Tasogareiro no Uta Tsukai

Could it be called the fragrance of sunset? In the time just before the sun set, the gentle breeze that fluttered around carried a somehow nostalgic scent.

A fragrance that called forth sorrow.

—Was it flowers or spices? What could it be?

The scent of sunset. He had no intention of confirming what it actually was.

If he were to check, its charm would surely decrease by half. It was a scent shrouded in mystery, therefore it could bring forth these feelings.

“This is a really scary place, isn’t it?”

Sitting up straight on the old wooden chair, Xins Airwincle let out a faint breath.

He looked around him. There, encircled by a tall, dark grey fence, was an enormous garden.

Water gushed from a fountain dyed madder red as it basked in the setting sun, and the flowers blooming profusely by his feet flourished proudly as midsummer gradually approached.

“When I’m here, I get the feeling that some ten years have pa.s.sed and I’ve returned home.”

He couldn’t help but relax and forget about the pa.s.sing of time.

“Hmm. Well, even for you, it’s important to rest once in a while.”

He smiled wryly at a voice that came from a place not too far in front of him.

Rest— I see, nicely put.

“How long will a broken bone take to heal?”

As he touched the bandage wrapped around his left arm, he tilted his head.

“It depends.”

“……If it was caused by a hit from a chimera’s claws?”

Instantly, a curtain of silence descended upon them.

Taking one breath seemed long, while two breaths meant there would be a short bit left over—

“In the first place, it’s because you can’t discipline yourself enough.”

Carried by the wind was his companion’s long breath that seemed like a sigh.

“It would be fine if you had only been bruised, but breaking your arm was just too clumsy. No matter how exceptional your Recitations are, there’s no point if your body itself isn’t healed. I’ve said that many times already.”

“……Senpai just isn’t disciplined enough.”

Without trying to hide his smile, Xins raised his head towards his companion.

Towards the owner of the garden and the enormous plot of land.

“You said that a lot. Especially when you were young.”

His companion replied with an unchanged tone of voice. Of everyone Xins knew, there was no one else who had an outward appearance as unique as this man’s.

—His exposed upper body had skin tanned brown by the sun.

His pants were a faded, deep brown color. That was all the clothing he wore. But in the place of clothes, the muscle fibres that thrust up from his skin seemed like a stronger armor than anything else.

Muscles ran from his back to his shoulder blades. Not a trace of fat could be seen on his abdomen, and his upper arms were nearly twice as thick as a normal person’s. Although he had such an astonishing physique, the usual dim-wittedness that such giant men had couldn’t be felt from him. According to those who saw him, they had been quite surprised by that fact.

He didn’t have the sense of weight normally seen in people who specialized in muscular development.

After having devoted thousands of nights to disciplining himself, his body had been honed to its limits. Just like a swordsmith sharpening his blade, under the process of “studying”, he had stripped away not only fat but excess muscle as well— His body was in a completely different dimension than a regular person’s.

After coming to understand the burden of his physique, bones, and internal organs, his meticulously calculated figure didn’t have even one gram of inconsistency.

Unattainable by even ancient artistic statues, his form was so perfect that even physiologists had nothing to complain about.

“Anyway, it’s Senpai’s turn.”

“Understood, I’ll move the to 3-B.”

Even in the short time it took to say those words, he didn’t stop moving.

He gripped a metal spear with both hands.

He lifted and swung the weapon that shone dully.

Swing. Swing. Swing.

As it flowed, he turned it so that it didn’t lose momentum. Turn vertically, turn horizontally, and then slash down.

It “cut” the wind, giving off a noise very different from the gentle breeze that blew through the garden.

It was a type of spearmanship completely suited to battle, created for a certain purpose. While it felt nimble like the fluttering of a bird’s feathers, at the same time, it was also chilly as if it would pierce through everything.

The man’s nimble and sharp movements made it feel beautiful.

I see. If it was him, receiving a blow from a chimera’s claws would certainly not leave him in the same state as I am.

—Honestly, I’m no match for this person.

After gazing at the waltz for a short while, Xins turned his glance to the metal board resting on his knee. Following what the man had said, he moved the red enemy piece that was placed on the board.

After a brief moment of contemplation, he lifted his own piece.

“Then, I’ll move my to 12-E. I’m only two moves away from taking your .”

At that moment, the spear’s movements didn’t even falter.

“Hm……”

The sharp glint in the man’s eyes weakened slightly.

“Then, my will escape to 15-F……Well, that’s what I thought.”

As his short, light brown hair fluttered in the wind, he turned only his gaze toward Xins.

“One question. Could it be that your

“Yeah, I moved him there three turns ago. It’s aimed directly at your .”

“Then, my will escape to 14-D……Well, I wanted it to.”

Once again, there was a moment of silence.

“One more question. Could it be that your is hiding there?”

“Ah, it was found?”

After glancing at the board resting on his knee, Xins pretended to play dumb.

“Your is blocking the front and your where I wanted the to escape to. That’s your only attack strategy, isn’t it? It’s too obvious.”

He swung his spear without seeming to boast. But even so, it was amazing that he remembered. As expected of the “Senpai” who taught Xins the game.

But he had also revealed his next move. After thinking about that for a few seconds—

“But, I who got caught by this move shouldn’t speak to others like that. I admit defeat.”

He gradually lowered his voice.

“My daily practice is also just about over. That was good timing.”

Speaking those words, the long spear that he held also slowly stopped moving.

As he waited for his companion to wipe away the sweat, Xins stood up from the chair.

“I felt like today’s Senpai didn’t put his heart into it, did he?”

“……Hmph.”

From the time his training started, until now.

Klaus Yung Gillshuvesher. The owner of this land finally turned to face Xins.

“Because I always end up losing, don’t I? Senpai’s moves today weren’t good at all.”

“Sorry. But I couldn’t just not finish it.”

He was totally aware of that. Without uttering a word, he simply nodded.

“—Were you thinking about it?”

To him, training with his spear was already something he could do without thinking about it. That was why he could play such a board game while training. But today, it seemed that there was also something else on his mind.

“Sorta.”

Without bothering to hide it, he let out a shaky sigh.

“Even though she’s already this old, I worry about my daughter.”

“That’s right, she’s already sixteen, isn’t she?”

Contrary to his outward appearance, he cared deeply for his family. When he had spare time, Xins often had to listen as he bragged about his family.

……But, his daughter?

Until now, he had always talked about his wife. Xins didn’t remember him saying much about his daughter. No, he seemed to almost try to avoid such a topic.

“That’s right, I haven’t told you much about my daughter.”

As he wrapped his long spear in white cloth, he suddenly narrowed his eyes.

“By the way, what’s your opinion about talent?”

Although Xins thought that his companion would talk about his daughter, he enquired about something different.

“Talent…… No matter what I say, it’s hard to give an interesting answer right away.”

“In the forty years I’ve lived like this, I’ve met many people who called themselves a ‘genius’. After talking and eating with many of them, I’ve come to a realization.”

With a small sigh, he lifted his fist.

“That is, there are no geniuses in this world.”

“Not even one out of all the people you met?”

Xins thought this question would hit the mark, but…

“No, not even one person.”

Seeming unmoved by the question, he shook his head from side to side with an empty gaze.

“Most of the people I met, as I expected, were working hard behind the scenes. There were also others who didn’t need to work hard to succeed, but…… Sure enough, they were simply insignificant humans with a lot of good luck.”

After that, he shut his mouth.

“—Well, that’s what I thought.”

After that, he silently shrugged his shoulders.

“Although I had been confident in that, it turned out I was wrong. Two people, only two people in this world, no matter how much I tried to deceive myself, I had to admit that they were ‘geniuses’.”

He smoothly said those words and then looked over with a glint in his eyes.

“Two people who I know. One of them is you, Xins.”

At that moment, Xins realized that he had been holding his breath.

As he listened, he had somehow sensed this.

Xins Airwincle— He became the first person in history to venture into an area that n.o.body else had, by mastering all five Recitation Colors and becoming the Rainbow Color Reciter.

“……I have mixed feelings about being praised for something like that.”

“But it’s the truth, you can’t deny it.”

“And the other person?”

If he were to give another name, it would undoubtedly be the person he had made a promise with, the Night-colored girl. The person who he had reunited with at a certain school, some ten years later. But there was no way that Klaus could know about her.

“Although she wasn’t well-known in the world of Reciters, she was also someone worthy of making history.”

That was something Xins had naturally expected, so he didn’t even nod.

“At first there was my family, the Yung, and then came other branch families. Within our several thousands of people, there appeared a heaven-sent girl, unprecedented in history.”

Suddenly, Xins involuntarily frowned.

What did he say just now? —A girl?

“Yeah, that’s right.”

With an empty voice like it had turned into flakes of rusted iron, he continued.

That wasn’t something bad, but something he should have been bragging about.

But even so. Why had his gaze become clouded?

“However, that talent stopped before it could bloom into a large flower.”

With an anguished expression, he let his words weakly spill forth.

“How could such a thing happen? That child threw away the name Gillshuvesher that represented her natural talent, and chose the path of a Reciter.”

—The name Gillshuvesher?

‘Even though she’s already this old, I worry about my daughter.’

Xins finally recalled what he had muttered.

“Senpai, could that girl be…?”

“……My only daughter.”

“Your only daughter abandoned the GillsheExorcists to be a Reciter?”

“The school she chose was Tremia Academy.”

Tremia.

Xins could only think of one school with that name. No way.

“Yeah. The school you were at when that spontaneous catalyst discharge incident occurred. You might even have met her.”

“What is your daughter’s name?”

Gazing briefly at the madder red sun, the father quietly closed his eyes.

“—Ada. A girl who became a high school student this year at the Recitation School.”