CHAPTER 1 STORY 24
A Mysterious Phrase
“Dubya tee eff!”
Immediately after I arrived at the gates of that country, the gate guard turned to me and uttered that mysterious phrase.
“What was that?”
“Dubya tee eff,” the guard repeated, this time with some force in his voice. After that, he said, “Oh, sorry, in this country, that phrase means all sorts of things.”
“What?” I said again, with discomfort in my voice, as I tilted my head questioningly. “…Huh, well, whatever,” I answered indifferently.
I couldn’t really see what the landscape rising behind the gate looked like. I had heard elsewhere that it was a lively place with delicious food, where they used unique words. But although I had been interested in visiting for some time, I simply hadn’t gotten the chance to set foot in the country yet. I’d been hearing rumors for quite a while about what an interesting country it was, so I was ready for anything, but I’d never expected things to get weird before I even went in.
By the way—
“What does that ‘dubya tee eff’ phrase mean?”
—I’ve never heard that phrase before.
“It’s a mysterious phrase that will somehow or other get the job done whenever you say it,” he replied immediately.
“……”
I don’t claim to know much about what goes on in this country, but I still feel like I can say for sure that his explanation was absolutely false…
“All that is to say, Miss Witch, once you go through these gates, please go ahead and use this phrase whenever someone speaks to you. Is there anything else you would like to know? If you like, I’ll be happy to tell you.”
“…No, I’m good.”
“Dubya tee eff.”
“……”
“Dubya tee eff… Ah, that’s what we call comedic repetition. It’s also a phrase we use when we have the same exchange several times. Do you want to practice?”
“……”
At that point, it occurred to me that I might shake my head and refuse him again, but right before I did, I realized something. This was a trap. If I were to speak the same words again now, that would unmistakably amount to the comedic repetition the guard had mentioned.
I was kind of annoyed at the idea of doing things the way the gate guard had expected, so I shut my mouth before I could open it and took a moment to think.
In this situation, what is the right way to respond?
A moment later, it hit me. Hadn’t I just been taught a mysterious phrase that would somehow or other get the job done whenever I said it?
And so I said—
“Dubya tee eff!”
[Publication Information] Volume 8
Animate Osaka Nipponbashi Purchase Perk
[Author Comments]
I was thinking about whether or not it was all right for there to be dialects in a fantasy setting, but I figured it was all right, since Alte is already a rural character who speaks with a dialect. I mean, even in other countries, it’s normal for people to have accents depending on what region they’re from, right?
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