Announcement/Poll!

Hey everyone!

I hope you're all doing great! Now that Marvel: Automatic Girl is finished, I’m excited to start a brand new translation project.

While we're still waiting for the other series to get fixed, I’ve come across some fanfictions that really caught my eye—and I’d love for you to help me choose the next one!

Feel free to pick from the options I’ve found, or recommend something you’d love to see translated. The poll will be close in 2 days!!

PS:

THIS IS A FAN TRANSLATION, I DON’T OWN ANYTHING!!

———————————————————————

[My Youth is the Blue Sea]

Chapter 1: Kamishiro Shiro

The ocean—a deep blue love letter—holds an inexplicable allure, making people want to open it and read every word with fascination.

...

"The sea! I'm here!"

A strikingly handsome young man, who looked good enough to be the number one host in Japan, shouted at the top of his lungs, completely ignoring the odd stares from those around him.

Kamishiro Shiro. Black-haired, perpetually squinting eyes, standing at an impressive 185 cm with a physique that could only be described as perfect.

A "fortunate" (or perhaps unfortunate) soul sent to another world via a speeding dump truck.

Originally, he had assumed he would be transported to a world of cultivation, eldritch horrors, or supernatural beings. But no—it was just Japan, straight out of a light novel.

Twenty years had passed. His life had been nothing but mundane. No cheat-like system, no overpowered abilities, nothing that a proper isekai protagonist should have.

Out of curiosity, he had looked into the anime characters he once knew—Honzuki no Gekokujou’s Na, Saekano’s Megumi, Hyouka’s Oreki, Umaru from Himouto! Umaru-chan—but none of them existed!

This was an anime world, but one completely unfamiliar to him.

How did he figure out he was in an anime world? Well, it was hard not to notice when the streets were filled with people sporting vividly colored hair.

...

Realizing all this, Kamishiro Shiro gave up. He decided to settle down and embrace his fate as both a prodigy and a scoundrel.

Yes, leveraging his memories from his past life, he easily became a child prodigy. He also became a light novel author (thanks to "borrowing" from a certain blue-haired wisdom goddess), achieving financial independence and successfully avoiding the fate of inheriting his family's teahouse.

And thanks to the soul of an adult trapped in a middle schooler's body, Kamishiro Shiro became quite the accomplished womanizer.

One of the reasons he chose a seaside university was to escape his ex-girlfriends…

No!

Not ex-girlfriends! Kamishiro Shiro insisted he had never been in a relationship. He had merely engaged in "friendly interactions," nothing more!

Of course, the main reason was that he genuinely loved the ocean—the sound of waves, the bright sunlight, and the fresh sea breeze. Everything was perfect…

Except for the two naked men running toward him.

Wait, what?!

Kamishiro Shiro's normally squinting eyes widened in terror. Without a second thought, he bolted, abandoning his luggage on the spot.

Had his muscles somehow reached a level where they attracted other men?!

Was there some sort of typo in this love letter from the sea?!

"Stop right there, freshman!"

...

Unfortunately, speed was not Kamishiro Shiro’s strong suit. Before he knew it, the only clothed individual in the group had already caught up to him.

"What the hell?! You idiot, Kitahara!"

The moment Shiro saw the guy's face, he let out a curse.

Of all people, it had to be this moron from the inn next door back home!

"You squinty-eyed bastard!"

Kitahara Iori stared at Shiro in utter disbelief. From their choice of insults alone, it was clear what kind of relationship they had—one of pure debt!

"What did you do? Steal their AV collection or walk in on their "special moment"?! And why the hell are you dragging me into this?! Just embrace your fate, man. Those two look more than ready for you!"

"Like hell I did anything! I don't even know why they're chasing me! You can't abandon me, squinty-eyes! Remember, I still owe you 50,000 yen! If you ditch me now, I’ll consider that debt paid!"

"You bastard! Fine, forget the 50,000! Consider it my wedding gift to you and your new muscle-bound lovers!"

"Dream on!"

Kitahara grabbed onto Shiro’s pants, determined to drag him down with him. If he was going down, he was taking someone else with him.

"You scumbag!"

...

Kamishiro Shiro felt violated.

A muscular, blond, nearly naked man had just thrown him back like a piece of unwanted luggage.

Yes—thrown. As in, picked him up, walked a few steps, and then casually tossed him through the air.

Did no one care about his dignity?!

The two muscle-bound men, looking as satisfied as hunters returning with a prized catch, dragged him back to their den.

At least, that’s what it felt like to Shiro.

Above the entrance hung a sign:

Grand Blue.

For some reason, seeing those words made Kamishiro Shiro feel like his carefree youth had just slipped out of his grasp…

———————————————————————

[Favorability System]

Chapter 1: The System That Arrived Seventeen Years Late

Tuesday, 4:30 PM – Shibuya, Tokyo

After thanking the guy who came to take over his shift, Aoki Kei pushed open the door and stepped out of the convenience store where he worked part-time.

It was still early summer, so even in the middle of the afternoon, the temperature outside was fairly pleasant.

But as he mentally calculated his monthly wages against the rent he’d just paid yesterday, a trace of irritation surfaced on his face the moment he stepped out.

If nothing unexpected happened, he’d be surviving on cheap bento meals again this month.

There was nothing left in his wallet beyond food money, and most of his part-time earnings had gone toward rent.

As a student, finding a high-paying job was nearly impossible...

Seventeen years since transmigrating to Tokyo, and this was what he had to show for it. Pathetic.

He worked at a convenience store to cover his tuition and rent.

Whatever little was left went into just staying alive.

His phone was an outdated model bought two years ago, and not long ago, he’d been stressing over his absurd utility bills...

He wasn’t much different from an overworked corporate drone—no, scratch that, he might actually be worse off than most of them.

But even so, considering the circumstances, it was impressive he’d managed to come this far.

In his previous life, Aoki Kei had been an ordinary university student—until one day, a truck (clearly trying to meet its quota) hit him and sent him flying into the middle of nowhere in Tottori Prefecture, Japan.

He’d been reborn from infancy, starting off in an orphanage.

No golden finger, no one to care for him, no adoption.

Even though he was in another world, there were no exploitable information gaps—aside from some similar place names and architecture, this world was completely different from the one he came from.

And any plans of profiting off plagiarizing songs or novels from his old world had to be scrapped—his memories were too fuzzy.

He was a transmigrator without advantages.

The only edge he had over kids his age was a slightly more mature mindset.

At age seven, he was sent to a poorly resourced public elementary school in Tottori.

At thirteen, he advanced to a public junior high where the teachers were arguably less competent than himself.

In Japan—a country rigidly stratified and class-conscious—his future could be predicted at a glance.

Unwilling to live a mediocre life, Aoki Kei declared at the end of junior high that he wanted to attend a private high school in Tokyo.

The educational resources there were leagues above rural Tottori.

Only in Tokyo did he have even a sliver of hope to change his fate through education.

Naturally, the orphanage director had no objections—but he also offered no financial support.

And so, at sixteen, Aoki Kei began his life in Tokyo: juggling part-time jobs and school, grinding through life with sheer willpower.

Unlike most high schoolers who enjoyed youth and romanticized adolescence, Aoki Kei had only one goal.

Study hard. Change his future.

His dream school was the University of Tokyo, located in Bunkyō, famously nicknamed the cradle of decadent politicians.

His dream job? A rotten politician who’d leech off the nation’s blood.

For over a decade, he poured himself into this dream.

Waking early, working three jobs a week, never complaining, staying disciplined through thick and thin—all for the chance to get into Tokyo U.

Until just moments ago...

For the first time since arriving in Japan, the life goal he’d clung to for seventeen years wavered.

He had been walking back to his rented apartment as usual, but stopped when he passed a small park.

It was a park he walked by every day, equipped with basic facilities. Around preschool dismissal time, parents often brought their children here to play.

But Aoki Kei hadn’t stopped because he wanted a turn on the swings.

No, his eyes had caught sight of a girl who looked strangely familiar.

Not someone he recognized from his seventeen years in Japan. He was sure of that. But there was still something about her...

Blonde hair tied in a side ponytail. A school uniform he didn’t recognize. Bright red eyes.

An aura of energy that radiated from her without even trying.

With all his experience from watching anime in his past life, he didn’t need more than a glance to place her.

Ijichi Nijika—one of the main characters from the popular music manga Bocchi the Rock!

Of course, seeing a real-life anime girl might make anyone stop and stare.

He’d be surprised, maybe even amazed that he was living in an anime world.

But it wouldn’t be enough to shake the life goal he’d been striving toward for years.

No, what truly made him hesitate was the light blue screen that suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.

————————————————————————

[You’ve encountered the heroine Ijichi Nijika, who is currently looking for a temporary guitarist. Your choice is…]

[Option 1: Take the middle path—ignore the heroine, carry your cheap bento back to your dingy apartment, and continue your monotonous, AC-less summer life in 40°C heat. (Reward: 500 points | Ending: A Life Repeated Daily)]

[Option 2: A strong man’s life needs no rehearsal! Confess to Ijichi Nijika in the middle of the park and shout: “Ijichi Nijika, you’re the kind of woman I could call Mother!” (Reward: 500 points | Achievement: The End at the Beginning)]

[Option 3: Approach the heroine and ask if her band needs a temporary guitarist. If she says yes, offer your help. (Reward: 500 points + 100,000 yen cash)]

————————————————————————

A system?

Aoki Kei froze for a second. Then realization dawned.

Ah… the golden finger that had arrived seventeen years late—only showing up after he’d already built his life goals and worked toward them relentlessly.

His eyes quickly scanned through the options.

After a short pause, he took a deep breath.

Option two was clearly insane, so he tossed that one out immediately.

As much as he wanted to yell at the system for being so late, and as tempting as it was to choose Option 1 to keep life simple... Option 3 was way too generous to pass up.

Forget the points for now—just that big, bold 100,000 yen was enough to spark something deep inside him.

100,000 yen. That was nearly 5,000 RMB.

Even if he didn’t use it to upgrade his lifestyle, just holding that money would bring peace to someone who had lived seventeen years in poverty.

A true man wouldn’t bend for a few cups of rice.

But cash? Cash wasn't rice. So bending for it didn’t count.

Of course, there was a problem: he didn’t know how to play guitar.

If he chose Option 3 and offered to help, he’d probably just end up embarrassing himself in front of Nijika—and might even ruin her plans.

His gaze lingered on the dazzling “100,000 yen” flashing on the panel. He hesitated.

For half a second.

Then he made his decision.

Worst-case scenario, he could later help Nijika find Bocchi-chan. Close enough—no harm done.

Sorry, walking 100k yen lady!

With his mind made up, he stepped into the park.

He wasn’t far from her when he called out to the blonde girl, who was busy looking at her phone.

“Uh... excuse me. I saw you looking for a guitarist earlier. I, uh, know a little. Need some help?”

———————————————————————

[Creating Fantasy Technology In Genshin Impact]

Chapter 1 – It’s just a fruit?

Liyue Harbor.

Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

As the organization that managed all of Liyue's funerals, Wangsheng Funeral Parlor usually had a somber, respectful atmosphere.

But today... it wasn't just solemn—it was heavy.

The main doors were shut tight.

All the senior staff of the parlor sat around a large table, exchanging awkward glances between a strange fruit sitting at the center of the table—one that looked somewhat like an immature Noctilucous Jade and a young man seated nearby.

"This… this is what you made with the 3 million Mora I gave you?!"

Eventually, Hu Tao, the director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, couldn't hold it in any longer.

She snatched up the bizarre fruit, pointed at the young man—who looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six with bright, clear eyes—and shouted in disbelief.

Her voice trembled with the unmistakable sting of regret, like someone who just realized they'd been duped.

She wanted nothing more than to travel back three months and slap her past self for falling for Chen Guang’s nonsense.

It had all started when she'd just wrapped up a job at Wuwang Hill and was heading home for some well-earned rest.

That’s when she found Chen Guang lying in the wild, half-dead.

Chen Guang had claimed he was a scientist from “beyond this world,” searching for human settlements.

His eyes had looked so pure and innocent that Hu Tao thought, ‘He can’t be a bad guy,’ and brought him back to Liyue Harbor.

Not only that, she’d become intrigued by his tales of "out-of-this-world" technology—especially in the funeral business.

So, she funded his research, curious to see what kind of strange burial tech his world had to offer.

As for whether it would be a waste of money?

Please.

Who did they think she was?

She was Hu Tao—the director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor! The undisputed queen of Liyue’s funeral industry for thousands of years!

To her, Mora was just a number. If she weren’t rich, how else could she afford to keep Zhongli on the payroll?

Still, she hadn’t expected Chen Guang to scam her this hard.

Three million Mora… and all he made was this weird-looking fruit?!

‘Do people in other worlds bury the dead with fruit or something?!’

“It’s not just any fruit, Director,” Chen Guang said with a sheepish laugh. “This is a Lizard-Type Zoan Devil Fruit: Rock Dragon Lizard Form.

It gives the user the ability to transform into a Rock Dragon Lizard. I looked at the funeral tools here in Liyue—they’re not all that different from the ones in my world.

So I figured… why not make something that makes digging graves easier?”

Even Chen Guang himself thought this explanation was a bit of a stretch. But he had no choice.

After all, he'd gone to sleep in his own world and woken up in Teyvat.

If Hu Tao hadn’t found him, who knows what kind of beast would've eaten him alive in the wild.

Luckily, fate hadn't completely abandoned him—he awakened a cheat skill upon arriving in this world:

The Fantasy Technology System.

Unfortunately, the system wasn’t fully unlocked.

To do that, he had to complete a beginner quest: invent a piece of "fantasy tech" and sell it.

The system provided him with the logic and blueprints, but he had to study and craft it on his own.

The tech he had to make? Chosen completely at random.

His first task: create a Devil Fruit.

The system granted him access to a time-accelerated mental training space.

He spent three real years in that space studying the science behind Devil Fruits.

When he emerged, he spent another three actual months manually crafting one.

He’d wanted to create a robot gravedigger or something flashier, but the problem was… he had no clue how to build machines.

His knowledge was limited to biology—just enough to make a fruit.

And why a Rock Dragon Lizard? Simple—materials for that were easy to find in Liyue.

But the moment he finished explaining, a few of the elders couldn't hold back their laughter. One even started glaring at him.

If Hu Tao had just brought Chen Guang back as a guest, no one would've cared.

But she’d spent a lot of money on him recently, and now this ridiculous fruit was what he had to show for it?

“Zhongli, say something!” Hu Tao suddenly turned toward the man who had been sitting silently at the side, fiddling with a yellow jade stone.

Her voice trembled, and her eyes were slightly red. She hadn’t expected someone she trusted so much to betray her like this.

Zhongli paused for a moment, as if he hadn’t realized he was about to be dragged into the drama.

Then he calmly set the jade down and finally spoke:

“Rationally speaking, what Mr. Chen says does sound... far-fetched. But to dismiss it outright without testing would be premature.

Director Hu, perhaps we should conduct an experiment and see if this so-called Devil Fruit works.”

Zhongli looked like a man in his twenties, but his manner of speech and ancient aura made him feel ageless—he could’ve been thirty, forty, or even older.

As soon as he spoke, the room fell silent, as if someone had pressed mute on reality itself.

“…Fine. Let me try it, then,” said a middle-aged man, standing up from his seat.

He looked to be in his forties, wore a long robe, and had been part of the funeral parlor since Hu Tao’s father’s era.

After the tragedy that took her father’s life, he’d stayed on through Hu Tao’s grandfather’s return and now served under Hu Tao herself.

His loyalty to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor ran deep—and in his eyes, Chen Guang was just some smooth-talking scam artist trying to fool Hu Tao out of her money and affection.

That’s why he volunteered—he wanted to expose this fraud immediately and call the Millelith to haul him away.

Maybe then, they could salvage what they’d lost.

“So? I just eat it?” he asked gruffly, holding the fruit and glaring at Chen Guang.

“Yes, just eat it. It tastes awful, though, so please don’t spit it out. You have to swallow it.”

Chen Guang smiled faintly at the man's hostility. He understood—if the roles were reversed, he’d probably feel the same.

“Hmph. How bad can one fruit taste?”

Scoffing, the middle-aged man bit into the Devil Fruit… and a second later, everyone in the room watched as his face visibly turned red.