Shiina Hiyori Was Truly an Avid Reader

Shiba Sakuya looked at the familiar silver-haired half-elf girl, EMT, on the cover, and an amused smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Compared to Natsuki Subaru, who had fallen into a death loop right from the start and got torn apart at every turn, his current situation was far better.

Although Natsuki Subaru had the overpowered cheat of Return by Death, the author, Tappei Nagatsuki, was the biggest Subaru-loving man alive. He had practically mixed up the IF routes with the main story, hey!

(Tappei Nagatsuki didn't understand Re:Zero at all. He was just a pig butcher—Tappei Nagatsuki was an amateur.)

Shiba Sakuya returned the book to the shelf and strolled over to the nearby section for detective novels.

Besides light novels, he also preferred tightly plotted social mystery novels.

His gaze swept across rows of neatly arranged paperbacks and hardcovers before finally settling on the classic The Devotion of Suspect X.

Shiba Sakuya raised his right hand toward the hardcover book with its deep blue cover.

Yet almost at the same moment, another fair, slender hand reached toward the shelf. Their fingertips nearly touched the edge of the book at the exact same instant.

Their slightly cool fingertips brushed lightly against each other over the cover, sending a faint jolt through them. That soft, delicate touch vanished in an instant, breaking the stillness that had hung around the bookshelf.

Both of them instinctively pulled their hands back at once.

"Ah..."

A soft cry came from beside him.

Shiba Sakuya turned his head.

The girl standing beside him was petite and slender, with pale silver hair that shimmered faintly. Beneath her naturally scattered bangs were clear, luminous lavender eyes.

Simply standing there, she gave off an ethereal, fairy-like air that seemed detached from the clamor of the world.