Chapter 201 – Maintenance (Three)

Ray approached the window.

In the direction of the mansion’s main gate, the atmospheric mana was undulating, taking on a human form.

It advanced toward the mansion as if parting through water, then stopped in place and moved no further.

“Wait here, I’ll be back.”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

Leaving the bewildered children behind, Ray exited the parlor.

As he opened the mansion door and stepped out, Curiosa emerged from a spatial rift.

“Long time no see.”

“It’s been nearly a month. Long time no see, kid.”

Curiosa replied indifferently and pulled a notebook from her pocket, handing it over.

“It’s the results of the inquiries you requested. Information gathered from eight sectors, from number 45 to 38, is all in there.”

Ray flipped through the notebook, seeing densely packed sentences on every page.

It didn’t seem like the information had been particularly curated, but the sheer volume indicated that Curiosa had put considerable effort into the inquiries.

“Impressive. Completing inquiries across eight sectors in just a month couldn’t have been easy.”

“Well, for an authority on spatial leaps, gathering this much information is easier than scaring a Rockdeer.”

Though Ray’s admiration lacked soul, Curiosa puffed up with pride and continued.

“Did you visit the ruins?”

“I did. I just got back.”

“Perfect timing. As per the Doctor’s orders, there likely wasn’t a Rainbow Shard there, but even so, it must have been a good experience to broaden your horizons.”

“I found a shard.”

“What?”

“Not at the ruins, but somewhere else.”

The black lines drawing eyes, nose, and mouth on the white mask moved with disbelief.

Curiosa focused her mind.

Though she could detect others’ emotions with extreme sensitivity, she felt no emotion from the boy.

In other words, she couldn’t read his emotions to determine the truth of his statement as she could with others.

‘But this brat isn’t the type to lie about something like this.’

Curiosa waved her hand through the air, opening a spatial passage leading to the cabin.

“Let’s go inside and talk. I have something to report too, and it seems our conversation will be lengthy.”

“Wait a moment. I’ll bring Veronica and Philip.”

“No, kid, I think it’s better if you come in alone.”

After staring at Curiosa for a moment, Ray nodded without further questions.

The two stepped through the spatial rift into the cabin interior.

Sizzle─

The spatial rift closed.

With practiced movements, Ray retrieved refreshments from the cupboard, brewed tea, and placed them on the table.

‘What the… I definitely moved the location. How does he know?’

Curiosa was momentarily flustered.

“Sit.”

“Uh, right. Thanks for having me.”

She replied awkwardly and sat at the table.

The teacup clinked, and Ray was the first to speak.

“Is what you have to tell me so important that I should hear it alone, without Philip and Veronica?”

“Yes. Let’s start with that.”

Curiosa took a breath and spoke in a meaningful tone.

“The Doctor has noticed our existence.”

Contrary to expectations, Ray showed no sign of surprise.

He simply tilted his teacup calmly.

“Kid, why aren’t you surprised?”

“Because I already know.”

“What?”

“Let’s continue the conversation first.”

Curiosa, filled with doubt and confusion, continued her story.

“It was Sector 43. While roaming the streets, I noticed I was being followed. At first, I thought it was a local organization tailing me because of my strange appearance. I lost them by leaping through space in a back alley. But somehow they found my location again, and new ones appeared, following me. I wasn’t attacked or anything. They just watched me quietly, as if surveilling.”

Curiosa paused to catch her breath and continued.

“I caught one, and I immediately knew what it was. A Homunculus sent by the Doctor.”

“Homunculus.”

“Yes. Homunculus. Remember when I first met you, I said I thought you were a Homunculus?”

“I think I remember.”

Curiosa continued her explanation about Homunculi.

“I can’t feel any emotion from them. Anger, sadness, joy—no matter how calm a state, humans always harbor at least a trace of emotion. But when performing specific actions, specific emotions surge up. Excessively intense.”

“…Sounds similar to me.”

“Yes, similar to you, kid. But there’s a big difference. Their speech and actions are unbearably awkward. Unnatural, bizarre. Like dolls poorly imitating humans.”

Curiosa added.

Looking at them evokes a strong sense of disgust.

“No matter what I asked after capturing one, they just stared at me with empty eyes. They kept their mouths tightly shut, like mutes. I killed every one I spotted. But when I moved to the next sector, they were scattered across the streets again. I haven’t spotted any yet, but they probably exist here in Sector 37 too.”

“……”

It was the moment he understood how the Doctor had tracked their movements.

“Do you know anything else about Homunculi?”

“No. That’s all. The fact that their emotional wells are broken, and that the Doctor calls them Homunculi. They’re probably related to the experiments on emotions the Doctor is conducting.”

After a moment of thought, Ray spoke.

“Could it be related to the Doctor’s goal? To restore the world to its original state?”

“It’s not impossible. Though I don’t know what he plans to do with those Homunculi.”

“It seems efficient.”

Curiosa tilted her head.

“Efficient?”

“Homunculi only feel emotions when necessary, right?”

Curiosa thought she understood what Ray was getting at.

Humans are irrational beings, living their entire lives dominated by emotions.

If one could summon and dismiss emotions at will, they could live entirely according to the principles of reason and rationality.

But.

“……”

She wondered if that was truly a better life.

Curiosa asked.

“Kid, aren’t you the same? You also seem to summon emotions only when needed and remain emotionless otherwise. Is it efficient? Are you satisfied?”

The unexpected question left Ray deep in thought for quite a while.

“…No, I’m not satisfied.”

“Right. Efficiency and satisfaction aren’t always proportional. If given the choice, I’d choose a life constantly exposed to emotions, even if uncomfortable, over one where emotions are artificially controlled.”

After discussing Homunculi a bit more, the two moved on to the next topic.

“Vicious visited the ruins before us. That’s when I realized the Doctor was tracking our movements.”

The conversation continued calmly.

The records in the tower damaged by Vicious and the murals remaining underground.

The fierce battle with Vicious that appeared at Rael Row.

“…Just from the story, it sounds like Vicious. But I don’t understand why he’s in the form of a child.”

“I suspect it might be due to the Doctor’s experiments. Vicious said that when adults grow up, their minds harden and they lose the ability to imagine.”

Ray conjured mana, creating a yellow dagger on his palm.

After a moment of daze, Curiosa snapped back to attention and asked urgently.

“What is that? How did you do that?”

“I just imagined it.”

“What nonsense. The elements are intertwined in an impossible combination right now!”

Curiosa gasped for breath.

The lavender curiosity filling her vessel surged wildly.

“You wicked little brat! You’ve brought another new technique! What do you want? Wealth? Fame? Women? I’ll give you everything, just tell me the method right now!”

He didn’t particularly need any of those.

“Sorry, but I don’t know the principle either. I just visualize an image, and the elements move on their own.”

Curiosa fell silent for a moment.

Then she spoke.

“I can’t do it?”

“I wouldn’t know. Vicious used magic the same way. He freely changed the form of crimson mana and used it.”

After writhing and twisting her body with strange noises for a while, Curiosa finally calmed down and spoke.

“Summarizing what we’ve discussed so far… It sounds like the Doctor restricted Vicious’s growth so he could continue to exercise his imagination.”

“Given the circumstances, that seems the most plausible.”

“Hard to say. The Doctor is someone who rarely leaks information.”

Curiosa sank into thought.

Ray changed the subject and spoke up just a few seconds later.

“You’re definitely the world’s greatest spatial leaper, right?”

Though the question came out of nowhere, Curiosa responded immediately.

“Of course. I can confidently say no one has researched spatial magic as long as I have.”

“Not a single person?”

“Yes, not a single person.”

“Then you’re the only one I can ask for this favor.”

Favor.

A foreboding premonition instantly ran down Curiosa’s spine.

“Connect the soon-to-be-completed mansion and the bus interior with a spatial path. Just like you can enter the cabin from anywhere, allow travel to and from the mansion anytime while traveling by bus.”

There were mentions of the World Tree and Sky Island afterward, but none of it reached Curiosa’s ears.

Spatial path construction.

Only those words echoed in her ears.

‘Construct a spatial path…! This conscience-selling little brat…!’

Previously, drawing a one-time magic circle to leap between sectors required immense time and mental energy.

But a permanent spatial path?

That was truly a nauseating task she never wanted to experience twice.

Curiosa trembled with rage, but soon a fact came to mind, and she smiled triumphantly as she spoke.

“Kid, sorry, but it’s impossible. A spatial path isn’t something that can be built with just time and effort. It requires an artifact called a space stone, found extremely rarely in ruins…”

“This?”

In Ray’s hand was a pair of stone fragments with a familiar appearance.

Curiosa looked back and forth between Ray’s face and his hand.

A moment of silence.

The black lines on the mask disappeared one by one until they vanished completely.

Suddenly, a spatial rift opened, and Curiosa leaped into it.

Then, faster than it opened, the rift closed, causing her to fall through the air and crash onto the floor.

“……”

“……”

Curiosa shot him a resentful look.

What was that, how did you close it?

“Did you do that with imagination too?”

“No, not that. I just twisted the mana that surged when the space opened.”

“What…!”

Whether it was imagination or mana twisting, it was something difficult to comprehend within the common, benign understanding of wizards.

“No! I won’t do it! I was bedridden for weeks after constructing one passage! Do you think I’ll do that again?!”

“You’ll do it, right?”

“Oh, oh, don’t come closer! You monster brat!”

“There’s no one else who can do it but you. And I’m not a monster, I’m human.”

“You, you! I’ll teach you the method, so you do it!”

“I have too many other things to do.”

“You devil brat! Now you won’t even make a deal to teach me something! Don’t come closer! I’ll kill you if you get near!”

Newly forming spatial rifts closed as soon as they opened.

For a while, Curiosa’s screams echoed through the cabin.

The Amon Family poured manpower into the annex construction, which continued day and night.

Thanks to that, the annex was rapidly taking shape.

“You can stay in the main building until the annex is complete.”

At Ray’s words, Jang and William answered simultaneously.

“Yes, understood, young master.”

“Th-thank you. I, really.”

Jang had completely resigned from the rickshaw company and was helping with mansion work.

His affability allowed him to quickly befriend the mansion children, and his adaptability and sense of responsibility were exceptional, handling every task assigned to him neatly and swiftly.

Ray thought it would be fine to entrust him with the role of caretaker once the annex was complete.

“I, I’ll help with work too. S-since you saved me, I, I have to do something…”

In the case of William, who had been trapped in the ruins for many years, he seemed to be gradually recovering his sanity.

His habit of rambling incoherently remained, so detailed past information was unclear.

However, judging by the deep gratitude always filling his vessel, it was determined he wouldn’t pose a threat even after fully regaining his sanity.

In any case, having him around immediately was helpful.

Considering emergencies, it was better to have one more wizard available.

Though a survey of the streets showed no Homunculi, and the Doctor’s likelihood of attacking seemed low.

‘Because the possibility of “what if” exists.’

As for Demper, he stayed at the mansion for a few days with a dazed expression before leaving.

“…Let’s meet again if there’s a chance later.”

He said he would take a break from mercenary work for a while to sort out his thoughts.

Sorrow, regret, emptiness, helplessness.

Emotions born from the fact that he had been deceived by someone he deeply trusted swirled murkily in the man’s vessel.

…By Ray’s standards, Demper was a strong person.

For someone that strong to be unable to break free from fragile emotions for a long time.

It felt a bit strange.

It was difficult, but he tried to understand.

“……”

Once the group’s whereabouts were settled.

Ray entered the tower.

Inside the neatly repaired tower, dust floated leisurely along with faint sunlight.

Ray was waiting for Grine, who had agreed to be his drawing teacher.

The remaining time until the envoy from the Indigo Dawn Society arrived was about ten days.

Not knowing how strong the arrivals would be, he needed to increase his power as much as possible before then.

‘But raising my Circle is impossible.’

It hadn’t even been two months since reaching the 3rd Circle.

The conclusion was easily reached.

Cultivating imagination was the best course of action he could take now.

Tap─ Tap─

As Ray walked between the tables holding artifacts, something suddenly caught his eye.

A triangular pyramid-shaped glass sculpture.

‘A prism.’

“It’s a prism.”

Turning toward the voice, Grine had arrived behind him.

Ray asked.

“You just said prism… How do you know its name?”

“Of course I know. I even know how to use it.”

Grine answered with a bright smile.