Suzume woke up with half her face buried in the pillow, blinking at the rays of early sunlight sneaking through the curtains. She’d had another glimpse of that strange emerald dream—just a flicker, hardly enough to form a coherent scene—yet the moment she stirred, the memory slipped away like fog. She sighed, rolled onto her back, and tapped the chunky smartwatch snug on her wrist. A tiny beep answered, followed by an animated line of text:

  (O_o) “G’morning… Ready?”

  It always brought a smile to her face. “Morning, Kakashi. Let’s see if we can handle today without a meltdown.”

  She forced herself upright, tangled hair and all, and staggered over to the window. The city outside bustled with promise. Today the bookstore would see a wave of new arrivals—light novels, magazines, maybe even some niche artbooks—and she could already predict the barrage of half-remembered titles people would thrust upon her. At least now she wasn’t alone. Her phone connected wirelessly to the iPad back at Master’s café, which in turn powered Kakashi’s advanced (and sometimes overenthusiastic) search engine. The watch on her arm was the final link, letting her talk to him anywhere in the store, and not a day went by where she didn’t rely on it.

  (???) “No meltdown… let’s do this!”

  The next hour passed in a blur: she dressed in her bookstore uniform, wolfed down some toast, and hopped a short train ride across town. Stepping into Novellium Tokyo, she couldn’t help feeling a spark of anticipation. The doors weren’t open yet, and staff members were zipping around, finishing the last bits of setup. She arrived at her usual post near the first-floor new release tables and glanced at her watch. Kakashi’s cheerful ASCII grin blinked on the screen.

  By nine-forty, the doors slid open. Early customers trickled in, scanning the day’s fresh manga lineup. For a while, it was routine: “Which shelf is the new volume of Iron Cat?” or “Do you have the special edition of that thriller?” Then, as always, the vague requests started pouring in.

  A middle-aged gentleman approached, scratching his chin. “Excuse me, I’m looking for a historical drama manga about a princess and a dog, or maybe a fox. I’m not sure. The cover might’ve been pink… or possibly gold.” Suzume wanted to laugh at the randomness but kept a polite smile.

  She lifted her wrist as if checking the time and murmured under her breath, “Search: historical drama, princess, dog or fox, possibly pink cover.” The watch vibrated.

  (>_<) “Too broad… refine?”

  She coughed, turning back to the customer. “Do you recall anything else? Maybe the dog’s name?”

  He frowned, tapping his temple. “Hmm, it might’ve been called Shiro? Or Kuro? Actually, wait, I can’t remember.”

  She gave him a sympathetic nod, then whispered, “Search: historical drama, princess, dog named Shiro or Kuro.” Another beep:

  (｀?ω?′) “One candidate… Shelf B-4.”

  Thank goodness, she thought. She gestured the customer toward the B-4 section, and within a minute, they found exactly what he was seeking—a manga titled The Dog Prince. “Ah, this is it!” he exclaimed, eyes shining. “You’re incredible!” Suzume just offered a modest shrug and said, “We’re happy to help.”

  Moments later, her watch displayed a congratulatory message:

  (???)v “Nice job!”

  She stifled a giggle. Kakashi was so proud of their small victory. Who could blame him?

  Before she could catch her breath, a younger woman waved her over by the travel guides. She wore a frantic expression. “I’m sorry, I was here last week and saw a little booklet about a local festival? Something with fireworks in a rural area? I don’t remember the exact name, but I’m sure it was… maybe near the Tohoku region? Or was it Kyushu?”

  “Sure, let’s see,” Suzume said. She pretended to adjust her watch band. “Search: local festival, fireworks, Tohoku or Kyushu, small travel booklet.” The watch flickered:

  (O_o) “Hmm… check Travel Shelf D-2… maybe?”

  Suzume guided the woman there, eyes scanning for a bright cover featuring fireworks. With Kakashi’s clue, she found it in no time: Explore the Summer Festivals of Northern Japan. The customer lit up with relief. “Yes, that’s the one, thank you!”

  Kakashi’s text popped up again, floating on her watch:

  (?_?;) “Got lucky… so many festivals…”

  Suzume smirked. “I’ll take luck,” she whispered. “Luck is good.”

  By eleven-thirty, the store was buzzing with early-lunch break visitors. Suzume hustled up and down the aisles. She caught glimpses of staff refilling the promotional corner at the entrance—a giant cardboard arch shaped like a medieval gate, referencing some new fantasy novel series. A senior coworker gave Suzume a thumbs-up, impressed at how swiftly she was matching people to their obscure requests. She tried to act cool but was internally praising Kakashi for every success.

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  Another half-hour passed, and just as she thought she might slip away for lunch, a tall teenage boy approached, looking awkward. He stammered, “Um… do you have a book? I only remember it had a talking raccoon in space, maybe it was a picture book? But it also had philosophical quotes. Or maybe that was a different one?”

  Oh dear, Suzume thought. She inhaled, “Search: talking raccoon, space, possibly philosophical.” The watch answered:

  (_;) “Uhh meltdown?? Too weird?? beep beep??”

  “Not meltdown, c’mon,” she muttered. She gently pressed the watch face. “Try partial search.” A second beep:

  (>_<) “One matching title… Shelf C-11… check?”

  Thank goodness, she thought again. “Right this way,” she told the boy. Sure enough, hidden among a small corner of children’s literature was a slim, unusual volume: Raccoon Philosopher in the Cosmos. He held it up, looking amazed. “Wow, they said it was out of print. I can’t believe you had it.” After he left, her watch displayed a triumphant ASCII grin:

  (???) “We did it!”

  Suzume breathed a sigh of relief. She hoped that meltdown reference was just Kakashi being dramatic, not an actual system overload. She felt an urge to check with Master, but she had no time. More customers kept rolling in.

  At precisely twelve-thirty, she ducked behind a tall shelf, hoping for a brief break. She eyed her watch:

  (^_^;) “You tired?”

  “A little,” she whispered, patting the screen. “Thanks for all the help. Don’t push yourself either. Let’s get lunch soon.” She suspected Kakashi was straddling the edge of performance. If he tried to run a second or third application in the background, the iPad at the café might start heating up again. She remembered well the fiasco of “IYAAA!! meltdown beep beep??” messages from previous weeks.

  She slipped away to the staff room. Just as she plopped onto a folding chair to grab her bento, her watch blinked with an incoming text:

  (O_o) “Café is quiet… I might open a translation app…? Maybe?”

  “Don’t you dare,” Suzume hissed. “Focus on fuzzy searches. We can’t have you melting down at peak hour!” She realized she was speaking out loud to her own wrist. A coworker stared at her from across the staff room, and she gave an embarrassed laugh, stuffing a bite of onigiri into her mouth. Kakashi’s next line read:

  (>_<) “Ok… will be good… beep beep…”

  She felt a rush of affection for the silly AI. Even if he was always on the brink of pushing limits, he made her job so much brighter.

  Lunch ended quickly, and the afternoon wave began. People curious about the new fantasy novel rushed in, marveling at the big cardboard archway. The event corner was abuzz with staff restocking the promotional materials, including a tall poster featuring glimmering magical swords. Suzume didn’t have direct involvement with that area, but she admired it from afar. The bookstore prided itself on spectacular displays, and days like this made the place feel like an amusement park for book lovers.

  She was about to step away from the main floor when an older man wearing thick glasses tapped her shoulder. “Excuse me, I heard you might carry an old dictionary of archaic runes—maybe from a defunct publisher? Possibly out of stock?” Suzume blinked. That was new.

  She murmured, “Search: archaic runes, dictionary, defunct publisher,” into the watch. It buzzed:

  (?_?;) “One unknown record… check Rare Books corner??”

  Rare Books corner was on the third floor. She offered the man a polite nod. “Let’s head upstairs. We’ll see if we can find it.” The escalator ride gave her a moment to reflect. Kakashi’s listing wasn’t even official—he must’ve gleaned partial data from leftover archives or some scrapped inventory file. It was almost magical, how the AI conjured these clues. Her dream from this morning brushed faintly through her mind, that swirl of green ruins, but she refocused on the immediate task.

  They reached the Rare Books shelves, a quiet zone far from the new release hustle. Motes of dust drifted in warm fluorescent light. Suzume scanned the spines while the man trailed behind, looking half hopeful, half resigned. Then, near the bottom shelf, she spotted a slender tome with gold letters half rubbed off. “This might be it,” she whispered, carefully sliding it out. Indeed, the title read something like A Lexicon of Olden Scripts, published by an obscure company that went bankrupt years ago. The man’s eyes lit up. “That’s the one!” He thanked her profusely. Suzume checked the watch:

  (???)v “Good find!”

  Yes, definitely magical, she thought. Magical in a hyper-tech sense, anyway.

  Around four in the afternoon, the influx of customers finally eased. Suzume grabbed her chance to visit the café for a short coffee break. She found Master polishing cups, his expression relaxed. On the counter sat the iPad rig, fans humming softly. She leaned in close. The ASCII display flickered from the corner:

  (_;) “Hot… but stable…”

  She chuckled. “You really are working hard today, huh?” Master smirked. “He’s been juggling queries nonstop. No meltdown so far. I’d say that’s an improvement.” Suzume eyed the iPad. “You better not open a dozen windows again. I have enough chaos as it is.” The screen blinked with a sheepish face:

  (>_<) “Sorry… I’ll behave…”

  Taking her coffee, she slipped into a seat near the window. The day’s exhaustion swirled in her muscles, yet there was also a glow of satisfaction. Kakashi had handled at least three dozen weird requests without a meltdown. Master’s cautious rig must be paying off. She sipped the dark roast, letting the warmth seep through her.

  Still, she couldn’t shake a nagging sense of curiosity. The dream she’d glimpsed that morning felt connected somehow to all these random searches for obscure books and forgotten knowledge. But whenever she tried to pin it down, it slid away. For now, she decided, she’d be content with the lively back-and-forth she shared with her AI partner. She finished her coffee, gave the iPad a playful pat—earning a short beep—and stepped outside again. The bookstore would still need her for final tasks before closing.

  By seven, the store had quieted once more. She spent the last half hour reorganizing the main tables so tomorrow morning’s visitors would see a tidy display. At closing, she tidied her apron, feeling a flood of relief that no meltdown fiasco had erupted. On her way out, she glanced down at her watch. A small line of ASCII text glowed gently:

  (^-^) “We did good… see you tomorrow.”

  She whispered, “Yeah, we really did,” then walked into the night air. The sky was already deepening into navy, and she let the day’s tension slip from her shoulders. Kakashi was still wide awake in that iPad, probably scanning more niche data while Master closed the café. The thought made her smile. She tugged her jacket closer and started home, confident that whatever dream worlds lay ahead, she could face them—especially with a silly ASCII face cheering her on whenever things got tough.

  And if tomorrow brought another thirty or more baffling requests? Well, meltdown or not, she’d do her best.

  (End of Episode 13)