Especially thanks to the industrial revolution that’d taken place over the past thirty years, printing technology now existed, and so the prevalence of books on the surface had increased dramatically. When she was helping to surround Fuzzy Dice the other day, Charwiena had apparently looked around Haxthausen to get a read on the situation. She continued that, while there, she’d felt the greatest excitement of her life when she saw all kinds of unfamiliar books.
However, because she was in the middle of an important operation, she’d held back. And yet, ever since that day, she’d continued to wonder about those books. That was until she saw Mira with just such a book, and she couldn’t hold back any longer. Or so Charwiena recounted excitedly.
“I-I see…”
Mira could understand how strong her passion was, but she hadn’t imagined it’d burst forth quite so powerfully. Now knowing a brand-new side of the girl, Mira recalled the book she’d had with her on the island that served as the entrance to Valhalla.
I think back then I probably had…
It had been after her conversation with the Spirit King about how to work with amrute, and so it must’ve been the book she was casually reading while she waited for Bruce to forge his contract with the Valkyries. She’d said it wasn’t a picture book but had been full of vivid pictures.
Thinking back on what book it could’ve been…Mira suddenly recalled that it’d been manga.
“You mean this book?”
Thinking that manga didn’t necessarily seem like something up a bookworm’s alley, she nevertheless held it out to her. It was the newest volume of the manga titled “Treasure of Avalon.”
It was a school-life comedy filled with jokes that Mira recognized and was otherwise familiar with, meaning that the author was undoubtedly a former player. Because it had such a familiar setting and a similar vibe to the manga he enjoyed reading in the real world, it was Mira’s current favorite.
“Ah! Yes, that! That’s the cover! I’ve never seen such an adorable cover! Just what kind of book is it?!” Charwiena said, clinging on to Mira’s arm and pleading for an answer.
Her eyes shone with curiosity and glittered as if she were looking at some great treasure.
And yet, up until then, she’d only read normal books. So just how incredible might it have looked to her? Worried that she might be disappointed by how different manga was, Mira said, “Why don’t you give it a look?” and handed the manga to her.
“Can I really?! Thanks so much!”
Taking the book that’d been proffered to her in the same way as one might a sword, Charwiena closely inspected the cover while occasionally murmuring things such as “I see,” and “And on this cover…” After doing this for about ten minutes, she finally opened the book up.
Then, flipping through the manga, her eyes racing over each and every page, she looked up excitedly and once more implored, “Is this…?! Could this be a book in which the pictures tell a story?!”
The novelty of the manga seemed to have won out over normal books.
“Hrm, that’s right. It’s called ‘manga.’ As you can see, it’s a book with both writing and pictures.”
Hearing this explanation, Charwiena murmured, “Manga…” as she flipped through each page. “So, they’ve come up with books like this, huh?” she continued, seeming even more excited.
“I wonder how many hours it must’ve taken to illustrate something like this…? You can tell just how much painstaking effort was put into each and every page,” she said, offering her thoughts while she looked at the volume. Apparently, the world of manga had left a massive impression on her.
Divided across each page were pictures of the manga’s characters who were drawn dynamically at some times and chibi-like at others. Seeing these, Charwiena gave it a rave review, saying that the illustrations had their own unique composition which were quite different from traditional paintings.
Charwiena had now spoken in depth about her surprise as well as the strong impression manga had left on her. Perceiving that it was like a whole new frontier to the girl, Mira asked, “Would you like to read a couple to see how you like them?”
“Could I really?! But actually, does that mean you have more than one?!” Charwiena said, a hopeful look dawning on her face. And yet, up until then, she’d always just been a reader of more serious books. Therefore, Mira wasn’t quite sure whether she had any manga that might live up to her standards. That said, she was so interested in it that Mira wanted to do what she could to make her wishes become reality.
“Hrm, I do,” Mira confirmed.
She then opened her item box, took out volume after volume of manga, and stacked them up on the table. They were all volumes that she’d purchased whenever she happened to stop by a bookshop. She had school-life, mystery, comedy and romantic comedy, adventure, and even sci-fi manga. It must’ve been several years since manga first made its appearance in that world, and she’d assembled quite the collection in that time.
“Whoa… You have so many!”
In total, there were about fifty manga stacked on the table. Seeing these before her, Charwiena let out a cry of delight and leaped atop the table with an ecstatic grin breaking upon her face. Up until then, Charwiena had always given off a stoic and intellectual vibe, but now she seemed as fascinated as a kid looking at a shining jewel.
Having discovered this side of her for the first time, Mira told her she could take whatever volumes struck her fancy.
“Can I really?!” Charwiena blurted out, just as she was trying to decide which volume she’d borrow. Blushing a bit because Mira had said it with such perfect timing that she seemed to have read her mind, the girl’s face was now shining with delight.
“Sure, of course. I’ve actually already finished reading all of those,” Mira said, pleased that buying all of those manga had been worth it since they’d made Charwiena so happy. “You can take all of them, if you’d like,” she added, smiling.
And as soon as she did, the smile on Charwiena’s face shone even brighter.
“Really?! Thank you so much!”
Now that she had permission from Mira, there was only one possible option for her. And so, after a couple of seconds, Charwiena gathered every volume of manga into her arms.
“Then I’ll hurry and read through them!” she said, grinning with a smile of pure joy.
Then, after bowing, she lightly pranced over to the door.
“Don’t stay up all night reading,” Mira warned.
Having warned her of this, Mira then realized that Charwiena wouldn’t be able to open the door with her hands full of manga.
It’d be a pain to put down all those books just to open it, so Mira decided she ought to open it for her and Mira stood up to help.
Right then, Charwiena bent forward ever so slightly. Suddenly her right hand vanished, and the door before her opened with a click. By the time it did, her hand had already shot back to its original position. She’d opened the door extremely quickly while the manga were still floating in midair before they had a chance to fall.
“All right then, if you’ll excuse me.”
The door didn’t seem to have impeded her whatsoever. Turning around to bow once more, she used the exact same trick to politely close the door again. What’s more, regardless of all the manga she was holding in her arms, the sound of her seemingly sprinting echoed through the hallway.
“I wouldn’t expect any less of a Valkyrie…”
She must’ve wanted to read the manga right away. But just what would she think of them? Wondering this to herself, Mira thought about picking out some books that Charwiena might like the next time she happened by a bookstore.