Since it was lunchtime, we decided to have lunch at a café.

I ordered a Neapolitan pasta, and Rui-san ordered a Mont Blanc toast. The toast is generously topped with Mont Blanc.

Just looking at it makes me feel nauseous.

After finishing the Mont Blanc toast, Rui-san takes out a pack of cigarettes. This café allowed smoking. After asking for my permission, she lights up.

"Is a cigarette really that good?"

I suddenly got curious and asked a silly question.

"Would you like to try smoking it?"

"Yeah, but I'm a minor."

"How old is Yuito-kun now?"

"I turned seventeen last month."

"Well, well. Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"Did you celebrate grandly?"

"Not really. Before I knew it, it just slipped by."

I say.

"There wasn't even anyone to celebrate with."

"People whose birthdays are around this time might not get celebrated much, no? The new school term has just started, after all."

"When is Rui-san's birthday?"

"It's December. Even though it's supposed to be August."

"Was August good for you?"

"Hmm. What do you think? Being born in August and named Hazuki feels a bit too deliberate. Doesn't it seem like the parents planned it that way?"

"It seems like you're overthinking it. But Rui-san, a winter birthday suits you better than a summer one."

"Because it looks unhealthy?"

"Actually, it's unhealthy. Smoking like a chimney, drinking alcohol, and eating Mont Blanc toast for lunch. There's no way that's healthy."

"Hehe. That's hard to hear."

Rui-san speaks as if she doesn't have a care in the world.

"But, well, then, it's three more years, right?"

"Huh?"

"Until Yuito-kun is old enough to smoke."

Rui-san pressed the short cigarette into the ashtray, propped her chin on her hand, and gave a faint smile. With a more mature expression than mine.

"When you turn twenty, let's smoke together on the apartment balcony. I will teach you the taste of cigarettes."

"That."

I said after a brief pause.

"I'm looking forward to it."

"Right?"

"But, are you planning to still be in that rundown apartment three years from now?"

"Is it not okay?"

"That's not what I meant, but I don't have the right to say anything about it."

"Well, but if an earthquake happens, it might collapse."

"Before that, there's also the possibility that Rui-san has collapsed."

"Then, I have to take care of my health."

Even while saying that, Rui-san lights the next cigarette with an indifferent expression. After taking a puff, she exhales with a languid, faint smile.

Smoking is undoubtedly bad for her health. If she cares about her health, she should quit immediately. But I never thought she should quit.

The decadent atmosphere when Rui-san smokes. Her slender, pale fingers. Her languid expression. I am captivated by all of her gestures.

After leaving the café, we wandered aimlessly for a while.

A walk through an unfamiliar city with no destination.

It was fine to arrive somewhere, and it was fine not to. Just the time passing idly was pleasant.

Eventually, Rui-san stopped in front of a shop. It was a small secondhand bookstore.

In the wagon set out outside, old novels were being sold for ten yen each, and the shelves filling the narrow store were packed with secondhand books.

We were both unconsciously drawn to the secondhand bookstore.

If there's a bookstore nearby, I usually stop by. Just like me, Rui-san might have the same habit.

I rummaged through the secondhand books in the clearance cart and stepped inside the store.

The elderly shopkeeper sitting in the back glanced over here. However, as if losing interest immediately, he adjusted his reading glasses and returned his gaze to the newspaper in front of him.

"I really like secondhand bookstores."

While picking up the secondhand book she took from the shelf, Rui-san said.

"Is it because you can buy it cheaply?"

"That's true. When I find a recently released book being sold as a secondhand book for a low price, it feels like I've discovered a treasure."

Rui-san said that in a childish tone,

"When I buy secondhand books, sometimes I find traces left by the previous owner. They might have written notes on the pages or highlighted their favorite passages. In those moments, I feel like I've discovered a light, realizing that there were others who enjoyed this book besides me."

"Are you also going to post, Rui-san?"

"I sometimes put sticky notes on books, but I don't write in them. However, I do have a desire to write mystery novels and sell them as secondhand books."

"Like highlighting the culprit's name and giving away the ending?"

"No. I write that someone who isn't the culprit is the culprit. Then, the reader will be biased into thinking that this person is the culprit as they read on. I think they'll be very surprised when the truth is revealed."

Hearing Rui-san speak so happily, I couldn't help but smile.

"You have a good personality."

"I often hear that."

She was usually very mature, but sometimes she said things that were surprisingly playful. It's like she is completely unpredictable.

"But doesn't that mean you won't be able to see the reader's reaction?"

"Indeed. Well then, I guess I should give it to friends or acquaintances."

"After reading it, it seems like your relationship might get complicated."

After that, we each walked around the store.

It has the unique smell of old books. I don't dislike it.

When I suddenly took my eyes off the shelf, Rui-san was at the register. She was buying something. I was curious, so I asked her after leaving the store.

"This novel is my favorite work."

Rui-san holds the secondhand book she bought close to her chest.

It was a work I didn't know.

"I first read it when I was in middle school, and I have reread it many times since then. I usually don't reread books I've finished, but I've reread this one so many times that I can recite passages from memory. I even brought it with me when I moved to my current apartment."

"It's a work you have a strong attachment to."

I said.

"But if you already have it, why did you buy it again?"

"That's something to look forward to later."

Rui-san smiles while putting her finger to her mouth, as if savoring the moment.

I found out the answer after we got home to the apartment. In the hallway on the second floor, just as we were about to part in front of the room, I was called to a stop.

I was told to wait a bit, and after a few minutes in the hallway, Rui-san came out of her room and handed me a book.

"Yes, please."

It was the same novel she showed me earlier.

But it's not something I bought at a secondhand bookshop.

I found out that it was something Rui-san originally had.

"Is this for me?"

"I'm a bit late, but here's your birthday present."

Rui-san smiles gently.

"It's not an expensive thing, but I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

"No, not at all. Thank you very much. I'm really happy."

It wasn't flattery. It was sincere.

"By the way, I haven't made any posts, so don't worry."

Rui-san said with a shy smile. She was probably tying it into the earlier conversation.

Hearing those words, I argue with myself.

That's not true. In fact, it would have been better if there were notes and highlights.

Rui-san's thoughts and what she has written. Her favorite passages. I wanted to touch upon her ideas and sensibilities through her annotations and highlights.

Just a little bit is fine.

I wanted to know more about Rui-san.

Chapter 14: Secondhand Book