act13d0

I'll be reading here.

Mm.

Hmm—Last time I got to—

Here.

'Dusk Beauty Flying to the Moon'.

Mm.

Once upon a time, there was a gentle and kind girl named Dusk Beauty who lived in Yan——'

(Diligently reads the story, one word at a time).

(Puts her pen down).

Morte, apple.

(Slowly gnaws on the apple).

——To commemorate the distant Dusk Beauty, on the same day every year, people would offer up her favorite food. As time passed, this day became an important festival in Yan.'

So that's where it comes from—

So that's where it comes from—

Eh?! Popukar? And Miss Mousse?

Hiya.

Hello, Suzuran.

Why are you all here and not at the banquet? There's a lot of delicious food from Yan there.

I'm already full. I saw Suzuran telling stories on my way back to the dorm, so I came over to listen.

I also came to hear the story! And also, um, to look after the kitties. They're getting rambunctious.

Kitties?

They're over there...

There? Shamare?

Ah, it's true!

The kitties really like Shamare and Morte!

Mm...

Meow~Purrr—

(Tugs on Suzuran's sleeve).

Hm?

That story just now, could you tell it again, Suzuran?

I came late and missed some of it.

Me too...

Ah— Okay!

Um, it might take a long time to read the whole thing again, so I'll summarize.

This is a fairy tale from Yan. The protagonist is a girl named Dusk Beauty.

She was living a happy life with her husband.

Until one day, her husband went missing.

She must have been very sad.

Yes, the book says Dusk Beauty searched everywhere for her husband, but no one knew where he was.

She went home and cried under the willow tree her husband had planted himself.

A wise elder in the village saw Dusk Beauty weeping everyday and came up with an idea.

The old man said—

*Cough* *cough*... Mhmm.

'Child, you have a pair of sharp eyes that can see thousands of miles away. Why not ascend the mountain to the west?'

'From there you can gaze upon the wide earth. Only there will you have a chance to find your husband.'

Dusk Beauty agreed with the wise elder's suggestion, and decided to leave the town and head to the mountain at the edge of the land.

This mountain, the tallest of them all, was called Mount T'ien by the people of Yan.

That sounds so cool.

The meaning of Mount Sky is 'a mountain as tall as the skies.' There is no mountain taller than it in all of Yan.

After much tribulation, Dusk Beauty reached the mountain peak and looked out over the vast land. But after three days and three nights, even as her eyes reddened from the strain, there was no sign of her husband.

With years of her effort ending up fruitless, Dusk Beauty could not help but weep, and her tears flowing down the mountain formed a river.

How sad...

Mom said I was like that when I cried as a kid.

*Sigh*.

The surging tears shocked the gods within the mountains. They couldn't believe the river which had appeared out of nowhere.

Upon seeing the source of the river, they were even more surprised. The gods decided to send their leader, the god of Mount Sky, to talk with the girl.

The kind god listened to Dusk Beauty's story and pitied her. Thus, the god of Mount Sky said:

'Lofty heights of Mount Sky, lie yet dwarfed by the twin moons. Ascend thee to the moons, and thy husband shall thee find soon.'

Huh?

Oh, sorry. It's sort of poetic and old-tymey, isn't it? Let me explain.

It means that even though the mountain was very tall, its height could not compare to the twin moons in the sky. So, if she could fly to the moons, she would definitely be able to find her husband.

Oh.

Dusk Beauty accepted the mountain god's suggestion, and asked for help. After the gods discussed it, they taught her a way...

One night, everyone was going about their business as usual, when suddenly, a bright light rose from the western mountains and rushed towards the moon.

This light became brighter and brighter, brighter and brighter, and at one point it even became brighter than the moon.

Finally, this light landed on the moon, and a big and brilliant sparkle rose out of it. The night sky grew bright, and it was hard to even see the stars.

(Whisper) Mousse, can we see fireworks like that now?!

(Whisper) Of course not!

Upon seeing such a thing, everyone panicked, thinking it meant something terrible.

But the elder recalled the story of Dusk Beauty and told everyone this meant she had found her husband. He told them not to be afraid, and to celebrate instead.

The people were convinced, so they brought out their wine and food, and celebrated the departure of Dusk Beauty.

From then on, everyone would bring food and gather together to feast once a year. They put the foods that Dusk Beauty liked on an altar.

They did it every year, without fail.

As time passed, it became a traditional festival.

Even after Dusk Beauty left, the river continued to flow down from Mount Sky, so the people decided to name the river after her, calling it the Dusk River.

Later on, the village slowly developed into a city. The edge of the city was next to the Dusk River, so naturally the city was called Dusk City.

Is that why there's so much yummy food today?

That's right.

Actually, today is the day of a Higashi festival as well.

The shrines will be very busy today. Dad's always swamped the whole day.

Though the most lively shrine is always Miss Tsukinogi's shrine. They say the god of her shrine is the chief god, so they have a huge festival, with a lot of people.

People from all over Higashi travel to Miss Tsukinogi's shrine.

Are there similar stories from Higashi then?

There are.

Well, it's not really a story, it's actually part of the liturgy. Dad's always reciting it during the ceremonies, he even has to dance along with the music at the same time. It's really fun.

The story goes something like this.

There was once a poor, old couple who lived working in the fields. One day, all of a sudden, a woman descended from the sky.

The woman handed a jeweled pot to the old man. When he opened it, there were more gold and riches than he'd ever seen in his whole life.

The woman asked the old man to accept the treasures, and to help her look for a husband. The treasures would be a gift to the old man in return.

The old man brought the woman home and discussed the matter with his wife. Upon hearing such a thing, she was ecstatic.

Thus, the old couple hired people to repair their home and invited the woman to stay.

Then, they spread the news about the woman looking for a husband.

The news passed quickly from person to person, and soon everyone in Higashi knew about it.

But the woman was very picky and most of the hopefuls failed to catch her eye. For those that did, she would ask them to retrieve a treasure for her. If they succeeded, she would marry them.

Do the people of the East all marry like that?

They used to, long ago.

Now... It's hard to say.

At least, Dad and Mom didn't get married like that.

Mmm, let's continue.

The woman never asked for the same item twice, but no one was able to fulfill her requests.