Chapter 205 – Uninvited Guest (One)

The red-haired girl turned her head.

“Huh? You startled me, when did you get here? A drawing model? You’re not going to draw me weirdly like last time… right? Just act naturally? Without being conscious of it, like I usually am?”

Nod.

“Hmm… That’s not easy, ah! What I was doing was analyzing the soil samples Curie-nim collected. Look, the higher the sector, the less the soil is stained black. It’s proof that the soil becomes cleaner the higher you go. The Black Cloud flows along the river, and by the time it reaches the lower sectors, it falls as rain.”

What do you think imagination is?

“Hmm, that’s a difficult question.”

Or tell me what you imagine most often.

“That’s easy. Me and the person I like… no, no! No! That came out wrong! You didn’t hear that, right? Right? Say you didn’t!”

I didn’t hear it.

“That’s a relief. Hmm. I most often imagine a clear sky where the Black Cloud has disappeared. Then people suffering from illness would disappear too. Huh? You’re already done? Wait! You have to show me before you go! I promise I won’t get mad no matter how you drew me this time!”

The boy who quickly left the room headed to another floor and knocked on a brown door.

Knock knock.

─Who is it? Can’t you see the ‘Busy’ sign on the door?

Creak.

From between the mountain peaks of documents, a boy with brown curly hair raised his head.

“Who dares to interrupt my concentration, such an audacious… ah, it’s Ray. What is it? A drawing? Of me? I don’t really mind, but aren’t there better models? Well, if you’re okay with it. Work is unsatisfying. Actually, I haven’t been sleeping much lately, but it’s so rewarding. Look forward to it. I’ll show you how to change the number of digits in our account.”

What do you think imagination is?

“That problem I’ve been immersed in lately? In my own terms, that person’s dreams? Things you want and desire keep coming to mind even if you’re not conscious of them. For me, it’s finding my mother. I imagine it every day. What does my mother look like? Based on the faint memories I have left. Ah, you’re already finished? I’m looking forward to seeing it, but I’ll look later. I have too many documents to review right now. See you later.”

The boy left the mansion and boarded a bus.

The person working inside jumped at the boy’s voice and turned around.

“Damn it, sh─. You scared me. You devilish little brat, I told you to please make some noise when you move. What’s with that ominous look in your eyes. Don’t tell me you’re going to make me do more work…! I’m pouring almost all my time every day just constructing this Spatial Path right now! No! I can’t! Just kill me instead! Grrrr!”

I’ll tell you what kind of food I prefer.

“You might not know, but I actually quite like this kind of work. As long as meals are provided, I can repeat it for months or even years. Huh? A drawing? No way. I can’t take off the mask.”

If it’s because of the burn scars, it doesn’t matter. I can’t distinguish between beauty and ugliness.

“If I don’t want to, I don’t want to. You cheeky little brat. This is something I’ve never taken off since I found and wore it in the ruins.”

Then what about washing your face?

“……”

You don’t wash?

“……”

I’ll just draw the mask then.

What do you think imagination is?

“Don’t know, that kind of stuff.”

Then tell me what comes to mind most often.

“It would be breaking the Emotional Curse engraved on my sister and me and regaining our emotional freedom. Seeing that nothing I do can break it, I’m starting to think it might only be possible by killing the Doctor. I think that’s enough conversation. Get lost, I’m busy working.”

Then came a shout.

The boy followed the sound to the vacant lot behind the mansion.

The blue-haired boy who was teaching the children practical magic usage came running over breathlessly.

“Hyung! Where have you been running around so busily lately? I don’t even know how many days it’s been since I last saw your face. I’m so moved that you’ve finally visited to give direct instruction… Huh? You want me to keep teaching?”

You’re the man I acknowledged.

“The man among men that Hyung acknowledged…! Then of course I should teach! But I think it would be good if you showed us a demonstration at least once. The kids here are just beginners who’ve made their Rings, so they’d have a lot to learn by watching. For your information, right now we’re practicing making fireballs─.”

Whoosh!

Boom─!

A fireball the size of a car hit the scarecrow target on the other side of the vacant lot.

In the place where the target had melted away without a trace, a huge crater gaped open.

Wow─!

The children who had run away from the heat flew over like a flock of sparrows to look at the crater.

The blue-haired boy with singed bangs said gravely.

“Please spare me, Hyung. I’m sorry.”

Suddenly?

“Is it because of secretly stealing and eating Hyung’s jerky? So as a warning, you did this…”

So it was you.

“I’m truly sorry. For a moment, my gluttony blinded me.”

I’ll forgive you just this once.

“Thank you. Uh, you want me to proceed with the class? Like usual? It’ll be hard because I’ll be nervous with Hyung of all people watching, but if you’re going to capture it in a drawing… I’ll do my best.”

What do you think imagination is?

“Imagination? Hmm, fun play you can do without money? I usually have a lot of strange thoughts. What if I went back to when I was 7 with my current memories? What if I could fly? What if I had the ability to stop time? Even when I’m still, my thoughts don’t stop.”

If you went back to when you were 7, what would you do?

“First, I’d cut off the wrist of that Tommy bastard, the leader of Tommy’s gang who tried to pull something on Noona. That lecherous bastard.”

I see.

But it’s amazing that your thoughts don’t stop.

“Huh? Isn’t that normal for everyone? Is it just me?”

The blue-haired boy, tilting his head in confusion, started the class again anyway.

And not long after.

Ding─ dingdiriding─

A bell sound came from inside the mansion.

The white-haired boy got up from his seat and headed inside the mansion, where he could see children pouring out from the classroom at the end of the hallway.

A blue-haired girl came running over with happy steps.

“You finally came to take over the class directly! Right?”

No.

“You want me to keep teaching…?”

That would be better.

I don’t have the ability to explain things as systematically as you do.

“Hmm… I don’t mind continuing to handle the theory classes, but I think it would be good if you came in and taught the class yourself occasionally. Like special lectures. Because all the children chose to stay at the mansion after seeing you.”

I’ll try.

“Not too often, but maybe once a month… Huh? Are you drawing me right now?”

The girl pulled her hair on both sides to cover her face.

“Wha, why all of a sudden? Why are you drawing me? Do you perhaps have feelings for me… ahem, if you absolutely want me as a model, I might allow it if you promise to call me Noona and use honorifics. Actually, I’m one year older than you.”

There was a dictionary in the lobby, right?

“I prefer being called by my name rather than Noona. I consider anyone within twenty years above or below me as a friend.”

What do you think imagination is?

“Imagination?”

If the question is difficult, tell me what you often imagine or what scenes.

“Hmm, I often think about what would have happened if I hadn’t met you. Then I definitely wouldn’t be alive in this world, having fallen victim to Binjin. Thank you again, Ray.”

Imagining about the past is possible too.

“Of course. But you’re already done with the drawing? I don’t want to see it. I’m embarrassed.”

After finishing the conversation, the boy parted ways with the girl and moved on, encountering a man cleaning on the upper floor.

“Good day, young master. Working again today, I see. I’ve purchased sketchbooks and other tools and materials in bulk and stocked them in the first-floor warehouse. But… are you drawing me? Yes, I’ll try to be as natural as possible. Understood.”

What do you think imagination is?

“It seems I don’t have such a thing.”

Why?

“Perhaps saying it has worn away and disappeared would be more accurate. When I was young, I had many various thoughts, but as I got older, it became difficult to come up with something new in my mind. It’s like the wheel of a Rickshaw. At first, it takes great effort to move, but later it just moves forward by inertia. Without thought, buried in a repetitive life. That’s also why I’m deeply grateful to you, young master.”

Grateful? To me?

“Thanks to you, young master, not only has my life stabilized, but I’ve been able to start a new life. I’m very satisfied with my current state, having left behind the life of a Rickshaw puller.”

I see. I’m done, here.

“This is what my face looks like through your eyes, young master. Similar, yet not similar… it’s a strange feeling. May I see the other drawings you did today?”

It’s fine.

“They’re all faces. Viewed from very close up. May I ask if there’s a special reason you chose faces as today’s subject?”

…….

The reason the boy drew.

It was to firmly construct images of the world.

And.

The most difficult thing to visualize was people’s faces, which could only be recognized by concentrating one’s mind.

If he succeeded in recalling someone’s face even with his eyes closed.

Then images of objects or landscapes with lower difficulty would become easier to recall.

Ultimately, drawing faces was the most efficient training, but.

“To remember.”

There was one reason far more important than that.

The blue-haired boy, Ain, recalled the words he heard from Ray yesterday.

─Your role is the most important.

The children all knew too that villains connected to Binjin were visiting the mansion.

Wizards of the 2nd Circle and above, including Ray Hyung, were preparing for an ambush inside the tower.

And 1st Circle wizards were on standby in the mansion lobby, ready for any emergency.

‘My role is important.’

His heart pounded as if about to burst.

After taking a deep breath, Ain opened the mansion door wide and bowed deeply toward the visitors.

“Welcome. The Master is waiting inside.”

No reply came.

As he carefully straightened his bowed back, he could see the visitors talking among themselves.

“Wasn’t it just the 2nd Circle? I can’t understand what the Chairman is thinking, trying to bring such an inferior person into the Dawn Society.”

“I don’t know either. They said admission is conditional on successfully taming that creature.”

“Personally, I hope it’s successful. If a Spiritual Creature of that caliber achieves Elementalization, it would surely display tremendous power.”

The visitors were three middle-aged gentlemen.

They were men with soft and neat impressions, but.

‘…I feel like I’m suffocating.’

Ain felt an intense sense of suffocation.

It was the instinctive fear a wizard feels when facing a wizard of a much higher level.

Looking at the miniature radio device attached to his sleeve cuff, he thought of Ray, who would be listening to this conversation.

And at that moment.

Ray was watching the mansion’s main gate from the window on the top floor of the tower.

‘Number of Rings: four, three, three.’

All Rings filled with indigo.

It was by no means an easy force to deal with.

Through Binjin, he had experienced that indigo Rings with all elements mixed had the disadvantage of extreme mana consumption, but they boasted rapid magic casting and high output that compensated for it.

And if one 4th Circle wizard was included.

‘Even Curiosa might struggle quite a bit. The only saving grace is that the Bishop wasn’t an Overseer.’

After their first meeting, the Bishop who had shown four indigo Rings couldn’t be found at the cathedral.

According to Solite, he had gone on a business trip to a Parish in another sector.

It was unknown whether the Bishop was aware of the Overseers’ visit to the mansion today, but it was a welcome fact that a person clearly identified as an enemy was absent from the sector.

“…….”

The boy’s thoughts flowed.

What actions the enemy would take after entering the tower, and how to handle unexpected situations.

Then, the moment a certain image naturally formed in his mind.

Crackle.

A yellow Light Cluster that appeared in his hand took shape.

It looked as if he had grasped lightning itself.

“Ready?”

The boy asked, turning his head.

There stood Binjin, who had died.