Genius Wizard who sees Rainbows- Chapter 163

**#163. The Frozen Things (7)**

—

Ray paused briefly and held his breath as he looked down between the railings of the tower.

Far below.

The first-floor entrance, which had been slowly opening along with Binjin’s exposed arm, suddenly came to a halt.

*Cre-e-eak—bam!*

In an instant, the door slammed shut again.

Soon after, he could hear Binjin’s footsteps hastily retreating from the tower.

*Tap, tap, tap, tap.*

“……”

Ray listened closely.

From the direction of the mansion’s main gate, he could faintly catch the sound of agitated voices.

‘Tommy followed the instructions well.’

He must have transported the subdued Tenon gang—defeated by weakening magic—on stretchers with the other children.

Timed precisely with the end of Binjin’s class, placed in front of the mansion to draw attention.

Having bought some time, Ray quickly surveyed the inside of the vault.

‘First, the letter… here it is.’

A navy seal marked the envelope.

The seal had already been broken.

Without hesitation, Ray took out the letter and read it.

> “I read your previous correspondence with interest. I’m glad the new type of circle suits your tastes. Take time to study it thoroughly. The benefits of a hybrid circle go beyond just faster spellcasting…”

> “…I also received the gift you sent. I thank you for your decision to offer such a rare item. Your intent and sincerity in joining the Azure Dawn have been clearly acknowledged…”

…As expected.

The letter was from the Azure Dawn. Judging by the content, it seemed the circle Binjin possessed was indeed the result of a procedure he’d received from them.

Ray swiftly continued reading.

> “…However, I regret to inform you that your membership request has been denied. Your current abilities, being at the second circle, fall short of our standards, especially in light of our organization’s mission to aid in the revival of that great being…”

> “…But there’s no need to despair. Your capabilities in other fields have been sufficiently verified. Based on this, and reflecting the sentiments of members who expressed disappointment, a grace period of one year has been granted…”

> “…I don’t believe you’ll reach the third circle in such a short time. It’s a feat not accomplished in a lifetime by most. For someone with as little magical talent as you, achieving it now would be absurd…”

The letter was long, and its blunt tone gave insight into the writer’s usual manner.

Ray moved on to the next part.

> “…Within the year, you must succeed in taming it. If you can control it, not only will it compensate for your lacking abilities, but it will also greatly benefit the mission of our organization…”

> “…On the specified date, an inspector will come. If you have achieved satisfactory results by then, he will guide you to the gathering…”

Revival, membership, taming, results, gathering.

Ray memorized the key words and quickly read on.

The specified date was…

‘January 11th, next year.’

By calculation, 62 days away.

Roughly two months from now.

Since Binjin had received the letter in the past, that date wasn’t far off from the current moment.

‘So the inspector will come to the mansion in person?’

As he thought this and lowered his gaze, he found himself at the final paragraph.

> “…In the end, the most inferior being in the world shall become the most supreme. From the darkest, lowest horizon of the Azure Dawn, it shall rise and ascend to the brightest, highest place—like the sun that overlooks all from above.”

—From Indiago.

“……”

The boy felt a strong intuition.

The name Indiago at the end surely belonged to the one-eyed, bespectacled magician.

Also, the term “sun” seemed to be appearing more frequently these days.

Ray returned the letter to its place and moved on to the next target in the vault.

‘Artifacts—one, two… five in total.’

With the accompanying notes written in ancient script, it wasn’t hard to determine their uses.

‘The stone is a spatial gem used to construct permanent space paths. The liquid in the bottle is a growth enhancer that makes plants grow instantly, and then…’

He calmly examined each one.

Given their secure storage, they were clearly valuable, but none seemed to have functions that could be considered dangerous in combat.

That is—

‘Except for this one that supposedly steals memories?’

All but the last item: a pen-shaped object.

According to the note, if aimed at a target and the tip twisted, it could steal memories.

Not all memories—but a significant and meaningful portion.

Ray fiddled with the pen, lost in thought.

‘So this level of technology existed in the old era?’

It was said that magic then was far more advanced than today.

If they could even neutralize mana-circles back then, perhaps memory extraction wasn’t so surprising.

However, one thing bothered him.

“……”

*Tap.*

He set the pen down and traced the old script on the note with his finger, once again confirming its meaning.

[…steals the target’s memory…]

That was the exact nuance.

No implication of transferring or sharing—nothing neutral or gentle.

In other words—

‘It was designed purely to rob someone else’s memory.’

That raised a question.

Did the old era truly require such technology?

Ray stared at the artifacts in silence, pondering for a moment, then returned them all to their original places and closed the vault.

*Cre-e-eak—clunk!*

As the latch on the entrance clicked shut, the locking spell reactivated.

It was right to leave the letter and artifacts untouched.

‘For the sake of the plan.’

He couldn’t risk shattering Binjin’s illusion that everything was unfolding according to his own design.

Having read the letter and confirmed that the only dangerous items were the ring and the pen, Ray had achieved his purpose in infiltrating the tower.

Heading to the window he had used to enter, Ray looked out and saw a group gathered at the mansion’s main gate.

‘Looks like nearly everyone from the mansion is out.’

Even from a distance, he could see the chaos, suspicion, disbelief, shock, and confusion on their faces.

Appearing there would be the final step in completing today’s plan.

…The only problem was—

‘How do I get down?’

A small dilemma arose.

He had planned to climb down using the bumps and crevices in the wall, but that would take too much time.

If he delayed, the crowd at the gate might disperse.

‘Would I get badly hurt if I just jumped?’

Even with a protection spell, it was too high to escape with just a few bruises.

It was an obviously dangerous move, but… Ray was a diehard empiricist.

‘Maybe it’s worth trying?’

He’d never actually jumped from this height before—what if it turned out better than expected?

And if he got hurt, wouldn’t Veronica just heal him anyway?

As long as he didn’t die, it should be fine, right?

While Ray was mulling over the physics between his body and the ground—

*Thud-thud-thud-thud!*

As if reading his dangerous thoughts, Kelley came sprinting over in a frantic dash.

*Tap!*

Seeing her, Ray jumped without hesitation.

─────!

*Whoosh!*

His rapidly descending vision stopped abruptly with a gust of wind.

Suspended in the air, Ray stepped onto Kelley’s back and landed softly on the lawn.

“Thanks. You helped me again.”

Ray reached out to pat Kelley’s head—

*Snap!*

But quickly withdrew his hand as she lunged to bite the empty air where it had just been.

“…?”

Puzzled, he stared at Kelley, who was now sitting calmly and looking at him.

“Why did you do that all of a sudden? Do you not like being petted?”

“……”

“If you’d told me, I wouldn’t have tried.”

“……”

“Staying silent doesn’t solve anything.”

“……”

Kelley, being a machine rather than a living creature, was unreadable emotionally.

Still, it didn’t seem like a real attack—more like a display of dissatisfaction.

Did I do something wrong?

“Veronica said there’s no such thing as a bad dog. But you…”

*Woof! Woof-woof!*

Just as Ray began a lecture, Kelley started barking suddenly, and he had to jump on her head to silence her in a brief scuffle.

He promised to bring snacks next time, and with Kelley’s help, he leapt over the wall and circled around to the front gate.

“Who! Who in the world did this! I demand an explanation!”

Binjin was raging, looking down at the unconscious Tenon gang laid out on stretchers.

Ray blended in naturally among the students, observing the scene.

‘Judging by how angry he is, he must have realized the circles on the Tenon gang were destroyed.’

Exactly what Ray had intended.

Binjin was not easily shaken emotionally.

To observe his hidden psyche, a stronger-than-usual stimulus was required.

And now, emotions that had been settled deep within were rising into view, making his inner state much easier to observe.

“Who would dare do this!”

The dominant emotion: rage.

From Binjin’s perspective, it was as if his carefully nurtured mana exploitation setup had been trampled.

‘They won’t be completely unusable…’

Still, he’d barely be able to extract a fraction of the mana compared to when the circles were intact.

“How dare you ignore me! I’m asking what happened!”

With every shout, the students flinched and shrank back.

At the center of it all—

“Tommy! Answer me!”

It was Tommy, the one who’d brought the Tenon gang on stretchers.

“Tommy! Answer me! Are you ignoring me right now?!”

Tommy’s face was deathly pale.

Each shout from his teacher felt like a red-hot awl stabbing into his flesh.

A gloomy sky. Dreary clouds.

Heavy moisture floating in the air.

Sweat drenched his entire body.

His breath was short, and it was hard to breathe.

The fear of the situation itself and the guilt of stealing the ring made his insides churn horribly.

“Tommy!”

“Y-yes!”

“I asked what happened!”

“U-uh, well…!”

“Who on earth did this—!”

“I did.”

All eyes turned at once.

Ray had stepped forward from among the students.

“I did it. To them.”

“W-what do you mean? N-no, surely not… Did Lord Hailer really—?”

“Yes. They challenged me to a duel in the street, so I responded. That’s all.”

Binjin shouted, his voice boiling with anger.

“I acknowledge the disciples were rude! But such harsh punishment for something so trivial is unreasonable—!”

*Click.*

Ray pressed a button on the recorder at that moment.

> —You little bastard, getting cocky just ‘cause we were being polite.

> —Hey, kid. You think this place still belongs to your master? You think you’re above us?

> —Even if you come from some noble house, disappearing you without a trace wouldn’t be hard.

*Click.*

Ray turned the recorder off and said,

“They tried to kill me.”

A frigid silence fell over the crowd.

*Drip. Drip.*

Raindrops began to fall on his shoulders.

Swirling emotions rushed through the air, replacing human silence with their rising heat.

In the midst of it all, Binjin’s rage rapidly cooled and vanished.

“I apologize. It was my failure to manage my students properly. I have no excuses.”

Binjin had returned fully to his usual calm and polite demeanor.

“It’s alright. These things happen.”

“I’ll punish them in whatever way you deem appropriate.”

“I’ve already punished them. How you handle the aftermath is your decision.”

“If you say so…”

Binjin seemed to ponder.

But Ray knew it was all just performance—his mind had already reached a conclusion.

“In that case… I’ll send them to the farm for recovery. Since you’ve shown them mercy, they can work there unpaid to atone for their sins.”

“Sounds good.”

Ray nodded in agreement and checked Binjin’s vessel.

The emotion he saw there was—

‘…Compassion?’

It was genuine compassion for the three Class A students, including Tenon.

Ray considered it for a moment, but the conclusion was clear.

Binjin believed exploiting them through magic circle was an act of compassion.

*Drip. Drip.*

The rain began to fall harder.

“Then we’d better prepare to send them to the farm. Call for a cart and get what’s needed ready. What are you all standing around for? This isn’t a spectacle…”

Binjin’s shouting roused the crowd of disciples.

“De, let’s go inside! Come on!”

“It’s raining!”

In the midst of the cold rain, a strange heat spread through the air.

The white-eyed boy could see the blue-haired girl pinned to her seat, unable to move.

The raindrops cracked his vision without pause.

The girl’s emotion that seemed to flicker between them was a deep fear.

The boy moved his lips.

─You.

He asked.

─I know.

Shoot, shoot, shzzt!