For Romantic Superpowers - Chapter 30 - It Takes Courage

#30. It Takes Courage

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

A low voice came from inside the door. Before entering, May took a deep breath. It took a lot of courage to face that supervisor.

“Excuse me.”

Perth’s office was a reflection of his personality. Despite always working at a tremendous pace, his desk was piled high with paperwork. The documents May was holding were just some of the ones he needed to approve. He pointed to the stack of documents with a chin gesture.

“Please place them over here.”

“Yes.”

Instead of leaving right away, May, as usual, glanced at Perth. Normally, she would avoid eye contact and leave immediately. But today, she decided to speak up. She had made up her mind.

“M-Mr. Perth.”

Although she had a confident personality, her voice faltered as she tried to speak to him. She hadn’t intended to stutter. But as soon as she spoke up, his sharp gaze rose from the documents he was immersed in.

“What is it?”

His displeasure was palpable. What had she done wrong? Why did Lia want to be friends with such a man?

“It’s going to be summer soon. Aren’t you feeling hot?”

Was she trying to start a conversation about the weather out of the blue? Instead of answering, Perth raised an eyebrow. May could count on one hand the number of times she had spoken directly to him. After several times when she made mistakes and he scolded her, she knew he would always avoid her like the plague. It didn’t matter if he disliked her. As long as she did her job properly. But for some reason, today she didn’t leave the office right after delivering the documents. She had just handed him some small talk.

“The climate control experts in the palace manage the weather.”

“Yes, of course.”

Even though she had asked the question herself, May was surprised by Perth’s answer. She wanted to bite her tongue after speaking. She had never imagined he would respond so sincerely to such a frivolous question. Thanks to him, May gave a somewhat flustered response.

May didn’t talk to Perth for any other reason. She was simply curious whether he truly considered Lia a friend, or if he had more than just friendly feelings towards her. Her curiosity outweighed her fear of Perth. When he responded better than she expected, she found the courage to continue.

“I heard an interesting story recently. My dormitory roommate, Lia, is my friend. She said that when she was born in the dead of winter, all the flowers in the mansion’s garden bloomed at once.”

May was sure she saw Perth’s head perk up at the mention of Lia’s name. Moreover, his stern gaze softened momentarily before returning to its original intensity. It seemed as if he was being cautious about discussing her in front of him.

“So?”

Perth’s icy gaze made May recoil with fear once again. Why did she even bother talking to this snake? However, she wanted to find out if Perth was truly a good person for Lia’s sake, as Lia had described. She knew that a few words wouldn’t reveal everything about him, but she thought she could understand him better than Lia since she spent more time around him during work hours.

“Just… like that.”

But Perth was a difficult person to read. It was hard to tell how deep he was. Yet, it was a fact that he reacted sensitively to her name. But with just that hint, it was difficult to ascertain whether Perth’s feelings towards Lia were merely friendly as a friend, or if they were something more.

“If you’re done talking, you can leave.”

He gestured to the door with a chin gesture again. Always dismissing people with a gesture! May forced a smile, hiding her boiling frustration. She mustn’t forget. He was her superior.

“Yes, understood.”

In her heart, she wanted to slam the door shut. But in reality, she closed the door very cautiously. As soon as the door closed, she glanced back at Perth on the other side.

“How can Lia be friends with such a jerk?”

* * * 

Meanwhile, Lia had no idea what courage her friend had shown for her. She was entirely focused on the Miracle of the Deserts with Kevin. Most of their time was spent observing as changing the watering method didn’t show immediate results, so they mainly observed daily tasks. Lia also decided to look into other plants, hoping for clues on how to save the Miracle of the Desert.

Whenever Lia went around the various areas of the Desert Climate Plant Management Department, Kevin explained what he knew, and Lia asked the relevant questions to the responsible parties for more detailed information. The personnel in charge of the plants knew the most about the plants they cared for.

“So I brought this one to a cliff area. The oasis environment was too lush, so it didn’t grow well there. Since this one is adapted to harsh environments, it grows better on cliffs.”

The cliff area manager looked proudly at the plant. Watching the growth process naturally fosters affection for plants, especially for those that have grown under difficult circumstances. Lia understood this feeling well.

“It will bloom in the autumn.”

This plant also originated from the country where the Queen Mother, a desert native, lived. It was difficult to pronounce correctly, but it meant “desert windflower.” Seeing it bloom on the cliff and sway in the wind made the name understandable.

The manager chuckled, saying that it took a full two years for this plant to bloom and settle in its place. Watching him proudly stroke the plant, Lia felt a sense of self-reflection. Growing plants required patience, and she had been too anxious to produce results.

Seeing him, she recalled something important that she had forgotten. Perhaps she didn’t know it because she had been using her abilities to grow plants. Plants grow very slowly. And when the moment of steady waiting finally arrives, it brings immense happiness.

“Mr. Kevin.”

“Yeah?”

“Maybe what I need isn’t a way to grow Miracle of the Deserts but time.”

“What do you mean?”

“The person in charge also waited for a long time to grow desert windflowers. Maybe Miracle of the Deserts also requires waiting for more than just three months?”

It was a reasonable statement. But Lia had only about two months left. Kevin’s heart raced for no reason. In two months, she might not even be in the greenhouse.

“… We don’t know. Since we’ve made a change, all we can do is wait to see if there’s a response within the given time.”

But he couldn’t say anything else. He wanted to offer comforting words to her. He worried that the words he offered might be discouraging. At this moment, Kevin felt frustrated with his lack of eloquence. Lia weakly smiled at the realistic answer.

“Yeah. I hope things improve while I’m here.”

Fortunately, she was strong. She quickly erased the expression that looked like she might cry and listened to the explanation of other plants from the person in charge. Kevin watched her diligently taking notes as he followed her.

At first, he thought of her as a noblewoman in the greenhouse, like a flower untouched by a drop of water. So, he was irritated and tried to annoy her. But she was like an unknown plant hidden deep in the forest, living diligently without anyone seeing. Without realizing it, he became more comfortable working with her. Moreover, conversations with her were enjoyable. It wasn’t a feeling of heart-pounding excitement, but he wanted to be with her for a long time. He wanted to be close to her. Sometimes, when he saw her concentrating, he felt like reaching out his finger. It was a strange feeling.

“Mr. Kevin? What’s with your finger?”

He must have unconsciously reached his index finger toward Lia’s cheek. His finger landed precisely on her cheek as she turned her head.

“I just tried it.”

She almost rebuked him but held back. Instead, she took a deep breath. Her wise friend, May Flower, used to say that understanding wasn’t about accepting but about acknowledging. Just accept that’s how they are.

“Do you have time tonight?”

“I do.”

“‘I do’ sounds a bit rebellious.”

“I was wondering why you were asking about tonight. Is it overtime?”

She enjoyed working, but she didn’t want to work overtime. She felt a bit more tired than usual today from wandering around all day. Kevin quickly caught on to her mood.

“It’s not overtime. You know, that thing. The one we do once a week.”

He could just honestly say he want to have dinner together. Trying to beat around the bush only made it weird.

“Oh, that thing.”

“Yeah, that thing.”

It was about introducing. Lia suddenly remembered that Kevin was the second introduction candidate. Even on second thought, it was hard to understand Perth’s mindset. 

“You don’t have to be so diligent about it. Anyway, we have to meet under Mr. Perth’s supervision, so it won’t work today. He said he had something in the evening.”

When did he contact her? Kevin was uncomfortable with the fact that she knew about Perth’s situation. To prevent the tragedy of three people eating together at every meal, he compromised to have lunch with Lia, while Perth had dinner. Surely they had lunch together today too.

“Oh, the receptionist said a message had arrived.”

“Is that so?”

Come to think of it, this could be an opportunity. Eating dinner alone with Lia, without that annoying kid. Plus, last time, they were interrupted by that kid at an important moment.

“Then, I should eat more with you. After all, you have no one else to eat with.”

Lia made a displeased expression at his words.

“Do you think I can’t eat alone?”

It was severe. Even Lia’s displeased expression didn’t look oddly hateful.

“Eating alone is no fun.”

“Coming from someone who eats alone every time?” 

Because his mind was elsewhere, he blurted out something weird. Out of anxiety, he hoped she wouldn’t pick up on it. Couldn’t she just agree to eat together? If she had that kind of personality, he probably wouldn’t have these feelings for her.

“So, are you going to eat or not?”

Out of anxiety, his tone unintentionally became irritated.

“I will eat. Why are you getting annoyed?”

With a pout, Lia took the lead. After dinner, when it was time to say something, his heart started pounding at an incredible speed.