A few days later after school.
I came to the library again today. But this time, it wasn’t for test studying, but to serve as the library receptionist.
At this school, everyone is required to join some committee, and I’m part of the library committee.
As part of the library committee’s duties, we’re supposed to serve as receptionists in the library once a week. So today was my turn for that job…
「Hmm─, it’s quiet today too…」
But as I mentioned before, there are hardly any students using the library in this school. So even when I’m on duty as a receptionist, I mostly have a lot of free time.
Moreover, most students who want to study use the clean study rooms, so even when tests are approaching, the number of students using the library doesn’t increase, and it remains as empty as ever.
「Haa, can’t be helped. Maybe I’ll kill time by studying for the tests…」
So, with no students coming to use the library and having plenty of free time, I decided to open my English vocabulary book and leisurely study to pass the time. Then…
「Hmm? Isn’t Yamada.」
「…Unn?」
While I was sitting at the reception desk, studying my vocabulary book, I thought I heard someone call my name.
Wondering who it could be, I quickly looked up to see Sasaki-san standing there.
「Ahh, Sasaki-san. Yeah, good work.」
「Yeah, good work.」
I closed my English vocabulary book and greeted Sasaki-san.
Of course, I had lunch with Sasaki-san on the rooftop today as well, so this was our first meeting since then.
「If Yamada is sitting at the reception desk… Ahh, come to think of it, Yamada is a library committee member, right? So you’re working now?」
「Yeah, that’s right. But I’m not really doing much work. There are hardly any students using the library. So I was just reading my English vocabulary book to kill time.」
「Fufu, I see. Well, there aren’t many people who read books these days, and if it’s for studying, you’d go to the study room with the latest air conditioning rather than the library.」
「Exactly, that’s right. Ah, but it’s rare to see Sasaki-san come to such an underused library, isn’t it?」
I’ve been a library committee member since my first year, but I think this is the first time I’ve seen Sasaki-san come to the library. So I asked her about it.
──Light Novels──
──Read Here──
「Nn─? No, it’s not that rare, you know? I come to the library to borrow books about once or twice a month.」
「Hee, so you come to borrow books quite frequently. So it just didn’t coincide with my reception days?」
「Yeah, I think that’s probably it. Because it’s the first time I’ve seen Yamada in the library too. So I thought it was unusual to see Yamada here.」
「Ahaha, I see, I see. So Sasaki-san thought the same thing. Ah, so you came to borrow books today? If you can’t find any book, feel free to ask me anytime.」
「Yeah, thanks. I’ll rely on you if I can’t find what I’m looking for. See you later then.」
「Yeah, got it. See you.」
With that, Sasaki-san walked towards the shelves at the back. After watching her go, I opened my vocabulary book again and returned to my own study.
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After a while.
Sasaki-san returned from the back shelves, holding several books in her hands, and came back to the reception desk.
「Can I borrow these?」
「Of course, no problem. I’ll process the checkout right away, so just wait a moment. Let’s see… wait, are these cookbooks? Ah, could it be that you always borrow these kinds of cooking-related books?」
As I checked each book Sasaki-san brought, they were all cookbooks.
「Yeah, that’s right. This library has a lot of books related to cooking and recipes, and they frequently stock new ones. That’s why I often use this library.」
「Ah─, now that you mention it, the frequency of stocking cooking-related books is quite high. I guess it’s because we often receive requests from students asking for more cooking and recipe books, so the librarian makes sure to stock plenty of them.」
「Hee─, I see, I see─… fufu, then it was the right choice to keep sending requests to the library every month since I entered school.」
「Eh? Ahh, I see.」
When I explained why there were so many cooking-related books in the library, Sasaki-san chuckled and said that.
「Haha, so Sasaki-san has always been the one making those requests. Come to think of it, you mentioned before that you study cooking using books and the internet.」
「That’s right. I often use those resources to study cooking. But I’ve been relying on cookbooks since elementary school when I couldn’t use the internet… fufu, so I might have read countless books by now.」
「Hee, I see. But it’s probably because you’ve been making that effort since you were a child that you’re so good at cooking now. That’s really wonderful and admirable.」
「Uh… S-Stop it… D-Don’t say things like that with such a serious face. I-It’s embarrassing…」
As I said that with a smile, Sasaki-san blushed and turned away. It seems she’s not used to being praised.