Tegami Bachi 5

EDIT, 5th Jan 08: Page 103 has been heavily edited, due to some brilliant help from both njt and haya5h1. If you are planning to scanlate this chapter, take a look at the updated translation and please include the ** note located below the final line of p103 ^^;

Advice and corrections are always appreciated, and in particular if anyone can clarify the purple marked lines, I'd be really grateful! Some notes: I'm assuming Jiggy's line on 103 is a saying in Japanese and am not sure I got the intended meaning across in English.

The volume 2 raw can be found in the Tegami Bachi discussion thread, in this post.

Blank line = new manga panel
Line break = new speech bubble within the same panel
**asterisked and purple lines are ones I'm unsure about
Blue lines are edits/corrections.


－７９－
Chapter 5: "The Letter To Jiggy Pepper: Part 3"

－８０－
......

Lag: Nero...

Lag: ...was disappointed when Jiggy left, wasn't he?...
Lag: He really regretted that his life was coming to an end... and that he couldn't become a man who could protect you...

－８１－
Lag: This letter was him reaching out to the one person he could rely on...
Lag: ...and wishing with all his heart for your happiness.
Lag: Neri...

Neri: Uu... uu...
Neri: You idiot!
Neri: You idiot, Nero...
Neri: Didn't I say... that I'd always protect you?...

Neri: That we'd always...

Neri: ...Always be together... that all you had to think about was getting better...

Neri: Didn't I... say that...
.......

－８２－
Lag: But... why...
Lag: Why did a Heart Bullet come out of my hand...
Lag: Why could we see the letter's... Nero's "Heart"...

Lloyd: Isn't that what your "Heart Bullet" is?
Lloyd: Boy

Lag: ...!!
Lag: You're...

Lag: The travelling rare animal buyer!!
Lloyd: Rare animal...?!

やばっ。。。
Lag: This is bad...
Lag: Did he see Niche's "Sword"...?!

Lloyd SFX: grin

－８３－
Lloyd: The "Heart Bullet" is a bullet made from "Heart" using the power contained in "Spirit Amber"... and the "Gun" is just a tool which creates the image of "Heart" in the shape of bullet and shoots it out.
Lag: ......
Lloyd: So, since you've already got the amber in your body, all that happened was you yourself became the "gun" and shot out a "Heart Bullet".

Lag: You know about the Heart Bullet?!
長いこと渡り歩いているといやでも多識になるものさ
Lloyd: Whether I like it or not, I pick up a lot of things just wandering around from place to place for a long time

Lag: S... so the thing that hit the letter and made that image appear...
Lag: You're saying that's my Heart Bullet...?

Lloyd: Just as no two people have the same "Heart", there are various types of Heart Bullet.
Lloyd: Boy!...
Lloyd: It might be that your Heart Bullet has the ability to sense the "Heart" contained in objects...

－８４－
Lag: The Heart.... contained in objects...
Lloyd: Of course, with your sensitivity you can probably only feel something containing strong "Heart".

Neri: !
Nero: ...........

Nero: That church...
Nero: That huge church...

－８５－
Nero: They started building right after Jiggy left town...
Nero: Nee-chan* found some work too... which meant we could eat bread and buy medicine... [*older sister]
Nero: But, I was thinking, Jiggy...

Nero: You said... that one day... you wanted to build a big church in this town...
Nero: So that kids could learn how to write there and have a place to sleep... and that the town would definitely change...

Nero: Jiggy...
Nero: Does that mean that... that church...

Niche/Lag: ......
Lag: ......!!

Lag: Then... the one who built that huge church...
Lag: ...was Jiggy?!

－８６－
Neri: ....... hmph!
Neri: As if he would've done something like that!

Neri: You may have been able to understand Nero's feelings with your weird power... but...
Neri: That Jiggy..!
Neri: In the end he left because of his own ambitions, and there's no way I can forgive him!

Neri: Here, Lag! I'm giving this back!
Lag: The Crossing Permit...

Neri: You and that shrimp over there surprised me... so I just figure you'll be able to cross Bifrost.
Lag: Neri...

Neri: Just hurry up and go off to Yuusari! You want to be a Bee too, right?
Neri: It sure would be great to sell as much Heart as you can and earn money!

Neri: Just like Jiggy!!
Lag: !!

－８７－
Lag: If that's what you think...
Neri: Huh...?!
Lag: Let's test it...

Lag: Let's test
Lag: Jiggy's "Heart"!!

Neri: Wh... what're you talking about, Lag...
Neri: Where are we...

Lloyd: Ahh...
じー
Niche SFX: Stare
Lloyd: Huh

－８８－
Lloyd: !!

Steak: Nuni?!

フワサー
SFX: hair flowing gently in the wind

Niche: Let's go, Steak
Lloyd: Hey... you...!

.............
Lloyd: Damn...

－８９－
Lloyd: How's it going, Camus! [lit. Kamyu]

Signal: I'll thank you to not call me by my old name.... Mr. Lloyd.
Lloyd: Sure thing, Gate Keeper Signal...
Lloyd: Wha--
Lloyd: That Maka kid... she cut off Aronji's tail?!... She's as skilled at fighting as they say...

Signal: That boy from earlier who wanted to pass over the bridge for the Bee interview was "Lag Seeing", wasn't he?
Signal: I had not received any information about him having Spirit Amber embedded in his left eye.

Lloyd: Yeah... I didn't know either.
Lloyd: I'll leave the report to you.

Lloyd: Still... a boy who tamed the Child of Maka... and carries the power of Spirit Amber in his body...

Signal: So...

－９０－
Signal: Will you be returning to the Bee Hive now...
Signal: ...Director Lloyd?

Neri: What?!
Neri: You're gonna shoot at the church?!

－９１－
Lag: If Jiggy really was the founder of this church...
Lag: Then I think his true feelings will be contained here!

Lag: That is... if what the rare animal buyer was saying was true... that my Heart Bullet can sense the Heart contained within objects...

Lag: Let's go!!
Neri: Wha... Oi.... Lag!!

－９２－
Lag: Please forgive me, My Lady...
Lag: Since I haven't become a Bee yet...

Lag: The bullets I shoot out...
Lag: ...Are fragments of my "Heart"...

Neri: ............

Lag: Heart Bullet...
Lag: Load!!

－９３－
Lag: AKABARI!!!! [Red Needle]

Lag: ......
Lag: Nothing came out...

Neri: Akabari...?
Lag: Ah... that's just...
Lag: The Heart Bullet of this person called Gauche is called Kurobari [Black Needle] so...
Lag: I named mine after the colour of my amber...

Lag: ....anyway... here I go...
Lag: One way or another I'll keep shooting! Heart Bullet...!


Neri: ...!
Neri: Lag!!

－９４－
Lag: Heart Bullet... Load!!

Lag: Akabari...!!!

Lag: Akabari...!!

Lag: Akabari...!

Lag: Aka...

（った）り。。。
Lag: Thud...
赤ばったり。。。！？
Neri: Akathud?! [T/N: He says "Akaba(tta)ri". "Battari" can mean thud, so he starts saying "Akabari" but ends up with "battari" as he falls.]
Neri: Huh?!

Neri: Lag...?
Neri: Oi.... are you okay?!
Neri: Come to think of it, if those bullets are made from your "Heart"...

Neri: !!

Niche: Don't come near Lag
Niche: I hate you.

Niche: If you hurt Lag again
Niche: I'll kill you

－９６－
Neri: ...
Neri: This kid...

Lag: Niche...
Lag: That's not good...
Lag: You can't hurt people...
Lag: You also shouldn't ever speak like that...

Lag: *pant*
Lag: *pant*
Lag: *pant*
Neri: Lag?!...

Neri: You... you're sweating!
Neri: Just as I thought, those bullets!... Whenever you shoot them you exhaust yourself?!

Lag: I can't really control it well yet...
Neri: Then... then just stop already, moron!

Neri: Why're you doing this... it's nothing to do with you
Neri: Why do you care so much about this thing with Jiggy...

－９７－
Lag: Because I...
Lag: Feel sorry for him...

Neri: ?!

Neri: Feel sorry for him?!
Lag: Gauche, the Letter Bee I met, was fighting too...
Lag: ...so that he could make his sister happy...

Lag: He was aiming to become Head Bee in order to cure his sister's paralysed legs…
Gauche: I won’t let you worry about being poor anymore
Gauche: We don't need anything else...
Sylvette: Don't go anywhere...
Lag: He left her on her own, even if he didn't really want to be apart from her at all...
Lag: Even then, he set out for Akatsuki for her sake...

Lag: I just can't think of Jiggy as a bad person...
Lag: What I felt from Nero's heart...
Lag: I'm sure...that just like Gauche, Jiggy... and Nero...

－９８－
Lag: Were trying to fight...
Lag: For the happiness of the ones they care about!!

Lag: If I was cursed by someone whose happiness I'd wished for... if that person was just caught up in the past...
Lag: If it was me, I wonder how sad and regretful I'd feel...

Lag: If Jiggy's "Heart" is held in this place...

－９９－
Lag: Neri...
Lag: I want to deliver it to you!

Lag: For Nero's sake too, who wished for your happiness...
......

......
Neri: The bell...
......

Neri: Apparently the building materials for the church came from Yodaka...
Neri: ...but only the bell was brought here...

Neri: …from Yuusari…

Lag: The bell...
Lag: !!
Lag: Heart Bullet...

－１００－
Lag: Load!!!
Lag: AKABARI!!!!

－１０１－
ゴ―――ン。。。
Bell SFX: Donnnng

－１０２－
Man: Gahahahaha!! This guy beats them all!!
Man: You want to make a bell for the biggest church in Amberground?!
Man: Listen lad, how much d'you think that would take?!
Man: Even if you're a Bee, don't you realise you'd never be able to pay for that even in a lifetime?

Jiggy: I don't care

Jiggy: Please just make it

Man: You'd need a horse to drag this huge thing all the way to Kyrie, hahaha!!

－１０３－
Man: Hey, Jiggy...
Man: What'd you say you wanted something as big as this for?

Jiggy: ......
Jiggy: It's a symbol...
Jiggy: If we look up at this bell, we'd see the stars whether we want to or not...

Jiggy: I know you can't grab a star,
Jiggy: Just by reaching up and trying
それでも星を見上げ手をのばしてさえいれば。。。
Jiggy: But even so, if you look up at the stars and just stretch out your hands...

泥をつかんでしまうことはなくなるんだ。。。
Jiggy: It's not like you'll bring back a handful of mud...**
[**T/N: Even if something seems impossible, you can't just keep your head down and give up. It's better to try rather than to simply give up. Huge thanks to njt at MangaHelpers for his help and guidance on these two panels]

－１０４－
Jiggy: And...
Jiggy: Someday, I know that my little brother and sister...
Jiggy: Will catch a star

Jiggy: If it's Neri and Nero
Jiggy: They'll do it for sure

－１０５－
リンゴ――ン
SFX: Ding Dong
Neri: .......
Neri: Jiggy...

リンゴ――ン
SFX: Ding Dong
Neri: Jiggy...

－１０６－
SFX: Ding Dong
SFX: Ding Dong

SFX: Ding Dong
リン。。
SFX: Ding

ゴ―ン
SFX: Dong
ン。。
SFX: din...

－１０７－
Jiggy: Right... if you could just sign this please
Woman: Yes...

Girl: It's the medicine!! The medicine's arrived!!
Girl: Sensei!

Girl: Thank goodness...!
Girl: Sensei...
Girl: Everything'll be fine now!
Girl: We can save my little brother now, can't we!

Girl: Thank goodness…

－１０８－
Jiggy: The next delivery's in Kredo...
Jiggy: There's also the Director's goods pickup request...
Jiggy: ......

Jiggy: But I really don't think it's official work.
Jiggy: Rejected!

......
Jiggy: ......
Jiggy: A bell?...

－１０９－
Nero: Don't ever...
Nero: Don't ever change, Jiggy...

Nero: Keep on shining...
Nero: Just like that star...

Nero: And then one day... Neri-neechan and I...
Nero: Will be able to shine just like you, by your side...

Neri: Lag!! He fainted?! Are you ok, Lag??

－１１０－
SFX: *scurry around*
SFX: *sit*

Neri: ...Don't worry...
Neri: I'm not gonna do anything... to your Lag...

Steak SFX: *dozes off*
Steak: Nuuu~ Nunyaa Nunyaa....

Neri: If someone like you becomes a Letter Bee...

－１１１－
Neri: Then maybe I shouldn't give up on Bees afterall...
Neri: Lag Seeing

Neri: Thank you
Neri: For delivering my "Letter"...


－１１２－
シュルル
**SFX: shururu [whirling]

ニッチ
Niche

オデコテカテカ
Gleaming forehead

まとめればてつ
When gathered up, just like iron

こんなかも
Something like this?

大ジャンプ
Big jump
ドーン
** do---n (*spring*)
ドス　ドス
** dosu dosu

ナベつかの風な手のカバー
Hand covers like oven gloves

エンジニアブーツ
Engineer's boots

ニッチ＆ステーキ
Niche & Steak

ペロ
*slurp*

わー
Ack

a rude sketch (niche & steak)

Niche and Steak, an early rough sketch


--- Chapter 5 end---

Some Japanese has been included where positioning might be unclear for typesetters/editors. This translation can be used in scanlations, just please include a credit to Niphredil @ MangaHelpers.com. Thanks ^^