She looked at the book in my hands.
"What's that book there?"
"A cookbook."
"Hm. An old one, at that. You cook, then?"
"I can't manage without cooking for myself."
"Hm? Is that so? Lupinus handles the cooking here, so..."
Lupinus... probably that beautiful elf.
Huh. So she cooks.
Hard to imagine, given her vaguely noble appearance.
"This isn't what I'm after, though."
"Oh? What are you after, then?"
"An illustrated guide or encyclopedia with detailed entries on herbs and recovery potions."
"My, my. You're searching for something quite rare, aren't you."
"So it really is rare, then."
"Most books are stories or poetry, you see."
"Yeah, that's true... but these are really practical, you know."
There's no harm in knowing about herbs and recovery potions.
If anything, isn't it something every delver ought to know?
"Sounds useful, I'll grant, but their use is rather limited, I'm afraid."
"So there really aren't many, huh?"
"It's about what sells and what doesn't, demand, effort, and budget, too."
In short, they don't sell.
Printing costs money. The question is whether they'd sell enough to cover those costs.
Given how low literacy rates are these days, it'd be tough.
Even the cookbooks on the shelves were faded and gathering dust — proof enough that they didn't sell.
"Do you think any are sold in town?"
"Now that's a tough question."
She gave a faint, wry smile.
That response made my face fall. Should I just give up?
But I might as well give it a shot. Giving up this early would be premature.
"…Do you know of any other places that sell books?"
"Hmm. There are a few. I've covered all the bookshops, you know."
"Please. I'll pay for the information — just tell me."
"That's fine. No need for payment."
"Really?"
"I'm not so hard up that I need to charge for something like this."
Being Rank III, she must be doing well enough.
"Then let's go."
"Huh?"
I was taken aback by how she just assumed we'd be going together.
She laughed.
"There are places a verbal explanation can cover and places it can't, you know."
"Ah, makes sense. Oh, I'm Wof."
"Pakira."
And just like that, I ended up going with Pakira.
I bought the cookbook.
The next shop was also a general goods store. Tucked away in a quiet corner at the back was a small bookshelf.
Nobody else was anywhere near it.
"Same as the last one — all stories and poetry."
"Aye, it is."
"Hmm."
No travel guides, no cookbooks here either.
"You there. Not interested in stories or poetry, are you?"
"A little bit, I suppose."
"Oh? So not completely, then."
"No, not completely."
"As I thought — adventure tales and hero stories, then."
"Yeah, something like that..."
I did like hero stories, knight tales, adventure sagas, and folk tale collections, that much was true.
We have a few at home too.
But compared to the light novels I remember from my past life... how should I put it.
They have no grammar, so people just write however they want.
Without any polish, they're overwhelmingly hard to read.
It's just like the Russian Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" I read ages ago.
On top of that, the phrasing is stale. The stories have little dramatic variation.
They end weirdly. A lot of them feel like they were just axed.
And the heavy religious coloring is rough. Some of them are probably propaganda.
Is religion why the literacy rate is high? Anyway, I read a few and stopped.
I have zero interest in poetry. I just don't get that feeling.
And naturally, there's no manga whatsoever.
No picture books either, so nothing resembling a prototype of those.
Do they not even have the concept of doing something with illustrations?
But they do have murals, you know. Did the idea just never make the jump from there to scrolls or paper?
I mean, I mostly just read manga back then anyway, so...
"............"
Still, I wonder what it is.
The recent trend in both stories and poetry seems to lean toward romance.
On this shelf too, about twenty of the stories and poems are romance.
They probably stock them because that's what sells.
I'd never picked up a romance.
That sort of thing didn't really click with me as I was now.
It wouldn't have clicked even if I weren't like this.
"Still nothing, huh."
"Nope."
"Next one, then."
"Right."
The next shop was the antique store. Not Arifa's place.
They didn't carry books here either. As expected, the bookshelves were tucked in the back.
"Cookbooks and travel journals."
"A reference guide…"
A weapon reference guide. They actually had something like this.
It was thick. I picked it up and flipped through.
"Oh my. All sorts of weapons in here."
Pakira leaned in close.
Her cat ears twitched back and forth.
"This one looks like an OOPArt."
"Hmm hmm. Interesting stuff."
It was certainly unusual. But not the kind of book I was looking for.
I closed it and put it back where I'd found it.
"Not buying it?"
"I don't have that kind of money. What about you, Pakira?"
"It's interesting, but not really my thing. However..."
"What's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing. I don't think they have what I'm looking for either... Hmm."
"What is it?"
"Ipomea Nil's Morning View."
"?"
"It's a poetry collection. By the poet Ipomea Nil. Never heard of her?"
"I'm not really familiar with that sort of thing."
"She's a poet from two hundred years ago. She's an elf, so she's probably still alive, of course. Though she's more famous for her nighttime scenery."
"Huh... Pakira. Are you going to buy that?"
"No. Poetry's just a casual hobby for me."
"Do you usually buy fiction, then?"
"That's right. It's the only thing I buy."
"Like hero tales? Or adventure stories?"
"That's the one."
Short, curt answers every time.
Oh, now that I think about it, the book I picked up for her was... a romance.
Right. She's a girl.
"……Shall we head to the next one?"
"Mhm. But before that—"
Pakira picked up the weapon encyclopedia.
"You're buying it?"
"Mhm."
"But you said it wasn't a hobby."
"You never know, it might come in handy."
"Come in handy?"
Pakira bought the weapon encyclopedia.