Imposter Boulevard

Imposter Boulevard
Kanji	欺罔の轍
Romaji	Kibou no Wadachi
Voice Drama Information
Characters	Mukuhara Kazui Es
Released	July 26, 2023
Length	16:29
Label	Arma Bianca Record

"Imposter Boulevard" (欺(き)罔(ぼう)の轍(わだち), Kibou no Wadachi (Source) ) is eighteenth voice drama featuring the prisoner Mukuhara Kazui. It's the second trial interrogation between Kazui and the prison guard Es, right before the song starts.

Track Listing

1. Cat
2. Cat (Instrumental)
3. Neo-Neon (ネオネオン) [KAZUI Cover]
4. Neo-Neon (ネオネオン) [KAZUI Cover] (Instrumental)
5. Imposter Boulevard (欺罔の轍) -Voice Drama- Kazui & Es

Transcripts

Translations by @onigiriico

• Romaji
• Japanese
• English

*Door opening, footsteps*
Es	I've kept you waiting, Kazui.
Kazui	It's been a while, Guard-kun.
Es	Yeah… It has been.
Kazui	Things have gotten pretty tough inside the prison, but… Well, you've probably heard all about that from the others already, haven't you?
Es	Yeah… I heard that you protected other prisoners from Kotoko. I owe you my thanks.
Kazui	That much is only natural. However… she really is strong, isn't she? I mean, I've experienced some fights myself, but going up against a woman like her was a first.
Es	Hm… Is she strong enough that even you can't stop her from doing harm?
Kazui	Well, in cases like this, it's generally the heavier person who ends up winning. After all, if she really does have proper killing intent, I can't afford to let her injure anyone. It's difficult, isn't it.
Es	Is that so...
Kazui	I was afraid that it'd come to this from the very beginning. There's a lot of young kids here, too. It'd be hard for anyone to keep a decent mentality in a situation like this.
Es	…You're pretty rational.
Kazui	I wonder. Maybe it's because I'm used to violence. Even so… I couldn't make it for Shiina-chan. I feel responsible for what happened to her.
Es	...
Kazui	Well, rest assured, though. As long as I can move, I'll be protecting the others. After all, it's pretty much just me who can fight her on equal terms.
Es	Mikoto, too.
Kazui	Ah… yeah. Like back when he went out of control, right? I can't quite read him, though… If both of them were to attack us, it's possible that we'd suffer a total defeat.
Es	A total defeat...?
Kazui	If that happens, this prison game would probably come to an end as well. All of that depends on your judgment, right, Guard-kun? Who will be forgiven by you and who won't be…
Es	What are you trying to say?
Kazui	If at all possible, I would like you to choose a method that will not get any more people hurt. That's what I'm saying.
Es	So you're telling me to forgive you?
Kazui	*Laughs* Oi, oi…! Don't look at me like that.
Es	I'm the Guard. If I forgive you, I forgive you. If I don't, I don't. There's no other factors to it.
Kazui	*Sighs* Wouldn't it be okay? I mean, this situation with prisoners being hurt wasn't what you wanted either, was it?
Es	...
Kazui	Just pretend that you're looking at our sins, and make your judgment with the protection of the prisoners in mind. After all, nobody can read your mind – so that much craftiness would be fine, don't you think?
Es	Hmph. That's a very "you" kind of pretentious solution.
Kazui	It's the most natural conclusion, isn't it? Do you think it's a sin to lie in order to protect people?
Es	That would be Kant.
Kazui	Kant?
Es	A philosopher who stated that lying is inherently a sin, no matter the circumstances.
Kazui	Huh...
Es	Apparently, even if your friend is being chased by a murderer and the murderer asks you about their whereabouts, you shouldn't lie, according to Kant.
Kazui	That's ridiculous. If you can save someone by telling a lie, that's what you should do.
Es	However… You killed someone with your lies, didn't you?
Kazui	… Ah… You forgave me, didn't you? Aren't you being especially strict towards me?
Es	Am I?
Kazui	Mmh, it's obvious. You said you would figure out my murder by watching the footage of my mind. Is this the result of that?
Es	You were unfaithful, right? That's stupid.
Kazui	Hmm...
Es	The reason I forgave you was because I was lacking details. I still don't understand your true feelings or how things got to that point, either.
Kazui	I see.
Es	It was extremely hard to understand. Even with all of that poetry, though, your self-absorbed nature was more than obvious.
Kazui	Ohh my… That's quite the sweeping generalization, even though you forgave me.
Es	It's a personal dislike of mine. People who act based on their sexual urges like that, that is.
Kazui	Its personal?
Es	Yeah. That's right.
Kazui	That's strange. I did think that, despite being neutral as a Guard, you had some things you dislike, but…
Es	...
Kazui	Isn't it unusual to openly reveal a personal dislike as a personal dislike?
Es	You're splitting hairs.
Kazui	Seems like you really disliked my crime… I get it! Maybe it was because you're so young, which is to say………
Es	Hah? Stop staring at me so openly. It's disgusting.
Kazui	... *Stares Es Carefully*
Es	...! Hmph!
*Es punches Kazui*
Kazui	Ergh...! *Clatters*
Es	*Sigh* Now I feel better.
Kazui	— Ow…! What are you doing all of a sudden…?!
Es	It was an instinctive reaction. Don't take it personally.
Kazui	Would you stop just punching me in the face without hesitation? … *Sighs* Anyways… that's how it is, huh? That's how it is…?
Es	Hah?
Kazui	I didn't even consider this a possibility… Personal impressions sure can be scary.
Es	If you say any more things than this that I don't get, I'm hitting you again.
Kazui	Geez, cut out the hysterics… Hmm, if it's like this, that explains some things, though.
Es	...?
Kazui	I don't have kids, but I've heard that this is what it's like.
Es	Hey. Stop blabbering on while looking like you know it all. It's obnoxious.
Kazui	Hahaha! But you know what? You're wrong.
Es	…? What are you talking about?
Kazui	You're wrong.
Es	...
Kazui	You said I was unfaithful – in other words, that I cheated or committed adultery of some kind.
Es	Yeah. That's what I deduced from your footage.
Kazui	It's not true.
Es	...
Kazui	It didn't even turn into infidelity.
Es	...?
Kazui	It didn't turn into anything like that. For me… In my case, you see.
Es	… You're married… You're a married man, aren't you?
Kazui	Hm? Yeah, that's right. Oh, right, I never told you, did I?
Es	You've taken off your ring.
Kazui	… Right… I did take it off, huh. Right…
Es	Yeah.
Kazui	Mh. … I do carry it with me, though. See? – I was forgiven. My feelings were validated. So… maybe that means that I don't have to do this anymore? Thanks to that, I was feeling better when the second trial started… I really do feel sorry about that. Towards my wife.
Es	If that ring is a symbol of punishment to you… There really is nothing that could possibly be more cruel towards her.
Kazui	Mmh.
Es	Marriage is something that both partners want equally, isn't it? It's something you can't do if only one person wants it. Deciding to treat it as a punishment all on your own… You're making a mockery out of it.
Kazui	I really am. Ah… She must have thought so as well. My wife, that is.
Es	I've said this before: You're a liar. Those lies have killed a person.
Kazui	*Sigh*
Es	I forgave you. While I wasn't sure yet, I thought that it didn't seem like you killed her directly, and with all sorts of things taken into consideration, I judged that your murder was not a sin. However. That doesn't mean that I'm praising your nature as a liar.
Kazui	Yeah. I believe you're right about that.
Es	In short – between love and hate, I would say I hate you. Remember that.
Kazui	...I get that.
Es	Huh?
Kazui	I despise myself for lying, too.
Es	...
Kazui	Being a liar, you see – it's painful.
Es	Heh. Then just-
Kazui	So I've tried to change! I've tried to change. I have tried to stop lying to myself and others!
Es	...
Kazui	I've confided in others. I've tried to be myself! I've tried to just be the way I was born!
Es	Hey, Kazui-
Kazui	It's not my lies that killed her. She's dead because I stopped lying to her! If I had just kept lying- She wouldn't have died…!
Es	Kazui...
Kazui	I can't live unless I lie. That's how I was born… I'm pathetic, aren't I?
Es	*Sighs* I really can't seem to understand you.
Kazui	...
Es	Just when I thought you weren't letting out any of your true feelings and cleverly hiding your actual emotions… Now here you are, drowning in self-loathing like this.
Kazui	*Weak laugh* An old man in unstable condition… that's not something you'd wanna see, is it. Sorry about that.
Es	You know, about Kant...
Kazui	Ah, the one who said you shouldn't lie even if your friend might get killed.
Es	From his point of view, if your friend dies because you didn't lie, there's no causal connection between the two… or so I've heard.
Kazui	I don't think so, though...
Es	Even if you don't lie, your friend might survive. And if you do lie, your friend might end up dying on a different occasion. That's the reason why you're supposed to always tell the truth.
Kazui	...Is that convincing?
Es	It's not really.
Kazui	Yeah, it's not.
Es	It may not be, but… I thought that for someone who has failed in their attempts to be honest, it might be a saving grace so they won't end up doubting honesty in its entirety.
Kazui	...
Es	I still don't know what happened, but… isn't it okay to be proud that you made an effort to be honest in the first place?
Kazui	...You're so kind all of a sudden.
Es	I just said what I was thinking. And besides – I forgave you. I made it as if your sin wasn't a sin at all. And yet, you don't seem the slightest bit relieved.
Kazui	I know right.
Es	Everyone else seems more or less liberated by the fact that they were forgiven.
Kazui	That's right.
Es	Just from that… I understand that having your feelings approved of by someone else can have a major impact on the development of one's personality.
Kazui	...
Es	However… You have not forgiven yourself. That's why you can't change.
Kazui	...
Es	Alternatively, even if your lying self was forgiven… it would still do nothing to help you.
Kazui	…Aah, you really are impressive. You think so much.
Es	I am watching over ten troublesome prisoners, after all. Even if I don't want to, I'm being relied on.
Kazui	I haven't forgiven myself… even if my lies are forgiven, it won't resonate with me. It might just be both of these. All the lies I've told are tying me down. Ever since I was little, I've never truly opened myself to anyone. But in the end, people can't be saved if they don't open up. And by now, it's gotten to a point where I can't do it by myself anymore…
*Bell rings, mechanical sounds in the back*
Kazui	I did think MILGRAM would be able to force its way past that, though.
Es	Is that an attempt at provocation?
Kazui	You didn't manage to reach my sin.
Es	...
Kazui	Even though I want you to… MILGRAM isn't so great after all, is it?
Es	…Heh. Don't push yourself too hard, after all that whining from earlier.
Kazui	Ha. This is the wish of a liar who's reached a dead end – come and figure out my lies, MILGRAM. And, Es… please, free me from these lies.
Es	Yeah. Leave it to me. – Prisoner number 7, Kazui. Sing your sins.
Continued on Cat MV