Thumbs poised on the cover of the topmost book, the question almost passes Mikazuki by until the words really sink in, causing him to lean back, shoulders relaxing beyond his initial surprise.

"These are..." Mikazuki trails off, only for a second, "Real books?"

With both of them upright and all the books safe and sound between them, Mikazuki doesn't feel like his attention is misplaced. Everything had been digitized where he's from. There were no books, maps, or charts that someone like him could lay their hands on like this. Maybe Mikazuki would prefer to have the cool gloss of a screen beneath his fingertips while reading, even if only for familiarity's sake, but just being able to hold something like this is rare, and he knows it. Even Thesa had seemed like that. Eventually, his gaze peels away to rise up to Atsushi.

"I've never seen one before."