Realizing that Washu was interested, Mikamo spoke. “Um, we actually had a room like this at my parents’ house. I’ve loved it ever since I was little. I don’t know why, but it makes me feel at peace… The weight of the books in my hands, the sound the paper makes when I turn the page, and how it feels in my fingers… The lettering that’s like a work of art itself, and the photographs. It’s all wonderful.” Mikamo closed his eyes and stroked the book he held with affection.
Washu continued where he left off. “I like how you can see the amount of knowledge contained therein, not just check a pile of numbers. It’s sublime, as if it has a soul. And…”
As Washu was about to continue, Mikamo lifted his face. With a flash of insight, he spoke with her in unison: “I love the smell of old books.”
Even their voices were in harmony. Washu and Mikamo looked into each other’s eyes. A moment later, they simultaneously burst out laughing. “Ha ha… All right, Mikamo-kun. You’re the first member of the Book-Lovers Club and are permitted into this sanctuary.”
“Thank you… Um…”
“What?”
“If I’m Member Number One, what are you, Washu-sensei?”
“I’m the advisor,” Washu winked and laughed. Was it fate? At that moment, Mikamo secured a place within Washu’s heart.
“Welcome home. Did something good happen, Washu-chan?” Naja had been waiting for Washu to return to the observatory.
“Something good? No, not particularly…” Washu could not help smiling. It was quite obvious that something had happened.
“Oh?” Naja looked at Washu quizzically.
“Wh-what? What’s wrong?” Washu did not realize the cause of her own good mood.
“Oh, Washu-sama. Your dinner is ready.” Before Naja could say anything else, Mei the maid came to summon them.
“Thanks. I’ll be right there,” Washu answered and went to her room to change with a spring in her step.
Naja, watching her closely, had a gleam in her eye. “I sense romance!!” she stood up and declared loudly, to nobody in particular.
“What? Washu-sama has a boyfriend?” Without missing a beat, the maids surrounded Naja. “Is that true? She didn’t seem different from usual.”
“I think so, too!” another maid said.
“You’re not putting thought into this,” a third interjected. “With some insight, the answer is obvious!”
“Wow.”
“Ha ha ha! You can’t fool me, Washu-chan!!” Naja proclaimed loudly, egged on by the maids.
“Lucky…” Mei mumbled, and they all fell silent. Not a single one of them had a boyfriend herself.
“Was his name Niwase Mikamo-kun?” Naja blurted out, and Washu almost lost her soup.
Remaining calm and wiping her mouth with a napkin, Washu looked at Naja, who was staring at her meaningfully.
Naja had gotten hold of his profile, something not even Washu knew about. “Niwase Mikamo, foreign exchange student, born on the planet Shitori. Twenty-seven years old. Actually, he’s the third son of a distinguished aristocratic family on Shitori… The Department admitted him on his own merits, which is rare for an international goodwill exchange student. I can see that, with Assistant Professor Hakubi Washu-sensei’s personal instruction, his grades and assessments will go through the roof.”
“Wh-what do you mean, personal instruction?!” Washu stood up, slamming the table.
“I was just stating the objective facts.” Naja nonchalantly looked away.
“There’s nothing between us. He just happened to come to my library…” Washu sat back down, clenching her fists, refusing to go along with Naja’s suggestion.
“You summoned him to your library? I see.”
“Stop taking notes! And you’re distorting my words. You call yourself a philosopher?”
“I’m just inferring the essence of the matter.”
“Let me set you straight.” Standing up again, Washu noticed Mei and the other maids listening from the shadows, ears pricked with great interest.
“Congratulations, Washu-sama!!”
“Wh-what?”
“We knew this day would come, though not so soon.”
“Hey, what do you think you’re…” Washu began.
“We’re so jealous!”
“I’m happy for you, but I still have mixed feelings!” The maids looked at her with approval and envy in their eyes.
“Th-there’s nothing between us…”
“She said ‘us!!’” they squealed.
Nothing Washu could say would change their minds now. Naja watched Washu being congratulated (or, in other words, mobbed) by the maids. In her mind, Washu’s future was being meticulously plotted, from Washu first realizing of her feelings, to her first date with Mikamo, to the pair sleeping together, getting engaged, getting married, and starting a family. But Washu was oblivious to all of that.
“There’s really nothing!” Naja and the maids would not listen to Washu’s denials. She felt an incomprehensible sense of defeat at her failure to communicate, but the event also prodded her feelings forward a little.
The club activities continued at the library with Washu and Mikamo spending time alone together. Mikamo knew how to make people comfortable. In the library, which was Washu’s space, Mikamo’s presence was not invasive… Or rather, she felt no sense of violation of her space. That was true despite the fact that Washu felt extremely self-conscious thanks to Naja and the maids.
Mikamo was also a good student, and Washu a good teacher. In no time, there was nothing else for her to teach him. And yet, no matter how careful they were, there was no cure for Mikamo’s klutziness. To Washu, he was a student who achieved satisfying results. At the same time, however, he was a handful. At first, they were still of kindred minds, and Washu was careful to avoid romantic feelings because of what had happened with Naja and the maids. Of course, having accepted him into her heart already, there was no way she could put the brakes on her feelings.
One day, Naja came to Washu’s room and blurted out, “Washu-chan, you shouldn’t…get too involved with him.”
“What’s this all of a sudden? You used to harp on me about going out with him… But seriously, we’re not like that.”
“I hope not…”
“…?” Washu noticed that Naja was acting strangely. The notorious comedian was being uncharacteristically serious. Is this a new form of harassment?
“Say… We’re going to have a party. Won’t you come? Everyone wants to see you. You never go to these get-togethers, Washu-chan. This time, there’ll be a lot of promising guys from other departments. Come on, what do you say?”
“O-okay…” Although she felt unsatisfied, Washu accepted Naja’s suggestion.
But then, from that day forward, she started to observe Mikamo and Naja together. They were not friendly with each other. In fact, they were somewhat awkward in their interactions. Washu felt Naja was hiding something from her, but she did not ask her friend directly. Even now, Mikamo had gone somewhere with Naja. Left behind, Washu had no choice but to sit in the dining hall and organize her research.
“I’m just not in the mood…” She pushed her chair back and looked around, sipping her tea. Then she almost spat it out. Clay was approaching her with several of his colleagues.