Episodes 10

Akane and Her Happy Magical Girl Family

This story takes place a long time before the events of Magical Girl Raising Project: Restart.

That day, there was an argument at the family meeting.
那一天的家族会议发生了纷争。

While it was called an argument, it was little more than an intense discussion. The table had been set with a hotpot on a gas cassette stove for dinner, but it had lost its heat and was cold now. Some people rested their chins boredly on their hands, others folded their arms and gave the stink-eye as they argued fiercely over a problem which did not seem to have a solution.
既然会说是纷争，当然不只是所谓的热烈讨论而已。晚餐时摆了卡式瓦斯炉与热锅的餐桌，如今已经失去热度，完全凉掉了。有人百般无聊地撑着下巴，也有人双手环胸、摆出臭脸，互相激烈地争论毫无解决方案的问题。

Because none of them was willing to work with each other, there was no solving the problem. Even though they knew this, none of them was willing to give in.
由于彼此都不打算妥协，因此问题无法获得解决。即使明白这个道理，还是没有人愿意退让。

The Fuwa family’s eldest daughter -- Aoi, aged 31. She worked at a law firm in a neighboring city. She was meticulous and efficient at dealing with situations, and there were even rumors that said firm could not function without Aoi.
不破家长女——葵，三十一岁。目前于邻市的律师事务所担任总务工作。思虑周详以及处理事情的能力相当优秀，甚至传出那间事务所没有不破葵即无法运作的谣言。

The Fuwa family’s second daughter -- Asagi, aged 25. She helped around the house. Her performance in everything she did was above average, and her hobby was obtaining difficult licenses and permits with a gaming mentality in mind. She was currently attached to the book known as the Six Codes.
不破家次女——浅葱，二十五岁。在家帮忙。无论做任何事表现都比一般人优秀，带着游戏的心态考取高难度的证照、资格为其兴趣。现在爱不释手的书为《六法全书》。

The Fuwa family’s third daughter -- Akane, aged 17. She studied at a certain high school within the city. She was the leader of her school’s incredibly strong kendo club, which placed in the national championships every year. She had held the prefecture’s position of “person I least want to mess with” for two years in a row.
不破家三女——茜，十七岁。就读于市内某高中。担任年年出赛全国大会的超强剑道社的社长一职。连续两年获得校内最不敢招惹对象排行榜第一名的宝座。

The Fuwa family’s fourth daughter -- Ai, aged 13. She studied at a certain middle school within the city. She was adorable in appearance and her movements were unbelievably cute, and people who saw her would smile despite themselves and approve strongly of her. She was like the mascot of the surrounding region.
不破家四女——蓝，十三岁。就读于市内某国中。惹人怜爱的长相、可爱无比的小动作，以令人看了忍不住会心一笑的举手投足获得极高评价，是附近一带的吉祥物。

The Fuwa family’s matriarch -- Ayako, aged 52. She singlehandedly ran the construction firm she had inherited from her deceased husband. Her competence and skill struck fear into the hearts of the masses, and it was said that the air in the room changed dramatically when Ayako took part in contract biddings.
不破家的当家主母——彩子，五十二岁。一手撑起从过世的丈夫手里接过来的建设公司。她的精明干练受到众人畏惧，据说彩子参加厂商竞标的话，现场气氛会截然不同。

Akane was the only one looking straight ahead, a vicious look on her face while she was at the dinner table. Aoi, Asagi, Ai and Ayako were all looking in different directions, not looking directly at her. Nobody seemed inclind to give in.
只有茜一个人正视前方，在餐桌上面露恶狠狠的眼神。葵、浅葱、蓝与彩子，则是各自朝向不同的方向，完全不打算正视她。没有人愿意退让。

Akane stood up and planted her hands firmly on the table.
茜站了起来，手奋力地拍向桌面。

“Look at me! Listen to what I’m saying!”
「直视我！好好听我说话！」

Even in the face of Akane’s shouting, which could make the timid curl into a ball and set spines shivering, the four of them remained in their original positions, completely unmoved. Asagi continued resting her chin on her hand, muttering, “I’m listening, you know.”
即使面对茜那道能够令胆小的人吓到瑟缩成一团、腰挺不直的怒吼，四人依然维持原来的姿势，文风不动。浅葱依旧撑着下巴，嘴里碎念「我有在听啊」。

“Asagi-nee, what did you just say? If you’ve got an objection, then just say it!”
「浅葱姊，你说什么？如果有意见的话，就大声说出来啊！」

“I think you’ve got a point, Akane-chan~ however, even if you’re right, that doesn’t mean we have to obey you.”

Akane glared fiercely at Asagi, who was wearing her high school gym clothes.
「我觉得小茜你说得没有错喔〜不过，就算没错，也不代表我们一定得遵守吧。」茜狠狠瞪向遽遢地穿着高中时代运动服的浅葱。

“I’m not talking about obeying or not obeying! I just don’t want you to do something wrong!” She swept her eyes over her surroundings, but nobody was willing to meet her gaze. Even Ai, who was in middle school, had an arrogant, uncaring look on her face as she rested her legs on the table. Akane slammed her hands down on the table once more.
「谁在跟你们讨论什么遵守不遵守的！我只是要你们别做不对的事情而巳吧！」她转了一圈巡视四周，却没有人愿意看她。就连还在就读国中的蓝，也露出一副傲慢、漫不经心的懒散态度，将脚晾在桌上。茜的手再度拍向桌面。

“How can you use a Magical Girl’s Magic for personal gain?”
「怎么可以把魔法少女的魔法用在个人利益上！」

If one were to turn back time to when the matter had begun, one would go back five months ago, to the end of last year… in other words, when Akane had become a Magical Girl.
将时间回溯至车情的开端，始于距今五倘月前的去年年底……也就是茜成为魔法少女的时候。

Fuwa Akane knew very well that other people considered her straitlaced to the point of causing headaches. However, someone like that was ideal for leading the kendo club, so she had never corrected herelf.
不破茜的心里很明白，别人认为她是个正经八百且死脑筋的人。不过，如此的形象对于率领剑道社而言是再适合不过了，因此她从来没有纠正。

In truth, she was not sure if she had ever been that serious herself in the past. However, if she did not maintain that image she could not continue her lifestyle, so perhaps she had been forced into playing the role of such a person.
其实,她自己也不是很清楚,自己是否正经八百且死脑筋。但不保持这个形象的话，就无法维持生活，所以也许自己是被迫要扮演正经八百且死脑筋的人吧。

Apart from Akane, the rest of the Fuwa household was incredibly slack. The second daughter Asagi--who did not seem to care about anything beside her own interests--was one thing, both the capable eldest daughter Aoi and the matriarch Ayako would shed their masks once they came home and become people who lived by the principle of “what’s wrong if I like it?” Even Ai, the fourth daughter, seemed to have inherited that trait, which worried Akane. If she did not pay attention, her little sister would end up reading manga or magazines while having breakfast.
除了茜以外的不破家家人则是各个散漫无比。除了自己的兴趣以外，对任何事情都漫不经心的次女浅葱当然不用说，还有在外面精明干练的长女葵与母亲彩子也不例外，只要一回到家里就会脱下面具，就会摇身一变成为「只要我喜欢有什么不可以」的人。甚至连四女蓝似乎也完美地遗传到这一点，令茜忧心不已。一不注意的话，妹妹就会一边吃早餐一边看漫画或翻杂志。

It had been that way even when her father was around. Once her father had passed away, she realised that someone needed to keep things together, and that job had fallen upon Akane’s shoulders. She had not done that out of her own free will; she simply realized that if she did not do so, this family would be doomed. However, the other family members did not seem to share her opinion
从父亲还在世时就这样了。父亲过世之后，她意识到必须有人振作起来才行，于是这个工作便落到茜的身上。她这么做并非出于自己的意愿，纯粹只是她不这么做这个家就没救了。但其他家人似乎并不这么认为。

It could not be helped that the others did not share her opinion, so she gave up on struggling. Besides, supporting the household as a reliable person was not a great hardship, and she had not yet fully grasped her “true nature” yet,  so that was fine. While her club activities left her tired out, and managing the family was quite a tortuous task, she could focus on her club activities thanks to her mother and Aoi going out to make money.
其他人不这么想也是无可奈何的事，所以她也放弃挣扎。反正以可靠的人的立场支撑一个家并没有那么痛苦，而且她到如今也还没掌握住自己的「本质」，这么做也好。虽然社团活动让她相当疲倦，管理这个家也曾碰上令人难受的事情，但也正因为有母亲与葵外出赚钱，她才能够勤于社圑活动。

And this Akane had been chosen to be a Magical Girl at the end of last year.
而这样的茜被挖掘为魔法少女，则是在去年年底的事情。

The Magical Girl Musician of the Forest Clamberry had spectated the national kendo tournament in order to scout talents. She seemed to be interested by Akane’s sword skills, and she was drawn by the potential for magic within her body.
为了挖掘人才，来到全国剑道大赛视察的魔法少女「森林音乐家克莱莓」，似乎是相中茜的剑术，并受到潜藏在她体内的魔法潜力所吸引。

In truth, she did not understand what that meant. Strictly speaking, she was not clear what Magical Girls thought.
老实说，她并不是很明白其中意义。严格说起来，她并不是很清楚魔法少女的中心思想。

“Aren’t they like… Mages or something?”
「不是……魔法师吗？」

“They’re slightly different from Mages.”
「与魔法师有点不一样就是了。」

Clamberry showed her physical abilities that were far beyond the limits of humanity, as well as Magic which disregarded the laws of physics, thoroughly shattering the beliefs which Akane had clung to. Even though she understood that these were quite shocking things, she still did not understand why a being like this would be called a Magical Girl.
克莱莓让茜见识到远远超越人类极限的优越体能，以及无视于物理法则的魔法，将茜一直以来所抱持的常识破坏得体无完肤。尽管她明白这是相当惊人的事情，却仍然不是很了解这个存在为何会被称之为魔法少女。

Was she called a Magical Girl because she was a girl who could use Magic? Why was it limited to girls? Why did it have to be girls?
因为是使用魔法的少女，所以叫做魔法少女？为什么限定少女？非得要是少女的理由为何？

“You don’ need to think too deeply about that now. Perhaps someday you’ll understand.”
「你现在不需要深究这么多，也许总有一天你就会知道了。」

A smile appeared on Clamberry’s face, and Akane, being the sort who took people mocking her too seriously, began to feel angry.
克莱莓的脸上浮现笑意，茜有一种对方在嘲笑自己认真过头的个性，因此感到有些火大。

“You just need to think of yourself as a hero who secretly helps others.”
「你只要把自己想成是暗地里帮助人们的英雄就行了。」

“Yup yup, a cool and pretty and awesome heroine ~pon!”
「没错没错，既帅气又美丽，天底下最棒的女英雄的蹦！」

Fav’s words, whicn were calculated to urge her on, went in one ear and out the other.
法唯煽动的话语，从茜的左耳进右耳出。

Akane thought back to the individual finals of the national tournament. If she had overwhelming might, if she had better-honed swordsmanship, if her steps had been quicker, perhaps Akane might have emerged the winner. Perhaps the one who would have returned with banners waving in victory might have been Akane.
茜回想起全国大会的个人组决赛。如果她拥有压倒性的力量、如果她能够使出更刁钻的剑法、如果她的步伐能够更加迅速的话，也许当时获胜的就会是茜也不一定。也许高举优胜旗帜、凯旋归来的就会是茜也不一定。

And so, when Clamberry had made the proposition, “Do you want to become a Magical Girl?” Akane had nodded silently.
对于克莱莓所提出的「你想成为魔法少女吗？」的提议，茜沉默地点了点头。

However, after she had become a Magical Girl, Akane abandoned the notion of competing in he tournament with that strength. That was because humans were far too strong in comparison to Magical Girls. If Fuwa Akane before her transformation had to take on the Magical Girl Akane, the latter could not possibly win, even there were 100 billion of her against one Akane.
然而，等到自己成为魔法少女之后，她放弃了使用这股力量参与大赛的念头。这是昭然若揭的道理，因为与人类相比，魔法少女实在是太强大了。如果变身前的不破茜与变身后的魔法少女茜对战的话，即使是一千亿人对上一人，恐怕都无法战胜吧。

That was the precipitous difference in power before and after transformation. Using this strength against human beings was very despicable, or rather, it was childish; hardly mature at all.
变身前后就是拥有如此悬殊的实力差距。使用这股力量与人类对战，实在很卑鄙，或许该说是很幼稚，一点都不成熟吧。

In the end, the Magical Girl Akane obeyed Clamberry’s directions and simply patrolled the streets. She did her best to avoid the eyes of ordinary people and went around tackling small problems everywhere. It was just like the role Akane played at home, and while it seemed a little sad that she had to do the same thing even though she now led such an extraordinary lifestyle, it was still quite interesting.
结果，魔法少女茜遵循了克莱莓的指示，仅仅只是在街上四处巡逻而已。极力躲避普通人的目光，到处解决一些芝麻小事。正如同茜在家中扮演的角色般，虽然对在如此不寻常的生活中也得做这种事情的自己感到有点悲哀，不过还算有趣。

Originally, she had been afraid that she would end up with a gaudy outfit like Clamberry’s, but her costume had a samurai motif, and its traditional Japanese and mature styling cleared her worries away. While it  was sprinkled with flashy little decorations everywhere, they were still at a tolerable level. Besides, she looked beautiful.
原本担心自己也得像克莱莓那般夸张华丽的打扮，而感到很难为情，但她的扮相是以武士为范本，基本上采和风并且成熟稳重的路线,她的担忧因此一扫而空。虽然服装到处都有华丽的小装饰，
不过还在她可以接受的范围内。更何况，她的容貌非常美丽。

And so, Akane honed her Magic and swordsmanship as she worked as a Magical Girl. Akane’s Magic was the ability to “produce slashes which could cut up anything she could see.” While ti sounded like a pretty frightening Magic, if she came across an opponent who had taken aim at her from a distance, this Magic could ignore any advantage in attack range and directly attack her opponent’s weapon, rendering them powerless. One could say that was quite a nonviolent use of it.
于是，茜一边以魔法少女的身分活动，一边磨练魔法与剑术。茜的魔法是「能够砍中视野所及的任何物体」的斩击术。虽然是个相当骇人听闻的魔法，但如果碰上对手持枪从远处瞄准自己的情形，这个魔法能够无视于攻击范围有利与否，直接攻向敌人的武器，瘫痪其攻击能力。可以说是相当和平的使用方法。

When she used her Magic, she had to swing her sword down in a slashing stroke. The more quickly she swung, the more powerful and effective the Magic would be.
发动这个魔法的时候，将剑由上至下挥到底是必要条件。如果提高挥剑的速度，魔法的强度以及效果也会相对提升。

There was a reason why Akane wanted to strengthen her Magic.
魔法少女茜想要加强自己的魔法是有理由的。

Clamberry had said that once the number of Magical Girls reached a certain amount, there would be a selection exam, and only one personal woild qualify to be appointed as an official Magical Girl.
克莱莓说过，当魔法少女达到规定的人数后，就会举行选拔考试，而且只有一名合格者能够被录取为正式的魔法少女。

If she could, she would rather not lose the Magic she had just obtained and which she had just come to grasp. More importantly, Akane liked struggles like these. It went without saying for kendo, of course, but even at sports meets or singing contests, she had led her classmates with the intention of winning. She knew very well in her heart that other people found her very annoying, but even so, her blood boiled whenever it came to competitions.
如果可以的话，她一点都不希望失去才刚获得、才刚知悉的魔法，更重要的是，茜喜欢这种胜负之争。剑道当然不用说，就连体育祭或合唱比赛，她都会以胜利为目标带领班上同学。她心里也很明白，别人认为她很烦，即使如此，她还是会忍不住对竞赛热血起来。

Needless to say, just thinking about a struggle between her fellow Magical Girls who also possessed superhuman powers made her heart race. For the sake of the unknown competitors she had yet to meet, it would only be polite for her to become as strong as possible. Of course, she understood that one could not become a proper Magical Girl through strength alone, but being strong ought to help in that. When she thought about that, she devoted her full effort to her school, club, family and Magical Girl activities. While what she did was no different from self-practice for her club activities, her physical dexterity, mental acuity, endurance, sensory perception and the weight of a shinai or mokuto versus a real sword were completely different between them. She had to familiarize herself with and master each quality.
更别提还是跟拥有超越常识力量的魔法少女同伴竞争。光是想象就令人热血沸。至少为了未曾谋面的竞争对手，她也得尽輋变强才合乎礼谣吧。当然，她也明白光凭强大的力量无法成为正式的魔法少女，俱变得更强一定有所助益。一想到这里，在进行学校、社团、家庭、魔法少女活动的同时，她也努力不懈地锻炼魔法。虽然她做的事情与社团活动、自主练习毫无两样，但肌肉的灵活度、思考速度、负荷耐力、感官，以及与竹剑、木剑截然不同的真剑的重量与触感，还有其他所有的一切也都完全不同。她必须一件一件地掌握并熟悉才行。

As she passed each day while feeling herself grow strong, the finish line suddenly approached without warning one day.
随着变强的真实感而度过的充实的每一天，在某一天毫无预警地迎接终点的到来。

Magical Girl activities had to be performed at night. Under the cover of darkness, she could do what she had to without being spotted by others, as well as leave the house without being discovered. She snuck out of the house, and quietly returned home after finishing her tasks. With the aid of a Magical Girl’s exceptional physical abilities, coming and going through her own room on the second floor was a trivial task.
魔法少女的活动必须在夜晚进行。她能够靠黑夜的掩护并在不为人知的情况下活动，也能够不被家人发现地离开家里。偷偷地离家，办完事情后再悄悄返回。只要拥有魔法少女优越的体能，利用位于二楼的自己房间的窗户进出，简直易如反掌。

That day, the Magical Girl Akane had come home through her window as usual. Just as she was about to detransform, her ears suddenly pricked up. She heard a sound. It was three in the morning so her fanily should have been asleep by now.
那一天，魔法少女茜也一如往常地从窗户返家。正当她打算解除变身时，耳八木突然竖起。她听见了声音。现在已经过了半夜三点，家人们应该都在熟睡中才是。

She focused her senses on her hearing, and she could hear the sounds of humans speaking. A young female… it sounded like a girl’s voice. It did not come from the television or through a speaker, but it was an actual voice from someone who was present, and she had never heard it before. Not a family member’s. A thief. Those words flashed through her mind.
她将感官集中于听觉，确实能听见人类说话的声音。年轻的女性……似乎是来自于少女的声音。并不是电视或广播的声音，而是实际在现场的人声，而且她从来没有听过。不是家人的声音。
小偷。这个词闪过她的脑海。

The voice had come from the kitchen, and even the speaker was trying to keep it down, she could not deceive a Magical Girl’s ears. She used the stepping techniques developed through kendo to silence her footsteps as she advanced along the corridor, padded down the stairs, and slowly moved forward step by careful step. The closer she got to the kitchen, the louder the voice became.
声音是从厨房传来的，虽然刻意压低音量交谈，终究瞒不过魔法少女的耳朵。她以剑道磨练出来的折足，尽量消除脚步声在走廊上前进，步下楼梯，一步一步、蹑手蹑脚地前进。越接近厨房，声音就越大。

People were having a conversation… two of them? Three? Four people?
有人在对话……两个人？三人？四人？

“In the next Flower Competition…”
「下一次的『花之竞赛』……」

“I told you before…”
「之前不也说过……」

“Clamberry…”
「克莱莓她……」

---Clamberry?
——克莱莓？

“Even if we don’t tell her… Akane will…”
「就算不说的话……茜她也……」

Orange light spilled from a gap in the kitchen door, and she covered the three steps to it in a heartbeat, flinging it open with tremendous force. There were four girls huddled around the dining table. She had never seen any of the surprised faces looking at her before. However, she understood what was going on.
橙色灯光从厨房的门泄漏出来，她一口气缩短剩下三步的距离，以惊人的气势拉开蔚房的门。围着餐桌的四名少女额头碰额头地聚在一起。那一张张吃惊地往她方向看的脸，她完全没见过。但她明白这是怎么一回事。

Akane did not bother hiding her annoyance as she glared as the other four shocked people.
茜完全不掩饰内心的不爽，恶狠狠地瞪向仍然惊讶不已的四个人。

“Would you mind telling me what on earth is going on?”
「可以告诉我这是怎么一回事吗？」

“Mom and the others didn’t mean to keep it from you on purpose.”
「妈妈和大家也不是刻意要隐瞒你的。」

“Yeah, we weren’t hiding it from you on purpose, we just didn’t have the chance to tell you.”
「就是说啊，并不是刻意要隐瞒，只是没机会说而已。」

“We didn’t mean to cast you out, Aka-nee.”
「我们并不是排挤茜姊喔。」

“We thought you’d be furious if we told you, Akane-chan.”
「因为告诉小茜的话，总觉得你会大发雷霆嘛。」

“Asagi, you can’t say that.”
「浅葱，不可以这么说啦。」

“That’s enough! Shut up, all of you!”
「够了！你们通通给我闭嘴！」

She looked over the four people who obediently clammed up. Be it their flowy, grand clothing, or their beautiful looks, or their proportionate bodies, all of them belonged to Magical Girls; only their dialogue sounded like a regular family. There seemed to be a problem with her brain, or perhaps there had been a problem from the beginning. Akane, her family, or perhaps all of them had a screw loose somewhere.
她以眼神巡视乖乖地噤声不语的四个人。无论是那轻飘飘的华丽服装也好，或是美丽的长相也罢，还有比例匀称的身材，百分之百为魔法少女所有，只有对话内容是普通家人之间的对谈。她的脑袋似乎有问题，也许早就已经有问题了。茜的脑袋、家人的脑袋，抑或是通通都有问题。

“In any case, can you change back first? When you’re like this, I can’t tell who’s who.”
「总之，你们可以先解除变身吗？这样子我根本分不清谁是谁。」

All of them detransformed, Akane included. Thus, the scene became the typical sight around the dinner table.
包含茜在内，众人都解除了变身。这么一来，总算恢复成一如往常的餐桌风光。

“Eh? Mom, you were the one with the shortest skirt?”
「咦？妈妈，那个裙子穿得最短的人是你？」

“What? It’s fine. Besides, I look young, right?”
「什么啦，又没有关系，反正外表看起来很年轻嘛。」

“Aren’t you a bit too old to be dressed like that…”
「都已经老大不小了，还穿成那样……」

“I’m twenty-plus, so it should still be allowed, right?”
「我二十多岁，勉强还在允许范围内吧？」

“No, you’re completely out, Asagi-nee. I’m a middle-schooler, so it’s fine for me.”
「不，浅葱姊也完全出局了吧。我是国中生，所以绝对没问题。」

“In this day and age, even thirty year-olds are considered girls. So I’m still a girl.
「现在这个时代，就算是三十多岁也还是女孩。我也还是女孩喔。」

“I feel even fifty year-olds should count as girls.”
「我觉得就算五十多岁也还是女孩啊。」

Akane could not resist the urge to grab her head.
茜忍不住想抱头苦恼。

Akane was not the only one to become a Magical Girl. The other members of the Fuwa family--the eldest daughter Aoi, the second daughter Asagi, the fourth daughter Ai and their mother Ayako--had all become Magical Girls. Just as Akane looked completely different before and after her transformation, her entire family had all transformed into beautiful girls… including three people who were long past the age of girlhood. The world had gone mad.
成为魔法少女的不只茜一个人。不破家的成员——长女葵、次女浅葱、四女蓝，以及母亲彩子，全部都成为魔法少女。变身前后的茜外貌完全不同，而家族成员全部一起变成美少女的模样……其中甚至包括三名「已经超越少女年龄」的人，这世界根本就是疯了。

It would seem they had each received Clamberry’s invitation not long after Akane had become a Magical Girl. It would seem Clamberry, who had made Akane into a Magical Girl after sensing her qualities, had made sure that the four of them were members of Akane’s family and then discovered that everyone in the family had the qualities needed to become a Magical Girl.
她们接到克莱莓的邀请，似乎是在茜成为魔法少女之后不久的事情。像是看出茜的素质，让她成为魔法少女的克莱莓，以考试官的身分确认她们四人是茜的家人后，才惊觉全部的家族成员都具备魔法少女的素质。

“That Musician-chan seemed quite shocked herself. While Magical potential seems to run in the family, she said that having an entire family possess that potential is quite a rare thing.”
「那个音乐家小妹好像也相当吃惊呢。虽然魔法潜能似乎有很多例子都是来自于家族遗传，不过她说一家人都具备潜能是相当稀奇的事情。」

“Well, if it’s hereditary, isn’t that all thanks to your genes, Mom?”
「说起遗传的话，一切都要归功于妈妈的基因吧？」

“It might have come from your grandmother or your great-grandmother.”
「搞不好是来自于祖母或是曾祖母吧。」

After the four of them had become Magical Girls, they had debated on whether or not to tell Akane as they carried out their Magical Girl duties.
变成魔法少女的四人，说她们在一边犹豫到底该不该告诉茜的情况下，一边持续进行魔法少女的活动。

“Still, this is really handy. You don’t need any anti-aging beauty treatments or anything.”
「不过，这个真的很方便耶。完全不需接受任何抗老化的美容治疗。」

“Aka-nee, were you planning to keep it all to yourself? How sly.”
「茜姊原本打算自己一个人独占这个好处吧？好狡猾喔。」

“Akane-chan’s always been like that.”
「小茜从以前就是这样子。」

By this point, Akane wanted to scream while grabbing her head. However, what she heard next was what truly made her head ache. Her mother Ayako said that when she had been walking alone by herself at night, a young man had hit on her, filling her ears with sweet talk and plying her with lots of alcohol.
在这个时间点，茜已经很想抱头大叫了，然而，接下来听到的事实才真正令她感到头痛不已。
母亲彩子表示，自己走夜路时被年轻男子搭讪，对方说了很多甜言蜜语，灌了她不少迷汤。

“Don’t worry, we didn’t do anything disgraceful.”
「你放心，我们并没有做出逾矩的行为。」

The head daughter Aoi said that she had blended in with street performers and sung and danced with them.
长女葵表示，自己混入街头音乐表演者之中，还一起又唱又跳的。

“I remember that when I was in kindergarten, my dream was to become an idol singer.”
「想我当年读幼稚园时，就是梦想成为偶像明星呢。」

The second daughter said that she had gotten tired of staying alone at home and studying for licenses and permits.
次女浅葱表示，自己一直茧居在家，为了考取资格证照而孜孜不倦。

“The fact that I don’t need to sleep is amazing.”
「不需要睡觉这一点真是太棒了。」

The youngest daughter Ai said that she had gone into the mountains and spammed a death ray everywhere, destroying rocks.
四女蓝则表示，自己跑去深山用破坏光束胡乱扫射，并且破坏岩石。

“This beam is awesome. I heard someone say that nobody could fire a beam to defeat bad guys from their bodies, but this actually exists. You should remember that too, Aka-nee. Beams are awesome.”
「光波棒透了。记得之前听谁说过，没有人能够用肉身发射光波打击坏人，但这种东西是真实存在的。茜姊你也记住喽。光波真的是棒透了。」

Her head hurt. No matter how she thought about it, she felt that her mother and Aoi were using their Magic for the wrong thing. While Asagi did not seem to have caused trouble for others, she was simply using her Magic for her own gain. Ai, on the other hand, had gotten the lonely mountain involved in her stress relief and had ended up despoiling the environment. All of them were delinquents in one way or another.
头好痛。无论她怎么想，都觉得母亲与葵将魔法用在不对的事情上。虽然浅葱看似没有对他人造成困扰，实际上却只为了自身利益而使用魔法少女的魔法。蓝则是为了消除自己的压力牵连到僻静的深山，并且破坏环境。每个人都不务正业。

“Why are you doing that sort of thing? Clamberry shoudl have told you before, right? Magical Girls exist to help others.”
「为什么要做那种事情？克莱莓应该说过吧？魔法少女是为了帮助别人而存在的。」

“Still~ there can only be one official Magical Girl, right?”
「但是啊〜能够成为正式魔法少女的，只有一个名额耶？」

“Also, other than the person who passes, everyone gets their memories erased too.”
「而且，除了通过考试的人以外，其他人都会被消除记忆耶。」

“In that case, won’t we lose out if we don’t do what we want to do before our memories get erased?”
「既然如此，不在记忆被消除前尽情做自己想做的事情，不就亏大了吗？」

“That’s right~”
「就是说啊——」

At this stage, these people were beyond saving. No matter how Akane shouted and scolded, nobody was willing to back down or compromise; instead they were fixated on doing what they wanted. That day’s family meeting had ended on a low note.
事已至此，这群人已经无可救药了。即使茜怒吼、破口大骂，也没有人愿意退让、妥协，而是执意要做自己想做的事情。那一天的临时家族会议不欢而散。

Akane knew the balance of power between her family members very well. If she wanted someone else to listen to her, she would need someone else’s support, and depending on the circumstances, she might need more than one supporter, and only then could she begin the business of persuasion and negotiatiom. However, the odds this time were four against one. Even if she told them to stop indulging in these delinquent Magical Girl activities, nobody would respons positively.
茜很清楚家人之间的权力平衡关系。如果想要别人听自己说话，就必须想办法获得某人的支持，根据情况有时会需要复数的支持者，然后才能进行说服以及交涉。然而，这一次的状况是四对一。即使想说服她们停止这种不务正业的魔法少女活动，也没有人愿意正面回应。

Should she threaten them by refusing to do the household chores? It felt like if they had to choose between the chores and their Magical GIrl lives, they would definitely pick being Magical Girls. More to the point, if she really decided not to do the chores, the other members of her family were all people who could do things very well, and in the end they would simply do the chores well, which would hurt Akane’s pride.
拿拒做家事来威胁她们吗？总觉得要她们在魔法少女与家事之间做抉择，她们一定会选择魔法少女。更何况真的看不下去的话，她们也都是能够把事情做得很完美的人，最后似乎只会落得她们完美地做好家事，伤了茜自尊心的下场而已。

She had also considered reporting this to Clamberry, but that would essentially be turning her own family members in, and it did not sit well with her conscience. That said, just leaving them be weighed even more heavily on her conscience.
虽然她也有考虑要报告克莱莓，但这么做就像是在揭发家人一样，总觉得良心过意不去。话虽这么说,放任她们不管也会令她感到过意不去。

At most, all she would have to do was wait until the selection exam ended. Lackadaisical Magical GIrls like that would not possibly be officially selected, and when that time came, their days of indulging their selfish desires as Magical Girls would come to an end. However, Akane did not know when the selection exams would take place or what format it would take. If they did something insane before the selection, Akane might not be able to intervene.
顶多只要等到考试结束就行了。那种散漫的魔法少女，才不可能被正式录取，到时候被个人私欲熏心的魔法少女生活，应该也会一同落幕。不过，茜并不知道那个录取考试是何时举行。如果她们在录取考试前做出什么惊天动地的行为，也许茜根本无从介入。

Magical Girls like that… although that was what she thought, Akane did not know what exactly a Magical Girl was, and she was worried that she was a half-baked Magical Girl herself. Given that she did not know herself but still put on an air of superiority was probably a sign that she was beimng a busybody.
那种魔法少女……虽然她心里这么想，但搞不清楚魔法少女本质为何的茜，恐怕也是半斤八两吧。明明她也不清楚，却露出一副自己高人一等的态度，也许是她自己自作多情了。

As she worried about all these things, five days passed in a flash. Perhaps it was not because of her prim and proper personality, but simply because she was indecisive. Unable to reach a conclusion, she decided to entrust it to time and prayed for the exam to come soon, but then--
就在她千头万绪剪不断理还乱的期间，就这样经过了五天。也许并不是因为她个性正经，纯粹只是优柔寡断而已吧。正当她迟迟无法做出结论，打算将一切交给时间，祈祷能够早点举办考试时——

“Prez!”
「社长！」

Akane was suddenly awoken by a loud noise, and she unconsciously jerked her head up. One of the first-year club members was on one knee, looking down on Akane.
茜被突如其来的大声音量吓了一跳，下意识地抬头起来。一年级的社员以半蹲的姿势，由上往下看着茜。

“Is something wrong? I mean, you were actually spacing out.”
「有什么事情吗？你竟然会发呆。」

“No… it’s nothing.”
「不……没什么。」

The regular sound of shinai clashing against each other and forceful shouts filled the dojo. Even on Sunday, attendance was high. Was it because Akane’s teaching was effective, or because they feared Akane?
竹剑规律的敲打声响与充满气势的吶喊声响遍整座道场。即使是星期日，出席率仍然很高。只是不晓得是茜教导有方，或是单纯地畏惧茜？

The club members were practicing so hard, yet she was slacking off in a corner to rest and think of pointless things. Ashamed, Akane grabbed a towel and forcefully wiped her face to hide her blushing cheeks.
社员明明如此认真地练习，她却偷懒独自一个人在这里休息，想些有的没有的事情。对此感到羞愧的茜，为了掩饰羞红的脸颊，慌张地取来毛巾，用力擦拭脸。

“That was it, huh? Prez, were you thinking about today’s Flower Competition? After all, the weather’s fine today.”
「果然是那个吧？社长是在思考今天的花之竞赛的事情吧？毕竟今天天气这么晴朗。」

“The Flower Competition? Ah, it was today.”
「花之竞赛？啊，是在今天啊。」

“I heard the track and field club even suspended their activities and the entire club went to take part. However, we in the kendo club don’t have flighty people like that.”
「听说田径社还暂停社团活动，全社团总动员去参加了。只不过，我们剑道社并没有那么个性轻浮的社员就是了。」

After nodding to the first-year club member, who had a proud look on his face, Akane slung her towel over her shoulder.
对一脸自豪的一年级社员轻轻点头回应后，茜将毛巾披在肩膀上。

Every year, when it was the season for blooming flowers, the local temple would organize an activity known as the Flower Competition. It was an activity where ladies would bring talismans from the mountain’s entrance to the temple, which was a re-enactment of how young nuns in the past would bring valuable talismans from their distant head temple via an arduous and dangerous journey to this place.  After paying the participation fee, one could receive talismans, which they would deliver to this temple… which was a fairly mundane activity if one considered the words literally. However, it was said that the person who was the first to deliver the talismans to their destination would have their wishes come true. Therefore, the event was packed with girls who were confident of their foot-speed, and even more contestants would come from outside the prefecture, in the hopes of having their wishes granted. This led to the temple being packed like the proverbial sardines. It was also for that reason that this traditional activity had become one which required the local police and security personnel to maintain order.
每年一到花祭的季节，附近的尼庵就会举办所谓的「花之竞赛」的活动。沿袭年轻的尼姑会从遥远的总庙一路行经危险且艰辛的道路远道而来，送来宝贵符咒之传统，由女性从山门将符咒送至寺庙本堂的活动。支付参加费用后就能收到符咒，然后将其送至本堂……如果只从字面意思来看，这是个相当平和的活动，但据说最早将符咒送至目的地的人，愿望将得以实现。因此对自己的脚程相当有自信的女中豪杰们会齐聚一堂，更有大批外县市的参加者蜂拥而至，届时庙里会呈现沙丁鱼罐头般人挤人的状态。也因为这样，这个传统仪式才会演变成当地警察与保安人员都会出动的大规模活动。

So that was it. Come to think of it, she had been wondering why she had not heard the track and field club going “Fight~” and so on. To think they still had the strength to go to such a packed place… As Akane thought about these unrelated things, it brought to mind something which had been bothering her for some time.
原来如此啊〜这么说来，她还在想怎么都没有听到田径社的加油吶喊声〜还真亏那些人有力气去那种人挤人的地方耶〜茜脑海里浮起事不关己的感想，不经意地想到了一件令人在意的事情。

Come to think of it, she had heard the words “Flower Competition” somewhere before. It was...
话说回来，她最近似乎曾经在哪里听过花之竞赛这个词。记得是在……

“Ah!”
「啊！」

She rose to her feet despite herself.
情不自禁地站起身来。

That’s it! Her mother and sisters had been discussing something in the kitchen earlier, and she had overheard the Flower Competition being mentioned during their snatches of speech. Akane had restricted herself from using Magical Girls’ Magic against regular human beings. However, the same coudl not be said for those four.
对了！母亲与姊妹们之前在厨房讨论事情，她应该是在偶尔传来的交谈声中听到花之竞赛一词。
茜自主性地禁止自己对一般人使用魔法少女的魔法。然而，那四个人就不得而知了。

“If we become Magical Girls and join the Flower Competition, we should be able to win easily, right?’
「变成魔法少女参加花之竞赛的话，应该能够轻轻松松拔得头筹吧？」

“Ah, that’s a good idea--”
「啊，这点子不错喔——」

“Ai wants to take part too!”
「蓝也要参加！」

“In the past, I once imagined how good it would be to win the Flower Competition just once.”
「妈妈我也曾经幻想过，如果能够赢一次花之竞赛该有多好。」

In any case, she had the feeling that they would take part in the competition with such attitudes.
总觉得她们会抱持如此轻率的态度，参加这场竞赛。

Akane imagined the contestants who would be taking part in the Flower Competition.
茜的脑袋中浮现花之竞赛的众参加者。

“I need to get first place in order to cheer up my sick mother.”
「为了替生病的妈妈加油打气，我要以得到花之竞赛第一名为目标。」

“I trained all year last year for this. I have to be first this year!”
「过去一年来的锻錬就是为了这个日子。今天一定要获得第一名！」

“I came all the way from Tokyo for this, and while it’s only my first time, I’ll still try hard~”
「我特地从东京远道而来，虽然是第一次参加，但我会好好加油的——」

Transforming into Magical Girl would trample the wishes of all these people? Who could be so cruel? None other than Akane’s own family!
变身成魔法少女，将会践踏这些人们的意念。是谁如此狠心？不是别人，正是茜的家人！

She had to think of a way to stop them. Only Akane coudl stop them. The dojo clock read 11:05. Even if she ran over now, she would be too late.
必须想办法阻止她们才行。能够阻止她们的也只有茜。道馆的时钟指向十一点五分。就算她现在从这里跑过去恐怕也来不及了。

--However!
——不过！

“I’m going out to take a breath of fresh air. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
「我去呼吸一下外面的空气，后面就麻烦你了。」

After leaving the shocked club member behind, Akane ran at top speed. While her kendo armor and uniform impeded her movements, she immediately transformed into a Magical Girl after leaving the dojo, scaled the stairs like a gale, slashed the lock open and reach the roof. Her destination lay to the north-northwest. Tall buildings blocked her vision, and she could not see the entrance to the mountain.
径自留下一脸惊讶的社员后，茜拔腿狂奔。虽然护具与道服限制住她的行动，但她在离开道馆后立刻变身成魔法少女，有如一阵旋风般爬上楼梯，一剑砍断门锁后，来到顶楼。在北北西的方位。高楼挡住了她的视线，没办法看到山门。

Because it was almost noon, there was a high chance that she would be spotted by people, which would infringe on Clamberry’s rule that Magical Girls ought to keep a low profile when working, but now she could no longer be hung up on that. If she did not want to be seen, then she would simply have to move at speeds which the eye could not see.
由于现在是白天正午时分，被人目击到的可能性相当高，似乎会抵触克莱莓告诉过她的魔法少女
「尽可能低调行事」的规则，但如今已经没有时间拘泥于这一点。如果不想引人注目，那就用人类无法以肉眼目视到的速度移动就行了吧。

She gathered up the hem of her skirt and ran, then threw herself into a flying leap.
她提起和服裤裙的下襬狂奔，纵身一跃。

Akane thought to herself. Other people thought she was very proper and straitlaced, but that was not the case. It was simply that glaring at people out of the corner of her eye was a very useful thing for a club president, and also because their household could not function if there was nobody sensible there, so hse had to fill that role.
茜暗自心想。虽然别人认为她很正经八百，实际上并不是这么一回事。纯粹只是斜眼瞪人这一招对担任社长一职有相当大的助益，再加上，家里没有一个正经的人，就会无法正常运作，所以她才会这么做。

She got worked up very easily, and she was the sort who was easily excited by competition. If she had been born or raised differently, perhaps she might have lost herself in gambling.
她很容易热血起来，也是很容易对竞赛沸腾起来的类型。如果她的出生或是成长环境不同的话，也许会沉迷于赌博中也不一定。

Indeed, the fact was that she was not a prim and proper person. Even so, there was one thing on which she would not compromise. That was--her sense of duty. It was only by clinging to that one thing that Akane could continue living as Akane. She liked kendo, and so she had developed a sense fo obligation towards kendo. Magical GIrls… well, she did not exactly like them, but she loved her family members. Even if they sometimes made her feel tired, she would not hate them for that reason. It was because she loved her family that she felt a sense of responsibility for them..
没错，其实她并非正经八百。即使如此，仍然有她不愿意退让的事物。那就是——责任感。唯有守护这一点，茜才能以茜的身分活下去。正因为她喜欢剑道，所以才对剑道产生责任感。魔法少女……虽然还谈不上喜欢，但是她喜欢家人。即使家人有时令她感到疲倦，但不会因此讨厌她们。正因为她喜欢家人，所以她对她们有责任。

She ran up the wall of a building and reached the roof. The building was four kilometers from the school and three kilometers from the mountain entrance. WIth a Magical Girl’s vision, she could make out individuals even at this range.
她沿着大楼的墙壁一路向上冲，来到了顶楼。从学校到大楼距离约四公里，而大楼至山门距离约三公里。只要透过魔法少女的眼睛，即使在这种距离之下，也能辨识人。

There was a veritable sea of humanity down there. The media had also shown up in force.
人山人海。媒体的大型摄影机似乎也来到现场。

She thought about how her family would act. They would probably try to avoid drawing attention before the activity began, and they were the sort who felt that going from last to the first in one fell swoop was best. With the superior physical abilities fo Magical Girls, a plan like that was definitely possible,
她预测起家人的行为模式。她们应该会在活动开始前尽量避免引人注目，而且应该会认为从吊车尾一路窜上第一名的感觉比较美妙。只要拥有魔法少女优越的体能，就能够将这个想法化为可能。

The position of the cameras was important too. Where was the best place for them to be recorded when they surpassed the masses and reached the pole position?”
摄影机的位置也很重要。当她们一鼓作气超越众人跑到最前排时，正好会被摄影机拍到的地点在哪里？

--I see them!
——看到了！

They were some distance away from the crowds, in the shade of a pine tree. While the leaves blocked her line of sight, she coudl see several fluttering skirts and hems, identical to the ones she had seen several days ago. They had blended with the fancy-dress contingent. Akane found her big sister among the cosplayers who took part every year.
她们在稍微远离人群之处，松树的树荫下。虽然视线被松叶挡住，但那个一堆轻飘飘布料的华丽裙襬，与她前几天看到的一模一样。她们混入奇装异服的团体里。茜在每年都一定会参加竞赛的角色扮演成员里，发现姊姊的身影。

To her right was her mother, and then her other big sister, and then her little sister. She had found their position. Victory would be decided in a single moment.
右手边是母亲，然后是另一位姊姊，最后是妹妹。掌握住位置了。胜负就在一瞬间。

Akane eased her katana from its heath with her right hand. Her left hand pulled out a wakizashi as though she were grasping its hilt with her fingers. This two-sword style was one that she had never tried in the dojo before. If one of her club members attempted it, she would have stopped them.
茜以右手将剑锷推出鞘口，不疾不徐地拔出剑来。左手则是像要以指尖轻轻抓住剑柄般，抽出短剑。这是她不曾在剑道中尝试的二刀流。如果有社员想尝试，她一定会阻止对方。

However, Magical Girls were a different matter.
不过，魔法少女则另当别论。

Her bangs hung down, and she parted them with a gentle breath. She drew her wakizashi and cut down the pine leaves. Before they realised the pine leaves were rustling, she swing the katana in her right hand.
她的浏海垂下，便轻轻地吹一口气，拨开浏海。挥出短剑，砍落松叶。在她们发现松叶哗啦哗啦地散落之前，她挥出右手的长剑。

Magical Girls’ Magic was not for harming other people. Naturally, it did not exist to harm one’s family members. Akane was aiming at the talismans they were carrying. As long as those were gone, then even coming in first was meaningless. Right, left, right--she aimed exclusively at the talismans and swung. After that, she would give a donation at the temple and pray that the gods would not punish her.
魔法少女的魔法并不是为了用来伤害人们而存在的。当然，也不是用来伤害家人的。茜瞄准的是四个人手上的符咒。只要那个没了，即使名列前茅也没意义。右、左、右，她只对准符咒砍下去。她之后会去庙里添香油钱的，希望佛祖别惩罚自己。

Her bangs moved from the breath, and then hung down again. Three kilometers away, the talismans which the four of them were carrying were reduced to confetti, raining down on the ground which was still covered wit ha bit of residual snowfall. While she could not hear them, she could see the four of them kicking up a fuss and makign a scene.
浏海在一吸一吐间，再度垂下。在距离三公里之外的寺庙里，四人手上的符咒被砍成碎片，哗啦哗啦地散落至仍有些许残雪的地面。虽然听不见声音，但能看到四个人大呼小叫，騒动起来的模样。

In the end, her mother looked towards her, pointing in her direction. The four of them looked at Akane, with a look on their faces which said, “We’ve been tricked!”
最后，母亲将目光投向这里，手同时指向这边，四个人都带着一副「被摆了一道！」的表情，望向茜。

Akane raised her katana, reflecting her face in the blade. Under the clear blue sky, an expression of “Well done!” filled her face. When was the last time she had shown such an expression? Last year’s Halloween? Or was it April Fool’s Day? Because she was the sort who usually went, “I’ve been had!”, she felt better than she had in a long time.
茜将剑直立起来，以剑身映照出自己的脸。在晴空万里的湛蓝天空下，露出「干得好呀！」的表情。上次流露出这种表情是什么时候的事情呢？去年的万圣节吗？好像是愚人节才对。因为她平常都是那个「被摆了一道！」的人，心情好久没有这么舒畅了。

She imitated the actors she had seen in jidaigeki and neatly slid her swords back into their sheaths. Her heart had long since flown home. She could not help but think; how should she lecture them after they got back?
她模仿起时代剧看到的演员动作，唰的一声，俐落地将剑与短剑收回剑鞘。她的心已经飞回家里了。忍不住心想，回到家之后，要如何好好对她们说教一番呢？