City Series:Volume5A
Cover
Back Cover
Front Flap
Back Flap
Character 1
Beretta McWild
Foreigner
Image: Exchange Student – Knight Striker
Role: The one to destroy this world
Character 2
Protected Empress
Heavy Barrel
Image: America’s Latest Female Heavy Barrel
Role: Steel doll that protects people
Character 3
Rosetta Balleroy
Belle de Marionnette
Image: Automaton of Unknown Type
Role: One who wanders between human and steel
Character 4
Guilliaum Balleroy
Resister
Image: Resistance Leader
Role: One who fights and makes up for the past
Map
Movie Ad
Top:
Recorded Movie
“ ’43 School Festival”
Notice of an Advance Screening
Middle of image:
Even our reporter was shocked!
Bottom of image:
Miss Beretta directly kicked our reporter. (No stuntman used)
Bottom:
Full of hellish and exciting footage.
Today we would like to inform you all that an advance screening of this movie will be held in the 1st Cafeteria at 4 PM on the 21st.
Our school’s film studies group has captured the art of sound and light for a full 131 minutes of endless “Drinking and Destruction”. Is this hell or paradise?
According to the director, it provides “history’s greatest sense of realism”, but the administrative division is considering canceling the advance screening because “it’s nothing but that”. Oh, such fun, such fun.
(5/18 – PR Team)
(Translated by: Kawakami Minoru)
Glossary
[Note: The original novel does not include a glossary, but it should make an English translation much more understandable. Kawakami uses different versions of almost every piece of terminology to match the 3 nationalities of the characters (American, French, and German). In Japanese, the kanji below the ruby text allows the reader to know which terminology is equivalent between languages, but this glossary will have to suffice for the English translation. Not every term has a version for each language and I will keep it updated as the translation progresses.]
Japanese (English Translation): Chain
English: Rondeau
French: Rondeau
German: Metaphysikos
Japanese: Lost Techniques
English: Death Techno
French: Perdus Artifice
German: Ober Geheimnis
Japanese: Genetic Word
English: Live
French: Formule
German: Ton
Japanese: Heavy Knight
English: Knight Striker
French: Lourd de Écrivain
German: Panzer Kavalier
Japanese: Steed
English: Barrel
French: Appareil
German: Panzer
Japanese: Heavy Steed
English: Heavy Barrel
French: Lourd de Marionnette
German: Grösse Panzer
Japanese: Middle Steed
English: Middle Barrel
French: Forma de Marionnette
German: Mittel Panzer
Japanese: Light Steed
English: Light Barrel
French: Léger de Marionnette
German: Klein Panzer
Japanese: Reset
English: Format
French: Primitif
German:
Japanese: Write Piloting
English: Write Bring
French: Recréa
German: Schreiben
Japanese: Word Confirmation Writing
English: Sign
French: Signe
German: Lernen
Japanese: Add Word Writing
English: Point
French: Ajouter
German: Verbesserung
Japanese: Over Emblem
English: Over Emblem
French: Excède Emblème
German: Ober Emblem
Japanese: Automaton
English: Sein Frau
French: Belle de Marionnette
German: Sein Frau
Japanese: Feng Shui Master
English: Tuner
French: Correcteur
German: Stimmer
Japanese: Study
English: Study
French: Cabinet
German: Studio
Japanese: Divine Form Device
English: Device
French: Instrument
German: Werkzeug
Prologue
France’s World War Two is said to have repeated for 54 years.
But due to the odd correction made to the Metaphysikos in that time, only the “liberators” know of…no, believe in those 54 years of Metaphysikos.
Did that really happen or not?
Why is there almost no trace of it in the modern era?
And why did that Metaphysikos fall apart?
The documents gathered after much investigation have been released based on the unfortunate records of the two girls who were the trigger to the liberation of Paris.
(From the French Royal Historical Society – Modern Division – Committee for the Compilation of Records Concerning Perdus Artifice)
Paris, the world’s transmission site.
The powerful individuals who are the source of much information have long gathered and competed in that land.
The power to hide information and the power to transmit information. Medieval alchemy was used to strengthen those two conflicting powers during a period of technological revolution and the alchemists of the time used England’s Aerial City as a model to create a barrier around the city.
That barrier allowed them to safely create, hide, and transmit their own information.
And with that, the Formules forming France were changed, creating…
“A world where things exist through accurate notes.”
In the centuries since, France sends out thousands of letters and countless news articles on a daily basis to continually send information and trends out into the world. The incidents, words, and human memories created within it are incorporated into its own Formules, allowing it to continually grow like a living creature.
Instead of hiding itself as England does, that city has a duty to inform the world of itself using notes. And it builds up information to evolve.
That city is known as Closed City – Paris.
(From “The Lost World”)
Note: The following records all concern the 54 years of the Metaphysikos and the correction thereof, so some of the related documents and memories of those involved have been remade. This is a hidden history.
Prologue: Recording
11/30/1919 – 06/21/1998
A man stood holding a black umbrella.
11/30/1919
An Anecdote from Mallette Harculia
It was midday on the 24th day since the end of World War One.
A cold rain had been falling since the night before and Panzerpolis – Berlin remained wet even during the day.
The rain fell equally on all parts of the city.
On the burned urban region, on the broken factory region, and on the graveyards where people slept.
One such graveyard existed in the Tempelhof Park on the west side of Berlin’s urban region. The rain fell coldly even on that lawn lined with dark-colored gravestones.
There was a roaring as an airplane took off into the rainy sky. It was leaving the Tempelhof Airport adjacent to the park. As the airport of a losing nation, all the planes taking off and landing were foreign.
The plane was hazy in the rain, but it still passed over the graveyard and cast its shadows on it.
As the shadow raced across the lawn and trees, it also passed over something living.
A skinny middle-aged man was sitting there. He wore a German army uniform, but the right sleeve was empty. His left eye had been lost from a blade wound. But the medal on his chest was intent on being noticed as it gave off a solid metallic light.
He was a wounded soldier.
He did not react at all to the shadow passing by overhead. He simply remained down on one knee in front of a gravestone. He would occasionally touch the tree next to the gravestone (a white flowered one) in silence.
Another airplane passed by overhead.
A crow cawed in response from the forest.
The man moved, perhaps in response to the bird cry.
He removed the medal on his chest with his remaining left hand, squeezed it in his fist, and then started placing it on the branch from which the white flowers grew.
At that moment, someone spoke to him.
“We can’t have you throwing that away, Lieutenant Heinz Berge.”
The man, Heinz, said nothing in response, but he did quickly stand up. Water splashed at his feet and he turned around as if swinging his empty right sleeve around him.
His one eye turned toward where a man stood holding a black umbrella.
Heinz asked a question when he saw the man’s face.
“…Is this a condolence call? I’m fairly certain I have no more family left.”
“This is no condolence call, Lieutenant.”
“Then what is it?”
“I am here to take you with me. You should have received a letter last night… I am with the Geheimnis Agency.”
Heinz briefly forgot to put on a facial expression when he heard that.
After just a few seconds, the scar over his left eye bent. An inappropriate smile formed on his lips and his right eye looked to his right sleeve.
His smiling lips spoke as they drank the rain.
“The Geheimnis Agency, huh? …That agency seeks a country which does not rely on the wisdom of god or the technology of the past, so what do you hope to accomplish by giving a Panzer to a crippled Panzer Kavalier? Not to mention that our entire country’s military is going to be shrunk soon. I doubt you can even prepare me a new Panzer.”
“Not to worry. The Geheimnis Agency holds a position higher than the occupying army.”
“Oh?” Heinz nodded once as if hanging his head and then said more. “I heard 70% of your ranks were consumed by an attack from the British army during the Great War.”
“But 100% of the enemy was consigned to the abyss. …Our technology is 50 years ahead of theirs.”
“And what do you want me to do with that technology?”
“As stated in our letter, you will be given the title of the strongest.”
Heinz looked up into the sky when he heard that.
A poem escaped his lips.
That which is filled with the blue sky.
That which is covered by the red dirt.
I name thee heaven and earth.
Where the wind howls bravely.
Where the sand dances gently.
I view thee as heaven and earth.
So that no one would grieve again.
That which is endless and cannot be grasped.
That which is vast and cannot be held.
I am with thee.
Hearing that poem, the man in black spoke quietly.
“That is the Panzer Kavalier’s song, isn’t it? …The song of the Panzer Kavalier whose duty is to protect people.”
And he said more.
“But the blue sky, the red dirt, the wind, and the sand cannot be found here.”
“No, they can’t.”
Heinz Berge agreed and lowered his gaze.
He tilted his head slightly, looked to the gravestone, and asked a question.
“About the letter last night… If I take part in this Panzer Ritter Project of yours, you really will erase my emotions when you give me a fully artificial body, right? To ensure I make accurate decisions.”
“Yes, you will lose all memories unrelated to combat.”
“Everything, including today?”
“Most likely.”
“I see.”
Heinz looked away from the gravestone and began to walk.
The rain picked up as he did so.
After a few steps, he passed by the man in black, so that man quickly followed.
“Are you accepting our offer?”
Heinz did not nod. He simply faced forward in the rain.
The rain grew ever stronger.
And then his voice entered that rain.
“I no longer need the blue sky, the red dirt, the wind, the sand…”
He took a breath.
“Or grief.”
6/21/1998
Excerpt from the Paris Region Exchange Student Consent Form – 1998 Edition
Everything was closed off by the Rondeau.
Paris is best known as a textual world that exists through journal entries, but it has another trait as well.
As I am sure you know, the entirety of France is still repeating a year from World War Two.
It happened near the end of World War Two. Specifically, 5:32:18 of August 6, 1944 when Allied Forces fought to liberate Paris. The German Wort Bombe taken to Paris was detonated. Even the Formules of space-time were altered by the explosion and France was closed away. So every year, the Primitif takes affect at that time and everything is reverted to their state from one year before.
Starting in ’63, Detroit’s Formule analysis technology has made it possible to enter that closed space, but the inside has been fully repeating the time from August of ’43 to August of ’44.
Yes, just like finishing a book and re-reading it from the beginning.
The people caught in Paris’s Primitif are unaware they are repeating the same year over and over, so they have tried to do the exact same things 54 times now. You, the exchange student, will enter that era as “something extra”. You will be unable to leave until you are “expelled” by the detonation of the Wort Bombe in a year’s time. And as the city itself has an immune system, you can only enter once in your lifetime. If you die inside, your very existence will be wholly annihilated by the Primitif.
Each year, France’s immune system grows stronger, so what we can send inside is only growing more limited. If we can no longer send anything inside, Paris will become a truly shy city that no one can enter.
But that is an unavoidable fate.
France is connected to ’44, so if it is liberated, it will recover back in ’44 rather than here in ’98. If that happens, this world which has evolved as a “France-less world” ever since ’44 will be erased as a 54 year paradox.
Thus, we cannot liberate France and we must create a backup.
This is a global problem.
And no matter how much that era is altered, it is reset a year later by the Primitif. But you will not lose what you gained there. Do not forget that.
City Series:Volume5a Chapter 1
City Series:Volume5a Chapter 2
City Series:Volume5a Chapter 3
City Series:Volume5a Chapter 4
City Series:Volume5a Chapter 5
City Series:Volume5a Chapter 6
City Series:Volume5a Chapter 7
City Series:Volume5a Chapter 8
City Series:Volume5a Chapter 9
City Series:Volume5a Chapter 10
City Series:Volume5a Chapter 11
City Series:Volume5a Chapter 12
Afterword
When I think of the French language, the first thing that comes to my mind is “Bonjour~, how are you doing? (really roll those r’s)”, so I knew I was going to have to spend some long nights on this one.
Now, (“now” what?), the City Series seems to be where the idea of a consistent setting goes to die, but this one is even more unique than most.
After all, when I pitched the series to my editor Watchman Satou-san, I told him this:
“Double blondes! A maid automaton! There will be robots! It’ll be fast-paced with lots of action!”
He said that sounded incredible, but then I came back with this. Once I wrote it, those selling points just seemed vanish. I instead had a story of a wild girl and a gentle girl getting to know each other and worrying about things. It’s a slower pace than City usually is, but I’m going to use all that buildup to really get things moving in the second half.
The City Series’ France is following real history pretty closely, but please understand that a lot of things are different. Unlike a piece of historical fiction, this is a fictional world with its own fictional history for double the fiction.
Looking into this period of history can be dangerously fascinating, but if you’re interested, look into the events in Europe during World War Two. The Normandy landing operation at the end of this volume has been used in a lot of movies and such, so you can tell that this period is what war is for Western Europe.
Now for the customary phone call. This one is from a riverside payphone. (I still only have internet at home, so the phone and fax machine aren’t hooked up yet.)
“Hey, it’s me. It’s pretty early, but are you up?”
“Oh, Kawakami? Sorry, but I’m about to head for the office.”
“What? The office? Don’t be ridiculous. You work at a company.”
“If you don’t think about what words mean before you speak, it’s going to lead to misunderstandings. Like that you run too much.”
“Oh, shut up. I’m about to get to sleep. Now, tell me what you thought of Paris.”
“Oh, Paris? You dirty old man. Bye.”
“Huh? Wait, don’t hang up! Hey!!”
Now this is a problem. Did I really write anything that dirty this time?
Anyway, time for some personal information. I’m still running my website. I’m posting information on the different cities and an original story whenever I feel like it, so check it out if you have time.
The URL is http://www.din.or.jp/~arm/.
It seems the Osaka game is sold out, so consider yourself lucky if you managed to get a copy. I am writing up a walkthrough on my site.
The URL for Tenky, the company I work at, (the Osaka game and this book’s illustrations were both made there) is http://tenky.co.jp, so check it out. You can find the most information on Osaka there.
Now, then.
My background music this time went straight to video games with Zuntata’s Burning Road. Personally, I see that as the background music when the Heavy Barrels are running. I think I’ll go with video games again next time. (How deep.)
This will continue with Part B, but while editing and rereading Part A, I was thinking about the following question:
“Who is the most selfish?”
Bye bye.
May 1999. A morning with a meeting scheduled later.
-Kawakami Minoru
Satoyasu's Page
Top: And with that…
Mallette: Kyahh
Middle:
I was given a page again.
I plan to keep at it like this next time too.
I might not be the best, but I hope you will support me.
-Satoyasu
Mallette: Puff
Bottom: This part didn’t happen.
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