Becoming a Book Friend?

Ever since she began to love reading, Shiina Hiyori had longed to have a like-minded bookworm as a friend.

But whether it was in elementary school, middle school, or after arriving at Advanced Nurturing High School, she had never had the chance to meet one; in fact, she barely had any friends at all.

In her class, there was only Ibuki, who seemed to worry that Hiyori might be bullied by the more aggressive students and would occasionally strike up a brief conversation with her.

Recently, because of the study groups, many more students had been coming to the library, making it much noisier than before.

In these moments, Shiina Hiyori would think with anticipation...

Would someone who also loved to read, and who happened to enjoy the same mystery novels as she did, appear right before her eyes?

If that happened, she would muster the courage to become friends with them.

Then, perhaps, she would find a bookworm with whom she shared common topics, someone with whom she could discuss insights and even reenact stories from the books together...

And it would be best if the two of them could remain book friends for life.

Shiina Hiyori's vision was beautiful.

As it turned out, however, although students would walk around and pick up books to flip through after getting tired of studying, not a single person stopped in this mystery novel section from beginning to end.

Were mystery novels really that unpopular?

Shiina Hiyori thought with distress.

Now, there was finally someone who had wandered into this area, but he seemed a bit mischievous.

What if he didn't actually like to read, and she finally took the initiative only to have him use his wicked tongue to make her retreat into a shell for the rest of her life?

Shiina Hiyori hesitated for only a few seconds before steeling her resolve.

"Just looking at the title, one would think this is a romance novel. Is this really a detective story?"

Chihaya Rei's curious inquiry reached Shiina Hiyori's ears first.

The book in his hand was titled Farewell, My Lovely.

Looking at the title alone, it was easy to have such a misunderstanding.

When she heard that Chihaya Rei had actually started the conversation, Shiina Hiyori's eyes lit up with pleasant surprise.

"Yes!"

She nodded firmly and explained earnestly:

"Please don't miss out on this book just because of the title! It is actually a hard-boiled detective novel, and the author is a representative figure in the field of detective fiction."

"There are indeed romantic elements between the man and woman in the book, but those are all setups for the mystery plot."

Shiina Hiyori's expression looked slightly conflicted.

It seemed she wanted to introduce the ups and downs of the story to Chihaya Rei to show him how interesting it was, but because he hadn't read it yet, she was afraid of spoilers.

When she finished speaking and noticed Chihaya Rei staring at her quietly, she faltered.

"...Did I say too much?"

Shiina Hiyori's voice grew a little softer.

"Not at all." Chihaya Rei shook his head with a casual smile, his eyes holding a hint of amusement. "After all, you didn't spoil anything, did you?"

"Besides, you're quite lively when talking about novels."

Shiina Hiyori wore an embarrassed smile, then spoke politely:

"We don't even know each other's names yet. I'm Shiina Hiyori from Class C. My hobby is reading, especially mystery novels."

"Nice to meet you, Shiina-san. I'm Chihaya Rei from Class D. My hobby is playing in a band."

Chihaya Rei also realized that they had started talking before even introducing themselves.

Upon hearing that Chihaya Rei's hobby was playing in a band and that reading was not on his list, Shiina Hiyori couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.

"Chihaya-kun... does this book interest you at all?"

"A little."

Noticing the anticipation in Shiina Hiyori's eyes, Chihaya Rei smiled and said slowly, "As for novels, I actually used to read quite a few."

"But later, because of the band, I didn't have the time and stopped reading as much."

Chihaya Rei was being honest.

He remembered back when he was a person who devoured all sorts of web novels; besides those, he had also bought and read many well-known classics.

If it weren't for the band and the system, he probably would have ended up plagiarizing literature...

Shiina Hiyori's eyes widened in pleasant surprise:

"Then what about mystery novels, Chihaya-kun? Do you read those?"

From what Chihaya Rei had just said, Shiina Hiyori could deduce a lot of useful information.

That meant Chihaya Rei was interested in reading, but unfortunately, he had no time for novels because he was busy with his band.

However, it was worth noting that it was impossible to form a band at this school.

Therefore, she had a good chance of rekindling Chihaya's interest in reading, or perhaps even molding him into someone who loved mystery novels...

"I've read a few, though my knowledge certainly isn't as deep as yours."

Chihaya Rei thought for a moment and said, "I've read more short stories, mostly well-known works by Keigo Higashino and Agatha Christie."

"For example, The Devotion of Suspect X, Journey Under the Midnight Sun, Malice, Murder on the Orient Express, And Then There Were None..."

"And some movies adapted from mystery novels."

"Oh, right, I also watched several hundred episodes of Detective Conan, but I felt like I'd never see Conan turn back into an adult in this lifetime, so I dropped it."

Shiina Hiyori was amused by Chihaya Rei.

She was now even more certain that Chihaya Rei had an interest in mystery novels.

"That's actually quite a lot; I really like the books you just mentioned, Chihaya-kun."

"Besides, the book you're holding right now, Farewell, My Lovely, has also been adapted into a movie!"

Shiina Hiyori lightly flicked her fingertips, gesturing toward the cover.

She seemed to be trying to pique Chihaya Rei's interest.

For a mystery novel to receive a film adaptation, it usually meant the work itself was excellent, well-loved by readers, and possessed market potential, which was why it had the opportunity to be adapted.

Chihaya Rei replied, somewhat surprised:

"If you put it that way, then I'll have to give it a read."

"In that case, I'd recommend this hardcover edition; reader feedback suggests the translation is the most faithful to the original."

The joy on Shiina Hiyori's face was visible to the naked eye. She responded almost subconsciously, but after realizing she was being too excited, she lowered her head slightly and added in a soft voice:

"Of course, it's fine if Chihaya-kun just wants to watch the movie instead..."

Chihaya Rei shook his head and smiled, "Since it's a recommendation from a professional like you, Shiina, I'll read the book first before catching the movie."

As he spoke, he took another copy from the shelf and handed it to her.

After all, Shiina Hiyori had been planning to take this book herself, perhaps intending to revisit it.

"I'm not really a professional."

Shiina Hiyori shook her head shyly, "I just read a lot of books."

However, seeing her recommendation accepted by Chihaya Rei, the corners of her mouth curved into a joyful arc.

"When you finish this book, Chihaya-kun, would you be willing to share your thoughts with me, if you don't mind?"

"I'm usually in this area of the library..."

Shiina Hiyori held the book up to partially cover the lower half of her face, her eyes shining with anticipation.