This is the “Marquise”. I was ready to welcome “Adam”, but didn't expect “George” to show up soon after. What should I prepare for the “main dish”? Please advise. Wow! So sumptuous! I can't even tell which one's the main course! … Don't hold back, enjoy your meal. … What's with you … Looking so sour. I … I can't stop myself, from thinking about Berlin three years ago. Carl … Martha … Innocent people like them … … On that day, there were three hundred thousand. Three hundred thousand! What kind of burden is that? … You should spend more time with me, silly. ??? Know there's nothing worth remembering in our lives … … So there's no need to dwell on the past. While worldly matters take their turn, Ancient, modern, to and fro, Rivers and mountains are changeless in their glory, And still to be witnessed from this trail. — It's a poem from some Eastern poet named Meng Haoran. You know Chinese … So, you'll probably understand the meaning behind it better than I do. … Perhaps in the future, you'll hear a lot more stories about the victims of the Berlin Incident. In any case … please don't force yourself to graft their past to your future. There is no doubt that you're a man both blessed with divine luck, and cursed with rotten luck — But you don’t owe them anything; and neither do they owe you. It's your life, so just live on, with a clear conscience. … … … … … … Yes. Yes. That's right. Good boy ~ good boy ~~ Come, have some food ~~~ Tesla … What … Aren't you going to praise me? Pfft … W-what's the matter? … P-people do occasionally show some integrity for once! … So cute, Miss Tesla. W-what do you mean, cute?! Although the guests enjoying lunch appeared to number only a few — But the cuisine supplied by “West Cliff Rita”, ranging from foie gras to oysters, from tenderloin beef to langoustine lobsters …

Note：

The langoustine lobster (Nephropidae) is a large marine crustacean with a wide range of distribution. It is often mistakenly called the rock lobster or crayfish (Palinuridae).

The main differences between langoustines and crayfish include: langoustines have a pair of large “pincers”, while crayfish do not; langoustine antennae are thin and short, while crayfish antennae are long, thick, and spiky; langoustines are distributed all over the world, while crayfish are only distributed in tropical and subtropical regions.

 All kinds of meat have been made readily available, and the service is simply so extravagant that it makes some feel a slight degree of embarrassment. You guys! Don't you feel ashamed? ! If you don't clear all the plates, how could you ever face up to the manageress who worked so hard to prepare everything? ! As a result, at three o'clock that afternoon, when the sunlight is at its coziest, the person who lived up to those bold, visionary words could only lie down, spreadeagled like a lazy seal, on her own big bed. Stroll? No need to call on me, for such leisurely old-people exercise … Bowling? N-n-no … at the moment, I won't be able to play, no matter how hard I try … You go on and have a stroll … Tesla will go soak herself in the hot spring for a bit … However, having said that … Compared to her disgraceful history of “eating herself straight to hospital”, can this be considered a minor improvement? Winter, the time when the horizon is closest to us. Gloomy, cold, damp beaches; rust-marked ocean forts; various kinds of ships trailing thick smoke — this describes the entirety of the seaside view.

Note:

The Maunsell Forts are a series of a mass-produced air defense towers built by the British at the mouth of the Rivers Thames and Mersey during World War II.

The structure of a marine fort is similar to that of an anti-aircraft battery on land. The difference is that it is built on tall stilts atop a concrete barge. After the fort is assembled in the dock, it is towed by a tug to the designated area in the sea, then the concrete barge is scuttled, firmly anchoring the fort's foundation to the seafloor.

After World War II, the forts were abandoned. Among them, “HM Fort Roughs”, located on the open sea east of the County of Suffolk, was occupied by the family of army veteran Paddy Roy Bates on September 2, 1967. Furthermore, they proclaimed “independence” under international law as the “Principality of Sealand”. Although this declaration is considered by the international community to have no legitimacy, it has become an amusing case in the application of international law. (Translator's note: HM Fort Roughs was misspelled as HMS Fort Rough in the Chinese text. The Fort is not a ship so HMS is the wrong prefix.)

Vicissitude, loneliness, a feeling of serenity. Huh. Hmm? That person over there … have I seen her before, when we were having lunch? Yes … What about it? … Not sure. But she definitely gives off a “dangerous aura” … … (Crap … she couldn't have heard, could she?) … 「水落鱼梁浅，」(“Where a fisher-boat dips by a waterfall,”) 「天寒梦泽深。 」(“Where the air grows colder, deep in the valley,”) 「羊公碑尚在，」(“The monument of Yang remains;”) 「读罢泪沾襟。 」(“And we have wept, reading the words.”) It's the second half of the poem from earlier ― You understand Chinese, don't you? I can only speak a little … … Are you from the East? Yes. Looking at it from the local perspective, Shenzhou is indeed to the “East”. Ah. Yes. Let me give you this book. A book, f-for me? It's nothing, just a collection of poems. After you've read it, you can do what I did before, and show off your knowledge. B-But … It's nothing. I bought it on a whim. There have been too many things on my mind recently, and I simply cannot hold onto all this extra “mumbo jumbo”. Besides … … For it to cross an entire hemisphere, and arrive in the palm of your hands, isn't that also some kind of predestined fate? Fate … you say. Yes. For instance, in that poem just mentioned earlier, “Ascending Xianshan (Xian Mountain) with the Sages”. Geographically, Xianshan is just a small mound in the hinterland of Shenzhou. It's nothing compared to the Five Sacred Mountains; nothing compared to those snow-capped mountains; nothing compared to the Roof of the World. But a friend once told me that, this little Xianshan is a location where the “Dragon Vein” passes through. It is a crucial key to the safety of Shenzhou. According to legend, one of the first ancestors of Shenzhou, Fuxi, was buried there ― with her own body, she stands vigilant over “the Dragon Vein”, to protect this land. … Welt, can you translate what she is saying? Mm … She wanted to give me this collection of poetry … then she told me about a legend from the East … Nein, ist es nicht. (No, it is not.) It's not some legend. The so-called “Dragon Vein”, in today's terms, is a “subterranean river” formed from leaking Honkai energy. All legends have their basis in some original truth. You … who are you? Valkyrie Fu Hua. You could say I'm a colleague of Reanna, whom you've met before. She has a very good opinion of you lot, you know? Umm … thanks … ? Today you may encounter a dangerous person, who may even come across as a little annoying. But don't be alarmed — the least I can guarantee, is that your personal safety will not come under threat. Adieu. (Mr Welt.) 「相濡以沫，不如相忘于江湖。」 (“Wetting themselves with their spit, how much better when they can forget themselves in the rivers and lakes.)

Note:

This phrase is from “Zhuangzi: Inner Chapter: The Prime Master”：“When the stream runs dry, fish lie upon the bank and breathe on one another to stay moist, wetting themselves with their spit. How much better when they can forget themselves in the rivers and lakes!” (Translator's note: Translation from Robert Eno, https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/23427/Zhuangzi-updated.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y)

Zhuangzi used this parable to convey the following meaning: rather than struggling to help each other in times of hardship and deprivation, it is perhaps better to prevent disaster in the first place, thus maintaining peace and tranquility.

 I wish you all the best of luck, and hope you are prepared … for what lies ahead. … … What a weird person. That … that tone of her voice … Are we being watched? … That wouldn't be weird. You only need to go off and do something of your own free will, and sooner or later you will end up being watched by them. However, it is merely “watching”. A-are you sure we don't need to be worried? … At least, whether it was Reanna, or Fu Hua just now: neither of them wanted to cause any trouble with us. Although this situation cannot be maintained forever — But, all in all, you don't need to worry about the situation now. Ah … that's right. … Hmm? Today's weather is not bad. … Huh? I really like this beach. When the sun goes down, let's come here again, shall we? I have something good to show you. Late night. Breaking free from Tesla's exhortations to indulge in booze, Einstein and Welt languidly lie down on the beach, forming two “sand angels”. … So cold. … It was clearly warmer before we lay down. When one is lacking in exercise, it's only natural they would feel cold. Just get used to it. This level of cold is unlikely to make you sick. … Haha. Welt, this must be the first time you've seen such a clear starry sky. Yeah … That faintly-visible streak at the very top of the sky … is that the Milky Way? Correct. How about the stars? Can you recognise any? Um … This one over here is the Big Dipper … … So that one over there is the North Star. Is that correct? Correct. Big Dipper … That one is probably the most famous group of stars in the world. Großer Wagen, Großer Bär, Big Dipper, Plough... Just the names alone form a long list. … But for a layman like me, recognizing the North Star is the limit of my abilities. So … do you want me to introduce you to some more? Ah … of course, can't get any better than that. To be honest, I'm very envious of those people who can just point out any star and call out its name. … Those are astronomers. Uh … Haha, that's what I meant. However, if it's just a casual introduction … I can talk to you about it. Ah … let's just treat it as casual banter then. The young man's instinct is telling him that, for the entirety of that day, everybody felt just a little more tense and strange than usual. Whether it was Einstein and Tesla, or the new acquaintances Rita and Fu Hua … Everyone is apparently, by some coincidence, carrying a burden in their hearts. At such a time, idle banter is probably a welcome necessity. Even if it's just talking about nonsense. Want to … gossip … ? Ah, that one there is the “gossiping star”. Huh? Is there even such a thing? Of course not, I'm kidding. Idiot. … However, what I'll say next is more serious. How did you find the North Star just now? Um … Follow the two stars on the head of the Dipper, then extend towards the centre of the sky … and there you'll find it. Good. Now please examine the handle of the Bigger Dipper. Take these three stars, and imagine that they form a fully-extended bow. Then … take this bow, and shoot an arrow westward. Straight towards the Milky Way. Ah. There are three very bright stars here. I-it feels like they form a triangle. Mm-hmm. The two stars on either side of the Milky Way, those are the famous Weaving Girl and Cowherd from Eastern folklore. Alone on the right side of the Milky Way is α Lyrae, the Weaving Girl, or Vega … On the left of the Milky Way, there are two small stars accompanying α Aquilae, the Cowherd, or Altair . The two little stars next to the Cowherd, are their two sons. Woah. As for the one above, bathed within the Milky Way itself … That is α Cygni, one of the members of the “Northern Cross”.

Note:

The word “Swan” (Chinese: 天鹅) is written as “White bird” (白鳥) in Japanese. Therefore, the Shiratori constellation (“白鳥座”) that appears in some translation works is in fact the Swan constellation (“天鹅座”), or Cygnus.

In the Chinese constellation system, α Cygni is designated “Celestial Ford 4” (“天津四”). In English it is commonly referred to as “Deneb” (a transliteration of the original Arabic name).

It, together with the three stars below it, and another star a little further away, together form the shape of a cross. … By the way, α itself is actually the tail of the swan. … So the long arm of the cross is the neck of the swan? And the two symmetrical parts on either side are the swan's wings? Correct. Those are the major stars in this part of the sky. Now let our gaze return to the Big Dipper — — Follow along the plane of the Dipper bowl, proceed in the opposite direction of the Dipper handle. That should also extend to a location near the Milky Way. Ah. There's a star as bright as Vega! Mm. That is α Aurigae. It and the surrounding stars form a pentagon, which is the main part of the constellation Auriga.

Note:

α Aurigae is called “Five Chariots 2” (“五车二”) in the Chinese constellation system. In English it is commonly referred to as “Capella”.

The two bright stars below this pentagon are the two heads of the constellation Gemini, α Geminorum and β Geminorum. Now … Let our gaze cross the Milky Way, and divert southward. Do you see anything conspicuous or eye-catching? … … There are three bright stars close together on the left! The other stars around them are also very bright! Mm-hmm. The middle three are “Orion's belt” or “the Hunter's Belt”: ζ Orionis, ε Orionis, and δ Orionis.

Note:

ζ, ε, and δ Orionis are called “Three-Star Mansion 1, 2, and 3” respectively (“参宿一”、“二”、“三”), in the Chinese constellation System. In English they are commonly called “Alnitak”, “Alnilam” and “Mintaka” (transliteration from Arabic).


P.S. The correct pronunciation of “参宿” is shēn xiù. (Translator's note: This is included as the character “参” is an archaic term for the number “three”, and may be pronounced “sān”; but confusingly, in this case it is pronounced “shēn” as in “rénshēn” or ginseng, “人參”. The word for mansion, “宿”, may also be pronounced “sù”).

Together with α Orionis and γ Orionis above, and κ Orionis and β Orionis below, they form the main part of the constellation Orion.

Note:

α, γ, κ and β Orionis are called “Three-Star Mansion 4, 5, 6 and 7” respectively (“参宿四”、“五”、“六”、“七”), in the Chinese constellation System. In English they are commonly called “Betelgeuse”, “Bellatrix”, “Saiph” and “Rigel” (transliteration from Arabic).

… It’s a pity that London’s latitude is too high. Otherwise, at the bottom left of them, you would have seen the even more dazzling Sirius. That’s the brightest star in the sky. Mm-hmm … Let our gaze come upon the upper right part of Orion. There is a bright golden star here, and together with the several smaller stars around it form a small “V” shape. Mm-hmm … Ah, is it the one sandwiched between Orion and Auriga? Mm. That is α Tauri. That small “V” shape is the Golden Bull's head.

Note

α Tauri is known as “Net Mansion 5” (“毕宿五”) in the Chinese constellation System. In English it is commonly referred to as “Aldebaran” (transliteration from Arabic).


P.S. In “Saint Seiya” by Masami Kurumada, the “Taurus Gold Saint” is named after this star — the Chinese version translates this as “阿鲁迪巴” or “ā lǔ dí bā” (transliteration of Aldebaran) (Translators' note: The Japanese version still refers to him as “タウラスの アルデバラン” or “Taurasu no Arudebaran”, “Aldebaran of Taurus”, so it's not like they got it wrong).

By the way … I've noticed just now … Why are all these stars called α-this, β-that? Because they were originally named based on brightness.

Note:

Bayer designation is the international standard for naming stars, first described by German astronomer Johann Bayer in his 1603 star atlas, “Uranometria”.

Generally speaking, this nomenclature is based on the brightness of the stars in the constellation, assigning Greek letters in descending order of brightness, such that names are formed by “letter + constellation name”. (However, there are exceptions, such as α Draconis, called “Right Pivot” (“右枢”) in Chinese, which is not the brightest star in the Draco constellation. It became α because it was originally the Polaris or North Star five thousand years ago.) (Translator note: The original Chinese text has the naming system the other way around, “Constellation name + Greek letter”, and describes it as such. This is likely a stylistic choice to mirror the Ancient Chinese nomenclature.)

 W-Was it so … They actually all have their own nicknames … but most of them are in a foreign language, which makes them difficult to remember. Aldebaran, Arabic, α Tauri; Capella, Latin, α Aurigae; Castor and Pollux, Greek, α Geminorum and β Geminorum … I personally think that this kind of disorderly naming system is even less meaningful than the letter-based nomenclature. Ah. Speaking of α Tauri … On the other side of it — Yes, it's the opposite side of Orion … Do you see a bunch of tiny bright stars crowded together? Mm … Ah. Yes indeed. Densely packed, looks like there are six or seven? Thos are the Seven Sisters. Seven Sisters? Pleiades, the collective name for Atlas' seven daughters.

Note:

Pleiades, in Chinese “Maned Head Star Group” (“昴星团”), is one of the nebulae closest to Earth (about 444 light years away), designated Messier nebula number M45.

In the nebula, there are a series of bright stars that can be distinguished by the naked eye. Under favourable light conditions, a person with normal vision can count as many as nine of them.

Atlas himself was a Titan, lifting up the western sky — He is also the namesake for the “Atlantic Ocean”. Wow. And I thought you were not familiar with constellations or mythologies or that sort of thing … No at all … but they really are quite meaningless. They're all just silly stories about this person dying, that person dying, then they all become stars. … But occasionally there are happy endings — indeed, there is one right in our line of sight right now. Above the Seven Sisters, to the right of Auriga. One, two, three, four — — Four bright stars neatly lined up. Can you see them? … Ah. It's a little curved, but indeed it's quite orderly. From left to right, they are α Persei, γ Andromedae, β Andromedae, α Andromedae.

Note:

α Persei, and γ, β, α Andromedae are called “Celestial Boat 3”, “Heaven's Great General 1”, “Leg-stride Mansion Nine”, and “Wall Mansion 2” respectively (“天船三”、“天大将军一”、“奎宿九”、“壁宿二”) in the Chinese constellation system. In English, these are commonly known as “Mirfak”, “Almach”, “Mirach”, and “Alpheratz" (transliteration from Arabic).


P.S. The unremarkable-looking nebula resembling a square grey spot over β Andromedae is the famous M31 nebula — the Andromeda Galaxy. About 2.5 million light-years away from Earth, it is an extragalatic galaxy with a mass about twice that of the Milky Way. It is also the only extragalatic galaxy that is visible to the naked eye from most parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

α Andromedae is also called δ Pegasi — It's a star shared by both Andromeda and Pegasus.

Note:

The constellation Pegasus, in Chinese “Flying Horse” (“飞马座”), is also translated in some works as “Heavenly Horse” (“天马座”), as was the case in “Saint Seiya”.

Ah. So this is the story of a certain Greek hero who used Medusa’s head to turn a sea monster to stone, rescued the princess who was to be offered as a sacrifice, and then married her? Mm-hmm. This column of stars symbolises the chains that bind the princess. By the way, the main body of the Pegasus is the quadrilateral at the end of this “chain”. You can also think of it all as the largest spoon in the sky. Then … If you go further to the right, it is the Cowherd or Altair that we had observed before. Can't you say … … It looks roughly more like a raccoon? You see, this column of stars is the tail, and the extra star at the upper right corner of the quadrilateral is the head. Pfft … With such a long tail, it looks more like a racoon from a comic book. N-nothing wrong with that … … Ah. What's that? The southernmost, near sea level … a lonely one … Hmm … Do you mean the lower right corner, the position opposite Altair? … Y-yes, where you are pointing. That is α Piscis Austrini … the only bright star in this area.

Note:

α Piscis Austrini (the “Southern Fish” Constellation) is called “North Gate of the Military Camp” (“北落师门”) in the Chinese constellation system. In English it is commonly known as “Fomalhaut” (transliteration from Arabic).


P.S. As the Chinese constellation system determines the bearing of the stars in reference to the Sun and the North Star, this causes the North and South constellations to be the opposite of their actual geographic directions. Therefore α Piscis Austrini, which is located at low altitude to the south, is given the name “North Gate of the Military Camp” instead.

… It looks lonely. All stars are lonely. If the Earth and the Sun are shrunk to a size such that we can place both in front of you and me — — Then, to scale, the closest fixed star will need to be as far from here as Central London. Wha- … Don't be surprised. From the enormous universe, to the diminutive atom, most of this world is nothing but a vast empty vacuum. It is in this vast ocean of vacuum … that all matter slowly converged together into discrete pockets, among its undulating waves. It took 9 billion years for the universe to finally create the Earth; and it took the Earth another 4 billion years to become the Garden of Eden we see today. What's even more amazing, is that in this Garden of Eden, there is you, and me. … Apologies. That seemed a bit too sentimental.

Winter is not a romantic season.

If it can be said that, on that day at the beach, a little bud had just sprouted between the hearts of two people …

Then it can also be said, that this bud never got the chance to take root and germinate, as it should have.

The Modern Age is not like the Ancient Era, and hot spring baths are also nothing like saunas. Taking a hot bath after stargazing, of course it would be separate for men and women. It's just that — Hey. How have you been lately, Ω? You see … Just because you haven't seen a single man during the entire day, doesn't mean you should lower your guard in the public bath at night. Isn't that so?