Footsteps rang clearly through the quiet library. That lady, who had been coughing softly, had evidently noticed Shade approaching, and so Shade heard her footsteps as well—she was moving away.
"Not high heels. Sounds like low-heeled women's leather shoes."
Shade thought to himself, pretending not to hear her footsteps as he continued searching for Summer Night Collection. But when he followed the alphabetical order to where the book should have been, he unexpectedly found the spot empty.
Although Summer Night Collection was not an especially precious book, the library clearly held only a single collector's copy. Since its place was empty, someone had taken it away for the time being.
Considering that the lady still nearby had stopped here earlier, it was not difficult for Shade to guess what had happened:
"She took it? Does this mean I'm destined not to see what that book contains?"
Shade fell into thought, wondering whether this was another kind of "inevitable" Destiny. He could go find that lady and shamelessly take the book from her, or he could stop caring about it and leave the library to sample the food of this foreign city.
Shade chose the latter.
But when he prepared to leave the area, he realized that no matter which of the two choices he made, he would actually be heading in the same direction between the bookshelves.
Shade feared that she might misunderstand him, but he was not about to take a detour over that. Fortunately, that lady had stopped coughing and showed no reaction when Shade's footsteps drew near again.
"If Luvia and Galina knew I was actually agonizing over this, they'd definitely laugh at me."
Planning to try the local food, Shade continued toward the exit of the book storage room, wondering which restaurant the coachman had recommended