華麗搖滾

The Glamrocks

Matilda恢復意識，發現自己被綁在一根柱子上。她並不是被綁住，而是被生皮帶牢牢纏住，雙腿懸在地面上方。灰色連帽長袍的身影圍著柱子轉圈，喃喃念著某種咒語。

Matilda regained consciousness and found herself tied to a pole. She was not so much tied to it as firmly wound with rawhide straps, her legs dangling above the ground. The figures in the gray hooded robes circled the pole in a ring mumbling some kind of mantra.

Mana-veda, mana-sana, mana-una, mana-mana. Mana-oma, ata-mana, mana-okha, mana-dana.

Mana-veda, mana-sana, mana-una, mana-mana. Mana-oma, ata-mana, mana-okha, mana-dana.

他們不時停下來，轉向圓心大喊：「合成女僕！吃掉她！」然後繼續他們陰森的圓圈舞。「Mana-oga, makha-mana, mana-osha, mana-shana。」

From time to time they would stop, turn to the center of the circle and shout out. “Synthetic maid! Eat heo!” Then they would resume their sinister circle dance. “Mana-oga, makha-mana, mana-osha, mana-shana.”

柱子周圍的地面像沙漠一樣多石。不遠處燃燒著一堆大火，再遠一點，Matilda可以看到一些原始的建築。天空泛著暗淡的灰光，但沒有太陽。整體畫面完全沒有顏色，就像一部黑白電影。

The ground around the pole was desert-like and stony. Not far from the pillar a large fire burned, and a little further off, Matilda could make out primitive- looking buildings. The sky glowed with a dim, gray light but there was no sun. The overall picture was completely colorless, like a black and white film.

在這背景下，Matilda鮮豔的身影看起來像是來自遙遠世界的外星人。如讀者所記得，Matilda有綠松石色的頭髮，藍色的臉妝，穿著深綠色的連身衣，粉紅色的厚底鞋，和一個同色的蝴蝶結固定在她的下背部。

Against this background, Matilda’s vivid figure looked like an alien from some distant world. As the reader may recall, Matilda had turquoise hair, and a blue painted face and she was wearing a dark-green jumpsuit, pink platforms and a bow of the same color attached to her lower back.

不幸的女主角處於震驚狀態。她無法理解自己身在何處或發生了什麼。即使是見多識廣的女祭司Itfut，若處於這種情況，無疑也會面色蒼白。這個可憐的東西該有何感受，作為一個習慣於享受、家庭舒適和普遍崇拜的人？在其他情況下，她會以她慣常的方式抱怨：「一切都很糟糕，非常非常糟糕！」但這不是任性的時候。出於某種原因，那一刻她腦海中只有一個念頭，奇怪的是，那個念頭是「現在我的蝴蝶結會被壓扁。」考慮到她經歷的事情和她現在面臨的情況，這確實非常奇怪。

The unfortunate diva was in a state of shock. She could not understand where she was or what was happening. Even worldly-wise priestess Itfut would no doubt have paled finding herself in such a situation. What was the poor thing to feel, as one accustomed to pampering, home comforts and universal adoration? In other circumstances, she would have complained in her usual manner: “Everything is horrible, very, very ho-o-rrible!” But this was not the time to be capricious. For some reason there was only one thought going through her mind at that moment and oddly enough that thought was ‘now my bow will get squashed.’ This was very strange indeed taking into account what had happened to her and what awaited her now.

與此同時，那些花了很多時間圍著圈子喃喃自語的野蠻人開始爭論接下來該如何處置他們的俘虜。有些人大喊：「我們要吃掉她！」

Meanwhile, the savages, who had spent plenty of time in a circle mumbling began arguing amongst themselves over what to do next with their captive. Some cried, “We’ll f’y heo!“

其他人則說：「不，燒掉她！」

Others, “No, b’ew heo!”

他們似乎要麼無法發出「r」音，要麼不想發，因為他們不僅用小舌音發「r」，而且還吞掉了這個音。這並不滑稽，反而造成了一種令人毛骨悚然的效果。

They appeared either not to be able to pronounce the letter ‘r’, or not to want to because it wasn’t just that they spoke with an uvular ‘r’; they swallowed the sound instead. Far from being comical, this created a creepy effect.

他們繼續爭論，聚成一團，然後分成兩組，開始互相大喊。

They continued arguing huddled in a group before splitting into two groups which started yelling at each other.

「吃掉！」

“F’y!”

「燒掉！」

“B’ew!”

爭論最終升級為一場混亂的打鬥。

The argument eventually escalated into a messy brawl.

野蠻人（或其他什麼人，因為他們的臉都是一樣的，灰色的，無性別的，無生命的，像蠟一樣），不是為了生存而戰，而是為了死亡。他們沒有武器，但他們利用腳下的石頭。很快，他們不再站著，而是在塵土中打滾，把長袍撕成碎片。結果發現他們沒有頭髮。

The savages (or whoever else they were, as their faces were all the same, gray, genderless, lifeless and waxlike), were fighting not for life but for death. They had no weapons, but they made use of the stones lying at their feet. Soon, they were no longer standing but rolling around in the dust tearing their robes to shreds. It turned out that they had no hair.

Matilda驚恐地觀察著這場狂野的混戰，明白即使他們全都自相殘殺，她被綁在柱子上，無法移動手腳，也毫無機會。她想尖叫，但喉嚨裡有一個結，而且無論如何，尖叫有什麼意義呢？沒有其他人可以期望得到幫助。這不是夢。

Matilda observed the wild medley with horror and understood that even if they all killed each other, bound to the post unable to move her arms or legs, she stood no chance. She wanted to scream but there was a lump in her throat, and anyway, what was the point? There was not anyone else from whom she could expect help. This was not a dream.

如果不是一聲像號角一樣強而有力的聲音，誰知道這場無意義的混亂會持續多久。灰色的笨蛋們像是被喚醒了一樣，不情願地站起來，仍有些搖晃地設法在柱子周圍排成一圈。髒兮兮的，衣服破爛不堪，他們再次開始用同樣的圓圈舞跺腳，喃喃自語著可能是咒語或咒文。

Who knows how long the mindless mayhem would have continued had it not been for a powerful, deep sound like a trumpet. As if waking up, the gray numbskulls picked themselves up reluctantly and still staggering a little managed to arrange themselves in a circle around the pole. Dirty, their clothes in tatters, they once again started stamping their feet in the same circle dance, murmuring what might have been spells or mantras.

過了一段時間，似乎在某個信號下，他們停下來，轉向圓心，憤怒地齊聲喊叫，似乎達成了一致。

Sometime later, as if on cue, they stopped, turned to the center of the circle and angrily shouted in one voice as if they had come to agreement.

「燒掉她！」

“B’ew heo!”

說完這句話後，他們開始四處奔跑。有些人把木柴扔進火中，其他人則拖來了一口像是從天而降的大鍋。第三組人跳到Matilda跟前，伸出舌頭，直勾勾地盯著她，搖著頭喃喃自語。他們搖晃著，喃喃著，然後大喊。

And having spoken these words as one, they began running about. Some threw logs into the flames of the fire. Others dragged a huge cauldron that had appeared as if out of nowhere. A third group leapt closer to Matilda, stuck out their tongues, and stared right at her, shaking their heads and mumbling. They shook and they mumbled and then they shouted.

「合成女僕！」其他人一致加入。「吃掉她！吃掉！」

“Synthetic maid!” All the others joined in unanimously. “Eat heo! Eat!”

然後，他們喃喃著，露出牙齒，伸出舌頭，解開他們的受害者，把她拖向火堆。

Then, mumbling, baring their teeth and sticking out their tongues, they untied their victim and dragged her towards with fire.

這真是一個超現實的場景。現實中絕不可能發生這樣的事情。一個像洋娃娃一樣的女孩，帶著粉紅色的蝴蝶結……被如此惡意對待……不，這一切都太不真實了。然而，這卻真實地發生著。

It made for a truly surreal scene. Nothing like this could ever happen in reality. A girl with a doll-like appearance and a pink bow... treated with such foul intent... No, it was all too unreal. And yet, it was actually happening.

就在這一刻，剛才還嚇得要死的Matilda突然恢復了自控，有時候這種情況會發生在一個被判死刑的人身上，當他們終於無所畏懼，意識到事情不可能更糟時。Matilda聚集起所有的力量，開始大喊。

In this moment, Matilda, who was scared to death just seconds before, suddenly regained her self-control as sometimes happens to a person who, condemned to death, finally has nothing to lose and realizes that things cannot get any worse. Gathering all her strength, Matilda began to shout.

「滾開，蠢貨！把你們骯髒的手從我的蝴蝶結上拿開！」

“Get lost, you fools! Get your filthy hands off my bow!”

她本能地喊出來，卻不明白為什麼要特別喊這些話，或者為什麼在她即將斷氣時會關心這麼微不足道的事情。她所感受到的只是強烈的渴望，希望被獨自留下。

She cried out instinctively not understanding why she should shout these phrases specifically or why she should be concerned about a thing so trifling, when she was about to breathe her last. All she felt was an intense desire to be left alone.

她還注意到，這種渴望伴隨著一種異常疲憊的感覺，集中在她的下背部。無論這種感覺是因為蝴蝶結還是其他原因，Matilda突然意識到這種感覺給了她對灰色種族一種無法解釋的力量。

She also noticed that this desire was accompanied by an unusually wearying feeling in the area of her lower back. Whether the sensation arose because of the bow or for some other reason, Matilda was suddenly aware that the feeling was giving her an inexplicable power over the gray breed.

他們停下腳步，驚訝地盯著她。Matilda從他們的掌控中掙脫出來，甚至還推開了他們中的一些人。她直覺地知道自己不能跑，所以她僵住了，期待接下來會發生什麼。「無論如何都不能跑，」女主角想著，準備好迎接接下來可能發生的任何事情，背部仍感受到同樣的疲憊感。

They stopped dead in their tracks and stared at her in complete amazement. Matilda freed herself from their clutches and even managed to push some of them away. She knew intuitively that she must not run, so she froze in expectation of what might happen next. ‘Anything but run,’ thought the diva, who was ready for whatever might happen next, experiencing the same weary feeling in her back.

「離我遠點，你們這些怪物！」

“Get away from me, you freaks!”

那些怪物確實開始退後，發出驚訝的聲音。「她說了那個字母嗎？」

The freaks did in fact start to back off, making sounds of astonishment. “Did she say the lette’?”

「她被允許嗎？」

“Is she allowed?”

「她是mana嗎？」 「她有完整的嗎？」

“Is she mana?” “Does she have full?”

「她能說那個字母！」

“She can say the lette’!”

灰色的人群聚在一起低聲耳語，偶爾瞥向努力保持驕傲和尊嚴姿態的女主角。然後，他們圍住Matilda，但仍保持警惕的距離。其中一人向前一步問道：「你是誰？」

The gray ones huddled together whispering occasionally casting glances at the diva who tried as best she could to assume a posture of pride and dignity. Then, they gathered round Matilda nonetheless keeping a wary distance. One of them took a step forward and asked, “Who are you?”

Matilda更冷靜地回答，意識到至少目前迫在眉睫的威脅已經過去。

Matilda answered more calmly, realizing that the immediate threat had passed, at least for now.

「我是華麗的女主角！你們這些怪物是誰？」

“I’m a glamorous diva-a-a! And who are you, freaks?”

然後她突然停住，彷彿一時忘記了自己身在何處，也忘記了那些怪物，考慮到他們差點把她活活煮了，她可能不應該侮辱他們。「我在哪裡？」這是自然接下來的一個巨大問題。與此同時，那些怪物不以為意，開始再次大喊。

Then she stopped short, as if forgetting for a moment where she was, and all about the freaks, who she probably should not be insulting considering that they had almost boiled her alive. ‘Where am I?’ was the huge question that naturally followed. The freaks, meanwhile, paid no attention and began shouting again.

「合成女僕！」 「她能說那個字母！」

“The synthetic maid!” “She can say the lette’!”

「為什麼你們叫我合成女僕？」Matilda問道。

“Why are you calling me synthetic maid?” asked Matilda.

他們默默地交換了眼神。這個問題顯然讓他們困惑。「我們不知道。」

They silently exchanged glances. The question clearly confused them. “We don’t know.”

「好吧，那你們是誰？」

“Ok, and who are you?”

「我們是華麗搖滾！」灰色的人群喧鬧著，互相打斷。「我們頭腦混亂！我們不被允許說那個字母！」

“We glam’ocks!” The grays clamored and interrupted one another. “We ‘ead gibb’ish! We ain’t allowed to ‘ead the lette’!

「這是禁忌！這是禁忌！」

It’s aboo! It’s aboo!”

「我明白了，」Matilda說。「你們是華麗搖滾，你們讀的是胡言亂語。」 「完整！完整！」他們喧鬧地喊著。「她能說出我們的名字！她能！」

“I see,” said Matilda. “You are glamrocks and you read gibberish.” “Full! Full!” They shouted noisily. “She can say ou′ name! She can!”

看來這位外來者能夠自由地發出「r」音而不遭受任何可怕後果，給野蠻人留下了深刻的印象。灰色的人群再次討論了一番，之後，其中一人上前提問。

It would appear that the alien stranger’s ability to freely pronounce the letter ‘r’ and experience no terrible consequence as a result had made a huge impression on the savages. The grays discussed it amongst themselves again, after which, one of them stepped forward with a question.

「你是mana嗎？」

“A you mana?”

「我是Matilda，明白嗎？」女主角說。

“I’m Matilda, get it?” said the diva.

「Mana-tida！Mana-tida！」華麗搖滾大喊。Matilda的回答再次讓他們激動不已。

“Mana-tida! Mana-tida!” shouted the glamrocks. Matilda’s answer caused them to become terribly excited again.

「為什麼你們不發那個字母？」她問。

“Why don’t you pronounce the letter?” she asked.

「我們不被允許！不允許！這是禁忌！」他們喊道。「會發生崩潰！」

“We ain’t allowed! Not allowed! It’s aboo!” they shouted. “A c’ash will happen!”

「但我說了那個字母，我沒有崩潰。」 「你是mana！Mana-tida！」

“But I say the letter and I don’t have a crash.” “You mana! Mana-tida!”

「你看！而你們想要煮了我吃掉我。你知道如果你們這樣做會發生什麼嗎？」Matilda開始融入她被賦予的角色。「會有一場全面崩潰！」

“You see! And you wanted to brew me and eat me. Do you know what would have happened if you had?” Matilda was beginning to live into the role assigned to her. “There would have been a total crash!”

聽到這些話，那些可憐的人發出一聲充滿敬畏的嚎叫。

On hearing these words, the wretches raised a howl clearly filled with reverential awe.

「誰教你們讀胡言亂語？你們需要它做什麼？」

“Who taught you to read gibberish? And what do you need it for?”

「華麗搖滾教我們的！Mana-glamo’c！那裡！那裡！」灰色的人群開始激動地比劃，指向建築的方向。

“The Glamo′c taught us! Mana-glamo’c! Theah! Theah!” The grays began gesticulating in an animated fashion and pointing in the direction of the buildings.

「我們必須讀胡言亂語，這樣我們才能完整。我們不能說那個字母。我們不被允許打架。我們不被允許互相吃掉。這是禁忌！我們必須讀胡言亂語。」

“We have to ‘ead gibb’ish, so that we will be full.We must not say the lette’. We not allowed to fight. We not allowed to eat each othe’. It’s aboo! We have to ‘ead gibb’ish.”

「好吧，但你們被允許吃掉我？」 「不是我們自己的人。你不是我們中的一員。」

“Right, but you are allowed to eat me?” “Not ou’ own. You not one of us.”

「那不是真的。我是你們中的一員！」Matilda靈機一動地說。在這種情況下，你往往能夠很快地想出辦法。「我是你們的mana！」

“That’s not true. I am one of you!” said Matilda, thinking on her feet. In situations like this, you tend to think on your feet quite well. “I am your mana!”

華麗搖滾還來不及反應，遠處又響起了同樣的號角聲。這聲音顯然是他們的一種信號，因為野蠻人變得驚慌，開始大喊。

Before the glamrocks had time to react, the same trumpet noise sounded from afar. The sound was evidently a kind of signal for them because the savages became alarmed and started shouting.

「神聖的hlevjun！我們必須帶她去神聖的hlevjun！」 「那是什麼hlevjun？」Matilda問。

“Sac’ed hlevjun! We must take heo to sac’ed hlevjun!” “What hlevjun is that?” Matilda asked.

「華麗搖滾在那裡！Mana-glamo’c！我們會帶你去！走吧！」

“The glamo′c is there! Mana-glamo’c! We’ll show you! Let’s go!”

Matilda感到焦慮。如果這個華麗搖滾是他們的領袖，那麼他可能會對誰是真正的mana有自己的看法。然後，煮合成女僕並隨後吃掉的過程可能會重新開始，並且胃口大增。

Matilda was gripped with anxiety. If this glamorc was their leader then he might well have his own ideas about who was or wasn’t the real mana. And then the process of cooking and subsequently eating the synthetic maid might be resumed with renewed appetite.

Matilda別無選擇。她完全不知道自己能跑到哪裡。她必須和他們一起走。所以，整個隊伍向著建築的方向出發。

Matilda had no choice. She had not the slightest idea where she could run to. She had to go with them. So, the entire procession set off in the direction of the buildings.

華麗搖滾

The Glamrocks

當Matilda恢復知覺時，發現自己正被捆綁在一根柱子上——與其說是綁著，不如說是被生皮繩緊緊纏繞著，雙腿懸垂在半空。那些穿著灰色連帽長袍的身影圍著柱子成圈，低語著某種咒語。

Matilda regained consciousness and found herself tied to a pole. She was not so much tied to it as firmly wound with rawhide straps, her legs dangling above the ground. The figures in the gray hooded robes circled the pole in a ring mumbling some kind of mantra.

Mana-veda, mana-sana, mana-una, mana-mana. Mana-oma, ata-mana, mana-okha, mana-dana.

Mana-veda, mana-sana, mana-una, mana-mana. Mana-oma, ata-mana, mana-okha, mana-dana.

他們不時停下來，轉向圈中心大聲喊道：「合成少女！Eat heo!」 隨後又再次繼續那詭譎的圓舞，喊出：「Mana-oga, makha-mana, mana-osha, mana-shana.」

From time to time they would stop, turn to the center of the circle and shout out. “Synthetic maid! Eat heo!” Then they would resume their sinister circle dance. “Mana-oga, makha-mana, mana-osha, mana-shana.”

柱子周圍的地面如同沙漠般荒涼且遍布碎石。不遠處有熊熊大火燃燒，再往遠處看去，Matilda隱約看到一些原始風格的建築。天空散發著微弱的灰光，卻沒有太陽，整個景象喪失了所有色彩，就猶如一部黑白電影。

The ground around the pole was desert-like and stony. Not far from the pillar a large fire burned, and a little further off, Matilda could make out primitive- looking buildings. The sky glowed with a dim, gray light but there was no sun. The overall picture was completely colorless, like a black and white film.

在這單調的背景下，Matilda那鮮明的身影宛如來自遙遠星球的外星人。正如讀者所知，Matilda擁有藍綠色的秀髮，臉上塗著藍色妝容，身穿深綠色連身褲、配著粉紅色厚底鞋，並在下背處繫著一個同色系的蝴蝶結。

Against this background, Matilda’s vivid figure looked like an alien from some distant world. As the reader may recall, Matilda had turquoise hair, and a blue painted face and she was wearing a dark-green jumpsuit, pink platforms and a bow of the same color attached to her lower back.

這位不幸的女神當時驚恐萬分，完全搞不清自己身在何處，也不明白究竟發生了什麼。即便是世故的祭司Itfut，若身陷如此境地，恐怕也會面露蒼白。對習慣被寵愛、享受家庭溫暖與普遍讚譽的她來說，此刻究竟該是怎樣的感受？在其他情況下，她或許會照常抱怨：「一切都太糟了，真是太、太可怕了！」但現在絕非任性發脾氣之時。奇異的是，此刻她腦海中卻只有一個念頭——那就是「現在我的蝴蝶結會被壓扁了」。考慮到眼前所發生的事與即將面臨的命運，這實在讓人感到非常詭異。

The unfortunate diva was in a state of shock. She could not understand where she was or what was happening. Even worldly-wise priestess Itfut would no doubt have paled finding herself in such a situation. What was the poor thing to feel, as one accustomed to pampering, home comforts and universal adoration? In other circumstances, she would have complained in her usual manner: “Everything is horrible, very, very ho-o-rrible!” But this was not the time to be capricious. For some reason there was only one thought going through her mind at that moment and oddly enough that thought was ‘now my bow will get squashed.’ This was very strange indeed taking into account what had happened to her and what awaited her now.

與此同時，那群原本圍成一圈低語的野蠻人開始自相爭執，要如何處理這個俘虜。有些人大聲叫道：「We’ll f’y heo!」

Meanwhile, the savages, who had spent plenty of time in a circle mumbling began arguing amongst themselves over what to do next with their captive. Some cried, “We’ll f’y heo!“

其他人則喊道：「不，b’ew heo!」

Others, “No, b’ew heo!”

他們似乎不是因為無法發出字母「r」，就是因為不願意發出這個音；他們不僅僅帶著喉音的「r」，反而完全吞沒了這個音。這種情況非但不滑稽，反而讓人感到毛骨悚然。

They appeared either not to be able to pronounce the letter ‘r’, or not to want to because it wasn’t just that they spoke with an uvular ‘r’; they swallowed the sound instead. Far from being comical, this created a creepy effect.

他們繼續縮在一起爭執，隨後分裂成兩組，互相大聲咆哮。

They continued arguing huddled in a group before splitting into two groups which started yelling at each other.

「F’y!」

“F’y!”

「B’ew!」

“B’ew!”

最終，爭吵演變成一場混亂的鬥毆。

The argument eventually escalated into a messy brawl.

那些野蠻人（或不論他們究竟是誰——他們的面孔全都一模一樣、呈灰色、無性別、毫無生氣且如蠟像般僵硬），他們打架不是為了生存，而是為了死亡。他們沒有武器，僅利用腳邊散落的石頭。很快，他們不再站立，而是在塵土中翻滾，把自己的長袍撕得支離破碎。結果發現，他們竟然全無頭髮。

The savages (or whoever else they were, as their faces were all the same, gray, genderless, lifeless and waxlike), were fighting not for life but for death. They had no weapons, but they made use of the stones lying at their feet. Soon, they were no longer standing but rolling around in the dust tearing their robes to shreds. It turned out that they had no hair.

Matilda驚恐地注視著這混亂的情景，她明白即使這些人互相殘殺、彼此糾纏，而她被困在柱子上、手腳動彈不得，也毫無生存希望。她想尖叫，但喉嚨像堵了一樣，反正又有誰能伸出援手呢？這一切絕非夢境。

Matilda observed the wild medley with horror and understood that even if they all killed each other, bound to the post unable to move her arms or legs, she stood no chance. She wanted to scream but there was a lump in her throat, and anyway, what was the point? There was not anyone else from whom she could expect help. This was not a dream.

誰能知道若不是突然傳來一陣如同喇叭般強烈而低沉的聲音，那無腦的混亂狀態還會持續多久。彷彿從睡夢中驚醒般，那些灰色的傻瓜們勉強爬起來，踉蹌著圍著柱子擺出一個圓圈。他們衣衫破爛、滿身污垢，再次開始在圓圈中跺腳跳舞，低聲念著似乎是咒語或祈禱文的句子。

Who knows how long the mindless mayhem would have continued had it not been for a powerful, deep sound like a trumpet. As if waking up, the gray numbskulls picked themselves up reluctantly and still staggering a little managed to arrange themselves in a circle around the pole. Dirty, their clothes in tatters, they once again started stamping their feet in the same circle dance, murmuring what might have been spells or mantras.

過了一會兒，就像受到某種暗示般，他們停下動作，轉向圓心，齊聲憤怒地喊叫，彷彿已達成共識。

Sometime later, as if on cue, they stopped, turned to the center of the circle and angrily shouted in one voice as if they had come to agreement.

「B’ew heo!」

“B’ew heo!”

說完這些口號後，他們便開始四處奔跑。有人把原木丟入火堆；有人拖來一個猝然出現的巨大鍋子；另一群人則跳近Matilda，伸出舌頭，直盯著她看，不斷搖頭低語。接著，他們既搖晃又低語，然後大聲吼叫起來。

And having spoken these words as one, they began running about. Some threw logs into the flames of the fire. Others dragged a huge cauldron that had appeared as if out of nowhere. A third group leapt closer to Matilda, stuck out their tongues, and stared right at her, shaking their heads and mumbling. They shook and they mumbled and then they shouted.

「合成少女！」其他人齊聲附和道：「Eat heo! Eat!」

“Synthetic maid!” All the others joined in unanimously. “Eat heo! Eat!”

隨後，他們邊低語邊露出牙齒、伸出舌頭，解開了受害者的綁縛，並把她拖向火堆邊。

Then, mumbling, baring their teeth and sticking out their tongues, they untied their victim and dragged her towards with fire.

這景象真是超現實至極，如此情景在現實中絕無可能發生。那個擁有玩偶般外貌、戴著粉紅蝴蝶結的女孩……被如此卑鄙地對待，實在讓人難以置信；不，這一切看起來太不真實了。然而，這一切確實正在發生。

It made for a truly surreal scene. Nothing like this could ever happen in reality. A girl with a doll-like appearance and a pink bow... treated with such foul intent... No, it was all too unreal. And yet, it was actually happening.

此刻，那幾秒前還嚇得魂不附體的Matilda突然恢復了自制力，就像被判處死刑的人終於發現自己已無所失去、也無法變得更糟時常有的反應一樣。她鼓起全部力量，大聲怒吼起來。

In this moment, Matilda, who was scared to death just seconds before, suddenly regained her self-control as sometimes happens to a person who, condemned to death, finally has nothing to lose and realizes that things cannot get any worse. Gathering all her strength, Matilda began to shout.

「滾開，笨蛋！把你們那雙骯髒的手從我的蝴蝶結上收回來！」

“Get lost, you fools! Get your filthy hands off my bow!”

她本能地喊出這些話，卻無法理解為何在臨死前必須大喊這些刻意的詞句，也不知為何要為這等微不足道的小事煩惱；她只感到極度渴望獨處。

She cried out instinctively not understanding why she should shout these phrases specifically or why she should be concerned about a thing so trifling, when she was about to breathe her last. All she felt was an intense desire to be left alone.

她還注意到這種獨處的渴望伴隨著下背部一陣異常疲憊的感覺。不論這感覺是因為蝴蝶結還是出於其他原因，Matilda突然意識到這種感覺正讓她對那群灰衣族產生莫名的控制力。

She also noticed that this desire was accompanied by an unusually wearying feeling in the area of her lower back. Whether the sensation arose because of the bow or for some other reason, Matilda was suddenly aware that the feeling was giving her an inexplicable power over the gray breed.

那些人頓時停住腳步，瞪大眼睛完全被她震懾住。Matilda從他們的魔掌中掙脫出來，甚至成功推開了其中幾個。她憑直覺知道自己絕不能逃跑，於是僵在那裡等待接下來可能發生的一切。女神心裡暗想：「絕對不能逃跑」，她已經做好準備迎接接下來的一切，同時背部那陣疲憊的感覺依然如故。

They stopped dead in their tracks and stared at her in complete amazement. Matilda freed herself from their clutches and even managed to push some of them away. She knew intuitively that she must not run, so she froze in expectation of what might happen next. ‘Anything but run,’ thought the diva, who was ready for whatever might happen next, experiencing the same weary feeling in her back.

「滾開，混蛋！」

“Get away from me, you freaks!”

那些畸形之輩果真開始往後退，發出驚異的聲音：「她剛說了那個字母嗎？」

The freaks did in fact start to back off, making sounds of astonishment. “Did she say the lette’?”

「她有資格說嗎？」

“Is she allowed?”

「她能說‘那個’嗎？」 「她是否說得出全部？」

“Is she mana?” “Does she have full?”

「她就是能說出那個字母！」

“She can say the lette’!”

那群穿灰色連帽衣的人聚在一起輕聲低語，不時朝那極力保持驕傲與尊嚴姿態的女神瞥去。隨後，他們還是聚攏到Matilda身邊，但仍保持著警戒的距離。其中一個人走上前，問道：「你是誰？」

The gray ones huddled together whispering occasionally casting glances at the diva who tried as best she could to assume a posture of pride and dignity. Then, they gathered round Matilda nonetheless keeping a wary distance. One of them took a step forward and asked, “Who are you?”

Matilda察覺到眼前的直接威脅暫時已過，便平靜地回答道。

Matilda answered more calmly, realizing that the immediate threat had passed, at least for now.

「我是個光彩照人的女神！那你們這些怪物又是誰？」

“I’m a glamorous diva-a-a! And who are you, freaks?”

說到一半，她忽然停住，好似一時忘了自己身在何處，而身邊這些幾乎快把她煮熟的怪物，本來就不該被她侮辱。接著，一個巨大的疑問自然湧上心頭：「我現在究竟在哪裡？」與此同時，那些怪物毫不在意，重新開始大聲叫喊。

Then she stopped short, as if forgetting for a moment where she was, and all about the freaks, who she probably should not be insulting considering that they had almost boiled her alive. ‘Where am I?’ was the huge question that naturally followed. The freaks, meanwhile, paid no attention and began shouting again.

「合成少女！」 「她就是能說出那個字母！」

“The synthetic maid!” “She can say the lette’!”

「你為什麼叫我合成少女？」Matilda問道。

“Why are you calling me synthetic maid?” asked Matilda.

他們默默交換著目光，明顯對這問題感到困惑，「我們不知道。」

They silently exchanged glances. The question clearly confused them. “We don’t know.”

「好，那你們又是誰？」

“Ok, and who are you?”

「我們是Glamrocks！」那些灰色族群喧嘩著，相互打斷地叫道：「我們講著胡言亂語！我們根本不允許發那個字母！」

“We glam’ocks!” The grays clamored and interrupted one another. “We ‘ead gibb’ish! We ain’t allowed to ‘ead the lette’!

「這是禁忌！這是禁忌！」

It’s aboo! It’s aboo!”

「我明白了，」Matilda說，「你們是Glamrocks，你們講的全是胡言亂語。」 「完全！完全！」他們喧鬧地喊道，「她竟然能說出我們的名字！她真的能說！」

“I see,” said Matilda. “You are glamrocks and you read gibberish.” “Full! Full!” They shouted noisily. “She can say ou′ name! She can!”

看來，那位外星陌生人能自由發出字母『r』而不遭遇任何可怕後果的能力，給這些野蠻人留下了深刻印象。那些灰衣族再次相互討論此事，隨後，其中一人走上前問道：

It would appear that the alien stranger’s ability to freely pronounce the letter ‘r’ and experience no terrible consequence as a result had made a huge impression on the savages. The grays discussed it amongst themselves again, after which, one of them stepped forward with a question.

「你能嗎？」

“A you mana?”

「我是Matilda，明白了吧？」女神回答道。

“I’m Matilda, get it?” said the diva.

「Mana-tida! Mana-tida!」 Glamrocks們大聲喊著。Matilda的回答使他們再次變得異常興奮。

“Mana-tida! Mana-tida!” shouted the glamrocks. Matilda’s answer caused them to become terribly excited again.

「你們為什麼不發那個字母？」她問道。

“Why don’t you pronounce the letter?” she asked.

他們大聲答道：「我們不允許！不允許！這是禁忌！一定會發生崩潰！」

“We ain’t allowed! Not allowed! It’s aboo!” they shouted. “A c’ash will happen!”

「但我發了那個字母，卻沒有崩潰。」 「你能嗎！Mana-tida!」

“But I say the letter and I don’t have a crash.” “You mana! Mana-tida!”

「你看！而且你們本來還想熬我、吃掉我。你們知道如果那樣做會怎樣嗎？」Matilda逐漸融入她被賦予的角色，「結果就會徹底崩潰！」

“You see! And you wanted to brew me and eat me. Do you know what would have happened if you had?” Matilda was beginning to live into the role assigned to her. “There would have been a total crash!”

聽到這些話，那些可憐蟲發出了一陣充滿敬畏的嚎叫。

On hearing these words, the wretches raised a howl clearly filled with reverential awe.

「誰教你們念那胡言亂語的？你們需要那些幹什麼？」

“Who taught you to read gibberish? And what do you need it for?”

「是Glamo′c教我們的！Mana-glamo’c！Theah！Theah！」那些灰衣族激動地揮舞著手臂，並指向建築物的方向。

“The Glamo′c taught us! Mana-glamo’c! Theah! Theah!” The grays began gesticulating in an animated fashion and pointing in the direction of the buildings.

「我們必須念胡言亂語，這樣才能‘滿足’（Full）起來。我們絕不能說出那個字母，我們不允許打架，也不允許互相吃掉對方。這是禁忌！我們必須念胡言亂語。」

“We have to ‘ead gibb’ish, so that we will be full.We must not say the lette’. We not allowed to fight. We not allowed to eat each othe’. It’s aboo! We have to ‘ead gibb’ish.”

「對，但你們允許吃我嗎？」 「不，那可是屬於我們自己的。你可不是我們中的一員。」

“Right, but you are allowed to eat me?” “Not ou’ own. You not one of us.”

「那不對，我就是你們中的一員！」Matilda臨場機智地回答道。在這種情況下，人總是能迅速反應。「我是你們的mana（Mana）！」

“That’s not true. I am one of you!” said Matilda, thinking on her feet. In situations like this, you tend to think on your feet quite well. “I am your mana!”

還未等Glamrocks有反應，遠處又傳來了一陣喇叭般的響聲。這聲音顯然是一個信號，因為野蠻人立刻驚慌起來並開始大聲喊叫。

Before the glamrocks had time to react, the same trumpet noise sounded from afar. The sound was evidently a kind of signal for them because the savages became alarmed and started shouting.

“Sac’ed hlevjun！我們必須把heo帶去Sac’ed hlevjun！” “那是什麼hlevjun？”Matilda問道。

“Sac’ed hlevjun! We must take heo to sac’ed hlevjun!” “What hlevjun is that?” Matilda asked.

「Glamo′c就在那里！Mana-glamo’c！我們會給你們看看！走吧！」

“The glamo′c is there! Mana-glamo’c! We’ll show you! Let’s go!”

Matilda心中充滿焦慮。如果這個Glamorc是他們的領袖，那他很可能有自己的判斷，認定誰是真正的mana（Mana）或不是。屆時，烹煮並隨後吃掉合成少女的流程可能會以更強烈的胃口再次展開。

Matilda was gripped with anxiety. If this glamorc was their leader then he might well have his own ideas about who was or wasn’t the real mana. And then the process of cooking and subsequently eating the synthetic maid might be resumed with renewed appetite.

Matilda別無選擇。她完全不知道該往哪裡逃去，只能跟著他們走。因此，整個隊伍便朝著那些建築物的方向出發。

Matilda had no choice. She had not the slightest idea where she could run to. She had to go with them. So, the entire procession set off in the direction of the buildings.