Knights VS Trickstar – Prologue
Location: Izumi's room in Florence
Late August, two years after the establishment of ES, after the conclusion of the “Megastream”.
I’m finally back~
Aha! This floor, this ceiling, this smell! We’ve reunited at last. I’ve returned to you, my dear home!
You were lonely without your owner, weren’t you? I’m sorry for abandoning you like that. Please listen to my “Homecoming Song”!
♪ ~ ♪ ~ ♪
Ugh, jeez… could you quiet the hell down? You’re way too loud.
This isn’t the Megasphere; we’re in a shared living space with thin walls. You’ll bother our housemates.
And why’re you even calling it “your home”? You’re literally a freeloader, so can you not act like you own the place?
Don’t be such a meanypants. What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is yours, right?
There you go, thinly veiling your insane entitlement.1 But I guess that’s just what you’re like. I’ll give credit where it’s due and commend your good intentions.
Even though I really can’t even begin to handle you or your stuff.
Anyhow… Ugh, after leaving the place unattended for a month, it’s dusty as hell.
I guess there’s no helping that. We suddenly got taken to the Megasphere and didn’t have a single chance to come back. Not like we had the time to hire a housekeeper.
I guess it’s true that a living space starts wearing down quickly when no one’s around.
I wanted to dedicate the day to checking on the state of the house, but I’m thinking of giving it a thorough cleaning as we—hey, Leo-kun, what are you even doing?
Huh? Now that we’re home, it’s time to relax~ It’s a self-evident, definitive truth of the universe! Ucchuu~☆
The universe you’re living in must be an entirely different one from mine.
Even if you’re gonna laze around, don’t you dare get on my bed. Your space is over there, up the stairs to the loft.
You’re way too shameless. Honestly, it’s making me doubt if you can even handle your own business affairs.
I sure hope you haven’t gotten into trouble with anyone without my knowledge.
…And you’re still in your outdoor clothes. How many times do I have to tell you to change before you lie in bed?
…
What? Reflecting on your actions?
I was thinking about how you love to talk on and on~ You’re kinda like a rapper! Everybody! Put your hands up in the air! Check it out, check it out! ☆
Hey—Ow!? This isn’t something to fight over! Violent idol! You’re gonna get cancelled!
Shut up! I wish we’d left you behind at the Megasphere. Sooo annoying!
Get away from my bed and go upstairs!
But it’s full of stuff up there, so there’s nowhere for me to sleep…
Huh? Let me see.
What the hell’s going on here!? Why is there so much stuff!?
Didn’t I tidy up right before we left? Did it get like this in just the few days after that!?
You know what? You have to start doing your own chores. I’m already doing laundry for you all the time.
Well, it’s easier if I do both loads at once. But that’s besides the point.
If you let things pile up like this, obviously you’ll have nowhere to lie down..
What’s this? An incomplete score? And here’s a book with no cover, a bunch of instruments… a single sock?
Eek!? A half-empty plastic bottle!?
Oh, right. Cause I was in the middle of composing when we got taken to the Megasphere.
It’s all making me so nostalgic~ Really feels like getting back into my personal zone. Happy to be back home!
This is NOT your “home”! This is my place before it’s anything of yours!
You will clean until there’s not a single thing out of place or I’m seriously going to kick you out! Get on it! Right now! Go, go!
(Grumbling.) This has to count as some form of harassment.
What would you call forcing someone to clean? Cleaning harassment?
No, I think it sounds better with a more professional-sounding word, like “sanitization” or something. “Sanitization harassment”? Sena, what do you think?2
I don’t care. Quit running your mouth and start running for a broom.
This part is already looking a lot nicer…♪ I guess you can’t underestimate how much dust gathers in a month. It really surprised me.
How’s it looking up there? If I managed to get everything more or less in order, that means you can do it too.
… Huh? You’re making a bigger effort than I expected. If you can do that, why don’t you spare me the nagging next time and do it before I ask you to?
I’m just the type of guy that does things when I feel like doing them.
Couldn’t you just be less messy in the first place? Whenever you get really into whatever you’re doing, you end up losing track of the world around you.
Hm? Speaking of which, why are there so many instruments here?
There’s multiple guitars alone, and I don't recognize all of these. Have you always had them…?
Huh? What’s all this for? Do you know, Sena?
Why’re you asking me?
Wait, don’t answer that! I remember!
I'm telling you I couldn’t have answered even if you had wanted me to.
Umm… Right, before the whole Megasphere situation, I was thinking I wanted to have a jam session with everyone else here.
All their instruments were so unique and interesting, that I thought it’d be fun to compare how each of them sounded—
I get it now! I borrowed them from our housemates! Wahahaha!
Wait. So that means… you’ve had them here for a whole month!?
Yup, that’s what went down!
You’re an absolute deadbeat! How can you be so calm right now!? Go return them this second!
Translation Notes
- ↑ Izumi says “Gian-ism” which refers to a quote by Gian from Doraemon: “What's yours is mine, and what's mine is mine”. I am frankly unsure if this needs to be adapted out but it’s obviously a Japanese cultural phenomenon and this was the call I made after my friend told me that people from certain cultures already consider Doraemon somewhat obscure.
- ↑ Loosely adapted joke. Leo is trying to come up with a name that sounds good as an abbreviation, similarly to terms like “power harassment” being shortened as pawahara.