Ascendance of a bookworm x Fem! Reader

Chapter 3: Home Exploration

After three days, my fever finally went away, and I've slowly recovered enough to be able to keep some food down. What I've been eating has been finely chopped vegetables floating in bland soup. It's okay for now since I've been sick, but I don't think I'll be able to stand it once I'm healthy again. Also, I'm pretty used to being called Maine by now. I'm going to have to live as Y/n for the rest of my life, so I need get used to it quickly.

"Y/n, you done?" asks Tory as she comes in to check on me.

"Yeah."

I hand my empty dishes over to her, and quietly lie back down on my bed.

"Get some rest, Y/n."

In these last three days, I haven't even left this room! I've only ever gotten up to use the restroom, and after that I'm always brought right back to bed. Isn't that too harsh? On top of that, I said "restroom", but it's really just a chamber pot kept in the bedroom. It's extremely embarrassing! Also, not only does the rest of the family use this same chamber pot, but when they're done, they just fling the contents out the window! And, of course, there's no bath, either! I couldn't stand it after a while and tried to wipe myself clean, and everyone looked at me as if I'd gone insane. This lifestyle... I can't take it anymore!!

It's not like I can do anything about it, though. As a very young, sick child, even if I were to run away, there's no way I'd be able to live the kind of life I'd want. I still have the mind of an adult, so this much is obvious. I'm not going to heedlessly run away, no matter how much I hate this situation. Judging from what I've seen in here so far, I don't think the outside is going to be much better. I have no idea if there's any child protection services or shelters or anything like that around here, and even if there were I don't know if they'd be any improvement over this place.

If I run away from the filth here, all that'll happen is that I'll spend my last few days running around the streets, getting covered in falling waste, and finally dying on the side of the road. What I need to do is focus on getting better so that I can then work on improving the conditions around here.

My first goal is to get well enough that I can get out of bed without people being mad at me. ......Well, it's a start.

Then, before anything else: books. The first step towards improving my environment is definitely finding books. If I have a book, then I'll be able put up with all of these grievances. I'll persevere! And, so, I have decided that today I'm going to go explore this house. I've gone too long without reading a book; I'm starting to feel the edges of withdrawal.

Give me a book! Raaagh! I'll cry! A grown woman will burst into tears in public!

Since I've got an older sister, I should be able to find around ten picture books somewhere in here. Unless I'm mistaken, I don't think I actually know how to read this language, but at least I can look at the pictures and try to puzzle out the meanings of each word.

The door opens quietly, and Tory sticks her head in. "Y/n, you sleeping?" she whispers. I lie quietly in my bed, and she nods in satisfaction. Every time I've woken up, I've slipped out of bed in search of a book, only to collapse as I wandering around, so Tory has taken it upon herself to keep a close watch on me. When our mother leaves in the morning to go to work, she leaves Tory in charge of my care. Tory has been desperately trying to keep me in bed, and with my tiny body, no matter how much I try to run I can never break free from her grip.

"I am absolutely going to 'dominate' you," I mutter.

"What was that?" asks Tory.

"...Hm? Oh, I just want to get big."

Not really understanding the real meaning behind my answer, Tory gives me a troubled smile. "If you get healthy again, you'll get bigger! You're always so sick that you're not eating, so even though you're five, people still think that you're three."