For Romantic Superpowers - Chapter 11 - Library Labyrinth (1)

#11. Library Labyrinth (1)

As a token of gratitude for the small flowerpot, Perth informed Lia of the library’s location. Moreover, she was granted permission to visit occasionally for support. Although as a superior, Perth might be cold-hearted, Lia thought of him as a good person nonetheless.

Already late, Lia decided to head back to the dormitory, and resolved to visit during lunchtime tomorrow. She thought she was fine, but as soon as she entered her room, she couldn’t help but groan. There wasn’t a part of her body that wasn’t hurting. She couldn’t move anymore. As she was about to lose consciousness, she heard a knocking on the door.

“Lia.”

It was a familiar voice. Lia managed to open her eyes and staggered to the door. When she opened it, she saw May’s face, looking at her with concern.

“Are you okay, Lia? You look pale.”

“May.”

Lia tried to say she was fine, but May gently cupped Lia’s cheeks and stroked them first. Lia was startled by the sudden touch, but May seemed unfazed.

“Oh, did that make you uncomfortable? Sorry, I tend to forget because I have many siblings.”

May naturally entered Lia’s room and helped her onto the bed.

“I was worried about you during lunchtime. What happened?”

“I think I was just nervous on the first day. I’m fine.”

“You’ve lost half your face in one day. What did they make you do?”

As she said this, May cautiously touched Lia’s face. This time, Lia didn’t flinch and obediently let her face rest in May’s hand. Feeling the warmth on her face, Lia felt relieved somehow. Slowly blinking her eyes as if she were sleepy when May saw Lia’s relaxed face, she gently withdrew her hand.

“I want to ask who bothered you, but you look sleepy. Go wash up and sleep.”

“I’m okay. Thank you.”

Lia also felt that May was a very warm person. It didn’t seem like it, but she must have been very tense encountering unfamiliar surroundings in a new place. As May’s warmth enveloped her, Lia felt her body relax, feeling buoyed by the sense of not being alone.

“It’s okay. Alright, see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, see you tomorrow, May. Goodnight.”

“Sleep well.”

As she turned back to her room to wash up, she saw the flowerpot on the windowsill. It was the same sprout as the seed in the pot she’d given to Perth. She knew what that sprout would become. She wondered if Perth could guess what her gift would be, but somehow she felt he could predict it well enough. 

“For now… I should rest.”

Summoning up her strength to wash, Lia lay down on her pillow and fell asleep as if losing consciousness.

* * * 

Yesterday seemed like a test for Lia, as the next day she was immediately given a proper assignment. The explanation about the plants in the Desert Climate Plant Management Department began. Each person was in charge of plants in a specific area, and Lia learned by shadowing them one by one. Kevin’s main task was researching plant growth. He drew a line that he had nothing to teach Lia.

Lia, who had only known cacti as desert plants, was surprised as she wandered around the Desert Climate Plant Management Department. There were many different types, and despite being in the desert, many plants were growing large. In the oasis area, there were plants taller than Lia. Since the staff members were very short, everything had to be done using ladders. There were also areas for plants growing on rocky cliffs. Large rocks brought from the desert were stacked layer by layer.

Seeing this, Lia realized once again how suitable this greenhouse was for plants to thrive. Plants of various colors were growing between the stacked rocks. The person in charge of this area often climbed cliffs with gloves on.

“I’m checking the plants from up there.”

He demonstrated climbing up himself. It was a situation where one could potentially hit their head on the rocks if they slipped. Throughout his ascent, Lia nervously bit her nails.

“Why are you so anxious when you’re not even the one climbing?”

Kevin didn’t understand her behavior at all. As the experienced staff member climbed effortlessly, he soon reached the top. Then he leaned over and waved to Lia and Kevin below.

“It’s dangerous!”

“Don’t worry! Once you’re skilled, you’ll be able to climb up easily too.”

Contrary to her worries, the staff member seemed cheerful. Checking the condition of the plants from the top and coming down was a breeze. Jumping down lightly, he looked like a squirrel.

“Do I have to climb up too?”

Lia asked, showing her fear. In response, Kevin chuckled and crossed his arms.

“Why? Can’t you do it?”

If it wasn’t scary, it would be a lie. Although Lia was used to hiking in the mountains, she had hardly climbed cliffs before. But if she said she couldn’t do it, it seemed like he would tell her to go home and quit right away. Lia clenched her fists tightly and replied.

“I-I’ll try.”

And she immediately raised her hand to climb the rock. At that moment, Kevin intervened, looking surprised.

“Calm down. It’s not something you can do barehanded.”

With one hand, he gently removed Lia, who was clinging to the rock. His hand briefly touched her waist. Even when he lifted her and let her go, Kevin didn’t seem to be exerting any effort. Perhaps it was because he was a former deputy commander of the knight order that he seemed to have good strength.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Lia felt embarrassed by showing excessive enthusiasm. She absently stroked her bangs in embarrassment. Kevin, observing Lia’s demeanor, looked down at his arm. Suddenly, he remembered the sensation of her waist he felt while intervening. Seeing Lia feeling embarrassed made Kevin wonder if he had touched her hand unnecessarily.

“Well, you should practice climbing up there in the future.”

“Yes, I’ll practice hard.”

“Then let’s call it a day here. Let’s leave work early.”

Unlike the first day, work ended early. It turned out that she was assigned to work in each area of the Desert Climate Plant Management Department for a week. After briefly observing the desert’s wonders, Lia headed to the library.

* * *

Lia pulled out the map Perth had drawn for her from her pocket. It was a detailed map written for Lia, who was still unfamiliar with the palace. Following his advice, she had also obtained a certificate proving her apprenticeship from the greenhouse manager. The library was near the prince’s palace. Of course, she wouldn’t meet anyone she knew, but she walked as quietly as possible.

After walking for a while, she saw a large door with elaborate patterns. It seemed to be the entrance to the library Perth had mentioned. She approached the caretaker sitting at the table. The sleepy caretaker was startled when Lia approached.

“Who are you?”

“Uh, I’m Lia Penelope, an apprentice working in the greenhouse.”

“Are you Lady Penelope?”

“Yes.”

The caretaker was surprised when he heard Lia’s name and got up from his seat. Lia, too, was surprised by the reaction as it had been a while since she received such a response in the palace.

“It’s just an apprenticeship in the greenhouse for now.”

At Lia’s words, the caretaker calmly sat back down. Then he glanced at the apprenticeship certificate Lia handed him.

“Which field of books would you like to read?”

“Um… I’d like to read books related to plants and desert climate.”

“Understood.”

Nodding, the caretaker brought a small box placed on one side of the table. The box had handles shaped like a rotating pattern on top and both sides. With a clicking sound, he grabbed the handle on the right and turned it a few times, then grabbed the one on top and turned it. Miraculously, the entrance door started rotating slightly, changing its pattern.

“Wow… That’s amazing.”

As Lia marveled, the caretaker explained with a wry smile.

“I’m a spatial manipulator, but to control my power, I need this tool. This handle itself has no ability. It’s just used to control how much of my power to use.”

“Is this library very large? Do you need to use spatial manipulation?”

He chuckled. It seemed like he found her question obvious.

“You’ll get lost if you just walk in. Since it’s made with spatial manipulation, the inside of the library keeps moving as if it’s alive. I’ve gathered books only related to desert climate and plant-related fields and rearranged the space. You’ll only see the books you want once you enter.”

“Can I borrow them?”

“Of course. However, books that cannot be borrowed cannot be taken out of this entrance.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The caretaker stood up and opened the door himself. It was dark beyond the door as no light penetrated inside. Hesitating to step forward, Lia felt the caretaker gently nudging her back. She felt like entering into darkness. After taking a few steps, the heavy door closed with a sound.

Gradually, she found herself trapped in complete darkness. Before she could think about how to turn on the lights, the lights began to turn on one by one, starting right next to Lia. It felt like the touch of a manipulator. There was hardly any place in the palace untouched by the hand of a manipulator. Everything was so new that Lia couldn’t help but gasp in surprise.

“Wow…”

Eventually, the thought that there might be other people made her close her mouth. However, within the library, she could only hear the sound of her footsteps; there was no other sound. As the lights fully illuminated the surroundings, Lia looked around at the list of books.

Just as the caretaker had said, there were an enormous number of books in Lia’s desired field. She thought there would be only a few since she had asked for books only related to her interests, but there were quite a lot. With this amount, even if Lia spent her entire apprenticeship period just reading books in the library, she wouldn’t be able to finish them all.

“It’ll take a lot of effort to go through them all.”

Lia regretted not asking the caretaker to narrow down the selection of books by her desired topics. She decided to first skim through the books overall. There were various kinds, from ancient parchment documents to the most recent books. There were even books not written in Psychedelia’s language. Feeling awkward, she randomly picked a book from among the plant-related ones.

‘Gardening for Beginners’

It introduced how ordinary people without plant abilities could grow plants. From selecting good seeds to pruning, it was a book suitable for hobbyists interested in plant cultivation. Since most of the content was already known to Lia, it wasn’t much help. With her ability, most plants grew at an extraordinary speed except for very rare ones like Miracle of the Desert. Consequently, she couldn’t use her ability to grow plants slowly. Thanks to this, Lia knew very well how to grow plants without using her ability.

However, she hadn’t grown plants from unknown regions like Miracle of the Desert before, so she didn’t know much about them. Luckily, Count Penelope had provided many foreign books related to plants, so she had some theoretical knowledge. However, plants like Miracle of the Deserts were something she had never seen before. Although they were supposedly common in that region, she had never read about them in books. Perhaps they were so common that they weren’t included in books. 

“Your expression tells me you’re having quite a hard time, aren’t you?”