Genius Wizard who sees Rainbows- Chapter 173

**#173. Place to Stay (3)**

 

 

 

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“No one’s leaving?”

“Yeah. No one’s leaving. Everyone decided to stay at the mansion.”

…It was an unexpected development.

Including Ayla and Ain, there are currently 26 disciples in the mansion.

He had expected at least half of them to leave, but apparently every single one of them had chosen to remain.

He voiced his question immediately.

“Why?”

“Well, because you said you’d teach us magic.”

At Ayla’s words, the lined-up disciples all nodded in unison.

Every one of them had eyes shining with admiration and eager anticipation.

“They’re all grateful to you. It’s the kind of debt we couldn’t repay even over a lifetime. But thanks to you, they get to keep learning.”

“…I did say I’d teach you magic.”

But it hadn’t been meant with such lofty intentions.

It was just a matter of practical benefit.

He had thought that building something akin to a force might help later on when dealing with Azure Dawn Society or Murcred.

After looking over the disciples, Ray opened his mouth.

“As I said, I’ll teach you magic. But not right away. I have to leave Sector in two days.”

“L-Leave…?”

“I’ll be back in a week at the earliest, or in a month at the latest.”

The buzz that rippled through the hall calmed slightly at Ray’s follow-up.

“Though… there’s a chance I won’t be able to return.”

No, it hadn’t fully settled.

Ain raised a hand high among the disciples and called out.

“Big bro, are you going somewhere dangerous? Then take me with you! I’d give my life to help you!”

“No.”

“That quick?! Why not?”

“Because you’re only 1st Circle.”

Ayla, listening beside them, asked with hopeful eyes.

“Then what about me? I’m 3rd Circle.”

“No for you, too.”

“And why not?”

“Because you have to stay behind and teach the kids magic in my place.”

A moment of silence.

Ayla asked again with a sour expression.

“Me…?”

“You’re going to teach magic. You can follow the curriculum Binjin made, or create your own.”

Ray took a breath and finished.

“It’s your choice.”

“……”

This time, Ayla didn’t say anything like, “I’m not good enough.”

She just thought about it for a moment, then said,

“Alright. I’ll give it a try.”

*
*
*

After giving a few more instructions to Ayla and Ain, Ray left the mansion and opened his umbrella again.

*Pop!*

*Thud-thud─! Thud-thud-thud─!*

As rain poured down above, he walked across the garden.

Unlike when he first arrived, several vehicles were now gathered near the tower.

Workers in hard hats and raincoats were repairing the wrecked tower.

A man giving orders at the site ran up and greeted him respectfully.

“D-Did you sleep well last night? We’re proceeding just as you instructed.”

It was Bassel, who had become the head of the Amon family thanks to Ray.

He was trembling nonstop, unable to even make eye contact.

“How long until the repairs are finished?”

“N-No later than three days!”

“Move all the artifacts inside to the mansion’s storage. Handle them carefully. If even one goes missing, I’ll hold you responsible.”

Binjin had collected 172 artifacts over his lifetime.

Not many had known uses, and even those weren’t particularly impressive.

Still, if Curiosa came to inspect them later, perhaps there’d be new discoveries.

Upon hearing Ray’s warning, Bassel bowed his head even lower.

“Y-You don’t need to worry. I’ve already warned the workers, and some of our people are posted inside for security. Plus, I’m personally overseeing everything. No one would dare touch a magician’s property.”

Just as he was desperately vouching for his management, Bassel seemed to remember something.

“Ah…! And the vehicle you requested earlier has arrived.”

He led Ray over to the work vehicles.

There stood an enormous two-story bus, “massive” not even doing it justice.

“It’s a modified vehicle used by mercenaries. The windows are bulletproof, and the body is reinforced with steel plating—tough enough to withstand most attacks. There’s ample storage space, and the second floor is divided into small rooms—”

“What about cannons?”

“Excuse me?”

“I’d prefer something with cannons. Also, one that can drive through water or fire would be nice.”

“……”

For a moment, Bassel looked like he wanted to say something.

But life was precious.

“S-Sorry. A vehicle with all those specs is difficult to procure…”

“Forget it.”

With that dry reply, Ray walked over to inspect the bus himself.

It didn’t meet *all* the conditions, but it was a sufficiently solid vehicle.

When Ray stepped down, Bassel handed him a bundle of documents he’d been waiting to give.

They were blueprints for various mansions.

“We prepared several designs as you requested. If none of them suit your taste, we can prepare more.”

“No need.”

Looking through the blueprints, Ray picked one out.

It depicted a modestly designed, small mansion.

“Where should we build it?”

After checking the scale of the mansion indicated on the blueprint, Ray summoned mana.

Stones around him floated and flew off toward the far inner yard, landing in a fixed shape.

“Build it there.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Make it nice. I’ll be staying there.”

“I’ll make sure of it.”

More accurately, it was where *everyone* in his group would be staying.

“So, you’ve decided to fully settle in Sector 37?”

“More or less.”

It was half true.

Ray ran his fingers over two stone fragments in his pocket.

*Clack.*

They were Spatial Stones that had been stored in the vault at the top of the tower.

A consumable that allowed permanent spatial gateways to be constructed between two locations.

‘That’s what Binjin’s memories said.’

Ray planned to have Curiosa connect the bus and the new mansion using a spatial gateway.

That way, no matter where they traveled by vehicle, they could freely access the mansion.

Of course, building a gateway with Spatial Stones required a spatial magic expert to pour in stamina and mental energy over a long period of time.

‘But Curiosa will handle that.’

So it didn’t matter to him.

Ray let his thoughts drift.

He’d long thought about securing a stable base.

The reason he chose this place as the base?

“……”

Ray turned his gaze to Binjin’s mansion.

At the window.

Ayla, caught making a wooden puppet-like wave, quickly ducked out of sight.

Beside her, Ain and the kids waved brightly with beaming faces.

That’s why.

The reason he picked this place was because there were warm presences nearby.

But he didn’t want them to be *too* close.

That was why he intentionally left some distance between the old mansion and the new one.

After receiving a few more reports from Bassel, Ray turned toward the front gate again.

That’s when something came running from afar.

─Woof! Woof woof!

“Kelley, I told you not to run.”

At Ray’s words, Kelley quickly slowed and approached cautiously.

“That’s a little much.”

Kelley returned at a normal walking pace and sat in front of Ray.

Ray caught the giant tongue trying to lick his face.

‘It really *feels* like a real tongue. What is this thing made of?’

For a moment, he imagined disassembling Kelley, then let go of the now-soggy tongue and said what he meant to.

“Kelley, sorry, but don’t run around the inner yard unless it’s absolutely necessary. The more you run, the more black smoke you emit.”

Kelley just panted.

But Ray knew she understood.

Gently stroking her head, he continued.

“Who made you?”

*Pant pant.*

“Who was your original owner?”

*Pant pant pant.*

“Can I take you apart?”

*Woof! Woof woof woof!*

Ray dodged as Kelley bared her teeth and chased him.

Then realized she was slowly trotting after him.

‘If only she didn’t give off that black smoke, I’d let her run around all she wanted.’

Then something struck him.

Ray approached Kelley and injected mana from a gemstone.

*Voom!*

Brilliant yellow mana coursed through her, pushing out all the other colors inside her body.

In an instant—

*Woof! Woof woof woof!*

Kelley started running.

At a speed Ray had never seen before.

So fast she couldn’t seem to control herself.

—W-What the?! She was calm before!

—Get out of the way! S-She’s coming!

—The wall we just finished patching!

—It’s collapsing againnnn!

Kelley’s wild rampage threw the work site into chaos.

Ray wasn’t even watching her.

He looked at the air above her and thought.

‘No black smoke…’

The yellow gemstone mana was now handling the role that had required a mixture of various colors.

As he marveled at this new discovery—

“H-Huff! Huff! M-Magician sir! C-Can you please stop that thing?!”

Bassel came running in a panic.

Ray answered absently, still in thought.

“It’s fine. Kelley doesn’t bite.”

“Y-Yes? She doesn’t bite, but she’s destroying everything…!”

“Right. She breaks things instead.”

Then something else pulled Ray’s attention.

From the ground near Kelley, something yellow began to rise.

*Woof! Woof woof!*

Kelley started barking at the thing made of mana.

But it kept growing larger and larger.

*Whimper! Whine! Yelp!*

Soon, Kelley was fleeing from it.

Ray watched the scene and thought,

‘Why are *you* coming out of there?’

The long, massive yellow shape made of mana—it was Laqria.

Ray had definitely seen her fly off into the sky after helping subdue the Amon family yesterday.

Judging by its form, it seemed to be targeting the gemstone mana inside Kelley.

*Whine! Whimper! Yelp!*

It looked like time to step in.

*
*

*Creeaak─ Clang!*

Exiting the mansion gate, Ray hurried off to his next task.

His destination: Ignis’s Cube.

He needed to check the accounts of John and Skyle—something he’d put off while focusing on Binjin and the mansion.

Then he had to head to the Metafold Inn on Street 27 to meet the expedition leader, Gaiole.

*Squelch─ Squelch─ Squelch─*

“……”

As he moved quickly through puddles, he focused his mind on the mana circle.

Strange markings drifting across its surface—he could feel them.

The seal of a contract.

Proof of the mutual agreement between boy and serpent.

The boy would provide the serpent with gemstone mana regularly, and the serpent would lend him strength whenever he needed it.

*Squelch─ Squelch─*

‘It’s a bit odd, though.’

According to Binjin’s memories, forging a contract with a spirit was an extremely difficult task.

Spirits were fiercely prideful.

They never entered contracts lightly.

And according to Laqria—no, her will—spirits generally disliked humans.

‘But she showed favor to *me*.’

A deep favor, at that.

Too profound to be explained simply by gratitude for the help he’d given.

Laqria had said through her will:

*“You are certainly human. But I don’t feel the same revulsion I do with others.”*

It was a mystery.

He’d accepted the contract since he had no reason to refuse with infinite gemstone mana at his disposal.

While lost in thought, he arrived before the Cube in District 1’s plaza.

The ruling organization, the Nostra Clan, was losing heavily to the Amon family.

Maybe because of that—

There were no Nostra gang members hanging around to harass Cube users.

Without hesitation, Ray stepped up and held his black card to the wall.

────.

Soon, a sensation of being transported somewhere washed over him, and his vision was flooded with light.

And before long—

As the light gradually receded, a cubic room made entirely of white marble came into view.

From a cluster of floating light ahead, a voice echoed.

[Spirit recognition complete. Welcome to your third visit, User No. 1. You are currently in Processing Room No. 14.]

“You’re not actually a machine, are you?”

[Ignis, boasting top-level security, currently only accepts new members through referrals from existing users.]

“I know you’re a person.”

[Ignis offers the best service for easily depositing or withdrawing money anywhere.]

“How much do they pay you?”

Still unable to shake the suspicion he’d had for some time, Ray kept speaking to the light cluster before returning to his original purpose.

“I’m here to withdraw money.”

[‘Withdrawal’ service selected. Please place your card on the sensor.]

*Whirrr—click!*

The floor split open, and a small pillar rose to chest height.

Ray’s movements were swift from there.

He scanned his card on the panel atop the pillar, tapped the pad to enter his password, and placed his palm to verify the pattern.

[Owner verification complete. Ray.]

[Password confirmed.]

[Pattern recognition successful. The pattern matches the registered owner.]

[Retrieving account information.]

A holographic display of his account balance flickered into the air.

“Oh.”

Ray let out an impressed sound after seeing the numbers.

 

 

 

 

 

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