Genius Wizard who sees Rainbows- Chapter 82

#082. **Curiosa (2)**

 

 

 

 

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“I killed him.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

As expected, Curiosa showed not the slightest hint of anger.

*「How do you have Walter’s ring?」*

Curiosa’s curiosity reacted to the word “ring,” not “Walter,” when asking that question.

In other words, Curiosa had no interest in the life or death of their comrade.

What mattered was why the ring had ended up in someone else’s hands.

“He was the weakest among us. Always had been. Blindly devoted Walter. Angry Walter. Pitiful, pathetic Walter.”

There was no trace of sympathy in the voice.

The latter part of the statement even carried a humming tone, almost like a song.

“Then what about the other bloodstones Walter had—?”

“The questions are over. It’s my turn now.”

“…Fine.”

“How did you know I had Walter’s ring?”

The answer came immediately.

“Every executive has one. The Doctor gave them to us. Each ring is imbued with a slightly modified form of binding magic that allows us to sense each other’s locations.”

“…….”

Graham had already examined Walter’s ring once.

At that time, the only enchantment he detected and removed was an extraction spell.

For the binding magic to escape Graham’s notice, it must have been extremely intricate and sophisticated.

“Hah! ‘Family must always be connected, no matter where they are’—what a ridiculous joke. He even designed our mission paths so that we wouldn’t cross each other for decades.”

Perhaps eager to get back to their turn, Curiosa rapidly spilled out answers, even including details that hadn’t been asked.

“Now, second question. Tell me about that *Rockdeer* called *Blue* you mentioned earlier. Why is the organization tracking it?”

Ray raised the level of questioning, testing the limits of what could be asked.

“Blue. Yeah, I’ll tell you. It’s not that important anyway.”

Blue was a mystical creature that *Murcred* had been pursuing for a long time.

The blue gem embedded in its forehead was its source of power, and its defining trait was that it wasn’t a singular entity.

“Not a singular entity?”

“The gem gets passed down. From what I understand, everything—including the memories of previous generations—gets inherited.”

Ray started to grasp the situation.

A *Rockdeer’s* natural lifespan was around fifteen years, yet John had encountered *Blue* over fifty years ago.

‘But that creature seemed to recognize John.’

At first, Ray thought its lifespan had been extended by some mysterious power.

But if memories were inherited, it explained why that creature, *Blue*, reacted as if it knew John.

“Next question. Tell me about the organization *Murcred*.”

Ray raised the stakes once more.

“*Murcred* is an organization founded by the Doctor. The executives carry out their missions independently across the continent. There are so many missions that they’re impossible to count.”

Once again, Curiosa answered with astonishing speed.

It was as if he had no loyalty to the organization at all.

“Now it’s my turn. What are you? A *homunculus*?”

“I don’t know what a *homunculus* is, but I’m—”

Ray hesitated just as he was about to say *human.*

*「…You’re creepy.」*

*「You’re weird. You’re scary.」*

*「Get away! You monster!」*

Voices from childhood resurfaced.

There was a time he had seriously questioned whether he was even human.

Maybe he was some other kind of being.

But that was long ago—he had since let go of those thoughts.

And yet…

—*I’m human.*

Why did those words feel stuck in his throat?

At that moment, he felt a firm pressure on his hand.

Veronica had squeezed his hand.

Ray suddenly felt clear-headed, and the words finally came out smoothly.

“—I’m human. I don’t belong to any organization. Just a street orphan.”

“I see. Human, huh? Well, a *homunculus* wouldn’t make sense in some ways. Yeah, I suppose that’s right.”

Curiosa repeated Ray’s words like a child savoring a delicious cookie.

“Human. Yes, human…”

Over and over, in a voice filled with excitement.

He seemed to be reveling in the moment of understanding.

Ray ignored Curiosa’s murmuring and asked his next question.

“Tell me about the Doctor.”

“The Doctor, huh?”

Curiosa paused, as if organizing his thoughts, before speaking.

“He’s the head of *Murcred*. The one who raised the current executives. But no one knows his true identity. He always wear a mask and glasses, and his voice is mechanically altered.”

The *Doctor*.

Likely the figure in the photograph, embracing the children.

“The energy stones carried by organization members—I’ve heard they were issued by the organization.”

“You’re quite well-informed. Yes, the Doctor distributed them. But they’re fake.”

“Fake?”

“The Doctor has the real one. It’s identical in shape and size to the gem embedded in *Blue’s* forehead—though the color is different.”

Ray’s heart pounded.

He muttered instinctively.

“…Seven shattered pieces of a rainbow.”

Curiosa reacted with surprise.

“Oh ho. You know about the Rainbow?”

“Any magician has heard the stories at least once.”

Ray didn’t say anything more, but Curiosa continued, lost in their own thoughts.

“Yes, I think so too. The Doctor’s stone is likely a fragment of the Rainbow. And the real reason for creating *Murcred* and gathering executives… is to collect the other fragments.”

The Doctor possessed a red gem.

Ray recorded that fact in his mind and pressed on.

“I see. Next question. You can read people’s emotions, right? And what did you mean when you said only the Doctor could control emotions?”

Veronica, listening from behind, flinched.

‘Ray just slipped in a third and fourth question together!’

Her heart pounded.

But to her surprise, Curiosa didn’t notice and answered immediately.

“Yeah, I can read emotions. To a damn unbearable degree.”

“You only *sense* them?”

“……? Yeah. What else could there be?”

It seemed different from Ray’s ability to visually perceive emotions.

“Like it or not, I constantly feel the emotions vibrating around me. And it’s all because of that *damn* Doctor.”

“You don’t like the Doctor, huh?”

“Don’t like them? Hah! Do you think mere words can capture my *rage*?”

A gust of wind swept through the surroundings.

Curiosa’s vessel of fury expanded violently.

“If I *could*, I’d have killed him *on the spot*! If only my emotions didn’t break down every time I stood before him!”

Ray continued the conversation while gazing at Curiosa’s crimson hatred.

And in doing so, he uncovered a crucial fact—

“That’s why I was surprised to see you. The moment you moved the mana in the air, John’s desire swelled.”

—The Doctor could manipulate emotions using the mana in the atmosphere.

“I tried to analyze how it worked, but it was impossible. The moment I sensed the ambient mana shift, my emotions were already being controlled, and I became a mere puppet.”

Ray’s heart pounded harder.

‘He’s similar to me. No, maybe the he’s *same* as me.’

After what could be called a sense of self had formed, the first emotion that took root in the boy’s unconscious was loneliness.

—Why don’t you cry?

—Don’t you even get angry?

He couldn’t feel emotions.

—…It’s unsettling.

—You’re weird. Scary.

—You’re… different from us.

He could read the emotions of others.

When that fact became known, people did not look at him with understanding or concern. Instead, they cast gazes of discomfort and fear.

—Get lost! You freak!

—I-I’m sorry. I don’t think I can be friends with you.

During those times, when he was never welcomed anywhere, the boy realized something deeply.

All of this was because he was different from others.

From then on, he shut his heart tightly and lived without revealing his “difference” as much as possible.

Trying his best to blend in.

Questioning his own difference all the while.

As time passed, people like the children under the bridge and Niles appeared—people who understood his differences.

Yet, the existential loneliness rooted deep within his unconscious was unshakable.

Because none of them truly possessed the same traits that he did.

And then, someone with the same ability as him appeared.

*What kind of person is he?*

It wasn’t out of an innate sense of kinship.

Not from a feeling of belonging.

The boy had long since been worn down by the abrasiveness of the world to feel closeness over something as simple as a common trait.

It was simply an unprecedentedly intense curiosity.

“How do I meet the Doctor? Is the Doctor a magician too? How many circles does he have?”

“If he uses magic, I suppose he would be considered a magician. But… you want to meet the Doctor? *You?*”

“I’m searching for the scattered rainbow too.”

A brief silence followed.

Curiosa threw his head back and burst into laughter.

“Ha ha ha ha! *You?* Well, I suppose that’s possible. That’s right! You did say earlier that finding the rainbow was your goal!”

As he laughed, the straight line drawn over the mouthpiece of his mask curved sharply upward at both ends.

Even his eyes curved, forming an exaggerated arc.

“I thought… that was drawn with a pen or paint.”

Behind Ray, Veronica murmured in a voice tinged with shock and betrayal.

After barely managing to suppress his laughter, Curiosa spoke.

“So, are you saying you plan to steal the fragments of the rainbow? Sure. It’s possible. The Doctor isn’t actually that strong. If you so much as flicked him, he’d collapse.”

“…….”

That was also true.

It seemed the Doctor was not a high-circle magician.

“But you’ll end up being controlled. The moment you face the Doctor, with a mere flick of his hand, you’ll find yourself pledging loyalty on your knees—”

Curiosa suddenly stopped mid-sentence, as if he had just realized something shocking.

Then, with a dazed expression, he muttered:

“…You, your emotions….”

“Yeah. I don’t feel emotions. Even if I do, I can suppress them in an instant.”

“…….”

Curiosa had already seen Ray controlling his emotions while hiding in John’s shadow.

And the moment he realized that—

The violet curiosity contained within Curiosa’s vessel began to swirl like a storm.

Gasping for breath, Curiosa spoke.

“Alright. I’ll tell you how to meet the Doctor.”

“Where do I need to go?”

“You don’t *go* to him. The Doctor only appears when he has business. Usually, he visits the executives every few years, gives orders, and then disappears. His next visit is still a long way off.”

Six executives, scattered and operating independently across various regions.

Because of that, Murcred had no central headquarters, and the Doctor’s whereabouts were unknown.

“Is there another way?”

“If you can’t go to him, you can *call* him.”

Under the black cloth, Curiosa’s hand moved in a waving motion.

Along with that, Ray’s coat fluttered open.

A ring slipped out from an inner pocket and floated toward Curiosa in the air.

*Vmmmmm—*

A red light blinked from the ring.

“I’ll tweak the settings of the binding magic on the ring a little.”

Under the cloth, Curiosa’s hand moved again.

With that, the blinking light quickened, and chaotic elements began to dance around the ring.

A moment later, the flashing stopped.

Curiosa chuckled.

“Now you will know the locations of the other officers. Of course, the other executives and assassins will not know your location.”

The ring floated back through the air and landed in Ray’s hand.

As he put it on, he could distinctly sense the presence of another ring in Curiosa’s possession.

And—

*Four more rings.*

Their directions, when calculated, pointed toward—

*The upper reaches of the Elton River.*

Even though they were incredibly far away, the presence of the remaining rings was remarkably clear.

It felt as though arrows marking their positions had appeared in his mind.

Ray, fiddling with the ring, spoke.

“So, you’re telling me to take down the other executives.”

“You catch on quickly. That’s right. If the executives start falling one by one, the Doctor will have no choice but to show himself. After all, he wouldn’t just sit back and watch the organization he built crumble.”

Curiosa’s logic made sense.

But whether he would follow it was a different matter.

His goal was to find the rainbow, not to go around fighting battles indiscriminately.

However, it was also undeniable that Murcred and the Doctor held crucial clues about the rainbow.

*……*

Many thoughts and judgments passed through the boy’s mind.

*Either way, our journey will take us upstream along the Elton River.*

The ring would undoubtedly be useful for the journey.

It would act as a compass, leading them to the Murcred executives and allowing for preemptive measures.

Even without following Curiosa’s plan.

“I’ll take the ring, for now.”

“Smart choice.”

“What’s the range of the binding magic?”

“It’s practically limitless. After all, the formula was designed by none other than the Doctor. Also, the closer you get, the stronger the presence of the other rings will feel.”

Ray nodded and tucked the ring away.

Seeing this, Curiosa’s voice lifted with excitement.

“Now then, I’ve told you how to meet the Doctor. So, now it’s *my* turn again. The most important question of all.”

He rubbed his hands together beneath the black cloth, practically trembling with excitement.

“How exactly did you stir up John’s emotions? *How?* What’s the method? Huh? What’s the secret?”

After a brief silence, Ray spoke.

“I’m not telling you.”

 

 

 

 

 

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