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oozmium Ā· 1 year ago
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Hidden Relics and The Man Who Hid (Them) - Translation
This is a translation of Hallelujah's side story found in the SMTIVA artbook. There used to be a translation floating around for this a couple years ago, although it appears to have been taken down. So I've asked a good friend of mine to translate the story and I looked over it for lore accuracy.
A direct link to the translation hosted on their blog can be found here. But if you'd like to read it on tumblr, click the read more. Please enjoy your read!
One more thing: PLEASE DO NOT REPOST THIS TRANSLATION ANYWHERE ELSE. Instead, link back to either this tumblr post or my friend's blog if you wish to share it.
Hidden Relics and the Man who Hid Them
Original Writer: Mito Yoko
Translator: VerdantGrove
ENG Proofer: Elegy
note: translation notes can be found at the bottom.
ā€”Ā 
A single notebook rests in the manā€™s hand. That aged notebook is just one of the relics the man found in his former residenceā€¦itā€™s the memoir of a certain woman. The man places his fingers atop the warped cover just as he always does, and sets foot into the world of the memoirā€¦
ā€”Ā 
Feb 12
Hallelujah found a pen and a notebook. He said it was a present for Mama. I used this when I was study-ingĀ¹ with Angel. How long ago was that again? Hallelujahā€™s four now, soā€¦ No, no. I donā€™t wanna think about it.
Angel complimented my handwriting. He said ā€œitā€™s not very well done, but repetition is key.ā€
Writing a diary so he compliments me again.
Feb 13
Three visitors. Ashura Kai came to collect the money, and give us food rashionsĀ². A little more than usual, thanks to the work I did. Mama will work hard for Hallelujah.
Feb 14
Zero visitors. Big fire in Shibuya. Scary.Ā 
Humans are scarier than demons. Angelā€¦
Feb 15
Four visitors. Tired.
Feb 16
Visito
May 2
Forgot about the diary. Writing every day is hard.
Jun 13
Ashura Kai came to collect the money. Guy in charge is annoying.
Luckily visitors were nice today.
Jun 15
We got canned food from the guestsĀ³. Hallelujah was super happy. Butā€¦ I didnā€™t know what to say when he asked me ā€œwhatā€™s a backblueļæ½ļæ½?ā€. If Angel were here, he would have told him. Have to study.
Jun 20thāµ
Hallelujah keeps yelling about wanting to go outside. Even though itā€™s dangerous up there. Even though Iā€™m doing my best to live down here for him.
Jul 4th
Hallelujah and I talked about Papa. ā€œSamyazaā€... I get shy just saying his name. Iā€™ll keep what really happened a secret for now.
He asked me, ā€œwhy isnā€™t he with us?ā€
Why, I wonder?
Jul 15th
Ashura Kai came to collect the money.
Seems grades are good. Oh dear.
Augustā¶ 15th
The Ashura Kaiā· came to collect the money. I ranted to a friendly guest, and their response was ā€œpoor thing.ā€ They said I was such a poor thing, having to work and take care of a child at the same time.
Am I really a poor thing?
August 16th
Was all guests I hated today. But have to stay strong. For Hallelujah.
Sep 9āø
Wrong. Something, wrong. Head spinning. Get mad when I look at Hallelujah. How can he laugh when Iā€™m suffering this much?Ā 
But all this suffering is for his sake.
He looks just like me and I hate it. Hate everything.
September 15th
Collected the money.
Iā€™m mad. Canā€™t even look at Hallelujah.
September 2
September 21st
I hit Hallelujah yesterday.
He kept asking questions about my work, and I said ā€œyou know itā€™s all your faultā€ and hit him.
I even blurted out ā€œitā€™s your fault Angel went away too.ā€
Iā€™m awful.
September 30th
Hallelujah threw up.
While I was cleaning it up, he cried ā€œsorry, sorry.ā€ I said ā€œyouā€™re a lot more serious than you were when you were a baby,ā€ and it made me laugh.Ā 
I felt like that was the first time Iā€™d laughed in a long time.
Then Hallelujah laughed too.
He laughed for me, even though Iā€™d done something so horrible.
For some reason, it made me want to cry.
October 1st
Iā€™m thinking as I watch Hallelujah sleep.
Hallelujahā€™s name was given to him by Angel.
It means ā€œgratitude.ā€
I was really happy, so I tried my best to remember how to write it, even though itā€™s hard to spellā¹.
How the hell did I forget that? Iā€™m such an idiot.
October 3rd
I hit Hallelujah and managed to say ā€œsorry.ā€
He forgave me with an ā€œitā€™s all righty.ā€
He patted me with his tiny little hands.
Sorry. Love you.
October 15th
That guest again. Always telling me Iā€™m a ā€œpoor thing,ā€ so annoying.
October 21st
I still have a lot of mixed feelings about Hallelujah.
But Iā€™m not angry at him. Luckily.
Nov 15Ā¹ā°
What am I gonna do? Hallelujah hit the man who collects the money. I got hit, then Hallelujah, he turned into something not human, got scary strong, then that guy, he wouldnā€™t move. Ashura Kaiā€”no, oh my God, this isnā€™t what you should write in a diary.
But I want to calm down.
Hallelujah canā€™t stop shaking even though Iā€™m hugging him tight.
Hallelujah was just helping me. He didnā€™t do anything wrong. Thatā€™s it, Hallelujah didnā€™t do anything wrong.
Hallelujah did not do anything wrong.
Hallelujah cried himself to sleep. Thank God.
It was hard, but I made up my mind.
Weā€™re going to leave the Underground. I thought I wouldnā€™t survive if I wasnā€™t here. But thatā€™s wrong.
I have everything Angel has taught me. Itā€™ll be okay.
Leaving before the stores open is a matter of life or death.
Iā€™ll keep Hallelujah safe.
ā€”
ā€œThey sure do change easily, these ā€˜humans.ā€™ā€
The man's cold and emotionless words reflect his hardened features as he emerges from the glow of the streetlights. And yet, for some reason he couldnā€™t place, when his eyes catch sight of these words of determination written in smudged letters, his hand stops. The man had never once thought about why that was.
Just as his hand stopped, he checked his smartphone for new notifications, butā€¦ The name which he hoped to see was still not there. Ignoring the many voices seeking out his direction, the man turns his attention to the rest of the memoir.
This memoir tells the tale of a mother and child desperately searching for a way to survive. Silently, the man continues to readā€¦
ā€”
May 19th
Our life on the surface has been going smoothly, thanks to us handing out Reds. Iā€™m less worried about the demons. Hallelujah will be 10 soon. Seems like heā€™s made a friend called Chiro. I wonder what kind of kid they are?
June 12th
We got canned food as payment for the Reds!
Hallelujah was on the edge of his seat before we even opened it. He looks happy eating the fruit. Iā€™m glad.
June 13th
Hallelujah fell asleep hugging the empty can.
It made him that happy?
June 15th
Studying with Hallelujah. I want to tell him everything Angel taught me.
June 28th
Hallelujah made me mad. It was because he took out that empty can when we were collecting relics. Is that thing his prized possessionā€¦?
June 29th
Making up with Hallelujah. I promised I wouldnā€™t put my hands on him without thinking anymore. Sorry, Hallelujah.
July 10th
I know what Hallelujahā€™s friend is now. It was a shock.
July 12th
I ran into that guest from our time underground. I wished theyā€™d shut up about wanting me to come back to the city or wanting to look after me. Not to mention they told me how sorry they are for me again. Iā€™m mad.
July 18th
Hallelujah has gotten good at looking for relics.
I told him ā€œyouā€™d be fine doing this on your own at this pointā€ to praise him, but that made him extremely grumpy. Why??
July 20th
That guyā€™s here again. Ugh.
Even though Hallelujahā€™s forgotten what happened that day.
July 22nd
Hallelujah doesnā€™t seem to like studying. He said it was because he was gonna play with his friend, then ran off. Whereā€™d this come from?
If only Angel were here at a time like thisā€¦
August 22nd
Had a conversation with a grumpy Hallelujah.
Studying is essential for proper judgment.
Itā€™s essential in order to decide for yourself whatā€™s important to you. Just like how I decided to believe Angel. ā€¦I wonder if I got through to him?
September 2nd
I found out why Hallelujah was acting so strange.
That man told him things. Things like ā€œitā€™s my fault you got driven above groundā€ and ā€œthey want to get rid of me.ā€ What the hell? Sure enough, humans are the worst. Way, way worse than demons!!
I want to explain. But what should I say?
September 5th
That guy has been loitering around us again.
Hallelujah is still feeling down tooā€¦ Worried.
September 30th
I was debating whether or not to do this, but Iā€™m going to tell Hallelujah.
That Angel really is an angel.
That heā€™s not human.
Andā€¦ about what happened that day.
Tomorrow I will tell him. Angel, give me courage.
October 1st
The conversation went awful. ā€œYouā€™ve been giving me special treatment ā€˜cause Iā€™m not human,ā€ and ā€œI can tell my dad was more important to you.ā€ ā€¦I had thought itā€™d go like that.
October 3rd
Hallelujahā€™s in his room with Chiro, and he wonā€™t come out.
If I was Angel, what would I do? ā€¦Maybe Itā€™s because Iā€™m always like this that it seemed like his dad was more important to me.
I have. To think.
October 4th
Iā€™m rereading through this diary and thinking. Iā€™ve written everything here, whether itā€™s the things that made me happy or the things that caused me pain. Itā€™s really true that I hated that child. Itā€™s really true that I loved him, too.
All of it. Itā€™s all true.
October 5th
Received a summons from that man. Iā€™m scared, so Iā€™m bringing that weapon I snatched back then. I wonder; can I use it?
I want to talk with Hallelujah when I get home.
Iā€™ve finally settled on what I want to say.
I like Hallelujah.
I love Hallelujah, because heā€™s Hallelujah!
I didnā€™t ask for us to make someone I could cherish other than myself just so I could abandon him.
When I had a chance encounter with Angel and was blessed with Hallelujah, I was really, truly happy.
I just wanted to do a good job of getting this happiness across to him, too.
ā€¦Can I even get that across to him? Iā€™m an idiot, so I doubt I can.
But Iā€™ll tell him as many times as it takes. Angel told me that repetition is key, after all.
Well, I should head out soon. ā€¦I know you probably wouldnā€™t give me a reply to this, so Iā€™ll write it here.
See you later, Hallelujah.
ā€”
The memoir ends there, and the aged notebook does not speak further. But the man knew. He knew of both the womanā€™s abrupt and miserable end and of the whereabouts of the child who lost his motherā€™s protectionā€¦
ā€œMr. Abe, itā€™s an emergency!!ā€
The man who was calledā€”Abe, furrowing his brow, would go to respond to the insolent trespasser.
ā€œUnderstood. The ā€˜final battle,ā€™ yeah?ā€
Yes, at last, the curtain has risen on the battle between Godā€™s Chariot and the Demon King. As Acting Chairman, it is his duty to finish this play, and yetā€¦
ā€œ...Not a word from him.ā€
There were still no notifications from the person he longed to seeā€”from Hallelujah.
That made one thing apparentā€”estrangement.
ā€œGuess ya found yer angelā€¦ Eh, Ayako?ā€
Abeā€”the fallen angel who was once called an ā€˜angelā€™ā€”imagined a future in which he would stand opposite his own sonā€¦and laughed.
<Fin>
TL Notes:
Studying is written in katakana here. It shows unfamiliarity with the written word.
Half of the word is written in katakana here, and the other half in kanji. I chose to portray this as a misspelling, as someone new to writing would be just as likely to misspell the word ā€œrationsā€ in English as they would be not to know the first kanji of the word haikyuu (rations) in Japanese.
Mama writes the word okyaku (visitors/guests) in kanji for the first time here. I marked this with a switch from ā€œvisitorsā€ (neutral connotation) to ā€œguestsā€ (more respectful connotation of welcomeness).
Hallelujah seems to have flipped the kanji in the word ā€œblueback (fish)ā€ļ¼ˆé’é­š lit. blue fishļ¼‰to 魚青 (lit. fish blue); I had him flip the word ā€œbluebackā€ to ā€œbackblueā€ in the same manner. He likely read it left to right instead of right to left.
Before this date, the days were written in hiragana. This marks the switch to the use of kanji for each day. I decided to portray this by typing the numbers in proper date format (e.g. 20th instead of 20).
Before this date, the months were written in hiragana. This marks the switch to the use of kanji for each month. I decided to portray this by typing the months spelled out instead of abbreviated.
Rather than writing the ā€œAshuraā€ in ā€œAshura Kaiā€ entirely in hiragana as she had been doing previously, Mama writes the first kanji in ā€œAshuraā€ here for the first time. I decided to portray this by using the article ā€œtheā€ to make it a more complete sentence, thus similarly showing a progression of education.
Mama returns to writing the date entirely in hiragana here in her distress.
Referring to it being difficult to write the kanji for gratitude (ę„Ÿč¬). I paralleled this to spelling the word.
Same as TL note 8.
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