Tasogareiro no Uta Tsukai

Elite warriors—

Even though there were not many GillsheExorcists, they were frequently needed. Among those— The founding Yung family, which was considered the most elite, was well-known all around the continent. They pa.s.sed down skills and traditions, faced expectations to earn greater accomplishments, and were guaranteed to own public land and earn income above a certain level for a long time.

‘It must be hard work for Senpai as well, isn’t it?’

Klaus suddenly remembered the Rainbow Color Reciter’s casual words.

Because of their abilities, they faced great expectations. Sometimes what was expected of them couldn’t even be described by the word ‘expectations’, but were desires for them to go beyond the limits of their abilities. Their lives continually consisted of those kinds of days.

……Xins, sometimes I also want to suddenly drop everything and start travelling around the world, just like you.

But he had a wife and a child. Because he had chosen to start a family, he could no longer travel where he wished.

Rather than protecting the Yung family, he now fought to protect the day-to-day life of his own household.

“……Everyone has their own responsibilities.”

Holding back a bitter sigh, Klaus walked towards the dining room of his mansion. It was a large mansion that housed only three people. No, now that his daughter was gone, only two.

He had already gotten used to the loneliness.

—Hm?

However, there were three chairs arranged around the dining table.

“Shouldn’t Xins have left already?”

“Ada said she’d be coming back today.”

His wife quickly replied from the kitchen without lifting her eyes from the boiling pot.

“……I see.”

What was going on? Several days ago, they had received a letter stating that Ada would be coming back for summer break.

“Dear, about her being an GillsheExorcist—”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll let her choose the path she wants.”

He had already given up.

His daughter was sixteen. ……She was already at an age when parents shouldn’t be barging in.

“I’ll be in the garden until dinner’s ready.”

Carrying his GilExorcist Spear, Klaus walked towards the garden on their large piece of property.

Holding his spear but not swinging it around, Klaus gazed at the starlight overhead. The stars twinkled. Just like how the stars moved with the pa.s.sing of time, people’s ideals continued to change.

—Time.

It was the end of the time when parents restricted their child. It was time for the child to decide her own path. He didn’t know if this time was truly a good thing, but he wanted to believe it was.

Suddenly, he heard faint footsteps walking across the lawn.

They weren’t the familiar footsteps of his wife. Compared to hers, these steps were more subtle. They were footsteps that couldn’t be heard by ordinary people— The footsteps of an GillsheExorcist.

Klaus turned around and saw a short, tanned girl who he hadn’t seen in a year. ……No, she had grown slightly taller.

—How odd. She looked extremely tired.

Ada walked weakly towards him with her shoulders drooping.

“Dinner’s almost ready. Mom said to come get you, so let’s go in.”

However, she stood there without moving.

“Dad, I have a favor to ask.”

A favor? How many times had his daughter said those words before?

“Can you……repair this?”

Ada held something long and thin in her right hand. She carefully unraveled the several layers of white cloth.

Klaus could see that inside the cloth were pieces of a broken GilExorcist Spear, as well as shards of a shattered gemstone.

“If I repair it, what are you planning to do with it?”

“Are you asking me because you truly don’t know?”

Klaus’s breath caught in his throat at the unexpected reb.u.t.tal.

“……Simply repairing it is something I can do. But even after it’s repaired, this GilExorcist Spear shouldn’t be used anymore.”

Why? The look in Ada’s eyes asked.

“You should already know. GilExorcist Spears are made to precise specifications. After it’s this shattered, it’ll be difficult to restore it completely back to the way it was before. The repaired spear will have a different weight and length, so it won’t be the GilExorcist Spear you’re used to.”

If she were to use the spear according to the attributes she was familiar with, it would definitely cause a fatal mistake. Even if it was repaired, the spear couldn’t become like a part of her body anymore.

“Everyone’s been down this path before. —Even me.”

“……I won’t accept that.”

She didn’t scream or shout, but hidden in her words was something that hadn’t been there a year ago when they had argued in Klaus’s room.

“I won’t accept something ridiculous like ‘everyone’s been down that path before’……That’s why I wanted to study to become a Reciter.”

“Then are you going to continue your studies as a Reciter?”

For an instant, Ada was speechless.

“I will. But……”

Klaus could tell that the girl had tightened her grip on the GilExorcist Spear.

“But, I also…… don’t want to stop being an GillsheExorcist.”

A Reciter and an GillsheExorcist.

One who calls things out and one who sends them back.

She had chosen two completely opposite paths.

“Do you know just how difficult that will be?”

“I know. But, I’ve already decided.”

Their gazes met. Usually Ada would be the first one to turn away, but this time she looked up steadily at her father.

—The color of her eyes is similar to yours. Stubborn yet sincere.

Klaus remembered the words his wife had said to him when their daughter had been born. Back then, he had been embarra.s.sed and could only respond vaguely.

“I can’t guarantee that I can repair it.”

He sighed loudly—

He took the broken GilExorcist Spear out of the hands of the astonished girl.

“……Eh?”

“If this spear is a part of you, then I consider it my daughter as well.”

“T-Then!”

His daughter’s voice perked back up. Really, how many years had it been since he had seen such a happy expression on her face?

“But I have a condition. For the rest of summer vacation, you must stay here and always hold onto your spear.”

In order to familiarize herself with the weight of the repaired spear to an accuracy of 0.1 grams.

In order to familiarize herself with the length of the repaired spear to an accuracy of 0.1 millimeters.

She needed to make corrections to the GilExorcist Spear’s characteristics that she was familiar with, the characteristics which had seeped into the marrow of her bones after sixteen years of practice. Just how many days and how much practice would it take? His daughter should definitely know how rigorous it would be.

“……I won’t run away.”

How many times had he heard her say those words before?

—But this time, it didn’t seem to be a complete lie.

“I’m going back inside. Mom’s probably waiting for me.”

“Ada.”

Klaus directed his words to the girl’s back.

“Were you able to protect what was precious to you?”

For an instant, he could see a hesitant color in the depths of her eyes. His daughter smiled bitterly and shrugged.

“I couldn’t have done it by myself.”

“You don’t need to shoulder everything by yourself. After all, don’t you have good friends in the Recitation School?”

“……I know that.”

Ada stated curtly. Seeing the look on her face as she pretended to be strong, Klaus smiled wryly from the bottom of his heart.

“Ah, is that so?”

He ruffled the hair of the stubborn girl.

“Hey! Dad, don’t treat me like a child!”

Even though she was pouting—

His daughter didn’t push away his hand.

‘……Hey, Dad.’

What is it?

‘Why did you want to become an GillsheExorcist?’

What a sudden question.

‘Just tell me already.’

A long time ago, I worked together with a certain Reciter. That person was skilled but acted recklessly. If I left her alone, something would definitely go wrong.

‘—And then?’

And sure enough, something happened a while later. She confronted a wild Recited creature all by herself to try and stop it. As expected, she ended up getting severely injured. If I hadn’t run over to help her, who knows what might have happened.

‘Is that the reason?’

That was probably the first time I saved someone. It was the first time I was glad to be an GillsheExorcist.

‘That Reciter you saved, is she someone I know?’

Ada, did you forget what your mom used to work as?

‘…………’

Was that a boring story?

‘……No. Although it wasn’t very satisfying, I think it was a lovely story.’

—So this was why n.o.body came to eat dinner after she waited so long.

Peering at the figures of her daughter and husband from a shadowed part of the garden, the woman who had once been a Reciter smiled to herself.

Her daughter had come home and for the first time in a while, they could spend summer vacation together as a complete family. It would be very lively this summer, wouldn’t it?

It was a land covered endlessly by gravel that was a grey color similar to human bones.

The wind howled in a low, gloomy voice reminiscent of the wails of the dead. Blown by sudden gusts of wind, the gravel on the ground pelted skin. —It was a place that even travelers rarely visited, a wasteland where the influence of humans did not reach.

In the wasteland, a single woman with glossy black hair stood perfectly still.

On her shoulder was a jet-black lizard. The lizard was also as still as a rock, not making even the subtlest of movements.

—It was as if the two of them had been frozen.

An elderly man wearing a robe the color of yellow sand slowly walked closer to the woman, who motionlessly looked up at the sky.

“Greetings.”

The woman did not respond. She simply continued to gaze up at the sky.

She gazed beyond the shredded clouds that flowed overhead and beyond the dust-colored sky. She simply gazed fixedly at something above her.

“I have been searching for you.”

The elderly man greeted her a second time.

The woman did not respond.

“May I call you Evhemary?”

“…………”

The first thing to move was the lizard on her shoulder. It stared at the elderly man with a scowl, as if sizing up the value of his existence.

Then, after easily a few minutes had pa.s.sed—

The woman slowly turned to face the elderly man.

“……Who are you?”

Hearing that question, the elderly man made a strange expression that seemed like he was both smiling and crying.

“—Lastihyt. You may call me that.”

He took something out of the pocket of his sandy-yellow robe.

Lying on his palm was a gemstone emitting a grey glow.

A gemstone? No.

It was ovular, a shape that the structure of a gemstone couldn’t form— It was something in the shape of an egg.

The strange gemstone emitted a silver-grey light.

“O Evhemary, Night Color Reciter. I would like to hear your song.”

Long time no see, everyone.

It’s been four months since ‘Evhe Smiles At Dawn’ was published in January. Thanks to many warm voices of support, I was able to start writing the second volume of the ‘Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai’ series.

Four months. Whether it’s because my sense of time has become numb or time flowed mercilessly without my knowing— Strangely, I always felt impatient during these four months. ……It’s odd, I shouldn’t have been lazing around…… Ah…… I wonder…… I might have been lazy after all (timidly)

Well, aside from a lazy person’s confessions—

The second volume, ‘The Path of the Songstress’— I personally cla.s.sify it as a novel about cla.s.smates, but what did you think?

The atmosphere in the cla.s.s of Neight and his friends, the scenery outside the campus, civilization. Moreover, there appeared a special job other than Reciters called GillsheExorcists, as well as songs with a different feel than those of the first volume. Both are part of the ‘outside world’ not described in the first volume, but are things I wanted to portray even before the previous volume was published.

This time, I carefully aimed for an atmosphere similar to the one ‘Evhe’ had, yet also slightly different. I would be happy if you enjoyed it.

……But even though I say it is a novel about cla.s.smates, by the time I realized, it had completely turned into a story with GillsheExorcists as the main focus. I feel like it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it an Ada-themed novel.

Editor K-sama: “Sazane-san, you like Ada, don’t you?”

He had bluntly pointed out. ……T-That’s wrong. Rather, it’s because of Klaus (eh?)

After all— just like the first volume, each and every character that appears in ‘Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai’ has an important scene. Furthermore, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this is a story where the scenes when each character became a main character are compiled into a complete volume.

This second volume was about Ada. I’m sure there are some people who have noticed, but to prepare for Ada being the main character of the second volume, even though Neight’s cla.s.smates weren’t described very much at all in the first volume, only Ada showed her face in various places.

The protagonists of this story are Neight and Kluele, but they are sometimes helped by Xins, the other teachers and adults, and sometimes other cla.s.smates around them. I would be happy if you would warmly watch over them as they gradually grow from here on.

—Also, I will explain a little about the third volume that will be published in July.

There was an old promise made by Night and Rainbow. The next volume will be a story revolving around that ‘old promise’.

The second volume showed a bit of the situation in the outside world.

The third volume will continue the story that has been progressing until now.

What I truly mean is that the following books will finally feel like they have the theme of a Twilight-colored Song User. There was the old promise, and after crossing over a long span of time, there is a new promise. That theme, which could be called the ‘New Testament’, will the focus of the third volume.

The third volume— It is a story about the new songs and promises created by the ‘Night-colored boy’. I hope to gradually uncover the mysteries and questions left over from the stories up to this point, so I would be glad if you would follow along with me.

The second volume in May. The third volume in July. Between this two-month publishing interval— are the three months May, June, and July.

Within these three months, I will publish a short story about ‘Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai’ in Fujimi Bunko’s ‘Monthly Dragon Magazine’.

Planned schedule for 2007:

May: Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai II published

The first part and special feature serialized in ‘Monthly Dragon Magazine July Edition’

June: The second part serialized in ‘Monthly Dragon Magazine August Edition’

July: Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai III published

The third part serialized in ‘Monthly Dragon Magazine September Edition’

—It will be something like that. You may check for the detailed schedule in bookstores and other such locations. It will also be on my home page and blog, so please check that as well.

Three months of serializations mean that it will be a short story with three parts. What the story is about should be obvious. I have been worrying about the publishing order and I am currently in the middle of working on it. Sometimes I feel like saying things like ‘……There’s no way that I can make it in time,’ but I will try my best. (I actually mutter that to myself every night, but please keep it a secret)

By the way, as for the first serialization, it is an episode that will take place between the second and third volumes. Additionally, because it will have a significant number of pages, please definitely look forward to it.

About the second and third parts…… The plot is a secret, but nearly all of the characters we’ve encountered so far will be in it. These are all episodes that I was unable to write into the main storyline, so I would be glad if you could enjoy them as much as the main volumes.

* Additionally, if you could write ‘Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai was interesting’ on Dragon Magazine’s reader survey postcards and send them off, I would be extremely grateful! (straightforward)

—Well, I’ll end my self-promotions here—

I said so in the beginning as well, but I have received a lot of letters and emails with your comments and I truly thank you very much. I treat each and every response very preciously. I reread them about once every week. A fair number of characters have appeared since the first volume and a wide variety of them are liked by readers. I am truly happy that you guys like so many of the characters. As for popularity, many readers voted for the Night-colored flying lizard, which makes him (it) very happy. (It might even make the top three)

……Would you be fine with a lizard standing on the podium, all of you humans?

……Also, are you fine with how the story is going so far?

As the second volume is currently being published, I have relied on a truly large number of people to have made it here. Firstly, the lead editor K-sama has carefully checked the ma.n.u.script over and over again and polished the work. Like in the first volume, Takeoka Miho-sama has drawn beautiful ill.u.s.trations for this volume as well.

Both of you, thank you very much for finding time in your busy schedules to help me.

When I caught a cold and stayed in bed for a week, my family supported me in various ways.

And also, more than anyone, thank you to those of you who have read the first volume and continued onto the second one.

Thank you very much. I will continue trying my best from here on, so I hope that you would please continue to support me.

* P.S. To everyone who sent me an email or a letter

Whether it’s by email or a letter, I will try my best to reply to you within three months from now. If you still have not received a reply in three months, please remind me with an email or a comment on my blog, which you can find the link to below, and I will reply as soon as possible. Please continue supporting me from here on.

Well then. I pray that we can meet again in the short story and in the third volume—

Thank you very much for having volume two in your possession right now.

On a certain day in March, while listening to ‘Souheki no Mori’ by Shikata Akiko—

Sazane Kei