Episodes 06

Cerna Christmas

This story takes place not long before the beginning of Magical Girl Raising Project: Restart.

There was only one condition necessary to become a Magical Girl: Magical Potential. Knowledge, kindness, courage, self-control, physical strength, a strong heart and so on were little more than secondary requirements, and they were not essential to being chosen as a Magical Girl.
想成为魔法少女，必须具备的唯一条件即为——魔法潜力。知性、温柔、勇气、自制力、体力、坚强的心诸如此类，充实量不过是次要条件，并不会被当成获选为魔法少女的必要条件。

On the other hand, as long as one possessed the indistinct quality of Magical Potential, which could not be expressed in concrete figures, anyone could be a Magical Girl. It was independent of age, gender and race, and while it was very rare, sometimes even a bigger gap could be crossed--
反过来说，只要具备「魔法潜力」这个无法以具体数字呈现的模糊要素，任何人都能够成为魔法少女。与年龄、性别、人种完全无关，另外，虽然极为罕见，但也有超越更大范畴的情形——

***

Takanaka Meat Shop sold two kinds of croquettes. The normal kind of croquette cost 100 yen each, while “no good” (NG) croquettes, which were singed or deformed, went for 50 yen apiece. Ever since the shopowner’s only son had come back from Tokyo to help out at the shop, it had begun selling the 50 yen croquettes. The students who often lacked spending money and the often-impoverished salarymen rejoiced over this. They christened the regular croquettes “Premium Croquettes”, while the NG croquettes were the “Normal Croquettes”, and so they often bought the “no good” products first. Takanaka Meat Shop’s croquettes were cheap and delicious, with a lot of minced meat and a crispy, fried outer crust, and more importantly their portions were very filling.
高仲肉铺贩售两种可乐饼。一般的可乐饼是一个一百圆，焦掉或是形状不完整的NG可乐饼一个则卖五十圆。自从家里的独生子从东京回到老家帮忙店里的生意后，店里就开始贩卖「五十圆可乐饼」。此举，令经常缺钱花用的学生或是薪贫上班族感到欣喜无比。他们称一般的可乐饼为「气派可乐饼」，并称NG可乐饼为「平凡可乐饼」，因此会优先购买这些NG商品。高仲肉铺的可乐饼价格便宜又美味，绞肉比例高，面衣被炸得酥酥脆脆的，更重要的一点是分量十足。

Recently, there had been no NG croquettes on sale, and some of the customers said, “So your son’s skills have improved~” as they bought the “Premium Croquettes” with looks of patent dejection on their faces. From that point of view, the fact that Tatehara Tomoki could buy six 50 yen croquettes was quite a stroke of luck.
最近这一阵子，有好几天没有卖NG可乐饼，因此也有顾客会一边说「您家的儿子也越来越上手了呢〜」却也一边略显落寞地购买「气派可乐饼」。从这一点看来，建原智树能够买到六个五十圆的可乐饼可以说是相当幸运。

However, Tomoki did not consider himself lucky. He simply felt that sitting on the playground swing and sighing by himself was just like “being a middle-aged salaryman who could not tell his family he had been fired and simply went to the park every day to pretend he was at work.”
然而，智树并不认为自己相当幸运，他只觉得坐在公园荡秋千上唉声叹气的自己，就像是「无法将遭到裁员的事实告诉家人,每天只能跑到公圔报到，假装上班的中年上班族」。

That said, all that was the fault of Tomoki’s big sister. She should have come home straight away after her club activities, but she only reached home an hour later. He knew the reason why his sister was late--baseball. Tomoki’s big sister did not play baseball, but she stayed back after school to watch the baseball team matches.
话说回来，一切都是智树的姊姊的错。她明明应该在社团结束后立刻回家，但却晚一个小时才回到家。他知道姊姊晚归的理由——棒球。姊姊并不是去打棒球，而是在学校放学后，跑去看棒球的红白对抗赛。

After graduating to middle school, Tomoki’s big sister had developed an interest in baseball. She must have been influenced by a friend in middle school. Before that, her big sister had never even mentioned the word baseball, or at least Tomoki had not heard her say so.
智树的姊姊升上国中后，就对观赏棒球比赛产生了兴趣。应该是升上国中后，受到哪个朋友的影响吧。在那之前，姊姊明明连棒球的棒字都没说过，至少智树从来没有听她说过。

When his big sister had graduated to middle school, he thought to himself that his sister looked like an elementary schooler who had accidentally put on a middle school uniform. He had even been worried that such a weak-looking middle-schooler like her might end up being bullied. Now that he recalled those thoughts he realised he had been worried for nothing.
当姊姊升上国中时，他还暗自认为，姊姊看起来就像是小学生不小心误穿国中生的制服。他甚至偷偷担心过，看起来这么不可靠的国中生，搞不好还会遭到霸凌。如今回想起来，根本就是白白操心了。

His big sister did not play baseball, she simply watched the matches. Perhaps she who had always said, “my interests are reading” and was clueless about sports had finally awakened something inside her, but to Tomoki, it was deeply vexing.
姊姊并没有玩棒球，纯粹只是观战而已。也许懂事以来，从头到尾都是「兴趣为阅读」的运动白痴终于开窍了也不一定，但对智树而言，只能说是困扰到了极点。

His big sister had clearly agreed to take turns watching the house with him, but because his sister had come back late, Tomoki’s holidays had gone up in smoke He thought, I might still be in time and he pedalled his bike with all his might, but he ended up being 30 minutes later than scheduled.
姊姊明明答应他要轮流看家的，却因为姊姊的晚归，使得智树的假日泡汤了。他心想搞不好还来得及，于是尽全力猛踩脚踏车一路狂奔，但比预定晚了三十分钟

He reached the video game store. The card game tournament was well under way, and his friends were all happily thrashing their opponents or being thrashed in turn.
抵达电玩游戏专卖店。卡牌游戏大赛早就已经开打，朋友们一个个愉快地打击对手或是被对手打击。

--They were giving out limited edition promotion cards today, to the winners only! Why did something so unlucky have to happen to me at the beginning of winter break? It’s all that fault of that pig-woman! That pig, that pig, that pig, that pig!
——今天开始送出的，可是限定优胜者才有的奖赏卡耶！寒假才刚开始就发生这么倒楣的事情！全部都是那个丑八怪的错！丑八怪、丑八怪、丑八怪、丑八怪！

Even if he cursed his sister in his heart, time would not turn back for him.
即使在心中辱骂姊姊一番，时光也无法倒转。

While his friends had done nothing wrong, and the game shop had not done anything wrong either, staying here to watch them would only be an eyesore. Therefore, he mounted up on his bicycle and returned along the route by which he came. His wasted time and fruitless efforts only served to make his mood worse, and it made him unable to ride properly. It caused him to clip a power pole with a handle bar and crash to the ground with his bike. That pissed him off even more.
虽然他的朋友们并没有错，游戏专卖店也没有错，但继续待在现场观战只会令他感到刺眼极了。所以，他跨上自行车，循着来时路折返。浪费时间、徒劳无功的行动令他心情相当不爽，也使得他无法好好专心骑车，导致手把勾到一旁的电线杆，连人带车一起跌倒。因此，他的心情更加不悦了。

It was just then that he suddenly smelled the delicious aroma of croquettes from the Takanaka Meat Shop. It  was Sunday afternoon, the time when fourth-year elementary schoolers were most likely to get hungry. When he drew closer, he saw a small pile of “Normal Croquettes” next to the ”Premium Croquettes”.
也就是在这时候，突然闻到高仲肉铺传来的香喷喷的可乐饼味道。现在是星期日下午，正值成长期的小学四年级生最容易肚子饿的时段。当他走近一看，发现「气派可乐饼」旁的「普通可乐饼」堆积如小山。

His entrance fee was still in his bag. Perhaps stuffing his face would help alleviate the melancholy in his heart. In addition, he had not eaten Takanaka’s croquettes in a long time. If he missed this golden opportunity now, who knew when there would be Normal Croquettes for sale again.
比赛的报名费仍然完好如初地留在他的荷包中。也许暴饮暴食能够一扫心中的忧郁也不一定。而且，他也很久没有吃高仲肉铺的可乐饼了。如果今天放过这个大好机会溜走的话，下次不晓得何时才会摆出「普通可乐饼」。

That thought ran through his mind time and again, and by the time he realized it, he had bought six croquettes, and he was seated on a park bench holding an oil-stained paper bag in his hands. The end of the year was coming, and this was only the second day of winter break. Naturally, it was very cold. WHile it would have been warmer if he had eaten it at home, the mere thought of his big sister made him gnash his teeth. Why did he have to look at his sister’s face while eating croquettes? In that case, he might as well eat them all before going home.
如此念头接二连三地浮现在他的脑海中，当他回过神来时，已经买了六块可乐饼，手上捧着吸了油的咖啡色包装纸，坐在公园的长椅上。今天是年关已近，寒假刚开始的第二天。理所当然地天气很冷。虽然带回家吃会比较温暖，但是一想到姊姊就让他气得牙痒痒的。为什么他非得要看着姊姊的脸吃可乐饼啊。既然如此,干脆在回家以前先把可乐饼吃光光吧。

Right now, his friends were all playing their card games. For all he knew, nobody had noticed Tomoki’s absence. He could easily imagine how everyone would cluelessly go, “Speaking of which, what happened to Tatehara?” after the tournament was over.
此时此刻，他的朋友都在玩卡牌游戏。搞不好，完全没有人察觉到智树不在场的事实。他也能够轻易地想象到，等到比赛结束之后，大家才搞不清楚状况地说「话说回来，建原发生什么事情啦？」。

--Ahhhh, I’m mad! I’m so damn mad!
——啊啊，气死人！真的是气死人了！

He tore the bag open without mercy, then opened his jaw to its maximum extension, intending to take huge mouthfuls of the croquette. However, just as his teeth were about to meet in the middle, there was a great noise. It sounded like it had come from deep beneath the earth, like something large and heavy had made it, which made his hairs stand on end--the sound of a stomach rumbling.
他手下不留情地奋力撕开包装纸，并将嘴巴张大到下颚关节的极限，打算大口大口地啃起可乐饼。然而，就在他上下列的牙齿正要咬合的瞬间，突然传来一道巨大的声响。仿佛从地底深处传来，又大又沉重，令人忍不住寒毛直起的——肚子叫的声音。

The sound had not come from Tomoki. Even if his stomach made noise, it would not have made such a shocking noise, like that of a large carnivore. He froze mid-bite, then pulled the croquette gently away from his teeth and scanned the park with his eyes.
并不是智树发出来的声音。即使他肚子中的蛔虫在叫，也不会发出这种仿佛大型肉食动物般的惊人声响。中断咬合的动作，将可乐饼轻轻地拿离牙齿后，以眼神巡视公园。

The slide, the swing set, the horizontal bar, the jungle gym, all of them were empty. Not even the stray cats were around.
溜滑梯、荡秋千、单杠、立体方格铁架。空无一人，甚至连流浪猫都没有。

After that, his eyes swept across the fountain and under the streetlights, and then he looked up, whereupon he found that something. There was a person squatting on the street. He was not seeing things; it was definitely a person. That person was on top of the streetlamps, about five meters above the ground.
接着，他的视线扫过喷水池移到路灯下，再向上望，并发现了那个东西。路面上有个蹲伏的人影。并不是他眼花，确实是人影。那个人就在路灯顶端，距离地面五公尺处。

The human shape jumped down with a thump, and then quietly but intently watched Tomoki--it was a girl.
人影扑通一跃而下,之后静悄悄着地并紧盯住智树不放——是个女生。

She looked to be around the same age as his big sister, or perhaps she was slightly older, a high-school student and the way she was dressed defied description.
年纪大概与姊姊差不多，或是比姊姊再年长一点的高中生，而她的打扮却让人不知道该如何形容……

Her outfit looked soft and fluffy--and it even had a pair of rounded ears.  There were a pair of crossed-out cat-print symbols on her shoulders. It was like a doll outfit made to look like a hamster. However, her face was exposed. When Tomoki saw her face, he could not help but take a step back. It was not because she was very scary, and neither was it because he did not know her. It was because her face was so pretty that it was shocking. Several strands of light pink hair peeked out from under her animal-patterned hood, flowing like water as the wind blew them, and in her right hand she held a big white sack, like the kind Santa Claus used to hold presents.
整体看起来似乎相当蓬松柔软——还长出圆滚滚的耳朵。肩膀有斜线压上猫咪图案的标志。简直就像是模仿老鼠外形制成的布偶装。不过，脸的部分是外露的。当智树看到那张脸的时候，忍不住后退一大步，并不是因为她长得很恐怖，也不是因为他认识对方。而是她的长相端正到相当惊人的地步。动物造型帽下微微露出来的几丝浅桃色头发，在风的吹拂下如流水般飘扬，右手则是提着，个仿佛圣诞老人的礼物袋的白色大布袋。

Also, her eyes were bright and piercing. She looked unblinkingly at Tomoki--or rather, at Tomoki’s hand.
而且，她的眼睛炯炯有神。眼睛眨也不眨地盯着智树——应该说，是智树的手。

Once Tomoki realized this, he looked down at his hands. His right was holding a croquette, while the left held the paper bag containing the rest of the croquettes. Tomoki eyed the girl, then raised the croquette while tilting his head. The girl nodded vigorously, her eyes glued to the croqeutte, as though she wanted to gulp it down. When Tomoki nervously offered her the croquette, the girl immediately drew close and chomped on the croquette, as well as Tomoki’s hand that was holding it, which drew a wail of agony from TOmoki.
智树察觉到这一点，望向手边，自己的右手正拿着可乐饼，左手则是可乐饼的包装纸，智树瞄了那个女生一眼，举起可乐饼并困惑地偏着头，只见那个女生奋力地点头如捣蒜，眼睛直直地紧盯可乐饼，像是要把它吞下肚般。当智树战战兢兢地递出可乐饼后，少女立刻接近并一口晈住可乐饼，连同智树拿着可乐饼的手也一起咬住，令智树忍不住发出惨叫。

“It smelled super nice, so I knew that it would taste delicious. After eating it, it was as tasty as I expected.”
「因为闻起来超级香的，我就知道味道尝起来也一定很美味。实际吃过之后，果然如我预期般好吃得不得了。」

The girl finished Tomoki’s croquette in the blink of an eye, even going so far as to take the bag as well and devour its contents, before finally turning to a dumbfounded Tomoki and saying, “Thanks.”
少女在一眨眼的时间吃掉智树的可乐饼，甚至把包装纸整个夺走，将里面的内容物也吃个精光后，才转而对目瞪口呆的智树低头说了一句「谢谢」。

Tomoki narrowed his eyes as he looked at the girl who was rubbing her tummy and sitting on the bench. He had completely forgotten the pain in his hand.
智树以斜眼瞄向心满意足地摸着肚皮、坐在长椅上的女生。他已经完全忘记手上的疼痛。

“Cerna’s nose is sharp, so it won’t make a mistake!”
「因为切尔娜我的鼻子很灵敏，所以绝对不会搞错！」

“Er… are you Cerna-san?”
「呃……您是切尔娜小姐吗？」

“Cerna is Cerna, who’re you?”
「切尔娜就是切尔娜啊，你又是谁啊？」

“My name is Tatehara Tomoki.”
「我叫做建原智树。」

She was probably older than him, and so he addressed her politely. However, he had no idea what kind of person she was.
对方的年纪恐怕在他之上，他因此使用敬语。不过，对方到底是什么人，他仍然摸不着头绪。

Cerna was probably her name. Maybe it was one of those weird baby names, No, she might not be Japanese; after all, her facial features did not quite seem Japanese. Besides, this might not be her real name; it might be the name of a character or a stage name.
切尔娜应该是她的名字。也许这就是所谓的闪亮亮名字。不，搞不好她并不是日本人，毕竟她的五官也有点不像日本人。再说，这也有可能根本不是她的本名，也许是某个角色的名字或艺人的艺名之类的。

Tomoki examined her outfit again. She looked like some kind of elaborately-costumed street musician, a comedian, or some kind of special idol; definitely the sort who would take a stage name.
智树再次打量起她的打扮，看起来像是东西屋、搞笑艺人或特殊路线的偶像，她的确像是会取艺名的人。

“Cerna was so hungry, but fortunately you were here--”
「切尔娜的肚子饿得要死，真是太好了——」

“Ah, mm. I see.”
「啊，嚼。是这样子啊。」

“However, Cerna’s not the only hungry one.”
「但是，肚子饿的不只有切尔娜一个人而已。」

“Ahh, is that so?”
「啊啊，是这样子的吗？」

“Cerna’s Family is hungry too.”
「切尔娜的Family也都饿了。」

After that, Cerna began rambling on by herself. There were a lot of strange things with her Japanese, so it was probably not a stage name. Perhaps it was because she was foreign, Tomoki thought.
接下来，切尔娜开始自顾自地说明起来。她的日文有许多奇怪的地方，看来那并不是她的艺名,也许是因为她是外国人的关系吧。智树如此心想。

Cerna had a Family. They were her friends who were born in the same home as herself, but they were scattered throughout Japan. A strong leader had a duty to support the members of her Family, and so, since Cerna was stronger than anyone else, she had a greater duty than anyone else to support her Family.
切尔娜有Family。出身于同一个故乡的伙伴们，则是四散在日本全国各地。强大的领袖有义务扶养众多的Family，因此比任何人都强大的切尔娜，比任何人都有义务扶养众多的Family。

Family--her family, in Japanese. She was searching for food throughout Japan in order to support her family members, so was she part of a large family? A hard worker? Everything she said defied belief, but she did not seem to be lying, talking nonsense, or delusional.
Family——日文直译就是家人。为了养活众多家人，因此在日本全国各地努力捜集食物，她是来自于大家庭吗？还是劳碌命？她说的每一字每一句都令人无法置信，但她并不像是在撒谎、胡诌或是有妄想症的人。

“Also, the special day will be coming soon.”
「而且啊，再过不久就要迎接特别的日子来临了。」

“Special day?”
「特别的日子？」

“Whenever that day comes, the leader must go to where each member of her Family lives and give them presents. If I can’t give them something better than usual as a present, then I have no right to be the leader.”
「每到那一天，领袖就必须去每个Family住的地方，四处赠送礼物给大家才行。如果无法拿出比平常更棒的东西当作礼物，就没资格当领袖了。」

Christmas? New Year money? For some reason, both of them seemed likely.
圣诞节？压岁钱？总觉得听起来两者皆有可能。

“That’s why~”
「所以喽〜」

Cerna tugged on Tomoki’s hand, and held it tightly. Tomoki felt a faint warmth that would not vanish even as the northwesterly wind of late autumn blew on him. On top of that, the softness of her palm and the smoothness of her skin made Tomiki’s heart race all of a sudden, and his blood flowed back into his brain.
切尔娜拉起智树的手，紧紧握住。智树感受到一股即使在晚秋的西北风吹拂下，也不会消失的微微暖意传来。再加上手掌的柔软以及肌肤的光滑,令智树的心跳数忍不住一口气飙升。他的血液全部逆流至大脑。

“I’m looking for tasty food.”
「我正在寻找美味的食物。」

Still holding Tomoki’s hand, Cerna began running. Under that impulse, Tomoki was not so much carried along as dragged along.
切尔娜就这样维持握住智树的手的姿势，飞奔起来。而智树也在那股冲劲下，与其说是被带着走，倒不如说是被强行拉走。

“Wait! Wait a minute! Stop, stop!”
「等、等一下！站住、站住！」

She actually stopped. His momentum carried his body forward, and Cerna caught him. He felt a sensation that was softer than her palms.
真的停下来了。因为惯性定律继续向前进的身体，被切尔娜接住。一种比手掌更加柔软的触感传来。

“Why are we stopping?”
「为什么要站住？」

Tomoki waved away the softness that had very nearly stolen away his soul.
智树挥走差点被那股柔软夺走心神的自我。

“You said you were looking for delicious food? Then where do you plan to go next?”
「你说你在寻找美味的食物？那你接下来打算去哪里啊？」

“Cerna wants more of what Cerna just ate, because it’s very tasty. Therefore, please tell me where I can go to get that.”
「切尔娜想要更多刚才吃的那个东西。因为那个很美味。所以，请你告诉我去哪里可以得到那个东西。」

“Ah… I’m out of money.”
「那个……我没钱了。」

“Why?”
「为什么？」

“What do you mean, why?”
「什么为什么。」

There was a surprising expression on her face.
她竟然露出一副相当意外的神情。

“Tomoki, you’re an adult, you need to be more reliable~”
「智树你可是大人耶，好歹也可靠一点嘛——」

“No, I’m not an adult. I’m a kid. I’m still in elementary school.”
「不，我才不是大人。我是小孩。目前还在念小学。」

“Eh! You’re a kid?!”
「咦！你是小孩吗！」

She looked surprised again. He felt a little dissatisfied at being unable to meet Cerna’s expectations. However, no matter how you looked at it, the fault was hers for treatign Tomoki as an adult. Objectively speaking, he was the very picture of an elementary schooler.
她又再度露出一副相当意外的神情。因为无法回应切尔娜的期待，让人看了有点于心不忍。但是，无论怎么想，错在她不该把智树当成大人吧。从客观的角度看来，他明明看起来活脱脱就是个小学生啊。

“Really?! You’re a kid?! So there’s no more delicious food from just now?”
「是吗！你是小孩啊！刚才的美食已经没有了吗？」

“Er, jes. That’s right.”
「呃，没错。就是这样。」

“Then that’s too bad. Let’s go look for some other food.”
「那就算了。去找其他的食物吧。」

He did not even have the time to go “Eh?” before Cerna grabbed him by the hand and dragged him off.
他连「咦？」一声的时间都没有，立刻被切尔娜抓住手，强行拉走。

Since she knew he was just a kid and that he could not provide more croquettes, he was no longer of use to her. While he felt that it was a bit of a shame for some reason, they would have no choice but to part ways here. After returning home, he would talk to his big sister about, “the super strange girl I encountered”. At least, that was what he believed would happen.
既然知道他只是个小孩，而且没办法再供应更多的可乐饼后，自己就没用处了。虽然他会莫名地感到有些许的遗憾，但也只能就此分道扬镳。然后，在回到家之后,他会跟姊姊聊起「我遇到了一个超级神奇的女孩」的话题。他原本是这么想的。

But for some reason, Tomoki was still moving around with Cerna.
但不知道为什么，智树现在仍然跟切尔娜共同行动中。

“Is there a supermarket or family restaurant around?”
「这附近有超商或是家庭餐厅吗？」

“I know a couple of places, but do you have money on you?”
「我是知道地点，不过你身上有钱吗？」

“Which would be better, sneaking in or rummaging through their garbage--”
「偷偷潜人与翻垃圾，哪一个比较好呢——」

“Er, I don’t think you can do either of them.”
「呃，两种都不行吧。」

“I can’t?”
「不行吗？」

“Nope.”
「不行。」

“I understand… it’s a special present, so I can’t give them the usual food. Is that what you mean?”
「我懂了……因为是特别的礼物，所以不可以送平常吃的饭呀。你是这个意思吧？」

“You can take it as that.”
「就当作是这么一回事吧。」

“I sent out a questionnaire and asked everyone what they wanted.”
「我做了问卷调查。问大家想要什么东西。」

“And what did everyone say?”
「大家的回答是什么？」

“I think they wanted to try cat meat or something.”
「像是想要吃看看猫肉之类的。」

“That… seems a little…”
「这个……似乎有一点……」

“Also, I need to take revenge on the Musician.”
「还有，至少要向音乐家报一箭之仇之类的。」

“What does that mean?”
「这句话是什么意思？」

“A girl from my Family lives in a hospital, and she mentioned a girl called the New Patient (Musician). Cerna doesn’t quite get it. Tomoki, do you understand?”
「有个住在医院里的Family，曾经提到一个叫做『新音乐家』（入院患者）的女生。切尔娜我也不太明白意思。智树你明白吗？」

“I have no idea.”
「完全不明白。」

***

“Ah… why are you taking your clothes off?”
「请问……为什么要脱掉？」

“I’ve been running since just now and I’ve been soaked with sweat. I want to rinse myself.”
「因为刚才一直在跑步，流了满身的汗，我想要冲一下水。」

“In this cold weather?”
「在这么冷的天气？」

“Ah, yes. I don’t have fur on me now. I’ll surely be so cold I can’t move.”
「啊啊，对喔。我现在身上没有毛皮。一定会冷到不行。」

“Ah, yes. Mm. I guess.”
「是啊，嗯。大概就是这样子。」

“Tomoki, you’re smart~”
「智树好聪明喔——」

“...Thank you very much.”
「……谢谢夸奖。」

***

“Hide!”
「快躲起来！」

“What happened?”
「发生什么事情了吗？」

“Look, over there.”
「喏，你看那个人。」

“That old granny? The one with a rose on her chest?”
「那位老婆婆吗？身上别了玫瑰胸花的那个人？」

“That person’s amazing, we have to be very careful.”
「那个人可是很厉害的，必须特别小心才行。」

“Her?”
「她吗？」

“Cerna knows. You can’t defy people who wear flowers. I don’t quite remember, but I think something like that happened in the past.”
「切尔娜我很清楚。不可以忤逆那个戴着花的人。虽然我不太记得，但隐约知道好像曾经发生什么大事。」

“Er, I don’t quite understand, but I get it.”
「呃，虽然我不是很明白，但我知道了。」

***

“Speaking of which, why are you dressed up like this, Cerna-san?”
「话说回来，切尔娜小姐为什么要做这种打扮呢？」

“Shhh! You can’t ask me that!”
「嘘！不可以问我这个！」

“Eh… Why?”
「咦……为什么？」

“Anyone who tries to ask about Cerna’s true identity will be killed!”
「如果想打探切尔娜我的真实身分的话，会被杀掉的！」

“Eh… ah… eh? I, I understand.”
「咦……那个……咦？我、我明白了。」

“Wait, where are you going?”
「等等，你要去哪里？」

“That person said if I followed him, he’d give me anything I wanted.”
「那个人说只要我跟过去，想要什么都会送给我喔。」

“No, you can’t! How can you just follow a stranger for that sort of reason? Cerna-san! Wait! I told you not to go with him! Mr. Policeman! Mr. Policeman!”
「不、不行啦！怎么可以因为这种理由跟陌生人走！切尔娜小姐！等等！就说不可以跟过去啦！警察先生！警察先生！」

***

The two of them had a tug of war all over the streets. Every time Cerna was about to do something which violated the sensibilities of society, Tomoki would desperately try to stop her. Her appearance was already eye-catching to begin with, and once she kicked up a ruckus, she grabbed even more attention. Perhaps there would be rumors concerning Tomoki on the street from tomorrow onwards.
两人在街上到处进行拉锯战。每当切尔娜要做出违反社会常识的行动时，智树就会拚命阻止她。她的外表原本就已经相当引人注目，这么一闹变得更加引人注目了。也许从明天开始，街头巷尾就会传出连同智树在内的谣言也不一定。

Although they had been to many places, there was no normal way for them to obtain the food Cerna wanted. The reason was simple; it was because they had no money. In the end, the only thing the two of them could do was return to the park they had left behind not long ago, and sit side by side on the bench.
虽然他们去过许多地方，却无法以正常的方法将切尔娜盼望的食物拿到手。理由很简单，因为他们俩都没有钱。结果，两人只能回到一开始邂逅的公园，肩并肩沉默地坐在长椅上。

The sky had grown dark. Was he imagining things? For some reason, the weather felt colder. He did not know if this was a psychological effect of some sort, or if it actually had gotten colder. It was probably both. When he thought of that, he felt sadness well up from inside him.
天色已经变得昏暗。这是他的错觉吗？总觉得天气更加寒冷了。不晓得是心理作用，抑或是实际上真的变冷了。大概两者皆是吧。想到这里，他不禁悲从中来。

Under the cold sky, Tomoki felt empty because he did not know what he was doing. He looked to the side, and saw Cerna with her head lowered. The sky was dark, but when he saw something glittering from the corner of her eyes, he could not help but panic.
在如此寒冷的天空之下，搞不清楚自己到底在做什么而感到空虚的智树，望向身旁，只见切尔娜低垂着头。虽然天色已经昏暗，但当智树看到在她眼角微微发光的东西时,不禁慌张起来。

“Are, are you alright?”
「你、你还好吗？」

“Could it be… Cerna can’t find a present?”
「切尔娜……是不是找不到礼物了……」

Cerna was clearly around his big sister’s age, maybe a little older, but yet she was desperately struggling to feed her starving family. And now she was weeping, bearing up against her own impotence. After seeing her innocent rashness earlier, and now those two rills of tears...
切尔娜的年纪明明跟姊姊差不多，不然就是更年长一点，却必须拚命养活饥饿的一家人。而这样的她正流着泪水，承受着自己的无能为力。在见识过她带点莽撞的天真个性后，再看到那两行泪——

--What… destructive power.
——实在是……破坏力惊人。

Those two trails of tears stabbed straight into Tomoki’s heart.
那两行泪水笔直剌人智树的心。

Cerna was crying. After that, Tomoki felt something hot and thick deep inside his throat, something he could not express in words welling up from the depths of his heart. What the hell are you doing? It seemed as though someone was shouting that at him. Now’s not the time for you to space out here! The voice shouted again.
切尔娜在哭泣。接着,在比智树的喉咙深处要更深处的某个东西，又灼热又浓烈、无法化为言语的某个东西涌上他的心头。你到底在搞什么鬼啊？似乎有人在如此大喊。现在可不是呆愣在这里的时候吧！那声音又如此喊。

As though spurred on by that voice, Tomoki suddenly rose to his feet.
智树像是受到那个谁的声音刺激般，突然站起身。

“Wait here for a while. I’ll be right back.”
「你在这里等一下。我马上回来。」

Tomoki mounted up on his bike and pedalled with all his might, and before long he reached home.
智树一脚跨上自行车，全力踩踏板，过不了多久即抵达自家住宅。

He dumped his bike in front of the doorway, kicked his shoes off his feet, and rushed to the kitchen. Now was not the time to worry about petty things like being scolded by his parents. He pulled out a trash bag from the drawer, then emptied all the food in the freezer, the fridge and the cupboards into the bags.
随手把自行车丢在玄关前，将鞋子踢掉后，立刻冲向厨房。现在才不是在意会挨父母骂的这种芝麻小事的时候。他从抽屉中拿出垃圾袋，将冷藏库、冷冻库以及壁橱里的食材全部取出，塞入袋中。

“...What are you doing?”
「……你在做什么啊？」

His big sister’s voice came from behind him, but that was not important at all.
从身后传来姊姊的声音，但这种事情现在一点都不重要。

In any case, he had to stuff.
总之就是努力塞。

“Hey, what are you doing?”
「喂，你在做什么啊？」

Stuff hard! Stuff with all your might!
努力塞！拚命塞！

“Hey, Tomoki!”
「喂，智树！」

“Don’t stop me, I need food.”
「别阻止我，我需要食物。」

“You’ll get scolded for doing this.”
「做这种事情会被骂喔。」

“It’s fine! Being scolded is fine.”
「没关系！被骂也没关系。」

He shoved aside his big sister, who still intended to stop him despite what he said. The year’s end was drawing close, but there were a horde of kids which needed to be fed. And there was a girl who had run all over the palce to find food to feed those kids. What was wrong with him doing his best to help her?
他甩开即使自己这么说，却仍然打算阻止自己的姊姊。年关将至，却有一群孩子嗷嗷待哺。还有个女生，为了送食物给那些孩子饱餐一顿，辛勤地四处奔波。尽他能力所及的最大限度的事情，到底错在哪里！

As he shouted that, he stuffed the food into the bag and then tied it up. He had filled up one and a half 45-litre bags. It might not be much, but this was the result of Tomoki’s greatest effort. Just as he began to sling the bags onto his back so he could carry them to Cerna, he turned and saw his big sister holding a sack that was bigger than the bags Tomoki was carrying.
他一边如此大声怒吼，一边将食材塞入袋里，然后绑上袋口。四十五公升的袋子，装了满满一袋再加半袋。虽然数量不多，但这是现在的智树尽最大努力的成果。当他打算带着这些食材前往切尔娜的跟前而背起袋子、转过身去时，只见姊姊抱着比智树手上的袋子更大的物品。

“Nee...chan?”
「姊……姊？」

“Mm, you, you should take this too.”
「唔，这、这些也一起拿去吧。」

A veritable mountain of food sat heavily before Tomoki. If one put them into 45-liter bags, one would need five or six to hold it all.
沉甸甸地放在智树面前的是食品堆出来的小山。如果装进四十五公升的袋子里，大概需要五、六个才装得完。

“Nee-chan, what are these?”
「姊姊，这些是？」

“I’m not too sure what’s going on, but if someone’s in trouble, I can’t just sit there and leave it be.”
「虽然我不是很明白到底是怎么一回事，但是既然有人感到困扰，我也不能坐视不管吧。」

“There’s lobster and roast pork… where did you get it all from?”
「里面还混杂着龙虾跟烤乳猪……你到底是从哪里拿来的？」

“That’s not important. Alright, go give it to them.”
「那种事情一点都不重要啦。好了，还不快拿去给人家。」

“Mm… thank you!”
「嗯……谢谢！」

How long had it been since he had thanked his big sister? This might have been the first time in living memory that he had felt so at ease and relieved while thanking someone.And so, the two of them teamed up to pick up the food and loaded it in the pushcart their grandfather used to do his farming chores. The cart was heavy, but that weight now made him very happy.
他有多久没有向姊姊道谢了？怀抱如此舒畅的心情向人道谢，也许是从他懂事以来头一遭也不一定。于是，两个人合力抱起食材，放在祖父平常用来干农活的推车上。车子很沉重，但这股沉重现在让人感到相当开心。

“Amazing… this is just amazing!”
「好棒……好棒喔！」

As she saw the massive quantities of food spilling out of the plastic bags, Cerna danced around and clapped her cheeks in joy while smiling happily. She opened a bag near herself and munched on an entire roast chicken.
一看到从塑胶袋掉出来的大量食材，切尔娜立刻兴高采烈地手舞足蹈起来，缓了缓脸颊，露出开心的微笑，并解开身旁不远处的袋口，啃起整只的烤火鸡。

“Wait a minute! Cerna-san, you can’t eat that! You have to bring all that food back!”
「等一下！切尔娜小姐，不可以吃掉！要把那些东西带回去才行！」

“Ah, that’s right. Cerna almost messed up. The food looked so tasty.”
「啊，对喔。切尔娜差点搞砸了。因为食物看起来实在很好吃。」

Cerna tied the bags up again, then hooked the bags on the cart onto each of her fingers, the bags which he had needed both hands to carry. Her fingers must have been under a tremendous amount of stress, but she did not seem hurt at all. Rather, she was all smiles, and seemed thoroughly delighted.
切尔娜将袋口重新绑好，以手指一根一根地勾起堆在手推车上的袋子，用上双手才足以提起全部的袋子。她的手指应该负荷了相当惊人的重量，却完全没有任何痛苦之情，反而带着满脸的笑容，欣喜不已。

“Thank you, Tomoki!”
「谢谢你！智树！」

“It’s fine, it’s nothing much.:
「不会，没什么大不了的。」

“When you grow up, I’ll have you join our family, Tomoki!”
「等到智树你长大之后，就让你加人我们家族吧！」

“Ahaha, thank you.”
「啊哈哈，谢谢。」

“Cerna will have babies with Tomoki and raise them up!”
「切尔娜跟智树一起生小婴儿，然后把他们养大吧！」

Cerna jumped lightly up to the top of the concrete wall and then from there to the roof, as though she was not carrying anything at all. After smiling and waving to Tomoki, she vanished over the other side of the roof.
切尔娜像是身上什么都没背似的，轻盈无比地从水泥墙上飞跃至屋顶上，笑容可掬地对智树微笑后，挥了挥手，消失在屋顶的另一端。

“...Babies?”
「……小婴儿？」

He had the feeling that she had said something incredible to him as her parting words.
总觉得她最后似乎对自己说了一句相当不得了的话。

***

Anna looked at the incomprehensible state of the room, and she could not help but furrow her brows.
安娜看着房间令人百思不得其解的状况，忍不住颦眉。

The window which should have been locked was now half-open. And then, there was her beloved pet hamster--named Tama--which had something in there which she did not recall feeding it. And Tama was desperately nibbling at it. Curious about what it was, she opened the cage and took it out, and found that it was a spiny lobster head.
应该有上锁的窗户，不知道为何竟然呈现半开的状态。还有她一向疼爱有加的宠物黄金鼠——名字叫做小球球——的笼子里，放着一个她不记得自己有喂给它的「物体」。而小球球正拚命地啃着那个东西。她好奇地想知道那是什么东西，于是打开笼子的门拿出来一看，竟然是龙虾头。

“Why?”
「Why？」

Even though she asked, she did not receive an answer.
即使她这么问，也无法得到回应。

Anna loved Japanese culture. For the longest time, her friends had teased her as a weeaboo. When she had been chosen as a Magical Girl, she had chosen a Japanese-flavored name without any hesitation whatsoever, and designed her appearance after a Japanese shrine maiden. However, even that Anna would not do something like feed a hamster a spiny lobster head. More to the point, there were no spiny lobsters in this household.

Could it be that a thief had snuck in and put a spiny lobster head in the cage? But that was far too bizarre.
安娜最喜欢日本文化了，长久以来她也被朋友戏称是哈日族。被选为魔法少女时，她也豪不犹豫地选择充满和风的名字，与以日本巫女为原型的外观。然而，即使是这样的安娜，也绝对不会做出把龙虾头当成黄金鼠饲料进行喂食的行为。更何况，这个家里根本没有龙虾这种东西。
难道说是小偷潜人,把龙虾头放进笼子里的吗？但这也太匪夷所思了。

“Or could it be that Santa-san gave me a present because I was a good girl~?”
「还是说，因为我是好孩子，所以圣诞老公公才送礼物给我的呢〜？」

Tama made squeaky noises from inside the cage.
笼子里的小球球发出唧唧的鸣叫声。