LoveLove Tenshi interview translation #6: Ernst Neumann

[indigozeal.livejournal.com]

- Pleased to meet you, Ernst, sir. I'm looking forward to the interview.

Ernst Neumann. Pleased to meet you.

- How would you prefer me to address you?

This is our first meeting, and we we're not yet on familiar terms, so "Mr. Neumann" or "Neumann" would probably be more appropriate. But I've been told by the Society to treat you as a friend and give personable answers to your questions. So, as a friend, I don't mind if you call me "Ernst."

- Uh...uhhhhhh...well, then, Mr. Neumann. You're a bank director at the age of 30; that's awesome!

I do only of what I am capable. If you work conscientiously to produce results, then it is only natural that results will follow. It's nothing remarkable. I've been fortunate, I suppose, to be able to follow the path I have.

- And have you been popular with the ladies?

......Are you trying to imply something with that question?

- S, sorry! Please, tell us about the country in which you currently live.

I currently live in the United States - Chicago, Illinois. It's one of the U.S.'s financial centers and quite suited to those in the financial industry like myself.

- Where does your family come from?

Zürich, in the Zürich canton of the Swiss Confederation. My parents and older sister still live there. I try to go back and visit them every now and then.

- Please tell me about your daily schedule, Mr. Neumann.

I wake up at 6:30 and scan the newspaper, internet news, and other essential information. At 9:00, I arrive at work. My day then proceeds according to my schedule. I also attend meetings as required. My staff is scheduled until 18:00, so afterward, I'm able to concentrate on my work alone. I'm grateful for my staff, but working with others is naturally different from the time I spend working by myself. At night, I try to leave the office by 22:00. I turn in for the night at 0:00. If there's a meeting or party, I try to attend, but...to speak frankly, if it's not connected to my work, I'm not that inclined to spend time on it.

- When do you eat?

I eat breakfast from 6:45 to 7:00, lunch from 12:30 to 13:30, and dinner from 19:00 to 20:00. Personally, I don't need a whole hour, though.

- Your schedule seems quite strict - just like you, Mr Neumann... Have your plans ever gone off-schedule?

Naturally, since you partner with customers in the financial industry, you have to accommodate changes in the other party's schedule. There are also a great deal of unexpected fluctuations in the financial industry, so if there's a signficant movement, you have to amend your schedule. There are also customers who visit unexpectedly, etc.

- Is there any one thing on which you just won't compromise?

Scanning the news, I suppose. Be it through the newspaper or internet, through gathering comprehensive and cross-disciplinary information, you can keep abreast of the movements of the world. Other than that.............

- (He's really thinking hard about this......!)

...I suppose I have to return things to their proper places. I can't rest when my home and office are in disarray.

- Thank you very much! Please tell us about your fashion hang-ups.

I don't wear shirts without collars or clothing that hasn't been pressed. I don't choose clothing that doesn't fit me or has excessive decoration, either.

- If you were on a date with a lady, where would you take her?

...............

- I'm sorry; was that an odd question?

......If I had to do so, I'd gather some information and give it some analysis. If she didn't know Chicago, I suppose I'd first have to take her around to see the sights...

- Sounds good! If you had to give a present to a lady, what kind of present would you like to give?

........................

- Er, Mr. Neumann......?

......I think I'd give her something that she needed. Stationery items such as a clock or business card case; something that could make her life more efficient.

- Who would be your ideal woman, Mr. Neumann?

......I'm lost, because all of your questions are on subjects to which I've never before given consideration. My ideal woman, hmm......

- ......Umm, it's OK if you don't put yourself out here.

......No answer comes to mind at the moment. I'm sorry.

- Same here! We've finally reached our last question. Do you have a message for the ladies?

I don't yet know what kind of association you and I might have. When the time comes, however, I believe we can work together and rise to the occasion. Being chosen as the "Angel of Hope," it isn't difficult to imagine that you're a wise woman. I hope I will be of some use to you. ...Ahh, I'm being rather indirect here. In other words, I have great hopes for you, and I hope we build a fruitful relationship.

I think the writers kind of muffed Ernst's character here. He's a precision-minded techie, but he's not a prig. I think this is the first time they've shown open contempt for a character.

Comments

[guardianrandy.livejournal.com]

"Prig?" Is that like a slang term? I've never heard anyone say that. Haha

[indigozeal.livejournal.com]

I went to the world's great arbiter of vocabulary matters (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=prig), and they have more or less what I was going for with their first def. Incontrovertible evidence that it is in popular parlance somewhere!