A comfortable silence lingered between us.
Kotomi seemed to have finished the book she had been holding and was searching the floor around her for another one.
Without saying a word, I watched her, set my things down on a nearby desk, pulled over a chair, and sat down.
"Kotomi."
"...Yes?"
"It isn’t good to read on the floor in such an uncomfortable position."
"How about we read together at this desk?"
After hearing that, Kotomi blankly pondered it for a moment before speaking.
"I... like it here..."
It was a quiet but firm refusal.
It couldn’t be good for her back, and her head would probably hurt, too...
"Being... like this... is comfortable..."
Kotomi briefly looked over the difficult books scattered across the floor and the space around her.
Her eyes held both longing and a faint bitterness, as though she were recalling some deep memory.
"..."
As I quietly looked down at her,
I thought that perhaps, to that girl, this place was
somewhere she could feel safest, a space where she could rest at ease.
Was it because I felt a sense of kinship with her, or because I felt our dispositions were alike?
When reality became too much for me, I, too, would visit places filled with memories and rest there for a while.
Immersing myself in happy memories made my heart feel a little lighter.
Kotomi surely had her own reasons, entirely different from mine—
but I could tell one thing for certain: this was an immensely precious place to her.
With a bittersweet smile, I rose from my chair
and slowly approached Kotomi.
"Kotomi, would it be all right if I sat there with you...?"
For Kotomi, this was a place filled with memories and longing.
I felt I had to respectfully ask permission before entering somewhere so precious.
At my question, Kotomi blinked at me as though slightly surprised, then smiled and spoke.
"...Yes. Welcome..."
Keeping just enough distance not to disturb her, I quietly sat on the floor.
The chill of the library floor came through clearly,
but it was not as bad as I had expected. No, it was actually warm.
Simply being invited into someone’s precious place
and looking at the same view somehow put my heart at ease.
Sitting side by side on the floor, we did not exchange a single word for a while.
Kotomi became deeply absorbed in her book once more,
and I, too, looked down at the short story I held in my arms.
‘System, why did you recommend this?’
The title of the brand-new novel, untouched by any hands, was [The Dandelion Girl].
This morning, before going to school, I had been browsing novels on the app when the system suddenly displayed it as a recommended book.
Since I could get it for free, I immediately bought it, figuring I had nothing to lose.
Other than the cover design, though, there was nothing particularly remarkable about it.
[It is a good story.]
‘...That’s it?’
It seemed a little suspicious, but
I figured the book was hardly going to explode and let it go.
Rustle.
The moment I carefully turned the first page—
"...In the days to come... just three days...."
At that moment, I heard Kotomi, who had been reading beside me, murmur softly.
When I took my eyes from the page and turned my head,
Kotomi was staring intently at the first line of the novel I had opened.
"...Kotomi."
"Do you know this book?"
"Mm... Yesterday I saw a deer... and today, you...."
Looking at [The Dandelion Girl] in my hands, Kotomi softly recited the words.
Her voice gently seeped into the silence of the library.
Was that one of the passages from this novel?
Was that why it had recommended it?
It seemed the system had not recommended it for no reason.
"Kotomi, would you like to take a look?"
Seeing Kotomi unable to take her eyes off the novel, I quietly held it out to her.
I meant that we could read it together,
but Kotomi blinked her clear eyes and lightly shook her head.
"No..."
Her voice sounded somewhat lonely,
yet there was also a wistfulness woven through it.
"It’s all right... I’ve already read it all..."
"..."
"Shu... is it your first time...?"
Kotomi tilted her head and looked up at me with violet eyes.
I could hardly tell her the truth,
that the system had recommended it to me.
I scratched the back of my head and gave her an ordinary excuse.
"Yes. I just... liked the title, so I bought it."
"Mm..."
Kotomi quietly nodded at my answer,
then carefully touched the cover of the book I held with her fingertips.
Her touch was like that of someone handling a treasure too precious and fragile to break.
Was it a novel connected to the memories and longing I had seen in her earlier?
Feeling the depth of emotion faintly reaching me, I promised myself that I would read it.
"It’s a... good book.... I hope... Shu likes it too..."
After saying that, Kotomi lowered her gaze back to the book resting on her lap.
But I noticed that the fingertips stretched over its pages were trembling ever so slightly.
This one thin novel
clearly meant far more to Kotomi than a mere work of literature.
As if it held some painful story she could not tell,
or a precious memory.
Looking at Kotomi’s small shoulders, which seemed to have drawn in on themselves,
I felt a sudden tightness in my chest, though I did not know why.
How could I help her?
Offering to help without thinking,
asking what was wrong,
asking whether she was all right,
telling her it would all pass....
I knew better than anyone that shallow words and sympathy like that would not help at all and could instead hurt her.
I had received many wounds like that myself.
What I could do right now—
was simply offer the most sincere promise I could make, rather than any irresponsible comfort.
"Kotomi."
"Mm...?"
At my call, Kotomi quietly lifted her head and looked up at me.
Meeting her clear violet eyes directly, I gave her a small smile.
"I’ll make sure to finish it."
"..."
"I don’t know what happened, but I’ll read it all the way through, and I’ll like it too."
Kotomi’s eyes shook greatly at my clumsy but straightforward sincerity.
Embarrassment came flooding over me at the sight,
but I did not avert my gaze as I quietly added,
"I hope it helps."
If my reading this book could ease your sadness,
or help me understand your world even a little, that would be enough.
"..."
Kotomi could not say anything.
But her trembling fingertips had stopped before I knew it,
and in her eyes, in place of the bitterness from before, emotions too wistful to put into words began to bloom.
After a while,
Kotomi smiled far more softly and warmly than usual and gave a tiny nod.
"Mm... Thank you, Shu..."
Thank goodness.
I was usually so inarticulate that I did not know whether I had managed to convey what I wanted to say, even clumsily,
but I felt that the words I had worked up the courage to say had not been in vain.
───────────────
[Achievement Unlocked]
『An Effort for You』
You have decided to spend your time for someone else.
Reward
[Learning] Lv.1 → Lv.2
───────────────
...But then,
as we quietly looked at each other,
my face suddenly grew hot.
What had I just said?
All at once, embarrassment came crashing down on me far too late.
"Ah, um..."
"...?"
"Ah... I mean."
"In return, if you have time later..."
"Could you help me study?"
...What was I even saying?
As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt so embarrassed by the situation
that my thoughts burst out without even passing through my brain, desperate to change the subject somehow.
Of course, seeing Kotomi read those difficult books piled up like mountains, she did seem incredibly smart and probably good at studying too...
But asking a high school girl for tutoring out of the blue.
Something really must have been wrong with me.
At my unexpected request for help studying, Kotomi stared blankly at me, blinking her violet eyes wide.
"Studying...?"
"Shu..."
"Do you... like studying...?"
No, it was not that I liked studying.
Other people did it.
My parents liked it.
I had only ever pretended to make an effort.
Even when the results were poor,
I could at least leave myself with the excuse, ‘I tried.’
But.
This time was a little different.
With the [Learning] skill,
maybe I could do better than before.
It was true that I had begun to hold that small hope.
"Even if I don’t like it... I want to try."
"...Mm."
With that quiet permission,
a pleasant silence settled cozily over the library floor once more.
With our eyes on our respective books, we quietly turned pages for some time.
...
Before I knew it, twilight had fallen outside the window, and the library was divided between amber light and darkness.
Checking the time, I thought I should probably return to the dorm soon.
As I started to gather my things,
I suddenly thought of something while looking at the girl absorbed in her book beside me.
Was Kotomi not going home?
Normally, it was time to leave school or head home.
The thought that her parents might worry crossed my mind.
But... I did not ask.
Everyone had circumstances they could not readily tell other people about.
There was no reason for me to forcefully pry into hers,
and more than anything, even if I knew none of those secrets, Kotomi right in front of me was still simply Kotomi.
I carefully stood and brushed the dust from my clothes.
Then, as I packed my things into my bag, I said goodbye.
"Kotomi, I should get going."
At my voice, Kotomi looked away from her thick book
and slowly raised her head to look up at me.
With a smile that seemed relieved,
yet was also very gentle, Kotomi spoke softly.
"Mm... Shu, see you tomorrow..."
I slung my bag over my shoulder and started walking toward the door,
but the darkening sky outside the window suddenly caught my eye, making me stop and turn back.
"Ah, Kotomi, do you have the library key...?"
The librarian seemed to have already gone home,
and I had asked because I was worried about how Kotomi would lock the door when she left later.
Hearing that, Kotomi obediently searched her uniform pocket and took out a small key to show me.
"...Mm. I’m an honorary library committee member..."
"An honorary library committee member...?"
So she was not simply a library committee member—she had ‘honorary’ in front of it?
"Every day... I borrowed the key."
"..."
"Then the librarian gave me the key and made me an honorary library committee member."
"Ah..."
That was certainly a reason I could understand.
"I see. Then that’s a relief. Make sure you lock up properly when you leave, and get home safely."
"Mm... You get home safely too, Shu..."
As I finally opened the library door and stepped out, I thought of [The Dandelion Girl] tucked in my bag.
When I returned to the dorm today, I would read [The Dandelion Girl] to the end.
So that I could talk about this book with Kotomi next time.
When I stepped into the hallway, the evening glow spreading beyond the windows
welcomed me.
It suddenly struck me that it was somehow a different sight from the heavy, sorrowful sunsets I had watched in reality each day while dragging my exhausted body home from work.
Perhaps the burden in my heart had lightened a little.
Without realizing it, my steps toward the dorm had become noticeably lighter.
...
It was when I arrived at the dorm entrance, trudging along.
I happened to run into Okazaki, who had finished whatever he needed to do in Sunohara’s room and was heading out to go home.
"Morita, you’re a little late."
"Ah, Okazaki. Are you going home now?"
At my question, Okazaki looked up at the sky
and answered with a somewhat bitter expression, as though it were a bother.
"Well... I’ll wander around a bit more first."
"...?"
Did he have a reason for not going straight home?
I suddenly wondered,
but once again, I did not ask.
Everyone had circumstances they could not talk about.
At my indifferent response, Okazaki smiled and gave my shoulder a light pat.
"You shouldn’t stay out too late either."
"You get home safely too, Okazaki."
"Yeah."
With his back to me, Okazaki spoke while only waving one hand.
As I watched him turn away and begin to walk off,
Sunohara’s intelligent(?) plan, which I had heard about in the classroom after school, suddenly crossed my mind.
"Ah! Okazaki."
At my call, Okazaki stopped and turned his head.
"What?"
"By any chance... what happened with Sunohara’s plan...?"
Hearing my question, Okazaki let out an incredulous laugh.
"Ah, it’s a shocking plan."
Pressing a hand to his temple, Okazaki shook his head.
"Anyway, see you tomorrow."
"Ah, okay..."
This time, Okazaki really did walk out of the dorm and into the darkening evening.
Just what kind of plan was it?
...Surely he was not plotting something strange again.
Carrying an inexplicable sense of unease, I went into my dorm room.
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