Bookwalker Special
Intermission: Who is the Liar?
The morning of the Literature Club president starts early.
Yawning, I opened the curtains, letting the bright sunlight flood the room.
It's already the latter half of spring break.
As I was flipping the calendar on the wall, the door to my room burst open with a bang.
"Onii-sama, we have an emergency!"
My little sister Kaju came rushing in.
Even though it was morning, she was impeccably dressed in a black knee-length dress.
"What emergency-"
Kaju jumped into my chest before I could finish.
"Kaju and onii-sama aren't actually related by blood!"
…Huh? What is she talking about?
As I struggled to respond, Kaju looked up at me with sparkling eyes.
"So now there's no problem if Kaju marries you, onii-sama!"
"Well, at least we need to wait until you're 18. Okay, now please move away so I can get dressed."
I pried Kaju off and plopped her onto the bed.
"I'm going to school today, so I don't need lunch."
"Yes, onii-sama. So Kaju can become your bride after I turn 18, right?"
…Are we still talking about that?
I checked the date on the calendar as I put on my shirt.
"Uh, today is April 1st, right?"
"Ehehe, you found out. Yes, it's April Fool's."
With a cute "Tehe", she stuck out her tongue playfully.
Good grief, she's almost a third-year middle schooler, yet she's still so childish.
"What were you planning to do if I believed you?"
"Then Kaju would've just been fooled along with you."
"That would be a mess..."
As I took a tie out of the closet, Kaju stood up and quickly tied it for me.
I realized something as I watched Kaju's black hair sway in front of my chest.
The outfit she's wearing is the one she gave to Komari the other day…
"Are you going somewhere? You're all dressed up."
Freeze.
Her hands stopped tying my tie.
"What's wrong?"
"...This is Kaju's battle outfit."
Saying that, she tightened the tie sharply. It hurt.
Kaju stepped back from me and did a little twirl.
"How do I look, onii-sama?"
"Yeah, you look cute. It suits you well."
"Hehe, I'm glad you think so. Breakfast today is French toast."
She twirled her skirt and left the room.
...She seems to be in a good mood.
That moment when I felt like she was choking me with the tie- must've been my imagination.
I loosened the tie a bit and followed Kaju out of the room.
*
Tsuwabuki High School Literature Club room.
I had a reason for coming here early in the morning.
Last night, I got a message from Tsukinoki-senpai, who had just left Toyohashi.
She mentioned she left everything for the new student orientation in the clubroom.
Knowing her, I took it with a grain of salt, but I couldn't ignore it.
After all, the Literature Club now consisted of only second-year students with no experience in new student orientation.
Yanami was already there when I opened the door to the room.
"Good morning, Yanami-san."
Yanami nodded silently in response to my greeting.
She's not in a bad mood or anything.
For some reason, she was chewing on a large piece of dried squid.
Yanami bit off a chunk of the squid's fin.
"...Phew, squid is tough, just the way I like it. Perfect for dieting."
"So, the dried sardines and kelp you've been eating were for dieting?"
Yanami grinned proudly and held up three fingers.
"I, for one, have successfully lost 3kg thanks to my diet!"
"Ah, it's April Fool's Day. That's a good joke."
"But it's true! The April Fool's joke I prepared is that Amanatsu-chan got a boyfriend!"
I won't fall for that. It's Amanatsu-sensei we're talking about.
I sat down and pulled out my phone.
"Anyway, did you read Tsukinoki-senpai's message? She said she hid materials summarizing the know-how for new student orientation in the club room."
"I read it, but where could it be?"
"Where indeed-"
Yanami and I looked around the club room.
With piles of books and junk stacked everywhere, we had no energy to search every nook and cranny.
As we sat silently, the door to the club room creaked open.
Bursting into the room was Remon Yakishio.
Yakishio raised her voice energetically the moment she entered.
"Hey, did you hear? Amanatsu-chan got married! Her partner is a lawyer and a doctor!"
That's way too much.
Seeing our lack of reaction, Yakushio tilted her head slightly.
"Oh, it's obvious it's an April Fool's joke?"
Yanami and I nodded.
"I thought it was a pretty good line..."
"More importantly, did you hear about the materials for the new student orientation? Any idea where they could be?"
Yakishio looked puzzled and rolled up her sleeves.
"No, but we can just turn everything in the club room upside down. Come on, let's do it!"
The two of us are procrastinating because we don't want to do that.
As I pondered how to dodge the task, I noticed a petite girl standing just outside the open door- it was Komari.
She timidly entered the room, fidgeting with her fingers.
"What's wrong, Komari?"
"U-Uh, got a b-boyfriend."
Heh, you're the third one today already.
The idea of Amanatsu-sensei getting a boyfriend is such a fantasy. There's no way we would-
"...I-I mean me-"
Huh!? A boyfriend!? Komari!?
As I stood up in shock, Yakishio pushed past me and leaned in.
"Congratulations! Who's the guy?"
"U-Uh, well-"
Komari, overwhelmed by Yakishio's enthusiasm, found herself pressed from the other side by Yanami.
"For real, Komari-cha- Komari-san!"
Why the sudden formality?
But more importantly, could Komari really have a boyfriend...?
Surprised by how shocked I felt, I realized it must be because she had gotten ahead of me.
Still, as the club president, I have to offer my congratulations…
Pulling myself together, I turned to Komari with a confident expression.
"Komari, whatever happened, congratulations. Be happy for all of us."
"...G-Go die!"
Why are you mad?
Komari, her face bright red, glared at me.
"I-It's April Fool's! That's why!"
…Huh? Ah, right.
The shocking news of Komari having a boyfriend had made me forget everything else.
"Ah, you got me."
"Nice one, Komari-sa- Komari-chan."
Yakishio and Yanami sat down, muttering to themselves.
Komari also sat down, grumbling curses. Did I do something wrong?
"Uh, now that everyone's here, let's get back to Tsukinoki-senpai's hidden materials."
"Why don't we just ask her where they are?"
Yanami made a reasonable suggestion.
"I did, but she didn't answer."
"Maybe you're blocked, Nukumizu-kun?"
Wait, seriously? When did she start disliking me...?
As I fiddled with my phone, Komari slowly raised her hand.
"U-Uh, senpai told me to contact her once a-all four of us were in the r-room..."
Yakishio moved her chair closer to Komari.
"So, did you contact her?"
"Y-Yes. She replied. I-It's in the middle of the t-table."
…In the middle?
Our collective gaze landed on the table, which had nothing on it except for the half-eaten dried squid.
"Ah, I get it. We have to roast the squid to lure the first-year students in with the smell."
Yanami declared this with a proud expression.
That's absolutely not it, and the only ones who would come would be people like Yanami.
Anyway, what does "in the middle of the table" mean?
"Maybe…"
I crouched down and peered underneath the table.
Sure enough, there was a paper bag stuck to the underside of the tabletop.
"Uh, I found this under the table…"
The paper bag is old, with several tattered talismans stuck to its surface.
Feeling uneasy about its ominous appearance, I noticed the three girls staring intently at me.
"...Eh, what?"
"Nukumizu-kun, you should open it. You're the president, right?"
"Yeah, Prez Nukkun. We're counting on you."
"O-Open it, Prez."
These girls, only treating me like the president when it's convenient. I'm taking all of you down with me if I get cursed.
I nervously opened the paper bag, finding a thin handmade book inside.
"...?"
The book looks quite new, unlike the bag.
I pulled it out and looked at the cover. There's a title and an author's name.
<The Night the Lukewarm Water Boiled> by Usagi Kuon. [TL: Nukumizu's name means "warm water", so.]
Hmm? Isn't this Komari's pen name-
"Una!?"
Thud! Komari dived and snatched the book from my hands.
I didn't know she could move that fast.
"Komari, that book-"
"N-N-N-Nothing! I-It's nothing at all!"
That's a pretty big reaction for nothing. I bet it's-
"Ah-ha, You and Tsukinoki-senpai planned this surprise together, didn't you?"
My words made Yanami clap her hands in realization.
"Oh, I see. That sounds like something she would enjoy."
"Sounds fun. Komari-chan, what's written in that book?"
Yakishio stood up, stretching as she moved closer.
Komari, trembling, retreated to the corner of the room-
*
In an apartment in Nagoya.
Koto Tsukinoki was unpacking a box, and then she glanced at the clock on the wall.
"…I wonder if they've found it by now."
Lost in thoughts of her old club, a voice called out from the kitchen.
"Hey, Koto. Can I go ahead and put the dishes in the cabinet?"
It was Shintaro Tamaki who had come over to help Koto with her seemingly never-ending unpacking.
"Yes, please. Just go ahead and put them away."
Koto started to take more items out of the box but paused again.
Tamaki gave her a dumbfounded look.
"What's up? Did you forget something?"
"I was just thinking that the club might be reading the book I made right about now."
"You wrote a book?"
"I compiled a booklet with Komari-chan's stories about Nukumizu-kun being a bottom."
"Hey!? You know-"
Koto cut Tamaki off with a mischievous smile.
"But actually, the contents are just a compilation of all the tips and know-how for the new member welcoming event. Hopefully, they find it useful."
"…Why go through all that trouble?"
Shintaro looked bewildered as Koto shrugged lightly.
"Because it's April Fools' Day. I thought it might be nice if a little bit of a lie turned into something real."
Koto gazed at the club book she had taken from the box, gently stroking its cover-
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