Genius Wizard who sees Rainbows- Chapter 16

**#016. Street Kids (6)**

 

 

 

*Creak─ Click.*

Ray gently closed the door.

Following the girl, he walked between the shelves, taking in the quiet atmosphere of the bookstore as they moved deeper inside.

Serene sunlight filtered through the glass, drifting dust particles floating lazily in the air.

Bookshelves lined the walls, interspersed with various large and small cabinets.

He sniffed the air.

…And encountered a scent he’d never experienced before.

Was it musty? Damp?

He couldn’t quite put a name to it. What was certain, however, was that the scent wasn’t unpleasant—if anything, it held an oddly addictive quality.

It wasn’t until much later that he learned the source of the scent was the books themselves, a fragrance many found comforting.

*Click.*

The girl stopped walking and turned to face Ray.

The trembling and unease in her demeanor had mostly subsided, leaving behind a curious light in her red eyes.

“My name’s Veronica.”

Veronica.

The name written on the bookstore’s sign.

“Ray.”

“Ray… I see.”

As if to commit it to memory, Veronica repeated his name softly to herself a few times.

“Sorry about yelling at you earlier. I thought you were one of those kids who throw stones at me every day.”

Ray replied flatly, “It’s understandable. The situation was easy to misinterpret.”

“And thanks again for helping me earlier. If it weren’t for you, I’d have been in serious trouble.”

Her gratitude was sincere.

In the lower sectors, there were no police, let alone any sort of security force.

People were indifferent to one another, leaving individuals to handle difficulties entirely on their own.

“Really, thank you.”

She gave a slight bow, her crimson mid-length hair swaying to obscure her face before settling back into place.

“……”

Ray watched her silently, his expression unchanging.

He didn’t quite understand Veronica’s repeated thanks.

After all, he was already being compensated for his help through this encounter with a “mage.”

Help and compensation.

It was essentially a transaction.

“You don’t need to be so grateful. I just wanted to see the inside of this bookstore.”

“Huh? Even so….”

“I only thought that if you got hurt, it might become harder for me to get inside.”

“……”

Veronica was taken aback.

Wasn’t this the part where someone would typically take some credit?

But Ray seemed genuinely indifferent to gratitude, as if he truly believed there was no need for it.

It gave her a strange feeling.

In that brief moment, Veronica realized that Ray was different from the other children she had encountered.

‘…Well, he did break that kid’s arm without batting an eye.’

Clearly, he wasn’t ordinary.

Not to mention the highly refined magic he’d used—where could he have learned something like that?

“All right, then. But you—oh, wait.”

Veronica suddenly paused mid-sentence, reaching a cautious hand toward Ray’s cheek.

Since they were of similar height, she had no trouble touching his face.

“You’ve got a wound.”

“……”

Her slender fingers gently traced the scratch on his cheek.

It was a light scrape, with dried blood extending from his cheek to just below his ear.

It was one of many injuries Ray had sustained in his daily fights, so minor that he hadn’t even noticed it.

“Looks like you got scratched. Does it hurt?”

“It’s fine. Just leave it—”

“Wait. If you leave it, it’ll scar.”

Veronica opened her palm and pressed it against Ray’s cheek.

Ray watched her actions silently, wondering what she was doing.

It was just a scratch—it would heal on its own.

Why wasn’t she leading him to the mage already?

But then, something entirely unexpected happened.

*Vuum─*

White mana from the air around them began converging into Veronica’s hand, glowing faintly.

No other colors mixed in—it was pure white mana.

Seconds later, the mana fully transformed into light, covering Ray’s cheek in a radiant glow before disappearing.

Veronica pulled her hand away.

Ray touched his cheek.

“……!”

The wound was completely gone.

“How did you do that?”

“Huh? Do what?”

Ray stepped forward.

“The white mana you moved just now. You used it to create light and heal the wound.”

Veronica flinched, startled by his intensity, and stepped back, but Ray didn’t care.

Ray could control all the colors of mana in the air—except for white mana.

No matter how hard he focused, white mana remained immobile, like hardened cement fixed in place.

At first, he thought he simply lacked the right emotional connection to move it.

But he soon realized that wasn’t the case.

Because he couldn’t feel the emotions tied to white mana at all.

Unlike the faint traces of other feelings he could occasionally sense, white mana was entirely out of reach.

‘…I think I know what kind of emotions are tied to it.’

Helping others.

Caring for others.

Devotion, sacrifice.

White mana flowed into those who acted on such emotions.

Just like it had for Veronica now.

Her emotion was likely “concern for others.”

That realization brought Ray a deep sense of futility.

Because he couldn’t genuinely worry about anyone else.

For instance, when the golem had headed toward the bridge, Ray had indeed pictured Pale and the other children being hurt.

He’d felt a pang of alarm in his chest—but it hadn’t been for their sake.

He’d been worried they might die before he could repay his life debts.

…Though he couldn’t say for sure what he’d felt in that moment, it seemed likely.

Because he was emotionally numb.

Startled by Ray’s sudden intensity, Veronica stammered, “That was just a healing spell. White mana? What are you talking about?”

“The mana you drew from the air just now… oh.”

Ray stopped mid-sentence.

*“They didn’t say anything about colors? Mana having colors?”*

*“Colors? No, they said mana isn’t visible to the naked eye.”*

It seemed Niles had been right after all.

Judging by Veronica’s reaction, others couldn’t see mana’s colors.

“Maybe you mean the element of regeneration?” Veronica ventured cautiously, trying to be helpful.

“Regeneration?”

“Yeah. Healing spells like the one I used typically draw on just one element: the element of regeneration, sometimes with a few supplementary elements.”

“……”

Ray recalled what Niles had said.

*“Mana is composed of various elements—around a hundred, give or take. The number and type you can use depends on your constitution.”*

It matched Veronica’s explanation.

“How many elements are there?”

“Oh, um, lots. Just the natural ones number over twenty. And if you include supplementary elements like amplification, interference, manipulation, and regeneration….”

Veronica started counting on her fingers before giving up.

“There are definitely more than a hundred. My grandfather told me the exact number, but I can’t remember.”

Niles had been right again.

Ray felt a growing excitement. Piece by piece, he was uncovering the mysteries of mana.

He couldn’t wait to meet this “grandfather” and learn even more about magic.

“Is your grandfather upstairs?”

“Yes, but he’s very ill. He can hardly leave his bed.”

Veronica turned to lead Ray further into the store.

*Tap, tap, tap.*

“How did you learn magic?” she asked, not looking back.

“My grandfather said it’s impossible to use magic unless someone teaches you.”

Ray didn’t respond. He hadn’t learned from anyone; it had just happened.

“….”

When no answer came, Veronica moved on to her next question.

“Do you have a home? Where do you sleep?”

“Wherever I can.”

“That sounds hard. I used to live on the streets too, before I went to the orphanage.”

They continued chatting, mostly with Veronica asking questions and Ray giving short answers, until they reached the stairs to the second floor.

“Wait here at the table for a bit. I need to check if my grandfather’s awake. He sleeps a lot because of his illness.”

Ray nodded, and Veronica trotted upstairs.

Her footsteps gradually faded, leaving the first floor in silence once more.

Instead of sitting, Ray wandered around the bookstore.

The titles of countless books filled his vision.

“On the Ontological Meaning of Human Existence… Kildrick’s Travelogue… Interpretation of the Unconscious….”

He read them slowly. Though he could decipher the words, he didn’t know the meanings of many, making it hard to grasp their contents.

He reached for one book but hesitated.

“……”

His hands were dirty.

Dust, grime, and dried blood clung to them.

Books were expensive, he’d heard. Touching one in this state would surely reduce its value.

Ray withdrew his hand.

For the children of the slums, proper bathing was a luxury they didn’t have.

Only on very rare occasions—when rain fell that wasn’t the filthy black rain but relatively clean rain—would they go outside and let it wash over them.

That was the closest thing to a shower they could enjoy.

And in Ray’s memory, the last time such clear rain had fallen was at least six months ago.

*Sniff, sniff.*

He sniffed the back of his hand.

A pungent, acrid stench clung to the mucous membranes of his nostrils.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t something Ray would label a “stench.”

For a boy as emotionally numb as Ray, pleasure and discomfort caused by smells were rare experiences.

However, he was fully aware that it was the kind of odor people found unpleasant.

‘Does she have a weak sense of smell? Or was she just tolerating it?’

From the moment Veronica had brought him into the bookstore until now, she hadn’t shown any signs of discomfort.

Her face hadn’t twisted in distaste, nor had she shown any indication of nausea.

“……”

Veronica didn’t return from the upper floor for quite some time.

Ray continued wandering the bookstore.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t find any books that seemed related to magic.

Still, his eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Even if the books weren’t about magic, he thought he might gain all kinds of knowledge necessary for his future journey through the contents of this place.

“……”

As he wandered, he arrived at the counter.

In a spacious area behind the counter stood a large desk pressed against the wall, cluttered with various items: a book stand, a lamp, notebooks, and open books scattered chaotically.

*Creaaak─*

Ray carefully opened the counter door and stepped inside.

He examined the contents of an open notebook.

The pages were filled with tiny handwriting, packed densely from edge to edge.

Beside it, there were over a dozen more notebooks stacked neatly, all of which seemed to have been filled with writing.

Ray read aloud from the notebook.

“Elemental distribution by sector… research… causes of black rain… diffusion mechanism…?”

*Tap. Tap. Tap.*

It was then that he heard the sound.

Someone was coming down the stairs.