Tree of Time and Space

"Hmm, it is indeed a ginkgo leaf," the system replied.

"Then why did you say you didn't know what kind of leaf it was? Is your brain fried?" Benjamin was speechless, nearly driven to curse the system out in his frustration.

"Because that is the name from your previous world. I do not know what it is called in this world," the system replied with all seriousness. "According to Benjamin's previous memories, he has never seen this type of leaf before; that is certain."

Upon hearing this, Benjamin froze.

He immediately realized the gravity of the situation.

Ginkgo leaves were very common before he transmigrated. There were several ginkgo trees downstairs from the house he used to live in, often littering the ground with leaves, and he had even picked out a pretty one to use as a bookmark. In short, he never considered them anything rare.

Therefore, when he saw that the medium for the curse was a ginkgo leaf, he had actually felt quite relieved.

Between fire magic and a ginkgo leaf, didn't that mean he could easily erase Michelle's curse?

However, after the system's reminder, he realized where the problem lay.

If he couldn't find a ginkgo leaf in this world, what was he supposed to do? Benjamin's previous memories contained no such thing, which meant that this item was at least not to be found in the Royal Capital. If Benjamin remained within his old social circle, it was almost impossible to find a ginkgo leaf.

To look at it more seriously, what if the ginkgo trees here were already extinct?

It made sense; Michelle certainly wouldn't use a common, street-side leaf as a curse medium—wouldn't that be like leaving it there for someone to undo? From that perspective, the ginkgo must be a rare plant in this world.

What to do?

After thinking it over, he decided he had to look up some information.

"Wasn't there a book on Grant's desk earlier, something like... Kingdom Plant Encyclopedia?" he asked the system.

"There was," the system confirmed.

That settled it. He just needed to find Grant and borrow the book to take a look, and the answer would naturally come to light.

At this moment, his desire to break the curse was more urgent than anything else. Therefore, he didn't hesitate, stood up, hid Introduction to Magic, and hurried out of the room, heading straight for Grant's bedroom.

If he remembered correctly, Grant shouldn't be there. At this time, he should still be at The Church studying divine arts. That was a class he attended every day from Monday to Friday.

Regarding this, Benjamin could only remark that the life path of a genius was truly different from that of an ordinary person. Ordinary nobles at this age would have long finished their Sunday school studies, spending their days eating, drinking, and playing as they pleased. Yet, a genius was still studying.

And Grant, this genius, not only studied but was also a "chuunibyou" who hid a beauty in his room.

Benjamin recalled the little incident from when he last "borrowed" a book from Grant and felt from the bottom of his heart that his younger brother was truly something else.

He was hiding someone in his bed—did the bishop know about this?

Thinking of this and that, Benjamin soon arrived at the door of Grant's bedroom. To be safe, he knocked first. Seeing that there was indeed no response, he opened the door and went in—Grant didn't seem to have the habit of locking his door.

The room was empty; Grant hadn't returned yet.

Seeing this, Benjamin didn't feel guilty. Borrowing an encyclopedia wasn't a big deal. He walked straight to the desk, searched for a moment, and quickly found the book he needed.

"Kingdom Plant Encyclopedia."

He looked at the large characters on the cover and prayed that he would find clues about the ginkgo tree in this encyclopedia.

"Grant? Why are you back already? Have you finished your lessons at The Church?" Suddenly, a voice came from behind him.

Benjamin didn't panic. He turned around to see his mother, Mary, standing outside the door, arms crossed, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

After Benjamin turned, Mary also froze.

Seeming to confirm the bruise on Benjamin's face, Mary realized she had mistaken him for someone else, so she smiled awkwardly and said, "Benjamin, it's you. I thought it was Grant. Just looking at your backs, you two brothers are really too much alike."

Hearing this, Benjamin thought of the scene where he had looked in the mirror earlier and could only nod helplessly, saying, "I suppose so."

However, after saying these few words, Mary still seemed a bit confused. She walked closer, looking at Benjamin's face, peering left and right as if confirming he really wasn't Grant.

Benjamin couldn't help but smile and said, "I really am not Grant; I just came over to borrow a book to read."

As he spoke, he held up the Kingdom Plant Encyclopedia and waved it in front of Mary.

"I know." Mary looked at Benjamin's face, appearing a bit dazed. "But you two brothers really are becoming more and more alike. You used to always hunch your back and act timid when looking at people, so it wasn't noticeable. You haven't been back from your training at the military camp for long, but you've changed quite a bit, becoming more and more like Grant."

Benjamin shrugged noncommittally and said indifferently, "Maybe."

Mary smiled again, but she kept looking at his face, making him feel a bit strange.

"Um... I've already got the book I wanted to read, so I'll head back to my room first." He held the book up again, waving it in front of Mary, intending to block her line of sight.

He wanted to start flipping through the book to find the ginkgo as soon as possible.

"Ah... right, okay. Go back and read your book; reading more is good. I'm going to have afternoon tea with Mrs. Wood." Mary paused, realizing it was a bit awkward, and withdrew her gaze.

"Goodbye." Benjamin nodded, said goodbye to Mary, and walked out of the room.

"Goodbye, my child," Mary replied with a smile.

Just like that, Benjamin obtained the Kingdom Plant Encyclopedia and returned to his room.

After closing the door, he couldn't wait to flip through the book.

Because he didn't know what the ginkgo was called in this world, checking the index was useless. He had to flip through it page by page, looking at the illustrations in the book, comparing them one by one, hoping to find the drawing that belonged to the ginkgo leaf.

As an encyclopedia, the Kingdom Plant Encyclopedia was naturally not thin, so searching through it wouldn't be easy. Benjamin spent about an hour flipping from beginning to end, and that was with him flipping quite quickly.

In the process of searching, he would flip a page—not a ginkgo. Flip another—still not a ginkgo. With every page he turned, the hope in his heart was extinguished a little more. By the time he reached the end, he had almost given up hope.

Could it be that the ginkgo was truly extinct in this world? Or did it simply not grow in the Hori Kingdom?

Finally, near the end, he found that familiar fan-shaped leaf on an illustration.

Benjamin's heart leaped into his throat. He looked closely and saw a small line of text noted beneath the drawing:

Tree of Time and Space.