If there are no books, I'll just make my own.
Once I reached that conclusion, my mood brightened considerably. But the problem was, paper itself didn't exist in our house. I'd already confirmed that during my exploration.
Which meant I had no choice but to go buy paper — but I had no idea where to sell it. To make matters worse, this town had no convenience stores, no home centers, no supermarkets, and no stationery shops.
So where on earth was paper sold?
The general store owner had said that "you have to copy books by hand yourself," which made me think that blank books might be sold somewhere.
But where, exactly?
Maybe there was a paper shop somewhere that dealt exclusively in paper?
If I were back in
Since there was no paper in the house, I'd have to start by searching for paper before I could even begin making a book.
Mom had gone to work since morning, so it was just Turi and me at home. Naturally, Turi was the only person I could turn to for answers.
"Turi, do you know where they sell 'paper'?"
"What did you say, Mine?"
"I said, 'paper'... Ah!"
I recognized the sight of Turi cocking her head and swaying her braids. That was the face she made when she couldn't understand my Japanese.
Oh no. I didn't know what "paper" was called in the local language.
I messed up! I should've asked the general store owner what to call it!
"...You don't know, do you?"
"Sorry. I don't seem to. What a funny word, though."
My shoulders sagged as I let out a deep sigh.
The truth was, the problem with making books wasn't just that I didn't know which shop sold paper. I also didn't know where to buy pencils or pens.
Judging by the state of our house and this town, there was no way mechanical pencils or ballpoint pens existed here. Fountain pens were probably a long shot too.
So what kind of writing instruments would I use? And how on earth was I supposed to get my hands on them?
The biggest problem of all was that I couldn't go shopping alone — I couldn't even step outside to search for materials — and we had no money to speak of.
What a pickle.
"Oh! Dad, he forgot!"
Turi's voice rang out from the kitchen. I shuffled over, and when I got there, Turi was holding a bundle.
Come to think of it, this morning Dad had looked all bleary-eyed and mumbled something about "getting it ready for today's work" during the busiest stretch of the morning routine, which sent Mom into an absolute snit — "Why couldn't you have said that sooner!?!"
The thought of Mom finding out that Dad had forgotten this after she'd turned the entire storeroom upside down looking for it gave me chills down my spine.
"Turi, Mom is going to be really mad, isn't she?"
"You think so too?"
I didn't know whether this was something about people in this world or just our family specifically, but they expressed their emotions with extreme directness. When they laughed, they laughed like idiots. When they were angry, they raged like wildfire. In other words, Mom when she'd blown her top was genuinely terrifying.
"Turi, we should probably deliver this to Dad, right?"
"...Hmm, but leaving you alone..."
Every time I'd slipped away to the bathroom by myself, I'd gone off to the bedroom and burst into tears. Every time I'd gone to the Market with Mom, I'd blacked out and collapsed.
My family's trust level in me was scraping rock bottom, and Turi clearly had no intention of leaving me home alone.
"It'd be a problem if Dad didn't have it either, right?"
"...Mine, can you walk to the Gate?"
Rather than leave me behind to watch the house, Turi decided to bring me along.
The memory of the trek to the Market made me a little anxious, but the prospect of Mom's eventual rage was scarier. I clenched my fist tight to show I was putting my best foot forward.
"I-I'll do my best."
"Then let's go."
Just like the time I'd gone shopping with Mom, Turi layered on piece after piece of clothing, grabbed the bundle, and out the door we went.
When I say layered on pieces of clothing, it wasn't for fashion. It was entirely for warmth.
For reference, the clothes I owned were two undergarments, two wool dresses, one wool sweater, two woolen pants, and two pairs of woolen socks. I put on everything I owned.
"Turi, I can hardly move — it's so heavy!"
"But if you don't wear all of them, every single piece has patches, and you never know where the wind's going to come sneaking through! Especially since you catch colds so easily — you've got to bundle up properly."
Mom dressed me with zero room for argument, so I'd hoped I might be able to sweet-talk Turi. But Turi's sense of responsibility was ironclad, and she refused to let me go outside unless I was dressed properly, since I looked ready to keel over at any moment.
I gave up and put everything on, and as a result I could barely move.
Turi was sturdy, so she didn't need to layer up nearly as much and stayed nice and agile. On top of that, she went out all the time — trekking into the nearby woods with the other kids to gather firewood, running errands for Mom around the neighborhood. She was strong.
Me, I had neither stamina nor speed. All I had was the weight of my clothes.
"Mine, are you okay?"
"Pant... pant... I'm fine... if I walk slowly..."
The moment we descended the stairs, I was already out of breath — just like last time.
I walked at my own pace. If I pushed myself and collapsed, I'd only cause more trouble for Turi. It was important to build trust from the little things.
Even so, cobblestone streets were awfully hard to walk on...
They were uneven and bumpy, and if you didn't watch your step carefully, you'd catch a toe and go tumbling. I decided to leave the surroundings to Turi, who was holding my hand, and just focus on my own feet.
"Huh? Turi! What are you up to?"
A boy's voice called from some distance off, and I looked up.
Three boys carrying packs and bows came jogging over. Red, gold, and pink hair — so colorful that my eyes were drawn straight to their heads.
Even their clothes, which had probably once been properly dyed, were now faded to a mottled pale gray, stained with dirt and food. They were clearly wearing hand-me-downs, every piece riddled with patches.
From the looks of it, they were about on par with us in terms of living standards.
"Oh,
Turi seemed friendly with them, which probably meant Mine had crossed paths with them at least a little. I dug through Mine's memories while trying to flex my temples — apparently that helped.
Sure enough, they were there. Ah, so we were neighbors.
Ralph was the same age as Turi. He had red hair and was the biggest of the group. He was the ringleader among the kids — had that reliable older-brother vibe.
Fey was also Turi's age. With his pink hair, he had the face of a mischievous little troublemaker. He didn't know how rough to be around the sickly Mine, so he kept his distance, which meant I had fewer memories of him.
Ralph's younger brother was blond Lutz, the same age as me. He acted like a big brother around Mine, which had that endearing "trying to act grown-up" feel to it.
The three of them were the usual crew when Turi went to the forest, and it seemed Mine had even been taken along once or twice. Those handful of outings stood out more clearly in memory compared to the rest.
While I was busy sifting through memories, Turi had been chatting away with Ralph in a lively mood.
"Dad forgot something, so we're taking it to the Gate. Are you guys heading to the forest?"
"Yep. Let's walk to the Gate together."
"Okay!"
Looking at Turi's radiant smile as she talked with Ralph made it obvious how much she normally had to hold back.
Going to the forest to gather things with everyone was obviously more fun than babysitting, wasn't it? Sorry for being such a dead-weight little sister.
But still, it had been a few days since my fever went down, and I figured it'd be okay to go out soon. Specifically, like going to look for the shop that sold paper.
The moment Ralph and the others joined us, Turi — who'd been matching my pace until now — suddenly picked up her pace.
Still holding my hand, she practically dragged me along, and my legs got tangled.
"Wh-whoa!"
"Mine?!"
Turi stopped in time to keep me from face-planting, but I ended up on my knees anyway.
"Sorry, Mine. Are you okay?"
"...Yeah."
It didn't exactly hurt, but once you sat down, getting back up was brutally hard. At this point, I just wanted to rest.
I was thinking about how I felt a little short of breath when a hand was extended to me.
"...Hey, Mine. You want me to carry you on my back?"
Lutz — what a sweet kid!
According to Mine's memories, Lutz was always getting bossed around by Ralph and Fey, so despite being the same age, he put on a big-brother act around the small, sickly Mine. He'd shielded her when she got too exhausted, carried her things — a thoroughly decent and promising young boy.
On top of that, Lutz's blond hair was a color more familiar to me than pink or green, which was oddly reassuring.
"Mine, your fever probably came back, right? You look like you're struggling — I'll carry you."
Lutz's thoughtfulness was genuinely touching. Really. But even though he was a bit bigger than me, having someone my own age carry me on his back felt wrong, and I worried he'd be crushed.
I was wrestling with the decision when Ralph let out a soft sigh, set down his pack, and spoke up.
"If Lutz carries you, we'll never make it to the forest at this rate. I'll carry Mine. You take my bow. Fey, you've got the pack."
"Ralph, bro..."
Lutz glared at Ralph, clearly displeased. Maybe he felt like his moment of glory had been snatched away.
"Lutz, you were the first to offer. That was really kind. Thank you — I was happy."
I flashed a bright smile and gave Lutz's hand a squeeze, piling on the praise.
Lutz seemed satisfied that his concern had been acknowledged. He smiled bashfully and quietly took Ralph's bow.
You've got to praise kids for these tender moments and nurture them — after all, I was an adult in spirit. Supposedly.
"Come on, hop on."
"Thanks, Ralph."
I leaned against Ralph's back, a bit bigger than Turi's, and let my weight settle against him. A little girl had no need for embarrassment. Absolutely none.
Ralph picked me up and started walking with solid, steady steps. When your vantage point rose by thirty to forty centimeters, the scenery looked completely different. Specifically, instead of just the cobblestones at my feet, I could actually see the town spread out before me.
Plus, since the pace was no longer adjusted for me but was his natural speed, the scenery flowed by dramatically faster.
"Whoa, so high! So fast!"
"Don't get too excited, okay? Your fever'll come back."
"Mm. I'll be careful."
Hehehe~ Being a sickly little girl had its perks.
That said, these boys were seriously strong to be carrying firewood back from the forest like this. They were kids, but their muscles were surprisingly well-developed.
Compared to the Japanese elementary school kids I remembered, their builds were vastly different. Though living environments and even races were completely different, so maybe it wasn't really fair to compare.
And just like Japan, there were things you shouldn't look at too closely.
Like the filth seeping out from narrow alleyways, or the donkeys on the main street sauntering past while dripping manure as they went...
I-I wasn't staring at the filth on purpose, you know!
I'd just never seen anything like it in Japan, so I was so startled that my eyes kept drifting over there!
Unlike the Market, since we were walking along Artisan Way, I couldn't see inside the ground-floor shops at all. The shops selling general goods had glass windows, but here, I could barely make out the signs hanging by the door.
On top of that, rows of identical buildings in the same color stretched on and on, so my eyes were only drawn to anything that stood out. It wasn't my fault.
"Ralph, are you sure? Is Mine not heavy?"
Turi looked worriedly between Ralph and me perched on his back, and asked him. Ralph shifted his weight to settle me more firmly, then turned his face slightly away before answering, a touch gruffly.
"It's fine. Mine's small and light, and if I made her walk, you'd be the one worried, wouldn't you?"
Judging by his slightly flustered expression and tone, he wanted to help Turi who was having a hard time. He wanted Turi to be grateful to him?
Well, well, young Ralph — is our Turi the one you've got your eye on?
To shoot the general, you must first target his horse, as they say. Although, I was perfectly happy being the horse.
Alright, alright — nurture this, childhood-friend romance!
...Of course, that was purely my own fantasy.
They were both kids and probably didn't feel anything romantic at all, but since there was no entertainment like books here, surely I was entitled to daydream and spin stories in my head.
I mean, Ralph would casually say things like "Hey, Turi — you smell nice" and then sniff her braids.
Are you a shoujo manga hero or what?! You wanted to retort.
And Turi would go all pink-cheeked, saying "Really? Thanks!"
I was twenty-two and hadn't even had a bittersweet experience, so of course a six-year-old giving off that kind of sweet atmosphere made you want to snicker and fantasize from the safety of someone's back.
"You only read books and daydream, so you have no sense of real-life romance" — don't even try that line on me. I'd been hearing that not just from family but from old neighbor Shu-chan since forever.
Mind your own business, you dummy, you dummy.
While my thoughts had drifted off to some irritable Japanese memory, Ralph and Turi's childhood-friend dynamic had somehow transformed into a reverse-harem story centered on Turi.
"It's true. Really nice smell."
"Lemme smell, lemme smell."
Saying this, Fey and Lutz both leaned their faces toward Turi's braids to take a sniff.
If these were teenagers, this would be a full-blown reverse harem.
"Your hair is super glossy too."
"What'd you do?"
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. That's right, that's right.
Flushed with satisfaction at the praise of the reverse-harem boys, I nodded vigorously from Ralph's back.
I'd been doing little things to gradually improve our hygiene at home — putting dried potpourri made from fragrant flowers in the clothes chest, getting the hot water used for cooking to wipe down our bodies together with Turi, conditioning their hair with herbal oil, brushing it carefully.
My efforts were apparently already paying off.
For reference, Ralph and the others were a bit smelly. It was the normal scent around here, so I'd gotten somewhat used to it, but stinky was stinky. Since Ralph was carrying me, I kept my mouth shut about it, but — stinky.
I wanted to scrub them all with soap at once. It was a shame that all we had at home was stinking animal-based soap for laundry and cleaning, with no nice-smelling plant-based soap for washing bodies.
Oh, and I wanted a soap I could use to wash my hands too.
I was drifting off into la-la land when Lutz tugged at my hair. Just like he'd done to Turi, he leaned in and sniffed.
"Mine smells nice too. And once you tied your hair back, I can see your face better — you got cuter."
His pale green eyes gazed at me innocently, crinkling with a smile.
Oh no! Lutz had a natural color-correction filter! Blond hair and green eyes alone triggered the handsome filter!
Phewwww! He was just a little kid and I was blushing! I knew there wasn't a shred of intent behind it, but this setup was still making me flush! Please, stop! I'm old enough that having never experienced anything like this, I have no idea how to handle it!
I was the only one writhing in turmoil, frozen stiff. Everyone else had already moved on to talking about what you could gather in the forest and how long until the first snowfall.
While I was being tormented, Lutz was bragging about how much his archery had improved — how annoying.
Unlike Turi, who could smile shyly and say her thanks, all I could do was freeze up.
My heart was still pounding.
Was it normal for five- and six-year-olds to pull this off so casually in this world?!
Hey, this world! I was a modest, self-conscious, traditional Japanese lady — isn't this too much for my heart?!
...Yes, you there — don't you dare ask who called me a traditional Japanese lady!
And the first decent-looking boy to show up was only appealing because of a slight filter, not because he was some prince or noble. There were no secret princes waiting to be discovered. None.
Next stop — a surprise raid on Dad's workplace.