healingbonds (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
healingbonds) wrote2020-05-16 10:12 pm
healingbonds) wrote2020-05-16 10:12 pm
Entry tags:
Bradley | Fugitive from the Prison of Fate
MahoYaku Masterpost
Thank you to K for the following translation!
CHAPTER 1
Akira: Wow, that smells good....It’s still too early for dinnertime, but there’s so much food laid out!
Nero: Here you go, one more dish.
Akira: Nero. What a feast. Is there some sort of party today?
Nero’s lips curve upwards as he nudges his chin. Bradley, Cain and Lennox are in the dining hall.
However, only Bradley is devouring his food with gusto.
Akira: What are they doing...?
Intrigued by their actions around the table, I decide to carry over a huge platter of food in place of Nero.
✦✧☾✧✦
Cain: So, like we were saying......
Bradley: Shut it, I’m eating right now.
Hey, Sage. Something smells good. What’s that?
Akira: Um, it’s fried chicken.
Bradley: Now we’re talkin’. It’s seasoned just right with spices and tastes great. The skin is crisp, and the inside is moist...
Lennox: Careful you don’t inhale the pepper and end up sneezing. It’d be troublesome if you disappeared in the middle of the conversation.
Bradley: You bastard, don’t say something ominous like that. I don’t wanna fly off when my favourite food is right in front of me.
Akira: What are you all doing? Taking records of how much Bradley can eat?
Cain: The Central and Southern wizards will be working together to suppress a group of bandits.
Lennox: We thought we’d ask Bradley for advice, so we’re treating him.
Akira: Advice from Bradley? What for?
Cain and Lennox’s eyes meet, and they answer in unison.
Cain, Lennox: Because he’s an ex-bandit.
That’s right. Bradley was a prisoner and former bandit.
Engrossed in the fried chicken, the person in question ravenously stuffs his face.
It’s impressive to watch him relish the taste to the point of sucking on the bones, like a starving beast. Somehow, his appetite reminds me of the strength of his magical powers.
CHAPTER 2
Noticing me staring at him, he offers me a half-eaten piece of fried chicken.
Bradley: You want some?
>Option:
Akira: Thanks.
Taking the offered half-eaten fried chicken, I cautiously bite into it.
Bradley: Go on, dig in. How’s that. Nero’s fried chicken is great, right.
Akira: (Y-yesh....)
Bradley: Huh?
Lennox: Don’t talk to people when they’re chewing.
Bradley: Piss off. Should I make you another mouth in the back of your head?
>Option:
Akira: I’ll pass.
Bradley: You’re not eating!? But it’s so damn good!
Cain: Well, give it to me then.
Bradley: Yeah. Have a try. You won’t be able to stop.
Cain bites into the half-eaten fried chicken. He swallows heartily, his eyes widening, deeply impressed.
Cain: This is great!
Bradley: Haha. Right?
Cain: One more...
Bradley: No way! This one is mine!
Bradley finishes off the fried chicken and leans back into his chair, licking his lips with satisfaction.
Bradley: Phew....Sure had my fill. So, what did you want to ask me?
Lennox: We explained already, didn’t we. We want to raid the bandits’ lair and capture them.
Bradley: Just get Oz or Figaro to kill all of them for you.
Cain: Even if they’re bandits, most of them are human. I don’t want to resort to violence. In short, we want to crush the bandits, but only if they can be captured alive.
Bradley: What a pain. Where’s the map?
Lennox: Here.
Bradley clears the top of the table in a rough motion, and spreads the map across the empty space.
After staring at the map for a few seconds, he smiles boldly, pointing out a few spots with his finger.
Bradley: You should hold down this point here, and here. Then, get the Central troops to come at them from the front.
Cain: You mean for the troops to capture them?
Bradley: Are you crazy? Bandits ain’t afraid of troops. Even the young leader of the knights, once known as a hero, has been demoted to gazing at a man eating fried chicken.
Cain was struck dumb in the face of a smirking Bradley. Bradley laughed, heartily.
Bradley: Your former boss did the bandits a favor by kicking you out. If it had been me in the past, I’d have given them a mountain of riches as a sign of thanks. I’d say, hey, thanks for overthrowing that annoying brat.
CHAPTER 3
Cain: Do it for me as an experiment. I’d like to see Vincent’s reaction.
Bradley: You got it. I’ll send it on some flowery stationery. Anyway, back to the point. Bandits who catch sight of the troops will carry their treasures away on their shoulders. Aim for that moment.
Bandits will always have lingering attachments to their riches. When they have attachments, they can’t take decisive action. Just seize them while they’re still flustered.
It looks like they’re using an old fortress as their stronghold, so it might end up being a scuffle in a labyrinth of caves and burrows, but you’re used to dirty fighting, aren’t you. Lennox.
I heard from Figaro. Seems like you used to be a resistance fighter in the past?
Lennox: It wasn’t that big a deal....but, well, yes.
I’m astonished at his shrewd advice. I thought he’d have devised a strategy using brute force, more like he usually did.
Bradley is a Northern wizard. Typical of Northern wizards, who are self-centered and value power above all else, Bradley is an insolent and arrogant figure.
But occasionally, he shows an intelligence that goes beyond brute strength, and a sense of care towards people who display ambition.
He’s a person that can’t be easily summed up.
Akira: (What kind of person is Bradley. I want to know more about him...)
✦✧☾✧✦
(Knock knock)
Akira: Bradley, are you there?
(Door opens)
Bradley: Hah? What is it?
Akira: I’m writing about everyone in the sage’s book. So that even after I return to my own world, the next sage will be familiar with everyone.
Could you tell me more about yourself? Things that you’re good at, things that you’re bad at, things you don’t want to do...
Bradley: I don’t even want to be the sage’s wizard. Saving the world isn’t in my character. But, well, if we’re just talking I suppose it’s fine.
Come in then. It’s messy though.
Akira: Into your room?
Bradley: It’s not like I’m gonna eat you. Probably.
CHAPTER 4
Akira: So this is Bradley’s room...
>Option:
Akira: That’s a fancy chandelier.
Bradley: Yeah. It makes you feel great, doesn’t it?
Akira: Like you’re rich?
Bradley: It’s not about being rich, it’s more the feeling of wanting to kick up your legs and lean back.
>Option:
Akira: There sure are a lot of guns.
Bradley: Yeah, they’re my favourite spoils.
Guns are unstable, and apparently the humans who can’t use them properly can’t fire them accurately....
But with my magic, it’s always a bullseye.
Akira: I see...
>Option:
Akira: I see you drink.
Bradley: Yeah, well. The time I spend tending to my guns with a drink in hand, that’s paradise on earth.
Akira: I see. I thought your paradise would have been a more extravagant party.
Bradley: That’s paradise too, in its own way. Well, no one said you could only have one kind of paradise.
Bradley: A bigger room would’ve been great, though. Geez, stick the Southern siblings together, and give me an extra room.
Akira: Shouldn’t we give Snow and White two rooms, then?
Bradley: It’s just extravagant for a ghost to have a whole room to himself. You should have prepared a grave, fitting for a ghost. Anyway, I just have to talk about myself, right?
Akira: Ah....Yes. For a start, could you do a simple self-introduction?
Bradley: Bradley Bain. Northern wizard. I’m about 600 years old. In the North, I lived the life of a bandit along with my subordinates.
I’d vowed to steal the treasures from Oz’s castle one day, but I messed up and got captured before that could happen.
Akira: When you say bandit, what kind of things did you do?
Bradley: Hunted down wizards who accumulated wealth, attacked human royalty and nobles. But, it was getting involved with royalty that made the military show up.
Akira: When you say "getting involved..."
CHAPTER 5
Akira: When you say "getting involved..."
Bradley: As a sign of friendship, the royal family of the Central Kingdom was going to send treasures to the royal family of the North, so I attacked the caravan. They made it too easy.
Akira: If they were attacked by Northern wizards, no matter how many human convoys they had protecting them, they probably couldn’t have done anything.....
But who captured you, Bradley?
Bradley: It was the twins from the North, and Figaro. In order to create publicity for the reputation of good wizards, they came up with a flashy show of armed wizard troops.
Thanks to that, I landed a trip to prison. What rotten luck.
Bradley shrugs his shoulders. Even though he was thrown into prison, I don’t sense any repentance from him.
Akira: Was it a special prison? It feels like wizards would be able to break free using their magical powers....
Bradley: There is a prison for wizards. It’s surrounded by a strong barrier, and what’s more, they force the prisoners to make a promise when they’re captured.
“I will serve my sentence as a prisoner until the end of my term.”
It makes sense, something like that. If wizards break their promises, they lose their magic. If they don’t want to lose their magic, they have no choice but to keep their promises.
Bradley: Well, after getting chosen as the sage’s wizard, I’ve been allowed a certain degree of freedom outside of prison.
Bradley shrugs, rearranging his slender, long legs.
His movements are loud and flashy, with the picture-perfect flair of an actor. Rough, reckless, yet with a certain brilliance.
Akira: (He can be slightly vulgar, but he’s cool....)
As I gaze at him, deeply impressed, Bradley leans forward and snaps his fingers right in front of my eyes.
CHAPTER 6
Bradley: Hey, what’s the next question? If you’re half-asleep, I’m going to shrink your body, stuff it into a sandwich and eat it.
Akira: P-please don’t. Well, what are things you’re good at, and things you’re bad at?
Bradley: I’m good at stealing. Well, that’s a given. As for what I’m not good with, that’d be lectures and vegetables.
Akira: Do you hate vegetables?
Bradley: Hah, why would I be happy about leaves? I’m not a cabbageworm.
>Option:
Akira: It’s better to eat your vegetables.
Bradley: ......
And there we have it....
Akira: (Uwah, he looks disgusted....)
Bradley: Whenever I say I don’t like vegetables, every last bastard says the same damn thing. What’s with that? Is it a pop song? A religion for vegetables?
Akira: N-no, it’s just that it’s good for your health....I’m not telling you to force yourself....
Bradley: Shut up then. I’m going to commit lovers’ suicide with my meat.
Akira: (He sure is determined...)
>Option:
Akira: I’m bad with them too.
Bradley: You too, huh. Vegetables aren’t tasty, right.
Akira: I get that. Meat, fish, and fruits are way tastier.
Bradley: Yep. I’m sick of ‘em.
Akira: (He’s surprisingly cute....)
Bradley: What else am I not good with....gramps and grandmas, I guess. I can't seem to come on strong enough. There’s no point to speaking sharply at feeble folks, after all.
Akira: Then, it means you can’t really stand up against Snow and White.
Bradley: I said feeble, didn’t I. Those two are still kicking around. For example...
Bradley suddenly casts his eyes downwards. His expression, which had been everchanging, falls still.
Bradley: Like the gramps and grandmas in the South. Though they turned to stone in the last battle.
CHAPTER 7
His mumble sounds as if he’s mourning for the dead. He meets my eyes, and his face relaxes. I can’t look away from his kind expression, like that of a good-natured older brother.
Bradley: You never met them, did you? I think they would have liked you. They liked young people, and they were a bunch of meddlers.
The Southerners stuck up for each other and turned into stone. Isn’t that idiotic? They’re weak, so they should have just put themselves first, and escaped......
Well.....it was just like them though.
Bradley is a wizard of the North. Even so, compared to Mithra and Owen and the others, I feel like he has more ordinary sentiments and senses.
Perhaps he might have what Oz and Figaro, and even Snow and White lack—that depth of emotion which is taken for granted when it comes to human relationships.
Maybe he’d had close family, or friends, even.
Akira: Before you became a prisoner, did you have people who you were close to?
Bradley: Huh? Well, I did form a faction. I spoiled the people who followed me in my own way. I do wonder how they’re doing.....
Akira: What about close friends, or someone who was like family to you?
Bradley: Yeah, well, it’d be that guy!
Akira: That guy?
Looking taken aback, Bradley shifts his gaze away from me. Thinking on who it might be, I ask...
>Option:
Akira: Is it Mithra?
Bradley: Hey, give me a break. If I hung out with him, no matter how many lives I had, it wouldn’t be enough.
Akira: So that’s how it is.
Bradley: Yeah. I don’t know what he’s thinking. He and that crazy witch really suited each other.
Getting married to a human, giving birth and then dying, she really was a crazy witch right up until the end.
>Option:
Akira: Is it Owen?
Bradley: Fuck no. I’d have to be out of my mind to take Owen as a close friend or family.
Akira: Y-you don’t have to be that appalled....
Bradley: I don’t know what he’s thinking, with that smirk of his. He’s died a whole bunch of times too. That’s not normal.
Owen doesn’t have friends in the first place.
>Option:
Akira: Is it Lennox?
Bradley: Huh, why would you think that?
Akira: Just now, you guys seemed to be quite friendly while talking.
Bradley: Well, I don’t dislike him. He doesn’t speak much, but he seems pragmatic, and can get the job done when it calls for it.
That guy, I think he’s the type who seems quiet but is actually a perv. What do you think?
Akira: I..I don’t know.
Akira: Then, who is it? The one you call a close friend.
As if trying to brush me off, Bradley mumbles to himself.
CHAPTER 8
Bradley: Ah, well, I’ve forgotten his name. There was a guy who I could use. He wasn’t particularly strong, but there was a steadiness to him.
How do I put it, he was someone who had no desire. He had no desire, so he never got greedy about anything. I'm greedy and short-tempered, right? That's probably why we balanced each other out.
Akira: Huh...so you had someone who was like a partner to you. Was he captured along with you?
Bradley: No, he managed to escape......Well. He's probably still kicking around somewhere? Not that I’d really know.
Bradley lets out a light sigh. Leaning back in his chair, he looks out the window as if in thought.
Bradley: We were well-balanced, but maybe we weren’t in sync with each other. He wanted stability, you see.
Akira: Wanted stability? You mean he wanted to quit the bandits?
Bradley: Yeah. To do business or something. What a joke. Can you imagine me doing business? The only thing I can dish out is fights.
Akira: (That was a good line....)
Bradley: He really didn't like dangerous stuff. I was always reckless, after all. Every time I almost died, he would get real mad.
"I have no interest in being present at your deathbed. If you're going to be this reckless, I won't keep going along with you." Honestly, isn't he so cold?
Akira: That's.......Wasn’t he just understandably worried? Bradley, you must have been important to him.
Bradley just looks at me intensely. And then, as if deep in thought, he rubs his own chin.
After a beat, he suddenly laughs out loud, and leans back.
Bradley: That’s gotta be it!
Akira: (He’s happy.....He's really easy to understand. Even though he's scary....)
Bradley: Huh. So he was worried, huh. He could have just said that, but that guy, he’s surprisingly bad at being upfront.
But well, that’s good to hear. To tell you the truth, there was something I had been just a little bit suspicious about.
Akira: Suspicious?
CHAPTER 9
Bradley: Yeah. When I was captured by the military guards, I was supposed to meet up with him. But he never showed up.
While waiting for him, I got captured. I thought that meant he’d been captured as well for sure, but I was the only one thrown into prison.
So......I thought maybe I had been betrayed. But that thought, it only lasted for a second, ya know?
Akira: So you mean the military guards came to the meeting point instead of him?
Bradley: Yeah.
Akira: He wanted to quit the bandits, right?
Bradley: Well, yeah.
Akira: .........Then, he might have betrayed you.....
Bradley: Hey hey hey, hold up! Don't go getting all doubtful on me. What are you going to do to my feelings of relief from a moment ago?
Akira: You might meet him again in the future. If you do, how about you ask him?
Bradley: Do you think I could? Don't say that like it’s so easy. What am I going to do if he said yes, I betrayed you. I'd be hurt, that’s what.
Bradley furrows his brows and complains. His sharp eyes are filled with confusion and frustration. This kind of expression is what makes him seem very human.
I feel a sense of familiarity with him and smile.
Bradley: Well, you know... We fought all the time, but in the end, he’d always give in and cave. If he got tired of me — that’s rough.
Bradley exhales dejectedly. But no sooner than he does, he immediately tears at his hair, and complains at me.
Bradley: Who the fuck started us on this kind of depressing subject! Oi, ask me something less questionable. If you want bragging, I’ve got a ton of stories.
Akira: U...um, then, please show me your magical object.
Bradley: Hey, my magical object, huh. You’ve got good taste.
Abruptly back in good humour, Bradley conjures up his gun, as if nothing had occurred.
It’s a cool gun, rugged and glinting with a dark lustre.
Akira: Ah, cool......!
Bradley: Hmph, isn’t it? I’ll let you touch it as a special favour. Here, you want to try touching it, don’t you?
Akira: Thank you! ......Wow, it’s really the proper heft of a gun! Do you take aim like this?
Bradley: You idiot! Don’t aim it this way!
Akira: Ah....! This, do bullets come out of it!?
Bradley: You bet they do! Here, give it back! Honestly, that was close......
CHAPTER 10
Nervously, Bradley puts the gun away. I’m slightly disappointed, since I wanted to see it a little longer.
Akira: Where did you get your hands on this gun?
Bradley: It was the magical object of the wizard who was the reason I won my reputation. I got strong, beat that guy, and took it from him.
The corners of Bradley’s mouth lift. His smile, dangerous and yet innocent, has a childlike purity to it.
Akira: When you say got strong, does that mean you weren’t strong from birth?
Bradley: I wasn’t weak, but I wasn’t strong either. There’s terrifying fellows all over the North, you see. I beat them down one by one, ate their stones, and became stronger.
I take pride in the fact that my existence used to be that like that of a worm. Even though it sounds good to have never lost, that’s just flimsy. Whether you only ever lose, or only ever win, that’s the same as being enslaved.
I’m a fugitive. I’ve torn down the cages of my own fate many times over. That’s why I like people who try and break free as well.
Like the tiny brat from the South. It’s in his eyes. If he worked hard, I think he’d become a good bandit.
Akira: I-I don’t think we’d want him to be a bandit.....
I recoil at Bradley’s suggestion. However, I like his way of thinking.
Taking pride in your weaker self without hiding, and escaping from the chains of fate, rather than letting them hold you down.
Without thinking, I’ve leaned forward with a smile on my face.
Akira: Thank you for today, Bradley. I’m glad to have heard so much. Can I just ask one last thing?
Bradley: Yeah.
Akira: Do you think I can become someone like that too? Someone who breaks free from the chains of fate.
Bradley cocks an eyebrow, laughing in amusement.
Out of nowhere, he reaches out casually to grasp my chin, giving it a light shake, before letting go.
That abrupt gesture overwhelms me, almost like being showered with bullets. But, I feel friendship amidst his playful gesture, and my heart grows warm.
I’m struck by his smile—dangerous, and yet one I couldn’t bring myself to hate.
Bradley: You don’t become, you go and be. Pre-determined fate? That’s bullshit!
If you have the will to fight, no matter when, I’ll teach you how to.
As long as you bring me fried chicken.
Thank you to K for the following translation!
CHAPTER 1
Akira: Wow, that smells good....It’s still too early for dinnertime, but there’s so much food laid out!
Nero: Here you go, one more dish.
Akira: Nero. What a feast. Is there some sort of party today?
Nero’s lips curve upwards as he nudges his chin. Bradley, Cain and Lennox are in the dining hall.
However, only Bradley is devouring his food with gusto.
Akira: What are they doing...?
Intrigued by their actions around the table, I decide to carry over a huge platter of food in place of Nero.
✦✧☾✧✦
Cain: So, like we were saying......
Bradley: Shut it, I’m eating right now.
Hey, Sage. Something smells good. What’s that?
Akira: Um, it’s fried chicken.
Bradley: Now we’re talkin’. It’s seasoned just right with spices and tastes great. The skin is crisp, and the inside is moist...
Lennox: Careful you don’t inhale the pepper and end up sneezing. It’d be troublesome if you disappeared in the middle of the conversation.
Bradley: You bastard, don’t say something ominous like that. I don’t wanna fly off when my favourite food is right in front of me.
Akira: What are you all doing? Taking records of how much Bradley can eat?
Cain: The Central and Southern wizards will be working together to suppress a group of bandits.
Lennox: We thought we’d ask Bradley for advice, so we’re treating him.
Akira: Advice from Bradley? What for?
Cain and Lennox’s eyes meet, and they answer in unison.
Cain, Lennox: Because he’s an ex-bandit.
That’s right. Bradley was a prisoner and former bandit.
Engrossed in the fried chicken, the person in question ravenously stuffs his face.
It’s impressive to watch him relish the taste to the point of sucking on the bones, like a starving beast. Somehow, his appetite reminds me of the strength of his magical powers.
CHAPTER 2
Noticing me staring at him, he offers me a half-eaten piece of fried chicken.
Bradley: You want some?
>Option:
Akira: Thanks.
Taking the offered half-eaten fried chicken, I cautiously bite into it.
Bradley: Go on, dig in. How’s that. Nero’s fried chicken is great, right.
Akira: (Y-yesh....)
Bradley: Huh?
Lennox: Don’t talk to people when they’re chewing.
Bradley: Piss off. Should I make you another mouth in the back of your head?
>Option:
Akira: I’ll pass.
Bradley: You’re not eating!? But it’s so damn good!
Cain: Well, give it to me then.
Bradley: Yeah. Have a try. You won’t be able to stop.
Cain bites into the half-eaten fried chicken. He swallows heartily, his eyes widening, deeply impressed.
Cain: This is great!
Bradley: Haha. Right?
Cain: One more...
Bradley: No way! This one is mine!
Bradley finishes off the fried chicken and leans back into his chair, licking his lips with satisfaction.
Bradley: Phew....Sure had my fill. So, what did you want to ask me?
Lennox: We explained already, didn’t we. We want to raid the bandits’ lair and capture them.
Bradley: Just get Oz or Figaro to kill all of them for you.
Cain: Even if they’re bandits, most of them are human. I don’t want to resort to violence. In short, we want to crush the bandits, but only if they can be captured alive.
Bradley: What a pain. Where’s the map?
Lennox: Here.
Bradley clears the top of the table in a rough motion, and spreads the map across the empty space.
After staring at the map for a few seconds, he smiles boldly, pointing out a few spots with his finger.
Bradley: You should hold down this point here, and here. Then, get the Central troops to come at them from the front.
Cain: You mean for the troops to capture them?
Bradley: Are you crazy? Bandits ain’t afraid of troops. Even the young leader of the knights, once known as a hero, has been demoted to gazing at a man eating fried chicken.
Cain was struck dumb in the face of a smirking Bradley. Bradley laughed, heartily.
Bradley: Your former boss did the bandits a favor by kicking you out. If it had been me in the past, I’d have given them a mountain of riches as a sign of thanks. I’d say, hey, thanks for overthrowing that annoying brat.
CHAPTER 3
Cain: Do it for me as an experiment. I’d like to see Vincent’s reaction.
Bradley: You got it. I’ll send it on some flowery stationery. Anyway, back to the point. Bandits who catch sight of the troops will carry their treasures away on their shoulders. Aim for that moment.
Bandits will always have lingering attachments to their riches. When they have attachments, they can’t take decisive action. Just seize them while they’re still flustered.
It looks like they’re using an old fortress as their stronghold, so it might end up being a scuffle in a labyrinth of caves and burrows, but you’re used to dirty fighting, aren’t you. Lennox.
I heard from Figaro. Seems like you used to be a resistance fighter in the past?
Lennox: It wasn’t that big a deal....but, well, yes.
I’m astonished at his shrewd advice. I thought he’d have devised a strategy using brute force, more like he usually did.
Bradley is a Northern wizard. Typical of Northern wizards, who are self-centered and value power above all else, Bradley is an insolent and arrogant figure.
But occasionally, he shows an intelligence that goes beyond brute strength, and a sense of care towards people who display ambition.
He’s a person that can’t be easily summed up.
Akira: (What kind of person is Bradley. I want to know more about him...)
✦✧☾✧✦
(Knock knock)
Akira: Bradley, are you there?
(Door opens)
Bradley: Hah? What is it?
Akira: I’m writing about everyone in the sage’s book. So that even after I return to my own world, the next sage will be familiar with everyone.
Could you tell me more about yourself? Things that you’re good at, things that you’re bad at, things you don’t want to do...
Bradley: I don’t even want to be the sage’s wizard. Saving the world isn’t in my character. But, well, if we’re just talking I suppose it’s fine.
Come in then. It’s messy though.
Akira: Into your room?
Bradley: It’s not like I’m gonna eat you. Probably.
CHAPTER 4
Akira: So this is Bradley’s room...
>Option:
Akira: That’s a fancy chandelier.
Bradley: Yeah. It makes you feel great, doesn’t it?
Akira: Like you’re rich?
Bradley: It’s not about being rich, it’s more the feeling of wanting to kick up your legs and lean back.
>Option:
Akira: There sure are a lot of guns.
Bradley: Yeah, they’re my favourite spoils.
Guns are unstable, and apparently the humans who can’t use them properly can’t fire them accurately....
But with my magic, it’s always a bullseye.
Akira: I see...
>Option:
Akira: I see you drink.
Bradley: Yeah, well. The time I spend tending to my guns with a drink in hand, that’s paradise on earth.
Akira: I see. I thought your paradise would have been a more extravagant party.
Bradley: That’s paradise too, in its own way. Well, no one said you could only have one kind of paradise.
Bradley: A bigger room would’ve been great, though. Geez, stick the Southern siblings together, and give me an extra room.
Akira: Shouldn’t we give Snow and White two rooms, then?
Bradley: It’s just extravagant for a ghost to have a whole room to himself. You should have prepared a grave, fitting for a ghost. Anyway, I just have to talk about myself, right?
Akira: Ah....Yes. For a start, could you do a simple self-introduction?
Bradley: Bradley Bain. Northern wizard. I’m about 600 years old. In the North, I lived the life of a bandit along with my subordinates.
I’d vowed to steal the treasures from Oz’s castle one day, but I messed up and got captured before that could happen.
Akira: When you say bandit, what kind of things did you do?
Bradley: Hunted down wizards who accumulated wealth, attacked human royalty and nobles. But, it was getting involved with royalty that made the military show up.
Akira: When you say "getting involved..."
CHAPTER 5
Akira: When you say "getting involved..."
Bradley: As a sign of friendship, the royal family of the Central Kingdom was going to send treasures to the royal family of the North, so I attacked the caravan. They made it too easy.
Akira: If they were attacked by Northern wizards, no matter how many human convoys they had protecting them, they probably couldn’t have done anything.....
But who captured you, Bradley?
Bradley: It was the twins from the North, and Figaro. In order to create publicity for the reputation of good wizards, they came up with a flashy show of armed wizard troops.
Thanks to that, I landed a trip to prison. What rotten luck.
Bradley shrugs his shoulders. Even though he was thrown into prison, I don’t sense any repentance from him.
Akira: Was it a special prison? It feels like wizards would be able to break free using their magical powers....
Bradley: There is a prison for wizards. It’s surrounded by a strong barrier, and what’s more, they force the prisoners to make a promise when they’re captured.
“I will serve my sentence as a prisoner until the end of my term.”
It makes sense, something like that. If wizards break their promises, they lose their magic. If they don’t want to lose their magic, they have no choice but to keep their promises.
Bradley: Well, after getting chosen as the sage’s wizard, I’ve been allowed a certain degree of freedom outside of prison.
Bradley shrugs, rearranging his slender, long legs.
His movements are loud and flashy, with the picture-perfect flair of an actor. Rough, reckless, yet with a certain brilliance.
Akira: (He can be slightly vulgar, but he’s cool....)
As I gaze at him, deeply impressed, Bradley leans forward and snaps his fingers right in front of my eyes.
CHAPTER 6
Bradley: Hey, what’s the next question? If you’re half-asleep, I’m going to shrink your body, stuff it into a sandwich and eat it.
Akira: P-please don’t. Well, what are things you’re good at, and things you’re bad at?
Bradley: I’m good at stealing. Well, that’s a given. As for what I’m not good with, that’d be lectures and vegetables.
Akira: Do you hate vegetables?
Bradley: Hah, why would I be happy about leaves? I’m not a cabbageworm.
>Option:
Akira: It’s better to eat your vegetables.
Bradley: ......
And there we have it....
Akira: (Uwah, he looks disgusted....)
Bradley: Whenever I say I don’t like vegetables, every last bastard says the same damn thing. What’s with that? Is it a pop song? A religion for vegetables?
Akira: N-no, it’s just that it’s good for your health....I’m not telling you to force yourself....
Bradley: Shut up then. I’m going to commit lovers’ suicide with my meat.
Akira: (He sure is determined...)
>Option:
Akira: I’m bad with them too.
Bradley: You too, huh. Vegetables aren’t tasty, right.
Akira: I get that. Meat, fish, and fruits are way tastier.
Bradley: Yep. I’m sick of ‘em.
Akira: (He’s surprisingly cute....)
Bradley: What else am I not good with....gramps and grandmas, I guess. I can't seem to come on strong enough. There’s no point to speaking sharply at feeble folks, after all.
Akira: Then, it means you can’t really stand up against Snow and White.
Bradley: I said feeble, didn’t I. Those two are still kicking around. For example...
Bradley suddenly casts his eyes downwards. His expression, which had been everchanging, falls still.
Bradley: Like the gramps and grandmas in the South. Though they turned to stone in the last battle.
CHAPTER 7
His mumble sounds as if he’s mourning for the dead. He meets my eyes, and his face relaxes. I can’t look away from his kind expression, like that of a good-natured older brother.
Bradley: You never met them, did you? I think they would have liked you. They liked young people, and they were a bunch of meddlers.
The Southerners stuck up for each other and turned into stone. Isn’t that idiotic? They’re weak, so they should have just put themselves first, and escaped......
Well.....it was just like them though.
Bradley is a wizard of the North. Even so, compared to Mithra and Owen and the others, I feel like he has more ordinary sentiments and senses.
Perhaps he might have what Oz and Figaro, and even Snow and White lack—that depth of emotion which is taken for granted when it comes to human relationships.
Maybe he’d had close family, or friends, even.
Akira: Before you became a prisoner, did you have people who you were close to?
Bradley: Huh? Well, I did form a faction. I spoiled the people who followed me in my own way. I do wonder how they’re doing.....
Akira: What about close friends, or someone who was like family to you?
Bradley: Yeah, well, it’d be that guy!
Akira: That guy?
Looking taken aback, Bradley shifts his gaze away from me. Thinking on who it might be, I ask...
>Option:
Akira: Is it Mithra?
Bradley: Hey, give me a break. If I hung out with him, no matter how many lives I had, it wouldn’t be enough.
Akira: So that’s how it is.
Bradley: Yeah. I don’t know what he’s thinking. He and that crazy witch really suited each other.
Getting married to a human, giving birth and then dying, she really was a crazy witch right up until the end.
>Option:
Akira: Is it Owen?
Bradley: Fuck no. I’d have to be out of my mind to take Owen as a close friend or family.
Akira: Y-you don’t have to be that appalled....
Bradley: I don’t know what he’s thinking, with that smirk of his. He’s died a whole bunch of times too. That’s not normal.
Owen doesn’t have friends in the first place.
>Option:
Akira: Is it Lennox?
Bradley: Huh, why would you think that?
Akira: Just now, you guys seemed to be quite friendly while talking.
Bradley: Well, I don’t dislike him. He doesn’t speak much, but he seems pragmatic, and can get the job done when it calls for it.
That guy, I think he’s the type who seems quiet but is actually a perv. What do you think?
Akira: I..I don’t know.
Akira: Then, who is it? The one you call a close friend.
As if trying to brush me off, Bradley mumbles to himself.
CHAPTER 8
Bradley: Ah, well, I’ve forgotten his name. There was a guy who I could use. He wasn’t particularly strong, but there was a steadiness to him.
How do I put it, he was someone who had no desire. He had no desire, so he never got greedy about anything. I'm greedy and short-tempered, right? That's probably why we balanced each other out.
Akira: Huh...so you had someone who was like a partner to you. Was he captured along with you?
Bradley: No, he managed to escape......Well. He's probably still kicking around somewhere? Not that I’d really know.
Bradley lets out a light sigh. Leaning back in his chair, he looks out the window as if in thought.
Bradley: We were well-balanced, but maybe we weren’t in sync with each other. He wanted stability, you see.
Akira: Wanted stability? You mean he wanted to quit the bandits?
Bradley: Yeah. To do business or something. What a joke. Can you imagine me doing business? The only thing I can dish out is fights.
Akira: (That was a good line....)
Bradley: He really didn't like dangerous stuff. I was always reckless, after all. Every time I almost died, he would get real mad.
"I have no interest in being present at your deathbed. If you're going to be this reckless, I won't keep going along with you." Honestly, isn't he so cold?
Akira: That's.......Wasn’t he just understandably worried? Bradley, you must have been important to him.
Bradley just looks at me intensely. And then, as if deep in thought, he rubs his own chin.
After a beat, he suddenly laughs out loud, and leans back.
Bradley: That’s gotta be it!
Akira: (He’s happy.....He's really easy to understand. Even though he's scary....)
Bradley: Huh. So he was worried, huh. He could have just said that, but that guy, he’s surprisingly bad at being upfront.
But well, that’s good to hear. To tell you the truth, there was something I had been just a little bit suspicious about.
Akira: Suspicious?
CHAPTER 9
Bradley: Yeah. When I was captured by the military guards, I was supposed to meet up with him. But he never showed up.
While waiting for him, I got captured. I thought that meant he’d been captured as well for sure, but I was the only one thrown into prison.
So......I thought maybe I had been betrayed. But that thought, it only lasted for a second, ya know?
Akira: So you mean the military guards came to the meeting point instead of him?
Bradley: Yeah.
Akira: He wanted to quit the bandits, right?
Bradley: Well, yeah.
Akira: .........Then, he might have betrayed you.....
Bradley: Hey hey hey, hold up! Don't go getting all doubtful on me. What are you going to do to my feelings of relief from a moment ago?
Akira: You might meet him again in the future. If you do, how about you ask him?
Bradley: Do you think I could? Don't say that like it’s so easy. What am I going to do if he said yes, I betrayed you. I'd be hurt, that’s what.
Bradley furrows his brows and complains. His sharp eyes are filled with confusion and frustration. This kind of expression is what makes him seem very human.
I feel a sense of familiarity with him and smile.
Bradley: Well, you know... We fought all the time, but in the end, he’d always give in and cave. If he got tired of me — that’s rough.
Bradley exhales dejectedly. But no sooner than he does, he immediately tears at his hair, and complains at me.
Bradley: Who the fuck started us on this kind of depressing subject! Oi, ask me something less questionable. If you want bragging, I’ve got a ton of stories.
Akira: U...um, then, please show me your magical object.
Bradley: Hey, my magical object, huh. You’ve got good taste.
Abruptly back in good humour, Bradley conjures up his gun, as if nothing had occurred.
It’s a cool gun, rugged and glinting with a dark lustre.
Akira: Ah, cool......!
Bradley: Hmph, isn’t it? I’ll let you touch it as a special favour. Here, you want to try touching it, don’t you?
Akira: Thank you! ......Wow, it’s really the proper heft of a gun! Do you take aim like this?
Bradley: You idiot! Don’t aim it this way!
Akira: Ah....! This, do bullets come out of it!?
Bradley: You bet they do! Here, give it back! Honestly, that was close......
CHAPTER 10
Nervously, Bradley puts the gun away. I’m slightly disappointed, since I wanted to see it a little longer.
Akira: Where did you get your hands on this gun?
Bradley: It was the magical object of the wizard who was the reason I won my reputation. I got strong, beat that guy, and took it from him.
The corners of Bradley’s mouth lift. His smile, dangerous and yet innocent, has a childlike purity to it.
Akira: When you say got strong, does that mean you weren’t strong from birth?
Bradley: I wasn’t weak, but I wasn’t strong either. There’s terrifying fellows all over the North, you see. I beat them down one by one, ate their stones, and became stronger.
I take pride in the fact that my existence used to be that like that of a worm. Even though it sounds good to have never lost, that’s just flimsy. Whether you only ever lose, or only ever win, that’s the same as being enslaved.
I’m a fugitive. I’ve torn down the cages of my own fate many times over. That’s why I like people who try and break free as well.
Like the tiny brat from the South. It’s in his eyes. If he worked hard, I think he’d become a good bandit.
Akira: I-I don’t think we’d want him to be a bandit.....
I recoil at Bradley’s suggestion. However, I like his way of thinking.
Taking pride in your weaker self without hiding, and escaping from the chains of fate, rather than letting them hold you down.
Without thinking, I’ve leaned forward with a smile on my face.
Akira: Thank you for today, Bradley. I’m glad to have heard so much. Can I just ask one last thing?
Bradley: Yeah.
Akira: Do you think I can become someone like that too? Someone who breaks free from the chains of fate.
Bradley cocks an eyebrow, laughing in amusement.
Out of nowhere, he reaches out casually to grasp my chin, giving it a light shake, before letting go.
That abrupt gesture overwhelms me, almost like being showered with bullets. But, I feel friendship amidst his playful gesture, and my heart grows warm.
I’m struck by his smile—dangerous, and yet one I couldn’t bring myself to hate.
Bradley: You don’t become, you go and be. Pre-determined fate? That’s bullshit!
If you have the will to fight, no matter when, I’ll teach you how to.
As long as you bring me fried chicken.