The Heretic of Cleric Academy-Chapter 111

Clatter.

I mindlessly fiddled with the rosary on my wrist as I walked through the park in front of the gym.

There was a bench placed at the center of circularly trimmed hedge trees, with paths leading in four directions: north, south, east, and west. This park was the center of various convenience facilities like the gym, cafes, convenience stores, and restaurants.

In the garden surrounded by hedge trees, colorful flowers were blooming. Watching the dewdrops hanging on the leaves sparkle in the morning sunlight naturally put my mind at ease.

[Wild roses. Even their name is cute.]

Granbwa whispered softly. There was clear affectionate laughter in her tone.

Wild roses - I had heard the name before but never actually seen the flowers. No, I probably had seen them before. However, this was the first time I had looked at those flowers knowing they were called wild roses.

There are no nameless flowers. We simply don’t know their names. Flowers seen after learning their names were prettier and more charming than when I had passed by them carelessly. It was probably because I could see them in more detail.

"Oh?"

She who had approached at some point greeted me warmly with a wave and came closer. Her smile revealed the mole under her lips. It was Seo Ha-rin.

I was a bit flustered. She wasn’t the one I had called out over the phone. Seo Ha-rin looked at me and smiled with twinkling eyes.

"It feels like it’s been a long time since we met. Since the re-election exam."

"Is that so?"

Come to think of it, that was true. I had first met Seo Ha-rin during the re-election exam, but for some reason we hadn’t exchanged greetings since then.

Even though we were clearly in the same class, I had no memory of encountering her face-to-face. It was possible that I had seen her but not recognized her due to her unremarkable appearance.

"What were you doing?"

Seo Ha-rin asked as she sat on the bench. Her tone contained considerable goodwill, but it wasn’t excessive. I could see her effort to appropriately restrain intimacy so I wouldn’t feel burdened.

"Just waiting for someone. What about you?"

"Ah. I was on my way to morning exercise..."

Seo Ha-rin trailed off, then suddenly sprang up from the bench and continued. Her eyes trembled.

"...Oh, I should hurry. If I’m any later, I won’t have enough time. Bye!"

"Huh? Oh, okay."

Seo Ha-rin muttered so quickly it was hard to tell if it was a greeting or talking to herself, then suddenly left. I quietly watched her hurry away to the gym with quick steps as if fleeing.

It was early morning, almost dawn, so even if she went leisurely, she probably wouldn’t be short on time. I wondered if she was being too hasty.

Everyone has their reasons, I thought as I turned my head.

"Who was that?"

Our eyes met. The person I had called out over the phone was staring at me with sharp eyes and approaching with large strides. I unconsciously stepped backward.

"Are you running away?"

"...When did I ever. I was just startled."

I barely managed to answer the interrogating question. Kim Jin-seo had already approached right up to my nose, tilting her head and looking up at me suspiciously with half-opened eyes. The distance was close enough to make my heart feel cold.

"So who was that?"

"Same class... Just someone I know."

"Oh, so while waiting for me, you were chatting with someone you know?"

She said with a smile. Her face was smiling, but her tone still clearly retained an interrogating mood.

"I wasn’t chatting... We just greeted each other and she left."

I explained while observing Kim Jin-seo’s appearance. She was wearing athletic short sleeves and shorts today. She had a white windbreaker tied around her waist. It looked like she had hurriedly come out after receiving a call while exercising. And her hair was tied up... This was it.

"I see. You know a lot of girls. Last time it was someone you knew as a younger sister, this time just someone you know."

"You tied your hair up? It suits you well."

Kim Jin-seo looked at me with round, surprised eyes.

"...D-don’t change the subject."

"No, I really mean it suits you well. You came out while exercising, right?"

I stared quietly into Kim Jin-seo’s eyes. I could glimpse a hint of confusion. She dropped her gaze to the floor as if trying to avoid my eyes and nodded slightly. Her hair tied in a single strand swayed up and down around her nape.

Her face still showed displeasure. She seemed bothered that I had changed the subject without answering her question.

Clatter.

I took out the rosary bracelet I had received from Kang Ji-ah from my pocket and handed it to her. Kim Jin-seo alternately looked at the bracelet she had inadvertently received and my face.

"You used to wear bracelets and things like that before, right?"

I asked with a moderate smile. Kim Jin-seo had once worn a string-woven bracelet on her left wrist.

I remembered it had broken during various commotion when new magical beasts appeared in Eden Garden.

She had looked rarely sad then. I didn’t know who it was from, but it was probably something given by someone very important to her. While this couldn’t replace that, I hoped it could provide some comfort to her empty left wrist.

"I got it from someone I know but had one left over. It would be presumptuous to call it a replacement, but..."

"Thank you."

She said while putting on the bracelet. Her face was slightly reddened. She glanced up at my face, then dropped her gaze to the floor again and continued.

"Did you call me to give me this?"

Kim Jin-seo asked while turning and fiddling with the bracelet. Fortunately, she seemed to like the gift.

It was really just a leftover item so it was shameless to call it a gift. Anyway, if she liked it, that was fortunate. Her mood seemed to have improved too, so now it was time to move to the main point.

"That’s part of it, and there’s also something I want to ask."

"A favor?"

"I need to enter the Central Library, but they said I need a permit..."

I continued nonchalantly.

I needed to enter the Central Library for proposal writing, but a permit was required, and when I went to the chairman’s office, the chairman was absent. I planned to finish the work in the morning and submit the proposal by lunch, but the situation became difficult without a permit.

"...Anyway, could I get the chairman’s contact information? Every time I go to the chairman’s office, he’s not there. He seems very busy, so it would be better to contact him first before going."

"Ah."

Kim Jin-seo looked up at me while raising her head. Her face was still slightly red, but her eyes were cold. She looked at me coldly and continued.

"So this isn’t a gift but a bribe?"

"That was just given. I thought you’d look pretty wearing it."

Honestly, it was a bribe, but that would be too transparent, so I covered it with other words appropriately.

Her eyes, which had grown cold, trembled sharply then dropped to the floor. When she raised her head, her face had become composed. However, I didn’t feel she was cold.

"Do you say things like that to other people too? Besides me."

"No? Why would I say such things to other people."

"...Right."

Kim Jin-seo took out her wallet from the windbreaker pocket tied around her waist. Then she took out a card and handed it to me.

It was a faculty ID card with ’Chairman Kim Chang-won’ written on it. Even after receiving it, I was dumbfounded for a moment and checked again, but it was certain. This was the chairman’s faculty ID.

"Use this to enter."

"...Is that okay?"

"Yes. He gave it to me for that purpose. He has several, so there’s no problem using it."

Kim Jin-seo spoke as if it was nothing. Her tone was confident. It sounded like even if problems arose, she could resolve them sufficiently on her own.

She glanced at the bracelet on her wrist.

"I’ll put the bribe to good use."

"I told you it’s not a bribe."

"Just kidding. Thank you."

She smiled brightly. Then she waved and turned toward the gym.

I looked at the chairman’s faculty ID she had given me. Originally, I had planned to find out the chairman’s contact information through her or get verbal permission to enter the Central Library, but now that wasn’t necessary.

Anyway, it worked out well.

* * *

While exercising, Kim Jin-seo occasionally looked at the bracelet he had given her. She liked that the design was simple so it wouldn’t be burdensome to wear regularly. Actually, the design didn’t matter much anyway.

More than the design, the fact that he remembered she had once worn a bracelet and that it had broken was stirring strange emotions in her.

Even when she tried to think of it as a bribe offered for Central Library access rather than a gift, his words kept echoing in her ears.

"I thought you’d look pretty wearing it."

Do Seon-woo’s tone when saying that was excessively affectionate, and naturally smooth as if he had often said such things before.

It was so annoying that she wanted to hit him. In reality, she was so busy managing her expression that she couldn’t even lift her head properly...

Thinking about that moment made her face flush again.

"Whew..."

She was already out of breath even though she hadn’t finished even half of her target workout. She couldn’t concentrate on exercise well today.

While resting to catch her breath, she sensed someone approaching.

"Excuse me, how many sets do you have left..."

The woman who asked timidly while trailing off - Kim Jin-seo looked at her carefully.

She had a face without particular distinguishing features that would be hard to remember. It was that woman who had been happily talking with Do Seon-woo earlier.

"...About 20 sets left, I think."

"Huh?"

"No, I’m done. You can use it."

After being mischievous for no reason and getting embarrassed, Kim Jin-seo got up and packed her things.

It seemed she would have to end her morning workout here today. As she came outside, she looked at the bracelet on her wrist once more.

She thought it would have been better if it wasn’t a religious item.

However, that was a thought she shouldn’t have, and thinking it was excessive greed, she shook her head.

* * *

My first impression upon finally arriving at the Central Library and surveying its landscape was ’spacious.’

Compared to the general library, the area itself was smaller. It wouldn’t make sense for the Central Library, which only some faculty could use, to be larger than the general library that all students could use without special permission.

However, even considering that, the Central Library was excessively spacious to a fault, and all that vast area was used for storing books.

If the general library was divided into space for storing books and space for students to study, the Central Library was entirely space for storing books.

[In terms of the amount of stored information, the Central Library would be overwhelming.]

I nodded at Legba’s words and wandered around various places. There were some novels, but the language used was different from now, making them difficult to read.

There were also thick books I couldn’t even dare to open, and Latin Bibles used during the early period when the Romanica Church was spreading. Besides those, there were countless books written in languages I didn’t know.

[If you want, I can translate for you. Do you want me to?]

"..."

I carefully nodded at Legba’s words while pretending to choose books. Legba was a Loa who had mastered all languages.

He knew all existing languages and could translate ancient languages that no one used in modern times into our language.

I picked up a book that looked plausible and pointed to the title part with my finger.

[Revelation Interpreted from a World-Centric Perspective. The author is... not listed.]

I probably didn’t need to read it. I picked up another book.

[The Origin and Correlation Between Prayer and Miracles. Author unknown.]

"Hmm..."

It seemed like it would be good material to reinforce insufficient parts when revising Seong Ha-yeon’s proposal. It wasn’t very thick, so it would be sufficient to read through Legba’s translation.

After tucking the book under my arm, I moved to the next book.

[The Memory Palace. Matteo Ricci.]

Was it necessary? I wasn’t sure, but I decided to keep it for now.

[The Rule of St. Benedict... Ah, this is a copy.]

It seemed better to keep it.

[Latin-Vietnamese Catechism. Alexandre de Rhodes.]

[Records of Dori. But the author isn’t Dori.]

I searched through several more books after that, but there didn’t seem to be any useful ones. About 3 books were needed for writing the proposal. Even then, I didn’t plan to read them all, but just extract necessary information appropriately.

I placed the 3 books on a well-maintained, glossy wooden desk and searched the bookshelves again.

While groping through countless books that were useless to me, I discovered a conspicuous book spine. There was no title written, just a goat symbol drawn on it. It was exactly the same form as the goat symbol that had been drawn on the Satan worshipper’s nape and on the body of the cat that had died in my original studio apartment.

I pulled out the book.

[List and Information of Satan Worshippers Active/Incarcerated Domestically... This doesn’t need translation. The author section appears to have been erased by someone.]

The title was engraved intaglio, and the carved parts were filled with blood-red ink. Even the cover was quite ominous.

"..."

This book probably contained the content I had been continuously curious about all this time.