Illustration Novel 12

**Moonlight** is the twelth release of the Illustration Novel series and features the Musicart Moonlight.
The Novel was published on April 29, 2022, featuring **あるてら (Arutera)** as the Illustrator for this story.

Read here... (Official Website)

## Translation

    **past Conductor** — *When I was little, I used to run away all night long because I was afraid of the moonlight that followed me everywhere*.

   I remember one Conductor telling me that a long time ago. He was a young man in his twenties, but he was a mid-career man in terms of experience and had been through many ordeals, armed only with a baton.

   The moonlight drives people mad. Like werewolves and vampires, according to folklore. People who are exposed to moonlight for too long are said to be fascinated by madness. "I am afraid of the moonlight". I know a little bit about that feeling.

   **Moonlight** — *Are you afraid of me then?*

   My name is Moonlight. I am a Musicart who inhabits the score of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 "Moonlight". I have been told that I am unsociable, inorganic and I don't always know what I'm thinking. To some people, I would have looked uncanny. When I got carried away with fighting, I would sometimes injure those around me. I sometimes enjoyed the fight too much, as if I was fascinated by the light of the moon. And yet he only laughed and said,

   **past Conductor** — *Jeez. Not at all.*

   He was unable to breathe due to the rupture of one lung, with a hissing, agonizing sound emanating from the back of his throat. His chest was punctured beyond repair and dark red blood stained his entire body. An unexpected D2 attack forced me to protect a refugee camp with many young children. I could not protect him.

   **past Conductor** — *I'm glad I was able to fight with you until the end.*

   Yet I wondered why he was telling me that.

   Forest at night. Freezing cold. White breath. Illuminated by the moonlight, the monster that avenges the music screams a deafening, desperate cry. As ever, a terrible dissonance.

   **Moonlight** ".....This is the end."

As I turn away, two or three large D2s, each about four or five meters tall, disappear into the darkness of the night. Silence. As I exhaled slowly through my nose, a tingling feeling of pleasure rushed up my legs and down my neck. Unknowingly, a slight smile appears on my lips.

   **Belkis** "As expected of Moonlight. You are truly the queen of the night."

   **Moonlight** ".....Belkis."

   From behind me, a voice, haughty in spite of its words. Before I knew it, standing behind me was the Musicart as me, Belkis. Perhaps she had come to cover me as I was taking on three large D2s single-handedly. Needless to say, that wasn't necessary, though.

   Before I could look back at her, I touched the edge of my mouth with my fingertips and extinguished any lingering scent of pleasure, knowing well that it was a vice to take pleasure in such a cold battlefield.

   **Moonlight** "Belkis. If you've got time to waste, why don't you go and kill as many enemies as you can?"

   **Belkis** "Oh no, mine was called a 'leeway', not a 'spared time'."

   **Moonlight** ".....What needless retort."

   Belkis, who is known to carry the title "Queen", always maintains a haughty, pompous pose. With her arms crossed, chest out and chin up, she speaks with a calm and composed air. I don't know what's going on in her mind, though.

   **Moonlight** "I'm doing fine, just go and check on Air. That girl was kind of high today."

   **Belkis** "....She's a very busy girl, got into a slump yet getting high as well."

   Belkis sighed and continued, "It's the Queen's job to protect the weak."

   Then, with a satisfied smile, she leapt high into the sky, shaking the trees in the forest, and was gone in a flash. Belkis is a very straightforward Musicart. In other words, she's easy to handle. She's not like me, where people say that I'm "mysterious", a "ghost in the forest", or "elusive and like the mist on Lake Lucerne". Not that I really care. Then, from the ground a short distance away, I heard a groan.

   **young Conductor** "*Kkkh*.... Ugh........."

   **Moonlight** "Ah, coming back to your consciousness?"

   I scuttled over to the source of the groaning.

   **Moonlight** "Are you alright?"

   **young Conductor** "I'm sorry....... I couldn't do anything...."

   **Moonlight** "It's alright, as long as you're safe."

   There was a wounded young Conductor lying on his back. His face still looked young and was probably no more than 20 years old. Naturally, he was inexperienced. Even just fighting in the dark forest was too difficult, and the pressure was too much for him to be hastily paired with me, who I didn't even know his name. Sure enough, he got caught up in the fight between me and the D2s, injuring his precious dominant arm.

   **Moonlight** "Such a wound...."

   **young Conductor** "I will fix it right away and fight with you!"

   **Moonlight** "No, you've fought enough."

   **young Conductor** "But the D2s are still....."

   **Moonlight** "Don't worry. I'll call the rescue team now. We'll take care of the rest. That's good, isn't it?"

   **young Conductor** "What's good about it?"

   **Moonlight** "Now you'll be back at the Symphonica by Christmas."

   **young Conductor** ".......!"

   The young Conductor bit his lip in frustration. He is enthusiastic. But he knows that his inexperience and wounds will slow him down if he tries any harder. Clever boy. He said, "I'm sorry." and turned his face to the ground. It was immediately clear that he was hiding tears of frustration.

   **Moonlight** "Don't be sorry. It's just this darkness."

   **young Conductor** "Then how can you fight so freely in this darkness?"

   **Moonlight** "That is... maybe it's not because my eyes are always staring into the darkness."

   **young Conductor** "Yeah, right."

   Ever since that time. In the battles of the past, I saw the darkness that piled up. Piles of dead comrades. Piles of civilian corpses. Piles of so much red and black that it was impossible to tell whether they were old, young, children or adults. It was a huge "darkness" dripping with such substance.

   Even until now, my eyes have been staring into the darkness. I have become too used to the darkness. I keep turning my back on the light and telling myself that it is this "darkness" that you should be looking at. Even this moonlight is too bright for me. Sometimes it even frightens me. Suddenly, I remember the words I heard so long ago.

    **past Conductor** — *When I was little, I used to run away all night long because I was afraid of the moonlight that followed me everywhere.*

   Since ancient times, it has been said that the moon is the land of the dead. So the light of the moon is the voice of the dead calling out. Or the voice of vindictiveness that the dead spit out. When I look at the moon, I feel as if the people I couldn't save are glaring at me with resentment, whispering to me to come here as soon as possible, so maybe I was scared. As expected, I wouldn't run around all night.

   I noticed that the young Conductor was staring at my face. From his point of view, lying on the ground, I must have looked like I was carrying moonlight on my back, because the moon was just behind my face as I looked over him. He looked at me as if he were stunned. He was shaking slightly. So I asked,

   **Moonlight** "Are you afraid of me?"

   But he shook his head, "Well, I never." He rolled his eyes and was ready to deny it with his whole being.

   **young Conductor** "Absolutely not! I was staring at you because.... you were so beautiful with the moonlight on your back."

   **Moonlight** "Eh?"

   **young Conductor** "Oh, I-I'm sorry, it's so sudden! But I didn't think I'm scared of you! You are beautiful and strong. Even now, you fought away from me so that I wouldn't get hurt."

   Indeed, it's true. But that's all there is to it. He continued to tell me, who seemed to be uncomfortable,

   **young Conductor** "It's because of Musicarts like you that protect us that we can fight and live. You are, as your name suggests, the moonlight itself."

   **Moonlight** ".....The moonlight itself?"

   **young Conductor** "Yeah. It's a saving light that shines through the darkness. It always gives us courage. I'm sure our fallen comrades felt the same way."

   .....

His words echoed over and over in my head, keeping me immobile for a few moments. I am not darkness, but light. I remember again. That youth Conductor who died in front of me, who was afraid of the moon. I had asked him why he had said to me that he was "glad to have fought with you until the end". He said,

   **past Conductor** — *After I met you, I wasn't afraid of the moon anymore*.

   I felt like I was told the same thing by him back then and him right now. I was just protecting them, or not protecting them. But they called me their "light". I turned on my heels and stared into the endless darkness ahead. In the distance, I hear the deafening cry of the D2s and the sounds of the battle. I say to the young conductor lying behind me,

   **Moonlight** "Well, just rest there until the rescue team arrives."

   **young Conductor** "....Yes. Please be safe."

   **Moonlight** "Thank you. You too."

   I looked back over my shoulder, smiled, and ran off into the dark forest. The darkness had faded and I felt I could see the moonlight more clearly than ever. I felt as if the light of the moon, which followed me everywhere, was now watching over me.

**Unofficial translation by Rara**

Source: Illust. Novel 12 translation

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* Moonlight
* Belkis

## External Links

1. ↑  https://twitter.com/ishihara\_sola?s=20&t=dwxhDf6OLtjo7EAZfBFfZw
2. ↑  https://twitter.com/ayatakaha
3. ↑  https://twitter.com/TeraAru6262?s=20&t=HRxQXP2CeLKa9L90V5SfYQ