Reference Room
"So, you went and made yourself some friends in just one day, did ya? Well, I'll be!"
Dad asked cheerfully as we climbed the stairs to the reference room on the second floor.
I talked to him about the kind-hearted three sisters, the teachers, the lessons, and the two classmates my age—everything that had happened at the school.
"Well, I see, I see. Seems there wasn't nothin' to fret about after all. I'm right glad you had yourself some fun. Now, today's plan is to go huntin' for some herbs 'round the village, ain't that right?"
Dad had been walking slowly to listen to my story, but now that we had arrived at the reference room, the rest would have to wait.
As usual, Miss Mimi was there in the reference room, and she had already prepared the plant encyclopedia I had requested.
Though it was called an encyclopedia, it wasn’t particularly thick.
In this world, there seems to be something like plant-based paper, but parchment also exists.
Small notes are written on wooden boards, and blackboards are used for messages.
Most books use plant paper, but in the reference room, there are also books made of parchment.
Parchment books are thick, and their covers are rather gaudy and luxurious-looking. Books about magic are usually made with parchment, it seems. Maybe because of the covers, they’re expensive and are stored on shelves from which they’re not allowed to be taken out.
“This one is the herb encyclopedia made by the village chief.
And this one is the encyclopedia listing plants that can be collected in the area around the village and the surrounding region governed by Marquis Plessama.”
The herb encyclopedia was a thin book of about ten pages, but the descriptions were very detailed.
On the left page, there was an illustration of the plant, including the appearance of the front and back sides.
On the right page, it described in writing things like the shape of the leaves, whether it has thorns, whether it should be harvested from the root, cut at the second node of the stem, and cautions like “similar to a poisonous plant.”
The regional plant list had a lot more pages, likely because it covered the entire territory, but its content felt a bit sparse compared to the herb encyclopedia.
Notes like “No effect if eaten directly, but used in mid-grade healing potions,” “Looks like XX grass but is poisonous. Causes diarrhea,” “Can be used to blind lizard-type monsters,” or just “Bitter” filled the pages—more impressions than actual medicinal effects.
“Ahh, that one was made based on interviews with adventurers, so it’s not as precise as the one the village chief made… But the basic effects were researched and confirmed before being written down, so it’s reliable. That book is also set up to be updated whenever new information comes in.”
Ah, so that’s why.
Each plant had its own page in the book, with the top third showing the illustration and the bottom two-thirds containing text. Some pages were mostly blank (just impressions written), while others were filled with detailed effects and properties.
Since the handwriting looked the same, I figured the person writing it was probably the same—most likely Miss Mimi.
I thanked Miss Mimi for preparing the books and entered the same private room I had borrowed before.
Private rooms in the reference room could be reserved, but if they were available, anyone could use them freely.
I placed the borrowed books beside me and took out the notebook and pencil I hadn’t used at school.
“Dad, we used small blackboards in class, so I didn’t get to use my notebook.”
"Is that so? Well, I reckon with young'uns, they might go scribblin' and scribblin' all over the place. That there notebook is all yours, Vio, so you go on and use it however you like. If you run out of pages, you just holler at me, and I'll fetch ya some more."
He said that as he patted my head.
I did feel like I was being spoiled, but I was honestly happy.
And I renewed my resolve to do my best so he’d be glad to have me as his daughter.
I copied down the characteristics from the village chief’s herb encyclopedia.
There was no way I could replicate those extremely detailed illustrations, but I did write down things like the color at the tip of the leaves or the features of the stems.
Dad was next to me, looking through the plant list encyclopedia and writing something down on paper.
“Are you going herb gathering too, Dad?”
"Hmm? Oh, this here? I'm just jot-tin' down things that ain't listed here but that I come across durin' my adventurin' days. If I hand this over to Mimi, she'll check it all out and add it to the encyclopedia."
I was told that during his active adventurer days, Dad had provided a lot of information, and about half of the encyclopedia’s contents came from his contributions.
That made me think he must’ve been quite the skilled adventurer.
Both of his sons are not just local adventurers who commute from the village, but capable enough to go on journeys.
If Dad trains me, I might become an amazing adventurer too!
Feeling a bit excited, I had him tell me about the herbs we were going to collect today and copied them down.
“All done!”
"Well, would you look at that! Nicely done, sugar. Them two are right essential for makin' medicine. You can't never have too many of 'em. There's some poisonous look-alikes out there, so it's best to keep on gatherin' them two until you can tell 'em apart with your eyes closed."
Mother had often told me how important it was to memorize things accurately.
Some poisonous plants look exactly like medicinal ones but can cause severe symptoms like nausea, vomiting, or dizziness if ingested.
The back of the leaves, the condition of the roots, the pattern of the veins—those small differences matter, and I had been strictly trained to observe them carefully.
This isn’t something you can do without getting used to it.
That’s why I warned Len and the others too, but if they read through this encyclopedia properly beforehand, I think they’ll be fine.
After copying down the notes, I returned the encyclopedia to Miss Mimi and left the guild for lunch.
“Dad, I want to walk.”
"Didn't you wear yourself plumb out workin' so hard at school? You sure you're feelin' alright, darlin'?"
In the guild, which had many stairs, I had been carried by Dad, but now I wanted to build up my stamina.
In the morning, we had a time limit because of school, but this afternoon was only for herb gathering. Even if it took time to get home, it wouldn’t be a problem.
Seems like my motivation got through to Dad too—he smiled and set me down.
What do you think about this chapter?
