哈玛瓦兰战记 The Saga of Hamavaran

哈玛瓦兰战记·前言 The Saga of Hamavaran (Preface)

新锐轻小说《哈玛瓦兰战记》的前言，由于经营调整而单独成为一册！

The prefaces of the new light novel "The Saga of Hamavaran," now combined into their own separate volume due to a business model adjustment!

前言

Foreword

近来由于新兴作者招募计划与如火如荼的「这本小说真厉害」大赏活动的助推，许多来自异国的新锐作家也贡献了富有特色的作品。在此敝总编特别感谢各国作者对稻妻轻小说事业的支持，与勘定奉行柊慎介大人的网开一面，因此才能让如此多优秀的作品与稻妻的读者及时见面。

Thanks to a fruitful new writer recruitment drive and the phenomenal success of the contest "This Novel is Amazing!" we have received many highly original works from up-and-coming writers all over the world. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our international writers for supporting Inazuma's light novel industry, and we'd also like to thank Kanjou Commissioner Hiiragi Shinsuke for his grace and generosity. It is thanks to all of you that we are able to bring so many outstanding works to the readers of Inazuma here today.

众所周知，在当今「锁国令」颁布之前，稻妻亦颇有一些异国武士剑豪活跃。名为哈玛瓦兰者便是其中之一，此人来自遥远的须弥雨林之国，却在稻光之国行侠仗义。其故事虽然一度隐没于大御所殿下不变的盛世之下，但现在多亏新锐作者，我的友人普尔希娜加以复述，才重获鲜活的生命。

As you all know, prior to the promulgation of the Sakoku Decree, a number of accomplished samurai from various lands were active in Inazuma. One of them, whose name is Hamavaran, hails from the distant rainforest nation of Sumeru, but came all the way to the land of the lightning's glow to carry out chivalrous deeds. Though tales of Hamavaran were once buried during the peak of unchanging eternity under Her Excellency the Shogun, they have now been given life anew thanks to the narrative prowess of a good friend of mine, the budding author Pursina.

那么，话不多说，《哈玛瓦兰战记》，还请读者自行品味。

Now, without further ado, please enjoy "The Saga of Hamavaran" at your leisure.

哈玛瓦兰战记·一 The Saga of Hamavaran (I)

「怎会如此…」本是普通的须弥旅行学者，没想到却被分配了冷门课题，前往遥远的雷之国土…海岸之国的冒险，徐徐开启！

"How could this happen..." An ordinary scholar from Sumeru is unexpectedly assigned an unpopular specialization and ordered to go forth to the land of thunder and lightning... The curtains slowly rise on an adventure in the nation of many shores!

「相比远海的雷暴，不如说延迟毕业更加可怕吧…」

"It's not the tempest at sea I'm worried about, it's the prospect of deferred graduation..."

远渡稻妻的船上，年轻的哈玛瓦兰如此想着…

This was the thought occupying Hamavaran's mind on his long voyage to Inazuma...

「你在想，论文完不成就要延迟毕业了吧？」

"You're worrying about not getting your thesis finished in time and having to delay your graduation, aren't you?"

熟悉的声音从船舱外传来。

The familiar-sounding voice came from outside the cabin.

「啰嗦——你又是谁！」

"Shush... Who are you, anyway!?"

「我嘛…很重要吗？」

"Who, me? Is that important?"

「说的也是，确实没那么重要……」

"Good point. No, you're not that important..."

「喂——」

"Hey..."

……

...

就这样，在动摇海天的雷暴中，与舷窗外的细小声音吵了起来。对雷暴的担忧，对论文的恐惧，反而也没那么重要了。

And so, as the great thunderstorm raged, shaking the seas and heavens alike, Hamavaran began arguing with the quiet voice from outside the window, while all worries about the storm and fears about not completing the thesis on time paled into insignificance.

只不过…到登岸为止，那个在舷窗外与自己吵架的声音都没有再露面。

But strangely, when Hamavaran arrived on shore, the owner of the voice that had been arguing back from outside the window was nowhere to be seen.

「或许只是海难者的鬼魂吧…」

"Maybe it was the ghost of a shipwreck victim..."

哈玛瓦兰如是对自己说。

Hamavaran considered this possibility.

所谓鬼魂，不过是地脉对亡者的记忆，只是过去与今日的共振而已。出现在海面上虽说怪异，但也不至于全违常理。

Ghosts are just the Ley Lines' memories of the deceased, Hamavaran reasoned. It's a completely natural phenomenon that occurs due to resonance between past and present. To be sure, it's highly unusual for this to happen in the middle of the ocean, but it's by no means impossible.

「你才是鬼魂啦——！」

"Who are you calling a ghost? You're the ghost!"

就在哈玛瓦兰拎起行李，终于为自己的谵妄找到一套解释时，熟悉的声音又在耳边响起——

Hamavaran had finally produced a satisfactory hypothesis to explain away the symptoms of delirium and had moved onto luggage-collection when the familiar voice piped up once more.

哈玛瓦兰战记·二 The Saga of Hamavaran (II)

「『使鬼』？与家乡的『镇灵』差不多少吧？」怀着这样的疑惑，哈玛瓦兰与新来的旅伴攀谈起来…一场未尝预料的旅程，就此开端。

"'Ghost-calling'? Is that the same as 'spirit-warding' back home?" With confusing questions swirling in his mind, Hamavaran begins to speak with his newfound traveling companion. An unexpected journey begins!

……

...

「所以，你确实是鬼魂？」

"So, you really are a ghost?"

「不是！我还没有死呢！」

"No! I'm not even dead yet!"

「可你也没有活过呀？」

"But you've never been alive either?"

「唔…这么说也是呢…」

"Um... Yeah, I guess you could say that..."

自称身为「式神」的多嘴少女大口吞食着糯米团子，其情其状令哈玛瓦兰多少有点担心她会被噎到。

The talkative young girl, who claimed to be a shikigami, gulped down glutinous-rice dango with such speed and intensity that Hamavaran began to worry she might choke.

「非要说的话，我的情况，更像所谓的『使鬼』吧？」

"If I had to explain it, I'd say my situation is more like that of a 'ghost-calling.'"

「那不还是鬼嘛…」

"So like I said, a ghost..."

「不是你说的那种！」

"Noooo, not that kind of ghost!"

又是一阵扯皮，哈玛瓦兰才终于明白过来，这家伙与须弥的所谓「镇灵」或许是类似的东西。

One argument later, Hamavaran finally understood that what she called "ghost-calling" was something roughly equivalent to what in Sumeru is known as "spirit-warding."

通过真名结下名契。利用真名加以驱使，全世界的神秘术本质上都是差不多的，这或许正体现了人最根本的恐惧之一——对于被掌握的恐惧吧。

Both involve signing a pact using one's real name. The notion that you can command someone when you know their real name is common to many of the world's mystic traditions, and it highlights a core fear held by humans: the fear of being under someone else's control.

这样胡思乱想着，哈玛瓦兰又开始后悔自己没有去读神秘学，而是学习了海洋生物研究这门冷门课程…

With thoughts thusly wandering, Hamavaran once again began to regret specializing in the much-neglected discipline of marine biology instead of mysticism...

不仅要远渡稻妻，更要面临活地狱般的论文答辩…

First I have to sail all the way to Inazuma, then I have to go through the living hell that is a thesis defense...

不过如今身边多了一个聒噪的小东西，或许多少算是个转机吧…

But maybe running into this noisy little thing is a stroke of good luck for me...