Genius Prismatic Mage Chapter 113

#113. Flowers blooming in the mud (2)

The supporters’ occupied area.

15th Street. Jade Jewelry Store.

Boom, bang, bang!

─You are… here. I have something to tell you… Find… inside… you are… here.

Someone’s fist knocked on the firmly shut shutter, accompanied by a faint sound.

The office inside the jewelry store.

One of the mercenaries wearing bulletproof vests and guns asked the man sitting at the desk.

“… Jade. It looks like someone has come looking for you.”

“Okay.”

A middle-aged man with a sharp mustache.

Jade pressed her fingers to her forehead as if she had a headache.

What kind of crazy person would come out onto the streets in the middle of a war and come here?

Boom, bang, bang!

“What are you going to do?”

“Let’s pretend it doesn’t exist for now. I don’t know who it is, but I don’t want to raise the shutter even for a moment in this chaos.”

If it had been a war between any number of organizations, Jade would have opened a shop and done business with guts.

But this war was a war of Nisho that occupied almost the entire sector.

Internal strife.

It seemed that outside mercenaries who used strange powers were also involved.

“Did you say you were a wizard?”

“Yes. They are those who deal with the substance called Mana, and the group currently in the sector appears to be Murkred.”

It was an explanation I had heard before.

It was said to be a famous criminal organization even among mercenaries.

“If the three of you attack at once, wouldn’t you be able to deal with at least one of them? No matter how strong that wizard is.”

The leader of the mercenaries groaned.

“Um… It’ll take about 3 minutes.”

“Oh, is that enough to subdue him?”

“No. It’s as long as we can endure.”

“Hey, three minutes is too long. I’m confident I can turn into a fireball and roll around on the floor in one minute.”

“I can do it in 30 seconds.”

The mercenaries giggled among themselves.

Jade sighed, pressing her pounding head.

Nishohwa, who maintained the security of the sector, was certainly a valuable presence.

As a jeweler, I always hired personal security guards, but in any case, it greatly reduced the risk of robbery or other crime.

But waging war across the entire sector like this.

‘It’s frustrating. Even though you’re someone I’ve been grateful for until now.’

As with all stores, they suffer losses if they are unable to open their doors.

This is especially true for Jade Jewelers, whose main customers are foreigners.

If you open the door, you have to sell it or not!

Are you saying that wealthy people from outside would come here from their relatively safe hotel areas?

‘Why did the recent fighting line get pushed to this area…?’

Boom, bang, bang!

─To buy… money… opportunity… … .

“Why isn’t that kid going!”

The anger that had been building up exploded.

bang!

I hit the desk, got up, and strode briskly toward the store door.

The voice, when I listened closely, was that of a child, so it probably wasn’t that dangerous.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The mercenaries followed in their employer’s angry footsteps.

Crunch! Crunch!

“What kind of kid is that─!”

Jade’s gaze, which had been scanning the area in front of her, lowered slightly.

There was a boy standing there.

Round glasses. Curly brown hair.

“Ah, I see. There’s no way a jeweler would evacuate without leaving his shop.”

The boy said with a mischievous smile.

“Would you like to sell me some jewelry?”

*

Ray was outside the operations room with the people.

“You came at a good time.”

He said this as the door opened and people came in.

A middle-aged man and three mercenaries.

And Philip with a bright face.

“her….”

Jade groaned, conscious of the pouring gazes.

At first, I clearly intended to give a shit to the curly-haired boy who came to the store and talked nonsense.

“Nisohwa would like to purchase jewels. First, please bring all the yellow jewels.”

I thought it was bullshit.

Let’s put aside whether the boy is really Nisho’s errand boy.

Why did you buy the gems in Nisho?

Aren’t there rumors going around that we won’t be able to last long since we don’t even have enough money to buy supplies?

Jade snorted.

“It must be quite expensive to maintain three guards, so I think you’ll have to sell something. I think it’s also─.”

When I came to my senses, I found myself here.

At the boy’s request, he also packed jewels such as topaz and amethyst.

I fell for the trick of Sechi’s tongue.

Whoa─!

I turned my head to glare at the curly-haired boy, but only got a shameless smile in return.

‘If something goes wrong here… how do I get out of this now… .’

When Jade was about to make a decision.

A white-haired boy approached and said.

“Excuse me.”

“?”

I thought the white hair was looking at my chest area.

“… … !”

Suddenly, anger began to rise.

“Hey! You little sh*ts! I can’t do business because of you guys! When will the war end! You little sh*ts!”

It exploded.

It was a rash.

“Those guys should be marinated in dirty water and killed!”

Everyone’s gaze hardens coldly.

Jade was confused.

“You guys are going to freeze to death at the bottom of the Elton River!”

I couldn’t understand my own behavior.

I had to stop, but I couldn’t stop.

The anger that consumed his mind encouraged him to spit out endless curses.

While the mercenaries’ faces turned blue, Jade, who had been boasting about her vocabulary, took a breath with a confused look on her face.

One of the squad leaders spoke in a trembling voice.

“Ms. Jade, you’ve always thought of us like that….”

“그, 그게 아니라… 허억… 저, 절대 제 속마음이… 저, 저는 니소화 여러분을… 개새끼야! …로 생각을 … 허업…! 씨발새끼! 흐업…!”

The mercenaries slowly retreated.

As if they had nothing to do with this swearer.

Ray looked back at Colin and the squad leaders with shocked faces.

“If you want, I can show you one more time.”

Colin stepped forward and spoke.

“No, no. I don’t think Ray would lie. It’s just surprising. You can control people’s emotions.”

“To be exact, it can amplify the emotions that the target is harboring. Right now, it has been amplified and exploded.”

“Is that magic too?”

“It’s not magic, but it’s similar. If we can stimulate Brooke’s emotions, we might be able to get her to confess to betraying Niles.”

Ray’s strategy was simple and clear.

Lure both enemy wizards and opposing faction members into the planned building.

Use the prepared magic circle to destroy the enemy magician with one blow.

This touches Brooke’s emotions and makes her confess to betraying Niles.

“If you use voice amplification magic, you should be able to make your voice resonate throughout the building.”

Niles was the center and foundation of Nissohwa.

If Brook’s betrayal is revealed, there will certainly be some change in the minds of those who were neutral.

Success wasn’t guaranteed, but it was worth a try if you had the resources.

“… … .”

The squad leaders looked at each other and glanced at each other.

It was a raw operation.

It was violent and rough.

In a way, it is a spirited operation that can only be recalled by a young boy.

‘It seems realistically difficult.’

‘Things can’t possibly go as planned.’

‘If we fail… we’ll all be wiped out.’

Their intuition spoke.

It was a plan that was sure to fail.

But at the same time he said.

Maybe it will work.

The boy’s unwavering voice and gaze gave him a strange sense of persuasion and weight.

Also, the unconscious whispered.

They too had a time when they were as spirited as boys.

When Nissohwa was first organized, no one could have predicted that Nissohwa would succeed as such a large organization.

Rather, it predicted failure.

However, contrary to expectations, it was successful.

“… … .”

“… … .”

…maybe this time too

The squad leaders turned their gaze to the other two figures.

Colin, leader of the supporters.

1st Squad Leader McCully.

The two original members of Nishohwa and the most influential figures in the current supporters.

I was going to leave it up to them to decide.

The two people who received the gaze looked at each other for a moment, and soon Colin opened his mouth.

“If you carry out the operation you mentioned, how do you plan on luring the members of the opposition organization? It won’t be easy to lure all of the more than two hundred people.”

Asking for details of the operation.

I could see what decisions Colin and McCauley had made.

“I think it would be better to lure Brookman into confessing, then release the recording….”

“No. It would have a greater impact to hear a confession live on the scene than to listen to a recording.”

What Ray was trying to do was to stab the hearts of the neutrals who chose the opposition with a hot needle.

So that you can come to your senses and realize what a mistake you have made.

For him, it was more effective to hear a confession made directly by voice rather than a recording that could be forged.

“And the lure of the opposition will be solved by luring the enemy wizards. The enemy command is Murkred, not Brook.”

If you succeed in fooling her with the jewel, Murkred will definitely act differently than before.

‘I’ll run with all my might.’

Certainly, with very high probability.

To steal the jewel that is believed to be a fragment of the rainbow that this side possesses.

It was obvious that the opposition under Murcred’s command would also be involved in stealing the jewels.

“…I see. I understand.”

“Yes, but I think it would be a good idea to throw some bait to Brooke and the opposition as well, just in case.”

“Are you talking about bait?”

“When you lure someone out on the street, there’s a bait that they can’t help but follow. Is there such a thing?”

After thinking for a moment, Colin returned to the war room and brought out a small, old wooden box.

Squeak─

An old knife appeared when I opened the lid.

Philip said.

“It’s really old. The blade is so rusty that it probably won’t be able to cut a single sheet of paper. I picked it up at a dump─.”

“This is something that Brother Niles used to use.”

“─There’s no way. My long-standing intuition tells me that if I just remove the rust well, it’ll be a famous sword that can cut through even rocks and iron.”

Ray quietly reached out and picked up the knife.

A palm-sized folding knife.

In addition to the rusty and worn-out edges, there are traces of time everywhere.

The lower part of the black handle had a red flower symbol engraved on it, which was less dirty than the other parts.

“This is the knife you used when you were young. The flower symbol was carved after you made the Nishohwa.”

A knife was an essential tool for street orphans.

It could be used usefully for tasks such as twisting off a hardened shoe polish cap or cutting a box’s rope.

Or it could be used for self-defense in times of emergency.

‘There was an unspoken rule in sector 50 that you couldn’t use your blades while fighting.’

Still, all the children who could afford it carried knives.

The knife with a sharp blade became the envy of those around him.

Going further, it also became a measure of the class that an opponent had on the street.

The atmosphere wouldn’t have been that different in Sector 46, which was far away from Sector 50.

Colin continued the story.

“As the Nishohwa grew bigger and older, my brother didn’t have the same use for it as when he was young, but he always joked about it.”

“… … .”

“I said I would pass this knife on to the next leader of Nisho. It was half-joking and half-serious. However, it was closer to the meaning that I would give the knife to the successor chosen by the majority, rather than personally designating the successor.”

“… … .”

“But stories are originally passed down by word of mouth, and the sender’s intentions tend to be diluted.”

Ray seemed to know what was coming next.

“To sum it up, the current members of the organization understand your words in the former sense.”

The story goes that the knife was taken as a kind of symbol.

“So, did Mr. Colin inherit the knife?”

“No. I just kept it. I barely got it out of the hideout when the opposition raided.”

Colin shook his head once and continued.

“What Brooke lacks now is legitimacy within the organization. No one thought Brooke would be the next leader of Nishwa. She had shown strong opposition to Brother Niles’ policies.”

That was the objective situation.

Brooke was simply using force to occupy Niles’s estate while he was gone.

“Therefore, many neutrals who have joined the opposition have a negative view of Brooke. They won’t show their antipathy openly, as they need to save their lives.”

“Does Brooke know about that too?”

“Yes. Of course. He’s a quick-witted and smart guy. If you show him this knife… he’ll definitely get greedy. The biggest reason is─”

Click.

As I turned the end of the knife handle, the cover detached and a key appeared.

“This is the key to Brother Niles’ safe.”

“Is this a personal safe?”

“Yes. It’s in the old hideout that’s currently occupied by the opposition. I think it might contain the money you’ve been saving up.”

Ray nodded slightly.

I had a feeling that this was something Brooke would definitely want.

Not only was it possible to open the safe and call in the wealth, but it was also possible to refresh his image to some extent by saying that it was something he had received directly from Niles.

“Okay. I guess I can use it as bait.”

After that, many stories were exchanged.

Colin and the squad leaders scattered to different places under Ray’s instructions.

Ray approached Jade, who was still in shock and standing there in a daze.

“Ms. Jade.”

Jade, whose name was called, flinched when she saw Ray, then hurriedly lifted the jewelry box and covered the area around her heart.

“Again…! Again…! Trying to make me feel weird…!”