“…Welcome—”

Lotte uttered the greeting in a barely audible, utterly unenthusiastic tone. Yet her words stopped dead.
The customer who had entered was cloaked in black robes, the hood pulled low over their face.
That much was fine—she didn’t particularly mind that level of concealment. But what she saw peering out from beneath the deep hood was a face covered by a mask.
　Equipment designed to conceal one’s identity entirely—Lotte had never seen a customer like this before, and she instinctively tensed.

(…What’s this about? Could they be here to steal a book…?)

Given the blatantly suspicious appearance, such suspicion was hardly unreasonable.
　Lotte heightened her vigilance, though she wondered if stealing anything from a bookshop in such a remote location would even amount to much.
Or perhaps it was some rare find—though Lotte lacked the discerning eye for such things.
Just in case, she picked up a nearby book and, pretending to read, kept a close watch on the hooded figure.

(…Suspicious)

Indeed, no matter how many times she looked, his appearance was far too suspicious.
He was definitely up to something—but the problem was, even if that were the case, there was nothing Lotte could do about it.
If there were a knight nearby, she might ask them to check the man’s credentials, but unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be one around.
The robed figure patrolled the shop, occasionally glancing around as if surveying his surroundings.
　Suspicious indeed—perhaps she ought to speak to him.

(…But it might be better not to provoke him unnecessarily)

—At times like this, Lotte lacked the courage to act.
Time simply passed—it would be a relief if another customer arrived.
The robed figure picked up several books—then approached Lotte and offered them without hesitation.

“W-were you purchasing these?”
“……”

When Lotte asked, the robed figure quietly nodded.
Meaning—they had intended to buy these from the start, rendering Lotte’s wariness utterly pointless.
If anything, Lotte’s suspicious caution might have been rude.

(People aren’t always what they seem, or perhaps I was just imagining things—hmm?)

As Lotte examined the books handed to her, she stopped upon seeing one particular volume.
Among the serious works—books on the kingdom’s history, novels by renowned authors—there was one clearly out of place.
Titled ‘The Secret Garden: A Relationship of Suspicion’, it was… an adult publication.
A book dealing with, shall we say, erotic themes.
These were surprisingly popular, one might say, and sold quite openly in bookshops around the capital.
Naturally, buying them outright was still considered rather embarrassing, but hiding them among serious works was a rather old-fashioned tactic.
　Lotte herself—it wasn’t that she had no interest in such matters; she had read this book herself during her spare time.
To be honest, it contained rather extreme content, so much so that Lotte couldn’t bring herself to finish it.
At the same time, Lotte understood the meaning behind the suspicious appearance of the person before her.
—They were completely concealing their identity to buy this.

(…Is that even possible?)

　His appearance was such that one might suspect him of being a thief or something similar; if anything, it made him stand out.
Yet, in the sense that his identity remained entirely unclear, perhaps it was the correct approach.
To come all the way to this remote place and still appear like this—it could be called a truly pitiful effort.
As if acknowledging that effort, Lotte gave a small nod, silently settled the bill, and handed the book to the robed figure.

“Here you are.”
“…Thank you.”

The robed figure spoke in a voice so faint it was almost inaudible.
They hadn’t uttered a single word until just now—or perhaps they hadn’t intended to thank her at all.
But could ‘she’ not manage it? Hearing the voice, Lotte instantly realised it was a woman and blurted out without thinking.

“Wait, have we met somewhere before?”