Genius Wizard who sees Rainbows- Chapter 23

 

#023.   Veronica’s Bookstore (4)

 

 

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**Crash!**

The sound of shattering glass.

Fragments of glass scattered in all directions.

And a stone, flying directly toward the girl’s frightened face.

“……!”

Who could have foreseen this?

The girl’s eyes filled with terror. Sensing it was too late to avoid, she shut her eyes tightly.

But the anticipated pain never came.

“……?”

She slowly opened her eyes and found herself speechless.

The stone had stopped—grasped firmly in the hand of a boy, just inches from her face.

A breeze swept through the room.

The glass shards floated, frozen mid-air, as if suspended in time.

Under the boy’s clenched fist, a drop of blood fell to the floor.

‘Ah.’

Veronica understood.

The boy had summoned the wind through magic. However, the stone’s velocity had been too much to fully counter.

“Are you─?”

The girl’s words were cut short by the boy’s quick movements.

*Tap.*

Ray moved swiftly to the window and looked outside.

Amid the pouring rain, a few boys in raincoats were fleeing down the street.

‘Zephyr’s gang. Four of them.’

Different from yesterday’s encounter.

It wasn’t hard to deduce their intent. They likely hadn’t aimed to hit anyone specifically, as the interior of the store wouldn’t have been visible from the street. The stone was probably thrown to intimidate.

Ray had thought breaking the arms of three of their members yesterday would have been warning enough. But Zephyr, it seemed, wasn’t ready to give up the “contract” on the bookstore.

“This… I owe you again. Thank you. This was my job to handle, if only I were in better shape.”

A voice came from behind him.

Ray turned.

Mana, swirling from the elder’s circle, was about to be released from his palm. He had intended to cast a spell on the stone, but hadn’t been quick enough.

“Veronica, heal him,” the elder said.

Veronica looked at Ray’s hand with a trembling expression.

“Your hand…”

The boy didn’t understand her concern. It was just a scrape—hardly worth tears. And it wasn’t even her own hand, but his.

Unmoved, Ray watched as Veronica took his hand and used healing magic.

*Hummmm─*

The wound closed rapidly, but only to an extent. Veronica fetched a first-aid kit and, with meticulous care, cleaned, applied ointment, and bandaged the injury.

“This way, it won’t scar,” she said.

“…….”

Ray didn’t mind scars. In fact, he thought they might serve as evidence of battles fought, perhaps intimidating future opponents.

Still, Veronica completed her work before the elder spoke again.

“Until you create a proper mana circle, you should avoid using magic. I believe you’ve already drawn on ambient mana quite a bit.”

“Yes, Grandfather. I understand,” Veronica replied, nodding.

Satisfied, the elder turned to Ray.

“It’s hard to believe you taught yourself magic. Drawing on ambient mana faster than a circle’s reserves isn’t something easily done, even by skilled mages. And yet, here you are…”

But the elder’s words barely registered with Ray, who was deep in thought about Zephyr’s gang.

Ray glanced at the window. “You mentioned stones have been thrown before?”

“It’s been over a month now,” the elder replied. “Not just once or twice, but repeatedly. It’s clearly not random.”

The elder’s expression turned somber.

“A certain individual has been persistently trying to buy the store. I suspect they’re behind this.”

Ray remained silent, contemplating.

This bookstore was where he would learn magic. He couldn’t tolerate disruptions like this.

“You’re not planning to sell, are you?”

“I’ve poured so much into this place already—money, dreams. But it’s true, holding out isn’t easy anymore,” the elder admitted, his voice tinged with resignation.

This bookstore was more than just a shop. It was the culmination of his life’s work: a place to train disciples and complete his lifelong research.

“I couldn’t afford to open in a better sector. But I was content. There were still those who sought knowledge here, and meeting Veronica and the children made it worthwhile.”

The bookstore had been open for six months. While income was modest, the unique position of being the only bookstore in Sector 49 allowed it to stay afloat.

“Since I fell ill, Veronica has managed the store.”

Veronica returned, broom and dustpan in hand. As she bent down to clean, a sudden gust of wind swept all the glass shards into the dustpan.

Veronica pouted. “Grandfather told us to only use circle mana, not ambient mana. He said it makes people unstable.”

“It’s fine. I’m not very emotional anyway,” Ray replied, matter-of-factly.

Veronica frowned, sensing he meant it literally. She glanced at the elder, seeking support.

The elder hesitated. Normally, ambient mana caused side effects. Yet Ray exhibited none—no trembling, no agitation, nothing.

‘Could he truly be immune?’ the elder wondered.

If so, this boy possessed an unimaginable advantage.

“What’s the plan now?” Ray asked, snapping the elder out of his thoughts.

The elder sighed. “Once I’m gone, things will worsen. A shop run by children would be an easy target. I may have to sell.”

“No!” Veronica cried out, startling them both.

“This place carries your dreams,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “You’ve wanted to run a bookstore since you were young.”

The elder was taken aback. Veronica had always been composed, yet now she was trembling with emotion.

“Veronica…”

“I hate it! I hate the idea of losing you, or the store!” she sobbed, burying her face in his chest.

The elder held her, his mana swirling gently around them.

Watching silently, Ray thought, *It’ll be fine. I’ll take care of it.*

He glanced out the window at the pouring rain. It reminded him of that night in Sector 50.

And just like then, he resolved to act.

—
—
—

The old man had a few more conversations with Ray before slowly drifting off to sleep.

“It’s the illness he’s suffering from. He said the sleep will grow longer and longer until he can never wake up again. He’s also losing mobility. Right now, he can only stay awake for two or three hours a day.”

The official name was *Eternal Rest Syndrome*.

A rare, unexplained disease that had suddenly manifested two months ago.

“Could you come back tomorrow? He’s usually awake in the morning. There’s still a lot he didn’t get to say today.”

Ray nodded.

There was no point in trying to rush the old man awake, and there were other pressing matters to attend to.

He left the room and walked down the hallway.

Two small heads peeked around the corner, their watchful, wary eyes darting back before disappearing.

Ray descended the stairs with Veronica.

Before stepping outside, he donned the new raincoat he’d received from the bookstore.

Just as he opened the door—

*Creak.*

He turned to look at the girl and spoke.

“Don’t worry. It’ll all be sorted out.”

He couldn’t empathize with the grief of others.

But he did know a few words and actions that could offer comfort.

“Huh?”

Caught off guard by his unexpected words, the girl blinked in confusion.

*Ding.*

The boy, his face as expressionless as ever, opened the door and disappeared.

—
—
—

*Shhhhhhh.*

The streets were empty.

Shops had temporarily closed to avoid the black rain.

*Tap, tap, tap.*

Ray strode quickly through the streets.

The black rain couldn’t penetrate the thin, multicolored mana barrier encasing his body, instead bouncing harmlessly away.

He continued walking, keeping an eye out.

He searched for a place where the Zephyr gang might have taken shelter, but found nothing.

“They must have all gone back to their hideout.”

It seemed his plan to confront Zephyr directly would have to change.

Ray turned and headed toward the junkyard on the eastern outskirts.

He intended to meet Philip.

With the black rain falling, there was a high likelihood Philip would be at the “hotel.”

Philip had connections with other groups, aside from Kedrick’s crew, and could likely arrange a meeting with Zephyr.

*Tap, tap, tap.*

By the time he reached the eastern outskirts, Ray spotted a group of boys gathered in front of a small container.

“Is that…?”

They wore raincoats. There were about a dozen of them.

Every one of them seemed to radiate a thick, dark fear that swirled within them.

It was like dirty water, murky and sloshing, blending with the rain.

They were standing at the far end of 22nd Street, a location technically within Kedrick’s territory.

Ray quickened his pace.

As he approached the container, he began to hear the faint sounds of something being struck and soft groans.

“Hey… isn’t that…”

One of the boys, noticing Ray nearby, stared at him in shock.

The rest of the group turned to look at Ray as well.

“That guy… he’s the one who’s supposed to fight the boss soon.”

“What do we do?”

“Don’t touch him for now. The boss said he’d take care of him personally during the duel.”

The group murmured nervously among themselves, glancing at one another.

But Ray wasn’t listening to their conversation at all.

His focus was solely on the sounds coming from inside the container.

*Whack—!* *Thud—!*

“Goddammit… right in front of my eyes…!”

“Ugh…”

The sounds of beating. A voice filled with rage. Groaning.

There were two voices, both familiar to him.

One was Kedrick’s.

The other was Philip’s.

What was going on?

Could there be a connection between the two that he hadn’t been aware of?

Following his instincts, Ray began moving toward the container door.

*Thud.*

One of the boys grabbed Ray’s shoulder.

“Hold on. Who gave you permission to—”

*Bang!*

Ray’s fist shot out and snapped back in a flash.

It struck the boy squarely in the solar plexus.

The boy’s eyes rolled back as he collapsed into the puddle-covered ground.

*Thud!*

“H-huh?”

“What the hell just happened? I didn’t even see him move.”

“Damn it! Restrain him! Didn’t we say no one gets in?”

The boys panicked.

But they quickly moved to follow orders, reaching out toward Ray.

It was one against more than ten.

However, there was one thing they’d overlooked.

*Bang!* *Thud!*

Ray wasn’t just any opponent.

*Bang!* *Thud! Thud!*

Dozens of fights on the streets.

Moments of magical insight that had come to him over time.

Together, they had elevated Ray’s strength far beyond the level of simple street brawls.

*Thud!* *Thud!*

The so-called elites of Kedrick’s crew.

It didn’t even take a minute for every one of them to be face-first in the rain-soaked ground.

Ray stepped past the fallen boys and stopped in front of the container.

*Creaaak.*

He pushed open the door and entered.

“Die! Just die already! Every time I see scum like you—!”

Philip was curled up on the floor, his body trembling.

Kedrick was towering over him, kicking him furiously, screaming with rage.

…And from a thick strand connected to his heart, crimson mana flowed into his ring.

Ray marched forward, grabbed Kedrick by the shoulder, and yanked him back.

“Damn it—! What the hell are you—?!”

Kedrick turned, his bloodshot eyes wild as he swung a fist.

*Whoosh—!*

The blow, aimed directly at Ray’s face, carried enough force to shatter bone.

*Snap!*

Ray’s hand moved.

Mana coiled around him.

It moved faster—far faster—than Kedrick’s fist.