#133. Leap (2)
—
“Ahhh! I should’ve packed my bags yesterday! I was so nervous I couldn’t do anything!”
The red-haired girl bustled around her room in a flurry.
“Nero! Lato! This is bad! What should I pack first?”
A gray mouse, nibbling on a piece of peanut atop the table, twitched its ears at her voice.
Lato.
A former street-dweller, now enjoying a life of comfort thanks to being chosen by Ray.
His once-grimy gray fur had been thoroughly washed by Ray and Philip, now clean and fluffy.
“Lato? What should I do? Should I pack this?”
The girl looked back at the mouse and asked.
His cheeks were stuffed full of peanuts, so answering was out of the question.
Unbothered, the girl turned again and focused on her frantic packing.
Tap.
Just then, a black shadow leapt up onto the table.
Meow—
It was Nero.
The moment their eyes met—
……
……
Lato’s chewing stopped.
Nero’s black tail swayed with curious rhythm.
Meanwhile, the girl dashed over to the sunlit window.
“Ah! I need to pack this too! I almost forgot the most important thing!”
Carefully, she gathered a potted plant and a water bottle from the windowsill.
In the pot, a tiny green sprout was growing. In the bottle, a red tulip the size of the girl’s head was placed.
……
……
In that moment—
The black cat turned its gaze from the gray mouse to the girl.
Thanks to repeated discipline, it now recognized the tiny creature beside it was neither a toy nor an emergency snack.
Meow—
Nero licked its paw and began to wash its face, and Lato, sensing no threat, resumed munching.
The image of the ever-busy girl reflected in Nero’s jet-black eyes.
“I’m not the only one dragging my feet, am I? Lato, has Ray finished packing?”
Officially, Lato’s designated storage place was Ray’s pocket.
But unless there was some special circumstance, the gray-furred mouse always stayed close to Veronica.
Being near the red-haired girl radiated a warm, cozy feeling.
How should one describe it?
Like a sprout of vitality budding inside the body.
Even now, he felt it, and that pleasant sensation made his body tremble involuntarily.
…?
……
Then he noticed—the predator beside him was reacting the same way.
Their eyes met.
Hey, you too?
*
*
*
Vroooom—
A dozen or more vehicles sped down the road between buildings.
Buses, vans, trucks, jeeps.
At the center of the convoy, an old white car was being escorted like a VIP.
“So it’s really happening today, huh? We stayed here longer than I expected.”
Philip looked out the window at the revitalized streets with a hint of reluctance.
It had taken exactly twenty-three days to prepare the magic circle.
Including the duration of the war, they’d spent about a month in Sector 46.
Philip turned to Veronica and asked,
“But… is there anything we need to prepare for magical transportation? Like, should I take motion sickness pills?”
“Hmm… Grandpa said it feels like riding inside the guts of a massive monster, being tossed this way and that. Unless you’re using a pre-established passage between spaces, that is.”
“Ugh, guts? That’s a gross comparison.”
Philip’s expression soured as he dug into his bag for anti-nausea medicine.
Vroooom—
With a mixture of tension, worry—
And a little excitement—
They arrived at a basin on the outskirts of Street 38.
Screeech—
A white car sped ahead of the convoy and came to a stop at the edge of the magic circle.
That was as far as they could go.
Screeech—! Screeeeech!
The trailing vehicles gradually came to a halt behind them.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Doors opened and the organization members stepped out.
The group gathered their belongings and exited as well.
Though honestly, “belongings” was an overstatement.
Each person had only a crossbody bag with personal items, plus Nero in someone’s arms and Lato tucked into a pocket.
“It’s a bit of a shame, huh? We have to leave everything we collected behind.”
Philip looked wistfully at the car trunk.
“We have no choice. If we tried to bring all that, we’d have to draw another magic circle for two more weeks.”
Veronica was right.
The difficulty of spatial magic increases exponentially with the volume and mass of what you’re transporting.
So everything except essential items had been left in the trunk.
Philip double-checked his bag contents.
“Wallet. Yep. Can’t forget the most important thing.”
All their money, once stored in a secure vault, had been exchanged for high-denomination bills to reduce volume.
“Clothes matter too. Sector 37 is probably more upscale and developed than we think. If we show up looking scruffy, people might underestimate us.”
Veronica added.
The clothes they were wearing were high-end garments bought in Sector 48.
Just then, Collin approached.
He addressed Ray first.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t send more people to see you off. Most of our manpower is currently tied up in sector restoration…”
“It’s alright.”
Ray responded casually and handed him the car keys.
“Please take care of this.”
“Yes. I’ll keep it safe until the day you return.”
Collin took the keys and looked to his side.
The compact white car, scarred and dented like it wore medals of honor.
From Sector 50 to Sector 46—
It had faithfully carried the boy through four sectors. Now, it would rest here for a while.
“This was a vehicle prepared by Niles, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, it was.”
“He may not have made it back… but it seems his car did.”
Collin’s face was filled with more than just bitterness.
Relief, regret, longing, emptiness.
Then, after composing himself, he turned again to Ray.
“In any case, Ray. On behalf of Nisoha, thank you once again before your departure. The same goes for the other two as well.”
Their gratitude continued.
That without their help, they never would’ve won the war.
That thanks to them, they’d held on to hope and managed to protect what mattered most.
And that as the journey continues, they truly wish each of them achieves what they set out to do—
“—All of us here are earnestly praying for that. Thank you, truly.”
Collin bowed deeply.
Dozens of members behind him bowed as one and spoke in unison.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you.”
“……”
Ray, who had been quietly gazing at the midday stars, looked down at Collin’s feet and opened his mouth.
“Collin.”
“Yes?”
“You’re standing on the circle.”
“Ah.”
Still bowing, Collin shuffled back.
“I heard if you step wrong on a magic circle, your body could be cut in half.”
“In that case, I should definitely step far back when the activation starts.”
Collin then signaled someone to bring something over.
“It took a while to find this. Brook had it stashed deep in his basement.”
It was Niles’s personal safe.
Around the keyhole were numerous scratch marks, as if someone had tried to force it open.
“Brook must’ve tried hard to get it open.”
“Yes. It contained all the wealth Niles had accumulated over his life.”
“And why are you giving it to me?”
Collin gestured again, and someone handed over a white envelope.
He also pulled out a folding knife from his coat and offered both items to Ray.
“A unanimous decision was made among the faction leaders. The first right to open the safe and claim what’s inside belongs to you, Ray.”
“……”
The knife had a black handle with a red flower emblem.
It was Niles’s. When the handle was twisted, a key emerged.
Rustle.
Inside the envelope was a thick wad of high-denomination bills.
Philip, watching from behind, let out an involuntary gasp.
“The money in the envelope is our token of appreciation. It’s not nearly enough to repay the help you gave us, but we hope it supports your journey.”
“……”
Ray tilted his head.
He knew Nisoha’s finances weren’t in good shape.
Rebuilding the near-collapse organization had required extensive funds.
*They must’ve really pushed themselves to put this together.*
Ray inserted the key into the safe.
*Click—clack.*
The sound of metal on metal.
Gulp.
The gathered members held their breath, faces tense with both anticipation and anxiety.
“How much did he save?”
“Bet the digits are off the charts. I’ve seen Niles using that safe since forever.”
“I hope it’s enough to help the mages.”
*Click—*
“There’s nothing in it.”
Collin blinked at Ray’s words.
“…Sorry?”
“Money. There won’t be any.”
“What do you mean…”
*Click—creak.*
The safe opened.
“Huh…?”
“It’s… empty?”
Everyone stared in disappointment at the bare interior.
Did Brook steal the contents?
But there were no signs of forced entry…
Collin stayed calm and asked,
“Did you know it was empty through magic?”
“Nope.”
“Then how…”
“Niles didn’t save money. Back in Sector 50, he was always busy. Always using the funds to run the organization.”
Collin looked as though he’d been struck in the head.
Then, as realization slowly dawned, he nodded.
“I’ve been with him since childhood. I thought I knew everything about him. That no one understood him better than me. But I was wrong.”
As he spoke, Ray reached into the safe.
What he pulled out was an old black-and-white photograph at the bottom.
A grayscale street.
Three boys were smiling in it.
“Huh… That photo…”
“……”
Ray studied it closely, then summoned a blade of wind and held it in his hand.
*Vmmmm—*
He sliced part of the photo and handed the rest, along with the knife and envelope, back to Collin.
“You don’t have to return these. They’re yours by right.”
“Use the money to rebuild the organization. The knife belongs with Nisoha’s next leader.”
Ray held up the cut portion of the photo.
“This is all I need.”
“……”
Collin knew—Ray never took back what he’d once decided.
After a moment of inner conflict, he accepted the items and bowed.
“Truly… thank you again.”
Collin and the other members then backed away with the vehicles, including the group’s.
Ray watched them go, then looked down at the photo.
The clipped corner from the whole.
A boy, likely from the slums and around Ray’s age, smiled brightly at the camera.
“……”
The white-haired boy had always struggled to recognize and remember people’s faces.
No matter how familiar they were, they faded quickly from memory over time—
—erased like a blank sheet.
Nothing remained.
But now, he could finally restore the face of one person buried deep in his unconscious.
As long as he had this photo, time would never again bury that face.
“……”
He looked toward the basin’s entrance.
In the distance, buildings from another sector towered.
He’d thought about it before—
*If I go back to Sector 50 now…*
Maybe the monocled mage wouldn’t know, but Hector—he could be avenged.
But he shook his head.
That man had told him to swim upstream.
Never look back.
Swim with all your might.
Only then could one escape from becoming another piece of junk stuck downstream.
“……”
So he wouldn’t go back now.
Only after gaining the strength to resist the current would he head toward Sector 50 again.
After committing one last look to the abandoned buildings and familiar scenery, Ray turned and said,
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah!”
“So this is really the start.”
The backs of two boys and one girl grew distant as they walked toward the center of the magic circle.
The spot where the white-haired boy had stood moments ago—
There, as if stamped into the air, his unspoken words lingered and spread.
*Take care. Niles, hyung.*
.
.
.
…No, old man.
