肴馔之翼 Wings of Delicacies

纪念盛宴再开的风之翼。多年不见，美味不变。 A wind glider that commemorates the reopening of a grand feast. Not seen for many years, yes, but is the taste unchanged? Assuredly so.

这是一个星际旅行中转站里发生的故事，某位年老冒险家的小店会给往来过客带来少许的宽慰。上了岁数的店主厌倦了作为船长在星海间漂流、勇敢地航向前人未至之境的旅途，于是便将那上了锈的星舰改造成了供旅者歇脚的餐厅。

This is a story set in an interstellar travel hub, where passing travelers may find a moment's respite within the small shop of an elderly adventurer. The aged shopkeeper, tired of a long wandering captaincy amidst the stars, boldly set sail to where no one had gone before, before transforming his rusty spaceship into a restaurant for travelers to rest their feet in.

第一名顾客是母星被毁灭、因而四处流浪的神明。她和店主人倾诉着宇宙间的无常，以及自己对于星球上生命的怜爱。

The first customer was a deity who had been drifting around since her home planet was destroyed. She spoke to the shopkeeper about the fickle nature of the cosmos, as well as her affection for the life on her former planet.

「我曾记得文明辉煌的每一个瞬间。从发现勾股定理，到轨道电梯落成；从涂抹第一幅岩画，到完成星系诸景的五十三联全息影像。」

"I remember every glorious moment of civilization's brilliance. From the discovery of the theorem of triangular right-angled relations to the completion of the space elevator; from painting the first cave art to creating the holographic series of fifty-three galactic landscapes."

店主人一直沉默不语，直到顾客要求的大餐做好，端到了她的面前：

The shopkeeper remained silent until the customer's feast was prepared, before serving it to her:

「您依旧可以为他们做些什么的，不是吗？吃完之后，就去试试吧。」

"But you can still do something for them, can't you? After you've finished eating, why don't you give it a try?"

这位神明其实是星球智慧种族制造的人工智能，用以进行行星级别的最优计划资源统合调配。店主人说的没错，还剩下一件事是她可以做的。

This deity was actually an artificial intelligence, created by the intelligent species of the planet to optimize resource allocation on a planetary level. The shopkeeper was right — there was still one thing she could do.

第二位顾客是毁灭诸多世界的恶魔。它进来之后点了很多吃的，多到店主人都忍不住提问：

The second customer was a demon who had destroyed many worlds. After entering, it ordered a huge amount of food — so much, in fact, that the shopkeeper couldn't help but ask:

「您真的能吃完吗？」

"You sure you can finish all that?"

「废话真多，吃不完我带走不行吗？」恶魔舔了舔嘴。实际上恶魔的舔嘴和蛇吐信子一样，只是一种探测行为。

"Enough of your prattling! If I can't finish it, I'll just take the rest away in a little doggy bag!" replied the demon, licking its lips. In truth, this act of licking was more akin to a snake flicking its tongue, and was the demon's way of sensing its surroundings.

恶魔大快朵颐端上来的美餐，一边还和曾是船长的店主人吹嘘自己的功绩。不过它最后没能吃完自己点的东西。

Munching away at the lovely meal it had been served, the demon boasted to the captain-turned-shopkeeper of its achievements. But in the end, it couldn't finish it all.

「为什么没吃完，是不好吃吗？」

"Why didn't you finish it? Was it not to your liking?"

恶魔从没有被这么质问过，它有那么一瞬想要违心地说「不好吃」。但是它看到那位传奇的船长准备拿起他的燧发枪了，于是乖乖地让他给自己打包。

The demon had never, not once before, been questioned like this. For a brief moment, it wanted to lie and say, "It was horrible." But upon seeing that legendary captain start going for his flintlock, it chose to stay on its best behavior and asked him to help wrap up the leftovers instead.

恶魔不知道自己捡回来一条命。在被赋予「荣誉大副」头衔时，他也获准在店内处决闹事者。挂在时钟下面的古董燧发枪哀叹没有了自己的出场机会。

It may not have known at the time, but the demon had just saved its own life. Back when the adventurer had been given the title of "honorary first mate," he had also been granted authorization to execute troublemakers in his shop. For the antique flintlock hanging beneath his clock, missing such a golden opportunity to shine was a sore disappointment indeed.

…

...

第三十位顾客是一名魔女。看到她的脸，店主人就知道她要点什么。

The thirtieth customer was a witch. After taking one look at her face, the shopkeeper knew exactly what she wanted to order.

他和她就这样全程静默无言。

And so, the two of them stayed silent the whole time.

魔女最后抬起了脸，她的嘴巴边上都是油，脸颊因为嘴巴里还有咀嚼着的食物而鼓了起来。

Finally, the witch looked up. Her cheeks were bulging, full of food in the process of being chewed, and the corners of her mouth were stained with oil.

「你，没有故事吗？」见证过无数故事的船长问。

"Have you no tales to tell, then?" The captain, who had seen more stories than he could count, asked.

「第一次来就说完了啊。」魔女喝了一大口饮料，「你这东西好吃我不能常来吗？」

"I told you everything the first time I came here," said the witch as she took a big gulp of her drink. "Or are you saying I can't come just for the food?"

「说得也对。」店主给魔女递过去一张纸巾。

"Point taken," replied the shopkeeper, handing her a napkin.