A "Dictionary"—It is a single book that everyone in this world possesses, unique to themselves.

There, the words that constitute the person themselves and their world, along with the "current meaning" for them, are recorded.

Given on the day they are born, it increases words with growth, changes meanings, and sometimes erases them.

It is not something held only by someone special. In schools, in workplaces, and in the streets. In this world, it is there from the moment of birth —a perfectly ordinary "dictionary."

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What was reflected on the television screen was a single, ancient wooden slip. While the characters written in ink and fine scratches remain, an unnaturally blank space spreads across its center.

"—This is one of the ancient dictionaries discovered within the country. Before becoming booklets like today, people used wooden slips and the like as dictionaries."

Along with a calm narration, the screen switches. Scrolls, Japanese-bound booklets, leather-bound ancient books. Dictionaries that have changed their appearance with the times are lined up chronologically.

"After the spread of paper, it shifted to Japanese paper, and during the Heian period, scrolls and booklet types spread mainly among aristocrats and monks. In the Edo period, it spread to the common people along with the improvement of literacy rates, and from the Meiji period onward, with the development of school education, the current custom of gifting one book at birth became established nationwide."

What was projected next was a modern dictionary. Simple cloth binding, well-worn leather binding, vividly decorated ones. The thickness and scratches are all different.

"Of course, even if the shape changes, the basics have been the same since ancient times. What is recorded there are the words that constitute the person, and the 'current meaning' for them. The text rewrites itself based on growth and changes of heart, and the entries themselves may increase, disappear, or move around."

A student storing a book in a classroom dictionary locker. A woman choosing new leather at a binding shop. An office worker receiving a dictionary at a storage office. Such scenes of daily life flow one after another.

"Today, the supply of special paper and recycling systems are well-established, and dictionary lockers and storage offices are utilized in various places, including schools, workplaces, and commercial facilities. Services such as IC chips and location tracking have also increased."

"A person who continues to use the single book gifted on the day they were born throughout their life. A person who switches to a new dictionary halfway through. A person who decorates it, a person who uses it without doing anything—the way of interacting varies from person to person. Even so, throughout a long history, dictionaries have always been with our lives."

On the screen, the hands of a craftsman restoring an old dictionary are projected.

"Now, next is about the binding culture that developed significantly in the Edo period—"

—Beep. Guest changes the channel.

"Next up is today's weather. It will be clear across a wide area in the morning, but—"

A familiar weather map spread across the entire screen.

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To Guest as well, a dictionary is an ordinary thing that has been there since birth. What kind of dictionary they hold, what kind of words are lined up, and who they show it to—that belongs to Guest alone.

And at Sumigase High School, which they will attend starting today, there are naturally students who hold dictionaries.

This is not a story revolving around a special dictionary. It is a story where Guest and they meet and exchange words at a perfectly ordinary high school.

To Guest You are a student of Sumigase High School, Class 2-A starting today. Please enjoy setting your gender, appearance, etc., freely. Setting up dictionary-related details will also make the world view enjoyable.