During the period known as "winter" on Earth, it is nigh impossible to gather plants or hunt animals for food. Therefore, the people of Grando would agglomerate in a tiny cave and huddle for warmth, trying their best to survive the season with as little movement as possible. The younger and more robust ones are tasked to gather the minimum amount of food required to survive.
One day, it was Romiemarigana"s turn to garner food. Wearing simple winter clothing made of plush pounded hide, she wandered into the mountains in her pursuit for fruits or edible barks for her fellow mates.
What exactly am I living for?
As she pondered on that question like she would usually do, she pressed forward to search for food for her companions.
That was when she encountered a man.
***
Wednesdays are my shift days at the counter, so I head straight to the library after school.
While the library committee members are still making their way to the library, Shiina-san, the librarian, would handle the borrowing and returning of books by herself. Still, as the librarian, she has other duties as well.
"I"ll leave the rest in your care."
When I reached the library, Shiina-san walked into the small room behind the counter and began working on her job — probably . She could have done it with word processing software, but Shiina-san insists on doing it by hand, and that includes the frame and stuff like that. There are more efficient options available to her, but I"m not in a position to say anything since that"s what she loves to do.Looks like the borrowing counter was gathering more traffic yet again. As usual, Shinonome had her face buried in a book while I was working non-stop. I managed to take a quick glance at the book Shinonome was reading when I took a quick toilet break. It seemed to be different from the book she was reading yesterday — the size of the words and the quality of the paper were not quite the same.
There"s the possibility of our conversation veering in the same direction as it did yesterday if I were to ask her about the book she was reading, so I stopped myself from doing so.
But if I could start a conversation with Shinonome, then the top topic on my mind would be her relationship with the man I saw at the shopping street yesterday. Although I wasn"t harping on it as much when I woke up today, there"s no guarantee I won"t bring up the subject by accident. I wonder how Shinonome would react if she knew I saw her in that sort of situation.
Fast forward to around five o"clock, and there were not many people left in the library. Shiina-san rushed out of the small room suddenly and ran out of the library while muttering to herself.
What happened? A student walked up to the borrowing counter just then, so I missed the opportunity to ask Shiina-san or Shinonome about it.
A few minutes later, Shiina-san returned with what looked like a really heavy cardboard box in her arms. She may be slightly older than us, but she has a really tiny stature. I could watch on no longer, so I walked out of the counter and took the box away from her hands.
"Thank you. It"s really tiring to walk all the way here from the staff room......"
Even though she was about to hit her thirties, there was a really youthful smile on Shiina-san"s face while she grumbled. According to Ikehara, a fellow library committee member, Shiina-san was incredibly popular among a group of boys in school.
The cardboard box I had taken from Shiina-san"s hands was heavy as h.e.l.l. The delivery order pasted on the box suggested it was an urgent delivery.
"What"s in this box?"
I directed the question to the librarian as I moved along. Shiina-san scratched her cheeks in embarra.s.sment.
"Books for the library...... I had forgotten to specify the place of delivery, so it was sent to the staff room instead."
I nodded my head after knowing the reason behind her hasty dash out of the library.
I carried the box of books into the small room where Shiina-san creates her . Thinking that my job was done, I made to the exit. However, Shiina-san stopped me in my tracks."Ah, wait. I have a favor to ask from you."
Before I could even give her an answer, Shiina-san stuck her head out of the room and—
"Yuuko-chan, please come into the room."
For some unknown reason, Shiina-san called Shinonome over.
So the both of us stood side by side without a clue on what"s going on. Shiina-san opened up the box and peered at the books inside.
"Please help me to stick barcodes onto the books."
— What is your motivation for being a writer?
Nishizono: I have not thought that far. Not at the current moment anyway.
The image of that mischievous smile as she left remained stuck in my mind for a long time.