WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: nemui

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◈ The Forgotten Curse Knight ◈

Vol. 2 Ch. 10: Pemucho, Pomepome, Popera-pe, Poo!

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"I'm on the friendly side, though."

As he said that, Nicola looked at Carla.

"We holy knights have been helped by Gray Knights many times on the western front. I'm grateful, and I don't want any of you to turn into Termea."

Carla had fought at the Sea of Oblivion in the West End to protect the continent from Termea invasion. Nicola must have known that.

Though he was not the one being praised, Theo somehow felt happy.

（I see... There are people who properly recognize Gray Knights, too.）

That fact encouraged Theo. He would become a Gray Knight whom holy knights appreciated, just like Carla.

As he made that vow to himself, there was a knock at the door, and the captain they had been talking about, Oswald Gregory, returned. A child who appeared to be from the village stood beside him.

She was a girl of around seven or eight, with straight hazel hair cut to her shoulders. Gripping her skirt in both hands, she was holding back sobs.

Nicola spoke to Oswald.

"Welcome back, Captain Gregory. What's happened?"

"This girl says her brother was taken by a Termea, but..."

Oswald trailed off and looked at the girl. She trembled at his gaze, as though frightened. Tears dripped steadily onto the floor, leaving dark spots.

Nicola said with a look of understanding.

"Because you've got such a scary face, Captain."

"...Nngh."

It seemed the girl had shrunk from Oswald's intimidating presence.

Holy knights were figures citizens relied on, but Oswald had a fierce face marked by a scar. On top of that, if he stood there without so much as a smile, giving off an intimidating air, of course people would be frightened of him.

Oswald awkwardly scratched his head.

"Nicola, could you question her?"

"Got it. The Gray Knights can stay too, right? She'll probably find it easier to talk if there are kids close to her age."

At Nicola's suggestion, Oswald furrowed his brow. That only made him more intimidating, and the girl began trembling even harder.

Realizing this, Oswald covered his scarred face with one hand and sighed.

"...Fine. I'll be in the hall. Call me if anything happens."

With that, Oswald left the room and shut the door.

After confirming that the door was firmly closed, Hugo raised his voice conspicuously.

"Pathetic. He tells us to wait around, but he can't even question someone properly himself."

"Hugo, we haven't contributed anything yet. You shouldn't say things like that so arrogantly."

When Theo rebuked him, Hugo snorted.

"Yeah, yeah. Goody-goody's desperate to be useful, huh?"

"Yes, I am."

"..."

Theo wanted to be a good person, and he wanted to contribute to peace, so he nodded honestly. Hugo fell silent, looking disconcerted.

Meanwhile, Nicola pulled out a chair for the girl and invited her to sit. She slowly sat down, covered her face with both hands, and began crying softly.

"Are you all right? Can you tell me your name?" Nicola asked gently, but the girl only sobbed sadly. Her sorrowful crying made Theo's chest ache.

（How can I help her feel safe?）

Nicola had said that having children near her age would make her more comfortable, and had gotten permission for Theo and the others to stay. Theo wanted to help with the questioning, even if only a little.

As he wondered how to speak to her, Hugo whispered to him.

"You want to be useful, right? Go do some kind of act and make her laugh."

"An act? What kind of act would be good...?"

Theo knew nothing about singing or dancing. He could not do magic tricks or acrobatics either.

As Theo agonized over it, Hugo grinned and whispered in his ear.

"All right, listen carefully... Stomp hard on the spot while saying, 'Pemucho, Pomepome, Popera-pe, Poo!' Then make a funny face at the end. It's a bit from a comedian everyone in Erington knows."

So there was such an act. Theo was shocked. Ever since he had lived in the mining town of Worg, he had read nothing but books, so he was somewhat out of touch with popular trends.

Hugo crossed his arms with a knowing expression.

"People say children always laugh when you do it."

"...Nngh."

Theo rose decisively and stood in front of the girl. She looked at him while sniffling.

Theo reminded himself: A knight must be sincere and kind to the people.

With that vow in his heart, Theo stomped hard. Thump! Bang!

Planting his feet firmly on the floor, Theo raised his voice.

"...P-P... Pemucho, Pomepome, Popera-pe, Poo!"

At the end of the line, he squashed his face hard between both hands. He squeezed it as much as he possibly could.

A cold silence filled the room.

Hugo's merciless laughter broke it.

"Gyahahahaha! That's so lame! Is that really the funniest face you can think of?! And you actually fell for it!"

Theo lowered the hands covering his face and stared at Hugo, trembling all over.

"Hugo... you tricked me...?"

"Like an act like that exists! Hehyahahaha! Oho! Ohof! Fuh! Ah, crap, I laughed so hard my nose is running."

This was the first moment in his life that serious, good-natured Theo felt the urge to kill.

Theo stared expressionlessly at Hugo.

Would it be all right to bend him backward like a shrimp again?

（I'm sure it would be fine if something cracked just a little. Even if it isn't, I'll say it's fine.）

Just as Theo's thoughts began turning dangerous, Carla murmured.

"It was... a little funny."

"..."

"I think Theo... tried hard."

Carla's best attempt at comforting him hurt.

Knights were meant to make the people they protected smile, but this was not knightly. It absolutely was not.

The girl's tears had stopped, but she was far from smiling. The girl's unblinking, blank stare at Theo looked like the face of someone watching an adult behaving strangely.

Then a cry sounded at Theo's feet.

Mefuu.

It was Lenny, the white fluffball. Apparently, Lenny had rolled out of Theo's bag. The girl followed Lenny with her eyes, seemingly interested.

Theo picked up Lenny and crouched in front of the girl again.

"This is my partner, Lenny. Would you like to hold it?"

The girl nodded, so Theo placed Lenny in her lap. She stroked Lenny's fur with her small hands.

"Fluffy is cute."

Mefun.

Very unwillingly, Theo had to admit that Lenny's fluffiness had won over the all-out act that had cost him so much mental energy. He wanted to cry.

As Theo reeled from his defeat, Nicola spoke to the girl.

"Um, do you feel a little calmer now? Then can you tell us what happened?"

"...Yes."

Hugging Lenny tightly in both arms, the girl began explaining in halting fragments.

Her name was Mylene. She would turn seven this year. Her parents had died from an epidemic, and she now lived alone with her seventeen-year-old brother, Simon.

Mylene loved her much older brother. Today, too, she had gone to bring lunch to him while he worked in the fields.

There, Mylene saw it.

She saw her brother being dragged away by something black.

"Something black and long grabbed my brother's leg... and dragged him away."

Mylene anxiously tightened her arms around Lenny. Lenny's round body squashed slightly and stretched vertically.

Nicola asked several questions, but because Mylene was still young, her explanations were somewhat unclear.

Nicola spread out a map and asked where she had seen it, but Mylene apparently did not know how to read maps yet. She could only give vague answers, such as "near the river" and "behind the shed."

"Hmm, can you show us where it happened?"

Mylene nodded at Nicola's question, then looked up at Theo.

"...Will you and Fluffy come with me too?"

Theo's eyes widened in surprise.

He had thought his all-out act had failed completely, but apparently she had come to trust him a little.

"Of course!"

Theo smiled firmly, and Mylene gave a small smile through her tear-swollen face.

"Thank you, Fluffy's owner."

Ah, she was only being considerate because I am Fluffy's owner. My all-out act had nothing to do with it...

Though he secretly felt dejected, Theo smiled back.

"I'm Theo. It's nice to meet you, Mylene."

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