Borda Island | Main Episode

[healingbonds]

MahoYaku Masterpost & Translator's Notes

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CHAPTER 1

The Sage’s wizards and I have been invited to a party hosted by the new lord of Borda Island in Western Country.
While waiting for the party to start, I stroll along the shore with Arthur, Mithra, Murr, Shino and Rutile.
I listen to the comforting lull of the crashing waves, and the cries of seagulls. I can feel my soul being cleansed by the white sands and blue seas stretching into the horizon.

Murr: Woo! We’re at the beach~! Swish~! Wooosh~!

Shino: We finally get to relax, like a real vacation.
All we have to do today is eat and drink, right?

Akira: Yes! I was told that we should just sit back and relax, and enjoy all the food and drinks!

Murr: All we have to do is eat and drink~!

Arthur: I’m looking forward to meeting Borda Island’s new lord.
After all, she’s graciously stated that she wants to take the occasion of her inauguration to profess her gratitude for the Sage and the Sage’s wizards protecting the peace of our world.

Rutile: The new lord of the castle, and all of the Sage’s wizards...... I hope we’ll be able to forge wonderful new bonds.


CHAPTER 2

Rutile: Oh, that’s right, Sir Sage. Do you know the story behind searching for seashells on Borda Island?

Akira: Searching for seashells?

Rutile: Yes. On Borda Island, there’s a tradition of searching for pretty seashells along the shore and gifting them to those you hold close to your heart.
I’ve heard that people make them into accessories and small decorated boxes as tokens infused with their everyday gratitude.

Akira: Searching for seashells sounds fun! We should try looking for some later. Mithra, you should join too......

Mithra: Hwhatwaswhat.

Rutile: Mister Mithra......! What are you putting into your mouth!? Hang on, you’re gushing blood......

Mithra: Blep..... It’s nothing to worry about. I’m just eating some madeleines I picked up. They went and baked them so hard that the edges ended up really sharp, but......

Arthur: Mithra, that’s a seashell.

Mithra: A shell? ......Ouch. There’s still something stabbing the inside of my mouth.

Arthur: It’s probably a broken seashell shard. I’ll remove it for you, so please open your mouth.

Mithra: A~h.


CHAPTER 3

Arthur: There’s a shard lodged in the roof of your mouth. I’ll remove it for you. Stay still, okay.

Mithra: Huh? ........Mmhhm.......

Arthur: ............

Mithra: Mmphm.....! Ow ow.......

Arthur: ......This is pretty hard...... Just stay still for a little bit longer.

Shino: Arthur. Didn’t you mention you did something similar to a bear back in Northern Country — and it ended up almost killing you?

Arthur: Right. That was when I found a bear with a branch pierced through its cheek. While I was trying my best to dislodge the branch, the bear lost its temper and nearly crushed my skull —.....

Mithra: ............!

Mithra’s eyes fly wide open: it seems like Arthur touched a painful spot. His patience snapping, he makes a wild grab for the back of Arthur’s head and forcefully rips Arthur away from him.
Still caught up in his rage, he starts to chant his spell.

Mithra: << Arthi—... >>

Akira: Mithra, you can’t....!!

I hastily clap both of my hands over Mithra’s mouth. Rutile rushes to Arthur’s side as he staggers backwards.

Rutile: Are you all right, Prince Arthur!

Arthur: ......Yeah. I’m sorry, Mithra. I accidentally poked that bit in the back of your throat that makes you gag.

Arthur laughs sunnily as he smooths the back of his own head.


CHAPTER 4

Mithra: You’ve got some guts, making me tear up with pain like that.....
If Sir Sage hadn’t stepped in to stop me, I would’ve accidentally killed you.

Shino: But he got the shard out, right? Isn’t that great?

Mithra: Oh, you’re right.....

Rutile: That’s wonderful, Mister Mithra!

Murr: Thank goodness! The world was about to end!

Akira: (That was surprising...)

Actually, we experienced the same nerve-wracking tension just one day ago. I’ll leave that story for another time.

✦✧☾✧✦

Akira: Shall we try searching for seashells too?

Arthur: Of course, Sir Sage. The seashells I find will be for you, as a token of my appreciation for everything that you do.

Shino: I’ll give the Sage the second-best seashell I find. I’m going to give the best one to Heath.

Akira: Okay, I’ll give everyone seashells too! I wonder if I can find twenty-one seashells?


CHAPTER 5

Murr: I’ll make Shylock an accessory to express my gratitude for everything he does!

Shino: I’ll make something for Heath. But he’s more artistic and dextrous than I am.....

Arthur: That doesn’t matter. He’ll be happy because it came from you, Shino.

Mithra: I suppose I can give this broken shard to someone. It should be quite lucky since it managed to injure me.

Rutile: I think it could be a charm for strength! Sir Sage, is there a similar tradition in your world too?

Akira: There are various traditions that involve tokens of gratitude, like Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, and so on....

Arthur: It sounds like the people in your world cherish their parents very much.

Akira: Perhaps we do.
We don’t have that many complicated relationships outside of our family and co-workers, not the way you do in this world.

Rutile: What do you mean by complicated relationships?

Akira: Um, for example...


> Option: Master and servant

Shino: Are there no monarchs or vassals?

Akira: Not that I know of.

Shino: What a bizarre world. So who’s in charge of keeping everyone together?

Akira: Um, we all choose a representative.

Arthur: That sounds fantastic.
I too believe statesmen should not be limited to certain bloodlines.

Shino: Why? Isn’t the blood of royalty and nobility supposed to be sacred?
I don’t want to serve a guy who represents everyone. There’s no prestige to that.
I think nobles and generals and lords are cooler.

Arthur: There’s no guarantee that the child of a great ruler will be equally great. Though I do believe Heathcliff will become a wonderful lord.

Shino: We need nobles to be bound by blood. Otherwise, he’d stop being a noble and become a craftsman at some workshop.
I wouldn’t mind serving craftsman Heath, but he wouldn’t be nearly as cool as Heathcliff from Blanchett.

Arthur: You raise a difficult issue. I suppose Cain would no longer serve me if I ceased to be a prince....
And that would make me quite lonely.

Shino: Right? You better treasure your servant more.


> Option: Master and apprentice

Akira: Like master and apprentice....

Rutile: I see. In this world, the bond between master and apprentice is very strong — not just with wizards, but also with craftsmen.
The master teaches the apprentice all sorts of unique techniques and traditions until the apprentice is a full-fledged craftsman.

Murr: But the master-apprentice relationship among craftsmen will eventually fall apart and cease to exist!

Rutile: Why is that?

Murr: Because magical technology will enable mass production!
The trust and sense of security we get from our products won’t be born from a craftsman’s knowledge and technique, but from science.

Rutile: Now that kind of makes me sad....

Akira: Mithra, you were Tiretta’s apprentice, right? What was that like?

Mithra: Well, it was god-awful, but it was also the exact opposite of mass production.

Akira: What do you mean?

Mithra: I believe I am the only one who has inherited Tiretta’s techniques.

Arthur: You’re so cool, Mithra... I wish I could say the same about Sir Oz with such confidence.

Shino: I was trained by a real piece of shit. Wish he’d give me my time back.

Murr: It’s important to choose the right master!


> Option: Mortal enemies

Akira: Like mortal enemies.....

Mithra: Really. How do you provide food for yourself then?

Akira: We have something called a currency system.....

Shino: In this world, it really varies depending on the region. I came from a pretty slummy neighborhood, but....
There weren’t many murders in the general Blanchett region.
Plus, I got rid of the human traffickers who were operating out of Sherwood Forest.

Arthur: There weren’t any atrocious incidents around Sir Oz’s castle either.

Mithra: That’s because no one would get close to Oz’s castle unless they had absolute confidence in their own strength.

Arthur: Have you visited before, Mithra?

Mithra: Of course. There’s a gaping rift in the north-facing wall, right? That was my doing.

Arthur: I don’t recall such a rift.

Mithra: He fixed it? What a petty man.

Rutile: I think most people repair their homes when they get damaged.

Murr: Plus, it’s not like horrifying incidents only happen in scary neighborhoods!
Like, my soul shard sucked in poison from the smoke of a pipe and turned purple and died!

Akira: I-it didn’t exactly die, right?

Murr: You’re right! It’s in my stomach now!


CHAPTER 6

Akira: Hearing everyone’s stories really makes me think about all the different relationships in this world.

Murr: Plus, wizards live very long lives!
So we might have relationships where we couldn’t forge a connection in the past, but we can now....
And on the flipside, we have ties that may be bound inextricably now, but will fall apart and scatter in the future!
You might reach for a hand and desperately cling to it even as your body crumbles — and yet that connection may still be severed....
But you might also be haunted by the ghost of lingering karma that chases you for eternity, no matter how many times you try to cut them off.
We and the < Great Catastrophe > must also....
Share some kind of fate.

Murr narrows his catlike eyes into intoxicating silts.
As they listen to Murr’s speech, the other wizards’ expressions shift, reflecting their feelings.
Rutile’s expression changes to slight apprehension.
Shino’s, to vexation.
Mithra’s, to apathy.
And Arthur’s, to grim determination.
We continue our stroll along the white shores, holding the existence of such inexplicable relationships and nameless bonds close within our hearts.
I discover a white seashell, and quietly pick it up.
I don’t know what kind of fate will bind us in the future.
But for now, I want to express the gratitude I feel for my wizards.
Let’s enjoy our time like a carefree day off.
So that we can fight again tomorrow.

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