healingbonds (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
healingbonds) wrote2020-10-23 01:49 pm
healingbonds) wrote2020-10-23 01:49 pm
Entry tags:
Lake of Death | Main Episode
MahoYaku Masterpost & Translator's Notes
Thank you K for providing this translation!
CHAPTER 1
Akira: We’ve arrived at the Northern tower. Today I’d like the Northern wizards to head to the Lake of Death.
Mithra: The Lake of Death? Did something happen there?
Akira: Mithra. Are you familiar with the Lake of Death?
Snow: Why, of course — the Lake of Death, which is located even further north than Moon Lake, which lies on the border of Central and Northern Country...... It’s where Mithra was born and raised.
White: I see that even Mithra feels some love for his hometown if hearing the name is enough to make his face go pale.
Mithra: Did my face go pale?
Bradley: Don’t ask me. Well, I guess you seem more concerned than usual.....?
Owen: When I mentioned the Lake of Death to him the other day, he ended up dragging me there even though I never asked him to.
Akira: I see. What kind of place is it?
Owen: There’s nothing there.
Mithra: There really is nothing there. I wonder what could be happening in a place like that. You know, don’t you, Sir Sage?
Akira: Well...... Apparently a wizard traveling near there caught sight of a gigantic skeletal monster......
Mithra: A gigantic skeletal monster?
Ah—......
Akira: Ah?
Mithra: Ah...... Yes, yes. I see now. Well then, let’s get going.
Akira: Huh, are we going to take care of it right away?
Bradley: I knew we could count on you, brother! Well then, just run along and do your best—
......Ugh! Don’t tug my collar!
Mithra: Come now, don’t be like that. I’ll show you around the lake shore.
Bradley: What’s there to see?
Owen: Nothing. It’s the same whenever I visit — sometimes there’s villages, or destroyed villages.
Mithra: Oh right, Sir Sage. You should take a boat out rowing when you go to the Lake of Death. You might find rare things floating in the lake.
Anything from delicious-looking carrion to those flowers and leaves that you seem to cherish so much might float by, you know?
Akira: Rowing a boat, huh. Got it. I’ll give it a try when I have time.
Mithra: Then let’s head out. << Arthim >>
CHAPTER 2
Akira: So this is the Lake of Death......
Owen: It’s as cold, and white, and soundless as ever. The fog is so strong that I can’t even see right in front of me.
Bradley: Fog? Isn’t this a blizzard? Hey....... That rotten hut is frozen solid. It looks like there was a village here that got destroyed in the past.
Akira: Right, Owen did say that sometimes he found villages and destroyed villages.
Are there many settlements around here? Where’s the village that you were born in, Mithra?
Mithra: The village where I was born no longer exists. Settlements appear and vanish.
Akira: Huh......?
Snow: The Lake of Death is an excellent water source. People tend to gather around precious sources of water. However, the climate is harsh around these parts.
White: Villages spring up, and subsequently fall into ruin. It seems like a new village was starting to form here ten years ago, but......
Mithra: It was destroyed in the cold wave four years ago. Look, Sir Sage. The Lake of Death lies ahead.
Akira: ......Ahead...... S-Sorry...... I can’t see anything besides pure white......
Mithra: << Arthim >>
Mithra chants his spell, and the pure white fog slowly dissipates.
Even after the fog has lifted, the scenery remains an unchanging monochrome of grey hues. The still,vast lake of floating ice continues to spread unendingly into the distance.
Mithra points into the distance. Beyond the lake, there’s a small island.
Mithra: That’s the land of the dead.
Akira: ......The land of the dead......
Mithra: That’s what the villagers of the lakeside used to call it. Apparently that’s where people go after they die. When someone died, they were put onto a boat and sent to that island.
That was my job. They called me the ferryman, and I lived on that island with all the frozen bones.
Akira: The land of the dead......
Is that where people go after death, like heaven or hell?
Mithra: It’s hard to say whether they truly end up there. Though I did catch sight of wandering souls now and then. Would you like to visit the island?
CHAPTER 3
Mithra: It’s hard to say whether they truly end up there. Though I did catch sight of wandering souls now and then. Would you like to visit the island?
> Option: If you used to live there, then definitely.
An island where many bones lay sleeping. I give Mithra my answer, even though it’s not like I’m unafraid.
It’s because Mithra looks as innocent as a child who wants to show me a place full of memories.
Mithra smiles in satisfaction. He takes my hand, and we begin to walk out across the surface of the lake.
Mithra: I thought you would say that. All right, I’ll show you.
Snow: Come now, Mithra dear! You can’t drag our dear Sage around as you wish!
White: We have to finish our mission first!
> Option: Not really...... I’m sure it’s an important gravesite to the local population, so......
Mithra: ......Huh, is that so.
When I try to refuse the invitation, Mithra narrows his eyes, looking bored. Perhaps he’s disappointed by my reaction.
Even if the people of the land regarded it as a gravesite, to Mithra, it is the place he lived as a child.
Owen shrugs, laughing mockingly.
Owen: See, you got turned down. No one would want to go to a place like that. There’s nothing there besides dead trees and bones.
Mithra: Huh? You want to see it again? I’ll take you there.
Owen: I won’t go! Let go—......
Bradley: Hey, hey. Let’s stop fooling around and finish off the job.
Bradley: I bet you know, don’t you, Mithra? About the true form of the gigantic skeletal monster.
Mithra: Yes, most probably.
Mithra raises a hand at Bradley’s question, conjuring the skull that is his magical object.
As the skull glows faintly, the lake starts to ripple and churn mysteriously.
The twins’ expressions change.
Snow: What are you summoning, Mithra!?
Mithra: The skeletal monster. We’re going to seal it away, right? So I thought it’d be faster to call it out rather than wait around for it.
White: Mithra dear, can’t you warn us beforehand!?
Snow: Owen, Bradley, spread out in opposite directions while Mithra stays in the center! We’re going to prepare the magic circle for sealing!
Bradley: Your plans are always a mess!
Owen: The worst.
Akira: Huh!? Huh!? E-everyone, what’s going on!?
CHAPTER 4
The Northern wizards split up and scatter hurriedly across the grey sky.
A disquieting presence falls over the rippling surface of the Lake of Death as the ice masses continue to splash and churn.
Mithra: Don’t leave my side, Akira.
I look up at Mithra calling my name, staring at his profile as he fixes his gaze on the lake.
Mithra: I don’t know its name, either. It was just a rare bone that floated by the shore of the lake.
It was big, old, and chipped; the skeleton of a living creature that even Tiretta wasn’t familiar with.
Akira: Skeleton of a living creature.....?
Nodding, Mithra looks at me.
Mithra: I was all alone on that island. So I used to play around and kill time by manipulating bones.
It was fun when the bones moved the way I wanted them to. What I’m trying to say is that — I didn’t know anything apart from myself.
Akira: ......What do you mean?
Mithra: Hmm, I didn’t have another living thing that would keep me company? Does that make sense?
A strong gust of wind blows past, spraying us with a torrent of lake water that feels like shards of ice. Mithra pulls me close, protecting me.
I don’t know what to say. What Mithra didn’t know was the words to describe his loneliness.
A child raised on an island with only dead trees and bones.
Mithra: I picked up that skeleton around the time I met Tiretta, when she started teaching me magic. I had never seen such huge bones.
It might have belonged to an ancient creature that used to live in the Lake of Death. I wanted to try and resurrect it, you see.
Akira: Resurrect it......? I thought you couldn’t bring the dead back to life......
Mithra: Yes. Naturally, that’s forbidden magic. I failed horribly; it was a disaster in the end.
I couldn’t resurrect the owner of the skeleton, and I almost died because I went against the natural laws of the universe. But I still wanted to see it, just a little.
The sight of a living creature, stronger than Oz, descending upon this lake.
CHAPTER 5
(Rippling water) (Shaking)
Akira: .......!
Just then, a giant pillar of water erupts from the lake surface.
If I hadn’t been protected by Mithra’s magic, the shower of ice-cold water that rained down on us would have stopped my heart.
(Roaring)
A terrifying roar resounds around us, threatening to rip the air into shreds. I nervously open my eyes.
To the sight of a skeletal monster right before me — so gigantic that it makes the vast lake look small in comparison.
It has three bones protruding from its skull, the frame of a dragon, and the structure of wings that could blot out the sky.
In contrast to the blood draining from my face, Mithra laughs almost fondly.
Mithra: Ahaha. So this is how it looks. The bone fragments that I thought I lost back then must have remained here and gone berserk under the influence of the < Great Catastrophe >.
Before I can say anything, the monster blasts Mithra with its frozen breath.
But Mithra doesn’t make the slightest movement. His magical skull sucks in the entirety of the blizzard around us, and a split second later, streams it in reverse towards the monster.
(Wind chiming)
The monster’s bones start to freeze. At the same time, a faint light starts shining from the far end of the lake, and a magic circle appears.
Four rays of light meet and interweave, transforming into threads of light that bind around the skeletal monster.
Mithra leads me away and soars into the sky.
He slowly approaches the monster’s face as it continues to rampage.
And he reaches out a hand to caress its horn with a trace of reluctance.
Even though it shakes him off immediately, it feels like Mithra is saying farewell to a pet he didn’t get to raise.
Mithra: ...........
CHAPTER 6
Mithra seems like he’s about to say something before he catches himself. Instead, he chants his familiar spell.
Mithra: << Arthim >>
The next instance, forceful pillars of water shatter the skeletal monster into dust.
Fluttering like a snowstorm, the white dust silently settles into the surface of the grey lake.
Mithra continues to gaze silently at the Lake of Death until the final fragment disappears.
✦✧☾✧✦
Snow: Well, well. Looks like it turned back into a fossil without a problem. We should deposit those bones somewhere safe.
Owen: Hey, what kind of living creature was that? It wasn’t a magical creature since its bones remained, right?
White: Who knows? It must have already been long extinct by the time that we were born.
Mithra: A nameless monster, huh. The next time, I’m going to successfully resurrect it, and then I’ll put it into a bag so I can carry it around.
Bradley: Aren’t you going to have an overlap with your magical objects?
Owen: With who?
Bradley: Well, I guess if you’re fine with it.
Smiling as I listen to their conversation, I suddenly remember something, and turn to ask Mithra.
Akira: If you could keep that creature just now as a pet......
Mithra: I’m amazed that you would even consider keeping the strongest creature of the ancient times as a pet, Sir Sage. Do you mean to conquer the world while you’re at it?
Akira: I-It’s just a hypothetical question. If you could, what would you name that creature?
Mithra falls silent from surprise.
He considers my question for a while, and then smiles delightedly.
Mithra: The Lake of Death.
The sound of the wind echoes across the tranquil lake, as if the monster is roaring in response to his voice.
A proud and lonely cry.
Thank you K for providing this translation!
CHAPTER 1
Akira: We’ve arrived at the Northern tower. Today I’d like the Northern wizards to head to the Lake of Death.
Mithra: The Lake of Death? Did something happen there?
Akira: Mithra. Are you familiar with the Lake of Death?
Snow: Why, of course — the Lake of Death, which is located even further north than Moon Lake, which lies on the border of Central and Northern Country...... It’s where Mithra was born and raised.
White: I see that even Mithra feels some love for his hometown if hearing the name is enough to make his face go pale.
Mithra: Did my face go pale?
Bradley: Don’t ask me. Well, I guess you seem more concerned than usual.....?
Owen: When I mentioned the Lake of Death to him the other day, he ended up dragging me there even though I never asked him to.
Akira: I see. What kind of place is it?
Owen: There’s nothing there.
Mithra: There really is nothing there. I wonder what could be happening in a place like that. You know, don’t you, Sir Sage?
Akira: Well...... Apparently a wizard traveling near there caught sight of a gigantic skeletal monster......
Mithra: A gigantic skeletal monster?
Ah—......
Akira: Ah?
Mithra: Ah...... Yes, yes. I see now. Well then, let’s get going.
Akira: Huh, are we going to take care of it right away?
Bradley: I knew we could count on you, brother! Well then, just run along and do your best—
......Ugh! Don’t tug my collar!
Mithra: Come now, don’t be like that. I’ll show you around the lake shore.
Bradley: What’s there to see?
Owen: Nothing. It’s the same whenever I visit — sometimes there’s villages, or destroyed villages.
Mithra: Oh right, Sir Sage. You should take a boat out rowing when you go to the Lake of Death. You might find rare things floating in the lake.
Anything from delicious-looking carrion to those flowers and leaves that you seem to cherish so much might float by, you know?
Akira: Rowing a boat, huh. Got it. I’ll give it a try when I have time.
Mithra: Then let’s head out. << Arthim >>
CHAPTER 2
Akira: So this is the Lake of Death......
Owen: It’s as cold, and white, and soundless as ever. The fog is so strong that I can’t even see right in front of me.
Bradley: Fog? Isn’t this a blizzard? Hey....... That rotten hut is frozen solid. It looks like there was a village here that got destroyed in the past.
Akira: Right, Owen did say that sometimes he found villages and destroyed villages.
Are there many settlements around here? Where’s the village that you were born in, Mithra?
Mithra: The village where I was born no longer exists. Settlements appear and vanish.
Akira: Huh......?
Snow: The Lake of Death is an excellent water source. People tend to gather around precious sources of water. However, the climate is harsh around these parts.
White: Villages spring up, and subsequently fall into ruin. It seems like a new village was starting to form here ten years ago, but......
Mithra: It was destroyed in the cold wave four years ago. Look, Sir Sage. The Lake of Death lies ahead.
Akira: ......Ahead...... S-Sorry...... I can’t see anything besides pure white......
Mithra: << Arthim >>
Mithra chants his spell, and the pure white fog slowly dissipates.
Even after the fog has lifted, the scenery remains an unchanging monochrome of grey hues. The still,vast lake of floating ice continues to spread unendingly into the distance.
Mithra points into the distance. Beyond the lake, there’s a small island.
Mithra: That’s the land of the dead.
Akira: ......The land of the dead......
Mithra: That’s what the villagers of the lakeside used to call it. Apparently that’s where people go after they die. When someone died, they were put onto a boat and sent to that island.
That was my job. They called me the ferryman, and I lived on that island with all the frozen bones.
Akira: The land of the dead......
Is that where people go after death, like heaven or hell?
Mithra: It’s hard to say whether they truly end up there. Though I did catch sight of wandering souls now and then. Would you like to visit the island?
CHAPTER 3
Mithra: It’s hard to say whether they truly end up there. Though I did catch sight of wandering souls now and then. Would you like to visit the island?
> Option: If you used to live there, then definitely.
An island where many bones lay sleeping. I give Mithra my answer, even though it’s not like I’m unafraid.
It’s because Mithra looks as innocent as a child who wants to show me a place full of memories.
Mithra smiles in satisfaction. He takes my hand, and we begin to walk out across the surface of the lake.
Mithra: I thought you would say that. All right, I’ll show you.
Snow: Come now, Mithra dear! You can’t drag our dear Sage around as you wish!
White: We have to finish our mission first!
> Option: Not really...... I’m sure it’s an important gravesite to the local population, so......
Mithra: ......Huh, is that so.
When I try to refuse the invitation, Mithra narrows his eyes, looking bored. Perhaps he’s disappointed by my reaction.
Even if the people of the land regarded it as a gravesite, to Mithra, it is the place he lived as a child.
Owen shrugs, laughing mockingly.
Owen: See, you got turned down. No one would want to go to a place like that. There’s nothing there besides dead trees and bones.
Mithra: Huh? You want to see it again? I’ll take you there.
Owen: I won’t go! Let go—......
Bradley: Hey, hey. Let’s stop fooling around and finish off the job.
Bradley: I bet you know, don’t you, Mithra? About the true form of the gigantic skeletal monster.
Mithra: Yes, most probably.
Mithra raises a hand at Bradley’s question, conjuring the skull that is his magical object.
As the skull glows faintly, the lake starts to ripple and churn mysteriously.
The twins’ expressions change.
Snow: What are you summoning, Mithra!?
Mithra: The skeletal monster. We’re going to seal it away, right? So I thought it’d be faster to call it out rather than wait around for it.
White: Mithra dear, can’t you warn us beforehand!?
Snow: Owen, Bradley, spread out in opposite directions while Mithra stays in the center! We’re going to prepare the magic circle for sealing!
Bradley: Your plans are always a mess!
Owen: The worst.
Akira: Huh!? Huh!? E-everyone, what’s going on!?
CHAPTER 4
The Northern wizards split up and scatter hurriedly across the grey sky.
A disquieting presence falls over the rippling surface of the Lake of Death as the ice masses continue to splash and churn.
Mithra: Don’t leave my side, Akira.
I look up at Mithra calling my name, staring at his profile as he fixes his gaze on the lake.
Mithra: I don’t know its name, either. It was just a rare bone that floated by the shore of the lake.
It was big, old, and chipped; the skeleton of a living creature that even Tiretta wasn’t familiar with.
Akira: Skeleton of a living creature.....?
Nodding, Mithra looks at me.
Mithra: I was all alone on that island. So I used to play around and kill time by manipulating bones.
It was fun when the bones moved the way I wanted them to. What I’m trying to say is that — I didn’t know anything apart from myself.
Akira: ......What do you mean?
Mithra: Hmm, I didn’t have another living thing that would keep me company? Does that make sense?
A strong gust of wind blows past, spraying us with a torrent of lake water that feels like shards of ice. Mithra pulls me close, protecting me.
I don’t know what to say. What Mithra didn’t know was the words to describe his loneliness.
A child raised on an island with only dead trees and bones.
Mithra: I picked up that skeleton around the time I met Tiretta, when she started teaching me magic. I had never seen such huge bones.
It might have belonged to an ancient creature that used to live in the Lake of Death. I wanted to try and resurrect it, you see.
Akira: Resurrect it......? I thought you couldn’t bring the dead back to life......
Mithra: Yes. Naturally, that’s forbidden magic. I failed horribly; it was a disaster in the end.
I couldn’t resurrect the owner of the skeleton, and I almost died because I went against the natural laws of the universe. But I still wanted to see it, just a little.
The sight of a living creature, stronger than Oz, descending upon this lake.
CHAPTER 5
(Rippling water) (Shaking)
Akira: .......!
Just then, a giant pillar of water erupts from the lake surface.
If I hadn’t been protected by Mithra’s magic, the shower of ice-cold water that rained down on us would have stopped my heart.
(Roaring)
A terrifying roar resounds around us, threatening to rip the air into shreds. I nervously open my eyes.
To the sight of a skeletal monster right before me — so gigantic that it makes the vast lake look small in comparison.
It has three bones protruding from its skull, the frame of a dragon, and the structure of wings that could blot out the sky.
In contrast to the blood draining from my face, Mithra laughs almost fondly.
Mithra: Ahaha. So this is how it looks. The bone fragments that I thought I lost back then must have remained here and gone berserk under the influence of the < Great Catastrophe >.
Before I can say anything, the monster blasts Mithra with its frozen breath.
But Mithra doesn’t make the slightest movement. His magical skull sucks in the entirety of the blizzard around us, and a split second later, streams it in reverse towards the monster.
(Wind chiming)
The monster’s bones start to freeze. At the same time, a faint light starts shining from the far end of the lake, and a magic circle appears.
Four rays of light meet and interweave, transforming into threads of light that bind around the skeletal monster.
Mithra leads me away and soars into the sky.
He slowly approaches the monster’s face as it continues to rampage.
And he reaches out a hand to caress its horn with a trace of reluctance.
Even though it shakes him off immediately, it feels like Mithra is saying farewell to a pet he didn’t get to raise.
Mithra: ...........
CHAPTER 6
Mithra seems like he’s about to say something before he catches himself. Instead, he chants his familiar spell.
Mithra: << Arthim >>
The next instance, forceful pillars of water shatter the skeletal monster into dust.
Fluttering like a snowstorm, the white dust silently settles into the surface of the grey lake.
Mithra continues to gaze silently at the Lake of Death until the final fragment disappears.
✦✧☾✧✦
Snow: Well, well. Looks like it turned back into a fossil without a problem. We should deposit those bones somewhere safe.
Owen: Hey, what kind of living creature was that? It wasn’t a magical creature since its bones remained, right?
White: Who knows? It must have already been long extinct by the time that we were born.
Mithra: A nameless monster, huh. The next time, I’m going to successfully resurrect it, and then I’ll put it into a bag so I can carry it around.
Bradley: Aren’t you going to have an overlap with your magical objects?
Owen: With who?
Bradley: Well, I guess if you’re fine with it.
Smiling as I listen to their conversation, I suddenly remember something, and turn to ask Mithra.
Akira: If you could keep that creature just now as a pet......
Mithra: I’m amazed that you would even consider keeping the strongest creature of the ancient times as a pet, Sir Sage. Do you mean to conquer the world while you’re at it?
Akira: I-It’s just a hypothetical question. If you could, what would you name that creature?
Mithra falls silent from surprise.
He considers my question for a while, and then smiles delightedly.
Mithra: The Lake of Death.
The sound of the wind echoes across the tranquil lake, as if the monster is roaring in response to his voice.
A proud and lonely cry.