Diako Translations

 Mechanical Pencil and Robe I had a strange dream. A distant memory from my past life—unimportant, yet unforgettable—resurfaced. "[███]-kun, here, you can have this!" A girl in my class gave me a mechanical pencil. I forgot when it happened, or even who that girl was, but I think we had a faint connection—something like a friend of a friend. After receiving the gift, I cherished and used that mechanical pencil for the rest of my life. It was a plain, ordinary product sold anywhere. Maybe she just didn't like the design and dumped an unwanted item on me while keeping up appearances. Either way, I kept using it until it was completely tattered. Even when it became hard to use, I couldn't bring myself to let go of it. I think I even started developing feelings for the girl who gave it to me. One day, the mechanical pencil broke. If it were a pen with no sentimental value, I would have thrown it in the trash immediately, but I couldn...

 We Love the Cult Leader! Everyone Gets Along! A Friendly Workplace! Mornings in the cult come early. Late to bed, early to rise, lacking sleep. One meal a day—a truly healthy lifestyle. But... but still! Everyone can push through if it's for Arlos-sama, right?! Serving Arlos-sama is the ultimate joy! Working without rest or pay to serve such a miraculous existence is something to be thrilled about, isn't it?! Here's some good news! Wow! If you become an executive, your working conditions get better! Plus, you get granted magic, allowing you to work yourself to the bone for him even more efficiently! "ARLOS-SAMA IS THE BESTーーーー!!!!" Waking up in the crisp morning air, I stepped outside and shouted at the top of my lungs, hoping for an echo. As if agreeing with my sentiment, vast nature itself echoed my words right back at me four whole times. "Ah~ the best, the best..." I continued to openly vent my frustration...

 Maybe I Can Still Turn Back Let me briefly explain why the Arlos Temple Cult is considered an "evil cult." The cult's origins were originally a weak connection formed purely for making money. At first, it operated under a different name like "Some-or-Other Merchant Group," where members had superficial relationships and didn't even know each other's full names. However, things shifted drastically when the ambitious Arlos took over the merchant group. Skilled in controlling human hearts, Arlos drew people's interest through masterfully persuasive speech. The organization gradually grew radicalized and eventually renamed itself the "Arlos Temple Cult." Here is why they are considered an evil cult: Setting up their base deep in the mountains, they began kidnapping young children from towns and villages to grow their follower count. The abducted children were misled by Arlos's smooth rhetoric, gradua...

 Throwing a Nameless Mob into an Executive Meeting Is Nothing Short of a Public Execution In the late 2000s, back when I was alive in my previous life in Japan, an adult PC game titled Seeker of the Dusk and Dawn (幽明の求道者) was released. While it didn't generate much buzz right after launch, positive word-of-mouth steadily boosted its reputation until it became a hit. The game was a Western dark fantasy depicting the war between the "Kenneth Orthodox Church" (the Orthodox side) and the "Arlos Temple Cult" or "Arlos Temple Teaching Group" (the Cult side). The general flow of the story goes like this: The protagonist, whose hometown was destroyed by an attack from the Arlos Temple Cult, is saved by the Kenneth Orthodox Church. Joining the Orthodox side, the protagonist throws himself into battle to eradicate the cultists... or something along those lines. Having lost his family and friends to slaughter, the prot...

 A Normal Person Among Cultists A moonlit night devoid of any signs of living creatures. A group clad entirely in black, wearing hooded cloaks, marched through the forest with drawn crossbows at the ready. "……" As one of the members of this group, I moved forward while straining every nerve against the surrounding darkness. We were a small squad of ten assembled to hunt down an enemy who had fled into the forest. All of us were trained believers of the "Arlos Temple Cult." A few hours ago, an executive of the Arlos Temple Cult entrusted us with a mission: Bring back the head of the woman who fled into the forest. Some intruder must have gotten too close to the cult. Well, it wasn't uncommon to receive missions to eliminate such nuisances. We low-ranking foot soldiers were routinely mobilized to keep secrets safe. "!" The man acting as a scout up front—if I recalled correctly, his name was Lloyd—signaled for ...