Kotaro thought about how much she should say; she obviously could not and would not explain the system, and she wasn't sure if telling them about her body's problem would be wise. They were children, which meant they might not mean any harm, but they could still talk.
And Kotaro didn't want the entire clan knowing she was looking into why her body wouldn't develop properly, and she didn't want a possible weakness of hers spreading.
So she decided to lie, or rather, tell them just the surface level of what she wanted.
"Chakra and insects mostly. I want to understand more before I try the evaluation again."
It was true, she wanted to learn more about insects, and her chakra was important to her since she needed to fix it.
Takeshi nodded as if he understood.
"Then you should look at the training records, not just the normal books. The basic books explain things simply, but the training records have notes from clan members."
"Have you read them?"
"Some of them. My father says reading too much without practice is useless, but reading nothing is worse."
It was good advice, very practical. Mutabi looked between them with a disappointed expression.
"Reading can't be that important. Why do you make it sound so interesting?"
"Because it is, when you're not an idiot at least."
Ayumi said.
"I'm not an idiot! It isn't fun."
"That's why you failed, and probably will fail again."
Mutabi went quiet for a moment.
"...That's mean."
Kotaro looked toward Mika, who had been quiet and ignored the banter between the other two.
"Do you know anything about the library?"
Mika nodded slightly.
"Haruto-san is usually there. He's the library keeper, and he can help you find things if you ask, but he's strict about putting everything back properly."
"Is he scary?"
Kotaro asked, more out of curiosity than fear, and Mika seemed to pause to think about it for a moment.
"Not really, he just doesn't talk much. He's much nicer than he would seem."
That sounded like most Aburame adults; still, it helped that she knew his name now, and from what Mika said, he seemed helpful.
Aburame Haruto.
If he were the library keeper, then he could probably guide her toward useful records. The only issue was whether he would ask why she needed them. Maybe he wouldn't, maybe the Aburame were practical enough not to pry into a child trying to learn.
Either way, she still planned to go since the library was a great place for her, given her limited understanding of this world and its history.
"I should head there now, then. I don't want to take too long."
Mutabi looked disappointed.
"Already? But we just started talking."
"I still need to get there before lunch."
"Reading before lunch sounds terrible."
Kotaro smiled a little before giving them a small wave.
"I'll see you later."
"Come back when you're done."
Ayumi said, causing Kotaro to pause for a moment, a little surprised by how direct it was.
"Maybe."
"No, not maybe. Come back."
Mutabi nodded along with her.
"Yeah, I need to show you my beetles."
Kotaro didn't know what to say. It seemed like this was her first time making friends here, and honestly, it wasn't too bad to socialize a little, so she nodded.
"I'll come back if I have time."
That seemed good enough for them, because the group quickly returned to their own conversation as she began walking away. Their voices slowly faded behind her, but Kotaro found herself thinking about the interaction as she continued toward the inner part of the compound.
It had gone better than she expected.
She had met four people, learned more about the clan evaluation, gained a possible name to ask for help in the library, and even progressed her quest.
The path became quieter the deeper she went into the compound. The outer areas where the orphanage and residences were located had more people moving around, but the inner areas were different. It wasn't empty, but the people here usually had a reason to be here.
None of them paid any attention to her; they each had their own thing to do. In fact, she preferred it this way; the less attention she got, the easier it would be to move around.
As she walked, the sound of insects followed her like a constant background. It came from the trees, the grass, the walls, and even from places she couldn't see. Before her memories returned, she had grown used to it without thinking too deeply. Now, she found herself noticing it more.
This was the Aburame Clan; there were insects everywhere. The ones in the area were most likely monitoring insects used by officials in the Clan to keep an eye on things.
After a few more minutes of walking, the library finally came into view. It was a large wooden building located deeper inside the clan grounds, and while it wasn't grand in any way, it was still the biggest building in the area.
It looked old but well-kept, and the entrance was wide enough for several people to pass through without issue; there weren't any fancy carvings on the signboards either.
Kotaro slowed down as she approached it and observed it with great detail.
"So this is the Clan's Library, not all that impressive."
She muttered to herself; of course, she also knew that this was most likely just a small collection of all the records the Clan actually had. Most of the good ones, and jutsu's were probably kept elsewhere.
But somewhere inside, there might be information about what was wrong with her body, or maybe there would be nothing.
That possibility existed too.
But even then, she had to check. If there was one thing her system made clear, it was that the problem had a solution. The quest wouldn't exist otherwise, or at least, that was what she hoped.
'Please let there be something useful.'
With that thought in mind, Kotaro climbed the short steps and walked through the entrance of the clan library.