On another day, I was with Kiba and his companion, Tosca-san, and we were all visiting the cafe together… We happened to come across a white-haired boy — Sigmund. Sigmund saw Kiba and boldly took the seat in front of him. He then stared intently at Kiba. He had a rather complex expression on his face and in his eyes.
The first time they met, Sigmund was shyly watching us from behind the restroom’s door…but right now, he was staring at Kiba with a lot of interest. Tosca-san and I didn’t know what to say, so the atmosphere ended up becoming somewhat tense. Kiba and Sigmund just stared at each other, Kiba with a troubled face and Sigmund with a serious expression.
“Let’s see… Sigmund-kun, was it…? What is it that you need from me?”
Kiba asked him with a troubled look on his face and,
“………”
Sigmund just kept staring at him in silence. It looked like the conversation wasn’t going to get anywhere. — However, mindlessly poking in probably would be good, so Tosca-san and I invited Lint-san over to an empty seat and asked her about the circumstances.
“…What’s going on?”
I asked Lint-san while looking in Kiba’s direction. Lint-san responded with,
“Sig-cchi really respects Sieg-sensei. So… Well, it’s complicated.”
…Ah, so it’s complicated. Kiba had taken the Demonic Emperor Sword Gram that Siegfried had… Furthermore, Kiba was the one who had defeated Siegfried. If Sigmund really respected his sensei Siegfried…did that mean Kiba would become his rival? Lint-san cheerfully said,
“From the viewpoint of the Sigurd Institution, Kiba-kyun-paisen[1] has quite a deep connection with them. Freed-aniki and Sieg-sensei were both defeated by him, plus he has Gram. After all–”
Lint-san’s eyes moved towards Tosca-san.
“His companion, Tosca-aneki also comes from the Sigurd Institution. Honestly, Kiba-kyun-paisen is deeply connected to our entire organisation.”
Hearing that, Tosca-san said,
“Ah… Excuse me… Lint-san… Calling me aneki like that…”
“No, no, I’m pretty sure you’re the same age or older than I am, and we came out of the same organisation, so it’s a given that we are sisters! So I hope you’ll allow me to call you aneki.”
“Bu-but I… I was asleep for some time, so…”
“No, no, aneki is definitely aneki.”
“…Ah… Ahhh…”
After hearing that from Lint-san, Tosca-san let out a bit of a sigh and looked a bit troubled. Now then, Kiba and Sigmund, who were staring at each other, finally made a move. Sigmund broke his silence and began to speak.
“…Gram… I heard you have it.”
“Yeah, I’m its owner right now.”
“…Originally, it was Siegfried-sensei’s sword….”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“…Siegfried-sensei… Was he a bad person?”
It was a very straightforward question. How do you answer that question to a boy who respects Siegfried? Kiba, the one who defeated Siegfried, would have to be the one who answered. Kiba responded with a calm tone.
“I’m sure he had his own beliefs. — However, he was an enemy to me. Because of that, I defeated him. Otherwise, he might have defeated us.”
Sigmund looked down after hearing Kiba’s honest response and said,
“I think… I think sensei was a sad person. Gram chose him because he was strong… So I think he couldn’t rely on anyone in the old organisation.”
“…The Church’s structure at that time… I think you’re right.”
Kiba’s eyes were full of sorrow. There were a lot of sad events in the old church… Kiba and Tosca-san were originally part of the Holy Sword Project and their companions were all sacrificed in order to save them.
“Sigmund…-kun, can you rely on anyone? Do you have someone you’re able to rely on?”
In response to Kiba’s question, Sigmund nodded. Seeing that, Kiba smiled. He was probably relieved about Sigmund’s current state and the Church’s current structure. Sigmund resolved himself and proclaimed,
“My dream is to become Gram’s next master. That’s why, I’m sure I’ll do it. I’ll challenge Isaiah-sa… Kiba-san. I want to be able to use Gram even better than Siegfried-sensei! As… As a descendant of the hero Sigmund, that…that’s my dream!”
So that was that white-haired kid’s dream and ambition, huh? At that time, Kiba was surprised, but he had a tender smile on his face.
“I understand. However, I will do my best not to lose.”
After hearing that from Kiba, Sigmund finished his drink in one go and smiled brightly.
“*sniffle* Good, good for you, Sig-cchiiiiiiiiiiii!”
What the heck? Next to me was the unusual sight of Lint-san wailing?! Sigmund walked over to Lint-san.
“Lint-nee-yan[2]. I said it.”
“Yeah, yeah. I saw you do it. You did a good job, Sig-cchi!”
“Nee-yan, you’re crying.”
The conversation that had started with a tense atmosphere ended with such a warm exchange. Kiba and Tosca-san had other business to attend to, so they left first, while I decided to give Asia a helping hand before heading home together with her. And that’s when they appeared.
“Ah, Hyoudou Issei-kun.”
It was the glasses-wearing next head of the Archduke Agares house, Seekvaira Agares!
“Seekvaira-san! W…would you like some tea?”
“Yes, I was going to take a short break here before heading to the Hyoudou house. This works perfectly though. I have some business with you.”
“Some… Some business with me?”
Seekvaira-san flashed her glasses before grabbing my hand and leading me to sit at a table. She then made a small magic circle appear on the tabletop. What emerged from the circle was a plastic model of a “Mobile Knight Dungam”[3]! Everywhere you looked, there were handmade additions, and the details were amazing, while the paint looked like it had a lot of time put into it!
“I finally finished the limited edition dunpla you bought for me at [Dungam Base], so I thought I’d show you it at least once.”
“Dungam Base” was a manufacturer specialising in plastic models for “Mobile Knight Dungam” in Odaiba. The other day, I went there and bought a limited edition dunpla to send to Seekvaira-san at her request!
Seekvaira-san made a few more magic circles on the table and a lot of Dungham materials appeared out of them. While showing off her completed dunpla, she began talking about her hobby. You could really feel Seekvaira-san’s burning passion.
“I wanted to follow the pack and copy every detail. Here! This backpack is in this document, but this Saber Lelack doesn’t have it, but in this document that came out later, it’s there. Also, the leg thrusters are different here, but I personally prefer the original version—”
And thus, I ended up talking to Seekvaira-san about Dungham until closing time. In this coffee shop, you could have unusual conversations and inspiring encounters, and then have Dungam talk as well!
By the way, this shop was named [CxC]. The reason being, Cafe Cleric (churchman), Club, Community, Combination, etc, all start with the letter C. It was suggested by Mirana Shatarova. One of the reasons for choosing the name for Team [DxD] was “It’s simple because it’s a single D.” I’d love to see many more different encounters here at [CxC]!
Translator’s notes:
1: Paisen is essentially another way of saying “senpai,” means near the same thing.
2: Just his dialect. Similar to what you’d see with -san or -chan at the end of a name.
3: Pretty obviously Gundam stuff, just copyright forces changes.
Thank you so much. That was a lot of work and I think you really nailed the nuances first time out.
Thanks for the hard work! I’m excited to be able to read new side stories. Between you, Leo, and Jerutz it seems us fans are in excellent hands. Keep up the hard work!
Would you by chance translate shid dxd? Only of leo wont be able to.
I’ve got confidence that Leo is going to be working on that, just give him time.