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Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume2 The Third Question

2014-05-06T19:23:28Z

Xiose: broken link

==The Third Question==

'''In order to decide what kind of activity the class should do, can all students please assist in this survey.'''

'What kind of attire is suitable for running a teahouse?'

'''Himeji Mizuki's answer:'''

'A cute apron commonly used at home'.

'''Teacher's comment:'''

It really does have the atmosphere for a school festival, and doesn't require a lot of money, a rather good idea.

'''Tsuchiya Kouta's answer:'''

'Skirt 15cm above the knees, the upper body must be like the skirt, with a nice emphasis on the bustlines while keeping a strong sense of

elegance. I hope that a light blue colour with white as the base colour can be used. The tray should be made of shiny silver that can reflect

the face onto it, and the shop's logo should be on it. The shoes should be high heels, 5cm tall—'

'''Teacher's comment:'''

[[Image:BTS vol 02 077.jpg|thumb]]
You don't have to write on the back of the paper, do you?

'''Akihisa Yoshii's answer:'''

'Brassiere!'

'''Teacher's comment:'''

Sensei believes that you mistook 'brassiere' for 'blazer'. 

"Sakamoto normally looks like an idiot, but his leadership is really impressive."

"Yup, normally, he'll be an ordinary idiot."

It's the morning of the Cool Summer Festival today.

From the normal dirty classroom, our classroom has transformed into a Chinese teahouse.

"On first glance, this table seems really different from what it really is."

The tables placed around the classroom are actually just those cardboard boxes that we use in class. By arranging them neatly and

putting a nice tablecloth over it, even lousy boxes can become a luxurious table.

"Ah, this is done by Kinoshita-san. I don't know where he got this beautiful tablecloth, but he was able to turn them into tables quickly and

skillfully." Himeji-san stares at Hideyoshi with respect.

I see. This tablecloth is a prop that belongs to the drama club. No wonder the quality is so good.

"Hm, though it looks decent, it'll be different once we pull up the tablecloth."

Hideyoshi pulls up the tablecloth. What appears underneath are the dirty cardboard boxes that we're so used to seeing.

"Our shop rating will drop a lot if the customers see this."

Minami came up beside me and observes. She's right. If these kind of lousy cardboard boxes are to be seen, it'll cause our shop to have a

bad reputation.

"It'll be no problem. Nobody will bother to look at them so closely. Even if they're to be discovered, I'll tell that person to hide that secret in

the heart."

"That's right. Nobody would deliberately flip up the tablecloth just to stir trouble."

If there's anyone who'll do this, then that person has no other motive except to disrupt our business.

"The decorations inside the room are pretty as well, so there should be no problems, right?"

For the standards of a school festival, this is rather excessive. With this, there should be a lot of people coming over.

"...The tea's perfect as well."

"WAHH!"

Muttsuriini 's voice suddenly came from behind. He still good at hiding his presence, but I do feel that there's no need for this in everyday

life.

"Muttsuriini , is the kitchen side OK?"

"...Try it."

After saying it, Muttsuriini presents a wooden tub, tea and sesame balls are placed on the ceramic plate.

"Wa...looks yummy..."

"Tsuchiya, you don't mind if I eat this, right?"

"...(nods his head)"

"Then I won't hold back now."

Himeji-san, Minami-san and Hideyoshi all reached their arms out, popping the just fried and warm sesame ball into their mouths.

"Woah, it's good!"

"Ya! Crispy on the outside, yet chewy, the texture is great!"

"Sweet, yet not too sweet, it's good."

The snacks are rated highly. Girls really like sweets huh, all three of them.

"The tea is good as well, this is wonderful..."

"Yeah..."

Himeji-san and Minami look rather dreamy-eyed as they descend into dreamland. Is it really this good?

"Then I'll have one."

Muttsuriini passes the remaining ball over to me.

Because there's no toothpick, I took it with my hand and took a small bite.

"Mmmm, rough and hard on the outside, sticky on this inside, not too sweet or too spicy—ARGHH!!"

A sound that no human can make came out of my mouth, and what appear in front of me are the memories of my 16 years. Ahh, those are

the wonderful...wait a sec, aren't these the final lights before death?

"Ah, Himeji made that."

"...! (Stuffs it in frantically)"

"Mu, Muttsuriini ! Why must you reveal such a terrified expression and stuff that sesame ball into my mouth? Impossible! I can't do it!"

Muttsuriini stuffs the remaining half of the sesame ball into my mouth. This is a special snack that will cause people to see the white lights!

No ordinary person should be allowed to eat it!

"Hey guys, I'm back—"

At time moment, Yuuji came back.

"Ah, Yuuji, welcome back."

"Hm? What's this, this looks good. How's the taste?"

After that, he pops the biochemical weapon that I took a bite off into his mouth without any hesitation.

"...What a great guy."

"Yuuji, you're now emitting the brightest glow here."

"I don't know what you're saying...hmm, rough and hard on the outside, sticky on this inside, a bit too sweet and too spicy—ARGHH!!"

Ah, such a familiar scene.

"Ah—Yuuji, does it taste good?"

I tried to use my eyes to say this to Yuuji, 'Himeji-san made this, you probably won't say anything too much, right?' as he lies on the ground.

However, I can't make eye contact with him, I'm just afraid that he doesn't get the message.

"Hoo, seems like there's no problem."

Yuuji, who's still lying on the ground, finally replies, "Can I cross that bridge now?"

That must be the Sanzu river.

"Yuu, Yuuji! You can't cross it! You can't come back if you cross it!"

Thinking about how one bite can become a fatal blow, the food that Himeji-san makes is still extremely terrifying.

"Eh? What's wrong? What happened to Sakamoto-san?"

Himeji-san, who's been eating the normal sesame ball and living in dreamland, finally senses that something is wrong. It's great that she

didn't see what happened.

"Yeah, Sakamoto, are you alright?"

Up till now, Minami was also stuck in dreamland. Maybe the good sesame balls are delicious, so we can expect a boom in sales.

"There's no problem, he just got a cramp. Oi, Yuu—ji—stand—up—now—"

Anyway, I jokingly called Yuuji to get up. However, my hand is pressing against his heart. Right now, the chances of him surviving are half!

"60,000? Are you kidding!? If you have to pay a toll to cross the river, it has to be the San—ACK!"

Ah, good, he's successfully revived without anyone knowing.

"Yuuji, did your leg get a cramp?"

Before he said something unnecessary, I spoke up. There's no time for eye contact this time.

"A cramp? Are you kidding me, it's that ball—"

"...Then I'll let you have another one."

"I got a cramp because I hardly exercise."

Luckily, Yuuji's mind is good. Even if it's me, I don't want to kill my classmate.

(...Akihisa, I'll kill you one day.)

(...No can do. I'll get rid of you before you can kill me.)

Our little laughter contains a conversation full of killing intent. See, we're rather close.

"Hm, Sakamoto seems to get cramps on his leg very often, huh?"

Not good. The same situation as a while back made Minami suspicious.

"Ah, you see, Yuuji has too much excess fat, right? It's easy to get cramps, just like how Minami gets cramps on her chest, so she should

understand—GUAH!!"

"...There's no need for me to take action, huh."

Yuuji stares at me with much pity as I took a punch from Minami. Why do I feel that this sort of thing has been happening to me too many

times recently...

"Come to think of it, Yuuji, where did you go?"

Hideyoshi changed the topic smoothly. As expected of someone who knows what's going on.

"Hm, I went to discuss something."

It's rare for Yuuji to use such an ambiguous tone.

Actually, he went to decide the subjects under the principal's orders. But we can't say this dishonest method so easily, so Yuuji just made

up an ambiguous answer on the spot.

"Oh, so that's what happened~ it's been hard on you."

Himeji-san won't doubt anyone as she says this, giving a smile. Such an obedient girl.

"Nope, don't mind it. More importantly, the teahouse can operate now, right?"

"That's correct."

"...No problems with the tea and snacks."

Is there really no problem? A hint of unrest crept up in me as I wonder whether the ones Himeji-san made got mixed in.

"Alright, then I'll let Hideyoshi and Muttsuriini handle the teahouse for now. Akihisa and I have to settle the first summoning battle."

After saying this, he pats on the backs of both Hideyoshi and Muttsuriini.

"Eh, you're participating in the summoning tournament as well?"

Minami looks like she's trying to confirm something as she stares at me.

"Eh? Ah, mm, because of some matters."

I gave an ambiguous answer. The school principal told us not to 'tell anyone about the inside story regarding the tickets', thus, I can't talk

about it. But, why not?

"Are you...aiming for the prize...?"

Minami looks over with a probing look.

"Hm—something like that."

To be specific, we just want to exchange the prizes for the improvement in facilities.

If so, can we also exchange the platinum bracelets? According to rumours, there are bracelets that allow a person to summon two

summoned beasts and can also replace teachers to be some sort of witness. Though I don't really want it, it's nice to wear it if I can get it.

"...You want to go there?"

"Eh?"

Minami narrowed her eyes. This, this is...killing intent!

"Yoshii-kun, I also want to know, who do you want to go with?"

Before I noticed it, Himeji-san has gone into battle mode as well.

Both of them must be talking about the tickets.

This is bad! I never intended to go with anyone, just wanted to hand it over to the principal. However, due to the agreement, I can't say the

reason so honestly...

"Akihisa is going with me."

Just as I'm struggling to find an answer, Yuuji quipped.

On hearing this, Minami widened her eyes wide. Ho hum, it's not strange for you to find it weird.

"EH? You're going to use the tickets to go on the 'Happy Journey' with Sakamoto...?"

Because this is a new development that even I'm shocked by it.

You idiot! Who wants to go on a happy journey with Yuuji!? This will cause a super huge misunderstanding!!!

(Akihisa, endure it! That old hag will break the agreement if this gets revealed!!)

Yuuji whispered to me. Though I'm not willing in the slightest, this is for Himeji-san. Looks like Yuuji is enduring the pain of being

misunderstood as a homo. In this situation, I must hang on...

"I refused a few times, but I couldn't get rid of him."

EH? WHAT? I'VE BEEN BETRAYED!!??

"Aki, compared to Kinoshita, you're obviously more attracted to Sakamoto..."

"HOLD ON A MINUTE! I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT 'OBVIOUSLY' MEANT! ALSO, HIDEYOSHI, STOP LOOKING SO LONELY,

EVEN IF IT'S A BIT!!"

Not good. If this keeps up, the wrong information will be leaked to the outside world. My ranking on the 'most suitable to be a homosexual

student' will go up!!

"Yoshii-kun. As you're a guy, if possible, try to be interested in girls..."

"If it was possible, Akihisa wouldn't be so tired."

"YUUJI, PLEASE STOP SAYING THIS AS A MATTER OF FACT!!? YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE ANY INTENTION TO COVER FOR ME!!"

One day, I'll settle the score with this guy.

"Ah, time's almost up. Time to go, Akihisa."

"Ugh! Anyway, it's a misunderstanding!!"

Like a small fry running away and giving some vicious words to defend himself, Yuuji and I leave the classroom behind us.

<span style="font-size: 150%; border: "><center>☆</center></span>

"Ahem—and now, the first summoning battle will officially begin now."

The summoning event is held at the special stage located at the field.

"Before the third battle begins, we won't be showing the battles to outsiders, so do your best."

The one in charge of this is the maths teacher, Kinouchi-sensei, so of course, the topic tested is maths.

"Let's do our best, Ritsuko."

"Nn."

The two girls, who are our opponents, nod their heads. This is truly a scene worth smiling at.

Come to think of it, where have I seen them before...

"Then, summon your beasts."

"Summon!"

As both of them shouted, the familiar magic array appeared beside them. Two miniature head-sized test summon beasts that take the

appearance of the summoners appear from them.

B class, Iwashita Ritsuko, Maths 179 points & B class, Kikuiri Mayumi, Maths 163 points.

Two summoned beasts that possess similar equipment appear opposite. They have Western style helmets and swords. They look like a

much weakened version of Himeji-san's summoned being.

"Then we should start summoning as well."

"Alright."

"Summon."

Our summoned beasts appear. My summoned beast is still equipped with a modified uniform and a wooden sword. On the other hand, the

one hailed as a genius, our class rep's summoned beast is—

"...barehanded?"

It doesn't look like it's holding anything. Is it an invisible sword?

"You idiot, look closely."

Yuuji lets the summoned beast raise its fists for me to inspect,

"Isn't it wearing metal knuckles?"

"You, you small fry! There's small fry here!"

How is it possible to have such a weak summoned beast? Though the knuckles are his weapons, I have never seen a summoned beast

that has such lousy equipment!

"We're coming up, you field trip brothers."

"Ritsuko, that's wrong, they're delinquents."

Our summoned beasts are wearing modified uniforms, one with a wooden sword and one with metal knuckles. Even then, we can't deny the

mocking of the opponent.

F class, Sakamoto Yuuji, Maths 179 points & F class, Yoshii Akihisa, Maths 63 points.

Our marks are shown on the screen as reference.

"Oi, Yu...Yuuji!"

"What?"

"Why's your score so high?"

To think that he got 179, it's comparable to B class. He's supposed to be an idiot! HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE AN IDIOT!!

"Ever since the last summoning battle, I started to study hard in order to beat 'A' class."

For some reason, Yuuji is saying this with an unhappy look.

To be able to improve so much in such a short time? As expected of the man hailed as a genius.

"However, why do you want to work hard?"

Yuuji should be trying to prove that 'those who can't study can still succeed' as he challenged 'A' class. Is there a reason for him not to lose,

even if he has to go against his ideals?

"Before this, Shouko asked me a question."

"What question?"

"...Where do we have our wedding?"

Kirishima-san is really fond of him, eh?

"I CAN'T LOSE NOW!! IF I CAN'T WIN NEXT TIME, MY LIFE...MY LIFE WILL BE...!!!!"

"YUUJI, CALM DOWN! YOU TWO CAN MAKE A HAPPY FAMILY!!"

I held onto Yuuji from the back as he's about to run off the stage.

I see, that's why Yuuji has started to study.

"Can you guys get started?"

Kinouchi-sensei looks at us worriedly, and the other two competitors seem rather surprised.

"Ah, we're sorry. There's no problem, you see."

"I don't want to have the wife's family name...! I don't want to become Kirishima Yuuji—UWAAHH!! WHAT?"

Anyway, let's punch him a few times to get him back to normal. This is another method to repair Yuuji once he's spoilt—the second way.

"Though sensei is a bit worried, please start the match."

After saying this, Kinouchi-sensei started to back away, as according to standard procedures.

Facing against the opponent, our match is about to begin.

"Ritsuko!"

"Mayumi!"

""Let's go!!""

After calling each other's names, both of our opponents nodded their heads, and then start moving about as if they're trying to surround us.

"Oh~ their teamwork is decent."

"It's not bad. For girls when they like to go play housework, it's rather notable."

Yuuji and I nodded at each other. With our deep bonds, we only need to look at each other in order to understand the other person's

thoughts.

"THIS...THIS IS TOO DISRESPECTFUL!!"

"OUR TEAMWORK IS THE STRONGEST!!"

The duo from B class seem a bit angry as they argue back.

Can't stand them. Since it has come to this—let us show you what is real teamwork.

"Yuuji!"

I glance at my partner, my eyes stating my intentions. With our deep relationship, we only need to exchange glances in order to understand

what we're both thinking.

"Akihisa!"

I also nod my head in response to my partner's call. We both then took a deep breath, each saying our own suggestions.

""I'LL LEAVE IT TO YOU!!""

Our suggestions are completely the same as both of us jump back at the same time.

"Yuuji, what's the idea! How do we settle this when both of us want to let the other person handle the opponents!?"

"Nope, this is definitely the time for you to step up, no? I haven't summoned any beasts in the summoning battle the last time, did I?"

"What!? You useless bum! At least you'll be my shield!"

"What do you mean by 'useless'! Your score's like trash!"

"You're rather talkative, eh? ALRIGHT, GET OUT OF HERE!!"

"Just what I wanted!!"

We both grabbed each other's collar. I had never expected him to be this stupid!!

"Boys' friendship is really weird..."

"Good thing we're girls."

EH! They dare to look down on us like that!

"...Ah, ahem."

In order to drag the time on and make our opponents forget about the commotion just now, I coughed for a while and said, "Looks like our

teamwork is evenly matched, huh?"

""EH EH!?""

The two girls responded in unison. What's with them revealing this sort of expression!?

"However, besides observation, we have something called 'intelligence'! Even if our teamwork is comparable, if it's fighting smartly, we'll

definitely win!"

"Don't mind them, that guy is somewhat on that side."

Though it seems that the world's evaluation of me is heading in a certain direction, it's better not to think about it right now.

"Yuuji, hurry up and present the battle plan!"

I said to Yuuji, who's standing beside me. One thing to note is that I had never thought anything related to this battle.

"Alright, this is my battle plan."

Yuuji enthusiastically laid out the battle plan.

"Akihisa is to hold off one of the opponents—"

"Uh huh."

"—And Akihisa is to beat the other opponent at the same time."

"Wouldn't I be doing both things at the same time!?"

I have a feeling that Yuuji made this plan up as he was bored.

"Akihisa! At this point, there's no room for little tricks! Fight with the opponent head on!"

"Though I know that you can't think of anything and just made it up, I understand! We would win if we beat our opponents one on one!"

Our summoned beasts rushed head-on towards the opponents, what battle plan-this is what weaklings will think of!

"Ritsuko, what do we do now?"

"We can't lose to such stupid opponents! Fight them head on!"

"Un!!"

The battle is no longer two on two, but one on one. My opponent is the long haired girl called Ritsuko.

"Hyyaahh!!" The opponent swung her longsword down. I moved in response to her movement and let my summoned beast move

sideways.

"You!!" After the attack was dodged, the opponent came hacking around in large movements. I measured the distance and moved back

by a small bit.

"You bastard! WATCH THIS!!" I let my summoned beast dodge the longsword that's being swung around madly, with the least amount of

movement required.

"Uu...why do I feel that I'm bullying the weak?"

The opponent doesn't look like she can control her summoned beast so well.

Come to think of it, she was beaten by Himeji-san in one hit. That was a rare chance for her to gain some experience, yet she was forced

out of the battle in a moment. It's obvious that she can't control her summoned beast.

Even so, it'll be endless if I continue to dodge.

"Guess it's time for me—to fight back!" After avoiding these huge movements, my body double grips hard onto the wooden sword and turns

defense into attack.

"EH? WAAHH! KYYYAHHH!!" If I wasn't aiming for the gaps between the armour plates, my attacks wouldn't have any effect at all. In an

instant, I aimed for the opponent's brow, neck and thigh. Since my attack is weak, we'll decide this by the number of hits!

...However, wearing a modified uniform and wielding a wooden sword to attack a girl crazily, I look like a bad guy no matter what...

"HUAHHHHAHAHA!! USELESS! IT'S USELESS!!"

Why do I feel that there's a much more vicious voice coming from afar? While being wary of the opponent, I glanced to the other side. In

front of me, there's a beast wielding knuckles versus a weird beast wielding a longsword. Metal knuckles are unexpectedly vicious.

"...As an educator, I really wish that Sakamoto and Yoshii would lose."

I heard Kinouchi-sensei mutter this. This current scene probably reminds him of cute girls being bullied by delinquents. If I wasn't the one

involved, I would definitely agree with him.

"HERE'S THE FINAL BLOW!!" Yuuji delivered a punch from the summoned beast into the opponent's abdomen. Yuuji is different from me,

his marks are great, and thus his summoned beast's power is great, thus the fist can hit through the armour onto the main body.

"Then, I guess I should end this."

Though my power is weak, the battered opponent was hit by numerous attacks, and now unable to endure this one full-power hit. Just like

this, everything was over.

"Uuuuu!! This is too much!!!"

"To think that we lost to the likes of them!!"

Both our opponents glared at us.

Sigh, to be described as 'the likes of them', it really hurts me.

"...The winners are Sakamoto and Yoshii."

Kinouchi-sensei doesn't look pleased at all as he announces this. Anyway, we have passed one stage.

"We got a win, Akihisa."

"Yup."

Yuuji's battle prowess is unexpectedly strong. This made me feel relieved. He didn't meet any trouble during the battle just now, what a

guy, to be able to do everything.

"Then, let us—"

"Mm."

We reveal a smile, extending our hand out to each other.

"SETTLE THE OUTCOME OF WHAT HAPPENED JUST NOW, YOU BASTARD!!!"

"THAT'S MY LINE, YOU IDIOT!!!"

After our deathmatch, our friendship just got stronger.

<span style="font-size: 150%; border: "><center>☆</center></span>

"Akihisa and Yuuji, can both of you stop fighting and get back to the classroom?"

Just as I was confirming my friendship with my partner, Hideyoshi rushed over to the special stage at the field. Looking at him being so

breathless, it seems that there's something important.

"Eh? There's something on at the teahouse?"

"Mn, we got some troublesome customers. Sorry, can we talk as we move?"

"Ah, ngh, I got it."

Yuuji and I followed Hideyoshi. It seems like there's really something wrong at the shop.

"...Is someone interrupting our business?"

Yuuji narrows his eyes as he walks. This look is similar to the one he showed when he met the principal. He must have thought of

something.

"Ah haha, how is that possible? There can't possibly be anyone who'll disrupt other people's business, right? Even if they did this, I don't

think there's any benefit."

The most is that we won't be able to concentrate fully on the tournament.

"Nope, it's like what Yuuji guessed."

Hideyoshi tilts his perfect face. Don't tell me someone came to pick on us?

"They're third-years from our school."

It's not much of a problem if it's outsiders, but third years? Really, they should be the most mature students.

In truth, Yuuji can really fight, so he's the most suited for this.

"Is this an attitude of trying to request others for help?...Never mind. If the teahouse isn't successful, the Himeji that Akihisa likes so much will

be transferring schools. I'll help out."

"OI! I didn't even mention this...!!"

"Ah—I got it, I got it."

"I can't even tell that from your attitude!"

As I walked, I grumbled at Yuuji who made fun of me. As we walked, we arrived in front of the classroom. Though the classroom is nearby,

noise can be heard from inside, loud enough to be heard throughout the corridor.

"Uu, it's those guys."

"Then, let me settle this."

Moving his neck, making a cracking sound, Yuuji places his hand on the door. Really, his strength becomes so uncontrollable when this

sort of thing happens.

"THIS TABLE IS SO DIRTY!! CAN YOU EVEN SERVE FOOD ON IT!?"

Once Yuuji opened the door, the insults came flying to our ears. Seems like they're unhappy that we're using the tablecloths to cover the

cardboard boxes, so they flipped the tablecloths over and made a ruckus. Really, they're just like delinquents.

"Wow...this is really bad..."

"Looks like the shop owners are trying to pull a fast one on us."

"Even if it's only a school festival, it's still a food store, no...?"

On seeing this, the customers started to murmur. Not good. For a teahouse, these kind of negative remarks are rather serious.

"Yuuji, the business would be badly affected if we don't settle this."

"You're right...Hideyoshi, come over here for a while."

"Is there anything you need?"

"I need you to prepare something."

Yuuji whispered a few words to Hideyoshi. Since he's asking Hideyoshi, maybe he's requesting for some props from the drama club?

"I can prepare it...but we have only two of them."

"That's enough, I'll get some from another place later."

"Understood, then I'll go and come back fast."

After saying this, Hideyoshi gathered a few classmates and quickly left.

"Akihisa, remember the features of those punks."

Yuuji gave me these commands before he slowly and heavily approached the customers who were still grumbling.

"...Though I don't know what's going on, no problem."

Yuuji probably intends to take revenge after this. Anyway, better remember how they look like.

There are two people who are looking for trouble, and both of them are boys. One of them is of normal build and has a rare Mohican

hairstyle. The other one is also of normal build, 175cm tall, and bald. It's easy to remember the hairstyles that these two guys have.

"Really, is the representative not here? The class representative—OOOHH!"

"I'm the class representative, Sakamoto Yuuji. Is there anything that you're unsatisfied with the shop?"

Like a shop attendant, Yuuji lowers his head. He wouldn't seem any different from a model shop owner if he didn't punch the guy before he

spoke.

"I'm not really unhappy, but my companion got punched..."

The Mohican head that wasn't punched looked surprised. This is to be expected. Even I would be shocked if my friend got punched away.

"Is this an insult to my motto of—'starting communication with a fist'?"

Such a terrifying method of communication.

"Stop, stop joking, you bastard...! What kind of communication is that?"

"After that, it'll be 'a kick to proceed with the conversation'. Lastly, there would be 'a trip to end this conversation' waiting for you."

"I, I got it! We'll let Shunpei talk with you! I didn't do anything, no need to negotiate with me!"

"Wa...wait a sec, Tsunemura! You're selling me out!!?"

The one panicking as he said this is the baldy, the guy called Shunpei. Since it's so hard to remember his name, I'll just call them 'Shunpei

baldy, and Mohican Tsunemura'.

"Now, Toko-Natsu<ref>The names given for the two guys are 常村勇作, Tsunemura Yūsaku and 夏川俊平, Natsukawa Shunpei. Combining the 常 and 夏

(the collective name of the duo), we'll get Toko-Natsu, not TsuneNatsu.</ref> group, do you still want to negotiate?"

Ah, Yuuji took off his mask. Looks like he can't maintain this polite attitude for long.

Come to think of it, it's really nice to call them the Toko-Natsu group. I'll give you credit for that.

"No, that's enough. We'll leave."

"Is that so? Then..."

After nodding his head hard, Yuuji grabbed Tsunemura's (baldy) waist.

"OI! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING, NO? WHY MUST I GET THIS THEATR—WAHH!!"

"With this, our negotiations are complete."

After doing a reverse slam, Yuuji stood up without any problems. If possible, I hope that this kind of communication method won't spread

about.

"You, you better remember it!!"

The Mohican-head senpai carried his accomplice, who fainted, and left the scene. With this the problem should be settled—

"We can't really carry on eating now."

"Too bad, they have such wonderful food."

"Looks like we'll get stomachaches if we eat these."

—well, maybe.

The secret of the tables is exposed to everyone. At this moment, a rattling sound is heard as someone stood up. It's the director of studies,

Fukuhara-sensei. Did he specially came over to support our class?

"Let's change shops."

"Then let's do it."

"Ah, excuse me, distinguished guests."

Once someone stood up, the remaining customers left their seats. This should be called mass psychology. In this situation, the bad

assessment will spread throughout the school like wildfire.

"We're very sorry. Because the restaurant was so packed, we couldn't get the tables here in time, and had to use these boxes for now.

However, the real tables are here now, so everyone, please continue eating your meals."

Yuuji bows towards the customers that were preparing to leave. Behind him, Hideyoshi and several other boys are moving some high

quality tables here.

Are those... the large props tables from the drama club? I see. We can show the customers that we care about hygiene. Seems like Yuuji

has thought about how others view this teahouse.

"Eh? We're changing tables?"

At this moment, a girl's voice can be heard from behind.

"Ah, welcome back, Minami and Himeji-san, how's the first battle?"

"Hm, at least we won."

Himeji-san gave a victory handsign. Though I don't feel that she's someone who focuses a lot on winning, but in this situation, it's definite

that she would want to win.

"Forget about that, can we change the tables now? The drama club doesn't have that many tables, no?"

Minami is right. Hideyoshi just said that there are only two tables. But come to think of it, we can't let the remaining tables be like this...

"Then, we'll change every single table one by one once they arrive. All customers who haven't finished their meals, please move to these

tables and finish up."

After saying this, Yuuji moved to the corridor, where we were standing.

"Hoo, we can only do this for now."

Yuuji sighs lightly. Maybe using such politeness for quite a while makes him tired.

"You've worked hard, Yuuji."

"Though I don't know what's going on, it's been hard on you."

"You've worked hard."

"Oh, Himeji and Shimada? From what I can tell from seeing your faces, it seems that you have won."

Though he's saying this, Yuuji doesn't look like he's worried about whether both of them would win. From the looks of it, it seems like he's

confident that they will win if they work together.

"Well, ya. Forget about that, how's the teahouse?"

Because of the commotion just now, a lot of customers had left. The success of the teahouse would be closely related to whether

Himeji-san would be staying. We can't let it fail now.

"It'll be alright if someone doesn't come over and mess things up."

Yuuji's tone made me feel weird. It's like he's expecting people to create even more trouble...

"Excuse me, are the tables we brought in enough?"

"Ah, yeah. About this...Akihisa, how much longer till the second match?"

I look at my watch. Our next match starts at 11am, so—

"About an hour."

"Really? We don't have much time then...I'll be gone for a while. Akihisa, follow me."

Yuuji points his fingers and signals for me to follow.

"Is it alright for us to not help?"

Not being called, Minami asks this. Seems like Minami also wants to work hard for Himeji-san. I'm really happy about this enthusiasm.

"You two are to stay here and be waitresses. Use your smiles to try and change their bad impressions, got it?"

"Yes! I'll do my best!"

Of course, Himeji-san is really enthusiastic about this. So good...I want to be one of the customers and enjoy her smile.

"Oi, Akihisa, we're going."

"Ah, nn. Where are we going?"

As I called Yuuji, his lips curl up evilly, saying "We're looking for tables."

An evil smile appears on Yuuji's face.

<span style="font-size: 150%; border: "><center>☆</center></span>

"YOSHII-KUN!! SAKAMOTO-KUN!! TODAY, I WILL DEFINITELY NOT FORGIVE YOU!!!"

"AKIHISA, RUN!! WE'LL BE SENT TO THE LIFE COUNSELLING ROOM IF WE DILLY DALLY!!!"

"IRONMAN'S BASE??! STOP JOKING!!!"

We continued to dash down the corridor, running away from Takehara-sensei, who was chasing after us.

Why are we running? Because there's a staircase in front of us—of course it's not like that.

"WE WORKED SO HARD TO GET THESE TABLES!! DON'T DROP THEM!!"

"I GOT IT!"

It's because we stole the tables from the school's waiting room.

"Come to think...of it...why, can, they, run, so, fast, even, with, those, tables..."

Hasegawa-sensei, who was running behind Takehara-sensei, said those incomprehensible words. Is sensei not physically fit enough

since he's not taking P.E. lessons?"

"Anyway, once we get these into the teahouse, they're ours! Even if they're teachers, they can't confiscate these tables when ordinary

customers are using them!!"

This despicable bastard! Thanks to him, my reputation has been hit really badly.

"If so, we'll get Nishimura-sensei to help—"

Takehara-sensei whips out his phone. That Nishimura is IRONMAN!! Trying to avoid Ironman in this situation is like trying to step into the

sky!!

"Akihisa!!"

"Got it!!"

I kicked a slipper above Yuuji as I ran.

"Eat this!!"

"Wahh!!"

At that moment, Yuuji instantly does an acrobatic bicycle kick on that slipper. This shot lands directly onto Takehara-sensei's wrist. The

cellphone flies in mid-air before rolling onto the floor of the corridor.

"Then, we wish for the good health of the teachers. Bye bye!!"

"Ahh, my slipper..."

As Takehara-sensei picks up his phone, we dashed forward, and making sure that the teachers can't find us, we put the tables down

before sending the location to Hideyoshi's cellphone. Now, our classmates should come out and bring the tables back to the teahouse.

"Yosh! Now for the waiting room of the teacher's office. After this, we'll go for the second match!"

"Hoo...Yuuji and I would definitely be suspended after this..."

Thanks to us using all sorts of unscrupulous tactics to steal tables from all over the school, we finally managed to get enough tables. Now,

the bad comments will vanish, and there wouldn't be too many problems with the teahouse.

<span style="font-size: 150%; border: "><center>☆</center></span>

[[Image:BTS vol 02 101.jpg|thumb]]
"Then, who's our next opponent in the second match?"

I asked Yuuji as both of us headed towards the special stage.

As both of us worked on the 'battle of taking the tables', we didn't really have enough time to investigate who our next opponents would be. I

just hope that the opponent is really weak.

"From the schedule, it seems that we will win, just like I predicted."

I look at where Yuuji was looking. At this moment, our opponents had already gotten into position and were waiting.

"Oh my? And I thought who they are. They're the love-birds class representatives from class B and C."

"Yo...Yoshii and Sakamoto!? You're our opponents?"

The people who made our faces cringe are the representatives of class B and C, Nemoto-san and Koyama-san. Are the two of them

dating?

"What now, Nemoto-san? Since our opponents are the idiots from class F, wouldn't this be an automatic win?"

Hm—to say such bad things about others. Koyama-san's personality is still rather bad.

Being with Nemoto-san really suits her. This is a really irritating couple.

"And now, the second match of the summoning tournament will begin."

At least the English teacher, Endo-sensei, would cut some slack.

"Summon."

The four students present summoned their beasts.

B class, Nemoto Kyoji, English 199 points & C class, Koyama Yuuka, English 165 points.

As expected of the class representatives of B and C teaming up, their marks are rather good.

F class, Sakamoto Yuuji, English 73 points & F class, Akihisa Yoshii, English 59 points.

Yuuji and my marks are also shown on the screen.

English isn't my best subject, and Yuuji hasn't started studying English, so our marks are a lot inferior.

Even so, Yuuji didn't choose this subject in the first round, but the second round. Now I know the reason. Because we couldn't use any tricks

in the first round, but we can do so now in the second round.

"Then, Yuuji, bring that thing out."

If the opponent is Nemoto-san, this guy wouldn't forget to bring it.

"Oh? Are you talking about this?"

After saying this, Yuuji pulls out something. It's the exclusive album of Nemoto Kyoji's photos 'Come look at the new me!' Honestly, even if

I'm told to look at it, I don't even want to look at it...

"THAT, THAT IS...!!"

Nemoto-san's face immediately froze.

These are the photos of Nemoto-san forced into female clothes when he lost during the last summoning battle. If possible, he might want to

bring this together into his grave. However, this is punishment for him toying with Himeji-san's feelings during the last summoning battle!! I

won't let him off so easily!!

"Then Nemoto-san, if you don't want us to spread these around—"

While I was speaking, someone tapped me on the shoulder several times. What now?

"Oi oi oi, I say, Akihisa, you're talking to the wrong person!"

"Eh? Really?"

Seems like the person who tapped my shoulder was Yuuji. But besides Nemoto-san, who can I negotiate with...

"Oi, I don't know whether you're Nemoto's girlfriend or just class C's representative, the girl down there, listen up."

"What?"

Koyama-san looked rather surprised as she stared at the photo album in Yuuji's hand. Seems like she doesn't know what they are.

"Look at this."

After saying this, Yuuji flips open to the first page. Inside, there's a photo of Nemoto-san wearing a skirt and staring shyly far away.

"SA, SAKAMOTO! I GOT IT!! I GOT IT!! PLEASE...THAT ALBUM...!!"

Ah, unknowingly, we won. This is so boring.

"Akihisa, hold down Nemoto."

"Ngn, got it."

I followed Yuuji's instructions, pulling Nemoto-san from behind as he tried to grab that album away.

"Alright, then, class C's representative. If you want this album, lose to us."

"SA,SAKAMOTO!! ARE YOU THE DEVIL!!!??"

Nemoto-san let out a sobbing sound. Seeing such a tragic scene, even I would find it rather sad.

Using this form of negotiation, not only would Nemoto-san lose the match, his (probable?) girlfriend will also see the album of his

embarrassing photos. To him, it's not even raining, it's pouring.

"...I accept. It'll be our loss."

"I guess that means we have an agreement."

[[Image:BTS vol 02 105.jpg|thumb]]
An evil smile appeared on Yuuji's face.

"Yuu, YUUKA!? PLLLEAASSEE!! DON'T LOOK!!"

Nemoto-san's pleas seem so empty, because Koyama-san is flipping through the photo album.

"Akihisa, the winner has been decided. I'm worried about the state of the teahouse. Let's go."

"You're right. Then, Endo-sensei, we win."

I didn't forget to remind Endo-sensei, who had also gone over to peek at the album.

"Ah, yes! The winners are Sakamoto and Yoshii!!"

Now that we have gotten our victory confirmed, we're into the third round. Good, good, good.

'...We're breaking up."

"WAIT, WAIT A SEC!! THERE'S A REASON...!!!!"

We don't have to listen to these sudden words. Someone said before that people who trample on other people's feelings will receive great

retribution, so it's true...

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>

{{BakaTest Nav|prev=Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume2_The_Second_Question|next=Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume2_The_Fourth_Question}}
</noinclude>

Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai:Volume2 Final Play

2013-08-01T07:42:41Z

Xiose: Undo revision 274239 by Xiose (talk)

==Final Play: Everyone Sings, O Path of the Singing Spear User==

===Part 1===

Over his shoulder, Zessel could hear the breathing of his colleague who he carried on his back. She took weak, shallow breaths.

—Kate’s bleeding wasn't stopping.

“It’s only a bit farther, so hang on!”

There was no response from the woman he was carrying.

“……Hang on until then!”

From the preparation he had done before coming here, he knew that there was a door at the farthest end of the main hall which they could use to escape outside.

Zessel felt dizzy and had a headache. But even so, he continued to run.

<div align="center">***</div>

“……It’s so quiet.”

Was this the changing room? Rows of lockers were filled with staff lab clothing. Neight was hidden quietly inside one of the lockers.

……Kate-sensei.

In order to allow him and Ada to escape, their teacher had stayed behind, alone.

“—I……”

He felt a powerlessness similar to what he had felt during the recital contest. But the major difference was that now, he was truly alone in this place.

Arma, who had always been by his side, was not here. Mio, who had prepared a Night-colored catalyst for him, was not here. Finally, Kluele, who had watched over him as he recited, was not here.

……Am I alone again?

A long, long time ago, when he had still been in the custody of the orphanage, there hadn’t been anyone he could talk to or rely on. So whenever morning came and he felt lonely, he would always want to hide under his futon. He wished for night to continue on forever and ever.

But.

He had been picked up by his mother, who had now passed away. Ever since then, something had begun to change little by little. He had met Arma and come to Tremia Academy where he met many people. He had met a kind girl with scarlet hair, the Reciter who continued to keep his promise with Mother, and also many classmates.

“That’s why it’s different now.”

There were people who would stay by his side. He just couldn’t meet them right now since he was hiding here. There was no point in him continuing to hide like this.

“I need to go find them.”

Neight opened the locker door just a crack and looked around at his surroundings. There weren’t any of snakes or lizards nearby.

He exited the changing room and headed down the hallway in the direction he had come from.

But after less than a few seconds, he felt something strange underfoot. He was shaking. Was he scared? No, that wasn’t right. This was—

“What is this…… An earthquake?”

===Part 2===

Silently, the glow of the light fairy disappeared. Was it another grey Recited creature? Enne instantly became on guard, but after a while, she let out a sigh of relief.

After she composed herself and looked around, there was nothing worth taking notice of. The light of the fairy had simply been hidden by another light.

A faint beam of light lit up the dark hallway. It leaked out from behind a closed door and shone like rays of sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees.

“……That must be the main hall.”

Enne knew that Zessel was talking to himself, but she nodded anyways.

Within the research institute blanketed in darkness, only the main hall deep inside the building was lit up. It would be a lie to call this just a coincidence. Judging from the situation until now, the possibility that they had arrived at a completely safe location was nearly zero. Even deciding whether or not to enter the room would be a risky bet. What awaited them there was probably—

……However, they had no choice but to enter. Beyond the door was a place to take refuge. Kate’s body couldn’t endure much longer. They had to make a quick decision and head for medical supplies.

Zessel kicked open the door. Even though the brightness of the room was forcing him to close his eyes, he took a look around the room.

Squinting, Enne looked around.

—So it’s like this, huh?

She gritted her teeth. Finally, they could see through the troublesome farce.

“So this is the cause of everything.”

In the center of the spacious room, lying on an ornate lantern studded with gemstones, was a grey <Egg>. It was just like a grey king sitting on a throne that shone with five colors. Glancing around, Enne and Zessel could see five colored <Eggs> in the corners of the room.

“……So this really is an institution just for refining these catalysts.”

Zessel, who carried Kate on his back, muttered sarcastically.

He had heard that one <Egg> of each of the five colors had been brought to Tremia Academy.

If so, then it wouldn’t be unusual to have a fair number of <Eggs> still remaining in this institute.

“Did an <Egg> run wild in this research institute as well?”

“We can’t say for sure yet.”

Enne shook her head lightly.

She had heard that only catalysts of the five existing colors had been brought to the campus. If the <Eggs> refined in this institute were only of those five colors, then just what was that grey <Egg>? Furthermore, they hadn’t seen any grey <Eggs> so far except for the one in this room. A single catalyst going out of control wouldn't make sense considering the large number of grey Recited creatures. To call out so many of them, there would need to be at least two, no, at least three <Eggs>.

And then there were the words written in blood on the stone monument……

—That’s enough.

“We should stop worrying about the complicated situation for now.”

Right now, they didn’t need to analyze the situation. Safely overcoming this dilemma and escaping was their top priority.

“Zessel, don’t touch that catalyst.”

Touching the <Egg> would force someone to conduct a Recitation. Although they didn’t know what the trick behind that was, it had already been proven before during the recital contest.

“……Kate, hang on.”

Kate already had no strength left to raise her upper body. Although he also looked tired himself, Zessel shifted the position of Kate on his back.

In the back of the room, standing out from the grey walls surrounding it, was a scarlet door. It was like what he had seen on a map of the research institute. Going through that door should lead outside.

Suddenly.

“……An earthquake?”

Zessel raised an eyebrow slightly. As if in harmony with that movement, Enne felt faint vibrations at her feet. Dry flakes of paint peeled off from the ceiling.

It felt strange. She had experienced this feeling before.

Deja-vu? No, it was different. She, Zessel, Mirror, and Xins had felt the ground shake in exactly the same way during the recital contest.

The <Egg> was going out of control. Back then, the ground had rumbled as the creature came into existence.

“Enne!”

Zessel's tone of voice changed into one that sounded like there was a scream or warning mixed in. On the other side of the door they had come in from, grey creatures slowly crawled forth from the shadows of the corridor.

“Damn, just how many traps did they set?!”

“Zessel, let’s hurry! We can’t handle all of—”

—Her feet stopped.

“…………No way.”

Of the egg-shaped catalysts that rolled around freely in the four corners of the room, two were activated and emitting light. It would be fine if that was the only thing. But the problem was, they were the two <Eggs> closest to their escape route.

The Recitation light disappeared and a Recited creature emerged from each of the two used <Eggs>.

Behind Enne and Zessel were a group of grey Recited creatures. Floating in front of them was a {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}} and coiled up beside that was an Amphisbaena with a green body.<ref>Literally written as {{Furigana|two-headed viper|Amphisbaena}}. In Greek mythology, the amphisbaena are two-headed ant-eating serpents that spawned from the blood dripping from Medusa’s head.</ref>

—They were surrounded. The circle of creatures gradually closed in around them.

“Kate…… I’ll do what I can, but…… Sorry, this might turn into the worst possible scenario.”

Slithering on the floor, the Amphisbaena came at them from below. Grey snakes crawled along the ceiling. On either side were grey lizards and the {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}}.

There were too many of them!

——[{{Furigana|Keinez|Red Song}}]——

Aiming at the several grey lizards that were closest to him, Zessel called out roaring flames. However, the flames were suppressed enough that they wouldn’t flare up and backfire. Zessel could clearly see grey shadows continuing to advance within the crimson heat wave.

—This much fire isn’t enough to stop them?

In order to defeat the Amphisbaena coming at them from the front, Enne shifted her position.

She took an instant to glance at her colleague. Nearly two meters directly behind him was the {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}}. It had silently crept up so close behind him that it frightened her. Its attack range should be about as far as the height of a person. Then that distance was— Oh no!

“Zessel, behind you!”

Zessel quickly turned around. Because the {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}} was too close, he reflexively backed up. But before he could do so, his knees buckled. In the face of imminent danger, he had forgotten that he still carried Kate on his back. Her weight hindered his movements.

The light emitted by the {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}} changed from yellow to blue. Silk-like threads shot out from its glowing spherical body.

Zessel instinctively realized that couldn’t dodge them.

'''''Get down'''''<br/>
''O muas dowa''

……Get down?

Before Zessel could comprehend those words, both he and Kate fell to the ground as if guided by the power of the Serafeno Musical Language.

The scarlet door that led to their escape route turned an even brighter shade of red.

At that instant, the door burst apart with a loud noise. The splinters of the smashed door struck the {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}} in front of Zessel and crashed into the walls of the room at high speed.

……What just happened?

A giant crimson bird came to a stop on the floor of the large room in a way that couldn’t be called elegant.

Was that the {{Furigana|Divine Bird of Dawn|Phoenix}}?

Enne froze, even forgetting about her surroundings. Before her eyes was the extremely rare and famous Recited creature that had become like a fantasy among Reciters.

“Quick, Enne-sensei, come over here!”

“Ada?”

Seeing the face of the girl who rode the giant bird, Enne was dazed and speechless.

“Zessel-sensei, get on with Kate-sensei!”

Another girl, one with hair the same color as the divine bird’s wings, beckoned them over.

“Are you Kluele?”

Zessel opened his eyes. He realized that this was probably one of the students he had taught a lecture to.

“Sensei, do you know where Chibi-kun is?”

Ada jumped off the divine bird’s back. In her hand was— a long spear that gleamed metallically?

“Chibi?”

“Ah, I mean Neight-kun. He came here with me and Kate-sensei.”

“……Sorry, but we haven’t seen anyone other than Kate.”

But contrary to the teachers’ expectations, the light-hearted expression remained on Ada's face.

“It’s okay, it’s fine just knowing that. If we look around, we should be able to find him.”

Tossing only those words over her shoulder, Ada calmly walked away from them by herself. Did she really intend to go look for Neight?

“……A-Ada! What are you doing?!”

All at once, the Recited creatures that had paused in their steps now attacked the girl who walked through the main hall away from the {{Furigana|Divine Bird of Dawn|Phoenix}}.

“Ada, behind you!”

Kluele yelled, still sitting on the back of the divine bird.

Directly behind Ada was the {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}} that should have been thrown back into the wall.

But despite the warning, Ada did not turn around.

“—Got it.”

The {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}} stretched out a glowing tentacle. At the same time, with her back facing it, Ada stabbed her spear behind her. The glowing tentacle and the spear passed by each other—

“The {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}}’s attack range is 1.673 meters. On the other hand, my {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} is 1.895 meters.”

The glowing tentacle stopped only a finger-width away from Ada’s back.

However, the girl’s spear pierced the {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}}, which began to shudder.

“In other words, if I hold my spear at 0.2 meters away from one end and stab it out, the enemy’s attack will miss me by 0.022 meters.”

Miss. As Ada spoke that word, the {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}} turned into specks of light and was sent away.

She had been…… only 2.2 centimeters away from death.

Ada still didn’t turn around to face her opponent. No, she hadn’t even looked at the spear she was holding. If she had gripped her spear only a finger-width farther down, what would have happened?

“I definitely won’t make a mistake, not even by a millimeter.”

As if reading their minds, Ada muttered.

“……That much practice has been hammered into me ever since I was young.”

Her voice sounded strangely sad.

Difficulty to suppress— Easy.

Enne finally understood why the girl hadn’t turned around to look at her opponent.

It could be described as ‘not interested’. Ada’s gaze had already turned to the next enemy she needed to defeat.

“There are twenty-seven creatures in total, thirteen of which I don’t know details about.”

The Amphisbaena attacked from below.

Fangs dripping with poison touched the end of Ada’s foot— The distance between them created that illusion, but the snake’s fangs cut only empty air.

Raising its heads, the Recited creature emitted a green Recitation light and was sent away.

“Twenty-six left. Yeah, I’ll be just fine. It’ll be easier to search for Chibi-kun after I finish them off.”

Ada stood behind the snake.

—She’s fast. No…… more like graceful?

She moved her body smoothly and naturally. If she were to move like that underwater, probably not a single ripple would form on the water’s surface. Her movements were so fluid that they could be thought of like that. Enne still couldn’t comprehend how Ada had dodged the attacking snake just now.

“Finish them…… all off?”

This was the girl who had been taking Enne’s practice test only yesterday. Remembering the name written on the exam sheet, Enne’s breath caught in her throat.

Ada Yung Gillshuvesher.

{{Furigana|Master of the Exorcist Spear|Gillshuvesher}}— Enne had heard that it was the greatest title among {{Furigana|Exorcists|Gillshe}}. Had this young sixteen-year-old girl already earned that title?

Even Klaus, the leader of the {{Furigana|Exorcists|Gillshe}} had earned the title in his twenties. But this girl who was studying Recitations at a Recitation school had already gotten it?

She couldn’t believe it so suddenly, but the scene before her eyes was an undeniable truth.

The girl danced, leaving behind only the quiet sound of her breathing. She directly confronted the Recited creatures with her own body.

This dance in which she wagered her life made even those watching feel afraid.

Was that because it was dangerous? No, the dance itself sent shivers up their spines.

Ada attacked the large snakes dropping from the ceiling while dodging the Amphisbaena by her feet and evading the lizards' claws by only a few millimeters. Synchronized with her amazing movements, the metallic spear was like a whip, cutting through the air as it attacked its enemies.

Delicate yet bold. Quick yet serene. Magnificent yet cruel. Even though it was just a spear, it was as sharp as a sword. Even though it was just a spear, it drew curves as beautifully as a bow.

In the first place, even though she was just a single girl, there were nearly thirty enemies. All of them attacked Ada as if they had forgotten everyone else. But despite being surrounded on all four sides, the girl danced without pausing even once. It was a dance of death filled with such tension that even Enne’s heartbeat seemed to freeze. But even so, there was no rage or impatience in Ada.

……No, she wasn’t the student Enne knew. She wasn’t the Reciter Enne knew. She was— Someone who shouldn’t be a Reciter.

Ada swung the spear, cutting down two more enemies at once. As Recitation light streamed out in their throes of death, the Recited creatures were sent away one by one.

There were thirteen remaining. Then, the girl’s movements stopped for the first time.

Ada carried the spear in her right hand, with her left hand hanging loosely at her side.

“Ada, your left hand!”

As if compelled by Kluele’s scream, Enne looked at Ada’s hand…… And her breath caught in her throat. On Ada’s tanned brown arm, her wrist that had turned grey was strikingly visible.

“……Did I get grazed?”

A monotonous voice escaped Ada’s lips. The remaining thirteen creatures before her were all grey Recited creatures.

“Ada, that’s enough! Step away from them!”

The girl had singlehandedly defeated more than a dozen Recited creatures. It was more than enough. She and the others needed to quickly escape this institution.

“I can’t do that.”

With her back facing them, Ada shook her head defiantly.

“Ada!”

Why? Why was she so persistent? What could she do, with one arm already turned to stone?

“……Because I’m a useless girl.”

That’s right. A useless girl who wanted to be a Reciter but couldn’t— Was it Enne’s imagination? She thought she heard Ada say those words.

Front, back, left, right. A group of Recited creatures advanced from every direction. It wasn’t a number that could be easily dealt with. What did Ada intend to do with only one hand?

At that moment, Ada shouted out.

“Sensei, what color?”

—Out of the five colors, which color was the Reverse Song of Grey Recitations closest to?

Only Enne understood the meaning behind Ada’s words. Perhaps that was because she had been this {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}}’s ‘teacher’, even if for not a very long time.

“It’s the color that you chose!”

Enne used all of the air remaining in her lungs to convey that message to the girl.

Instead of replying, the tip of the spear that Ada held shone white. The pearl embedded in the spear tip became active as a gemstone for reversing Recitations.

Then, the {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} pierced her left hand with her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}.

There was a sound like glass shattering.

With a clear, crisp sound, the curse that had turned her arm to stone was instantly exorcised. The movements of the grey Recited creatures slowed down, as if they understood the implication behind it. They hesitated for less than the blink of an eye. It was a length of time that couldn’t even be called an opening. However, that was more than enough for the {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} girl.

——[{{Furigana|Nussis|Return}}]——

Leaving behind only afterimages of the spear tip, the white, shining {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} swung in all directions. Like steam rising up, all of the Recited creatures remaining in the room emitted white smoke and disappeared.

As if yielding her body to the smoke, the girl holding the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} quietly closed her eyes.

===Part 3===

The faint tremors stopped. Just how long had they gone on for?

Quickly rising to his feet, Neight glanced around at his surroundings.

The single path out seemed to gradually curve to the right. Because he had escaped by running down the left fork, taking that path should lead him straight ahead of where he was before.

……Nothing’s out there, right?

Although he checked behind him every few seconds, there were no signs of the mysterious grey creatures chasing after him. Because the hallway lights were off, he continued forward by relying on the emergency lights.

“Evacuation…… route.”

Those words were engraved on a plate attached to the wall of the hallway.

If he were to continue farther down this path, he should reach an evacuation door.

He continued to walk forward again, but before he could take a step— His body trembled.

“E-Eh?”

It wasn’t just his body. The floor, the walls, the ceiling. Everything trembled like they were screaming.

An earthquake? And it was larger than the one that happened a little while ago.

……Just what was going on?

<div align="center">***</div>

“Ada, that was amazing! I never knew you could do that!”

As her classmate carrying a spear returned, Kluele involuntarily cheered.

She had known that Ada was in the spear-wielding club, but never knew her friend was this talented. During class, Ada never acted anything like it.

“Yeah…… Well, it’s just a skill I have.”

Talking in an ambiguous manner, her classmate scratched the back of her head. She had shown godly skills back then, but strangely, a lonely expression shadowed her face.

“Kluele, hurry up and take the teachers back to school.”

The three teachers: Kate, Enne, and Zessel. And then there was Kluele and Ada. Although together they would be extremely heavy, the divine bird said it was no problem.

“Alright. Ada, get on.”

But instead of getting on the bird’s back, Ada smiled bitterly and shrugged.

“I’m going to find Chibi-kun. It was me who brought him along, so I feel responsible for him.”

“But……”

[Let us go. We must hurry.]

The divine bird raised its head. ……Sure enough, thinking things through calmly, what Ada and the divine bird said made sense. The problem was their homeroom teacher, Kate. The wound on her back was deep and she needed to be transported to a medical facility right away.

“Sorry Ada, but I’ll be right back.”

“How unfortunate, to be told that by the Demon of Lateness.”

Ada joked lightly. Before Kluele could reply with ‘You’re also like that!’……

'''''Wind, sneer at the transience of sand crawling on the ground'''''<br/>
''loar dime, Hir qusi fluse feo nen rawa cley''

'''''Feathers, laugh at the foolishness of ashes drunk on flames'''''<br/>
''sheza dime, Hir qusi nazarie feo eza da wavir uc corne''

The voice came from somewhere unknown and soared around the calm room.

At the same time.

——Crack!——

It was the sound of something hard cracking. The sound was quiet but unusually clear, echoing throughout the room.

'''''A lonely prison, a banquet of trash, the defeated laughs at the unending tragedy'''''<br/>
''solitie kaon, writh lef eza, lastis os fisa endehec mofy''

'''''The throne hungers for a king, but sitting on the seat is only dust'''''<br/>
''arsei glio, ovan ezis glia jes reive''

A husky elderly voice sang a strange melody.

No, it wasn’t just a regular song. Was it a <{{Furigana|Song of Praise|Oratorio}}>?

“W-What……? There’s more?”

'''''Everything in nature changes. Along with the chair, I flow to dust'''''<br/>
''omunis via-c-univa, Yer sis tera peg ezis, eza''

'''''If that is so, then there is no winner in this world'''''<br/>
''zette yupa thes I neckt loern''

The melody which they thought was the malice of the dead came from the single remaining <Egg>—

“Ada, get on right now! That <Egg> seems dangerous!”

After Enne spoke, Zessel’s face paled.

The grey catalyst in the middle of the room.

Its outer layer gradually tore off like it was breaking out of its shell. A grey glow leaked out from inside.

'''''Come, born children, thou art the children who serve thy king'''''<br/>
''Isa da boema foton doremren Ser la lemenent, clar lef ilmei arsa''

'''''In thy hands are the king’s swords, twelve of them become a shadow over power'''''<br/>
''jes effectis qusi fo Lastihyt, ecta peg sterei orza''

[It seems this research institute itself is a trap.]

The divine bird glared—

The Recitation light shone conspicuously. Particles of light traced out a helix shape and a silver shadow appeared in the center.

[And so, this seems to be the final and worst trap.]

'''''Everything in the world now becomes the defeated — It is the day when the twelve plates of silver, the king’s swords, roar'''''<br/>
''miqvy O evoia arsei tearl dis elmaei I — sterei efflectis Ezehyt = ende arsa''

Something silver-colored appeared there.

It was nearly two meters tall. Its shape resembled a humanoid made of long and narrow metal needles. Silver swords grew directly out of the parts where the hands were meant to be. It looked very much like something manmade, different from the species of Recited creatures usually called out from Recitations and the grey Recited creatures. —Floating in the air around the True Spirit as if they were protecting it were twelve bladed weapons that glowed silver, including spears, swords, and axes.

……No way, was it the True Spirit of Grey Recitations?

It was a silver Recited creature with a blade in each hand, as well as twelve more around it.

The True Spirit slowly raised the weapons in its hands…… And the instant they became aware of that.

The True Spirit was standing directly in front of them.

[……It’s fast.]

The divine bird spoke in an amazed voice.

It had moved suddenly, without any warning. Its movements were also frighteningly quick and smooth. Goosebumps rose all over Kluele’s body as she watched the True Spirit. It moved in a way similar to how Ada had.

The raised swords pointed in the direction of the divine bird and swung down.

“—What a fool.”

The attacking flash of silver was blocked by another flash of silver that swung up from below.

“Girl with the stick, watch where you’re swinging it!”

Alone, the girl wielding the spear stood her ground in front of the True Spirit.

“Ada?”

“Go on ahead of me. I said before, right? I’ll go find Chibi-kun and then return to school.”

“What are you saying? Ada, hurry up and get on!”

Keeping her gaze fixed on the enemy in front of her, Ada silently shook her head. At the same time……

……Plop.

A tiny drop of water hit the floor.

“A-Ada, what are you……?”

“Please…… Go ahead of me.”

That drop of water had fallen from the girl’s eye.

“I’m a useless person, so this is the only thing I can do.”

She slowly turned her head.

Her eyes brimming with tears were like the shore of a lake.

“……I wanted to become a Reciter.”

—She was crying.

It was the first time Kluele had seen Ada cry. Large teardrops rolled down Ada’s cheeks.

“At first, I hated the path that my idiot parents had decided for me, so I wanted to do the exact opposite and become a Reciter. It was such a lame reason. After I had a fight with my parents and left, I came to this school.”

She tightly gripped her spear. Even though the True Spirit slowly moved closer to her, she was still defenselessly facing the other direction.

“But as I studied, Reciting started to seem more interesting. I started to think that I truly wanted to become a Reciter. That’s something I can't deny. I made many friends, and honestly, it was the first time I’ve done that. Until now…… I’ve always…… always……”

‘—Let’s say for example that there was a student in the class other than Chibi-kun who was alone. If that were so, what would you do, Kluele?’

Her voice trembled. Her body trembled.

Her tears trembled. Her sigh trembled.

The extremely delicate and fragile girl cried uncontrollably.

“That’s what I should have been thinking. ……But this is the first time. For the first time, I'm glad to be an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}}.”

Without trying to hide her tears, Ada showed an unfitting smile.

“I’m…… a useless idiot…… It seems like this is the only path for me.”

Everyone who saw that smile was left speechless.

It was extremely fragile, yet extremely determined.

The manner in which Ada behaved was —unmistakably that of an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}}.

“But Ada, even if it’s you, there’s no way you can face this monster alone……”

“Don’t worry. Compared to this puppet, my stubborn father is a hundred times worse.”

The stone wall and ceiling now collapsed. Was it due to the rumbling a while ago, or was it yet another trap?

[……Kluele, let’s leave this place.]

The divine bird gently flapped its wings.

……Ada definitely wouldn’t listen if she was told to escape.

She was an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} who had stayed in a Recitation school.

And now— If this was the path she chose……

“Ada, you need to return to the school with Neight as quickly as possible! It’s a promise, alright?”

The only thing Kluele could do right now was to believe in her classmate.

……Yeah, yeah. Understood, class representative.

Continuing to smile, Ada watched the divine bird cross through the evacuation door.

—But I might be a bit late.

Turning her gaze back to the enemy before her, Ada transferred the spear that she had held in both hands to only one hand.

It was her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} that she had received before she could understand what was going on.

After several years of training, she had gotten to know the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}’s weight within one gram of error and its length within one millimeter of error. What she could and could not do with the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} had all been engraved into her. —After she had accomplished that, for the first time, her father had allowed her to call herself an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}}.

Thirteen years old. It was the moment when the youngest {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} in history had been born.

And now, it was three years after that.

The spear had already become a part of her body. There was no link between the spear and the arm she wielded it with. Both of them were her spear and both of them were her arm.

“Now, all that’s left is for the two of us to fight alone.”

……Speaking of which, it’s been a long time since I’ve talked to you.

Ada wiped away the tears on her cheeks. The True Spirit drew closer to her, cutting down the nearby walls as if they were made of thin paper. They cut down anything they touched —The twelve silver blades protected the True Spirit by circling it at high speed. Ada’s skin hurt like she had been burned. It wasn’t due to the blades but the blood thirst emitted by the enemy.

This opponent was undeniably strong. Ada had to admit that. As the Reciter she was now, she definitely couldn’t win. If so, then had the half year she spent as a Reciter been a complete waste? ……No.

There was one thing she had learned from the school for Reciters.

Because she couldn’t win like this, she had to Recite.

It was something she knew the best, but also something she hated the most— The her of the past.

'''''—Through great reverence and dignity, I carve out my name'''''<br/>
''O toga Wem millmo, HIr shoul da ora peg ilmeri giris ende zorm''

Sing. Remember.

She didn’t need daydreams or fantasies that she had created.

She just needed to call back the her of those days.

The her who she had cut away in the past. She had let go of and turned her back to her memories as an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}}.

The her who had innocently loved only her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}, who had lived together with her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}— Right now, she called back that part of her just one more time.

'''''Dreams and wishes, I threw them all to the distant past (behind)'''''<br/>
''ole shan ilis, peg loar, peg kei, Hir et univa sm hid''

'''''I cannot even turn around to look at that path anymore'''''<br/>
''Hir be qusi Gillisu xshao ele sm thes, neckt ele''

She spun her spear in one hand. Each spin was faster, stronger, more beautiful.

She hated her parents and the people around her talking about her natural talent. That was why she had continued to practice tirelessly in a place where nobody could see her.

'''''Be the beginning of the one sent home (seen off)'''''<br/>
''Lor be se Gillisu feo olfey cori ende olte''

'''''My whole life is simply meant for singing, dancing, and living with my spear'''''<br/>
''lipps hypne cooka, fifsia-c-ect-c-ele peg Gill, jes qusi giris''

She had come to a Recitation school but neglected her Recitation studies.

She had joined the spear-wielding club but ditched practices whenever she felt like it.

However— Training to become an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} was the one thing she couldn’t stop doing.

'''''There are no flowers at my funeral, no name is needed on my gravestone'''''<br/>
''leide neckt ele sm Yem hypne, reive zayxuy lostasia Yem nehhe''

'''''I only need my rusted spear thrust upright into my corpse'''''<br/>
''O la Laspha, Wem shel zo hearsa lipps sm cley''

Her blood blisters had burst, the skin of her palms had been torn, and her eyes had teared up with pain. But even so, she had still held onto her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}. There had been times when she lost consciousness while being pounded by chilly winter rain and her skin had nearly festered after being scorched by insanely hot summer heat. But even so, she hadn't let go of her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}.

Her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} wouldn’t betray her. The more she swung it, the sharper it would become. The more she cried, the stronger it would become.

That’s right. They had walked together for far enough a distance that she could declare that with certainty.

'''''Now sing praise, many colors, many called out children'''''<br/>
''Isa O ora, sterei Ies, sterei da cooka doremren''

The spear cut through the air, as if changing into an armor of blades that enveloped the girl’s body.

As it cut through the air, it sung a tune that resembled a song.

The tanned spear-user sang a tanned melody.

'''''Here and now, the one thing after setting free all of the names—'''''<br/>
''Jes nehhe qusi Ies, arsei spil, Seo la miqvy virgia''

If she were to bear not the title of a Reciter, but of an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}}.

If the one who should protect her back and the opponent before her who she should defeat were here.

—As one who bore the ultimate title, there was one path she couldn’t step away from.

'''''There is already nothing that can bind my spear'''''<br/>
''bekwist Yem nehhe olfey besti Gillshuvesher''

Her impatience and rage faded away far into the distance.

The burning and excitement of her body made her unable to feel even the rumbling around her.

“I’m coming, True Spirit! I’ll show you the power of a {{Furigana|Master of the Exorcist Spear|Gillshuvesher}}!”

There were no more Reciters in the room.

The time when she had wavered in the gap between song and spear had passed.

—Ada Yung Gillshuvesher was coming.

<div align="center">***</div>

……Was the earthquake still not over?

The large tremors from before had passed, but weak vibrations that shook his hair still continued.

Suddenly, the noise changed.

It was no longer the crushing sound of the wall collapsing, but clear, metallic reverberations. The incessant clashing of two hard things created a cold, sharp melody. He could hear the sounds echoing from the direction he had come from.

“……There’s a light?”

Was that a door? Silver light shone through from the cracks around the door.

The sounds were coming from— the other side?

Peering through to the other side of the door, Neight caught his breath.

There was a True Spirit made of metallic silver rods arranged in a humanoid shape. It wielded long blades that grew out of its hands and used them to slash at its opponent.

The opponent blocking its way was— A single girl with tanned skin who wielded a spear.

……Ada-san?

Right, left. The two blades slashed downward in less than a second. Ada blocked the right blade with the tip of her spear, and with the momentum of her blocking movement, turned her gaze to the left blade. The silver flash it created was already coming close to the tip of her nose.

—I can’t block it in time. While parrying the edge of the blade with her spear, Ada pressed her body close to the floor. The silver spear and the axe passed by where her neck had been moments before.

“Hah!”

With a loud breath, she swung at the protective blades floating in the air. Claaaang. With a reverberating sound like striking a bell of ice, a spear and an axe disappeared.

“……Eight left.”

She stepped back, putting approximately four meters of distance between herself and her pursuer who approached closer.

4.42 meters, that was her reach. On the other hand, she had already confirmed that her opponent’s reach was 4.14 meters. 28 centimeters— It was a tiny distance that she would have to rely on her speed and her weapon’s reach to surpass. But the protective weapons surrounding the True Spirit flew irregularly around it within a six meter range.

Ada had no choice but to stay out of the True Spirit’s range. If it rushed in, then her spear would lose its length advantage. Therefore, she should be standing between 4.14 meters to 4.42 meters away from her opponent. Any closer than that would be within the enemy’s range and any farther meant the floating blades could attack her while she couldn't strike back.

[[File:Tasogare_v2_247.jpg|thumb]]

A space of 28 centimeters. That was the small boundary separating life and death, triumph and defeat. Leaving that space or being pushed out of it would mean defeat. However, right now, they were locked in a stalemate.

—She needed to find a way to tip the scales in her favor. What could she do?

But while she had been focused on thinking, the True Spirit had closed the distance.

……So it’s a strange enemy without any common sense, huh?

Its sword flashed down at a speed that an ordinary person would be unable to keep up with. With speed that could slay an enemy in the blink of an eye, it gouged, pierced, thrust, slashed down— but then abruptly retreated. Just when Ada thought it was retreating, it lunged forward at an intense speed. Then, just when they were about to clash, it suddenly slowed down and retreated again.

Its movements were unpredictable.

It attacked irregularly without any particular style of fighting. Without breathing like a person, without the attack range of a person, it attacked randomly as if mocking people’s swordsmanship. Ada wasn’t even sure which way to look.

……No, she couldn’t be bothered by it. She needed to breathe steadily.

She twisted to avoid its right-side sword that stabbed forward. She curved her body to avoid its left-side sword that drew closer to her. The silver flash grazed her cheek. She felt hot blood flowing down, as if a layer of skin had been peeled off.

But in exchange, she had avoided her opponent’s attack.

Ada thrust her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} forward as fast as she could. Embedded in its tip was a pearl. The milky white tip of the spear lunged at the True Spirit’s body.

However, what the spear pierced wasn’t its body, but one of the protective blades surrounding it.

“—Not again!”

Ada unintentionally let out a bitter sigh.

While fighting the True Spirit, she had realized that the twelve blades dancing around it were both its weapons and its defense. In order to land a single hit on the True Spirit, she first had to send back the blades. Out of the original twelve, seven remained.

Blood mixed with the sweat running down her cheeks.

She had already seen through her opponent’s weak points. Its body was comprised of silver blades and what held them together in the middle was an <Egg> glowing dark grey. It wasn’t difficult to think that the <Egg> was the core holding the True Spirit in this world.

……Ada could still move her body. She was fine.

Before her movements became sluggish and her mind became exhausted, she needed to send back all of the blades protecting the enemy. After that, she could hit its core with her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}.

“Let’s go, {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}.”

Nodding at the spear she was holding……

——Craaaaaack——

An ice-cold sound rang out from beside her hand. Willpower, strength, determination, resolve. It was a sad sound…… as if all of that had been drained away.

“……My {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}?”

At first, she thought it was a hallucination. She couldn’t believe it. But the more she stared at it, the more it proved to be real.

About halfway down her spear, thin cracks like a spider web had appeared.

……Ada-san?

Something had happened to her. Even Neight, who was just an onlooker, could understand that much.

Something had suddenly disappeared from Ada. Strength? No, it was something more basic.

As if her will to fight had vanished, she only dodged the opponent’s attacks. That’s right. She only dodged. She didn’t block or parry the attacks with her spear. She did nothing but continue to step back.

But— that was absurd. Even if it was Ada, there was no way that she could fully avoid all of the attacks.

In the blink of an eye, Ada had been pushed back until her back touched the wall. With one swift move, the True Spirit closed the distance between itself and the girl who had nowhere left to run. While its sword sliced Ada’s shoulder and slashed at her abdomen, a floating axe chopped down at her foot.

“Ada-san!”

Crossing through the doorway, Neight ran to the girl’s side.

……No way. Hey, this can’t be true, right?

Ada couldn’t believe that a crack had appeared on her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}. Nothing like that had ever happened until now. She had never neglected to take care of it. Even when using it normally, she had made sure to be careful with it. Even with the fighting just now, it had only clashed with other blades no more than a few times. Considering the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}’s sturdiness, something like that shouldn’t have damaged it this much— Then was this because of a different reason?

She could only think of one other reason.

Creatures with life, objects with a shape, a single truth applied to all of them— That is, the restriction called ‘lifespan’. After enduring around a dozen years of rigorous training, the result was that the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}’s limit had come more quickly.

……No, no way. There’s no way that’s true.

Wasn’t it a part of her? The first friend she had made?

—Are you leaving me?

—Was this my fault?

Everything that reached its limit crumbled noisily.

The True Spirit swung its sword down. She might have been able to block with her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}. However, she couldn’t do that no matter what.

“Ugh!”

She twisted her body and dodged. A sharp pain ran along her shoulder. It was a small but deep cut.

……But she didn’t care.

If she had taken that blow with her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}, its lifespan would have been shortened even more. That was something she definitely didn’t want.

She ran from the floating weapons and the swords wielded by her opponent.

—Thump. She felt something hard against her back. The wall?

At the same time, the True Spirit turned towards her and closed the distance between them in a single movement. Ada tried once more to widen the distance between her and the stabbing sword, but her feet wouldn’t move.

“Ow!”

The floating axe gouged her calf. The pain blurred out the world around her for a split second. When she came to her senses, she saw the True Spirit raising its large sword in front of her.

……She couldn’t avoid it!

Did she have to defend with the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}? Wasn’t there another option?

Her thoughts swirled around in vain. Her body wouldn’t move.

“Ada-san!”

The sword heading down towards her suddenly stopped. Pausing in its tracks, the True Spirit turned around to look behind itself. An intruder had entered the main hall. It was a small boy with a young-looking face.

……Chibi-kun?

With the sound of metal scraping on metal, the True Spirit ran off. Its target was—

No…… Don’t, Chibi-kun…… Run away, hurry…… Don’t come here.

“Don’t come over here!”

“Eh?”

Stunned, the boy froze. The True Spirit directly ahead him raised its large sword. Neight looked up helplessly. The sudden attack left him unable to comprehend the situation.

“Ah…… Ah……”

Intimidated by the True Spirit advancing towards him, Neight was frozen in place.

A Reciter who could call things out without singing a <{{Furigana|Song of Praise|Oratorio}}> was a different matter, but other Reciters were weak when attacked directly. That was why {{Furigana|Exorcists|Gillshe}} existed, to stand as a shield before Reciters. There happened to be an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} here. Moreover, there was a Reciter right in front of her.

……No. Ada didn’t want to regret anymore. There was a friend getting hurt right in front of her. Wasn’t that why she had felt so pitiful during the recital contest?

Couldn’t she protect anyone? If not, then what was the use of her spear?

Its life would end without having done anything.

Was that what her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} truly wished for?

‘Ada. Do you truly think this path is nothing but boring?’

‘Anyone born into a family of {{Furigana|Exorcists|Gillshe}} will struggle with that question at least once. —I was also like that.’

‘But one day, I realized.’

……That’s right. Hadn’t her father told her something like that?

'……Father, I don’t understand.'

‘It’s not that you don’t understand. You just haven’t realized it yet.’

She had finally realized. She realized what her father’s eyes had been trying to tell her that day.

‘I’m…… a useless idiot…… It seems like this is the only path for me.’

After searching for something she could do, that was the result she chose.

She chose it out of her own free will.

There was no turning back. For as long as she lived, she would have no choice but to walk down this path.

It would be an extremely rigorous and boring path. ……But even so.

—By going down this path, she could definitely protect someone.

Merciless flashes of silver flew down towards Neight. They came from the two swords that the True Spirit wielded as well as the protective blades revolving around the True Spirit.

They were all knocked aside by a glittering milky-white slash.

“……A-Ada-san……”

“Are you alright, Chibi-kun?”

Neight nodded wordlessly. Ada lightly patted his head.

She then glanced at her spear. The cracks on its tip were growing larger.

After the next attack, she would probably have to bid it farewell.

……Was it willing to fight together with her until the very end?

“Chibi-kun, do you have a catalyst?”

Speaking quickly without even moving her lips, she asked the boy behind her.

“Eh? Y-Yes.”

“Then can you do me a favor? Right now, can you conduct the very first Recitation you tried to show everyone?”

She didn’t mean the Recitation from the recital contest, but the one he conducted on the very first day he had transferred into the school. She wanted to make use of the <{{Furigana|Song of Praise|Oratorio}}> he had sung in the laboratory.

“Eh…… B-But I still can’t do it properly yet.”

“I don’t mind if you fail. Also, make sure you sing the <{{Furigana|Song of Praise|Oratorio}}> loud enough that even the True Spirit can hear it!”

“—!”

A tense expression appeared on Neight’s face. He finally realized what Ada was planning to do.

“Ada-san, it will probably disappear in under a minute. ……Please make sure you time it properly!”

Giving only a wink in response, Ada leaped forward directly in front of the True Spirit.

The True Spirit had two swords, as well as the protective blades flying around. Ada twisted her body, leaped, and dodged. She couldn’t block attacks with her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}, which could only withstand one more blow. In order to use that blow wisely, right now she had no choice but to continue dodging.

'''''Descend, dark curtain of twilight'''''<br/>
''“—cart lef dimi-l-shadi denca-c-dowa”''

From behind Ada, the <{{Furigana|Song of Praise|Oratorio}}> that Neight sang resounded all throughout the main hall.

'''''I praise the distant (your) name'''''<br/>
''YeR be orator Lom nehhe''

'''''Dark, courageous, pitiful (sorrowful)'''''<br/>
''lor besti bluci ende branousi -l- symphoeki''

'''''Master’s single wing (transient master)'''''<br/>
''O she saira qersonie Laspha—''

A Night-colored {{Furigana|Recital gate|Channel}} slowly formed by Neight’s feet.

Pulling back her spear so that the large sword passed by only a hairsbreadth away, Ada leaped forward towards her opponent’s torso with all of her strength.

At the same time, Neight’s Recitation ended with its final verse.

——[{{Furigana|Ezel|Night Song}}]]——

Just then, for an instant, the room was enveloped in thick black smoke.

It was the result of his Recitation going out of control.

The True Spirit, Neight, and Ada. All of their visions turned completely dark, making them unable to see anything at all.

……However!

Despite the stinging smoke, Ada opened her eyes. She had done training to see in the dark before, but right now she had a different purpose in mind. The glittering grey <Egg> in the center of her opponent was the only light that could still be seen in the darkness.

—So that’s where it was!

Abandoning any thoughts of defense, Ada simply thrust her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} straight forward.

The grey True Spirit now knew its target’s location.

A milky-white gemstone shone at the end of the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} that Ada held, which exposed her location. The two swords and the floating protective blades— all of the weapons thrust forward towards the gemstone.

And then……

—The black smoke cleared.

The girl and the True Spirit. Both of them stood frozen in a position with their weapons pointed at each other.

“……It’s over.”

Ada looked up at her enemy, which was close enough to touch.

She had definitely felt the tip of her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} pierce the <Egg>.

On the other hand, the silver swords that the True Spirit had thrust out were all pointed at the wall far away from her.

“In this situation, if we had both struck each other, you would probably have won.”

Where the weapons had pierced it, the wall shone with a faint milky-white light.

That was the fake target Ada had called out.

[…………]

The True Spirit didn’t respond. Ada had prepared a two-fold plan. As if it was praising her, the True Spirit simply stared at the Recitation light.

From the very beginning, what Ada had wanted from Neight was just the black smoke that resulted from a Recitation gone out of control. When all of their visions turned dark, the targets had become the light of the <Egg> and the shining gemstone on the tip of her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}.

While Neight was Reciting, Ada had called out a white light similar to the glittering gem.

From the very start, White Recitations were Ada’s speciality. The catalyst had been the pearl on the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}, and as for the <{{Furigana|Song of Praise|Oratorio}}>—

‘Make sure you sing the <{{Furigana|Song of Praise|Oratorio}}> loud enough that even the True Spirit can hear it!’

When Neight sang his <{{Furigana|Song of Praise|Oratorio}}> loudly, covered by the boy’s voice, Ada had sung her own <{{Furigana|Song of Praise|Oratorio}}>. After that— While the True Spirit’s swords aimed at the fake light of the spear, Ada had thrust her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} at the <Egg>.

With a faint rustle, the sheets of metal that made up the True Spirit turned into fine dust and disappeared.

The remaining seven floating blades, the large swords that the True Spirit wielded, and the True Spirit’s body all disappeared. Only the crumbling <Egg> with a hole pierced in it tumbled to the floor.

And then, at the same time……

Something very precious to Ada shattered loudly.

“Ada-san!”

With a vacant expression, Ada stood still. Chilled by the frightening thought that she might faint, Neight rushed up to her.

“Is your wound alright?”

“……I’m fine.”

She definitely shouldn’t be fine. The blood flowing down both her legs had already stained the tips of her shoes red.

However, she didn’t look like she was concerned about that. Instead, she gazed down by her feet.

She wasn’t looking at her blood-stained shoes. What she gazed at was something farther beyond that.

—Her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}?

The tip of the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} that Ada had spent around a dozen years together with was now shattered. Scattered on the floor were countless tiny shards of a broken blade.

“Chibi-kun, I’m sorry but do you mind going back to school before me?”

Ada sighed weakly.

“……But……”

“Please. I want ‘us’ to be alone.”

Neight ran away towards the evacuation door.

A curtain of silence fell across the room. In it, Ada stood alone.

Closing her eyes, the girl {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} hugged the shattered spear to her chest.

“……I’m sorry.”

You were the one closest to me who protected me until now. I’m sorry for noticing it so late.

……I’m truly, truly sorry.

===Part 4===

Just how long had he been waiting for already?

Chilly waves lapped the sandy beach. Right now, he was standing somewhere between the branch school and the research institute. The sun that dyed the ocean red was now disappearing beyond the horizon. The waves which washed away grains of sand were becoming darker.

“The stars are coming out.”

Beside him, a girl with scarlet hair murmured. Compelled by her words, Neight looked up at the sky overhead.

The twinkling points of light reminded him of the shattered {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}.

“I was really worried. And then you wandered off by yourself, of all things!”

Kluele had waited for him the whole time on the road leading back from the research institute.

“……I’m sorry.”

“But I’m glad you came back safely.”

“U-Um, what about Kate-sensei?”

“We immediately took her to see a doctor, so she’ll be fine. The other teachers are also going to have a quick checkup.”

For several seconds, there was silence between them.

“……Sorry.”

As if in harmony with the splashing waves, Kluele was the first to speak.

“I should be the one apologizing. I was troubled about my Recitations being scary, so I made you worry unnecessarily about something strange like that.”

Looking up at the sky, she spread her arms wide open.

“But I’m fine now. After this, I’ll be back to normal.”

Normal. That was something that could be understood just by seeing her calm expression.

“I believed in Kluele-san ever since the very beginning.”

Before he could finish speaking those words……

“……Hey, Neight?”

With a mischievous smile— Kluele suddenly pinched both of his cheeks.

“O-Oww! Kwuewe-san, tha’ huwts!”

“Ahaha. During times like these, you should just politely ask ‘what is it?’”

“Whaa’ ith it?”

“Yup, just like that.”

Nodding with a satisfied look, Kluele let him go.

“……Aah, that was mean.”

Neight reflexively pressed his hands to his cheeks…… And suddenly, he blinked repeatedly.

Eh? His cheeks didn’t hurt at all, even though he had expected it to be painful just now.

“……Kluele-san, did you go easy on me?”

“What are you saying, isn’t that obvious?”

Covering her mouth with her hand, the girl chuckled.

……I see.

Other than that, they had nothing more to say. In silence, they gazed at the ebb and flow of the waves—

Suddenly, the quiet noise of someone walking on sand could be heard on the beach.

“You’ll catch a cold, both of you.”

It was a tall girl with black hair. With her white Tremia school uniform fluttering in the wind, she slowly walked up to Neight and Kluele.

“……Serges-san?”

Looking back now, the beginning of everything had been— When Serges had told Neight about the {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} girl practicing with her spear on the rooftop.

“U-Um, Serges-san?”

“What is it?”

The girl stood still, pushing aside her bangs that had been stuck together by the sea breeze.

“Did you know about Ada-san?”

“About her being an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}}?”

……Like he thought, Serges had known everything from the very beginning.

“I’m probably the one who knows the most about her. More than any other student and any teacher.”

Her expression suddenly turning gentle, Serges also looked up at the sky. She gazed beyond the clouds drifting overhead, beyond the twinkling stars— She gazed at something in the distant past that she could no longer return to.

“Ada was the same as you, Neighty.”

The same as me?

“During the school entrance ceremony, she walked around quietly by herself. ……She had probably been thinking that she was too different compared to the rest of us. When I first talked to her, she ended up telling me a lot of things. It felt like she was so anxious that she couldn’t help spilling everything.”

—Ada-san had done that?

“She originally had a much brighter personality, which you probably can’t imagine her with anymore. Back then, she held onto her precious long spear and gazed at me anxiously.”

With a small laugh, Serges put her arms behind her back.

But then, she continued to speak in a quiet, unusually low voice.

“She looked like she needed someone to act like an older sister to her. I thought that she desperately needed a friend who she could fool around with.”

Eh, ‘someone’?

“Neighty, until you understand that, you’ll still be ‘Chibi-kun’. Right, Kluele?”

“Wait, what? Who do you mean by the role of the older sister?”

“……Even I don’t know.”

Letting out a sigh that was mixed with laughter, Serges walked lightly across the sandy beach.

In the direction she was heading—

With the starry night sky behind her, a short girl quietly walked towards them.

On her back, she carried a spear with a broken tip.

“……You idiot. You’re so late that we were all worried.”

Saying that, the Reciter hugged her close {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} friend.

“Mmhm. Sorry about that. I’m alright now.”

Ada smiled weakly.

[[File:Tasogare_v2_267.jpg|thumb]]

“That’s an obvious lie.”

“—Eh……”

One again, Sergies hugged Ada tightly.

“Didn’t I tell you already? Fake smiles don’t suit you. You need to express your mood more genuinely! It’s fine to act cheerful when you’re feeling up to it. But during painful times, rely on your friends more, okay?”

“…………”

“Or am I not reliable enough?”

“……What are you saying? That’s not true…… I’m just really happy.”

—I’m glad that {{Furigana|an Exorcist|I}} came to {{Furigana|a Recitation School|this school}}.

Her voice was choked with tears.

Mixed in with the splashing waves, it echoed quietly.

----

===Translation Notes===
<references />

<noinclude>{{Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai Nav|prev=Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai:Volume2 4th Play|next=Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai:Volume2 Interval Play 2nd Act}}</noinclude>

Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai:Volume2 Final Play

2013-08-01T07:41:50Z

Xiose: Undo revision 274238 by 173.57.129.71 (talk)

==Final Play: Everyone Sings, O Path of the Singing Spear User==

===Part 1===

Over his shoulder, Zessel could hear the breathing of his colleague who he carried on his back. She took weak, shallow breaths.

—Kate’s bleeding wasn't stopping.

“It’s only a bit farther, so hang on!”

There was no response from the woman he was carrying.

“……Hang on until then!”

From the preparation he had done before coming here, he knew that there was a door at the farthest end of the main hall which they could use to escape outside.

Zessel felt dizzy and had a headache. But even so, he continued to run.

<div align="center">***</div>

“……It’s so quiet.”

Was this the changing room? Rows of lockers were filled with staff lab clothing. Neight was hidden quietly inside one of the lockers.

……Kate-sensei.

In order to allow him and Ada to escape, their teacher had stayed behind, alone.

“—I……”

He felt a powerlessness similar to what he had felt during the recital contest. But the major difference was that now, he was truly alone in this place.

Arma, who had always been by his side, was not here. Mio, who had prepared a Night-colored catalyst for him, was not here. Finally, Kluele, who had watched over him as he recited, was not here.

……Am I alone again?

A long, long time ago, when he had still been in the custody of the orphanage, there hadn’t been anyone he could talk to or rely on. So whenever morning came and he felt lonely, he would always want to hide under his futon. He wished for night to continue on forever and ever.

But.

He had been picked up by his mother, who had now passed away. Ever since then, something had begun to change little by little. He had met Arma and come to Tremia Academy where he met many people. He had met a kind girl with scarlet hair, the Reciter who continued to keep his promise with Mother, and also many classmates.

“That’s why it’s different now.”

There were people who would stay by his side. He just couldn’t meet them right now since he was hiding here. There was no point in him continuing to hide like this.

“I need to go find them.”

Neight opened the locker door just a crack and looked around at his surroundings. There weren’t any of snakes or lizards nearby.

He exited the changing room and headed down the hallway in the direction he had come from.

But after less than a few seconds, he felt something strange underfoot. He was shaking. Was he scared? No, that wasn’t right. This was—

“What is this…… An earthquake?”

===Part 2===

Silently, the glow of the light fairy disappeared. Was it another grey Recited creature? Enne instantly became on guard, but after a while, she let out a sigh of relief.

After she composed herself and looked around, there was nothing worth taking notice of. The light of the fairy had simply been hidden by another light.

A faint beam of light lit up the dark hallway. It leaked out from behind a closed door and shone like rays of sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees.

“……That must be the main hall.”

Enne knew that Zessel was talking to himself, but she nodded anyways.

Within the research institute blanketed in darkness, only the main hall deep inside the building was lit up. It would be a lie to call this just a coincidence. Judging from the situation until now, the possibility that they had arrived at a completely safe location was nearly zero. Even deciding whether or not to enter the room would be a risky bet. What awaited them there was probably—

……However, they had no choice but to enter. Beyond the door was a place to take refuge. Kate’s body couldn’t endure much longer. They had to make a quick decision and head for medical supplies.

Zessel kicked open the door. Even though the brightness of the room was forcing him to close his eyes, he took a look around the room.

Squinting, Enne looked around.

—So it’s like this, huh?

She gritted her teeth. Finally, they could see through the troublesome farce.

“So this is the cause of everything.”

In the center of the spacious room, lying on an ornate lantern studded with gemstones, was a grey <Egg>. It was just like a grey king sitting on a throne that shone with five colors. Glancing around, Enne and Zessel could see five colored <Eggs> in the corners of the room.

“……So this really is an institution just for refining these catalysts.”

Zessel, who carried Kate on his back, muttered sarcastically.

He had heard that one <Egg> of each of the five colors had been brought to Tremia Academy.

If so, then it wouldn’t be unusual to have a fair number of <Eggs> still remaining in this institute.

“Did an <Egg> run wild in this research institute as well?”

“We can’t say for sure yet.”

Enne shook her head lightly.

She had heard that only catalysts of the five existing colors had been brought to the campus. If the <Eggs> refined in this institute were only of those five colors, then just what was that grey <Egg>? Furthermore, they hadn’t seen any grey <Eggs> so far except for the one in this room. A single catalyst going out of control wouldn't make sense considering the large number of grey Recited creatures. To call out so many of them, there would need to be at least two, no, at least three <Eggs>.

And then there were the words written in blood on the stone monument……

—That’s enough.

“We should stop worrying about the complicated situation for now.”

Right now, they didn’t need to analyze the situation. Safely overcoming this dilemma and escaping was their top priority.

“Zessel, don’t touch that catalyst.”

Touching the <Egg> would force someone to conduct a Recitation. Although they didn’t know what the trick behind that was, it had already been proven before during the recital contest.

“……Kate, hang on.”

Kate already had no strength left to raise her upper body. Although he also looked tired himself, Zessel shifted the position of Kate on his back.

In the back of the room, standing out from the grey walls surrounding it, was a scarlet door. It was like what he had seen on a map of the research institute. Going through that door should lead outside.

Suddenly.

“……An earthquake?”

Zessel raised an eyebrow slightly. As if in harmony with that movement, Enne felt faint vibrations at her feet. Dry flakes of paint peeled off from the ceiling.

It felt strange. She had experienced this feeling before.

Deja-vu? No, it was different. She, Zessel, Mirror, and Xins had felt the ground shake in exactly the same way during the recital contest.

The <Egg> was going out of control. Back then, the ground had rumbled as the creature came into existence.

“Enne!”

Zessel's tone of voice changed into one that sounded like there was a scream or warning mixed in. On the other side of the door they had come in from, grey creatures slowly crawled forth from the shadows of the corridor.

“Damn, just how many traps did they set?!”

“Zessel, let’s hurry! We can’t handle all of—”

—Her feet stopped.

“…………No way.”

Of the egg-shaped catalysts that rolled around freely in the four corners of the room, two were activated and emitting light. It would be fine if that was the only thing. But the problem was, they were the two <Eggs> closest to their escape route.

The Recitation light disappeared and a Recited creature emerged from each of the two used <Eggs>.

Behind Enne and Zessel were a group of grey Recited creatures. Floating in front of them was a {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}} and coiled up beside that was an Amphisbaena with a green body.<ref>Literally written as {{Furigana|two-headed viper|Amphisbaena}}. In Greek mythology, the amphisbaena are two-headed ant-eating serpents that spawned from the blood dripping from Medusa’s head.</ref>

—They were surrounded. The circle of creatures gradually closed in around them.

“Kate…… I’ll do what I can, but…… Sorry, this might turn into the worst possible scenario.”

Slithering on the floor, the Amphisbaena came at them from below. Grey snakes crawled along the ceiling. On either side were grey lizards and the {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}}.

There were too many of them!

——[{{Furigana|Keinez|Red Song}}]——

Aiming at the several grey lizards that were closest to him, Zessel called out roaring flames. However, the flames were suppressed enough that they wouldn’t flare up and backfire. Zessel could clearly see grey shadows continuing to advance within the crimson heat wave.

—This much fire isn’t enough to stop them?

In order to defeat the Amphisbaena coming at them from the front, Enne shifted her position.

She took an instant to glance at her colleague. Nearly two meters directly behind him was the {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}}. It had silently crept up so close behind him that it frightened her. Its attack range should be about as far as the height of a person. Then that distance was— Oh no!

“Zessel, behind you!”

Zessel quickly turned around. Because the {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}} was too close, he reflexively backed up. But before he could do so, his knees buckled. In the face of imminent danger, he had forgotten that he still carried Kate on his back. Her weight hindered his movements.

The light emitted by the {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}} changed from yellow to blue. Silk-like threads shot out from its glowing spherical body.

Zessel instinctively realized that couldn’t dodge them.

'''''Get down'''''<br/>
''O muas dowa''

……Get down?

Before Zessel could comprehend those words, both he and Kate fell to the ground as if guided by the power of the Serafeno Musical Language.

The scarlet door that led to their escape route turned an even brighter shade of red.

At that instant, the door burst apart with a loud noise. The splinters of the smashed door struck the {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}} in front of Zessel and crashed into the walls of the room at high speed.

……What just happened?

A giant crimson bird came to a stop on the floor of the large room in a way that couldn’t be called elegant.

Was that the {{Furigana|Divine Bird of Dawn|Phoenix}}?

Enne froze, even forgetting about her surroundings. Before her eyes was the extremely rare and famous Recited creature that had become like a fantasy among Reciters.

“Quick, Enne-sensei, come over here!”

“Ada?”

Seeing the face of the girl who rode the giant bird, Enne was dazed and speechless.

“Zessel-sensei, get on with Kate-sensei!”

Another girl, one with hair the same color as the divine bird’s wings, beckoned them over.

“Are you Kluele?”

Zessel opened his eyes. He realized that this was probably one of the students he had taught a lecture to.

“Sensei, do you know where Chibi-kun is?”

Ada jumped off the divine bird’s back. In her hand was— a long spear that gleamed metallically?

“Chibi?”

“Ah, I mean Neight-kun. He came here with me and Kate-sensei.”

“……Sorry, but we haven’t seen anyone other than Kate.”

But contrary to the teachers’ expectations, the light-hearted expression remained on Ada's face.

“It’s okay, it’s fine just knowing that. If we look around, we should be able to find him.”

Tossing only those words over her shoulder, Ada calmly walked away from them by herself. Did she really intend to go look for Neight?

“……A-Ada! What are you doing?!”

All at once, the Recited creatures that had paused in their steps now attacked the girl who walked through the main hall away from the {{Furigana|Divine Bird of Dawn|Phoenix}}.

“Ada, behind you!”

Kluele yelled, still sitting on the back of the divine bird.

Directly behind Ada was the {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}} that should have been thrown back into the wall.

But despite the warning, Ada did not turn around.

“—Got it.”

The {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}} stretched out a glowing tentacle. At the same time, with her back facing it, Ada stabbed her spear behind her. The glowing tentacle and the spear passed by each other—

“The {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}}’s attack range is 1.673 meters. On the other hand, my {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} is 1.895 meters.”

The glowing tentacle stopped only a finger-width away from Ada’s back.

However, the girl’s spear pierced the {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}}, which began to shudder.

“In other words, if I hold my spear at 0.2 meters away from one end and stab it out, the enemy’s attack will miss me by 0.022 meters.”

Miss. As Ada spoke that word, the {{Furigana|small yellow spirit|will-o’-wisp}} turned into specks of light and was sent away.

She had been…… only 2.2 centimeters away from death.

Ada still didn’t turn around to face her opponent. No, she hadn’t even looked at the spear she was holding. If she had gripped her spear only a finger-width farther down, what would have happened?

“I definitely won’t make a mistake, not even by a millimeter.”

As if reading their minds, Ada muttered.

“……That much practice has been hammered into me ever since I was young.”

Her voice sounded strangely sad.

Difficulty to suppress— Easy.

Enne finally understood why the girl hadn’t turned around to look at her opponent.

It could be described as ‘not interested’. Ada’s gaze had already turned to the next enemy she needed to defeat.

“There are twenty-seven creatures in total, thirteen of which I don’t know details about.”

The Amphisbaena attacked from below.

Fangs dripping with poison touched the end of Ada’s foot— The distance between them created that illusion, but the snake’s fangs cut only empty air.

Raising its heads, the Recited creature emitted a green Recitation light and was sent away.

“Twenty-six left. Yeah, I’ll be just fine. It’ll be easier to search for Chibi-kun after I finish them off.”

Ada stood behind the snake.

—She’s fast. No…… more like graceful?

She moved her body smoothly and naturally. If she were to move like that underwater, probably not a single ripple would form on the water’s surface. Her movements were so fluid that they could be thought of like that. Enne still couldn’t comprehend how Ada had dodged the attacking snake just now.

“Finish them…… all off?”

This was the girl who had been taking Enne’s practice test only yesterday. Remembering the name written on the exam sheet, Enne’s breath caught in her throat.

Ada Yung Gillshuvesher.

{{Furigana|Master of the Exorcist Spear|Gillshuvesher}}— Enne had heard that it was the greatest title among {{Furigana|Exorcists|Gillshe}}. Had this young sixteen-year-old girl already earned that title?

Even Klaus, the leader of the {{Furigana|Exorcists|Gillshe}} had earned the title in his twenties. But this girl who was studying Recitations at a Recitation school had already gotten it?

She couldn’t believe it so suddenly, but the scene before her eyes was an undeniable truth.

The girl danced, leaving behind only the quiet sound of her breathing. She directly confronted the Recited creatures with her own body.

This dance in which she wagered her life made even those watching feel afraid.

Was that because it was dangerous? No, the dance itself sent shivers up their spines.

Ada attacked the large snakes dropping from the ceiling while dodging the Amphisbaena by her feet and evading the lizards' claws by only a few millimeters. Synchronized with her amazing movements, the metallic spear was like a whip, cutting through the air as it attacked its enemies.

Delicate yet bold. Quick yet serene. Magnificent yet cruel. Even though it was just a spear, it was as sharp as a sword. Even though it was just a spear, it drew curves as beautifully as a bow.

In the first place, even though she was just a single girl, there were nearly thirty enemies. All of them attacked Ada as if they had forgotten everyone else. But despite being surrounded on all four sides, the girl danced without pausing even once. It was a dance of death filled with such tension that even Enne’s heartbeat seemed to freeze. But even so, there was no rage or impatience in Ada.

……No, she wasn’t the student Enne knew. She wasn’t the Reciter Enne knew. She was— Someone who shouldn’t be a Reciter.

Ada swung the spear, cutting down two more enemies at once. As Recitation light streamed out in their throes of death, the Recited creatures were sent away one by one.

There were thirteen remaining. Then, the girl’s movements stopped for the first time.

Ada carried the spear in her right hand, with her left hand hanging loosely at her side.

“Ada, your left hand!”

As if compelled by Kluele’s scream, Enne looked at Ada’s hand…… And her breath caught in her throat. On Ada’s tanned brown arm, her wrist that had turned grey was strikingly visible.

“……Did I get grazed?”

A monotonous voice escaped Ada’s lips. The remaining thirteen creatures before her were all grey Recited creatures.

“Ada, that’s enough! Step away from them!”

The girl had singlehandedly defeated more than a dozen Recited creatures. It was more than enough. She and the others needed to quickly escape this institution.

“I can’t do that.”

With her back facing them, Ada shook her head defiantly.

“Ada!”

Why? Why was she so persistent? What could she do, with one arm already turned to stone?

“……Because I’m a useless girl.”

That’s right. A useless girl who wanted to be a Reciter but couldn’t— Was it Enne’s imagination? She thought she heard Ada say those words.

Front, back, left, right. A group of Recited creatures advanced from every direction. It wasn’t a number that could be easily dealt with. What did Ada intend to do with only one hand?

At that moment, Ada shouted out.

“Sensei, what color?”

—Out of the five colors, which color was the Reverse Song of Grey Recitations closest to?

Only Enne understood the meaning behind Ada’s words. Perhaps that was because she had been this {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}}’s ‘teacher’, even if for not a very long time.

“It’s the color that you chose!”

Enne used all of the air remaining in her lungs to convey that message to the girl.

Instead of replying, the tip of the spear that Ada held shone white. The pearl embedded in the spear tip became active as a gemstone for reversing Recitations.

Then, the {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} pierced her left hand with her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}.

There was a sound like glass shattering.

With a clear, crisp sound, the curse that had turned her arm to stone was instantly exorcised. The movements of the grey Recited creatures slowed down, as if they understood the implication behind it. They hesitated for less than the blink of an eye. It was a length of time that couldn’t even be called an opening. However, that was more than enough for the {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} girl.

——[{{Furigana|Nussis|Return}}]——

Leaving behind only afterimages of the spear tip, the white, shining {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} swung in all directions. Like steam rising up, all of the Recited creatures remaining in the room emitted white smoke and disappeared.

As if yielding her body to the smoke, the girl holding the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} quietly closed her eyes.

===Part 3===

The faint tremors stopped. Just how long had they gone on for?

Quickly rising to his feet, Neight glanced around at his surroundings.

The single path out seemed to gradually curve to the right. Because he had escaped by running down the left fork, taking that path should lead him straight ahead of where he was before.

……Nothing’s out there, right?

Although he checked behind him every few seconds, there were no signs of the mysterious grey creatures chasing after him. Because the hallway lights were off, he continued forward by relying on the emergency lights.

“Evacuation…… route.”

Those words were engraved on a plate attached to the wall of the hallway.

If he were to continue farther down this path, he should reach an evacuation door.

He continued to walk forward again, but before he could take a step— His body trembled.

“E-Eh?”

It wasn’t just his body. The floor, the walls, the ceiling. Everything trembled like they were screaming.

An earthquake? And it was larger than the one that happened a little while ago.

……Just what was going on?

<div align="center">***</div>

“Ada, that was amazing! I never knew you could do that!”

As her classmate carrying a spear returned, Kluele involuntarily cheered.

She had known that Ada was in the spear-wielding club, but never knew her friend was this talented. During class, Ada never acted anything like it.

“Yeah…… Well, it’s just a skill I have.”

Talking in an ambiguous manner, her classmate scratched the back of her head. She had shown godly skills back then, but strangely, a lonely expression shadowed her face.

“Kluele, hurry up and take the teachers back to school.”

The three teachers: Kate, Enne, and Zessel. And then there was Kluele and Ada. Although together they would be extremely heavy, the divine bird said it was no problem.

“Alright. Ada, get on.”

But instead of getting on the bird’s back, Ada smiled bitterly and shrugged.

“I’m going to find Chibi-kun. It was me who brought him along, so I feel responsible for him.”

“But……”

[Let us go. We must hurry.]

The divine bird raised its head. ……Sure enough, thinking things through calmly, what Ada and the divine bird said made sense. The problem was their homeroom teacher, Kate. The wound on her back was deep and she needed to be transported to a medical facility right away.

“Sorry Ada, but I’ll be right back.”

“How unfortunate, to be told that by the Demon of Lateness.”

Ada joked lightly. Before Kluele could reply with ‘You’re also like that!’……

'''''Wind, sneer at the transience of sand crawling on the ground'''''<br/>
''loar dime, Hir qusi fluse feo nen rawa cley''

'''''Feathers, laugh at the foolishness of ashes drunk on flames'''''<br/>
''sheza dime, Hir qusi nazarie feo eza da wavir uc corne''

The voice came from somewhere unknown and soared around the calm room.

At the same time.

——Crack!——

It was the sound of something hard cracking. The sound was quiet but unusually clear, echoing throughout the room.

'''''A lonely prison, a banquet of trash, the defeated laughs at the unending tragedy'''''<br/>
''solitie kaon, writh lef eza, lastis os fisa endehec mofy''

'''''The throne hungers for a king, but sitting on the seat is only dust'''''<br/>
''arsei glio, ovan ezis glia jes reive''

A husky elderly voice sang a strange melody.

No, it wasn’t just a regular song. Was it a <{{Furigana|Song of Praise|Oratorio}}>?

“W-What……? There’s more?”

'''''Everything in nature changes. Along with the chair, I flow to dust'''''<br/>
''omunis via-c-univa, Yer sis tera peg ezis, eza''

'''''If that is so, then there is no winner in this world'''''<br/>
''zette yupa thes I neckt loern''

The melody which they thought was the malice of the dead came from the single remaining <Egg>—

“Ada, get on right now! That <Egg> seems dangerous!”

After Enne spoke, Zessel’s face paled.

The grey catalyst in the middle of the room.

Its outer layer gradually tore off like it was breaking out of its shell. A grey glow leaked out from inside.

'''''Come, born children, thou art the children who serve thy king'''''<br/>
''Isa da boema foton doremren Ser la lemenent, clar lef ilmei arsa''

'''''In thy hands are the king’s swords, twelve of them become a shadow over power'''''<br/>
''jes effectis qusi fo Lastihyt, ecta peg sterei orza''

[It seems this research institute itself is a trap.]

The divine bird glared—

The Recitation light shone conspicuously. Particles of light traced out a helix shape and a silver shadow appeared in the center.

[And so, this seems to be the final and worst trap.]

'''''Everything in the world now becomes the defeated — It is the day when the twelve plates of silver, the king’s swords, roar'''''<br/>
''miqvy O evoia arsei tearl dis elmaei I — sterei efflectis Ezehyt = ende arsa''

Something silver-colored appeared there.

It was nearly two meters tall. Its shape resembled a humanoid made of long and narrow metal needles. Silver swords grew directly out of the parts where the hands were meant to be. It looked very much like something manmade, different from the species of Recited creatures usually called out from Recitations and the grey Recited creatures. —Floating in the air around the True Spirit as if they were protecting it were twelve bladed weapons that glowed silver, including spears, swords, and axes.

……No way, was it the True Spirit of Grey Recitations?

It was a silver Recited creature with a blade in each hand, as well as twelve more around it.

The True Spirit slowly raised the weapons in its hands…… And the instant they became aware of that.

The True Spirit was standing directly in front of them.

[……It’s fast.]

The divine bird spoke in an amazed voice.

It had moved suddenly, without any warning. Its movements were also frighteningly quick and smooth. Goosebumps rose all over Kluele’s body as she watched the True Spirit. It moved in a way similar to how Ada had.

The raised swords pointed in the direction of the divine bird and swung down.

“—What a fool.”

The attacking flash of silver was blocked by another flash of silver that swung up from below.

“Girl with the stick, watch where you’re swinging it!”

Alone, the girl wielding the spear stood her ground in front of the True Spirit.

“Ada?”

“Go on ahead of me. I said before, right? I’ll go find Chibi-kun and then return to school.”

“What are you saying? Ada, hurry up and get on!”

Keeping her gaze fixed on the enemy in front of her, Ada silently shook her head. At the same time……

……Plop.

A tiny drop of water hit the floor.

“A-Ada, what are you……?”

“Please…… Go ahead of me.”

That drop of water had fallen from the girl’s eye.

“I’m a useless person, so this is the only thing I can do.”

She slowly turned her head.

Her eyes brimming with tears were like the shore of a lake.

“……I wanted to become a Reciter.”

—She was crying.

It was the first time Kluele had seen Ada cry. Large teardrops rolled down Ada’s cheeks.

“At first, I hated the path that my idiot parents had decided for me, so I wanted to do the exact opposite and become a Reciter. It was such a lame reason. After I had a fight with my parents and left, I came to this school.”

She tightly gripped her spear. Even though the True Spirit slowly moved closer to her, she was still defenselessly facing the other direction.

“But as I studied, Reciting started to seem more interesting. I started to think that I truly wanted to become a Reciter. That’s something I can't deny. I made many friends, and honestly, it was the first time I’ve done that. Until now…… I’ve always…… always……”

‘—Let’s say for example that there was a student in the class other than Chibi-kun who was alone. If that were so, what would you do, Kluele?’

Her voice trembled. Her body trembled.

Her tears trembled. Her sigh trembled.

The extremely delicate and fragile girl cried uncontrollably.

“That’s what I should have been thinking. ……But this is the first time. For the first time, I'm glad to be an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}}.”

Without trying to hide her tears, Ada showed an unfitting smile.

“I’m…… a useless idiot…… It seems like this is the only path for me.”

Everyone who saw that smile was left speechless.

It was extremely fragile, yet extremely determined.

The manner in which Ada behaved was —unmistakably that of an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}}.

“But Ada, even if it’s you, there’s no way you can face this monster alone……”

“Don’t worry. Compared to this puppet, my stubborn father is a hundred times worse.”

The stone wall and ceiling now collapsed. Was it due to the rumbling a while ago, or was it yet another trap?

[……Kluele, let’s leave this place.]

The divine bird gently flapped its wings.

……Ada definitely wouldn’t listen if she was told to escape.

She was an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} who had stayed in a Recitation school.

And now— If this was the path she chose……

“Ada, you need to return to the school with Neight as quickly as possible! It’s a promise, alright?”

The only thing Kluele could do right now was to believe in her classmate.

……Yeah, yeah. Understood, class representative.

Continuing to smile, Ada watched the divine bird cross through the evacuation door.

—But I might be a bit late.

Turning her gaze back to the enemy before her, Ada transferred the spear that she had held in both hands to only one hand.

It was her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} that she had received before she could understand what was going on.

After several years of training, she had gotten to know the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}’s weight within one gram of error and its length within one millimeter of error. What she could and could not do with the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} had all been engraved into her. —After she had accomplished that, for the first time, her father had allowed her to call herself an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}}.

Thirteen years old. It was the moment when the youngest {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} in history had been born.

And now, it was three years after that.

The spear had already become a part of her body. There was no link between the spear and the arm she wielded it with. Both of them were her spear and both of them were her arm.

“Now, all that’s left is for the two of us to fight alone.”

……Speaking of which, it’s been a long time since I’ve talked to you.

Ada wiped away the tears on her cheeks. The True Spirit drew closer to her, cutting down the nearby walls as if they were made of thin paper. They cut down anything they touched —The twelve silver blades protected the True Spirit by circling it at high speed. Ada’s skin hurt like she had been burned. It wasn’t due to the blades but the blood thirst emitted by the enemy.

This opponent was undeniably strong. Ada had to admit that. As the Reciter she was now, she definitely couldn’t win. If so, then had the half year she spent as a Reciter been a complete waste? ……No.

There was one thing she had learned from the school for Reciters.

Because she couldn’t win like this, she had to Recite.

It was something she knew the best, but also something she hated the most— The her of the past.

'''''—Through great reverence and dignity, I carve out my name'''''<br/>
''O toga Wem millmo, HIr shoul da ora peg ilmeri giris ende zorm''

Sing. Remember.

She didn’t need daydreams or fantasies that she had created.

She just needed to call back the her of those days.

The her who she had cut away in the past. She had let go of and turned her back to her memories as an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}}.

The her who had innocently loved only her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}, who had lived together with her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}— Right now, she called back that part of her just one more time.

'''''Dreams and wishes, I threw them all to the distant past (behind)'''''<br/>
''ole shan ilis, peg loar, peg kei, Hir et univa sm hid''

'''''I cannot even turn around to look at that path anymore'''''<br/>
''Hir be qusi Gillisu xshao ele sm thes, neckt ele''

She spun her spear in one hand. Each spin was faster, stronger, more beautiful.

She hated her parents and the people around her talking about her natural talent. That was why she had continued to practice tirelessly in a place where nobody could see her.

'''''Be the beginning of the one sent home (seen off)'''''<br/>
''Lor be se Gillisu feo olfey cori ende olte''

'''''My whole life is simply meant for singing, dancing, and living with my spear'''''<br/>
''lipps hypne cooka, fifsia-c-ect-c-ele peg Gill, jes qusi giris''

She had come to a Recitation school but neglected her Recitation studies.

She had joined the spear-wielding club but ditched practices whenever she felt like it.

However— Training to become an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} was the one thing she couldn’t stop doing.

'''''There are no flowers at my funeral, no name is needed on my gravestone'''''<br/>
''leide neckt ele sm Yem hypne, reive zayxuy lostasia Yem nehhe''

'''''I only need my rusted spear thrust upright into my corpse'''''<br/>
''O la Laspha, Wem shel zo hearsa lipps sm cley''

Her blood blisters had burst, the skin of her palms had been torn, and her eyes had teared up with pain. But even so, she had still held onto her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}. There had been times when she lost consciousness while being pounded by chilly winter rain and her skin had nearly festered after being scorched by insanely hot summer heat. But even so, she hadn't let go of her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}.

Her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} wouldn’t betray her. The more she swung it, the sharper it would become. The more she cried, the stronger it would become.

That’s right. They had walked together for far enough a distance that she could declare that with certainty.

'''''Now sing praise, many colors, many called out children'''''<br/>
''Isa O ora, sterei Ies, sterei da cooka doremren''

The spear cut through the air, as if changing into an armor of blades that enveloped the girl’s body.

As it cut through the air, it sung a tune that resembled a song.

The tanned spear-user sang a tanned melody.

'''''Here and now, the one thing after setting free all of the names—'''''<br/>
''Jes nehhe qusi Ies, arsei spil, Seo la miqvy virgia''

If she were to bear not the title of a Reciter, but of an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}}.

If the one who should protect her back and the opponent before her who she should defeat were here.

—As one who bore the ultimate title, there was one path she couldn’t step away from.

'''''There is already nothing that can bind my spear'''''<br/>
''bekwist Yem nehhe olfey besti Gillshuvesher''

Her impatience and rage faded away far into the distance.

The burning and excitement of her body made her unable to feel even the rumbling around her.

“I’m coming, True Spirit! I’ll show you the power of a {{Furigana|Master of the Exorcist Spear|Gillshuvesher}}!”

There were no more Reciters in the room.

The time when she had wavered in the gap between song and spear had passed.

—Ada Yung Gillshuvesher was coming.

<div align="center">***</div>

……Was the earthquake still not over?

The large tremors from before had passed, but weak vibrations that shook his hair still continued.

Suddenly, the noise changed.

It was no longer the crushing sound of the wall collapsing, but clear, metallic reverberations. The incessant clashing of two hard things created a cold, sharp melody. He could hear the sounds echoing from the direction he had come from.

“……There’s a light?”

Was that a door? Silver light shone through from the cracks around the door.

The sounds were coming from— the other side?

Peering through to the other side of the door, Neight caught his breath.

There was a True Spirit made of metallic silver rods arranged in a humanoid shape. It wielded long blades that grew out of its hands and used them to slash at its opponent.

The opponent blocking its way was— A single girl with tanned skin who wielded a spear.

……Ada-san?

Right, left. The two blades slashed downward in less than a second. Ada blocked the right blade with the tip of her spear, and with the momentum of her blocking movement, turned her gaze to the left blade. The silver flash it created was already coming close to the tip of her nose.

—I can’t block it in time. While parrying the edge of the blade with her spear, Ada pressed her body close to the floor. The silver spear and the axe passed by where her neck had been moments before.

“Hah!”

With a loud breath, she swung at the protective blades floating in the air. Claaaang. With a reverberating sound like striking a bell of ice, a spear and an axe disappeared.

“……Eight left.”

She stepped back, putting approximately four meters of distance between herself and her pursuer who approached closer.

4.42 meters, that was her reach. On the other hand, she had already confirmed that her opponent’s reach was 4.14 meters. 28 centimeters— It was a tiny distance that she would have to rely on her speed and her weapon’s reach to surpass. But the protective weapons surrounding the True Spirit flew irregularly around it within a six meter range.

Ada had no choice but to stay out of the True Spirit’s range. If it rushed in, then her spear would lose its length advantage. Therefore, she should be standing between 4.14 meters to 4.2 meters away from her opponent. Any closer than that would be within the enemy’s range and any farther meant the floating blades could attack her while she couldn't strike back.

[[File:Tasogare_v2_247.jpg|thumb]]

A space of 28 centimeters. That was the small boundary separating life and death, triumph and defeat. Leaving that space or being pushed out of it would mean defeat. However, right now, they were locked in a stalemate.

—She needed to find a way to tip the scales in her favor. What could she do?

But while she had been focused on thinking, the True Spirit had closed the distance.

……So it’s a strange enemy without any common sense, huh?

Its sword flashed down at a speed that an ordinary person would be unable to keep up with. With speed that could slay an enemy in the blink of an eye, it gouged, pierced, thrust, slashed down— but then abruptly retreated. Just when Ada thought it was retreating, it lunged forward at an intense speed. Then, just when they were about to clash, it suddenly slowed down and retreated again.

Its movements were unpredictable.

It attacked irregularly without any particular style of fighting. Without breathing like a person, without the attack range of a person, it attacked randomly as if mocking people’s swordsmanship. Ada wasn’t even sure which way to look.

……No, she couldn’t be bothered by it. She needed to breathe steadily.

She twisted to avoid its right-side sword that stabbed forward. She curved her body to avoid its left-side sword that drew closer to her. The silver flash grazed her cheek. She felt hot blood flowing down, as if a layer of skin had been peeled off.

But in exchange, she had avoided her opponent’s attack.

Ada thrust her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} forward as fast as she could. Embedded in its tip was a pearl. The milky white tip of the spear lunged at the True Spirit’s body.

However, what the spear pierced wasn’t its body, but one of the protective blades surrounding it.

“—Not again!”

Ada unintentionally let out a bitter sigh.

While fighting the True Spirit, she had realized that the twelve blades dancing around it were both its weapons and its defense. In order to land a single hit on the True Spirit, she first had to send back the blades. Out of the original twelve, seven remained.

Blood mixed with the sweat running down her cheeks.

She had already seen through her opponent’s weak points. Its body was comprised of silver blades and what held them together in the middle was an <Egg> glowing dark grey. It wasn’t difficult to think that the <Egg> was the core holding the True Spirit in this world.

……Ada could still move her body. She was fine.

Before her movements became sluggish and her mind became exhausted, she needed to send back all of the blades protecting the enemy. After that, she could hit its core with her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}.

“Let’s go, {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}.”

Nodding at the spear she was holding……

——Craaaaaack——

An ice-cold sound rang out from beside her hand. Willpower, strength, determination, resolve. It was a sad sound…… as if all of that had been drained away.

“……My {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}?”

At first, she thought it was a hallucination. She couldn’t believe it. But the more she stared at it, the more it proved to be real.

About halfway down her spear, thin cracks like a spider web had appeared.

……Ada-san?

Something had happened to her. Even Neight, who was just an onlooker, could understand that much.

Something had suddenly disappeared from Ada. Strength? No, it was something more basic.

As if her will to fight had vanished, she only dodged the opponent’s attacks. That’s right. She only dodged. She didn’t block or parry the attacks with her spear. She did nothing but continue to step back.

But— that was absurd. Even if it was Ada, there was no way that she could fully avoid all of the attacks.

In the blink of an eye, Ada had been pushed back until her back touched the wall. With one swift move, the True Spirit closed the distance between itself and the girl who had nowhere left to run. While its sword sliced Ada’s shoulder and slashed at her abdomen, a floating axe chopped down at her foot.

“Ada-san!”

Crossing through the doorway, Neight ran to the girl’s side.

……No way. Hey, this can’t be true, right?

Ada couldn’t believe that a crack had appeared on her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}. Nothing like that had ever happened until now. She had never neglected to take care of it. Even when using it normally, she had made sure to be careful with it. Even with the fighting just now, it had only clashed with other blades no more than a few times. Considering the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}’s sturdiness, something like that shouldn’t have damaged it this much— Then was this because of a different reason?

She could only think of one other reason.

Creatures with life, objects with a shape, a single truth applied to all of them— That is, the restriction called ‘lifespan’. After enduring around a dozen years of rigorous training, the result was that the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}’s limit had come more quickly.

……No, no way. There’s no way that’s true.

Wasn’t it a part of her? The first friend she had made?

—Are you leaving me?

—Was this my fault?

Everything that reached its limit crumbled noisily.

The True Spirit swung its sword down. She might have been able to block with her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}. However, she couldn’t do that no matter what.

“Ugh!”

She twisted her body and dodged. A sharp pain ran along her shoulder. It was a small but deep cut.

……But she didn’t care.

If she had taken that blow with her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}, its lifespan would have been shortened even more. That was something she definitely didn’t want.

She ran from the floating weapons and the swords wielded by her opponent.

—Thump. She felt something hard against her back. The wall?

At the same time, the True Spirit turned towards her and closed the distance between them in a single movement. Ada tried once more to widen the distance between her and the stabbing sword, but her feet wouldn’t move.

“Ow!”

The floating axe gouged her calf. The pain blurred out the world around her for a split second. When she came to her senses, she saw the True Spirit raising its large sword in front of her.

……She couldn’t avoid it!

Did she have to defend with the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}? Wasn’t there another option?

Her thoughts swirled around in vain. Her body wouldn’t move.

“Ada-san!”

The sword heading down towards her suddenly stopped. Pausing in its tracks, the True Spirit turned around to look behind itself. An intruder had entered the main hall. It was a small boy with a young-looking face.

……Chibi-kun?

With the sound of metal scraping on metal, the True Spirit ran off. Its target was—

No…… Don’t, Chibi-kun…… Run away, hurry…… Don’t come here.

“Don’t come over here!”

“Eh?”

Stunned, the boy froze. The True Spirit directly ahead him raised its large sword. Neight looked up helplessly. The sudden attack left him unable to comprehend the situation.

“Ah…… Ah……”

Intimidated by the True Spirit advancing towards him, Neight was frozen in place.

A Reciter who could call things out without singing a <{{Furigana|Song of Praise|Oratorio}}> was a different matter, but other Reciters were weak when attacked directly. That was why {{Furigana|Exorcists|Gillshe}} existed, to stand as a shield before Reciters. There happened to be an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} here. Moreover, there was a Reciter right in front of her.

……No. Ada didn’t want to regret anymore. There was a friend getting hurt right in front of her. Wasn’t that why she had felt so pitiful during the recital contest?

Couldn’t she protect anyone? If not, then what was the use of her spear?

Its life would end without having done anything.

Was that what her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} truly wished for?

‘Ada. Do you truly think this path is nothing but boring?’

‘Anyone born into a family of {{Furigana|Exorcists|Gillshe}} will struggle with that question at least once. —I was also like that.’

‘But one day, I realized.’

……That’s right. Hadn’t her father told her something like that?

'……Father, I don’t understand.'

‘It’s not that you don’t understand. You just haven’t realized it yet.’

She had finally realized. She realized what her father’s eyes had been trying to tell her that day.

‘I’m…… a useless idiot…… It seems like this is the only path for me.’

After searching for something she could do, that was the result she chose.

She chose it out of her own free will.

There was no turning back. For as long as she lived, she would have no choice but to walk down this path.

It would be an extremely rigorous and boring path. ……But even so.

—By going down this path, she could definitely protect someone.

Merciless flashes of silver flew down towards Neight. They came from the two swords that the True Spirit wielded as well as the protective blades revolving around the True Spirit.

They were all knocked aside by a glittering milky-white slash.

“……A-Ada-san……”

“Are you alright, Chibi-kun?”

Neight nodded wordlessly. Ada lightly patted his head.

She then glanced at her spear. The cracks on its tip were growing larger.

After the next attack, she would probably have to bid it farewell.

……Was it willing to fight together with her until the very end?

“Chibi-kun, do you have a catalyst?”

Speaking quickly without even moving her lips, she asked the boy behind her.

“Eh? Y-Yes.”

“Then can you do me a favor? Right now, can you conduct the very first Recitation you tried to show everyone?”

She didn’t mean the Recitation from the recital contest, but the one he conducted on the very first day he had transferred into the school. She wanted to make use of the <{{Furigana|Song of Praise|Oratorio}}> he had sung in the laboratory.

“Eh…… B-But I still can’t do it properly yet.”

“I don’t mind if you fail. Also, make sure you sing the <{{Furigana|Song of Praise|Oratorio}}> loud enough that even the True Spirit can hear it!”

“—!”

A tense expression appeared on Neight’s face. He finally realized what Ada was planning to do.

“Ada-san, it will probably disappear in under a minute. ……Please make sure you time it properly!”

Giving only a wink in response, Ada leaped forward directly in front of the True Spirit.

The True Spirit had two swords, as well as the protective blades flying around. Ada twisted her body, leaped, and dodged. She couldn’t block attacks with her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}, which could only withstand one more blow. In order to use that blow wisely, right now she had no choice but to continue dodging.

'''''Descend, dark curtain of twilight'''''<br/>
''“—cart lef dimi-l-shadi denca-c-dowa”''

From behind Ada, the <{{Furigana|Song of Praise|Oratorio}}> that Neight sang resounded all throughout the main hall.

'''''I praise the distant (your) name'''''<br/>
''YeR be orator Lom nehhe''

'''''Dark, courageous, pitiful (sorrowful)'''''<br/>
''lor besti bluci ende branousi -l- symphoeki''

'''''Master’s single wing (transient master)'''''<br/>
''O she saira qersonie Laspha—''

A Night-colored {{Furigana|Recital gate|Channel}} slowly formed by Neight’s feet.

Pulling back her spear so that the large sword passed by only a hairsbreadth away, Ada leaped forward towards her opponent’s torso with all of her strength.

At the same time, Neight’s Recitation ended with its final verse.

——[{{Furigana|Ezel|Night Song}}]]——

Just then, for an instant, the room was enveloped in thick black smoke.

It was the result of his Recitation going out of control.

The True Spirit, Neight, and Ada. All of their visions turned completely dark, making them unable to see anything at all.

……However!

Despite the stinging smoke, Ada opened her eyes. She had done training to see in the dark before, but right now she had a different purpose in mind. The glittering grey <Egg> in the center of her opponent was the only light that could still be seen in the darkness.

—So that’s where it was!

Abandoning any thoughts of defense, Ada simply thrust her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} straight forward.

The grey True Spirit now knew its target’s location.

A milky-white gemstone shone at the end of the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} that Ada held, which exposed her location. The two swords and the floating protective blades— all of the weapons thrust forward towards the gemstone.

And then……

—The black smoke cleared.

The girl and the True Spirit. Both of them stood frozen in a position with their weapons pointed at each other.

“……It’s over.”

Ada looked up at her enemy, which was close enough to touch.

She had definitely felt the tip of her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} pierce the <Egg>.

On the other hand, the silver swords that the True Spirit had thrust out were all pointed at the wall far away from her.

“In this situation, if we had both struck each other, you would probably have won.”

Where the weapons had pierced it, the wall shone with a faint milky-white light.

That was the fake target Ada had called out.

[…………]

The True Spirit didn’t respond. Ada had prepared a two-fold plan. As if it was praising her, the True Spirit simply stared at the Recitation light.

From the very beginning, what Ada had wanted from Neight was just the black smoke that resulted from a Recitation gone out of control. When all of their visions turned dark, the targets had become the light of the <Egg> and the shining gemstone on the tip of her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}.

While Neight was Reciting, Ada had called out a white light similar to the glittering gem.

From the very start, White Recitations were Ada’s speciality. The catalyst had been the pearl on the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}, and as for the <{{Furigana|Song of Praise|Oratorio}}>—

‘Make sure you sing the <{{Furigana|Song of Praise|Oratorio}}> loud enough that even the True Spirit can hear it!’

When Neight sang his <{{Furigana|Song of Praise|Oratorio}}> loudly, covered by the boy’s voice, Ada had sung her own <{{Furigana|Song of Praise|Oratorio}}>. After that— While the True Spirit’s swords aimed at the fake light of the spear, Ada had thrust her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} at the <Egg>.

With a faint rustle, the sheets of metal that made up the True Spirit turned into fine dust and disappeared.

The remaining seven floating blades, the large swords that the True Spirit wielded, and the True Spirit’s body all disappeared. Only the crumbling <Egg> with a hole pierced in it tumbled to the floor.

And then, at the same time……

Something very precious to Ada shattered loudly.

“Ada-san!”

With a vacant expression, Ada stood still. Chilled by the frightening thought that she might faint, Neight rushed up to her.

“Is your wound alright?”

“……I’m fine.”

She definitely shouldn’t be fine. The blood flowing down both her legs had already stained the tips of her shoes red.

However, she didn’t look like she was concerned about that. Instead, she gazed down by her feet.

She wasn’t looking at her blood-stained shoes. What she gazed at was something farther beyond that.

—Her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}?

The tip of the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} that Ada had spent around a dozen years together with was now shattered. Scattered on the floor were countless tiny shards of a broken blade.

“Chibi-kun, I’m sorry but do you mind going back to school before me?”

Ada sighed weakly.

“……But……”

“Please. I want ‘us’ to be alone.”

Neight ran away towards the evacuation door.

A curtain of silence fell across the room. In it, Ada stood alone.

Closing her eyes, the girl {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} hugged the shattered spear to her chest.

“……I’m sorry.”

You were the one closest to me who protected me until now. I’m sorry for noticing it so late.

……I’m truly, truly sorry.

===Part 4===

Just how long had he been waiting for already?

Chilly waves lapped the sandy beach. Right now, he was standing somewhere between the branch school and the research institute. The sun that dyed the ocean red was now disappearing beyond the horizon. The waves which washed away grains of sand were becoming darker.

“The stars are coming out.”

Beside him, a girl with scarlet hair murmured. Compelled by her words, Neight looked up at the sky overhead.

The twinkling points of light reminded him of the shattered {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}.

“I was really worried. And then you wandered off by yourself, of all things!”

Kluele had waited for him the whole time on the road leading back from the research institute.

“……I’m sorry.”

“But I’m glad you came back safely.”

“U-Um, what about Kate-sensei?”

“We immediately took her to see a doctor, so she’ll be fine. The other teachers are also going to have a quick checkup.”

For several seconds, there was silence between them.

“……Sorry.”

As if in harmony with the splashing waves, Kluele was the first to speak.

“I should be the one apologizing. I was troubled about my Recitations being scary, so I made you worry unnecessarily about something strange like that.”

Looking up at the sky, she spread her arms wide open.

“But I’m fine now. After this, I’ll be back to normal.”

Normal. That was something that could be understood just by seeing her calm expression.

“I believed in Kluele-san ever since the very beginning.”

Before he could finish speaking those words……

“……Hey, Neight?”

With a mischievous smile— Kluele suddenly pinched both of his cheeks.

“O-Oww! Kwuewe-san, tha’ huwts!”

“Ahaha. During times like these, you should just politely ask ‘what is it?’”

“Whaa’ ith it?”

“Yup, just like that.”

Nodding with a satisfied look, Kluele let him go.

“……Aah, that was mean.”

Neight reflexively pressed his hands to his cheeks…… And suddenly, he blinked repeatedly.

Eh? His cheeks didn’t hurt at all, even though he had expected it to be painful just now.

“……Kluele-san, did you go easy on me?”

“What are you saying, isn’t that obvious?”

Covering her mouth with her hand, the girl chuckled.

……I see.

Other than that, they had nothing more to say. In silence, they gazed at the ebb and flow of the waves—

Suddenly, the quiet noise of someone walking on sand could be heard on the beach.

“You’ll catch a cold, both of you.”

It was a tall girl with black hair. With her white Tremia school uniform fluttering in the wind, she slowly walked up to Neight and Kluele.

“……Serges-san?”

Looking back now, the beginning of everything had been— When Serges had told Neight about the {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} girl practicing with her spear on the rooftop.

“U-Um, Serges-san?”

“What is it?”

The girl stood still, pushing aside her bangs that had been stuck together by the sea breeze.

“Did you know about Ada-san?”

“About her being an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}}?”

……Like he thought, Serges had known everything from the very beginning.

“I’m probably the one who knows the most about her. More than any other student and any teacher.”

Her expression suddenly turning gentle, Serges also looked up at the sky. She gazed beyond the clouds drifting overhead, beyond the twinkling stars— She gazed at something in the distant past that she could no longer return to.

“Ada was the same as you, Neighty.”

The same as me?

“During the school entrance ceremony, she walked around quietly by herself. ……She had probably been thinking that she was too different compared to the rest of us. When I first talked to her, she ended up telling me a lot of things. It felt like she was so anxious that she couldn’t help spilling everything.”

—Ada-san had done that?

“She originally had a much brighter personality, which you probably can’t imagine her with anymore. Back then, she held onto her precious long spear and gazed at me anxiously.”

With a small laugh, Serges put her arms behind her back.

But then, she continued to speak in a quiet, unusually low voice.

“She looked like she needed someone to act like an older sister to her. I thought that she desperately needed a friend who she could fool around with.”

Eh, ‘someone’?

“Neighty, until you understand that, you’ll still be ‘Chibi-kun’. Right, Kluele?”

“Wait, what? Who do you mean by the role of the older sister?”

“……Even I don’t know.”

Letting out a sigh that was mixed with laughter, Serges walked lightly across the sandy beach.

In the direction she was heading—

With the starry night sky behind her, a short girl quietly walked towards them.

On her back, she carried a spear with a broken tip.

“……You idiot. You’re so late that we were all worried.”

Saying that, the Reciter hugged her close {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} friend.

“Mmhm. Sorry about that. I’m alright now.”

Ada smiled weakly.

[[File:Tasogare_v2_267.jpg|thumb]]

“That’s an obvious lie.”

“—Eh……”

One again, Sergies hugged Ada tightly.

“Didn’t I tell you already? Fake smiles don’t suit you. You need to express your mood more genuinely! It’s fine to act cheerful when you’re feeling up to it. But during painful times, rely on your friends more, okay?”

“…………”

“Or am I not reliable enough?”

“……What are you saying? That’s not true…… I’m just really happy.”

—I’m glad that {{Furigana|an Exorcist|I}} came to {{Furigana|a Recitation School|this school}}.

Her voice was choked with tears.

Mixed in with the splashing waves, it echoed quietly.

----

===Translation Notes===
<references />

<noinclude>{{Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai Nav|prev=Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai:Volume2 4th Play|next=Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai:Volume2 Interval Play 2nd Act}}</noinclude>

Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai:Volume2 2nd Play

2013-05-24T18:33:51Z

Xiose:

==2nd Play – Merely Because I Desired This Moment==

===Part 1===

With a high-pitched call of its steam whistle, the black train arrived at the platform.

It continuously spat out high-temperature, high-pressure water vapor into the air. He hadn’t heard about the theory in detail, but it seemed that the steam was used to move pistons, which sent power to the wheels.

“……Wow.”

Looking up, Neight involuntarily let out a shout of joy and amazement.

“It’s amazing!”

The metal vehicle consisted of nearly ten compartments, which together made up one train. He couldn’t imagine how heavy they were, and couldn’t believe that such large masses of metal could move like this.

“Neight, is this your first time riding a steam train?”

He tapped Neight’s shoulder. Looking up, beside him stood a male student with a well-built physique.

“It’s my first time seeing a train. When I moved here, I came by boat. What about Ouma-san?”

Instead of replying, with an attendance book in hand, the class representative in charge of overseeing the male students shrugged nonchalantly.

“I rode a train often when returning to my home in the countryside. I could take it easy during those times but…… as expected, not right now.”

All approximately four hundred of Tremia Academy’s first-year students had gathered at one platform. Because of that, the platform had become crowded with students. There was no way of knowing who was where. Although each class should have made plans to assemble together, at this point there were only ten male students gathered around Ouma.

“How should I put it, because it’s so hard to gather together, everyone’s actually feeling cheerful.”

While flipping through the class attendance list, the boy looked around with a surprised expression. Although the teachers seemed to also be guiding students around, even the figures of the teachers were hidden in the wave of people.

“It must be difficult being a class representative.”

“I have it fairly easy. Because if I see one of the boys in our class and call out to him, he’ll gather over here quickly.”

Is that so? Neight tilted his head at Ouma’s manner of speaking.

“……So then, are there times when this isn’t the case?”

“Look, that person’s having it rather difficult.”

He was gazing at— Carrying a handbag, a tall girl with scarlet hair was pushing through the crowd and running around the platform with an exhausted expression.

A girl wearing a Tremia uniform had left the platform and was running unsteadily toward the shops in the station. She was grabbed by the neck.

“Hey Mio, where do you think you’re going!”

“Hm? Um, I was wondering if we should go buy some souvenirs. They’re products available in only this part of the world.”

Her classmate answered with an easygoing voice, not showing how agitated she was. The mystery novel that she was in the middle of reading was tucked under her arm.

“We’re not even about to leave yet. You’re too rushed!”

As soon as the girl had taken Mio back to the platform, the next person she set her eye on was—

“……Hey, wait, Serges! Why do you have such a large backpack on? That’s too big to bring onto the train!”

“This is— Kluele, listen! I need to have my own blankets and pillow with me. Also, as someone from the mountain climbing club, I can’t bring just a sleeping bag while travelling. I also need a tent, emergency rations, rain gear, a portable cooking stove, and— Ah, if it isn’t Neighty. Want to sleep with me in my sleeping bag tonight? It’s really warm!”

“I’m confiscating all of it! No suspicious invitations either! —Hm? Hey, Kirie! No eating allowed in the train station! Didn’t I say before that you can’t eat candy on the platform?!”

“But Kluele. It’s a deluxe, limited edition cookie that I went to so much trouble to buy. And as a member of the cuisine research society……”

The mature-looking girl lightly shook her wavy hair. Although Neight hadn’t spoken to her very much before, Kirie was also one of his classmates.

“You’re too trusting of the advertisements! That kind of thing is sold anywhere! ……Aah really, everyone please stay still! No, I mean, stop your futile resistance and get caught obediently!”

The girls of the class ran away wherever they pleased. Catching them and dragging them to the gathering place one after the other was the other class representative.

Neight stared idly at the situation.

“……Poor Kluele-san.”

“No matter how you put it, the girls in our class are troublesome to deal with.”

Before Neight realized it, all of the male students had lined up behind Ouma, who was smiling bitterly.

===Part 2===

……What should he do?

The enemy’s defense was like a boulder.

He had no chance to surround the enemy, and a thick, protective wall was also spread out to prevent a concentrated attack on one spot. The tunnel that he should have left was filled with enemy pieces, and the soldiers protecting the <King> had already been scattered.

—Should he make a final, suicidal attack? No, he shouldn’t get desperate.

“Neight-kun, have you decided?

“……P-Please let me think for a bit longer, just thirty more seconds.”

Without looking away from the game board by his hand, he shook his head in Mio’s direction.

Of course, his first priority was the <King>’s survival. Which meant the <King> must first escape to 15-F. However, his opponent’s archer was already on 12-F, cornering him. In that case, another plan was to move the <King> to 14-D. However, sure enough, an enemy piece was blocking him there as well. Standing there by itself was an ordinary <Pawn>. Since it was his turn right now, he could capture it with his <King>.

—His only fear was that……it was a <Jester> in the disguise of a <Pawn>.

This position seemed like it wanted him to eat that piece. It was very suspicious.

“……No way.”

“Huh? Neight-kun, what’s wrong?”

A question mark seemed to float over Mio’s head. However, on her face was a broad grin.

……But it’s no use. I have no more time. I have no choice but to take a chance.

“Well then, my <King> will escape to 14-D.”

“But my <Pawn> is there. Does that mean you want to capture my <Pawn>?”

Nodding silently, he placed his own piece on top of his opponent’s.

“Well then, go ahead and take a look.”

As Mio spoke, he picked up her <Pawn> and looked at its back side.

On the back of the piece was the sticker of a clown with a strange smile.

“Aaa, it really was the clown!”

“Yep, Neight-kun lost!”

While she wrote down the result of the game on something like a record book, Mio cackled.

“Well, in the beginning you were doing pretty good, pretty good. Have diligence, boy. If you continue to practice for a long time, someday you may even become able to see the light of day.”

……Mio-san’s personality is changing.

“It’s because I’m not good at games that require you to use your head.”

It would take up to three hours for the train to reach its destination. During that time, the class had decided to have a board game tournament among themselves. Although it was Neight’s first time playing this game, because everyone must participate, he had been half forced to join the tournament. Furthermore, he had been unlucky and his opponent in the first game had been one of the potential winners, Mio.

“Besides, Mio-san is too strong.”

“It’s because I’ve heard that Xins-san also plays this game. I occasionally practice because I want to be his opponent one day. By the way, your playing style just now was the same as his.”

The same as {{Furigana|the Rainbow Color Reciter|Xins}}-san’s?

“He appeared in the interview of some magazine a while back. ‘At first Senpai forced me to, but then I started playing myself.’ is what he said.”

“Senpai?”

The outstanding Reciter and also the most famous, {{Furigana|the Rainbow Color Reciter|Xins}}. ‘Senpai’ was a word that didn’t seem to match at all with Neight’s image of him.

‘Senpai’, could it be Mother? No, but it probably should be someone who was in the same class as Xins and Mother. In any case, he couldn’t think of another person who seemed to act like that.

“It’s interesting, isn’t it? All the more so because he didn’t talk about it in detail. Whether or not it’s a senpai who went to the same school as him, that person who Xin-sama calls ‘Senpai’ must be an amazing Reciter.”

“No way. It’s just my stubborn dad.”

Slowly, the tanned girl casually raised her head and looked back from the seat one row in front.

“Ada-san?”

“Huh, Ada, do you know something about it?”

The girl waved her hand at them, giving off a feeling like she was smiling bitterly.

“Aa, don’t worry about it. I was just talking to myself.”

“……Ah, really…?”

Neight and Mio absent-mindedly spoke at the same time.

“Anyways, Mio, your opponent for the second round is me. Good luck.”

“Ah Ada, did you win your first round?”

Mio spoke up in surprise.

“Fufufu, try not to let your guard down. Actually, I play this pretty often.”

“Oh? I guess I’ll enjoy this then.”

For some reason, their eyes lit up suspiciously. Giving them a backwards glance, Neight stood up from his seat.

“Ouma-san, I’m going to go take a look around inside the train.”

“Aah, the first section of the train is taken up by another school, so don’t get lost.”

Without looking up from the game board, the class representative casually waved his hand.

<div align="center">***</div>

In the lead carriage which was set up as a private room—

“……You guys acting as scouts to the research institute, please be careful, alright?”

With a sigh, the female teacher wearing a suit the color of new leaves lifted her head as if she had suddenly thought of it. Sitting in a chair, Zessel watched her from the corner of his eye.

Teacher Kate, no, more like a teacher’s advisor. She was an instructor of Blue Recitations. Although she hadn’t been teaching for long, he had heard frequently in the staffroom that she was an excellent homeroom teacher of first-year students.

“Alright. But I don’t think it’s a very difficult task. All we need to do is get the research institution to keep in contact with us, and then it will be over.”

Enne spoke while stroking a decorative plant placed in a corner of the room.

—I highly doubt that.

Without speaking aloud, Zessel muttered in his mind. It was a habit of his childhood friend, Enne. Whenever she felt uneasy about something, she would always stroke a nearby plant.

The research institute that created the evil catalyst. And now, communications between them had stopped. Was it a simple malfunction in equipment, or did it involve something dangerous? Actually, last night, the headmaster himself had only whispered ‘be careful’ to them.

“Well, Enne and I will take it slowly and carefully.”

……But he still felt anxious.

The report they had received from Mirror, who was in charge of gathering information, had been thirty pages long. It included the personal history up to five years ago of staff members, the research institute’s financial investments, and even the business’s achievements. However, the name of the researcher who manufactured the <Egg> was nowhere to be seen. That should have been the most important piece of information.

“Could Mirror-san have forgotten to include that?”

“Don’t get your hopes up. When he was writing up such a report, do you really think that perfectionist would forget to include something so important?”

—In other words, information about the person responsible for manufacturing the <Egg> couldn’t be found in either Tremia Academy’s information department or even Kelberk Research Institute’s headquarters.

“In the end, using that……”

In the middle of his sentence, Zessel shut his mouth. The sound of footsteps resounded in the aisle. It went on at a fast tempo, as if the person was running. The footsteps gradually approached them.

“Kate-sensei!”

At the sound of knocking on the door, the female teacher whose name was called out stood up from her seat.

“Ouma? What’s wrong?”

“A student from another school riding in a different compartment started a fight with our class, and before I could stop it, a girl from our class was—”

“What do you mean?!”

Her expression stiffening, Kate quickly opened the door. Standing before her was an out of breath male student.

“A girl…… Was someone injured?”

But, contrary to her expectations, although he was breathing heavily, he appeared calm. Rather than seeming worried, his expression looked tired.

“Um, no…… Brave students such as Ada and Serges have already begun fighting back.”

“Ah, the daughter of the Yung family? That’s too bad for the other school then.”

Without bothering to hide a bitter smile, Zessel stood up.

Ada Yung. Because of her special family circumstances, there wasn’t a single teacher in Tremia Academy who didn’t know about her. In other words, her situation was even more unique than the boy who was studying Night Color Recitations.

The Yung family was famous throughout the continent as a family of elite warriors, and she was their only daughter. The girl should originally have become the lead {{Furigana|exorcist|Gillshe}}, but she drew attention to herself by attending a Recitation school. At that time, her circumstances had become a popular conversation topic among teachers. Even the headmaster himself had asked her about her intentions.

“Ouma, has the dispute itself ended?”

“Umm, first of all, none of the girls in our class have been injured. ……Right now, our class is drinking {{Furigana|high-grade sake|juice}} to celebrate our victory. But it seems like there were some victims from the other school.”

Aah, causing trouble already…… Kate closed her eyes with a worried expression. Patting her on the shoulder, Zessel stepped out into the aisle in her place.

“I was once an acquaintance with {{Furigana|her father|Klaus-san}}, so I’ll go. It’s more fun doing something like this than sitting there and thinking.”

“You’d better not get into the fight also.”

Did she mean that for real or as a joke? Her ambiguous tone of voice pierced her childhood friend like a nail. ……Yeah yeah, I understand.

“It sounds like the opponent’s attitude could be problematic. You can read over some of the data that I’m supposed to look over. After all, you should know that I get sleepy when I read something longer than a thousand words.”

“I’ve looked over it already.”

As expected of someone who had known him for a long time. Before he had realized it, his section of the documents had been stacked in front of Enne, who had just replied.

—Intervening in a fight, huh? It would be fun if the problem at the research institute was also that simple.

Holding back the words that he had almost muttered, Zessel began to walk towards the train’s rear compartment.

<div align="center">***</div>

The rear end of the train was designed to be a vacant space resembling a terrace. It felt pleasant to stand beneath the summer sunshine with his uniform fluttering in the sudden gusts of wind.

“A trip with everyone, huh?”

Holding onto the railings meant to prevent falls, Neight absentmindedly gazed at the passing scenery.

……But Arma isn’t here.

It was a change from the commotion inside the train. He couldn’t hear anything other than the roaring of wind blowing past his ears and the screeching of the train’s wheels on the rails.

In the hot temperature, it was pleasant to feel his uniform being swayed by the wind. However, he seemed to hear even the wind blowing with a somehow lonely sound.

Even though the trip’s liveliness should be enjoyable, the companion he felt closest to wasn’t here.

“—Hey, Arma. I’m riding a train for the first time in my life.”

Although his voice was drowned out by the gusts passing over the terrace, he briefly spoke to himself. He didn’t receive an answer. He shouldn’t receive an answer. Even so, following his usual habit, he spoke in the direction of his shoulder.

“It’s really fast and seems really sturdy…… But hey, it’s also slightly the opposite.”

“Slightly scary?”

……That wasn’t him just now.

The voice had come from somewhere close to him. He didn’t even turn around. Because that voice belonged to someone he was very familiar with.

“—Kluele-san.”

“I also snuck out of there.”

The girl’s scarlet hair fluttered in the wind. Before he could reply, she came over and stood beside him.

“Kluele-san, it seemed pretty tiring for you this morning.”

“It’s always like that.”

She gave a bitter smile like it couldn’t be helped. For a few seconds of silence, they stayed like that—

“I’m kind of relieved.”

Gazing at the changing scenery, the girl beside Neight gently nodded.

“Eh?”

“I often hung out with you during summer vacation, but sometimes you would have a pained expression. I wondered what could be so painful……Although I expected it for the most part, you never confirmed my suspicions.”

He never realized that about himself. He had simply been working hard on Recitations because he wanted to meet Arma and Mother again. He had intended to practice with that in mind. —At least, that was what he believed.

“Did I really have such an expression?”

“That’s what you looked like before I called out to you just now.”

Although she was smiling gently, her eyes seemed glow with a somewhat sad color.

“But I understand your reason for that, so relax. ‘I want to hurry up and meet Arma again’. You seem to be facing your worries straight on.”

Sensing other feelings hidden behind those words, Neight lowered his gaze.

……I see. I made her worry so much.

“—I’m sorry.”

“I understand how lonely you feel, so you don’t need to apologize. But hey.”

She gently looked in his direction.

It was the same as always. It was the same as when they had been together during summer break. It was similar to Mother’s serene expression.

“Mio and Kate-sensei and I, we’re all here for you. It’s fine if you rely on us more.”

Could it be, that’s the reason why Kluele-san had stayed with him throughout summer vacation?

“—The wind feels good, doesn’t it?”

It seemed that she hadn’t noticed his thoughts. No, perhaps she had noticed them long ago.

As if searching for something, the girl before his eyes lifted her head and gazed at the clouds.

“Since we were lucky enough to get the chance to go on this trip, we have to enjoy it, right?”

===Part 3===

The wind is……moist?

After he exited the train, Neight immediately felt a sense of discomfort and stopped in his tracks.

Immediately after he had left the station, the humid air touched his skin. The wind carried along a strange smell. It seemed somehow nostalgic. That was probably due to being beside the sea.

—Speaking of which, did it feel like this when I rode on a boat?

His mother had taken him onto one just once. That time, he had gotten seasick and could barely look at the ocean, but he definitely remembered the smell.

“Oi, chibi-kun, if you don’t come quickly, you’re going to get lost!”

Hearing the voice coming from somewhere far away, he reflexively corrected his pace. In the time he had absent-mindedly stopped walking, he had been separated from his group of classmates.

“Ah, coming!”

Shouldering his armful’s worth of luggage, he chased after his classmates.

“Eh? Ada-san, that’s…”

She carried her luggage in her left hand and held something long and narrow in her right hand. Wrapped in black cloth, its height exceeded that of her body.

“Hm? Ah, this? It’s an old habit of mine. If I don’t carry this, I won’t feel relaxed.”

So it really was the spear. But no matter how you put it, wasn’t that a bladed weapon? In the first place, it was strange that their teacher Kate had given her permission to bring something so large.

“……It’s because the teachers at school know about it.”

About what? Before he could ask that, the girl suddenly quickened her pace.

“Well, various things.”

Muttering hastily, the girl remained quiet from then on. She stayed silent, so Neight didn’t ask any further.

Please, don’t touch it— her small back seemed to be saying that.

<div align="center">***</div>

Looking up from the reddish-brown gate, a large grey school building shone under the sun.

Tremia Academy’s branch school. Unlike the grassy lawn of the main school, the road here was covered in fine sand.

“Alright, let’s disband here for now.”

The homeroom teacher who was in charge of the class looked over her shoulder at the lobby of the building.

“The rooms for the boys in our class are the first and second ones on the east side of the third floor. The girls have the third and fourth rooms, on the west side. Go put down your luggage, and meet back in the central hall in thirty minutes.”

Unlike the main school, this place had only one building. Therefore, it was twice as large as the first-year school building in the main school. The first floor was the lobby and the second floor had classrooms. The third floor seemed to have been turned into a living area.

“Well then, we’re on the east side, so it’s this way.”

Gripping the room key, Ouma walked towards the staircase on the right.

“The layout of the hallways is the same as Tremia Academy’s, isn’t it?”

“It is a branch school, after all. Ah, the third room……the second room……Is it here?”

He opened the door to their room. The sunlight that unexpectedly shone into his eyes made Neight involuntarily close his eyes.

“Oh, this is amazing!”

The boys said as they entered the room. Their gazes were focused on the window in front of them.

Peering through the glass— Looking down from the third floor, the scenery was completely dyed in blue.

In the distance, the horizon could be seen. A large, transparent azure sea seemed to stretch out past the ends of the world. Before that was a beach of white sand that extended out in a straight line.

……They could hear the sound of the waves. So it was that close.

“It’s perfect weather for going down to the ocean. Hey, since it’s the first day, how about we go play?”

Leaving their luggage in a corner of the room, what should have been all the boys in the class spread their arms.

“Eeh, don’t we have classes from now on?”

“Oh, um. It was a joke, just a joke.”

In a joking manner, he took out study materials from his bag.

“But hey, the girls must be feeling like that also. Only the teachers want to give a lecture.”

“Is that so…?”

Kluele-san and Mio-san, he had simply thought that all of the girls would want to diligently listen to a lecture.

“Uwa, the weather’s amazingly nice today. It really is the best for playing in the sea! There’s barely anyone down at the beach. Could it be, is this Tremia’s private beach?”

Setting down her mountaineering backpack, Serges ran to the window.

“Amaaazing! It feels like it’s calling us to go and take a swim!”

Ada took off the top layer of her school uniform. What she seemed to be wearing below that wasn’t a turtleneck sweater, but a swimsuit.

Holding swimming goggles in their hands, the two started running.

“Hey, hey. Wait, you two.”

Instantly, Kluele grabbed their collars.

“Weren’t you already told that it isn’t allowed? And don’t you guys understand that if I let you go, the teachers will get mad at me as a class representative? Or did you plan to go even knowing that?”

“Eh, aah. It was a joke, just a joke. ……Kluele has a really scary look in her eyes.”

“Hey. Amazing and diligent people like us would never do such a thing.”

Standing across from each other, the two spoke at the same time.

……Really now. Saying things like it was a joke and all that while wearing a swimsuit beneath their clothes.

“It didn’t sound like you two were joking, that’s why I seemed scary.”

“Kululu, it must be tough being a class representative.”

While taking out studying materials, Mio cackled.

“……Who would recommend me to be class representative instead?”

“Ehh, me, me!”

Really, was she serious or just being impudent? It was hard to judge from her smile, which contained not a shred of guilt. Well, she didn’t dare confirm it.

“But won’t the teachers feel that way also? There’s no way they would give a lecture on such a hot day.”

Putting on her uniform over her swimsuit, Ada complained.

……That’s what I think also, but no teacher would openly say that, right?

“Ooh, is there really such a magnificent beach this close to us?”

As he held onto an armful of luggage, Zessel vigorously opened the window.

“There’s barely anyone there! Let’s get the students to do some self-studying and go down to the sea to pla—”

“Zessel. The students are waiting in the classroom.”

The door to his room. He turned around and realized that before he knew it, the figure of his colleague had been standing there carrying a textbook in her arms.

“……H-Hey, Enne-san. So you were here?”

“Would you like to tell the headmaster what you just said?”

The female teacher gave him an unusual smile that he had never seen before. Although the weather should have been boiling hot, a chill shot up his spine.

“N-No, I’m fine. It was a joke, just a joke.”

“In that case, hurry up and go to the lecture hall.”

“……Yes, right away.”

Reluctantly, he took out his teaching materials.

“While the students are studying hard, we can’t neglect our duties either.”

—Surely the students want to go out and play!

Grumbling inwardly, Zessel hurried after Enne.

When I think about it now.

At that time, wouldn’t it have been good to relax a little? I think so.

At least to Enne and I, that day— the first day of camp was the first, last, and only time we could have fooled around.

----

<noinclude>{{Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai Nav|prev=Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai:Volume2 1st Play|next=Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai:Volume2 3rd Play}}</noinclude>

Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai:Volume2 1st Play

2013-05-24T18:31:37Z

Xiose:

==1st Play – Wanting to Become a Copper-Colored Song User==

===Part 1===

Perhaps it was a special case due to being at the edge of the continent, but it was a high school which thousands of students who specialized in Recitation attended— Tremia Academy. The campus was several times larger than other Recitation schools, and the facilities and quality of the teaching staff couldn’t be described as inferior to other prestigious schools.

Located in the center of the campus, was a building in the shape of a dome-shaped arch.

‘Books Administration Building’ —Holding around one million two hundred thousand books, it was an establishment that stretched from five floors above ground to two floors underground. It wasn’t just a place for studying, but was also used for socializing and taking a break. Not just students, but teachers also frequently visited that building, qualifying it to be called a multipurpose hall.

On the second floor. A young student wearing a white uniform gazed fixedly at the bookshelves, which were lined up in rows. He was at most twelve or thirteen years old. It was a boy with deep purple hair and androgynous features.

“Umm. This and……this.”

With both hands full of resource books, the boy excitedly descended to the lobby downstairs.

“Neight-kun, are you okay? You’re staggering.”

Seeing his figure, a girl wearing a school uniform called out.

Mio Lentear. With blond hair and a young-looking face, she calmly called out. Although she was actually sixteen years old, she looked two to three years younger.

“I’m fine…… Probably.”

Peering up from the books he held, the boy— Neight Yehlemihas nodded slightly at the girl.

“It looks hot outside, are you just resting for a while in the library?”

Closing the book that she was reading, Mio asked with an uneasy look. Books Administration Building was the school’s official name for it. But neither students nor teachers used such a long name. Instead, it was commonly called the ‘library’.

“It’s because I can’t practice Recitations anywhere other than outdoors. Also, Kluele is waiting for me outside.”

Recitations. That was the technique that the students of this school specifically studied. To picture their desired target in their heart, then while holding a catalyst of the same color, to praise the name of the target— It was a type of summoning technique.

It was classified into five colors ‘{{Furigana|Keinez|Red}}’, ‘{{Furigana|Ruguz|Blue}}’, ‘{{Furigana|Surisuz|Yellow}}’, ‘{{Furigana|Beorc|Green}}’, and ‘{{Furigana|Arzus|White}}’, and students could each choose a color to specialize in, in order to call out an object with the same color as their specialty.

“What about Mio-san? Kluele-san is waiting for us out on the campus.”

Looking at her, Neight saw that her gaze had already turned from him to the books in his arms. By the way, Mio’s specialty was in Green Recitations. In her case, whenever she wanted to call out a green frog, she would prepare green catalysts such as green drawing paper and then sing a song of praise.

“Hang on a moment. I’m almost done reading this book. Ehh, why am I suddenly interested in the mystery genre…”

……He felt like he had been continuously hearing her say those words ever since three days ago.

After summer vacation had started, ever since she had suddenly started picking up mystery novels, Mio acted like this. Judging from her personality, she probably wouldn’t leave the library until she had read all of the mystery novels there.

“Then, I’ll go ahead and start practicing out on the campus.”

He could barely see in front of him with all the books he carried, but it couldn’t be helped. Crossing through the library exit, he continued down the corridor leading to the entranceway—

“……!”

With an impact like crashing into a wall, Neight and the books he held all tumbled to the floor.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

Looking up, it was a thin teacher with glasses. The teacher wore the standard white coat with a school badge woven in blue thread over his chest. Umm, was he one of the teachers in charge of the higher grades?

“Ah, y-yes, I’m fine. Um……I’m sorry.”

“You should look ahead when you’re walking— Well, that’s what I would usually say.”

Looking around at the mountain of books scattered on the floor, the teacher’s expression softened.

“After seeing how hard you’re studying, I won’t scold you today.”

Picking up a book, the teacher gazed at the front cover.

“How nostalgic. I’ve read this resource book many times before. Well, that’s a story of back when I was a student.”

He picked up a stack of books and handed them back to Neight. In fact, they were in the same order as Neight had originally arranged them in. When they bumped into each other, had the teacher remembered the order of the books?

“T……Thank you very much.”

“Although it’s summer vacation, don’t forget to walk quietly down the hallways.”

Teasingly, the teacher pushed up the bridge of his glasses.

With his night-colored hair fluttering, the small boy quickly headed down the passageway.

“……Speaking of which, that boy.”

Gazing at the boy’s back, Mirror narrowed his eyes.

Was he called Neight? Soon after he had entered the academy, because of his unique situation, he had become a popular topic among teachers. Recitations consisted of five colors, and each student in the school had picked a color to specialize in. However, only that boy was learning a completely different color.

Night-Color Recitations— It was a controversial color whose existence was still not officially accepted.

“It’s too bad, I wanted to talk with him a bit longer.”

Even teachers such as himself didn’t know much about that Recitation. Naturally, he was interested in it, but there was also another topic he wanted to talk about.

What connected him and that boy, in other words, a single woman. After she had graduated from Elfand, what path had she travelled? He was considerably interested in the girl who had once been his classmate.

“Unfortunately, it’s not something I should talk about during work.”

Glancing at the documents tucked under his arm, he took a deep breath.

“Now then, time for me to start the investigation.”

<div align="center">***</div>

“……Neight.”

Carrying a flask filled with a catalyst in one hand, Neight turned around to face the voice coming from behind him.

“Y-Yes, what is it?”

“We should take a little break. You seem to be unsteady on your feet.”

The girl’s voice was calm and soft. That voice came from beneath the shade of a tree a few meters away from where he stood on the campus. In a small shadow that blocked the intense rays of midsummer sunlight— As she said that, the girl’s long, scarlet hair fluttered in the gentle breeze.

“B-But…”

“Don’t deny it. Ever since a while ago, your Recitations were continuously failing, weren’t they? Your concentration is decreasing.”

What she said was true. Without objecting, Neight reluctantly nodded.

“……Okay.”

“Here, put this on.”

She forcefully pressed a large-brimmed straw hat onto his head. Its size was slightly too big, and his whole field of vision was covered by the brim of the hat.

“……Um, I can’t see in front of me.”

Lifting up the hat, his field of vision enlarged.

But filling his whole field of view at close range—

“That’s fine. You seem to be the type of person who would keep running until you run out of energy and collapse.”

Before his eyes, a girl wearing a deep blue one-piece dress stood up. She was tall with long scarlet hair, whose appearance stood out even from a long distance away.

Kluele Sophi Net. She was sixteen, three years older than Neight. Like her hair color indicated, she specialized in Red Recitations. Ever since he had enrolled in this school, she had always been there by his side.

“But what’s troublesome is, that’s also one of your good qualities.”

Half-teasingly, the girl smiled and let out a small laugh.

“……Somehow, I don’t feel like that’s a compliment.”

Fufu— Sure enough, she cheerfully covered her mouth with her hand.

“Anyway, come rest for a while in the shade.”

Pressing down with one hand on her one-piece dress that fluttered in the wind, she turned and walked away.

“U-Um, Kluele-san?”

“The café nearby should be open. I’ll go buy some cold drinks, so wait here.”

===Part 2===

The wind blowing through the campus stirred up sand from the ground.

“……It’s really hot!”

Taking shelter in the shadow of a school building, Neight wiped the sweat from his forehead. He should have worn some light clothes like Kluele was, but he had reflexively wore his usual white school uniform. He could return to his dorm and change, but that was just as troublesome.

“……Kluele-san still hasn’t returned yet.”

It took around ten minutes round trip to go to the café in the first year school building. But because it would be crowded today, it should take a bit longer.

“Oh, if it isn’t Neighty. What’s wrong?”

—Should he have found a place to read a book today, just like Mio?

“……H-Huh? Neighty, didn’t you hear me?”

Sure enough, he should have stayed in the library. Mio-san was also there.

“H-Hey, over here, Neighty. Don’t ignore me…… Aah, fine, Neight!”

Neight?

When he suddenly heard his name being called out from behind him, he reflexively turned around. In front of him was a tall, familiar girl with black hair.

“……Eh, Serges-san?”

Like Mio and Kluele, she was a girl from his class. She wasn’t wearing the designated school uniform, but indigo sportswear. On her back was a bulky backpack.

“Good morning, Serges-san.”

“’Morning. But you should’ve noticed me from the very beginning. I was calling out to Neighty since a while ago.”

“By Neighty, do you mean me?”

Although he had thought the name was similar, Neight didn’t expect it to be directed at himself.

“Because, you see, although we aren’t the same age, we’re still classmates. It doesn’t feel right to use ‘kun’ and call you ‘Neight-kun’. So you need a nickname. Well? Isn’t it great? Isn’t the name I thought of just now great?”

“No matter how you put it…”

Recoiling back like he had been pushed, Neight slowly pointed to the backpack she wore.

“……Um, Serges-san, why are you still at school even though it’s summer vacation? And why are you wearing such a large backpack?”

“Don’t change the topic so casually. ……Well, I guess it’s alright.”

Murmuring quietly, the girl lowered the backpack she shouldered. As she set it down on the ground, there was a heavy thumping noise, along with a cloud of dust.

“What’s inside that?”

At that moment.

“Hm, this? You want to know? You want to hear about it, don’t you? Don’t regret it, okay?”

With a suspicious twinkle in her eyes, smiling, Serges drew closer.

“Ah…… A-Actually, it’s fine. It somehow seems scary, so…”

“No no, it’s nothing major. It’s just someone’s fresh corpse, someone young just like Neighty—”

“Uwaa, someone come and help meeee!”

“Hey, wait! Hey Neighty, don’t run away! I was joking!”

Just before Neight started running as fast as he could, Serges gripped his neck from behind. Fearfully, Neight turned around to face the girl.

“……Just what is really in there?”

“A tent, a sleeping bag, food, rain gear, and various other things. Because I’m in the mountain climbing club.”

The mountain climbing club. Speaking of which, Neight felt that there truly was such a club. Sure enough, the shoes she was wearing weren’t ordinary sports shoes, but something thicker.

“Starting tomorrow, we’re going on a trip for five days and four nights to try mountain climbing during the summer, so today is the club’s last meeting. Say, what’s Neighty doing?”

Staring intently, she sized up Neight’s school uniform.

“Umm, I’m practicing Recitations with Kluele-san and Mio-san.”

“Ah, I passed by Kluele a while ago. Where’s Mio?”

“She’s reading mystery novels in the library. This summer, she wants to finish reading all of the five hundred seventy books in the library.”

“Isn’t that not related to Recitations at all?”

Her words sounded like that of a natural tsukkomi.

“Her enthusiasm is amazing. These few days, she seems to be coming to the library at seven in the morning just to wait for it to open. She was even bragging about how she’s the earliest student to go.”

“……Hmm.”

Slowly, the color of Serges’s eyes dimmed.

Like she was thinking of something, she seemed to gaze into space.

“If I remember correctly, Neighty is living in the school dormitories?”

“Yeah. There happened to be a vacancy, so I was put there.”

Tremia Academy’s dormitories were located within the school campus. Because it was only about a ten minute walk from there to the first year school building, the dorms were popular among students. Because there was much competition, unless your home was especially far from the school, it was hard to get accepted in.

“Well then. Tomorrow, wake up early and get to school by six-thirty.”

At hearing her smooth words, Neight doubted his ears.

“……Six-thirty?”

“That’s right. Well, it’s six-thirty to arrive at the ‘rooftop of the first year school building’.”

Of all places, the roof of the school building? Impossible. Although the school gates might be open at six-thirty, the school building itself should be locked at that time.

“Use the emergency staircase. That way, you can get on the roof without entering the building.”

The emergency staircase was normally a prohibited area for students. But why were they now doing such a thing?

“Is someone there?”

“You’ll find out if you go. Well then, it’s about time for me to go to my meeting.”

Glancing at the large clock on the wall of the school building, Serges picked up her backpack.

“Well then, you two. The interferer will be going now, so enjoy yourselves.”

You two? Before Neight could guess at the meaning…

“……What an unsettling way of talking.”

Neight heard a familiar voice coming from somewhere behind him. Turning around, there stood Kluele with a cup of drinks in each hand. Standing opposite to Kluele who was raising an eyebrow, the girl shouldering a backpack waved her hand cheerfully.

“No no, there wasn’t any deep meaning behind that. Also, Kluele, make sure your left shoulder heals quickly!”

With the sleeve of her one-piece dress fluttering in the wind, Kluele’s shoulder was slightly exposed to the sunlight. The while bandage seemed pitiful against her slightly flushed skin. It was a wound she had gotten two weeks ago, during the incident that happened on campus. According to her, it could be called healed already.

“……Got it.”

“You, you seem mature, but when you act rash when doing something unexpected.”

With a disappointed face, Kluele pouted. Seeing that, the black-haired girl’s amused expression softened.

“But, that’s also what makes you cute.”

“Wha……What’s that supposed to mean?”

Kluele didn’t expect those words to be used back on her and stepped back embarrassedly.

“Well then, bye bye, you two.”

With a mischievous smile, Serges left, heading in the direction of the school building.

Watching after her until her figure had disappeared from sight on the campus—

“Oh, speaking of which, I wonder what Serges is doing carrying such a large backpack.”

Having forgotten to mention it, the question floated into Kluele’s mind.

“A club activity. It seemed to be a mountain climbing camp.”

“I see. If she’s going somewhere far, I should’ve asked for a souvenir. But I wonder what kind of souvenirs there are from a mountain.”

“……The fresh corpse of a victim. Moreover, someone who’s around our age.”

“Eh?”

“……It’s nothing.”

The image of such a thing being in the backpack arose from his imagination. ……Ugh, that probably wouldn’t leave his mind for a while.

“Ah, that’s right. Kluele-san. Tomorrow, I want to come to school slightly earlier.”

“Sure. But I’ll still be coming at the same time as always. Although, what’s up all of a sudden?”

How should he explain? He contemplated for a few seconds.

“Just, checking whether or not someone will be on the roof.”

Neight answered by saying what Serges had said to him.

“Who do you mean by ‘someone’?”

“Well……She didn’t tell me”

Unsure of what expression he should make, Neight bit his cheek.

I wasn’t told— Another way to put it would be that she didn’t tell me just now, but I’ll find out if I go to the rooftop. That was what her words implied.

……In other words, someone I know?

===Part 3===

From the main entrance, Neight looked up at the large clock hanging on the side of the school building. The needles of that clock pointed at a time half an hour earlier than what he had promised Serges yesterday.

—It was six o’clock.

Just who could be on the roof of the first year school building this early in the morning?

He was so interested that he couldn’t even sleep well last night. Because of that, although he had come early, his eyelids couldn’t help but feel heavy.

Biting back a yawn, Neight walked through the main entrance.

Not only students, but looking around, there weren’t even any teachers in sight. He headed towards the dome-shaped Books Administration Building beside the first year school building. As expected, the library wasn’t open yet, and he couldn’t see the figures of students lining up either. Of course, neither was the figure of the girl he was used to seeing visible.

“It’s this early, after all. It’s natural that Mio-san wouldn’t be here.”

Talking to himself, Neight turned back to the first year school building.

That building was dark grey with a strong metal structure. During the incident at the recital contest, this building had been able to withstand the chimeras’ attacks.

“……As expected, it’s closed.”

A large padlock hung on the entrance of the school building. Glancing at it, Neight turned and headed to the back of the building.

Towering up from a grassy field where sunlight didn’t reach was a spiraling emergency staircase.

“It would be much easier if I could fly up like Arma.”

Looking up at the long spiral reaching up to the roof, Neight let out a small sigh.

Clomp, clomp…

On the slightly rusted staircase, the sound of a single person’s footsteps echoed.

Walking past the second floor, past the third floor, he reached the roof of the school building.

—Is someone really here, at such a place?

It wasn’t that he was calling Serges’s words a lie. It was just that he didn’t understand why a student would be up here, instead of on the campus or in a classroom.

He went up the last step leading to the roof.

As the morning sun suddenly burned his eyelids, he closed his eyes. But he didn’t close them completely because a sharp sound like something cutting the wind resounded in his eardrums.

What was that sound?

In the direction of the sound— He turned his gaze to the center of the vast rooftop.

“……Eh.”

In the dazzling sunlight, Neight opened both of his eyes.

Dancing beneath the vivid sun was a girl with wheat-brown skin.

—No, not dancing……

The girl was holding a large pole. A dull metallic luster shone from the tip. It was a blade that had clearly been sharpened— In other words, it was a spear.

The girl wielded a spear longer than her own height.

Swinging like it was flowing, spinning like it was dancing, and piercing like it was fluttering. Moving without stopping for even a second, each movement seemed different from the next. The polished blade flowed like it was drawing the onlookers in. Was this really training with a spear? Seeing her beautiful actions, he couldn’t help but think that.

“……Amazing.”

At first glance, the performance seemed like a beautiful war dance. However, she seemed to have a vigor that couldn’t be emitted when acting. It couldn’t be described with just the word ‘reality’. That was what the expression on the spear-wielder’s face said.

The girl’s movements didn’t stop. On the roof so wide at you could run a race, her feet moved so fast that his eyes couldn’t keep up. Even the splash of sweat glittering in the sunlight was beautiful. Different from any sport, it couldn’t be classified as something in this dimension.

Returning from the edge of the rooftop to the center, the girl spun the spear with one hand.

……Kiiiiin.

“—Ah!”

As a metallic sound rang out, Neight finally returned to his senses.

Ten meters away, the girl stopped moving. The spear wasn’t in her hand.

—The spear, did she drop it?

Her actions confirmed his thoughts. Looking down at the spear fallen on the ground, the girl let out a small sigh.

He hadn’t noticed because he had been captivated by her movements until now, but the girl actually wasn’t very tall. She was at most only a few centimeters taller than him. She wore white shorts and a tank top of the same color. Her bare shoulder that was exposed to the sun was a tanned brown color. No, it would be more appropriate to call it copper-brown.

Her light brown hair was cut to shoulder-length, a boyish girl with short hair. Her face was small in proportion to her body, but she had contrasting large eyes. Her impressive features somehow reminded him of a cat—

[[File:Tasogare_v2_051.jpg|thumb]]

……Eh? This person looks familiar.

“Hm? Hey, you.”

The girl before him finally raised her face. Their eyes met.

“Hey, if it isn’t chibi-kun. ‘Morning! You’re here early, aren’t you?”

Her breathtaking expression from before was like a lie. With an indifferent expression, she raised one hand.

“……Ada-san?”

Ada Yun— The girl before his eyes was someone in the same class as him and Kluele. It was the familiar face of a classmate.

“Ada-san, is that a spear?”

“Mm, aah. Wait a moment, okay? I can’t stay sweaty like this.”

From a bag lying near the edge of the roof, the girl took out a towel.

Ada-san, just how long have you been here?

It was still earlier than seven in the morning. Even though it was only this time, from the smiling girl’s forehead, no, from her whole body, large drops of sweat flowed.

“Hey, chibi-kun. I have a favor to ask.”

...…Chibi-kun?

“H-Hey. Even Neighty is slightly better…”

“Eeh. But doesn’t the nickname chibi-kun sound cute? It has more charm to it!”

“Really?”

Even as he indirectly expressed his dissatisfaction, the girl had an indifferent expression. It seemed that to her, that nickname was already fixed.

“Yeah, yeah. By the way, chibi-kun, can you face the other way for a bit?”

“The other way?”

For what purpose? Not understanding her intention, he stared blankly at Ada.

The girl curled her lips into a grin.

“Sure enough, chibi-kun is chibi-kun.”

“Eh?”

“I need to change, change clothes. I want to take off my tank top. If chibi-kun doesn’t turn around, won’t it be too provoking?”

“……If that’s what you meant, then say it earlier.”

Puffing up his cheeks, Neight turned away. Really, if she had said earlier that she wanted to change, then he would have turned around right away.

“That’s why you’re chibi-kun.”

Teasing him, the girl’s shoulders shook cheerfully.

“Club activity?”

What the girl was telling him was something that he had heard about before.

“Yeah. I’m in a spearmanship club. I was practicing just now.”

“Practicing, at this early in the morning?”

He wasn’t sure about the exact time. If he had to guess, she had probably come here before six. He had no idea how early she woke up each morning.

“Club practice starts at ten. Before that is time for private lessons.”

“By private lessons, you mean individual practice?”

And then. As if hiding her embarrassment, the girl shyly turned away and placed her hand on the back of her head.

“Well, it’s different for everyone. For me, it’s…… Well, my memory isn’t very good. I don’t understand much or get good-quality practice, so I have to work even harder.”

Memory isn’t very good?

“Eh, but Ada-san. You joined the spearmanship club this April, right? It hasn’t even been half a year, yet you’re already this good. How could your memory be bad?”

Suddenly, the girl’s facial expression changed.

The change was so subtle that it couldn’t be expressed in words. But something scary seemed to light up the girl’s eyes. Frightening. Or more accurately, it somehow stirred up fear inside him.

“No, no. Chibi-kun saw it also, right? In the very end, I ended up dropping my spear. That wasn’t cool at all. I’m still making such basic mistakes after so many years—”

……So many years? That means...

Before he had time to comprehend the meaning of her words, the girl hurriedly waved her hand.

“Ah. Forget it, forget what I just said! It’s a girl’s secret.”

“……H-Huh?”

Although he didn’t understand, pressured by the girl’s vigor, he couldn’t help but nod.

—But it really was amazing.

Wearing sportswear, she looked fairly short. Just judging by her appearance, it was hard to believe that someone as slender as her could wield a spear.

“Well, it’s hard work just to keep this body figure.”

Poking her arms a few times, Ada crossed her arms with a bitter smile.

“After wielding such a heavy thing, my muscles start developing pretty quickly. That’s fine for a boy, but not so much for a girl. ……I’ve already given up on my tan though.”

“It must be difficult, isn’t it?”

For him, it was hard to even develop muscles.

—Neight, you should train your body a bit more. Kluele had once said that to him, but he didn’t know exactly how to train.

“See, men don’t understand these feelings that girls have. Even though I restrict how much I eat just to keep this body figure, they say things like ‘If you don’t eat more, you won’t keep that figure!’ And when I’m doing makeup, they barge in and say things like ‘You’re so slow.’”

Crossing her arms, Ada shrugged sullenly.

“……Ah. I-Is that so?”

At first, Neight thought she had been talking about her boyfriend.

“First of all, that stubborn father of mine doesn’t even understand his daughter’s feelings.”

But as he continued listening to her, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“By ‘men’, did Ada-san mean her father?”

“Yeah.”

Surprisingly, she easily admitted that.

“My father is, how do I put it… a blockhead who doesn’t pay detailed attention to others. Also, he lacks creativity, and even gave his only daughter a ten kilogram iron dumbbell for her fourteenth birthday.”

“That’s…… Rather than creative, I think it’s an original idea.”

No way! Instead of using words, Ada furiously shook her head.

“It was ten kilos, ten kilos! I got mad and threw it at him. And then that idiot father said, ‘Sorry, would fifteen kilos have been better?’ He asked me with such a serious face!”

“……You threw it? Even though it was ten kilograms?”

It would have been bad for the person being thrown at, but since Ada-san was angry, it couldn’t be helped—

“In the first place, my usual dumbbell is twenty kilos!”

“Was that why you were angry?!”

“Hm? What’s wrong, chibi-kun? You don’t seem very energetic?”

……Take back what I said before. Angry people should just be angry.

“Ada-san, do people often say that you’re similar to your father?”

“Eh, there’s no way anyone would say that. We’re not similar, not similar at all!”

As if she really hated that statement, she frowned openly.

“Ah, that’s right. I should go soon.”

Suddenly, as if she had just thought of something, she quickly stood up.

“Is it time for your club?”

“Nope. I’m going shopping today. It’s the long-awaited trip, so I need to go buy things like a bag and some summer clothes.”

“Trip? Are you going somewhere?”

“Isn’t chibi-kun going also?”

Carefully wrapping her spear in a piece of cloth, Ada tilted her head.

“After the incident a while back, parts of the school buildings are being repaired, right? The supplementary lessons during summer vacation are usually held in Tremia Academy, but this year we’re going to Tremia Academy’s branch school. It’s a place beside the ocean.”

As she said that, Neight realized he had seen a notice about that before.

“Chibi-kun’s also going, right? Kluele said she would also go. Aren’t you tired of only practicing Recitations? Occasionally, you also need time to relax.”

“……Kluele-san told me the same thing.”

“That’s right. Then let’s go shopping together with everyone! Anyway, Mio should be at the library, right? And Kluele also seems like she has some free time.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the girl quickly ran down the emergency staircase.

“W-Wait, Ada-san. Don’t you have club activities today?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll just say I had a stomachache today.”

I-Is that really okay?

But speaking of which, didn’t she also act like this during class?

“……Ada-san is a strange person.”

“Eh, did you say something?”

She stopped running down the stairs and with sharp ears, asked in return.

“No, it’s nothing!”

Telling an obvious lie, Neight also headed down the emergency stairs.

===Part 4===

“Hey Enne, aren’t you hot?”

Like he had suddenly thought of it, her companion asked.

“I’m hot, but I’m a teacher so I have to wear the appropriate clothing.”

Resisting the urge to nod her head, Enne replied with the answer she had prepared beforehand. She was wearing a suit with white as the main color. Even though the white cloth reflected the sunlight, it didn’t change how hot she felt.

“Besides, isn’t Mirror also wearing a teacher’s lecture clothing?”

“Ah, that white coat that looks like a scholar’s, right? He likes wearing that though.”

Her colleague who said that wore a flamboyant polka-dotted T-shirt. But even so, he seemed hot, and currently had the edges of his T-shirt tucked in.

“……Zessel, you should wear some neater clothing!”

He was a male teacher who was Enne’s colleague as well as her childhood friend. Regardless of whether he was at school or not, he had probably heard those words hundreds of times to him by now.

“The headmaster said we can do as we like. I do dress neat in front of students, but it’s summer vacation, plus, there’s no way any students could be here at this time—”

“There is. There’s a child waiting for the library to open. Although if I recall correctly, she’s probably a first-year student.”

“……Is that so?”

“Which means starting tomorrow, you’re also wearing a suit.”

……Give me a break.

He hastily swallowed back the words that he almost absent-mindedly said.

Tremia Academy, Building of General Affairs. The most innermost room on the first floor— They had arrived near that place.

Beside her colleague who straightened his posture, Enne discreetly adjusted the collar of her suit.

“So you do care, don’t you?”

“If I said I didn’t, would you believe me?”

After hearing her childhood friend’s teasing tone of voice, she sent him a meaningful look.

“We were chosen to come at such an early time just so students wouldn’t find out about it and involuntarily reveal it to other teachers. No matter what this is about, make sure you’re ready to face it.”

Towering in front of them was a large, wooden door engraved with impressive patterns.

“I’m not good at dealing with this sort of thing.”

Enne took a step back, meaning ‘I leave this to you’.

Slowly, she pushed the back of Zessel, who stood in front of her.

“……I’m not good at it either.”

“Come on, go for it. I’ll treat you to lunch.”

“……Seriously, give me a break.”

Sighing a second time, Zessel knocked on the door of the headmaster’s room. He entered the room in which the dark green hallway changed into a soft, deep crimson carpet that was spread out on the floor.

The headmaster’s room. Inside, several teachers were already standing in a circle.

“Sorry, you two, for calling you here so early in the morning.”

In the center of the circle, an old man wearing light clothing raised his hand slightly.

“You can join the circle for now. Everyone is probably busy, so I’ll just quickly tell you what’s going on.”

—What’s going on?

Leaning back against the nearest wall, Enne looked at the faces around her.

There was the headmaster and his close advisor Jessica, the director of education. Beside them were the teachers in charge of first-year students. Teachers who taught the other grades included herself, Zessel, and Mirror.

“This summer as well, in order for first-year students to learn some basics, they are going to summertime supplementary lessons. ……But, the incident that occurred a few days ago is probably still fresh in their minds.”

The recital contest— The teachers’ expressions instantly turned serious. Although they had avoided the worst result, a considerable number of students and teachers had been injured in that incident.

……That wasn’t something they wanted to remember.

“In order for us to repair the school, the usual supplementary lessons which students stay overnight at this school for have been cancelled. Instead, we will use the school buildings of Tremia Academy’s branch school in Fidellia. It will be a special field trip.”

The only person whose expression didn’t change, the headmaster standing in the center continued speaking.

Branch school. Rather than calling it a school, it was a facility opened to serve as a local gathering hall. Enne hadn’t visited it before herself. If she recalled correctly, Fidellia was a place near the ocean.

“The problem is the <Egg>.”

The old man’s voice wavered slightly. It was a voice mixed with seriousness and distress.

“The fact that nobody passed away in the incident is a blessing among the misfortune, but some students and teachers in this school received injuries. Obviously, the school buildings were damaged as well. ……At that time, many events happened to occur simultaneously. However, the main cause of everything was the atrocious catalyst I brought into the school.”

Spitting those words out like poison, he turned his gaze to a map hanging on the wall.

On the north side of the continent, located on a mountain range that ran through the continent was a red dot. That was Tremia Academy.

On the edge of the continent some distance away, on land that faced the blue-painted ocean, was another red dot. Was that the branch school?

“That is the Kelberk Research Institute where the bothersome catalyst was refined. However, they have branch facilities in various places on the continent. It seems that it wasn’t the main research facility, but a branch facility that originally refined the <Egg>. Actually, the one who brought that catalyst to this school was also a staff member from the branch facility.”

The name ‘Kelberk Research Institute’ sounded familiar to Enne. With its base set up in the center of the continent, it was a large-scale research institute that employed worthy researchers. The school had invited lecturers from there many times.

“Not long ago, I received a message from the research institute’s headquarters, but they told me to discuss the details with staff members from the branch facility.”

……I see. She somewhat understood. Looking up, she exchanged glances with Mirror, who stood in front of her. She and Mirror both nodded slightly.

“I understand the situation. You’re saying that while the first-year students go on their summer camp, we should go to express our complaints to the head of the branch facility.”

“……Zessel.”

Instead of sighing, Enne closed her eyes. If this wasn’t the headmaster’s office, she would have pinched the back of that idiot standing beside her.

“Eh? You’re joking, right?”

Her childhood friend smiled deceptively with a carefree expression. ……Why hadn’t this guy fixed his childish habits?

“Well, it’s not that I don’t understand what Zessel is trying to say. But what I’m concerned about this time is another matter.”

Was that a good thing? It seemed that the headmaster wasn’t worried about what Zessel had mentioned.

“The research facility that refined the <Egg> is located in Fidellia, where the first-year students are headed.”

……Could this timing be called good or bad?

Then again, Kelberk Research Institute is a facility cooperating with Tremia Academy. It could certainly happen that our branch school is located next to that facility.

“By the way, we received a message from the main facility the day before yesterday.”

Miller, who stood next to the wall across from Enne, continued speaking, explaining the headmaster’s words.

“Recently, our communication with the Fidellia branch seems to have stopped. Furthermore, this happened a few days after it had been confirmed that the <Egg> had gone out of control in this school. We have been trying to contact them since then, but haven’t received a reply.”

“Was the time we lost contact with them also when the recital contest was happening? Has the investigation into the cause of this made any progress?”

The headmaster answered the frowning Zessel with a shake of his head.

“That is something I want you guys to investigate. Mirror has already begun looking into this.”

I see. From the time she had entered the room, she had been curious about the contents of the documents that Miller had tucked under his arm.

“Although using that sort of place as the location of the first-year students’ training camp isn’t something to be proud of…… Even we have only recently learned of the situation about the Kelberk Research Institute branch facility. It would be slightly difficult to change the chosen location in only these few days. Well, our branch school and the research institute aren’t directly beside each other. Teachers in charge of first-year students, please make sure that students don’t leave the branch school’s campus.”

The teachers in charge of the first-year students must watch over them carefully.

That means at the same time, me and Zessel’s duty is— to accompany the camp disguised as teachers in charge of lectures, and investigate the situation of the research institute.

“……It’s a significant task, isn’t it?”

“That just means I have a lot of confidence in you guys.”

The one who responded wasn’t the headmaster.

Jessica, director of education— the teacher who she, Zessel, and Mirror looked up to.

“Well then, everyone can continue on with their own duties. You should all know already, but this matter must not be revealed to the students!”

----

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