My First Familiar - 27

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Red Data Girl: My First Familiar
By Noriko Ogiwara
A Translation

Guys… We made it! This is the last piece of Red Data Girl: The First Familiar! Once you read this, you will have read the whole book and I will have translated it. Wow! I can’t believe it! It’s been a really good ride, great language practice for me, and an interesting experience all around.

I took more hiatuses than I had hoped to–I probably would have finished it sometime in August or September if I had stuck with it better–but I tried really hard and did the best job I think I could have. Some spots were harder than others, but I got through them almost entirely on my own power. I want to say thanks to two of my friends and one of my teachers at work who helped me when I was really stuck. I’d probably have some weird translations without them. But I really surprised myself with the amount I could do on my own. Like I mentioned in my last post about finishing the book, translating RDG really got easier the more I studied. I’m not sure how much I learned through this project, but it was an amazing way to physically see my improvement with the Japanese language.

I’ll be starting the next book in the series, Red Data Girl: The First Makeup once I get back to Japan. I’m hoping to get the first piece up right away next week at the usual time, but with jet lag and getting back into the groove of work after a two week vacation, there’s a good chance I won’t have it up until next week. But we’ll see.

Anyway, thank you so much for sticking with me all the way to the end of The First Familiar. I hope you’ve enjoyed the story and that you’ll stick with me through the next book too. You’re great!

Notes on this week’s translation:

The word “Zaougongen” is mentioned near the end of this piece. This was an unusual enough word that the author assumed even Japanese people wouldn’t know what it was and included a short explanation in the text. Because of that, I’m not including an explanation here, only a picture. 

Red Data Girl: My First Familiar
Chapter 4: Wamiya
Part 3 (2 of 2)

“Out of nowhere, I felt like I should go to Houjou Academy. It was sudden, but I decided it was the right thing to do.”

Izumiko had explained this to Miyuki over and over to no avail.

“I wasn’t sure about it until Wamiya said what he did. He understood before I did and it seems like I needed to hear it from him before I could realize it as well.” she said for the hundredth time.

They were walking back from the parking lot after seeing Sagara off.

Sagara had come to the shrine with the purpose of telling Miyuki that he would be transferring schools, but neither Miyuki nor Izumiko were surprised by it. It was what they had guessed would happen. Miyuki would soon take Houjou Academy’s entrance exam in order to transfer there starting in the second semester.

“Did you change your mind because Mr. Nonomura and I were almost killed?”

“I was almost killed too,” Izumiko responded a bit sharply. “I thought I was going to die. Isn’t that enough of a reason? Besides, even if I deserved it for not knowing what was happening around me, I was still able to stop Wamiya in the end. That’s a reason to go in itself as well.”

Miyuki, seemingly willing to admit that Izumiko had indeed been the one to save them in the woods, raised his head towards the blue sky and said, “Was it the goddess?”

The afternoon sunlight streamed into his eyes. It had been three days since the accident. Seeing as it had been decided that the two needed medical treatment, Izumiko and Miyuki had been able to stay home from school and relax ever since. Neither of them were particularly injured—their cuts and bruises really weren’t enough to keep them out of school. But it was a relief to stay home and have an opportunity to recover from the mental effects of what had happened.

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