Genius Wizard who sees Rainbows- Chapter 31

 

#031. Undying Ember (1)

 

 

 

—

 

**Creak— Creeeak—**

A wheelchair, with its fire-warped wheels, moved forward with an unsettling sound.

The occupant was an unconscious **Kedrick**, while the one pushing it was **Ray**.

Beside them, **Philip** walked, occasionally glancing at Kedrick as he matched Ray’s pace.

**Tap—**

“……”

A group of dozens of boys followed behind them.

They kept their distance, as if wary of Ray, yet the confusion and tension on their faces were unmistakable.

**Tap— Tap—**

Their footsteps differed slightly.

However, their thoughts were all the same:

*”How did Ray and Philip survive the fire, and how are they unscathed?”*

*”Wasn’t Philip supposed to be an injured? How is he walking on his own?”*

*”And Kedrick—who was terrifyingly strong—has he really fallen?”*

Their thoughts were a jumbled mess, like wandering aimlessly through a hazy nightmare.

**Tap— Tap—**

Everything was shrouded in mystery, brimming with unease and confusion.

Yet no one left the group to run away—not during the long journey away from the fire. Not even one.

**Tap— Tap—**

Perhaps it was because they had nowhere to return to.

But fundamentally, it was the image Ray had shown earlier that kept them in line.

Everyone knew:
*Their fate now lay in the hands of the boy walking ahead.*

The procession entered the eastern scrapyard, continuing deeper without rest.

Children who usually scavenged through the junk piles noticed the group and whispered.

“Isn’t that Philip?”

“Today’s the day of the duel, right? Is it over?”

“And the kids following them….”

“Oh no….”

When they realized who the group was, the scavengers froze in place.

Kedrick’s gang had no contract with the hotel.

Whenever they were spotted on the streets, they would pick fights and use their fists.

Even though Philip and Ray led the group, the fear of Kedrick’s gang was deeply rooted and didn’t fade easily.

“Hide! They’ll remember our faces and retaliate later!”

“Yeah, don’t make eye contact!”

The scavenger children scurried into the junk piles, trembling.

Kedrick’s gang wasn’t much better off.

“……”

They all watched Ray nervously.

Somehow, Ray seemed connected to Philip, the hotel’s operator.

And that was terrifying.

They feared that the things they had done in the past might bring about some sort of punishment.

When the group reached the front of the hotel, Ray turned to the gang and spoke.

“Wait here. Don’t move until I give the order.”

**Screeech— Thud!**

The hotel’s massive iron doors opened.

As Ray was about to step forward—

“Wait a moment,” Philip stopped him.

“Would it be alright if I talked to them for a second?”

Philip gestured toward the gang.

Ray nodded.

“Aren’t you coming in? Or are you planning to keep standing out here?”

A stir arose at the back of the gang.

Several kids stepped forward—children from the hotel who had followed the gang to the duel arena.

They walked timidly, heads hung low like they were ashamed of a grave sin.

The hotel children were just as confused as the gang.

But above all, they felt guilt—for running away and leaving Philip behind.

Ray’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as he observed their reactions.

Guilt was a rare emotion in the slums.

Morality and ethics were often worn down by the constant struggle for survival.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to feel so bad.”

Philip’s warm words shook the guilt within the children.

“Come here.”

Slowly, their guilt shrank, its color fading.

“This is your home.”

The children trembled as they approached Philip and burst into tears, clinging to him.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“I shouldn’t have abandoned you. I regret it so much.”

Philip comforted the children, patting their backs.

He held back his own emotions as he looked at Ray and asked,

“Can they come in with us?”

The hotel belonged to Philip, not Ray, so there was no need to ask.

And the children’s earlier departure from the duel was irrelevant to Ray.

*“He must have a reason for asking me this,”* Ray thought.

He was right—Philip’s actions were deliberate.

At first, Philip had seen Ray as just a skilled fighter.

But after several encounters, that view changed completely.

The boldness of Ray’s wager, the mysterious magic he used—Ray was far beyond what Philip had imagined.

There was one thing Philip was certain of, even with limited information:

*“The balance of power in the streets will shift.”*

Perhaps even the order of the streets itself would change.

The wave that Ray, this boy, would create wouldn’t be a ripple—it was likely to be a tidal wave.

However, one thing worried Philip:

*“Power alone can’t sustain a faction.”*

Rule through fear would eventually lead to resistance.

Even if today’s events hadn’t occurred, Kedrick’s gang would have shown signs of fracture sooner or later.

…Ray was ruthless.

Although he reserved that ruthlessness for his enemies, it could still instill fear among his own people.

Thus—

*“He needs to show his human side. To some extent.”*

Balance was crucial.

Philip, having made up his mind, asked Ray in front of everyone:

“Can you forgive these kids?”

He deliberately sought Ray’s permission in public.

“Fine.”

“Thank you.”

The gang murmured among themselves.

—“The Hunter… is he taking over the hotel too?”

—“I thought he’d punish them for running away.”

—“If we’re lucky… maybe we…”

**Screeech— Thud!**

The hotel swallowed Ray, Philip, and their companions.

Behind the closed doors, only Kedrick’s gang remained, unable to break the silence or leave.

Under the crimson sky, their hearts swayed between faint hope and lingering anxiety.

—
—
—

The hotel buzzed with unprecedented commotion as the wheelchair carrying Kedrick arrived.

“Isn’t that Kedrick?”

“Philip… he looks fine?”

“Did they win the duel? And who are those kids outside?”

Seeing Keedric—once a symbol of terror—reduced to this state was shocking.

Some mocked him openly.

“Serves him right. Look at him, completely wrecked.”

“Looks like the Hunter won. Feels good to see him like this.”

Even though Kedrick was one of their own, many children despised him for the suffering he caused.

Amidst murmurs, the wheelchair arrived at the infirmary.

**Creak— Clack.**

“How do we move him? The wheelchair’s too wide for the door.”

“We could try carrying him in…”

As the children debated, Ray stepped forward.

“Move.”

He effortlessly lifted Kedrick out of the wheelchair.

The ease with which Ray carried someone of a similar build, unconscious, left everyone speechless.

**Tap. Tap.**

Ray carried Kedrick into the infirmary, placed him on a bed, and shut the door after Philip entered.

**Creak— Click.**

Muted murmurs filtered through the thin container walls.

The soundproofing wasn’t great, but it wasn’t enough to disturb their conversation.

Both boys sat down.

Philip spoke first.

“About the magic you used in the duel… if it’s okay, could you explain what happened?”

His eyes were glued to his arms and legs, still in disbelief over their recovery.

“……”

Ray remained calm.

He hadn’t planned to reveal his ability to use magic, but he trusted Philip wouldn’t spread rumors.

Still, he kept his explanation minimal.

“It’s as you saw. I can use magic.”

It was both an explanation and a refusal to elaborate further.

“I see. That’s enough.”

Philip nodded. He understood Ray’s reluctance to share personal details and decided not to press further.

Ray’s voice broke the silence.

“Before that, I’d like to settle the accounts.”

“Oh, right.”

Ray dumped a bag onto the table, spilling weathered bills and coins. A small notebook also fell out, listing the names and amounts of the bettors.

It belonged to the one in charge of the wagers.

Ray flipped through the pages, calculating the shares.

“The total bet was 4.24 million shillings. My share is 1.82 million, and yours is 2.31 million.”

The remaining 110,000 shillings belonged to Zephyr or Rotson’s gang.

It was a possible distribution since almost no one had bet on Ray except for Ray himself and Philip.

Philip took the notebook from Ray and skimmed through its contents.

“Accurate. You’re very quick with calculations.”

“It’s not something I’ve never done before.”

The banknotes and coins were distributed to both sides of the table.

Ray pushed part of his pile toward Philip and spoke.

“I’d like to commission you for something.”

“What kind of commission?”

“Our hideout burned down. I want you to find a new place for us to move into. There are plenty of abandoned factories, but not many are in decent condition.”

Ray added that he would also like Philip to handle the purchase of furnishings for the new location.

“This is your commission fee. Let me know if it’s not enough.”

“……”

Philip stared at the pile of money in the middle of the table.

He had been about to bring up the hideout issue anyway.

“Of course, I can handle finding a new hideout. And buying the furnishings, too. But I can’t take this.”

Philip added more of his own money to the pile, increasing its size, and pushed it back toward Ray.

Ray was puzzled.

Not only was it hard to understand why Philip refused the money, but it was even more baffling that he had added his own share to the pile.

“Why?”

“The distribution is wrong. Today’s success was all thanks to you. You should take much more of the money.”

“……”

Ray tilted his head in confusion and pushed the pile of money back toward Philip.

Swoosh.

Philip pushed it back toward Ray.

Swoosh—

Ray pushed it back again.

Swoosh—

Swoosh—

“……”

“……”

Ray took off his wristwatch, gazed at Philip, and clenched his fist.

Philip flinched momentarily but didn’t back down.

Swoosh—

“…I don’t understand.”

Ray muttered as he stared at the pile of money that had returned to him.

Why insist?

If he had just kept quiet, he could have taken more money.

He glanced at Philip.

Once again, golden mana and pink mana appeared in Philip’s aura.

‘The proportion of golden mana isn’t very high this time.’

Philip didn’t have a strong greed for money.

But it wasn’t as if he was indifferent to money, either.

He was steadily saving up whenever he got the chance, likely for some purpose.

Then why…?

A thought suddenly crossed Ray’s mind.

‘There’s white mana mixed in with the others.’

Could it be that he was worried about *me*, not himself?

To Ray, worry had two definitions:

A desire to protect someone.

A desire to give without expecting anything in return.

By Ray’s standards, Philip’s actions fell into the second definition.

“Are you worried about me?”

“Uh… worried…”

Philip was genuinely flustered.

Worried? About who? You…?

‘You’re probably the strongest kid in Sector 49. Who would dare to worry about you? Do I even have the right to worry about you?’

If anything, people should be worried about the ones who’ll end up on the receiving end of your punches.

Philip silently offered a brief moment of mourning for Zephyr and Rotson’s gang.

Then he answered.

“It’s not that I’m worried. I just think this is the proper way to split it.”

Ray’s brow furrowed slightly.

“I don’t get it. If it’s not worry, what’s in it for you to split it like this?”

“Hmm…”

Philip thought Ray was the most impressive and simultaneously the strangest kid he had ever met.

Most of Ray’s words and actions were as polished and skillful as those of an experienced adult.

But in certain areas, Ray was surprisingly immature.

In particular, he had trouble understanding the motivations behind others’ actions.

It was as if he had a formula in his head for people’s behavior, and anything that deviated from it left him questioning.

After a brief consideration, Philip replied.

“Think of it this way. I’m investing in you.”

“Investing?”

“Yes. I’m expecting some kind of return in the future. If you use this money to strengthen your group, it’ll make it easier for the hotel to focus on its operations.”

After Philip’s explanation about investment, Ray was finally able to fully understand Philip’s motives.

Actions with clear expectations.

That made much more sense to Ray.

“Alright. Then, let’s move on to the next topic—”

Knock, knock! Knock-knock-knock!

Urgent knocks interrupted them at that moment.

The door opened, and a boy with a terrified face rushed in.

“Ze-Zephyr and Rotson have appeared! They’ve brought all their underlings!”