“After we spoke yesterday evening, I realized I don’t know enough about basic human needs. So last night I cracked a few books and studied up, and at the same time, I cleaned. Sadly, I only had time to do the kitchen and dining room before sunrise.”
“You cleaned all night?! While reading books?!”
“Yes. Kotogami don’t need to sleep. I really wanted to serve you scrambled eggs, but there was a mishap in the kitchen. I’m not very good with the stove, you see, and they ended up burned. I had to quickly make some boiled eggs instead, and what with brewing the tea and all, things got rather frantic.”
Tomohito hung his head. Akari was at a complete loss for words.
Instead, she studied the table again. Apart from the salad, which would have required chopping, everything else was very simple to make. But the presentation was very pretty, and Akari appreciated that Tomohito had clearly tried hard to spark her appetite.
“By the way, I bought the groceries at a nearby shop last night. They’re fresh. And I had Kuroe check that everything was okay too.”
“Kuroe? You mean…that military brute’s Kotogami?”
“Yes. She came by with your hardship compensation money already, but the contract will take a little longer. I took the liberty of using some of the money to pay for the groceries.”
“Oh. No, that’s completely fine.”
Tomohito bowed politely. Akari just…sat there for a moment.
First, she hadn’t been expecting such an edible feast at all. And second, Tomohito actually being useful and resourceful had knocked her off-balance.
She’d thought of him as silly and over-the-top. Never would she have expected him to stay up all night cleaning and cooking for her.
After all, if it had been her, she’d have just given up and headed off to a nearby restaurant instead. She often did that when she couldn’t be bothered to cook
Akari’s plan had been to agree to the contract and use this convenient arrangement to get herself back on her feet. Her feelings hadn’t changed in that regard, but she was becoming more and more confused about who this Kotogami Tomohito was and what he wanted with her.
There was a lot to get done, though. Rather than think about it too deeply, she decided to focus on the here and now.
“Thank you, Tomohito. Well, I guess I’ll dig in.”
She needed food inside her before anything else, so Akari began eating.
“…What?”
“You thanked me! AND you’re eating a meal I prepared!”
“Sorry, could you hurry up with that tea? Thanks.”
Okay, so she’d revised her earlier opinion of him a little, but he was still a hopeless case.
He beamed brightly at her, and she found that she didn’t really mind it.
The tea was green tea, and it was horribly bitter. She felt somewhat relieved.
“Now then, shall we start cleaning?”
After clearing her plate, Akari quickly read the curt letter that had also arrived from that military layabout Munakata. Then, she got down to business.
She needed to go shopping since she’d lost all her possessions in the fire. But it was still early morning, and none of the shops would be open. She decided to make good use of her time by sorting out her bedroom in the meantime. Honestly, she couldn’t stomach the thought of another night in that shrine room.
Incidentally, the envelope from Munakata had also contained half a month’s wages in advance, so she decided to stop thinking of him as a brute and a layabout. Having cash in hand had sweetened her up considerably.
During her phone call to the company yesterday they’d told her she could take a few days off, so in that time she intended to turn this Bookhouse into somewhere actually habitable.
“I want to do something with all that junk in the entrance, and I would like at least one room that’s completely clear. Oh, and I want to get the bathroom cleaned right away. Tomohito, where are the cleaning supplies?”
Apart from the kitchen, every other sink and drain in the place was disgusting. But she was dying to take a bath, so she was eager to get the bathroom sorted as a matter of priority.
“In that case, why don’t you try summoning one of the resident Kotogami?”
Akari stopped rolling up her kimono sleeves and made a face as if she’d just bitten into a sour plum. Tomohito’s face fell.
“Do you really hate Kotogami that much?”
“What I hate are stories. Also, I was told I wouldn’t have to act as an actual Narrator.”
As Akari snapped back at him, Tomohito actually began to look somewhat relieved.
“Yes, you’re right, of course. However, this house is maintained by a Kotogami, so you’ll need her approval before you can make any changes.”
“Maintained by a Kotogami? All you do is battle, I thought.”
“Yes, in truth, many of the Kotogami who are sealed within Kotogatari are Aratama… I mean, they are somewhat wild, and skilled fighters… However, the basic function of a Kotogatari is to enshrine a variety of spirits. Mistress Akari, have you ever seen a Narrator summon forth a Kotogami at a shrine festival?”
“Uh, no. I’ve made it my business to avoid Kotogami and stories in general.”
“Yes, you looked quite pained when Munakata was narrating.”
Wait, he noticed?
Akari stared at Tomohito, surprised. He looked deeply wounded by her words for a moment. The next instant, though, his expression cleared.
“Anyway, just as there are all kinds of people, there are also all kinds of Kotogami. I personally am not a fighting type. And there are many who are sealed into books for preservation purposes.”
It was true—Narrators often summoned the spirits to do things like make flower petals dance at festivals and on auspicious occasions.
Akari had been under the impression that Kotogami were dangerous demons sealed up to keep people safe from them. She felt guilty for thinking this now, but there was one thing still bothering her.
“You said you’re not a fighter, but you kicked that Raiju clean into the side of a building.”
“That was more of an adrenaline-rush type of situation.”
Akari nodded thoughtfully as Tomohito continued.
“Since this Bookhouse is sacred ground, you can call forth any Kotogami simply by speaking their name aloud. Why not think of them as fellow residents? Don’t you want to say hello?”
Akari thought about the Kotogatari volumes lined up in the room she’d slept in last night.
He was right. She was going to be living here for a while, and it would be very rude not to greet the current inhabitants.
“So all I have to do is say their name?”
“Yes. Here you go.”
Smiling, Tomohito swiftly offered her a book, clearly a Kotogatari.
Put off by his overeagerness and how he’d clearly had the book all lined up to give to her, Akari grudgingly accepted it.
The book had a sturdy cover and thick pages and was bound Japanese-style. The title read Kotogatari: Mayoiga in ink.
“Each Kotogatari begins with a written summary of the Kotogami in question, and then records of their doings throughout the years. To call forth a Kotogami, one only has to open the book to the first page and read out the name and classification of that particular spirit.”
Records of their doings… Akari gulped. Nonetheless, when she opened the black-covered book to the first page, she could see fat letters written there. All she had to do was state the name, right?
Akari recalled how Munakata had read aloud the previous evening.
“The Mayoiga Mayoi.”
Ink-black letters began to rise from the open book.
The swooping calligraphy rose from the page and swirled in the air before Akari.
Enthralled, she blinked, and the black tendrils turned into fluttering strands of ink-black hair.