Genius Wizard who sees Rainbows- Chapter 341

**#341. Side Story 3. The Color of Love (8)**

 

“I don’t know exactly either. But from what I understand, love is when you cherish someone, like them, and want to keep seeing them.”

Ray did his best to explain within the limits of his knowledge.

— I think I get the general idea. Then, does that mean my fondness for the spot by the sunlit window is love too?

“It’s a little different, but I think you could call that a kind of love.”

— What about my fondness for toys with strings attached?

“Maybe?”

— And my desire to always be with Reeval and Essua—is that love too?

“That definitely is love.”

Having helped Catherine understand, Ray then asked a question.

“Has that love… ever diminished?”

— Never. Not even for a moment. Whether it was Reeval’s or Essua’s. If anything, it only grew—it never once faded.

Their love had never changed.

But the fact that they met their final moments in separate rooms meant that they hadn’t been able to set aside their pride until the very end.

“They probably couldn’t bring themselves to apologize first.”

Caught in a standoff of pride, they likely let time pass helplessly as things solidified between them.

It filled him with a sense of sorrow.

After all, the condition of love had been met, and it seemed that the requirement to unlock the sealing magic on the door was for the two to stand together before it.

“But they’ve already passed away.”

They couldn’t meet in front of the door.

In other words, it was impossible to break the locking magic.

Then a thought struck him.

What if the condition wasn’t about the people’s physical presence—but about their emotions?

“I just need to bring their emotions to the doorway.”

It was only a possibility, but it seemed worth trying.

“Would it be alright if I tried to move Reeval and Essua’s emotions somewhere else?”

— I refuse.

“There’s a chance it could open the door to the mansion.”

— Not permitted.

“But if you want us to leave, then shouldn’t you cooperate…”

*Hiss!*

Apparently, Catherine didn’t like the idea of anyone meddling with anything related to Reeval and Essua.

Just then, Veronica appeared in the room.

“Ray, you were gone for so long I came to look for—oh, a cat!”

Veronica rushed over and scooped Catherine up in a flash, rubbing her cheek against her.

“Where did this adorable kitty come from?”

*HISSS!*

Catherine belatedly grasped the situation and resisted fiercely.

But she was soon defeated by the gentle hands of a seasoned maid, melting into her grasp.

— Hmm… warm, not bad. Yes, right there. That spot feels nice.

*Purr, purr, purr.*

Seeing this, it seemed even though she always showed hostility, she might have been longing for affection after all.

After Ray explained the situation, Veronica’s eyes welled up with tears.

“This is so sad… They loved each other, so why did they have to live like that?”

Avoiding the teardrops falling like raindrops, Catherine made a quick escape.

Once she composed herself, Veronica spoke in a sincere voice.

“Spirit, Reeval and Essua—they loved each other very much before falling asleep, didn’t they? But their relationship grew strained, and they spent a long time unable to fully express their feelings.”

— …

“I’m sure they regretted it deeply as they fell into their final sleep. Probably thinking, ‘I should’ve reached out first instead of holding onto my pride.’ But by then, they didn’t even have the strength to walk to each other’s room.”

Catherine thought.

That probably was true.

In the last few years before falling asleep, Reeval and Essua had grown so weak that even moving around had become difficult.

Though she didn’t know the exact cause, she had seen them cry, look hollow, and show signs of regret, over and over.

Back then, before she was a spirit, she had no way to help them.

“So now, we’re trying to help their love meet again. Even if their bodies sleep, their emotions remain.”

— …

After a long silence, Catherine finally responded to Veronica’s persuasion.

— Very well.

“What did she say?”

“She agreed.”

“Thank goodness…!”

Upon hearing the translation, Veronica once again captured Catherine like a beloved plush toy and hugged her tightly.

Meanwhile, Ray attempted to move Reeval’s emotions.

Love, regret, lingering attachment, guilt—

The bundle of emotions was incredibly intricate and complex.

“This won’t be easy.”

It was possible to move it, but there was a risk of damaging its original form.

Using brute force to move a large amount of mana at once wouldn’t help.

In this kind of situation, what was needed was the fine, steady manipulation of mana by multiple people working in harmony—even at a very slow pace.

“Veronica, can you feel the mana gathered here?”

“Yes. It’s intense. I’ve never seen such concentrated mana.”

“It’s Reeval’s love. Regret, lingering feelings, and guilt are mixed in too, but still.”

Veronica joined in the transport.

“Ray, you need to move that part over there!”

“No, that would disrupt the balance.”

“Hmm… No matter how I look at it, the two of us aren’t enough…”

Grine and Karon were summoned.

The two elves were startled to see each other, having not expected the other’s presence, but the promise of finally leaving the mansion kept them in place.

Thus began the transport of emotions.

“Karon! Be careful not to break the balance!”

“…”

“Grine, I think you should handle that side.”

“…”

It was like watching four people carry a giant sheet of glass—each holding a corner.

From their lack of eye contact and words, it was clear the two elves were still locked in a silent standoff.

But soon, the atmosphere began to change.

“You know, the mana we’re moving right now… it originally belonged to…”

Veronica began sharing the story of the mansion.

Reeval and Essua.

A couple who held steadfast love but moved in different directions until their deaths due to pride.

On the faces of the two elves—who found themselves in a similar situation—emotions they couldn’t hide began to surface.

Anxiety, unease, regret, self-blame…

Those turbulent emotions continued all the way to when Essua’s love was also moved to the front door.

*Wuuuung──!*

Reeval and Essua.

Their love met.

The fragments of regret and lingering emotion that clung to it scattered first like dust.

What remained—love—merged together and became a single color.

───

At the end, what appeared was a deep pink hue—so vivid it could make one feel faint, like the flowers of spring.

Ray instinctively understood.

Love, which had always changed color endlessly and never revealed its true form—

That was because there are many types of love.

And this, what he saw now, was the color of romantic love between lovers.

In the stillness and silence—

The love that had become one lingered in place, as if fulfilling a long-held wish.

And then—

*Sssaaa──*

It scattered into particles and vanished.

Nothing was left behind.

Ray, recovering faster than the others from the afterglow, checked the door.

*Clunk, clunk.*

“Oh.”

The sealing magic remained in place.

He shook the handle hard enough to rip it off, but the door didn’t budge.

Apparently, simply bringing the emotions to the door wasn’t enough.

“They needed to be present along with their love.”

Bringing Reeval and Essua here now wouldn’t open the door.

The love had already disappeared.

And even if it had a chance of working, he didn’t want to exploit the deceased in that way.

“Then the only option left…”

As sorry as he was to Catherine, there was no choice but to break the door.

Destruction remained the one dependable principle in this harsh world, and the only universal key applicable to all situations.

“If you can’t open it…”

Break it.

Ray began conjuring a fierce wind in his hand—when suddenly, a voice spoke behind him.

“Grine, I’m sorry. I let my emotions get the better of me…”

“No, I should be the one apologizing. That old habit of mine came out again.”

When he turned, Karon and Grine were facing each other with awkward expressions.

The love shining in each of their hearts had turned pink, and part of it drifted out—drawn into the door.

*Click!*

“…”

The door opened in an instant.

Ray dissipated the wind swirling in his hand.

—

**Back in Reeval’s room.**

Outside the window, on a bench in the garden, the elf couple sat, smiling, enjoying a peaceful conversation.

Ray averted his gaze.

Then, he looked to Catherine, who had resumed her usual spot on Reeval’s lap, and asked,

“You really don’t want to come with us?”

— My place is beside Reeval and Essua.

Ray hesitated.

Should he tell the spirit?

That the two weren’t just sleeping, but had in fact died—and that staying in the mansion might not mean as much as she thought?

— Are they dead?

Ray was startled.

“You knew about death?”

— Yes. Actually, I did. After becoming a spirit, I read many of the books in this mansion. Of course I came across the concept of death. I just wasn’t sure if it truly applied to them—but now, your reaction has confirmed it.

If she already understood death, then it would be easier to talk.

“Yes. They’ve died. They lived out their natural lifespans.”

— Do you think there’s no meaning in staying beside the dead?

“It’s not that it’s meaningless. But when I think about the life you have ahead…”

Veronica nudged Ray in the side.

She seemed curious about what they were talking about, and Ray translated.

Veronica jumped in.

“There is meaning. But I don’t believe Reeval and Essua would ever want you to spend your whole life in this mansion. You said the three of you dreamed of leaving it together.”

Her words were far more emotional than Ray’s, and Catherine began to waver.

— But I have nowhere else to go. I’ve never been outside, and I don’t even know if I could adjust to the outside world.

“You can come live with us. We don’t have any spirits, but we do have a cat friend! He’s black—his name is Nero. And we’ll help you adjust!”

The persuasion continued for quite some time.

Finally, Catherine got down from Reeval’s lap and rubbed her head against Veronica’s leg.

At Catherine’s request, the two of them took one last walk around the mansion.

— I want to leave things properly before I go.

By “leave things properly,” she meant releasing all the preservation magic she had maintained throughout the mansion.

The spells would have eventually unraveled with time anyway, but she wanted to personally end them…

These were things that had been forcibly preserved for ages through the chemical reactions of mana.

All of them now faced the flow of time that had long been deferred.

*Shhhhhhh—*

They aged rapidly, crumbled, collapsed—and in the end, scattered and vanished into mana.

Reeval, Essua.

The mansion’s picture frames, its pillars—everything.

Even though it couldn’t possibly be visible, Catherine looked up at the dispersing mana as if she could see it.

And once all was done,

nothing remained where the mansion had once stood.

*Fsshhhh—*

The group boarded the bus.

The couple continued their conversation.

The cat kept burrowing into the girl’s arms.

“I’m taking off now.”

“Alright!”

Veronica shouted energetically from beside Ray, then quickly remembered the “no touching the steering wheel” rule and scrambled back to her seat in the rear.

Watching her retreating figure, Ray thought:

The love nestled in Veronica’s heart just now seemed to blush with a shade of pink.

*‘Does Veronica have feelings for someone?’*

He didn’t know who the object of her affection was, but one thing was certain: love was an incredibly beautiful emotion.

Feeling the warmth of sunlight pouring in, Ray stepped on the accelerator.

 

— *Side Story Complete* —