This is an unofficial translation of the two short stories 『少佐日誌』花咲く月 快晴のち雨 and 『日記』晴れのち雨天 found in the official fanbook of Violet Evergarden the Movie (2020). These two short stories detail the same events, from different perspectives, and seem to take place after the short story "Gilbert Bougainvillea and the Fleeting Dream" (ギルベルト・ブーゲンビリアと儚い夢). I am sharing my translation so that fans who do not understand Japanese can read it.
『少佐日誌』 is Violet's logbook of the days with Gilbert; it literally means "Major Logbook" but I have decided to just shorten it to "Logbook" instead in the translation. Maybe I should call it "Logbook of my days with the Major"... 😂 『日記』 is the diary kept by Gilbert. Given that both are entries in their respective books, I have titled them "Logbook entry: Month of blooming flowers—Sunny followed by rain" and "Diary entry: Fair followed by rain". (Note to readers: In the light novels, Gilbert's lost arm was replaced by a prosthetic arm, while in the anime, his lost arm was not replaced.)
Note:
The rights to the original work belong to the author Akatsuki Kana and
Kyoto Animation. While this unofficial translation is being shared under
fair use, I will remove it if it comes to my knowledge that this
translation is being misused or if there is any infringement of the
copyright owners' rights.
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Logbook entry
Month of blooming flowers—Sunny followed by rain
by Akatsuki Kana
『少佐日誌』花咲く月 快晴のち雨
暁 佳奈--------------------------------------------
The Major woke up at the same time again this morning.
Unlike his usual self, he ate sweet fruits for breakfast. When he replenishes blood sugar, it is usually because he is slightly fatigued. I asked if there was anything I could do to help him recover. He patted my head gently, then gave me a hug. He said, “This is fine.” Nothing was solved; instead, it brightened my day.
During the day, I accompanied the Major to buy some things.
While outside, I saw a stray dog sleeping in the sun. It was a few months old, and its mother was not in sight. The Major stroked the dog and said he has seen it several times. On the way back, we saw the dog again. The Major again stroked the dog. The dog also looked friendly with the Major. I think the dog has good judgment. I registered it as a subject for protection. After playing with the dog, we returned home.
I suggested we take in the dog. The Major said, “I don’t want to lightly take responsibility over a life. Also, we just started to have time to ourselves. Right now, I just want to give all my love to you.” My heart thumped loudly as it beat irregularly. I was worried if there was a defect with my body.
In the evening, it rained.
It had smelled of rain, so I had already taken in the laundry and nothing got wet. While making dinner, the weather got worse. The Major went outside and started to reinforce the windows with wooden boards. I have dug trenches before, but never reinforced a house. I suggested giving him a hand even though I was not good at it, but he told me to watch the pot instead. He finished reinforcing the house while I was cooking. He is really skilled. When I asked him where he learnt this skill, he said it was during his time at the Army academy with President Hodgins. During dinner, the Major liked the soup and had two refills. He even praised me. I hope to make this soup for him again.
After dinner, the two of us sat on the bench reading. The sound of the rain pounding on the house grew louder. In my head was the stray dog. The Major seemed to be having the same thoughts, and several times, we looked out together from between the gaps of the window. The Major said hesitantly, “Violet, can you stay at home? I am thinking of going out to look for that puppy.” I shook my head and said I would accompany him. He tried to persuade me, but I refused his request for me to stay at home. The servant must follow the master’s orders, but it is another matter if the master’s life may be at risk. In the end, we went out together on the condition from the Major that I wear a foul weather suit.
Once we were outside, the rain was actually not as bad as we thought, and we could proceed. For a while, we searched for the stray dog. While searching, the Major called out, “Claudia...” Claudia. Claudia Hodgins. The name of President Hodgins. With joy, I looked around for him, but he was nowhere in sight. The Major continued to call out that name into the emptiness. He looked tired, so could it be an apparition? Or maybe he missed President Hodgins too much? If this was the battlefield, there was a high chance it was an apparition, but we were actually near the house. It was a bewildering situation.
A servant needs to understand the meaning behind the master’s actions and provide the maximum support. I asked him why he was calling out President Hodgins’ name. He looked a bit shy as he confessed that he named the stray dog “Claudia.” He did say he has seen the dog several times before. Naming the dog after his best friend is proof of the Major’s love. I was impressed and promised to find the dog.
The Major and I searched for the dog, calling out “Claudia!” for about an hour. We found the stray dog—no, Claudia—crouched at the base of a large tree. We immediately took it in and brought it home.
Claudia is now dry and being stroked by the Major. This is the end of the log entry for today.
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Diary entryFair followed by rain
by Akatsuki Kana
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『日記』晴れのち雨天
暁 佳奈--------------------------------------------
The day started with a lack of sleep as I was up late last night reading a novel. My eyes feel painful. Violet once wrote on behalf of an author, so I thought I would order his book. It was more interesting that I expected, and I am looking forward to his next work.
We were supposed to go grocery shopping together today, so we went out around noon. On the way, I found Claudia. Without thinking, I patted it like I always do. I forgot Violet was around. It made me a bit embarrassed for her to see me being drawn like that to a puppy. I may not be a perfect person, but I try to appear as a cool adult in front of the person I love.
I asked her if she want to try petting the puppy, but she said she felt bad for it as both her arms are prosthetics. Her words pained my heart. I have a prosthetic arm too, but the other arm is flesh and blood, and can feel pain and warmth. To ease the pain in my heart, I held her hand as we walked to town.
We bought apples as an indulgence. Violet offered to make a pie, which filled my heart with expectations. I am not able to make confection. On the way back, we saw Claudia again. “Does it eat dried meat?” On Violet’s suggestion, we fed it some. Violet said that it is not wary like a military dog and fed it while worrying if it can survive like this. This was so like Violet.
The clouds started to look worrying in the evening. The wind was strong too. I took precaution and reinforced the windows. A warm meal was there when I was done. It is in such times that I feel I am not alone. The soup was delicious. I hope she will make it again.
After dinner, I continued to read Oscar’s book. He writes for both adults and children, but I prefer his works for adults. It made me proud to know that Violet helped in the work of someone with such talent. Without thinking, I stroked Violet’s head gently while reading the book. She has grown up into a beautiful and splendid woman worthy of her name. Maybe it was due to my habit of expressing love by patting her head, but recently, whenever I reached out, she would bring her head closer toward me. This really got me. She is so cute.
The weather continued to worsen. Thoughts of Claudia came into my mind. Will a puppy be able to endure this? Violet was also looking outside. “Will that stray dog survive through today?” This made me even more worried. In the end, I decided to go take a look. I wanted Violet to stay at home, but she still came along. I wanted to cover my mouth when I let slip the word “Claudia” in my haste at not finding the puppy, but Violet said with a serious face that she would definitely find it. A while later, when we found the puppy safe, I gave a sigh of relief.
I will try to find someone to take care of Claudia. If not, we will raise it ourselves. I think Violet will be fine with this. Of course, we will need to change its name if someone else takes it in. I also feel bad for Hodgins. No, he will probably say with joy, “You really like me.” This doesn’t feel right too.
Oh, let me write it down in case I forget. It is about time to get some summer dresses made for Violet. As a young woman, she will look beautiful in anything. When summer comes, maybe we can go someplace further away. The flowers will probably be blooming in Drossel. She said she wanted to show them to me. When autumn comes, we shall go to Roswell. I heard the autumn leaves look wonderful. I also hope to be able to visit the stargazing town someday too.
Having written till here, I took a look to see what Violet was doing, and to my surprise, she was stroking Claudia and looked really engrossed. I am a bit jealous. Let me put down my pen and kiss her goodnight. She is mine.
We were supposed to go grocery shopping together today, so we went out around noon. On the way, I found Claudia. Without thinking, I patted it like I always do. I forgot Violet was around. It made me a bit embarrassed for her to see me being drawn like that to a puppy. I may not be a perfect person, but I try to appear as a cool adult in front of the person I love.
I asked her if she want to try petting the puppy, but she said she felt bad for it as both her arms are prosthetics. Her words pained my heart. I have a prosthetic arm too, but the other arm is flesh and blood, and can feel pain and warmth. To ease the pain in my heart, I held her hand as we walked to town.
We bought apples as an indulgence. Violet offered to make a pie, which filled my heart with expectations. I am not able to make confection. On the way back, we saw Claudia again. “Does it eat dried meat?” On Violet’s suggestion, we fed it some. Violet said that it is not wary like a military dog and fed it while worrying if it can survive like this. This was so like Violet.
The clouds started to look worrying in the evening. The wind was strong too. I took precaution and reinforced the windows. A warm meal was there when I was done. It is in such times that I feel I am not alone. The soup was delicious. I hope she will make it again.
After dinner, I continued to read Oscar’s book. He writes for both adults and children, but I prefer his works for adults. It made me proud to know that Violet helped in the work of someone with such talent. Without thinking, I stroked Violet’s head gently while reading the book. She has grown up into a beautiful and splendid woman worthy of her name. Maybe it was due to my habit of expressing love by patting her head, but recently, whenever I reached out, she would bring her head closer toward me. This really got me. She is so cute.
The weather continued to worsen. Thoughts of Claudia came into my mind. Will a puppy be able to endure this? Violet was also looking outside. “Will that stray dog survive through today?” This made me even more worried. In the end, I decided to go take a look. I wanted Violet to stay at home, but she still came along. I wanted to cover my mouth when I let slip the word “Claudia” in my haste at not finding the puppy, but Violet said with a serious face that she would definitely find it. A while later, when we found the puppy safe, I gave a sigh of relief.
I will try to find someone to take care of Claudia. If not, we will raise it ourselves. I think Violet will be fine with this. Of course, we will need to change its name if someone else takes it in. I also feel bad for Hodgins. No, he will probably say with joy, “You really like me.” This doesn’t feel right too.
Oh, let me write it down in case I forget. It is about time to get some summer dresses made for Violet. As a young woman, she will look beautiful in anything. When summer comes, maybe we can go someplace further away. The flowers will probably be blooming in Drossel. She said she wanted to show them to me. When autumn comes, we shall go to Roswell. I heard the autumn leaves look wonderful. I also hope to be able to visit the stargazing town someday too.
Having written till here, I took a look to see what Violet was doing, and to my surprise, she was stroking Claudia and looked really engrossed. I am a bit jealous. Let me put down my pen and kiss her goodnight. She is mine.
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This is a list of Violet Evergarden short stories that have been written by author Akatsuki Kana, with links to fan translations (when available). I hope you enjoyed these two short stories as much as I did.
My overall thoughts on Violet Evergarden The Movie.
Events:
Translations of short stories:
The Tailor and the Auto-Memories Doll (unofficial translation of 仕立て屋と自動手記人形) Gilbert Bougainvillea and the Fleeting Dream (unofficial translation of "ギルベルト・ブーゲンビリアと儚い夢")
Violet Evergarden short stories: "Logbook entry" and "Diary entry" (unofficial translation)
The Starry Night and the Lonely Two (unofficial translation of 星降りの夜とさみしいふたり)
Diethard Bougainvillea's If (unofficial translation of ディートフリート・ブーゲンビリアIf) Tellsis (Nunkish) translation:
Last line of Violet's final letter to GilbertInsights on the movie:
Audio commentary notes:
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