Extra arc 『The Stage Ghost’s Cappricio』 Chapter 7
Edited ver:
結論から言うと。
I’ll start from the conclusion.
人形を人間にする魔法は、存在しない。
A magic that could make a puppet into a human does not exist.
For 『things』 imitating the shape of living things, there was a philosophy that these had a certain 『power』 that draws a line over being simple inorganic matters. That way of thinking exists in Japan and even in this world.
日本の歴史を引き合いに出せば、厄除けに使われた雛人形しかり、陰陽道で用いられたという式札しかり。
If I pull out Japan’s history as an example, there were things like hina dolls that were used to ward off evil and shikigamis that were used for onmyoudo.
In terms of dolls, which were 『things』 imitating human shape, there were a rich variations ranging from folklores to ghost stories. I’ve heard ones where they end up walking or dancing, becoming replacements for human or having human spirits dwell in them, or even growing out hair.
Even in this world, there were ghost stories that’s associated to dolls, but in addition to that, there were also stories about magic that influences dolls.
For instance. Magic that manipulates dolls at will by inserting one’s will inside them.
At this moment, even if they were equally inorganic matters, the level of difficulty between inserting one’s will into a doll and inserting one’s will into a pebble were completely different.
A doll was a 『thing』 that imitated a human shape and it doesn’t have a will of its own. Since it meets the requirement, it’s significantly easier to enter that 『humanoid shell』 compared to that of entering other inorganic matters.
In other words, this was magic that uses the 『power』 that tools called dolls have.
There were other magic that uses dolls. But what’s common among these were that people developed magic that turns dolls into tools.
I tried thinking over Nival Galant’s magic in particular.
One could say that he was also a user of a magic that won’t invoke without the 『power』 held by 『dolls』.
People who don’t have a deep understanding about magic often misunderstands, but it wasn’t that Nival Galant could use 『magic that moves inorganic matter』 . Nival Galant’s magic was restricted to only dolls, you could say it was a incredibly limiting magic given that it can move dolls because they were close to human form.
In this regard, the dolls produced were not confined to say, the material or its size. It doesn’t matter whether they were big or small.
The only restriction was that the form cannot deviate from a typical human too much. It was no good, for example, if the doll was not made with all the human joints, and it was impossible to move a doll with wings on its back.
The appearances of the dolls themselves changes in accordance to Nival’s magic.
But the dolls’ nature as tools remain the same.
Taking the alterations that Nival personally desires, the dolls could change their appearance. Due to his perfectionism, the alterations follow Nival’s desires for an 『appearance close to humans』.
And his intention was for it to remain a shell. Without a voice of its own. It only moves with the responses drilled into it. An existance that only answers the desires of the wizard.
Even Nival himself acknowledges that fact.
Nival’s automatons needed a long time in order to make up one body that accurately and precisely imitates humans.
Though Nival made it clear that he was proud of his work at every opportunity, he also plainly expressed his honest opinion to the reporter that described his work as 『making a human』.
What he makes was a 『doll』, there’s no way they could be 『humans』. That was what he stated.
（この人は、『ミリア』についてもこんな風に思ったのかしら）
（I wonder if this person thought of even 『Miria』 this way）
記事は『ミリア』が生み出される前のものだ。
The report was released prior to 『Miria』 being born.
But it was said that Nival Galant spent many long months and years in his life making 『Miria』. In other words, besides making other dolls, he poured all of his skills into carefully crafting 『Miria』 and brought her close to a human.
He taught every and all responses to the automaton that couldn’t move without the responses drilled into it. Though there was no way of knowing what motivation drove him to do it, it was likely a task that required an extraordinary level of imagination and patience.
The catchphrase that 『Miria』 was 『The dollmaker Nival Galant’s greatest masterpiece』 wasn’t just for show.
That it is to say, at the time of this article, even if Nival hasn’t publicized it the world, he should’ve been working on 『Miria』’s creation.
そうして彼の死後やっと世間に出た『ミリア』は、人間とまったく同じ生活を送り、人と触れ合うことができるほどの柔軟性と思考力に富んだ自動人形だった。
Thus, 『Miria』, who finally came out to the world after his death, had been an automaton with an incredible thought-process and was flexible enough to be able to come in contact with humans and lead a life quite similar to them.
（彼女と一緒に時間を過ごした私はもう、ニバル・ガラントの言葉にとても大きな反発を感じる。『人間ではありえない』なんて、どうして言えるのか分からない。――それとも）
(Having spent time with her, I feel very strongly against what Nival Galant said. I don’t know how he could say something like 『there’s no way they could be humans』. –Or maybe…)
それとも。
Or maybe…
Maybe there was a difference between the 『Miria』 that he imagined and the 『Miria』 I met. If so, could something have happened that even he as the creator did not forsee leading to 『Miria』?
一つには、『ミリア』が彼の想像を超えて人間に近しいものになったという可能性。
For one thing, there was a possibility that 『Miria』 turned into something that surpassed his imagination of a being that is close to human.
私はその、２つ目の可能性に心を奪われている。
And for another, there was a posibility that the 『Miria』 I know and the 『Miria』 he knows, are separate beings. I was transfixed on the second possibility.
Having studied about Nival Galant’s magic, I was also led to investigate his closely associated personal life.
彼自身が、『自分の人生において私生活が円満だったといえるのは結婚当初の、ごく短い期間だけだった』と明言している。ニバル・ガラントの奥方は、ニバルとの間にただ一人の女児をもうけた後に他界してしまった。
He, himself, stated that 『The happiest I’d personally been in my life had been the very short time at the start of my marriage』. Nival Galant’s wife had passed away soon after having just one baby girl with him.
And even when the daughter, who he raised himself, became of age and got married, the one child she had was stillborn. She soon had a divorce after that.
Thereafter, without a specific partner and out of wedlock, she finally had a daughter, but it seems she had been quite hard on this child. And then, the woman, neglecting her health, died of sickness when the child was six years of age.
Thus, only Nival Galant and the six year old child that was his grandaughter, remained.
Nival wasn’t a particularly affable man. Even those around him described him as 『moody』 or 『an artist for better or worse』, and I heard that he doesn’t even ever let others near the place where he produces the dolls. I wonder how the life of a six year old girl went with that circumstance.
少女の名前は、マリ・ガラントという。
The girl’s name was Mari Galant.
If I follow the descriprtion of the young girl from the articles written about Nival’s personal life
『Pale brown hair inherited from her mother』
『Large light brown eyes』
『Based on those near her, they say her mother didn’t shower really her with love. She was jittery towards even the female reporter from start to end. She shows limited expressions』
それは、私の知るミリア・ガラントのようにならないだろうか。
–if a girl like that had grown up.
Wouldn’t she be someone like the Miria Galant I knew?
『人形歌劇座の最高のプリマ、ミリア・ガラント。その演技はまさしく人間そのもの・・・・・・！』
『The puppet opera’s best prima donna, Miria Galant. Her acting is the very. picture. of. human！』
ミリアが実は人間で、ニバルの孫娘こそその人なのではという想像は、荒唐無稽がすぎるだろうか。
It’s probably too absurd to suppose that Miria was actually human, and Nival’s granddaughter at that.
しかしその仮定は、私の胸にすとんと綺麗に収まってしまったのだ。
But that supposition had completely made its place in my heart.
Although she had limited expressions, I hardly felt that she was 『doll-like』 . Up to this point, I was thinking that 『maybe it’s because she was a magical doll』, but if I’d been told 『it’s because she’s human』, I would naturally believe that more.
One can probably think that her upbringing was the reason for her tendency to be a little self-deprecating.
けれどそう仮定したらしたで、また大きな疑問にぶつかってしまう。
However, if I suppose that, then I’ll be met with another big question.
When Miria appeared in the puppet opera’s stage, people accepted Miria as a 『puppet of humans』. That was because it was an actress that suddenly appeared in a theatre where 『living humans could not perform in』.
And I couldn’t think of why someone would do something like pretend to be a doll and appear on stage.
If she were shouldering the risk of deceiving the world by pretending to be a doll, what could possibly be the reason for that?
そして更に難解な謎が一つ。
And, there was another mystery that was diffucult to understand.
–Miria had asked me.
Whether I 『knew a magic to turn a doll into human』.
I really can’t think that it was only a question done as a joke.
私の推論がすべて、ただの考え過ぎという可能性もまだ残っていた。真実は、彼女自身に尋ねるしかない。
There was still the chance that all my deductions was just me thinking too much. The truth was, I have no choice but to ask her.
私は、明日にでもミリアに話を聞いてみようと決めた。調べもので時間をくってしまったために、私に残された時間は少ない。学園の始業は二日先まで近づいていた。
I decided to try talking with Miria tomorrow or something. I was short on time since I’d spent most of it investigating. School was about to commence in two days.
とてもではないが、手紙でできるような話ではない。
It’s not that I had a lot of time but it wasn’t something that could be discussed in a letter.
My chance was tomorrow, just one day.