I'm in a real religion, why are all the people who confess to me girls?

Chapter 49: The Great Crisis of Social Extinction

I, Hiyori Shiina, am facing a major crisis in my life!

If I could choose again, I would never make the same mistake again.

On a day off, taking a chance, I took advantage of the fact that food and drinks were not allowed in the library and that everyone was leaving the library to eat or return to their dormitories during lunch break to enter the library and look for the books I wanted to read.

That way, I wouldn't have met Tianyin, and I wouldn't have experienced the series of events that made me truly understand what social death is.

I remember the moment I poked my head into the library that day, I couldn't help but smile. The library, which was usually packed with people studying, was now deserted, with only a few scattered students still buried in their studies, copying notes.

However, judging from the way they kept glancing at their phones, they probably wanted to finish what they were doing here as soon as possible and then go to the cafeteria for a meal.

After all, the cafeteria has strict rules about meal times. Once the meal time is exceeded, the cafeteria will stop selling meal tickets, so you can only make do with lunch at a convenience store.

Who would refuse to eat unhealthy cup noodles or raw bread at a convenience store while enjoying a steaming, enticing beef rice bowl?

It's winter now. Just thinking about eating bread that's harder than usual because of the cold in front of everyone would probably make even the most delicious bread taste like chewing wax.

What? How do I know so much?

Because... it's lunch break time now, and the library has become deserted because everyone has gone to the cafeteria. So I just ate a bread roll on my way here to stave off hunger... As for the fragrant beef rice and such, I've only heard about it from Tianyin's descriptions. So far, I've only had one experience eating in the cafeteria, and that was when Tianyin forcibly dragged me there for a sumptuous meal.

As for myself, I have never dined alone before, and I completely don't understand why everyone queues in front of a machine instead of waiting at the food counter.

Keke, get back to business.

In short, I sacrificed my precious mealtime in exchange for a rare opportunity to do whatever I wanted while everyone was away from the library.

First, he returned eleven books whose borrowing period was about to expire from his schoolbag, and then began a new round of 'hunting'.

My prey was mainly concentrated in the mystery section. Just as I was patrolling the bookshelves in the mystery section as usual, trying to find some treasure books, I inadvertently discovered an uninvited guest. Its name was — Wuthering Heights.

This book is a work by Emily Brontë, the second of the three Brontë sisters, who are quite famous British female writers. It is a very wonderful work.

However, although this work contains a lot of surprises and suspense, if it had to be categorized, the romance genre would be a more suitable place for it.

It must have been a careless student who left it here without permission when returning the book, based on their memory of the contents.

"How pitiful. I'll help you put it back in its original place right now." To put this book back on its proper shelf, I got to work.

However, I soon realized that my behavior was somewhat naive.

I noticed the small stool on the side from the beginning. I figured I could easily reach the books by standing on the stool.

However, I rejected this idea the moment it popped into my head.

Well... it's a little embarrassing to say, but just as I was about to get a stool, a boy who looked like he was there to borrow a book gave me a strange look.

It's possible that he just happened to be looking in my direction where there were other people around, and perhaps his gaze didn't have any other meaning, but to me, who was being seen, it felt like his behavior was telling everyone that I'm short.

I am certainly not a superficial person. I neither care about other people's opinions nor mind the strange looks they give me.

After all, I've always been alone before, so...

I've decided to give it a try; I'll leave the chair and such for those who need them!

Ahem, I just happened to not have any tissues with me today. If I stepped on the stool and got it dirty, it might make the librarian angry, so I didn't borrow the stool.

Sometimes, it's necessary to exercise regularly!

I remember back then I naively thought it was just a simple operation like 'taking a book off the shelf and putting it on another shelf'.

But after I stretched out my arm, I realized that things were not as simple as I had imagined.

"Huh?"

Even if I stretch my arm as far as I can, the books are still about 25 centimeters away from me.

How come I never noticed before that the bookshelf was so tall?

Most people would probably give up in this situation, since it wasn't like she put the book in the wrong place. She just needed to tell the librarian when she left, and the librarian would put it back in its correct place without her having to worry about it.

But I happen to be someone who doesn't like to bother others.

So it seems my only option is... to give up and admit that I'm short, and then stand on a stool like a primary school student to get the books.

Damn it!

This won't work!!!

Just thinking about it makes me feel so embarrassed, what if, what if someone else sees it?

I can't even imagine what I'll do if I look too much like a primary school student while holding the book, and if someone I know sees me, I'll be so embarrassed that I'll cover my face and run away.

Neither of these two options seems to fit my personality.

So, driven to the brink by a book, I used my most secret skill!

I first checked my surroundings and, finding no one peeking, I stood on tiptoe.

whee.

Didn't expect me to have this trick up my sleeve?

You'd better just come back to the romance section with me, okay? As expected of me...

Even though I stood on tiptoe and stretched out my arms, I still couldn't reach the book. The sudden despair left me stunned for a long time.

Looking at the mere five centimeters away, I used all my strength, but I still couldn't reach the corner of the book.

Just when I was about to give up, I remembered a compliment Ibuki once gave me.

"I never expected Hiyori to be even more docile than a little rabbit!"

Although that sentence might have been praising my cuteness and good personality, it has now given me a great deal of inspiration.

Since it's only five centimeters away, if I jump like a rabbit, wouldn't I be able to easily get the book?

At that moment, I felt proud of how quickly my little brain reacted.

I would also like to thank Ibuki for the inspiration she gave me.

Now, it's time for the final battle!

Chapter 50: It turns out I was an accomplice

Using a jump to take a book off the shelf seems like a very simple thing to me.

However, jumping around in the library is a bit embarrassing, so I'll just finish it off in one go when no one's around.

I took a deep breath and looked around.

The surroundings were unusually quiet. I figured if I didn't go eat soon, I might miss the school cafeteria's lunch service, so it was understandable that it was quiet.

After confirming that the environment was suitable, I made my first attempt at jumping.

then……

Ibuki-kun.

If possible, I really hope you can be more clear about what you say next time.

So when you said I was gentler than a rabbit, you actually meant I could jump lower than a rabbit?

I am somewhat confident in things like the long jump.

But for me, high jump... well, judging from the current situation, seems to be a little bit difficult.

I discovered that the height I jumped was almost the same as when I stood on my tiptoes!

Wouldn't all my efforts have been wasted in this way?

But since things have come to this, we can only persevere. Anyway, there's no one around now, so we can just jump a few more times.

I jump! I jump! I jump again!

Hey!! I think I just bumped into some books!

Victory is within reach.

I'll jump again! ———

At that moment, I ascended, oh no, to be precise, I ascended into the air... well, how should I put it, my feet were suspended in mid-air.

In that brief instant, my reasoning spirit ignited uncontrollably, and bizarre thoughts such as "Have I gained superpowers?", "Shocking! Earth's gravity has disappeared under the feet of a girl named Shiina Hiyori?", and "Has Newton finally been moved by my persistent spirit?" kept emerging.

However, the hands visible around my waist and the soft sensation of something pressed against my back indicated that someone had gathered me up before I landed.

But in this school, if there were someone who could easily lift a person up...

Just as I expected.

A familiar voice came from behind me, and just as I breathed a sigh of relief, I heard a whisper that sounded like a demon.

"Hug Hiyori and lift her high in the air~"

Tianyin deliberately used her childish voice to say something that made me so embarrassed that I wanted to bang my head against the bookshelf and faint.

"Hey! Don't say such childish and embarrassing things in a place like this! I'm not a child!!!"

However, my protests clearly had no effect.

It also attracted the attention of the librarian, who came over to ask what had happened.

Then! !

Then!!!

Tianyin actually imitated all the movements I just made!

It seems there's no place for me in this school anymore.

Goodbye, everyone.

I want to move to a place where there are no rabbits and no piggyback rides.

…………

"Hey~ Hey~ Don't cover your face! Even if you do, people already know your name is Shiina Hiyori. Hiyori's jumping around just now was super cute~"

Amane is still finishing off Shiina.

"Please! I'm begging you, please don't mention what just happened, okay? I just... I just wanted to take the book..."

"Using a cute bunny to hop to get the book—that's so typical of Hiyori; even her thoughts are as adorable as she is."

"Cute... I don't think I fit the word 'cute' at all. No, we're clearly talking about..."

"Oh, let me think...we were just saying that you were using a cute bunny to hop around and get your book, and wait, you seem to be steaming from your head~"

Looking at Hiyori's face, which was as red as a ripe apple and looked delicious, Amane quietly moved closer to her.

At this moment, Hiyori's brain was in a state of malfunction, and she had not yet reacted to the rabbit hop incident. Just as Amane seized the opportunity and was about to bite down, a hand covered her mouth and stopped her.

"Kissing and procreation are prohibited in the library. If you want to do anything weird, please go back to your dorm. No one will bother you no matter how much noise you make in your dorm. But if you try to do something naughty under my nose... then don't blame me for playing the footage recorded by the security camera on the library's big screen on a loop."

The librarian gave Tianyin a stern warning.

Tianyin pouted and complained softly.

Hiyori, who was standing to the side, snapped out of her daze at just the right moment.

"Reproduction?"

"Tame! That kind of thing is absolutely forbidden. If you're caught, you'll be expelled. But speaking of which, your name is Shiina Hiyori, right? Since you can't reach the books, why don't you use a stool instead of this troublesome bunny hop method? It would be a real problem if you knocked over the bookshelf or got hurt."

The librarian mercilessly added a fatal blow to Hiyori.

Please don't bring that up again!!!

"Even if you say that, I've already planned to play these adorable scenes on a loop. The cameras here capture very clear footage."

As they spoke, seemingly to demonstrate the high quality of the cameras, they explained what settings they had made on their phones and then turned on the large screen suspended in mid-air. The screen displayed recent surveillance footage, in high-definition color.

The above video plays repeatedly for fifteen seconds, showing Shiina bouncing around while picking up a book.

"Pfft, hahaha, no matter how many times I watch it, I still can't help it... hahahaha!"

Shiina's reaction was much calmer.

This must be what they call the feeling of being "socially dead" (or "socially ill").

She never wanted to come to this place again.

"Tianyin, you seem to be very happy."

"Ahem, how could that be? I just thought of something funny..."