Main Story/Season 1/Act 1/Among the Swans 2

Among the Swans 2 Translation: Dreaming Translations
Chapter 14
Senri Nito	Mmmm…!
Yuma Mochizuki	Th-This tamagoyaki…!
Senri Nito	So… fwuffy!
	Even though they melted gently on top of my tongue, the eggs were rich in flavor and filled me with a feeling of happiness.
Senri Nito	Only something so crazy expensive could be so good.
Yuma Mochizuki	Yeah. I’m gonna work harder at my ghostwriting.
Senri Nito	Speaking of your ghostwriting job, if you were to draw your own manga instead and win the Rookie of the Year award or something, couldn’t you get lots of prize money?
Yuma Mochizuki	I can’t do that.
Senri Nito	Why not?
Yuma Mochizuki	If I were to challenge it… and not place in the contest, I would have wasted all the money I could have earned drawing during that time. You can’t eat dreams.^[1]
Senri Nito	So it’s like that, huh~
	I brought some natto to my mouth as I nodded. … Delicious. The presence of each and every grain is amazing.
Yuma Mochizuki	(Just what kinda natto have I been eatin’ up until now…?)
Senri Nito	Oh yeah, sorry to change the subject, but. Yumapi, what did you choose for your specialty for tonight’s party?
Yuma Mochizuki	Ah, a famous product sent from the countryside.
Senri Nito	Eeeh, that so. As for me… mufufu.~ I have an ace ⸱ up ⸱ my ⸱ sleeve!
Yuma Mochizuki	… What is it?
Senri Nito	You wanna know? Gosh, what should I dooo~ If I tell you, it might lose the whole surprise impact~
Yuma Mochizuki	The nori is delicious, too…
Senri Nito	Yumapi, can you pay a little more attention to me!?
Touji Harimiya	……
Senri Nito	Whoa, where’d you come from!?
Yuma Mochizuki	Harimiya…
Senri Nito	Hari, where’s your food? Why are you suddenly standing empty-handed in the background…?
Touji Harimiya	… Look at this.
	With a meek expression, Harimiya pulled out something the size of a pinky finger from his pocket and placed it on the table.
Senri Nito	This is…
Yuma Mochizuki	…Correction fluid.
Touji Harimiya	IT’S NAILPOLISH!!!!!!
	Holding his head as though he were about to tear it off, he sat down unsteadily in the chair opposite us.
Touji Harimiya	I didn’t want to believe it, but this means my roommate is a… a… g— g— g-g-g— girl, doesn’t it?
Yuma Mochizuki	Are girls even allowed to live in the boys’ dorm?
Senri Nito	You’re so lucky! Ah, could it be? Maybe it’s the beautiful girl who shot you with cupid’s arrow~
Touji Harimiya	Wha…!!
Senri Nito	Wooow, he’s totally red.
Yuma Mochizuki	Ah, the tomatoes look fresh and delicious too. I’ll eat that next.
Touji Harimiya	Th-That’s enough!
Senri Nito	Arara, there he goes. I thought so during the whole arrow thing too, but… could it be that Hari is bad at dealing with girls?
Yuma Mochizuki	……
	I picked up the nailpolish that was left behind and looked it over. Cooled by the springtime temperature, a very slight floral scent drifted from the chilly bottle.
Location Change: Welcome party
Senri Nito	Wow~! Shinonome’s welcome party is way too fancy!
Yuma Mochizuki	It’s glittering so much it’s blinding me. It’s hard to draw.
Senri Nito	Ahaha. Sketching even at a time like this, you really do like it, huh Yumapi~ Ah! Look, look, over there! Pizza!
	I turned my gaze to where Senri was excitedly pointing, and saw a man with an Italian appearance rolling pizza dough.
Yuma Mochizuki	Amazing…
Senri Nito	Next to it is Turkish ice cream! Ah, and back there is sushi! And next to that is tacos!!
Yuma Mochizuki	The lines are long everywhere.
Senri Nito	Hey! Look over there! A bunch of girls are gathered.
Yuma Mochizuki	“Mini cakes made by a patissier visiting specially from Paris” … is written on the sign.
Senri Nito	As expected. These are the kinds of specialties prepared by students of Shinonome~
Yuma Mochizuki	Specialty…?
	International cuisine produced by authentic craftsmen. There were also flower arrangements and paintings decorating the venue, accompanied underneath by students’ nameplates and various awards.
Yuma Mochizuki	(… Could it be…) Nito… we were just supposed to bring something to the party today, right?
Senri Nito	Not just anything, a specialty.^[2] A super special item!
Yuma Mochizuki	Specialty…
	I gazed down at the “specialty” that took me until midnight yesterday to finish.
Yuma Mochizuki	(… Fukuregashi are famous enough to be a “specialty” in Kagoshima, so there shouldn’t be a problem. They’re yummy.)
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↑ Yuma is basically saying that going for something that might not earn him money won’t put food on the table, so he’s sticking with the reliable option. ↑ This whole “specialty” thing is really hard to translate! So as I mentioned before the students were asked to bring 逸品 (ippin) to the party, which means “something super rare/valuable” or “a masterpiece”. However, Yuma thought they asked for 一品 (also pronounced ippin), or just… “one item”. Hence why he brought what the rich kids would consider a pretty plain dish from Kagoshima… you can probably tell where this is going.

[1] Yuma is basically saying that going for something that might not earn him money won’t put food on the table, so he’s sticking with the reliable option.

[2] This whole “specialty” thing is really hard to translate! So as I mentioned before the students were asked to bring 逸品 (ippin) to the party, which means “something super rare/valuable” or “a masterpiece”. However, Yuma thought they asked for 一品 (also pronounced ippin), or just… “one item”. Hence why he brought what the rich kids would consider a pretty plain dish from Kagoshima… you can probably tell where this is going.

[1]

[2]