The main teaching building of Gotham Magic Academy is a Gothic manor castle. The main castle with a long row of Gothic spires is on the left and rear side. In front is the great hall, to the left is a corridor with arches and supporting columns, and beyond it, a vast garden.
From the floor-to-ceiling windows of the floating spire at Rodriguez College, Shiller could overlook the entire garden. At sunrise, standing in front of the dean's office's floor-to-ceiling window, he saw three little figures carrying cleaning tools and entering the garden.
Heavy rain fell the previous night, but the rain made the plants in the garden appear more verdant, with the deep green resembling that of paint smeared on an oil painting. When droplets fell from the leaf tips, they dragged along a vibrant shade of green, creating the illusion of a long green dress. When they landed on the ground, the splashing water was like the swirl of a skirt on a dance floor.
Inhaling the damp air filled with the scent of earth, Barry couldn't help drawing in a deep breath. He wore a blissful look before exhaling slowly, feeling as if his body and soul had been cleansed.
Little Bruce glanced at him and displayed a disdainful expression, lifting the heavy bucket of cleaning tools and moving on steadily.
Harley merely carried two brooms and, while walking, explained what Kane had said earlier: "We're to clean within the greenhouse on the east end of the garden. There aren't any fallen leaves this season, but there is rainwater accumulated from yesterday's shower that we need to sweep into the drainage."
"Additionally, the wilted plants from the experiments need to be dug out of the pots and thrown away. The planting tools in the storage room need to be cleaned. Remember, once we get there, you must not provoke our Magic Botany professor or she will lash you with a plant whip."
"If it weren't because of you, we wouldn't need to be here," Barry said, looking at Little Bruce. He was walking ahead briskly with a bucket full of shovels, not even looking back at Little Bruce.
"What do you think made me come here with you guys?" Little Bruce sneered, his blue eyes full of mockery. He continued, "Do you really think I'm afraid of the upperclassmen? What could they possibly do to me?"
"Then why are you here, milord?"
"Have you heard about the room on the fourth floor of the main castle that's restricted? I plan to take a look there."
"God!" Barry stopped in his tracks and, turning his head with a look of exasperation, said to Little Bruce, "Have you not caused enough trouble? You even want to trespass forbidden areas. All the teachers and professors said it's extremely dangerous. Why must you go?"
"How do you know their warnings aren't because they want to monopolize some powerful treasure?"
Barry was speechless at the statement, yet Little Bruce continued walking ahead and said: "You're truly a fool. You have no understanding of the current situation or any logic, which is simply maddening."
Barry walked faster and blocked Bruce's path. Looking at Little Bruce with a determined look on his face, he said, "You can't go. I won't let you. Even if you're not worried about your own risk, trespassing is against school regulations and would disgrace our academy. I won't allow you to do that."
"You can't stop me, so you have to come with me. Because if you knew that I was going and didn't stop me, and I ended up facing some kind of danger there, you would be held responsible," Little Bruce replied provocatively, lifting an eyebrow at Barry: "In that case, you'd lose your title as class president."
"You…"
Barry was so angry that his face turned red, but he clearly wasn't the type to resort to fists for disputes. Harley chuckled and said interestingly, "Actually, I'm also a bit interested in that room. Not because of any strong power, but merely because I think studying every day is just boring. At our age, we should add some excitement, right?"
"God, you two are insane!" Barry shouted at the top of his lungs: "I'm going to tell Professor Rodriguez!"
Little Bruce, who had been walking briskly, stopped. He looked back at Barry and said, "Do you honestly believe that professor is a good person?"
Barry opened his mouth to instinctively say yes, but in reality, he didn't know much about this Professor Rodriguez either. Little Bruce resumed walking and said as he walked, "He doesn't look like a nice guy at all. It'd be best if you stopped relying on him."
Barry turned to look at Harley, who simply shrugged and said, "Instead of saying that Professor Rodriguez isn't a traditional 'good guy', it's more accurate to say that he's a rather modern 'bad guy'."
"How much do you know about him?" Little Bruce asked while looking back.
"Not much." Harley sighed, "I've mostly just heard about most things. However, it's true that there are many secrets about him."
"But I really think you guys shouldn't…"
"Oh, we're here." Harley hurried a few steps forward to a small building on the east side of the big garden. The left side of the building is made out of stone, and the right side is a glass flower room and greenhouse.
Hearing Harley's shout, a young female clad in an elegant forest-green mage robe and wearing a pointed magic hat, came out from inside. Harley promptly rushed up and hugged her. "Pamela, it's been a while. How is your research coming along?" she inquired.
"Don't even remind me! Thinking about it gives me a headache. Come inside. You guys haven't had breakfast yet have you? I'll get some cookies for you."
Pamela took off her hat, revealing a youthful yet stunning face. Little Bruce nudged Barry with his elbow and said, "This is our Magic Botany professor. How can she be so young?"
Barry still looked upset and didn't feel like talking to Little Bruce. However, he mumbled, "The mages always look young."
"As if you have met so many mages."
The trio walked into the house, on the first floor was a living room with a fireplace. The decor was a typical American country cottage style with brown wooden floors and dark grey carpet. A U-shaped leather couch was in front of the living room's fireplace. Rather surprisingly though, a massive window directly opposite to the entrance was covered by some fast-growing, green climbing plants which made the interior lighting a bit darker.
Pamela brought a plate of green cookies from the kitchen. The sight of them had Little Bruce's face scrunching up. Barry did not dare reach out for them. In all the storybooks he had read, green-colored cookies and bread were usually poisoned.
But Harley picked up a cookie and started munching away without any reservations. Pamela sat down on the couch and said, "Don't worry, just eat, there is just some all-natural plant dye in it."
Though still a bit reluctant, Little Bruce graciously declined, while Barry worked up some courage, took a bite, and then let out a gasp.
"Oh, it's very tasty. My God, there's a hint of plant aroma. Tastes really good, thank you, professor."
Pamela slightly smiled and her eyes rested on Little Bruce's face for a moment before moving on. "Thanks for coming to help me clean today. Yesterday, when Sergei left, he knocked over some of the plants in the greenhouse. I didn't have time to clean up yet, you guys might need to help out."
"If we can take a whole box of these cookies when we leave, I guarantee everything will be spotless," Harley said with a sweet smile, giving Pamela an OK sign.
"Don't worry, you guys can have one bucket each. I have nothing to do while waiting for the experiment results, so this is all I've been making."
Pamela stood up and reached out her hand. The only large window in the living room opened with a bang that made both Little Bruce and Barry jump. They turned their heads towards the sound.
Under their awed watch, two tendrils of the climbing plants slithered through the window quickly. They crawled through the room onto the cleaning tools. Then they wrapped themselves around the tools and swiftly took them out through the window.
For both Bruce and Barry, it was their first time witnessing plant magic so closely. They both watched with wide eyes. However, Pamela, who was standing by the door, beckoned them saying, "Hurry up, it's going to get hot in the greenhouse soon. Let's finish up while it's still cool in the morning. I'll treat you to the chilled watermelon I recently developed."
Pamela guided the three kids to the greenhouse. They walked around the side of the house, passed under a trellis covered with wisteria. Pamela, holding onto the brim of her hat, bent over slightly while heading fast. Once they passed the trellis, the view in front of them was totally different.
This was a open-air garden. Despite its small size, it was filled with assorted flowers stands, each displaying a pot of plant. The plants were very similar to ordinary ones but were much more vibrant in color. Leaves were red, green, and purple, and there also were some helix plants and some plants radiating magical light.
This small garden led to the greenhouse. The entrance to the greenhouse was guarded by a large tree. Little Bruce approached the tree with curiosity to examine the patterns on it, but he suddenly felt a nudge on his right shoulder.
As he looked back, he found Barry and Harley were still some distance away. He then turned left and right in confusion. However, he felt another nudge, this time on his other shoulder.
"Pat, stop fooling around. Come, come to me." Pamela called out.
Under the stunned gaze of Little Bruce, the tree that he was examining slowly pulled its roots out of the ground. It turned its long roots into legs and sturdy trunks into arms, transforming into a tree-man that one would only find in fairy tales.
Then, Bruce understood why there was a pile of dirt in the flower bed opposite to this tree, but no tree was to be found. The other tree-man had probably left early.
"This is Pat, a tree man. Sergei used to be here as well, but he was borrowed for other work, so you guys will not be seeing him today."
Pamela handed over the cleaning tools to them and said, "Alright, help me clean up the pots that Sergei knocked over yesterday. Then tidy up the warehouse for me."
Harley and Barry began to work after accepting the tools, but Little Bruce, holding the broom, turned back to stare at the flower bed filled with overturned soil.