Editing Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai:Volume1 1st Play (section)

===Part 1===

“Hey Kululu, have you decided which one to choose?”

Mio, in one corner of the general store, inquired loudly to the opposite corner of the room.

……Really, I could hear her fine even without the loud voice! 

Kluele Sophi Net, the friend who trotted forward and gave Mio a half-reproaching look, shook her head. 

The store was not very big, and there weren’t many people. After shrugging her shoulders, Mio showed off the emerald-green drawing paper held in her left hand. 

“Hey, I’ve decided to use this one. Don’t you think the size is perfect?”

She gazed with moss-green eyes similar to the color of the paper. Mio Rentia — a girl with characteristic petit size who possessed an adorable doll-like face. Although she was also sixteen years old, the impression of her exterior appearance and her carefree tone of voice made her look one or two years younger. 

“I’m still worried, but drawing paper is an alternate option for me.”

“I think drawing paper is wonderful. After you’re done, you can bring over the origami.”

With an innocent smile, Mio swung her short blonde hair. 

“Are you going to use the frog paper that you called out to make origami……? I think that one’s kind of bad. It feels like it will become sticky.”

“Then, which one does Kululu want?”

That is where the problem lay. Kluele pretended to brush away the long hair that started to stick to her face and moved her gaze away from Mio, who questioned in an annoyed voice.

In the Recitation school that the two attended, there were only four days left until the recital contest assembly. 

Recital contest – a competition where every student Recited, and called out the best object they could. Famous Reciters were invited as judges for this great event. 

To students of their grade, most have the attitude of simply joining the fun. However, to students wanting to graduate, it is an important occasion that influences career choices. 

“Mm, let’s just use this one.”

After hesitating for a long time, Kluele picked up a tube of red paint from a merchandise display basket. 

“Eh… This kind of paint is commonly used in school!”

Mio puffed up both of her cheeks in an unsatisfied manner. 

When entering high school, every student chose the color that they would specialize in. Mio chose Green, and Kluele chose Red. In the upcoming recital contest, students must use their specialized color to Recite. The problem was what to use as a catalyst. 

Just like how Mio chose a green paper to use as a catalyst, the circumstances for a Red-color Recitation was the same. In brief, as long as the material was red, it could function as a catalyst.

As a result, Kluele chose red paint – However, Mio felt disappointed by this fact. 

“It’s only because I always use it, that I can feel at ease using that. There will be a lot of people coming to watch, right? If I fail or can’t call out anything, I will feel humiliated.”

“Mm, what you say is right. However, don’t you feel like you’re missing something?”

The girl shrugged her shoulders…… Mio sometimes fusses over strange points. 

“It doesn’t matter. After all, I still can’t call out anything truly extraordinary.”

Glancing at her incessantly complaining friend, Kluele continued to walk towards the front sales desk. 

“Hurry up. After we leave, we are still going to check answers for tomorrow’s schoolwork, right? If you keep hesitating, isn’t that such a waste of time?”

“But I always think……”

Kluele grabbed the arm of the girl with the puffed up cheeks and dragged her outside. 

“Stop complaining, let’s hurry and go back.”


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


They walked down a path to which the end couldn’t be seen. After walking for almost half an hour, their destination finally appeared. 

Tremia Academy. It is the Recitation school attached to the Tremia research institute, and is widely known as one of the very best schools in the world. With consistent courses from junior high school all the way to senior high school, its facilities and equipment by far exceed other large-scale schools.

“Kululu, I was thinking……”

Using her arm to hold the folder of paper against her body, Mio came closer while talking in the tone of a spoiled child. At this time, most people could probably guess her next words. 

"It’s too troublesome to return home. Tonight, can I stay at Kululu’s place?”

Sure enough, it was the same as before.

“Fine, fine. But you have to help me cook!”

Kluele raised the shopping bags that she held in the air to substitute for a nod of her head. Kluele was originally a student from another country. For the chance to go to Tremia Academy, she is now living alone in the academy dormitory. Every day, Mio commutes to school from her own house, but the round trip easily takes over four hours. Therefore, if it is too late in the evening, she would usually spend the night in Kluele’s room. 

“……But, why is it this hot?”

Mio, who was walking beside her, complained futilely. Tiny beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. 

“Because it’s summer.”

Because she didn’t know how to respond, Kluele also stated the obvious, most certain fact. 

It wasn’t that she didn’t understand Mio’s mood. The asphalt road attracted the heat of the sun, and burned their feet through the soles of their shoes. Occasionally, excessively dry wind blew, which parched their throats after breathing it in. 

In fact, she also wanted to wipe the sweat off of her forehead, but because of the shopping bag in her hands, she had to repress the urge. In comparison, Mio still had one free hand and used it to take out a hankerchief.

“But, what makes me happy is that summer vacation is coming up. Does Kululu have any plans?”

—After thinking about it for a few seconds, the faces of her parents appeared in her mind.

“I will probably go back to my hometown. Although I have sent letters, without seeing me in person, they can’t feel at ease.”

“At ease? That’s true, of course your parents will worry.”

“But I’m already sixteen years old. They still worry so much about me, but don’t they ever wonder if it’s annoying?”

The two continued chatting while walking towards the shadow of a tree by the roadside. The feeling of wearing clothes soaked in sweat was very uncomfortable.

……It was a mistake to wear such a thick jacket, wasn’t it?

Kluele wore long pants on the bottom half of her body. Because she didn’t like to wear skirts, there was nothing she could do about it. However, she should have worn a blouse instead.  

“Are your parents worried about your grades?”

Mio grinned mischievously, while at the same time observing Kluele’s expression.

“How did Kululu do on this time’s combined test? Didn’t you say that you failed the guessing questions?”

“Ah… Don’t ask me about that!”

As if trying to escape, Kluele turned so that her back faced the girl at her side.

Before the vacation, a combined test had been held. Out of the combined one thousand six hundred people in four grades, Kluele’s score ranked one thousand three hundred seventy. Out of the four hundred and one people in her same grade, she ranked two hundred and fifth. The guessing questions that she had practiced with her friend the day before the test were all useless. She practically handed back a blank exam paper. The people in the ranks below her had pretty much the same situation.

……However, even though she had said it like that, after the scores were announced, in the classroom crying piteously beside her was only the girl currently at her side. Mio had been smiling only before she received her school report. 

“How did Mio do on the test?”

“Me? About the same as last time, I just barely made it into the top one hundred. Compared to the people in my grade, I’m ranked second!”

“Wow, you traitor! The same as last time? How are you able to do so well?”

Because it was so unexpected, Kluele couldn’t help but raise her voice. However, the girl in question had an aloof expression on her face.

“Eh? Because the questions this time were really easy. All you had to do was to remember the color reactions in our textbook to get three questions correct.”

……But I remember that the textbook was a lot thicker than a dictionary! 

Even though Mio spoke in a relaxed voice, she was probably the only first-year student who had read that book from start to finish.

“Hey, it’s because if I don’t do well, I won’t get as much pocket money.”

“……Next time, you have to treat me to dinner.”

Really, what a sly person.

Half amazed, Kluele turned her head away. Even though she did that, Mio immediately circled in front of her and stared intently into Kluele’s face.

“But I really did read the book. Because I really admire Xin-sama!”

“Xin-sama is…… that Rainbow Color Reciter?”

The Reciter equal to a legend, it made the girl’s face turn even redder and she nodded slightly.

“Because, can you believe it? He’s not even thirty years old. He’s only a little more than ten years older than us, and he is already proficient in all of the Recitation Colors. Even though I’ve only seen pictures of him, he looks really handsome! I really hope to meet him one day. Ah…… If I could, I wish that one day I could become his apprentice—”

Mio’s eyes sparkled as she portrayed the scene in her head. ……She’s really unbearable. Although she sighed and laughed bitterly, she herself hadn’t noticed that she had already entered the vain world. 

“Yes, yes, I understand. That’s why you’re—”

It was just when she was about to stop Mio’s endless monologue. 

About twenty meters ahead of her, at the point where the road split into two, Kluele spotted a person that she had never met before. 

It was a young child. Although it was hard to see from a distance, he couldn’t be older than them. His hair was a dark purple, able to be called the color of a grape. He didn’t wear a Tremia Academy uniform, but rather everyday clothes. Because he wore a black children’s coat, he was especially eye-catching. Even though it was midsummer, it was surprising that he wore such thick clothing – But what made him even more intriguing was the bird-like creature perched on his shoulder.

“Eh, who is that child?”

It seemed that even Mio had realized. Because she wasn’t carrying much in her hands, she jogged over. 

“Hey, what are you doing? This is considered to be the school’s campus, you know.”

“Eh…… Ah, yeah. Oh, were you talking to me?”

The boy asked, looking startled. It seemed that because he had been so concentrated on gazing down each fork of the road that he hadn’t noticed us until now. He had a gentle, androgynous face brimming with a childish nature.

He was…… a child, no matter how you looked at it. 

To Kluele, he looked about twelve or thirteen years old. He was exactly the same height as Mio.

[I don’t know which way to go. I heard that the student dormitories were down this road, but I wasn’t told that there was a split in the path. Just which way should I take?]

The one who answered to the words above wasn’t the boy—

“Wah, Arma. I told you clearly, you can’t just suddenly open your mouth and start talking!”

The boy hastily covered the mouth of the creature on his shoulder. It wasn’t a bird. The skin covering its body…… The proper way to call it would be scales. It resembled the dark purple color of the boy’s hair, but the color and luster were even stranger. That appearance seemed like……

“A lizard?”

Mio shrieked in an off-tone voice. At that sound, the enigmatic creature on the boy’s shoulder narrowed its eyes.  

[Not a lizard. Little girl, don’t you recognize me?]

The thoroughly astounded Mio shook her head. How could she know! First of all, based on just the outward appearance, it didn’t look like anything other than a lizard. Even more important was that its size was similar to a cat’s. It was the first time that Kluele had seen a lizard that called itself ‘I’.

“Ah, idiot Arma. I’ve repeatedly reminded you that you are not allowed to talk!”

[You don’t have to worry, Neight. These two little girls seem to have the same interests as you. The fact that I can talk isn’t a very significant matter.]<ref>Arma’s way of talking: Arma refers to himself using a formal word for "I" that makes him sound old and wise (我). He calls Kluele and Mio by the more derogatory term “little girl” (小娘).</ref>

Similar interests? For a moment, she was bewildered by his point, but in other words……

“Hey, you. This interest isn’t Reciting things, is it?”

Kluele moved her gaze from the reptile animal to the boy. She saw the boy’s expression relax slightly.

“Yes, yes, that’s right. But I didn’t mean Reciting…… Ah, right, are you two both studying to become Reciters? Because when Arma started talking, common people would be very startled.”

To conceal his embarrassment, the boy shyly scratched the back of his head. 

……No, we were extremely startled. 

Kluele swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth.

Although calling out a living creature wasn’t difficult, being able to call out a high-level creature capable of human speech was a different matter.  Based on the degree of difficulty, it should be equivalent to the second stage — a Recitation of the second scale. In other words, even high school teachers would have trouble with this type of Recitation. How many children in the world would walk around freely with such a rare creature called out?

But that was not our problem. It wouldn’t make a difference no matter how curious we were. 

“Then, you are Neight-kun, right? The guy on your shoulder said — you were looking for the dormitory?”

[[File:Fb3-308_045-1-.jpg|thumb]]

[Hey, little girl, to call me ‘that guy’……]

Before he could finish his sentence, his mouth was once again covered by the boy.

“Ah, yes. You can just call me Neight. I transferred from another school. I just arrived here today, so I don’t know where the dormitories are……”

“Yeah, the dorms are just up ahead. Because it is divided into girls’ dormitories and boys’ dormitories, that’s why there are two roads here.”

Still holding the drawing paper, Mio raised her left hand.

“This way is the girls’ dormitories, and to the right are the boys’ dormitories.”

“So it’s like that. Thank you!”

Mio smiled at the boy, who bowed his head in gratitude. 

“You’re welcome. I’m Mio, and she is Kulu—”

“I am Kluele. Since we go to the same school, perhaps we can meet again sometime.”

Kluele replied hastily, in order to interrupt Mio’s words.

With Mio’s personality, she was definitely planning to use ‘Kululu’ to introduce me. When Mio calls me that, I don’t take offense at the nickname. But when other people address me, I want them to at least use my official name. Although she thought that, the truth was that the name ‘Kululu’ seemed too childish and unsuitable.

“Mio-san and Kluele-san, right? Thank you very much! Well then, I’ll go and take a look. Arma, let’s go.”

[Little girls, thank you.]

……It makes me feel sad, to be called a ‘little girl’ by a lizard. 

Although she really wanted to complain, what use would it be to scold a lizard? 

Stifling the dissatisfaction in her heart, Kluele nodded lightly at the boy who bowed his head in gratitude.