Suicide Island 16

*Only for use by I-M.

tl by molokidan

52)
Chapter 16 - A Vigil and A Cloak

53)
1: It was so cold I could hardly sleep.
2: I was thinking solely about the heat...not about warming myself up at night...that was a bad move.
3: If I catch a cold, I'll be done for.
4: I really really need to think more carefully from now on.
5: They say that in times without medicine, the largest number of deaths came from colds.
6: Other than people giving themselves enough stamina to prevent or heal colds, there was no other way to heal them...in other words, sleeping and eating were the only two options.
7: After finding some dry wood, he fried the nuts and dried fish.
8: It was a little heavily, but this frypan really came in handy.
9: I'd like a slightly smaller one, though...
10: How long will this food last me for...I'll have to restock myself at some point.
11: But first I need to find an easier route to walk along...an animal trail, or a mountain trail...
12: If I keep walking through the forest like this, I won't be able to climb up the mountain by nightfall.

54)
1: While searching for a "path," he began climbing. But Sei made very little progress, and lost much of his stamina.
2: Along the way, he found some more fern leaves, and was able to eat them raw to re-hydrate himself, which was a great help.
3: Hah
4: Fuh
5: Hah
6: Sometimes I can see the top of the mountain...
7: Am I really getting closer...?
8: This is...
9: a path!
10: I'm saved...!!
11: A mountain path...or an animal path? I don't know...
12: But anyway...
13: Suddenly...I can feel something.
14: An animal...a person?

55)
1: What...
2(2b): You're gonna try...that hard...? It's useless...
3(2b): Useless...c'mon...how about coming over to this side?
4(2b): No...I
5: I'm...different from you!
6: I'm different.

56)
1: Climbing up this trail a little more, I became able to see more.
2: In certain places, stakes were stabbed into the ground, and log steps had been created.
3: It really was a path for climbing the mountain after all.
4: When I turned around--
5: I could see the school on the opposite ridge.
6: Only two days had passed, yet my heart had been grabbed.
7: The lights from everyone's bonfires gave me courage.
8: To me, that place has completely become "my home."
9-11: Haa
12: T-the mountaintop...?
13: Hah
14: Fuh
15-16: Hah
17: I'm finally...here.
18: As I figured, it's deserted.
19: I can't sense any life around here...

57)
1: A hut?
2: Maybe a hut to store work tools...?
3: A blanket! ...this'll be a big help.
4: That means I can sleep on a "futon" tonight.
5: If I tried to head to the next point at the beach now, I'd end up in the forest at night.
6: I should keep vigil here tonight.
7: I need to get back my strength...

58)
1: What a sense of security...simply seeing man-made items and a fire makes such a big difference.
2: I want to wait for the deer here...but the amount of times they appear here is probably lower than the next point...
3: I could get home in a day from here, though.
4: The truth is, I want to return really bad...loneliness is suffocating my breast.
5: Even though up until now, I was all alone, and enjoyed it.
6: I've...changed.
7: No...!
8: Hunting is an absolute necessity...
9: I need to head to the next point!
10: And do what? Even if you meet the deer,
11: you can't do anything...
12: I really did hit it with this...but...!
13: Is this bow not good enough?

59)
1: Is being able to pierce bone not enough?
2: I think this bow is really strong, though...
3: Will I be unable to hunt without a large Japanese-styled bow? No...bows for horseriding are much smaller...
4: I can't make a Japanese one...nor do Tsunomi*.
5: Tsunomi is a technique in which one matches the arrow parallel to their wrist and then turns their left wrist in order to send it out straight.
6: Without Tsunomi, the feather of the arrow will hit the bow or one's wrists and go in that direction.
7: Sei's bow was constructed using the English hunting bow as a model, where the arrow and arm are crossed over one another.
8: Bows that have shallow curves like these will cause the string to hit one's wrists unless they're properly protected.
9: I (the author) had a painful time with that...
10: It's said that the four important things to surviving are "thinking carefully," "being creative," "acting," and "never giving up."
11: It's true that necessity is a main driving force in this...but all of a sudden, sticking things out and acting has become normal to Sei.
12: Suddenly--
13: If only I had been like this before I came here--passed through Sei's mind.
14: I might have had a completely different life...
15: Sei shook his head and stopped thinking.
16: Continuing this what-if game endlessly...
17: wouldn't change anything.
18: "what-ifs" never happen in the past.

60)
1: "What-ifs" happen--...in the future.
2: I slept well...
3: I guess blankets really are important for fighting the cold...
4: I'll just have to carry it with me...it'll add to the load, but...
5: If I roll it up...

61)
1: Mmm...! This should do...
2: The history of cloaks is a long one...
3: They began from humans wrapping fur coats around them to block the cold while hunting.
4: I wonder...
5: Is this how...these things go?

62)
1: Alright.
2: Let's go...!

[Chapter 16 - A Vigil and A Cloak END]