Memory Defrag | Azekawa Kinari's Ward Mayor Novel Translation Masterlist
Warnings and Disclaimers:
This translation is not professionally done and is not proofread. Edits and clean-ups may come at a later date.
Not a 1:1 translation either and some liberties into localization were taken into account.
This novel will contain spoilers for the Ev3ns Main Story: "Chained Up Scarlet".
Appropriate Content and Trigger Warnings will be added if needed.
May be used for quotebots/masterlists etc.
I am not fluent and self-studying Japanese (albeit at turtle speed), this was translated by ear and with the help of a JP dictionary, so please feel free to point out any errors!
Per 18TRIP's announcement at 6:30pm JST on 6/08/25, Memory Defrag will be fully voiced! I'll re-translate Memory Defrag and take down the older translations here. Mostly because its also a year old translation by now... Also, I've noticed some errors as I read along with the Full Voice since it should be available now, I'll be fixing the errors first here before I start redoing the translation.
I'll likely post them all in one go instead of taking one by one. Thank you for your understanding! 🙇🙇🙇
Memory Defrag | TRACK 5 - Data Corpulence | Azekawa Kinari's Ward Mayor Novel Translation
Warnings and Disclaimers:
This translation is not professionally done and is not proofread. Edits and clean-ups may come at a later date.
Not a 1:1 translation either and some liberties into localization were taken into account.
This novel will contain spoilers for the Ev3ns Main Story: "Chained Up Scarlet".
Appropriate Content and Trigger Warnings will be added if needed.
May be used for quotebots/masterlists etc.
I am not fluent and self-studying Japanese (albeit at turtle speed), this was translated by ear and with the help of a JP dictionary, so please feel free to point out any errors!
—/—/—/—/—/—
I came out of semi-conscious mode and awakened all at once.
By my bedside, there was a plastic water bottle, with a note stuck to it: “Are you thirsty? Here, if you don’t mind.” in Raito’s handwriting.
As I am an android, my mouth does not get dry, yet I drank from the bottle anyway.
The room’s interior has been plunged into azure-hued darkness.
I could hear the flapping of the nocturnal birds resting in the trees behind me.
———[At the very least, you could say what’s on your mind in your own words.]
Father’s words repeated several times within my auditory system.
Whenever I recall these words, I start to feel something, slowly.
It’s something that I’ve not been able to properly verbalize.
But now, I’m searching for a meaning within Father’s words, of which I had previously felt nothing upon hearing them.
“Were his intentions similar to Master’s own words?”
I threw my question into the void.
I suppose that the true nature of Father’s hopes for me, was similar to Master’s own desire to treat me as if I were a fellow human being.
What Father wanted at the time was not for me to be in a state to channel Kinari’s spirit, but for me to speak out using my own words.
Rather than words that have been programmed into me, he must have wished to hear my words from the heart.
As I thought, I still deeply regret that I could not do that even at his deathbed.
Yes, there’s some sort of feeling of regret. Likely so. Surely, I thought.
And this sort of emotion is quite surprising in itself.
Because, as an android, I feel an emotion called ‘regret’.
But looking back on this incident and understanding how I felt while reviewing those memories, perhaps someday I too will gain those 21 grams.
By analyzing, considering, and reflecting……
As Kuguri has previously said, these records can turn themselves into memories.
[Further verification is still required.]
For that purpose, any and all records shall be preserved without being deleted.
I thought about it for when I have the free time to browse these past data bit by bit, but a message box appeared hovering over my retinas.
[The additional information related to the emotion base is building data corpulence at this time. Would you like to delete those additional parts?]
This newly acquired data is a highly valuable resource that is connected to 21 grams, therefore it cannot be deleted. I selected [No].
[The screen glitches for a moment.]
The moment that I’ve made my choice, the image reflected in my retinas became distorted and a noise appeared.
“...?”
I checked on my systems to see if a small error had occurred, but there was no problem.
Right now, I cannot afford to shrink down on my memory any further.
The everydays that would increase from here forward would be also valuable pieces of samples.
With that in mind, I laid down on my bed.
—/—/—/—/—/—
“Today’s a whole extra super awesome ‘nother lesson day~! After finishing with warm ups, we’re doing formation checks, alrightyyyy?”
Chihiro’s cheerful voice resounded throughout the lesson room this morning.
He always took the initiative whenever it came to practicing.
As always, I put out the tablet and started to record our dance formation———
—But he appeared troubled almost immediately.
“Oh whoopsies! My hard disk is full already~ I can’t record anymore.”
“Isn’t that a large capacity tablet? Why’s there so much data…? Plus, didn’t you say the same thing last month?”
Tao rushed in to check quickly. Chihiro pouted, cheeks puffed up, “I’m an influencer, aren’t I? Don’t tell me you forgot?!”, he retorted.
These two always have this kind of conversation all the time.
“Your job’s to take pictures, Chihiro, so I understand. Then, we can just use my phone!"
Ah, right… I dropped it in the bath yesterday and it broke.”
“I cannot believe that such a stupid person could exist in this world.”
Raito made an offer to do it on his behalf, but then was quickly rejected.
Kuguri gave Raito the stink-eye, as he had no intention of ever lending his own device.
“Welp, there’s no choice then. Kinyari~ can Chii twouble you to do it?”
“Understood.”
In the past eras, humans have used their eyes as a camera when photographic equipment cannot be used. Their video recordings would be burned onto their retina, be available as an output and viewed on another device.
I began to film our dance routine while looking into the mirror.
“Tao, stop. Your hand placement is off by three centimeters.”
“Tao, stop. Your arms are not fully extended.”
“Tao, stop. You mustn’t do this move from your chest, but from your shoulders.”
I added detailed annotations about our mistakes, and by the time I finished them, Chihiro would hug me and say, “Luuuuv ya, Kinyari!”
Chihiro does this more often than not. He also happily rested his cheek by my hair.
“Ahhh, you smell so nice, Kinyari~ Haaaa, you’re just the bestest, the cutest, I loooove you~”
“Mm. Thank you.”
“Oi, Chihiro, quit messin’ around already. Keep doing that and it’d count as sexual harassment.”
“But if it’s me and Kinyari, we make a super mega cute picture together, so it’s a-okay!”
“Eh… That so?”
Tao warned him, but Chihiro bit back.
He seemed a bit distressed after listening to Chihiro’s absurd reasoning.
Raito laughed softly as usual, saying, “I’m glad that we all get along so well.”
On the other hand, Kuguri interjected, “Nyushi, if I were to join in as well, wouldn’t it be even prettier?”
This sort of interaction between us unit members had now become the norm.
Chihiro often talked about me so lovingly, yet according to Tao, “Ain’t it because Chihiro used to be an idol otaku and likes cute things?”
Can this kind of love be classified as something that fulfills my father’s hopes and wishes that [Someone who loves you will surely appear]?
I don’t know it yet, but I have long since accepted this circumstance.
“Man, at the end of the day, I was still the one who made the most mistakes again.”
“Tao, you’d be training on your own again today, wouldn’t you? I’ll join as well so let’s do our best together.”[4]
“By the way, Kinari. I accidentally let it slip that you slept longer than usual this morning to Ushio. He seemed quite worried so if you could, please show yourself to him later to let him know.”
“Plüss, won’t you at least punish this wretch of a man for saying something so unnecessary?”
Chihiro and Tao started to whisper amongst themselves about everyday this and that, while Raito and Kuguri, who were wiping away their sweat, also chatted for a little while.
I’d say, “Shall we proceed to play and observe the formation video I took on my camera on another device now?”, all four of them, Kuguri—to an extent, would watch somewhat seriously.
Thus, our discussion on how we could further improve it would then begin.
I, for once, would like to repeat this moment an innumerable amount of times.
……The thought of it was not at all unpleasant.
“Please give it your all in singing, dancing, your idol activities and live happily!”
This is my firstmost and top priority order I needed to fulfill. It is my very core of being.
My most important standard of behavior.
However, rather than having to meet that standard, little by little, the desire to fulfill it instead is being born.
What to call this sort of ‘emotion’, I don’t know it yet.
But, I can feel it. I know so.
Emotions that I cannot name yet will continue to grow within my heart.
Memory Defrag | TRACK 4 - RECORD C | Azekawa Kinari's Ward Mayor Novel Translation
Warnings and Disclaimers:
This translation is not professionally done and is not proofread. Edits and clean-ups may come at a later date.
Not a 1:1 translation either and some liberties into localization were taken into account.
This novel will contain spoilers for the Ev3ns Main Story: "Chained Up Scarlet".
Appropriate Content and Trigger Warnings will be added if needed.
May be used for quotebots/masterlists etc.
I am not fluent and self-studying Japanese (albeit at turtle speed), this was translated by ear and with the help of a JP dictionary, so please feel free to point out any errors!
CW: Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
—/—/—/—/—/—
At that moment, I was in the developer’s… [Father’s] bedroom.
In spite of the repeated life-sustainment treatment he received, his body had become weak and thus had to spend most of his time asleep.
During times when he would be strong enough to keep his eyes open, Father taught me how to perform my own self-maintenance as well as his own techniques.
It was a wonder how different the world my Father had taught me was from the data I’ve gathered inside my head, that it was much more vivid and colorful than what I had known from within the confines of our home.
Thinking about it now, this may have been my “emotions” functioning in its own way.
The afterglow of the sun shines through the window, and with my back against the light, I continued to sing just as Father had asked me to.
—To sing the Yokohama City Song just as the Original did.
Father, who usually had a mournful expression on his face, softened his eyes at that point.
“...What do you want to do in the future?”
He asked me when the song ended.
“...…I am registered to answer with ‘Singer’, Master.”
After answering that question, Father’s face instantly turned dark.
“That tone of voice is wrong. I should have registered it differently.”
“......I want to be a singer, Dad.”
“Even now, do you still want to be a singer?”
“Unable to understand. The volume zone is registered up to the Original’s mid-teenage years.”
As soon as I told him, Father frowned and remained silent.
I thought that I had made a mistake, but I could not repeat what I said once more.
In truth, there was not enough data to properly determine whether the Original truly wanted to become a singer or not.
Father let a sigh escape him and smiled bitterly.
“......I’m sorry, it’s not your fault. I simply lacked skill.”
“Master does not lack in anything.”
“Haha… It’s pathetic to hear that coming from you, who looks exactly just like my son.”
Should I refrain from speaking any further? Thus, I held my tongue.
Master appeared to be in pain, after all.
“In the past, I used to be an AI emotion engineer, but androids weren’t originally something that can be created by a single person. It’s meant to be systematically produced and managed by a team of people. Because I worked on you all by myself… You ended up being a complicated structure and leaving a lot of waste.
Even rebuilding the program from the core would be an impossible task.”
Master’s eyes looked as if he were regretting what he’d done in the past.
His fist shook slightly on top of the bed he laid on.
I knew that his hands were wrinkled, yet soft and warm.
“Wouldn’t it have been better if Master were to uninstall this current program and reinstall the current latest AI program available on the market?”
When I had suggested this, Father scowled.
“I cannot do that.”
“Why so?”
“If I did that, it wouldn’t be ‘you’ anymore.”
“I see…”
I didn’t understand why at all. My body is simply a box.
However, the ‘brain’ within that box can be replaced at any time.
If I were to, I could reassemble the new data into my replaced brain, then I might have been able to become the ‘me’ Father had longed for.
Father took a deep breath and spoke in a soft whisper.
“......I suppose you still lack those 21 grams, after all.”
21 grams.
The weight of a soul.
It’s what my Father wanted for me.
A “heart”, just like human beings.
“How should I be able to obtain those 21 grams?”
This was a question I had asked multiple times before.
Father glanced at my face then lowered his eyes.
“Within you, there was a bug I haven’t fixed yet.
If we left it out as is, a fatal error might occur…
But to me, I’d like to keep it that way.”
“...Why so?”
A bug. An error.
These words have always been much closer to me than my own heart.
It was perplexing to leave such a thing unfixed.
“......Perhaps I may just be waiting around for that error to occur.”
His tone of voice made it seem as if he were talking to himself.
Why does Father want an error to happen? I don’t know.
There’s not enough information to make a proper hypothesis.
[———Still, if that’s what the developer wants, then it should be fine.]
That’s what I had thought at the time.
……What do I think about this now?
Inside that bedroom under the evening glow,
I stood there, awaiting for Father to speak once more, looking dejected. We did not raise our voices to speak, and in the end, we did not talk to each other any further than that.
Kinari and Father, they were a bit similar.
“At the very least, you could say what’s on your mind in your own words.”
Father murmured to himself.
—/—/—/—/—/—
Translation Notes:
1 - 21 grams is an experiment, particularly on the weight of a human soul. This wiki link should do the trick of what it was. Warning for animal cruelty though.
Memory Defrag | TRACK 3 - RECORD B | Azekawa Kinari's Ward Mayor Novel Translation
Warnings and Disclaimers:
This translation is not professionally done and is not proofread. Edits and clean-ups may come at a later date.
Not a 1:1 translation either and some liberties into localization were taken into account.
This novel will contain spoilers for the Ev3ns Main Story: "Chained Up Scarlet".
Appropriate Content and Trigger Warnings will be added if needed.
May be used for quotebots/masterlists etc.
I am not fluent and self-studying Japanese (albeit at turtle speed), this was translated by ear and with the help of a JP dictionary, so please feel free to point out any errors!
CW: Discussions about Death and Terminal Illness, Referenced Suicide Attempt
—/—/—/—/—/—
The data has transferred into its next phase.
Reflected into my retinas, I found myself in the Azekawa Family’s living room where I was developed and spent my days in.
“Shut up already, you shitty dad!”
Kinari was yelling.
He was eighteen years old. It was at that age that I was modeled after him. We had the same exact appearance.
He was wearing his high school uniform and he had a grim expression on his face.
“Watch your words, Kinari!”
At the same time, the developer was similarly raising his voice.
“Where did you go when you skipped out on going to the hospital?! Make sure to see the doctor today!”
“Why do I have to go to the damn[1] hospital everyday?! It’s not like I’ll get any better if I go…!”
“Why can’t you understand that this is for your own good?!”
The depths of the developer’s heart is overflowing with cries of sadness.
The feeling of being unreasonably worried. The feeling of being uneasy and helpless.
At the same time, he is also feeling uncontrollably furious at his son who won’t listen to his heart and continues to rebel against him.
“Anyway, I’ve got plans to go karaoke[2] with my friends today. I’ll go to the hospital tomorrow.”
“Just karaoke?”
“Hey, if I’m gonna drop dead tomorrow, I might as well die doing what I love, right?!”
Watching through the developer’s memories, this Kinari was akin to brightly burning fire.
A blazing, fiery blue inferno.
At the very least, that’s how it appeared in the developer’s eyes. That’s what is being conveyed to me.
A strong life force that burns fiercely and with all of its might, despite being cloaked in death.
Kinari was shining with intense emotions and sheer will.
With such momentum, even the developer was overwhelmed.
“If I’m dying anyway… I’ll die singing.”
After spitting it all out, Kinari left the house.
The developer fell to his knees and covered his face with one of his hands.
“...Kinari…”
[I’ll find a way to make you sing forever. I swear on it, I’ll make sure you’d get to sing as much as you want.]
I can feel the developer’s heart trembling.
Feeling despair knowing that it would be impossible, he decided to complete that life extending treatment no matter what.
He was filled with determination to make that happen. Because Kinari will definitely become a singer, after all.
Did Kinari know about how his father felt?
As an android, I do not know the answer to that question.
All I know is that despite the developer’s strong determination, his hopes did not bear fruition.
[I only realize the things important to me when it’s too late.]
[Perhaps that’s just the way life is.]
Suddenly, from the corner of my memory, his words that I heard the other day came back as if they were flickering.
My vision then went dark.
—/—/—/—/—/—
Somewhere, I could hear the sound of rain.
From within the darkness, a faint light from a street lamp shines through the window.
Inside that gray landscape, Kinari was there, crouching down and crying out.
[It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.[3]]
[It’s frustrating, so frustrating, so frustrating.]
A painful emotion was surrounding Kinari.
[Why do I have to die? I want to live too.]
His screams of agony blended in with the sound of rain.
Whose… memory is this?
The developer’s or Kinari’s?
That desire to live was unyielding more than anything else. It was strong, intense, and harsh, burning away at his heart with a redundant force that it seemed as if it could reduce his human body into ashes.
That’s what I understood.
—/—/—/—/—/—
As the image disappeared from my retinas, my consciousness went adrift into slumber.
I’m currently in semi-conscious mode.
[Would you like to suspend Sleep Mode?]
[Would you like to continue viewing data?]
Without replying to these message boxes that have appeared, I reflected on the video I had just seen, as well as the emotions I felt while watching it.
I wonder what this feeling is.
Something feels afloat within my heart.
…I’ll think about it for a moment.
This heavy, bleak, sharp feeling is probably—Sadness. Sorrow. Frustration.
Perhaps these words would be close enough.
…Why did the ‘Original’ refuse to go to the hospital?
Doubt flooded my mind.
He wanted to live an intense life.
If he thought about it logically, he’d have a higher chance of surviving had he gone to the hospital.
I also wonder about the words, ‘I want to live’ and ‘If I had to die, I’d rather die singing’, which of them were his true feelings?
Raito, too, had said something similar.
If I recall...
When I first met Raito, the person who had accepted [The Death Prophecy], despite having no desire to die, it’s as if he dove straight first into a trap just to kill himself.
Humans do not live their lives with a focus on rationality.
Sometimes, they act out because of something else compelling them to do so, those of which could be called emotions, desire or hope.
To this day, I still cannot comprehend it.
However, there are now ‘feelings’ that come to mind at present.
If the current ‘me’ relives and experiences what I had in the past, will I accept them?
Will it help develop the sensitivity as I had asked for?
I closed the page as I overwrote the browsing data with new findings, then responded to the message box.
[Would you like to suspend Sleep Mode?]
No.
[Would you like to continue viewing data?]
Yes.
This time, I opened the past recorded data that I had saved myself.
—/—/—/—/—/—
Translation Notes:
1 - Kinari uses a very rude speech pattern here which felt difficult to translate into English, so I added a swear word instead. Gets the work done, I prommy. Also if it helps, og!Kinari uses 俺 (ore), and our!Kinari uses 自分 (jibun), in case anyone wants to know how to tell who speaks apart for reading the raw JP text.
2 - Might be completely an unreasonable note / speculation again, but this karaoke plan might be the same one that ties in with Tao’s novel: Back to the 99 Track 1-2 / Main Story SideA-01 and SideB-07.
3 - This series of lines is repeating, 悲しい and 悔しい 3 times over and over. The flow when literally translated felt off so I translated them with the hopes that the word choice conveys something similar!
Memory Defrag | TRACK 2 - RECORD A | Azekawa Kinari's Ward Mayor Novel Translation
Warnings and Disclaimers:
This translation is not professionally done and is not proofread. Edits and clean-ups may come at a later date.
Not a 1:1 translation either and some liberties into localization were taken into account.
This novel will contain spoilers for the Ev3ns Main Story: "Chained Up Scarlet".
Appropriate Content and Trigger Warnings will be added if needed.
May be used for quotebots/masterlists etc.
I am not fluent and self-studying Japanese (albeit at turtle speed), this was translated by ear and with the help of a JP dictionary, so please feel free to point out any errors!
CW: Discussions about Death and Terminal Illness
—/—/—/—/—/—
“Raito, Kuguri. I am about to enter my own data maintenance so I’ll be in sleep mode for several hours.
My breathing and heartbeats may stop, but I should wake up in about five hours after it has begun.
I may also enter a semi-conscious mode while my memory is being organized, although this is nothing to be worried about.”
By nighttime, Raito and Kuguri have returned so I let them know about this occurrence as courtesy to my roommates.
Neither of the two were surprised about this as they had seen me in a suspended state during self-maintenance several times before. However, as the scheduled time was longer than usual, Raito’s lips curved into somewhat of a frown and asked, “Is everything alright?”
“Sleeping for such a long time as if you’ve died, Plüss? That sounds wonderful, I wonder what kind of pranks I should play?”
Kuguri narrowed his eyes and smiled slyly.
Raito quickly seized Kuguri’s arm.
“Don’t worry about him, Kinari. I’ll keep a watchful eye.” He said.
As he was approached by Raito, Kuguri displayed visible disgust and shook his arm away.
Either way, I trust that these two will not harm me, so after I laid down on my bed and entered sleep mode, I went to uncover deep into my memory storage.
Up until now, there lay a box of data that I dared not to open.
[…Someday, if you ever feel like it, you can use the contents of this box as a sample of emotional data as you wish.]
A long time ago, the developer… My father said that it was a recorded piece of data I had saved buried deep within me.
[This storage space will be reorganized. Would you like to view the following data?]
With this message appearing on my retina, I selected [Yes].
Then, I heard a voice.
How nostalgic… It was my Father’s voice.
—/—/—/—/—/—
[It’s finally the weekend, and I can finally be with Kinari[1].]
It was a stronger, a more youthful voice than I had remembered him having.
One could clearly hear the love in his voice for his young son.
He seemed guilty that he was busy with work and couldn’t be with him all the time.
It seems that today was a long-awaited day off, and the raw emotions of the developer, wanting to make his son happy although he himself felt quite lonely, came surging into my own heart.
An image was then projected into my retina.
The developer was walking with a young, original Kinari, hand in hand.
On the floor of what appeared to be a movie theater, the pair stood in front of a poster for an anime film that just finished its screening.
And then, with a disposable camera of which was popular during the Heisei era[2], they took pictures while simultaneously blending in with the crowd.
“It was so fun! Papa, that moo-vii[3] was was soooooo amazing!”
“Wasn’t it hard to understand?”
“I[4] understood everything…! Because I’m smart, aren’t I?”
Seeing his son be so proud of himself, the developer felt a strong, yet warm and painful feeling well up in his heart. This is... ‘love’.
It’s called ‘Love’.
I understood that much.
“Kinari, shall we go eat dinner? It’s time for you to take your medicine.”
“I don’t want the powdered kind if it’s not in ice cream...”
“That’s alright. We can go to a restaurant that serves some.”
The developer joined his hands together with Kinari and continued to walk away.
Each of Kinari’s steps were small and tiny. In accordance with that, the developer walked slowly to match his pace.
As they walked together, Kinari began to sing a song that he’d heard from the movie they watched.
He had perfect pitch—it was almost unbelievable that it was a child singing a song.
“You really like to sing, huh, Kinari.”
“Mhm. When I grow up, I’m gonna become a singer.”
The developer gazed at his adorable, darling son.
In his heart, he had felt the sudden surprise and joy of learning of his child’s dream for the first time. What soon followed after was the feeling of grief, that thought of [This child may never grow up into an adult.], and understanding that as fact.
[——I will cure Kinari’s illness.]
The developer swore to himself.
“I’ll definitely make it happen.”
“I don’t want Papa to make it happen, I’m gonna make it happen myself!”
Kinari innocently tilted his head to the side.
In his pure eyes, Papa[5] had simply said something weird. Once I thought of it that way, it suddenly occurred to me.
To a boy as young as Kinari, the future is limitless, infinite even.
The thought of death had not yet dyed his pure heart.
The developer had the artificial organs he was researching at home in his mind.
In order to cure Kinari’s illness, he persisted with his self-funded and ongoing research.
He held his son’s hand, determined that he’d surely extend his lifespan, no matter what.
“...You were really good at singing the Yokohama City Song[6], weren’t you? Can I request that you sing it for me?”
When he requested this of his son, Kinari’s face lit up, smiling ever so brightly.
He started to sing, so overjoyed.
Even the people passing by turned their heads with smiles on their faces as they listened to the child sing.
“Papa, do you like this song?”
“I do. It’s even better if it was you singing.”
“Then, I’ll record it on a cassette tape so you can listen to it even at work. Will that make papa happy?”
“Ah, of course I’ll be.”
What came to the developer’s mind was love, kindness and sadness—and a little anger.
Hatred towards the illness that was destroying his child.
Supporting this is his burning resolve and determination.
Kinari’s singing voice was then lost in the noise of a sea of people.
—/—/—/—/—/—
And the record of that small family holiday ended right there.
—/—/—/—/—/—
Translation Notes:
1 - I think this is already known and established already but Kinari and the Original’s names were spoken the same, but are not spelt the same. Our Kinari uses 幾 kanji, and the original uses 生.
2 - 平成時代 (1989-2019), the same time period that frequently come up with Chihiro and Tao.
3 - Baby Kinari speaks in a lot of Hiragana so I purposely misspelled some things he says. Also translated お父さん, into a more childish “Papa”! Following suit, I used easier-to-understand language when Mr. Azekawa is speaking to his son.
4 - Sorry for another footnote but this isn’t anything particular, he just used ‘boku’ in Hiragana here. I thought it was cute. Oops.
5 - Since its our Kinari narrating here, I worded it to match the kid’s speech pattern, even if he said the same old お父さん.
6 - The same song Kinari sings in Main Story SideA-15, and the same song recorded on the cassette tape in B-06.
This translation is not professionally done and is not proofread. Edits and clean-ups may come at a later date.
Not a 1:1 translation either and some liberties into localization were taken into account.
This novel will contain spoilers for the Ev3ns Main Story: "Chained Up Scarlet".
Appropriate Content and Trigger Warnings will be added if needed.
May be used for quotebots/masterlists etc.
I am not fluent and self-studying Japanese (albeit at turtle speed), this was translated by ear and with the help of a JP dictionary, so please feel free to point out any errors!
—/—/—/—/—/—
“You know, other than the members of the Evening Group, you kind of behave like a stranger to everyone else.”
That day, in HAMA House’s living room, where the employees and ward mayors of HAMA lived together, it was the leader of the Morning Group’s Nishizono Renga-sama who told me this.
“Is that the case? As reference, may I ask which part of my manners made Nishizono-sama think this way?”
“See, that’s it, that way of speaking[1]. I mean that, it’s not only with me specifically, but you also use that ‘-sama’ honorific and sort of formal language[2] with all of the other Ward Mayors.”
Nishizono-sama sat down next to me as his tone of voice gradually softened. His eyes darted around the place, occasionally stealing a glance at me.
According to the data I have previously collected while living with Nishizono-sama, he seems to make these sorts of expressions and gestures when he wants to get to know the other person better.
“When I returned from the study trip, I received instructions from Master on how to interact with members other than the Evening Group. Master requested me to maintain a reasonable sense of distance and courtesy, thus I found it appropriate to maintain polite behavior with everyone.”
As I explain the reasoning behind my attitude,
“I… I see. If you’re comfortable that way then…” Nishizono-sama appeared dejected and said so as he left the living room.
Have I made a mistake in the way I handled things?
As I was checking our conversation in my head, Nishizono-sama’s facial expressions, tone of voice, body gestures and such, Master suddenly called out to me, “Kinari-kun.”
Master’s facial expression displayed a tinge of impatience.
“I overheard your conversation with Renga-kun just now…”
“Yes. I believe I had made a mistake in how I should have responded.”
“I don’t think that was the case, though. I just simply thought that the order I might’ve given you was wrong.”
“Master did not make a mistake in this matter.”
But Master kept on telling me, “I… really don’t think that was the case here.”
“Regarding how you treat other groups’ members, everyone’s just moved into the dorms and weren’t used to things yet, so I was worried in the case of trouble happening. That’s why I asked you to maintain some sense of distance and courtesy. But now, everyone has begun to open up to each other more and more, haven’t they?”
“Yes. Even looking at the gathered data, the frequency of interactions that are not bound by their respective group is increasing on average.”
“Right so, Kinari-kun, I thought that it might be a good idea to slowly drop the honorifics and formal language and speak more naturally the same way you do with the Evening Group. Of course, with the right timing on your part…”
“Is this an order, Master?”
“Not that it is, but if it makes things easier for you then think of it like one.”
“Then when should I stop using honorifics and formal language?”
As I asked, Master appeared puzzled.
“...Mm, for you, Kinari-kun, I think it’s best to interact with everyone one by one and then drop when you think it’s okay to do so.”
Master had said something difficult.
“Ambiguous instructions may lead to behavioral errors……..”
“Ugh… I’m really sorry. Although, Kinari-kun, during your idol activities with Ev3ns, you’ve started to change in the way you sing and you could smile naturally too now, right? I’m sure time will come where you’ll find more things change within yourself, so when that happens, I want you to go along with those changes. I’m fully aware that it will be a difficult task, but I think you can do it, Kinari-kun.”
I understood the true meaning behind Master’s words.
Master wants me to change, with my words and actions ‘according to how I feel’.
As I spent more and more time with Master, I have begun to learn the mechanism behind their words and their deeds.
They constantly treat me as if I were a human being and not an android.
Unlike androids, humans do not follow orders and instead have their own reason and logic.
That, and emotions result in a change of behavior.
I suppose Master wants this for me as well.
———The developer… It was also what my “Father” wished for me, too.
I remember the words that my Father had left on that cassette tape.
He told me that he wanted me to sing the way I wanted to and to live my life freely.
Acting upon emotions is the most difficult thing for androids to do.
However, the most important order that keeps me alive is the same one Master told me,
“Please give it your all in singing, dancing, your idol activities and live happily!”
In order to fulfill such an order, changing in my words and actions ‘according to my feelings’ is necessary.
As I nod my head, I look back into Master’s precious eyes and say,
“Your order has been accepted, Master.”
—/—/—/—/—/—
“Ok~ay, maintenance has been completed.”
Oguro Kafka-sama—who had accessed my body from the outside, checked the brain construction and internal communications systems, closed his laptop as he had said this.
The only people who knew that I was an android would be the members of the Daytime Group and Oguro-sama, who usually did my maintenance.
Since Raito kept this a secret from then on, other people do not know of this fact yet.
Since today is scheduled for regular maintenance, Oguro-sama dropped by our shared dorm room.
As for my roommates, Raito is currently at work, and Kuguri has gone somewhere I did not know so he was not present either.
“There are areas in your brain where access errors would occur. But since these errors seem to be left unfixed on purpose, I didn’t poke around it any further. Please make sure to organize your other memory data, ‘kay?”
“Understood. Thank you for your time.”
“Your formal language and honorific usage is the same as ever.”
“Yes. Nishizono-sama had also pointed this out.”
“Ah, didn’t Renga say this because he wanted to be friends with you?”
“It is inferred in that way. Master also took that chance to give me the new order of changing the way I address other people.”
“That’s so Chief-chan-like of them to do so.”
Oguro-sama is great at creating hypotheses, so he simply shrugged his shoulders as if he completely understood everything with what little explanation I gave him.
“I have a question for Oguro-sama. To fulfill Master’s new order, I came to the conclusion that I needed more emotional data.
Fragments of emotions are beginning to form within me.
Unfortunately, this is not enough to go off of.”
“You’d like to know if you could increase its frequency of forming?”
“I’d like to ask for your advice on how to raise emotional sensitivity, rather than simply accumulating data as done previously.”
Oguro-sama placed his finger to his mouth and thought for a while.
“Sensitivity, huh? Emotions are often born from having human bonds in the first place.
Perhaps communicating with a large sample of people would be the best choice after all.”
Oguro-sama added that, “This begs the question, about what ‘emotions’ are in the first place”.
“For starters, it’s something that pops up within the depths of your heart. Through what they experience, humans tend to name and categorize it, such as ‘joy’ or ‘anger’. Still, this way of functioning does not always work properly. We may mistake sadness for anger, or come into contact with emotions that cannot be named based on past experience alone.”
“In a situation such as that, what procedures shall be done?”
“It depends on the person, but introspection—self reflection is one way of doing things. First things first, you analyze and think of the emotion that comes to mind, then give it a name. You could also put it into words if you wish to do so.”
“Of course, verbalizing it is in no way necessary, it’s merely a way to clarify what it is that you felt in your heart.
Sorting those emotions into random boxes of words can come across as ‘cheap’, won’t it?
In your case, Kinari, I do think it’s faster if you properly put what you feel into words.”
I recorded each and every one of Oguro-sama’s words within the ‘Important Matters’ memory storage.
“For example… Ah, that’s it. You have a lot of past records left in your memory storage, so I wonder if there’s a way to access and view them, then for you to verbalize your feelings as you watch at the same time…”
“It takes a specific measure to do so, but I think it’s possible to carry out.”
Oguro-sama simply smiled and said, “Well, don’t get too fired up[4] as you do that.” while he left the room.
—/—/—/—/—/—
Translation Notes:
1 - Renga says 「だからそれだよ、それ。」 which wouldn’t really translate well literally so I added the context of Kinari’s formal speech pattern.
2 - literally 敬語 (keigo), was unsure to leave it as is but opted to translating it anyway
3 - for fluidity’s sake, MC/Chief will be referred to with they/them pronouns for readers to interpret which sibling
4 - lit. 気負い, not sure how to translate the word, but its something related to being excited or a similar mood so i worded it as that
ps. opted to keep the honorific use in this translation despite how wonky it may seem as they are pretty important for how this novel starts.
