Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 6 Chapter 1 (section)

==1.01 The Others==

Looking down on the nightscape of Holland City from the height of several dozen meters above the ground, he was reminded of his nostalgic second home of New York. 

This was obvious in the modernized townscape, but the fishing ships and tankers in the wide sea were also brimming with lights. This place probably developed this far by the land being blessed with the convenient location of the sea and river. 

The circular lights he could see from afar belonged to the all-weather dome stadium that just finished its repairs. Adjacent to it were tourist sites reconstructing the era of trading with the Netherlands. Classic-style windmills and a trading ship floating in an artificial pond could be seen illuminated by floodlights.

All united by the dome, they were part of the theme park known as Oranje Land—"The Orange Land". Orange was the symbolic color of Holland.

His line of sight overlooking the nightscape was naturally drawn to the edges of Oranje Land. In a palace that was noticeably large even among the Oranje Land facilities he could see the "Concertgebouw". It was used both as a theater and as a concert hall, and it would be completely filled by an audience in a few weeks' time. 

"Mister Harissi."

The one who called his name in English was his attendant manager.

Standing in the front of the group walking through the corridor of the high-rise building, Jarre Harissi turned around. His blue eyes turned from Holland City's nightscape to the overly thin suit-wearing Caucasian man.

"These are the profiles of the children who passed through the first examination. Here."

"Thank you."

He received the copies of resumes with a mild smile. The letters written on the covers consisting dozens of pages were the English translation added by the staff.

As Jarre proceeded in the corridor, he found a billboard in front of him.

"Auditions for the musical ''Beast''" was written side by side in both Japanese and English along with an arrow.

According to the staff, the applicants have already gathered in the hall. It would be rude to make them wait with all their tension. Jarre quickened his pace.

The glass-sided wall reflected his figure along with the night view.

As someone born in South America, his large body towered over the staff walking in a line by a head. Although he approached the end of his thirties, his muscular body and the beard covering his chin were still in good shape. The buttons of his suit seemed too tight.

Even in Japan there should be plenty of people to know the name of Jarre Harissi. 

After being selected in the tryouts for a musical at South America, he became known among the famous actors and related people of Broadway. With his large body used for large-scale dance moves and his heavy bass voice used for songs as his weapons, he was able to perform the main role of many musicals despite his lack of experience, and even received famous awards. 

Yet as the musicals he performed in closed their curtains one after another, he lost his weapon known as youth and consequently also his place in Broadway. 

At present, he hanged up his past awards and worked mainly on training actors and discovering talent. He received many offers from theater companies overseas, just like what caused him to come to Japan. Among those Jarre had "scouted" thus far there were also people who reached Broadway. 

"Hmm, they're all making great faces."

Inside the resumes were pictures of the children brimming with dreams and hopes.

Although he was far from his past days of glory, he could feel some meaning in his current job. These children, a treasury of talent, overlapped with his past self that used to admire the brilliant Broadway. Just this made meeting up with them and watching over their growth enjoyable.

Since he had retired from active work, scouting and training young talent could be said to be his mission in life.

However—

"…Fufu."

He smiled wryly while looking at the window. In complete contrast to the pictures in his hand he could see his own ripened self.

Unable to fully give up on performing in Broadway again, even now he kept training his body.

"There's nothing as pitiful as a stubborn old soldier…"

He wore a self-derisive smile without thinking.

"What?"

One of the Japanese staff members tilted his head.

"Ah… no, this is nothing."

His shameful monologue had been overheard. Jarre smiled wryly and shook his head.

A cellphone's ringtone echoed.

"An accident? The time has already been decided though… I will try asking Mr. Jarre just to be sure."

One of the Japanese staff that held the phone spoke about something with Jarre's manager. The manager then turned to him.

"Mister Harissi. The applicant of resume number 92 would be late due to apparently being involved in a traffic accident. What do we do?"

"Are they safe?"

"The person herself contacted us, so there should be no problems. However, prolonging the time of the interview more than the schedule permits would be a bit…"

"Wouldn't it be a pity to crush her chance like that? And it's not like I'll give her special treatment just because of the accident. Can you tell them that at the very least I don't mind?"

As Jarre smiled, the staff member that heard his answer through the manager also smiled. He conveyed his consent to the person on the other side of the phone.

Even though the formal exam was meant to test these young people, they should all be given fair chances.

Jarre's consistent thinking made him known as a man of character to everyone involved. Although his exams were harsh, he would never forgive unfairness and compromise. 

"…?"

It happened for some reason when he was about to open up the resume of the number said by the staff member.

Jarre's vision suddenly distorted. He stopped in place without thinking.

He felt as if he could hear a strange sound from somewhere. A sound much like something hitting thick metal resounded awfully near his ear.

He grimaced, feeling as if something stirred up the inside of his head. 

"Is something the matter?"

"What was that sound just now? That horrible, grating sound."

Feeling dizzy, he shook his head. His face, that caused him to be jokingly called bear man, lion man and names like that even when he didn't do anything, twisted in a scowl.

The staff members have apparently not heard that sound. They shrugged in wonder.

''There's no way they couldn't hear such a loud sound—''

Jarre wanted to say this, but was interrupted by one of the staff raising their voice.

"Is that really fine?"

"What is?"

"I am talking about the matter just now. Are you really allowing that girl to not show up on time?" 

A faint smile rising to his face, the man spoke in a sinister tone. The other staff members were startled and they all turned their heads toward him.

Jarre knit his eyebrows. He exchanged words with this man a few times, but had never seen him make that sort of face. He turned his back to the man and kept walking again.

"Stop beating around the bush. I admit these to be unusual measures, but this isn't any special treatment."

"You might regret it."

"Why?"

"You might be afraid of it."

"Me? Of what exactly?"

The man's persistent words were incredibly grating to his ears. The other staff members tried stopping him, but it didn't seem like he would back down.

"Of young talent."

"…!"

Jarre widened his eyes and turned around. Being stared by Jarre, the man's shoulders shook. With a surprised expression he looked around the faces of the other staff members.

"What sort of nonsense have I…!"

He could see something like a black haze separating from the man who seemed to come to his senses.

[[File:Mushi Uta 6 p057.jpg|thumb]]

It was probably just some weird shadow—thinking this, Jarre faced forward again and hastened his walking.

"Come on, look at this. Has she not been doing her best?"

Looking at the resume he had been told about earlier, he saw the picture of a girl with a somewhat tense countenance. Checking her history, he found out that apart from belonging to a theatrical company she also took ballet lessons and even classes for Conversational English.

"And it's not just this girl; this world is overflowing with wonderful talent."

Thinking of these children's hope-filled future, Jarre smiled.

What should he be jealous of?

Jarre had already retired from active work. Even if he was about to give hope to these children he was going to test now, it wasn't anything that should pain him.

One of the children that appeared in these resumes was about to be scouted and trained by him.

"I look forward to raising them so much I can't help it."

Horanto Academy first-year student, Masaki Rio.

That name was written next to the photo of a girl who had frizzy hair as her special feature.