Interlude: The Hero Covered in Scars
I, Shirakawa Hakuya, have become unemployed starting today.
Or rather, it’s more accurate to say I chose to become unemployed…
The reason is I lost the willpower to keep working at my job.
Without Homura Katsumi…Kat-chan there, I became sadder than I realized, and I couldn’t bear how large of a presence he had become within me, so I impulsively quit.
“Sigh…”
I walk home without any motivation.
I had my own reasons for joining Justice Crusaders, but now even that feels unimportant. “I wonder if Kat-chan really died…”
“Is he really dead?”
He boarded an alien spacecraft alone, and just like that went off into space.
With the technology of this planet, there’s no way to follow where he was taken, especially right to the heart of enemy territory. Chances are he didn’t survive.
“…I’ll probably have to rely on that cafe again.”
For now I try to distract myself by thinking about my immediate future living situation.
“Maybe I’ll go on a trip with my savings… Haha…”
In this negative mindset, I continue walking down the road.
[Gao!]
“Hm?”
A mysterious cry comes from by my feet as I’m about to step forward. Looking down, I see a wolf toy with a mechanical appearance looking back up at me.
“Uh, what is this…”
[Gao!!]
“Whoa, hey, what the-?!”
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The mecha wolf suddenly bites my lab coat hem and starts dragging me off somewhere. I’m surprised by its unexpected strength as I get pulled along.
After being dragged for about 10 minutes, the scenery changes from the residential area to a thicket of trees a bit away.
“Hey, hold on, what is this? Stop pulling…”
[Gao!]
How did I end up in this situation…?
Right after I quit my job and thought about going on a wanderlust trip before the world ends, I get found by a weird creature and dragged off into some grove.
“What are you? Some remnant from that spaceship? Please stop, I’m not involved with any of that. I don’t know how to repair or anything, it’s out of my expertise…”
Please, just stop already. My own situation is precarious, and after he went missing I couldn’t handle the atmosphere at work and quit, so don’t get me involved again, okay? And what is this creature anyway? It looks like a toy wolf you can hold, but it’s completely mechanical and surprisingly strong. Or do wolves like this exist in this world? Though with its toy-like design, he would probably like it…
“Haa…”
Thinking about Kat-chan sinks my mood again. These feelings seem like they’ll drag on forever. With that certainty, I continue walking until the pulling on my coat unexpectedly weakens.
[Kuuun…]
“Finally stopped, huh… Huh, what’s this?!”
The thicket before me had been turned into a clearing. It was as if something had fallen from the sky with great force, snapping the trees, leaving them bent and stacked in this eerie scene.
“W-What happened here…?”
As I stand dumbfounded by the incredible sight, I notice the wolf has let go of my coat and is hopping over to something, voicing weak, worried cries to it.
“Hey, hey, hey, hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey!
Someone, someone is down.
There’s only one person I know who would end up collapsed somewhere like this. Growing anxious, I hurry over the fallen logs to get a look at the person’s face.
“Suu… Suu…”
“What are you doing, Kat-chan…?”
It was him, casually sleeping there with his back against a toppled tree in the grove. Seeing him covered in blood and wounds, I froze, unable to comprehend how to respond.
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scene transition
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Afterword
This is the author, Kurokata. Thank you very much for reading “The Black Knight Who Didn’t Want to Become an Extra Rangers”! Originally I posted it on Hammeln, but for the book publication I have added interactions between Katsumi, Akane and the others, as well as battle scenes, creating something different from the web version.
On the web version I could use special tags and site-specific techniques, but that wasn’t possible in a physical book, which was challenging. But in exchange, I thought about what elements I could add that weren’t in the web version for readers to enjoy, like new scenes and characters who appeared later like Aoi Nao and the cafe owner. I hope these new elements provide a fresh experience compared to the web version.
The starting point for writing this work was actually watching live-action tokusatsu dramas and movies to study action scenes and choreography. More than anime, real human movement was easier for me to visualize, but I became more engrossed by the unexpected story and relationship elements, eventually leading me to write “The Black Knight Who Didn’t Want to Become an Extra Rangers.”
This work itself feels like an unrestrained exhibition of my hobby interests, so honestly I was convinced it could never be published as a book. But having this opportunity has allowed me to see Katsumi and the others illustrated in a new format besides text, which is profoundly moving.
Once again, I sincerely thank all the people involved in this work, and the readers who supported it. Thank you very much! Please continue to enjoy “The Black Knight Who Didn’t Want to Become an Extra Rangers”!
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Translator Note :
This novel was filled with elements that felt charmingly like a tokusatsu (Japanese live-action film/TV) in a good way.
The protagonist is the villain, or rather, an existence opposed to the superhero squadron, but both the heroes themselves and the general public treat him as a good person, making for a comical story. Even so, there are still enemies, and the protagonist and the heroes fight life-and-death battles. The heroes are portrayed in a way that makes you want to cheer them on, with characters you want to root for. Even the ending that overtly leads into the next installment felt tokusatsu-esque.
Sadly, this novel is written by the same author as “The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic,” who is currently busy. So there’s no sign of Volume 2 in the near future.
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
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