061-080 · 070-ch63

Chapter 63: Language Comprehension

After spending a few days organizing the items we'd brought back.

I declared on stream that I'd be staying at my base for a while, and began learning the written language from Selene.

"Selene, I'm having trouble with this passage here—"

I called out to Selene, who sat across from me at a table set up in the shade outside, reading one of the books I'd brought back from Magnolia.

She looked up from her book and turned her gaze toward the one spread open on my desk.

"Ah, that section uses a rather complex inversion. For emphasis, it's written as 'What have you done, you thieving scoundrel!' The word order is object, subject, predicate."

"Ah, I see. So it's got some English-like elements too. Though I guess on a global scale, Japanese is basically a buggy language."

>>Hard to believe a Japanese person would call Japanese buggy

>>But it's true

>>I'm American and Japanese really makes no sense. Well, AI translation exists now so only enthusiasts learn other languages anymore

>>Our language and American language share similar systems and grammar

>>AI accuracy still has a ways to go though, multiple languages are properly used in business settings

>>I always wondered why I kept seeing hard-to-read Japanese comments mixed in—oh right, foreign comments get AI translated too

Since I hadn't streamed during the several days spent organizing everything, I'd left the stream running while we quietly read together.

"The world beyond the dungeon has quite diverse languages, doesn't it?"

I'd also set it up so Selene could view the comments.

She'd been curious about interacting with so many people through streaming, and the viewers apparently had all sorts of questions for her, so I'd connected her to the system.

This feature that displays comments in the streamer's field of vision is basically handled by a small-scale illusion spell built into the drone.

It casts an illusion on the target person, making a comment window visible in part of their vision like an AR display, even though it shouldn't normally be there.

Also, since my drone functions using my magic power, it essentially means I'm casting magic on myself, so the illusion spell apparently meets no resistance.

Conversely, casting the spell to show the comment section to anyone other than the drone's owner would encounter magical resistance. So when streaming as a party using one drone, it's apparently common for a magic user with high magical ability to be the drone's owner.

Pretty high-tech—or rather, magi-tech. Magic and science fusion has come quite a long way.

With resources above ground beginning to run scarce these days, magic stones and other minerals and monster materials that serve as energy sources might actually be quite a savior for Earth.

But I digress.

At any rate, Selene was currently enjoying the occasional conversation with the comment section while reading her book.

>>Didn't Selene-chan's world have many languages?

>>Never thought I'd be talking to someone from another world through a stream

>>She probably knows more about her world than John

>>But John's putting info restrictions on her...

I mean, Selene's homeland went through all that, so of course I'd ban people from prying too much about it.

Plus, having that as my official stance works perfectly for hiding things I don't want revealed without raising suspicion.

"We only used the Common Tongue, or the Magic Empire Language that predated it. Large national libraries apparently held books in multiple languages from before the unification of language, but I hardly ever saw them."

>>Magic Empire!

>>So much intriguing info!!

>>My linguistics professor is freaking out, John help

>>And yet somehow John wants to restrict the information.

>>Can't say I don't understand not wanting unnecessary confusion from people learning things they shouldn't

>>From what Selene-chan's saying, it sounds less like there was one giant nation and more like multiple feudal states existed

People interested in history and how nations formed will casually make deductions from Selene's words like this.

They're really not to be underestimated—I can't let Selene say anything careless.

Though I can't stop them mid-stream either, so I have to leave it to Selene's judgment.

Well...if things get exposed and the surface descends into chaos, I figure at that point we wouldn't really be at fault, so I can tolerate worst-case scenarios to that extent.

Since I'm sharing information like this, there's always a risk of accidents no matter how careful I am—can't be helped.

"Magic Empire Language was mainly used for academic pursuits like magic. It's optimal for magic incantations, you see."

So because it was the Magic Empire, they used a language specialized for magic incantations?

Practical, or rather, makes you wonder what language even means.

"Hearing that makes me want to hear you all speaking normally rather than this translated state. I'd like to hear Selene's actual language."

Actually, I'd never heard the language Selene was speaking.

For some reason I couldn't identify, words between Selene and me somehow got through without a translator.

When that happened, it wasn't like "hearing an unknown language but understanding the meaning"—Selene's language simply came through to me as Japanese.

My language reached her ears as her language, so we'd never actually heard each other's real languages.

This might be an effect of the dungeon's connection, or so someone I met once suggested.

But what was actually causing it?

"Fufu, indeed."

Selene answered my words with a smile.

"Hearing that there are so many beautiful expressions, I've come to want to hear Japanese myself."

Oh, so Selene felt the same way.

Then as a break from reading, why don't we try an experiment?

The book I was reading, by the way, was a collection of tales used as introductory learning material for young children of nobility, or for read-aloud sessions at church.

It's similar to Grimm's Fairy Tales or Hans Christian Andersen on the surface, I suppose.

That's what the content I've read so far suggests, anyway.

Since I didn't practice religion, please forgive me for not knowing much about religious tales and such.

I just assume they're stories for cultivating children's education.

Closing that book of tales and gently setting it on the desk, I called out to Selene.

"So Selene, want to try a little experiment?"

"An experiment?"

Selene tilted her head.

Still a beauty as always.

Not that that's relevant.

"I've been learning the Common Tongue from you, and I was wondering—maybe this could let us hear each other's actual languages? I thought we'd give it a try."

"I see, that's what you mean. In that case, I shall assist you."

Having heard my explanation, Selene also closed her book and set it on the table.

>>Experiment?

>>Can we hear Selene-san's language? Professor's freaking out agai—keyboard smash

>>But what principle is translating the languages in the first place?

>>Some professor somewhere is freaking out

>>Having words just work between you was actually a disadvantage for learning languages, John. Couldn't get example sentences or anything

>>Well I'd want to hear it if we can. Selene-chan's native language

The viewers seemed generally excited about it too.

I'd actually thought of this yesterday evening, but I'd been working hard because I wanted to be able to read books on my own.

Though I completely lacked any talent for identifying and learning unknown languages from their forms.

Things really don't work like in anime.