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.
"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?"
As I quietly stared into Jin-Seo's eyes, I could detect hints of confusion within them. She had lowered her gaze to the ground as if trying to avoid my gaze, and she nodded slightly. Her hair, tied into a ponytail, swayed at the nape of her neck. There were still hints of lingering dissatisfaction on her face. Perhaps she didn’t like the fact that I was trying to change the subject without answering the question.
Rustle.
I took out the rosary bracelet that I had received from Ji-Ah from my pocket and handed it to her. Jin-Seo looked at the bracelet and then my face.
"You used to wear something like a bracelet before, right?" I asked with a smile that wasn’t too excessive.
Jin-Seo used to wear a bracelet tied with a string on her left wrist. As far as I remembered, the bracelet had snapped during the chaos that occurred when the bird-type demonic beast had appeared on Eiden Hill. She had a rare sad expression on her face back then. I didn’t know who it was from, but I thought that it must have been something very important to her. I knew it wouldn’t be able to replace what she had lost, but I hoped it would bring some comfort to her empty left wrist.
"I got it from someone I know, but I have one left. It's a bit awkward to ask you to use it as a replacement..."
"Thank you," she said as she put on the bracelet.
Her face was slightly flushed. She looked up at me momentarily, then lowered her gaze to the ground.
"Did you call me to give me this?" Jin-Seo asked while fiddling around with the bracelet.
Fortunately, she seemed to like the gift. It was a bit shameless to call it a gift since I was just giving her an extra leftover bracelet, but if it made her happy, then that was a relief. It also looked like her mood had brightened up, so it was time to get to the point.
"That was part of the reason. But I have a request for you."
"A request?"
"I need to enter the Central Library for the project proposal, but apparently, I need an access permit..." I casually explained.
I needed a permit to enter the Central Library for the project proposal, and I went to the chairman's office, but he was absent. I had planned to finish my work before noon and submit the proposal by lunchtime, but without a permit, the situation became difficult.
"...Anyway, do you happen to know the chairman's contact information? He wasn't in his office when I went there. He seems very busy, so it would be better to contact him in advance."
Jin-Seo looked up at me and stared. "Ah, I see."
Her face was still slightly flushed, but her gaze was cold. She coldly looked at me and said, "So, this isn't a gift but a bribe?"
"That’s just something I gave you for no particular reason. I thought you would look pretty with it."
Honestly, it was a bribe, but I didn't want to make it seem too obvious, so I covered up the truth with some appropriate words.
Her gaze, which had been ice cold, suddenly trembled and shifted toward the ground. Eventually, when she raised her head, her expression was calm. I didn't feel cold.
"Do you say these things to other people too? Besides me."
"No? Why would I say something like this to someone else?"
"...Alright."
Jin-Seo reached into the pocket of her windbreaker and took out a wallet. Then she pulled out a card and handed it to me. It was a faculty member ID card with Chairman Chang-Won’s name on it. Even after receiving it, I was momentarily stunned and rechecked it, but it was definitely his ID card.
"Use this to get in."
"...Is this really okay?"
"Yes. That's why he gave it to me in the first place. It's fine to use it because there are multiple copies of the card," Jin-Seo said as if it wasn’t a big deal.
Her tone was filled with confidence. It sounded like she could handle any problems that arose by herself. She glanced briefly at the bracelet on her wrist.
"I'll use the bribe well."
"It's not a bribe."
She smiled mischievously and said, "Just kidding. Thank you."
Then, she waved her hand and turned toward the gym.
I examined the faculty member's ID card that she had given to me. Originally, I had planned to get permission to enter the Central Library by getting the chairman's contact information through her, but now there was no need for that.
In any case, things had worked out well.
***
While exercising, Jin-Seo occasionally glanced at the bracelet that Sun-Woo had given her. She liked that the design was simple, so she wouldn't feel burdened wearing it every day. Actually, the design didn't matter much. Rather than the design, what mattered more was that she used to wear the bracelet in the past. The fact that he had remembered that her bracelet had snapped made her feel strange emotions. Even though she tried hard to convince herself that it was not a gift and just a bribe for him to get access to the Central Library, his words kept echoing in her ears.
"I thought you would look pretty with it."
When Sun-Woo had said that, his tone of voice had been overly affectionate. His voice flowed out naturally and smoothly as if he had frequently said such things before. That fact felt so irritating that she wanted to hit him. However, in reality, she wasn’t even able to lift her head properly because she was too busy trying to control her expression...
But thinking back to that moment, her face heated up again.
"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’ ?
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