Chapter 1: Eina (4) |
“Shuu-kun, what’s with this manuscript?” Asked Ruka-senpai as she finished reading the printed manuscript.
It was Monday, and we were in the clubroom.
She was a third-year in the literature club. She was a woman with full, wavy hair and a charming, kind smile. She was calm and spoke quietly so being with her was rather peaceful.
“I got it from an acquaintance.” I answered, garnering a questioning look from Ruka-senpai.
“An acquaintance? Whooo?”
“It’s a secret. They wanted to be anonymous.”
“Mgh.”
Ruka-senpai really wanted to know about the author, but I could hardly say ‘I got it from someone I met on a chat app.’ I didn’t want to make her worry that I might be being scammed.
Ruka-senpai didn’t write either. She drew illustrations instead, and designed covers. Obviously, she liked books, but she wasn’t the type to want to write them herself, she wanted to design the actual books. The right person in the right place as it were.
There were two other third-year members who mainly wrote. Incidentally, they were the ones that had retired to focus on their exams.
“Yeah, is by Friday okay?”
Ruka-senpai smiled at me and nodded.
“That’s fine. Thank you so much for doing it while you’re busy studying.”
“No worries. I’d be sad if we lost the room too, and I want to support you.”
I was moved by her kindness.
The cover was sorted. I’d get it on Friday and then print on Saturday and then publish it on the Monday.
Though I’d need to ask the student council to borrow the printing room. That was a little depressing. President Minekawa would be there, and I didn’t really want to see her.
But I had to go, so I said my goodbyes to Ruka-senpai and headed to their office.
“Excuse me.”
I knocked on the door and entered the room. The members were all working away at their desks. They all seemed busy, so no one came to deal with me.
I wasn’t really in a hurry, so I just waited relaxedly at the door.
“Got it. I will go and talk to the baseball club and…”
The president was working at an inner desk. I couldn’t help but stare at the site.
She seemed to be dealing with the sports clubs.
She had a refined smile upon her face and looked somewhat like one of the western paintings of saints.
She really was photogenic.
“Literature club?”
She noticed me and looked towards me, her eyebrows creasing together.
She always looks upset to see me.
I put a strained smile on my face.
“Do you need something? We’re rather busy at the moment.”
She said as she stood and walked towards me.
“I’d like to borrow the print room on Saturday, is it free?”
“It’s free.”
She spun on her heel and took a notebook from the shelves.
“Put your class and name here, and when you’ll be using it.”
I wrote it just as she said.
“What are you printing though?”
“The new students’ book.”
“You wrote something?”
“I didn’t.”
Seeing as I was talking with her, I decided to ask about the clubroom.
“Hey, President, if we’re actually doing things, we won’t be driven out of our room, right?”
“I can’t decide it myself, but if you keep publishing, I can bring it back to the agenda.”
“I promise, we’ll keep publishing.”
“Okay. I’ll bring it up at the meeting tomorrow. But there’s one more condition.”
“A condition?”
“Give me one of that book too.”
“We give them away for free though?”
We always put them in boxes on each floor by the noticeboards with ‘Please take one’ on the box.
“Bring one to me.”
“Why?”
“There’s no harm in that much effort, is there? I’ve said I’ll undermine something already decided after all.”
I thought that it was putting the burden on us bringing it, but if following that condition let us defend our clubroom, I could answer immediately.
When we finished, she returned to her desk without even a ‘goodbye’ and because of that, I couldn’t even thank her.
She was always so blunt. I knew she was a practical person, but she at least smiled at the people she was dealing with, but she still looked so sourly at me.
“I guess she really does hate me…”
I muttered as I walked through the corridors. I couldn’t help but think back to how I met her.
It was the first day of school. I was a self-admitted bookworm, and curious about what books the school I’d joined had, so I had gone to the library when the day had finished. I liked reading rooms and libraries, they had a nice impression about them when they were filled with books. The dusty scent of old books made you feel like you were being enveloped in the books so they held a different charm from a bookstore.
I looked along the shelves of books starting at the corner.
“Oh!”
I had found one of my favourite Sci-Fi books and unconsciously reached out for it.
It was a Sci-Fi book that dealt with time, called The Door Into Summer.
There was another hand reaching out for it so I stopped.
“Go ahead.”
I withdrew my hand.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’ve read it be…fore.”
I saw the hand’s owner and was lost for words.
She was so beautiful that I had to swallow.
That was the Demon President, Minekawa Yukino.
“You’re Yagi Shuu-kun in class A, right?”
“Yeah,” I managed to say when I was addressed by her.
Why did she know my name? I’d only just joined the school…
“I’m Minekawa Yukino from class B. Nice to meet you.”
“Y-yeah, nice to meet you.”
“Do you… like books?”
“Yeah, do you?”
“Yeah.”
“So are you in the literature club?”
“I’m sort of lost. There’s so much I want to do…”
“I see. I’m joining them, so let’s get on if you do.”
“…I’ll keep it in mind.”
I still haven’t forgotten that soft and kind smile. She didn’t join the literature club in the end and I mostly lost contact with her. You could say that day in first year was our first and last link.
Then, when we met again in the same class in second year, she seemed to treat me harshly. We’d barely spoken, so I didn’t know why she hated me all of a sudden. Life truly is full of mysteries.