Vol 1 Chapter 2 (1/2)

Before I knew it, the hour hand of the clock pointed at 11am It was time to open the shop

I, who had been leisurely dusting away the top of the bookshelves, hurriedly e, to the front of the shop, and flipped the rotatable signboard around

But though I hastily opened the door, there wasn’t a single custo I couldn’t see a person on the narrow street near the station platforly hot, and it wasn’t appropriate for going out Large cuathered in the sky above the roof of the platforuessed there would be a thunderstorm in the afternoon

The breeze blowing by was hunboard ‘Biblia’ spun around, and the words ‘Antiquarian Bookshop’ came into view

Anyway, a new day began

I stretched my back forcefully, and turned back into the shop that was ostensibly a cave htly humid, but it was much cooler than outside

This was the 3rd day I, Daisuke Goura, orking at the Antiquarian Bookshop Biblia I hadn’t known this before, but the shop seemed rather famous in the area as it dealt with soh the Net, I found that this shop actually leased the books for some exhibitions

I, who had this ‘nature’ of being unable to read books, had an encounter with the shop owner shi+oriko shi+nokawa a few days ago, when I brought randmother’s Sōseki's Co here

shi+nokawa felt that old stories had their own tales in addition to the contents of the books, and had perfectly decoded randmother’s ‘story’ hidden in the Sōseki's Complete Collection That ‘story’ was related to the secrets of e in regards to old books, and could display astoundingly uncanny insight However, she was extremely introverted, and wouldn’t dare look at others in the eyes when the topic was not about books

3 days passed by just like that

The one who had been watching the shop before me, shi+nokawa’s little sister—Ayaka shi+nokawa—never told ister and where to put the cleaning equipment It also seemed she was not too certain about what a job in an old bookshop entailed, and had been si my actions skeptically It certainly was unbelievable that I, who had once appeared in the shop as a customer, suddenly becaht

“Besides books,else other than books, you know?”

She repeated the sa

“A thief ca was stolen, but this area does feel a little unsafe now”

The way she rattled on seemed to imply that I was that thief I reo find shi+nokawa in the hospital—I really wanted to say this, but ed to hold it within rew up in a diner, and I could do some basic customer service if I put my mind to it

Ayaka had been inside the , and had not couard onto keep watch on me all the time

The shop was eerily quiet, and I started the computer situated beside the counter I checked the , this is shi+nokawa” This was the opening, and after that, there was a long list of work instructions Finally, she ended off with a “I’ll leave everything to you If there’s anything you want to know, please send me an email”

All the instructions since h email shi+nokaas in the Ōfuna General Hospital, and use of cellphones was prohibited in the patient ward She could call from the lobby, but she probably wasn’t in a state where she could leave the bed

Of course, I could head over to the hospital properly if it had anything to do with books However, the issue was that there were no customers I had no opportunity to talk with her at all

Mydeliveries based on the customers’ invoice requests The Antiquarian Bookshop Biblia was one of the shops listed under the antique books catalogue, and h the Net It seemed like the income of the shop was mostly derived from this aspect; I suppose this hy the shop could still run despite the lack of custo here

I h the shop that was stacked with books on its avenues, looking for the listed books on the invoices

At this point, I finally knehat genres this shop dealt with It mainly dealt with specialty books like literature, history, philosophy, and arts There were a few Mangas and Pocket books, but these were old books that I had never heard of

I took the listed books, and returned to the counter I carefully checked through the email shi+nokawa sent to me as I packed them

It was probably evident withoutthis, but she only wrote about work in her emails For some reason, I felt that there were unwritten words i else’ It seeoing on, and do not go to the hospital’

I didn’t think she would be happy to hear unnecessary and rando, “…Is that so,” and reverting back to silence appeared clearly in my mind Of course, it would be vastly different if it had anything to do with books She would definitely explain to , just like before, and this hat I was looking forward to

The door creaked open; I liftedinto the shop A parasol dangled from her armpit, she was dressed in a neat plain one-piece dress, and looked extremely refined

It was an unfamiliar face that I met for the first time, but I supposed she was someone who lived nearby She seeroceries, since she was holding onto a shopping bag with a supermarket label on it She smiled and nodded atare all old people like her

The old wo at several corners, flipping through the books, and browsing through thelass door, probably unable to find a book she wanted to buy

At this , so she stepped aside

I stopped what I was doing, as the new customer was dressed very oddly His head was bald, and his eyes were large and wide He was a short man, and I could tell from the wrinkles on his tanned face that he was in his late 50s He was dressed in a T-shi+rt way too large for hi on it, and jeans that were tattered along the edges His neck had a pink towel draped around it

I didn’t knohat his occupation was, but he definitely wasn’t a salary that was made from leisure sheets

The woman seemed to be as shocked as I was She tried to squeeze by the baldto escape—and she seemed to bump into hirabbed her shoulder

“…Hey you, hold on for a moment”

The baritone voice was filled with aintent, and the old lady iot up froht, but rather an antique bookshop during the day I never unexpected to see such a dispute here

“What are you doing!?”

I was about to pull the bald ritted his teeth and bellowed,

“You idiot, why’re you grabbing me here!? Look!”

He reached into the old lady’s shopping bag, and pulled out the item at the top At that e book that was encased; it was the book written by Jirō Konwa and Kenkichi Yoshi+da, ‘Modernology’, the one I just placed on the counter The name was a little unique, so I still had an impression of it I returned to the counter, and found that there was abook—in other words, she was a thief

“Ah…”

She groaned in surprise I was more surprised than shocked to learn that she approached the bookshelves by pretending to support herself off the shelves because she wanted to steal books I thought thieves would be Middle or High School students, but never expected that an old lady would do such a thing

“…I hope you can forgive me here”

She suddenly gavelook, a vast difference from the rich lady-like attitude she showed before Perhaps this was her true nature

“It’s not like I’e here, there are times where I have to do this, so please spare me some sympathy here, please?”

She suddenly gave me a pitiful look, and it really ard In such situations, I should for to the stipulations of the service industry, but I was a little hesitant on doing this Perhaps it was because ofwith old women

“Such indecent things you’re saying for your age!”

The bald man bellowed

“This world has no rooht as well sell so books!”

He was rabbed the old lady again I had to stop hie, the old lady lowered her head slightly

“Sorry to trouble you”

She suddenly turned around, ran out, and quickly disappeared froht of her She escaped really quickly in a way unbefitting her age

“She’s most likely a serial culprit”

The bald man said to me as I returned to the shop

“Be wary of thieves or so, will you? Won’t it be pointless for you to watch the shop if this keeps up?”

“…I’m sorry”

I lowered ed to stop a thief, but I was a little confused as to why he was lecturing me Who was he? Once he noticed my shocked and doubtful stare, the man suddenly pointed at his chest and said,

“My name’s shi+da; I’m a frequent customer of this shop”

The man who called himself shi+da approached the counter, and stacked some Pocket books there There were 7, 8 of them in total

“…What are these?’

“Can’t you see? I’ these books”

My heart throbbed for a little Like this, I could go look for shi+nokaith a proper reason, and delightedly returned to the counter

“The person in charge of appraising isn’t here, so please leave them and come back tomorrow…”

“I know

shi+da said impatiently

“She’s hurt and hospitalized now Are you a new employee? You must really like this job Don’t you find the shopkeeper weird? It’s rare to see such an introverted antiquarian bookshop owner like her”

As he had said, he proved he was a regular customer of the shop He casually reached his hand towards the counter, and drew a piece of paper from the file holder It was the invoice slip for customers to record transactions; he knehere the items were placed better than I was

He wrote in an ardent ers were heavily cracked The black ink stain reached into the narrow and long fingers, and that was the hand of soh life

“Right, this should do it”

He said as he handed e of the Kugenuht I was rather faenue’

“Where’s that?”

I asked, and at the sa ritten in the telephone number column

“Hikijigawa river flows this way, and there’s a bridge right in front of the Kugenuhtly up from coastal road”

shi+ba drew an ier as he said

“Yes”

“It’s right below the bridge”

I stared at his face without looking away—and after a while, I understood what he meant This man was homeless

“I picked these books recently I’m a book watchman”

“Book watchman?”

What does that mean? shi+da however did not answer my question and tapped at the books in his hands a few ti face

“Anyway, bring these to the hospital and get the shopkeeper to appraise theht not look this way, but they are decent old books Your shopkeeper will definitely love them”

“Ah, well”

I wanted to ask shi+da what hea Book Watchman, but shi+da leaned his body over the counter, ostensibly afraid of letting others eavesdrop I was the only person present in the shop He really exaggerated his actions

“…Well, there’s so I want to ask this shop about Can you please notify the shopkeeper for me?”

“Huh?”

I didn’t knohat he ive me any room to interject

“I’uess? …Anyway, it happened yesterday…”

As I remained speechless, shi+da started to articulate further

That evening, I went to the hospital shi+nokawa’s sister had no club activities in the afternoon, so she took over in keeping watch over the shop I knocked on the hospital door, and there was a soft voice inside It was vague and muffled, but it seemed like she was inside the room

We had not hted I had been thinking about the custo the day—the ‘request’ he presented to us

“This is Goura Please excuse me”

I said as I opened the door

“I just sent the email The book appraisal…”

I was suddenly speechless shi+nokaas on the bed, drying her hair with a towel It seemed she just finished her shower, and her white skin was dyed a little cherry pink Once she realizedand remained still

“Sorry I’ll wait in the corridor”

Flustered, I headed outside

“It-it’s fine…please come in…”

shi+nokawa called me with a teeny-weeny voice, and lowered her head as she let lossy black hair was drenched, drooping above her eyes, and I inadvertently gulped

“I-I just…showered…I thought you would come by later…erm, sorry…”

It seeht I would be late, and was sorry for tidying herself at this moment

“No, you don’t have to apologize to me about that”

The shop was being attended to, so I cahed for a while; if there was silence, I’d inadvertently think too ht now

“You showered in the hospital’s bathroom?”

She nodded The fragrance of the shaered in the air

“Helped me…”

shi+nokawa murmured as she put aside the towel She probably wanted to say that the nurse helped her bath I see

She suddenly took a deep breath, as if she wanted to relax Her pajareatly with her chest, and ht she was just a petite person, but I may have been mistaken—ah, aet down to proper business

“Can you look at these books?”

I handed over the bag I brought along To be honest, I was a little skeptical The Pocket books shi+da brought did not seeood as he advertised, and they did not look old at all

However, once shi+nokawa took out the books, her attitude changed

“Wow, this is a”

shi+nokawa squealed in delight like a child receiving a Christhtly, and the spines pressed into her breasts, leaving me at a loss for where I should look

“Look!”

Her eyes dazzled, and she turned the spines towardsand Kōdansha Arts Publishi+ng, the three volumes of Our Mutual Friend by Charles dickens, the first and second halves of The Co by Lucien Febvre and Henri-Jean Martin, the Limited Edition, Gentle Love Story of Nishōtei by Ryūzaburō shi+kiba, the first and second halves of shi+geiyama’s Hundred Demons… It seemed each book was cryptic in content, and I didn’t knoas so good about them

“…Are they really that valuable?”

“Yes Each book can sell for 2000, 3000 Yen”

“Eh? Really?”

I was shocked That was ht Those books did not look that old

“All these books are highly rated by critics, and there haven’t been any reprints It’s possible to purchase hardcover books, but they can’t be bought with just two, three thousand Yen There’s a huge demand for such limited edition books in the old books market”

I remembered shi+da’s spirited look He may look suspicious, but his ability to pick books was not to be underestiot the books He said that he ‘picked them recently’ after all

“A custoht them here”

“Ah, so it’s hi if it was him”

She said excitedly

“That’s because this is his specialized genre”

“Specialized genre? What does that person do?”

“That man’s a book watchman Did he not say so?”

“He did… but what’s a book watchman?”

I hadn’t gotten the chance to ask the ave me the opportunity to raise the question

“They’re people who buy cheap books froh prices Mr shi+da goes around the new antique bookshops in the area every day”

This was the first time I had heard of such a business I didn’t expect people could earn a living through such a mission

“Then why did he call himself a ‘Book watchman’?”

“There are iven explanations, and one of them is that they check the bookshelves and spot for any potentially valuable titles [1] Mr shi+da has always specialized in rare books trading…maybe he knows more than I do”

“…”

Anyways, shi+da was a rare customer who could contribute rare book titles to our shop I couldn’t help but regret it a little; if only I had listened to him seriously

“Did Mr shi+da make any requests?”

She looked at h her spectacle frames

“H-how did you know?”

“He always does this whenever he sells soood books to us He wants to purchase so unit…aht?”

She gave a sweet suess that would be because he often came to them with requests; since he wanted to sell the old books he has to this antiquarian book shop, it would be more beneficial to have connections

“Hm, how do I put it…it’s about a limited edition book”

I didn’t knohere to begin It was a request that was a little—no, very intriguing Anyway, I first took a note fro I had jotted down to prevent

“He wants us to get the First Edition of Kiyoshi+ Koya + Saint Andersen…

“It’s an anthology from shi+nchō Paperback It seems like the First Edition was released in the 30th year of the Showa Era”

shi+nokawa immediately replied with the details

“In that case, our shop should have some entries It’s really not uncommon…”

“No He doesn’t want a book in our stock”

I shook my head

“His request was, ‘My book’s stolen, and I hope you can help et it back’”

“Eh?”

She blinked her eyes I arranged shi+da’s long description in ht, to convey what he said in the correct order

“…I don’t have any ht now, I’m still satisfied with my life; I don’t have to be a burden for others, and can still live on s like that woman who just stole

There are some books I won’t sell no ht? For y Monu + Saint Andersen You’ve never…read it before? Such an unstudious person

That, was basicallyso that I could read it whenever I wanted to…but that book was stolen It happened yesterday

Isn’t there a path to Kobukuroya on that side (he pointed in the north-west direction)? It’s the place overlapping with the coastal road You know the first traffic light when you head down the coastal path?Right There’s a cross junction The left leads to Ōfuna station, and there’s a temple at the front [2]I rode a bicycle there yesterday afternoon

Why, you ask? For work, work Recently, I knew soreed to exchange our books there The second half of ‘The Coht was obtained from him

…Huh? You’re asking me if I only have the second volume? Are you serious? The latter voluet There are those who only buy the first voluht? There are fewer copies of the second volume in the market, and that makes them more valuable

We agreed to meet outside the temple I arrived there first and parked ates…there wasn’t anyone around, and it was very quiet I didn’t bring uessed it should have been almost 2pm

That tee one, and there weren’thot yesterday I faredfor the bus at the station were sweltering there

I was bored and had nothing to do, so I thought of reading a book under the tree My bag was in ht that Kiyoshi+ Koyama book

Just when I was about to take it out, I suddenly felt my stomach ache It probably isn’t proper ofdiarrhea for the past few days I wanted to watch my food intake, but it was really hot, and e

But there was no sign of any convenience stores or restrooht there would be a restroom for tourists to use

I then placed the bag and the bicycle under the tree, thinking that nobody would steal it I was really careless, and now that I think about it, it was a grave mistake

I passed through the gates and went down the sandō[3] After a while, I heard a crash fro beside a bicycle, and my first instinct was that she crashed intothe pedestrian pathway

“Are you alright?” I asked the girl… well, that girl was about 16, 17 years old, had short hair, and was rather tall If it were not for the fact that she earing a skirt, I would have assumed she was a boy

Our stuff were scattered in front of the te naturally had the book I just mentioned

“Sorry Please help me lift this bicycle”

I said that loudly Well… I guess I reachedup and put them back into the bicycle

That girl however did not look back, ignoredto check the contents carefully… I did not knoas inside, but the plain h-class

That kid then started to look around It see, and she suddenly picked up so off

To be honest, I felt it was strange back then That kid picked up what looked like a Pocket book Anyhen I came back from the restroom, that friend of mine had already arrived and helped me pick up , only to find that Kiyoshi+ Koya

I asked irl That girl crossed the road and seemed to be headed for the bus stop Of course, there was no one there when I reached there, as the bus had already gone by

I bid my friend farewell, and checked the bus stop just in case, but she was not there after all I guess she took the book and got on the bus

Anyway, I couldn’t get that i I want to ask this shop…

Huh? You’re asking irl stole the book? Isn’t that obvious? That kind of old book is definitely worth a lot of money; she must have intended to sell it for money

That’s hen I thought about it, I realized this old book shop was the closest one froht that Kiyoshi+ Koyama book, can you help me buy it quietly? I’ll pay for it

…The police? No, I don’t want to call the police I don’t want to catch the culprit I just want to get the book back There are tis in a stupor… but I really want to give her a piece of my mind

Anyway, please help oing off then!”

“…That’s hoas What do you think?”

I made this crude summary, and looked over at shi+nokawa Her hands were folded on her knees, and she gave a pondering look

“I guess Mr shi+da really likes Kiyoshi+ Koyama’s works I noticed this first when he prevented that book theft”

She said calree

“Eh? That has nothing to do with Mr shi+da’s request, right?”

I merely mentioned that he prevented a theft offhandedly when I was explaining shi+da’s request, but she smiled and shook her head

“In the anthology Mr shi+da had, there would certainly be Koya Do you knohat it is about?”

“No…”

“It’s a short story about an insipid description of a poor novelist’s daily life Of course, the basis of this story was the author hiirl in an old bookshop, received a birthday present fro, and…ahh, sorry, I went on a tangent again”

I had already leaned forward unconsciously I was actually irl at such a place, and what happened after the wrapping was opened But she deliberately coughed and changed the topic

“Back to thehas a line like this”

She looked up and recited fluently

“‘If possible, I hope to age earlier, to a point whenAt that , but not all old people spend their ti about the misfortunes of the world’”

I was a little surprised This truly was just like what shi+da said to the old lady I did feel a little surprised when he suddenlychickens

But right noas surprised about so else

“…Did you memorize all the novels you’ve read so far?”

Upon hearing this, she waved her hands in a flustered manner

“H-how can that be? That’s not it Me is really… I ood parts of the books…”

“Eh? Isn’t that a? I’ve never met anyone like that before”

I expressed hts verbally, but her response was beyond my expectations Stupefied, her ht red

“…I-it feels weird to be praised”

“Eh? Is that so?”

“This is the first ti…”

She peered at me from behind her spectacles, and just when her eyes were about to ain I felt a little lost as to what I should do

“…An-anyway, I suppose we should help Mr shi+da here”

A peculiar atain coughed purportedly to change the topic

“Mr Goura, please take note if anyone co + Saint Andersen Also…”

The eyes behind the glasses frowned

“…I do wonder about so”

“Wonder?”

“Did that girl really steal the book for money?”

I had been wondering about this question too It would have been a different case if she were a book watchman like shi+da, but would an ordinary person think of exchanging an old book that was randomly picked up for money?

“I feel like it’s a little strange to only steal a single book”

She said

“Mr shi+da agreed to exchange books with another book watchman That ed for money If she wanted money, don’t you find it weird that she left the other items behind…?”

I nodded It certainly was intriguing—shi+nokaho had been folding her arht that it felt like a pose of a azine, but I hurriedly dispelled that notion

“Wh-what is it?”

“I feel that Mr shi+da won’t get his lost book back if this keeps up…why don’t we look for that girl?”

“Eh…”

I never thought of that Was there a need to go to such an extent for that book watch and stop her shi+nokawa’s large eyes widened Even without the involve at this point, this incident could be the best excuse for me to be here

At the same time, my enthusiasm to search for the culprit kindled within me

“Let’s help out then I’ve been thinking about saying this too, actually”

I said with conviction, or at least so to the extent of that hyperbole She happily clapped her hands in front of her chest

“Thank you very much I knew you’d say that, Mr Goura”

Upon hearing her say that about me, I couldn’t help but feel a little touched So she really trusts ed for the better, she continued,

“But if the girl’s not going to sell it for money, why did she steal the book? What do you think, Mr Goura?”

I was a little lost due to this sudden question I actually intended to hear her out all the way, just like hohen she unraveled the mystery behind the Sōseki's Complete Collection the last time

“Ah, yeah… maybe she stole it because she wanted to read a book? Or maybe she wanted to read, but couldn’t find a book”

“I think the chances of that are rather slim”

shi+nokawa firmly denied this with a twinkle in her eyes The way she answered with such an expression showed more conviction than any words she said

“This book isn’t really considered rare, and it’s not hard to find them in old book shops There was a reprint of the book 15 years ago”

“Then… ah, yes,the mix up…”