Lorail-Dawn was running down the steep mountains at a brisk pace.
　Naturally, it was a reckless act in this mountain range, which was overgrown with trees and lacked a path to follow.
　The Holy Knight's armor, which was endowed with many techniques, was scratched and heavily soiled. Lorail's normally smooth golden hair is also dirty.
　Lorail was showing an exhaustion that would make him scream if there was a handmaid at his side watching him.
　He looked around from side to side and began to move towards the low side, anyway. It turned out that if he moved straight south, he would reach the city road somewhere.
　Turning his impatient mind into the strength to proceed, Lorail hurried.

　He couldn't make a telephonic call to Mizfa-Trude, the person in charge of the operation.
　Both she and Rolaire are 'earthlings'. Although they have a magical tool to use party telephony, they have not united their party with her. If she tried to make such preparations, though, it was unlikely that Mizfa, who would rely on nothing but herself, would agree to register a party with Lorail.
''It's.......Lorail.
Rondaq.
　That's why Lorail has contacted the Adventurer Ronderk, attached to Mizfa, with his special magical tools.
　This adventurer, an elf sorcerer, is supposed to be watching in Mizfa's armored command vehicle.
　Rondark's level is high. He is more than fifty years older than Lorelai.
　In the first place, they were adventurers, and Lorelai couldn't even challenge them to a fight. There is such a difference between the Earthlings and the Adventurers. It's ridiculous for me to call out to Rondark as my boss, but Lorilel fumbles with the conversation out of impatience.

''Is there any further news?''
Please wait. "There are no reports of Master Wetu in sight.
Tell Mizfa. Tell her to put Wet Feather-sama before power-leveling.
"I'll tell you...
What?
"If Wet Feather-sama wishes to go out, it is not for us to interfere.
　This mission, Red Night, is not something that Plant hwyaden is that enthusiastic about. The Adventurers responded to Mizfa's request. The Daichijin asked Wet Feather for permission to carry out this plan.
　But despite this, he still felt the lava flowing through his veins as a fellow earthling as he felt the disrespect for Nenuha.
''d*mn!''
　Loril struck the trunk of the tree he was leaning against with force.
　The metal armor, with more curses than the earthling could handle, created a force field that protected Loril and shattered the trunk of the tree.
　I don't need to be told that.
　Wet Feathers is a fickle master.
　She often skips out of Plant hwyaden events and wanders off on her own.
　Her overskill, the Disguise of Information (Overlay), completely disguises herself, and recently she has been able to recreate even mid-level skills. If she even disguised her status display, it would be impossible for the security team, which relies on it for personal identification, to cover her up.
　She is, however, the highest-ranking Grantor (Enhentress) in the Plant hwyaden alliance. Given the adventurer's physical prowess, her various magical abilities, and her oral traditions (overskill), there aren't many people who can do her any harm.
　Unless she was heading to the raid dungeons that she'd heard about, the chances of her encountering danger in this Yamato field were slim to none.
　That's the other problem: no one who knows about Wet Feather's disappearance, including Lorelille-Dawn, believes that she has been kidnapped and disappeared by someone else, or that she is in danger.
　She may have disappeared of her own volition.
　But that doesn't mean she should be left alone.
　She is an ally of the Plant hwyaden.
''Lord Wetu..... At the very least, it would have been nice if you could have accompanied me with this Loril.
　Probably, Wet Feather would surpass Lorileil in terms of his fighting ability.
　Even if he wore the White Holy Knight's Armor that Jared Gunn had created with the Furnace, he wasn't confident that he could match it. But still, Lorail wanted to protect Wet Feather.
　With a loud bang and a huge tree that was leaning halfway up, he started walking again.

　Operation Red Night requires secrecy, and the heart of the operation can't be exposed. That's why the deep mountains had been chosen as the test site.
　More than a hundred "Daichijins" boarded the armored command vehicle, the center of operations.
　Reviewing them was the official event that Nureha was to conduct this time, and it was done without a hitch.
　The Plant hwyaden, an organization of "adventurers" that had taken complete control of western Yamato.
　Its legendary ruler, the bewitching princess of the divine foxes, Nureha, is the legendary ruler of Plant hwyaden.
　Her presence and her smiling face brought about the greatest elation and excitement to the soldiers.
　Even Lorail felt a strong intoxication and a strong sense of duty, as if she was drunk on strong alcohol. If they were under her banner, they would be able to overcome any difficulty. He would be willing to go to any battlefield to relieve her sorrow. Lorail reaffirmed that, along with a fulfilling spirit.
　But that was as far as Wet Feather had gone in fulfilling her duty, and she disappeared that night after completing her review.
　She was a ruler, and it was impossible to control her will.
　So, if she were to slip out of this place, Lorail would have no words to restrain her. But Lorail is her SS, its captain. He is the one who must ensure her safety and avenge her enemies, no matter what place she is in.
　The fact that he had lost sight of her brought a terrible grief and pain to Loril's psyche.

　She disappeared without a word to Lorail.
　The fact that she was not worth it to Wet Feather was a humiliation that Lorile could not refuse. He was underestimated and abandoned. He can't even begin to express his anguish. But it's sweet at the same time, and as he wanders through the mountains for her, he feels a strange sense of pleasure.
　Partly it was the chivalrous euphoria of serving the Plant hwyaden leader Nureha, and partly it was a warped sense of superiority, knowing that no one else was capable of doing this much work for her.
　But even with that secretly sweet, carrion-like feeling, the main thing Lorilele was feeling now was pain and anxiety.

　There were four participants in this operation from the Ten-Seat Conference.
　First, the head of the operation, Mizfa-Trude. Kazuhiko, who stood for election as a witness to the operation.
　Nureha herself, who responded to the request for review by coming out of Plant hwyaden's headquarters. Then there was Lorile who had come with him to protect Nureha.
　Now that Nenuha is missing, the only person who can follow her and ensure her safety is Loril-Dorn, the only person capable of doing so.
　He drank the water potion made by the Adventurer and ran down the mountainside without a break.
　Wet Feather had disappeared into the mountains, and if she intended to stay hidden, it would be difficult to find her, even for a skilled adventurer, and not for Loril. Even with hundreds of high-ranking adventurers, you can't guarantee that they will find her if you go up this mountain range. Lorile knew that mountain hunting was a difficult task, having spent his entire life training in the military since he was a child.
　But the chances of Wetha hiding out in the mountains were almost non-existent, Lorail thought.

　She was a city dweller to the core, and was also quite lazy.
　In the Saigu family's villa, the Golden Phoenix Palace, where she lives and works, she spends most of her time in a secluded corner of the house.
　Her role in Plant hwyaden is to bring together all adventurers and earthlings with her uncommon charisma, with combat, exploration, and paperwork to be done by the other ten seats.
　Her day-to-day life is dominated by meetings and conferences, as well as persuasion and negotiation.
　Given those circumstances, she quickly realized that she didn't want to spend a lot of time in this mountain filled with dirt, sand, and feathers. Wet Feather would go down the mountain and aim for a habitable place of at least minimal size.
　That, too, would be to a town with lodgings, at the very least, rather than a poor village, given the comfortable surroundings she preferred.
　Lorail thought of the geography of the vicinity.
　She couldn't be certain, but she would move west, via the red clay roads. She couldn't be certain of Minami, but there were several lodgings in Fuji and Pineside that she would be comfortable in, as long as she moved in that direction. She must have enough cash on hand to stay at those lodges for six months or so. If she could get rid of her jewelry, that period could be extended tenfold.
　But if she works as Lorile expected, it won't be too hard to find. There are only a limited number of lodgings where she can stay comfortably, unless it's in Minami or Icoma. They don't exist in the average Daichijin village, and there is only one for every group of people larger than a town. The fact that they exist in Fuji and Pineside means that they don't exist anywhere else. That meant that they were easy to find.
　But at the same time, it is a somewhat time-consuming search, and it is certain that if she repeatedly moves nastily to distant locations, the time until she finds it will be extended.
　And the chances of her running into some kind of trouble during that idle time are not zero.

　Lorail ran tirelessly.
　For three days and nights he crossed ridges and ravines to reach the city road. Had he been more to the point, the time could have been greatly reduced, but he was the type of person who believed that the shortest distance on a map was the fastest route to travel, and he had been hit by the poison of wet feathers.
　It was at the foot of the most beautiful and tallest mountain in Yamato that he wandered, and the person he sought was well ahead of him by then.


　◆


　At the request of the merchants, Serara and the others took some of their goods to the mountain fortress of Boksult, where they were to unload them and continue on. They were to unload their cargo there and continue onward, including Dariela the Earthman in her carriage.
　The merchants didn't have the strength to carry her on their journey without a carriage, and while the roads were relatively safe, that was only for seasoned travelers and adventurers, and the landlady didn't feel quite so safe traveling alone.
　It was agreed that they would be given a ride in a carriage to Saphir, their immediate destination.
　Saphir is one of the destinations on the journey for Serara's group as well.
　It is a relatively prosperous city in the middle of this road heading west from Akiva, and it was planned before they left that they would relax there to relieve the fatigue of their journey.

　The carriage went on through cobblestone streets covered with moist, damp moss, slippery red clay roads, and cool ridge roads covered with dark green arches. The speed was slow. No matter how powerful the Pale Horse is, it's not much help on these mountain roads. It was easy to cause an accident if they ran at full speed.
　Serara's group was moving at the speed of walking on the winding mountain path.
　Somewhere along the way, a bird's song, similar to the sound of a whistle, caught Serara's attention. She looked at Minori next to her and saw that she too was looking for the bird in her line of sight. Serara scurried around too, and out of the corner of Wolf's eye, a bird the size of a cobbler, with blue wings and yellow lines, made another noise.
　Glad to have found it, he pulled Minori's sleeve to reward her, and she knew where it was. They looked at each other and smiled at each other.
　Serara felt much relieved because of that.

　The Odyssey Knights were also in the mountain stronghold they had passed.
　According to Dariela, they are not so rare in this part of Yamato. They are accepted and respected throughout the region, as they risk their lives to defend the villages and towns of the Earthmen. They are a stern and somewhat gloomy group, but when explained that way, Serara thought that if you say they are a polite, clean and fastidious group of knights, that might be true.
　It seems that Minori, Touya and the others are also a little uncomfortable with the .
　The air was tense after passing each other on the pass, so you can tell. Still, after a few hours, the air gradually began to loosen up. I have to thank that blue bird, Serara thought.
　It was an itinerary that should have begged for a night's lodging at the mountain fort.
　The fort was also equipped with accommodations for travelers.
　However, having spent the night in the square of the pass, Serara and the others had passed the fort before noon, so it could be said that they had missed their chance.
'Minori-chan. We're encamped again tonight, right?
Well, there aren't any affordable lodging towns in this area.
What about tomorrow?
I'll be at Fuji at an early hour. Then we'll stay the night.
Yeah, I know.
　Serara smiled widely and agreed.
　The itinerary was just as I had imagined and confirmed, and I was glad that Minori hadn't skimped on that, after all.
　Eventually the mountain path ended and the road became wider and wider. There was still a slope, but it became more gentle and the dense forest was transformed into a thicket of trees. From the now clearer path, we could clearly see Mt. Serara didn't know what it was called in this other world, but it was familiar, that white snow-capped mountain, the largest in Japan.
'It's Mount Fuji,'
Oh, yeah. That's Mount Fuji.
　Touya and Rundelhaus sounded excited.
　Even Serara is feeling excited. If you live in Japan, you see Mt. Fuji in the weather forecast on WebTV at least once a month, and in fact, if the weather is good, you can see it even from the city where Serara lives. It's not such a rare sight, and if you think about it, it's not the real Mt. Fuji, since we're in another world.
　Even so, I feel as if it is a special mountain, is it because I am Japanese? I don't know, but as Serara, Isuzu's "This is what a trip feels like! I nodded at the words. It really felt like that, I thought.

　In the shallow afternoon, with the sound of a flowing base in the wind, Serara and the others were soon on the beach. It was not a white sandy beach, but a blue-gray sea, pebble-strewn with pebbles the size of Serara's little finger. The beach had a very gentle curve to it, stretching in the direction Serara and the others were traveling.
　The road ran parallel to the coast, but there was no clear distinction between the road and the gravel beach here, save for the scattered pine forests that served as sand barriers.
　The sea was calm, and a few boats could be seen floating in the water.
　Maybe they were fishermen from the Land People.
They look like butterflies.
But the coast is a lot rougher than this one.
　Serara and Minori exchanged their thoughts and hurriedly searched together for Safagin's shadow.
　Fortunately, of course, no such monster existed, and they laughed at each other.

'If we've come this far, Saphir is almost there.
Have you had a sleepover before, Dariela?
'Yes, I'm on my way home. A few times.
"We'll be home tomorrow, right?
We could get there by midnight if we hurried.
　At Minori's words, Serara and the others all shook their heads.
　Don't take it too far. This is another lesson learned from the trip.
　But then, we have to camp today. Serara wondered how the sky was doing. The wind above seems to be strong, but the air is clear and doesn't seem to be crumbling. That means that the difficulty of camping is low. As the coastline was scary, we should find a grove of trees a little further inland and camp there. From the looks of it, there were plenty of wooded areas to shelter us from the wind.
　However, the road we're on now is flat and easy to walk on because it's on the coast, and there are plenty of places to camp.
It could turn into dusk before you know it. "If I do that, I won't be able to make dinner...
　Serara thought round and round in her head.
　It was Serara who had bought dinner duty.
　Travel cooking is inevitably difficult.
　Before she left, Nyanta had been working with her to polish her skills, but now that she was here, she couldn't even do half of what she had hoped for.
　It was too different from the kitchen, where there was no flat cutting board.
　I'm sorry that I can only cook my meals in the dark.
　To tell the truth, my worries are quite misplaced. Among the earthlings, "bread for the journey" is a loaf of hard, heavy bread. And diluted grape or mead.
　The soup and okonomiyaki that Serara and her companions prepared every time they camped out were completely unique to the Adventurers' culture, and not common in this world. It's because they spent their post-disaster life around the catastrophe leader, Nyanta Squadron Leader, who can even cook outdoors, that they have lost touch with the norm.
"Maybe it's soup and pasta...
　'I'm going to make a soup,' whispered Celara, turning red.
　If she could make a soup with dried meat and vegetables, along with some bottled soup stock from the Kuidaore Yokochou, and add a few slices of leaf-shaped pasta, she could make a bowl of soup that would hold its own. Then, if we had some sour apple mayo salad, it would be cool, right?　Selara thought.
'One plate would still seem corny...'
'Not really. Warm soup is delicious.
　I was encouraged by Minori next to me.
　Serara laughed, feeling a little miserable. The desire to work as hard as Nyanta is so great that it would be better to measure it in the dome stadium, but for the group without the Magic Bag, the ingredients and spices on hand are limited, and when cooking outdoors, there is a lot of work to be done in the cooking area and heat source management.
　It's not uncommon for Serara to easily get a flat tire and fail when trying to do something a little complicated. As long as she's equipped with her new wife's apron with Nyanta-san's appliqué, there's no excuse for her subordinate to be a housekeeper.
''You guys are very close, aren't you?
　Dariela asked with a soft expression to a troubled Serara and an encouraging Minori.
'We're friends,'
You're my friend!
　Isuzu, who was walking in front of Minori's reply, turns around and matches Minori's reply with a shout.
''Same, are you a guild?''
No. I'm not.
　Serara replied. But we're friends. I threw out my chest with the feeling that
The Crescent Moon Alliance. We belong to a guild called the 'Horizon of Records'.
Oh. I'm a traveling vampire with no guild affiliation.
　Roe 2 from Gosadai also entered the topic.
'If you don't mind me asking.... For what reason are you heading to Minami?
We're not going to Minami. On our way there, we're going to the Redstone Mountains to hunt the Steel-Tailed Pterodactyl, the wyvern.
　Touya answered Dariela's question.
''Well. A steel-tailed pterodactyl........ It's a monster that has the potential to come down to the village.''
'Really?　Minori-chan.
Mr. Shiroe said it happens sometimes.
　Hmmm, Serara twisted her head.
　According to Minori's illustration, a wyvern is a monster that looks like a paper airplane with arms and legs. If they're going to fly, they might as well come down to the middle of nowhere.

'And then maybe a tour.
　Isuzu, who had dropped back from the front at some point, said so.
'Tour, is it?'
What's that?
By the way, I haven't seen Mr. Roe2 in a while.
　Serara looked at Isuzu, wondering how to explain it, and looked at Isuzu in a mood to ask for help.
　Isuzu held the spear she was using as a walking stick to her chest and strummed her lute in a gesture that sounded like she was doing so, "It's a concert tour," she said, closing one eye.
Isuzu-san is a 'minstrel'.
'Ehehe. I'm half an amateur.
That's why we play music in villages and towns with Isuzu-san at the center.
Well, do you have music?
　Isuzu's voice is impressed by Dariela's impressive voice, and Isuzu steps lightly and flutters around.
"Even so, they call it a rocken roller in Akiba's Bloom Hall.
"Rockenroller?
"Uh, uh... I mean,
What do you mean?
　To Roe 2's dubious question, Serara replied, "It looks cool.
　Minori, who had been holding back her laughter from earlier, blurted out at that, and Serara protested desperately to Minori. She couldn't stop her cheeks from turning red as she wondered if it was a bit of a strange explanation herself.
　Rock 'n' rollers were a rare thing to hear these days, and it was Isuzu's fault for using a word that seemed so difficult to explain. Serara's cheeks puffed out, and Isuzu stared at her with confirmation that she was right, but Isuzu didn't get through to her, turning her shoulders around to lower her upper strokes and pausing to sing a phrase with her mouth.
　The only person who would feel sympathy for Serara was Wolf, who jostled at her feet.
'Interesting, isn't it, a musical career?'
Yeah, it's kind of nice.
　Roe 2 and Dariela expressed that, and that seemed to make Isuzu feel better.
'Well, then. I'm going to perform in Saphir, so you'll have to watch it.
Play?
You know, Minori. Okay?
　Isuzu asked Minori with vigor.
　Originally, we are planning to stay in Saphir's city for two nights. I am not sure if this is a good idea or not, but I think it is a good idea. When we crossed the Boksult Pass, we met in the mountains, but we were still able to pass through the trade routes. In the Redstone Mountains, they had to hunt, and at worst they would have to traverse the roadless mountain fields.
"I also sang along with Isuzu-san.
　When Serara added that to her mouth, Minori nodded as if she was not worried.
''Yes, I'll be fine. Let's just relax a bit in Saphir's town, shall we?''
　With those words, Serara and the others proceeded on their itinerary for a few more moments until dusk.



　◆



　And that night's show, which was announced, was great.
　Everything was glorious, hot and throbbing in my chest, and it was all lovable and irresistible. That's right, even the dirt on the walls and the ugly innkeeper.
　Her voice was much more relaxed than usual, and her lute, "An Die Freude," was faithful to Isuzu.
　Eighth notes marched on the staff in unison, as if wearing matching hats, and chanted in harmony with Touya's strumming rhythm. Serara's foot-stamping wind instrument (port organ) provided a surprisingly expansive accompaniment. Maybe it was because the white puppy was pumping to death. Even the one song I gave Minori the lute was fun.
　There were failures, but they all melted away into a sea of bubbling, carbonated joy. Anyway, it was great.

'f*ck it.'
Miss Isuzu, please don't be a cowboy.
I'm not violent.
I got it. I get it.
　Rundelhaus lends his shoulder to the café terrace at the back of the inn, and Rundelhaus lets down Isuzu's fleshless body to a sizeable chair while making a dumbfounded sound. The reason why Rundelhaus somehow looks more sparkly than ever is because tonight's concert was great, and it must not be because he accidentally drank an alcoholic drink.
　It's close to midnight now.
　The moon was high in the sky and a cool breeze was blowing.
　The Noble Mountain Snowdrop, one of the largest taverns (taverns) in the city of Saffir, is well-equipped and has a large terrace facing the main street. At today's show, they opened up all the doors and the crowd was so large that many people were peeking in from outside the shop. The heat and buzz of the concert is still present in the store like a hot fire, and it can be heard faintly by Isuzu.
　However, it's time for that enthusiasm to ebb away.
　It must have been more than five hours since sunset, and both Minori and Serara have long since raised the white flag and retired to their rented rooms.
　It is correct that Isuzu, who was still playing her lute after returning to the auditorium because she was reluctant to leave, drank a drink recommended by the townspeople as a treat and was escorted to the cool backyard.
'See, Miss Isuzu,'
Yes.
　Feeling a little remorseful, Isuzu took a sip of the water that Rundell House had drawn for her from the well. On a night when it was still early March, the well water in this city located south of the sacred mountain Fuji was extremely cold and made her temples ache.

Mmmmmmmm. Fufufufufu.
　Isuzu enjoyed it and threw her upper body out of the chair onto the wooden table on the terrace. Her cheeks tingled as her cheeks stuck to the wooden skin, but it was a pleasant temperature for her fiery body. It also felt good to have Rundelhaus nearby as he pulled the other chair and sat down.
　With my cheeks on, I turned my gaze toward the backyard.
　Unlike Akiva, this area isn't that overcrowded with houses, even though it's a city. There are some buildings made from the ruins of buildings, but those are few and far between in this town of Saffir, and are limited to this "Snowdrop of the Noble Mountains" and other buildings.
　The rest are mostly single-story wooden buildings, with plenty of space between the houses. There were some gardens and hedges, but most of them were on a scale that could be described as vegetable gardens or wooded areas.
　As an example, this backyard also contains an unkempt wildflower garden, a vegetable garden, a large latitude, a corral, and a grove of trees. The orange light leaking from the open back door of the tavern and the moonlight pouring down from the heavens dared to illuminate the nature at night, which would have otherwise been black.

　I wasn't sleepy, but when I closed my eyes for a moment, my mind lifted as if the world was spinning in circles. I opened my thin eyes, wondering if the reason I didn't feel as cold as I thought I would was because of the weak wind, and saw Rundelhaus ruffling his bangs in his eyes, looking annoyed. He was sitting upwind of Isuzu, with his cloak wrapped around his body.
　Their gazes met, and Isuzu suddenly felt embarrassed.
　Usually it was nothing, but sometimes she felt like this. Perhaps it was the magic of the doggie. Pretending not to notice, with her toe, she lightly kicked the chair where Rundelhaus was sitting.

'What's going on?'
What's the matter?
Okay.
Mmm-hmm.
It was a good show today.
Today.
Another day.
　Isuzu closed her eyelids again as Rundelhaus's voice sounded with a bitter smile. She held the table with her arms outstretched. Its size was like a wooden base. Thinking of that, she naturally smiled and her fingertips moved.
''Miss Isuzu really likes musical instruments, doesn't she?''
I love it.
'Doesn't that make you a professional musician?　For that, you've stuck to the tour a lot.

Yeah, it is.
　Isuzu sat up and sighed with a satisfied sigh and looked at Rundell House.
　The light from the tavern leaked through the window, and it framed his blond hair in a line of light.
　Isuzu began to speak to the skeptical Rundelhaus.
'My, your father, you know. As I may have told you, he is a professional musician. I don't know how to explain the term "studio musician". Well, I guess you could just call me a pro at playing instruments. I play in the places I record, to help people with their musical endeavors.
"Hmm. The reason Miss Isuzu is so good at it is because of your father's blood and training.
"Ha-ha-ha. Ha-ha-ha, it's not like that. My father, you know, he's a free spirit, a rock and roller. He's good-looking. He had long hair and wore leather jackets. Skinny legs...!　I live in a little bit of a rural town now, but I'm still pretty famous. Some of my fans, some of my old fans, too.
　Isuzu took another sip of water.
Isuzu's father bragged to me as a child about his bravery. You could call it a saga of his youth.　It's a story about a battered van I bought part-time, loaded with instruments, and went on tour. My dad went on tour too. He's been like that since he got out of high school. He was a little boy in the band, and after he got out of school, he got a part-time job and toured to live houses, and when he ran out of money, he got another part-time job and traveled around from Tokyo to places.
Just like that?
Yeah, yeah, that's what I'm talking about!
　It was a longing and a certain heroic figure for Isuzu.

Isuzu's father always talks about stupid things. When I was in elementary school, he would tell me how popular he was when he was young, how many girlfriends he had, how far he traveled, and even brag about being poor. They even brag about how they bought a fender, borrowed money and broke it in two weeks and went wild. The story of how you got off the car at the beach with your friends, dressed up and ran along the sandy beach, and got into trouble when the car stalled. Or the story of how he bought oden at a convenience store and ate it while taking shelter from the rain under a bridge...
　Isuzu would never forget the look on her father's face as he told her such stories.
　The proud grin on his face, Isuzu had dismissed her father with something like, "That's disgusting, go away," but in truth, she couldn't help but be jealous of him.

We don't have a lot of money, and a live music club is a bar, like today's bar, in other words. I heard that they let you play at the bar, get paid for it and sleep on the floor of the waiting room. Unlike us, the guys were traveling together, so they would get into fights easily. But then we couldn't play the next gig, so we made up and then got back in the van and headed to another city.
Yes.
　Rundelhaus gives me a small nod to indicate that he's just listening. Relieved by this, Isuzu talks about his father again.

'My dad played rock and rollers like that, and he made his major debut.
What's your major league debut?
'Distributing music from a record company--ahem. 'I mean, um,' said Isuzu, searching for words to explain, but it didn't work, so she omitted it boldly. 'I mean, I became a famous musician. So much so that your father's band's music is played all over town.
　I'm not lying, am I?　And Isuzu inspected his explanation.
　'You probably got at least a nuance of it.
'It's amazing, isn't it?'
It's great. It's amazing. It's not. But you know...
　The moonlight was pale and the night was clear and enveloped Isuzu and Rundell House.
The world we were in has a lot of great people making their major debuts. I think there are more than a hundred people who make their major label debut every year. Even if they become famous once, it's no good. There are a lot of people who don't make it. My father was the same way.
　I don't sigh.
That's why your father became a studio musician. It wasn't his major label debut, but I guess he wanted to do it all the time. I've never heard of it, but I think he did.
''After all, I think Miss Isuzu has your father's blood in her veins, and she's making her major debut.
No, no. I'm a pro at making my major league debut.
But I was happy to hear you sing live today. Today's song was the sweetest and most penetrating I've ever heard. Aren't you happy to be singing?
Because...
　I'm at a loss for words.
'I'm not like that, you know. Well, of course, of course I like lutes. I love it. I love it, and I love to sing it. But compared to your father, I'm not so sure. I don't know... He's a pervert who can say he's going to sleep with the guitar. And you know what? I don't have any talent.
....
That's what my dad says.
　The signs of Rundelhaus were blameworthy. I know what you mean. It must look like you're running away. But even Isuzu has something to say. Music is not an ordinary or ordinary thing. You can't get used to being a professional just because you admire it.
　It's something that talented people have to work hard to get to where they started. Even my father didn't become a star. Isuzu listens to her father's hardships and complaints. It's not something to be taken lightly.

But, you know, I love music.
　Isuzu said in a deliberately bright voice, as if to change the air.
''Yes,''
It was fun again today, wasn't it? Everyone was happy. Even the older guys bought a meal for a guy like me. They praised me and praised me, and I was getting stuck up.
I love Miss Isuzu's song, too.
Rudy was the first one to tell me. "Rudy was the first one to tell me that he wanted to play in front of everyone, and to say that he was going to tour. I wasn't much of a musician at all. But to be able to perform like this.
The music Miss Isuzu plays is wonderful. We all know that. You're the one who doesn't know that.
　With a slightly angry look on his face, Rundelhaus interrupted Isuzu's words.
　The taut expression on his face made him look much more mature than usual, and Isuzu was afraid of that, and tried to cover it up by saying, "Again, Rudy is very kind," but his mouth, which was about to open, was dammed up by Rundelhaus' fingertips, which were pointed out to him.

'Instruments, tunes, performances -- sounds, scales -- forty-two is forty-two.'
What?
"42.
What?
"Music (42)
What's going on, Rudy?

　Not a short time passed, and Rundelhaus smiled a smile that was too gentle to pierce the center of Isuzu's chest. Isuzu could only stare at Rundelhaus' expression, forgetting the fingertips that were gently lowered to her, and could only stare at her.

Isuzu has learned a few things since becoming an adventurer. I've learned a few things about being an adventurer.　The Adventurer doesn't necessarily speak the language of the People of the Earth. They can understand what they mean, they can hear what they say, and they can automatically change their words so that the men of the Earth can understand them.
　Isuzu nodded without understanding the meaning.
　Isuzu had no idea what Rundelhaus was trying to tell her.
Isuzu said, "In the language of the earth man, music (42) and 42 (music) are the same.
　It must be about the automatic translation function. I understand that, but I don't know what the point is, and Isuzu nodded her head in a state of excitement.

There are only 42 pieces of music for the people of the earth. There are only that many songs in this world. That's all our ancestors had to write, and we can't write new songs. ...Hey Isuzu. We really love the songs you sing, and the many songs you scream with joy, because they are so important and happy.