Chapter 163 – Frozen Things (Seven)

Pausing his movements for a moment and holding his breath, Ray peered down through the railing at the base of the tower.

Far in the distance.

The first-floor entrance door, which had been slowly opening along with Binjin’s exposed arm, suddenly stopped dead in its tracks.

Screeeech— BANG!

In an instant, it slammed shut again.

Soon, the sound of Binjin’s hurried footsteps rapidly moving away from the tower could be heard.

Tap, tap, tap, tap

“…….”

Ray listened intently.

He could faintly pick up the clamor of voices coming from the direction of the mansion’s main gate.

‘Tommy carried out the instructions well.’

He must have brought the Tenant Gang, subdued by the Weakening Magic, on stretchers along with the other children.

Timed for when Binjin’s class would end, to the front of the mansion gate, to draw attention.

Having bought time, Ray quickly surveyed the inside of the safe.

‘First, the letter… it’s here.’

The indigo wing seal on the envelope.

The seal was already broken.

Without hesitation, he took out the letter and read it.

「I have read your letter. I am glad to hear the new form of the Ring is to your liking. Take your time to explore it well. The advantages of a Hybrid Ring are not merely in the rapid casting of magic…」

「…I have also received the gift. I thank you for your decision to contribute such a precious item. Your will and sincerity in wishing to join the Indigo Dawn Society have been sufficiently confirmed…」

…As expected.

The letter was from the Indigo Dawn Society, and judging by its contents, it seemed Binjin’s Ring was indeed the result of a procedure received from them.

He quickly read the next part.

「…However, it seems I must inform you that your application for membership has been rejected. Your inherent ability, being at the 2nd Circle, does not meet the Society’s standards for contributing to our great cause of His resurrection…」

「…You need not be disappointed. Your aptitude in other fields has been sufficiently verified, and in consideration of the regret expressed by some members, we have decided to grant a grace period of approximately one year…」

「…I do not believe you can reach the 3rd Circle within such a short time as a year. It is an achievement you could not attain in half a lifetime; for one as untalented in magic as you to achieve it now is absurd…」

The letter’s content was lengthy, and its direct style seemed to reflect the writer’s usual disposition.

He moved on to the next part.

「…Successfully taming it within one year will be the condition for membership. If you can command it, it will not only offset your lacking ability but will also undoubtedly be of great help to the Society’s great cause…」

「…On the specified date, the future Overseer will visit you. If you have achieved sufficient results by then, you can be guided to the assembly through him…」

Resurrection, membership, taming, results, assembly.

Memorizing the key words, he quickly read the next sentence.

First, the specified date was…

‘January 11th of next year.’

Calculating, that’s 62 days from now.

About two months from now.

Since Binjin received the letter in the past, from the current perspective, the date was not far off.

‘It sounds like this Overseer person will visit the mansion directly.’

Thinking that, he lowered his gaze and found himself already at the final paragraph.

「…In the end, the most inferior in the world shall become the most superior. Though it rises from the darkest, lowest indigo dawn horizon of the world, it will ultimately ascend to the brightest, highest place, like the sun overlooking all upon the earth.」

—From Indiago.

“…….”

The boy had a strong intuition.

That the name Indiago written at the end belonged to the monocle-wearing Wizard.

Also, he seemed to be seeing the word ‘sun’ quite a lot lately.

After returning the letter to its place, Ray moved on to the next target of investigation inside the safe.

‘The artifacts, one, two… five in total.’

Through the accompanying notes written in Ancient Script, he could easily discern their purposes.

‘The stone is a spatial stone used for constructing permanent Spatial Paths, the liquid in the bottle is a growth accelerator that makes plants grow in an instant, and then another…’

He calmly examined them one by one.

Being stored separately in the safe, they were clearly valuable, but none seemed to be artifacts with threatening functions that could be utilized in combat.

That is.

‘It can steal memories?’

If one excluded the last item examined, an object shaped like a fountain pen.

According to the note, it was a device that could steal memories by aiming at a target and twisting the end.

Not the entirety of them.

But a sufficiently meaningful amount of memories.

The boy fiddled with the fountain pen, lost in thought.

‘Was such technology possible even in the Ancient Era?’

Then again, it was said to be an era where Magic was developed to an incomparable degree compared to now.

Since it was possible to neutralize Rings themselves, memory theft might not even be a surprising technology.

However, there was something that bothered him.

“…….”

Tap.

Putting down the fountain pen, he ran his finger over the Ancient Script on the note, and the meaning was conveyed once more.

[…steals the target’s memories…]

That was precisely the nuance.

There was no room for gentle or neutral feelings like transmission or delivery to intrude.

In other words.

‘It means it’s an object created from the start for the purpose of plundering others’ memories.’

It made him wonder.

Was the Ancient Era a time when such technology was necessary?

Lost in thought for a moment, Ray stared quietly at the artifacts before returning them all to their places and closing the safe.

Screeeech— Clack!

As the connecting latch at the entrance clicked into place, the Locking Magic reactivated.

It was right to leave the letter and artifacts untouched.

‘For the plan’s sake.’

It was necessary not to shatter Binjin’s illusion that everything was proceeding according to his will.

Having read the letter and confirmed there were no artifacts to be wary of besides the Ring and the fountain pen, all objectives for infiltrating the tower were accomplished.

Going to the window he had used to enter, Ray could see the group gathered at the mansion’s main gate.

‘With that many, it seems almost all the mansion’s personnel have come out.’

The chaos, doubt, distrust, shock, surprise, and various other emotions visible even from a distance.

His appearance there, concluding the scene, could be considered the completion of today’s plan.

…However.

‘How do I get down?’

A small problem arose.

Originally, he planned to climb down by holding onto the wall’s irregularities, but thinking about it, that would be quite time-consuming.

If he took his time, there was a risk the personnel at the gate would disperse.

‘If I just jump, will I get badly hurt?’

Even protecting his body with Magic, it was a height where simple bruises would definitely not be the end of it.

It was obvious to anyone… but the boy was a staunch empiricist.

‘Isn’t it worth a try?’

Since he hadn’t actually jumped, maybe he’d be fine? Better than expected?

Anyway, even if he got hurt, Veronica would heal him, so wouldn’t it be okay?

If he could just muffle the sound of impact when he landed, wouldn’t that work?

As long as he didn’t die, wouldn’t it be fine?

Just as the boy was contemplating himself and the hardness of the ground.

Thudududud—!

As if reading such dangerous thoughts, Kelly came running from afar with a very urgent gesture.

Slap!

Confirming that sight, the boy jumped down without hesitation.

─────!

Whoosh—!

His vision, which had instantly lowered, stopped along with a powerful gust of wind.

His body floating in mid-air, Ray stepped down from Kelly’s back and landed his feet on the lawn.

“Thanks. I received your help again this time.”

Ray stretched out his arm to pat Kelly’s head, but.

Snap!

He quickly withdrew it, avoiding the surging, thick jaws.

“……?”

With a puzzled look, he stared at Kelly, who had just snapped at the empty air where his hand had been.

Kelly had returned to a docile posture and was looking back at him.

“Why did you do that all of a sudden? Don’t you like having your head petted?”

“…….”

“If you had said you didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have tried to pet you.”

“…….”

“Exercising your right to remain silent won’t solve the problem.”

“…….”

He couldn’t read any emotion from Kelly, who was a machine, not a living being.

However, it felt closer to a movement expressing some dissatisfaction rather than having a real intent to attack.

Did I do something wrong?

“Veronica said there are no bad dogs in the world. You…”

“Woof! Woof woof!”

Ray, who was about to scold him, had to momentarily wrestle, climbing onto the sizable head to shut the mouth of Kelly, who had suddenly started barking.

Afterwards, he promised to bring snacks without fail on his next visit, and with Kelly’s help, he lightly leaped over the wall and circled back to the mansion’s main gate.

“Just who! Who did this! Explain the situation!”

Binjin was furious, seeing the Tenant Gang lying unconscious on stretchers.

Ray naturally blended in among the mansion’s disciples, keeping an eye on the situation.

‘Seeing him that angry, it seems he’s confirmed that the Tenant Gang’s Rings were destroyed.’

That was the intention.

Binjin was the type with small emotional fluctuations.

To glimpse his hidden psychology, it was necessary to give a stronger-than-usual stimulus to cause agitation.

Indeed, Binjin’s Vessel now was in a much better state for observation, with the emotions that had been settled rising turbidly.

“Whose doing is this!”

The most prominent emotion was undoubtedly anger.

From Binjin’s perspective, it was as if the nourishment he had painstakingly cultivated for his Exploitation Magic had been trampled on in large quantities.

‘It’s not like they’ll become completely unusable.’

But it was clear they would yield far less Mana compared to when they had their Rings.

“I’m asking what happened!”

Every time Binjin shouted, the disciples flinched and glanced around nervously.

And at the center of it all was.

“Tommy! Answer me!”

Tommy, the one who had called the other disciples and brought the Tenant Gang on stretchers.

“Tommy! Answer me! Are you ignoring my words now!”

Tommy’s face had turned deathly pale.

Every time his teacher’s roar fell, it felt like a red-hot awl was stabbing into his body again and again.

The cloudy sky, gloomy clouds.

The damp humidity floating in the air.

Sweat covered his entire body like rain.

His breathing grew rapid, making it hard to breathe.

The fear from the situation itself and the anxiety over the fact that he had stolen the Ring churned his insides horribly.

“Tommy!”

“Y-yes!”

“I’m asking what happened!”

“Hic! Th-th-that is…!”

“Just who did this—!”

“I did it.”

All eyes turned at once.

There stood Ray, who had stepped forward from among the disciples.

“I did it, to them.”

“Wh-what do you mean? No, I suspected but… really, did Lord Heiler really do it?”

“That’s right. They challenged me to a spar in the street, so I gave them a little lesson.”

Hearing that, Binjin shouted with a voice bubbling with rage.

“I acknowledge the disciples’ rudeness! But to inflict such a harsh punishment for just that is unprecedented—!”

Click.

That’s when Ray turned on the recorder.

─You bastard, I’m being polite, so you don’t get the situation, huh?

─Hey, kid. You think this is still the mansion with the teacher around? You think you’re still our superior?

─Even if you’re some precious family’s kid, making you disappear without a trace is no big deal.

Click.

Ray turned off the recorder and spoke.

“They tried to kill me.”

A cold silence fell over the scene.

Plop! Plop plop!

Raindrops began to fall on his shoulders.

A dizzying, chaotic emotion surged through the air, where body heat spread, replacing the humans’ silence.

Meanwhile, Binjin’s anger rapidly cooled and vanished.

“I apologize. It is my fault for not managing my disciples properly. I have nothing to say.”

Binjin had completely returned to his usual calm and polite demeanor.

“It’s fine, these things happen.”

“I will punish the disciples as you wish.”

“I’ve punished them enough. How to handle the aftermath is for Binjin to decide.”

“If you say so…”

Binjin fell into thought.

Ray knew he had already decided on an answer in his heart and was acting.

“In that case… I should send them to the farm for recuperation. Since Lord Heiler has shown mercy, they will work there unpaid to atone for their sins as much as possible.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Ray expressed agreement while checking Binjin’s Vessel.

The emotion witnessed there was.

‘…Consideration?’

It was a genuine feeling of consideration for the three A-class disciples, including Tenant.

He thought for a moment, but.

The conclusion was one.

Binjin believed that making them victims of his Exploitation Magic was an act of consideration for his disciples.

Plop! Plop plop!

The raindrops began to grow heavier.

“Then I must prepare to send these fellows to the farm. Call for a carriage, and there are other things to take care of. What are you all doing! Is this a show!”

At Binjin’s roar, the gathered disciples scurried into action.

“L-let’s go inside! Hurry!”

“It’s starting to pour already!”

Amidst the cold rain, spreading a strange heat, within it.

The boy with white pupils could see a blue-haired girl rooted to the spot, unable to move.

A view incessantly scored by rain streaks.

Through them, the girl’s emotion, appearing as if spreading, was a deep fear.

The boy moved his lips.

─You.

He asked.

─You know, don’t you.

Shoooooo—!

At that moment.

The world was obscured by rain streaks.