Hello.

Thank you for reading this novel.

I want to say a few words before you dive into my first novel translation work.

The first chapter is a ki (起). It’s an introduction. Some people might get bored with the info dump but hopefully you’ll bear with it because I promise right after there’ll be development and some action. 🙂

I won’t be having a regular update schedule unless it gets popular and many request for it I guess. ?^-^ but I will try to publish the introduction part quickly. Translation is done but it needs to go to PR and edited. It’s too long to post in one go so I’m cutting it to several parts.

I have an urge to give more warnings but I guess it won’t matter and you’ll either like it or not so let’s tackle it as we go.

Leave a comment if you like it or suggestions in the comments section 🙂 I’d appreciate it very much.

Happy reading. 🙂

The singing voice of the dragon echoes in the sky vol.1 – The Crimson-Clad Dragon King

Chapter 1 – CONTRACT RING

I don’t know when it started but I have always felt cut off from the world, even when I’m with my family.
I have a younger brother and sister, but somehow we don’t look alike.
I don’t resemble my parents either, so it crossed my mind that I may not be a child of this family at all.
My aunt, who is my father’s younger sister, once said,
“It seems that sometimes, a fine man like Ryuusei can be born like a sudden mutation in the Moriya family.”
My younger sister, with a sullen expression also once told me,
” my friend said ‘Your brother is way more beautiful than you’.
Big, black eyes with long lashes, high nose bridge, and a small face.
My face is what’s generally called as a ‘beauty’ but it’s too much for me to handle.
When I was little, I was even teased as an “effeminate man”.
Although I didn’t ask for it, I’m popular with girls more than necessary so I’m misunderstood by my true girlfriend and my relationship doesn’t quite last long.
But I don’t think that my looks is the only thing that alienates me from my family.
It’s my parents’ attitude.
Both Mother and Father raised me with utmost care, much like handling a fragile object… Almost as if I’m a precious borrowed thing.

Since before the Edo period, the Moriya family has always been merchants.
Wholesale dealers of rice and tea, drugstore owners, and kimono shop proprietors.
It seems we’ve been doing all sorts of businesses for over 400 years – all of which thrived and made great fortune.

Within the premises of the main house, a large warehouse remains.
Ryuusei Moriya is the eldest son of the Moriya family.
As the eldest son of an affluent family, I am destined to take over the family business.
So, It would make sense if that’s the reason I’ve been raised carefully all these years.

But that wasn’t the case at all.

Recently, the Moriya family is facing a financial crisis.
From the days of Great-grandfather, new businesses like Western restaurants and chain stores, have flourished but collapsed in the 2nd World War.
Great-grandfather damaged his body during the war and passed away.
Grandfather managed to return from the war but there was no more business to inherit.

Grandfather started a new business using the land as collateral, but due to overwork, just when things were about to pick up, he fell ill and passed away at a young age of 45.
My father, who was a 20-year-old college student at the time, dropped out of college, took over the business, and worked like a horse. He was somehow able to get back on track past the age of 30.
When Father turned 35, he married Mother, who is 10 years younger than he is. She worked as a secretary and gave birth to me.
But just when they came to a point where the Moriya family’s future is almost secure, Father died due to a traffic accident. I was 13 years old then.

Unfortunately, It wasn’t long ago when they received additional financing from a bank to expand the business but shortly after Father’s sudden death, the company went bankrupt, leaving behind a huge debt.

With the land used as collateral and Father’s insurance, we somehow managed to offset the debt. However, we lost the breadwinner and with 3 children, Mother was forced to protect the family with her own hands.

But the Moriya family’s main house was just a facade.

It’s a traditional Japanese house built in the Meiji Era. I heard that there used to be a lot of house events in the past where many, including the branch family, gather.
It used to be a very lively place.

Now, only four people live here.
Grandmother also passed away quite early
and now, it’s just the aunts who visit during the Obon¹ festival and New Year.
It’s an excessively huge house to the point it’s very hard to maintain it
And because it’s an old house, there would always be some damage popping up one after another. The vast garden becomes a jungle when left neglected. Although there aren’t many, pruning the trees isn’t some amateur’s task, and so a contractor is called at least twice a year, which is a considerable expense.
Surprisingly, mother somehow managed all of these household expenses by breaking off her modest salary as a part-timer, and the savings left over after paying off the debt.
Now, there is also my salary as a bank employee, but protecting the house is an arduous task.
Every time I hand over my entire salary, mother would repeatedly say, “Sorry. I’m sorry.”
But I don’t hate the idea of giving all my salary to Mother because even through those tough times, she allowed me to go to college.
My sister, who is 4 years younger, started working 2 years ago and also gives a little money.
Meanwhile, my younger brother is about to graduate from college next year, which will make things a little easier.

“After Minoru graduates, you don’t have to give me all your salary” mother says while looking very sorry.
However, I know that even after my brother graduates college, when I think of the maintenance of this excessively big house, there’s no way it could be easier.
For this reason, I haven’t told Mother that I’m feeling troubled right now.

It’s about my lover. We’ve been dating for more than 6 months now. She’s 3 years younger and works at the same bank. I love her and am dating her with a view to marriage.
Because of my looks, there’s been a lot of instances where I was misunderstood as just playing around. This is why until now, I have never dated seriously with the intent of marriage.
Being mistaken as a rich man when seeing the house is also one of the factors why it hasn’t gone well.

But she, Mai Sakikawa, is different from the other women I’ve dated so far. She is a very kind, family-oriented person. She doesn’t dress up extravagantly, and is easy to get along with.
More than anything, Ryuusei has told her of his family circumstances, that I can’t give her a life of luxury, but she did not say goodbye to me.
This is why they’ve begun to date, and Ryuusei started to seriously consider marriage.
But it is evident that I am going to make her suffer. With that in mind, I still can’t tell her what I had in mind..
[I want to date with a view to marriage.]
So I have yet to invite her home, and haven’t introduced her to my family either.
I’m sure mother will worry when she learns about her. She might say she can’t take my salary anymore.
I worry when I think about that.

One day when I got home from work, my two aunts happened to be visiting.

¹Japanese holiday to honor the spirits of one’s ancestors.

This chapter is made possible by Xenoglossia

Thank you so much for the pr.

Without her, I can’t do anything ?