Editing Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai:Volume1 Interval Play (section)

===Part 3===

“Xins, why are you wearing a coat instead of a robe?”

With her silk-like hair blowing in the wind, the young lady said in a singsong voice. 

“Wearing a robe will make me look like a Reciter. How should I say it, I don’t want to be grouped together with them. Therefore, if I don’t wear a robe, I will be considered by people as ‘one of the Reciters seen everywhere’.”

The school had a large campus, and they were on a roof from where the whole campus could be seen.

As long as they pick the right time, there would be nobody else in this kind of place. Alone on here, he would be able to quietly spend the time before school was dismissed. To Xins, this space was one of the few locations where he could rest.

……However, when had it started?

More and more often, Evhemary’s figure had begun to appear on this rooftop. 

“So you want to be conspicuous.”

She covered her smile with her hand. To anyone looking, her movement could be called a sneer rather than a smile. But the young man didn’t mind, because he knew that it was just her style.  

“It was your influence.”

At a place where he had originally hoped for nobody to appear, someone other than him showed up. However, for some reason, she was the only one he permitted. Rather, in the depths of his heart, he even hoped that she could come again next time.

“I also hope that someone will remember me.”

“Oh…….”

She responded appropriately as if it were a play. 

“However, even if you did wear a coat, this deep blue color isn’t eye-catching enough. You should wear a more conspicuous color.”

With a blunt look, she handed him the shopping bag she held in her left hand.  

“This is?”

“For you. My parents had bought it for me, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s too big. Because both males and females can wear it, I think it can probably fit you.”

He reached into the bag and took out the object inside. It was a coat of a color that seemed to be a mix of deep green and cream yellow. As for the size, the sleeves would be a little long if he wore it, although it was definitely too big for her. 

At any rate, it was really a sudden, unique present. Xins suppressed a laugh in his chest, but soon after, he shook his head strongly in his heart.

……No, I’m such an idiot.

Because of his misjudgment, he was lost for words. To him, it was already an unimportant matter. Although that was the degree of his awareness, however— Isn’t today my birthday?

Something that he had forgotten, Evhemary remembered?

“Did you know that today was my birthday?”

As if she was feigning ignorance, she replied in an unfazed voice.  

“Is it? Even though it’s a coincidence, couldn’t this be regarded as just the right time?”

Her expression was the same as always, cold as if she was in a distant place. ……At this time, wouldn’t blushing slightly be the proper reaction of a girl her age?

“Can I try it on?”

“Go ahead. I already gave it to you, so do as you please.”

Sure enough, it’s too big for me to wear. Just when he wanted to laugh bitterly at his clenched fist in the sleeve— Xins caught his breath. He noticed that the tips of his fingers were exposed past the cuff of the coat. The price tag on the sleeve had been forgotten and was still hanging there. 

The sale date was stamped on the price tag. That date was…… yesterday.

“What’s wrong?”

The young lady stared at him in puzzlement. 

What should he say? Would it be more polite to pretend not to have found the price tag, or should he accept it as a birthday present?

“It’s nothing…… Evhemary, thank you. This coat is really warm.”

After he worried about it, he decided to choose the former. He would accept something as a birthday present when she gave it to him for that purpose. 

Soon after, the young man found that it was the right choice.

“You’re welcome. After all, my parents bought it for me, but I can’t wear it.”

It seemed that the sound of her voice was slightly more shy than usual. 

This is fine. If she is acting the same as usual, then I will do the same. Because surely that’s the unspoken rule between us.


Since then…… How many years has it been?

Actually, simply by counting on his fingers, he could immediately get that number. It hadn’t been a very long time. However, from his point of view, the amount of time that had passed was similar to an eternity. 

Wearing the dry grass colored coat, Xins stood on the roof of the guest building. Beside him, on what had long ago become the designated seat, the figure of the person he was waiting for wasn’t there. 

“Where…… are you?”

A sigh mixed in with his voice. His monologue was swept away by the wind. 

After he had graduated middle school, when he was choosing a high school, the two of them had chosen different schools. But there would inevitably be a time when one of their names would be spread throughout the entire world. At that time, the person who had been surpassed would go meet the other. That is what they agreed on. 

After he entered high school, for one year, two years, Xins studied Recitations at an astonishing speed. While he was in high school, he studied three colors. After he graduated, there were numerous research institutes scouting for recruits. He had become known as an unprecedented genius, and there was nobody in that profession who didn’t know his name. 

On the other hand, the name of the young lady who used Night Color Recitations still hadn’t been heard throughout the world. 
And then, on the day he had become the Rainbow Color Reciter.

Many friends and teachers had come to his side— But her figure was not among them. 

What had happened to her? No, more importantly, he didn’t even know whether she was still safe and sound.

'By that time, I would already be dead.'

The heartfelt words she had revealed— In his mind, he recalled her sorrowful face in profile. 

“I can’t meet the person I want, I can’t call out the person I want. Reciters like us, why do we exist?”

With that meaning, those words were more unsuitable for coming out of his mouth than anyone else’s. If it was known that the Rainbow Color Reciter had spoken those kinds of words, what expression would common people have?

“……Hey, Evhemary. Have I still not received your approval?”

He did not receive a reply. The coat, which was smaller now compared to back then, swayed in the wind. Looking up at the sky, the Rainbow Color Reciter closed his eyes.


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