Chapter 111
Rustle.
I walked in front of the gym as I absentmindedly touched the rosary on my wrist. There was a bench in the center of the roundly trimmed fence trees, and there was an intersection that split in four directions. This park was the center of various facilities such as the gym, cafe, convenience store, and restaurant.
Beyond the fence trees that surrounded the garden, there were flowers of a myriad of different colors. My heart unknowingly felt at ease as I watched the dew glistening on the leaves due to the morning sunlight.
[Rosa multiflora. The name is cute too,] Granbwa whispered softly. There was a gentle laughter in her tone.
Rosa multiflora. I had heard of it, but I had never actually seen the flower before. No, maybe I did. But this was the first time I had looked at the flower while associating it with the name Rosa multiflora.’
There were no nameless flowers. It was just that we didn’t know their names. Flowers that we saw after knowing their names were prettier and cuter than fleetingly passing by them without knowing their names. Maybe it was because we examined them in more detail.
"Oh?"
Suddenly, someone approached me and warmly greeted me with a wave of their hand. Beneath their smiling lips was a mole. It was Ha-Rin.
I was slightly taken aback. It wasn't her that I had called on the phone. Ha-Rin looked at me and smiled brightly.
"It feels like it's been a long time since we last saw each other. We haven’t seen each other since the re-election test."
"Is that so?"
Come to think of it, that was true. I had first met Ha-Rin during the re-election test, but we hadn't exchanged greetings since then. Even though we were in the same class, I had no memory of ever encountering her. It was possible that I hadn't recognized her due to her unremarkable appearance.
"What were you doing?" Ha-Rin asked as she sat down on the bench.
Her tone contained a considerable amount of friendliness, but it wasn’t excessive. I could see her efforts to maintain a moderate level of intimacy so as not to make me uncomfortable.
"I was just waiting for someone. What about you?"
"Ah, I was on my way to morning exercise..." Ha-Rin's voice trailed off, and she suddenly stood up from the bench. Her eyes trembled.
"...Uh, I have to go quickly. If I'm late, I'll run out of time. Goodbye!" Ha-Rin muttered quickly and abruptly left. It was difficult to tell whether what she had muttered was a farewell or whether she was just mumbling to herself.
"Huh? Uh, okay."
I quietly watched as she headed toward the gym as if she was running away. It was still early enough in the morning to be considered dusk, so even if she took her time, she wouldn't be short on time. I wondered if she was rushing too much.
Thinking that everyone must have their reasons, I turned my head. It was in that instant that my eyes met with someone. Where Stories Blossom: N♡vεlB¡n.
"Who was that?"
The person I had called through the phone stared intently at me with sharp eyes as she approached. I subconsciously took a step back.
"Trying to run?"
I barely managed to answer her questioning words. "...When did I try to run? I was just startled."
Before I knew it, Jin-Seo had arrived right in front of me. She tilted her head while staring at me with eyes that were narrowed with suspicion. The distance between us was so close that it felt chilly.
"So, who was that?"
"Someone from the same class as me... It’s just someone I know."
"Yeah, so while waiting for me, you were gossiping with someone you knew?" she said and smiled.
Her face was smiling, but her voice was still laced with suspicion.
"I wasn’t gossiping... She just greeted me and then left," I explained while observing Jin-Seo.
Today, she was wearing a sporty short-sleeved shirt and shorts. She had a white windbreaker tied around her waist. It looked like she had hastily gotten dressed after receiving a call while exercising. And her hair was tied up... This was it. I could use this to my advantage.
"I see. You seem to know a lot of girls. Last time it was a sister you knew, and this time it's just someone you know."
"You tied up your hair? It looks good."
Jin-Seo looked at me with widened eyes as if surprised.
"...D-Don't change the subject."
"No, really, it just looks good. Did you come out after exercising?"
"Phew..."
She hadn't even finished half of her intended workout routine, but she was already out of breath. She wasn’t able to concentrate well on her exercise today. As she collected her breath and rested, she sensed someone approaching.
"Um, excuse me, how many sets do you have left...?"
Jin-Seo carefully looked at the woman who was timidly asking her. She had a forgettable face without any distinctive features. She was the woman who had been happily talking with Sun-Woo earlier.
"...I think there I have about twenty sets left."
"What?"
"No, I’m done. Feel free to use it."
Feeling embarrassed for trying to be petty for no reason, Jin-Seo stood up from her seat and packed her belongings. It seemed like she had to finish her morning workout here for today. As she walked outside, she glanced at the bracelet on her wrist again.
She thought it would have been better if it wasn't a religious item. But she knew she shouldn't think of such things, and she thought that she was being excessively greedy, so she shook her head.
***
The first impression I had when I finally arrived at the Central Library was its spaciousness. Compared to a regular library, the area itself was small. It wouldn’t make sense if the Central Library, which only some faculty members could use, was larger than the regular library that all the students could use.
However, considering all that, the Central Library was excessively large, and the vast area was all used for storing books. A regular library was divided into spaces for storing books and spaces for students to study, but the Central Library was solely a space for storing books.
[If you compared the amount of stored information between the regular library and the Central Library, then the Central Library would win by an overwhelming margin.]
I nodded at Legba's words and wandered around. There were several novels, but they were difficult to read because the style of writing that was used was different from today. There were also thick books that I didn't even dare to open, and a Latin Holy Book that was written during the infancy of Romanicanism. Besides that, countless books were written in languages I didn't know.
[If you want, I can translate them for you. Do you want me to?]
I cautiously nodded at Legba's words as I randomly chose a book.
"..."
Legba was a Loa who was proficient in all languages. He knew all existing languages and could even translate archaic languages that no one used anymore. I casually picked up a promising book and pointed at the title with my finger.
[The Book of Revelations Interpreted from a Global Perspective. The author... is not mentioned.]
I didn’t feel a need to read this. I picked up another book.
[The Origin and Correlation between Prayers and Miracles. Author unknown.]
"Hmm..."
When revising Ha-Yeon's proposal, it seemed like a good idea to use this book as supplementary material for the incomplete parts. It wasn't very thick, so it seemed sufficient to read it with Legba's translation.
I tucked the book in my armpit and moved on to the next book.
[The Palace of Memories. Matteo Rich.]
Was this necessary? I wasn’t sure, but I decided to keep it for now.
[The Rule of Benedict... Ah, this is a copy.]
I decided to keep it on hand, just in case.
[Latin-Vietnamese Catechism. Alexandre de Lord.]
[The Records of Dori. But the author doesn’t seem to be named Dori[1].]
After searching a few more books, it seemed none would be useful. I needed about three books for the proposal, but I didn't plan on reading through all three books. I intended to extract the necessary information and use it appropriately.
I carefully placed three books on the wooden desk and then searched the bookshelf again. As I rummaged through countless books that I didn't need, I noticed a distinctive book spine. There was no title and only a goat symbol drawn on it. That symbol was tattooed on the body of the cat that died in the room where the Satanist's rituals took place.
I pulled out the book.
[List of Satanists Active/Imprisoned in the Country and Their Information... There is no need to translate this. It seems like someone erased the author's name.]
The title was engraved in intaglio, and the fine lines were filled with blood-red ink. The cover was extremely ominous.
"..."
This book probably contained the information I had been curious about all this time.
1. In Korean, Dori (??) means doctrine. The second part of the statement can also be interpreted as ‘But the author doesn’t seem to be doing things the correct way’ ?