-pg19- Tale #25 Far-off Summer Holidays -pg20- Alpha 'kay, we'll bring it back this evening. Ojisan Fine. -pg21- Ojisan Don't tell me you bought a swimsuit... Alpha Kokone bought one for me. Ojisan Ah, well then... Why do they remind me of the old days? (Like they're my daughters...) -pg22- Kokone Pity Takahiro-kun couldn't come. Alpha He'd already promised to do something with a friend. (No room in the truck, anyway) -pg23- Kokone Wow! A beach! Haven't been to one in ages! Alpha Mm; this is the only one around. -pg24- Kokone This...is going to be my first time swimming in the ocean. Mm, what's that? Not swimming? Alpha It's not that... I'm just a little embarrassed. Kokone Why? There's no one here. Alpha Oh, right. -pg25- Kokone I picked one I thought would be fun. Why don't you try it on? Alpha How is it? I'm not really comfortable with it yet... Kokone Mmm....but you know...I think... It's perfect. Alpha I-is it? (Why is there a tail?) -pg26- Kokone Feels nice... -pg27- Alpha How is it? The water. Kokone Eh? Oh. What's the word? Splendid. Alpha It gets deeper here. Be careful. Kokone Okay. -pg30- Kokone Boy, you're a really good swimmer! Alpha Oh, well... -pg31- Kokone The waves just keep on rolling in and out... Alpha Mm...I wonder what causes them. Kokone ......there's really no else one around. It must remember summers long ago when it was busy... I knew this, but the sea was only a little surprised; not vain enough to mind. -pg32- Kokone It's kind of.... Lonely. Alpha Eh? What? Kokone Oh..... Just something about the sea. Alpha Oh I see... Try and be a bit less sombre... This is your first time at the sea! -pg33- Kokone Maybe it doesn't look back on the days when it was a summer vacation resort... But as nice as this water felt... I think it allowed itself to want us back. .....I was just thinking... We're the only two people here! Alpha Mm. -pg34- Ojisan Argh... "I'll come too" I should have said. Tale #25: Closing Q&A corner "What is the Moon Harp?" It's an instrument like the biwa! The Moon Harp is imported from China. It's called that for the simple reason that the round shape looks like the moon. Normally, the neck is shorter and there are four strings, and some wonderful decorations all over it to make it look expensive, but I think mine was hand made locally. As to the sound; it's sort of like a ukelele, or a mandolin, or a banjo. It's really supposed to be performed with tremolo, but I'm not an advanced enough player to do that....I just let it flow, ploink, ploink! [Arrow pointing to the next page] On this page, could this be one of the people that made my Moon Harp? She's wearing the clothes a Chinese girl of the Sani family from Unnan would wear. Suits her, doesn't it? This is the Moon Harp that Gonchichi-san has. This is the impression it gives... At least, I think so. Cute, isn't it?