Bonus Translator’s Notes

Magic Beasts and Demons:

Throughout this book, the Japanese word mamono (魔物) has been translated as magic beast, and the word mazoku (魔族) has been translated as demon. Both words share the root character ma (魔), which is often glossed in English as either demon/monster or magic—it’s also a component of mahou (魔法), a common word for magic, and maou (魔王), translated in this book as Demon King, Zag’giel’s title.

The choice of beast as a translation for mamono essentially flowed backward from the choice of Beast Tamer as a translation of Mamono-tsukai (魔物使い), Kanata’s Profession and the title of the book. There’s a strong argument, I think, for monster/Monster Tamer as an alternative translation—namely that magic beasts aren’t limited to things we would think of as beasts necessarily. Some of them, like the dullahan Kanata trounces in Chapter 6, wear armor and use weapons! Magic beasts seem to be anything that might appear as an enemy in an RPG. And maybe the word monster would make their connection to demons feel more intuitive. But it just has to be Beast Tamer, doesn’t it? I feel like “Beast” is a better fit for the overall tone and sensibility of the book, and especially for Kanata.

But one thing that gets a bit lost in translation, I think, is the connection between demons and magic beasts. In the book, it’s unclear exactly what distinguishes a demon from a magic beast, but given that they share a root word, it makes sense that they could be related entities. It seems to me like demons are a subtype of magic beast. Judging from the terror the people of the Royal Capital had at the presence of a demon, it seems likely that demon is a term reserved for the most powerful magic beasts of all—possibly (it isn’t clear) powerful magic beasts with a human form. They may also be a particular family or subcategory of humanoid magic beasts. But the strong implication seems to be that demons and magic beasts are, in terms of their basic composition, essentially the same thing.

The Inverted Scale:

In Chapter 3, Dragon Slaying? No! I’m Just Harvesting Medicinal Herbs!, dragons are said to have inverted scales under their chin about which they are especially sensitive. This is actually a reference to a Japanese figure of speech: “gekirin ni fureru” (逆鱗に触れる). Literally this means “touch on the inverted scale.” Figuratively it’s similar to the English phrase “touch a nerve,” although it has more of an implication that the person whose inverted scale is being touched is someone powerful, whose wrath is best avoided.

The saying comes from a metaphor used by Han Fei in his third century B.C.E. essay entitled “The Difficulties of Persuasion” (Shuinan, 說難): “The dragon, being a creature, may be tamed, played with in close quarters, and even ridden. However, below its throat are the inverted scales, each spanning one chi. The dragon would kill anyone touching them. A prince of men has those inverted scales too. Persuaders might have a chance at success, provided that they can avoid touching the inverted scales of the prince.” Note: Translation found at en.wiktionary.org/逆鱗.

In Beast Tamer, the saying and the metaphor both seem to be literally true. It’s as if Kanata not only touched a nerve, but ripped it right out.

Akuryou Taisan:

In Japanese, the title of Chapter 4, “Exorcism? No! I’m Just Cleaning the Sewer!” is “Akuryou Taisan? Iie, Tada no Gensui Souji desu!” (悪霊退散？いいえ、ただの下水掃除です！) “Akuryou taisan” is a well-known phrase used to expel evil. It means, “Evil spirits, begone!”

You Reap What You Sow:

Near the end of Chapter 4, Kanata tells one of the street toughs that she didn’t heal them for their own sakes, but because “you reap what you sow.” In Japanese, this was a different figure of speech: “nasake wa hito no tame narazu” (情けは人のためならず). In English this means “kindness is not for the good of others,” meaning that those who practice kind deeds will have kindness visited on them in turn.