Central Library

Catherine was still in Yorknew, but had started living in a Hotel, paid by her parrents but far enough away from them. She enjoyed the quiet a lot compared to the noise here always active brother and overbearing mother made.

Like most Thursdays she found herself in the central library near the university. Not because she particularly enjoyed reading there, more so because it was a quiet place, with good and cheap coffee and lots of books. Row after row after row of books. Shelves so high that she had to use a ladder to get to the top. All neatly sorted by topic and author name. Along with those there was a whole area just for the dissertations of the Yorknew doctors. Catherine had read almost all of them regarding chemistry or physics.

That Thursday she was not quite sure which topic to pick. She had already set up her coat and bag in the library's own coffee shop and a warm cup was already waiting for the regular customer. Even more so she felt in a hurry to find something to keep her mind busy with. Audible she want past the topic names, stating: “Boring.” “”Boring.” “Boring.” Over and over till she reached the back, gave the comic book collection a quick look and turned around, this time her eyes towards the plates on the other side. “Boring.” “Boring.” “Boring.” Till the topic ancient literature appeared in her view. She never been much of a literature buff, mostly because she never been to interested in novels and the idea of reading about things that actually did not exist. Tough luck! It was the last topic left in her path and she already felt the coffee getting colder. Also she had yet to order any cake... basically she had to pick a book or the whole day was ruined.  

With a loud sigh she stepped into the aisle between the giant shelves and began to quickly scan the book titles. She became so absorbed reading as fast as she could that she began to not even notice her surrounding till she stretched her arm up to reach for a book with the title “Treasures of Aht Urhgan” and noticed another hand reach for it the exact same moment.  As any student knew, in this case the best way was to quickly pull the book as hard one could and proclaim it as owned. So she did, quickly she tightened her hold on it and began to pull it, together with a clear. “That's mine!”

The smell of fresh coffee and aged ink greeted Northland's olfactory senses as he walked into the Yorknew Central Library. He removed his sunglasses for a moment so that he could take in the scenery in all of its glory. Massive shelves lined spine after spine with bound text towered over him as he stepped through the threshold of the entrance. Their incredibly vast selection immediately impressed Northland and the young businessman walked down the aisles in a sense of wonder. He had heard from one of his more well read acquaintances that this library was an excellent source of reference material, and that many rare or out of print books could be found among the shelves if one looked hard enough. Northland found himself more and more frequently in need of such texts after his shift in focus from chemical manufacturing to the research of long lost treasures. Once again, as had become the norm for Northland at this point, he had lost interest in his current field of occupation and had become enamored with a totally different one. Most recently, he had turned his interests toward acquiring the bounties of ancient kings and civilizations. Those long lost treasures that had been buried in the annals of history, waiting to be uncovered by the daring adventurers courageous enough to brave the ancient tombs and sprawling catacombs where they might be hidden. The pressures of running an international corporation had become tiresome and mundane to the young mogul, and the thoughts of leading an expedition on the search for ancient treasure, the fame that could be achieved through such discovery, and the massive profits that could be gained from a single find, were all that had occupied Northland's mind as of late.

Still entranced by the immense amount of information laid out before him, Northland instinctively made his way to the section containing information on ancient history. This aisle in particular was incredibly musty, and it seemed to the young man that many of these books had to have been written some decades or even centuries ago. Following the spines of the books with his index finger, Northland began to skim the titles of the books while he searched for something that might pique his interest. He had not delved far into the topic, so many of the texts were entirely new to him, and he began to pluck books from the shelves and place them into his other hand as he continued making his way down. Such treasures as, "Secrets of the Old World", "Mysteries of the Millenia: The Yurtsen Civilization", and "Memoirs of Bandana Bones". The last one didn't seem to belong in this section, but Northland had found it lying on the edge of one of the shelves and had thought it might be interesting. He was continuing on down the aisle when he found another interesting sounding book, "Treasures of Aht Urhgan". He raised up his hand to add the book to his stack before noticing that there was another hand grasping the spine of his prize, and they were apparently far more ready for such a situation than he as the book was quickly snatched away from his grasp with a forceful yank, and he heard a young woman proclaiming that it was most certainly hers.

Northland turned to her, relatively startled from suddenly having something snatched from his hands, and rather annoyed as well. "I believe you're mistaken, little miss." Northland began in a condescending tone, not taken in by the young woman's almost angelic beauty. She was far too young for him anyway, so he continued on. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but it was my impression that all of these books were the property of the library, and not that of yourself. So with that in mind, that book can not possibly be yours." He said, sounding a bit nonsensical as he argued over semantics. However, his statement had not been made with the intention of making a point, but rather as an attempt to confuse the young woman and cause her to lose some of her earlier conviction. "So, by applying common sense, you can deduce that you shouldn't take things that aren't yours. I believe you'd be much better off turning that book over to me. You can trust me. I'll be sure to get it back to the librarian." He said with a smile, attempting to sound as convincing as possible in an effort to get the girl to hesitate, even for a moment so he could snatch the book away and head back to his hotel. He had just flown in the night before and he was craving a relaxing night with a good book, and the one in her hands seemed to be the most promising of the bunch.

For a moment Catherine looked at the man that had shown interest in the same book and took the time to listen to him, even when her eyes clearly showed the lack of interest in any of his words. She honestly could not be bothered to even answer to any of his concerns, but decency required her to explain the situation to the confused outsider: “It's mine now.” She shrugged, then turned around and with quick steps she made her way out of the aisle, her coffee was still waiting! Stubborn as she was she totally ignored anything else, passed through the small glass gate which together with a glass fence was separating library and coffee shop and sat down at the table where her white labcoat and coffee was already waiting for her.

Taking a quick sip from the coffee to test its temperature she took a look towards the the books. She remembered spending hours and hours running through these aisles to gather the material she needed for her studies, often fighting over books with colleagues. Even now she noticed a few students doing the same, which made her chuckle. On other tables sat even more students, partly still fighting over the right to look into the book they had to share for the moment, others just enjoying a cup of coffee with a book or two on their desk, much like her.

She took another sip and then opened the book she had picked for the day. The first thing she noticed was the authentic old lettering. Carefully she lets her fingers run over the first page before flipping it and took a long look at the list of chapters. Apparently the book she had picked was more than just a collection of fairytales and more of an analysis of historical text and folklore to determine the authenticity of and locations of what was called the treasures. The introduction kept stating their value over and over. For both science and the bank account of whoever would discover them. It looked like only two of the total hundred items had been discovered and were on display in the Yorknew museum. Maybe that was worth a visit, though Catherine as she emptied her cup and left the book resting on the table while she went to the counter to get a refill and some cake.

Northland was rather taken aback by the turn of events that transpired. Despite his polite and eloquent offer to take the book off of the young girl's hands, he had been mostly ignored and totally denied. She merely repeated the proclamation that the book was hers and headed off on her own way. Northland was frozen in shock for a moment, the possibility of her merely shrugging him off like that had not crossed his mind. With his index finger raised as if he were attempting to make a point, he couldn't think of a single set of words to string together to stop her. "But, well, you see, I, huh?" He babbled as he watched her walk away down the aisle and headed off in some other direction. As she passed out of his vision, he was finally able to recollect himself and as he did he began to immediately chase after her. How that woman could ever have such nerve he couldn't tell, but he wasn't about to tarnish the Wellbrook family name by letting such an offense go. He would tail her down and use any means necessary to get that book back from her, not because it was particularly essential to him, but mostly out of principal. Northland couldn't very well run after her however, being in a library and all, but he walked at a brisk pace as he tailed the young woman who had so rudely stolen that book from him.

He tried to stay out of her line of sight until he found a moment where he could surprise her. Northland thought it would be much easier to catch her off guard if it was he who surprised her this time. After all, she'd only gotten the book from him in the first place because he'd been a little bit startled. He watched as she made her way into a small cafe area in the library, and, with what Northland could only think of as incredible gall, began to read the book she had stolen from him. She had snatched it away from his hands, and even if it was likely unbeknownst to her, she was sitting down and reading it all nonchalantly right in front of him. It took all of his willpower to prevent himself from storming over there and snatching the book from her hands. No, I can't very well be doing that. I have to not only win by reclaiming the book, but also, by keeping my cool. He thought to himself, pushing his sunglasses back up the bridge of his nose before taking another peek towards the young woman. It was then that he saw that his chance had arrived. She had just gotten up, and to his favor she had left the book on the table where she had been sitting; as unguarded as a prison for tortoises.

Taking the opportunity, Northland dashed off towards her table. He kept his body low, trying to stay out of her line of site alone, and not particularly concerned with how ridiculous he might have looked, essentially playing "spy" in front of so many others. He could only hope that she didn't notice him as he snuck over to the table, ducking under it and attempting to slide the book off of the table and into his own arms with the others. If he'd made it that far without detection, his next step would be to make a dash for it, hoping to leave the girl's line of sight before she even knew what happened. His plans would encounter a certain bump however, as he would then continue on to bump his head on the underside of the table, causing it to rock back and forth rather loudly but not tip over. The scene would proceed with Northland stumbling a few steps forward, holding the stack of books under his left arm and rubbing his head with his right hand. The impact had left him slightly dazed and he was having trouble with focusing on anything but the pain.

Catherine happily hummed a song she had seen in a commercial on her way back to the table. Her mood much improved after the first cup of coffee and now with a slice of cherry pie in hand. The song fit the pie, as it was for cherry gum. Calmly she placed the cup and pie on the table and discovered the book missing. Another thing that happened a lot at the university. She blamed herself for being stupid enough to leave the book laying around, but had enough calmness to not make a huge deal out of it, instead she took a quick look around and quickly spotted the culprit. If the man wanted to borrow the book he still had to check it out and so the man was on the way to exit the coffee shop, made a short dash and quickly intercepted him.

Arms stretched wide to block his path and looked at him and the stack of books under his arm, to scan for her book, quickly finding it on top of the stack. “I believe you're mistaken, mister thief.” She began, much in the same manner as he had done earlier. “Correct me if I'm wrong, but it was my impression that this book was mine. So with that in mind, that book can not possibly be yours.” She had to change that part. While she stepped closer, reached out for the book the man had taken and before he could back off from her had gotten hold of it. “So, by applying common sense, you can deduce that I will call the security on your ass. I believe you'd be much better of turning that book over to me. You can trust me. I'll be sure to scream at the top of my lung to get the guards here, claim you stole the book I borrowed, assaulted me sexually and tried to kidnap me to later blackmail my family.” She said with a smile, succeeding to sound as dead serious as one could possible be, while she pulled the book out of the stack and quickly hide it behind her back, then kept looking at him with cold serious eyes. Hopefully the man finally understood how this game was played and that his role was to be a graceful loser and step of the stage. “Now if you would excuse me, I will enjoy my coffee and cherry pie, while reading this book.” With that said she turned around, switching the book back to her front to keep her body between the book and the man and began to make her way back to her table, beginning to hum again.

Northland's thoughts were still a bit fuzzy as he saw the young woman dash in front of him, causing him to panic for a moment. She was blocking the only escape route from the cafe, and he couldn't very well lose her in the maze of shelves while he was stuck here in this tiny prison. There was a short glass barrier that Northland likely could have jumped over, but there were far too many obstacles in his way to get there. The only way through was the narrow gate in front of him, and short of barreling through the young miss there was no way for him to get by. The girl, mocking him by using his own words to berate him, snatched the book away from the stack under his arm. He couldn't react quickly enough, his hand still rubbing his head and his reactions slowed by the dull thumping in his temple. It wasn't enough for her to retrieve the book however, she continued to threaten him with wild accusations and the risk of being labeled as a sexual offender. The young woman happily smiled as she swung the book behind her back and proclaimed that she would now carry on with her pie while reading his book. She turned around and began to walk off while humming a happy tune, and Northland literally fell to his knees, the books in his arms falling to the floor as he wallowed in defeat. Have I lost? Is that it? Is there nothing else I can do? He asked himself, hopelessness beginning to grow in his gut and grow through his body like some sort of diseased yeast given warmth by his loss.

"No. I can't give up yet. Northland Wellbrook never gives up until the last moment!" He said aloud, for everyone to hear. He had intended to say it in his head, but the excitement had gotten the better of him. Confidence surging through him, he rose to his feet with a dramatic hop and turned to the young woman. Pointing directly at her with his right index finger, pulling off his shades with his left hand and letting loose a piercing gaze with his violet eyes.  "I challenge you for that book! Name your game, young lady. I won't take no for an answer." He said boisterously, not about to give up after only one slip up. Northland was entirely confident in his abilities, and he felt like he would be able to easily defeat her in any kind of contest she could come up with. It was only a matter of pestering her enough until she accepted. Northland was no stranger to persistence, and he was utterly determined not to lose to this woman after the embarrassment she had just caused him.

Without turning around Catherine sighed out loud. The man was far from annoying, which was not even something new. She had longer fights over books before and this was no different, all she wanted was to sit down and read, while sipping her coffee and eating pie. It was not even worth turning around for, so instead she just raised her voice, much to add to the anger of the people already annoyed by the weirdo. “Okay, I demand time to pick a game!” That said she kept walking to her table, sat down and took a sip from her coffee, while opening the book again and continuing where she had left of.

In between each paragraph she took her time for a bite of pie and another sip of coffee, then she continued on to read. The book was actually surprisingly interesting, it began with the literature on which the myth of the treasures was based on, but followed it up with findings and more. After a while she marked the page she was on, put the book under her arm and carried it together with her empty cup to the counter, passing the weird man she smiled. “I'm still thinking of a game. You wouldn't want it too easy right?” Then she came back with a new cup and sat back down continuing her reading. In all honestly thinking of a game was the last thing she was doing. Her focus was only on the book and the coffee, while she occasionally looked over to the man and threw in a pose suggesting that she was really thinking hard about which game to pick.

The next chapter continued with possible hiding places of the treasures and locations of previous findings. Most of them where somewhere on the Azian Continent. All folklore and myths about the treasures seemed to originate from there as well, yet even older documentations were spotted on one of the Balsa Islands. Maybe they were carried there over the ocean? Catherine was not a history buff, but she felt it hard to believe for ancient objects to cross such a distance, let alone the ocean. The book brought up a theory that the origin was neither and actually on an unknown island between the two places, yet such an island had not been found. It actually seemed very interesting, almost made her want to look into it herself.

First thing in her list was to get into that “Hunter Exam” she had heard about and the actual urgent first task was to get rid of the annoying man. She looked to him again, after having ignored almost anything about him for a while and put up a smile again to say: “I'm almost sure which contest to pick, I narrowed it down to three, sorry I'm so indecisive.” Then took another sip and swallowed the last piece of cherry pie, before continuing with her book.

Much to his relief and delight, the young woman before him seemed to accept his challenge, with the single reservation that she required time to pick the game. Northland thought that was quite natural, and that it would have been almost strange for her to have had one prepared for such an unexpected occasion. It would only be right of him to oblige her, so Northland gave an affirmative nod. "Take as long as you need." He said with as much confidence as he could muster, attempting to intimidate her with the notion that she could come up with the most complex and biased competition possible and he still had no fear of losing. Northland soon regretted saying that though, as while he stood in the cafe for several moments in a confident stance with a smug look on his face, he watched the young woman walk to her table and start eating pie. She was reading the book and eating pie, when she was supposed to be thinking about their challenge. Northland was somewhat taken aback at first, but he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it's just easier for her to think that way. He thought to himself, continuing to stand there with a smirk on his face. After several more moments however, Northland had become bored and was looking for things to do. He reached down to pick up the books he had dropped, and he set them on an empty table near where he was standing. He also chose to lean on one of the chairs, his feet starting to become somewhat sore for standing and watching her for so long.

When the young woman stood up after finishing her pie, Northland got a hopeful glint in his eye and he stood up straight again as she approached him. His hope turned to disappointment however, after hearing her statement that she was still thinking of her game of choice. She then asked him, seemingly rhetorically, whether he wanted the game to be too easy or not. Northland, becoming rather impatient with her but still wanting to allow her time, answered as tactfully as he could. "Difficulty is not an issue, really, I assure you. Even Rock, Paper, Scissors is fine." He said, hoping to urge her into picking something before she'd gone on to read the entire book in front of him. His hopes were in vain however, as she merely retrieved another cup of coffee before returning to read the book. Northland sincerely hoped she was thinking hard about her challenge, or he was going to be very annoyed with her. After several more minutes, she spoke up once again and Northland once again became hopeful. And lo and behold, once again, she did not live up to his hopes, proclaiming that she'd "narrowed it down to three". If she thought she could keep up the charade any longer she was mistaken though, as young Northland had reached his limit. He could stand to be mocked no longer. Northland walked right up to her table and placed his open palm on the flat wooden surface directly in her line of sight. "I think you've had long enough to think. Why don't you just pick one and we can get on with this?" Northland asked, rolling up the sleeves of his jacket as if there was some chance he would be challenged to a fist fight.

As she felt the table shaking in the middle of reading a sentence she looked up, not even trying to hide how annoyed she was with the man. She had hoped her charade would last a bit longer, for another cup of coffee and till she finished the second chapter. All she really wanted was some peace and quiet, which is why she had went to the library to begin with. “Fine!” She answered stubbornly and quickly thought about a contest which was both quick and easy for her to win. Yet she still took another sip of her coffee and kept her eyes on the book. It took her another moment then she marked the page she was on, closed the book and put it down on the table. “Wait here and don't you dare steal the book or I really call the guards this time!” With that said she got up and went over to the counter, coming back with two fresh boiling hot cups of coffee and then placed them down on the desk before her. “Simple game, pick a cup, the coffee that is warmer after thirty minutes wins.”

That said she looked around, identified a student group she knew and went over to them, then came back with two thermometers seconds later, to put them both into the cups. She read the numbers on them out loud, both almost equal and then sat back down. “You pick. I don't mind if you take the one that is still slightly warmer. While they cool down the cups have to stay on the table. Also it is not allowed to put anything into or around the coffee, to directly affect its temperature or lose of temperature. You may not touch the cup. It is a guessing game.” Having set up the whole game, she waited for a moment for the man to make up his mind, before setting her phone on the table to keep track of time, then continued with the book. The game was not the fastest, but she had peace for another twenty-nine  minutes till she had to pull out the object she was hiding in her pocket and win the contest.

Obviously it was not just a guessing game, she had a plan to win and she had even went through all other possibilities and knocked them out with the one rule of not directly touching the cup or affecting the temperature. She was certain that the solution she had found was the only one and she was confident that her competitor would not think of the same. There was way to keep the heat from leaving the coffee and no matter what, inside the thin paper cups it would be cold within the set time! It made her almost curious to see his face, while a slight grin covered hers, hidden behind the book she continued to read.

Northland was still feeling rather agitated with the young woman for wasting so much of his time, but he was relieved that she finally seemed to have gotten a challenge together. He smirked to himself, entirely sure that whatever she had come up with would be no match for his mental acuity and wit. She closed the book and stood up, informing him that if he tried to steal the book again, she actually would be calling the guards. "You have nothing to worry about, madame. I'm a man of my word." He said, stepping out of her way and motioning politely for her to move past him. Northland watched as she walked over to the counter and procured two cups of coffee which she went on to place on the table. There, she explained the nature of the game, and how after choosing a cup the one at the higher temperature after thirty minutes wins. Northland chuckled at the simple nature of the game, and a confident smile spread across his face. He had impeccable intuition and luck, and he felt as though such a game was entirely in his favor. Such a simple game was almost beneath him, and he looked on as the red haired young lady walked over to a group of people she seemed to be acquainted with and returned with a pair of digital thermometers. After placing them in the cups, she told Northland that he was free to choose first, and went on to explain the rules in more detail.

As the list went on, the young businessman began to realize there was more to this game than he had originally thought. There were so many specific restrictions that Northland, being familiar with contracts, had the immediate suspicion that there was some sort of trick to the game. His first thought was to inspect the instruments. "Nothing against you miss, but I'd just like to make sure everything is on the up and up." Northland said, walking over to the table and taking a closer look at the two cups of coffee. They seemed to be identical, as were the thermometers and the steamy brown liquid inside. There was no way she would have had time to sabotage the table in any way, and Northland couldn't think of anything she could've done in such a short time with him watching the entire time. With that in mind, he decided that perhaps the trick had something to do with the time limit, and he just picked a cup so that they could start. "I choose the right cup." He exclaimed, having chosen it on the rather nonsensical belief that "right was right".

He watched the young woman set the timer for thirty minutes on her cell phone, and the game was on. Northland was not sure whether to be surprised or not when he watched the young woman resume reading the book that was supposed to be taken by the winner. He originally thought it brazen of her to act as if she had already won the prize, but after a few moments his thoughts shifted to the idea that she had chosen this contest because she had known she would lose to such a charismatic and well rounded gentleman such as himself, and had merely wanted to squeeze another thirty minutes out of the precious tome. "I see now, you've already given up and you're just trying to enjoy your last moments with it. How cute." He said condescendingly, letting out a haughty laugh. Northland was feeling very confident, and was now rather sure that the young woman had no tricks up her sleeve. Still, it wouldn't hurt to think up one or two of his own, and he wondered how he himself might be able to manipulate her rules in his favor so that the right cup retained its heat far better than its leftern counterpart. He sat down in a chair at the same table as the young lady, putting his feet up in an adjacent one and beginning to ponder what he might be able to do to rig this little game.

Catherine lifted her head from the book for a moment at the man's comment about her being cute. She just stared at him for a moment before she answered: “I'm surprised you picked that cup.” A big grin followed. “I'm pretty sure I win this.” She wanted to make the man question himself a bit more. “You will just have to wait till I finish the book at this rate.” The more he worried about minor details the harder for him to come up with a way to win. That was the basic of such games and information warfare in general. It is basic at an university that every problem has a simple solution, yet that solution is often hidden. Add to that all distractions during an exam and it becomes even harder to look through it. “Since we are now engaging in a friendly game, I think I should introduce myself. My name is Catherine Redfen. A few months ago I used to be a student here.” She took a quick look towards the timer they had set. Her plan was to distract him for at least twenty minutes, then even her own idea would become impossible to execute on the fly, because then it was time for classes to end and the coffee shop filled with students.

“I'm curious, why are you so interested in this particular book?” She took the book back in her hand and threw it up into the air watching it spin above her before catching it. “I must admit that all the theories surrounding these treasures is quite interesting, but it is mostly build on rumours and so on.” To make a point she opened a page she had already read and began to read out loud, the part where even the existence of the treasures became questionable, because of the limited findings and no other historical documents actually mentioning them at all. “You see this is as convincing as any fiction. It is like saying somewhere the One Piece exists.”

Based on her past behavior, Northland expected the young woman to retort with a snarky remark or verbally accost him in some manner. To his surprise and mild annoyance, she ignored his remark entirely and instead made a comment regarding her own surprise towards his choice of cup. She then gave a large grin, as if she had just made some big inside joke that he wasn't privy to, and proclaimed that it was her game to win. Northland remained confident, replying to her statement with nothing more than a smirk. He was sure that he wouldn't have to wait for her any longer than the time limit of the game before he could get his hands on the book, and that she would be eating her words soon enough. Even if he hadn't thought of any way to rig the game, surely she didn't have any tricks up her sleeve either. After all, he was sure he had gone through all of the possibilities, and there was literally nothing that could be done to effect the outcome of the game. The only thing to do was wait, and Northland was quite assured due to his history in other games of chance and generally good luck. The young woman's confidence began to eat at him as time went on though, his mind was allowed to wander and he began to question how she could be so assured of her own victory. It didn't seem to be based on any faith in her choice of cup, after all, Northland had been the only one given a choice and she had gotten the leftovers. He began to wonder if she really did have something up her sleeve, and he tried to observe her more carefully as the time went on. He had to be sure that there was no opportunity for her to cheat when he wasn't looking. If there was a secret to her sense of security, he would figure it out.

As he was observing her movements, assuming she would turn back to her book, she instead turned towards him and introduced herself. Northland wasn't quite sure what to make of her sudden shift in attitude, and he was slightly suspicious, but he was much to accustomed to formalities to forgo his own introduction. He removed his sunglasses so that he could make eye contact with Catherine, and cleared his throat before beginning. "A pleasure, Catherine. I'm Northland Wellbrook, commanding shareholder of North Industries and heir to the Wellbrook Banking corporation. I'm in town on business, and I'd heard good things about this place from a business colleague." He explained matter-of-factly, pulling a business card from his jacket pocket and sliding it across the table over to her. He had a small stack of them placed in that pocket for just such occasions, and included his personal e-mail, an extension to his assistant, and the website for his company, "NorthIndustries.com". He decided to keep his sunglasses off to keep a better eye on Catherine, and placed them on the table. Northland didn't let his gaze off of her for an instant, making sure that she wasn't trying anything sneaky. She didn't seem to be though, and instead of acting suspicious, she just asked him why he was so interested in the book. She criticized it as being based solely on rumor and to be little more than fiction. Northland chuckled at her likening it to the One Piece treasure, but despite his laughter his reply was laden with a serious, almost philosophical tone. "You speak as though rumors are worthless, Catherine. Every one of those myths and rumors is bound to have a bit of truth in it, and sifting through the lies and deceit, much like an archaeologist digs through rubble and debris to find the slightest clue towards a new discovery, the treasure hunter unearths the secrets of those fortunes locked away by time. I'm willing to take some chances, and if it means unearthing something great that nobody ever thought was possible, I'll be willing to go on as many wild goose hunts as it takes." He told her, trying to convey the mystery and thrill of hunting for mythical and ancient treasure. Even if the book was full of mere rumors, it might still be worth looking into. Northland refrained from mentioning that he also wasn't particularly adamant about that book because of it's content, but rather the fact that he felt it had been stolen from him.

Listening to the man talk made Catherine sigh out loud. After all he was just another rich kid. She already noticed many things she disliked about the friends of her family, mostly that he felt necessary to introduce himself not only with a name, but also his social standing. A great man once said: “My name is all you have to know about me, for it alone carries enough weight to make you shake with fear.” Actually she had came up with that in her own head just on the spot, but found it rather fitting and something to aspire to. Even more than his needless shareholder title it annoyed her how he seemed to see something in all these rumours. Her own analysis obviously lead to the same, it was undeniable that there was something true to it, otherwise there would have been zero findings and no display in the museum at all. The problem she found with the book was not that it was lying, but instead that it came to no conclusion at all. This was not a study of the ancient relics, but instead just a collection of rumours and speculations, which lead to no where. Anyone could do that with enough time. As some kind of scientist she would never get away with such a book. Maybe in later chapters she would find something more accurate, but for that she had to win and according to the clock it had become time to do so.

Meanwhile a huge pack of students had filled the coffee shop, long lines had formed in front of the counter and every desk had filled. It was clearly to late for the man at her table to even copy her solution, because acquiring the item in her pocket would take him multiple minutes in this situation. There was still no reason to rush, instead she took a closer look at the digital thermometers, which both had reached room temperature, with both showing the exact number. Basically the coffee was considered cold. Next she looked at the timer. One and a half minute was still left. “Well I guess the game is about to end.” She pulled the thermometer from her cup, careful not to touch or even move the cup while doing so, she did not want the man to complain at a later time. Next she slowly reached into her pocket and pulled a thin and long object from it, then presented it to the man as a drinking straw from the coffee shop. One like the ones they handed out with a smoothy or iced coffee. Lastly she carefully put the straw in her cup, leaned towards it and with a smirk began to drink the coffee through it. In her head she went over the rules again. Not touching the cup, check. No thing in the coffee that directly affects its temperature, check. No thing around the coffee that directly affects its temperature, check.

Within less than a minute and barely before the end of the set time her cup became empty. She even had enough time to lean back, take the thermometer from the table and place it in her mouth. To display a value close to 37 degrees Celsius and thereby far above the room temperature the coffee in Northland's cup had. Then the time finally ran out. “Since my coffee's temperature is around the same as my body temperature and yours is noticeable lower, I win.” She smirked once again and to make it clear she put both thermometers next to each other. “As I said before the book is mine.”

Northland, having gotten rather caught up in the drama and fantasy of his answers, quickly lost interest in his earlier mission of keeping Catherine under close surveillance. Instead, still confident that right would be the right decision, he began to lazily daydream in his chair as he waited for time to run out. Truly, her rules were ironclad and foolproof, there was no exploit that even she could worm her way into. He had considered many things in order to ensure that his cup was the hotter one by the end of the competition, but every single one of them broke her infernal regulations, and Northland could think of no way to do anything stealthily while she sat there with the book as time continued to tick down. The only thing he could do was have faith in himself and wait for the time to pass. Still enamored by his own romantic monologue, he imagined himself sailing along the open sea in search of treasure. Northland's imagination was quite vivid, and he could almost feel the salt tinged air rushing past his skin, almost hear the distant cry of the seagulls and pelicans, and almost taste the adventure of it all.

His pleasant fantasies were interrupted by the bustling noises of dozens of students rushing in to the cafe. Northland looked around, somewhat surprised by the sudden influx of people and noise in what had been a quiet and picturesque scene just a moment ago. The almost startling contrast threw Northland off and put him a bit on edge. He wondered if perhaps Catherine had been planning for this, and knew that this would happen just before her time limit ran out. For all his wondering though, he couldn't comprehend how the crowds of people could possibly assist the left cup in retaining heat better than the right one. Yet, despite his inability to discern if she had actually thought that far ahead, she certainly seemed to be trying to affirm it. Catherine proclaimed that the game was about over, and began walking to the table. She looked very confident in herself, and Northland stood up to see what it was she was doing. He watched as the young woman removed the thermometer from her own cup, and Northland wondered what the point of such an action could be when the timer wouldn't run out for another ninety seconds. She was certainly up to something, and Northland didn't have a lot of time to figure out exactly what. He briskly walked up to the table as he watched her pull something out of her pocket, seemingly careful not to touch the cup with it and only place it into the coffee. She had a large grip on it so it was difficult for Northland to tell exactly what it was she was holding, but upon hearing the sound of suction pulling liquid, he realized that it was a straw. His mind instantly flitted to the rules she'd mentioned earlier, sure that this was somehow breaking one of them. She hadn't touched the cup or moved it from the table though, and a straw didn't seem like a good enough conductor of heat to affect the temperature of the coffee. He wondered what logic there could be behind this, but didn't see it as anything particularly rule breaking. Though, while he didn't see the logic behind how that would increase her chances of winning, he certainly felt that it would, and he quickly looked around to see where the cafe kept the straws. Perhaps if he rushed, he could copy her technique and she'd have no argument no matter what it happened to be. When he spotted the tiny island counter that would hold what he was looking for however, it appeared that not a single straw was left. He couldn't possibly resort to force to obtain one; it would be quite the scandal if the founder of North Industries was found assaulting college students for straws. His eyes fell on the garbage can and he thought for a moment that maybe he could take one that had already been thrown away, but before he could argue to himself that that idea was utterly repulsive, the time seemed to have already run out.

He turned back towards Catherine incredibly tentatively, but still attempted to retain a confident countenance and perhaps talk his way into a victory. That seemed impossible though, as sitting back in her chair looking quite triumphant, Catherine plucked the thermometer from her mouth and declared her victory. It was true, she hadn't touched the cup but her coffee was surely much warmer than his cup that was still sitting defeated on the table. She smirked, holding the thermometers next to each other victoriously, she stated that the book was indeed hers. Northland's man began to race, trying to figure any way out of this. He thought over the rules once more, trying to think of anything he might be able to argue over, a minute detail he could refute her victory with. Only one thing came to mind, and it was a bit of a stretch, but he would say anything at this point to get his hands on that book. He couldn't bear the thought of losing to this woman when he'd challenged her so confidently. "I believe you're mistaken, Miss Catherine." Northland said, raising his hand as if he were holding something and letting out a soft chuckle. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but it was my impression that nothing could be put around the coffee to directly affect its temperature. It seems to me that placing it into preheated stomach acid would be quite the violation of that rule." Northland said, seeming to grow more sure of his retort as he stated it. He wasn't out of this yet, and he wouldn't give up until his every option was exhausted.

While Catherine was celebrating her victory with another look in the book Northland interrupted her again. Slowly she really was sick of him! “Semantics!” She yelled and jumped up, waving the book above her head ready to throw it at him in anger, but then she slowly calmed down and took a long breath. Obviously it was not a good idea to lose her calm, because of such an idiot. “Anyway, you lost the game and the book is mine. I'm nice enough to give you the chance to win the book, but you were not smart enough to come up with a solution yourself!” Her eyes glanced over at the man's coffee. “My stomach is part of me and if you want to go into semantics and call me a thing fine. I will keep the book.”  

She did not want to lose her calm, but she surely had enough! To begin with the reason why she was in the library was to have a quiet time and relax, but this man just did not quit. Something must have been wrong with his mind. Catherine began to to weight her options, maybe it was best to just walk away, but then she would accept that the man had won and succeeded in ruining her afternoon. Instead she just wanted to finish reading the book, while having another piece of cake and maybe an orange juice to wash away the cold coffee's taste. To do so she just had to get rid of the guy. “Fine, if you think I cheated the rules, then there is a simple solution.” She looked around and thought hard about it. “We just play another guessing game!” Next she sat down and thought of the rules, again she looked over the surrounding and then calmly spoke to Northland: “See that guy in the blue shirt?” She pointed at a young man sitting a few tables away. “If you guess right, how long it takes for him to get up, I give you the book, if I guess right you finally leave me alone and I keep the book. Is that understood? I will make my bet after you, if we are both wrong you get the book too.” Just for appearance sake she put up a smile again and calmly waited for the man to answer her, she was confident that with the last condition he would agree, if he still really wanted the book and she was also confident that she could win this bet without a problem again.

What she did not notice as much was that the whole concept of gambling with the annoying man slowly began to make her smile on its own. This form of contest was new to her and without her noticing it she had fun, just that annoyance fully overshadowed that feeling.

Northland expected Catherine to retort with some witty remark or to dismiss him calmly, but instead she seemed to be extremely agitated, and she expressed that with a vicious glare at him while she whirled the book above her head in what looked to be an attempt to strike Northland. He stood back for a second, not wanting to be hit with a book for no reason, nor to be involved in any assault charges in the library. She labeled Northland's argument as mere semantics with an impassioned yell, but after waving the book around for a few seconds she calmed down to an extent. Taking a long breath, she far more rationally and calmly explained to Northland that the book was hers, and that he just hadn't been smart enough to come up with a solution. Northland didn't comment on it, but his brow furrowed and he was rather irritated to be labeled as "not smart enough". Who was this girl to say that to him? After all, he was a successful business mogul who had grown several companies into massive powerhouses with nothing but blood, sweat, and a loan of several million Jenny from his grandfather. How could someone like him lose to some girl at the library? The only answer was that she had cheated, and if she couldn't see that it was her own delusion. Northland was about to retort with another argument, certainly not about to give up when he felt he had just gained a lot of ground, but Catherine continued on. 

Completely contradicting what she had previously said, possibly due to an inclination that Northland wasn't about to just give up, Catherine said that they would just have to play another game for the book. The young businessman was instantly on board for another game, as he was absolutely certain that he wouldn't lose to her twice, cheating or not. He looked over at Catherine, almost chuckling as she explained the rules of her new game. It was easy to see that there was much more room for interpretations in the rules of this guessing game, and multiple ideas on how to rig the game in his favor flitted into Northland's mind. Hearing that if they both guessed wrong, he would still get the book, Northland was almost assured of his own victory. He did want to know one thing though, so that he would be able to make the ideal bet for the situation. "I'll take you on once more, and this time it'll be a completely fair match." Northland said, emphasizing the word fair in an attempt to reaffirm her previous trickery. He'd noticed that she was quite agitated by his earlier accusation, and the more volatile of a mental state she was in the better for this game, he thought. "Just one question though, before I make my bet." He interjected, placing a finger in the air to reference the singular amount of his queries. "How accurate does this guess have to be? Down to the second?" He asked, wondering if he could perhaps make a bet like within the next ten minutes or the like. Northland was convinced that it would be better for him if that particular regulation were not left up to interpretation.

“Seconds.” Answered Catherine quickly and opened the timer on her phone again. “If you do not think you can guess it right you can just let me have the book and leave. I'm happy to end this as two times winner.” She grinned provocative and looked over at the table and the guy they were betting on. He did not look like he was about to get up any time soon, enjoying small talk with the younger female students. This type of student was not very rare at the university, they spend half of a lifetime at the campus, never studied or completed anything, instead they just enjoyed the atmosphere and people there. Catherine understood this quite a lot, she herself still visited occasionally, like she did this day, in the hope to enjoy a book.

Well as she had noticed before gambling and outsmarting this buffoon was also quite enjoyable, maybe she had a tendency for gambling? She never really tried it much and as she did not enjoy gambling with her parents money. Well it was not really gambling, instead she just enjoyed proving her smartness to herself and the man sitting across from her. Were there other games like that? She began to think about that question. There surely must have been more games, similar to the ones they played. Maybe it was worth looking into games more! The Library had books on games as far as she remembered. She should have picked up such a book, instead of the silly book on treasures.

Northland's lips turned slightly upwards into a thin smile when Catherine gave him the answer to his question. Even as she condescendingly told him that there was still time to give up, he couldn't keep the smirk off of his face for even a moment. He let out a small chuckle and a few strands of hair fell out of place and into his eyes. "Well what would be the fun in that, Catherine?" He asked in a playful tone, flipping his bangs out of his face with his right forefinger. He then began to stroke his chin as he thought of the game at hand, and he stole casual glances at the man in the blue shirt to check for any abnormalities in his behavior. There were so many ways that he could tilt the odds of this game in his favor, and this one seemed like far less like a guessing game than the previous contest. There were an incredible amount of variables and open ends left by the game's lax regulations, and Northland wanted to exploit as many of them as possible. His first order of business was to ensure that the bet he made placed the odds as high in his favor as he possibly could.

Northland looked over towards Catherine, and in a boastful yet somewhat hushed tone, he declared his bet. "My guess is that he will get up within the next ten billion seconds." Northland said triumphantly, acting as if he had already won with his ingenious bet. Though, while he might have acted as if he were entire serious about his prediction, he didn't honestly expect Catherine to accept such a ludicrous amount of time as a single guess. Still, if she did it was all the better for him as it would be ridiculous for the man not to move from that seat unless he expired in that chair. He hadn't made the bet with that intention however, but instead to raise the bar of her expectations. It was generally much easier to get someone to accept a more modest request after they've refused an extravagant one, or at least that was what Northland had learned from a book on human psychology. "I believe it's your turn to guess, Miss Catherine." Northland would say with a bemused expression, curious to how the young woman would react. The worst that could happen in Northland's view was that she could refuse his guess and force him to make another. She seemed to prideful to declare the contest over from his suggestion, and he had little fear of that. His only hope that was, in addition to loosening her up to the idea of lesser but still advantageous bets, he could also get another rise out of her. It was certainly amusing to watch her yell in a library while waving textbooks around like a madwoman.

Catherine laughed a little at the time the man suggested and then looked back at the table where their object of betting sat. “That's quite cheap, the poor guy would have to stay there for multiple years to make you be incorrect. Since you obviously worded your answer in a way that made it impossible to be wrong. I think we both agree on that.” As if it meant anything she looked at the timer on her phone and actually pretended to think of an answer to make her bet. What North had obviously missed was how she had set up the book ownership depending on who won. Perhaps he had been tricked by the possibility that if both were wrong he would get it? Anyway she had to make her guess. “I use your example and follow it. I bet that he will get up within the next ten billion and one seconds.” She smiled and leaned back as her answer was just as obviously right as Northland's. “I would say you agree that this is just as correct as yours, which means I win.”

After ending the game she took the book in hand again and continued where she left. “I believe we also agreed on that if I win I get to keep the book and you leave me alone. Have a nice day.” The second part of her win was so that he could not start complaining about anything in the bet again, as he had to leave her alone, if he did not, all he said became invalid anyway since he did agree to this yet did not honour their agreement, so why should she? Well there was once chance that they both lost, which was if the guy died on his chair, but she did not expect that to happen. She did not even want to imagine all the hassle if that happened, that surely would have ruined her quiet day.

In secret Catherine would not mind playing more games, but she also wanted to get done with the book and actually do something else with her day, instead of just sitting in the Library.