Chapter 28: Library

After the opening ceremony, there was another homeroom period, and with that, the day’s official events ended. It was now after school.

I came to the library to fulfill the promise I made to Alicia.

‘This is the school library! So many… so many books…!’

Ever since we arrived at the library, Alicia had been in high spirits. I let out a sigh of relief.

At this rate, we’ll probably be coming here often from now on. When in doubt, rely on the library—yeah, I’m counting on you, library partner.

Next to me was Fumika, the bookstore clerk lady I became friends with today. When I said I was heading to the library after school, her eyes lit up and she volunteered to guide me.

Yuna, who had come along with us, split off as soon as we arrived and went to the magazine corner to read fashion magazines.

Jun, who also became our friend today, had wanted to come too, but she was disappointed she couldn’t since she had club activities.

“So, Alice, what kind of book are you looking for?”

“I haven’t really decided on anything yet…”

To begin with, it was Alicia who was looking for books, not me. I read a fair amount of manga and light novels, but I wouldn’t call myself a serious reader.

Back in my junior high days, even though I hadn’t been enrolled for two full months, I never came to the library after orientation.

‘Alicia, what kind of book do you want to read?’

‘I’d like to start by walking around and seeing what kinds of books they have here.’

“I think I’ll take a quick walk around the library first.”

“That sounds like a good idea. You can use that guide over there to help you.”

Where Fumika pointed was a map showing where each genre was shelved, along with a description of the classification system.

I stepped in front of it and looked over the entire guide. It was the kind of thing you’d find in any library, but to Alicia, it seemed like a brand-new experience.

‘How wonderful! To think that such a massive number of books could be sorted so precisely and neatly by genre…’

A soft sigh escaped her.

“…Impressive, huh?”

Fumika, standing next to me in front of the map, began to explain.

“This is called the Nippon Decimal Classification system. It’s used in libraries all across Japan. The fact that caught your attention—Alice, I knew you had the potential.”

Potential for what, exactly? I smiled vaguely in response.

“This library’s collection is quite extensive. The librarian here is meticulous, so the book management is top-notch. Isn’t it lovely?”

‘Yes! I think it’s absolutely, incredibly lovely! I want to live here!’

“…Yeah, it really is.”

I gave a safe answer to Fumika while smiling awkwardly at Alicia’s excitement in my head.

‘Can I really live here!?’

‘No, you cannot.’

“Well then, feel free to browse as you like. I’ll be at the new arrivals section or the lending counter, so let me know once you’ve picked out what you want. You can borrow up to three books at a time.”

With that, Fumika walked off toward the new arrivals corner.

Not sticking around to browse books together really showed her love of reading. After all, when you’re picking out books, you want to do it in peace without distractions.

…Or maybe she just wanted to look for books for herself.

‘…So, what should we do? Any genre you’re interested in?’

‘I’d like to start by going through all the titles.’

And so, I walked around the library. Alicia looked like she was itching to grab and read every book she saw, but it was obvious she was holding herself back to focus on memorizing the titles first.

And when Alicia says “memorize,” she means fully commit them to memory.

Her memory is nothing short of extraordinary. If necessary, she could skim a book and retain all of its contents. When she read history and science textbooks that weren’t even related to her transfer test, I’d flip through the pages and have her memorize the contents, then later recall them back to me while I studied. That way, I could save study time and still satisfy her reading appetite.

After we spent about thirty minutes walking around the library, I went to retrieve the three books she had picked out.

The first book was an introductory guide on steam engines, filled with photos and illustrations—looked like a beginner-friendly read.

The second was a book on law and politics, covering the history of how humanity developed political systems and legal institutions… or so it claimed, but it was packed with dense text that made it hard to digest.

The third book was volume one of the novel adaptation of the anime Alicia and I watched together for the first time.

…So even high school libraries carry light novels. I wondered if it was okay since those sometimes have slightly racy scenes or suggestive illustrations—but then again, regular novels often have steamy parts too. Probably just overthinking it.

With the three books Alicia had chosen in hand, I returned to the entrance.

At the checkout counter stood Fumika, chatting with a girl from the library committee. Judging by the vibe, Fumika must be a regular. When she noticed me, she gave a small wave.

"How was it, Alice?"

‘It was such a fulfilling, truly wonderful time!’

"…Yeah, I mean, I had fun too."

"Bring your selected books and student ID to the counter."

That’s when it hit me.

Oh, right—you need your student ID to check out books.

"…Ah, crap. My student ID hasn't been issued yet."

"I'm sorry. I can’t process the checkout without scanning the barcode from your ID," said the committee girl with an apologetic look.

"That was careless of me… What should we do? Lending my own ID would be against the rules."

Well, if it's against the rules, there’s no helping it.

Looks like we’ll have to memorize everything here in the library…?

"I’ll borrow the books for you."

A student ID landed on the counter.

"It’s not against the rules if the older sister borrows them and the little sister reads them at home, right?"

‘Yuna…!’

Swooping in like a hero during my time of need was none other than Yuna.

Big sis to the rescue—too cool.

"Besides, I don’t see myself ever borrowing books anyway!"

…Don’t say that with such confidence. Way to ruin the moment, big sis.

Despite the little mishap, we managed to borrow the books without any real issues.

Alicia was in high spirits, thanking Yuna repeatedly via telepathy.

"Thanks to you too, Fumika. For coming along with us… Wasn’t it boring while I was picking books?"

"I’m the kind of person who’d spend every spare moment in the library if I could, so I didn’t mind at all. …Sorry I didn’t notice the thing about the student ID."

"Don’t worry about it. Yuna was here, so everything worked out fine."

"Hmph-hmph! By the way, I was bored! Aren’t we going on a post-library food and dessert exploration tour? Let’s get moving! Fumicchi, wanna come too?"

"Wouldn’t I be intruding…?"

"Not at all—totally welcome!"

"In that case, I’d love to join you. I think Jun’s club should be finishing up soon too—mind if I invite her?"

"Of course not!"

Fumika sent a message through her phone, and it looked like Jun was free too. And so, the four of us decided to head out into town after school for a little fun.