The Cat Who Saved Books(46)

Was the walk through the passageway a dream? Rintaro could no longer tell for sure how much of this was true.

But one thing had changed. And that was Rintaro himself.

“I’m sorry,” he said with a bow of his head. “You told me to leave, but I can’t go yet. You haven’t given Sayo back.”

The woman didn’t answer. There was still no hint of any light or warmth in her eyes, just a chill enough to make anyone shudder.

And yet, Rintaro didn’t panic. His opponent was much greater than he was. And there was no way for him to express all his thoughts right away. But the fact that she had stopped and turned around to listen to him was significant.

“So many people are trying to destroy our precious books,” she said. “If books are destroyed, they lose their power. No matter how powerful they are, books are regularly locked away, cut up, sold off, and eventually die. And I’m sure in the future this will only continue.”

“Yes, but they won’t die out.”

At Rintaro’s gentle words, the woman’s hair seemed to quiver slightly.

“Even if you try to destroy a book, it doesn’t disappear that easily. Right now, in places all over the world, people have connections to books. The fact that you are here with me now is the best proof of that.”

The woman’s eyebrows moved ever so slightly in surprise. That was the first expression that had ever crossed her face.

There was a pause.

Then as if it had been waiting for a moment like this, a voice came out of nowhere.

“Well said, boy.”

It was a male voice, strong and confident.

Rintaro looked around the room, but there was no one there but the woman.

“I knew you had it in you! I’m impressed.”

Rintaro realized the voice was coming from his right and was startled to see the man on the screen smiling at him—the one from the first labyrinth. He was still sitting on his porch, sipping tea.

“You’ve nothing to lose, young man. Just be brave and shout it at her. Hey, you! You talk a big game, but you’re just sitting there looking down at the world and doing nothing about it. You’re the one resting on your laurels.”

The man looked amused at Rintaro’s shocked expression.

“Young man, it’s very difficult to get things to change. But you weren’t afraid to attack me with your best words. I owe you my thanks. Ever since, I’ve been discovering something new and surprising every day. As you said, I didn’t truly love books back then. Was surrounded by so many books that I’d failed to notice that within each one was a boundless world. That said, my biggest discovery has nothing to do with books at all.”

He took another leisurely sip from his teacup.

“I’ve discovered that my wife truly makes a wonderful cup of tea.”

He chuckled pleasantly in a way that made Rintaro feel warm inside. As he continued laughing, another voice came from Rintaro’s left.

“Have confidence, my young guest.”

Rintaro turned his attention to the left-hand screen, where the scholar from the second labyrinth sat watching him. Chubby-cheeked, he smiled at Rintaro, whose mouth had fallen open. His eyes sparkled.

“Weren’t you the one who fast-forwarded my Beethoven cassette tape? Remember the courage you showed then!”

He gave a gentle nod and smiled again.

“Walk with courage the path you have chosen. Don’t be one of those bystanders who complains that nothing ever changes. Continue your journey, just as Melos kept running to the end.”

The woman’s thin eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“Thoughts alone can’t change the world,” she repeated.

“But don’t you think we should give it a try?”

The voice came from the ceiling above Rintaro. He looked up to see the company president had gotten up from his chair and was addressing the crowd of men in suits.

“It’s not a question of logic. It’s about being proud of who we are.”

The president raised a surprisingly large hand to quell the voices of protest.

“Didn’t you all join this company because you loved books?” he asked them. His voice wasn’t loud, but it was energetic. The men immediately stopped their clamoring.

“Then put aside all this logic and rationale. Let’s talk about our ideals instead. First of all, it’s our privilege to publish books.”

The men in suits seemed to stand a little straighter.

Rintaro shifted his gaze from up at the ceiling and toward the woman.

“It doesn’t matter how slight or superficial it is, a change is a change.”

This time, the woman met Rintaro’s gaze without looking away. He looked her straight in the eye as he added: “Why is it that although we all believe in the power of books, you don’t seem to?”

The woman didn’t move. Rintaro’s words faded away and the two of them were once more enveloped in silence.

This time the silence was not easy to break. It was deep and heavy and filled the space around their feet like a silent blanket of snow. Eventually it became so oppressive that it was hard to breathe. This was the heaviest silence that Rintaro had experienced in this final labyrinth.

Finally, the woman closed her eyes.

“I hate this . . .” she murmured. “From time to time I come across people who talk this way. It means I can’t completely give up hope.”