Four.

SET. THE BOOK. ON FIRE.
SUCH ARROGANCE. TO ALLOW. YOUR WORDS. TO EXIST. FOR LIFETIMES.
IT IS. THE HEIGHT. OF FOLLY.

UNDERLINE

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Spoileroh BOY. this is HAPPENING.
big guy HATES concepts like THIS.
i would IGNORE them, if i were YOU. but i am NOT.
you simply CANNOT match my BOLD visage.
~ BOLD

AUBREY
"That sounds incredibly unnecessary."
"What do you have against books? I loved reading growing up."
"Do they not have books where you're from?"

>Green, Blue, Pink and Orange. Do these colors mean anything to you ?

Aubrey thinks for a moment.

AUBREY
"I don't know that they mean anything important, but orange was my favourite color."

>you know, it actually does kinda look like a video game. there was the whole Pokemon battle earlier, and we even have a UI with three cute little pink hearts that I assume represent your health. the only thing that doesn't look like it belongs in a video game, is you Aubrey.

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SpoilerInternal memo regarding the book
as long as we're on the topic of games, Y'all need to stop rolling to spot traps every five feet. If we look at every. single. thing. as suspicious this is going to take forever.
-Avatar of the Dead Lilies

AUBREY
"Interesting. I suppose the In-Between appears differently depending on the guide looking in? Not that it really matters, so long as we understand each other."

( . . . )
" . . . Ｔｒｙ . . . Ａｓｋｉｎｇ ｔｈｅ ｂｏｏｋ ｆｏｒ ｐｅｒｍｉｓｓｉｏｎ ｔｏ ｒｅａｄ ｉｔ? "

AUBREY
"It's worth a shot."
"Um... hello, book. How... are you?"
"May I read you for minute?"

Aubrey gives a gentle, if self-conscious smile.



Silence. Then, with a soft hum, the book lifts off the table and glides towards Aubrey. Ada chimes in alarm. Aubrey hushes her with a pat.

**Aubrey's tenderness resonates with the book.**



AUBREY
"...Thank you for trusting me."

The book's cover opens on its own accord.

There are no words, but many sparkles.

Aubrey doesn't touch, and admires them in silence. She feels like a regular mahou shoujo.