tricked by humans who’ve set up elaborate traps of, for example, pitfalls and collapsing walls.

But as far as he knew, among these dragons, Orba had never seen a time when Ran’s orders didn’t seem effective. And she didn’t use a whip or lure them with bait. Ran only blew them a low whistle and they stood in line like orderly trained soldiers, carrying their huge bodies one by one into the direction of Ran’s beckoning hand.

But, there seemed to be individual differences among them.

“Orba. Help me out without just looking.”

With slightly irritated words, Ran folded her arms near one medium-sized Baian dragon. Having dropped its waist in the corner of the cage, it didn’t seem to try to move at all. Although Orba didn’t think it was his place to blame him for ignoring Ran’s orders, as he turned to the corner, it looked like it wasn’t going to head the other way no matter what happened.

“What should I do? Tie a chain around its neck?”

A tranquilizing gun had hardly any effect on a Baian. However, it took a lot of manpower to pull it by the chains. The medium-sized Baian was quite short compared to a Sozos, but its shoulders were still at about the same height as the head of a grown man. It was about three metres long, and the rugged hide of its body was much like armour to the touch. Small angular comb-like scales sprang up in a line, giving it the appearance of an atrocious lizard.

“You should get on, Orba.”

“What do you mean?”

Orba was taken by surprise. It wasn’t like there weren’t any gladiator games where they rode atop Baians, but it took great pains to put someone who was not familiar with it on a Baian’s back. In short, you just didn’t know when the dragon was going to shake you off and trample you underneath, and in the meantime you had to try and kill your opponent. It was intended to entertain the audience with the thrill of the situation but, without magic or the efficacy of drugs, it was impossible to handle the heavy tank-like Baians.

“Dragons are different from beasts. Even if they’re degenerated, dragons have a dragon’s intellect. Humans simply cannot understand it. But you’ll be fine, Orba. They’ve surely opened their hearts.”

When the girl’s lips started to come apart, she spoke as if she was singing. However, because of the contents, virtually ordering Orba to ‘die’, it was incomprehensible even for a gladiator. But, as aforementioned, the truth was that he’d never seen someone more skilled in handling dragons than her. Besides, if he saw her characteristic defenseless smile, for some mysterious reason he was willing to believe any outrageous thing she said.

Orba slowly approached the Baian. The dragon started kicking his hind legs onto the floor, raising a single growl and pulling its tongue, which was split in two, in and out restlessly, as he looked down at Orba with eyes similar to glass beads.

Orba instantly gathered his courage. As he moved aside, he transmitted it to his legs and jumped towards its back. In an instant, he landed on the dragon’s backside. To avoid being thrown off, Orba swung both his arms around the thick neck. Although unexpectedly, it seemed almost as if the dragon’s hot blood got transmitted when he touched it, and Orba naturally didn’t know whether or not there was a change to the dragon’s mindset. However, the Baian sluggishly came to its feet, and started walking to the place guided by the young woman.

“This child was born only half a year ago,” Hou Ran said as she led the beast. “Even after half a year, its body is no longer outsized by an adult’s. However, they’re still children at heart. Even so, among animal trainers, there are those who can’t see the distinction.”

The four Baians were put into a new cage with a pulley. That cage could be pulled by either two Sozos’s or a single Houban. But, because Sozos’s were considered to be unpredictable – although Hou Ran said the Baian dragons were actually the most capricious variety because it was impossible to perfectly suppress one – they would spend the journey in a cage.

So, as everyone was pressed for a hurry on the preparations, when it was only one hour before departure, small-sized dragons suddenly rushed into the parade grounds.

They were three Tengo’s in a row. They were even one size smaller than the Baians and, because of their maneuverability in tight turns, often used on the battlefield instead of horses. Their big heads resembled that of a bird’s, its long neck nearly bent to the ground, and it bounced about running on two thin legs.

When the dragons suddenly made their stop, the lead dragonrider, nearly sent flying by the force, tumbled off.

“S-Shit, that’s why dragons—”

The man, spitting out sand that seemed to have entered his mouth, had his plump body covered with a purple robe. Judging from his appearance, he looked like a wealthy merchant making easy money. The two figures behind him, also sitting on their respective dragons, quickly got down and lent a hand to the man who seemed to be their employer, as Hou Ran ran over to their position.

The front Tengo had bent its legs and was crouched down. It had probably been overworked, as white vomit came from its mouth. Ran was about to stroke the back of its neck when,

“Don’t come any closer to His Excellency, slave!”

There was the single blow of a whip. Although Ran immediately tried to jump back, she fell and skimmed her ankle. Ran didn’t run however, but glared at the armed soldier right in front of her. He was still a young soldier, and when he noticed Ran’s hair and skin, he got an even more furious expression.

“The tribe worshipping the Dragon God, huh? Damn impertinent savages…”

The tendency to look down on the nomads, who held no fixed territory, as an uncivilized people was strong in all lands. In that sense, as was the same for Orba’s case, Tarkas was thoroughly pragmatic.

The soldier once more brandished his whip.

But soon after, he raised a low groan and became rigid. Orba’s hand came from the side, grasped his wrist, and twisted it upwards. As he writhed in pain, bending his spine, he got kicked forward.

“I do not know where your ‘Excellency’ is, but we have our own ways here. If you say you hate having to mingle with the likes of slaves, you shouldn’t purposely set foot in a slave den. Please make your leave.”

He snatched away the soldier’s whip, and struck it to the ground.

“D-Do you bloody know your place!?”

The soldier was about to stand up and unsheathe the sword at his hip when,

“Wait! Wait, Orba!”

Tarkas was running up to them from behind. It took all his strength to spur on his stout body, which was evenly matched with that of the robed man.

“Y-You, utter moron! Basically, you’re not even supposed to speak out of turn. Hurry and get back to your preparations!! …Ohh, Fedom-sama, if there’s been any discourtesy, I humbly ask for forgiveness. Especially considering you’ve directly come to visit such a squalid place like this, I think—“

“Ahh, at ease. You don’t have to bow, Tarkas,” the robed man said, as he rubbed his hands and proceeded to shake hands with the slave trader. “I have business with this man here. Orba? Yes, it was Orba. You.”

He pointed his finger at the mask Orba, who was about to leave supporting Ran’s shoulder, was wearing.

Naturally, Tarkas was taken by surprise, but so was Orba himself. In the first place, it was quite rare for a person from the outside world to refer to a sword-slave by name.

Orba stopped in his tracks. When he tried to recall where he’d heard the name Fedom before, the face got bizarrely distorted, as it didn’t resemble the face of any person Orba had seen until now. Only much later did he notice that it was a smile, stifling the usual scorn for slaves as if to guess his overall mood.

At that time, he forgot all about that strange expression, for he started speaking unexpected words directed at Orba.

“Do you remember me? No, you may not remember it. At the time, you were hardly even conscious. I’m a council member of the Imperial Dynasty of Mephius, the Lord of Birac. I’m also acting as the head of the Gladiator’s Guild, and I’m the one who made you wear that mask.”

It was the first time he’d entered Tarkas’ office without the owner himself present. But of course, he didn’t care about something like that. Above all, Orba's devouring eyes were staring at the man before him – the one who called himself Fedom, a leading Mephian aristocrat.

“What’s with those eyes? It looks like you’d immediately draw a sword and cut off my head, if you had one.”

''I could even strangle you to death barehanded'', Orba thought, but of course he didn’t say those words out loud. Next to Fedom stood a boy who might be a page, a pallid-faced houseboy-like youth, and a soldier who was the only one armed. It would be really careless.

“Even if you bear a grudge against me, it’s like you’re barking up the wrong tree. It is not on my behalf that you were imprisoned, but because of your own crimes.”

“Then…”

It was the first time Orba opened his mouth since this man had called out his name.
[[Image:Rakuin no Monshou v01 121.jpg|thumb]]

“Why did you make me wear this mask? Is this what you nobles call fun? Doesn’t it matter how much I suffer, because I’m just a slave!?”

“Mind your words, you!” the soldier angrily shouted.

But Fedom said, “I don’t mind.”

“I do not have the liberty to play around with slaves who aren’t certain of their tomorrows,” he continued. “However… Just because your days were uncertain, yes, how admirably it is that you survived to this day. Back then, you were nothing more than a child. Having survived as a gladiator for two years… can it be called luck? No. Rather than something like luck, this is, as ''you'' explained so well – the golden mean of fate<ref>A made-up term; "mean" as in "ratio" or "percentage"</ref>, that’s said to have decided all humans lives from the instant of the universe’s creation, right?”

He turned his head to the youth behind him. The young man gave a thin smile and slightly stroked his chin. Although, in a sense, it was more disrespectful than Orba’s attitude among the Mephian nobility, Fedom showed no signs that he was bothered by it.

“Besides, you were practically a child at the time, but your physique has also gotten considerably more adult-like in these two years. You wouldn’t be the same person if it weren’t for the mask… Hmph, the timing’s a bit off, though. Give it another year and your body would’ve developed more and more, but it could also have ended up badly.”

Of course, Orba had absolutely no idea what this man was talking about. Fedom was talking as if he’d met up with an old friend he’d missed, while it had been a curse for Orba, so to speak, due to the mask always separating his face and the outside with iron during those two years, in which it had continued to fiercely smoulder his face for a period of time.

He’d floundered about, stained with blood because he’d tried to pry off the mask with his nails, and broke the ankles where the chain connected his feet because of his struggles. And each time, Orba had cursed everything for the fate he had lost, and the fate he had gotten in return.

Indeed, for two years that mask had been with Orba, who had yet to accept the hardships and deaths, and it had become the very symbol of his determination to take back that what was bereft of him from the same hand that took his mother, brother, and Alice.

And then, suddenly an unfamiliar noble came before him, saying he’s the one that made him wear it. It was as Fedom said. If he’d had a sword at hand… No, it could be a sword or a dagger, or just a very heavy vase – anything nearby that could be used to kill. The instant Fedom showed an opening, he would’ve jumped up and smashed it into the man’s face. Of course, even now, it still wasn’t too late for that.

But, whether or not Fedom knew about Orba’s potential double suicide, the man continued to stall.

“Very well, Orba. I’ll take off that mask, right here in this place.”

“What?”

“And that’s not all. From now on, you will also be released from your status as a slave. There’s no longer the need for you to pick up a sword and kill. However, this doesn’t mean you’ll be a free man. It’s simple. These are the conditions. In just a little while from now, Tarkas will leave you in my custody. But it’s no more than that.”

“Wait.”

“And during that time, you don’t go against my words and do as I say. There’s no need to be afraid. It’s much easier than being among slaves and killing each other. You will only obey me like a puppet. However—”

“Wait!”

Orba unintentionally let a shout escape his mouth. He shook his head in irritation before the tongue-tied Fedom in front of him.

“If you are the one who made me wear this mask, why do you now suddenly come to remove it? And why would you free me from slavery if I still have to follow your orders? Just what kind of joke is this!? What’s the reason you suddenly want to remove my mask here and now? How come you made me wear it in the first place? You bastards so easily manipulated a person’s fate to your own whimsical satisfactions. Just, how much more entertainment do you seek!?”

While he was uninterested in the words themselves, probably because he couldn’t grasp how much anguish had been included in that two-year period, Fedom shrank away, startled. He changed places with the soldier, who stepped forward to protect his master. Orba was glaring at Fedom’s figure over the soldier’s shoulder, as a sharp glint lit up in his eyes behind the mask.

“What do you intend to do by taking off the mask, freeing me from being a slave, and buying me over? Are you raising some sort of child assassins!?”

“W-Wait. Wait, I tell you.”

This time it was Fedom’s turn to take over control. Hidden behind the soldier’s back, he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“I understand. However, we do not have enough time and this isn’t the place. Would it be better if I tell you that you’ll be killed if you don’t follow my orders?”

“Then you’d better hurry up and start talking. About what you intend to do with me.” 

The soldier’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. Even though it was just an unarmed person in front of him, it looked like he was facing a carnivorous animal with those glistening, golden eyes glaring at him.

Noble and slave. Basically, the two weren’t even supposed to meet eye to eye, but the air of intimidation that reversed these positions between them was gradually occupying the room. Then,

“Fine, just wait a bit.”

The student-like youth cut into the conversation. He took one step forward, standing between Orba and Fedom.

“This is not an extremely complicated story. But to explain it from the beginning, surely takes precious time. What should I do in order to try and convince him first? Can I start by taking off the mask?”

“Once it is removed it cannot be used again,” Fedom said unhappily. “If this guy says he won’t obey afterwards, any leverage but killing him disappears.”

“There’s any number of ways in doing this. I’d like you to have faith in me.”

While he heard the strange exchange between the two, Orba noticed that the man, who looked like a youth, actually carried a considerable age. He had a somewhat hoarse voice, and his hair was mixed with white.

“I understand, Hermann. Go ahead.”

Receiving Fedom’s permission, the man called Hermann headed over to Orba’s side. Orba backed off by reflex and got surprised when he felt the man’s fingers fix closely on his mask.

Orba was able to ascertain the distance of his own sword and spear, and also instantly gauge his opponent’s attacking range. That was the talent Orba also had two years ago, and what made him live that long.

And yet, Hermann had quietly and easily been able to creep up to his chest.

“Don’t be afraid,” Hermann said with a grin. Having applied his fingers to the mask, he came even closer to his face.

“That mask does not come off even with superhuman strength. Also, there’s no such thing as a key to take it off. But I guess you know that best yourself after these two years, right?”

Orba doubted whether the one wearing the mask wasn’t Hermann instead. Was it because it looked like he’d stuck human skin onto his face and was in fact hiding his true face behind it? The skin was strangely stiff and, depending on the angle of light, he might not look like a young man after all.

But above all, it was those two eyes gazing his way. Unlike his facial expression, only the eyes gave a sharp light similar to that of a sword. The man resembled none of the many formidable opponents Orba had been confronted with, but he was struck with fear that surpassed all of them.

“Don’t touch me,” Orba said shivering, he did not want to admit to himself that he’d lost his fangs. “Besides, if you don’t have a key, how are you going to remove the mask?”

“The key was just something I made up. I told you not to be afraid. Now, after two years, I’m going to release you.”

Before Orba could retort, there were signs of fingers wriggling and touching. It seemed to come from within Orba's own body.

A fierce sound rang out. It sounded as if the world itself had started to crack, as Orba’s mask began to move. As he realized he felt no lingering feeling for being together these two years, while it slowly moved from the sides, it suddenly dropped down. It fell with a strangely sweet, clattering sound on the floor. Unable to move after that, Orba gently stroked his cheeks.

It was a dazzling feeling, giving no sound and he immediately covered his eyes with his hand. Although it felt like Hermann had used some kind of magical attack, truthfully, he already knew the answer. In some way, this was more shocking to him than someone aiming for his life at short range, which caused his body to shudder.

Orba – widely recognized as a top-class swordsman who, once he picked up a sword, was not afraid of anything, - got irritated with himself that he was now getting frightened like a child, and slowly opened his eyes.

There was the figure of Fedom standing stock still. No, it wasn’t only him. The soldier present and the page boy too, were staring blankly with their mouths open. They didn’t move a single muscle.

Then, suddenly the young soldier stirred. It looked like he had come back to his senses, when he suddenly kneeled down on the floor.

“C-Crown Prince!?” the young man said in a shivering voice. “This… e-excuse me for my rudeness. I didn’t know you were the prince at first. Please, I beg you for forgiveness!”

“Impossible,” Fedom said. His fat body was trembling all over. “It’s impossible! But… but, Hermann. The previous ones didn’t look nearly as much alike. Even taking two years into account, I never expected a mirror-image like this…”

“That’s why it’s called sorcery,” Hermann laughed with a muffled voice. “Didn’t I tell you? With luck at your side, this man will certainly become of use to the master.”

For a while, all sound ceased to come out of anyone’s mouth.

Orba had clearly lost awareness of his voice and body. He was timidly touching his flesh-and-blood cheeks. There was no touch of iron. That hard, cold mask was completely absent and replaced by a warm and tender skin. Half in a daze, Orba wondered whether this all might just be a dream.

“Do you want a mirror?”

The only calm one, Hermann, indiscreetly fumbled through Tarkas’s desk, took out a hand-mirror and tossed it over at Orba. As he caught it in his hands, Orba looked at it with bated breath.

A pale faced, slim-eyed man was staring back at him. These two years, whenever he looked into a mirror, only that iron mask mimicking a tiger appeared before him. He initially felt that there was no mistaking this as real, but soon, Orba had a certain uncomfortable feeling that obstructed his happiness.

It was definitely his own face. And yet, something was different. While his eyes, nose, and mouth had surely remained the same, he had a suspicion that certain subtle angles had changed.

Two years had passed. Was it possible he’d forgotten about his own face?

No… but he didn’t know the reason for this. After all, he had a feeling that his eyes were strangely sharp compared to before, his lips had become a little bit thin, and his nose seemed to have gotten slightly bigger.

“Well then.”

Fedom awkwardly and abruptly broke the silence that was flowing so far.

“If it’s like this, your intentions will no longer pose a problem. It looks like you were decided on two years ago. By some power of the gods, demons, the Dragon God of old, or maybe even an existence we don’t know the name of. Without it, you could never be so much alike.”

The moment Orba felt like asking what he was talking about, Fedom immediately made a declaration.

“You are already no longer this Orba. Of course, you’re also no longer some sword-slave. From the moment the mask was removed, you were born anew as a different person. What’s more, you’re not even a common man one might find anywhere either. Got it? From today on, you’ve graciously become the one known as the heir to the throne of the Imperial Dynasty of Mephius, Gil Mephius!”

=== Part 2 ===

Fedom immediately took Orba out of Tarkas’s sword-slave training grounds. Because it was carried out so quickly, for a while, it didn’t even look like he was released from sword-slavery. It looked like they had come to their agreement without informing Tarkas about it.

Because Orba obviously didn’t think that his sword slave hell would suddenly end like this, he didn’t actually experience it like that. More than that, he truly didn’t know in whose hands he’d ended up, and whose intentions for the future he was going to roll into – as had always been the case from his childhood until now.

Fedom held several mansions here and there in Mephian territory. Although he brought Orba to one of them, for some reason he had been instructed to cover his face with a mantle in the meantime.

Fedom led Orba to a room with a carpet spread all over, locked the door, and told him he was finally allowed to take off the mantle. The soldier and the page who’d also come to the training grounds were the only others in the room. That magician named Herman had vanished.

After he took off the mantle, everyone present was once again closely peering onto his face.

“No matter how many times I see… this. I feel like someone is playing tricks on my mind. As if you’re actually Mephius’s imperial prince Gil, and testing me out.”

“I’m the one who doesn’t get this shit! Mephius’s imperial prince!? Just what the heck are you saying? Speak so that a gladiator like me will understand!”

Orba was getting considerably irritated. Not taking any offence from his insolent way of speaking, Fedom nodded his head

“Naturally,” he said, and started from the beginning.

The tale went back to two years ago. From the day Orba got imprisoned.

Fedom, who was the Lord of Birac, originally wouldn't hear anything of the report when Orba was arrested, because he was only a petty criminal, but for some reason he received an urgent message from the city guards.

But when he spared the figure of Orba lying down in his cell a single look, he couldn’t help but raise a surprised voice.

“You truly looked a lot like the crown prince of Mephius.”

Fedom thought on it for a while. Even at the best of times, the crown prince was rumoured for his eccentric mannerism. Although no one would truly believe the prince would appear in the arena as a gladiator, doubts on his bloodline could sully the imperial family’s dignity and at most pose a problem in the distant future, which in turn could question Fedom’s loyalty.

So he’d decided on concealing Orba’s face. Which is why he’d made him wear that particular mask.

Of course, Orba believed that wasn’t all there was to it. Although he was surprised to hear he resembled the crown prince, it seemed a little exaggerated to request the assistance of a magician.

The pain that had seemed to completely burn his face with flames. The out-of-place feeling he had of himself when he touched his face after removing the mask. Hadn’t they taken all of those things into account from the very start?

His entire body once again seething with anger, Orba pretended to be calm.

“I understand the reason for having to wear the mask. So, what’s the reason you took it off?”

“It’s as I said earlier.”

“Become the prince? Do you mean to make me a body double?”

“Oh? It looks like you're thinking correctly. It's just like that. If you’re this similar to the prince, you should be able to serve the nation simply because of that. I think you should be honoured. Moreover, it’ll all be in exchange for your release from slavery – and for your freedom. There’s certainly nothing more to tell you than that.”

“Isn’t Mephius supposed to sign peace with Garbera? Is another war about to happen?”

“A body double isn’t someone only useful on the battlefield. But if you know of the peace, do you also know about the prince’s wedding?”

“It’s because I was one of the sword-slaves.”

“Well, now you will proceed to Seirin Valley for a different matter.”

Fedom explained that there seemed to be many people in and out of the country who weren’t at ease with the wedding. By any chance, it might be possible that someone would try to interfere with the wedding by deliberately causing a commotion, and some of them might intend to assassinate the crown prince or the Garberan princess.

“The likelihood that the danger may reach the prince’s person is high. Naturally, we intend to carry out a flawless guard unit. However, because we wanted to build a mutual allied relationship as quickly as possible, we settled on this marriage in a hurry. We’ve decided to use you as an insurance if it turns out to be the worst case scenario.”

Orba spent a little time thinking. It seemed he had now been placed in this position on a very short notice. The wedding was in three days. Having only been a gladiator just a while ago, he had to act as a prince within three days’ time.

''What a bullshit story!''

Although he wanted to refuse, for the story didn’t seem to hold any grounds, if it was true that most of the currently mentioned circumstances were highly classified state secrets, it could already be a life-threatening matter for Orba. If he refused, it meant death.

Earlier, Orba had already bantered with threatening words, but his opponent had not been deterred. Sweat was vaguely forming on the skin of his face that was exposed to the air for the first time in two years. Up until now, it had been different from a gladiator match. This was not an opponent he could win against by fighting. That was the situation right now.

''The prince of Mephius, huh…?''

A fleeting thought popped into his head. His heart was throbbing violently on the other side of his thick chest.
Orba sucked in a small breath, and once again kept up a calm outward appearance as he enquired,

“If I have to take up being a double – for how long should I have to act like the prince? And what of the part at the end of the marriage ceremony?”

“Why? Do you wish to skip to that part so fast?” Fedom said, laughing satisfactorily. “Needless to say, you can’t afford to get sneaked into the princess’s bed at the bridal night. You will have to keep it up until we judge it’s been enough. It won’t be for such a long time.”

“Let me ask one more thing.”

“What is it? Speak up.”

“Where’s the guarantee that you won’t kill me when this business is over?”

“What?”

“If it turns out that you used a body double for a wedding between members of royalty, we can assume that it’ll scar Garbera’s pride and war might spread once more. Even the most insignificant person who knows about the body double can compromise the story. But they say dead men tell no tales, right?”

Orba gave a glance to the soldier and the page inside the room. The page-like boy already had a pale face, but the soldier too showed signs of shivering. Fedom clicked his tongue, his good mood taking a full turnaround.

“You’re just a slave, and yet you intend to strike a deal with me? There’s no need to worry about such unnecessary things. But you’re right, one might act as you say. Obviously, it’s out of the question to let you go because you share the prince’s face. However, and I say this because it does not contradict with what I said earlier, a body double isn’t useful only at the time of the wedding ceremony, right? Although there will usually be some inconveniences that may give reason for you to cover your face, I intend to let you spend a decent life as a person of my protégé.”

Orba sank into silence for a while again. His face resembled the crown prince so closely that it had surprised even this Fedom. So surely that hadn’t been part of his original plan. But of course, that would in no way lead to a perfect guarantee for everything.

“I understand,” Orba said, giving his consent. “It’s a deal. Those aren’t bad conditions. However, I don’t have the confidence anyone will be able to make me memorize the gestures appropriate for a crown prince.”

“It’s a deal then, from what I can tell. The negotiations are complete.”

Giving a smile, Fedom left his seat, as if he didn’t even come here to stand in place and stare at the fruits of his labour.

“Come over. That’s why I brought my page Dinn, who will, for starters, teach you the necessary etiquettes in the meantime.”

A hectic period of time passed for Orba in the three days after that. He did not have to clean the lodgings, look after the dragons, practice his sword, or be occupied with other work that wore down his mind and body. At the beginning, he assumed the only correction needed was to simply set his posture straight. To throw out his chest, straighten his back, and pull in his chin. But he also had to familiarize himself with a new manner of walking.

The page, Dinn, did not only sport charming features but also demonstrated his skills as an excellent trainer, as he gave Orba strict step-by-step orders in succession.

Using parts of his mind he usually did not use, he’d honestly gotten so exhausted that he was short for breath, but another type of training was waiting for him immediately after.

Dinn took out a hand-mirror. When Orba asked what was next, the boy handed him the mirror and said,

“How to laugh,” while giving him a smile of his own.

That congested schedule, within three days, didn’t seem to spare any time for him to rest his mind. While Orba never expected to suddenly become a crown prince – it felt just like a ridiculous notion, every time he happened to think of how he’d been thrown into this altogether – it reminded Orba of his time as a sword-slave.

''I've lived through these two years for what? I've been ordered like a stupid dog to risk my life, have other people killed, and for what?''

He continued to throw in the firewood to keep the blue will-of-the-wisp flame burning in the back of his heart.

''If I run away from here, I'll be killed immediately, or at best be doubled back as a sword-slave.''

It was hard to take notice of, because it had all happened so suddenly, but there was at least one bright side. And if even a single light shone into his life, for Orba had been walking and fumbling through the darkness all this time, it was unmistakably a sign of progress within this current drastic change in environment.

These past two years, he’d nearly lost himself amongst the blood, vomit, spinal fluids and entrails, knowing that he couldn’t reach somewhere quiet. But there was no way he would stop reaching out his hand, even though what he aimed to take hold of was almost equal to trying to reach heaven.

At least, that was what Orba himself believed. And so, he continued to obediently receive the boy’s education.

When the sun set, although Dinn also instructed him to, he immersed himself in a tub of hot water and cleansed his body. He could stretch out his body as much as he wanted, and they cut a huge amount of his black unkempt hair that was bound on his back. They also shaved his face with a razor, and when he rose from the tub afterwards, fine linen underwear, a silk tunic and velvet trousers were prepared for him.

To sleep in, he received a bed with so much space that he had room to spare, even if he excessively spread both his arms and legs. The bed reminded him of the touch of the fair-skinned women he'd spent several times with at night when he’d still been the leader of the boys.

''Where am I?''

While drowsily wandering between sleep and waking, Orba suddenly heard his own voice within himself.

''Brother… I can’t sleep.''

''Take hold of my hand…''

''Brother…''

Seirin Valley – the land where it was said they first set foot on this planet from the Space Immigrant Ship. It was a story from the mythological age, more than five hundred years ago. When you heard the tale, it indeed seemed a sacred, although quite exaggerated, plot of land, but there were virtually dozens of places with similar legends spread all over the world.

The valley lay in a secluded part to the south. Hollowed into the cliffs was a small palace built of wood and marble. There were shallow reliefs displayed on the passage walls that showed the many legendary event that had occurred from the time of the space ship’s ‘holy descent’ up to the founding of Mephius. Because they were decorated with many types of jewels, shadows wriggled to and fro whenever it was lit up by the fire from the iron braziers, making it look like it was alive and breathing.

And, the spacious open hall that lay even deeper inside had gathered a huge crowd of ladies and gentlemen. Although it was inside of the cliff, there was plenty of light, and the sparkling lights of hoisted glass scattered all over the place.

A group of master musicians had taken up place in the corner and played various songs, from old-style up to the currently popular high-tempo music, depending on the request. Several people began to improvise their dancing, and the laughter here and there didn't cease.

“Prince,” someone called out to him.

“Your Highness, congratulations.”

“Prince Gil!”

“Congratulations on your wedding.”

All the people mingled together, although they called him ‘Your Highness’ or ‘Prince Gil’, and greeted him with smiles. Orba did exactly what he was taught when he was faced with them, giving a generous smile and slightly raising his hand in response.

Fedom was walking perfectly close to Orba.

“Listen, Orba,” Fedom had said that morning, when he came to pick up Orba by coach. A tense air, of a warrior ready to fight a battle to the death, drifted around him.

“Naturally, the people attending the party from the Garberan side, but even those from Mephian side, have not been informed about your true identity. After all, I don’t know from where such information might get leaked. But the behaviour and such of the imperial family is not something you can master within three days or so after all. You don’t do anything. You don’t think anything. You don’t look at anything. You move when I tell you to, and talk when I tell you to. That’s all. Understand?”

Despite all, he felt like his body was in no way accustomed to his manner of walking. It felt to him as if it was hard to walk, even compared to having his feet in chains.

Above all, it was the people – the many people. They were dressed in such fine clothes his eyes were spinning, and not a single one was ignoring Orba. The ones that were nearby bowed, expressed their gratitude, or approached him with raised hands. And they all smiled, mouthing the word ‘congratulations’.

The ones in the distance pointed at Orba. Huddling together and chatting amongst each other as they stared at him.

No – it wasn’t about Orba. The person they saw in their eyes and greeted with their voice was not Orba. He understood as much. Although he’d known this for no more than three days, he still found it impossible to imagine himself as the crown prince.

Orba suddenly forgot even how to walk and was hardly able to return his greetings to one of his retainers. However, they only passed it off as a charming sight, apparently thinking the tension was caused because he was about to have his first meeting with his bride.

“Throw your chest out a little more,” Fedom obstinately whispered into his ear. “Aren’t you a gladiator. How can you be scared of a place like this?”

He wanted to call him a shithead, but could not, and the more he became aware of his awkward manner of walking, the more his face continued to cramp up. Far from having prince-like behaviour, Orba hadn’t even gotten used to his real face after removing the iron mask.

He quickly turned his look to the table, where there was so much food lined up that, no matter how many people were in this hall, they definitely wouldn’t be able to eat it all. To make matters worse, not a single plate was left empty, for if even a single empty plate stood out, it immediately got replaced by one fully loaded with cuisine.

If he would reach out to take an armful, it would probably be worth more than a sword-slave’s yearly amount of food. When he was a child, he wasn’t able to see the shining colourful fruits hanging from the eaves, or have the fragrant aroma of grilled meat stimulating his appetite, unless they’d finished a very big job. But although it was only a small amount, even that was nothing compared to the mountain of high-priced foods piled up before him.

''Were the ones who eat these things every day, the ones that burned down my village?''

Even thinking of it now, he couldn’t help but remember, as the Mephian noble families were carved in his heart as the target for his hatred for a long time,

''Our people were just able to manage our harvest for the year, but they took away the small amount of provisions we had left in stock, burned it down, and also went ahead and killed people…''

Orba tightly clenched his fist underneath the long sleeves of his ceremonial clothes.

''With proud faces they claim that something like this wasted amount of eating, drinking, dancing and laughing is civilization and the noble way of life. They’re looking down on my people, laughing at us.''

''You can all drop dead!''

''You sons of bitches are man-eating barbarians. I’m going to set this place on fire. You can roast in the flames for all I care! I’ll praise you for your noble pride if you can still laugh while your limbs are being devoured!''

A wave of anger passed over for a while, but immediately after the fever got to a high, only coldness remained.

''Not yet.''

Orba struggled to put a smile on his face as he arduously gritted his molars. He would eventually roast and kill them, but right here right now was not the time or place to make his move.

Right now, Orba couldn’t do anything. This situation of Fedom using him here as the prince’s body double, happened so fast, but someday he’d eventually find an opportunity. Until then, in a sense to conserve his strength and as a means to obtain information, he had to do what Fedom told him to…

Then, it got noisier around him, and Orba, understanding from experience that the atmosphere in the hall had changed, also raised his head. Up to now, the wind of their gazes had been blowing only against Orba, but now there was a crack in the lid.*

A single girl made her appearance at the other side of the hall, and naturally she also attracted Orba’s eyes. Accompanied by an older woman, she gracefully came walking in with her pale face bent down.

“The third princess of Garbera,” Fedom whispered.

Although Orba had expected this, he still couldn’t hide his surprise.

''Isn’t she still just a kid?''

Those were the honest thoughts Orba had. Even the arms coming out of her sleeves were thin, but although it seemed like he was likely to break them off if he only grabbed them, for some reason she didn’t give off a frail impression at all. He even felt the breathtaking dignity, with her spine straightened up and her long hair swaying faintly along her figure as she walked.

The dress that she held up at the hem had hardly any exquisite embroidery or decorations, but the lack of articles did not hinder or make it plain. The pure white silk material actually emphasized even more of the purity of her youthful and innocent beauty, and her womanly sensuality.

“Princess Vileena Owell. Indeed, she’s currently your fiancée. Go and greet her soon. Don’t be coarse, but do not abase yourself either. You’re the prince of Mephius after all.”

=== Part 3 ===

Pulling back the hands of time a bit, there was Garbera’s Third Princess Vileena Owell on the other side.

As she headed along the passage through the cliffs, the same as with Orba, many different people were directing their gazes at her. There were some among them who gave deep lamenting sighs. Vileena, who was almost girlishly indifferent to them, was lending her ears to the music that the musicians played as she walked the way leading up to the hall.

“Well, I suppose they show at least some signs of civilization,” Theresia, walking next to her, said as she bowed her head in assent.

Feeling the same, Vileena also slightly tucked her jaw and nodded slightly. And then, she added with an afterthought,

“But, princess. Please be discreet with what you say. At most, call them something like ‘troglodyte apes bearing wisdom’ or ‘remnants of ogres that love to kill each other’.”

“As long as Theresia’s close to me,” Vileena laughed, “If it’s Mephius, a remote snowfield, or anywhere, I’ll surely never get bored.”

Theresia, who had been close to her since she was born, had always acted as her guardian. Although her hair was beginning to get mixed with white, if she was in high spirits, she could also use this kind of dangerous jokes.

When they entered the hall, Vileena gave a tactful smile as several nobles of the Mephius Empire approached in order to greet her, and Theresia took an obligatory step backward, nestling up behind her mistress.

Although it was of course not the first time for her to exchange words with the Mephian nobility, it had always been of a belligerent nature. So the shallow manner at which they forcibly put on the air of cultured people sickened her. When the nobles took their leave, Vileena lethargically relaxed her shoulders.

“Even so, they seem to want strangely traditional types for their women. When the first delegation that did the marriage proposal mentioned my pleasure in riding airships, their eyes all became, well, big and round. In Mephius, they’re not allowed to ride horses or dragons, and it seems women can’t wear clothes that don’t cover their legs either.”

“Well, then I’m sure the princess looks quite manly to them. I feel sorry for your partner, Prince Gil of Mephius. They value ‘pride and history’ among the imperial family, but they must accept that Garbera’s tomboy princess – the person who will stand next to the heir of their imperial throne – must be made an empress of all people.”

“It’s mutual, we’re two of a kind,” Vileena said, giving a laugh that held no joy, as she fixed her hair ornament with her hand. “I may be such a manly tomboy, but the partner I have to keep company is the first prince Gil Mephius, of the Mephius Empire. I have never heard a single good word about him. Even though their delegation spoke well of him, trying to glorify their prince with frantic flattery, it was nothing but a pitiable sight. Because whatever they said sounded hypocritical to the ears, and because it looked like they didn’t believe any of it themselves.”

Gil Mephius. Although now a youth of seventeen, he was the first heir to the imperial throne, slated to take over the Mephius Empire. This person, who she’d only seen on portraits, was to be Vileena’s husband.

They would meet face to face for the first time now. And the next day, in accordance to the Mephian customs, the marriage ritual would be held on the altar atop the valley. Then, on the third day, they would head for the imperial capital of Mephius, where a grand reception was going to be held.

It wasn’t only the marriage that would be consummated. More importantly, with this, the peace and alliance between Mephius and Garbera would be established. The battles that had been flourishing over the span of ten years would finally come to an end.

Of course, even Vileena longed for that, but there weren’t any good rumours at all relating to the imperial prince that would be her partner. They said he was a coward, not even close to his father – the current emperor, Guhl Mephius – that he hung around with his young friends, partying about night after night, and that he exhibited some eccentric habits.

“They say he’s a ''fool'',” Vileena had declared in front of her father when he’d told her about the engagement.

Originally, a man named Ryucown was to be her fiancé. He was a general with an air carrier under his command. He had dauntless courage and was given credit for performing a most distinguished service in the war against Mephius. And so, his betrothal with the third princess Vileena had been decided during the times of war.

Vileena had also met the person in question. Although, frankly, their first encounter was something so dramatic that even now it was talked about in the country, she was only nine years old back then. When they met again four years later, when their engagement had been arranged, Vileena did not have a proper impression of what kind of man he was supposed to be.

And so, when they met again, Ryucown was an unbelievably shy person, compared to the fierce success stories from the battlefield. He couldn’t think of one story to tell the kingdom’s princess, and his smile, as if making a mockery of himself, was awkward. She didn’t know whether to like him or to hate him. Only that it seemed a suitable argument that their marriage would be for the sake of the whole nation.

However, for several months the war front had fallen into a stalemate. Mephius and Garbera were secretly making progress on peace negotiations. And only two months ago, they decided on betrothing the Crown Prince Gil and Princess Vileena.

Vileena held mixed feelings about it. For over ten years they’d fought with Mephius, and she knew from experience how much it had exhausted the soldiers and their people. Some citizens and local lords had appealed for a resistance to the bitter end but, although there were also some knights among them, they were a minority.

Vileena’s father, Ainn Owell the Second, didn’t have Guhl Mephius’s bold personality. In front of his daughter, he only said the single word, “Please.” Vileena had only replied with, “I accept.” But she’d known her mother and Theresia were quietly wiping their tears behind her back.

Then, a few days ago, feeling as though her mind and body were being split apart, she went to her favourite grandfather, Jeorg Owell, to say her goodbyes. The proud, commanding princess, who loved horse-riding and airships, whom he even permitted to handle a gun, and who never compromised, had become like a little child in front of her grandfather. She wanted to be forever lifted onto his lap and lean her body against him, so she could listen to the heroic stories he’d always told her.

However, that had been completely brushed aside, and she had to come to this place.

No, one could say it was good that she could protect the memories of her grandfather like this. It was for her country, for her father, and for her grandfather. For them, she had marched into the enemy territory with the fighting spirit of a knight.

''Enemy territory.''

Indeed, this was the enemy. Until just recently, this was the country they’d crossed swords with. Vileena was within that enemy’s territory.

They had killed many people, some of whom she’d even known by face. And of course the opponent thought much of the same thing, but Vileena was not yet mature enough to let bygones be bygones.

“We’ve arrived.”

When Theresia gently whispered into her ear, Vileena calmed down. There were many people of the Mephian nobility staring in their direction. In the middle, stood a young man, wearing white ceremonial clothes.

“That’s Mephius’s First Prince, Gil Mephius.”

“Yes,” Vileena said.
[[Image:Rakuin no Monshou v01 149.jpg|thumb]]

Her cheeks were womanly pure, but she was still tense.

The other party also seemed to have noticed, and the fat noble at the prince’s side whispered something in his ear. After that, he approached them with a nervous look on his face.

At a glance, Prince Gil didn’t look like the feeble-minded man the rumours made him out to be. He had a slender face, but it looked like his body figure was unexpectedly sturdy. If he only proudly threw out his chest, he would look like a fearless, handsome man. However,

''That attending noble is sticking so close to him, it’s almost as if he has to lead him by the hand. Is he still just a kid?''

Of course, she didn’t have the slightest idea that he just had the same first impression of her. But to make matters worse, the prince didn’t seem to be able to calm down. His eyes wandered here, his eyes wandered there, as if he was indeed a lost child looking for his parents.

While Vileena was having her tendency to gaze at the other person as if fully appraising him, she received a stealthy elbow from Theresia, and hurriedly corrected her expression.

The prince halted his feet before Vileena’s presence. Vileena lowered her head, as expected of courtesy, and waited for his greeting. However, she clearly heard a single clearing of the throat, and it didn’t sound as if it came from the prince. The fat noble from earlier whispered in a low voice again, and it sounded like he instructed him how to greet her.

At such an occasion, it were the lady’s manners to pretend not to notice, of course, and at least not to make an embarrassment out of him, when meeting her marriage partner for the first time, and not just with the two of them.

“Pleased to meet you for the first time, Prince,” she said.

Theresia opened her mouth in surprise. Unconcerned, Vileena lightly picked up the hem of her dress with both hands and bowed before him.

“I am the daughter of King Ainn Owell the Second of Garbera, Third Princess Vileena. From here on, I’d love to be better acquainted.”

“Ah, yes.”

It was the first thing the prince said. And then he hesitantly, and in a small voice, introduced himself, with his words being more faltering than any kind of greeting Vileena had ever heard.

''Will this man become my husband?''

She had trained her smile, while painstakingly maintaining the slight inclination of her head, extra hard for this day, only to be seen as ‘modest’. An anger gushed forth within Vileena’s heart.

''But on the other hand,''

A colour of intense emotions began to flicker in her slightly lowered eyes.

''If he’s a man like that, I might possibly be able to bend him to my will.''

If she was able to manipulate the crown prince, she could eventually be the one pulling the strings in this country.

''It’s just like grandfather said. This too, is a battle. Without shedding blood, and without taking someone’s life.''

If it was possible to make him do her will, it might be more profitable to her homeland Garbera than if they’d won the war. Although this was far from a fight with airships or guns, which were her speciality, and she would have to fight in a field that she considered her weak point, Vileena believed that, if she was strongly committed to gain victory, she would certainly find a way.

Although this proved Vileena didn’t recognize herself that she would actually be fighting a ‘woman’s battle’, just like she couldn’t see the difference between this and a gunfire exchange, at that moment, there was only one emotion burning fiercely within her.

At that time, Theresia, who had been with her since she was a child, was probably the only one who had realized that the meaning behind the smile on Vileena’s face had changed. Not knowing the woman who would become his bride hid such frightening ideas within her, Prince Gil of Mephius, still filled with a look of tension, continued talking about irrelevant things.

<noinclude>

===References and Translation Notes===
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| Back to [[Rakuin no Monshou:Volume1_Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Rakuin no Monshou|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Rakuin no Monshou:Volume1_Chapter4|Chapter 4]]
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</noinclude>

Rakuin no Monshou:Volume1 Chapter2

2013-12-17T16:16:48Z

Draringi: Undo revision 311454 by Tasear (talk)

==Chapter 2: Two Boys==

=== Part 1 ===

After that, having slipped into the Mephian territory of Birac, Orba repeatedly stole. He had no hesitation or any difficulties with it. Running around barefoot on the ground day after day, he headed over to another area just before the surrounding people and guardsmen memorized his face, doing the same thing over and over until he, once more, headed for his next location.

He started hanging out with boys of the same age who had the same circumstances. Together, they usually sold stuff they’d gathered from dump sites or stuff they’d stolen at the side of the road, sometimes snitching purses with a single wield of the knife, or threatening wealthy-looking merchants coming out of bars, plucking them of their money.

While spending his days like that, one time, something happened that caused several people to get seriously injured amongst the same-age group Orba was hanging out with. Apparently, they’d been challenged by boys from another group. The children were having a children’s turf war. And as always, it was accompanied by force.

Everything was taken from them. Everything – meaning, they already had such a minimal lifeline where they barely managed to live another day, but if they were cut off like this, basically all of their members would be left for dead.

“We’ll either die, or fight and die. But those who want to do more and win, follow me!”

Orba gave those children, who were about to become fainthearted, a pep talk. He didn’t want to have everything snatched away from him twice. Gathering up the remaining members of their small group, Orba retaliated against a group of opponents that was much bigger in number.

However, he didn’t attack them straight ahead. He thoroughly gathered intelligence on the rival group beforehand. So, when the timing was right and they had the least number of opponents in place, they carried out their attacks.

What Orba valued above all was information. He always had to have the latest information, understanding both friend or foe, singling out the enemy’s numbers, strength, movements, and other things like that.

''This is what separates adults and children.''

It was the only thing Orba thought. A child who knows nothing only gets robbed without even knowing who the enemy is. But if you distinguish friend and foe on your own, and if you know your enemies, you can become the adult on the robbing side.

When Orba was fourteen, he’d become the leading figure among the boys his age. At first, the group he was acquainted with numbered only about ten, but, increasing with each passing day, it finally expanded to more than a hundred members.

However, the black blood that boiled inside of Orba never cleared away. There were hundreds of verbal disputes as well, where he certainly was the kind of person to use physical strength and mostly settled things quickly with his fists. At the same time, though, rather than spending the nights with his friends, drinking alcohol, making a racket, getting in high spirits, and chattering, he was also the type to keep to his own, prop up his knees in a dim corner of the room, and be lost in thought.

Therefore, Orba, who liked to spend the night alone, made some spare time for reading. When immersed in the world of books, he was sometimes reminded of his older brother Roan, thought of Alice, or worried about his mother’s whereabouts.

For how long should he be conserving his strength? First of all, could he call upon that strength when fighting his ‘enemies’? And how many nights more would these thoughts circle around in his head? There was no end to the insecurities and self-questioning. Nonetheless, Orba still held that time of worry dear to him, because it allowed him to keep pushing forward.

It was about four years after coming to Birac.

That day was supposed to be just another ordinary day. Ordinary being extremely busy, counting the profits in the safe from the illegal gambling house he was running, before preparing his meet with influential gun-smuggling merchants in the alleys of Birac, training with sword and gun for about one hour, and revising his plan to attack a merchant ship with several of his best men, which was to be carried out within the week.

The plan at the end of the week was a large scale one. They intended to make a surprise attack on one of the air carriers – formally called dragonstone ships – that was fully loaded with gold bars and goods slated to be delivered to the district west of the city-state, by ambushing it in the ravine located twelve kilometres southwest of Birac. They had three single-seared airships prepared on their side. Several platoon leaders, including Orba, were already assigned with flying practice.

However, because it was such a large-scale operation, no matter how much the boys agreed on the method, there were big holes as well.

Several boys of the former rival group, envying Orba’s success, had slipped into their group as spies, and had leaked several details about their plan to the Birac garrison.

The second floor of the bar they used as a hideout in those days, was attacked by surprise, and Orba found himself surrounded by the city guards. He didn’t have any weapons at hand to fight back and all the escape routes were blocked. The moment he was struck by their ropes, having again become a person deprived of status, Orba bit his lips causing blood to trickle.

''Bastards.''

Still trying to resist as his face and body suffered at the guards’ fists, Orba again felt the swell of dark blood inside of him.

''Shit, shit, shit!''
''It’s not over. I’m still alive. Mephius or Garbera, I won’t be killed easily, not even by these people. I will live. Live by all means.''

He was put in prison for possession of a large amount of illegal weaponry, and obviously for planning to attack a merchant ship, and one crime after another, such as repeated gang robbery and illegal gambling, was further uncovered.

The time to carry out the investigation didn’t take a day. And Orba, who was once more tossed into a cramped cellar, got a hot iron pressed against his back. He was branded. A long, vertical line in the centre of an X mark, was the proof of being a slave.

He got a high fever from the pain, and that evening inside prison, when Orba was alone, writhing in agony, he experienced an even stranger fate.

“…Indeed, they’re alike.”

He was grabbed by the chin, and felt himself being lifted. Far from able to shake it off, he didn’t even have the energy to open his eyes and see the face of this person. Even without paying attention to any of his emotions, it was like his brains were on fire, simmering slowly. 

“From what I heard during the interrogation, his voice is also the same.”

“Even though they’re alike, it has its limits. Actually, he seems to be a different person depending on the angle. If he were a little more alike, he’d have some purpose. Well, what’s going to happen after this?”

“According to the place I selected, this man holds some interesting portent. With luck at your side, he’ll certainly be helpful to the master any time in the future, won’t he?”

“But a sword slave? If this kid’s life may not be there on the morrow, how can he be of help to me? If I had known about the verdict earlier, I would’ve considered dealing with it differently.”

“No. You certainly won’t know tomorrow’s fate if you invested in him, but this man should expect to become a huge talent. To put it in other words, nothing can be made of this man now. But after passing his days as a sword slave – naturally, if he doesn’t get his neck reaped on the first day, or possibly die from some other cruel twist of fate – I think that he’ll survive more than three years, no, two years, possibly.”

“Then, I suppose I’ll wait without expecting anything. At any rate, there’s certainly no way this lad can become a slave with his actual face.”

At that moment, Orba, being held down by the same people that had branded him earlier, suddenly felt an oppressive feeling on his face and, with just the trace of a heat like fire, Orba’s skin started burning. He squirmed around, screaming, wondering if maybe it all was a dream, not even being sure whether he was really still alive or not.

The next morning, his body still tormented by the pain and fatigue, Orba was dragged and taken out of the dungeons, and then tossed onto a cart where stark naked men were crowded together. The medium-sized Houban dragon, a dragon with a flat body and eight long legs, was fitted for pulling. Still within a light-headed state of mind, Orba went away from Birac being pulled by the dragon.

It was probably about two days later when the journey came to an end. They got a meal once a day, but because it was only one cup of water and some dried meat, the men, including Orba, were exhausted, doubled over, not even having the energy to start a conversation.

“This is another strange slave, huh?” a man with a tanned, muscular body said, white hair and a moustache covering his features as he peered into Orba’s face. “Gladiators that are already renowned often wear such masks or helmets to promote their personal appeal, but is he really a newcomer?”

The man grasped Orba’s face, and tried to pull it off. Reminded of the pain, as if his skin was getting torn, Orba immediately flung back at the arm.

“Bastard!” an armed swordsman said, about to beat Orba up, when the man used only the word “Stop!” and took control, grinning with his lips buried in his beard.

“Looks like this is no ordinary mask. According to your background, you’ve got an unyielding spirit. But most of the time, it’s merely only that of a stubborn lad, who’ll become nothing more than a tame dog after three days. I was appointed as a breeder, who’ll teach you to ‘sit’ and ‘wait’. I’ll teach you first-hand what’ll happen to you if you oppose me.”

With those words, the man raised a fist the size of a hammer and slammed it into his bare back. A painful grunt escaping his lips, Orba doubled over without a word.

“I am Gowen. I’d like to form a long-standing relationship. You’ll be made to kill each other after ten days at the earliest. Let’s hope it won’t come to that.” 

After that, the sword slave training began, and Orba also noticed that he was wearing a mask that night. Looking at the mirror in astonishment, Orba, resenting the joke, frantically tried to tear it from his face, but it was stuck closely to his skin and he couldn’t take it off, as if it had become part of the skin itself.

After one hour of wrestling, out of breath and sweating all over on his body, he punched his own strange figure reflected in the mirror.

It cracked with a shattering sound and the iron mask became a warped reflection.

''How far must they go to scorn people? Giving me such a foolish mimicry, how much further must they make me fall?''

''I’m going to live and get out of here, by all means! I’m going to find the ones who made such a mockery of me and make them suffer through the same thing!''

As he pretended not to hear the sound of his own sobs, he crumbled down on the spot.

The next day, Gowen summoned Orba before him in the practice ring and suddenly threw the sword he had in hand at his feet.

“Try to strike me any way you want.”

Orba looked at his opponent with a look that doubted his sanity. Even though Orba wasn’t thinking about trying to escape right now, at the moment Gowen was unarmed, and what’s more, considering the chains usually tied around his ankles, it was ‘only during practice’ that these chains were removed.

Orba picked up the sword, bent his back as if building up his ‘reservoir’, and rushed forward within a single breath.

It was much like a surprise attack. He acted without mercy. He aimed for the throat. He was going for the kill.

However, his arm did not reach for half the amount he’d imagined, and on top of that, he was kicked hard and fell to his knees. Standing up, he made the same move once more. It brought the same result. The moment he struck, Gowen nimbly went to his side and suppressed him by the elbow.

“You seem to have a little experience. However, that experience only gets in the way right now. Forget it,” Gowen said, after he easily dodged Orba, who tried to attack him for a third time.

Orba wasn’t used to being told things so unsympathetically. His head was seething with anger as he turned and struck, but Orba had no luck nor matter how much he tried to challenge Gowen. What irritated Orba the most was that his opponent didn’t seem to take it seriously. So he cursed Gowen, provoked him, recklessly charged at him saying he’d kill him, while in truth, despite keeping a watchful eye, he couldn’t find any openings in his opponent.

“Are you trying to kill me, Orba?”

Orba’s supposedly polished self-taught style could not be called brilliant.

“But, that’s too bad. You no longer have anything. No name, no status, no clothes, nothing to eat, and you just can’t do anything about it. Yes, even your life. Slaves don’t even have the freedom over their own lives or deaths. Even if you want to get it back, you can’t just repurchase it by offering more money than what you were sold for.”

This one-sided training where he was only getting knocked down was equal to a hellish self-punishment, however, as the day came to an end, an ever more excruciating pain was lying in wait for Orba.

It was the mask’s ‘curse’. At midnight, while he was lying down exhausted, it suddenly emitted a heat like flames that burnt as if they were melting Orba’s face, much in the same way as when the mask was placed on him the first time.

It was mostly in the evenings, through irregular intervals. Sometimes nothing would happen for three days straight, while at other times the heat was being emitted regularly for three days and three nights.

At those times, there was nothing Orba could do. He could only roll over the ground, drawing blood as his ankles scraped against the chains, and continue to hope that the pain would go away sooner, even if just for a second.

''I’m going mad.''
''I’m going mad, I’m going mad, I’m going mad.''

As he rolled over the floor, Orba harboured that fear time and time again, and even thought to become so might only be better. However, the power to hold onto it until the end, just before his consciousness was about to be taken away by a white, splashing wave, worked out at last. Gritting his teeth, bending his back as if the bones should break, Orba endured it just to endure. Many of his fingernails broke, as he tore at the ground, and tore at his mask.

The other slaves, and the soldiers held responsible for monitoring the slaves of the Tarkas Gladiatorial Group, naturally felt revolted by his figure frothing in pain. Rumours soon spread whether it was a curse by true magic, causing Tarkas, who had bought Orba from the slave traders, to make a bitter face.

“Merchandise is merchandise. Like I care if it’s magic or a curse!? Just don’t ever let him die when he’s not earning his pay!”

Giving those orders, Tarkas was certainly a most undaunted man. Orba was generally ignored as long as he didn’t die a dog’s death.

''I won’t die.''

It was a long, long night. His flesh and bones scraped by pain and the temptation of madness, wishing to die every second, it felt like the night would never break, but eventually it came to an end. Unless Orba himself gave up his life into the darkness, dawn would always come. Exhausted, lying down with his body already having no drop of strength left, he could feel the morning light upon his mask. Unsteadily raising his hands and taking hold of the mask, he pushed strength into his fingers and made an oath.

''Unless someone stabs me in the heart, I will never let myself die.''

It was as Gowen said. ''My life is not mine. But it doesn’t automatically belong to Tarkas either.''

''My life, with all that was taken from me, is all that I have.''

His heart had been beating in order to live until he’d meet his mother, Alice, and possibly his brother Roan again, his muscles only brandishing a sword to reach those who raided them, with the purpose of building a mountain of corpses.

After that, Orba was totally absorbed into his training. The sword and Orba’s body soon became integrated as one. He was holding formless hatred, without knowing how to clear himself of it, and different from the time when he was just full of unease. The sword gave form to his hatred. His sword became a spear of hatred, that cut and tore through all doubts. Altogether put in another way, it became his desire to live.

“If you want to survive, learn the technique to kill an opponent, and at the same time, also to kill yourself. People who can’t solely kill themselves, are killed by others in the end. There’s no exception.”

Gowen said so clearly. And Orba followed those instructions.

He killed his emotions. He burned them vigorously, roaring like a flame, day and night, so that he could also thoroughly burn himself. However, at the same time, the fire couldn’t be extinguished either.

Therefore, at midnight, although lying down quietly with possibly his face scorching under the mask, Orba continued burning his secret firewood – the anger and hatred in his chest – smouldering them into glowing embers.

Before long, he received his debut match. When Orba set foot in the arena, he was welcomed by a large crowd surrounding the place.

While the sky and earth were wrapped in loud voices, Orba fought a man that had picked up a sword like him, and killed him. He didn’t even remember whether his opponent was young, or if he was older than him. Only the moment he killed, and the moment even more cheers poured onto his sweating back, was what he remembered in great detail.

“Die!” Orba yelled as he looked up at the spectators. “Fuckin’ die !!”


Although the voice itself was drowned out by the cheers, Orba raised his bloody sword and continued spitting his profane language at all of them.

And, within one week’s time, he was to perform his second match. It was against a bearded man holding a zigzagged short-sword. It was something of a disgrace. There might have been jeers, or they might have progressed to the name of gods. Twice, thrice, he took a blow from a violent slashing attack. Each time, Orba changed his grip on the sword. He changed the placement of his feet. He was studying how to fight in the midst of battle.

He fended off a sword that was about to attack him from his side. And his opponent’s body was ''opened'' before his eyes.

Orba had swung his sword down right in front of him. The sword had cut into the middle of the face. Blood, bones, and brains were spilling from all sides. His hand growing numb, he hardly had any sense of touch. It was the third time he’d killed someone.

Orba became a gladiator and time went by for a little less than two years. In that time, there were countless battles. There were also many endless nights spent counting all of the stars that filled up the night sky.

However, after a year passed, the curse of the iron mask heating up gradually disappeared, and after another half year passed, the periodic maddening pains became unbelievably docile. Although, it was no ordinary mask, as he still wasn’t able to tear it off, not getting a dent whether he struck it with the pommel of his sword or with a hammer. On the contrary it only seemed to endanger his own life and he was simply forced to postpone his wish to take off the mask.

And — when five days passed after Orba stopped the reckless voracity of the large-sized Sozos dragon at the Ba Roux arena,

“I found out why Tarkas was so merry,” Gowen suddenly said at the breakfast table. “You know Mephius and Garbera have been making peace negotiations, right? It looks like they’re finally planning to put an end to the ten-year war.”

“Hmm,” Shique nodded. “So the crown prince of Mephius and the princess of Garbera are going to have a political marriage, huh?”

“Mephius has various etiquette concerning marriages of the imperial household. The marital vows have to be performed at Seirin Valley<ref>Valley of Holy Descent (聖臨の谷).</ref>, for example, and there are also gladiatorial fights in the repertoire to be hosted. It looks like we from Tarkas Gladiatorial Group are the only ones recruited.”

Kain whistled. For a little while now, he was making the repairs of a clock with dexterous hands at the table, as requested of him by Tarkas.

“Well, that means they’re going to make us kill each other in front of the imperial family.”

“We can pay our respects to the crown prince himself. Exciting, isn’t it, Orba?” Shique said, while Orba was as usual bent forward with his eyes on his book.

“It won’t change a thing. Not one. Just putting flowers on armour and sword,” he replied bluntly.

=== Part 2 ===

It was early after dawn when Gil Mephius returned. Leaving his horse at the stables and heading for the back gate, Gil soon recognized the figure of Simon Rodloom and got a sombre look on his face. And then, as expected, he ended up having to listen to his complaints.

“Young prince, I am not impressed. You’ve been tomfooling around like this every day and night.”

“Your hobby of ambushing people is awful too.”

He shrugged his shoulders and turned to look behind him, at the friends he’d been hanging around with. They were all children of nobility – seventeen, eighteen of them – around Gil’s age and just a collection of second or third sons with no claim to the family succession.

“I do not want to mimic a father impatiently waiting for his daughter’s return either. However, your highness is also in the offing for the wedding with the Garberan princess. Things like this will not do. Please show some understanding.”

“I know. Don’t glare like that. Exactly because the wedding is at hand, I want to enjoy the freedom of being single before it’s too late.”

“It’s just that I can’t cover up for you every single time.”

“That’s why I told you – I know!”

Gil was about to lose his temper as usual, but,

“If you truly know already, please prepare to dress yourself in due haste. His majesty is waiting at the palace gates.”

“Father is?”

Blood draining his face, the angry expression was replaced by the tint of dismay. Also, Simon did not fail to notice that the prince’s friends were laughing in secret.

“Well, see ya.”

“Prince, at the dawn of the wedding, let’s make some racket all night again.”

As expected, even though their outward behaviour was very friendly, they seemed distant. While all of them had renowned noble fathers, they hung around the prince nearly every day and night. In the canyon-rich country of Mephius they had street races with rare horses, invited young women from distinguished houses to entertain at the river, gambled, imitated hunts, and drank alcohol, and had meaningless wild parties.

''But that’s only their responsibility'', Simon thought.

The nation and its soldiers were tired of the long-standing war. However, although there had finally come an end to the battles with Garbera with the political marriage folding the curtain, it wasn’t what everyone had been hoping for. To make matters worse, during the peace negotiations, the southern territory of Apta that had played a central part, had been divided with Mephius getting the short end of the bargain.

Sandwiched between the two countries of Mephius and Garbera, was the Duchy of Ende. It didn’t have a very large territory, but the country had a long history whose lineage could be traced back to the beginning of the magic dynasty, and also had tight connections with the gulf countries across the sea. Furthermore, because the powerful eastern nation, Arion, had a longstanding relationship due to their similar lineage, they weren’t an opponent to make light of if they decided to compete for supremacy of the continent’s centre.

Ende hadn’t intervened in the ten-year war, but, although it continued to keep a small trading relationship with both countries, albeit separately, it had shown signs of forming a military alliance with Garbera.

As soon as the Emperor of Mephius received the information, he easily took back the vow he pledged three years ago before the divinity at the Dragon Gods temple, ‘Until the neck of the Garberan king is presented before me, I will never sheathe my sword,’ and suggested to make peace with Garbera.

Of course, Garbera wasn’t so sure of his change of heart. But they also had some conflicts amongst themselves. If they were amply allied with Ende, it might be enough to attack Mephius anyway. However, the war had brought much damage and ruin to Garbera. Moreover, if they would increase military activities together with Ende, they also raised the concern that Ende might do with their territory however they pleased.

For Garbera, who had the same dilemma with Mephius standing at their side, the territory of Apta was brought in. In the end, as a result of weighing the different options, Garbera complied with Mephius’s request for an alliance.

''His imperial majesty, too, must have considered it a bitter decision.''

In and out of the country, Guhl Mephius was whispered of as the ‘Dragonheart Emperor’. Partly as a literal symbol of fear, but also partly as nothing more than irony.

Around the time they entered their sixth year of war with Garbera – it was at the time when the aforementioned divination was done – Guhl had arbitrarily strengthened the imperial household’s influence in order to prevent confusion in the chain of command. The council, which consisted of the major aristocrats, lost half of their authority, and now it existed almost in name only.

Simon Rodloom, too, was a said member. The Rodloom House currently had no successor though, because twelve years ago, in exchange for becoming the council president, the western fortress city that made up the heart of their territory was handed over to another noble. Hence, as he currently had no territory to govern and no soldiers to command, he was a noble from a distinguished family in name only.

His situation virtually resembled that of other nobles. Aside from those who had kept their influence by being servile to the emperor for many generations, for those who were willing to hope for just a little progress in the country, the current Mephius was only a stifling place.

Simon thought he was much like the ones who’d hung around the prince earlier, having enough room for sympathy among the noble’s second sons, as they neither had a promised position nor a future to look forward to. If the war came to an end, and those who’d made a name of themselves on the battlefield were given titles, they couldn't have them acquire part of their extended territory.

Of course it was the world of belligerent countries. Although war itself might not necessarily disappear after this, with Mephius currently wrapped in a feeling of war-weariness, an opportunity would probably only arrive after five, ten, or even twenty years.

The irony of the nickname ‘Dragonheart Emperor’ lay in the fact that, even though he was thought of as a authoritative dictator in his homeland, recently, he hadn’t been able to demonstrate his influence on foreign territories.

''Although it probably fits as a symbol for the current state of Mephius,''

Simon thought, not hesitating on having such opinions and showing a slight self-mockery while waiting for the crown prince to finish his preparations. Simon, who had retired from his position of council president, was now more like the prince’s nursemaid.

As Gil hurriedly jumped out of his room with a change of clothing and hairstyle, he ordered Gil to walk beside him.

“You’re so bossy all the time, Simon. Like a nagging courtesan.”

“There’s no need to get angry. Or you’ll hear that tone every day when you get married.”

“Why shouldn’t I get angry? I won’t be doing as told by a wife three years younger than me.”

“Although Princess Vileena of Garbera is young, she’s someone who has gone through a lot. She’s also resolved to brace herself for a confrontation with the prince.”

“What’s that, talking as if it’s some battle?”

“Married life ''is'' a battle. The vague line between winner and loser only gets thinner. It’s also important to know information on the opponent beforehand. So, are you willing to listen to me talk now?”

Although Gil only meant to make a joke, it had stirred up a hornet’s nest, and Simon, not at all caring about Gil’s scowl either, started talking about tales of Princess Vileena.

It was about five years ago, when Garbera was in the midst of a rebellion. It was the work of local lords secretly in touch with Mephius. They first attacked the villa where the king’s predecessor lived, and then took it over. Princess Vileena, who had come over to play, also happened to be there and they kept her hostage along with her grandfather, the previous king. However, the princess, who was only nine years old at the time, did not shy from their rebel opponents at all, and seemed to have stood against them admirably, seeking the release of all hostages other than her.

Also, compared to other foreign countries, Garbera still vigorously mined dragonbone fossils, purifying the raw materials into the weightless metal known as dragonstone, which had become a big source of income. And, Princess Vileena was known to be an expert at flying the suddenly famous Garberan-style single-seated airships made of the very same metal.

“Certainly, she decorated the airship race that’s performed in Garbera once every few years, by becoming a splendid runner-up.”

“Do women ride airships?” Gil said, with a weary look. “Geez, she’s passed fourteen, but she still seems like a child. In Mephius, you don’t even think of women flying in the sky with such vehicles. I can’t even try to imagine my wife at the palace garden, capering in the sky with an airship. People would point their finger and make a laughingstock out of me. Why would the first prince born in historic Mephius give his bride a freedom like that? I’d rather look for a natural beauty anywhere in the city! Simon, isn’t it possible to cancel the marriage in some way, even now?”

He gave a nonchalant sigh, but it was Simon who wanted to sigh even louder. Should the royal prince come to graciously inherit the imperial dynasty, he’d half-heartedly give priority to his personal preferences over the nation and its people.

''The prince isn’t even a bad person. But what he said will only cause severe intrigue and mayhem'', Simon thought inside. ''And his father is a hero. Although he’s lost part of the southern territories, he also had the ability to make peace with Garbera within almost five minutes, outwitting Ende.''

''On the other hand, he isn’t a good father.''

“Father, have you called for me?”

The two had made their way over to the emperor’s private room. It was still early in the hours and the hall of the imperial court was not yet open. However, the impatient Emperor Guhl, sitting at breakfast, had already decided to let many men seek audience one after another and listen to their words.

Then, before the many nobles – the people who would later become Gil’s retainers – the father openly railed at his son.

“How much time has passed since I summoned you!? You still don’t have any territory, not a single soldier depending on you. You don’t even have a single job assigned to you, and yet you make off like that where my eyes can’t reach? But you were probably just occupied with your worthless nightlife, anyway.”

“No, father, I…”

“So, the only son that I’ve born is a useless sloth like you. It’s the most pathetic truth that our dynasty’s long history will meet disaster.”

Simon gazed at the prince’s shivering back. Over his shoulder, he also had a view of the raving emperor’s figure. Deep wrinkles formed on his face as the extent of his temper grew wilder.

“It seems like Princess Vileena is quite a courageous princess. I heard she can handle a gun and airships better than any ordinary man. You’re not evenly matched. Probably the only manly achievement you’ve got is that you’re about to marry her. Have you got the honour of killing a dragon, capture any survivors of the Ryuujin Tribe, or maybe even discovered an ancient spaceship buried in the ruins? Oh, those are feats worthy of a main character in a saga!”

The emperor pleasantly struck the table, buying the laughter of the retainers lined up around him. When several people followed suit, he added with satisfaction,

“You should be careful, or before you know it, you’ll be the one wearing a dress and carried up into the bed.”

''What a despicable sight.''

Of course, Simon did not mutter those words out loud.

Among those at table was Ineli, the eldest child of the emperor’s second wife, Melissa. In front of the girl with fair skin and highly donned hair, Simon had seen that Gil became a much more easily swayed man. Although he had apparently been invited by Princess Ineli to watch the gladiators just yesterday, she also turned down her face and suppressed her laughter.

In the end, Gil hardly uttered a single word either.

“I think I also find it a bit despicable.”

As soon as the emperor made his leave, Fedom Aulin spoke to Simon.

Although he was much younger than Simon, with his body covered in fat, he was also much bigger. He was the noble in charge of Birac Fortress and its surrounding area. He was also one of the sole leading members who proceeded over the peace negotiations, and was much more promising than other lords with their deathly gazes. Simon kept an eye on him.

Although, in truth, that hardly meant he was a great man.

“You can’t assume the prince can carry this country on such unreliable shoulders. Sure enough, compared to those who were fated to be born on the streets, you could call him lucky.”

Solemnly shaking his head, he lowered his voice to a whisper,

“The resistance against the imperial household is growing stronger. Emperor Guhl still gathers much respect and fear because of his successes, but when it comes to Prince Gil… The way things stand, those who consider him no good may not necessarily have to come out either. No, no, however, bearing the country’s future in mind, can we really just condemn them as traitors?”

It was obvious that with ‘them’ he meant himself. He was quite blatantly riling Simon up, trying to gauge whether or not he could become a potential ally, for there could possibly be an even greater amount of dead than there would be war casualties if Mephius lost the ten-year war against Garbera.

“The prince is young,” Simon said, not showing the slightest change in expression. “Anything can still happen after this. Even when His Majesty was young, there wasn’t any indication of him becoming the Dragonheart. We have to support the young prince and build the future of our nation together.”

“Haha! That’s so like you, Lord Simon. Your eyes are turned towards the future.”

Fedom stroked his strongly slackened jaw. Simon unintentionally spilled a smile.

''Well, I wonder if this man was able to understand my current honour student-like words.''

Simon was certainly worried about the current state of Mephius, as it was currently impossible for the prince to do good.

However, despite such fears, everything might start to topple into an unexpected direction very soon. And Simon would not separate himself from the person concerned. Having experienced the destined changes of Prince Gil Mephius up close, it was still much better than Fedom Aulin’s methods.

=== Part 3 ===

What was called the Mephius Empire, boasting their power as an ‘imperial dynasty’, dated back to seven generations before the current emperor, Guhl Mephius.

The Domick Flats that cut diagonally through the mountains was currently all of its territory. The famous Black Tower, known as the ‘Sword forged from the remains of the Space Immigrant Ship’s bow’, stood at its centre with the imperial capital Solon surrounding it in a circle. Among the natural stronghold formed by intricate valleys, many small forts were built that couldn’t even be called castles, which in turn protected several major cities and the large and small villages dotting the area. The forts, including the city and villages surrounding it, each had a district official, while the nobles in turn usurped and commanded several of its regions.

It was evening.

Gil Mephius was making his favourite horse run at reckless speed.

To the west, the Domick Flats were glittering and shining bright red, while, to the east, the mountains and rows of cliffs towered over like a pitch-black wall, enveloping it in darkness. If he’d look up at the slope rising to his west, he would see the rocky mountains where the Mephius Family built their castle three generations ago. It took the strength of dragons and humans, and it was said they even borrowed the power of several magicians who were rare in Mephius, to carefully carve the limestone mansion. Although it had first been used as a council hall after the new castle was built, now, it was only so in name.

But Gil didn’t spare those historical buildings a glance, as he cantered down towards the town streets, passing the statues of Mephius’s founding king and many heroes lined up in the natural corridor.

''Shit!''

No matter how much he tried to empty his head, his father’s face, the ridiculing voices, and the figure of Ineli’s downcast shoulders and shivering form kept coming back.

“About tomorrow’s plans?”

Although he had asked Ineli out again at noon, she rolled her alluring eyes in a charming gesture.

“Haven’t you just been scolded by father this morning? Although your boldness has indeed the quality of an emperor’s, shouldn’t you be a bit more prudent?”

[[Image:Rakuin no Monshou v01 097.jpg|thumb]]
Holding the hem of her skirt, she bowed before him. Her eyes, however, glancing his way with an upturned look, held signs of testing him out. And, as Gil was at a loss for words just like when he’d faced his father, she turned her back and left after saying, “Have a good day.”

While Gil ran his horse, he gritted his teeth.

''She was definitely provoking me.''

That sweet look in her upturned glance. Ineli had been implicitly making a mockery of Gil.

''— So, you’re still afraid of your father, huh?

''— A child that can do nothing but follow his father’s orders can’t keep me company.

''— Now, why don’t you hurry on back to your room and play by yourself?

Today he didn’t even get a little drunk. When the day fell, the black water lily powder he’d always mix with his alcohol, although it should have instantly made him forget about all annoying things as usual, just today, it seemed to have a bad effect on him. So he nearly doubled the amount he normally knocked back. Then suddenly, after getting severely drunk, Gil wanted to take a fast ride on his horse. He didn’t call for his friends. He was all by himself for today.

Gil had never received a single kind word from his father. He’d almost never seen him show a smile.

When he hadn’t yet become ten, Gil had tagged along on a wild dragon hunt. At the time, as a sort of ‘test of courage’, he’d placed his foot on the dragon’s neck, which had just been shot dead with a gun. Upon seeing his own son drawn as a painting, raising his chin with his arms crossed like a hero, Guhl said,

“Look, it’s a dragon-slaying hero! My son will rise up to the heavens devouring dragons.”

And he laughed, baring his white teeth.

Gil could not bring himself to stay irritated when he so cherished the memories of his childhood. On the other hand, he couldn’t help it that it was the only pleasant memory he had of his father.

''Father must really hate me,'' he thought.

It was obvious that he didn’t have the makings of a hero. How many times had his father sighed during his sword training? Publicly too, like earlier today. All the retainers supported his father. The only one that stuck up for him, his mother, had died five years ago.

And, before last year, his father took the widowed Melissa from a notable family as his second wife. He got two sisters she brought from her previous marriage. Because she had not yet fully finished mourning her late husband, there were many malicious whispers about her in the palace, and, also for other reasons, Gil did not like Melissa. She was, of course, not his mother. Like the older retainers standing at father’s side, in his father’s eyes, she was no person to look down upon.*

And at the time, her oldest daughter Ineli too… When he imagined looking down at her figure at the time, with looks that got more strangely sensual, Gil noticeably kicked the flanks of his horse in a fit of anger.

“Oh?”

Among the people who narrowly avoided being run down by his horse, was Fedom. He was just coming back from his mistress’s house. To his companions he asked,

“Wasn’t that the crown prince just now?”

“Really?”

“At a time like this, without his friends?”

“It may very well be possible that it is our highness,” he said with a hardly amused hint of cynicism. “Alright. It doesn’t necessarily have to be so strange. Someone chase after him. If there’s any trouble, use my name and politely bring him back,” he ordered.

There was more than a common crowd of people in the middle of the streets. Slowing his horse’s pace with great frustration, Gil expressionlessly cut through the gaps between the boisterously laughing people. Of course, he didn’t have the appearance of being from royalty. Because the town people only knew their prince’s face from portraits sold as a courtesy at festivals, he should be able to come out without them even recognizing him.

Sure enough, even though no one called out to him, Gil was not able to ignore them as he let his horse walk through. For some reason, the sight of people getting merry and enjoying themselves got on his nerves. And, despite the light tones of the kithara<ref>An old Greek instrument, a bit like a lyre.</ref> and flute, it seemed that they were making a little fool out of him. Was the laughter rising everywhere simply them pointing fingers at him?

His heartbeat throbbed faster. The drug was finally having its effect and started dispersing Gil’s thoughts. As it were, the scenery before him, that he thought was softly disintegrating into a misshapen variety of viscous colours drawing him in, started to look like a row of little devils sneering at him.

''Stop…''

Every last one of them was laughing, pointing at him with twisted claws.

Take a look – that’s Mephius’s crown prince. That man is like a child, forever frightened by his father. He can’t freely woo a single girl, that deplorable man.

He should just die already. A man whose rule is of no use to anyone in this country should just die right now.

''Stop!''

The series of disgusting colours squirmed and twisted all around him. The fear, which had likely been oppressed, further urged Gil’s disgust and terror. He truly regretted that he hadn’t brought a gun from the palace. Surely, if he filled all of these people with lead bullets, it would clear his head…

“Your Highness, Gil?”

Suddenly, there was someone holding his horse’s bit. That moment, it first looked like one of the figures embodying the devil, but when Gil, shuddering on horseback, stared very hard, he noticed it was a man whose face he’d seen several times before.

Considering he was carrying a sword at his side, and also wearing a handgun at his waist, he had to be someone of the imperial guard, who were allowed to wear arms at times of peace. But because he knew him only his in military uniform, he looked like an entirely different person wearing ceremonial clothes.

“Do you have some business in a place like this?”

“No…”

The prince shook his head, pretending to be in a normal state of mind. The imperial guard was directly under the control of the emperor. That meant they stood at his father’s side, and they were not the kind of companions Gil wanted to be familiar with either way.

Although one could only become an officer class if he came from a good family, the ruler was permitted to freely appoint anyone regarding the soldiers forming his own division. Gil too, when he reached his fifteenth birthday two years ago, had received the authority to select soldiers directly under his own control, but that was merely a formality – in practice, he would one day directly inherit his father’s army division.

“It’s dangerous to be here on your own. Let me send a messenger to the court.”

“Leave it, don’t do something unnecessary. That aside, what’s all this commotion?”

“Ahh.”

The member of the imperial guard, around his mid-forties, narrowed his eyes with embarrassment. He pointed at the centre of the street. On top of a horse-drawn carriage that had its canopy removed, stood a young man and women fully dressed up.

“Tonight’s my daughter’s wedding ceremony,” he laughed.

The girl was happily smiling with a face that resembled her father’s. Her pure white dress, although it couldn’t help being plain in comparison to those he’d seen at the imperial court, was strangely dazzling.

The daring, once-in-a-lifetime dress design revealed her cleavage, making her sensual body line stand out.

“The prince should also take care of his body, being in the offing for marriage. I can call for a subordinate, and hurry on to the castle—”

Half of the imperial officer’s words didn’t even each Gil’s ears.

The laughter, the sounds, and the people dancing in a circle, flickered darkly before him, just like a play of shadow puppets. The worthless smiles in the streets, the singing voices, and the dances increased the uneasiness within Gil.

Why were they all behaving in such a cheerful manner? Even he, the heir to the Mephian Imperial Throne, didn’t see such things at underfoot among his days. No, maybe it was that, just because they were commoners, they could spend their days without fear? They hadn’t chosen their lives. They received what they were given, and grieved for what was robbed of them. If he could also spend his days like that, how much comfort would it give?

It became all the more irritating. An all the more violent throbbing keenly put pressure on his brains. The thump, thump, thump, thumping made Gil’s body tremble. The shadow puppets were shaking along vertically.

At that time, Gil’s lips opened up in a semicircle. He was laughing.

What a foolish notion. That he, as the prince, should envy the happiness of such lowly humans. This would all become his territory one day. He just needed to remind them of that. He needed to teach them that, if such happiness was so easily given, it could also be snatched away in an instant.

“Right to the first night.”

“Eh?”

The officer of the imperial guard holding his horse’s bit once more raised his head. Although Gil was wiping drool from his mouth, the tone of his words was clear.

“I exercise the imperial family’s right to the first night.”

“Prince!”

The officer’s shout made all of the surroundings faces face their way.

''Are you finally looking?''

As he got into the height of drunkenness, Gil laughed even more. If he’d had a mirror at hand right now, Gil would see that his own face resembled those demonic figures he was daydreaming about earlier.

''Do you finally notice I’m not part of you, not just one more life, not just one more human being?''

The males of the Mephian imperial family had the so-called right to the first night. It meant that, if there was a marriage between man and woman anywhere in the domain, almost without exception, he could take from the groom the right to spend the first night with the bride.

There was a time when it was believed the blood of a virgin was something filthy, and that going to bed with power-wielding royal family members or priests would cleanse that blood – although, with that said, it was essentially only a means to pluck high taxes, paid in order to avoid the right to the first night. The law was established about a little less than 200 years ago, in the midst of the successive battles with the Ryuujin Tribe that impoverished human civilization.

Nowadays, the right to the first night had become a dead letter. Just like the selection system of the imperial guard.

“Prepare some place, imperial officer. Are you listening to what I’m saying? If you go against the imperial family, not only you, but the bride too, will go to the guillotine.”

Surprise and confusion spread throughout the circle, creating a wave around Gil. The laughter subsided, the singing stopped, and the dancing broke up. The looks on the young pair atop the horse carriage got frozen still.

On the contrary, Gil didn’t stop laughing. As far as he knew, the right to the first night had never been claimed before. Of course, neither had his father, Guhl Mephius.

Didn’t his father say he wouldn’t become such a man? Someone who would leave his name in history? Didn’t even Ineli try to taunt him? He’d show he’d surpass his father. From now on, they couldn’t say whatever.

In a world that had fallen silent around him, Gil was the only one who felt truly satisfied from the bottom of his heart.

Half an hour later, Gil kept the bride waiting on the second floor of a cheap tavern close by. The security of the barroom was entrusted to none other than the imperial officer from earlier. While grinning broadly on his own, he went up the stairs with a bottle of alcohol. The sound of creaking wood was strangely comfortable.

He threw open the door, and the figure on the bed moved with a shudder. It was dark. The only light came from a soot-covered lamp all the way over to the pillow.

“Prince,” the woman, rubbing her hands together, tried to plead with him. “Please… please, let this slide. If it’s about the tax – I’ll pay! Please forgive me! I still… still haven’t entrusted my body to a man yet. Even my husband…”

“That’s why it’s called the right of the first night, isn’t it?” Gil said, sneering. “I’ll take care of all the tainted blood. After that, you can get intimate with your husband in peace, as much as you want.”

Throwing off his upper clothes, Gil sidled up to her on the bed. The bride let out a scream and backed away on the bed. He could see the flesh of her behind bulging through the thin clothing. Gil’s throat was rumbling.

At that time, there was a violent thumping on the door. Clicking his tongue and turning his head, Gil watched the imperial officer come into the room, and raised a stern look.

“It’s insensitive for the father to break in upon the bride’s wedding night. Although I heard there’s a custom where witnesses are invited to a royal wedding’s first night, that’s not the case for you. Fall back.”

“Well, prince, will you please reconsider? This is a disgrace to Mephius’s imperial household!”

“What are you saying? Someone like you hasn’t the position to scorn the imperial family. Openly disrespecting it like you just did is worthy of the death penalty!”

The imperial officer, Rone Jayce, watched the prince’s eyes up front. They were unfocused, and froth was leaking from his mouth. With a single glance, he saw they were the effects of the black water lily. As the prince fixed his sharp gaze, he continued blurting out incoherent words.

“I… I am of the Mephian imperial family… no… I’m that Guhl Mephius’s child. If you say the very country opposes me, fine, I’ll have you and your family packed into an inescapable coliseum! Suffer at a dragon’s fangs, until you settle all alone in its stomach for all I care! Leave, if you don’t like that. What!? That’s still not enough? We can just resume the marriage after this. I’ll even make sure to also put on one of those celebratory outfits.”

Gil turned his white back his way.

''Ah…''

In that defenceless state, Rone was dizzied, struck by a severe indecisiveness.

Layla was his only daughter. Doing hard work as an officer of the imperial guard, he was never quite confident if he was a good father or not.

It was more than ten years ago, at the time of Rone’s birthday. He returned home, arriving near midnight. Although, in the end, he had even forgotten that the day was his birthday, Layla had been lying asleep with her face on the table. While his wife had placed a blanket on her shoulders, she said,

“She tried her best to stay awake, you know.”

His daughter was holding a white wreath of flowers, one she probably made herself, tightly in her hand.

As he’d softly placed her small hand in his own, he vowed he would do anything in exchange for his daughter’s happiness. Even if it took his own life.

When he came to, Rone was about to jump on Gil. He nearly tumbled to the floor, as he fell forward with the prince. The screams of his brain, saying ‘What are you doing!?’, was swirling along with the sound of everything falling apart.

But, Rone was not really thinking of that at all. The prince was obviously using a drug that made him act this way. If he lost consciousness here, by the time he awoke, he would possibly not remember a single thing. Even if not, he wouldn’t think much more of it than that had happened in a dream. Although it would be necessary to get a large crowd of people to cooperate with him, Rone would use any means necessary to ensure they did.

On the other side, Gil was currently in a state of frenzy. Having the belief he had to surpass his father or have his name be thoroughly defiled, he was about to raise his body, feeling signs of a wild beast. It was as if he wielded the power against his own father.

“Filth!”

As he struggled with this ‘father’, he noticed the handgun hanging at his opponent’s waist. He frantically tried to seize it. Rone noticed it too. At the end of the silent struggle, the handgun fell from both their hands. It fell with a solid sound on the floor. They both quickly extended their hands towards it.

Bang! – when a gunshot echoed throughout.

Following the news he received from his attendant, Fedom rushed to the front of the tavern with a restrained sword.

''The right to the first night, of all things!''

Looking at his side, there were several figures gathered up, assimilating with the darkness in a place where they did not stand out in the streets. All their eyes were glaring at him and Fedom got chills running down his spine. It reminded him of a dripping wet fuse. You’d leave it alone, since it wouldn’t make an explosion anyway, but if even one strong spark was incidentally thrown into the lot, it could quickly blow up anyway.

Clearing his throat, Fedom drew closer to the front of the bar room. Several people of the imperial guard were standing watch at the door. They had bewildered looks on their faces. Summoned by their superior officer, they hadn’t received an explanation on why they had to guard this bar either. Fedom raised his title as a council member and was led through.

Then – bang! – a gunshot rang that made his eardrums quiver.

Standing still for a moment, Fedom then quickly ran up the stairs. His attendant, being a great fighter, leading ahead, opened the door. They equally caught their breath. The smell of gunpowder reached their nose. There was a puddle of blood spreading on the cheap building floor.

''……''

Under those circumstances, a strange silence blew over them.

For a little while, Fedom wasn’t able to think of anything. He had no words, his mind seemingly refusing to accept what he saw for fact, and he only stared at it vacantly. However, bit by bit, reality started corroding his brain cells and a certain thought arose within Fedom Aulin’s mind. Even ''he'' thought it was a ridiculous idea. It was too much.

''No…''

Fedom swallowed a huge amount of saliva. Wasn’t this some heavenly revelation? Now, to break to the old empire’s shell and give it fresh blood? He could give real meaning to this country, suitable for its current turbulent times. Wasn’t this nothing more than a sign from the heavens, that no other than he could do this?

Despite the stench of blood in the cheap tavern, right now, Fedom’s eyes seemed as if they were wrapped by a golden light. While personally shuddering, experiencing excitement and fear, he realized that, if he wanted this, he had to hurry, and impatiently urged on.

At first, after commanding his subordinate to let no one enter this room, he approached the father and daughter who were embracing each other, shivering, on the bed.

“…I am prepared,” the imperial officer said. “But my daughter, and my family, is not to blame. I take all responsibility for this on myself. Please, have mercy on everyone else but me. I’ll do whatever you desire of me, immediately; be it the coliseum, you can make me face a dragon barehanded, offer my neck to the guillotine, or tie my four limbs to dragons and tear me apart.”

“Oh?”

Fedom’s cheeks were trembling. He was looking down for a quick glance at the man lying down with the bared back. He didn’t move a single inch. It looked like he was already no longer breathing.

“Do not fear,” Fedom said, albeit in a shaky voice. “He’s still breathing.”

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you hear me? He’s still breathing. Do not fear. The crown prince will be in good health.”

Rone Jayce remained quiet, still surprised. Fedom quickly resumed speaking.

“All right, if you still want to protect your family, I’ll ask you to not leak out a single word that I say, got it? If just one little thing about what happened here reaches my ears through someone else, you, your family, and all your blood relatives will be the first to enter a dragon’s stomach. Got it? In short, I’m telling you that ''isn’t'' the case right now. Understand?”

The imperial officer, Rone Jayce, suddenly glanced up. A spurt of blood on the chest, his daughter was clinging on to him. Over their heads, loomed Fedom’s face. Those eyes with undetermined focus were much like the ones Prince Gil had just a little while ago.

<noinclude>

===References and Translation Notes===
<references/>
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| Back to [[Rakuin no Monshou:Volume1_Chapter1|Chapter 1]]
| Return to [[Rakuin no Monshou|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Rakuin no Monshou:Volume1_Chapter3|Chapter 3]]
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</noinclude>

Rakuin no Monshou:Volume1 Chapter1

2013-12-17T16:15:47Z

Draringi: Undo revision 311451 by Tasear (talk):

==Chapter 1: Iron and Blood==

=== Part 1 ===

The outcome was decided.

The amphitheatre of Ba Roux shook. The many spectators that were crowded together unanimously shouted out the victor’s name and stamped their feet, creating a racket that sounded much like a tidal wave.

While the winner was being bathed in the passionate and boisterous cheers, the one who had received the opposite fate lay motionless besides his feet. Eventually, the loser’s headless body was struck with a hook and dragged away by the hands of two slaves.

The sun was still glaring even though it was near evening. The spectators’ faces were covered with sweat and glittering brightly, as if someone smeared them with oil, and their eyes, too, were sparkling with bloodlust, as they anticipated the next fight to be yet another battle to the death. Whoever just won or lost didn’t stay on their minds for long. It was only the heat of battle that left an everlasting taste, stood in the air, and kept whirling around the arena.

“Go, go!”

“Do it, kill!”

Today was another success. Because the more virtuous people living in the city, for whom the admission fees were no more than about a child’s weekly allowance, were able to watch the games, over a thousand spectators were gathered.

The next match was a cavalry battle. Both men were armed with spears, emerging from the east and west gates, and crossed each other at a great speed. At the second charge, one of the men got flung off of his mount and, as he scrambled to get up again, the other swiftly jumped off his own horse to give the finishing blow.

Up next were two barely clothed men, who started to grapple each other with their bare hands.

They were sword-slaves, or so-called gladiators. In compensation for doing these public, life-threatening battles, these people were granted a few days of their lives and the minimum amount of food required to get by. Some of them were already born as slaves, some had been thrown into the arena for committing crimes, and there were even those who had personally applied to cast themselves into this living hell.

But if gladiators got well-known enough to become veterans, they received a different kind of popularity from the crowd. One of them, named Shique, was a handsome gladiator who was popular among women and had just won the brawling match. He was strangely pretentious, bowing in a way much like a nobleman would, and notably, shrill voices rose from the crowd.

“Did you see that, brother? Shique just won!”
<ref> She actually calls him お義兄様 ‘ogikei-sama’, which, in this case, means he’s her step-brother. However, she pronounces it as ‘onii-sama’.</ref>

It was the voice of a girl yet in the more tender years of age, who was sitting in one of the grandstands among the front row seats. High pillars, which rose from the corners in the left and right, supported a roof that covered the stand. Only those who were able to pay a large sum of money were able to view the match from these special seats.

From the looks of it, the young man resting his chin on his hands next to her, whom she called ‘brother’, seemed to be dissatisfied. With a long cloth wrapped around his head, the ends dangling from both the left and right just like a believer of Badyne, it looked like he was concealing his face from the glances of people around him.

“Ahh, it is as you say,” he said. “The gladiator you had your eye on won. Now, isn’t that enough? Can we hurry and get something to eat? This place is giving me a headache.”

"But it is only beginning, is it not? Did the smell of blood sicken you? You, the successor of the lands of Mephius?"

“Watch your mouth.”

Not at all worried about the youth’s clear jumpiness, the girl gave a fickle laugh.

The next fight had already started, so the young man was forced to stay after all and rested his cheeks on his hands again with a bitter look on his face. How much blood had to be splattered around, and how many sweaty muscles did she have to see before getting tired of it?

He occasionally stole a sidelong glance at the young girl’s white skin and beautiful face. She had an innocence that matched her age, but a strange sensual and mature beauty as well – it was a view much more charming than that of the savage fight below.

Then, after about two battles, a new stage was being set in the arena. One huge stake got established in the centre, and a single woman was fastened to the top. She was a beautiful woman. Purposely made to wear torn clothes, each time she writhed in pain, her breasts and thighs swayed about while whistles came from the heated male audience.

However, the woman was in no position to be bothered with their obscene looks, for at the same time the stake got put up, a big cage with approximately the same height was carried in.

Inside was a raging beast that was roughly seven or eight metres long. Its slimy, green scales were flickering in the sunlight. It was a large dragon. Bred through repeated selective breeding by humans, it was of a variety called ‘Sozos’ that Mephius also used in wars.

Its clenched, humongous teeth, and each of its claws extending from six legs, were just like sharp swords. Probably because it was drugged, it seemed to have a somewhat repressed ferociousness and dulled instincts, but being hit by that bulk would nevertheless cause serious injuries, and it looked like it could blow away the steel cage like a toy.

“Now then! Gathered ladies and gentlemen!”

Suddenly an orator standing on an elevation began to speak over a loudspeaker, eager to finish his speech before the beast broke out.

“Next, is the start of our programme. The great dragons once roamed the earth and have likely established our culture, now they are no more than this bloodthirsty, simple beast we look down on. There is no need to fear. We are the brave souls, the purest of minds, that took over from an era of space voyage. Not even by the dragon’s tusks and claws – not to mention its fearsome, terrible breath! – will we be outdone. Please, take a look at the evidence. Behold the figures of these brave men who challenge this dragon of old, this beast of a terrifying false god!”

From the eastern gate, a single gladiator stepped forward. In the man’s hands, who sported a muscular body, was an iron ball connected to a chain.

“Ballchain Verne!”

The audience’s cheers became even louder, for he was a gladiator who could pride himself in being one of the most famous fighters in Ba Roux. The man was about in his mid-thirties with dark skin, and he responded by waving a hand to the ladies and gentlemen in the audience. Then,

“It’s the Tiger!”

“Look, Iron Tiger Orba!”

A swordsman, also alone, walked out, but from the western gate.

"How eccentric," the young man commented on the steel blue mask that was covering gladiator’s face. As if imitating a tiger, small fangs protruded up from the lips, leaving only a small space for the mouth of this man named Orba underneath. Cut out into two splits were openings where the tiger’s eyes would’ve been, but naturally it was only Orba’s eyes peeking through. And, despite a tiger normally having rounded ears, the mask had pointed ends at both sides instead – it was almost as if horns were coming out from the corners.

However, that was all; he had no other outstanding character features. In comparison with Verne, he had an almost feeble body build, and he only held a simple, common longsword in his hand.

The spectators started ridiculing him, saying,

“Look at his thin body. Just one hit of the ballchain will completely smash him up!”
[[Image:Rakuin no Monshou v01 022.jpg|thumb]]

“They say he took off Meier the Baron’s head at the Arena of Tidan after only two strikes. Let’s see him do the same to our Verne. Go on then!”

“This Iron Tiger Orba,” the girl said, as her cheeks blushed with excitement. “Isn’t this his first appearance in Ba Roux? But he seems to be famous. Do you know of him, brother?”

“How should I know?”

“My, what a cold reply. Fine, if you’re so bored with being here, why don’t we have a little bet on this game? Maybe it’ll end up getting you a little interested.”

“A wager, is it? For what, and how?”

“Simple. Of those two about to fight, who do you expect to win?”

“That’s stupid. How’s that even a bet? Even I know the name of that Verne guy. And his physique is way better. Even an amateur can see that. You're just trying to rip me off, betting on the clear victor yourself, aren't you?”

“My, you’re a difficult customer! But that’s fine. You can just sulk away like that as long as you like. And I even thought of bringing you along so you could have a little distraction. But I got it, I understand – you hate spending time with Ineli. If that’s the case, I will never invite you again, don’t worry!”

The girl stiffly turned away her face, as the young man panickingly stopped resting his chin on his hands.

“W-Wait. I was wrong,” he said. “I’ll bet on that masked swordsman. That’s what you want, right?”

“No. Ineli decided to bet on that swordsman first. You can take Ballchain Verne, brother.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because I like him.”

''Even though you can't see his face?'' – was what the young man was about to say, but he stopped himself in time. He couldn’t afford to displease her even more.

“Now then,” the orator said, raising his voice again. “Will Orba or will Verne take up the role of the hero and set that woman free? Or will these rivals be fighting in vain, as the cage breaks and this poor, beautiful lady ends up in the dragon’s stomach?”

From there on, the two swordsmen would battle, and the winner would rescue the woman – or, as the orator stated, ‘a certain princess from a ruined country’ – from the dragon’s clutches, and also earn a night of love-making. Or so the scene was set out to be.

The two men both stepped forward at the same time. As they approached each other, the lack in Orba’s physique became all the more apparent. Verne spoke in a voice that could be heard by those in the front row seats.

“So, you call yourself a tiger, huh? I’ve heard your name. But, there’s nothing more unreliable than a rumour. You can try to hide your face, but I can see the skin underneath. You’re still young, just a kid.”

Ballchain Verne’s thick lips, in proportion to the rest of him, bended into a smile.

“I’m sure the mask is just a bluff so people won’t make fun of you. You’re not a tiger, you’re just a mangy cur! I’ll teach you what a real man’s battle truly is all about!”

Facing Verne, who was loudly laughing at his shoulders, Orba didn’t reply. Probably assuming his nerves were blown away, Verne gave a sneering look, took up a defensive stance, and slung the ballchain over his shoulder.


“Start!”

There was a pointed signalling voice, but it halfway disappeared into the further increasing sound of the audience’s cheers. In an instant, Verne made his move.

He wielded the iron ballchain with all his strength. At first, the masked swordsman was about to rush in, but, as if panicked by his sheer force, he quickly stepped back. There was a small spark as the iron ball chafed against the mask. It was enough for Verne to take pursuit of the stumbling Orba. The huge iron ball, which was much larger than a human head, approached with the howling of the wind, and Orba continued to avoid it by stepping back.

He rolled over the ground, excessively jumped aside, and finally bustled about by making an evasive gesture – which invited laughter from the spectators.

“Look at that, it seems the swordsman you like can’t get out of a tight spot,” the same young man said. “Or could it be that this fight isn't so fair and square?”

“You think?” the girl said, looking straight ahead as she put a finger to her plump and florid lips. “If that’s so, then why hasn’t the match ended yet?”

“That’s because his opponent keeps pitifully running from place to place.”

“I wonder why Verne can’t corner an opponent who so clumsily keeps running away.”

The young man wanted to say something in return but kept his mouth shut. As he watched, he noticed that Orba wasn’t outright retreating, but kept circling around his opponent while maintaining a fixed distance. And it looked like Verne was no longer able to attack and pursue his opponent so hastily either.

Probably because he lost his temper, Verne put all of his strength into tossing another blow. The iron ball flew past Orba’s shoulder and – although it seemed obvious to the bystanders that this was like a golden opportunity – he only returned a slight thrust with his sword, while once again taking his distance.

“Get serious!”

“Stop messing around!”

The audience stopped laughing and started jeering down at the arena. Not only at Orba, but also at Verne who didn’t seem able to take down his constantly fleeing opponent.

“You bastard!” Verne howled.

When he tried to rush at Orba diagonally, the girl suddenly raised her voice, “Ah!”, in surprise.

Orba, who had until now only retreated backwards, suddenly started to pitch forward. Stopping in his tracks, Verne, too, took the opportunity to strike another blow.

Orba tilted his body wide to the right, avoiding the iron ball and, as he rotated on his left toe, flashed his sword in a diagonal uppercut. The moment the chain got cut apart, a strange, clear sound echoed throughout the arena, then Orba twisted his body again and swung his sword downward with the force of a thunderbolt.

Verne’s cranium was split in two and the giant collapsed soon after.

“M-Magnificent!” the orator cried.

However, because it had happened so swiftly and came with such an unexpected conclusion, the audience was looking rather flabbergasted. Although the awkward silence wrapped around the arena, the victor didn’t seem to care either way and headed up to the stake, and, borrowing the hands of a number of slaves to lift it from the ground, used his sword to cut the ropes that kept the woman bound.

With a shout of delight, she joyfully clung onto his neck, only to be pushed away with a confused look on her face as Orba immediately started to return to his gate.

The girl in the special seat – she had also been staring agape at the sudden fall of the curtain – slowly began to form her lips into a smile. That gladiator named Orba didn’t seem aware of the audience at all. As if stating the only reason he was here today was to fight, and to kill as he was told.

“He… took out Verne.”

“With one blow.”

After that moment of silence, voices praising Orba began to raise little by little. Now that the mood had grown uneasy for the visitors, slowly the clapping of hands, the awkward stamping of feet, and cheers appropriate for a victor started to fill the stands. Then, almost at the instant the arena had returned to the state it was supposed to be in, the air shook heavily.

It was the roar of the Sozos Dragon.

It might have been the drug wearing off, or an instinctive reaction to the smell of blood, but all of a sudden it started swaying its enormous body from right to left, shattering a portion of its cage. One of the slaves who’d been in the process of towing everything away, was caught and raised from the head by the dragon’s claw. Before he could resist, his torso disappeared into the Sozos’s mouth.

There was the sound of breaking bones. And at the same time as the awful sound of salivated chewing could be heard, the arena grounds were suddenly filled with screams. In the midst of all the fear and panic that rapidly swept over the area, the Sozos rather calmly stretched out its limbs further and emerged from the broken cage.

Being pulled along into the crowd that strived to be the first to escape, the young man from earlier almost fell to the floor. But then, he was pulled along by a hand from the side.

“This way. Hurry!”

It was one of the soldiers who’d been guarding the special seats. As he rattled around with a sword and gun, he tried to bring the young man back inside.

“W-Wait. Ineli’s…”

Although he tried to resist, he couldn’t move freely as he kept being jostled by the crowd of people trying to escape. Then, he heard a suspiciously familiar, high-pitched scream. Right in front of the Sozos’s forepaws beyond the dividing wall, was a figure that belonged to no one other than Ineli. The girl had turned a pale colour as she had tumbled over from the gallery, and it looked like she was about to lose consciousness any minute.

The dragon’s long snout opened from top to bottom. As the rows of tusks, similar to sharp pointed swords, opened up, they formed long threads of slaver. The young man was about to involuntarily avert his eyes, when a thin streak of blood spouted from the Sozos’s neck. The gladiator arena’s employed guards had rushed in with guns. However, because they were close to the seats, they could only shoot at point-blank range, and from the way they stood, they hardly had the nerve. While they were conflicted at what to do while it approached, the Sozos turned around quickly and hit them with a single blow of its tail, fully sending several people flying.

The girl had sank down to the floor, her eyes opened wide looking at her surroundings.

Then, from those eyes, she saw.

There was a shadow that ran past the Sozos’s flank like a gust of wind. Just before it came up against the brick wall that divided the seats from the ring, the shadow kicked against it and soared up into the air. A man with a tiger-imitating iron mask jumped into the girl’s sight, the figure of Orba the gladiator landing on top of the Sozos’s head.

Even though she had just witnessed him running up to the Sozos from behind while the dragon was distracted by bullets, she couldn’t suddenly believe it.

Despite Orba’s slim body, his joints and muscles seemed to fortify his arms like steel as he grabbed a firm hold of the dragon’s neck. While further sandwiching its neck between his legs, he held on tight with one arm and, with his other, brought his sword down into the head.

It swung its long tail around and rocked the ground by stamping its feet, but the dragon still struggled, not able to shake off the gladiator. It shook off a second strike. But the third tore through its scales, as tough as iron armour, and pieces of flesh and blood got splattered about. However, the sword broke when it came to the fourth strike, but at that time the other gladiators rushed in.

“Orba!”

Receiving a thrown sword from a brown-skinned swordsman, Orba once again raised it for a fifth attack, following the exact same process as earlier, until he fully caved the middle of the blade into the crown of the dragon’s head.

Its golden eyes goggled longingly at the skies. Just before its huge body sunk from the neck, the swordsman had swooped down next to the guest seats.

The girl, still kneeling on the floor, was looking up at him. It was almost as if he came from a tale, for she felt like a princess caught by an evil wizard, and although she fixed her eyes on him with a throbbing heart, of all things, the would-be-hero gladiator continued his walk, completely ignoring her, and nimbly jumped off the dividing wall and back into the ring.

There was still a cloud of chaotic fear hanging over the arena as he showed her his back and took his leave, but rather than drifting the air of a victor, he looked more like a solitary figure that could hardly endure the stares on him.

“A-Are you okay?”

She turned her eyes to the young man she had brought with her, who came running up to her with bated breath, and suddenly got an odd sensation. She had only seen it with a passing glance earlier, but the eyes underneath that swordsman’s mask seemed to closely resemble those of the young man.

And there was yet another man who focused a long look at Orba’s back, surprised for another reason.

“No way, he is alive.”

He wiped the sweat from his slightly slacking chin with the back of his hand. Standing behind the young man’s back - he was also one of the men who’d been at the special seats - he was speaking to himself in wonder as the unique smell of blood drifted about.

“Orba was his name? Two years... Two entire years, huh.”

=== Part 2 ===

“Two years.”

The gladiator, Orba, staring up at the darkness surrounding him, suddenly murmured those words in his mouth.
Although only ‘two years’ into this line of work, it had been full of hardships, blood, and corpses. How many times had he struggled for his life, only to have both his feet chained at the end, spend the night in the slave pens, where his only pastime was to train all morning in order to keep living as a sword-slave? And then there would be another fight.

No one, except Orba himself, expected him to be able to live through more than five battles. Two years ago, when Orba first set foot in the arena, he’d still been fourteen years old. His body had been even thinner than it was now, and he’d hardly been able to handle the weapons.

However, at the moment of truth, he’d survived. He brandished the weapon held in his hands, chosen from one of the few weapons he was able to wield, to the limits of his power. He only knew how to fight by recklessly charging in. As he gained experience, his skill, the thickness of each of his muscle fibres, the mastery of new weapons, as well as the opponent’s corpses he stepped over, increased every time he emerged from another fight.

And so, two years passed. Orba didn’t know whether that was a long or a short time. Sometimes, he thought he was a considerably old person, but he also felt like a youngster at times who still didn’t know anything at all about battles.

Anyway, maybe it simply had to do with the fact, that he had not been blessed with the opportunity to see his own face. Lying face up, he was still wearing the same iron mask he wore in the battle ring. Because it had never been removed those two years, the other sword-slaves belonging to the same Tarkas Gladiatorial Group had no way of knowing his true face.

“Get up, slaves! You hate wakin’ up? Then get ready for your worst day yet!”

When morning came, another day for the slaves began. The one in charge of training the sword-slaves, and the slaves’ main supervisor, was Gowen, who drove everyone from their bedrooms and made them start cleaning the accommodations.

When that was finished, taking care of the lions, serpents, boars, tigers and the like – the animals that were used in the arena – was waiting. In particular, taking care of the dragons was hard work. Even taking care of the small- and medium-sized dragons was too much for a single person to handle, but taking care of the large-sized Sozos dragons was far worse. While it was expected for slaves to die by the sword, many had also been crushed underfoot by these dragons that were purposefully trained not to grow accustomed to humans.

Orba set foot in the vast dragon’s abode, which was much larger than the slaves’ dwellings – far from it – and resembled a castle courtyard, but he stopped in his tracks when he noticed the back of a woman.

She was Hou Ran. Of all the other slaves ordered to feed the dragons, she was the only one who directly touched the dragons’ scales. Of course, the dragons’ legs and necks were wrapped in chains, as it was not necessary to carry out yesterday’s example, but that was by no means an absolute guarantee. At a distance that would even cause a gladiator to hesitate, greeting each dragon one by one, she gently touched their scales with her fingers.

“Orba.”

Calling out his name, she quickly turned around.

“So I’ve been found out.”

“I’ve been told by the ‘voice’ of the dragons.”

Ran smiled. She seemed truly unsuitable in an all-men, not to mention savage, sword-slave detention camp, and Orba still hadn’t gotten used to her defenceless smile.

Her skin like polished ebony, combined with hair that seemed to have turned pale, gave off a mysterious charm. Originating from the Dragon God worshipping nomads that roamed in the western mountains of Mephius, unlike her primarily reclusive kin, Ran had exceptionally been brimming with curiosity, secretly boarded one of her tribe’s caravan wagons and came over to the outside world. Because she never told him exactly what had happened after that, he did not know when Tarkas hired her, and how she could take care of the dragons single-handedly like this.

“Do these guys know my name?”

“Their ‘voices’ come like images into my head. They all know your face, Orba. You’re liked by the dragons.”

While it appeared idiotic, in fact, it seemed like her pupils, clearly giving the impression of being deep under the sea, held some kind of intelligence lost to civilized men. From the other side of the fence, the small-type dragons were poking out their snouts and snapping at him.

“It doesn’t look that way,” Orba said with a thin smile.

At the time Orba turned up two years ago, Hou Ran was already at the detention camp. Back then, although she didn’t make direct eye contact with the others employed by Tarkas, she didn’t even open her mouth to him. Whether they would see Orba’s face or hear Ran’s voice first, soon became the target of bets among the sword slaves short of entertainment.

But, one time, Ran was about to be roughed up by several new sword-slaves who’d recently come into the camp. Orba just happened to pass by and had beaten them up, and ever since then Ran had at least been able to speak to him a bit.

“I heard you were attacked by a Sozos at Ba Roux.”

“''I'' was the one who attacked the Sozos,” he emphasized. “It suddenly started getting violent.”

“Even with drugs, it’s useless to imprison its heart by force. If I had been the one supervising it, such a thing would have never happened.”
[[Image:Rakuin no Monshou v01 035.jpg|thumb]]

She bit her lips, but it was not because she was concerned about Orba or the visitors. With the figure of a girl patting the nape of a medium-sized Baian dragon in the corner of his eye, Orba finished his own work and left the dragon’s abode behind him.

After feeding the animals and cleaning was done, it was time to tend to their weapons. Because they left their own lives in their care, they carefully did them one by one. Whenever they handled weapons, about ten guards in full armour acted as supervisors. Naturally, they were there to make sure none of the sword-slaves tried to revolt.

Then, after finishing a meal with a sorry amount of bread and soup – the survivors of yesterday’s gladiator matches were treated meat and fruit as a reward – they each began their training at the start of noon. Just like when they’d been tending the weapons, there were armed soldiers on the lookout, but this time, the chains that connected both feet were taken off.

Sword-slaves that lasted over two years like Orba were extremely rare. Lives were lost one after another, and new faces always appeared again on the next day. Gowen tirelessly taught them the step work of how to hold a sword or how to handle a gun, and trained them thoroughly until they were fully prepared.

Orba also had some of the newcomers as opponents. Sometimes they clashed swords, just like in an actual fight, and it wasn’t uncommon for someone to part with a limb or lose his life in the midst of training..

Today, there weren’t any casualties. But that did not have to mean they were lucky. The next day may hold an even more miserable fate, and grislier deaths may be awaiting for these gladiators.

When all the faces of the sword-slaves had turned dark, their skin wet with sweat and covered in dust, Orba moved to the fence separating the training grounds from an aisle on the other side, and caught sight of Tarkas’s figure.

Saying “At ease!” at the newcomer, Orba rushed up towards him.

Also noticing the masked man, Tarkas stopped in his tracks. There was a feeling of distrust slipping through his sagged cheeks.

“What is it, Iron Tiger? Ahh… good job yesterday.” He had a look on his face as if he just now remembered he forgot to feed his pet dog. “Verne was quickly becoming a well-known gladiator. The other gladiator troupe started talking about wanting to pit him against you. ‘Can’t we earn back all the money we invested in Verne that way?’ – don’t try that sarcastic bullshit on me. Well, I suppose I feel a bit grateful as well. And killing that Sozos—”

“Tarkas, how much longer do I have to continue winning?”

“What’s that?”

“It’s been two years already. I’ve kept winning all the time. How many times do I have to be the ‘main event’ like yesterday. Isn’t it about time you take these chains off of my feet?”

Sword-slaves, all of them, were each exchanged on a contract when bought by a merchant. Although Tarkas seemed to handle it quite vaguely.

“Don’t think I can’t read. Even a slave should have the right to look into my contract. I’ve been waiting here, Tarkas. I should’ve been allowed to leave a long time ago.”

As Orba spoke right in front of him, Tarkas sharply put a squinting look in his eyes.

“So, where do you plan to go? Surely you can be released from my hands, but you’ll still be a criminal. You don’t have the money to pay off your remaining prison term. Or maybe you want to work in the Tsaga Mines along the western border? Poisonous gases, wild man-eating beasts, human-hunting Geblin tribes, and – of course – extremely miserable and rigorous labour. If it’s the same hell, or if you think you may have it better off here, hurry up and get back to your training. And don’t ever speak to me like an equal, until you’ve become a full-fledged swordsman that earns his pay.”

Thrusting his thick finger in Orba’s face, Tarkas quickly took his leave, heading for his office. Behind him, unfamiliar faces followed suit. Considering this was a place where legs were tied up in chains, they were probably newly procured slaves.

Orba was silent. His eyes were teeming with rage however, but Tarkas’s words weren’t lies either. Concerning Mephian law, you can basically either sell your life or go to prison. Like the Mines of Tsaga that Tarkas spoke of – should he apply for the country’s public service, accompanied by dangers, and sell himself off as a slave there?

Grasping the fence tightly in his hands, he lost all sense of feeling in his fingers before he knew it, Orba remained there standing in place.

“What are you doing, Orba!? Get back here!”

After finally being rebuked by Gowen, he went back to practice. As always.

A few hours after that, after washing their bodies with a cupful of water, it was time for their second meal of the day. Orba, rounding up his body like a hunchback in the corner of the dining hall, was almost grasping at his food. As a habit, he couldn’t go through a meal without reading a book.

Then,

“Orba, good job yesterday.”

Another sword-slave, the one named Shique, nestled onto his back, and Orba roughly shook him off with his hand.

“That ballchain Verne chap. When the match was decided, I didn’t know what to do. If you seemed to get into a huge disadvantage, I considered shooting him down from the outside.”

“Go away. Unless you want me to wound that smug face of yours.”

“Ooh, scary. But I wouldn’t mind any wound you give me, for it’ll become a bond between me and you.”

Even though it was hard, despite Shique’s chuckling behaviour, to make an accurate judgement on whether he was serious or making a joke, Orba didn’t socialize with him either way. The handsomely Shique had grown out his hair and even used make-up when it came to a gladiatorial battle. And just like that, because it seemed to further his degenerate good looks, he was tremendously popular among the female crowd. Even though the person himself was a self-styled, huge misogynist.

“However, I expected no less from you, Orba. Even without me lending you a hand, you managed to make a truly magnificent performance. Are you, both in name and reality, Tarkas’s top gladiator, I wonder?”

“I wouldn’t say it was magnificent.”

Gowen, the one in charge of training the gladiators, made his appearance. Although Orba showed plain the annoyance in his eyes as he sat down at the same table, he didn’t seem to mind.

“Although you did well, it’s a fact that it was also dangerous. When you broke in, your timing was still too hasty. It’s a bad habit of yours to take risks when you’re driven into a corner, only if even by a bit. You should spend more time putting an effort into ensuring your predominance. Although Verne was a brilliant swordsman, he wasn’t the type to target his opponent’s weak points. But a more observant opponent could easily see through your quick temper, and sweep you off your feet.”

He was a grey-haired man in his mid-fifties, but he still had a stout and tanned body, and the peering glances he gave the sword-slaves were filled with intensity.

“His opponent was that Verne, though. That guy was, curiously enough, in perfectly good shape,” a new voice called out, belonging to Tarkas Gladiatorial Group’s number one giant, Gilliam.

He had been in the same arena as Orba and Shique the day before, carrying a battle-ax on his shoulder, and with that the three strongest sword-slaves were gathered together. With long auburn hair in as much disorder as possible, his face, grinning with clenched teeth, had a look as intimidating as that of a wild lion.

“When I heard you had to go against Verne, I honestly thought you ran out of luck. Well, you don’t have bad skills. But, as usual, you still don’t know what it means to be a gladiator. It’s worthless if you win gracelessly. It won’t satisfy the guests. The way you carelessly kept running from place to place and then suddenly decided the match with one blow was just not entertaining at all. You’ve got to hit them up front.”

For someone like a sword-slave, it wasn’t just about winning the match. You had to be popular, in short, make sure that a lot of visitors come to the see that gladiator alone. Plain gladiators, after finally having earned a pile of money, would be thrown before wild animals or dragons on their own, only to satisfy the sadistic tastes of their customers.

That was why the gladiators – every one of them – strove to hone their skills, and also tried to appeal to the audience with flashy personalities in order to survive. Some decorated their body with gaudy armours, some made a show out of dragging out their opponent’s heart after their demise, while others inked their bodies with mysterious tattoos.

As for Shique, he dramatically claimed to be ‘a descendent of an ancient royal dynasty’.

“This time, go against me, Orba. I’ll teach you what it is to fight for real.”

“Not interested.”

“Haha, are you afraid of me?”

“Oh, I am. I’m scared. So, get lost.”

“You bastard!”

As Orba continued eating his meal in his usual stooped behaviour, Gilliam pushed him in the back.

“Stop it!” Gowen commanded.

If there was a disturbance, the soldiers belonging to the gladiatorial group would rush in, so for the time being Gilliam took his leave with a reddened face.

“Come to think of it, some strange newcomers have appeared,” Gowen said, after some time had passed, as if he suddenly remembered. It looked like he was talking about the ones Orba had seen too, trailing behind Tarkas back then.

“Strange? Like, with horns in their hair, and the bulge of a tail in the back of their pants?” a sword slave named Kain interfered.

He was a boy, the same age as Orba, who came to the detention facility a year ago and took after him. He wasn’t that great physically or with a sword, but he excelled in dexterity, especially when handling handguns or rifles.

“Or maybe a survivor from the Ryuujin<ref>Dragon people.</ref> Tribe, doesn’t that sound romantic?”

“Ryuujin, Geblin, or whatever type of person appears now, I probably wouldn’t even be surprised. This is a sword slave company after all, a trading place for all kinds of races.”

“It’s a much simpler story. I heard every last one of those guys hardly have any skill at the sword.”

“What…?”

Kain looked stretched out his arms, seemingly uninterested.

“I mostly can’t believe Tarkas would have bought a bunch of good-for-nothings without a grumpy face. But he seemed in an unusually good mood.”

“Oh?”

“Certainly. For a master like Tarkas, whose eyes are always dazzled by the shine of gold, it sounds really strange, right?”

“Good mood? That guy?” Orba said, remembering the situation with Tarkas during the day.

“I’ve known him longer than you. The only times I’ve seen Tarkas in a good mood was when he got the chance to earn a huge amount of money.”

“Then again, I wonder if it’s nobles who came to visit. About an exhibition match, or something like that. Those newcomers could’ve also been nobles who were asking to be bought. Or maybe they’re political offenders who opposed the Mephius Empire. Could there be a request for them to be gruesomely fed to dragons in public?”

“There’s a strange intensity to your words, because I can’t read your face.”

“Anyway, where’s the new book? It’s been three months since I’ve asked for it.”

Losing interest in the conversation, Orba inquired about something else. The other guys had all started raising different topics among themselves. By tomorrow, they were likely to fight as opponents even if they were gladiators working for the same firm. The idea of deepening a friendship more than necessary had never been in Orba’s mind from the start.

“Ahh, it’s been purchased. It’ll be here tomorrow. However… although it seems a little late to say this, you’re a bit unusual too. Of the guys here, even those that can read and write letters, I doubt they’ve ever read more than a hundred in their life.”

Plucking at a skin of chicken, Gowen glanced over at Orba.

“Sometimes, even I’m almost driven with the impulse to tear off that mask. What’s the true face that lies underneath? There are times I think you’re only a young wild brat, and there are times the cool-headedness of a man who has survived many battlefields peeks through. Yesterday was like that. You took the appropriate actions against a Sozos without flinching.”

“Are you praising me or not?”

“I’m praising you. Other than taking up a sword and fighting for yourself, you calmly consider the circumstances. Although I think you may actually be better suited as a leader, if not for that quick temper of yours. You like books about history and people, get absorbed reading them late into the night, and swallow their knowledge.”

When meeting him for the first time, basically from the time he was bought by the Tarkas company, Orba’s face had been covered by a mask. Ever since then, he hadn’t taken it off even once. Of course, everybody wanted to know why. They wanted to see his face. They wondered about his origins.

In the beginning, it worried Gowen that Orba met fists with them in response to their curiosity and suspicions. But when half a year had passed, he thought of the makeshift excuse that ‘a magician put a curse on it’ and after a year the teasing stopped, and soon nobody asked him about it anymore. Although some newcomers occasionally asked him about it, Orba was able to turn a blind eye.

“What do you gain from reading a book? At least, at the place where I was born and raised, you didn’t gain respect no matter how many books you owned.”

“It sounds like you’ve been raised by ape men or Geblin.”

“Watch your language, Orba. I think I’m especially kind to you considering the circumstances. If it doesn’t matter to you, I too can adopt that same attitude.”

Behaving like a man who couldn’t understand a joke was one of Gowen’s beloved habits. Orba revealed a stifled smile, but the deep-wrinkled sword-slave training official unexpectedly gave a serious look.

“As a sword-slave, normally, you only try your best to survive for the day. Some go back out into this corrupted world, but, because they can’t live without committing yet another crime, there are some people who are content being a sword-slave for the rest of their life, – although, for most, their ‘whole life’ would probably be very short – but, you’re different. You, at least, do not get absorbed in the killing and focus on the future. After that, I always think: Hey, what should I say to such a man? Should I tell him to throw away a future like that? When it’s only hard, even if you hold onto it with such devotion? Or should I tell him to seriously hold on to that hope? Because it will be the strength for him to live this through?”

“Did you secretly drink some alcohol, gramps? You’re talkative.”

“I’m being serious.”

Gowen stubbornly shook his head. Orba decided he had truly gotten drunk. Usually, Gowen wouldn’t have remained silent after being called ‘gramps’.

“Who is it that you fight for? The other sword-slaves, yourself, or do you have some other goal in mind?”

“I don’t know.”

Scuffing his words like a boy, Orba turned away his face. He didn’t want his inner feelings to be seen, where he was trembling like a child.

Finishing his meal, Orba quickly left the dining hall. Although the sword-slaves could walk about freely, there was nothing but the dining hall and the bedrooms at the detention camp. It was called a bedroom, but it wasn’t much different from a stable to keep livestock. As he lay down in a corner, Orba stared at his own hands.

It had been two years since then. Even today, he could remember it so well. And if he hadn’t confirmed it himself, those ‘two years’ would’ve been no more than a number. For two years, Orba had barely stayed alive, surrounded by the smell of blood, guts, and iron.

However, he killed, survived, did it all over again, and what was the point in all of that?

Orba turned over on the floor. He had already grown accustomed to the feel of his hard mask touching the ground. It was as Tarkas said. Even if he was freed from being a slave, he didn’t know more of how to live the ‘clever’ way of life, but it seemed that Gowen had misunderstood something – he was not waiting with hopes for a future like that. Supposing he did…

Under the thin shadow formed by fangs, Orba tightly gnashed his teeth.

''If I do live through this, then what do I do?''

It was decided. He was tired of doing things over and over in the arena, the massacres, the blood, the fights, killing each other. On the way back, he was never able to think of things like ‘it’s okay’ or ‘it’ll get easier’.

An inexplicable anger was stuck in the glitter of his eyes, on the other side of the mask.

''I’ll get it back. I’ll take it back. And for the ones who took it away from me, even though it is not enough, I will have them fully taste the pain of the agonizing cries from all the people I’ve killed these past two years.''

=== Part 3 ===

“So you were here, Orba.”

Roan suddenly showed his face.

Orba, who had been looking up at the night sky, rudely averted his eyes. As a punishment for neglecting to take care of the animals and play instead, his mother had taken away his supper, and now he was just outside the barn, sulking on his own. His face, as well as both knees he buried his face in, was full of scratches.

“Did you have another fight?”

“Not really.”

The quick-tempered Orba often quarrelled with the other children in the neighbourhood. Swinging around a wooden sword, he even went as far as the neighbouring village to pick fights. The villagers that caught sight of his figure, almost falling forward as he raced through the fields, half-jokingly said,

“Oh, Orba’s doing his best again,” as they waved their hands and watched over him.
Of course, after having his fights, his mother scolded him to no end.

“Why don’t you follow your brother’s example,” was what she would always say.

His older brother was able to do anything. In the old days, he looked through a single book their father brought back when coming from the city for several times, and from that alone he was able to memorize reading and writing letters by himself. He also learned how to do basic math at a very young age. Around the time he turned ten, after begging a merchant from the city to take him in as an assistant, he was also supporting his poor family’s living expenses.

Orba on the other hand, although he’d learned reading and writing letters from his older brother, was terrible at math, and above all, he didn’t know what to do with his boiling hot blood.

Almost every night, he spent sleepless hours staring at the ceiling. His blood was always screaming in the dark. After fist fights and such, the prickling pain of his injuries seemed to overflow with the hotter, more painful black blood from deeper inside, as if it would simply jump out into the open.

At those times, he’d jump to his feet and go outside. And he’d pick up his wooden sword that was leaning against the barn. No matter how many times it had been confiscated by his mother, he always made a new one from scratch. It wasn’t uncommon, either, for him to swing around his sword until the break of dawn.

“It’s okay if you get into fights,” Roan said, sitting down next to Orba. “But you have to help mother out properly. Working as a single woman is very hard. You know that too, right?”

Along the southern border of the Mephius Empire, was a place commonly known as Drought Valley. While a valley where the river had dried up was quite common terrain in Mephius, this poor village in barren lands, whose name was not even written down on any maps, was where Orba had grown up.

Orba didn’t have many memories of his father. He passed away when he was two or three. While he’d been engaged in additional construction work for the Apta Fortress that protected the border south of the village, his father had unluckily fallen victim to a cave-in while he’d been digging through the cliff. Cutting through the valley’s steep cliffs instead of creating houses or buildings was often the case in Mephius, and his father had been such a construction worker.

“Father was a man born only to dig a dark hole in the ground.”

He remembered that, one day, his mother had said those words in a tone that was neither complaining nor at grief. With that said, his mother too, was a person who had no pleasure in always working hard from morning till evening, every day. She ploughed the barren fields, sold native clothes and towels she made at the City of Apta once every month, and made the nearly tasteless stew for the young brothers every day without ever getting tired of it.

Orba too, also passed through life without change or colour, but his only pleasure was when his brother came back home for a break, two or three times a month, and brought along many different books.

Books written about the Old World where humankind once left its nest, books about Magic King Zodias, and, above all, historical novels with colourful illustrations or heroic stories, got Orba fully absorbed into them. Brave heroes swinging their swords to rescue a country full of dangers, beautiful maidens in thin clothes that were imprisoned in tall towers, vicious dragons revived from ancient ruins — things he’d never experience in a lifetime and the many dazzling adventures in those worlds made Orba engrossed, and whenever he closed a book, being back in that small, miserable reality surrounding him only made him despair.

He longed for the olden days, like the age where longsword-wielding barbarians were once kings. But the truth was, from the moment he was born, it was decided Orba would live his life sipping muddy waters, and if he wanted to do more in the future, it would be be much more difficult than bringing the dead back to life.

“You know, aniki<ref>Familiar/honorific way of saying ‘older brother’.</ref>,” Orba said, burying his head between his arm-wrapped knees. “I feel like doing something more.”

“You’re not even ten years old, are you? Worrying about such things doesn’t suit you.”

“I’m being serious. Look at all the adults here. Even I’ll become like that within another few years. Day after day, you work and work, but life won’t get any easier. I’ll marry someone sooner or later, a child gets born, and if the child’s an ‘unruly boy’ like me, one day he’ll surely say he wants to go to the city, be a soldier for Mephius, or ride a Garberan airship, and I’ll say something like, ‘Oh, in the old days, your father also held onto dreams like that’, and then I’ll probably laugh along with the other adults while drinking my tea.”

“Everyone’s like that,” Roan laughed, bathing in the pale moonlight.

Around this time, you could always hear singing voices coming from the house on the other side of the road. Listening to the cheerful voices of men who got drunk, although he wasn’t really paying attention, he said,

“Nobody knows what kind of person he’ll be. There are people who can’t live without working hard every day, people who sail over violent waves by boat, old philosophers who’ve buried themselves in thousand-year-old books, priests of Badyne who will preach their truth to numerous believers, many renowned generals who soar through the skies in dragonstone ships, and even country leaders who’ve subdued many territories at their feet. What they do in a day may be surprisingly different, whether they soak their swords with blood, drown in the letters of the alphabet, or even chant the name of God, but I think even they can’t provide you with an answer.”

“They don’t ever think about our living conditions. Even the king, who’s surrounded by luxuries I wouldn’t have the money for within a lifetime, and stuffing his stomach with delicious food every night. He sometimes takes a large army on a campaign, or gets shocked by betrayal, but every day he’s alive. I can’t even think of living such a life. I’ll never be able to. Neither the king nor the nobles, can even imagine what’s inside our dreams. Those people… Yes, take this night for example, they don’t even consider themselves to be looking up at the same moon as I am.”

“I wonder. It could be that, exactly because the king spends every day like that, he may sometimes feel a yearning to spending his life out in town. Maybe, to get away from the constraining life in the imperial court, he wants to go out to a sour-smelling bar sometimes and drown in cheap wine, listening to ridiculous stories, disgusted that, every day, he cannot relax his guard, not even for blood relatives. And he’ll probably think, ‘Ahh, wouldn’t it be easy to just go through life breaking a sweat', with no more worries about being targeted?’”


“That’s just a delusion. You mean he’s yearning for a life like ours? Just because he doesn’t know the difficulties and insecurities of such a life, he’ll only think of it on a whim.”

“Exactly. Isn’t that what I said? There isn’t a human being anywhere who understands everything, knows what he really wants, or knows who he truly is. I think everybody longs for what they don’t know, what they have not experienced, and they’re also looking for wherever there their true course may lie. In this sense, they’re no different from us.”

“I don’t know. Then, you mean even the king, even the great priest, is someone who’s not completely satisfied?”

But when his brother was about to answer,

“Why are you talking about such difficult things?”

Suddenly Alice appeared, swaying her dark brown hair slightly. It was then that they noticed the singing voices from the house across had completely stopped. It looked the girl had finally come to put them to sleep.

While she seemed to have overheard just a little, Alice showed a dimpled smile,

“In the end, it’s nothing but pointless stuff. In this world, no matter where you’re from, first of all, Orba, you have start by taking care of your mother and work earnestly, so that you can get to eat tomorrow.”

“Hear that, aniki? When they’re not interested in the conversation, women immediately find it difficult, insignificant, or have more important things to do.”

“That, too, is the truth,” Roan laughed merrily.

Alice was two years younger than his brother and three years older than Orba. And when Orba was even younger, they played as if Alice was a sister among the three.

Soon after, they enjoyed talking about memories of those days. When, by Alice’s suggestion, they went fishing at the river, and that same Alice nearly drowned as she slipped on the rocks. Or the time they went to see the caravan’s horses as it arrived at their village, and Orba got into trouble secretly trying to mount one, causing it to go berserk. Or when, because a boy from the nearby village said he ‘saw a wild dragon’, the three went to the rumoured place and got completely lost on the canyon’s intricate path. Although they finally did come home late, all three had to suffer though a good scolding…

“Anyway, wasn’t it because Doug from that village deceived us? Ever since that time, you’ve had a bad relationship, right? Even your opponent from today’s fight……”

“Shut it.”

The nail hitting him right on the head, Orba turned away his face. Although the reason he picked a fight with Doug was all because of Alice, he never spoke of it.

However, as they laughed and reminisced together like that for the entire evening, it was the last time he spoke with his brother in peace.

In those days, the Imperial Dynasty of Mephius and the Kingdom of Garbera were already at war with each other. It was said the Garberan cavalry recently crossed their border, although the two countries had a history of repeated conflict for some time, concerning the very definition of that border. The southern Apta Fortress, which was close to Orba’s village, had also suffered from attacks by Garbera’s mounted troops on many occasions.

Eventually, Garbera temporarily gave up on capturing Apta Fortress, and aimed for striking them by another route. And that was by setting up a trap. Targeting them when the majority of the troops stationed in Apta had been pulled back to the imperial capital, they immediately drove them into an siege.

Naturally, Apta Fortress was forced to a desperate, defensive battle. As it soon turned into holding out until the reinforcements came from the imperial capital, the Mephian army forcibly commandeered soldiers from the surrounding villages. And Orba’s older brother Roan was also one of them.

Of course, his mother screamed, crying. If there was only one hope his mother worked for within her nearly colourless life, it was probably his brother. Although she clung onto the soldier that tried to take away his brother, Roan gently placed a hand on her shoulder and said,

“It’s okay. Help will come from the imperial capital soon enough, so be patient until then.”

Besides, the pay was much better than that of a merchant’s assistant, he added with a laugh.

Orba, standing next to Alice, was seeing him off, watching the backs of several of the village’s youths crossing over the layers of rock.

''If I were just a little bigger'', Orba thought. ''I could go to the fortress instead of my brother. Then, mother would not have to be so sad either, and I may even receive a distinguished service among the soldiers.''

After his brother disappeared, his mother, who had always been so devoted to work, spent almost entire days in prayer, as if something inside her completely snapped. Although she sometimes remembered to stand in the kitchen and prepare a meal, when it came to the menu, she acted as if his brother Roan was about to return from the city, making only his favourite food. But when she recalled that he wouldn’t be at the dining table after all, his mother threw it all away in the backyard.

Meanwhile, Orba ploughed the neglected fields, and also took care of their few animals on his own. During the evenings, Orba would climb up a narrow road carved into the cliffs and always stare at the direction of the imperial capital, looking for rows of gorgeous armours, vast dust clouds from military dragons during their march, and the majestic figures of dragonstone battleships – but he never saw the sight he was hoping for.

And, when about three weeks had passed since his brother left, residents from a village beyond the valley, which was closer to the fortress than theirs, were bounding in, out of breath.

“The fortress has fallen!”

They came with the worst news.

Apta Fortress had fallen before the approaching Garbera forces. They said the commanders and main staff who guarded the fortress had started on the escape, leaving their soldiers behind. There were no reinforcements from the imperial capital at Apta, for they’d been sent to the natural stronghold of Birac, next to the ravine further to the north. So it seemed the imperial capital had already decided that that would be heart of the southern border’s line of defence. Apta had only been used to buy time.

And, concerning the land in between, the Garberan forces that were camped at the fortress, started ravaging the surrounding villages. There were acts of plunder and assault – raiding, so to speak.

The people of the village were in a hurry to gather their few belongings, although there was hardly any food with the harvest being near and they were limited to holding their own crops, and left the village in a rush. Those who had acquaintances in the vicinity hurried over there, while the people who did not, took a temporary refuge in the valley, until the Garberan soldiers left their village.

Obviously, Orba followed them, but in the midst of his escape, he noticed that his mother wasn’t around.

Startled out of his wits, Orba turned back to the village. Beyond the rocks towering over the area like hills, he could see the complete panorama of his village sinking behind the evening mists. Surely, she was still there. She was waiting for his brother to come back. For his brother, who may possibly never come back again.

“Orba, where are you going? Orba!”

As Alice’s voice called out behind him, he pushed the crowd aside and headed back in a hurry.

And when he managed to arrive at his destination, there wasn’t a single soul, the village had become as silent as death. Because he was familiar with the scenery, there was an eeriness as if he had wandered into another dimension instead.

From the other side of the valley, he could see a group of men and horses approaching, and Orba ran towards his house in a hurry. When he opened the back door, his mother was there. She was trying to prepare a meal as usual.

“Roan?” his mother said, turning around, but when her eyes fixed on Orba’s sweaty figure, she, miraculously, shrugged her shoulders. “Were you still playing, Orba? Just help me out a little, your brother will be coming home soon.”

Outside, sounds could slightly be heard of the voices of soldiers, chasing the animals that were left behind. Afraid of the smoke rising up, he hurriedly tried to stop his mother. However,

“What’s this, there’s nothing!”

“What a measly village. Even though those guys at Gascon had it better. It seemed they slept with all of the girls.”

“Isn’t there at least any alcohol? Go and look!”

As soon as he thought he heard those voices coming closer, the door was violently kicked down.

Three soldiers came in noisily, each of them equipped with a simple chainmail, lance, and sword. On their faces, blackened by dust clouds, only the eyes casted a unique white light.

“Oh, there’s a woman!”

“What, isn’t she too old? Besides, isn’t there any alcohol? Or something to eat?”

After staring at his mother, who was protectively holding the crouched Orba in her hands, they started vandalizing the house, doing as they pleased. Orba was crouching down completely, concealing his breath like a herbivore trying not to attract the attention of wild beasts.

When the Garberan soldiers smashed through the door, his eyes had caught sight of the wooden sword, which had been resting against it, rolling over the floor. But in the end, it was nothing more than a child’s toy. He hated being told that more than anything, and was more than eager to stare back at those kind of people, but now he understood it painfully.

Then, as the soldiers were ransacking through to the shelves, they grabbed the crude ceramic tableware from inside and carelessly tossed them aside. Making a loud sound, the broken pieces scattered over the floor. It took Orba by surprise, as they were the things his brother Roan used, and his mother, who had been submissive until now, rose up with such force that Orba got pushed aside. From there, she started clinging onto one of the soldiers’ back.

“Hey, what? What?”

“It looks like she wants to play with me!”

A red-faced soldier unwrapped his mother, turned her around, and pushed her down in place. He placed his hand in front of her mouth when she tried to raise a piercing cry, then took out a pointed knife hidden inside his chainmail, and thrust it before his mother’s pale face.

“Stop it, you’d take any woman, wouldn’t you?”

“The taste of a young lass is nice, but an old flower like her ain’t bad either.”

As he spoke his red face showed a vulgar smile, and the thread holding Orba’s tensed up feelings snapped. Raising an awkward cry, he charged in. It was a desperate assault, however, and he was easily blown back by a single arm.

Knocking the back of his head against the shelves, although stunned for a moment, Orba gnashed his teeth and immediately faced forward again. And, from the top of the shelf, there was something that fell down with a loud crash. It was something long and narrow wrapped in a bundle and, with the front part of it torn, it was emitting a silver shine before Orba’s eyes.

''This is…''

Hiding it by reflex, Orba hurriedly tore apart the bundle. As he’d expected, it was a shortsword about sixty centimetres long. The round pommel had Mephian-made characteristics. Matching its slender blade, the handle was also a little thin, fitting nicely into a child’s hand.

As he took a hold of it, several letters carved into the blade jumped into his eyes.

''O, R, B, A...''

It was only for an instant – with his mother’s screams, the sound of the red-faced soldier disorderedly throwing off his chainmail, and the noise of the soldiers laying waste to the house. Although the frightening surge of black blood boiled in his body, he drove it far away and, in that instant, the thoughts squeezed together guided him to an explanation.

The blade was engraved only with ‘Orba’. Of course, he hadn’t known such a thing was in his house. He didn’t think his mother or other acquaintances would’ve especially prepared it for him. For all he knew, couldn’t this be anything but a present from his brother Roan?

But Roan should’ve handed over the money he got for his services to his mother. Besides, a blade like this could not be purchased in ordinary towns. Most likely, after going to Apta Fortress, he got provided with weapons as a soldier, and he’d asked the blacksmith stationed at the fort to engrave his name.

And then, he left it with the caravan that went circled the fortress and the towns. But when it arrived at his house, his mother must have accepted it. Thinking, afterwards, that it shouldn’t be crossed over into Orba’s hands, she most likely intended to keep it from her son’s sight. She probably thought that it was too dangerous for Orba, or maybe she was afraid that Orba would go away like Roan if he had a sword in hand.

At any rate…

“Hey, what’s that you’re holding?” a soldier called out from Orba’s crouched back. “It looks like you’re holding something valuable. Hey, why don’t you show me?”

“This is mine!”

“That’s not for you decide, but for me. Now, give it here.”

The soldier ridiculing Orba put a hand on his shoulder trying to get him out of the way with force. It was more than enough.

''That’s right, Orba'', he responded to his own inner voice.

“I said, show me — gyahh!”

Turning around, Orba swung his sword downward. With blood spraying from the man’s shoulder, Orba slipped under the staggered soldier’s arm and raced towards the man who was bent over his mother.

The red-faced man tore his eyes away from his mother and jumped back. Quickly picking up his hand-axe, he then received Orba’s blow that was coming at him. Orba stood firm on both his legs and somehow tried to get his sword through, but still, the blade was short, and a child’s strength couldn’t push a hand-axe aside like that. However, instead of easily getting overmatched, Orba made himself fall to the side.

“That brat…”

He swung down another blow with murderous intent. Orba rolled over to the side. After doing one rotation, the axe’s edge bit down there, right in front of his eyes. In that very instant, his blood froze up,

“Stop!”

His mother was clinging onto the red-faced man’s feet. Flying into a rage, the man kicked at her hands, turned around, and raised his axe even higher. When Orba saw it, the tension of his black blood – the anxiety, irritation, rage and other various emotions that had simmering in the boy’s body for such a long time – was about to be released from one single point, as if it had only now taken its final shape.

He stood up. Holding his sword with both hands, he forced it under his arm and slammed it, along with the rest of his body, into the soldier’s defenceless back.

The man’s back, as he’d taken off his armour, first received the blade considerably easy. Then there was a little firm resistance, but it also went through smoothly as Orba’s pushed it through with both hands, until, in the blink of an eye, the point of his sword finally pierced through the man’s chest.

Because Orba was also being dragged while the red-faced man staggered, he hurriedly let go of the sword. The man clashed with his back against the wall. After turning around to face the triumphant Orba, he made his mouth flap open and close, probably trying to say some sort of grudge, and threw up a huge amount of blood as he sank to the floor, until his bright red tongue drooped out and he no longer moved.

“You bastard!” the soldier who had his shoulder cut shouted, grimacing in pain.

“You killed Douga. You lowly brat.”

The other also shouted in a loud voice, and came rushing over at Orba. No longer holding a sword, Orba received a full body blow and rolled over on the floor again. He got kicked in the stomach, and stepped on his back.

“Mother and child both, I’ll hang your heads under the eaves.”

Crawling on all fours, the tip of the sword was thrust before the nape of Orba’s neck. His mother too, was lifted up, twisted by the hand, and placed in the same position next to Orba. No matter how much he wrested his body with all his strength, he couldn’t get rid of the weight of the man standing on his back.

“Let me go!”

“Ahh, right away. After you’ve turned into a corpse, that is!”

Orba, raising a bestial cry, was suddenly hovering in the moment that came between life and death. With a whishing sound of wind being cut as it was brought straight down. Finally, he shouted out his brother Roan’s name, when,

“What’s going on?”

Suddenly, the wind-cutting sound ceased. Orba, scrambled thoughts mulling in his head, realized it wasn’t his brother who’d appeared though.

The one who had newly come inside the house, was a Garberan soldier after all. However, unlike the soldiers that had broken in, he was armed all over his body, with not a single part untouched, and his armour too was shining in silver. He still had a young face.

For a short time the soldiers could be seen flinching from the intruder, but then,

“It is as you can see, Knight Apprentice Sir.”

“We’ve come to receive our fair reward after winning the battle. Just because you stood in distinguished service for a while, you’re clad as a knight after all, surely you haven’t come to stop such unrefined things like these, right?” the two explained grimly.

Feigning a courteous manner, there was clearly an air that they were making light of the man.

“Besides, look. Our comrade was killed. There’s no way soldiers with Garberan pride can let this go by without getting vengeance, right?”

The soldier who spoke tipped Orba’s body over at his foot, and established the sword’s aim with his other hand. What Orba’s eyes saw as he looked up at the ceiling, was the point of the sword, but then a single string of light came flashing from the side.

“What are you doing!”

“How pitiable. Vengeance, is it? You mean to say there’s any pride in that against a child?”

The armoured youth had drawn his sword. It seemed like the man had felled that one soldier, for Orba realized the sword that should’ve pierced through his heart had somehow been repelled the to the side. The other roared something in a hoarse voice nearby. It sounded like he’d called out the armoured man’s name, but Orba didn’t catch it at the time.

“Y-Your comrade… how dare you, bastard!”

“I don’t want to be called a comrade or such by inferior people like you.”

As he thrust out the blooded tip of his sword, the soldier stepped back.

“Inferior, you say? Even though you’ve got the same history. Just because you were blessed with the opportunity to make a distinguished service, you get carried away. Always chanting, knight, knight as if it’s your favourite word, but did you become a real knight? You don’t share a bloodline with the Garberan royal family, you’ll be an ‘apprentice’ your whole life. Know your place!”

Soon, the solider who seemed to be stepping back, quickly pulled something out from behind his back and brought it in front of him. It was a crossbow, fixed with a long and slender pedestal, and he released the trigger.

That instant, the armoured youth nimbly turned aside. Making a single spin, as if dancing, he narrowly avoided the arrow and decapitated the soldier’s head. There wasn’t the slightest hesitation. The decapitated head whirled through the air, struck the house’s wall and rolled over the floor.

“Garbera is a country of knights. Instead of further defiling its name, receive the honour of being killed in action.”

His handsome looks, his way of fighting, and those words he murmured – it was all as if a hero had emerged from the books Orba read all the time.

“Commander, what’s the commotion!?”

A voice was raised from the outside, but he replied with “It’s nothing,” as he wiped the blood from his sword.

“You’re a child of Mephius?”

Orba didn’t immediately know what was a good answer to the question raised. It was not that he was especially conscious of the name of the country called Mephius, either. The people of Orba’s village, generally living in a world of only about ten kilometres surrounding the village, weren’t very interested in the country or its territorial disputes.

The man gave Orba a thin smile when he gave no answer, and glanced over at the soldier who’d sunk in a puddle of blood. Orba, his body suddenly freezing up, tightly held onto his mother’s shoulders. He started looking if there was any weapon within reach, when,

“Hurry and get away from here,” the young man said. “It was to protect your mother – right? You truly hold the spirit of a knight inside of you. Much more than the people of Garbera, who seem to have forgotten all about the knight’s way. Now, you may get out of here. I’ll try to stop the plunder and assaults as much as possible, but I can’t catch a hold on all of them.”

Those eyes, for some reason, resembled those of his brother Roan. Supporting the shoulder of his sobbing mother, Orba slowly faced the back door, then, pulling his mother by the hand, he ran away at full speed. A wintry wind blowing through the streets after sunset, struck his cheeks. Urging his mother, who kept muttering ‘Roan, Roan’, sometimes even shouting at her, they finally united with Alice and the village people after an hour.

After that, they followed behind Alice’s father and headed for a village that was fifteen kilometres upriver to the north.

Orba didn’t know if the young armoured man had been true to his words, but at least from there on the random plundering was no longer carried out around Apta, which later became the territory of Garbera.

However, the flames were still approaching the village that Orba and the rest had succeeded in running away to earlier.

There were hardly any signs. Suddenly, ‘they’ came at them in full force and immediately started plundering. They were men who were completely harnessed in black. Provisions, clothes, and of course money and goods, all the things of possible value were taken by force. The people, too, were no exception. As soon as they arrived at the village they took the women, and impaled any man who tried to resist with spears from atop their horses, decapitated their heads with swords, and exposed them to gunfire.

Amidst all of the confusion, Orba lost sight of his mother. Just when he stumbled forward with impatience and fright,

“Alice!”

He spotted Alice getting bound by a soldier with her arms behind her back. Even though she was about to be dragged away, Alice was still screaming at him to run away. Completely losing himself, Orba leapt forward. The feeling of killing that one person still remained in his hands. And now he’d decided to do the same thing. He reached out his hand for the sword the soldier was carrying.

But, the moment he took a hold of the handle, he received a strong blow to the back of his head. The sight flickered before his eyes, and his consciousness was soon about to fade. Just before it did, he had a feeling he heard Alice’s voice calling out his name.

When he came to, Orba was lying on his back, spread-eagled, on the ground. His head was throbbing painfully. His consciousness was still a little dim, and he wasn’t even sure if he was dreaming or not.

“General Oubary , what do you want to do?”

He didn’t know how much time had passed when he heard that voice. Amongst the screams of men and women nearby, and firing in the distance, Orba secretly peeked through half-opened eyes at the one who had been called out to earlier.

[[Image:Rakuin no Monshou v01 069.jpg|thumb]]
It was a man atop a horse, holding a bottle of liquor which he’d most likely stolen. He was lightly and stylishly dressed in armour, bald, and had the majestic air of a giant. Even though he had such an serious appearance, there was violet lipstick on his thin lips, giving the elevated, sneering figure a strange kind of look.

“If all the valuables are gone, set fire to the lot. Leave not a single grain of wheat behind for Garbera.”

Saying those words, the man called general threw away his bottle of wine. It splashed against Orba’s cheeks.

“Very well, this village was burned by Garbera. Let the soldiers be thorough. They can have the women, but kill them when they’re done with them. Don’t even sell them off. You will supervise.”

Shortly after that, the screams and shouts died out. Instead, a hot wind roasted his skin, and an acrid stench started filling the air. When he finally managed to stand up, his surroundings had turned into a sea of flames.

There wasn’t a single person left alive. Orba roamed about the village, calling his mother and Alice’s name in a loud voice, while brushing away sparks of fire at his hands. But the only things that came into his sight were the slaughtered bodies of the village people. The bodies of the elderly, women, and children.

''That Oubary…''

With the place scorched all over, Orba’s whole body had become dark red with the blood and soot falling from overhead.

''Isn’t that Oubary… Apta Fortress’s…''

He remembered hearing about it. When the fortress had urgently been recruiting soldiers, he was sure the military men that appeared in the village had spoken the name. He was the veteran general who had been entrusted with the protection of the fort.

So that meant this had been the Mephian army. After the fortress fell, the troops including Oubary went north, ahead of Garbera’s pursuing troops, and burned down the village where Orba and the others had escaped to earlier. And they’d taken all spoils of wars before going back to the capital, so that Garbera couldn’t make use of it.

''I’ll kill them'', Orba vowed.

Mustering up the strength from somewhere in his body, although there had not even been one drop left behind earlier, the power that kept him going forward, it came from his unrelenting vow with the intent to kill.

Although he had no clear answers on whether to kill Oubary, the Garberan soldiers, or the Emperor, and on how to achieve those ends, for now, he just kept on walking.

<noinclude>

===References and Translation Notes===
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| Back to [[Rakuin no Monshou:Volume1_Prologue|Prologue]]
| Return to [[Rakuin no Monshou|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Rakuin no Monshou:Volume1_Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Rakuin no Monshou:Volume1 Prologue

2013-12-17T16:15:04Z

Draringi: Undo revision 311450 by Tasear (talk):Project uses British Spelling

==Prologue==

“The princess is not there?”

“Indeed,” head maid Theresia explained with as bitter a look as possible. “Until a while ago, she was having tea with us in the central garden. Then she suddenly stated that she wanted to see the castle in the light of the setting sun from the roofs of Shikou Palace.”

“Shikou Palace… come to think of it, isn’t that where the departure point for airships is!?” the head of the western palace guard shouted in dismay.

"My!" Theresia made a face as if she just realized it for the first time as well. “What should we do? The princess is among the best pilots in our country. In the last race too, although she admirably became the runner-up, she flew into a rage, as if there was no meaning to it if she didn’t end up in first place. She was about to throw away the trophy of all things, and we were desperate to stop her.”

“Is that so? N-No… we shouldn’t get into that right now.”

While the captain started getting flustered, his subordinates behind him looked at each other apprehensively.

“What might she be up to?”

“I suppose she is planning on making a casual round of the capital on an airship. She must feel reluctant to leave.”

“No, it’s ''that'' princess. I’m sure she suddenly changed her mind about the marriage and decided to get away.”

“Even I don’t like it. It's outrageous that our Vileena, the third daughter of His Royal Highness and princess of Garbera, a country where we take pride in our chivalry, has to consent to a marriage with that monkey from Mephius!”

Some of them snorted through their noses and stamped their feet on the floor,

“No, she is a princess and would not do selfish things like that. We all know how mischievous and incredibly lively Princess Vileena is. But listen to me my friends; she is also someone who loves this country, its people, and its environment more than anybody else. She would not vitiate a contract with Mephius because of her own displeasure.”

While others calmly reproached their comrades.

“This is because we are spineless.”

“Yeah. The Ten Year War with Mephius – what if we could’ve finished it with a victory on our side? If we could’ve raised Garbera’s national flag at Mephius's palace, a thing… a thing like this…”

Shaking their heads in frustration, some ended up being moved to tears and sorrow.

All of this was proof that there must be love for her, or so Theresia thought. Garbera’s third princess is Princess Vileena. Only fourteen years old, and after the coming week, she would be married into the Mephius Empire<ref>The official name of the country is ''The Imperial Dynasty of Mephius'', according to the kanji, but the author uses the reading for 'empire'. So, I'll be mainly using ''Mephius Empire'', and only use the official name when the mood allows it to.</ref> bordering the country in the northwest.

Although Theresia herself would be accompanying the princess in order to look after her surroundings, of course, for many people in Garbera, this would be farewell. Everyone who now met with the princess, although able to congratulate her on her marriage, couldn’t hide the loneliness, the anger, and the sorrow on from their faces when they did.

Theresia was standing in a ceilinged corridor facing the garden on her right. On the side of a nearby pillar, a doodle of her, which had been drawn by the princess at a younger age, faintly remained. Theresia softly laid her hand on the drawing that depicted her in a devilish manner; the princess must have drawn it right after being scolded by her.

''This is your last act of selfishness, okay, princess?''

As she clung onto the captain of the guard, asking for an honest, desperate search for the princess, Theresia inwardly voiced her true thoughts.

About twenty kilometres southeast of Garbera Kingdom’s capital city Phozon.

In a range of gentle hills, there was a palace overlooking a vast lake. During the rebellion that took place five years ago, the region had almost become the centre of war. But now it was much like its mild climate, at peace, with a relaxed time flowing by.

However, it was just before the sun was about to set when it suddenly became very lively.

“Third air defence fleet, ascend!” the commander of the air defence force yelled, straddled over his own airship. “The first and second protect all sides of the royal palace. The fourth hasten on to Phozon Capital.”

Just five minutes ago, a flare signal had been raised from the watchtower. It was a signal that meant unidentified air units were approaching. And just now, they had confirmed visual of a single airship.

As the sky began to blend into the same colour as the surface, the air defence force rose into the air.

With a metal base made of dragonstone, steel, silver, brass, and the like, Garbera’s ornithopter-type single-seated airships were modelled after the large sea eagles that inhabit the Mother Earth. From the bill to the tip of the tail, they were approximately three metres long, and the full span of their high-speed flapping wings was about seven metres. The pilots had their seats built where the eagle’s paws would be as they whirled up into the sky.

''I doubt a single unit would attack, though.''

While the commander of the air defence force raised his suspicions, a deep black shape approached from the other side of the slope. It had a frightening speed. It was the kind of type that let the pilot lie with his belly directly on the hull during flight, and it wasn’t an ornithopter, but had a rear propeller and a rudder controlling its direction instead, and moved forward by propulsion. It was a type of airship that was mainly built for its speed.

''Isn’t that our country’s?''

The chief looked at it through narrowed eyes. Garbera excelled in the art of purifying dragon fossils into a weightless metal – the so-called dragonstone – and the country’s development of small airships was unmatched by other countries. There were also many variations.

“Stop!”

“Don’t go any further!”

Although the men on the air defence ships raised their shouts unanimously, the approaching unit did not show any signs of lowering its speed. It just passed by the airship of the third fleet’s captain at a hair’s distance and, as the airship was about to nearly lose its balance because of the near crash, the area suddenly grew tense.

“We told you to stop!”

“We’ll shoot if you don’t follow our warning!”

One craft blocked the course of the approaching unit that was flying straight ahead, the remainder went up, and took up positions to fire from the left and right. The commander himself was about to place a finger on the trigger that was directly connected to a machine gun, when,

“Thanks for doing your duty.”

Suddenly, a voice called out to him. It was a woman’s voice… or more precisely, a girl’s. He lifted his finger from the trigger.

Their airships were about to pass by each other, and her's left a platinum trail behind. When he realized that it was the pilot’s long hair streaming in the wind,

“Princess!?” the commander couldn’t help but raise his voice.

“Sorry, I’m in a hurry.”

The rapid words that returned came from the same voice, and then she was gone.

Everybody from the third air defence fleet was put off with equally flabbergasted expressions. Before long, gliding wings appeared from the airship near the small boards by the seat, and he just managed to see that she was steadily descending.

“Commander?”

“At ease.”

The commander of the air defence force was already into his mid-forties, and had a daughter who recently became fourteen. The same age as Garbera’s third princess Vileena. Fourteen years.

To him, it seemed like not much time had passed since he’d seen the tottering steps of his baby daughter. But the world already saw her as an adult member of society, and even if she got married and started having children at this age, no one would think of it as strange.

“Call back the fourth air defence fleet. I have to return to my post and write my journal: today, we’ve seen nothing but a peaceful sky.”

He was fixedly staring at the moon outside through the window.

Sitting up in bed, although his features, exposed by the pale light, neared the limits of age, the grace and austerity that he seemed to naturally possess was still going strong.

“I thought it was strangely noisy tonight, but I guess it must have been you.”

He spoke the words as he looked up at the moon.

“Yes, it’s me.”

The answer came from the side.

A shadow came in from the room’s entrance. With every step that was brought forward, the figure was gradually revealed by the moonlight, eventually producing the appearance of a girl.

“My son wouldn’t turn a blind eye if he saw you like this. In a certain sense, he is a man older than me.”

The old man laughed, as he looked at the approaching figure clad in airship riding gear. Although she was still more of a child than a woman, the outfit wound perfectly around her body, and the increasingly dangerous curves seemed to be maturing day by day.

The girl let a smile come onto her face, like a flower in bloom.

“Quite so. That’s why, when I participated in the race, he opposed it until the very end. Although he agreed it was good to humour the people, he said this manner wouldn’t do, and that I should wear clothes more suitable for a member of the Garbera Royal Family, among other things. There was no way I'd do it, with the hem of a long skirt hindering me. That’s why I had to content myself with second place.”

“That wasn’t a bad appearance either,” the previous King of Garbera, Jeorg Owell, said, as he smiled at his pouting granddaughter. “Although, because you ended up one point away from victory, I suffered a heavy loss.”

“Did you put a wager on me?”

Jeorg laughed with mirth upon seeing the girl’s eyes open wide.

“With the secretary of financial affairs, Wallace. That bloke… he wanted my favourite horse for a long time already. But while ''he'' works at the royal palace, I wasn’t informed that you were participating in a skirt. If I’d known, I would’ve have scolded that son of mine relentlessly for letting you race like that in public.”

“So, what is it that grandfather wanted from Secretary Wallace?”

“Haha… well, what was it again?”

“Secretary Wallace is quite famous for his liquor collection, isn’t he?”

“There’s that too. Hm… that guy has an excellent tastes in women too.”

“Oh?”

“Back when we went to visit Wallace’s mansion, the chamberlain’s daughter who worked there – well, although she is his daughter, she’s already back with her parents at the age of thirty. But, she’s quite a beauty. I figured, if I get the lass to work at this detached place of mine, it was likely my life would become a little bit more worth living for.”

“Oh, grandfather.”

Garbera’s third princess, Vileena, puffed up her cheeks, and although she made sure to give her grandfather a scolding glare, the two of them immediately burst into laughter.

The sides of the curtains, filled with the pale moonlight, fluttered slightly in the all but nonexistent wind. Suddenly, Vileena crouched down near the bed and firmly took hold of her grandfather’s hand. She pressed her face against it, her small shoulders shaking.

“Vileena, this… what’s the matter? You’re acting like a child.”

“No. No, no…”

She closed her eyelids firmly, repeating her denial, frantically trying to resist the emotions that were welling up inside from whatever was eating at her mind.

''He’s become so small.''

She thought, as she laid her face into his thin, helpless hand.

Her grandfather was known for his bravery in his younger days. Subduing the stronger local clans one by one, he had pushed this country called Garbera up to the point that it wouldn’t lose to the other major powers. In the past, their territories had been invaded by the older nations of either Ende or Mephius time and time again, and their people had tasted hardship and exile under their rule. Now, everyone praised Jeorg Owell’s bravery, despite his short history, for producing a united country that was no longer inferior to those foreign nations.

Ever since she was young, Vileena had become attached to her grandfather. He still had a strong influence, even after withdrawing from the throne, and although his son, namely Vileena’s father, thought he was a shrewish and troublesome existence that he nonetheless couldn’t help but rely on, to Vileena, he was no one other than a kind grandfather.

So many times had she come to visit him at his estate, going to the river to fish or swim together, and when the days got dark, spending all evening simulating war campaigns at the board table.

Unlike her father, her grandfather did not get angry when Vileena played with a wooden sword and shield, allowed her to scuffle together with children for play, let her ride horses, and cultivated her interest in airships. Rather than scold her, he instructed her carefully about these things in detail.

But above all, during the winter, her grandfather would sit near the hearth, lift her up to his knee, and tell her stories about war, about negotiating with other countries, about the many powerful clans in Garbera, and how to prevent the sparks of dispute in the country from breaking out into a tinderbox of civil war – Vileena became addicted to these stories.

And every evening she heard such a tale, when Vileena set to bed, she would always have a dream.

Dressed in shining armour, standing there on top of an airship, overlooking the valiant knights arrayed before her, giving them her orders. Her young heart was coloured with excitement as she imagined herself standing on the battlefield one day, fighting at her grandfather’s side.

However, ever since the winter, her once robust grandfather’s health deteriorated and he had become bedridden.

Whenever Vileena came to visit, he had a smile on his face that was not different from before, but they were no longer able to ride horses or fly airships together. And then, five years ago, something happened that had given her grandfather the final blow.

“Raise your head.”

Urged by her grandfather’s words, a startled Vileena did as she was told. Trying to fight back the tears, her eyes were brightly sparkling in the moonlight’s glow. Jeorg’s face crumpled.

“I see. I too, am getting old. Aren’t you the springy, tomboyish girl that will be getting married within the week? The same girl that needed so very little time to trample down my garden and destroy my prized flowerbed like some wicked, untamed dragon?”

“G-Grandfather...”

“But I was even more surprised back in the day. I think you must be sick of this story, but word travelled all across the country. Five years ago, when the rebels had usurped this very estate, you did not even put one step back and magnificently tried to fight them off to protect me, while I was lying injured in bed. Everybody here said if only you were a boy. However, I didn’t think so. You are a fine lady – the pride of Garbera. No champion, no dragon, not anything that can be bought with gold can compare to you. You are my pride.”

Jeorg gently held her Vileena’s blushing cheeks in both his hands.

“That granddaughter is about to marry. What kind of child will she give birth to, I wonder? I try not to have any regrets in this life of mine, and it is something that I proudly boast of. But if there is one regret, there is only one – that I won’t be able to see the sight of you holding a baby with my own eyes.”

“What are you saying? This evening doesn’t have to be a farewell,” Vileena said, forcing a bright tone and a smile.

However, she already knew the truth. Her grandfather had been bedridden for a long time now, and he no longer left his estate. Within several days, she would leave the country on her own, so she had actually come here to say her final goodbye.

Her smile immediately fell apart, and Vileena brought down her face again. Lowering her eyebrows, anger clouded her beautiful face.

“Grandfather. I don’t want to go and become someone’s wife. I don’t want to leave your side grandfather, I hate it. But even so… Why does it have to be Mephius, of all places!?”

For a moment, the face of tomboyish princess, who was loved from all over the country, looked like that of an ordinary country lass who was about to marry, with a hint of heartfelt sadness. However,

“That country of barbarians. It is obvious the rebellion that led grandfather to be injured by those traitors was staged by Mephius. If only father had the resolve to let me, on the bridal night, I would readily slice open the sleeping head of my husband to be!”

“Oh, hey now…”

Even the undaunted Jeorg reflexively had a jagged coughing fit. While it also resulted in a personality brusque enough to visit her grandfather like this, she had, somewhere in her way of thinking, been influenced by the out-dated, old-fashioned portion of her grandfather’s upbringing all this time.

“You do not always draw blood during battles. And victory is not only gained over the opponent’s corpse. You have a gentle heart, so you’ve realised this a long time ago. Even the common people wage constant battles in their everyday lives. Although it may seem nothing compared to the majestic days of old, bringing us a time of peace also counts as a victory.”

“……”

“Mephius is an old country – much, much older than your father's – and may seem a bit strict, but if it’s you, it’ll be fine. Because, wherever you are, you are my Vileena.”

“I understand.”

When Vileena raised her head a second time, the tears were already gone. The moon gently lighting the outlines of her smiling face invited her grandfather to smile as well.

“Indeed. This battle is not yet over. Not all soldiers pick up swords and lances. I too, am one such soldier, right?”

His granddaughter’s eyes were sparkling, and he felt the hint of something unpleasant.

“I understand. I will not shed blood, nor will I ask the people of Garbera to do the unreasonable. For this new battle, I – Vileena – will take up the challenge. I’ll probe Mephius’s true state of affairs, find out its weaknesses – I will use any means necessary, so please wait for me to bring us the glad tidings of victory!”

His fourteen-year-old granddaughter stood up in an instant, leaving Jeorg agape.

From a young innocent girl who was soon to be married off, she had suddenly turned into a knight on the battlefield before he realized it. While looking at how she was now boiling with excitement, her cheeks flushed and her blood set afire, he thought that, in a sense, that was truly how he knew his granddaughter.

<noinclude>
===References and Translation Notes===
<references/>
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|-
| Back to [[Rakuin no Monshou:Volume1_Illustrations|Illustrations]]
| Return to [[Rakuin no Monshou|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Rakuin no Monshou:Volume1_Chapter1|Chapter 1]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

User talk:Tasear

2013-12-17T16:12:05Z

Draringi: /* Rakuin no Monshou */

==Comments/Support==

==Editor==
===MA Series===

===Rakuin no Monshou===
Thanks a lot for wanting to edit Rakuin no Monshou. Just PM me on the forums (same name) or leave a message in the discussion pages if there's anything you're unsure about. --[[User:Dohma|Dohma]] ([[User talk:Dohma|talk]]) 14:29, 24 April 2013 (CDT)
Just a heads up, you should probably read the [[Rakuin_no_Monshou:Guidelines|Project Guidelines]] before editing, as it explicitly says that British English is to be used. --[[User:Draringi|Draringi]] ([[User talk:Draringi|talk]]) 10:12, 17 December 2013 (CST)

===Madan no Ou to Vanadis===
Thx for pointing that out I am not quite proficient in English you see since I am Thai XD. --[[User:Par74583|Par74583]] ([[User talk:Par74583|talk]])

It's our job as proofreaders to find even the smallest of errors so it's fine. You are doing a great job! You don't have to know everything to be proficient in English.Though, honestly I would consider you proficient in English. [[User:Tasear|Tasear]]

===Antimagic Academy 35th Test Platoon===
Right, gonna write out what i reverted and why.

Cohesiveness ---back to---> coerciveness, these two are completely different words, Sougetsu is coercive, not cohesive.

You know that right ---> You know right? somehow it doesnt fit with raws, as Sougetsu is using a casual tone with Ouka.

Again-- ----> Aga--, Sougetsu cut her in mid-word
.
There was no such ---> There's no such, he refered to possibility that she might miss or hit a hostage, she's stating d there's no possibility of her missing.

Those few aside good job with the edits, i do have quite a bit of pages translated again, if you want i'll upload them now. Feel free to delete this after you read it. --[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk|talk]]) 07:29, 10 December 2013 (CST)

Please try to keep the edits in british english, and the amount of dots in sentences as original. Amount of dots indicates the length of silence, so we can't have them all shortened into triple dots like "...". Thanks, and keep up the good work!.--[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk|talk]]) 05:11, 12 December 2013 (CST)

Sorry there but colour is not a misspelling. Same to Honour, behaviour. That's the way it's spelled in british english, i've commented on that on 12th dec (one comment above this one). http://grammarist.com/spelling/color-colour/ http://edufire.com/forums/1-the-fireside-chat/topics/9454-american-vs-british . After i finish translating all of the current volumes i will try to thoroughly format them to british english. --[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk|talk]]) 07:43, 17 December 2013 (CST)

==Translator==
===Mahouka no Rettousei===
Hola, vi que traduces Mahouka no Rettousei a español, yo también, aunque muy lento (incluso para mi gusto) Pues nada, si necesitas ayuda, puedes contar conmigo. (haré cuanto pueda) Saludos~ [[User:TerryBoom|TerryBoom]]

Baccano

2012-03-22T15:55:03Z

Draringi: /* 1934: Alice in Jails - Prison Episode (PDF) */

[[Category:Hosted_Projects]]
[[Image:Baccano_cover.jpg|200px|thumb]]

The ''Baccano'' series is also available in the following languages:
*[[Baccano_~Spanish~|Spanish (Español)]]

Baccano is a project undertaken by Janice and several other members from [http://community.livejournal.com/baccano/53715.html this LiveJournal] and the [http://baccano.fenali.net/ Gun's & Roses fan community], and only hosted here by Baka-Tsuki. If you're a fan of Baccano and/or love the translations, be sure to drop by and thank them accordingly!

== Story Synopsis ==

Baccano is a light novel written by Ryogo Narita with illustrations by Katsumi Enami. "Baccano", which author Narita translates as "stupid commotion", is Italian for "ruckus". Each of the stories in the series involves several unrelated plots intersecting and crossing each other as events spiral farther and farther out of control - Immortal alchemists, mafia operated speakeasies, and many other elements of pulp fiction mashed together, creating a world straight out of the movies.

== Updates ==
*March 22nd, 2008
** Baccano! translation page first hosted on Baka-Tsuki

*March 23rd, 2008
** Volume 1 of Baccano! temporarily locked from edits.

*April 7th, 2008
** Translation for Volume 4 added.

*December 24th, 2009
** Volume 1 and 4 COMPLETE
** Volume 6 in progress

*January 10, 2010
** Volume 12 in progress (not hosted on BT)

*June 05, 2010
** Volume 6 chapter 1 complete

*June 27, 2010
** Please give a warm welcome to our newest translator SMZ, she'll be working on Volume 9.

== Baccano! by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryohgo_Narita Ryogo Narita] ==

===''1930: The Rolling Bootlegs'' [[Baccano:Volume1_Full_Text|(Full Text)]][http://www.mediafire.com/?zsz349my0so2h37 (PDF)]===
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Color1|One day ago ~In Alveare~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Color2|A few days later, or a few hours ago ~Train Station~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Color3|A few minutes ago ~On road~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Color4|Immediately before ~Gandor family~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter1|Epilogue 1]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter2|Prologue]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter3|The First Day]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter4|At Night]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter5|The Second Day]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter6|Epilogue 2]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Translator's_Notes|Translator's Notes and References]]

===''1931: The Grand Punk Railroad - Local Episode'' ===
::* [[Baccano:Volume2_Color1|First Class Lounge ~Men in Black~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume2_Color2|Business Class Lounge ~Men in White~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume2_Color3|Economy Class Lounge ~Men in Rags~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume2 Chapter1|Epilogue I]]
::* Prologue I Thieves in Disguise
::* Prologue II Delinquents
::* Prologue III Terrorists
::* Prologue IV Serial Killer
::* Prologue V Pre-Ride
::* Local Episode ~A man who doesn't cry~
::* Translator's Notes and References
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2012/01/baccano-1931-grand-punk-railroad-colour.html Completely translated by Untuned Strings here]]

===''1931: The Grand Punk Railroad - Express Episode'' ===
::* [[Baccano:Volume3_Color1|Reminiscence ~The Boy~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume3_Color2|Reminiscence ~The Woman in Work Wear~]]
::* Reminiscence ~The Gray Magician~
::* Reminiscence ~About the Young Conductor~
::* Terminal: Aftermath
::* Prologue VI Alchemist
::* Prologue VII The Woman in Work Wear
::* Prologue VIII The Rail Tracer
::* Express Episode ~The man who doesn't die~
::* [[Baccano:Volume3_Epilogue2|Epilogue II]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume3_Translator's_Notes|Translator's Notes and References]]
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/ Currently being translated by Untuned Strings here]]

===''1932: Drugs & The Dominos'' [[Baccano:Volume4|(Full Text)]][http://www.mediafire.com/?nw7ldzw2dz46646 (PDF)]===
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color1|About the three Gandor Brothers]]
::: Words of Firo Prochainezo, Martillo Family
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color2|About the Genoard Family]]
::: Words of Genoard's private bartender and chef
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color3|About Roy Maddock]]
::: Words of Fred, a doctor living in New York
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color4|About the Runorata Family]]
::: Words of 'Vino' the assassin
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color5|About The Informer]]
::: Words of Ronny Suchiato, 'Chiamatore' of Martillo Family 
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter1|Prelude]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter2|Prologue]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter3|Purchase]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter4|Use]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter5|Collapse]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter6|Epilogue]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter7|Coda]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Translator%27s_Notes|Translator's Notes and References]]

===''2001: The Children of Bottle''===
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_~Immortal - personal opinion on Elmer C. Albatross~|~Immortal - personal opinion on Elmer C. Albatross~]]
:: Written by: Huey Laforet (Immortal, Terrorist)
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_~Immortal - a girl named Sylvie Lumiere~|~Immortal - a girl named Sylvie Lumiere~]]
:: Words of Denkurô Tougô (Immortal, Freelancer)
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_~Immortal - reports on Nile (Excerpts)~|~Immortal - reports on Nile (Excerpts)~]]
:: Author: Victor Talbot (Immortal, FBI Agent)
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_~Immortal - dialogue between Isaac and Miria~|~Immortal - dialogue between Isaac and Miria~]]
:: Year 2001, Summer
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Preface|Preface]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Prologue|Prologue ~Smile Junkie~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter1|Chapter 1 ~Emotion "Happiness"~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter2|Chapter 2 ~Emotion "Angst"~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter3|Chapter 3 ~Emotion "Delight"~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter4|Chapter 4 ~Emotion "Anger"~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter5|Chapter 5 ~(Laughter)~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Epilogue|Epilogue ~The Children of Bottle~]]
[[http://anonspore.blogspot.com/search/label/Baccano%202001:%20The%20Children%20of%20Bottle Completely translated by anon Spore here]]

===''1933: The Slash ~Cloudy to Rainy~''===

::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Color1|Conversation: Brothers]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Color2|Conversation: Elderly and Grandchild]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Color3|Conversation: Father and Daughter]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Color4|Conversation: Brother and Sister]]
::* Prologue       8 years ago
::: [[Baccano:Volume6_Prologue1|Older brother]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume6_Prologue2|Younger brother]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume6_Prologue3|Only daughter]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Chapter0|Chapter 0]]
:::Drum canister
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Chapter1|Chapter 1]]
:::Flowers and Dominos
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Chapter2|Chapter 2]] (Incomplete)
:::Spear and Knife and Katana
::* Connecting chapter
:::Rain and Letter and Scissors and Love and
:: [[Baccano:Volume6_Translator's_notes|Translator's notes]]
[[http://anonspore.blogspot.com/2011/03/baccano-1933-slash-cloudy-to-rainy.html Completely translated by anon Spore here]]

===''1933: The Slash ~Bloody to fair~''===
[[http://anonspore.blogspot.com/2012/03/baccano-1933-slash-bloody-to-fair.html Completely translated by anon Spore here]]

===''1931 (1932): The Grand Punk Railroad Revisited''===
::* Prologue: Informer
::* Chapter 1: A lonely world
::* Chapter 2: A fun yet sad world
::* Chapter 3: A world upside down
::* Chapter 4: My world
::* Epilogue

===''1934: Alice in Jails - Prison Episode'' [http://www.mediafire.com/?sgha93ohwhtb0ob (PDF)]===
::* About Firo Prochainezo
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Intro1|Recollections of the Gandor Brothers]]
::* About Ladd Russo
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Intro2|Graham Spector's Rant]]
::* About Huey Laforet
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Intro3|The Joyful Reminiscence of Elmer C. Albatross]]
::* About Victor Talbot
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Intro4|Recollections from Nile, in the 21st Century]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prelude|Epilogue 1: At the Press]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prologue1|Prologue 1: Camorrista]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prologue2|Prologue 2: Thug]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prologue3|Prologue 3: Assassin]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prologue4|Prologue 4: Unspecified Time]]
::* Chapter 1
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch1Pt1|Part 1: Let's Go to Prison]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch1Pt2|Part 2: Let's Quarrel]]
::* Chapter 2
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch2Pt1|Part 1: Let’s Eat Our Last Supper Together]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch2Pt2|Part 2: Let’s Chat]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Interlude|Interlude: In the Darkness]]
::* Chapter 3
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch3Pt1|Part 1: Let's Enjoy Prison Life]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch3Pt2|Part 2: Just Admit You're At Fault]]
::* Chapter 4
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch4Pt1|Part 1: Think About the Outside World]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch4Pt2|Part 2: Let’s Discuss this - Okay It's Settled]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch5|Chapter 5: Let's Break Out!]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_connecting|Connecting Chapter: At the Press]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Extra|Extra Chapter: Released!]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Translator's_Notes|Translator's Notes]]

[[http://anonspore.blogspot.fr/2012/03/baccano-1934-alice-in-jails-prison.html Currently being translated by anon Spore here]]

===''1934: Alice in Jails - Street Episode''===
::* About LAMIA
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Intro1|Adele's hesitant explanation to Tim]]
::* About Christopher
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Intro2|One-sided descriptions from a certain man]]
::* About Graham
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Intro3|Ladd's comments to the White suits]]
::* About Renée
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Intro4|Unpublicized Conversation of Karl Muybridge, Nebula Company Chairman]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume10_Epilogue2|Epilogue 2: The Vice President Returns Triumphant]]
::* Chapter 1: Prologues From Beyond Time
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Prologue5|Prologue 5: A Team of Heretics]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Prologue6|Prologue 6: The Mobsters Return]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Prologue7|Prologue 7: Supernatural Requital]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume10_Ch2|Chapter 2: Unexpected Hysteria]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume10_Interlude|Interlude: The Boundaries of Alcatraz]]
::* Chapter 3: Striking Off the Mark
::* Chapter 4: The Outskirts of Town
::* Connecting Chapter: Reports Beyond Common Knowledge
::* Extra Chapter: Towards the Goal

===''1934: Peter Pan in Chains - Final Episode''===
::* Noise of the misfits.

::*Ricardo Russo talks to himself.

::* The prisoners' conversation.

::* At a bar in New York.

===''1705: The Ironic Light Orchestra''===
::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Cover|Covers]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color1|Question: What do you think of Huey Laforet?]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color2|Question: What do you think of Elmer C. Albatross?]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color3|Question: What do you think of Esperance C. Boroniar?]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color4|Question: What do you think of the alchemy teachers?]]

::* Questions:
:::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color5|Q: Can you tell me what 'samurai' are?]]
:::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color6|Q: I have no idea what you're talking about, Denkuro]]
:::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color7|Q: ...]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Prologue|Prologue: Death of the Body]]

::* Chapter One: Son of a Witch

::* Connecting Chapter One: First Murder

::* Chapter Two: Miracle Boy

::* Connecting Chapter Two: Masked Assassin

::* Chapter Three: Encounter of Two People

::* Connecting Chapter Three: Sorrow in a Young Woman's Heart

::* Chapter Four: Situation of the People

::* Connecting Chapter Four: The People's Police

::* Chapter Five: The End of the World

::* Short Special: The Beginning of the Story

::* Afterword
[[http://evaluative.blogspot.com/ Currently being translated by emjay here]] 
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2011/06/index-of-translations.html Completely translated by Untuned Strings here]]

===''2002: Bullet Garden [A-side]''===
Currently being translated by scythe244 at http://scythe244.wordpress.com 
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2011/06/index-of-translations.html Completely translated by Untuned Strings here]]

===''2002: Blood Sabbath [B-side]''===
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2011/06/index-of-translations.html Completely translated by Untuned Strings here]]

===''????: The illusional first and last episode''===

===''1710: Crack Flag''===
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2011/06/index-of-translations.html Completely translated by Untuned Strings here]]

===''1932 - Summer — man in the killer''===

===''1711: Whitesmile''===

== Translation ==
=== [[Baccano:Registration Page|Registration]] ===

Those who wish to contribute are asked to first notify a supervisor beforehand.

'''Translators are asked to [[Baccano:Registration Page|register]] which chapters they're working on''' (see [[Format_guideline#Translators|the Guideline page]] for usage rules).

=== Format Standards ===
*[[Format_guideline|General Format/Style Guideline]]

=== Project Staff ===

*Project Administrator: [[user:TheGiftedMonkey|TheGiftedMonkey]]
*Project Supervisor: [[user:HolyCow|HolyCow]]

=== Translators ===

'''ACTIVE'''
:* [[User:SMZ|SMZ]]
:* [[User:Elkin|Elkin]]

'''MIA'''

'''KIA'''

:* [[User:Arashi|arashi]]
:* [[User:Janice|Janice]]
:* jaycet

Those who wish to contribute are asked to first notify a supervisor beforehand.
'''Translators are asked to [[Baccano:Registration Page|register]] which chapters they're working on''' (see [[Format_guideline#Translators|the Guideline page]] for usage rules).

=== Editors ===

'''ACTIVE'''
:* [[User:HolyCow|HolyCow]]
:* [[User:Ermazing|Ermazing]]
:* [[User:Elkin|Elkin]]

== Series Overview ==
* ''Baccano! The Rolling Bootlegs'' (Published February, 2003, ISBN 4840222789)
* ''Baccano! 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad (Local Episode)'' (Published August 2003, ISBN 4840224366)
* ''Baccano! 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad (Express Episode)'' (Published September 2003, ISBN 4840224595)
* ''Baccano! 1932 Drug & The Dominos'' (Published October 2003, ISBN 4840224943)
* ''Baccano! 2001 The Children Of Bottle'' (Published February 2004, ISBN 4840226091)
* ''Baccano! 1933 (Part 1) The Slash ~Cloudy to Rainy~'' (Published September 2004, ISBN 484022787X)
* ''Baccano! 1933 (Part 2) The Slash ~Bloody to fair ~'' (Published November 2004, ISBN 4840228507)
* ''Baccano! 1934 Alice in Jails (Prison Episode)'' (Published October 2006, ISBN 4840235856)
* ''Baccano! 1934 Alice in Jails (World Episode)'' (Published December 2006, ISBN 4840236364)
* ''Baccano! 1934 Peter Pan in Chains (Finale Episode)'' (Published April 2007, ISBN 9784840238052)
* ''Baccano! 1705 The Ironic Light Orchestra'' (Published July 2007, ISBN 9784840239103)
* ''Baccano! 2002 Bullet Garden (A-side)'' (Published October 2007, ISBN 9784840240277)
* ''Baccano! 2002 Blood Sabbath (B-side)'' (Published November 2007, ISBN 9784840240697)
* ''Baccano! 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad Revisited'' (Published January 2009, ISBN 9784048674621)
* ''Baccano! 1710 Crack Flag'' (Published April 2010, ISBN 9784048684590)
* ''Baccano! 1932 - Summer — man in the killer'' (Published June 2011, ISBN 9784048705561)
* ''Baccano! 1711 - Whitesmile'' (Published December 2011, ISBN 9784048861861)
[[Category:Dengeki Bunko]]

Baccano

2012-02-29T17:24:06Z

Draringi: /* 1931: The Grand Punk Railroad - Local Episode */

[[Category:Hosted_Projects]]
[[Image:Baccano_cover.jpg|200px|thumb]]

The ''Baccano'' series is also available in the following languages:
*[[Baccano_~Spanish~|Spanish (Español)]]

Baccano is a project undertaken by Janice and several other members from [http://community.livejournal.com/baccano/53715.html this LiveJournal] and the [http://baccano.fenali.net/ Gun's & Roses fan community], and only hosted here by Baka-Tsuki. If you're a fan of Baccano and/or love the translations, be sure to drop by and thank them accordingly!

== Story Synopsis ==

Baccano is a light novel written by Ryogo Narita with illustrations by Katsumi Enami. "Baccano", which author Narita translates as "stupid commotion", is Italian for "ruckus". Each of the stories in the series involves several unrelated plots intersecting and crossing each other as events spiral farther and farther out of control - Immortal alchemists, mafia operated speakeasies, and many other elements of pulp fiction mashed together, creating a world straight out of the movies.

== Updates ==
*March 22nd, 2008
** Baccano! translation page first hosted on Baka-Tsuki

*March 23rd, 2008
** Volume 1 of Baccano! temporarily locked from edits.

*April 7th, 2008
** Translation for Volume 4 added.

*December 24th, 2009
** Volume 1 and 4 COMPLETE
** Volume 6 in progress

*January 10, 2010
** Volume 12 in progress (not hosted on BT)

*June 05, 2010
** Volume 6 chapter 1 complete

*June 27, 2010
** Please give a warm welcome to our newest translator SMZ, she'll be working on Volume 9.

== Baccano! by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryohgo_Narita Ryogo Narita] ==

===''1930: The Rolling Bootlegs'' [[Baccano:Volume1_Full_Text|(Full Text)]]===
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Color1|One day ago ~In Alveare~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Color2|A few days later, or a few hours ago ~Train Station~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Color3|A few minutes ago ~On road~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Color4|Immediately before ~Gandor family~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter1|Epilogue 1]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter2|Prologue]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter3|The First Day]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter4|At Night]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter5|The Second Day]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter6|Epilogue 2]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Translator's_Notes|Translator's Notes and References]]

===''1931: The Grand Punk Railroad - Local Episode'' ===
::* [[Baccano:Volume2_Color1|First Class Lounge ~Men in Black~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume2_Color2|Business Class Lounge ~Men in White~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume2_Color3|Economy Class Lounge ~Men in Rags~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume2 Chapter1|Epilogue I]]
::* Prologue I Thieves in Disguise
::* Prologue II Delinquents
::* Prologue III Terrorists
::* Prologue IV Serial Killer
::* Prologue V Pre-Ride
::* Local Episode ~A man who doesn't cry~
::* Translator's Notes and References
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2012/01/baccano-1931-grand-punk-railroad-colour.html Completely translated by Untuned Strings here]]

===''1931: The Grand Punk Railroad - Express Episode'' ===
::* [[Baccano:Volume3_Color1|Reminiscence ~The Boy~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume3_Color2|Reminiscence ~The Woman in Work Wear~]]
::* Reminiscence ~The Gray Magician~
::* Reminiscence ~About the Young Conductor~
::* Terminal: Aftermath
::* Prologue VI Alchemist
::* Prologue VII The Woman in Work Wear
::* Prologue VIII The Rail Tracer
::* Express Episode ~The man who doesn't die~
::* [[Baccano:Volume3_Epilogue2|Epilogue II]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume3_Translator's_Notes|Translator's Notes and References]]

===''1932: Drugs & The Dominos'' [[Baccano:Volume4|(Full Text)]]===
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color1|About the three Gandor Brothers]]
::: Words of Firo Prochainezo, Martillo Family
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color2|About the Genoard Family]]
::: Words of Genoard's private bartender and chef
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color3|About Roy Maddock]]
::: Words of Fred, a doctor living in New York
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color4|About the Runorata Family]]
::: Words of 'Vino' the assassin
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color5|About The Informer]]
::: Words of Ronny Suchiato, 'Chiamatore' of Martillo Family 
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter1|Prelude]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter2|Prologue]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter3|Purchase]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter4|Use]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter5|Collapse]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter6|Epilogue]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter7|Coda]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Translator%27s_Notes|Translator's Notes and References]]

===''2001: The Children of Bottle''===
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_~Immortal - personal opinion on Elmer C. Albatross~|~Immortal - personal opinion on Elmer C. Albatross~]]
:: Written by: Huey Laforet (Immortal, Terrorist)
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_~Immortal - a girl named Sylvie Lumiere~|~Immortal - a girl named Sylvie Lumiere~]]
:: Words of Denkurô Tougô (Immortal, Freelancer)
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_~Immortal - reports on Nile (Excerpts)~|~Immortal - reports on Nile (Excerpts)~]]
:: Author: Victor Talbot (Immortal, FBI Agent)
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_~Immortal - dialogue between Isaac and Miria~|~Immortal - dialogue between Isaac and Miria~]]
:: Year 2001, Summer
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Preface|Preface]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Prologue|Prologue ~Smile Junkie~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter1|Chapter 1 ~Emotion "Happiness"~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter2|Chapter 2 ~Emotion "Angst"~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter3|Chapter 3 ~Emotion "Delight"~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter4|Chapter 4 ~Emotion "Anger"~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter5|Chapter 5 ~(Laughter)~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Epilogue|Epilogue ~The Children of Bottle~]]
[[http://anonspore.blogspot.com/search/label/Baccano%202001:%20The%20Children%20of%20Bottle Completely translated by anon Spore here]]

===''1933: The Slash ~Cloudy to Rainy~''===

::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Color1|Conversation: Brothers]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Color2|Conversation: Elderly and Grandchild]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Color3|Conversation: Father and Daughter]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Color4|Conversation: Brother and Sister]]
::* Prologue       8 years ago
::: [[Baccano:Volume6_Prologue1|Older brother]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume6_Prologue2|Younger brother]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume6_Prologue3|Only daughter]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Chapter0|Chapter 0]]
:::Drum canister
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Chapter1|Chapter 1]]
:::Flowers and Dominos
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Chapter2|Chapter 2]] (Incomplete)
:::Spear and Knife and Katana
::* Connecting chapter
:::Rain and Letter and Scissors and Love and
:: [[Baccano:Volume6_Translator's_notes|Translator's notes]]
[[http://anonspore.blogspot.com/2011/03/baccano-1933-slash-cloudy-to-rainy.html Completely translated by anon Spore here]]

===''1933: The Slash ~Bloody to fair~''===
[[http://anonspore.blogspot.com/2011/04/baccano-1933-slash-bloody-to-fair-color.html Currently being translated by anonspore here]]

===''1931 (1932): The Grand Punk Railroad Revisited''===
::* Prologue: Informer
::* Chapter 1: A lonely world
::* Chapter 2: A fun yet sad world
::* Chapter 3: A world upside down
::* Chapter 4: My world
::* Epilogue

===''1934: Alice in Jails - Prison Episode'' [http://www.mediafire.com/?sgha93ohwhtb0ob (PDF)]===
::* About Firo Prochainezo
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Intro1|Recollections of the Gandor Brothers]]
::* About Ladd Russo
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Intro2|Graham Spector's Rant]]
::* About Huey Laforet
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Intro3|The Joyful Reminiscence of Elmer C. Albatross]]
::* About Victor Talbot
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Intro4|Recollections from Nile, in the 21st Century]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prelude|Epilogue 1: At the Press]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prologue1|Prologue 1: Camorrista]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prologue2|Prologue 2: Thug]] [[http://anonspore.blogspot.com/2010/04/baccano-1934-alice-in-jails-sneak-peek.html Translated by Spore]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prologue3|Prologue 3: Assassin]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prologue4|Prologue 4: Unspecified Time]]
::* Chapter 1
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch1Pt1|Part 1: Let's Go to Prison]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch1Pt2|Part 2: Let's Quarrel]]
::* Chapter 2
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch2Pt1|Part 1: Let’s Eat Our Last Supper Together]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch2Pt2|Part 2: Let’s Chat]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Interlude|Interlude: In the Darkness]]
::* Chapter 3
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch3Pt1|Part 1: Let's Enjoy Prison Life]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch3Pt2|Part 2: Just Admit You're At Fault]]
::* Chapter 4
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch4Pt1|Part 1: Think About the Outside World]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch4Pt2|Part 2: Let’s Discuss this - Okay It's Settled]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch5|Chapter 5: Let's Break Out!]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_connecting|Connecting Chapter: At the Press]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Extra|Extra Chapter: Released!]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Translator's_Notes|Translator's Notes]]

===''1934: Alice in Jails - Street Episode''===
::* About LAMIA
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Intro1|Adele's hesitant explanation to Tim]]
::* About Christopher
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Intro2|One-sided descriptions from a certain man]]
::* About Graham
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Intro3|Ladd's comments to the White suits]]
::* About Renée
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Intro4|Unpublicized Conversation of Karl Muybridge, Nebula Company Chairman]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume10_Epilogue2|Epilogue 2: The Vice President Returns Triumphant]]
::* Chapter 1: Prologues From Beyond Time
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Prologue5|Prologue 5: A Team of Heretics]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Prologue6|Prologue 6: The Mobsters Return]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Prologue7|Prologue 7: Supernatural Requital]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume10_Ch2|Chapter 2: Unexpected Hysteria]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume10_Interlude|Interlude: The Boundaries of Alcatraz]]
::* Chapter 3: Striking Off the Mark
::* Chapter 4: The Outskirts of Town
::* Connecting Chapter: Reports Beyond Common Knowledge
::* Extra Chapter: Towards the Goal

===''1934: Peter Pan in Chains - Final Episode''===
::* Noise of the misfits.

::*Ricardo Russo talks to himself.

::* The prisoners' conversation.

::* At a bar in New York.

===''1705: The Ironic Light Orchestra''===
::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Cover|Covers]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color1|Question: What do you think of Huey Laforet?]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color2|Question: What do you think of Elmer C. Albatross?]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color3|Question: What do you think of Esperance C. Boroniar?]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color4|Question: What do you think of the alchemy teachers?]]

::* Questions:
:::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color5|Q: Can you tell me what 'samurai' are?]]
:::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color6|Q: I have no idea what you're talking about, Denkuro]]
:::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color7|Q: ...]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Prologue|Prologue: Death of the Body]]

::* Chapter One: Son of a Witch

::* Connecting Chapter One: First Murder

::* Chapter Two: Miracle Boy

::* Connecting Chapter Two: Masked Assassin

::* Chapter Three: Encounter of Two People

::* Connecting Chapter Three: Sorrow in a Young Woman's Heart

::* Chapter Four: Situation of the People

::* Connecting Chapter Four: The People's Police

::* Chapter Five: The End of the World

::* Short Special: The Beginning of the Story

::* Afterword
[[http://evaluative.blogspot.com/ Currently being translated by emjay here]] 
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2011/06/index-of-translations.html Completely translated by Untuned Strings here]]

===''2002: Bullet Garden [A-side]''===
Currently being translated by scythe244 at http://scythe244.wordpress.com 
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2011/06/index-of-translations.html Completely translated by Untuned Strings here]]
===''193X: A man in the killer (1)''===

===''2002: Blood Sabbath [B-side]''===
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2011/06/index-of-translations.html Completely translated by Untuned Strings here]]

===''193X: A man in the killer (2)''===

===''????: The illusional first and last episode''===

===''193X: A man in the killer (3)''===

===''193X: A man in the killer (4)''===

===''193X: A man in the killer (5)''===

===''1710: Crack Flag''===
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2011/06/index-of-translations.html Completely translated by Untuned Strings here]]

===''1711: Whitesmile''===

== Translation ==
=== [[Baccano:Registration Page|Registration]] ===

Those who wish to contribute are asked to first notify a supervisor beforehand.

'''Translators are asked to [[Baccano:Registration Page|register]] which chapters they're working on''' (see [[Format_guideline#Translators|the Guideline page]] for usage rules).

=== Format Standards ===
*[[Format_guideline|General Format/Style Guideline]]

=== Project Staff ===

*Project Administrator: [[user:TheGiftedMonkey|TheGiftedMonkey]]
*Project Supervisor: [[user:HolyCow|HolyCow]]

=== Translators ===

'''ACTIVE'''
:* [[User:SMZ|SMZ]]
:* [[User:Elkin|Elkin]]

'''MIA'''

'''KIA'''

:* [[User:Arashi|arashi]]
:* [[User:Janice|Janice]]
:* jaycet

Those who wish to contribute are asked to first notify a supervisor beforehand.
'''Translators are asked to [[Baccano:Registration Page|register]] which chapters they're working on''' (see [[Format_guideline#Translators|the Guideline page]] for usage rules).

=== Editors ===

'''ACTIVE'''
:* [[User:HolyCow|HolyCow]]
:* [[User:Ermazing|Ermazing]]
:* [[User:Elkin|Elkin]]

== Series Overview ==
* ''Baccano! The Rolling Bootlegs'' (Published February, 2003, ISBN 4840222789)
* ''Baccano! 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad (Local Episode)'' (Published August 2003, ISBN 4840224366)
* ''Baccano! 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad (Express Episode)'' (Published September 2003, ISBN 4840224595)
* ''Baccano! 1932 Drug & The Dominos'' (Published October 2003, ISBN 4840224943)
* ''Baccano! 2001 The Children Of Bottle'' (Published February 2004, ISBN 4840226091)
* ''Baccano! 1933 (Part 1) The Slash ~Cloudy to Rainy~'' (Published September 2004, ISBN 484022787X)
* ''Baccano! 1933 (Part 2) The Slash ~Bloody to fair ~'' (Published November 2004, ISBN 4840228507)
* ''Baccano! 1934 Alice in Jails (Prison Episode)'' (Published October 2006, ISBN 4840235856)
* ''Baccano! 1934 Alice in Jails (World Episode)'' (Published December 2006, ISBN 4840236364)
* ''Baccano! 1934 Peter Pan in Chains (Finale Episode)'' (Published April 2007, ISBN 9784840238052)
* ''Baccano! 1705 The Ironic Light Orchestra'' (Published July 2007, ISBN 9784840239103)
* ''Baccano! 2002 Bullet Garden (A-side)'' (Published October 2007, ISBN 9784840240277)
* ''Baccano! 2002 Blood Sabbath (B-side)'' (Published November 2007, ISBN 9784840240697)
* ''Baccano! 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad Revisited'' (Published January 2009, ISBN 9784048674621)
* ''Baccano! 1710 Crack Flag'' (Published April 2010, ISBN 9784048684590)

[[Category:Dengeki Bunko]]

Baccano

2012-02-08T19:25:27Z

Draringi: /* 1934: Alice in Jails - Prison Episode */

[[Category:Hosted_Projects]]
[[Image:Baccano_cover.jpg|200px|thumb]]

The ''Baccano'' series is also available in the following languages:
*[[Baccano_~Spanish~|Spanish (Español)]]

Baccano is a project undertaken by Janice and several other members from [http://community.livejournal.com/baccano/53715.html this LiveJournal] and the [http://baccano.fenali.net/ Gun's & Roses fan community], and only hosted here by Baka-Tsuki. If you're a fan of Baccano and/or love the translations, be sure to drop by and thank them accordingly!

== Story Synopsis ==

Baccano is a light novel written by Ryogo Narita with illustrations by Katsumi Enami. "Baccano", which author Narita translates as "stupid commotion", is Italian for "ruckus". Each of the stories in the series involves several unrelated plots intersecting and crossing each other as events spiral farther and farther out of control - Immortal alchemists, mafia operated speakeasies, and many other elements of pulp fiction mashed together, creating a world straight out of the movies.

== Updates ==
*March 22nd, 2008
** Baccano! translation page first hosted on Baka-Tsuki

*March 23rd, 2008
** Volume 1 of Baccano! temporarily locked from edits.

*April 7th, 2008
** Translation for Volume 4 added.

*December 24th, 2009
** Volume 1 and 4 COMPLETE
** Volume 6 in progress

*January 10, 2010
** Volume 12 in progress (not hosted on BT)

*June 05, 2010
** Volume 6 chapter 1 complete

*June 27, 2010
** Please give a warm welcome to our newest translator SMZ, she'll be working on Volume 9.

== Baccano! by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryohgo_Narita Ryogo Narita] ==

===''1930: The Rolling Bootlegs'' [[Baccano:Volume1_Full_Text|(Full Text)]]===
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Color1|One day ago ~In Alveare~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Color2|A few days later, or a few hours ago ~Train Station~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Color3|A few minutes ago ~On road~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Color4|Immediately before ~Gandor family~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter1|Epilogue 1]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter2|Prologue]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter3|The First Day]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter4|At Night]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter5|The Second Day]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter6|Epilogue 2]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Translator's_Notes|Translator's Notes and References]]

===''1931: The Grand Punk Railroad - Local Episode'' ===
::* [[Baccano:Volume2_Color1|First Class Lounge ~Men in Black~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume2_Color2|Business Class Lounge ~Men in White~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume2_Color3|Economy Class Lounge ~Men in Rags~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume2 Chapter1|Epilogue I]]
::* Prologue I Thieves in Disguise
::* Prologue II Delinquents
::* Prologue III Terrorists
::* Prologue IV Serial Killer
::* Prologue V Pre-Ride
::* Local Episode ~A man who doesn't cry~
::* Translator's Notes and References
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2012/01/baccano-1931-grand-punk-railroad-colour.html Currently being translated by Untuned Strings here]]

===''1931: The Grand Punk Railroad - Express Episode'' ===
::* [[Baccano:Volume3_Color1|Reminiscence ~The Boy~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume3_Color2|Reminiscence ~The Woman in Work Wear~]]
::* Reminiscence ~The Gray Magician~
::* Reminiscence ~About the Young Conductor~
::* Terminal: Aftermath
::* Prologue VI Alchemist
::* Prologue VII The Woman in Work Wear
::* Prologue VIII The Rail Tracer
::* Express Episode ~The man who doesn't die~
::* [[Baccano:Volume3_Epilogue2|Epilogue II]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume3_Translator's_Notes|Translator's Notes and References]]

===''1932: Drugs & The Dominos'' [[Baccano:Volume4|(Full Text)]]===
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color1|About the three Gandor Brothers]]
::: Words of Firo Prochainezo, Martillo Family
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color2|About the Genoard Family]]
::: Words of Genoard's private bartender and chef
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color3|About Roy Maddock]]
::: Words of Fred, a doctor living in New York
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color4|About the Runorata Family]]
::: Words of 'Vino' the assassin
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color5|About The Informer]]
::: Words of Ronny Suchiato, 'Chiamatore' of Martillo Family 
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter1|Prelude]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter2|Prologue]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter3|Purchase]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter4|Use]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter5|Collapse]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter6|Epilogue]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter7|Coda]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Translator%27s_Notes|Translator's Notes and References]]

===''2001: The Children of Bottle''===
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_~Immortal - personal opinion on Elmer C. Albatross~|~Immortal - personal opinion on Elmer C. Albatross~]]
:: Written by: Huey Laforet (Immortal, Terrorist)
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_~Immortal - a girl named Sylvie Lumiere~|~Immortal - a girl named Sylvie Lumiere~]]
:: Words of Denkurô Tougô (Immortal, Freelancer)
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_~Immortal - reports on Nile (Excerpts)~|~Immortal - reports on Nile (Excerpts)~]]
:: Author: Victor Talbot (Immortal, FBI Agent)
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_~Immortal - dialogue between Isaac and Miria~|~Immortal - dialogue between Isaac and Miria~]]
:: Year 2001, Summer
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Preface|Preface]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Prologue|Prologue ~Smile Junkie~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter1|Chapter 1 ~Emotion "Happiness"~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter2|Chapter 2 ~Emotion "Angst"~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter3|Chapter 3 ~Emotion "Delight"~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter4|Chapter 4 ~Emotion "Anger"~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter5|Chapter 5 ~(Laughter)~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Epilogue|Epilogue ~The Children of Bottle~]]
[[http://anonspore.blogspot.com/search/label/Baccano%202001:%20The%20Children%20of%20Bottle Completely translated by anon Spore here]]

===''1933: The Slash ~Cloudy to Rainy~''===

::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Color1|Conversation: Brothers]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Color2|Conversation: Elderly and Grandchild]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Color3|Conversation: Father and Daughter]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Color4|Conversation: Brother and Sister]]
::* Prologue       8 years ago
::: [[Baccano:Volume6_Prologue1|Older brother]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume6_Prologue2|Younger brother]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume6_Prologue3|Only daughter]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Chapter0|Chapter 0]]
:::Drum canister
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Chapter1|Chapter 1]]
:::Flowers and Dominos
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Chapter2|Chapter 2]] (Incomplete)
:::Spear and Knife and Katana
::* Connecting chapter
:::Rain and Letter and Scissors and Love and
:: [[Baccano:Volume6_Translator's_notes|Translator's notes]]
[[http://anonspore.blogspot.com/2011/03/baccano-1933-slash-cloudy-to-rainy.html Completely translated by anon Spore here]]

===''1933: The Slash ~Bloody to fair~''===
[[http://anonspore.blogspot.com/2011/04/baccano-1933-slash-bloody-to-fair-color.html Currently being translated by anonspore here]]

===''1931 (1932): The Grand Punk Railroad Revisited''===
::* Prologue: Informer
::* Chapter 1: A lonely world
::* Chapter 2: A fun yet sad world
::* Chapter 3: A world upside down
::* Chapter 4: My world
::* Epilogue

===''1934: Alice in Jails - Prison Episode'' [http://www.mediafire.com/?sgha93ohwhtb0ob (PDF)]===
::* About Firo Prochainezo
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Intro1|Recollections of the Gandor Brothers]]
::* About Ladd Russo
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Intro2|Graham Spector's Rant]]
::* About Huey Laforet
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Intro3|The Joyful Reminiscence of Elmer C. Albatross]]
::* About Victor Talbot
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Intro4|Recollections from Nile, in the 21st Century]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prelude|Epilogue 1: At the Press]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prologue1|Prologue 1: Camorrista]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prologue2|Prologue 2: Thug]] [[http://anonspore.blogspot.com/2010/04/baccano-1934-alice-in-jails-sneak-peek.html Translated by Spore]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prologue3|Prologue 3: Assassin]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prologue4|Prologue 4: Unspecified Time]]
::* Chapter 1
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch1Pt1|Part 1: Let's Go to Prison]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch1Pt2|Part 2: Let's Quarrel]]
::* Chapter 2
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch2Pt1|Part 1: Let’s Eat Our Last Supper Together]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch2Pt2|Part 2: Let’s Chat]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Interlude|Interlude: In the Darkness]]
::* Chapter 3
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch3Pt1|Part 1: Let's Enjoy Prison Life]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch3Pt2|Part 2: Just Admit You're At Fault]]
::* Chapter 4
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch4Pt1|Part 1: Think About the Outside World]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch4Pt2|Part 2: Let’s Discuss this - Okay It's Settled]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch5|Chapter 5: Let's Break Out!]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_connecting|Connecting Chapter: At the Press]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Extra|Extra Chapter: Released!]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Translator's_Notes|Translator's Notes]]

===''1934: Alice in Jails - Street Episode''===
::* About LAMIA
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Intro1|Adele's hesitant explanation to Tim]]
::* About Christopher
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Intro2|One-sided descriptions from a certain man]]
::* About Graham
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Intro3|Ladd's comments to the White suits]]
::* About Renée
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Intro4|Unpublicized conversation of Karl Muybridge, Nebula Company Chairman]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume10_Epilogue2|Epilogue 2: The Vice President Returns Triumphant]]
::* Chapter 1: Prologues From Beyond Time
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Prologue5|Prologue 5: A Team of Heretics]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Prologue6|Prologue 6: The Mobsters Return]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Prologue7|Prologue 7: Supernatural Requital]]
::* Chapter 2: Unexpected Hysteria
::* Interlude: The Boundaries of Alcatraz
::* Chapter 3: Striking Off the Mark
::* Chapter 4: The Outskirts of Town
::* Connecting Chapter: Reports Beyond Common Knowledge
::* Extra Chapter: Towards the Goal

===''1934: Peter Pan in Chains - Final Episode''===
::* Noise of the misfits.

::*Ricardo Russo talks to himself.

::* The prisoners' conversation.

::* At a bar in New York.

===''1705: The Ironic Light Orchestra''===
::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Cover|Covers]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color1|Question: What do you think of Huey Laforet?]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color2|Question: What do you think of Elmer C. Albatross?]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color3|Question: What do you think of Esperance C. Boroniar?]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color4|Question: What do you think of the alchemy teachers?]]

::* Questions:
:::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color5|Q: Can you tell me what 'samurai' are?]]
:::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color6|Q: I have no idea what you're talking about, Denkuro]]
:::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color7|Q: ...]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Prologue|Prologue: Death of the Body]]

::* Chapter One: Son of a Witch

::* Connecting Chapter One: First Murder

::* Chapter Two: Miracle Boy

::* Connecting Chapter Two: Masked Assassin

::* Chapter Three: Encounter of Two People

::* Connecting Chapter Three: Sorrow in a Young Woman's Heart

::* Chapter Four: Situation of the People

::* Connecting Chapter Four: The People's Police

::* Chapter Five: The End of the World

::* Short Special: The Beginning of the Story

::* Afterword
[[http://evaluative.blogspot.com/ Currently being translated by emjay here]] 
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2011/06/index-of-translations.html Completely translated by Untuned Strings here]]

===''2002: Bullet Garden [A-side]''===
Currently being translated by scythe244 at http://scythe244.wordpress.com 
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2011/06/index-of-translations.html Completely translated by Untuned Strings here]]
===''193X: A man in the killer (1)''===

===''2002: Blood Sabbath [B-side]''===
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2011/06/index-of-translations.html Completely translated by Untuned Strings here]]

===''193X: A man in the killer (2)''===

===''????: The illusional first and last episode''===

===''193X: A man in the killer (3)''===

===''193X: A man in the killer (4)''===

===''193X: A man in the killer (5)''===

===''1710: Crack Flag''===
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2011/06/index-of-translations.html Completely translated by Untuned Strings here]]

===''1711: Whitesmile''===

== Translation ==
=== [[Baccano:Registration Page|Registration]] ===

Those who wish to contribute are asked to first notify a supervisor beforehand.

'''Translators are asked to [[Baccano:Registration Page|register]] which chapters they're working on''' (see [[Format_guideline#Translators|the Guideline page]] for usage rules).

=== Format Standards ===
*[[Format_guideline|General Format/Style Guideline]]

=== Project Staff ===

*Project Administrator: [[user:TheGiftedMonkey|TheGiftedMonkey]]
*Project Supervisor: [[user:HolyCow|HolyCow]]

=== Translators ===

'''ACTIVE'''
:* [[User:SMZ|SMZ]]
:* [[User:Elkin|Elkin]]

'''MIA'''

'''KIA'''

:* [[User:Arashi|arashi]]
:* [[User:Janice|Janice]]
:* jaycet

Those who wish to contribute are asked to first notify a supervisor beforehand.
'''Translators are asked to [[Baccano:Registration Page|register]] which chapters they're working on''' (see [[Format_guideline#Translators|the Guideline page]] for usage rules).

=== Editors ===

'''ACTIVE'''
:* [[User:HolyCow|HolyCow]]
:* [[User:Ermazing|Ermazing]]
:* [[User:Elkin|Elkin]]

== Series Overview ==
* ''Baccano! The Rolling Bootlegs'' (Published February, 2003, ISBN 4840222789)
* ''Baccano! 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad (Local Episode)'' (Published August 2003, ISBN 4840224366)
* ''Baccano! 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad (Express Episode)'' (Published September 2003, ISBN 4840224595)
* ''Baccano! 1932 Drug & The Dominos'' (Published October 2003, ISBN 4840224943)
* ''Baccano! 2001 The Children Of Bottle'' (Published February 2004, ISBN 4840226091)
* ''Baccano! 1933 (Part 1) The Slash ~Cloudy to Rainy~'' (Published September 2004, ISBN 484022787X)
* ''Baccano! 1933 (Part 2) The Slash ~Bloody to fair ~'' (Published November 2004, ISBN 4840228507)
* ''Baccano! 1934 Alice in Jails (Prison Episode)'' (Published October 2006, ISBN 4840235856)
* ''Baccano! 1934 Alice in Jails (World Episode)'' (Published December 2006, ISBN 4840236364)
* ''Baccano! 1934 Peter Pan in Chains (Finale Episode)'' (Published April 2007, ISBN 9784840238052)
* ''Baccano! 1705 The Ironic Light Orchestra'' (Published July 2007, ISBN 9784840239103)
* ''Baccano! 2002 Bullet Garden (A-side)'' (Published October 2007, ISBN 9784840240277)
* ''Baccano! 2002 Blood Sabbath (B-side)'' (Published November 2007, ISBN 9784840240697)
* ''Baccano! 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad Revisited'' (Published January 2009, ISBN 9784048674621)
* ''Baccano! 1710 Crack Flag'' (Published April 2010, ISBN 9784048684590)

[[Category:Dengeki Bunko]]

Baccano

2012-02-02T18:06:31Z

Draringi: /* Baccano! by Ryogo Narita */

[[Category:Hosted_Projects]]
[[Image:Baccano_cover.jpg|200px|thumb]]

The ''Baccano'' series is also available in the following languages:
*[[Baccano_~Spanish~|Spanish (Español)]]

Baccano is a project undertaken by Janice and several other members from [http://community.livejournal.com/baccano/53715.html this LiveJournal] and the [http://baccano.fenali.net/ Gun's & Roses fan community], and only hosted here by Baka-Tsuki. If you're a fan of Baccano and/or love the translations, be sure to drop by and thank them accordingly!

== Story Synopsis ==

Baccano is a light novel written by Ryogo Narita with illustrations by Katsumi Enami. "Baccano", which author Narita translates as "stupid commotion", is Italian for "ruckus". Each of the stories in the series involves several unrelated plots intersecting and crossing each other as events spiral farther and farther out of control - Immortal alchemists, mafia operated speakeasies, and many other elements of pulp fiction mashed together, creating a world straight out of the movies.

== Updates ==
*March 22nd, 2008
** Baccano! translation page first hosted on Baka-Tsuki

*March 23rd, 2008
** Volume 1 of Baccano! temporarily locked from edits.

*April 7th, 2008
** Translation for Volume 4 added.

*December 24th, 2009
** Volume 1 and 4 COMPLETE
** Volume 6 in progress

*January 10, 2010
** Volume 12 in progress (not hosted on BT)

*June 05, 2010
** Volume 6 chapter 1 complete

*June 27, 2010
** Please give a warm welcome to our newest translator SMZ, she'll be working on Volume 9.

== Baccano! by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryohgo_Narita Ryogo Narita] ==

===''1930: The Rolling Bootlegs'' [[Baccano:Volume1_Full_Text|(Full Text)]]===
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Color1|One day ago ~In Alveare~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Color2|A few days later, or a few hours ago ~Train Station~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Color3|A few minutes ago ~On road~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Color4|Immediately before ~Gandor family~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter1|Epilogue 1]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter2|Prologue]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter3|The First Day]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter4|At Night]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter5|The Second Day]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Chapter6|Epilogue 2]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume1_Translator's_Notes|Translator's Notes and References]]

===''1931: The Grand Punk Railroad - Local Episode'' ===
::* [[Baccano:Volume2_Color1|First Class Lounge ~Men in Black~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume2_Color2|Business Class Lounge ~Men in White~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume2_Color3|Economy Class Lounge ~Men in Rags~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume2 Chapter1|Epilogue I]]
::* Prologue I Thieves in Disguise
::* Prologue II Delinquents
::* Prologue III Terrorists
::* Prologue IV Serial Killer
::* Prologue V Pre-Ride
::* Local Episode ~A man who doesn't cry~
::* Translator's Notes and References
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2012/01/baccano-1931-grand-punk-railroad-colour.html Currently being translated by Untuned Strings here]]

===''1931: The Grand Punk Railroad - Express Episode'' ===
::* [[Baccano:Volume3_Color1|Reminiscence ~The Boy~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume3_Color2|Reminiscence ~The Woman in Work Wear~]]
::* Reminiscence ~The Gray Magician~
::* Reminiscence ~About the Young Conductor~
::* Terminal: Aftermath
::* Prologue VI Alchemist
::* Prologue VII The Woman in Work Wear
::* Prologue VIII The Rail Tracer
::* Express Episode ~The man who doesn't die~
::* [[Baccano:Volume3_Epilogue2|Epilogue II]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume3_Translator's_Notes|Translator's Notes and References]]

===''1932: Drugs & The Dominos'' [[Baccano:Volume4|(Full Text)]]===
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color1|About the three Gandor Brothers]]
::: Words of Firo Prochainezo, Martillo Family
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color2|About the Genoard Family]]
::: Words of Genoard's private bartender and chef
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color3|About Roy Maddock]]
::: Words of Fred, a doctor living in New York
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color4|About the Runorata Family]]
::: Words of 'Vino' the assassin
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Color5|About The Informer]]
::: Words of Ronny Suchiato, 'Chiamatore' of Martillo Family 
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter1|Prelude]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter2|Prologue]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter3|Purchase]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter4|Use]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter5|Collapse]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter6|Epilogue]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Chapter7|Coda]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume4_Translator%27s_Notes|Translator's Notes and References]]

===''2001: The Children of Bottle''===
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_~Immortal - personal opinion on Elmer C. Albatross~|~Immortal - personal opinion on Elmer C. Albatross~]]
:: Written by: Huey Laforet (Immortal, Terrorist)
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_~Immortal - a girl named Sylvie Lumiere~|~Immortal - a girl named Sylvie Lumiere~]]
:: Words of Denkurô Tougô (Immortal, Freelancer)
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_~Immortal - reports on Nile (Excerpts)~|~Immortal - reports on Nile (Excerpts)~]]
:: Author: Victor Talbot (Immortal, FBI Agent)
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_~Immortal - dialogue between Isaac and Miria~|~Immortal - dialogue between Isaac and Miria~]]
:: Year 2001, Summer
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Preface|Preface]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Prologue|Prologue ~Smile Junkie~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter1|Chapter 1 ~Emotion "Happiness"~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter2|Chapter 2 ~Emotion "Angst"~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter3|Chapter 3 ~Emotion "Delight"~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter4|Chapter 4 ~Emotion "Anger"~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Chapter5|Chapter 5 ~(Laughter)~]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume5_Epilogue|Epilogue ~The Children of Bottle~]]
[[http://anonspore.blogspot.com/search/label/Baccano%202001:%20The%20Children%20of%20Bottle Completely translated by anon Spore here]]

===''1933: The Slash ~Cloudy to Rainy~''===

::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Color1|Conversation: Brothers]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Color2|Conversation: Elderly and Grandchild]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Color3|Conversation: Father and Daughter]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Color4|Conversation: Brother and Sister]]
::* Prologue       8 years ago
::: [[Baccano:Volume6_Prologue1|Older brother]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume6_Prologue2|Younger brother]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume6_Prologue3|Only daughter]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Chapter0|Chapter 0]]
:::Drum canister
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Chapter1|Chapter 1]]
:::Flowers and Dominos
::* [[Baccano:Volume6_Chapter2|Chapter 2]] (Incomplete)
:::Spear and Knife and Katana
::* Connecting chapter
:::Rain and Letter and Scissors and Love and
:: [[Baccano:Volume6_Translator's_notes|Translator's notes]]
[[http://anonspore.blogspot.com/2011/03/baccano-1933-slash-cloudy-to-rainy.html Completely translated by anon Spore here]]

===''1933: The Slash ~Bloody to fair~''===
[[http://anonspore.blogspot.com/2011/04/baccano-1933-slash-bloody-to-fair-color.html Currently being translated by anonspore here]]

===''1931 (1932): The Grand Punk Railroad Revisited''===
::* Prologue: Informer
::* Chapter 1: A lonely world
::* Chapter 2: A fun yet sad world
::* Chapter 3: A world upside down
::* Chapter 4: My world
::* Epilogue

===''1934: Alice in Jails - Prison Episode''===
::* About Firo Prochainezo
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Intro1|Recollections of the Gandor Brothers]]
::* About Ladd Russo
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Intro2|Graham Spector's Rant]]
::* About Huey Laforet
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Intro3|The Joyful Reminiscence of Elmer C. Albatross]]
::* About Victor Talbot
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Intro4|Recollections from Nile, in the 21st Century]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prelude|Epilogue 1: At the Press]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prologue1|Prologue 1: Camorrista]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prologue2|Prologue 2: Thug]] [[http://anonspore.blogspot.com/2010/04/baccano-1934-alice-in-jails-sneak-peek.html Translated by Spore]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prologue3|Prologue 3: Assassin]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Prologue4|Prologue 4: Unspecified Time]]
::* Chapter 1
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch1Pt1|Part 1: Let's Go to Prison]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch1Pt2|Part 2: Let's Quarrel]]
::* Chapter 2
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch2Pt1|Part 1: Let’s Eat Our Last Supper Together]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch2Pt2|Part 2: Let’s Chat]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Interlude|Interlude: In the Darkness]]
::* Chapter 3
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch3Pt1|Part 1: Let's Enjoy Prison Life]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch3Pt2|Part 2: Just Admit You're At Fault]]
::* Chapter 4
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch4Pt1|Part 1: Think About the Outside World]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch4Pt2|Part 2: Let’s Discuss this - Okay It's Settled]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Ch5|Chapter 5: Let's Break Out!]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_connecting|Connecting Chapter: At the Press]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Extra|Extra Chapter: Released!]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume9_Translator's_Notes|Translator's Notes]]

===''1934: Alice in Jails - Street Episode''===
::* About LAMIA
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Intro1|Adele's hesitant explanation to Tim]]
::* About Christopher
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Intro2|One-sided descriptions from a certain man]]
::* About Graham
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Intro3|Ladd's comments to the White suits]]
::* About Renée
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Intro4|Unpublicized conversation of Karl Muybridge, Nebula Company Chairman]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume10_Epilogue2|Epilogue 2: The Vice President Returns Triumphant]]
::* Chapter 1: Prologues From Beyond Time
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Prologue5|Prologue 5: A Team of Heretics]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Prologue6|Prologue 6: The Mobsters Return]]
::: [[Baccano:Volume10_Prologue7|Prologue 7: Supernatural Requital]]
::* Chapter 2: Unexpected Hysteria
::* Interlude: The Boundaries of Alcatraz
::* Chapter 3: Striking Off the Mark
::* Chapter 4: The Outskirts of Town
::* Connecting Chapter: Reports Beyond Common Knowledge
::* Extra Chapter: Towards the Goal

===''1934: Peter Pan in Chains - Final Episode''===
::* Noise of the misfits.

::*Ricardo Russo talks to himself.

::* The prisoners' conversation.

::* At a bar in New York.

===''1705: The Ironic Light Orchestra''===
::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Cover|Covers]]
::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color1|Question: What do you think of Huey Laforet?]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color2|Question: What do you think of Elmer C. Albatross?]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color3|Question: What do you think of Esperance C. Boroniar?]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color4|Question: What do you think of the alchemy teachers?]]

::* Questions:
:::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color5|Q: Can you tell me what 'samurai' are?]]
:::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color6|Q: I have no idea what you're talking about, Denkuro]]
:::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Color7|Q: ...]]

::* [[Baccano:Volume11_Prologue|Prologue: Death of the Body]]

::* Chapter One: Son of a Witch

::* Connecting Chapter One: First Murder

::* Chapter Two: Miracle Boy

::* Connecting Chapter Two: Masked Assassin

::* Chapter Three: Encounter of Two People

::* Connecting Chapter Three: Sorrow in a Young Woman's Heart

::* Chapter Four: Situation of the People

::* Connecting Chapter Four: The People's Police

::* Chapter Five: The End of the World

::* Short Special: The Beginning of the Story

::* Afterword
[[http://evaluative.blogspot.com/ Currently being translated by emjay here]] 
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2011/06/index-of-translations.html Completely translated by Untuned Strings here]]

===''2002: Bullet Garden [A-side]''===
Currently being translated by scythe244 at http://scythe244.wordpress.com 
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2011/06/index-of-translations.html Completely translated by Untuned Strings here]]
===''193X: A man in the killer (1)''===

===''2002: Blood Sabbath [B-side]''===

===''193X: A man in the killer (2)''===

===''????: The illusional first and last episode''===

===''193X: A man in the killer (3)''===

===''193X: A man in the killer (4)''===

===''193X: A man in the killer (5)''===

===''1710: Crack Flag''===
[[http://untuned-strings.blogspot.com/2011/06/index-of-translations.html Completely translated by Untuned Strings here]]

===''1711: Whitesmile''===

== Translation ==
=== [[Baccano:Registration Page|Registration]] ===

Those who wish to contribute are asked to first notify a supervisor beforehand.

'''Translators are asked to [[Baccano:Registration Page|register]] which chapters they're working on''' (see [[Format_guideline#Translators|the Guideline page]] for usage rules).

=== Format Standards ===
*[[Format_guideline|General Format/Style Guideline]]

=== Project Staff ===

*Project Administrator: [[user:TheGiftedMonkey|TheGiftedMonkey]]
*Project Supervisor: [[user:HolyCow|HolyCow]]

=== Translators ===

'''ACTIVE'''
:* [[User:SMZ|SMZ]]
:* [[User:Elkin|Elkin]]

'''MIA'''

'''KIA'''

:* [[User:Arashi|arashi]]
:* [[User:Janice|Janice]]
:* jaycet

Those who wish to contribute are asked to first notify a supervisor beforehand.
'''Translators are asked to [[Baccano:Registration Page|register]] which chapters they're working on''' (see [[Format_guideline#Translators|the Guideline page]] for usage rules).

=== Editors ===

'''ACTIVE'''
:* [[User:HolyCow|HolyCow]]
:* [[User:Ermazing|Ermazing]]
:* [[User:Elkin|Elkin]]

== Series Overview ==
* ''Baccano! The Rolling Bootlegs'' (Published February, 2003, ISBN 4840222789)
* ''Baccano! 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad (Local Episode)'' (Published August 2003, ISBN 4840224366)
* ''Baccano! 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad (Express Episode)'' (Published September 2003, ISBN 4840224595)
* ''Baccano! 1932 Drug & The Dominos'' (Published October 2003, ISBN 4840224943)
* ''Baccano! 2001 The Children Of Bottle'' (Published February 2004, ISBN 4840226091)
* ''Baccano! 1933 (Part 1) The Slash ~Cloudy to Rainy~'' (Published September 2004, ISBN 484022787X)
* ''Baccano! 1933 (Part 2) The Slash ~Bloody to fair ~'' (Published November 2004, ISBN 4840228507)
* ''Baccano! 1934 Alice in Jails (Prison Episode)'' (Published October 2006, ISBN 4840235856)
* ''Baccano! 1934 Alice in Jails (World Episode)'' (Published December 2006, ISBN 4840236364)
* ''Baccano! 1934 Peter Pan in Chains (Finale Episode)'' (Published April 2007, ISBN 9784840238052)
* ''Baccano! 1705 The Ironic Light Orchestra'' (Published July 2007, ISBN 9784840239103)
* ''Baccano! 2002 Bullet Garden (A-side)'' (Published October 2007, ISBN 9784840240277)
* ''Baccano! 2002 Blood Sabbath (B-side)'' (Published November 2007, ISBN 9784840240697)
* ''Baccano! 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad Revisited'' (Published January 2009, ISBN 9784048674621)
* ''Baccano! 1710 Crack Flag'' (Published April 2010, ISBN 9784048684590)

[[Category:Dengeki Bunko]]

Talk:Papa no Iu Koto o Kikinasai!

2012-01-26T17:18:15Z

Draringi:

Can someone upload the illustrations? Please use naming convention similar to "papakiki_v01_232.jpg", and "papakiki_v01_000a.jpg"/"papakiki_v01_000b.jpg"/etc. for color pages. Thanks. --[[User:Larethian|larethian]] 05:57, 18 January 2012 (CST)

Uploading/uploaded the illustrations for volume 1. May upload the remaining volumes illustrations in the upcoming weeks if I get your ok. --[[User:Ff7 freak|Ff7 freak]] 06:36, 18 January 2012 (CST)

Sure thing. Just make sure the page number in the wiki filename follows the actual page number and not the original file numbering (which sometimes may be wrong for some raws). Thanks a lot. --[[User:Larethian|larethian]] 09:38, 19 January 2012 (CST)

Will begin uploading as soon as I get backfrom holidays. I am rationing my prepaid internet so I can access the site for as long as possible. Uploading of images will resume as soon as I return. I always check the page numbers, so there will be no errors there. --[[User:Ff7 freak|Ff7 freak]] 22:34, 21 January 2012 (CST)

Just noticed that this novel isn't on the light novel list on the left unless you are logged in, which means it is not viewable on the Bakareader app... --[[User:Draringi|Draringi]] 12:10, 25 January 2012 (CST)

It will auto-resolve itself in time, give it a few more days. --[[User:Larethian|larethian]] 12:38, 25 January 2012 (CST)

Which page is it not on? Pages are serve to anon people in cached form for faster transfer. But if you really want to refresh the cache, you can add <nowiki>&action=purge</nowiki> to whatever link you have above in you web browser. [[User:Xplorer30|Xplorer30]] - [[User_talk:Xplorer30|Talk]] 21:02, 25 January 2012 (CST)

Doesn't really matter to me when I'm using a web browser, as I'm logged in. The issue has an effect when I'm using the BakaReader on my phone, in which case the url is not accessible to change... I'm willing to wait for it to appear in the list --[[User:Draringi|Draringi]] 11:18, 26 January 2012 (CST)

Talk:Papa no Iu Koto o Kikinasai!

2012-01-25T18:12:43Z

Draringi:

Talk:Papa no Iu Koto o Kikinasai!

2012-01-25T18:10:17Z

Draringi:

Talk:Toaru Majutsu no Index

2011-07-06T01:23:35Z

Draringi: /* Religion vs Denomination */

[http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=1697525#post1697525 Illustration overview] reminder found in the project forum...

== How I enlist ? ==

I done reading to aru majutsu no index chapter 9. So i want to post it in here.
Is it possible? How can I post it anyway? Japanese to Indonesia. japanese to englist. - ([[User:Kili|Kili]])

Well, you could really just post it unless you want specific clearance from the moderators at the [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=2148&start=195 project forum]. For the Indonesian one, you should make a topic with something along the lines of "To Aru Majutsu no Index - Indonesian" at the [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=29 Alternative Language Forum] for help with setting that up.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. -Repose

actuality I already completed translate english. Not so hard to make it to indonesia. but if I done where and how post it ? - ([[User:Kili|Kili]])

The Indonesian version? For that you have to create the Alternate Language Project similar to other Alternate Language Projects with the complete translation of the Project Page (as a naming example: <nowiki>[[To Aru Majutsu no Index ~ Bahasa Indonesia]]</nowiki> ([[To Aru Majutsu no Index ~ Bahasa Indonesia]])), Registration Page, a thread in the Alternate Language Subforum in the Baka-Tsuki Forum and at least one translated Chapter to get the approval to continue the project. --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 23:19, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

it so hard for to made but I will keep trying. I need time to study about it.

am i wrong ?

I've just joined up, and have registered on the TAMNI register page, is that good enough? I can't seem to get into the forum link. --[[User:Flere821|Flere821]] 09:44, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Should be just fine, as I assume you'll be translating to English like the other things you've done. I suppose you don't need the forum unless you want to set up a project page up or want to discuss translation terms, but still, not sure why the links don't work for you. --[[User:EnigmaticRepose|EnigmaticRepose]]

I've noticed some irregular grammar and English usage on several chapters, do the translators/lead editors for this series mind if I take an axe to these chapters? My English is pretty good, it's just that I may be a bit liberal in changing adjectives or phrasing of words --[[User:Asteradragon|Asteradragon]] 11:33, 6 April 2011 (EST)

==Chapter 2: Doubt_Lovers.==
The link refer to "http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=To_Aru_Majutsu_no_Index:Volume5_'''Chapter1'''" So I think of them is wrong?
--[[User:Hypernova|Hypernova]] 12:16, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Thanks EnigmaticRepose for fixing it!--[[User:Hypernova|Hypernova]] 00:32, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

==What the shit.==
Why would a translation project start at volume 12 instead of volume 1? Imagine watching the Lord of the Rings movie series for the first time in your life...except instead of watching it starting from the first movie, you skip to the middle of the 3rd movie during the seige of Gondor. And as you sit through the movie you keep going "Oh this sword guy is kinda cool whats his name? And who is this Sauron guy?".

you, whoever you are, are being horrendously rude and ungrateful for the fact that the translators (you seem pointed at [[user:Joay|Joay]] in particular) not only translate these novels, they do it for free. Besides that, volumes 1 through 6 are covered by the anime, and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Toaru_Majutsu_no_Index_light_novels] has synopses of all the novels. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 04:15, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

Also since the translators have the power, they can decide what they like to translate, so if you could translate as well you could start with volume 1 if you like it... or with chapter x in volume y ;) So if you dont cant and dont like it you dont have to read it. I am gratful for that what we have, so should you too if you like to read more of those otherwise unobtainable unreadable volumes. --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 08:34, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

hmm, now that volume 7 and 9 are translated and volume 10 is being translated, i'd like to ask if there is a specific reason that volume 8 was skipped.? It doesn't really matter though, since i was just wondering if maybe the story in 8 takes place in a different time than 7->9. other than that, i'm fine with waiting, since you're all (yeah, you translators ^_^ ) doing a fantastic job at translating this so far. keep up the good work.
oh yeah, and... Ganbare!--[[User:AzraRillian|-AzraRillian - Transcend The Sin - "You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body." C.S. Lewis]] 03:18, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

===Took me five months to even notice this, sorry...===

The reason why I did Volumes 9 and 10 before volume 8 was basically because of a request (the first guy who PMed me when I worked on this project asked me whether I can do Volume 9 first. So, sorry...?

And to the guy who has been complaining about Volume 1 not being translated first, well, no point talking about it now when out of a sudden, there are three guys working on volume 1 now (I'm really, really glad to have other people share the workload). Like what [[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] said, the anime has pretty much covered most of the important aspects, and since there's a sizeable fandom of it that can provide all sorts of information, you're not really in the dark regarding what has happened. The 'Lord of the Rings' idea doesn't really work since you would have most likely gone about trying to find out what's going on in order to answer the question of 'what's going on?' Or did you not even bother looking for it?

Well, instead of complaining, you might as well do something about it if you can. Orders are nothing if the actions are not done, you know. We're not entitled to do this for you, we're not even paid to do this. We're doing this only because we want to. We translators here are like Kamijo Touma, we don't have a reason to do things, we just do it.

--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 17:30, 12 September 2010 (UTC)

== What tense to use? ==

So, after reading some chapters of the seventh volume I would like to ask a question. What tense would you use in descriptions? Right now I’m doing some edits on the translated texts but there is always this one thing I’m tripping over. In this volume, and most likely also in the others, we have a third person narrator. In this case you would normally write the descriptions or narrations in the past tense, right? That’s what I would do at least and is commonly done in the most English novels. But as it is, there are some differences in the Asian and the English writing and that includes the used tenses. Because of these differences the translator decided to use the present tense in the above-named cases (most of the time at least). Of course, this isn’t a mistake, but I often feel like it would be one. Perhaps I’m just too used reading the past tense in descriptions but to me, with some exceptions, it often feels awkward when I read some of them in present tense. I would like to get some more opinions on this matter. Is it just me who has this problem or do you think the same as me? [[user:AJS90|AJS90]] 21 March 2010

I've really just been using present tense for everything, which I based off of how the translators worded it. It's a bit weird for the narrator to do so, but eh, I'm used to it already. ...On a side note, it's nice not being the only editor anymore. ~EnigmaticRepose

Yeah, I've been using present tense for my edits, too- but only because there might be a convention in light novels regarding it that I'm unaware of. Better safe than sorry, you know? I MIGHT try a past-tense sweep edit for second opinions, but only after I'm done with my ongoing ones.--Tactician J 03:13, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Regarding that a discussion was recently started in the [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=3547 forum] too --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 18:11, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

== I need illustrations for Volume 10 ==

Exactly what's written on it. Would the uploader kindly upload the illustrations of the other volumes? Many thanks in advance.~Teh Ping

would it be enough a link of megaupload volumes 1-16 and with the illustration? anyway heres the link: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2AS0PZD7
-ark

== Pic translation ==
Ah, could someone translate the pics too, if there is on them something to translate, please? --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 05:54, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

Most the pictures just have quotes from the novel, with additional tiny descriptions, like 'Academy City Tokiwadai Student' or 'English Purist "Church of Necessary Evil (Necessarius)' and the like, so you aren't missing much. It's really just a fit it in the context after you read it, as they're supposed to be teasers for the story anyway (which is why they're placed in the beginning).

Hm, I thought it would be nice - like we have it for Sword Art Online especially since we dont have translations for all volumes, so some teasers would be nice ;). Have meant only pics like those: [[:Image:Index v01 002-003.jpg|Image 1]]; [[:Image:Index v01 004-005.jpg|Image 2]]; [[:Image:Index v01 006-007.jpg|Image 3]] --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 10:33, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

== Just a slight concern. ==

As Joay and I are busy with our own stuff, I suppose that there should be some sort of a Project Supervisor around to keep check of certain stuff. There will be updates in the future, as Twi will continue to translate this series (hopefully), but I hope that there's someone to keep this series in check, since it's no longer a 'small' project anymore (I guess, since YMMV). ~Teh Ping

== Spanish section request ==

I would like to start a spanish section for the novels.--[[Special:Contributions/190.41.2.140|190.41.2.140]] 22:51, 26 May 2010 (UTC)

You should make a topic with something along the lines of "To Aru Majutsu no Index - Spanish" at the [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=29 Alternative Language Forum] for help with setting that up. Registering may also be a good idea. An Indonesian one was also set up, so you could use that as a reference. --EnigmaticRepose

== I'll try to translate a bit ==

Currently my japanese is iffy at best, but as i'm studying it might as well give it a shot.I'll try to pick up the 1st chapter of volume one (no one's doing it right?). I'm asking here first as well, i don't know if i can manage it yet.
If i manage to somehow not embarrass myself too much doing that i'll register, and work on the rest of the volume.
Again, i can't be sure i'll manage it so... best try it out first then see.--[[User:AADragon|AADragon]] 16:35, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

No one would say something against it, just feel free to ge ahead, but best would be to register the chapter before, even if it is not very probable that some other translator would translate it anytime soon, but wonder happens sometime, so just to be safe ;) --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 20:04, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

==Thanks for your work!!==
Glad to see translated this novel series by Teh_Ping and Joay, thank you very much for working so hard and fast.
At this point, I can say that the translators will surpass Index II(by JCStaff) in covering the novels :)

another fan of Teh_Ping and Joay, thank you very much for all of the great work ^^)/

== Translations? ==

I'm new here, and I want to translate some stuff.
I was reading the chinese version and randomly decided to translate V1C4 from Chinese to English.

Do I need some sort of clearance? Or can I just go ahead and upload my stuff (especially since my translation quality is most definitely sub-par)?

===Go ahead and just upload it===

The editors will be helping out with the language. I'll also help you proofread it if you want.

Over here, there's no need for any bureaucratic red tape. Any translator can just upload their stuff here, so you can just upload it.

EDIT: Still having a bit of trouble with the formatting, garr...

--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 03:51, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

== Some Question ==

Er.... So, I already translated about three chapter and half from the 2nd Volume...
and the question is... How do I upload it? Any clues?

===Here's what you need===

http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Format_guideline#Wiki_Editing_Tips

1. First, go to the volume that you want to upload.

2. Do you see the edit button on the top right hand corner? Click it.

3. Look at the 'Internal link' section, that is how you're going to add hyperlinks. (You can look at the other volumes for reference)

4. If you did it right, the words should be in red, click on it.

5. Now, you should be in a new page. Click on the 'create' button at the top.

6. Upload the text that you have already translated. (Make sure to press 'enter' once after every paragraph so that it's easier to
read.)

7. Next, the headings. At the wiki editing tips page, look at the 'headings' section (well, duh).

8. If you see the format used on all B-T texts, you'll probably get an idea of how to do it. (Just copy what they do.)

9. For pictures, it's under 'thumbnail image', the 'picture' would be from the illustrations of the volume that's available here. If I want a picture from say 'Volume 1 page 031', the format would be <nowiki>[[Image:Index_v01_031.jpg|thumb]]</nowiki>

10. For a footer, just go to any completed chapter here, copy the scripts for the footer, and make the necessary edits.

If you need any more help, you can pm me.

--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 15:31, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

I wonder what happened with this translator and translation... --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 09:30, 17 December 2010 (UTC)

----

==VOLUME 11==

english Volume 11 has been sabed over by the spanish version. Any chance of recovery?

===Erm, excuse me, but you lost me there===

Is there anything wrong? Since when do we have a Spanish section?

--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 17:41, 12 September 2010 (UTC)

----
Not sure, but I think they're talking about all the chapter titles being in gratuitous Italian.

----
Actually, check the scan of the [http://img55.imageshack.us/f/009xf5.jpg/ original table of contents]. You'll see that it's actually in said gratuitous Italian. (This may be incorrect, but I doubt it) --[[User:MerrickXasis|MerrickXasis]]

----

Oh that, that's what you guys meant. Yes, it's supposed to be in gratuitous Italian, since the plot setting is in Italy (Before you guys start blaming me for spoiling it, the prologue of Volume 11 will be uploaded in 4 hours.)--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 09:21, 13 September 2010 (UTC)

==To Aru Majutsu No Index Volume 3==

Can You work on volume 3. Sorry for asking, because I love this arc. --anonymous

the sisters arc is great, but, we have it already in two separate manga and the anime. new content would be my preference. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 15:00, 22 October 2010 (UTC)

Ah, we'll see how it goes. Most likely, I'll leave it as training for some new translator. I'm planning to be more of a drill sergeant for these new translators, so, get ready.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 15:54, 22 October 2010 (UTC)

Ah, I know about the anime and manga but I love to read more. But anyway Thank^^. I will wait for anyone to translate it.

==Consensus: Past or Present?==
'''Please Vote [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=3547 poll]'''
----
With six active translators and three editors, this project needs to come to an agreement regarding tense usage. Do we stick to present tense, or do we shift to past tense?--Tactician J 10:21, 4 November 2010 (UTC)

For me, it's more of past for what just happened and present for what happens during the sequence. I also use a 'present future tense'. Next vote?--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 11:21, 4 November 2010 (UTC)

I'm all for present as usual, but as I've said before, I can work with either. I get more attached to present tense stories, anyway. If we do end up agreeing on present tense, we might want to put it somewhere on the main page, and even in commentary tags by the editor list for extra insurance, as odds are potential editors/translators don't check the talk page until someone actually uses it. —[[User:EnigmaticRepose|EnigmaticRepose]]

I've only just realised/remembered there's a talk page here ^.^; I'm voting for past tense as that's what I'm used to, and that from what I can gather from the '''official''' Chinese translated Index Novels I have on hand right now they use past tense as well. It'll be easier for me to work in past tense. --[[User:Flere821|Flere821]] 09:16, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

Regarding that a discussion was recently started in the [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=3547 forum] too --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 18:12, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

== Volume 14 ==

I know this must be annoying being asked this but could someone work on doing Volume 14?

I don't think anyone is doing this at the moment, volumes 1,SS1,15, & 22 seem to be under active or semi-active translation, but volume 14 is probably coming soon. admitedly, it's just a guess, but as it will be the first volume not in the first season untranslated after SS1 is done, it will probably get done soon. If you can translate, however, feel free to start, no one has registered for it. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 06:38, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

== Churches ==

To the translators and editors: both the anglican church and russian orthodox church exists :[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_England],[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Orthodox_Church] exist. they are not made up by the author. (technically the anglican church's proper name is the 'Church of England', and is the leader of the 'Anglican Communion'). I'm quite certain also that the Roman Catholic Church exists also, being a lapsed member. The Amakusa Church is made up though: it was named after an island of japan where the heads of executed christians were buried in 1637 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amakusa]. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 14:19, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

Well, I don't really know how to explain this, but here's a post by an AS user called Thirdlc, which I find to be very good in explaining it.

"The author uses coined words like 十字教, イギリス清教, ローマ正教 and ロシア成教, instead of actual words like キリスト教 (Christianity), 英国国教会 (Church of England), ローマ・カトリック (Roman Catholic Church), ロシア正教 (Russian Orthodox Church).

I don't like it that those are directly referred, ignoring the author's intention.

Looking at these names, it's possible that the author just wants to make them end with "seikyou" and there is not much meaning in 清.

イギリス清教 (Igirisu [B]seikyou[/B]), ローマ正教 (Roma [B]seikyou[/B]), ロシア成教 (Roshia [B]seikyou[/B]), 天草式十字凄教 (Amakusa-shiki juuji [B]seikyou[/B]) "

--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 11:26, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

*No hand facepalm...*

Well, to any editor, I'm going to need your help here.

For all the 'Amakusa Catholics' change them into the 'Amakusa-style Church'.

Anyone got any other way to translate the rest, or should we stick to the terms given in volume 7?--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 14:30, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

Ah--[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 14:55, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

That could need a [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=3514 guideline discussion]... ;) --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 17:01, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

I think this needs to be translated consistently between the volumes. A guideline discussion seems necessary. Just because Vol. 7 was translated first doesn't mean that it's done appropriately (I haven't even looked, so couldn't venture an opinion). Likewise, I would hesitate to buy into a 'canon' translation by a Japanese author - church names tend to be archaic English, for one thing, which is not well covered by Japanese style English education.

My take, now that I see some of the source: 教 seems to be used in the way that we use ''teaching,'' ''rite,''(compare 'rites' of Freemasonry) or even (religious) ''tradition'' in English. So maybe translate イギリス清教 as 'English Puritan rite,' 'English Puritan church,' or 'English Puritan teaching.' By extension, that would lead to 'Roman Orthodox rite'/'Roman Orthodox church' and 'Russian Institutional rite/church' (I'm having a tough time translating the on reading of 成 into something that isn't 'orthodox' in this context.) Likewise, 凄教 translates pretty well as 'cult' for me. Did a little googling and found this page [http://toarumajutsunoindex.wikia.com/wiki/Amakusa-Style_Remix_of_Church] which seems to agree with my 'cult' definition. So the 'Amakusa cult.'

By analogy, It seems obvious that the author is ''suggesting'' real churches, but is very careful not to use their common names in Japanese, I would guess both to avoid angry adherents of the real churches and to help with the alternate universe separation of realities. For example, ロシア成教 is practically synonymous with the meaning of 'Russian Orthodox Church' but just happens to not be the way it is written in Japanese. It seems that we would want a similar obfuscation in the translation for the same reasons. -[[User:Senile seinen|Senile seinen]] 16:58, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

I just want to give my two cents to agree with the character 教 itself translating to cult. It's used quite commonly in Chinese text to such effect. However, I believe the only problem in doing so would be that cults in the English language are usually seen as heretical and some organizations might not fit that light. -[[User:Snorca|Snorca]] 17:30, 17 November 2010

Well, I should be resting, but since this is important, I'll give an answer.

The so-called canon translations aren't invented by me or Joay or any other translator. When I said Volume 7, I meant the chapter titles of volume 7. The names on the main page, they're canon, we didn't do anything except removing the japanese text. Of course, if we're to go by our own common knowledge, cult would be the better term, but it'll feel a lot less familiar.
 
 

Why are these religions named as 'cults'? As someone who has Chinese as my first language, I haven't came across something like the character '教' being equivalent to that... (Or I just can't remember it - can anyone give some examples?)
But yeah, in canon these Churches are for all intents and purposes 'religions' and not 'cults' as the English speakers understand it.
Maybe we can make some sort of 'need-to-know' translation notes for readers on the Index Novels' main page if this issue becomes a serious one? Just putting it out there the Churches in this universe is not the ones equivalent to Real-Life's ones. In the Official Chinese Translated Volume 1 of TAMNI (pg30, next to a illustration page of Index) I have on hand there's a Note saying all churches mentioned in this series are made-up ones by the author.
Also, I can vouch for the English spellings being correct (I have a hard copy of the Official Chinese translated Index Novel Vol7) given in Vol7 of the Churches are as the person above me has said - so I think what we have right now should stay. --[[User:Flere821|Flere821]] 05:27, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Have you read the Jing Yong novels? Condor heroes etc? The Ming Cult gets referenced quite often -[[User:Snorca|Snorca]] 07:13, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Its Japanese then maybe the meaning of '教' is different between Japanese and Chinese? (Rikaichan says for that "teach", "faith", "doctrine") And if the Churches are realy made up by the author shouldnt then イギリス清教, ローマ正教, ロシア成教 and 天草式十字凄教 be British Puritan, Roman Orthodox, Russian 成(?) and Amakusa(n) 凄 (? unorthodox) faith or doctrine instead of Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Church? --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 09:45, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

No no, Kanji used by Japanese have basically the same meaning in Chinese. In Chinese, that character does indeed mean teach, doctrine, etc. It depends on how it is used. It is really difficult to draw meaning from one character, it depends on how it is used along with other characters before one can drawn meaning from it. -[[User:Snorca|Snorca]] 17:03, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

---

I haven't came across those examples you (Snorca) mentioned, but from what I looked up in a Chinese -> English dictionary (Granted, this particular reference book is from 1994 so it's more than a decade old...) the character '教' doesn't have the meaning of cult... and as far as I know from other sources the Chinese term for 'cult' is '邪教', the characters can literally be translated into 'evil religion'. The character '教' alone doesn't mean 'cult' but just 'religion' I think.

But precise meaning/s of the words aside, IMO for all intents and purposes these 'religious organisations', for a lack of better term right now, are similar in structure to real-life churches, even if they're not named the same. These organisations are churches in canon (in terms of influence, history and other such aspects), not cults, and should probably be called as 'churches'. And to prevent mixing up with Real-Life versions maybe some other name can be introduced, but with the word 'church' included? Or like I suggested earlier we can just note the differences between the ToaruVerse Churches and the Real-Life Churches on the TAMNI main page?

That reminds me, the novels calls 'Christianity' (for a lack of better term to describe the religion that is born from the death of the Son of God is called , the name 'Jesus' is never mentioned in the novels and is always refered to as the 'Son of God') the 'Religion of the Cross', ie '十字教', instead of the usual Chinese version '基督教'. Maybe we should change that in our translations as well somehow? --[[User:Flere821|Flere821]] 21:57, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, as I've said, the word cult will have problems because it has a negative connotation in it based on how the mass media portrays it. Not all cults are evil though, religions would refuse to be classified as a cult, but in essence of the word, they technically are cults. Cults are basically a group with religious beliefs, but are somewhat considered strange. It had been given a negative image due to how most religions (not gonna name the most obvious one) really, really hate how people stray from their practices.

Anyway, the word church doesn't necessarily mean Christianity. It simply means a sanctuary. For example, the infamous cult church I used to live close by: The Church of Scientology. There are many other cults out there with churches but lack popularity.

Of course, how we use these words are up to the editors and translators. I really have no opinion on what we use, just trying to provide some insight as to how those words are technically acceptable. -[[User:Snorca|Snorca]] 23:26, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Because I was the first one to use the word 'cult' I had better clarify what I meant: I used the word 'cult' '''only''' in reference to the kanji combination 凄教. While all of the church/religion names end with kanji that can be pronounced as "seikyou", the actual kanji used are DIFFERENT between the different religions. Only the ''Amakusa seikyou'' has the kanji 凄教 for "seikyou." 凄 translates as 'uncanny, weird, threatening, horrible,' and 教 is the 'teaching, faith, doctrine' kanji we see at the end of all these word. 'Weird/horrible faith' is pretty close to 'cult.'

By this reasoning, '''only''' the Amakusa group would be called a 'cult.' As I wrote above, the others would be something like "Russian Institutional Church," "English Puritan Rite/Church" and "Roman Orthodox Church." --[[User:Senile seinen|Senile seinen]] 14:56, 19 November 2010 (UTC)

凄 also means ''wonderful, great, terrific, tremendous, real''. --[[User:El Phoenix|El Phoenix]] 12:15, 22 November 2010 (UTC)

Well, I'll make this clear. Here are the original chapter titles of volume 7:

* Prologue: 行動開始　The_Page_is_Opened.
* Chapter 1: 学園都市　Science_Worship.
* Chapter 2: ローマ正教　The_Roman_Catholic_Church.
* Chapter 3: イギリス清教　Anglican_Church.
* Chapter 4: 天草式十字凄教　AMAKUSA_Style_Remix_of_Church.
* Epilogue: 行動終了　The_Page_is_Shut. --[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 13:15, 22 November 2010 (UTC)

== Main Page Format ==
'''Please Vote [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=3562 poll]'''
----

Okay, let's clear some things up. Do we want to keep the author's bizarre English, underscores and all? I think we should, since he uses symbols in the majority of the titles, and they were originally removed due to someone mistaking it for bad formatting.

And how do we want to format the chapter titles? I was thinking keeping the two titles, separated by two spaces, the first title ending in a period and the second being italicized. I've made my own test version and have viewed it via Show Preview, but because *20 edits later by others*, I never really got the chance to apply it. I can still apply it and all we would have to do is undo the revision if anyone agrees with my thoughts.

So, ideas, opinions? —[[User:EnigmaticRepose|EnigmaticRepose]]

Before I like to start on this. I'll like to emphasize that I won't tolerate any format changes, none, unless we all agree to it. To both The Shadow , I understand what you're trying to do, but how would you like it if someone is to take help you do something, yet without your permission, and not the way you wanted it? It's the same thing. And to Suzuku, I have to be blunt here, that was really rude. You should have talked it out before taking action. I'll beseech to everyone, not just the two parties involved, that if you want to carry out any format changes like tenses and the like, please discuss it with us first before you do anything.

Now, onto the main point. I feel that either we leave if as it was, or we do the original titles that has the Japanese versions. The translations of the titles may not be universally accepted, unlike the original, so it would be difficult at times to reconcile with the translations, like here:

* Novel Illustrations
* Prologue: Begin Action — The_Page_is_Opened.
* Chapter 1: Academy City — Science_Worship.
* Chapter 2: Roman Orthodox Church — The_Roman_Catholic_Church.
* Chapter 3: British Puritan Church — Anglican_Church.
* Chapter 4: Amakusa-style Church of Distinct Doctrines — AMAKUSA_Style_Remix_of_Church.
* Epilogue: End Action — The_Page_is_Shut.
* Afterword

I'm in favour of the status quo, or even better, if we can leave the original Japanese titles.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 03:22, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

I think you guys need to request someone with supervisor rights to become your supervisor and serve as an arbitrator? --[[User:Larethian|Larethian]] 03:52, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

From my understanding the original novels, for each chapter, have a japanese title and a english title (the one with the underscores). If this is the case, my preference would be for both to be present, as above. Admittedly, it looks pretty odd for volume 7, but it looks like there the difficulty would be differentiating between religion as organization vs. religion as belief system. Also, sorry for contributing to edit war. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 04:14, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

While I'm fine with the either of the older formats (just "Science_Worship./Science Worship.", no translated titles), will the Japanese titles work out since this a translation project? Yeah, 5–10 passersby will understand them, but the majority won't. And the titles look nice on the contents pages because they're neatly separated into columns, whereas since the title translations can get fairly long-winded, it makes it somewhat difficult to make it look consistent and not have a huge amount of unnecessary space between a title. Though we could also romanize them instead, like:

*Prologue: Kōdō Kaishi.  ''The_Page_is_Opened.''

That would make some romanization difficult, though (especially if your knowledge of the language is half-assed like mine), and would slightly be better than just right-out Japanese characters. And Teh Ping, were you in favor for the original English lines with the underscores or the spaces?

And just for a side-note, the Russian project of Index has both titles, though the translator keeps the English titles as-is, most likely because he's a Japanese to Russian translator (must make Kamachi's heavy use of English-oriented furigana a pain).

Also, Larethian, we've gotten quite far without the supposedly necessary supervisor or admin, so why start now? It's actually sort of surprising that Index hasn't had one volunteer yet. —[[User:EnigmaticRepose|EnigmaticRepose]]

Well, it's good that you guys can arbitrate among yourself. On closer look now, I see that the edit war is caused by casual editors rather than editors of the project. Speaking of the supervisors, I don't even see them around much? I know Vaelis, who has admin rights, is actively lurking.:) --[[User:Larethian|Larethian]] 06:57, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

I also think that you should keep the two titles: the first title translated into English and the weird English title of the Author. The current version looks ok but you could italicize the second title. — [[User:Vaelis|Vaelis]] 08:41, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Well, there's too few translators for us to sort ourselves out -_-, so we didn't need a supervisor up till now. However, if there's a need to have one, seeing how it goes now with all the debates here, I'll volunteer for it.

As for the author's English, I say we keep the underscores. Honestly, I prefer the Japanese titles for the first title instead of the translated ones. Maybe we should get Tact to chip in his thoughts on this, since he's the proofreader here. Will do a poll when I get home, or if we really can't decide, I'll get Herald of Meridian to post a poll on the wikia.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 09:53, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

When I said Japanese, I meant the original hiragana, katakana, kanji and the likes, not romaji.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 10:38, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

I think Teh Ping's suggestion of retaining the original script for the chapter 7 titles makes the most sense-it's exactly what we have chosen to do in translating the chapter titles of the manga (Hoshi no Furu Machi) I'm editing. Yes, keep the underscores and all. I don't really see a problem with using JIS romaji in place of the katakana/hiragana/kanji, but I don't see an advantage to it either.

My concern is the translation of these terms in the body text - it needs to be consistent within and between volumes, and I believe it should closely mirror the meaning of the hiragana/katakana/kanji in the body text, rather than the author's somewhat engrishy attempt at translation himself in the chapter titles. This is with the goal of emulating the Japanese reader's experience as closely as possible. -- [[User:Senile seinen|Senile seinen]] 15:07, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

We have created a [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=3562 poll] regarding that in the wiki!

@Teh_Ping I dont think you should translate 教 as church if also 会 (as 教会) would be needed to become the word for church...

Also I would prefer an English translation (since I cant read Kanji (only with Rikachan) nor understand the Romaji transcription, but would also like to know the name of the title) with the original hidden in <nowiki>  </nowiki> and with the "subtitle" in ''italic'' separated with a normal dash (-) and not a "& mdash ;"(—), but without the underlines but rather with spaces (but that is only because I think it looks strange with those underlines). --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 17:56, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

My view is that keep the Japanese version of the chapter titles and give the English translation of that on the chapter page itself, even if only for the reason it looks better on the contents page that way (among others). As for the underscores and other things in the author's English, I suggest we keep it the same as how it is shown - if necessary change it on the chapter page, but leave it as it is on the main page. --[[User:Flere821|Flere821]] 21:36, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

What would you think if it was formated like that:
----
===Example===
'''<nowiki>===Volume 3===</nowiki>'''
*[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume3_Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
*[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume3_Prologue|Prologue: Radio Noise]]
** Level2
*Chapter 1: Imagine Breaker
**[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume3_Chapter1|Level0(and_More)]]
* Radio Noise
**Level2(Product_Model)

----
(Prologue example 1; Chap 1 example 2; Chap 2 example 3 - but I think "chapter" should be kept) --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 18:54, 24 November 2010 (UTC)

Beyond the inconsistent link locations, I'm not in favor of having each chapter split up over two lines, it seems that it could be confusing, especially to people new to the site, and it doesn't look as nice to me. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 04:42, 25 November 2010 (UTC)

As said that are three different examples. The Prologue is example 1, chapter 1 is example 2 and chapter 2 is example 3 - its just another suggestion instead of the long chapter titles in one line... Of those examples I would prefer example 2, which would mostly be like its done with some MariMite chapters. --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 06:55, 25 November 2010 (UTC)

Well, building off of Darklor's example, here's what the idea I suggested in the forums would look like:
----
===Example 2===
'''<nowiki>===Volume 1===</nowiki>'''
*[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume3_Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
*'''Prologue: The Tale of the Illusion Killer Boy/幻想殺しの少年のお話'''
**[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume1_Prologue|The_Imagine-Breaker.]]
*'''Chapter 1: The Magician Lands in the Town/魔術師は塔に降り立つ'''
**[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume1_Chapter 1|FAIR,_Occasionally_GIRL.]]
*'''Chapter 2: The Conjurer Bestows Demise/奇術師は終焉を与える'''
**[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume1_Chapter 2|The_7th-Edge.]]
*'''Chapter 3: The Grimoire Peacefully Smiles/魔道書は静かに微笑む'''
**[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume1_Chapter 3|Forget_me_not.]]
*'''Chapter 4: The Retiring Magician Chooses the End/退魔師は終わりを選ぶ'''
**[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume1_Chapter 4|(N)Ever_Say_Good_bye.]]
*'''Epilogue: The Conclusion of the Index of Prohibited Books Girl/禁書目録の少女の結末'''
**[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume1_Epilogue|Index-Librorum-Prohibitorum.]]

----
So what does everyone think? It's certainly unique, but considering the chapter title scheme of the Index novel is unique, it fits. ---- [[User:Suzuku|Suzuku]] 16:28, 27 November 2010 (UTC)

Looks great: but would it possibly be better to have whitespace on both sides of the '/' mark? Like:

*'''Prologue: The Tale of the Illusion Killer Boy / 幻想殺しの少年のお話'''
**[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume1_Prologue|The_Imagine-Breaker.]]

Just a minor suggestion. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 01:12, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

It's not a noticeable change, but I don't mind. -- [[User:Suzuku|Suzuku]] 06:41, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

First off I'd like to apologize to Teh Ping and everyone else. Like you said it probably would have been better to start off this discussion before sparking the whole little edit war that went on. In regards to the discussion itself I think your suggestion looks rather nice Suzuku, especially with Sagantsu's minor tweak. Maybe it would also be good to add a little note somewhere on the main page explaining how Kamachi formats the chapter titles so people can see where each part comes from. [[User:The Shadow|The Shadow]] 04:58, 3 December 2010 (UTC)

Holy canoli at these great walls of text! In any case, I quite like Suzuku's suggestion (with Saganatsu's addendum). --Tactician J 23:24, 6 December 2010 (UTC)

==Awards==
2011 is correct? Because at the moment its only 2010... --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 18:22, 24 November 2010 (UTC)

Yes, it's correct, as the listing is for the entire year of 2011, which is why the polling is done at the end of 2010. ---- [[User:Suzuku|Suzuku]] 16:28, 27 November 2010 (UTC)

While we're on it, I tweaked the format for the award section a bit. Any objections/complaints? ---- [[User:Suzuku|Suzuku]] 18:00, 27 November 2010 (UTC)

==Short Synopsis==
I replaced it with an edited version of the wiki's. Yes, I realize the old one was also just a more cut up version of the wiki's, but the English wasn't as well worded and it looked a bit sparse. Objections? ---- [[User:Suzuku|Suzuku]] 18:00, 27 November 2010 (UTC)

==Header==
So I added one. Thoughts? ---- [[User:Suzuku|Suzuku]] 18:55, 27 November 2010 (UTC)

Don't see any problems, and no objections to one personally. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 01:10, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

Hmm, I would say bold would be better for the first "To Aru Majutsu no Index". --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 04:10, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

I tried that, but it came off looking weird, so I stuck with italics. -- [[User:Suzuku|Suzuku]] 06:38, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

== chapter title Vol2 Ch3 ==

I don't think that the chapter title for Volume 2 Chapter 3 is correct: it's an exact copy of Volume 1 Chapter 3, in both the english and translated japanese. could someone check this? --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 04:30, 29 November 2010 (UTC)

No, it's correct. The chapter title uses the exact same Kanji and English title as the title of Volume 1 Chapter 3. -- [[User:Suzuku|Suzuku]] 06:00, 29 November 2010 (UTC)

=="To Aru" Majutsu no Index==
Wikipedia recently agreed to have the wiki page on this series be titled "Toaru Majutsu no Index". Should we follow their decision? --Tactician J 23:24, 6 December 2010 (UTC)

would be alot of work: main page, registration page, one formatting page, upto 10 pages per volume (4 chapters, one epilogue, one war report, one declaration of..., an afterword, a full text page, and a illustrations page)= upper limit of 243 pages needing moving, updating the links on all of them, updating the links on the sidebar... . If someone is willing to do all that, I'm all for it. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 00:08, 7 December 2010 (UTC)

I don't particularly mind either way, though I do think Toaru is the correct version myself. I don't know how formatting links work for the server admin, so it might be easier to just do it next the B-T server randomly goes down. Again. —[[User:EnigmaticRepose|EnigmaticRepose]]

I spotted a lot of changes to 'Toaru' in the Recent changes, at which point I came here looking for information; what is the rationale behind changing To Aru to Toaru? 'To Aru' are definitely two separate words; the first is the particle To, the second is the verb Aru. There is no verb Toaru that I know of, though there is a verb Tooru (通る). As far as I am aware, it is not standard practice to run together non-noun words by leaving out their spaces (the difference between 'Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai' and 'Kami nomizo Shiru Sekai' which could easily be mistaken for a nonsensical 'Kami no mizo Shiru Sekai', for one thing...).

I call upon the weight of Google! '"To Aru Majutsu no Index"' 28 million results (including Toaru results), '"Toaru Majutsu no Index"' 3 million results, '"To Aru Majutsu no Index" -toaru' 26 million results. Google has spoken. (Can we reverse this local trend towards Toaru? Please? *puppy-dog eyes*)

Well, if you do not know for sure the correct choice, may as well go with what this^^ guy said. Probably won't make a difference either way, but according to myself and google, To Aru is the more recognizable. So why make hundreds of changes

I have direct proof from Wikipedia: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Toaru_Majutsu_no_Index#Requested_move their consensus on this series being "Toaru Majutsu no Index"]. Yes, I should have provided this earlier, but you could've just walked into the discussion page. In any case, massive move finished. P.S.: Don't do *action* when trying to convince me of something; it hurts your case ''really'' badly. --[[User:Tactician J|Tact]] 10:48, 16 June 2011 (UCT)

== Underscores ==

Was there a decision or two I missed somewhere? why did [[User:Kraft|Kraft]] take out all the underscores on the chapter titles? was under impression that they were to be left in. also, why added the periods at the end? --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 21:35, 7 December 2010 (UTC)

From the looks of it, Kraft has been re-editing the titles applying punctuation rules and probably assumed the underscores were a formatting issue without knowing that the current format was agreed upon by the editors and supervisors of the project (I don't think they realized that was how it was meant to be). It would be nice if the entire series could be locked only to have edits approved by a supervisor or editor to prevent drive-by editing on a project of such a large scale. --[[User:Lighthalzen|Lighthalzen]] 22:19, 7 December 2010 (UTC)

Dunno, but the ending period on the translated line helps distinguish the two titles. And I see he did it on the chapter pages themselves, but the decision was for the main page itself. The problem with the supervisor–editor thing is, we don't have a specific supervisor for the Index project, nor do any of them seem to frequent enough for all the updates we make to the main page (the percentage updates). We also don't have an editor with actual editor rights anyway (though I wish Tact would frequent more to get it). Besides, the translators would need the similar abilities just to create a page. —[[User:EnigmaticRepose|EnigmaticRepose]]

==Inserting hidden page numbers into the text?==
Is it possible for the translators to mark where the pages start and end? That would enable me to look up the original lines more easily, and I'd like to try making some nice-looking PDFs down the road... --Tactician J 14:28, 8 December 2010 (UTC)

I could go through eventually and help with that if I stop being lazy and when the tense issue is resolved. Anyway, I did a small preview of how it would look on parts 9–10 of volume 16's chapter 1. Basically, lines can be cut off randomly in the middle of the sentence (or words for that matter), so don't feel too reliant on the original formatting. Not to mention that every other page has the two titles for the chapter. And out of curiosity, how would you do the illustrations? Some colored ones have three-page-spreads and seeing an illustration after the part it happens in the text just isn't the same as seeing it as you turn the page, so would you use a two-page style, two-pages for just illustrations with the text page, or just one page at a time? —[[User:EnigmaticRepose|EnigmaticRepose]] 14:51, 12 December 2010 (UTC)

Text pages get single pages, but two-/three-page illustration spreads will be fused together, more or less. --Tactician J 15:03, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

==Thought processes==
Just wondering if I am the only one that's slightly uncomfortable with how thoughts are differentiated from the rest of the text in different ways. It seems that the most common methods of indicating thoughts are either in (parenthesis), ''italics'', or ''(italics and parenthesis)''. Perhaps we can come to some kind of a standard for this... or is there a difference as to how certain thought processes are? (I don't have access to the Japanese text or cultural knowledge to know...) -[[User:Snorca|Snorca]] 23:12, 15 December 2010 (UTC)

In the original texts, most thoughts are in parentheses but some also aren't, just like how most spoken dialogue is in quotes but some isn't. English novels also do it (the quoteless dialogues, though thoughts don't have to be emphasized with italics or parentheses), but I think it's more of a slight difference to not feel so abusive with them during dialogue/thought scenes. The italics is just something we started doing (I don't remember why?) and aren't in the original format. I don't think Japanese use italics at all, but they do have a way to emphasize certain parts of a line without just bolding it, though I forget what it's called. If you have any lines in mind that you'd like to me to look up and post as examples, go ahead, though it'll be in Japanese. —[[User:EnigmaticRepose|EnigmaticRepose]]

Occassionally some do use bold, but most of the time, most novels use 『』 or 【】 parentheses for emphasis. Italics look intuitive for monologue (and yes the Japanese don't use them). I've used it right from the start in LOLH, because I saw it in Toradora. Some CSR pages I saw use parentheses, but '''Italics''' just feel right to me. I've not read enough Index to know how the author presents thoughts. But based on your description, my guess is those in parentheses are First-Person monologue, while those that aren't are narrator-reported thoughts. --[[User:Larethian|Larethian]] 04:11, 16 December 2010 (UTC)

Wow, never thought they might be monologues. I normally associate monologues with just quotation marks since they're said aloud. Now I'm even more confused as to what to do/how to read, haha. --[[User:Snorca|Snorca]] 06:00, 16 December 2010 (UTC)

== british vs american english ==

which english should we use: part of the project is in american english and part in british. It's not really that important to me which, but we should probably settle on one or the other. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 20:29, 20 December 2010 (UTC)

british will be better because they don`t use america--[[User:Cognitio|Cognitio]]

Do you mean to say that the story has English characters but no (few?) American characters? That makes some sense.--[[User:CarVac|CarVac]] 22:16, 20 December 2010 (UTC)

American English. See the [[Format_guideline#Spelling_and_Grammar|Format guideline]]. [[User:Vaelis|Vaelis]] 13:33, 21 December 2010 (UTC)

That standard was established before we had multiple projects, and was left in. given that it was written for when we only had one project, should it be up to each project to decide which version?
the original line was this:
:* '''Due to the nature of this website, and the nationality of the majority of Editors & Readers the standard spelling lexicon for this project will be based upon American English as defined by the Fourth Edition of the [http://www.bartleby.com/61/ American Heritage Dictionary]''' --13:18, 26 April 2006 by [[User:Onizuka-gto|Onizuka-gto]]

the current version in place is
:Due to the nature of this website, and the nationality of the majority of Editors and Readers, the standard spelling lexicon for this Wiki will be based upon American English as defined by the Fourth Edition of the [http://www.bartleby.com/61/ American Heritage Dictionary] --5:37, 16 March 2007 by [[User:Smidge204|Smidge204]]

which was changed as part of the original update altering the format page from a Haruhi only version to a version for all projects.

also, [[User:Smidge204|Smidge204]] stopped editing a year before this project was created: [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=To_Aru_Majutsu_no_Index&dir=prev&action=history here] vs [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/Smidge204 here]. and thus the format page, in it's current form, would not have considered a project that might have reason to use british english.

As the current text came about due to a change regarding the style of the formatting page, and not as an actual policy decision, and as the party who made the original style decision is no longer on the wiki to ask, I argue that the statement currently on the format page can be overridden by the people working on a particular project, especially if there is reason beyond personal preference, as has been argued above.

thus we come back to the question: which would the contributors prefer for this project? --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 14:42, 21 December 2010 (UTC)

Ah stop arguing. As the one responsible for all of these, I'll take the charges (my job anyway, haven't updated the Supervisor tag)

I have already PMed Big Boss regarding this, so if he doesn't have any personal preference regarding this, I will make the decision.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 14:45, 21 December 2010 (UTC)

To quote the PM:

[quote="thelastguardian"]Well, if they are from England, of course they speak British English :p . Seems perfectly logical to me.[/quote]

There you have it. I'm going to introduce a new set of guidelines soon.

I'd let the England-based characters speak British English, but what about the narration? --Tactician J 15:03, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

Honestly, I don't like the idea of switching languages here and there so easily, feels weird to me because it's like the characters are in a different realm from the readers.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 15:57, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

== Dragon ==

who is this dragon in vol 15?

see volume 19 --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 07:08, 24 January 2011 (UTC)

== who's gonna translte volume 15 and 19? ==

can someone translate all of volume 15 and 19? the parts about shiage are just epic.

- Give it some time. JS06 is translating SS1. Volume 15 hasn't been translated dedicated-ly since December and Vol 19 was mostly translated by Flare in December-who is less active now. Volume 15 has a higher chance of being translated soon after SS1 is completed.

Well, I'm not letting anyone translate 15 until Joay himself says that he will allow others to take over.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 17:45, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

+ That's fine. Can you ask Joay if it is ok for others to take over vol 15?

Sounds like you are under the assumption that someone would do it if no Joay doesn't they might work the earlier novels... On a side note can someone post on the boards that activation email are down. I can't get the activation email and I can't post telling someone to look into that. --[[User:Shido|Shido]] 01:43, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

Way ahead of you, check js06's talk page.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 02:40, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

== volume 23 and 24 ==

i heard its out already, volume 23 and 24. are you guys going to translate them?

Volume 23 will be called New Testament Volume 1. As for whether we will be translating it, you can bet on it once we get resources.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 13:37, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

==And Misaka Mikoto?==
Looks like the novel have the "New testament" series and you already put a Spoier about Touma (Dead), Accelerator and Shiage, but WHAT HAPPENED TO MISAKA? (and index but I relly do not care too much).

== SS Volume 2? ==

Just wondering: where in the timeline does SS Volume 2 take place? On the main page it's shown between Volumes 16 and 17, but on the Registration page it's shown between Volumes 19 and 20.

--[[User:Stiyl|Stiyl]] 00:34, 26 February 2011 (UTC)

== alternative language? ==

according to Category:Alternative Languages, british english is an alternative language. does this mean this project is, or only that projects with a british english variant are alternative? --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 19:28, 5 March 2011 (UTC)

== Terminology ==

In Volume 14 Chapter 3 Part 4, Tatemiya Saiji is referred to as "Substitute Pope". He was previously referred to in Volumes 7 and 11 as "substitute Supreme Pontiff" (likewise, Kanzaki Kaori is referred to as "Supreme Pontiff"). If the Japanese writing for these terms is the same in each instance, then it would be best to pick a standard translation and use that.

--[[User:Stiyl|Stiyl]] 05:31, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

Edit:
Also "Acqua of the Back" (Volume 14 Epilogue) versus "Acqua of the Rear".

--[[User:Stiyl|Stiyl]] 06:21, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

It's Supreme Pontiff and Acqua of the Back, according to the TamnI wiki. We follow their spellings and terminology, as far as I know. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 06:37, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

Ah, alright then. I've been avoiding looking at the wiki because every time I look at it, I accidentally read another spoiler.

--[[User:Stiyl|Stiyl]] 04:13, 12 March 2011 (UTC)

==New Testament: Toaru Majutsu no Index or Toaru Majutsu no Index: New Testament?==

Just to make sure we have a set standard for how the title should be, should we refer to the new series with NT in front of the title or after? Since Kamachi has "Shinyaku" in front of "Toaru Majutsu no Index", I'm inclined to believe that it's his intention to have the series referred to with New Testament at the front of the title. Also, do really need to have 'NT' in front of the volumes? I don't think it's necessary personally. -- [[User:Suzuku|Suzuku]] 22:27, 9 March 2011 (UTC)

Well, I just named it like that because I was too lazy to put in spacing in front...--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 07:58, 23 March 2011 (EDT)

==Volume 22 - continuation?==

If I may ask, I've been around B-T since the last week of October and I noticed that Volume 22 almost done and were left hanging, will any translator still going to translate the rest of the parts? Please don't take my question in a different way, thank you. -- アクシス

As of now, our only hope here is for either js06 or pikachuwei to finish up those parts. I'm out, that's for sure. No problems asking about who will translate the volumes or whatsoever, but I am 'a bit' annoyed about timeframes, seeing how recent events have gone for me, so I am terribly sorry if I antagonized anyone because of this.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 07:43, 23 March 2011 (EDT)

Iiya, Iiya, I truly understand, I'm just asking, if it is going to be continued or not because I'm planning to order the novel, if it is not (^_^;). Your answer was a yes, so I'll keep waiting, there're still many LN's here anyway that are very interesting to read like Bt-Tt-Shoukanjuu, Mushi to Medama, Fate/Zero, ZnT and many more that'll take me months to finish it. Thanks for anwsering (￣▽￣)ノ -- アクシス

== The Spin-Offs ==

Are there plans to translate those? Because if not, I suggest that they link to the summaries posted in the To Aru wiki, so that people can at least know what happens in those stories.

Maybe, good point. As of now, there are plans to translate the side story, but the main story takes precedence. I can assure you though that there are plans to do that.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 07:43, 23 March 2011 (EDT)

Then, if main story is highest priority, then will translation of Volume 17 be next after NT is completed? --[[Special:Contributions/164.107.33.220|164.107.33.220]] 12:59, 25 March 2011 (EDT)Lojik:)

== Volume SS1 - Afterword? ==

Will the afterword of SS1 be translated? I'm quite interested in Kamachi Kazuma's thoughts.

When Js06 posted the link to the epilogue (or was it the full text?) on 4chan, I asked him if there was no afterword. He said there isn't. I also checked now the raw, and seems the last thing is the epilogue. [[User:Kokonice|Kokonice]] 18:21, 19 April 2011 (UCT)

== Are there any translations regarding Bardway? ==

With her appearance in New Testament and the side-mention in the arc for volumes 17/18 making her existence increasingly relevant, is there any possibility of translations of stories in which Bardway has appeared directly (referred to on the Wikipedia character page)? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Toaru_Majutsu_no_Index_characters#Dawn-colored_Sunlight) (Thank you very much for your time; I wish to convey extreme gratitude for the translating which has been done!)

Well, the rest are on the side stories, which aren't translated, ''yet''.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 10:09, 22 May 2011 (UCT)

== Kreuzhev or Croitsev ? ==
I recently made some edits to standardize the name, so I change croitsev to kreuzhev, but after further check, it seems the toaru wikia use Croitsev and the Project Guidelines also use it. But Kreuzhev seems more original in terms of russian name.
Which one should we use?
Teh_Ping use Croitsev in vol 4 and Js06 use Kreuzhev in later volumes [[User:Xenocross|Xenocross]] 21:55, 22 June 2011 (UCT)

It's "Croitsef", according to Season 2's character info on her. I know I indicated this in the Project-Specific Guidelines... --[[User:Tactician J|Tact]] 01:47, 24 June 2011 (UCT)

==THANK YOU!==
OMG YOU DID IT!!! Thank you guys so much and please keep up the good work on the side stories! (Yeah, I know some of the early on volumes of the main series aren't finished, but people can just watch season 1 of the show to find out what happens)

==Religion vs Denomination==
I've seen it multiple times through the series, and the following stood out the most: "The three largest religions of Christianity have finally joined forces." Technically, the only Religion at play here is Christianity, The Anglican Church, The Roman Catholic Church and The Russian Orthodox Church are all denominations of Christianity, not religions of Christianity (see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_denomination)
--[[User:Draringi|Draringi]] 15:47, 4 July 2011 (UCT)

"The three largest factions of Christianity have finally joined forces."
Better?
[[User:Kokonice|Kokonice]] 16:28, 4 July 2011 (UCT)

That is correct. For me, I put it as 'sect' to make it as unrealistic though.

My vicar's going to give me one long sermon if he finds out that the 'model student' is actually doing this series...--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 16:41, 4 July 2011 (UCT)

@Kokonice: I was thinking "The three largest denominations of Christianity have finally joined forces.", but anything other than religion is an improvement --[[User:Draringi|Draringi]] 01:23, 6 July 2011 (UCT)

Talk:Toaru Majutsu no Index

2011-07-04T15:48:41Z

Draringi: /* Religion vs Denomination */

Talk:Toaru Majutsu no Index

2011-07-04T15:47:49Z

Draringi:

[http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=1697525#post1697525 Illustration overview] reminder found in the project forum...

== How I enlist ? ==

I done reading to aru majutsu no index chapter 9. So i want to post it in here.
Is it possible? How can I post it anyway? Japanese to Indonesia. japanese to englist. - ([[User:Kili|Kili]])

Well, you could really just post it unless you want specific clearance from the moderators at the [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=2148&start=195 project forum]. For the Indonesian one, you should make a topic with something along the lines of "To Aru Majutsu no Index - Indonesian" at the [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=29 Alternative Language Forum] for help with setting that up.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. -Repose

actuality I already completed translate english. Not so hard to make it to indonesia. but if I done where and how post it ? - ([[User:Kili|Kili]])

The Indonesian version? For that you have to create the Alternate Language Project similar to other Alternate Language Projects with the complete translation of the Project Page (as a naming example: <nowiki>[[To Aru Majutsu no Index ~ Bahasa Indonesia]]</nowiki> ([[To Aru Majutsu no Index ~ Bahasa Indonesia]])), Registration Page, a thread in the Alternate Language Subforum in the Baka-Tsuki Forum and at least one translated Chapter to get the approval to continue the project. --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 23:19, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

it so hard for to made but I will keep trying. I need time to study about it.

am i wrong ?

I've just joined up, and have registered on the TAMNI register page, is that good enough? I can't seem to get into the forum link. --[[User:Flere821|Flere821]] 09:44, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Should be just fine, as I assume you'll be translating to English like the other things you've done. I suppose you don't need the forum unless you want to set up a project page up or want to discuss translation terms, but still, not sure why the links don't work for you. --[[User:EnigmaticRepose|EnigmaticRepose]]

I've noticed some irregular grammar and English usage on several chapters, do the translators/lead editors for this series mind if I take an axe to these chapters? My English is pretty good, it's just that I may be a bit liberal in changing adjectives or phrasing of words --[[User:Asteradragon|Asteradragon]] 11:33, 6 April 2011 (EST)

==Chapter 2: Doubt_Lovers.==
The link refer to "http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=To_Aru_Majutsu_no_Index:Volume5_'''Chapter1'''" So I think of them is wrong?
--[[User:Hypernova|Hypernova]] 12:16, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Thanks EnigmaticRepose for fixing it!--[[User:Hypernova|Hypernova]] 00:32, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

==What the shit.==
Why would a translation project start at volume 12 instead of volume 1? Imagine watching the Lord of the Rings movie series for the first time in your life...except instead of watching it starting from the first movie, you skip to the middle of the 3rd movie during the seige of Gondor. And as you sit through the movie you keep going "Oh this sword guy is kinda cool whats his name? And who is this Sauron guy?".

you, whoever you are, are being horrendously rude and ungrateful for the fact that the translators (you seem pointed at [[user:Joay|Joay]] in particular) not only translate these novels, they do it for free. Besides that, volumes 1 through 6 are covered by the anime, and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Toaru_Majutsu_no_Index_light_novels] has synopses of all the novels. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 04:15, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

Also since the translators have the power, they can decide what they like to translate, so if you could translate as well you could start with volume 1 if you like it... or with chapter x in volume y ;) So if you dont cant and dont like it you dont have to read it. I am gratful for that what we have, so should you too if you like to read more of those otherwise unobtainable unreadable volumes. --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 08:34, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

hmm, now that volume 7 and 9 are translated and volume 10 is being translated, i'd like to ask if there is a specific reason that volume 8 was skipped.? It doesn't really matter though, since i was just wondering if maybe the story in 8 takes place in a different time than 7->9. other than that, i'm fine with waiting, since you're all (yeah, you translators ^_^ ) doing a fantastic job at translating this so far. keep up the good work.
oh yeah, and... Ganbare!--[[User:AzraRillian|-AzraRillian - Transcend The Sin - "You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body." C.S. Lewis]] 03:18, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

===Took me five months to even notice this, sorry...===

The reason why I did Volumes 9 and 10 before volume 8 was basically because of a request (the first guy who PMed me when I worked on this project asked me whether I can do Volume 9 first. So, sorry...?

And to the guy who has been complaining about Volume 1 not being translated first, well, no point talking about it now when out of a sudden, there are three guys working on volume 1 now (I'm really, really glad to have other people share the workload). Like what [[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] said, the anime has pretty much covered most of the important aspects, and since there's a sizeable fandom of it that can provide all sorts of information, you're not really in the dark regarding what has happened. The 'Lord of the Rings' idea doesn't really work since you would have most likely gone about trying to find out what's going on in order to answer the question of 'what's going on?' Or did you not even bother looking for it?

Well, instead of complaining, you might as well do something about it if you can. Orders are nothing if the actions are not done, you know. We're not entitled to do this for you, we're not even paid to do this. We're doing this only because we want to. We translators here are like Kamijo Touma, we don't have a reason to do things, we just do it.

--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 17:30, 12 September 2010 (UTC)

== What tense to use? ==

So, after reading some chapters of the seventh volume I would like to ask a question. What tense would you use in descriptions? Right now I’m doing some edits on the translated texts but there is always this one thing I’m tripping over. In this volume, and most likely also in the others, we have a third person narrator. In this case you would normally write the descriptions or narrations in the past tense, right? That’s what I would do at least and is commonly done in the most English novels. But as it is, there are some differences in the Asian and the English writing and that includes the used tenses. Because of these differences the translator decided to use the present tense in the above-named cases (most of the time at least). Of course, this isn’t a mistake, but I often feel like it would be one. Perhaps I’m just too used reading the past tense in descriptions but to me, with some exceptions, it often feels awkward when I read some of them in present tense. I would like to get some more opinions on this matter. Is it just me who has this problem or do you think the same as me? [[user:AJS90|AJS90]] 21 March 2010

I've really just been using present tense for everything, which I based off of how the translators worded it. It's a bit weird for the narrator to do so, but eh, I'm used to it already. ...On a side note, it's nice not being the only editor anymore. ~EnigmaticRepose

Yeah, I've been using present tense for my edits, too- but only because there might be a convention in light novels regarding it that I'm unaware of. Better safe than sorry, you know? I MIGHT try a past-tense sweep edit for second opinions, but only after I'm done with my ongoing ones.--Tactician J 03:13, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Regarding that a discussion was recently started in the [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=3547 forum] too --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 18:11, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

== I need illustrations for Volume 10 ==

Exactly what's written on it. Would the uploader kindly upload the illustrations of the other volumes? Many thanks in advance.~Teh Ping

would it be enough a link of megaupload volumes 1-16 and with the illustration? anyway heres the link: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2AS0PZD7
-ark

== Pic translation ==
Ah, could someone translate the pics too, if there is on them something to translate, please? --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 05:54, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

Most the pictures just have quotes from the novel, with additional tiny descriptions, like 'Academy City Tokiwadai Student' or 'English Purist "Church of Necessary Evil (Necessarius)' and the like, so you aren't missing much. It's really just a fit it in the context after you read it, as they're supposed to be teasers for the story anyway (which is why they're placed in the beginning).

Hm, I thought it would be nice - like we have it for Sword Art Online especially since we dont have translations for all volumes, so some teasers would be nice ;). Have meant only pics like those: [[:Image:Index v01 002-003.jpg|Image 1]]; [[:Image:Index v01 004-005.jpg|Image 2]]; [[:Image:Index v01 006-007.jpg|Image 3]] --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 10:33, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

== Just a slight concern. ==

As Joay and I are busy with our own stuff, I suppose that there should be some sort of a Project Supervisor around to keep check of certain stuff. There will be updates in the future, as Twi will continue to translate this series (hopefully), but I hope that there's someone to keep this series in check, since it's no longer a 'small' project anymore (I guess, since YMMV). ~Teh Ping

== Spanish section request ==

I would like to start a spanish section for the novels.--[[Special:Contributions/190.41.2.140|190.41.2.140]] 22:51, 26 May 2010 (UTC)

You should make a topic with something along the lines of "To Aru Majutsu no Index - Spanish" at the [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=29 Alternative Language Forum] for help with setting that up. Registering may also be a good idea. An Indonesian one was also set up, so you could use that as a reference. --EnigmaticRepose

== I'll try to translate a bit ==

Currently my japanese is iffy at best, but as i'm studying it might as well give it a shot.I'll try to pick up the 1st chapter of volume one (no one's doing it right?). I'm asking here first as well, i don't know if i can manage it yet.
If i manage to somehow not embarrass myself too much doing that i'll register, and work on the rest of the volume.
Again, i can't be sure i'll manage it so... best try it out first then see.--[[User:AADragon|AADragon]] 16:35, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

No one would say something against it, just feel free to ge ahead, but best would be to register the chapter before, even if it is not very probable that some other translator would translate it anytime soon, but wonder happens sometime, so just to be safe ;) --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 20:04, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

==Thanks for your work!!==
Glad to see translated this novel series by Teh_Ping and Joay, thank you very much for working so hard and fast.
At this point, I can say that the translators will surpass Index II(by JCStaff) in covering the novels :)

another fan of Teh_Ping and Joay, thank you very much for all of the great work ^^)/

== Translations? ==

I'm new here, and I want to translate some stuff.
I was reading the chinese version and randomly decided to translate V1C4 from Chinese to English.

Do I need some sort of clearance? Or can I just go ahead and upload my stuff (especially since my translation quality is most definitely sub-par)?

===Go ahead and just upload it===

The editors will be helping out with the language. I'll also help you proofread it if you want.

Over here, there's no need for any bureaucratic red tape. Any translator can just upload their stuff here, so you can just upload it.

EDIT: Still having a bit of trouble with the formatting, garr...

--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 03:51, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

== Some Question ==

Er.... So, I already translated about three chapter and half from the 2nd Volume...
and the question is... How do I upload it? Any clues?

===Here's what you need===

http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Format_guideline#Wiki_Editing_Tips

1. First, go to the volume that you want to upload.

2. Do you see the edit button on the top right hand corner? Click it.

3. Look at the 'Internal link' section, that is how you're going to add hyperlinks. (You can look at the other volumes for reference)

4. If you did it right, the words should be in red, click on it.

5. Now, you should be in a new page. Click on the 'create' button at the top.

6. Upload the text that you have already translated. (Make sure to press 'enter' once after every paragraph so that it's easier to
read.)

7. Next, the headings. At the wiki editing tips page, look at the 'headings' section (well, duh).

8. If you see the format used on all B-T texts, you'll probably get an idea of how to do it. (Just copy what they do.)

9. For pictures, it's under 'thumbnail image', the 'picture' would be from the illustrations of the volume that's available here. If I want a picture from say 'Volume 1 page 031', the format would be <nowiki>[[Image:Index_v01_031.jpg|thumb]]</nowiki>

10. For a footer, just go to any completed chapter here, copy the scripts for the footer, and make the necessary edits.

If you need any more help, you can pm me.

--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 15:31, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

I wonder what happened with this translator and translation... --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 09:30, 17 December 2010 (UTC)

----

==VOLUME 11==

english Volume 11 has been sabed over by the spanish version. Any chance of recovery?

===Erm, excuse me, but you lost me there===

Is there anything wrong? Since when do we have a Spanish section?

--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 17:41, 12 September 2010 (UTC)

----
Not sure, but I think they're talking about all the chapter titles being in gratuitous Italian.

----
Actually, check the scan of the [http://img55.imageshack.us/f/009xf5.jpg/ original table of contents]. You'll see that it's actually in said gratuitous Italian. (This may be incorrect, but I doubt it) --[[User:MerrickXasis|MerrickXasis]]

----

Oh that, that's what you guys meant. Yes, it's supposed to be in gratuitous Italian, since the plot setting is in Italy (Before you guys start blaming me for spoiling it, the prologue of Volume 11 will be uploaded in 4 hours.)--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 09:21, 13 September 2010 (UTC)

==To Aru Majutsu No Index Volume 3==

Can You work on volume 3. Sorry for asking, because I love this arc. --anonymous

the sisters arc is great, but, we have it already in two separate manga and the anime. new content would be my preference. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 15:00, 22 October 2010 (UTC)

Ah, we'll see how it goes. Most likely, I'll leave it as training for some new translator. I'm planning to be more of a drill sergeant for these new translators, so, get ready.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 15:54, 22 October 2010 (UTC)

Ah, I know about the anime and manga but I love to read more. But anyway Thank^^. I will wait for anyone to translate it.

==Consensus: Past or Present?==
'''Please Vote [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=3547 poll]'''
----
With six active translators and three editors, this project needs to come to an agreement regarding tense usage. Do we stick to present tense, or do we shift to past tense?--Tactician J 10:21, 4 November 2010 (UTC)

For me, it's more of past for what just happened and present for what happens during the sequence. I also use a 'present future tense'. Next vote?--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 11:21, 4 November 2010 (UTC)

I'm all for present as usual, but as I've said before, I can work with either. I get more attached to present tense stories, anyway. If we do end up agreeing on present tense, we might want to put it somewhere on the main page, and even in commentary tags by the editor list for extra insurance, as odds are potential editors/translators don't check the talk page until someone actually uses it. —[[User:EnigmaticRepose|EnigmaticRepose]]

I've only just realised/remembered there's a talk page here ^.^; I'm voting for past tense as that's what I'm used to, and that from what I can gather from the '''official''' Chinese translated Index Novels I have on hand right now they use past tense as well. It'll be easier for me to work in past tense. --[[User:Flere821|Flere821]] 09:16, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

Regarding that a discussion was recently started in the [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=3547 forum] too --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 18:12, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

== Volume 14 ==

I know this must be annoying being asked this but could someone work on doing Volume 14?

I don't think anyone is doing this at the moment, volumes 1,SS1,15, & 22 seem to be under active or semi-active translation, but volume 14 is probably coming soon. admitedly, it's just a guess, but as it will be the first volume not in the first season untranslated after SS1 is done, it will probably get done soon. If you can translate, however, feel free to start, no one has registered for it. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 06:38, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

== Churches ==

To the translators and editors: both the anglican church and russian orthodox church exists :[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_England],[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Orthodox_Church] exist. they are not made up by the author. (technically the anglican church's proper name is the 'Church of England', and is the leader of the 'Anglican Communion'). I'm quite certain also that the Roman Catholic Church exists also, being a lapsed member. The Amakusa Church is made up though: it was named after an island of japan where the heads of executed christians were buried in 1637 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amakusa]. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 14:19, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

Well, I don't really know how to explain this, but here's a post by an AS user called Thirdlc, which I find to be very good in explaining it.

"The author uses coined words like 十字教, イギリス清教, ローマ正教 and ロシア成教, instead of actual words like キリスト教 (Christianity), 英国国教会 (Church of England), ローマ・カトリック (Roman Catholic Church), ロシア正教 (Russian Orthodox Church).

I don't like it that those are directly referred, ignoring the author's intention.

Looking at these names, it's possible that the author just wants to make them end with "seikyou" and there is not much meaning in 清.

イギリス清教 (Igirisu [B]seikyou[/B]), ローマ正教 (Roma [B]seikyou[/B]), ロシア成教 (Roshia [B]seikyou[/B]), 天草式十字凄教 (Amakusa-shiki juuji [B]seikyou[/B]) "

--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 11:26, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

*No hand facepalm...*

Well, to any editor, I'm going to need your help here.

For all the 'Amakusa Catholics' change them into the 'Amakusa-style Church'.

Anyone got any other way to translate the rest, or should we stick to the terms given in volume 7?--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 14:30, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

Ah--[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 14:55, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

That could need a [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=3514 guideline discussion]... ;) --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 17:01, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

I think this needs to be translated consistently between the volumes. A guideline discussion seems necessary. Just because Vol. 7 was translated first doesn't mean that it's done appropriately (I haven't even looked, so couldn't venture an opinion). Likewise, I would hesitate to buy into a 'canon' translation by a Japanese author - church names tend to be archaic English, for one thing, which is not well covered by Japanese style English education.

My take, now that I see some of the source: 教 seems to be used in the way that we use ''teaching,'' ''rite,''(compare 'rites' of Freemasonry) or even (religious) ''tradition'' in English. So maybe translate イギリス清教 as 'English Puritan rite,' 'English Puritan church,' or 'English Puritan teaching.' By extension, that would lead to 'Roman Orthodox rite'/'Roman Orthodox church' and 'Russian Institutional rite/church' (I'm having a tough time translating the on reading of 成 into something that isn't 'orthodox' in this context.) Likewise, 凄教 translates pretty well as 'cult' for me. Did a little googling and found this page [http://toarumajutsunoindex.wikia.com/wiki/Amakusa-Style_Remix_of_Church] which seems to agree with my 'cult' definition. So the 'Amakusa cult.'

By analogy, It seems obvious that the author is ''suggesting'' real churches, but is very careful not to use their common names in Japanese, I would guess both to avoid angry adherents of the real churches and to help with the alternate universe separation of realities. For example, ロシア成教 is practically synonymous with the meaning of 'Russian Orthodox Church' but just happens to not be the way it is written in Japanese. It seems that we would want a similar obfuscation in the translation for the same reasons. -[[User:Senile seinen|Senile seinen]] 16:58, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

I just want to give my two cents to agree with the character 教 itself translating to cult. It's used quite commonly in Chinese text to such effect. However, I believe the only problem in doing so would be that cults in the English language are usually seen as heretical and some organizations might not fit that light. -[[User:Snorca|Snorca]] 17:30, 17 November 2010

Well, I should be resting, but since this is important, I'll give an answer.

The so-called canon translations aren't invented by me or Joay or any other translator. When I said Volume 7, I meant the chapter titles of volume 7. The names on the main page, they're canon, we didn't do anything except removing the japanese text. Of course, if we're to go by our own common knowledge, cult would be the better term, but it'll feel a lot less familiar.
 
 

Why are these religions named as 'cults'? As someone who has Chinese as my first language, I haven't came across something like the character '教' being equivalent to that... (Or I just can't remember it - can anyone give some examples?)
But yeah, in canon these Churches are for all intents and purposes 'religions' and not 'cults' as the English speakers understand it.
Maybe we can make some sort of 'need-to-know' translation notes for readers on the Index Novels' main page if this issue becomes a serious one? Just putting it out there the Churches in this universe is not the ones equivalent to Real-Life's ones. In the Official Chinese Translated Volume 1 of TAMNI (pg30, next to a illustration page of Index) I have on hand there's a Note saying all churches mentioned in this series are made-up ones by the author.
Also, I can vouch for the English spellings being correct (I have a hard copy of the Official Chinese translated Index Novel Vol7) given in Vol7 of the Churches are as the person above me has said - so I think what we have right now should stay. --[[User:Flere821|Flere821]] 05:27, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Have you read the Jing Yong novels? Condor heroes etc? The Ming Cult gets referenced quite often -[[User:Snorca|Snorca]] 07:13, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Its Japanese then maybe the meaning of '教' is different between Japanese and Chinese? (Rikaichan says for that "teach", "faith", "doctrine") And if the Churches are realy made up by the author shouldnt then イギリス清教, ローマ正教, ロシア成教 and 天草式十字凄教 be British Puritan, Roman Orthodox, Russian 成(?) and Amakusa(n) 凄 (? unorthodox) faith or doctrine instead of Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Church? --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 09:45, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

No no, Kanji used by Japanese have basically the same meaning in Chinese. In Chinese, that character does indeed mean teach, doctrine, etc. It depends on how it is used. It is really difficult to draw meaning from one character, it depends on how it is used along with other characters before one can drawn meaning from it. -[[User:Snorca|Snorca]] 17:03, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

---

I haven't came across those examples you (Snorca) mentioned, but from what I looked up in a Chinese -> English dictionary (Granted, this particular reference book is from 1994 so it's more than a decade old...) the character '教' doesn't have the meaning of cult... and as far as I know from other sources the Chinese term for 'cult' is '邪教', the characters can literally be translated into 'evil religion'. The character '教' alone doesn't mean 'cult' but just 'religion' I think.

But precise meaning/s of the words aside, IMO for all intents and purposes these 'religious organisations', for a lack of better term right now, are similar in structure to real-life churches, even if they're not named the same. These organisations are churches in canon (in terms of influence, history and other such aspects), not cults, and should probably be called as 'churches'. And to prevent mixing up with Real-Life versions maybe some other name can be introduced, but with the word 'church' included? Or like I suggested earlier we can just note the differences between the ToaruVerse Churches and the Real-Life Churches on the TAMNI main page?

That reminds me, the novels calls 'Christianity' (for a lack of better term to describe the religion that is born from the death of the Son of God is called , the name 'Jesus' is never mentioned in the novels and is always refered to as the 'Son of God') the 'Religion of the Cross', ie '十字教', instead of the usual Chinese version '基督教'. Maybe we should change that in our translations as well somehow? --[[User:Flere821|Flere821]] 21:57, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, as I've said, the word cult will have problems because it has a negative connotation in it based on how the mass media portrays it. Not all cults are evil though, religions would refuse to be classified as a cult, but in essence of the word, they technically are cults. Cults are basically a group with religious beliefs, but are somewhat considered strange. It had been given a negative image due to how most religions (not gonna name the most obvious one) really, really hate how people stray from their practices.

Anyway, the word church doesn't necessarily mean Christianity. It simply means a sanctuary. For example, the infamous cult church I used to live close by: The Church of Scientology. There are many other cults out there with churches but lack popularity.

Of course, how we use these words are up to the editors and translators. I really have no opinion on what we use, just trying to provide some insight as to how those words are technically acceptable. -[[User:Snorca|Snorca]] 23:26, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Because I was the first one to use the word 'cult' I had better clarify what I meant: I used the word 'cult' '''only''' in reference to the kanji combination 凄教. While all of the church/religion names end with kanji that can be pronounced as "seikyou", the actual kanji used are DIFFERENT between the different religions. Only the ''Amakusa seikyou'' has the kanji 凄教 for "seikyou." 凄 translates as 'uncanny, weird, threatening, horrible,' and 教 is the 'teaching, faith, doctrine' kanji we see at the end of all these word. 'Weird/horrible faith' is pretty close to 'cult.'

By this reasoning, '''only''' the Amakusa group would be called a 'cult.' As I wrote above, the others would be something like "Russian Institutional Church," "English Puritan Rite/Church" and "Roman Orthodox Church." --[[User:Senile seinen|Senile seinen]] 14:56, 19 November 2010 (UTC)

凄 also means ''wonderful, great, terrific, tremendous, real''. --[[User:El Phoenix|El Phoenix]] 12:15, 22 November 2010 (UTC)

Well, I'll make this clear. Here are the original chapter titles of volume 7:

* Prologue: 行動開始　The_Page_is_Opened.
* Chapter 1: 学園都市　Science_Worship.
* Chapter 2: ローマ正教　The_Roman_Catholic_Church.
* Chapter 3: イギリス清教　Anglican_Church.
* Chapter 4: 天草式十字凄教　AMAKUSA_Style_Remix_of_Church.
* Epilogue: 行動終了　The_Page_is_Shut. --[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 13:15, 22 November 2010 (UTC)

== Main Page Format ==
'''Please Vote [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=3562 poll]'''
----

Okay, let's clear some things up. Do we want to keep the author's bizarre English, underscores and all? I think we should, since he uses symbols in the majority of the titles, and they were originally removed due to someone mistaking it for bad formatting.

And how do we want to format the chapter titles? I was thinking keeping the two titles, separated by two spaces, the first title ending in a period and the second being italicized. I've made my own test version and have viewed it via Show Preview, but because *20 edits later by others*, I never really got the chance to apply it. I can still apply it and all we would have to do is undo the revision if anyone agrees with my thoughts.

So, ideas, opinions? —[[User:EnigmaticRepose|EnigmaticRepose]]

Before I like to start on this. I'll like to emphasize that I won't tolerate any format changes, none, unless we all agree to it. To both The Shadow , I understand what you're trying to do, but how would you like it if someone is to take help you do something, yet without your permission, and not the way you wanted it? It's the same thing. And to Suzuku, I have to be blunt here, that was really rude. You should have talked it out before taking action. I'll beseech to everyone, not just the two parties involved, that if you want to carry out any format changes like tenses and the like, please discuss it with us first before you do anything.

Now, onto the main point. I feel that either we leave if as it was, or we do the original titles that has the Japanese versions. The translations of the titles may not be universally accepted, unlike the original, so it would be difficult at times to reconcile with the translations, like here:

* Novel Illustrations
* Prologue: Begin Action — The_Page_is_Opened.
* Chapter 1: Academy City — Science_Worship.
* Chapter 2: Roman Orthodox Church — The_Roman_Catholic_Church.
* Chapter 3: British Puritan Church — Anglican_Church.
* Chapter 4: Amakusa-style Church of Distinct Doctrines — AMAKUSA_Style_Remix_of_Church.
* Epilogue: End Action — The_Page_is_Shut.
* Afterword

I'm in favour of the status quo, or even better, if we can leave the original Japanese titles.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 03:22, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

I think you guys need to request someone with supervisor rights to become your supervisor and serve as an arbitrator? --[[User:Larethian|Larethian]] 03:52, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

From my understanding the original novels, for each chapter, have a japanese title and a english title (the one with the underscores). If this is the case, my preference would be for both to be present, as above. Admittedly, it looks pretty odd for volume 7, but it looks like there the difficulty would be differentiating between religion as organization vs. religion as belief system. Also, sorry for contributing to edit war. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 04:14, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

While I'm fine with the either of the older formats (just "Science_Worship./Science Worship.", no translated titles), will the Japanese titles work out since this a translation project? Yeah, 5–10 passersby will understand them, but the majority won't. And the titles look nice on the contents pages because they're neatly separated into columns, whereas since the title translations can get fairly long-winded, it makes it somewhat difficult to make it look consistent and not have a huge amount of unnecessary space between a title. Though we could also romanize them instead, like:

*Prologue: Kōdō Kaishi.  ''The_Page_is_Opened.''

That would make some romanization difficult, though (especially if your knowledge of the language is half-assed like mine), and would slightly be better than just right-out Japanese characters. And Teh Ping, were you in favor for the original English lines with the underscores or the spaces?

And just for a side-note, the Russian project of Index has both titles, though the translator keeps the English titles as-is, most likely because he's a Japanese to Russian translator (must make Kamachi's heavy use of English-oriented furigana a pain).

Also, Larethian, we've gotten quite far without the supposedly necessary supervisor or admin, so why start now? It's actually sort of surprising that Index hasn't had one volunteer yet. —[[User:EnigmaticRepose|EnigmaticRepose]]

Well, it's good that you guys can arbitrate among yourself. On closer look now, I see that the edit war is caused by casual editors rather than editors of the project. Speaking of the supervisors, I don't even see them around much? I know Vaelis, who has admin rights, is actively lurking.:) --[[User:Larethian|Larethian]] 06:57, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

I also think that you should keep the two titles: the first title translated into English and the weird English title of the Author. The current version looks ok but you could italicize the second title. — [[User:Vaelis|Vaelis]] 08:41, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Well, there's too few translators for us to sort ourselves out -_-, so we didn't need a supervisor up till now. However, if there's a need to have one, seeing how it goes now with all the debates here, I'll volunteer for it.

As for the author's English, I say we keep the underscores. Honestly, I prefer the Japanese titles for the first title instead of the translated ones. Maybe we should get Tact to chip in his thoughts on this, since he's the proofreader here. Will do a poll when I get home, or if we really can't decide, I'll get Herald of Meridian to post a poll on the wikia.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 09:53, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

When I said Japanese, I meant the original hiragana, katakana, kanji and the likes, not romaji.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 10:38, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

I think Teh Ping's suggestion of retaining the original script for the chapter 7 titles makes the most sense-it's exactly what we have chosen to do in translating the chapter titles of the manga (Hoshi no Furu Machi) I'm editing. Yes, keep the underscores and all. I don't really see a problem with using JIS romaji in place of the katakana/hiragana/kanji, but I don't see an advantage to it either.

My concern is the translation of these terms in the body text - it needs to be consistent within and between volumes, and I believe it should closely mirror the meaning of the hiragana/katakana/kanji in the body text, rather than the author's somewhat engrishy attempt at translation himself in the chapter titles. This is with the goal of emulating the Japanese reader's experience as closely as possible. -- [[User:Senile seinen|Senile seinen]] 15:07, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

We have created a [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=3562 poll] regarding that in the wiki!

@Teh_Ping I dont think you should translate 教 as church if also 会 (as 教会) would be needed to become the word for church...

Also I would prefer an English translation (since I cant read Kanji (only with Rikachan) nor understand the Romaji transcription, but would also like to know the name of the title) with the original hidden in <nowiki>  </nowiki> and with the "subtitle" in ''italic'' separated with a normal dash (-) and not a "& mdash ;"(—), but without the underlines but rather with spaces (but that is only because I think it looks strange with those underlines). --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 17:56, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

My view is that keep the Japanese version of the chapter titles and give the English translation of that on the chapter page itself, even if only for the reason it looks better on the contents page that way (among others). As for the underscores and other things in the author's English, I suggest we keep it the same as how it is shown - if necessary change it on the chapter page, but leave it as it is on the main page. --[[User:Flere821|Flere821]] 21:36, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

What would you think if it was formated like that:
----
===Example===
'''<nowiki>===Volume 3===</nowiki>'''
*[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume3_Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
*[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume3_Prologue|Prologue: Radio Noise]]
** Level2
*Chapter 1: Imagine Breaker
**[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume3_Chapter1|Level0(and_More)]]
* Radio Noise
**Level2(Product_Model)

----
(Prologue example 1; Chap 1 example 2; Chap 2 example 3 - but I think "chapter" should be kept) --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 18:54, 24 November 2010 (UTC)

Beyond the inconsistent link locations, I'm not in favor of having each chapter split up over two lines, it seems that it could be confusing, especially to people new to the site, and it doesn't look as nice to me. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 04:42, 25 November 2010 (UTC)

As said that are three different examples. The Prologue is example 1, chapter 1 is example 2 and chapter 2 is example 3 - its just another suggestion instead of the long chapter titles in one line... Of those examples I would prefer example 2, which would mostly be like its done with some MariMite chapters. --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 06:55, 25 November 2010 (UTC)

Well, building off of Darklor's example, here's what the idea I suggested in the forums would look like:
----
===Example 2===
'''<nowiki>===Volume 1===</nowiki>'''
*[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume3_Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
*'''Prologue: The Tale of the Illusion Killer Boy/幻想殺しの少年のお話'''
**[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume1_Prologue|The_Imagine-Breaker.]]
*'''Chapter 1: The Magician Lands in the Town/魔術師は塔に降り立つ'''
**[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume1_Chapter 1|FAIR,_Occasionally_GIRL.]]
*'''Chapter 2: The Conjurer Bestows Demise/奇術師は終焉を与える'''
**[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume1_Chapter 2|The_7th-Edge.]]
*'''Chapter 3: The Grimoire Peacefully Smiles/魔道書は静かに微笑む'''
**[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume1_Chapter 3|Forget_me_not.]]
*'''Chapter 4: The Retiring Magician Chooses the End/退魔師は終わりを選ぶ'''
**[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume1_Chapter 4|(N)Ever_Say_Good_bye.]]
*'''Epilogue: The Conclusion of the Index of Prohibited Books Girl/禁書目録の少女の結末'''
**[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume1_Epilogue|Index-Librorum-Prohibitorum.]]

----
So what does everyone think? It's certainly unique, but considering the chapter title scheme of the Index novel is unique, it fits. ---- [[User:Suzuku|Suzuku]] 16:28, 27 November 2010 (UTC)

Looks great: but would it possibly be better to have whitespace on both sides of the '/' mark? Like:

*'''Prologue: The Tale of the Illusion Killer Boy / 幻想殺しの少年のお話'''
**[[To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume1_Prologue|The_Imagine-Breaker.]]

Just a minor suggestion. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 01:12, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

It's not a noticeable change, but I don't mind. -- [[User:Suzuku|Suzuku]] 06:41, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

First off I'd like to apologize to Teh Ping and everyone else. Like you said it probably would have been better to start off this discussion before sparking the whole little edit war that went on. In regards to the discussion itself I think your suggestion looks rather nice Suzuku, especially with Sagantsu's minor tweak. Maybe it would also be good to add a little note somewhere on the main page explaining how Kamachi formats the chapter titles so people can see where each part comes from. [[User:The Shadow|The Shadow]] 04:58, 3 December 2010 (UTC)

Holy canoli at these great walls of text! In any case, I quite like Suzuku's suggestion (with Saganatsu's addendum). --Tactician J 23:24, 6 December 2010 (UTC)

==Awards==
2011 is correct? Because at the moment its only 2010... --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 18:22, 24 November 2010 (UTC)

Yes, it's correct, as the listing is for the entire year of 2011, which is why the polling is done at the end of 2010. ---- [[User:Suzuku|Suzuku]] 16:28, 27 November 2010 (UTC)

While we're on it, I tweaked the format for the award section a bit. Any objections/complaints? ---- [[User:Suzuku|Suzuku]] 18:00, 27 November 2010 (UTC)

==Short Synopsis==
I replaced it with an edited version of the wiki's. Yes, I realize the old one was also just a more cut up version of the wiki's, but the English wasn't as well worded and it looked a bit sparse. Objections? ---- [[User:Suzuku|Suzuku]] 18:00, 27 November 2010 (UTC)

==Header==
So I added one. Thoughts? ---- [[User:Suzuku|Suzuku]] 18:55, 27 November 2010 (UTC)

Don't see any problems, and no objections to one personally. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 01:10, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

Hmm, I would say bold would be better for the first "To Aru Majutsu no Index". --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 04:10, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

I tried that, but it came off looking weird, so I stuck with italics. -- [[User:Suzuku|Suzuku]] 06:38, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

== chapter title Vol2 Ch3 ==

I don't think that the chapter title for Volume 2 Chapter 3 is correct: it's an exact copy of Volume 1 Chapter 3, in both the english and translated japanese. could someone check this? --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 04:30, 29 November 2010 (UTC)

No, it's correct. The chapter title uses the exact same Kanji and English title as the title of Volume 1 Chapter 3. -- [[User:Suzuku|Suzuku]] 06:00, 29 November 2010 (UTC)

=="To Aru" Majutsu no Index==
Wikipedia recently agreed to have the wiki page on this series be titled "Toaru Majutsu no Index". Should we follow their decision? --Tactician J 23:24, 6 December 2010 (UTC)

would be alot of work: main page, registration page, one formatting page, upto 10 pages per volume (4 chapters, one epilogue, one war report, one declaration of..., an afterword, a full text page, and a illustrations page)= upper limit of 243 pages needing moving, updating the links on all of them, updating the links on the sidebar... . If someone is willing to do all that, I'm all for it. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 00:08, 7 December 2010 (UTC)

I don't particularly mind either way, though I do think Toaru is the correct version myself. I don't know how formatting links work for the server admin, so it might be easier to just do it next the B-T server randomly goes down. Again. —[[User:EnigmaticRepose|EnigmaticRepose]]

I spotted a lot of changes to 'Toaru' in the Recent changes, at which point I came here looking for information; what is the rationale behind changing To Aru to Toaru? 'To Aru' are definitely two separate words; the first is the particle To, the second is the verb Aru. There is no verb Toaru that I know of, though there is a verb Tooru (通る). As far as I am aware, it is not standard practice to run together non-noun words by leaving out their spaces (the difference between 'Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai' and 'Kami nomizo Shiru Sekai' which could easily be mistaken for a nonsensical 'Kami no mizo Shiru Sekai', for one thing...).

I call upon the weight of Google! '"To Aru Majutsu no Index"' 28 million results (including Toaru results), '"Toaru Majutsu no Index"' 3 million results, '"To Aru Majutsu no Index" -toaru' 26 million results. Google has spoken. (Can we reverse this local trend towards Toaru? Please? *puppy-dog eyes*)

Well, if you do not know for sure the correct choice, may as well go with what this^^ guy said. Probably won't make a difference either way, but according to myself and google, To Aru is the more recognizable. So why make hundreds of changes

I have direct proof from Wikipedia: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Toaru_Majutsu_no_Index#Requested_move their consensus on this series being "Toaru Majutsu no Index"]. Yes, I should have provided this earlier, but you could've just walked into the discussion page. In any case, massive move finished. P.S.: Don't do *action* when trying to convince me of something; it hurts your case ''really'' badly. --[[User:Tactician J|Tact]] 10:48, 16 June 2011 (UCT)

== Underscores ==

Was there a decision or two I missed somewhere? why did [[User:Kraft|Kraft]] take out all the underscores on the chapter titles? was under impression that they were to be left in. also, why added the periods at the end? --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 21:35, 7 December 2010 (UTC)

From the looks of it, Kraft has been re-editing the titles applying punctuation rules and probably assumed the underscores were a formatting issue without knowing that the current format was agreed upon by the editors and supervisors of the project (I don't think they realized that was how it was meant to be). It would be nice if the entire series could be locked only to have edits approved by a supervisor or editor to prevent drive-by editing on a project of such a large scale. --[[User:Lighthalzen|Lighthalzen]] 22:19, 7 December 2010 (UTC)

Dunno, but the ending period on the translated line helps distinguish the two titles. And I see he did it on the chapter pages themselves, but the decision was for the main page itself. The problem with the supervisor–editor thing is, we don't have a specific supervisor for the Index project, nor do any of them seem to frequent enough for all the updates we make to the main page (the percentage updates). We also don't have an editor with actual editor rights anyway (though I wish Tact would frequent more to get it). Besides, the translators would need the similar abilities just to create a page. —[[User:EnigmaticRepose|EnigmaticRepose]]

==Inserting hidden page numbers into the text?==
Is it possible for the translators to mark where the pages start and end? That would enable me to look up the original lines more easily, and I'd like to try making some nice-looking PDFs down the road... --Tactician J 14:28, 8 December 2010 (UTC)

I could go through eventually and help with that if I stop being lazy and when the tense issue is resolved. Anyway, I did a small preview of how it would look on parts 9–10 of volume 16's chapter 1. Basically, lines can be cut off randomly in the middle of the sentence (or words for that matter), so don't feel too reliant on the original formatting. Not to mention that every other page has the two titles for the chapter. And out of curiosity, how would you do the illustrations? Some colored ones have three-page-spreads and seeing an illustration after the part it happens in the text just isn't the same as seeing it as you turn the page, so would you use a two-page style, two-pages for just illustrations with the text page, or just one page at a time? —[[User:EnigmaticRepose|EnigmaticRepose]] 14:51, 12 December 2010 (UTC)

Text pages get single pages, but two-/three-page illustration spreads will be fused together, more or less. --Tactician J 15:03, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

==Thought processes==
Just wondering if I am the only one that's slightly uncomfortable with how thoughts are differentiated from the rest of the text in different ways. It seems that the most common methods of indicating thoughts are either in (parenthesis), ''italics'', or ''(italics and parenthesis)''. Perhaps we can come to some kind of a standard for this... or is there a difference as to how certain thought processes are? (I don't have access to the Japanese text or cultural knowledge to know...) -[[User:Snorca|Snorca]] 23:12, 15 December 2010 (UTC)

In the original texts, most thoughts are in parentheses but some also aren't, just like how most spoken dialogue is in quotes but some isn't. English novels also do it (the quoteless dialogues, though thoughts don't have to be emphasized with italics or parentheses), but I think it's more of a slight difference to not feel so abusive with them during dialogue/thought scenes. The italics is just something we started doing (I don't remember why?) and aren't in the original format. I don't think Japanese use italics at all, but they do have a way to emphasize certain parts of a line without just bolding it, though I forget what it's called. If you have any lines in mind that you'd like to me to look up and post as examples, go ahead, though it'll be in Japanese. —[[User:EnigmaticRepose|EnigmaticRepose]]

Occassionally some do use bold, but most of the time, most novels use 『』 or 【】 parentheses for emphasis. Italics look intuitive for monologue (and yes the Japanese don't use them). I've used it right from the start in LOLH, because I saw it in Toradora. Some CSR pages I saw use parentheses, but '''Italics''' just feel right to me. I've not read enough Index to know how the author presents thoughts. But based on your description, my guess is those in parentheses are First-Person monologue, while those that aren't are narrator-reported thoughts. --[[User:Larethian|Larethian]] 04:11, 16 December 2010 (UTC)

Wow, never thought they might be monologues. I normally associate monologues with just quotation marks since they're said aloud. Now I'm even more confused as to what to do/how to read, haha. --[[User:Snorca|Snorca]] 06:00, 16 December 2010 (UTC)

== british vs american english ==

which english should we use: part of the project is in american english and part in british. It's not really that important to me which, but we should probably settle on one or the other. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 20:29, 20 December 2010 (UTC)

british will be better because they don`t use america--[[User:Cognitio|Cognitio]]

Do you mean to say that the story has English characters but no (few?) American characters? That makes some sense.--[[User:CarVac|CarVac]] 22:16, 20 December 2010 (UTC)

American English. See the [[Format_guideline#Spelling_and_Grammar|Format guideline]]. [[User:Vaelis|Vaelis]] 13:33, 21 December 2010 (UTC)

That standard was established before we had multiple projects, and was left in. given that it was written for when we only had one project, should it be up to each project to decide which version?
the original line was this:
:* '''Due to the nature of this website, and the nationality of the majority of Editors & Readers the standard spelling lexicon for this project will be based upon American English as defined by the Fourth Edition of the [http://www.bartleby.com/61/ American Heritage Dictionary]''' --13:18, 26 April 2006 by [[User:Onizuka-gto|Onizuka-gto]]

the current version in place is
:Due to the nature of this website, and the nationality of the majority of Editors and Readers, the standard spelling lexicon for this Wiki will be based upon American English as defined by the Fourth Edition of the [http://www.bartleby.com/61/ American Heritage Dictionary] --5:37, 16 March 2007 by [[User:Smidge204|Smidge204]]

which was changed as part of the original update altering the format page from a Haruhi only version to a version for all projects.

also, [[User:Smidge204|Smidge204]] stopped editing a year before this project was created: [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=To_Aru_Majutsu_no_Index&dir=prev&action=history here] vs [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/Smidge204 here]. and thus the format page, in it's current form, would not have considered a project that might have reason to use british english.

As the current text came about due to a change regarding the style of the formatting page, and not as an actual policy decision, and as the party who made the original style decision is no longer on the wiki to ask, I argue that the statement currently on the format page can be overridden by the people working on a particular project, especially if there is reason beyond personal preference, as has been argued above.

thus we come back to the question: which would the contributors prefer for this project? --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 14:42, 21 December 2010 (UTC)

Ah stop arguing. As the one responsible for all of these, I'll take the charges (my job anyway, haven't updated the Supervisor tag)

I have already PMed Big Boss regarding this, so if he doesn't have any personal preference regarding this, I will make the decision.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 14:45, 21 December 2010 (UTC)

To quote the PM:

[quote="thelastguardian"]Well, if they are from England, of course they speak British English :p . Seems perfectly logical to me.[/quote]

There you have it. I'm going to introduce a new set of guidelines soon.

I'd let the England-based characters speak British English, but what about the narration? --Tactician J 15:03, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

Honestly, I don't like the idea of switching languages here and there so easily, feels weird to me because it's like the characters are in a different realm from the readers.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 15:57, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

== Dragon ==

who is this dragon in vol 15?

see volume 19 --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 07:08, 24 January 2011 (UTC)

== who's gonna translte volume 15 and 19? ==

can someone translate all of volume 15 and 19? the parts about shiage are just epic.

- Give it some time. JS06 is translating SS1. Volume 15 hasn't been translated dedicated-ly since December and Vol 19 was mostly translated by Flare in December-who is less active now. Volume 15 has a higher chance of being translated soon after SS1 is completed.

Well, I'm not letting anyone translate 15 until Joay himself says that he will allow others to take over.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 17:45, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

+ That's fine. Can you ask Joay if it is ok for others to take over vol 15?

Sounds like you are under the assumption that someone would do it if no Joay doesn't they might work the earlier novels... On a side note can someone post on the boards that activation email are down. I can't get the activation email and I can't post telling someone to look into that. --[[User:Shido|Shido]] 01:43, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

Way ahead of you, check js06's talk page.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 02:40, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

== volume 23 and 24 ==

i heard its out already, volume 23 and 24. are you guys going to translate them?

Volume 23 will be called New Testament Volume 1. As for whether we will be translating it, you can bet on it once we get resources.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 13:37, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

==And Misaka Mikoto?==
Looks like the novel have the "New testament" series and you already put a Spoier about Touma (Dead), Accelerator and Shiage, but WHAT HAPPENED TO MISAKA? (and index but I relly do not care too much).

== SS Volume 2? ==

Just wondering: where in the timeline does SS Volume 2 take place? On the main page it's shown between Volumes 16 and 17, but on the Registration page it's shown between Volumes 19 and 20.

--[[User:Stiyl|Stiyl]] 00:34, 26 February 2011 (UTC)

== alternative language? ==

according to Category:Alternative Languages, british english is an alternative language. does this mean this project is, or only that projects with a british english variant are alternative? --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 19:28, 5 March 2011 (UTC)

== Terminology ==

In Volume 14 Chapter 3 Part 4, Tatemiya Saiji is referred to as "Substitute Pope". He was previously referred to in Volumes 7 and 11 as "substitute Supreme Pontiff" (likewise, Kanzaki Kaori is referred to as "Supreme Pontiff"). If the Japanese writing for these terms is the same in each instance, then it would be best to pick a standard translation and use that.

--[[User:Stiyl|Stiyl]] 05:31, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

Edit:
Also "Acqua of the Back" (Volume 14 Epilogue) versus "Acqua of the Rear".

--[[User:Stiyl|Stiyl]] 06:21, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

It's Supreme Pontiff and Acqua of the Back, according to the TamnI wiki. We follow their spellings and terminology, as far as I know. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 06:37, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

Ah, alright then. I've been avoiding looking at the wiki because every time I look at it, I accidentally read another spoiler.

--[[User:Stiyl|Stiyl]] 04:13, 12 March 2011 (UTC)

==New Testament: Toaru Majutsu no Index or Toaru Majutsu no Index: New Testament?==

Just to make sure we have a set standard for how the title should be, should we refer to the new series with NT in front of the title or after? Since Kamachi has "Shinyaku" in front of "Toaru Majutsu no Index", I'm inclined to believe that it's his intention to have the series referred to with New Testament at the front of the title. Also, do really need to have 'NT' in front of the volumes? I don't think it's necessary personally. -- [[User:Suzuku|Suzuku]] 22:27, 9 March 2011 (UTC)

Well, I just named it like that because I was too lazy to put in spacing in front...--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 07:58, 23 March 2011 (EDT)

==Volume 22 - continuation?==

If I may ask, I've been around B-T since the last week of October and I noticed that Volume 22 almost done and were left hanging, will any translator still going to translate the rest of the parts? Please don't take my question in a different way, thank you. -- アクシス

As of now, our only hope here is for either js06 or pikachuwei to finish up those parts. I'm out, that's for sure. No problems asking about who will translate the volumes or whatsoever, but I am 'a bit' annoyed about timeframes, seeing how recent events have gone for me, so I am terribly sorry if I antagonized anyone because of this.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 07:43, 23 March 2011 (EDT)

Iiya, Iiya, I truly understand, I'm just asking, if it is going to be continued or not because I'm planning to order the novel, if it is not (^_^;). Your answer was a yes, so I'll keep waiting, there're still many LN's here anyway that are very interesting to read like Bt-Tt-Shoukanjuu, Mushi to Medama, Fate/Zero, ZnT and many more that'll take me months to finish it. Thanks for anwsering (￣▽￣)ノ -- アクシス

== The Spin-Offs ==

Are there plans to translate those? Because if not, I suggest that they link to the summaries posted in the To Aru wiki, so that people can at least know what happens in those stories.

Maybe, good point. As of now, there are plans to translate the side story, but the main story takes precedence. I can assure you though that there are plans to do that.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 07:43, 23 March 2011 (EDT)

Then, if main story is highest priority, then will translation of Volume 17 be next after NT is completed? --[[Special:Contributions/164.107.33.220|164.107.33.220]] 12:59, 25 March 2011 (EDT)Lojik:)

== Volume SS1 - Afterword? ==

Will the afterword of SS1 be translated? I'm quite interested in Kamachi Kazuma's thoughts.

When Js06 posted the link to the epilogue (or was it the full text?) on 4chan, I asked him if there was no afterword. He said there isn't. I also checked now the raw, and seems the last thing is the epilogue. [[User:Kokonice|Kokonice]] 18:21, 19 April 2011 (UCT)

== Are there any translations regarding Bardway? ==

With her appearance in New Testament and the side-mention in the arc for volumes 17/18 making her existence increasingly relevant, is there any possibility of translations of stories in which Bardway has appeared directly (referred to on the Wikipedia character page)? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Toaru_Majutsu_no_Index_characters#Dawn-colored_Sunlight) (Thank you very much for your time; I wish to convey extreme gratitude for the translating which has been done!)

Well, the rest are on the side stories, which aren't translated, ''yet''.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 10:09, 22 May 2011 (UCT)

== Kreuzhev or Croitsev ? ==
I recently made some edits to standardize the name, so I change croitsev to kreuzhev, but after further check, it seems the toaru wikia use Croitsev and the Project Guidelines also use it. But Kreuzhev seems more original in terms of russian name.
Which one should we use?
Teh_Ping use Croitsev in vol 4 and Js06 use Kreuzhev in later volumes [[User:Xenocross|Xenocross]] 21:55, 22 June 2011 (UCT)

It's "Croitsef", according to Season 2's character info on her. I know I indicated this in the Project-Specific Guidelines... --[[User:Tactician J|Tact]] 01:47, 24 June 2011 (UCT)

==THANK YOU!==
OMG YOU DID IT!!! Thank you guys so much and please keep up the good work on the side stories! (Yeah, I know some of the early on volumes of the main series aren't finished, but people can just watch season 1 of the show to find out what happens)

==Religion vs Denomination==
I've seen it multiple times through the series, and the following stood out the most: "The three largest religions of Christianity have finally joined forces." Technically, the only Religion at play here is Christianity, The Anglican Church, The Roman Catholic Church and The Russian Orthodox Church are all denominations of Christianity, not religions of Christianity --[[User:Draringi|Draringi]] 15:47, 4 July 2011 (UCT)