Genius Wizard who sees Rainbows- Chapter 212

**#212. A Place to Return To (3)**

—

A canvas stood in the center of the room.

In front of it was a small, backless chair, and on the long table behind were numerous art supplies prepared in ample quantity.

Brushes, paints, palettes, water containers.

Oils, pastels, colored pencils, and so on…

The sunlight pouring in through the large window made the entire scene look like a painting.

Philip spoke with an awkward smile.

“I don’t actually know much about magic. But I heard that lately, you drawing is related to improving your magic skills, Ray. So I set up a workspace, thinking it might help, even a little. Think of it as an art studio.”

As he spoke, Ray had already started walking.

After taking a slow look around, he arrived in front of the canvas and gently touched the blank paper.

Then he noticed the wall behind him, filled with empty picture frames.

“What are those?”

“They’re where your paintings will go. If there’s one you’ve already done that you like, you can put it up right away.”

Paintings, in other words—

A place to be filled with imagination.

Ray quietly stared at the white, empty spaces, then nodded and said,

“Thanks. I like it.”

*

 

A quiet studio amidst peaceful daily life.

Swish— Swoosh—

With every movement of the brush, a massive mountain of stone began to appear on the canvas.

The mountain, covered with mechanical devices here and there, was Rael Row, remembered in the boy’s mind.

Swoosh— Swish—

It had been three weeks since his encounter with Vicious.

By now, Rael Row had likely arrived on the land beneath the floating island in the wilderness of Sector 33’s outskirts.

With hope that it was land suitable enough to call home.

If possible, Ray would’ve departed immediately too—but the problem was that Curiosa’s dimensional gate wasn’t finished yet.

*“It’s only this fast because it’s me doing it. Help? Not needed. For a permanent gate, collaboration only messes up the elemental arrangement and lowers efficiency.”*

The completed gate at the end of the corridor on the second floor of the bus shimmered in lavender and brown.

The elements: opening, displacement, space, and construction.

A swirling, oval-shaped mana structure.

An identical gate was being installed in the corner of the annex’s lobby.

According to Curiosa, it would take at least ten more days of work.

Swish— Swoosh—

“……”

In truth, he could have left right away, regardless of whether the gate was finished.

But the boy was wary of a possible attack from the Doctor or the Indigo Dawn, and so he wanted to set up a way to return and defend the estate at any time before departing again.

Ray recalled what Solite had said.

*“Bishop Sardio’s behavior hasn’t changed at all. I tried coaxing out some information, but he seems completely unaware of what happened at the estate that day—that is, of the overseers’ presence.”*

*“Being a 4th Circle mage would suggest high rank, yet… it seems not all activities are shared even among the members.”*

Solite’s deduction was reasonable.

They had also sent a signal through Krymer’s communicator to let the Azure Dawn know the operation went smoothly, but—

*‘…I can’t afford to let my guard down.’*

Ray was keeping his guard up for even the most unlikely events.

Swoosh—

At that moment, he subconsciously applied pressure to the brush.

Snapping out of his thoughts, the boy looked quietly at the painting, then peeled the canvas from the frame and rolled it up in his hand.

Griné, who had been sitting on a chair behind him watching, spoke.

“It looked like a perfectly fine painting to me.”

“It’s not enough.”

“You’re not satisfied with it?”

“I’m not. I only replicated an image from memory—it doesn’t contain much of my imagination.”

“You’re improving very quickly. Maybe your standards for yourself are rising along with your skill.”

A rare hint of curiosity colored Griné’s gentle voice.

The boy’s rapid growth.

It was a fact.

While hundreds of sheets of paper and cloth were stained with vivid colors…

The boy’s world, which had once only contained abstract concepts, was gradually taking on clear form.

Like cleaning a foggy window, the shapes of all things in the world became clearer.

And for subjects he painted often, he could now recall their image with his eyes closed, purely through imagination.

He could even apply that imagination to some extent in mana manipulation.

Like making opposing elements coexist.

Or altering the properties of an element itself.

But unlike when he’d electrified his body during the fight with Krymer, it didn’t feel like he’d broken through a wall.

That was why the boy wasn’t satisfied with his current work.

*‘If I could infuse more imagination into my paintings…’*

Then he might be able to freely create powerful magic like electrification.

And he also had this feeling—

That he had once painted something far more perfect than this.

Griné’s voice continued.

“No one would believe it, you know? That it hasn’t even been a month since you started painting. Your skill is improving astonishingly fast—your imagination too.”

“This is still far from enough.”

“You’re quite ambitious, aren’t you, Ray?”

“That’s how I’ll reach my goal faster.”

The boy lifted his head.

Aside from a single painting of a person made of electricity, all the frames on the wall remained empty.

Clatter. Clatter.

Watching Ray organize the tools, Griné asked,

“Are we stopping here for today?”

“Yeah. I feel like I’ve run out of imagination.”

“Could I ask you a favor, then?”

“What kind of favor?”

Griné took out a green gem and a seed of the World Tree from her bosom.

“I want to run a little test.”

“I get it. But I’ve got something to do first. There’s a class with the kids in the main building I need to attend.”

“I thought Ayla and Ain were in charge of those classes?”

“Just for today, I’m teaching. It won’t take long.”

“Alright. Go ahead. I’ll wait here.”

After finishing cleaning up, Ray left the annex and headed for the main building.

He arrived quickly, stopped by the training grounds and the classroom, and gave instructions to Ain and Ayla.

“Huh? Brother Ray! Wasn’t today’s special class supposed to start with theory? Huh? You want us to gather the kids in the lobby?”

“Welcome! Uh, what? In the lobby? Not here in the classroom?”

The siblings were puzzled, but followed Ray’s directions.

And a few minutes later—

“What’s going on? Why did he call us all together?”

“I heard Ray himself is giving the lesson today.”

“Are both the theory and practice classes combined?”

“There he is—Ray!”

All the children of the main building gathered in the lobby, buzzing with curiosity.

Ray opened his mouth.

“Quiet.”

At that single soft word, silence fell instantly.

Facing a sea of curious eyes, Ray continued.

“Class starts now. But it’ll be different from the ones you’ve had so far—”

A child raised a hand.

“—You have a question?”

“Is this a theory class? Or a practice class?”

“It’s both. And to be exact, it’s not a class, but a test.”

At the word *test*, groans and murmurs erupted everywhere.

“No way! A test out of nowhere?!”

“According to estate regulations, tests must be announced at least four weeks in advance!”

“This is a blatant violation of student rights! Notify the student council immediately!”

“…Did we even have a student council?”

Ray quieted the uproar and spoke again.

“Ayla and Ain have been teaching theory and practice so well that I thought repeating the same things would be pointless. That’s why I prepared a test.”

Woom—!

Ray used grey mana to create a sphere in his palm.

“Ain, the desk.”

“Oh, yes, Brother.”

The mana sphere was placed on the desk.

Densely fused with elements, the mana sphere had a distinct presence, and the children were momentarily tricked into thinking it was a tangible object.

“It’s a sphere made of mana. The elements used are fusion, stabilization, suppression, connection, and regeneration. The test is to break it. In other words, sever the elemental fusion. But if you take too long, it won’t work. The moment the applied force wavers, the elements will snap back into their original state.”

Ray added an explanation.

Once the sphere was broken, it couldn’t be used again—so there would be only one test passer.

“There’s no deadline. Anyone who breaks the sphere passes.”

It seemed difficult, but the examiner thought it was solvable.

Because the elemental bonds of the sphere were slightly loose at one specific point.

If someone pushed the key element into the gap, the sphere would shatter on its own.

The theory of elemental mechanics.

The practical skill of elemental control.

In other words—

*‘Anyone who’s been paying attention in Ayla and Ain’s classes will have a fair shot at passing.’*

From Ray’s perspective, it felt almost too easy a test.

But the students clearly didn’t think so.

“How is it? Easy, right?”

“……”

They looked at him like he was a harbinger of doom.

Seeing the grim morale, Ray revealed his trump card.

“Whoever passes the test, I’ll grant them one wish.”

The atmosphere changed in an instant.

Murmurs spread.

“A wish…! Any wish at all…?”

“You really mean it?”

“Yeah. As long as it’s within what I can do.”

With Ray’s confirmation, the children were thrown into a frenzy of excitement.

They couldn’t hide their glee as they discussed what wish to make if they passed.

Among them were Ayla and Ain.

“A wish…! Oh no… what should I wish for…?!”

“Should I ask Brother Ray to make me his blood brother? No, maybe asking for 100 sparring matches would be better.”

*‘But you two are teachers, not students…’*

Ray thought for a moment—then decided to include the siblings as test-takers anyway.

After all, the most effective motivation for growth was reward.

That’s when Ayla asked him a question.

“Are you saying you’ll be our rainbow?”

“Rainbow?”

“You said it before. That if we find the rainbow, we can make a wish.”

He had said that once.

Probably the day he defeated Binjin.

*‘Didn’t think that would come back like this.’*

Ray thought for a moment, then answered.

“──────.”

His voice didn’t carry through the murmuring crowd.

Only Ayla heard the response. She stood dazed for a moment, then returned to her spot with a smile.

After that, under the siblings’ guidance, the children lined up in an orderly queue to attempt breaking the mana sphere.

“Please! Please break!”

“Hrahhhhhhh!”

But none succeeded.

Each time a challenger stepped down, the slightly disrupted elemental bond instantly returned to its original state.

That’s when Ray noticed a familiar hair color in the queue.

“My turn next! If I pass—if I pass… Hmm, what wish should I make?”

What the—where did *she* come from?

Ray yanked Veronica out of the line.

“Why are you here.”

“Me? I had an appointment with Ayla. We were going to have a lady-like, cultured tea time.”

“Come with me. There’s something you need to see too.”

Veronica was being dragged by Ray toward the outside of the estate.

“I wanna make a wish to you toooo, Rayyy—!”

“What kind of wish were you planning to make?”

“……”

Veronica suddenly fell silent.

“Why’s your face turning red?”

“Y-you don’t need to know!”

Ray and Veronica soon arrived next to the annex.

Standing in a spot where the soil was relatively in good condition was Griné.

“Lady Veronica, you’ve come along as well.”

“Hello, Lady Griné.”

“Your face is quite flushed.”

“Ah, that’s because it’s so hot out…!”

“It’s winter.”

“It’s hot today…! Ah, so warm…!”

Griné tilted her head as she watched Veronica fanning herself desperately with her hands.

Then she took out a green gem and handed it to Ray, saying,

“It’s your turn now, Ray.”

Around her—

There were traces in the snow-cleared ground, showing that something had been planted in several spots.

 

 

 

 

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