Bookwalker Special
Intermission: Seat Number 17, Class 3-2, Momozono Middle School
*This story contains spoilers. Please read it after the main story.
Municipal Momozono Middle School.
I stood before the bookshelf full of advanced education information in the library after school.
The seemingly forever mandatory education period is down to its final year.
In other words, I’ll have to choose my own goals next-
I buttoned up the top of my stand collar uniform and browsed the material on the shelf.
They are listed in a row with the names of local high schools at the back.
One of the names is “Aichi Prefecture Tsuwabuki High School”. I reached my hand toward it.
I feel intimidated.
Tsuwabuki High School is the top school in the city. Honestly, with my current grades, it’s a stretch.
I’m not crazy enough to bet on a miraculous turnaround in a high school entrance exam that also considers my academic record.
After standing there for a while, I finally mustered the courage to reach out again.
It’s just like buying a slightly risqué light novel. All I need is to give people a “What? This is just a normal book” attitude-
I mumbled as a hand appeared from the side, brushing against my fingertips as I touched the file's spine.
“Ah, sorry.”
Feeling startled, I quickly withdrew my hand.
“I should be the one to- wait, aren’t you in my class?”
“Eh, no, well…”
The person who had reached for the same file was my classmate, Remon Yakishio.
Her wheat-colored skin and energetic short haircut made her stand out even in the classroom.
Her eyes switched between the file and me-
“Hmm, you’re aiming for Tsuwabuki?”
She took the file and handed it to me while talking.
“Eh, but-”
Yakishio turned around after shoving the file into my hands.
Her skirt fluttered, leaving a faint citrus scent in the air.
I wondered when was the last time I had spoken to a girl.
As I absentmindedly watched her leave, my attention was drawn back to the file in my hand.
This isn’t the time to be staring at girls. I found a table in the corner and opened the file.
Tsuwabuki High School is renowned for having a history tracing back to a clan school during the Edo period. Its vast grounds and numerous designations from the government make it an impressive institution.
The deviation score written in the school overview on the first page was higher than my national mock exam scores, by the age of an elementary school student. As for which grade, I'll keep it a secret.
Maybe I can make it if I start studying hard now-
“No, that's impossible.”
I sighed and looked up at the ceiling.
Even though we just started our third year, everyone's about to buckle down for exam prep. Just working hard normally would, at best, maintain the status quo.
Wait, Yakishio-san is aiming for this school too, right? Was she always such a good student?
Looking around, I saw Yakishio at a distant table. She's the captain of the field and track team, and her name is often on school notices.
Despite the demanding track practices, she finds time to study in her free moments.
Watching her mixed with admiration and a sense of inferiority, I noticed a guy with glasses sitting beside her.
...So, studying with her boyfriend, huh?
Feeling 100% inferior, I turned my gaze back to the file.
Tsuwabuki High School is also known for its active club scene.
I paused at the Literature Club after flipping through the club activity guide.
They meet every day after school. “Aim for the world,” it said under activities. That's it.
…It seems like they don’t do much.
But maybe that’s better for me.
The thought of daily practice for a tournament sounds exhausting.
“But what do they even do at a Literature Club competition...?”
I mumbled.
Maybe they compete in poetry or tanka? All I do is read light novels. Perhaps I could be a manager…
Lost in thought, I stood up and returned the file to the shelf.
Anyway, nothing starts unless I improve my grades.
Do I have the resolve for that? Honestly, not yet.
For now, I'll postpone deciding and borrow the next book.
I picked up volume 8 of <Chronicles of a Doomed Nation>, abbreviated as <Horosen>, from the novel section.
The previous volume revealed that the protagonist is a royal heir of a certain country, and the story really picked up from there.
I remember Kaju seemed interested when I was reading this at home.
I casually reached for the first volume on the shelf.
“...Hmm?”
At that moment, I felt someone's gaze and turned around.
A brief glimpse of a petite shadow hiding behind the bookshelf.
Could it be Kaju?
My younger sister, Kaju, is a first-year student at the same school. Initially, she was glued to me even at school, but lately, to my relief, she's been less visible here.
I stopped myself from following the shadow.
Surely, it's impossible for a family member you live with to stalk you.
“Am I being too overprotective?”
I chuckled at myself and headed to the checkout counter with only volume 8.
I overheard their whispers while passing past Yakishio’s table.
“No way!! Wasn't Boyle-Charles's law in the social studies textbook?”
“Uh, more like in science, right? Remember, we summarized the relationship between the temperature and pressure of gases in our notebooks?”
…What’s with this conversation?
Glancing sideways, I saw them leaning close, peering into a notebook.
“...Ah, this Charles.”
“Yeah, this Charles.”
They giggled quietly after making brief eye contact.
…Very well. Explode right this instant.
I quickly approached the checkout counter, taking out volume 7 of <Chronicles of a Doomed Nation> from my bag and placing it along with volume 8.
“Uh, these are for return and checkout…”
The librarian who had been reading looked up slowly as I muttered.
She’s a plain girl with glasses. I see her often after school.
She murmured as softly as I did while handling the books.
It's a relief she doesn't initiate a conversation like the librarian teacher-
“...You're reading <Horosen>, aren't you?”
“Huh?”
The librarian looked up at me with her glasses glinting.
“Haru Kasugano-sensei is great, isn't he!? <Horosen> is a minor work among Haru-sensei's novels, but I think it's a masterpiece! How far have you read- Oh, right, up to Volume 7. I asked a dumb question. Volume 8 has a scene where Karos dies in battle. It’s really tear-jerking. Please read it soon!”
…This person is really intense. And she just casually dropped a spoiler.
A familiar voice interrupted the librarian when she was about to speak again.
“Onii-sama, what a coincidence.”
It was my little sister Kaju.
"So you were here after all. Then, that shadow earlier was-”
“No, Kaju just got here, you know?”
She said it plainly and then peered over the counter with a formal smile.
“Excuse me, has volume 7 of <Horosen> been returned?”
The librarian blinked and then nodded.
“Ah, yes. It just got returned.”
She hurriedly began the checkout process.
“Huh, Kaju, you're reading it too? It's interesting, isn't it?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“...Eh?”
Then why are you borrowing it?
Kaju suddenly hugged my arm tightly as I wondered.
“If I borrow it right after you, our names will be next to each other on the checkout card. With the same last name, it's almost like we're married, right?”
No, that logic is flawed.
I was about to argue when Kaju looked up at me with a big smile.
"It's like we're married, right?"
Even my little sister is intense.
“...Uh, yeah. Saying we’re siblings seems more natural, though. You’re still in middle school.”
I gave a half-hearted answer, and it seemed the checkout was finished.
The library committee girl placed the books on the counter.
“Here's volume 7. And this is murmurmurmurmur.”
She pushed out volume 8 with her fingertips while mumbling to herself.
She suddenly shut her heart from me.
I left the library feeling quite shocked.
Kaju is still clinging to my arm. She spoke up cheerfully.
“Onii-sama, were you researching something today? You usually just borrow a book and go home after school.”
“It wasn't really research.”
I looked down at Kaju’s silky black hair while saying that.
“-Kaju, do you have a high school you want to go to?”
Kaju blinked her round eyes. She was caught off guard by the question.
“Yeah! The high school that onii-sama goes to, of course!”
I thought she would say that. I sighed and advised her.
“Kaju, it's about your future. You have to think seriously about your path.”
“Hmm, but Kaju is still a first-year. I haven't decided what I want to do yet.”
Well, that's how it is. After all, I, a third-year, haven't even decided which high school I want to attend.
Kaju softly muttered as we walked in silence.
“...I guess I do want to go to Tsuwabuki a little.”
Her hesitant words somehow struck a chord with me, and I decided to take another look at Tsuwabuki's files later.
*
Time passed, and now I'm a high school student. For some reason, I found myself in my old middle school uniform, walking through Momozono.
I stopped for a moment as I was about to pass the library.
“Nukumizu-san, is there something wrong with the library?”
Asagumo-san looked puzzled while walking beside me.
“Ah, no, it's nothing. Let's hurry to the Gardening Club. It's just behind the school building…”
Asagumo-san grabbed my arm as I started to walk straight down the corridor,
“That way only leads to the washroom. Here, this way.”
I reflected on the past as Asagumo-san pulled me.
-Kaju had a thing for Tsuwabuki.
I found out about it when I was in my third year of middle school, right around this spot.
If I had chosen a different school, Kaju might have given up on Tsuwabuki and followed me-
Thinking so, I aimed for Tsuwabuki, even though it was a stretch.
...Maybe I was just overestimating my importance to Kaju.
Shaken by that sudden thought, I quickly shook my head.
It’s still too soon for Kaju to have a boyfriend.
The Gardening Club is just ahead.
I picked up my pace, overtaking Asagumo-san, and hurried forward-
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