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I'm sorry I can't provide a more specific headline, but it's the overall meaning or the structure of the sentence that I'm struggling with.

It's from a manga (Plunderer, vol. 4). Here's the context:

Licht, the hero, is regarded as a deserter. First lieutenant Jail is hunting him. A lot of things happen and Jail actually ends up helping Licht. In doing so he violates military regulations. He hides Licht, but his superior finds out. On returning to their hideout, Jail tells Licht that he has to take him into custody. He doesn't actually tell him why, but Licht seems to know and says the following:

Bubble 1: さしあたりボクを連行すればボクを信頼させるため止{や}むをえずということにできるとかで...

Bubble 2: 部下たちの命は助けられるって言われた...

Bubble 3: って所かな...？

Now, I think that all of this is one sentence which reads as "You were told that the lives of your subordinates could be saved by/if you [whatever bubble 1 means], or something along those lines, right?"

I thought that bubble 1 must mean something like "If you take me into custody [for now] in order to regain your superior's trust", but that doesn't seem to be the case after all. The parts seem to be there, but they just don't fit together (also, why "ボクを信頼させる"? I feel like I'm missing something here) and then it's all enclosed by "ということにできる". I'm at a loss and I hope that someone can shed light on this issue.

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First, さしあたり doesn't modify 連行すれば but って所かな ("maybe / I guess") and it means how the speaker guesses is just hypothetical.

Edit: I'm thinking it's more natural to interpret さしあたり modifies ということにできる instead. (This interpretation would mean they may punish Jail later, after all.)

ボク(Licht)を信頼させる means that Jail lets Licht believe him.

…ということにできる is the potential form of …ということにする, which is "to regard it as …".

So, the first sentence means, "with an excuse that they (Jail's boss) can regard it (Jail having hidden Licht) as an inevitable action to let me (Licht) believe him or so".

With the second sentence, which is "he (Jail) was told that they could save subordinates' lives".

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  • Thanks for your answer. I still don't quite get it, though. Doesn't さしあたり mean "now" or "for the time being"? How could that modify って所かな? And where does it say that Jail made excuses? I mean, it makes sense that he would, in order to try and save him and his subordinates from being punished, but still. Lastly, why would Jail need to gain Lichts trust (信頼させる) in order to arrest him? That seems like an awfully weak excuse and doesn't really make sense.
    – YanHui
    Oct 16, 2017 at 0:05
  • さしあたり means shallow consideration. So you can interpret it that way too. However, the edited one seems more likely the case, as you say. Their excuse or justification to their policy (as it exactly says ということにできる) is of course done by "them" i.e the agent of ということにできる though you can include Jail himself into "them" as well. As far as your source goes, there's no particular depiction about the issue behind the need for Lichts' trust.
    – user4092
    Oct 17, 2017 at 1:23
  • Aaah, sorry, I thought Jail was the one who makes excuses, but it's his superior. Well, maybe "making excuses" is not the perfect choice of words. My take on the whole passage would now be something like this: "So he told you that if you take me into custody, he would overlook [=make excuses for] your insubordination for now as being neccessary/inevitable to gain my trust. Thus, you could save your subordinates' lives. Am I right?" And that "excuse" of gaining Lichts trust sounds weak, because it is. But the superior actually is the supreme commander, so no one will question his decision.
    – YanHui
    Oct 17, 2017 at 15:41
  • Yes, btw I think the supreme commander all the more needs legitimacy, or other people won't follow him.
    – user4092
    Oct 17, 2017 at 23:55

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