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Curiosities of Lotus Asia/Chapter 30

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天狗の新聞記者・文の目論見とは?
新作「東方文果真報」のプレストーリーがここに!
What is the tengu reporter Aya scheming?
The story behind the new work, "Alternative Facts in Eastern Utopia", can be found here!
第三話 多数の真実がある世界 Chapter 3: The World Where Many Facts Coexist
窓の外は深々と雪が降っている。視界はほぼ無い。誰も店までの道の雪を掻いてくれたりはしない。その為、冬は来客も殆ど無く、商売あがったりだ。 A deep snow had fallen outside, and I was almost unable to see anything out the window. There was no one to shovel the snow off the path to the store. As a result, there were almost no visitors in winter, and business was poor.
しかし、今日は早い時間から来客があった。その客は売り物の本を斜め読みしていた。 However, today there had been a visitor that had arrived early on. That visitor was currently skimming through the books that were for sale.
「『フェイクニュースの氾濫とポストトゥルース』……。なんだか知らない単語ばかりで難しそうな本ねぇ。外の世界では何が起きているのかしら」 "'The Flood of Fake News and Post-Truth'...[1] Seems like a hard book with lots of words I don't know. I wonder if something's going on in the outside world?"
「僕も詳しくは無いんだが、世界を統べる大統領という代表が替わって、そいつが嘘を真実として認めさせようと躍起になっていたりして、そういった事が原因で大きな混乱が起きているようだよ」 "I don't know too well myself, but it seems that the person chosen to act as the president that oversees the world has changed, and this new person is desperate to pass off lies as truth, and there's a lot of chaos stemming from that."
「権力争いって奴ね。外の世界も幻想郷と同じで醜い事になっているのねぇ」 "So it's like a power struggle, huh. The outside world seems to be falling into an unsightly state, just like Gensokyo."
霊夢は外の世界の雑誌を読んでいた。内容は有名人のスキャンダルや腐敗した政治の話、健康被害ネタや大企業の奴隷制度など、幻想郷に居る人間には殆ど無関係な記事ばかりの本だった。これは『週刊誌(※)』という種類の雑誌らしい。(※本来の『週刊誌』は、一週間毎に刊行される本の事の筈だが、外の世界では違う意味を持っているそうだ) Reimu was reading a magazine from the outside world. The contents included celebrity scandals, corruption in politics, health hazards, and slave labor by large companies—basically all articles that had nothing to do with the people of Gensokyo. This was apparently a form of magazine called a 'tabloid'.[2]
「幻想郷と同じだって? 君は幻想郷が権力争いで醜い事になっていると思っているのかい?」 "Just like Gensokyo? Are you saying that Gensokyo is in an unsightly state from a power struggle?"
「なんとなくね。人間の里に干渉する妖怪も増えたし、今はまだ表立って闘いまでには発展しないけど、裏では工作が始まっている感じなのよねぇ」 "More or less. There are a lot more youkai trying to exert their influence over the Human Village, and while there hasn't been any open conflict, I get the feeling a lot of maneuvering has begun behind the scenes."
「具体的には?」 "For example?"
「天狗や狸は既に人間の里に顔を出して干渉しているし、兎や河童も人間に物を売りつけている様だし、妖怪寺や神子の道場だって、常に人間の心を支配下に置こうと考えているみたいだし、他にも一部の妖怪達がコソコソ行動を起こしている様で、何処から手を付けて良いのやら……」 "The tengu and the tanuki have already shown their faces and are influencing the village, the rabbits and the kappa are selling their goods to the humans, and even the youkai temple and Miko's dojo seem like they're constantly planning to capture the hearts of the humans. I'm sure there are other youkai factions that are trying to move in secret, and I really have no idea where to start..."
霊夢はそう言いながらも、余り困っているようには見えない。それどころか、勢力争いを楽しんでいる様にも見える。 Even as Reimu said that, she didn't seem to be too concerned. Rather, she seemed to be enjoying the power struggle.
彼女は何者にも縛られない本当に自由な人間だ。重力すら縛る事が出来ない。そういう真に自由な人間は、誰かに支配される事を怖れないのだ。勢力争いを客観的に見る事が出来て、まるでゲームのように楽しんでいるのだろう。 She was really a freewheeling person, not tied down to anybody. She couldn't even be brought down by gravity. Of course, somebody so freewheeling had no reason to fear being controlled by anyone else. She would be able to view the power struggle from an objective standpoint, and enjoy it almost as if it were a game.
そこで僕は少し意地悪な質問をした。 So I decided to ask a bit of a mean question.
「そうか、店の外ではそんなに大変な事になっていたんだな。ところで、幻想郷が誰かの支配下に置かれるとしたら……大統領は誰が良いと思う?」 "Ah, so such important things were taking place outside the store. But if Gensokyo were to fall under somebody's control... I wonder who'd be good as president?"
霊夢は考え込んだ。 Reimu pondered this.
――チリンチリン。 —Ring ring.
「あー、寒いわねぇ。雪が強くなってきたわ」 "Ah, it sure is cold. The snow is falling a lot harder."
新たな来客があった。射命丸文という、天狗の新聞記者だ。彼女はたまにうちにやってくるが、それは取材や新聞の宣伝が主で、殆ど商品を買ったりしない。はっきり言って邪魔な客だが、無下に扱ったら新聞に店の悪口を書かれたりするかも知れないのが困りものだ。 A new visitor had arrived. It was the tengu reporter known as Aya Shameimaru. She did visit once in a while, but it was mainly to collect data or publicize her newspaper, and she rarely actually bought anything. To be honest she was a bit of a nuisance, but I was worried that if I treated her coldly, she would write bad things about the store in her newspaper.
「店に入る時には服に付いた雪は落としてくれ」 "Please make sure to clean off the snow on your clothes before you enter the store."
「あれ、霊夢さん……。へぇ、なるほどねぇ」 "Oh, Reimu... Hm, I see, I see."
彼女は面白いネタを見つけたかの様に、霊夢の写真を撮っていた。霊夢は撮られ慣れているのか気にしていないようだ。 As if she had stumbled across some interesting material, Aya began to take pictures of Reimu. It seemed Reimu was accustomed to having her picture taken, as she didn't take any notice.
「ところで、新しい商品が入荷したりしました?」 "By the way, have any new goods arrived?"
「またその話か。そんなに外の世界の道具が増えることが引っかかるかい?」 "That again? Does the increase in items from the outside world really bother you that much?"
「ええ、入手先が気になります」 "Yes. You see, I'm very interested in your source of supply."
最近は外の世界の道具を入手する機会が増えた。それは言うまでもなく宇佐見君のお陰なのだが、その事でこの新聞記者から執拗に追求されているのだ。 Recently, I've had more opportunities to obtain items from the outside world. Needless to say, that was the work of one Miss Usami, but due to it I ended up being relentlessly pursued by this reporter.
「それは、ほら何度も言っているじゃないか。外来人の宇佐見君が――」 "How many times do I have to say it? It was the foreigner, Miss Usami—"
そう言いかけてやめた。宇佐見君がうちに来る時は、霊夢には内緒の時だと言っていたからだ。しかし、新聞記者は霊夢に聞こえるようにわざと大きな声で言った。 I cut myself off. I was supposed to be keeping Miss Usami's visits to this store a secret from Reimu. However, the reporter responded in a loud voice, as if wanting Reimu to overhear her.
「ああ、思い出しました。外来人が持ってきてくれるんでしたよね。へえ、外の世界と直接繋がりがあるなんて凄いですねぇ。あえて閉鎖的にする事で成長してきた幻想郷に、新しい外の力を取り入れようなんて、さすが自由主義の香霖堂さんです」 "Ah, I remember. The foreigner brought them in for you, didn't she? Wow, it's incredible that you have a direct link to the outside world now. To try and bring in new outside forces to Gensokyo, which has grown so much in its insular state, Kourindou is very liberal-minded."
明らかに新聞記者は僕を敵対視していた。恐らくは、さっき霊夢が言っていた『勢力争い』に積極的に参加しているからであろう。僕は霊夢に何て説明しようかと考えあぐねていたが、霊夢は至って冷静であった。 The reporter was clearly treating me as an enemy. More than likely, it was because she was assertively taking part in the 'power struggle' mentioned earlier by Reimu. Though I was at a loss as to how I was going to explain it to Reimu, she was surprisingly calm.
「外来人って菫子の事でしょ?  (あんた) が思っている様な危険な人物では無いわ」 "By the foreigner, you mean Sumireko, right? She's not as dangerous a person as you think she is, Aya."
どうやら、霊夢は菫子がうちに来ている事を知っている様だ。僕は胸をなで下ろした。 It appears that she had already figured out that Sumireko had been visiting my place. I pat my chest in relief.
「ふん、どうですかねぇ。外から迷い込んだ人間を送り返すのも貴方の仕事でしょ? それなのになんで放置しているのかしら」 "Hm, I wonder if that's really so. Isn't it your job to send back humans that have wandered in from outside? But then why are you leaving her as she is?"
「それは、事故で迷い込んだ人間に対してだけよ。彼女は自分の意思でやってきているから……それに本当のところ原因不明だし、ちょっとその辺が複雑なの」 "That only applies to humans that have wandered in by accident. In her case, she's coming in of her own free will... And the real cause is actually unknown, so it's a little more complicated."
「あらあら、情けない話ねぇ。それもメモに入れておきましょう」 "Oh my, that's a pitiful thing to hear. Let me make a note of that."
文は嬉しそうに手帳に記録していた。 Aya happily recorded something in her notebook.
「メモするって、こんなの記事にしちゃ駄目だからね」 "Make a note of that? Don't even think about making this into an article."
「何言ってるんですか、私は真実を曝く者、記事にするなと言われてしないわけが無い」 "What are you saying? As someone who works to expose the truth, I won't stop just because someone tells me to."
霊夢は文の手帖を奪おうとしたが、軽くかわされて逆に必死の形相を写真に撮られてしまった。 Though Reimu tried to snatch the notebook away, she was easily dodged, and a picture of her frantic expression ended up being taken instead.
「『博麗神社が外来人と手を組んで幻想郷を支配!?』なんて記事は、随分衝撃を与えそうね」 "'The Hakurei Shrine in Cahoots with the Foreigner to Take Over Gensokyo!?' An article like that would definitely be a huge shock, wouldn't it?"
文はニヤニヤ笑っていた。 Aya grinned widely.
「何が真実を曝く者、よ。でっち上げのデマ記事じゃないの!」 "Expose the truth, as if. They're just a bunch of made-up fake articles!"
「あら、私はそれが真実だと思っているのです。だからその真実を伝えて何がおかしいのかしら。真の意味での客観的な事実なんて、数学の様なイデアルな世界でしか存在しない。これが、私が新聞記者を続けて出した答えだわ。だから新しい真実 (ポストトゥルース) は、私が作る!」 "Oh, but I happen to believe that that is the truth. So what's wrong with simply trying to report that truth? No such things as truly objective facts exist except in ideal worlds like mathematics. This is the answer that I have chosen to maintain as a reporter. That's why, this new post-truth is something I will create!"
――ああ、雪の日の生姜湯は最高だな。ポカポカ暖まって……。 —Ah, ginger tea on a winter day is really the best. The warmth spreads throughout my body...
いつものように、新聞記者と巫女の喧嘩が始まったので、僕は離れて暖を取りながら見守っていた。新聞記者は何やら不穏な事を言っている様だが、あれはただの挑発だろう。よっぽど、宇佐見君の事が気になっていると見える。 As usual, a quarrel between the reporter and the shrine maiden had begun, so I watched over them from a distance while recovering some warmth. Though the reporter had been saying some ominous things, it was probably all just provocation. It was possible that the matter of Miss Usami weighed that much on her mind.
「ところで二人とも、ここは談話室では無いのだが、何か用事があったんではないのかい?」 "By the way, you two. This isn't some place to lounge around, so do you perhaps have anything else to take care of?"
新聞記者は振り返って僕の質問に答えた。 The reporter turned around and answered me.
「ええ、勿論です。ある情報筋から、『今日ここに外来人が現れる』と聞いていましたので、突撃取材をしようと思いまして」 "Yes, of course. According to one of my information channels, I heard that 'the foreigner would appear here today', so I thought I would do some impromptu journalism."
「へ? 宇佐見君が?」 "Eh? Miss Usami is?"
そんな話は初耳だ。続いて霊夢も言った。 That was the first time I was hearing of it. And Reimu continued from there.
「その情報筋って、仙人からでしょ? 私もその情報を掴んでやってきたの。幻想郷 (こっち) に来る時は神社に来てって、強く言うために」 "You heard that from the hermit, right? I'm also here because I also heard that information. Here to really drill it into her head that whenever she comes to Gensokyo, she should be coming to the shrine."
「取材に来たら霊夢さんもいたので、これはますます怪しいと思うじゃ無いですか。裏で繋がっていると思っても不思議では無いですよね」 "I came to collect some data, but when I found Reimu already here, doesn't that make things even more suspicious? It wouldn't be unusual to think that the two of you are connected behind the scenes."
そう言って文は霊夢の写真を何枚か撮っていた。 Saying that, Aya took several more pictures of Reimu.
新聞記者の態度に少しイライラしていた僕は、挑発気味に忠告した。 Getting a little irritated at the reporter's behavior, I gave her a warning with provocation in mind.
「そういう () の情報だけで、真実を組み立てるのはやめた方が良い。簡単にボロが出る」 "You'd be better off not constructing truth based off a single point of information. It can easily turn into waste."
「忠告ありがとうございます。その程度の事は言われてなくても判っています。だからこそ、今日来たのですよ。点と点を結ぶ為に直接本人から話を聞こうと……」 "Thank you very much for the warning, but I know that much even without needing to be told. That's why I'm here, after all. In order to connect all the points together, I wanted to ask the person herself..."
「貴方の取材を受ける前に、ちょっと菫子と話がしたいわ」 "Before you conduct your interview, I'd like to have a little talk with Sumireko first."
「ほら、それが怪しいわ。何か口裏を合わせようっていうんでしょ?」 "See, that's very suspicious. You're trying to make sure your stories line up, aren't you?"
「そんなんじゃなくて、ほら、あの人、何というか、 () () () だから」 "It's not that. See, that person, well, lacks a bit of common sense."
「苦しい言い訳ね」 "That's a lame excuse."
また喧嘩が始まりそうだったので、割って入る事にした。 It seemed like another quarrel was brewing, so I tried to force my way in between them.
「まあまあ、二人の目的は奇しくも一致しているんじゃ無いか。喧嘩は止めたまえ」 "Well, well, it seems the two of you have oddly come here with the same goal in mind. I'd like it if you two wouldn't fight."
二人はそっぽを向いた。 The two of them faced away from each other.
「で、宇佐見君はいつ来るっていうんだい?」 "So, when's Miss Usami coming, anyway?"
「そういえば……、もうとっくに現れる時間の筈なんだけど。あいつは決まった時間に幻想郷に訪れる習性があるので……」 "Let's see... She should've been here a while ago. She has a pattern of coming to Gensokyo at certain times, you see..."
「私も仕入れた情報の時間はとうに過ぎていますね」 "According to the information I procured, the time she was expected to arrive has long since passed indeed."
「ん? 何だって? それってもしかして――」 "Hm? What? Don't tell me—"
僕は嫌な予感がした。窓の外は深々と雪が降っていて視界も悪い。うちまでは雪を掻く人もいないので道も無かった。 I had a very bad premonition. A deep snow had fallen outside, and visibility was poor. With no one to shovel the snow, there wouldn't be a path to the store.
「遭難してるんじゃないか?」 "She didn't get into an accident, did she?"
――僕がそう言うや否や二人はすぐに行動に出ていた。 —No sooner had I said that than the two took action.
何の躊躇も無く外に飛び出していく二人は、なんとも頼もしく見えた。冷めないうちに生姜湯を飲んでから () () () を探し始めたのに、まだ暖かい店内から出てない僕とは大違いだ。 Watching those two rush outside with no hesitation made them seem almost reliable. It was a big difference from me, not wanting to leave the warm store because my ginger tea was still warm and I had started to look for a padded kimono.
まあ、本当に宇佐見君が遭難していたとしても、あの二人が本気で探せば大丈夫だろう。外の人間が行方不明になって困るのは、巫女と妖怪だ。死ぬ気で探してくれるに違いない。僕は大船に乗ったつもりで、温かい飲み物でも用意する事にした。 Well, even if Miss Usami had gotten into an accident, it would be fine if those two were seriously looking for her. The ones that would be the most troubled by an outside human going missing would be the shrine maiden and the youkai. There was no doubt that they would search for her with their lives on the line. With the intention of leaving it to them, I figured I may as well ready a warm drink.
――チリンチリン。 —Ring ring.
程なくして二人は寒さで震えている女の子を担いで戻って来た。ほらね、こういう時は巫女も天狗も非常に頼りになる。僕がわざわざ寒い中、外に出る必要は無い。 Before long, the two of them returned with a girl, shivering from the cold, on their shoulders. See, it's times like this that the shrine maiden and the tengu can be exceedingly reliable. There was really no need for me to expressly go out into the cold as well.
「おお、早かったね。寒かっただろう?」 "Oh, that was fast. You must be cold, right?"
僕は生姜湯を差し出した。 I offered her the ginger tea.
「いやー、死ぬかと思ったわ。一面真っ白で何これ、何処のド田舎って感じ」 "Wow, I thought I would die. Everything around me was completely white, and it was like, where in the countryside am I?"
菫子は少し興奮状態だった。 Sumireko was in a bit of an excited state.
「そんな薄着と短い靴で来るなんて、外の世界では雪が降らないのかい?」 "To come dressed so lightly and in shoes so short, does snow not fall in the outside world?"
「雪なんてたまに数センチ積もる程度よ。山の中のド田舎なら降る所もあると思うけど」 "There's only about a few centimeters of snow at any time. Although I guess it would fall like this deep into the mountains."
「それは大変な目に遭ったねぇ。それにしては楽しそうにも見えるんだが」 "You've really had a hard time, then. Although you seem more like you've had the time of your life."
「そ、そんな事は無いわよ。こんな雪を見ただけではしゃいだりしないわよ。珍しいから写真を撮ってたら道に迷っちゃっただけよ」 "I-it's nothing like that. It's not like I would run around and play just because I saw this much snow. I just got a bit lost when trying to take a picture, since it was rare for me."
明らかにはしゃいでいた。雪を見ただけではしゃぐのは幼い子供だけかと思っていたが……、外の世界の人間は思ったより純粋なのかもしれないな。 It was clear that she had run around. I had thought that the only ones who would run around after just seeing snow were very young children... Perhaps the people of the outside world were much more innocent at heart than I had thought.
「何にしても無事で良かったよ。ちゃんとお礼を言うといい。君を救ってくれたのはそこの二人だからな」 "Well, regardless, I'm glad you're safe. You should really give proper thanks. The ones who saved you are those two over there, after all."
「いやー、有り難うございます」 "Really, thank you very much!"
軽いノリの菫子に霊夢は呆れていた。 Reimu was shocked at Sumireko's lighthearted attitude.
「今回は私がいたから良いけど、遭難を甘く見ると、死ぬよ?」 "It's fine this time since I was here, but if you take accidents like this too lightly, you'll die, you know!"
「済みませんー。でもどうせ夢から覚めれば、向こうに戻ると思っていたので。まあ一時間程度なら大丈夫かなぁと」 "Sorry about that. But I figured that since I'd go back if I just woke up from my dream, an hour or so would be fine."
「夢から覚めれば……? それは一体どういうことかしら」 "If you just woke up...? Now I wonder what that could mean."
文が食い付いた。見慣れぬ人物に菫子は戸惑っている。 Aya jumped at the opportunity. Seeing an unfamiliar face, Sumireko was rather bewildered.
「あ、申し遅れました。私は一流新聞記者の射命丸文と申します」 "Ah, pardon me. I am the first-class newspaper reporter, Aya Shameimaru."
文はサラリーマンのように名刺を手渡した。 As if she were an office worker, Aya handed over a business card.
「新聞……記者? 幻想郷 (こっち) にもそんな職業有るの?」 "Newspaper... reporter? There are jobs like that even here in Gensokyo?"
「ええ、外の世界の新聞記者と同じく、幻想郷でも真実の伝道者は必要とされているのですよ」 "Yes, just like the reporters of the outside world, Gensokyo is also in need of people to disseminate the truth."
菫子は首を傾げている。 Sumireko tilted her head.
「宇佐見菫子、さんですね。遭難で疲れている所申し訳ないのですが、後で私の取材に協力をお願いできますでしょうか」 "You are Sumireko Usami, correct? Excuse me for asking while you're still tired from that accident, but would it be all right to ask for your cooperation with an interview later?"
霊夢が「断っても良いのよ」と囁いたが、菫子は「良いですよー」と即答してしまった。 Though Reimu whispered "It's okay to refuse," Sumireko gave an immediate response with a "Sounds good!"
「取材、ってなんだか私、有名人みたい! どういう記事なの?」 "An interview? It's almost like I'm a celebrity! What kind of article is it?"
「今まで、新聞ばかりを作ってきたのですが、今度、初めての雑誌に挑戦しようと思っていまして……」 "Up until now, I've been printing nothing but newspapers, so this time, I thought I'd try my hand at a magazine, so..."
「え? あんたが雑誌を作るなんて初耳よ」と霊夢。 "Eh? It's the first time I'm hearing that you were making a magazine," said Reimu.
「言ってなかったかしら。更なる真実を追究するためには、速度を求められる新聞とは異なる記事スタイルが必要だと思いまして、そこにあるような外の世界の雑誌を参考にした本を作る予定なのです」 "Did I not tell you? To delve further into the truth, a different reporting style is necessary compared to the newspaper, whose main goal is to deliver information quickly. So I planned on publishing a book, using the outside world's magazines as reference, to achieve that!"
文は外の世界の週刊誌を指さした。 Aya pointed at the tabloid from the outside world.
「私の新しい週刊誌、その名も『文々春新報』です。記事は続々と集まっていますし、色々と驚く内容になっていると思いますよ」 "The name of my new tabloid will even be called 'Bunbunharu Weekly'. I've been gathering articles one after another, and I think you'll be shocked at the contents!"
菫子はその週刊誌を手に取った。 Sumireko picked up the tabloid.
「うわー、大衆週刊誌だー。この手の本っておっさんしか読んでいないイメージなんだけどー」 "Wow, it's a mass-market tabloid! Although the only ones I can imagine reading something like this are old guys."
「お、おっさんですか?」 "O-old guys?"
「正直言って、芸能人の不倫とか薬物とか政治と金の話とか、今のネット世代はまるで興味ないよ。テレビを見ていない人も多いしね。何でそんな話で盛り上がれるのか不思議なくらい。私こういう本に載るんですか? これといったスキャンダルは無いですよ。あ、私に取材ってもしかして『読モ』ですか!? いやー、照れちゃうなぁ」 "To be honest, today's Internet Age doesn't really care all that much about some celebrity's affairs or drugs or money in politics. There are a lot of people that don't even watch TV. I don't know why people get so riled up about this stuff—it's a real mystery. Was I gonna be mentioned in a book like this? It's not like I'm part of any big scandal. Ah, don't tell me you were planning on interviewing me as a 'dokumo'!? Oh, you embarrass me!"[3]
菫子は早口でまくし立てた。 Sumireko rattled on at a rapid-fire rate.
「う、ま、まあ。そんな感じですかね。ドクモ、でしょうか?」 "Uh, w-well. Something like that. Dokumo, right?"
「そんなぁ、からかわないでくださいよぉ。私が読モの筈なんて無いでしょ? 外の世界の話を聞きたいんですよね」 "No way, don't mess with me like that! There's no way I could be a dokumo. You want to interview me about the outside world, don't you?"
「いやまあ、その」 "Er, well, that's..."
あの口が上手くて高圧的な天狗が押されている。僕と霊夢は口を押さえて笑いをこらえていた。ドクモとは獲物がかかるのをじっと待つ毒蜘蛛の略である。誘き寄せておいて獲物がかかった感じを見ると、まさに宇佐見君はドクモのようだった。 Her mouth was succeeding in putting pressure on the high-handed tengu. Both Reimu and I were covering our mouths and trying not to laugh. Dokumo was an approximation of a dokugumo (poisonous spider) that would fixedly wait until they caught their prey. Watching as if the prey were being lured into the trap and caught, it really seemed as if Miss Usami was a dokumo.[4]
「え、えーと。では改めて場所を変えて取材を行いたいのですが」 "U-um. Then, once again, I would like to change locations and conduct an interview."
文は僕や霊夢の方をチラチラ見ていた。どうやら、取材内容を聞かれたくないのだろう。 Aya kept glancing in the direction of Reimu and me. It seemed she didn't want us to hear the contents of her information gathering.
「私はもうすぐ外の世界に戻っちゃうわ。だから、後日でよければ」 "Well, I have to go back to the outside world soon. So, if it's all right to do it some other day."
「ええ、その方が私としても都合が良いです。場所は……山の会議室にお連れします」 "Yes, that would be more convenient for me as well. As for the location... We can meet at a conference room on the mountain."
「待って、それは認めないわ」霊夢が割って入った。 "Wait, I won't accept that," said Reimu, forcing her way into the conversation.
「取材の内容は聞かなくても良いけど、せめて私の見える範囲でやって」 "It's fine if I don't hear what you guys are talking about, but at least do it in a place where I can see you!"
急に霊夢の表情が険しくなった。その雰囲気に菫子も飲まれている。 Reimu's expression had suddenly become stern. The atmosphere even overwhelmed Sumireko.
「いい? まだ言ってなかったと思うけど、この新聞記者くずれは () () () () () () の」 "All right? I don't think I've said this yet, but this sorry excuse for a reporter is not human, you see."
「え? 人間じゃ無い?」 "Eh? Not human?"
「妖怪なのよ。それも、人間を攫うことを生業としている天狗。だから、ホイホイとそいつらのアジトなんかに付いていっては駄目よ」 "She's a youkai. Even more, she's a tengu, known for kidnapping humans. So don't go following her so eagerly to her hideout."
霊夢は菫子を怖がらせるように言った。しかしそれは逆効果だったようである。 Reimu spoke to Sumireko as if trying to terrify her. But it seemed this backfired.
「て、天狗だって? 凄い、凄いわ! 何か大物に会った感じです! 幻想郷万歳!」 "A tengu? Amazing, that's amazing! It's like I've met someone really important! Gensokyo, banzai!"
「と、とにかく、神社を貸してあげるから、取材はそこでやって頂戴!」 "A-anyway, I'll let you use the shrine, so you can do your interview there!"
霊夢は念を押した。 Reimu tried to emphasize that point.
「はーい。私は何処でも良いでーす」 "All right. I'm fine with doing it anywhere!"
「はいはい。判りました。よっぽど隠したい真実があるんでしょうね。その事も真実に影響しますので、私としてはどういう流れになってもかまいません」 "Yes, yes. Understood. I'm sure there's some truth you want to hide from me. But this will affect the truth in the end, anyway, so I don't mind whatever ends up happening."
文と菫子は再会の日程を決めて、二人とも去って行った。 After scheduling their next meeting, Aya and Sumireko were sent off.
霊夢もどっと疲れが出ている様だ。 Reimu suddenly looked like she was completely exhausted.
帰り際に「あ、そうそう。さっきの答えね。天狗は絶対駄目だわ。真実を作るとか言っちゃって、そんな奴、幻想郷の支配者にさせちゃ駄目だわ」と言って、帰っていった。 As she left, she said, "Ah, right, right. Answering that earlier question. Tengu are definitely out of the question. Saying stuff like making up the truth, someone like her definitely can't be the leader of Gensokyo!"
それにしても、あの宇佐見君は大したものだ。百戦錬磨の天狗を独特のノリでたじろがせ、結局霊夢に神社を貸し出させるなんて、並の人間には出来ないだろう。それに霊夢に至っては当初の目的であった () () () () () () () () () という忠告も殆ど出来ずに帰って行ってしまった。 Nevertheless, that Miss Usami was really a piece of work. To make even an experienced tengu falter on a peculiar train of thought, and to make even Reimu lend out her shrine—it was not something an ordinary person could do. And in Reimu's case, she had left without even fulfilling her original goal to warn Sumireko to not do anything on her own.
彼女への取材が、どのような記事になって本が出来上がるのか楽しみである。 I looked forward to what sort of article her interview would result in.
――とこの時はそう思っていた。しかし、射命丸文の初めての雑誌『文々丸新報』は、世に出ることは無かった。とある重大な見落としがあった為、自分で発禁処分にしたと伝えられた。新しい真実は作られなかったのは幸いだが、記事を楽しみにしていた僕としては少し残念である。 —That was what I had thought at the time. However, Aya Shameimaru's first magazine, 'Bunbunharu Weekly', would not be released to the world. It appeared she had made some grievous oversight and prohibited its publication of her own will. Though I was glad that a new truth had not been invented, I was a little disappointed, as I had been looking forward to the articles.
次号へ続く To be continued

Notes

  1. 'Fake News' and 'Post-Truth' are in English, which is why Reimu doesn't know them.
  2. The word used here is shūkanshi, which literally translates to 'weekly publication' but has come to include tabloid newspapers as well. Rinnosuke makes a note here about how the word initially meant something published weekly but changed to mean something else in the outside world. To make things simpler in English, the word 'tabloid' is used instead.
  3. 'Dokumo' is short for 'dokusha model', or 'reader model', a kind of model for a fashion magazine that used to be a reader of that magazine.
  4. Rinnosuke misinterprets the word 'dokumo' to mean 'dokugumo', or poisonous spider.
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