Kakei no Majo

Gluttony
[Vollerei]

“A twisted altar dedicated to sin.
A corpse offered to god.
Why did you cross this border?
Come, try to sing.”

As if pulling in the threads of my faint memories
I step into the dark, gloomy forest

As if tracing the paths of my childhood memories
I marched into the depths of the forest I entered

Crossing the river, going left at the ghostly fir
And there stood the place of my birth

“Ever since I can remember, my father’s whereabouts were unknown,
And I lived a humble life with my mother.
I was often blamed groundlessly and bullied for things like putting poison into the well,
The only friends that I could speak of were the animals in the forest...”
(“Get out! Get out!” “Witch! Witch!” “You’re disgusting!” “Don’t follow us!”)

But still...ah...mother...I was happy...
Did...you know...why? Because you were with me

So why did my mother abandon me?
I wanted to know that no matter what...

A monastery in a big city took me in when I was young
But because of the violent storms of Reformation
And the new believers, ah, it was destroyed mercilessly
(“We’re gonna drive out the fallen clergy!”
“Destroy their altar! True faith is in our hands!”
“Stop it! Please stop it!”)

Life has its ups and downs, and since I cannot grasp the workings of fate
I believed that one end leads to another beginning; working up my courage
I began my trip in search for my homeland, to seek the answer for my longstanding question

Crossing the river, going left at the ghostly fir
And there stood the place of my birth

“What awaited me was a stone-like old woman,
(“I’m home, mother...eh!?” “Oh, you’re the one sent by our Lord Jesus. Thank you for coming.”)
I could hardly believe that this stranger could be my mother.
(“It’s stale bread, but did it match your tastes?” “I can eat this forever!”)
I saw no light of recognition in her eyes, and looking at her, desperate for food,
(“Madam, do you not know who I am?” “What are you babbling about...”)
I thought that she’d already lost her mind.
(“Are you discriminating against me too? Give me more, give me more food!”)
And...
(“Noooooo!”)

I converted, but it was too late
It became impossible to secure food for even one person.
An inverted cross that makes a mockery of repentance.
My prayers don’t reach.
Without gaining forgiveness, sins merely increase in number...

“I see...
So that’s how you were sacrificed? Against your will, to boot...
This might take some time, but a child’s grudge should be avenged by a child.
Is that alright?
Now, let the revenge tragedy begin.”

Poor siblings[children] who were abandoned in the forest
I understand the sad feelings of abandoned children, painfully so

Ah, controlling the birds, I made the trail of breadcrumbs disappear
(“The breadcrumbs are...getting eaten!”)
I had the birds, white as snow, sing in invitation
(“Ah! Hey, brother, that’s an interesting bird!”
“You’re right. Let’s try chasing it!”)

“Look, Hänsel, big brother. There’s a house over there!”
“But Gretel, that might be a scary witch’s house...still.”
“Still?”
“Better than...dying with an empty stomach!”

“Is anyone here?”
“Oh my, what cute guests. Are you hungry? Come on in.”

“The roof is made out of lebkuchen, the windows are of sugar.
I’ll give you this delicious house made from sweets!”

Ah, you don’t need to hold back
Letting kids eat as much as they wanted has always been my small dream
Ah, my loan shark husband didn’t come back alive
But he left me with some inheritance...

The siblings[two] took advantage of the old woman’s kindness; her selfless actions, and ate
(“This is delicious! Gretel, you have some too!” “Yeah, it’s delicious, brother!”)
One day, the girl looked at the boy who’d become round and grew afraid
(“Delicious!” “B-brother?” “Delicious! Gretel, if you’re not going to eat, let me have your portion!”)

“Ah! The old woman is a witch, and she’s going to eat us!”

It’d be B-A-D    if we don’t kill her    before she kills us!
Kick her HARD! In the back!

“You won’t be able to eat us.”
“You’re great, Gretel! Now the witch’s finished!”
“We have to let Thomas know as well.”
“Yep, the evil witch was burnt, and now all treasure”
“Belongs to us!”

“Hey Tom-“
“Tom-“
“Hey there Hans! How did you get so fat?”
“Tada!”
“Woah! We really got lucky!”

“So every old woman who lives in the forest alone are witches.”
“Geez, children are such cold-hearted liars. I hate them. Ahahahaha!”

Translated by Defade.