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Curiosities of Lotus Asia/Chapter 03

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「香霖堂」を訪れた魔理沙が持ってきたもの。それは最近幻想郷に増えつつある美しい朱鷺であった。博麗神社で捕まえたというその朱鷺を、霊夢といっしょに調理して食べようとする魔理沙。賑やかになった「香霖堂」で、主人の霖之助は、朱鷺の増えた理由に考えをめぐらせるのだが――。 Marisa, visiting the Kourindou, had something with her. It was one of the beautiful Crested Ibises that were increasing in number in Gensokyo lately. Marisa was planning to cook it and eat it with Reimu. In the now lively Kourindou, the owner Rinnosuke was immersed in thoughts about the reason for the increase in the Ibises…
「東方」シリーズ原作によるオリジナルストーリー連載、その第二話! An original story based on the Touhou series, chapter 2!

Chapter 3 (Colorful PUREGIRL Chapter 2): 幻想の鳥 ~ Illusion Bird

「おい香霖! 何やってるんだ、今日は恒例の鍋の日だぜ。」 “Hey, Kourin! What are you doing? Today’s our customary hot pot day!”
 という騒がしい音と共に扉が開けられた。僕の中では、今日は恒例の動物愛護の日である。 Along with those loud sounds, the door was thrown open. As far as I’m concerned, today’s the Animal Protection Day.
「なんだ魔理沙か。来るなり鍋の日とはどういう意味だ?」 “Oh, it’s you, Marisa? What’s the meaning of coming here and claiming this to be a ‘hot pot day’?”
 魔理沙は右手を挙げて見せたのだが、そこにはぐったりとした紅白の塊が……。 Marisa showed me what she had in her right hand, and there it was an exhausted-looking red-white lump…


 幻想郷の人里から離れた魔法の森、その森のすぐ近くに僕の店「香霖堂」はある。つまり人間の住む所と魔物のそれの中間の場所だ。この場所なら人間相手にも妖怪相手にも商売ができると考えていたが、実際はどちらからも「客」が来ることはほとんどなかった。まぁ賑やかなのが来ることはあるのだが……。 Some way from the Humam Village in Gensokyo is the Forest of Magic, and close by this forest is my shop, Kourindou. In other words, it’s halfway between where the humans live and where the youkai are. I thought that in this place I could do business with both human and youkai, but the truth is that I almost never have clients from neither of them. Well, it becomes lively at times, but…


「それは朱鷺じゃないか。どうしたんだ?」 “Isn’t that a Crested Ibis? What happened?”
「ああ、神社でちょいと捕まえてな。霊夢は鍋の準備をするってんで遅れてくるぜ。」 “Ahh, I caught it by the shrine. Reimu’s doing the preparations for the hot pot, so she’ll be late.”
「何で勝手にうちで集合なんだよ?」 “And why did you decide on your own to gather at my place?”
「何言ってるんだ、こいつは美味いんだぜ。見た目は悪いけど……。」 “What are you saying? This guy’s delicious! It doesn’t seem so good by its looks, though…”
 朱鷺、幻想郷で年々増えつつある鳥である。どこからわいてくるのか多い時には空が鴇色に染まることもある。だが、朱鷺の肉は美味だが見た目は良くない。鍋も……、鴇色というか朱色に近い色に染まる。言い方は悪いが、吸血鬼が作った人間の鍋みたいに見えるのだ。 Crested Ibis. This bird has been increasing in Gensokyo every year. Whenever they are coming form, every so often the sky would become dyed in their colors. Even so… their meat tastes good, but the looks aren’t that nice. The hot pot too… it would end up dyed in that Ibis color, which is a near scarlet red. Not a nice way to put it, but it'll look like it’s a human hot pot made by a vampire.
「まぁいいけど、何で突然鍋だと……。」 “Well, it’s alright, but why suddenly come up with a hot pot…?”
「決まってるだろ? 気温の低い日は鍋の日だ。」 “Isn’t it obvious? Cold days are all about hot pots.”
 まぁこの朱鷺はたまたま拾っただけ、さっきまで活きが良かったんだけどな、と言いながら魔理沙は勝手に台所に入っていった。 Well, I just got this Ibis by chance, it was very lively until a while ago, Marisa was saying, while going ahead into the kitchen.


 幻想郷は文字通り幻想の生き物が棲む。いつの間にか外の世界の人間は、「幻想の生き物」とはただの「空想の生き物」のことと刷り込まされている。だがもちろん、幻想の生き物と空想の生き物はまったくの別物だ。空想の生き物とは、ただの妄想と復号失敗と勘違いの別名だ。それに対し、幻想の生き物とは幻想郷にしか居ない生き物の略である。いうまでもなく、僕も魔理沙も幻想の生き物である。 Gensokyo is, quite literally, a place where illusionary creatures dwell. At the same time, the people in the outside world would be writing off “illusionary creatures”, as nothing more than “fantasy creatures”. But, of course, illusionary creatures and fantasy creatures are very different kinds of creatures. Fantasy creature is just another name for a delusion, misinterpretation or misunderstanding. On the other hand, an illusion creature is one that can only be found in Gensokyo. It goes without saying, then, that both I and Marisa are also illusionary creatures.
 しかし、なぜ朱鷺が急増したのかは僕にもわからない。まさか朱鷺も「幻想の鳥」となってしまったのだろうか。僕が知っていた頃の外の世界では考えられないことだが、まぁ、あれから時間が経ち過ぎた。限られた素材と古い記憶だけで外の世界をいくら想像しても、それはただの空想に過ぎないのだろう。想像を憑拠にした想像はただの空想だ。想像とは、空想、妄想、予想、仮想、幻想、の順でランクが付けられている。 However, why the sudden proliferation of Crested Ibises is something I don’t know. Could it be that they have become “illusion birds”? That would be unthinkable in the outside world I knew, but then again, too much time has elapsed since then. As much as I try to imagine the outside world from restricted literatures and old memories, it would amount to nothing more than fantasies. A guess plagued by imagination is no more than a fantasy. As for guesses, I rank them into Fantasy, Dellusion, Forecast, Supposition and Illusion.


「お待たせー、魔理沙も居るわよね。」 “Sorry for the wait! Marisa is here too, right?”
「……待つも何も、突然やってきたんだからそんな余裕もないじゃないか。」 “…I wasn’t waiting. It’s not like I would even have time for that since you girls came so abruptly.”
「そりゃ、突然行ったんだから当然よ。けど、どんな時でも待っていれば良いのよ。それがお店ってものでしょ?」 “Well, of course we came abruptly. But you should be waiting at all times. Isn’t this a shop, after all?”
 魔理沙の予告通り霊夢がやってきた。手に色々な荷物を抱えているが、鍋の材料だろうか。 Just as Marisa announced, Reimu had come. She was carrying several bags with her. Materials for the hot pot, I guess.
「おう霊夢、待ってたぜ。早速鍋の準備だ。」 “Ah, Reimu! Took you long! Let’s get started with the hot pot.”
 魔理沙は手を出し「ほら渡せ」、といった感じの仕草をしている。 Marisa was stretching her arm, with a feeling of “C’mon, hand it over!” to it.
「持ってきたわよ。はい。」 “I brought everything, yes.”
「あー? こりゃ赤味噌だ。誰が赤味噌なんか持ってこいって言ったんだよ。」 “Ah? This is red miso. And just who told you to bring red miso?”
「誰が言っても言わなくても、朱鷺汁は赤味噌に決まってるのよ。」 “Being told or not, the fact is that for Ibis broth, it has to be red miso!”
「おいおい、ただでさえ赤い鍋なんだから白味噌にしろよ。赤汁に赤味噌か? お前はコミュニストか?」 “Hey, hey! The hot pot already is red enough, so we should do it with white miso. Putting red miso in a red broth? Are you a communist?"
「色で食べる訳じゃないの。最初から赤ければ朱鷺肉の赤も気にならないでしょ? それに白味噌じゃぁ……、源平合戦じゃない。」 “It’s not like you are going to eat because of the color. Since Ibis meat is red to begin with, this shouldn’t bother you, right? And white miso…, this is not the Genpei War.”
 二人とも色で食べているようにしか聞こえない。それにしても魔理沙は朱鷺を掴んでいるので、彼女が力むと朱鷺も鳴く。まるで朱鷺が魔理沙に相槌を打っているように見えておかしい。魔理沙もわざとやっているに違いない。 I kept hearing the two of them going on about eating colors. On top of that, Marisa was holding the Ibis, and every time she gave it a squeeze, the Ibis would squawk. It was kind of weird, like the Ibis was her yes-man. I’m sure Marisa was doing that on purpose.
「とんこつに紅しょうがをのっけるだろ? 味噌ラーメンに乗せるか?」 "Don’t you put red pickles on top of tonkatsu? And what about miso ramen?"
「カレーに福神漬けを付けるでしょ? 魔理沙はクリームシチューに福神漬けを付けるのかしら。」 "And don’t you put fukujinzuke in curry? I wonder if you put it in cream stew, Marisa?”
「あの白色の中にある赤色には日本人の魂が宿ってるんだよ。」 “Having something red in the midst of white is the sign of a japanese soul!”
「そんな紅白……私だけで十分よ。魔理沙のどこに日本人の魂があるってのよ。侘び寂びって何だかわかる?」 “As for red-white things, just me is enough. And what part of you has a japanese soul, Marisa? Do you even understand what ‘Wabi-sabi’ is?”
「それは、霊夢の方が似合わない気もするぜ。」 “This is not something likely of you too, Reimu.”
「もちろん、私にはわからないわ。」 “Of course, I don’t understand it.”
「とにかく、そんなんじゃ私は鍋は作れんな。」 “Anyway, I won’t make a hot pot like that.”
「あんたが鍋にするって言い出したんでしょ? 朱鷺は生では食べられないわ。」 “Weren’t you who came up with the hot pot idea? And we can’t eat this Ibis raw.”
「そういう問題か? まぁいい、とりあえず捌くだけ捌いておくか。」 “Is that the problem? Alright then, if it’s about handling it, I can handle it.”
「裁くの?」 “Judge it?” [‘Judge’ and ‘handle’ sound the same in Japanese.]
「ああ、それもいいかも知れないな。ちょっとやるか?」 “Ahh, this sounds good too. Wanna go for it?”
 結局、一切僕には相談もせず二人は決闘で決着を付けることにしたようだ(勝手に僕の店に来たくせに)。ルールは1対1のスペルカードルール、霊夢が勝てばそのまま鍋に、魔理沙が勝てば白味噌を取りに行かせるつもりらしい。別に白味噌ならうちにもあるのだが、楽しんでるみたいなので放っておこう。さらに言えば、僕は朱鷺の一番美味しい調理法も知っているのだが……。 In the end, it seems like they decided to settle the matter with shooting duel, without as much as asking for my advice (Even though they came to my shop on their own whim.). The rules are: 1-on-1, with Spellcard Rules; if Reimu wins, the hot pot gets done her way; if Marisa wins, she’ll apparently make her go buy white miso. Nevermind that I got white miso in my place, they seem to be enjoying it, so I’ll just let them be. Speaking of which, I actually know the tastiest way to cook a Crested Ibis…
「魔理沙、いつも言ってることだが――」 “Marisa, I’m always telling you...”
「闘うなら外でやってくれ。だろ?」 “If you’re gonna fight, them come outside, ‘kay?”
「そんなことより霖之助さん、魔理沙の代わりに捌いておいてね。」 “More importantly, could you handle that in Marisa’s place, Rinnosuke?”


 すでに二人の目的はすり替わっている。結果がどうであれ、僕が勝手に調理しても喜んで食べるだろう。もしかしたら、最初からこういうシナリオを用意してるんじゃないかと思えるくらい、いつものパターンだ。二人はどうでも良いことを決闘で決着を付けるのが多い。しかも最近は飛び道具で闘うことが多く、大変眩しい、目に優しくない。 Their objectives seem to have already switched. Whatever the result is, I guess they’ll happily eat it whatever way I cook it. I could go as far as to think they arranged this scenario from the beginning, it always follows the same pattern. Those two are frequently dueling to decide the most insignificant things. On top of that, they lately fight a lot with flying attacks. It’s extremely bright, and no good for the eyes.
 二人の決闘はいつも対照的である。一生懸命な魔理沙に対し霊夢は、わざとか性分かのん気な闘い方をする。勝負は大体霊夢の方に分があるのだが、魔理沙も負けてはいない。ただ、技と力で攻める魔理沙と空気のような霊夢。ぬかに釘というか……。どうにも、霊夢が見ている物は僕たちとは違う世界の物のような気がしてならない。そのくらい、つかみどころがないのだ。 Their duels are always a study in contrast. Against the self-exerting Marisa, Reimu – either on purpose or naturally – puts on a laid-back way of fighting. The duels mostly went Reimu’s way, but Marisa wouldn’t always lose. It’s just that, Marisa attacking with all her skill and might, against Reimu, who was just like she was made of air; it was like trying to pound a nail into dust. In any way, when looking at Reimu, she gives off a feeling that the she is not quite from our own world. This much is something one cannot quite grasp.
「あぶないわね! 魔理沙、当たったらどうするのよ。まったくもう……」 “Hey, that’s dangerous! What if it had hit, Marisa!? Geez…”
「ああもう、何で当たらないんだよ!」 “Awn, damn! Why didn’t it hit?”
「魔理沙の弾は勝手に避けていくわ。親切ね!」 “Your bullets are so easy to avoid. How nice of you, Marisa!”
「まっすぐだぜ……。」 “How straight...”
 二人の声が聞こえてきたので様子を見てみた。霊夢は時折テレポート(零時間移動)しているように見える。弾もあらぬ方向から誘導で飛んでいる。割とずるい。 Since I could hear their voices all the way, I went to see how things were going. Reimu looked like she would plainly teleport sometimes. And her bullets would fly guided in impossible directions. It was kind of unfair.


 さて、この朱鷺は丸々としていて美味しそうである。こんな朱鷺は見たことがない。そういえば魔理沙が気になることを言っていたな……。 Well then, this nice and round Ibis looks really tasty; I’ve never seem one like that before. Speaking of which, Marisa said something that bothered me…
「お待たせ~、さくっと決着を付けてきたわ。」 “Sorry for the wait, we’ve just reached a settlement.”
「ああ、いつでも待たされているよ。鍋はもう作っておいた、予定通り赤味噌だ。」 “Ahh, you always make me wait like this. I already made the hot pot. With red miso, as planned.”
「むー、鍋がもうできてるじゃないか。香霖、もし私が勝っていたらどうするつもりだったんだよ。」 “Gee... You already prepared the hot pot? What were you intending to do if I had won, Kourin?”
「朱鷺を一番美味い調理法で食べさせていたさ。」 “I would have you eat an Ibis cooked in the tastiest way.”


 博麗神社は幻想郷の外れにある。外れといっても場所的にというだけではない。外の世界と幻想郷の境目にあるのだ。そのため、博麗神社は完全な「幻想の場所」ではない。魔理沙は朱鷺を「神社で捕まえた」と言っていた。もしかしたらこの朱鷺も外の世界のものかもしれない。まだ朱鷺も幻想の鳥ではなさそうで、僕は少し安心した。 The Hakurei Shrine is located in the edge of Gensokyo. And by edge, that doesn’t mean only in the physical sense. There is the border between the outside world and Gensokyo. Because of that, the Hakurei Shrine is not an entirely “Illusionary” place. And Marisa said she caught the Ibis by the Shrine. It may be that this Ibis is indeed from the outside world. So it would seem that Crested Ibises are not Illusionary Birds yet. I feel somewhat relieved.

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