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Chapter 06
“Hey, Costans!”
“Sir. Can’t you see that look? Costans’ eyes, I mean. That bastard’s in a bad mood right now.”
“That’s why I told you we shouldn’t come!”
I could hear the men’s voices clearly from beyond the window.
One had tanned skin and looked the oldest, another had blond hair and was tall. The remaining one seemed the youngest and spoke cautiously.
“Have you been well, Costans!”
“Long time no see, Costans!”
The men who entered the library raised their hands with bright smiles toward Sir Costans.
“Why have you come.”
Sir Costans spoke stiffly.
“A few of us from logistics got a day off today. We wanted to see our lovely junior’s face and check the rumors too.”
“They say the rumor that you’re living in the library has already spread throughout the unit, Costans.”
The blond-haired man who was talking to Sir Costans noticed me behind him and tilted his head. The tanned man did the same.
Our gazes met.
“…Oh.”
“…This is insane.”
They smiled as if they had discovered a very interesting prey. At that sound, Sir Costans even stretched out his hand to shield me.
“You’ve confirmed it, so please leave now.”
“Well, well. I didn’t know you were such a romantic guy.”
The blond-haired man chuckled softly. He examined my face piece by piece, then glared fiercely at Sir Costans.
“You bastard. So the reason you haven’t dated until now was because your standards were ridiculously high!”
The men’s eyes gleamed.
“Is your name Bibi? Even your name is pretty.”
“Hello, Miss Bibi. I work in the Fleet Command’s logistics department—ah, Costans!”
Sir Costans stepped between me and the man. His broad back completely blocked the man’s face.
“You’re disturbing us.”
“What a stiff guy.”
I didn’t know how to stop the quarrel between Sir Costans and the men. If I left them like this, the seniors would notice the noise and come out of the reading room.
“Um….”
I carefully opened my mouth.
“Oh? She spoke.”
“She did.”
They reacted as if they had never seen someone speak before.
“This is a library, so could you please keep quiet?”
“Bibi. Because of these people… I’m sorry.”
Sir Costans apologized instead.
“No. You don’t need to apologize.”
“I’ll take them out. But first, let’s move the books to the storage.”
Sir Costans tried to help me. He bent his knees and picked up the books one by one from the floor.
“Books? We’ll help too, librarian.”
“We may not know much else, but we’ve trained our bodies well—strength is something we’re confident in.”
Then the other men also began picking up books. Sir Costans tried to chase them out, saying they were just getting in the way, but their hands were already full of books.
“Miss? Where should we move the books?”
Taking that chance, the blond-haired man asked me.
“…To the storage.”
Before I knew it, I guided them to the storage room.
“Your presence only gets in Bibi’s way.”
“And you don’t?”
“I was quietly reading books here.”
“With those shady eyes, you were probably secretly staring at Miss Bibi.”
The men and Costans bickered as they walked.
At first, I thought they didn’t get along, but now it seemed they knew each other well—almost like brothers.
“Miss Bibi.”
In the middle of their conversation, the blond-haired man called me.
“…Yes.”
“You’re this beautiful, so you must have a boyfriend, right?”
I was the one being asked, yet Sir Costans, standing beside me, trembled slightly. Because of that, my body flinched as well.
“Well, um… I don’t.”
“Really? That’s quite unexpected. Then do you have an ideal type? Or the traits of men you’ve dated before…?”
There were too many personal questions. Not only the man asking, but all the men present were listening closely to my answer.
Sir Costans didn’t take his eyes off me at all.
“I…”
“……”
“I think I like men whose foreheads are fully visible.”
It was a lie.
Sir Costans had a hairstyle that covered his forehead, and knowing that, I deliberately said the opposite.
Sir Costans didn’t react at all, nor did he say anything. I quickly added,
“Actually, I don’t plan on dating. Ah, we’re at the storage.”
When I opened the locked storage door, a cool, chilly breeze touched my body. The faint smell of old books lingered. I asked the men to place the books in their spots and checked the count. None were missing.
As I arranged the books according to the classification chart, I could feel their gazes from behind. Their eyes, watching my every move as if it were some fascinating show, made me uncomfortable.
I busily moved my hands and finished the work quickly.
“Are you done?”
Costans asked, as if it had been some grand task.
“Yes, it’s all done. Please come out.”
The men stepped out of the storage with uneasy expressions.
Even as I locked the storage door, I could feel their gazes from behind. I couldn’t even properly lock a single door.
“Bibi?”
A familiar voice came from behind.
“…Ju, Julia?”
Julia was staring at me with wide eyes.
“It’s lunchtime… I was going to ask you to eat together.”
Julia glanced at the men. Then, the youngest-looking man among them approached her with a sly smile.
“Ahem. We’re sorry, miss. We helped Miss Bibi here—was that inappropriate?”
“Not at all! Not at all. I’m actually grateful.”
Julia said, her face slightly flushed.
Even if it was the hallway, raising her voice like that… If the director saw this, she’d surely start nagging.
“It seems the hiring standards for librarians have changed these days.”
The blond-haired man added.
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“Well, Miss Bibi is beautiful, and you are as well. So I wondered if ‘having great beauty’ became part of the hiring criteria.”
This man was very skilled at flirting with women.
“Ah? Haha.”
Julia, who used to complain that noble-born men were arrogant, seemed to have forgotten that, her face now full of smiles.
At this rate, I worried she might fall head over heels for that man.
“Ju, Julia! Let’s go eat lunch. Which restaurant should we go to? Hm?”
I grabbed Julia’s arm. But she didn’t budge at all. Her eyes were already fixed on the men in front of her.
“You said you’re going to eat lunch, right? How about joining us?”
The blond-haired man suggested to Julia. When Sir Costans tried to stop it, the man quickly jabbed his side.
“Ah, what should I do? I already planned to eat with the director today.”
Julia said, showing clear regret.
“That’s unfortunate.”
“But dinner would work instead! I get off at six today, so anytime after that is fine. Of course, Bibi too.”
What? Julia dragged me into it as well.
“It’s the same for us. And of course, this Costans here as well.”
The men didn’t back down and pulled Sir Costans in too.
“I hear there’s a newly opened jazz café nearby. Manager Lance has been there and said the atmosphere is quite nice. How about having a meal there?”
At their words, Julia’s face brightened instantly.
“That sounds wonderful. Ah, should we match the number of people? Since there are four of you, we’ll bring two more.”
“We’d be delighted. Isn’t that right, sir?”
The blond-haired man looked at his superior as if seeking agreement. It seemed like he was asking permission, but it was practically already decided.
Dinner. A jazz café.
“Of course, that sounds great. And that jazz café is a very nice place. Then we’ll come pick you up at six, after work.”
“What on earth were you thinking? Making a dinner appointment with people you just met!”
After the plan was set, I glared at Julia beside me and spoke in a low voice.
“People you just met? Is Sir Costans someone you just met?”
“I mean the others, not Sir Costans.”
“More importantly, how could you not say a word to me when there were such handsome men?”
Why is this suddenly being turned on me?
I wiped my face dry and let out a long sigh. I didn’t want people to find out that I was alone with Sir Costans because I was worried about exactly this kind of situation!
“They just helped me when I was in trouble. I told you that!”
“Hmm. Did you?”
“But do you even know who they are before making plans?”
“You really can’t judge people, can you? Do those men look ordinary to you? They’re all soldiers working at headquarters. Men of status. How could I just ignore that? And that manager—was it? He’s exactly my type!”
“Even if their status is like that, didn’t you say you don’t like arrogant men?”
“Bibi. He wasn’t arrogant.”
Julia didn’t back down at all.
“…Do you even have people to bring? Two of them, no less!”
“Bibi, you’re really foolish. Very, very.”
Julia grinned and continued,
“There are plenty of people to bring. Plenty.”
“What?”
“In my opinion, there’s going to be an intense battle of nerves today. Just to take two seats.”
