# Chapter 087. The Missing Children (1)
—
Under the blazing sun.
A vehicle with a dazzling white body sped across the wasteland.
**Vrooooom──!**
Behind the rising cloud of dust, the silhouette of Sector 48’s buildings faded into the distance.
*”That elf, what kind of person do you think he was?”*
Veronica, seated in the back, idly played with a small potted plant in her hands as she spoke.
One of the four seeds had already been planted. According to Hender, it would likely sprout in about a month.
*”Probably someone like you—someone traveling across multiple sectors, researching the Black Rain. That seems the most likely.”*
The response came from Ray, who sat in the passenger seat.
Unlike usual, Philip was the one driving. His stiff posture and unwavering gaze on the windshield made it obvious he was tense.
It had been his idea.
*”I think it’d be good for me to learn how to drive too. You never know when I’ll have to take the wheel.”*
He didn’t want to become a burden in an emergency.
His skill wasn’t too bad—except for the time he confused the accelerator with the brake and nearly gave the car a half-body bath in the Elton River.
*”That would be nice. It’d mean I’m not the only one searching for a way to stop the Black Rain.”*
Veronica’s voice carried on.
*”I’m also curious about what this plant will look like when it grows. Maybe it has more abilities besides purifying the land.”*
The red-haired girl couldn’t hide her excitement as she gazed at the potted plant.
Ray turned to observe her emotions, then shifted his focus forward, lost in thought.
*”That traveler told Hender that once the plant fully grows, it would save someone’s life.”*
He had said that, in time, its meaning would become clear.
Did that mean that, at some point in the future, a life-threatening event was bound to happen?
Something related to the Black Rain?
*”……”*
He pondered it, but there was no conclusion to be reached.
There simply wasn’t enough information.
For now, it was better to focus on something else.
As he stared at the passing scenery, Ray quietly closed his eyes and began training his Circle.
*”Ah! Ah! Wait! The speed’s not decreasing!”*
*”……”*
Or at least, he tried.
Philip, that’s the accelerator.
—
At the horizon’s edge, the buildings of Sector 47 came into view.
*”That was long. Really long. Makes me appreciate Ray even more. He drove this whole distance alone last time, didn’t he?”*
*”That’s why Ray is special.”*
The journey had taken exactly eight days—one day shorter than the last crossing.
Ray recalled what Michael had mentioned about the decreasing distance between sectors as they traveled north.
*”Rumor has it that the rate of distance reduction follows a specific sequence. If that’s true, it means the sectors didn’t form naturally along the Elton River—they were deliberately arranged by someone.”*
A passing remark.
How the sectors were structured didn’t particularly matter to Ray.
*”It just means we’ll be able to save more time traveling.”*
That was all that mattered—reaching the next sector as quickly as possible and continuing the search.
Upon entering the sector, the group secured lodging in the city center and headed out into the streets.
Though they had taken a shower, they deliberately kept their outfits well-worn and casual.
It was bait—to attract the kind of gangs that could serve as informants.
*”Hold it right there. Haven’t seen you guys before.”*
*”Mind stepping aside for a quick chat?”*
It was a scenario that had played out several times in past sectors.
The thugs who lured them into alleys ended up being the ones thoroughly beaten instead.
*”Tell your boss this: if he wants this money, come to the Flonen Inn on Street 16.”*
With Ray’s provocation engraved in their minds, the battered gang members hobbled away, clutching their broken limbs.
After going through several more streets, Philip suddenly asked:
*”Didn’t those guys just now also say their boss’s name was Melom?”*
*”Yeah. So far, the only names we’ve heard for bosses are Melom and Dranine—just those two.”*
In a sector this size, there should have been at least five, maybe even dozens of separate gangs dividing up the streets.
Yet, only two names kept coming up.
*”Hmm. Sounds like these two groups have carved up the sector pretty evenly between them.”*
*”Agreed. Whoever they are, they must be pretty capable.”*
Controlling such a vast territory didn’t just mean the bosses were strong fighters.
*”It also means they have leadership skills.”*
More territory meant more areas and people to manage.
*”Philip, if they control this many streets, how many members do you think they have?”*
*”Hmm… let’s see. One, two, three… Probably well over a hundred each, at the very least.”*
That meant a combined force of over two hundred.
Enough that, armed with bats and pipes, they could even make established gangs hesitate.
But Ray’s perspective was slightly different.
*”Two hundred… That means we can search the sector even more thoroughly.”*
This was actually good news.
The more informants there were, the more intelligence they could gather in a short time.
As they continued walking, Veronica suddenly pointed.
*”Ray, look over there.”*
Across the plaza, a sign on a building read:
**”Garden of Knowledge”**
A bookstore—easily several times the size of Veronica’s Bookstore.
*”Mind if we stop by? I want to see if they have any materials on the Black Rain.”*
*”Sure.”*
They had planned to visit a bookstore in the last sector but never got the chance.
Besides, they had already finished reading all the books they brought from Veronica’s Bookstore.
**Ding-a-ling──**
The interior of the bookstore was spacious.
A central open space allowed the first and second floors to share the same air, while towering wooden bookshelves along the walls gave the place a stately atmosphere.
*”I’ll check the research section.”*
*”I’ll be over there. There’s something I want to look up about finance.”*
Veronica and Philip each disappeared into different aisles.
Ray, left alone, wandered aimlessly through the store.
*”So, the new Delfoyu novel…”*
*”Do you know when the next shipment will arrive?”*
*”Have you read Gipen’s work on synesthesia? I…”*
The conversations around him were soft and polite.
Their words reflected the refinement of their attire.
Which made sense—books weren’t typically a luxury for the lower class.
*”Books are for those with enough leisure in life to enjoy them.”*
To Ray, books belonged to the upper class.
People who had too much to lose to risk being rude to one another.
Or perhaps, people who were polite precisely because they had so much to lose.
**Tap.**
Ray’s footsteps stopped in front of the fiction and children’s section.
*”Grandmother Viola used to tell my younger siblings so many stories.”*
Tales of rainbows and other wonders.
He randomly pulled out a book and flipped through its pages.
A fable about a boy who guarded a cage but couldn’t resist setting the birds free—only to be punished for it.
*”I had to let them go. The red, orange, yellow, and…”*
*”I just had to see those beautiful-feathered birds fly through the sky.”*
*”If you must punish me, then do so. I have no regrets.”*
**”……”**
The boy’s words.
Even with his emotions having broadened slightly over time, Ray still felt nothing from fictional stories.
**Thud.**
Placing the book back on the shelf, he resumed walking.
Then, he saw her.
A noblewoman, standing before a bookshelf.
What caught his attention was not her appearance, but the violent storm of negative emotions swirling within her.
A tension surged through his entire body.
That was generally impossible.
For so many different kinds of negative emotions to coexist within a vessel, at such an immense volume—
The only past case where something like this had been possible—
‘Walter.’
His emotions had also displayed an extremely distorted distribution, and his actions had been marked by violence and instability.
It was highly likely due to mana addiction.
And—
Supporting that assumption, the noblewoman also bore two circles encircling her heart.
‘…A mage.’
The sixth one he had encountered since leaving Sector 50.
In a way, this was a gain.
He had found someone who could provide information about magic the moment he arrived in the sector.
But immediately, a question arose.
‘Her behavior is calm. Why?’
Emotions drive actions.
When angry, people break things or yell. When sad, they cry or collapse on the spot.
And yet, the noblewoman was calmly turning the pages of a book.
“……”
Focusing his senses, Ray analyzed her face.
She appeared to be in her mid-to-late thirties, but there were no signs of trembling, frowning, or any other indications of negative emotions.
What was this?
There were cases where emotions and actions didn’t align, but emotions of this magnitude were beyond the level of conscious control.
‘…But if she is controlling them—’
Then she was demonstrating an extraordinary level of mental discipline.
At that moment, Ray’s eyes caught the necklace she was wearing.
A delicate silver chain.
A glowing red gemstone at its center.
‘Murcred.’
It was said that members of Murcred carried red gemstones that functioned as mana reservoirs.
Was the noblewoman one of them?
Ray slipped his hand into his pocket and fingered Walter’s ring.
‘…She’s not an officer.’
That was something he had already confirmed upon arriving in the sector.
Walter’s ring, which pointed toward Murcred’s higher-ups, still indicated a direction far above, toward the upper sectors.
‘There’s still a chance she’s a regular member.’
A mage and a red gemstone.
That wasn’t an easy combination to overlook.
However, he couldn’t sense any mana movement from the gemstone. He would need to observe it more closely.
“I’ve picked out all my books!”
At that moment, Philip appeared from behind the noblewoman.
He was carrying an armful of books up to his face, struggling under their weight.
Thud!
One of the books slipped from his grasp and fell beside the noblewoman.
Philip, unaware of this, reached Ray’s side, setting his books on a nearby shelf before asking,
“What about you? Found anything worth reading?”
“Not yet. I’m going to look around a bit more.”
“Got it. This bookstore is huge—”
As Philip stretched his arms and rolled his shoulders, he suddenly froze.
His words stopped. His mouth fell open.
Like someone who had just been struck by lightning, he stood motionless.
Ray followed Philip’s gaze.
It was fixed on the noblewoman.
‘What’s there to be surprised about… Ah.’
Ray quickly realized the reason.
Beneath the wide brim of her hat, the noblewoman’s hair cascaded in waves—brown.
The exact same deep brown as Philip’s.
Philip’s gaze hastily dropped to her neck, but her skin was hidden beneath a high-collared sweater.
The noblewoman bent down and picked up the fallen book.
Slowly, she approached Philip and, with a smile as radiant as sunlight, spoke.
“You dropped your book, young gentleman.”
