**#114. A Flower Blooming in the Mud (3)**
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“Again…! Again…! You’re trying to make me feel weird…!”
Throwing out a highly misleading remark, Jade covered his chest with the jewelry box.
It was a reflexive action.
The moment the boy’s gaze landed precisely near his heart, he recalled the surge of anger that had risen within him.
The mercenaries also picked up nearby planks scattered around and hurriedly did the same.
“Y-You’re not planning to mess with our feelings too, are you?!”
“D-Damn it! A magic that controls people’s emotions?!”
As Ray’s gaze landed on the jewelry box and the planks, the hands gripping the makeshift barriers tightened further.
*Squeeze─*
Veins bulged across the backs of their hands.
‘I have no intention of controlling their emotions any further. And covering up like that won’t help.’
It was a meaningless gesture.
After reaching the 2nd Circle, he could perceive mana even beyond obstacles.
Like looking through a fogged-up window.
The mana on the other side was clearly visible.
There were limits to how deep he could see, but something like a jewelry box or a plank posed no issue.
After confirming the emotions that the others were currently feeling most strongly, Ray spoke.
“You don’t have to be afraid. I won’t control your emotions anymore. One demonstration is enough.”
Even so, Jade couldn’t let his guard down.
Philip stepped in beside him.
“You don’t need to be scared. My friend here may have an expression as cold as ice, but he actually has a very warm heart.”
“Philip. Hearts can’t be warm.”
“And about the swearing earlier, don’t worry about it. The members all understand the situation.”
“A heart can’t physically have a temperature.”
Philip’s reassurances finally softened Jade’s expression slightly.
“But for now, you’ll have to stay here. Your guards as well. You overheard, right? War, jewels, all that. There’s a risk of information leaking.”
“Y-Yes, I understand.”
Jade’s voice suddenly became much more polite.
War, luring, magic circles.
What he had unintentionally overheard contained far more information than expected.
The details were fragmented, but Jade had the intelligence to piece them together into a bigger picture.
“Then… Are you really going to buy the jewel?”
“Of course. Let’s take a look.”
*Creaaak─*
The jewelry box opened on a nearby table.
Topaz. Citrine. Opal.
Yellow sapphire. Golden pearls.
Gems that would have been impossible to see in a lifetime if he had lived as an ordinary street orphan shimmered brilliantly.
“Wow! This is my first time seeing jewels like these in real life! I’ve read about them in books, though!”
“Jeez, when did you get here?”
While Veronica and Philip admired the jewels, Ray quickly searched for his target based on the criteria.
‘A dazzling yellow light. About the size of a small pebble.’
The description he had heard from Brook and his subordinates wasn’t very specific.
This was proof that the enemy, too, wasn’t fully certain about the jewel’s exact appearance.
As long as the basic conditions were met, deception was possible.
Ray’s finger pointed to a yellow sapphire.
“How much is this one?”
“It’s 4.2 million shillings…”
Jade trailed off.
Philip immediately realized why.
Nisoha, or rather, the children in front of him.
He was unsure whether these buyers could afford such a price.
“Ray, are you going with this one?”
“The shape and size are the best match. But the price is nearly double our available funds, so I need to pick another.”
“Huh?”
Philip tilted his head.
Currently, he had 2.3737 million shillings.
Ray had 2.1272 million shillings.
If the calculations were correct, their combined assets amounted to 4.509 million shillings.
Adding the reserved funds, they had over 5 million shillings.
They could afford the jewel.
But double the price?
“Did you only count your own money?”
“I was combining mine with some of Collin’s and the organization’s funds.”
“Wow.”
A wave of disappointment hit Philip.
Though they already had a separate pool of shared funds, he had assumed that all of their personal assets counted as common money.
‘Well, I do have the most money, but still.’
It wasn’t an issue.
After all, if not for Ray, he wouldn’t have been able to accumulate this much in the first place.
Philip, feeling slightly left out, spoke up.
“You can add my money too. That brings it to 4.509 million shillings.”
“That’s your money.”
“I can contribute too! Why not pool everything together?”
“Exactly. I can add my 263,000 shillings as well. It’s just a tiny amount, but it helps.”
“T-Tiny amount?!”
As the group squabbled, an unexpected voice intervened.
“If you only need the jewel for a short time, you could borrow it instead of buying it.”
As everyone turned their eyes toward him, Jade cleared his throat and continued.
“If you can return it afterward, I’ll lend it to you free of charge.”
“Oh, um… That would really help us, but is there a special reason…?”
Philip, surprised, asked.
Jade hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Because I feel guilty for looking the other way for so long.”
At the start of the war, merchants had supported the faction they believed in.
But as the frontline collapsed and defeat loomed, they withdrew their support.
They feared retribution from the opposing faction, which was slowly taking over the sector.
“I was the same. I only sent aid once. That was it.”
The market district knew.
The faction they had once supported was fighting to maintain a rational coexistence.
But with guns pointed at their throats, self-preservation took precedence.
So they shut their doors.
No one blamed them.
Still—
“I may be a merchant who does anything for money, but… I have a conscience.”
There were those who still felt guilt.
“Alright. I see no reason to refuse.”
Ray’s answer.
A faint smile spread across Jade’s face, lightening his burden of guilt.
“Here it is.”
Ray reached out to receive the jewel.
“?”
Or at least, he tried to.
Jade’s hands trembled as he clutched the jewel tightly.
“Give it.”
“Y-Yes. I really hope your plan succeeds.”
“Let go.”
“I sincerely wish for the war to end soon.”
Was he secretly a mage using enhancement magic?
Jade’s grip strength was no joke.
*Whoosh!*
Ray enhanced his own strength and pried the jewel free, as Jade gazed at it with a sorrowful expression.
“P-Please return it without any damage! Even a tiny scratch would decrease its value…!”
“I’ll do my best.”
Probably.
*
*
*
**Three hours later.**
A basin surrounded by rocky hills.
A few abandoned buildings nestled inside.
*”Veronica was young─.”*
A hum drifted from the rooftop of one of the buildings.
*”She lost her parents─ and was mistreated by Ray and Philip─.”*
The owner of the voice was Veronica.
Concrete debris.
Scraps of wood, screws, and other junk.
Cigarette butts of unknown origin.
Aside from that, the rooftop was completely empty.
Like a small bird, Veronica flitted about in quick, light steps, working on something.
*”This part should be fine now, right? Mm, Veronica! This looks perfect, no matter who sees it!”*
Her task was to draw a magic circle according to Ray’s design.
After injecting mana into the end of the circle, Veronica nodded in satisfaction.
And the moment she turned around—
*”…….”*
Goosebumps rose on her skin.
She had been working for quite a while, yet there was still so much left to draw!
Could someone be secretly erasing parts of it every time she looked away?
She shook her head vigorously.
No.
Veronica faced reality and focused on drawing the magic circle again.
In a way, it was only natural that progress was slow.
The completed magic circle was supposed to be vast enough to cover the entire rooftop.
*”So unfair, leaving me behind and making me draw all this alone.”*
She pouted.
Ray and Philip had gone out to scout the surrounding terrain by car.
It was for their operation.
A plan that would be executed in a few days.
Veronica knew her role in it.
Her grumbling was just a mild complaint about being left alone.
*”…….”*
She glanced at the entrance to the rooftop.
Strictly speaking, she wasn’t entirely alone.
The members of the Pro faction who had come as guards grinned when their eyes met hers.
Veronica clenched her lips tightly.
*‘I’ll never talk to them. Not even if I die.’*
Those ruthless gangsters teased her relentlessly, always trying to pair her up with Ray or Philip.
It was something Veronica seriously pondered.
Wouldn’t it be nice to summon a gust of wind and blow those thoughtless old men off the roof?
*‘Ugh, if only I could—! If I just used my power a little—!’*
Of course, she was too timid for that to actually happen.
Instead, she silently immersed herself in drawing the magic circle.
*Wuuung──!*
As she concentrated, an enormous amount of mana that had been infused into the magic circle began to surge.
It flowed along the hundreds of virtual lines drawn on the ground.
Veronica could feel every bit of its movement.
*”Amazing. Ray can actually see all of this with his eyes.”*
For a moment, she thought of the boy, and the corners of her lips softened.
Then she quickly regained focus and concentrated on controlling the mana.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too difficult.
The framework of the magic circle had already been completed with Ray.
All she had to do was guide the mana that Ray had pre-injected into the right places and stabilize it.
Using her own mana when necessary.
*”Good. I’m glad this isn’t too hard… that I can be of help.”*
In truth, Veronica was underestimating herself.
Drawing a magic circle wasn’t something that could be done just by having a large number of circles or exceptional mana control.
The elements assigned to each part of the circle, their quantities, and the precise timing of their infusion—
All of these had to align perfectly for the magic circle to activate.
It was not raw magical prowess but precise knowledge and delicate mana control that mattered most.
And those were precisely Veronica’s strengths.
*”The activation and sustainment sections are done. Once the swiftness and linkage elements are fully fused, I’ll overlay new mana on top tomorrow…”*
She mentally reviewed the next steps.
This magic circle wouldn’t be completed in a single day.
Considering the type of magic and amplification level they were aiming for, it would take at least three days, requiring her to return multiple times to infuse more mana.
Like layering and drying paint in an oil painting.
*”Once this magic circle is complete, the amplification coefficient will be…”*
At the very least, in the three-digit range.
It would amplify the original magic by several hundred times.
Ray had not only packed mana into the magic circle but also compressed as much ambient mana from the atmosphere as possible.
*”I’ll handle this part. I don’t have to worry about mana intoxication.”*
He had said this while binding the atmospheric mana directly into the magic circle.
Normally, one would risk mana intoxication when using ambient mana.
But Ray, lacking emotions, didn’t have to worry about it.
At least, that was the reasoning.
At first, it seemed logical.
But then, a question arose.
What if Ray *did* start feeling emotions?
*”It doesn’t seem like he’s completely emotionless even now….”*
Curiosity.
Competitiveness.
A desire for achievement.
These were emotions she had seen him exhibit, even if only slightly.
According to *Veronica’s Ray Observation Diary*, the intensity of these emotions had been steadily increasing.
*”It’s obvious when he’s curious. He leans forward, presses for answers… Even though his expression never changes and his voice stays stiff.”*
Veronica let her imagination wander.
What if Ray gradually began to experience more emotions?
And if those emotions grew stronger?
*”Ray laughing, getting angry, even crying….”*
She couldn’t quite picture it.
But she had a feeling his smile would be nice.
And there was one definite outcome if his emotions deepened.
He would no longer be able to freely use ambient mana.
Feeling emotions again would mean being exposed to the risk of mana intoxication.
*”Hmm… but I guess it won’t matter much?”*
If Ray developed a rich emotional spectrum, it would probably take a long time.
By then, he would have more circles and wouldn’t need to rely on ambient mana anymore.
Looking at his growth rate, it was clear that his current two-circle stage wasn’t his final stop.
*”In fact, according to Grandpa Graham….”*
If given enough time.
If he continued to achieve the right realizations.
Ray might reach an unprecedented realm that no one had ever attained before.
Beyond six circles—
To the stage of constructing the final circle.
Veronica couldn’t fully grasp the weight of that statement.
She hadn’t been studying magic for long enough.
But she did understand that *Ray* was far from ordinary.
Shaking off her thoughts, she focused back on her task.
*”Alright. Once Ray returns, we’ll reinforce this part with additional elemental infusion… and then.”*
She recalled the conversation she had with Ray on this rooftop.
*”Once the magic circle is complete, we’ll lure the enemy into this building. The bait will be a gemstone resembling what they’re looking for and a symbolic knife of Nisoha.”*
It was a kind of briefing.
She already knew the plan, but reviewing it wouldn’t hurt.
*”The enemy’s mages will likely try to infiltrate from the rooftops of nearby buildings. The gaps between buildings are narrow, making it easier to cross. Plus, entering from below would be risky since their explosive-type magic wouldn’t be as effective in confined indoor spaces.”*
*”Mm-hm. That makes sense. If I were the enemy, I’d send the mages in through the rooftop too.”*
*”No need to worry. With the fire-based magic circle we’ve set up, we can wipe them out instantly.”*
Veronica hesitated at those final words.
Ray was lying.
