Genius Wizard who sees Rainbows- Chapter 278

**#278. Aerial Train (2)**

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*Clang! Clang!*

The train dashed down the tracks at a speed that could only be described as reckless.

The passengers had to grab onto anything within the cabin to avoid falling.

And they had to endure a heavy dizziness as the scenery outside the window shifted in a blur.

*Clang, clang, fwoooosh──*

When the train finally arrived at Station 22, investigators and paramedics were already gathered.

“First, identify the casualties!”

“This way! Is everyone all right?”

Amid the chaos,

The engineer was secured as a witness.

“Pardon…? Mr. Hudson, did you just say some boy injected mana into the engine to move the train?”

“Sounds like the trauma from the incident really hit him hard. Hey, get in touch with the mental care center. We’ve got someone who’ll need recovery support.”

“No, I’m telling the truth! And I’m perfectly sane!”

Just as the engineer was about to lose his mind with frustration, other investigators approached.

“We’ve confirmed it through passenger statements. All of them agree—a white-haired boy took down the terrorists.”

“Yes, the white hair! That’s exactly the boy I mentioned!”

“Seems a capable mage was on board. Still, no matter how skilled, moving the entire train alone is impossible. Injecting that much mana by oneself? That’s absurd.”

The investigators looked around to secure the witness.

But the boy described by the engineer and passengers was nowhere to be found.

Naturally.

“If I stay around, I’ll be dragged into a tedious investigation.”

“Pant, pant…! W-wait for me…!”

They were leaving the station via the stairs instead of the elevator.

“How are you so strong? How many circles do you have, exactly?”

“Four.”

“Four circles? No way—that strength was beyond that!”

Ray bounded down the stairs, skipping entire flights at a time.

Joshua followed behind, struggling to catch his breath.

*Whoosh!*

Then a sudden gust of wind from above shot down and stopped in front of Ray, morphing into a human figure.

A translucent sky-blue shape.

A middle-aged woman carrying a briefcase.

Ray naturally stopped, and Joshua, catching up, gasped in awe.

“‘Wind That Bears Speech’! I heard this spell hasn’t even been released yet, and now I’m seeing it with my own eyes!”

“You know this spell?”

“I read about it in an article. It’s a spell the W.I.D. School is planning to unveil next quarter. Once its performance is verified, it’s expected to drastically reduce the need for short-range communication spells.”

Just as Joshua eagerly explained, the woman opened her mouth.

—I’m sorry for stopping you so suddenly. But I just had to say thank you.

The airy, swishing sound of the wind was indistinguishable from a real voice if one closed their eyes.

Ray’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

He calmly analyzed the color of the mana composing the magic as he listened.

—I’m McQueen, head researcher at the W.I.D. School. I was the one the terrorists targeted on the train. Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to keep my precious research data safe.

“I wasn’t particularly trying to help.”

—Regardless of intent, it’s a fact that you helped me. I have urgent documents to deliver, so I can’t talk long, but I’ll make sure to repay you. Please visit the W.I.D. Magic Tower sometime.

Ray accepted the business card she offered, and the sky-blue figure dissolved into a crisp breeze.

“She someone important?”

“Very! She’s the head researcher at the W.I.D. Magic Tower—ranked third in the city!”

“Head researcher.”

“Yeah, head researcher. She rarely appears in public, so her face isn’t well known, but those in the know all recognize her.”

While chatting, they descended the last few stairs and reached the first floor.

“I’ll go alone from here.”

“Huh? You sure you’ll be okay?”

“The streets aren’t that complicated.”

“Yeah, I’ve got to go the other way anyway.”

Joshua looked a bit reluctant but accepted Ray’s decision.

Just as they were about to part in front of the clock tower station, Joshua fished something from his pocket and handed it over.

“My business card. Compared to someone like McQueen from the W.I.D. School, it’s nothing, but… well, I do belong to a school too. If you ever need help, contact me anytime!”

Mumbling shyly, Joshua waved and ran off in the opposite direction.

“……”

Left alone, Ray checked the business card.

**\[Stona School]**

**\[Junior Administrator: Joshua]**

Given the “junior” title, it seemed he hadn’t been part of the school for long.

‘You can only officially join a school after becoming an adult, right?’

Joshua had a youthful face.

He was probably just barely of age.

As Ray tucked the card away, he felt a crinkling sensation at his fingertips.

He pulled it out to check.

A wrinkled note.

‘Right, this too.’

In addition to investigating the professor and solving the matter of the Black Cloud, there was one more task he had to handle in the Mage City.

Sector 50. The man who handed over his entire life savings along with a car key—Humphrey.

He had asked Ray to find his biological younger sibling who had been sold into the Mage City, giving him a note with personal information.

*Rustle, rustle.*

Ray unfolded the note and scanned the key details.

**\[Hern] \[Sold 1 year ago]**

**\[Gray hair] \[Was 16 at the time]**

So Humphrey had gray hair.

Hard to tell, since he was bald now.

Hern was a common name in the slums, and since some time had passed since the note was given, he would now be 18—a legal adult.

Other details like speech patterns and physique were also listed, but they didn’t seem particularly helpful for tracking.

Teenagers change drastically in their mid to late teens.

**\[Scar on the back]**

The only potentially useful information was the scar—something that wouldn’t have vanished over time.

Ray stowed the note and turned back to look at the clock tower before leaving.

The tangled web of rails overhead.

Trains raced along them, belching black smoke.

A thought occurred to him.

Even if it were proven beyond doubt that pollution was caused by excessive use of magic…

‘Would people really reduce their use of magic?’

He couldn’t be sure.

Not producing black smoke would mean giving up the conveniences of civilization.

*Step.*

Ray, lost in thought for a while, resumed walking.

He passed magical tools and facilities puffing out black smoke at every turn.

Eventually, he arrived at a tower with an old-fashioned look.

*Bzzz──*

“I’m here to register a school.”

“Excuse me, register a school…?”

The receptionist, upon seeing Ray’s young face, trailed off.

It had been a long time since a visitor came to register a school—and this one was far too young.

“Are you here as someone’s representative?”

“No. I’m here to establish my own school.”

“I’m sorry? Your own school?”

The receptionist couldn’t hide her confusion.

Just then, a voice echoed from the crystal orb on the desk.

—Send him to my office. He’s likely the one the administrator from the Ristoa School mentioned.

“Understood.”

Another staff member arrived and led Ray to an office on the top floor.

A luxurious carpet.

Bookshelves lining the walls.

A massive desk by the window.

In the center of the room, a middle-aged man was practicing hitting balls with a long stick.

Five circles.

Proof of a powerful mage.

*Whoosh──!*

“I was told to treat an honored guest with the utmost respect. But I didn’t expect the guest to be this young.”

The gruff-looking man continued swinging as he spoke.

“Do you know where you are?”

“Isn’t this the School Registry?”

“Correct. Any new school must come to us first. Sure, you can call yourselves a school without registering, but then you won’t be able to participate in any official events.”

*Whoosh──!*

“We also gather information from the magic world and distribute it to the towers. We organize regular exchanges, mediate disputes between towers.”

*Whoosh──!*

“Lately, with the city like a powder keg, that last bit doesn’t go so well. But we still act as a kind of association. And do you know what’s most important?”

Ray tracked the increasingly forceful swings with his eyes and replied.

“I’m not sure.”

“That we are also a school at heart. And not just any minor school—we’re a powerful force. Yet the administrator of the recently unproductive Ristoa School dared to warn me: if I fail to treat this guest well, I might miss the chance to change my life and regret it forever.”

*Whoosh!*

The man watched his imaginary ball fly into the distance, then turned to face Ray.

“And after all that, he sends me a child. What do you think? Do you believe you’re someone who can change my life?”

“……”

Ray stared into the man’s aura—flickering with flame-like wrath and gleaming pride.

He seemed to have immense self-esteem and ego.

“Whether your life changes or not depends on what you choose to do.”

“Hah, I like that confidence. All right, let’s hear it.”

The club floated back to its place on the wall by itself.

With a snap of his fingers, the fireplace roared to life, and the sofas and table arranged themselves in the center of the room.

*Thud!*

“My name is Gustach. Show me this isn’t some prank by the Ristoa administrator.”

“I’m Ray. I’ve come to found a school.”

“In times like these? Everything worth discovering has already—”

“—Been discovered, and there’s nothing new under the sun. I’ve heard it before.”

Gustach glared at Ray for interrupting, but then he chuckled and said,

“If you’re that confident, then go on. Tell me about the theory that will form the basis of your school.”

“It’s not a particularly difficult concept.”

Ray began to explain about imagination.

That by vividly visualizing an image in one’s mind, one could cast spells beyond the confines of formulas and equations.

That it was possible to let mana move on its own, in accordance with the image imagined.

Gustach, silent for a while, suddenly burst into laughter.

“Khahaha! Did the administrator of the Ristoa School send you to bring back my laughter? It seems I misunderstood. You weren’t here to mock me.”

It was the same reaction as when the executives of the Ristoa School first heard the explanation.

Ray, from past experience, knew what the fastest way to persuade someone was.

“It’d be quicker to show you.”

“Ah, hold on a moment.”

Gustach fished something out from his coat and put it in his mouth.

“Hoo— I may have been taking things a bit too seriously.”

It was a small metal rod.

Colored mana was being drawn into the tip of the rod, clumping into black.

Some of it flowed through the rod into Gustach’s body, while some rose into the air as black smoke.

“Fascinating, isn’t it? It’s a mana cigarette soon to be released by Lecof Corporation. It absorbs surrounding mana and gives the user a deep sense of calm. I used to smoke regular cigarettes, but I quit because I could feel them damaging my health. Since this one uses mana as its base, there are no side effects.”

No side effects, he said.

There was no way that could be true, with that black mana being absorbed into his body.

‘Maybe not in the short term, but it’s certain he’ll eventually develop Black Mana Disease.’

Still, Ray wasn’t concerned about the other man’s health.

It was just that the black smoke invisible to others was an eyesore to him.

Vmmm!

The mana from the two gems Ray emitted headed toward Gustach.

“You’d be better off using this instead of ordinary mana.”

“You mean mana from the circle? I’ve already tried it before, but it wasn’t much different from ambient man—huh?”

It happened in that instant.

A sensation like a bolt of lightning piercing down his spine struck Gustach.

 

 

 

 

 

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