Published: July 25, 2025
If there are no books, then I’ll just make them myself.
That conclusion lifted my spirits, but the problem was that there was no paper anywhere in the house. I had already confirmed this during my exploration of the house.
In other words, I had no choice but to go buy paper, but I had no idea where it was sold. The trouble was, this town had no convenience stores, home centers, supermarkets, or stationery shops.
So, where on earth could paper be sold?
The shopkeeper at the general store had said, "You have to write out the books yourself," so I thought maybe there were blank books being sold somewhere.
But where could such a thing be?
Perhaps there was a paper shop that specialized only in selling paper?
If this were Japan, I could just jot things down on loose-leaf paper, write in a notebook, or use copy paper and staple it all together — and the book would be done in no time. But here, problems kept piling up.
Since there was no paper in the house, making a book meant I had to start by looking for paper.
Today, my mother had gone to work early morning, so it was just Tulli and me at home. Naturally, Tulli was the only person I could ask about my questions.
“Tulli, do you know where they sell ‘paper’?”
“What did you say, Myne?”
“I said, ‘paper’… ah!”
I recognized the way Tulli swayed her braid and tilted her head—like she didn’t understand the word when I said it in Japanese.
This was bad. I didn’t know how to say ‘paper’ in this language.
I messed up! I should have asked the shopkeeper what the word was!
“…You don’t know, do you?”
“Sorry. It seems I don’t know. It’s an interesting word, though.”
I sighed deeply, hanging my head.
Actually, the problem with making the book wasn’t just that I didn’t know where to buy paper. I also didn’t know where to buy pencils or pens.
Judging by the state of this house and town, I was sure there were no mechanical pencils or ballpoint pens. I wasn’t even sure if fountain pens existed.
So, what writing tools should I use in this situation? And how on earth could I get hold of any writing tools?
Above all, the biggest problem was that I couldn’t go outside alone to look for materials and shop, and I didn’t have any money.
I was truly in trouble.
“Ah! Dad, you forgot something!”
Tulli’s voice echoed from the kitchen. I moved sluggishly to the kitchen and saw Tulli holding some kind of package.
If I remembered correctly, this was the thing Dad had asked to be taken out this morning before work with that sleepy, dazed expression, which had annoyed Mom in the busy morning, making her snap, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier!?”
Mom had even turned the storage upside down to find it. Just thinking about how furious she would be when she found out Dad had forgotten it made my spine tingle.
“Tulli, Mom’s definitely going to be angry, right?”
“Do you think so too, Myne?”
I wasn’t sure if it was just this family or people in this world in general, but they expressed their emotions very directly. They laughed foolishly when happy, and they got furious like a raging fire when angry. In other words, when Mom exploded in anger, she was seriously scary.
“Tulli, we should probably take this to Dad, right?”
“…Hmm, but leaving Myne alone…”
I had sneaked out of the bedroom and cried a lot the last time I went to wash some dishes. When Mom took me to the market, I fainted and collapsed.
The family’s trust in me was very low, and Tulli didn’t intend to leave me home alone.
“Dad would be in trouble without it, right?”
“…Myne, can you walk to the gate?”
Instead of leaving me at home, Tulli decided I would go with her.
Thinking about the trip to the market made me a little nervous, but Mom’s anger afterward was scarier. I clenched my fist and tried to show I’d do my best.
“I’ll do my best.”
“Then, let’s go.”
I put on many layers of clothes just like when I went shopping with Mom and set off carrying the package.
Wearing many layers wasn’t for fashion—it was purely for warmth.