Genius Prismatic Mage Chapter 82

#082. Curiosa (2)

“I killed him.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

As expected, Curiosa’s anger remained unwavering.

“How do you have Walter’s ring?”

When asking that question, the moment when Curios’ curiosity responded was in the ‘ring’, not in ‘Walter’.

That is, Curiosa was not interested in the life or death of his colleagues.

The only thing I wonder is why the ring ended up in someone else’s hands.

“He was the weakest of us. Ever since time immemorial. Blind Walter. Angry Walter. Poor, pitiful Walter.”

There wasn’t a hint of pity in his voice.

The latter part felt more like a song, with a hint of humming.

“Then what about the other red bloodstones Walter had─”

“Questions are over. It’s my turn to ask another question.”

“…good.”

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

The answer came back right away.

“Each officer has one ring. It’s a gift from the Doctor. It has a slightly modified form of binding magic that allows them to sense each other’s location.”

“… … .”

Walter’s ring had been examined by Graham once.

All the magic found and removed from the ring at that time was exploitation magic.

It was said that the binding magic that was bestowed was so ingenious and sophisticated that it was able to avoid Graham’s eyes.

“Ha! Family should be connected to each other no matter where they are. That’s ridiculous. In the first place, the command route was designed not to overlap for over a dozen years.”

Maybe because he wanted to get to his turn quickly.

Curiosa answered quickly, spouting off questions that weren’t even asked.

“Second question again. Tell me about the Rock Deer named Blue that you mentioned earlier. Why is the organization tracking him?”

Ray raised the level of questioning.

The purpose was to gauge how far questions would be allowed to go.

“Blue. Okay, let me tell you. It’s nothing special.”

Blue said that he was a spirit that Murkred had been tracking for a long time.

The blue jewel embedded in its forehead is the source of its power, and it is also characterized by not being a single entity.

“Not a single entity?”

“Because jewels are passed down. I know that everything is passed down to future generations along with the memories of previous generations.”

I began to vaguely understand the situation.

The typical lifespan of a rock deer is around 15 years, but John encountered Blue over 50 years ago.

‘But earlier that guy acted like he knew John.’

At first I thought maybe some mysterious power had extended his lifespan.

But if memories were passed on, it could explain why that guy, Blue, made a gesture as if he recognized John earlier.

“Next question. Tell me about the organization called Murkred.”

Ray raised the bar of questioning once again.

“Mercred is an organization created by the Doctor. The executives who receive orders are operating independently all over the continent. The types and numbers of orders are too numerous to count.”

Curiosa responded again with surprising speed.

What should I say?

It seemed as if he had no loyalty to the organization whatsoever.

“It’s my turn now. What is your identity? Are you a homunculus?”

“I don’t know what a homunculus is, but I─”

Ray, who was about to say, “I’m human,” paused for a moment.

“… I feel sick.”

“You’re a little weird. It’s scary.”

“Get out of here, you monster!”

It was because the sounds I heard as a child came to mind.

I actually thought seriously about the fact that I was different from other people.

I wonder if I am a life form other than human.

Of course, that was just a memory of the past, and it was a worry that had now been shaken off.

But why is that?

─He’s human.

The reason why that one word doesn’t come out as if it was stuck in my throat.

At that moment, I felt a sudden pressure on the hand that was outstretched behind me.

It was Veronica who gave strength to the hand she was holding.

Ray felt his mind clear for a moment, and he was able to smoothly spit out the sentence that had been stuck in his throat.

“─I’m a human. I don’t really have any affiliation. I’m just an orphan on the streets.”

“Yes. Humans, that is. Well, there are some parts of homunculi that don’t make sense. Yes, that’s right.”

Curiosa repeated Ray’s answer like a child receiving a piece of delicious cookie.

“Human. Yes, human… .”

Again and again, in a voice full of joy.

It seemed as if he was savoring the moment when his doubts were resolved.

Ray turned to the muttering Curiosa and asked her the following question.

“Tell me about this guy named Doctor.”

“Doctor.”

Curiosa was silent for a moment as if gathering his thoughts, then opened his mouth.

“He is the leader of Murkred. He is also the one who raised the current executives. However, no one knows his real identity. He always wears a mask and glasses to completely hide his face, and uses a voice that has been altered by a mechanical device.”

doctor.

It was assumed to be the person hugging the children in the photo.

“The charging stones that the members of the organization carry around. I’ve heard that they are items provided by the organization.”

“You know quite well, you’re right. It’s a kind of supply that the doctor gave out. But it’s fake.”

“FALSE?”

“The one the Doctor has is the real one. It’s the exact same shape and size of the gem that was embedded in Blue’s forehead. Oh, but the color is different, of course.”

The boy’s heart pounded hard.

I muttered without realizing it.

“…a rainbow split into seven pieces.”

Curiosa reacted with surprise.

“Oh, you know about rainbows?”

“It’s a story that every wizard has heard at least once.”

Even though Ray didn’t say anything else, Curiosa responded on her own.

As if drunk on one’s own thoughts.

I looked into the empty space and talked to myself.

“Yes. I think so too. What the doctor has is probably a fragment of the rainbow. The reason he created the organization and hired executives is to collect other fragments of the rainbow.”

The doctor has a red gem.

Ray continued asking questions, keeping that fact in mind.

“I understand. Next. You have the ability to read other people’s emotions, right? And what do you mean when you say that only a doctor can manipulate emotions?”

Veronica, who was listening to the conversation behind Ray, flinched.

‘Now, Ray has secretly combined the third and fourth questions!’

My heart was pounding.

But Curiossa, not noticing anything strange, answered the question right away, as if her worries were in vain.

“Yeah. I read emotions. I’m so fu*king sensitive.”

“Are you just feeling it?”

“… … ? Yes. Could there be anything else?”

It didn’t seem like a case of identifying emotions with the naked eye like this.

“Whether I like it or not, I feel emotions vibrating from all directions. It’s all because of that damn doctor who’s going to tear me apart.”

“I guess you hate doctors.”

“You don’t like it? Ha! I think that’s the only way I can explain my anger!”

The wind blew around again.

The anger contained in Curiosa’s vessel began to expand violently.

“If only I could! I would have killed him right away! If only I could stand in front of him! My emotions would break down! But if I didn’t!”

Ray continued his conversation, staring into Curiosa’s blood-red hatred.

Thanks to that, I was able to learn a few things about the doctor.

The most important fact among them is─

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

─The fact that the doctor was using the mana in the air to control people’s emotions.

“I tried to figure out the principle, but it was impossible. The moment I felt the mana in the air moving, when I came to my senses, I had already been controlled emotionally and became a puppet.”

The boy’s heart began to beat faster and faster.

‘Someone similar to me, no, maybe the same as me.’

After the formation of what could be called an ego, the first emotion to take root in the boy’s subconscious was loneliness.

─Why aren’t you crying?

─Aren’t you angry?

I can’t feel emotions.

─… I feel sick.

─You’re weird. You’re scary.

─Something is different from us… .

Can read other people’s emotions.

When such facts were revealed.

People looked at me with disgust and fear rather than with understanding and concern.

─Get out! You’re unlucky, Siri!

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

During those times when he was an unwelcome presence wherever he went, the boy came to a deep realization.

All of this is because he is different from others.

Since then, I have kept my heart tightly shut and lived without revealing any ‘differences’ as much as possible.

Trying to be as similar as possible to others.

While questioning their own differences.

As time passed, people like the Guldari children and Niles appeared who understood the differences.

But the existential loneliness that was deeply embedded in the subconscious was unavoidable.

Because they did not have any characteristics that could be considered to be similar to them.

Then, someone with the same abilities as him appeared.

‘What kind of person is he?’

Inner kinship.

Kindred consciousness.

It wasn’t a thought that came from that kind of emotion.

The boy had already been worn down by the roughness of the world for a long time to feel close to it just because of something in common.

It was just that I felt an unprecedentedly strong curiosity.

“How do I meet the Doctor? Is he a wizard too? How many rings?”

“You use magic, so you’re a wizard. But you want to meet the doctor? You?”

“I too am looking for the scattered rainbow.”

A moment of silence followed.

Curiosa threw back her head and burst into loud laughter.

“Hahahahaha! You? Yeah! That could be true. That’s right! You said earlier that your goal was to find a rainbow!”

When you smile, the ends of the straight line drawn around your mouth become longer and curve upward.

The eyes are also curved and have a rounded, upward-facing shape.

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

Behind Ray, Veronica muttered in shock and betrayal.

Curiosa said after barely stopping her laughter.

“Are you talking about stealing the rainbow fragments? Yes, it’s possible. The Doctor isn’t that strong. He’s so weak that he’ll fall over if you touch him with your finger.”

“… … .”

This is also true.

It seemed like the doctor wasn’t a high-circle wizard.

“But you are being manipulated emotionally. As soon as you meet the doctor, you will kneel down and pledge all your loyalty with just one gesture─.”

Curiosa stopped talking as if she had realized something shocking during the story.

And he said with a bewildered expression.

“… You, your feelings… .”

“Yes. I can’t feel emotions. Even if I do, they subside in an instant depending on how I control them.”

“… … .”

Curiossa has already seen Ray regulate his emotions while hiding in John’s shadow.

The moment I realized that fact.

The purple curiosity contained in Curiosa’s bowl began to swirl like a storm.

Curiosa said, panting.

“Okay. I’ll tell you how to meet the doctor.”

“Where should I go?”

“I don’t visit him. The Doctor only shows up when he has business to attend to. He usually visits the executives every few years to give orders, but his next visit is still a long way off.”

Six executives scattered throughout the country and working independently.

Because of this, Murkred did not have a separate headquarters, and the doctor’s residence was also unknown.

“Is there another way?”

“If you can’t find it, there’s a way to call it.”

Curios’s hands moved under the black cloth.

Ray’s coat spread out with him.

A ring was taken out of the inner pocket, moved outside, and moved into the air in front of Curiosa.

Woohoo──

A red light flashed on the ring.

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

Beneath the sky, Curiosa’s hand moved once more.

Accordingly, the speed of the light flashed faster, and elements danced dizzyingly around the ring.

After a while, the light stopped flashing.

Curiosa burst into laughter.

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

The ring, which had been floating in the air, landed on Ray’s hand.

As soon as I put the ring on, I could definitely feel the presence of another ring in Curiosa’s arms.

and.

‘I feel four more rings.’

All of those directions, if we do the math.

‘Upper Elton River.’

Even though they were obviously located a great distance away, the presence of the remaining rings was distinct.

It felt like arrows were forming in my head indicating the location of each ring.

Ray, who had been fiddling with the ring, opened his mouth.

“They’re talking about taking down the other executives.”

“You’re quick-witted. That’s right. If the executives start to fall one by one, the doctor will have no choice but to show up. The organization that he worked so hard to build will be ruined.”

Curiosa’s words themselves made sense.

But whether or not to follow that literally was a separate issue.

His goal was to find the rainbow, not to fight recklessly.

But it’s also clear that Murkred and the Doctor hold a big clue about the rainbow.

‘… … .’

Many thoughts and judgments went through the boy’s head.

‘Anyway, the trip will be going up the Elton River.’

It was clear that the ring would be a great help on the trip.

Because it will tell you the locations of the Murkred executives like a compass, you can prepare in advance.

Even if you don’t necessarily follow Curiossa’s words.

“I’ll take the ring for now.”

“good idea.”

“What is the range of the binding magic?”

“It’s almost infinite. The basis of the spell was created by none other than the Doctor. Also, the closer you get, the more you can feel the presence of other rings with a stronger intensity.”

Ray nodded and took the ring into his pocket.

Curiosa, who confirmed the appearance, spoke in a very excited voice.

“Okay, I told you how to meet the doctor. Now, it’s my turn again. The most important question.”

He was so excited that he was rubbing his hands under the black cloth.

“How on earth did you arouse John’s emotions? How on earth? What was the method? Huh? What was the secret?”

Ray, who had been silent for a moment, opened his mouth.

“I won’t tell you that.”