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

===Part 1===

The scorching sunlight shone like torture. Even closing the curtains could not block the heat wave. The window frames were tinged with enough heat that even a light touch could burn one’s hand.

Outside the classroom, the schoolyard was filled with dancing waves of heat. It was too warm to be called early summer. No, at this stage, it would be more appropriate to call it “hot”.

……The school should reasonably consider installing air conditioning equipment.

The electric fan on the ceiling spun vainly. Giving it a sidelong glance, the teacher, Jessica Levindear let out a tired sigh. Was it because of the heat or because of the summer vacation drawing closer?

Gazing down from her platform, the students were all lying paralyzed on their desks. The combined test before summer vacation had ended, and right now was certainly the most careless class period.

“By the way, has everyone decided what color to specialize in?”

Using her hand to wipe away the sweat sticking to her bangs, Jessica crossed her arms. Descending the platform, she stepped up to the student sitting in the front row.
 
“Zessel-kun, what about you?”

She patted the shoulders of a sleeping student whose body swayed like a rowing boat. Opening his eyes, the student in question scratched his head as if he was flustered.

“S-Stop that, sensei! Didn’t I already choose Red?!”

Hiding his embarrassment, the student’s cheeks flushed and he replied in a loud voice.

“I knew you would say that. Zessel-kun has always liked red, haven’t you?”

“Isn’t it the most eye-catching color? Fire, the use of that Recitation is extremely cool.”

Behind the student who was gesturing with his hands while he spoke-

“Still haven’t learned your lesson? Even though you say that, you got burned the last time you reached your hand into a fire.”

The glasses-wearing student sitting behind Zessel taunted. Giggles and laughter erupted from every corner of the classroom. 

“Well then, what color does Mirror-kun want to do?”

Jessica inquired, in order to prevent the dispute between the two from starting. While adjusting the position of his glasses, the student spoke.

“’Life is the ocean contained within the body.’ I choose Blue, because life is born from water. To be able to create objects from that water, I think that has an extraordinarily deep significance.”

Mirror-kun, even though you say that, you nearly drowned in a swimming pool before. Hiding the wry smile in her heart, Jessica turned to look at the girl sitting behind him.

“Enne, what about you?”

“M-Me?”

Answering in a flustered voice, the embarrassed girl’s face reddened.

“Yes. What color do you want to specialize in studying?”

“I-I want…… White…… because I want to call out Pegasus……”

The Winged Horse, also known as Pegasus, was part of White Recitations. However, it had a considerably high level of difficulty. Although Enne was a quiet and introverted girl, she set firm objectives for herself. In fact, in this time’s combined exam, her grades were at the top of the class.
 
“Enne will definitely be able to Recite it. That feeling is important. ‘Wanting to Recite’ is the most important feeling towards improvement.”

After seeing the blushing girl nod her head, Jessica asked the same question to other students in the class.

By the time there was only one student left unquestioned, there were the most voices that chose Red, and the second most was Blue. Third place, with about an equal number of students choosing each, were Green and Yellow. Conversely, not many voices chose White. This could be called a typical ranking in middle schools.
   
—Now, there was only one person remaining. However…… this person is where the problem lies. 

The other students understood this, and a commotion started in the classroom.

Jessica looked at the girl who sat in farthest back end of the classroom. She had shoulder-length jet black hair, and a slender body figure.

“Evhemary, you choose…… that…… that one, right?”

“Yes.”

Evhemary. The girl who was called out agreed in an extremely matter-of-course way.
 
“The one I want is the ‘Night Color’.”

After she said that, simultaneous laughter rose from the girl’s surroundings.
  
“Wow, it’s still the same signature phrase!”

“She’s still saying that, stubborn Evhe-chan.”

Anyhow, some students chatted in a loud voice while others laughed with their friends. Although the responses varied, what they had in common was that they marked Evhemary’s words as foolish.
 
“That’s enough, everyone quiet down a bit.”

After the noisy classroom calmed down, Jessica once again turned to look at Evhemary.

“……Hey, Evhemary, don’t you have any interest in the other colors?”

“None.”

The girl blinked slightly. Such a Recitation color wasn’t a part of the high school’s color choices. In other words, such a Recitation color didn’t exist in the world.

—Elfand Recitation School. That is the school’s official name.
 
As the name suggests, mastering the art of ‘Recitation Skills’ is the goal of students in this school. Recitation, that is, to sing the name of a companion. Sketch in your heart what you want to create, the object you want to encounter, then praise that name and invite the object to your side. It is that kind of skill. Its distinctive feature is ‘Color Classification’. 

In the natural world, all the ‘colors’ that can be distinguished by human eyes are, to be precise, waves of visible light. In other words, materials with the same color become the same wavelength of light energy. To sum up, Recitation is the art of transmitting an object by using this common energy.

{{Furigana|Keinez|Red}}, {{Furigana|Ruguz|Blue}}, {{Furigana|Surisuz|Yellow}}, {{Furigana|Beorc|Green}}, {{Furigana|Arzus|White}}.

In general, Recitation consists of five colors. Four colors are from the seven that form the foundation of visible light. After including White, these five colors add up to the existence of Recitations. 

Currently, except for these five colors, there are no other colors in existence. Even if researchers all around the world challenge this, establishing a color other than the five is impossible. 

But even so, this girl has not changed her opinion since she entered middle school. She insists that there is a Night Color Recitation.

“……I see. But, to clearly understand what you want to do is great, Evhemary.”

Even though she was made fun of in the middle of class, this girl wasn’t perturbed. If she were to be evaluated only by this situation, she would be considered mature. However, the fact that she absolutely never changes her ideas makes her seem somewhat childish. In general, she is hard to predict.
 
Just what are Night Color Recitations? The homeroom teacher had asked her about it many times, but the girl has only given irrelevant answers.
 
The bell signaling the end of fifth period resounded in the classroom.
 
The end of the last class caused Jessica to sigh. The reason was that she no longer had to endure the heat in the classroom which felt like it made her body melt, and she didn’t have to deal with this girl again.
 
"Class is finished. I also have a meeting today. Because I have to go now, there is no homeroom. Other than the students on cleaning duty, everyone else is dismissed. On duty today are Evhemary and Biye."

At the end of the school day, the class suddenly became noisy to prepare for leaving the classroom.