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THE next morning, Akari, fighting back a yawn, ate the Japanese-style breakfast Tomohito had prepared.
The rice was cold leftovers from the batch she’d steamed last night, but with miso soup and boiled greens in fish broth, it made for a satisfactory breakfast.
“Mistress Akari, it appears you stayed up late last night. Why not go back to bed for a while?”
“No, I’ve got too much to do.”
Feeling self-conscious about the dark circles under her eyes, Akari brushed off Tomohito’s concern and got up from the table.
“Tomohito, I have a request.”
“A request!”
Tomohito’s face lit up, predictably. Akari cringed to see it.
“…There’s no need to look so excited. All I want is to have a chat with Mayoi.”
Akari had stayed up all night reading Mayoi’s Kotogatari and the old Narrator journals, and she thought she was starting to grasp the circumstances now. Mayoi’s Kotogatari told the tale of a very lonely little spirit.
Once, a certain powerful family lived in a grand house inhabited by a little house spirit. During her time with them, she brought happiness and good luck to the household.
But then one day the powerful family moved away, leaving the little spirit all alone in the beautiful mansion. She spent her days taking care of lost travelers who wandered into the house. This happened only once or twice every few decades. The rest of the time, the little spirit was utterly alone. Then one day, she was discovered by a Narrator and tasked with household management under the given Kotogami name “Mayoi.”
Mayoi had always adored human beings. Moreover, she was lonely from centuries of solitude, and so she obeyed every command given to her by her Narrator.
Akari thought about how Mayoi had left her purchases alone. And about how, when she and Tomohito had returned from shopping, Mayoi had caused no further mischief. That had to mean that Mayoi didn’t really want to drive Akari out. And unlike Tomohito, she’d made no attempt to prevent Akari from reading her Kotogatari. Which had to mean she didn’t mind Akari reading it, right?
Mayoi’s bad behavior was probably just a knee-jerk reaction to Akari’s sudden arrival. Mayoi had been mistreated by humans but still couldn’t let go of her attachment to them. She must have felt so confused. And that emotional turmoil had come out in naughtiness and pranks. The little girl was clearly desperate for attention.
But all that was only Akari’s conjecture. That was why she wanted to talk with Mayoi properly. Face-to-face, if possible.
Akari had a feeling that using Mayoi’s Kotogatari to call her forth, as the previous Narrators had done, would be counterproductive.
“…I plan to track Mayoi down to have a chat with her. If you wouldn’t mind—”
“Leave it to me.”
Tomohito cut her off before she could finish, disappearing from sight with a nod. Akari blinked several times, then almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of loud banging coming from down the hall, followed by a shriek.
“Yeek!”
“Mistress Akari wishes to speak with you. Come along at once.”
A moment later, Tomohito came into view again, beaming with pride as he staggered down the hallway while holding a struggling Mayoi under his arm.
“Mistress Akari! I have brought Mayoi to you!”
“How dare you treat a little girl that way?! Put her down at once!” Akari shouted at Tomohito, who wilted visibly and let Mayoi down.
“I know how she looks, but Mayoi is decades older than you, Mistress Akari…”
“I know that—I read her Kotogatari myself! I wanted to have a nice peaceful talk with her, but now you’ve ruined it! Next time, think before blindly leaping to assist me!”
“Y-Yes, Mistress…”
Tomohito bowed low, seemingly realizing Akari was seriously mad right now.
Akari took a deep breath and turned to Mayoi, who sat sprawled on the hallway floor.
Mayoi blinked up at her weakly, her long hair falling messily over her shoulders. From the sound of the banging, Akari feared she’d been subjected to violence, but she couldn’t see any visible bruises or scrapes.
Tomohito’s lucky there aren’t any bruises, thought Akari darkly as she sat down on the floor in front of Mayoi.
The little spirit’s long black hair was unkempt, as if it hadn’t been properly cared for. Between the strands of hair Akari could just spot two shining black eyes peering out at her.
“I read your Kotogatari. And I know what those other Narrators made you do. After everything humans have put you through, why didn’t you try to make me leave for real? Why the silly mischief?”
The records of the Narrators had all varied slightly, but generally they spoke of how pleased they were to be assigned to the residence, and how excited they were for the chance to try out such a rare collection of Kotogatari volumes.
It seemed she’d underestimated how special a Bookhouse this old building was.
From the writings in the old journals, it was clear that those Narrators were like children with a bunch of shiny new toys. But they grew increasingly annoyed with the Kotogami who didn’t instantly follow their every order. What a bunch of jerks. Were all Narrators this selfish? Akari wondered.
But regardless, Mayoi had continued to heed the commands of those Narrators right up until the day they’d left of their own volition. She heeded even when those orders involved warping the original architecture of the house, when her role was only supposed to be tidying and maintaining it. Mayoi had to have grown exhausted.
And then, another human had come barging into the house. Wouldn’t anyone want to kick said human out if they were in Mayoi’s place? Akari definitely would. But the spirit had only messed with her. Why hadn’t she seriously tried to get rid of her? That was what Akari wanted to know.
As Akari waited patiently, Mayoi’s eyes filled with unease. Then she spoke in a tiny voice. “A house needs humans. Mayoi doesn’t want to be alone anymore.”
Akari recalled a passage from Mayoi’s Kotogatari.
──When a baby was born unto the family of a wealthy household, the spirit appeared to care for the babe, and to improve the habitat of the humans, and to bring warmth to the household. To this end, the spirit devoted its entire being.
Mayoi’s role as a spirit—it was to serve and maintain the house in which she resided. But what use was it to keep up a house with no human residents? Being a house spirit for humans, that was Mayoi’s sole reason for existing. It really was just as the Kotogatari records said.
“I tried so many times to change the house so that my masters would like it enough to stay, but they never did, and all of them left. I’m so tired now. I was scared you were going to say you didn’t want me either.”
This was the first time Akari was hearing Mayoi really speak. Her voice was so innocent, so heartbroken.
The little girl spirit gazed at Akari through the strands of her long hair.
“Do you want to change the house too?”
It was as if the little girl was letting Akari know that she would do it, if only Akari requested it. But Akari shook her head.
“No, I don’t need you to do that. I’m not your mistress.”
“…You’re not a Narrator?”
Mayoi blinked at her in surprise. Relieved that they’d finally gotten around to the matter at hand, Akari continued.