The Cat Who Saved Books(27)

“No?”

“Your presence here blindsided me. But I can see now that it wasn’t an accident.”

Sayo and Rintaro looked at each other.

“You are likely here for a reason, so my hope is that you’ll remain with us for our final journey.”

“Hey—” Rintaro was starting to panic.

Ignoring him completely, the cat turned to Sayo and bowed its head.

“If anything happens to me,” it said, in its deep and powerful voice, “please take care of Mr. Proprietor.”

Sayo was silent for a moment, but then responded with her trademark charming smile.

“So you want my help?”

“Mr. Proprietor is reasonably intelligent. But because he lacks courage he tends to hesitate at the crucial moment. He’s unreliable.”

“I know what you mean.”

“I’m aware that I’m dissing him right in front—”

Rintaro finally cut in.

“Look, Sayo, you don’t have to go along with any of this.”

“In the past I might not have, but now, Natsuki, I feel like if something happened to you, we’d both be in trouble.”

Taken aback at Sayo’s words, Rintaro clammed up. Sayo winked at him mischievously.

“Because then I wouldn’t get that book recommendation I came here for.”

The tabby cat chuckled.

“Splendid.”

And with that, it spun back around and continued to walk ahead. Without hesitation, Sayo followed. Rintaro was left with no choice but to scurry to catch up to them. He was soon surrounded by a blinding white light.

*

The scenery on the far side of the light was different again. The first thing they saw was a long, gently meandering passageway. Sizewise it was the same as the one they had entered by, but in every other sense it was completely different. For one, there was a clear blue sky above. Unlike the dim, lamplit aisle of the bookshop, this was an outdoor structure. The walls were much taller than Rintaro, so he couldn’t see beyond either side of them, but the bright sunlight overhead made the place feel open and airy. However, there was one thing that didn’t mesh with the peaceful atmosphere.

It was Sayo who reacted first.

“Ah! What are all these?”

Her voice was shrill, almost a shriek. Although he didn’t say anything, Rintaro was just as shocked.

The walls on both sides of the passageway were made of stacks of books—but there was nothing neat or orderly about the piles. Some books were torn, others crumpled, and the ones at the bottom were completely crushed by the weight of the upper books. There appeared to be no thought at all put into the stacking system, just tall piles of books reaching high into the sky. Even if you weren’t a book lover like Rintaro, the sight would make anyone wince.

“Let’s go!”

Everyone stopped gawping and got a hold of themselves. But there was nothing to say. The only way to express their current feelings was through silence.

Rintaro and Sayo nodded at each other and started to walk.

Making their way through the structure was like trying to find the exit for the most poorly designed modern art exhibit. Its passageway took erratic turns and without a clear view ahead, they soon lost all sense of direction. The decaying scenery was accentuated all the more by the bright sunlight.

They had no idea how far or for how long they had been walking when they came to a giant gray wall blocking the passageway. Sayo let out a sigh that sounded like relief.

“A dead end?”

“Is this it?” asked Rintaro, stopping and looking upward.

The giant wall before them was full of countless square windows and its top could not be seen, disappearing into the haze way overhead. Because of the walls of books on either side, it was hard to get the full picture, but the gray wall at the end of the passageway was possibly the side of a tall skyscraper.

They advanced a few steps farther to see that it was indeed a tall gray building, with a large glass doorway at its base. There was a sign above the door marked Entrance.

“I guess that means we should go in,” said the cat, looking decidedly unimpressed. It headed straight for the door, which slid noiselessly open in welcome. A woman in a spotless, lavender-colored suit appeared out of nowhere and bowed to the three visitors.

“Welcome to World’s Best Books, the world’s number one publishing company.”

She had a perfectly mechanical voice to match her perfectly mechanical smile. She also had a lot of nerve introducing her own company as the world’s number one.

“May I ask your names and the reason for your visit?”

Caught off guard by the fake cheeriness of her voice, Rintaro struggled to speak.

“All those mounds of books outside the building, what are they?” he managed to ask.

“Outside the building?”

With that mechanical smile still anchored to her face, the woman tilted her head inquisitively about thirty degrees to the left. Rintaro couldn’t help being a little impressed with her precision.

“Outside this building, there are books that are being horribly—”

“Oh my goodness, were you walking outside?” said the woman, putting her hand to her heart and frowning with concern. “I’m afraid that’s terribly dangerous. I sincerely hope you weren’t harmed in any way.”