In the plaza in front of Amencho Town’s station, Kopo stood trembling , a brand-new “Emotion Translation Badge” pinned to his chest — something the engineer Spice had ordered in from the city.
“Spice, if I wear this… even when I’m all tongue-tied in front of a girl, my ’true coolness’ gets translated automatically and comes through, right?” “…In theory. It analyzes the subject’s brainwaves and heart rate, then converts them into the most appropriate language, output through a speaker. Your frustration at fumbling everything should be resolved by this.”
Chest swelling with anticipation, Kopo leapt out in front of Ohisama and Bipiku, who happened to be passing by.
“H-hey! Nice weather today, huh — actually, want to see my new pose?”
Kopo’s heart was pounding. Inside, his emotions churned — “I want them to swoon! But I’m scared! But I want them to look!” Just then, the badge flashed and began speaking in a synthesized voice.
“Translation: I am a lump of self-consciousness caught between overwhelming approval-seeking and social anxiety , about to explode at any moment. Please hold me.”
“Pfft!!” Minico, listening nearby, spat out his tea. Ohisama recoiled, and Bipiku smiled awkwardly, at a loss.
“Kopo, that was… pretty heavy just now.” “N-no, that’s not it! Spice’s machine went off on its own—!”
Just as a panicking Kopo was about to thrash around, a “Feh-feh” laugh sounded from behind, and Sonchō appeared.
“Kopo. Today is Ichiryu-manbai Day — a day when a single grain of words returns ten-thousandfold to reach the other person. But words that lean on machines never pass through the filter of the heart, so they become mere ‘sound.’”
Sonchō gently flicked the badge with a finger. “There’s a legend about the Dragon God, too. Those who once fought did not do so because words failed to reach each other, but because they could not trust the other’s ‘silence.’ The frustration of not being understood — that itself is the time spent caring for someone.”
Kopo took off the badge. Even without a translator, his flushed -red face seemed to be conveying plenty to Ohisama and the others.
“…Um, so. …Sorry, forget what I just said! I’ll actually practice, and someday I’ll show you the real cool version of me!”
When Kopo shouted, clumsy but in his own voice, Ohisama smiled, just a little mischievously. “Heh, that ‘sorry’ just now was way better than the machine a minute ago. I won’t expect much, but I’ll wait.”
Far off in the sky, Hasshi circled and murmured to himself. “Translation is so tasteless . If my wanting to eat a frog got translated as ’love,’ that’d be a real problem.”
As evening fell, untranslatable , clumsy feelings drifted comfortably through Amencho Town on the spring breeze.
【Today’s Motif: April 2, 2026】
- The Spread of AI Emotion-Translation Devices: Technology trending in the city that “puts the voice of the heart into words.”
- Ichiryu-manbai Day: An auspicious day on April 2nd — a single small step yields great results.
- The Aesthetics of Not Getting Through: Sonchō’s detached perspective on technology that’s become too convenient.
This is an English translation of “翻訳できない「キャー」と、一粒の勇気”, part of Tales of Amencho Town (蛙鳴町奇譚).
