The Cat Who Saved Books(2)

Rintaro turned his head and squinted at the books being held out to him.

“Thirty-two hundred yen,” he said quietly.

“Your memory’s as sharp as ever.”

The customer was a boy from the same high school, one year ahead of Rintaro, by the name of Ryota Akiba. He was tall and slim with a cheerful expression, and a calm, self-assured air about him that was quite likable. Along with his strong physique, built up by years of basketball training, he had one of the best brains in his year. In addition, he was the son of the local doctor. This was a boy who had a huge number of extracurricular activities—in other words, he was the exact opposite of Rintaro in every way.

“And these are a bargain.”

With that, Akiba began to pile five or six more books next to the register on the desk. Mr. Jack-of-All-Trades was a surprisingly avid reader, and one of Natsuki Books’s regular customers.

“You know, this is a really great shop.”

“Thank you. Please take your time looking around. It’s our closing sale.”

It was hard to tell from Rintaro’s flat tone if he was serious.

Akiba fell silent for a moment.

“It must have been awful for you,” he began cautiously, “losing your grandfather.”

Akiba swiftly returned his attention to a nearby bookcase and pretended to scour the shelves.

“Seems like just yesterday he was sitting there reading,” he continued, casually. “It was so sudden.”

“Yes, I feel the same way.”

Rintaro sounded as if he was just trying to be polite; even if he did feel the same way, there was no hint of friendliness or sociability in his voice. Akiba didn’t seem particularly bothered. He turned to look at the younger boy, who was still staring at the bookshelves.

“But as soon as he passed away, you stopped coming to school. That’s not cool. Everyone’s worried about you.”

“Who’s ‘everyone’? I can’t think of a single person who would be worried about me.”

“Oh right, you don’t have any friends. Must make life simple. But seriously, your grandpa must be worried sick about you. You’ve probably got him so anxious, his ghost’s still wandering around. How’s he supposed to rest in peace? Your grandpa’s too old to get this much grief.”

His words were harsh, but there was something gentle about the way Akiba spoke them. Because of their shared connection to Natsuki Books, Akiba had a soft spot for the younger boy and his hikikomori shut-in tendencies. Even at school, he’d sometimes stop Rintaro for a quick chat. Now his concern was obvious; Akiba had dropped by the bookshop just to check in on him.

Akiba watched Rintaro, who remained tight-lipped. Eventually, Akiba broke the silence.

“So I guess you’ll be moving.”

“I suppose so,” said Rintaro, without taking his eyes off the bookshelves. “I’m going to move in with my aunt.”

“Where does she live?”

“I don’t know. Before my grandpa died, I’d never met her.”

The tone of Rintaro’s voice never changed; it was impossible to get a read on him.

With a slight shrug of the shoulders, Akiba dropped his gaze to the books he’d put on the counter.

“Is that why you’re having a closing sale?”

“Yes,” Rintaro said.

“Pity. This bookshop’s collection is one of a kind. These days you rarely come across stuff like a whole set of Proust in hardcover. I finally found those volumes of Romain Rolland’s The Enchanted Soul I was looking for here.”

“Grandpa would be happy to hear that.”

“If only he was here to hear it, it would have made his day! You know, being your friend helped me get my hands on so many great books. And now you’re going to move.”

Akiba’s bluntness was his way of expressing concern. Rintaro didn’t know the right way to respond, so he just stared over at the wall where there was a huge pile of books. Even for a secondhand bookshop, it was amazing that they could stay in business with the kinds of books they carried, most of which were far from the current trend, and many of which were out of print. Akiba’s compliments about the bookshop were not only said to be kind to Rintaro—there was a lot of truth in them.

“When are you moving?” Akiba asked.

“Probably in about a week,” Rintaro replied.

“‘Probably’? Vague as usual!”

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t have any choice anyway.”

“I guess not.”

Akiba shrugged again and looked up at the calendar that hung behind the counter.

“Next week’ll be Christmas. That’s rough.”

“I don’t really care about Christmas. Unlike you, I don’t have any special plans.”

“Thanks for reminding me. Yeah, my schedule sure keeps me busy. It’s packed. You know, one of these years I’d really like to try staying up to see Santa Claus on my own watch.”

Akiba cracked up laughing, but Rintaro didn’t.

“Oh really,” he replied quietly.

Akiba pulled a face and sighed.

“I guess if you’re moving, there’s no point in making an effort to go to school, but don’t you think you should leave on a good note? There are people in your class who worry about you, you know.”