[OOC] EP8 Translations
Mar. 16th, 2011 05:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zettaiSo! I am playing Lambda post-EP8. And EP8 had a lot of development for Lambda (and her relationship with Bern) and shed a tiny bit of light on what her life is like outside of Battler and Beatrice's game board. As such - and since I imagine it will still be quite a while before Witch-Hunt releases a patch - I have translated and compiled the scenes I found particularly noteworthy for playing her character. This is mostly for my own reference, but also around for anyone who is interested in reading up on spoilers.
Translations are fairly rough, as a warning! There might be mistakes.
Lambda: Ahaha, exactly, she's just like a cat. She'll come to eat, but she'll never let you pet her head.
Battler: Lambdadelta. I see you made it.
Lambda: Despite what you may think, I'm a very busy person! But welll, I aaam Beato's guardian ... Oh, and wasn't I your guardian too? It's just obligation, you know, obligation! I happened to be in the neighborhood, so I just decided to drop by! Hey, Gohda! I brought some gifts! Can you dish them up properly?
Even though she claimed she just dropped by because she happened to be nearby, she had brought a beautifully wrapped bottle and several boxes of food as a gift.
Battler: Bernkastel isn't here yet.
Lambda: She's probably not coming. She's not the kind of the girl who would show up to a game she lost.
Beatrice: Most likely. She is a very proud person.
Battler: I feel like I was put through a lot of horrible ordeals because of her, but she was still another player who was involved in the game. I was hoping that on the last night of the last game, we could congratulate her too, but ...
Lambda: That's true. If she hadn't been around, this game may have reached a very different conclusion. Enemies and allies are both necessary components in bringing a game to be.
Beatrice: Indeed. Without an enemy, there can be no game.
Lambda: I can enjoy even defeat as part of a game. But she's not like that. ... There's no helping it, that's just how things are. So please don't condemn her.
Battler: Honestly, I wanted to thank her. ...Even though a lot happened, it was because she was here that we were able to make it to today. I wanted to thank her for that.
Lambda: Thank you. I don't know when I'm going to see her next. If I'm lucky, I'll see her again in another couple hundred years. But when that happens, I'll tell her.
--
Lambda: To think Bern would want to fight fair and square.
Bern: Go ahead and laugh.
Lambda: Why would I?
Bern: Thank you.
Lambda: ..........
Lambdadelta also understood.
Before Battler and Beato's story ended and everything was shut away in the cat box, Bernkastel had, for the first time, risen to the stage from the grandstands. The witch who hated the stage lights and had always hid in the stage wing, ... had showed the courage to come forth on the center of the stage. As her friend, Lambdadelta understood the human-like expression Bernkastel, who had finally reached that courage, wore ...
Lambda: What should I do?
Bern: Be an observer of my game, if you would.
Lambda: ... Fine by me. If you can promise that in exchange for participating in the game, you'll release Ange.
Beatrice: Naturally. If you don't promise that, we have no obligation to go along with your farce ...!
Bern: You'd have no obligation, but Ange would never return.
Beatrice: Then you can enjoy being branded as a loser for a few hundred years at your leisure.
Battler: Beato, don't provoke her. ... This isn't a fight we can get out of.
Beatrice: ... R ... Right.
Since a hostage was taken, Battler and Beato had no room to negotiate.
However, Lambdadelta, in exchange for agreeing to be the observer, could make Bernkastel promise to release Ange.
If she didn't promise that, Bernkastel would have nothing to lose.
In order to make this final fight that Bernkastel proposed official ... Lambdadelta was making her promise that.
Bern: ... Of course, Lambda. I promise. When the game is over, I'll release Ange.
Lambda: Don't bring me disgrace me, okay ...? Because when someone puts me to shame, I certainly make sure they regret it ...
Lambdadelta threatened her quietly.
But as if to say that even that expression was cute, Bernkastel laughed lightly in response.
Bern: I swear it. ... With our friendship at stake.
Lambda: Whew ...
Lambdadelta gave a whistle and grinned.
Apparently, that was the most trustworthy oath Bernkastel could make.
--
Beatrice: Kukuku! You shouldn't look so angry. And here I am praising your game as interesting.
The expression of Beato, who had won against Bernkastel's own game, was quite good-humored.
Bern: ... I'm not really angry. My face is always like this.
Lambda: The times when, within that expression, I find Bern's own sense of warmth ... I feel like I've found a beautiful star on top of a dark, snowy mountain peak.
Bern: ... Well excuse me for having a face like eternal snow.
Beatrice: Honestly, it's quite hard to give Lady Bernkastel praise. No matter how much you praise her, she takes it as sarcasm.
Lambda: Don't worry. She's the type who reflects on it carefully later.
Beatrice: Hohoh, so she's the type to reflect on it while hugging a pillow in bed?
Lambda: Yeah, yeah, just like that.
--
Lambda: Still, this is a little unexpected~
Bern: ... What is?
Lambda: I mean, for you to release Ange so easily.
Lambdadelta, while making sure her expression couldn't be seen by Battler and Beato, gave a slightly mean-spirited smile.
Bern: Is it that unexpected ...?
Lambda: Yeah, it is. Since it's you we're talking about, I figured you'd refuse to release her and continue bullying Battler with more and more tough problems. ... Or maybe you'd put some strange thoughts in Ange's head and totally stir up the game in the end.
Bern: .........
Lambda: And here I like to think of myself as the person who knows you best in the whole wide world. I'm disappointed my expectations were off.
Bern: ... You sure can talk. But don't worry. ... It seems you truly are the person who understands me best in the whole world.
Lambda: W ... Well, of course! Because I, Lambdadelta-sama, love and care about and understand Bern more than anyone in the whole wide universe~ ☆
Lambdadelta was flustered by Bernkastel's words which acknowledged their friendship, something she didn't hear too often.
--
Lion: ... And please, lend us your strength as well.
Lambda: Me?! No waaay! I already scouted things out for you, didn't I? I think I've already helped out more than enough!
Lion: How did you confirm that Ange-chan was in the Capitol of Books?
Lambda: Of course, with my own eyes. I don't believe in anything I don't see with my own two eyes~
Lion: So that means you have qualifications to enter the sacred ground of the Capitol of Books, doesn't it?
Beato: ... That's right. Great Lady Lambdadelta is a great witch of the Senate.
Battler: Lambdadelta ...
Lambda: ... What's with you people? ... Don't tell me you're trying to put me to work again?
Zepar: My, my, this is an unexpected turn of events ...!
Furfur: The only one who can enter the Capitol of Books is Lady Lambdadelta!
Zepar: Which means this must be?!
Furfur & Zepar: Lady Lambdadelta's chance to shine!
Lambda: Don't talk stupid! Are you people crazy? ... You want me, all by myself, to infiltrate that place again and bring Ange back?!
Everyone surrounded Lambdadelta and nodded eagerly.
Lambda: Sometimes even idiots should think carefully before they speak! To save Ange means to crash the great Aurora's party, okay?! You want me to make the entire world my enemy?! What do I get out of it?! Nothing, absolutely nothing! No matter what you offer me, it could never be worth making enemies out of the great Aurora and her happy little band of monster friends ...!
Lion: You'll be able to ruin the Great Aurora and the Great Bernkastel's plans, bring Ange back, and see a happy ending where everyone reconciles.
Beatrice: ... How about it, Lady Lambdadelta? You won't find a thrill like this one. ... If you pull this off, you will be able to forget your illness for another thousand years.
Battler: Please, Lambdadelta ...! Lend us your strength!
Please, please, pretty please! Help us out for Ange-chan's sake...! *chatter*chatter*clamor*!
Everyone crowded around Lambdadelta, seeking her assistance.
Beatrice: Please, Lady Lambdadelta ...! You are the only one who can do this...!
Battler: Please help us out! I'll show you the greatest story! I'll let you see it from a front row seat! So please lend us your strength!
Lambda: Shut uuuuuuup! Just shut the hell uuuuuup!!
Lambdadelta stood up, crushing her popcorn cup with a clenched fist.
The sweet, candy-flavored popcorn flew all over, clinging to the faces of everyone standing near her.
It was truly a funny scene.
... But no one was laughing.
Lambdadelta's expression was absolutely livid, a face she had never shown to anyone before.
Lambda: Don't misunderstand, okay?! I'm a spectator, just a spectator! Just a spectator who was invited by Beato and came to watch the game! So why the hell should I risk my own life for your sakes?! If Ange comes back, it'll be a happy ending?! Are you people stupid?! It's just gonna end with an enraged Bern and all those troops rushing in and crushing you all at once! There's only one reason why I'm still here! Because this Lion here insisted I'd get to see an interesting story! Yeah, I've got no doubt that soon I'll get to see an amazingly interesting story ...! And that's the sad, sad story where you all fight Bern's troops in a last stand, and get killed off one by one! Looks like you'll all get your chance to shine when you fall in battle, right?! And soon I'll get to see that! Soon, you're all going to die! But I'm different! I'm just a spectator! You've got no damn right to say "you should die with us too"!!
... No one said anything in response.
Admist the silence interrupted by nothing but the sound of the rain ... finally Lambdadelta herself hung her head in disgust.
Lambda: ... Sorry. I'm just the lamest there is. ... That's right, if I could stick out my chest proudly and say, "Leave it to me!", I'm sure my popularity would go through the roof and I'd be able to make it to the top 3 in the next popularity poll ... ... But, you know. ... Unlike you guys ... I'm not "a character in a story." ... I can't die. ... You guys can party late at night, all enthusiastic about how the climax is coming up. But for me, tomorrow's Monday and I have to wake up early for school ...! The worlds we live in are different ...! So that's why ... I ... ... *siiigh* ...
As if she had gotten dizzy, ... Lambdadelta sat back down on her chair with a thump.
And then she became expressionless like a doll, merely staring into a point in space in silence ...
--
Erika: Lady Lambdadelta's ... friends?
Unlike the isolated witch Bernkastel, Lambdadelta had many friends.
Those friends and patrons were nothing but territory lords that boasted tremendous power or spectres that were like living legends.
Jokes aside, her self-proclaimed fan club had enough influence to declare half of the sea of Fragments an independent nation.
--
Lambda: ... If I surrender ... I might be let off the hook after I'm stripped naked and left in the most horrible Fragment for a couple hundred years. ... It's wonderful. I think I might come out of it able to understand Bern's feelings a bit.
Lambdadelta didn't laugh. Most likely even what she said out loud was an optimistic guess at the punishment she'd receive.
She kept saying that she wouldn't provide any more assistance than this. She was already taking a huge gamble. Risking everything she had.
For what purpose?
Lambda: ... Isn't it obvious?
While brushing her hair away, Lambdadelta grinned.
Lambda: It's because you guys will show me the perfect happy ending.
Lambdadelta embraced Battler and Ange's heads and knocked their foreheads.
Lambda: Make sure you show me, certainly ...!
--
*The "super paper" thing is actually a Japanese word play. "Paa" is the Japanese word for paper in rock-paper-scissors, but it also can mean "stupid" or "foolish." So when Lambda calls herself "super paper," she's actually also saying "I'm really stupid." Sadly that doesn't translate at all. :(
Lambda: You two are really idiots! You're really planning to play tag with Bern and all of her cats?!
Ange: If there's even a 1% chance!
Battler: You can be certain we'll grab it...!
The difference in enthusiasm between Battler and Ange, who had everything to lose, and Lambdadelta, was immense.
However, Lambdadelta was no coward.
She was a great witch of the Senate. ... If she surrendered, she wouldn't be able to escape severe punishment, but she would be forgiven after a few hundred years.
There was no way someone with a life ahead of them could be as determined as someone with everything to lose. No one could blame her.
Lambda: ... Ah geez, you two really are stupid, you know that? ... Fine. I'll tell you about a plan that's got a bit more than a 1% chance of working. What do you think it is?
The two looked at each other.
However, they both thought that any plan would be worth listening to, even if it would only raise their chances by 0.00001%.
Lambda: A sacrifice. ... Bern is a cat, so although she'll chase prey that flees, she'll just kill whatever prey doesn't. And persistently torture them while she's at!
Ange: Sounds awful.
Battler: ... But, if that's true... it might be worth betting on.
Lambda: One sacrifice. Let's decide who with rock-paper-scissors. ... The one who loses will stir up Bern, make her laugh, get killed, and buy even just a tenth of a second of time. ... How does that sound?
Battler: We don't need rock-paper-scissors. I'll do it. Ange and Lambda, go ahead to the room with the key.
Ange: No way, Onii-chan...! I'll do it. This is my responsibility to begin with. ... It's my responsibility for lending an ear to Bernkastel and trusting her. ... So I'd like to at least get a word in to her!
Battler and Ange quarreled about who would take on the role of sacrifice.
Lambda: See? Can't decide without rock-paper-scissors, can you? If we don't hurry and decide, we won't be able to use this strategy anymore. ... Her bunch will show up soon.
Battler: ... Got it. ... Either Ange or I will be the sacrifice. ... Lambdadelta, please take whoever's left and return to the Golden Land once you've got the key.
Ange: I'm not backing down. Onii-chan.
Battler: Don't screw with me. Let me act like a big brother once in a while!
Lambda: There's no time. One round of rock-paper-scissors decides everything! I'm super paper*, so we start with paper! Got it?
Ange: Got it.
Battler: Ange, no hard feelings.
Lambda: One, two, three! First comes paper!
It was a truly ridiculous children's game of rock-paper-scissors.
Since they'd promised to start with paper... this was a chance to make a surprise attack and use something else.
However, Battler and Ange had both put out rock.
... But despite that, it wasn't a tie.
That was because... against the two rocks... one person had played scissors.
Battler and Ange, while dumbfoundedly looking between their own clenched fists and those scissors... stared at her.
Lambda: ... Ah, whoops... ... Because paper was first, I thought maaaybe I could put out scissors and win all by myself. ... I guess paper [an idiot] just really has to stick with paper.
It was a game of rock-paper-scissors that Lambda hadn't needed to join.
It was no time for a joke like this.
Battler and Ange... had both tried to lose on purpose and put out rock.
Lambdadelta... had been the only one to put out scissors.
Ange: You... purposely chose scissors...
Battler: If you die, we won't be able to return to the Golden Land...! This round is void!
Lambda: Look, it'll be fine like this, right?
When Lambdadelta clenched her fist, a palely glowing Fragment appeared there, and she handed that to Battler and Ange.
Battler recognized what that was. ... It was the magic Fragment that Erika had used when she disappeared, a Fragment that could give one the power to cross the sea of Fragments.
Lambda: With that, you two can return to the Golden Land. Besides, this is the best option. Bern would wipe the floor with you two in a few seconds. But forget lasting an hour, I might even be able to win! And I have a score to settle with her. Got to win this round and make it even. ... Still, away games sure are hard.
Lambdadelta stood up while pretending to complain.
Lambda: Well then, I'm off. ... I'm a show off, so I guess it was impossible for me to be a spectator after all. Sorry for stealing your chance to shine. ... It's a shame I won't be about to see your game through till the end... but I've already heard the synopsis, so I don't need to watch it myself.
Battler: ... Lambda...
Then, with her broadest smile and a wink, she spoke.
Lambda: Your happy ending! I already know how it ends, so I don't need to see it. See you, let's meet again. At the credit roll of your happy ending!
Ange: Wa... wait...!
Lambdadelta snapped her fingers, and the two were transformed into two pieces of konpeito.
Then she pinched those between her fingers, ... and aiming at the radiance of the golden key... flicked them away.
That way, they would be able to reach the key without being sensed by Bernkastel...
Man, I'm really unlucky...
Just what are the chances that in response to my scissors, both of them would throw out rock?
... Yeah, I know.
It wasn't nice of me to test you like that. Sorry, you two.
--- (stop here)
While saying that, [Featherine] glanced at Lambdadelta.
In a panic, she bowed in greeting. While Lambdadelta's expression was on one hand a grin, her eyebrows were furrowed with tension and beads of sweat were starting to surface.
Featherine: ... It has been a while, Lady Lambdadelta.
Lambda: Good day to you ... Great Lady Aurora ...
Featherine: This is not a suitable place to entertain you, my Lady. ... Did you lose your path on the way to the assembly hall...? In that case, I shall guide you to the assembly hall myself.
Lambda: T... That would be an honor, Great Lady Aurora...
Featherine Augstus Aurora. ... The great witch of legend.
It had been said that she had reached too far beyond the limits of a witch, even reached the level of Creator... reached a circumstance that she was not supposed to reach, and passed away due to a deadly illness.
But while she was alive, she had made her pet cat into a witch.
That witch had found a Fragment where she could momentarily resurrect her master from the depths of death called boredom, and eternally wandered about the sea of Fragments.
... And the cat resurrected her master.
The witch of Shinto shrines, who had reached a circumstance she should not have, had been resurrected...
Just as witches sneer at humans as pieces on a game board and look down on them from a higher world... she could laugh at even the domain of witches as nothing more than pieces on a game board and look down on them from an even higher world.
... If the level of the world she had reached was her strength, then she, who had reached a level she shouldn't have and come back alive... was like a witch who had returned alive from the land of the gods...
The possibility that you could fight her and win?
None.
Putting winning aside, Lambdadelta wouldn't even be allowed to choose her own defeat.
Featherine: My miko. Can you put aside playing with your friend for now and do your job? ... Prepare the key.
Bern: ... Understood...
Featherine: Kukuku. The naivete to forget its errand halfway through its trip is another charm of a cat. ... Don't you think so, Lady Lambdadelta...?
Without responding, Lambdadelta hung her head low.
... From there, it looked as though the seal on the key would soon come undone.
However, Bernkastel would probably find Battler before that happened.
As soon as they had the key, the two could escape immediately.
... Of course, that's only if they could get it before being found by Bernkastel.
... She couldn't afford to let Bernkastel go.
Bern: ... Game and set, Lambda.
Lambda: .......
Bern: I'm the Great Lady Aurora's miko, you know...? You haven't forgotten that theater-going witches bestow protection upon their mikos who read aloud for them, right...?
Lambdadelta, head still hung low, didn't respond.
Theater-going witches bestow protection upon the mikos who read aloud for them.
If she attacked Featherine's miko, Bernkastel, ... according to the contract, the Great Aurora would be forced to take that as an attack upon herself and "deal with it accordingly."
Bern: ... Let's make a trade.
Lambda: ... Of what...?
Bern: Where is Battler hiding? If you'll just confess obediently, I'll forget all this happened.
Lambda: So you, the Witch of Miracles, are afraid of a small piece like Battler?
Bern: ... It's because I'm the Witch of Miracles. ... I can't make light of the miracle a small pebble like him could cause.
Lambda: A pebble like that has already been promoted to the rank of Witch of Miracles, after all.
Bern: I'll ask once more. Where is Battler?
Lambda: ........
Bern: ... That's too bad, Lambda. It seems that's your answer.
Bernkastel turned her back on Lambdadelta.
Then she told her master that she was going to prepare the key, ... and began swimming towards to room with the key.
... If she was allowed to go any further... Battler and Ange would be found...
Battler prepared himself. Next it would be his turn to be a sacrifice...
Even if he was nothing more than a grain of a pebble... he could at least crush out her eyes.
In front of Bernkastel, a firework of candy exploded.
Bern: ... Lambda. ... You really are an idiot.
Battler & Ange: La... Lambdadelta...
Lambda: ... I've gone and done it... ... Battler, Ange. ... Take care of the rest yourselves...!
The familiar cats changed into a battle formation, wrapped around Featherine, and formed a ferocious constellation.
And each of them began to draw the magic circle that would call forth the most fearsome magic of their world.
Featherine: ...... ... I am a bit confused. ... My miko, and Lady Lambdadelta. ... What sort of entertainment is this...?
Bern: ... It appears Lambda wants to get in the way of me going to get the key.
Featherine: Hoh. ... And what is the meaning of that?
Lambda: If you don't know the meaning of that... then Featherine... you must be pretty drunk. Maybe you need some help sobering up.
Lambdadelta feigned courage with all her might. Her fingertips were trembling slightly.
Featherine: ... An attack upon a miko is seen as an attack upon her master. ... Certainly you must know that...
Lambda: I know. ... And that rule is the reason why I guess I have to fight you guys.
Featherine: Hoh. ... Have I or my miko mistreated a miko of yours? In that case, I shall apologize. But won't you tell me? I believe you have no mikos right now. ... When exactly did you pick up a miko?
Lambda: About that ... I've got a ton...! Around 30, or maybe 40? Or maybe even more! I, Lambdadelta, no matter who my opponent is, will pick up any of my mikos' fights ...! They all believe in a certain happy ending! And the Witch of Certainty can't just abandon people who believe in and work towards that certainty!
Featherine: ... It's not as though I dislike your story. It is worthy of my theater-going. ... But right now, I am not a theater-goer, but a performer. ... Because I know you are my miko's best friend, I will warn you only once. ... You would do best to descend from this stage. In my grandstands, I have prepared a special seat just for you.
Lambda: ... I'm considering which is more entertaining. Your story, or the story I'm theater-going.
Featherine: ... Let me hear your answer.
Lambda: Battler's story is a hundred times more entertaining...! Sorry, but this year I'm taking the prize for co-star actress! ... Hey, guys! Make sure you vote for me in the final popularity poll! At worst, I better be in the top 5! Got it?!
Bern: ... Who are you talking to?
Translations are fairly rough, as a warning! There might be mistakes.
Lambda: Ahaha, exactly, she's just like a cat. She'll come to eat, but she'll never let you pet her head.
Battler: Lambdadelta. I see you made it.
Lambda: Despite what you may think, I'm a very busy person! But welll, I aaam Beato's guardian ... Oh, and wasn't I your guardian too? It's just obligation, you know, obligation! I happened to be in the neighborhood, so I just decided to drop by! Hey, Gohda! I brought some gifts! Can you dish them up properly?
Even though she claimed she just dropped by because she happened to be nearby, she had brought a beautifully wrapped bottle and several boxes of food as a gift.
Battler: Bernkastel isn't here yet.
Lambda: She's probably not coming. She's not the kind of the girl who would show up to a game she lost.
Beatrice: Most likely. She is a very proud person.
Battler: I feel like I was put through a lot of horrible ordeals because of her, but she was still another player who was involved in the game. I was hoping that on the last night of the last game, we could congratulate her too, but ...
Lambda: That's true. If she hadn't been around, this game may have reached a very different conclusion. Enemies and allies are both necessary components in bringing a game to be.
Beatrice: Indeed. Without an enemy, there can be no game.
Lambda: I can enjoy even defeat as part of a game. But she's not like that. ... There's no helping it, that's just how things are. So please don't condemn her.
Battler: Honestly, I wanted to thank her. ...Even though a lot happened, it was because she was here that we were able to make it to today. I wanted to thank her for that.
Lambda: Thank you. I don't know when I'm going to see her next. If I'm lucky, I'll see her again in another couple hundred years. But when that happens, I'll tell her.
--
Lambda: To think Bern would want to fight fair and square.
Bern: Go ahead and laugh.
Lambda: Why would I?
Bern: Thank you.
Lambda: ..........
Lambdadelta also understood.
Before Battler and Beato's story ended and everything was shut away in the cat box, Bernkastel had, for the first time, risen to the stage from the grandstands. The witch who hated the stage lights and had always hid in the stage wing, ... had showed the courage to come forth on the center of the stage. As her friend, Lambdadelta understood the human-like expression Bernkastel, who had finally reached that courage, wore ...
Lambda: What should I do?
Bern: Be an observer of my game, if you would.
Lambda: ... Fine by me. If you can promise that in exchange for participating in the game, you'll release Ange.
Beatrice: Naturally. If you don't promise that, we have no obligation to go along with your farce ...!
Bern: You'd have no obligation, but Ange would never return.
Beatrice: Then you can enjoy being branded as a loser for a few hundred years at your leisure.
Battler: Beato, don't provoke her. ... This isn't a fight we can get out of.
Beatrice: ... R ... Right.
Since a hostage was taken, Battler and Beato had no room to negotiate.
However, Lambdadelta, in exchange for agreeing to be the observer, could make Bernkastel promise to release Ange.
If she didn't promise that, Bernkastel would have nothing to lose.
In order to make this final fight that Bernkastel proposed official ... Lambdadelta was making her promise that.
Bern: ... Of course, Lambda. I promise. When the game is over, I'll release Ange.
Lambda: Don't bring me disgrace me, okay ...? Because when someone puts me to shame, I certainly make sure they regret it ...
Lambdadelta threatened her quietly.
But as if to say that even that expression was cute, Bernkastel laughed lightly in response.
Bern: I swear it. ... With our friendship at stake.
Lambda: Whew ...
Lambdadelta gave a whistle and grinned.
Apparently, that was the most trustworthy oath Bernkastel could make.
--
Beatrice: Kukuku! You shouldn't look so angry. And here I am praising your game as interesting.
The expression of Beato, who had won against Bernkastel's own game, was quite good-humored.
Bern: ... I'm not really angry. My face is always like this.
Lambda: The times when, within that expression, I find Bern's own sense of warmth ... I feel like I've found a beautiful star on top of a dark, snowy mountain peak.
Bern: ... Well excuse me for having a face like eternal snow.
Beatrice: Honestly, it's quite hard to give Lady Bernkastel praise. No matter how much you praise her, she takes it as sarcasm.
Lambda: Don't worry. She's the type who reflects on it carefully later.
Beatrice: Hohoh, so she's the type to reflect on it while hugging a pillow in bed?
Lambda: Yeah, yeah, just like that.
--
Lambda: Still, this is a little unexpected~
Bern: ... What is?
Lambda: I mean, for you to release Ange so easily.
Lambdadelta, while making sure her expression couldn't be seen by Battler and Beato, gave a slightly mean-spirited smile.
Bern: Is it that unexpected ...?
Lambda: Yeah, it is. Since it's you we're talking about, I figured you'd refuse to release her and continue bullying Battler with more and more tough problems. ... Or maybe you'd put some strange thoughts in Ange's head and totally stir up the game in the end.
Bern: .........
Lambda: And here I like to think of myself as the person who knows you best in the whole wide world. I'm disappointed my expectations were off.
Bern: ... You sure can talk. But don't worry. ... It seems you truly are the person who understands me best in the whole world.
Lambda: W ... Well, of course! Because I, Lambdadelta-sama, love and care about and understand Bern more than anyone in the whole wide universe~ ☆
Lambdadelta was flustered by Bernkastel's words which acknowledged their friendship, something she didn't hear too often.
--
Lion: ... And please, lend us your strength as well.
Lambda: Me?! No waaay! I already scouted things out for you, didn't I? I think I've already helped out more than enough!
Lion: How did you confirm that Ange-chan was in the Capitol of Books?
Lambda: Of course, with my own eyes. I don't believe in anything I don't see with my own two eyes~
Lion: So that means you have qualifications to enter the sacred ground of the Capitol of Books, doesn't it?
Beato: ... That's right. Great Lady Lambdadelta is a great witch of the Senate.
Battler: Lambdadelta ...
Lambda: ... What's with you people? ... Don't tell me you're trying to put me to work again?
Zepar: My, my, this is an unexpected turn of events ...!
Furfur: The only one who can enter the Capitol of Books is Lady Lambdadelta!
Zepar: Which means this must be?!
Furfur & Zepar: Lady Lambdadelta's chance to shine!
Lambda: Don't talk stupid! Are you people crazy? ... You want me, all by myself, to infiltrate that place again and bring Ange back?!
Everyone surrounded Lambdadelta and nodded eagerly.
Lambda: Sometimes even idiots should think carefully before they speak! To save Ange means to crash the great Aurora's party, okay?! You want me to make the entire world my enemy?! What do I get out of it?! Nothing, absolutely nothing! No matter what you offer me, it could never be worth making enemies out of the great Aurora and her happy little band of monster friends ...!
Lion: You'll be able to ruin the Great Aurora and the Great Bernkastel's plans, bring Ange back, and see a happy ending where everyone reconciles.
Beatrice: ... How about it, Lady Lambdadelta? You won't find a thrill like this one. ... If you pull this off, you will be able to forget your illness for another thousand years.
Battler: Please, Lambdadelta ...! Lend us your strength!
Please, please, pretty please! Help us out for Ange-chan's sake...! *chatter*chatter*clamor*!
Everyone crowded around Lambdadelta, seeking her assistance.
Beatrice: Please, Lady Lambdadelta ...! You are the only one who can do this...!
Battler: Please help us out! I'll show you the greatest story! I'll let you see it from a front row seat! So please lend us your strength!
Lambda: Shut uuuuuuup! Just shut the hell uuuuuup!!
Lambdadelta stood up, crushing her popcorn cup with a clenched fist.
The sweet, candy-flavored popcorn flew all over, clinging to the faces of everyone standing near her.
It was truly a funny scene.
... But no one was laughing.
Lambdadelta's expression was absolutely livid, a face she had never shown to anyone before.
Lambda: Don't misunderstand, okay?! I'm a spectator, just a spectator! Just a spectator who was invited by Beato and came to watch the game! So why the hell should I risk my own life for your sakes?! If Ange comes back, it'll be a happy ending?! Are you people stupid?! It's just gonna end with an enraged Bern and all those troops rushing in and crushing you all at once! There's only one reason why I'm still here! Because this Lion here insisted I'd get to see an interesting story! Yeah, I've got no doubt that soon I'll get to see an amazingly interesting story ...! And that's the sad, sad story where you all fight Bern's troops in a last stand, and get killed off one by one! Looks like you'll all get your chance to shine when you fall in battle, right?! And soon I'll get to see that! Soon, you're all going to die! But I'm different! I'm just a spectator! You've got no damn right to say "you should die with us too"!!
... No one said anything in response.
Admist the silence interrupted by nothing but the sound of the rain ... finally Lambdadelta herself hung her head in disgust.
Lambda: ... Sorry. I'm just the lamest there is. ... That's right, if I could stick out my chest proudly and say, "Leave it to me!", I'm sure my popularity would go through the roof and I'd be able to make it to the top 3 in the next popularity poll ... ... But, you know. ... Unlike you guys ... I'm not "a character in a story." ... I can't die. ... You guys can party late at night, all enthusiastic about how the climax is coming up. But for me, tomorrow's Monday and I have to wake up early for school ...! The worlds we live in are different ...! So that's why ... I ... ... *siiigh* ...
As if she had gotten dizzy, ... Lambdadelta sat back down on her chair with a thump.
And then she became expressionless like a doll, merely staring into a point in space in silence ...
--
Erika: Lady Lambdadelta's ... friends?
Unlike the isolated witch Bernkastel, Lambdadelta had many friends.
Those friends and patrons were nothing but territory lords that boasted tremendous power or spectres that were like living legends.
Jokes aside, her self-proclaimed fan club had enough influence to declare half of the sea of Fragments an independent nation.
--
Lambda: ... If I surrender ... I might be let off the hook after I'm stripped naked and left in the most horrible Fragment for a couple hundred years. ... It's wonderful. I think I might come out of it able to understand Bern's feelings a bit.
Lambdadelta didn't laugh. Most likely even what she said out loud was an optimistic guess at the punishment she'd receive.
She kept saying that she wouldn't provide any more assistance than this. She was already taking a huge gamble. Risking everything she had.
For what purpose?
Lambda: ... Isn't it obvious?
While brushing her hair away, Lambdadelta grinned.
Lambda: It's because you guys will show me the perfect happy ending.
Lambdadelta embraced Battler and Ange's heads and knocked their foreheads.
Lambda: Make sure you show me, certainly ...!
--
*The "super paper" thing is actually a Japanese word play. "Paa" is the Japanese word for paper in rock-paper-scissors, but it also can mean "stupid" or "foolish." So when Lambda calls herself "super paper," she's actually also saying "I'm really stupid." Sadly that doesn't translate at all. :(
Lambda: You two are really idiots! You're really planning to play tag with Bern and all of her cats?!
Ange: If there's even a 1% chance!
Battler: You can be certain we'll grab it...!
The difference in enthusiasm between Battler and Ange, who had everything to lose, and Lambdadelta, was immense.
However, Lambdadelta was no coward.
She was a great witch of the Senate. ... If she surrendered, she wouldn't be able to escape severe punishment, but she would be forgiven after a few hundred years.
There was no way someone with a life ahead of them could be as determined as someone with everything to lose. No one could blame her.
Lambda: ... Ah geez, you two really are stupid, you know that? ... Fine. I'll tell you about a plan that's got a bit more than a 1% chance of working. What do you think it is?
The two looked at each other.
However, they both thought that any plan would be worth listening to, even if it would only raise their chances by 0.00001%.
Lambda: A sacrifice. ... Bern is a cat, so although she'll chase prey that flees, she'll just kill whatever prey doesn't. And persistently torture them while she's at!
Ange: Sounds awful.
Battler: ... But, if that's true... it might be worth betting on.
Lambda: One sacrifice. Let's decide who with rock-paper-scissors. ... The one who loses will stir up Bern, make her laugh, get killed, and buy even just a tenth of a second of time. ... How does that sound?
Battler: We don't need rock-paper-scissors. I'll do it. Ange and Lambda, go ahead to the room with the key.
Ange: No way, Onii-chan...! I'll do it. This is my responsibility to begin with. ... It's my responsibility for lending an ear to Bernkastel and trusting her. ... So I'd like to at least get a word in to her!
Battler and Ange quarreled about who would take on the role of sacrifice.
Lambda: See? Can't decide without rock-paper-scissors, can you? If we don't hurry and decide, we won't be able to use this strategy anymore. ... Her bunch will show up soon.
Battler: ... Got it. ... Either Ange or I will be the sacrifice. ... Lambdadelta, please take whoever's left and return to the Golden Land once you've got the key.
Ange: I'm not backing down. Onii-chan.
Battler: Don't screw with me. Let me act like a big brother once in a while!
Lambda: There's no time. One round of rock-paper-scissors decides everything! I'm super paper*, so we start with paper! Got it?
Ange: Got it.
Battler: Ange, no hard feelings.
Lambda: One, two, three! First comes paper!
It was a truly ridiculous children's game of rock-paper-scissors.
Since they'd promised to start with paper... this was a chance to make a surprise attack and use something else.
However, Battler and Ange had both put out rock.
... But despite that, it wasn't a tie.
That was because... against the two rocks... one person had played scissors.
Battler and Ange, while dumbfoundedly looking between their own clenched fists and those scissors... stared at her.
Lambda: ... Ah, whoops... ... Because paper was first, I thought maaaybe I could put out scissors and win all by myself. ... I guess paper [an idiot] just really has to stick with paper.
It was a game of rock-paper-scissors that Lambda hadn't needed to join.
It was no time for a joke like this.
Battler and Ange... had both tried to lose on purpose and put out rock.
Lambdadelta... had been the only one to put out scissors.
Ange: You... purposely chose scissors...
Battler: If you die, we won't be able to return to the Golden Land...! This round is void!
Lambda: Look, it'll be fine like this, right?
When Lambdadelta clenched her fist, a palely glowing Fragment appeared there, and she handed that to Battler and Ange.
Battler recognized what that was. ... It was the magic Fragment that Erika had used when she disappeared, a Fragment that could give one the power to cross the sea of Fragments.
Lambda: With that, you two can return to the Golden Land. Besides, this is the best option. Bern would wipe the floor with you two in a few seconds. But forget lasting an hour, I might even be able to win! And I have a score to settle with her. Got to win this round and make it even. ... Still, away games sure are hard.
Lambdadelta stood up while pretending to complain.
Lambda: Well then, I'm off. ... I'm a show off, so I guess it was impossible for me to be a spectator after all. Sorry for stealing your chance to shine. ... It's a shame I won't be about to see your game through till the end... but I've already heard the synopsis, so I don't need to watch it myself.
Battler: ... Lambda...
Then, with her broadest smile and a wink, she spoke.
Lambda: Your happy ending! I already know how it ends, so I don't need to see it. See you, let's meet again. At the credit roll of your happy ending!
Ange: Wa... wait...!
Lambdadelta snapped her fingers, and the two were transformed into two pieces of konpeito.
Then she pinched those between her fingers, ... and aiming at the radiance of the golden key... flicked them away.
That way, they would be able to reach the key without being sensed by Bernkastel...
Man, I'm really unlucky...
Just what are the chances that in response to my scissors, both of them would throw out rock?
... Yeah, I know.
It wasn't nice of me to test you like that. Sorry, you two.
--- (stop here)
While saying that, [Featherine] glanced at Lambdadelta.
In a panic, she bowed in greeting. While Lambdadelta's expression was on one hand a grin, her eyebrows were furrowed with tension and beads of sweat were starting to surface.
Featherine: ... It has been a while, Lady Lambdadelta.
Lambda: Good day to you ... Great Lady Aurora ...
Featherine: This is not a suitable place to entertain you, my Lady. ... Did you lose your path on the way to the assembly hall...? In that case, I shall guide you to the assembly hall myself.
Lambda: T... That would be an honor, Great Lady Aurora...
Featherine Augstus Aurora. ... The great witch of legend.
It had been said that she had reached too far beyond the limits of a witch, even reached the level of Creator... reached a circumstance that she was not supposed to reach, and passed away due to a deadly illness.
But while she was alive, she had made her pet cat into a witch.
That witch had found a Fragment where she could momentarily resurrect her master from the depths of death called boredom, and eternally wandered about the sea of Fragments.
... And the cat resurrected her master.
The witch of Shinto shrines, who had reached a circumstance she should not have, had been resurrected...
Just as witches sneer at humans as pieces on a game board and look down on them from a higher world... she could laugh at even the domain of witches as nothing more than pieces on a game board and look down on them from an even higher world.
... If the level of the world she had reached was her strength, then she, who had reached a level she shouldn't have and come back alive... was like a witch who had returned alive from the land of the gods...
The possibility that you could fight her and win?
None.
Putting winning aside, Lambdadelta wouldn't even be allowed to choose her own defeat.
Featherine: My miko. Can you put aside playing with your friend for now and do your job? ... Prepare the key.
Bern: ... Understood...
Featherine: Kukuku. The naivete to forget its errand halfway through its trip is another charm of a cat. ... Don't you think so, Lady Lambdadelta...?
Without responding, Lambdadelta hung her head low.
... From there, it looked as though the seal on the key would soon come undone.
However, Bernkastel would probably find Battler before that happened.
As soon as they had the key, the two could escape immediately.
... Of course, that's only if they could get it before being found by Bernkastel.
... She couldn't afford to let Bernkastel go.
Bern: ... Game and set, Lambda.
Lambda: .......
Bern: I'm the Great Lady Aurora's miko, you know...? You haven't forgotten that theater-going witches bestow protection upon their mikos who read aloud for them, right...?
Lambdadelta, head still hung low, didn't respond.
Theater-going witches bestow protection upon the mikos who read aloud for them.
If she attacked Featherine's miko, Bernkastel, ... according to the contract, the Great Aurora would be forced to take that as an attack upon herself and "deal with it accordingly."
Bern: ... Let's make a trade.
Lambda: ... Of what...?
Bern: Where is Battler hiding? If you'll just confess obediently, I'll forget all this happened.
Lambda: So you, the Witch of Miracles, are afraid of a small piece like Battler?
Bern: ... It's because I'm the Witch of Miracles. ... I can't make light of the miracle a small pebble like him could cause.
Lambda: A pebble like that has already been promoted to the rank of Witch of Miracles, after all.
Bern: I'll ask once more. Where is Battler?
Lambda: ........
Bern: ... That's too bad, Lambda. It seems that's your answer.
Bernkastel turned her back on Lambdadelta.
Then she told her master that she was going to prepare the key, ... and began swimming towards to room with the key.
... If she was allowed to go any further... Battler and Ange would be found...
Battler prepared himself. Next it would be his turn to be a sacrifice...
Even if he was nothing more than a grain of a pebble... he could at least crush out her eyes.
In front of Bernkastel, a firework of candy exploded.
Bern: ... Lambda. ... You really are an idiot.
Battler & Ange: La... Lambdadelta...
Lambda: ... I've gone and done it... ... Battler, Ange. ... Take care of the rest yourselves...!
The familiar cats changed into a battle formation, wrapped around Featherine, and formed a ferocious constellation.
And each of them began to draw the magic circle that would call forth the most fearsome magic of their world.
Featherine: ...... ... I am a bit confused. ... My miko, and Lady Lambdadelta. ... What sort of entertainment is this...?
Bern: ... It appears Lambda wants to get in the way of me going to get the key.
Featherine: Hoh. ... And what is the meaning of that?
Lambda: If you don't know the meaning of that... then Featherine... you must be pretty drunk. Maybe you need some help sobering up.
Lambdadelta feigned courage with all her might. Her fingertips were trembling slightly.
Featherine: ... An attack upon a miko is seen as an attack upon her master. ... Certainly you must know that...
Lambda: I know. ... And that rule is the reason why I guess I have to fight you guys.
Featherine: Hoh. ... Have I or my miko mistreated a miko of yours? In that case, I shall apologize. But won't you tell me? I believe you have no mikos right now. ... When exactly did you pick up a miko?
Lambda: About that ... I've got a ton...! Around 30, or maybe 40? Or maybe even more! I, Lambdadelta, no matter who my opponent is, will pick up any of my mikos' fights ...! They all believe in a certain happy ending! And the Witch of Certainty can't just abandon people who believe in and work towards that certainty!
Featherine: ... It's not as though I dislike your story. It is worthy of my theater-going. ... But right now, I am not a theater-goer, but a performer. ... Because I know you are my miko's best friend, I will warn you only once. ... You would do best to descend from this stage. In my grandstands, I have prepared a special seat just for you.
Lambda: ... I'm considering which is more entertaining. Your story, or the story I'm theater-going.
Featherine: ... Let me hear your answer.
Lambda: Battler's story is a hundred times more entertaining...! Sorry, but this year I'm taking the prize for co-star actress! ... Hey, guys! Make sure you vote for me in the final popularity poll! At worst, I better be in the top 5! Got it?!
Bern: ... Who are you talking to?
