Genius Prismatic Mage Chapter 246

#246. The Light-Emitting One (1)

Veronica’s heart was pounding.

Ray’s words and actions tend to be quite impulsive, but never have they caused such great embarrassment as now.

‘Calm down. This is Ray’s trap.’

Phew.

Take a deep breath and follow.

However, the emotions that were surging like waves on the girl’s plate showed no signs of calming down easily.

‘Ouch, my face is so hot.’

What do you think love is?

Why did you suddenly ask that question?

I stared intently into Ray’s eyes, but I couldn’t read any thoughts within the calm, white concentric circles.

Then a thought flashed through Veronica’s mind.

‘Oh, no way…! Is Ray going to confess to me right now…?!’

“Kurung? Veronica? Your heartbeat is abnormally fast. It seems like something is seriously wrong with your body─ Kurungurung!”

Philip’s long snout, which had been speaking from her arms, was tightly caught in Veronica’s grip and shut.

“… … .”

My imagination was interrupted, but it did help cool down my mind a little.

Yeah, if you think about it, there’s no way Ray would tell me he likes me.

‘Really, I’m just asking because I’m curious about your thoughts on love.’

Veronica, who had calmed down a little, met Ray’s gaze once again, who was calmly waiting for an answer.

And I thought.

What is love.

Actually, nothing came to mind right away.

Although bright colors and warm temperatures came to mind, they did not lead to specific images.

I’ve never learned it.

A feeling I’ve never felt before.

The girl was lost in thought for a moment and shook her head inwardly.

‘No, I’ve felt it.’

To be exact, it was in progress.

I could tell instinctively.

The small spark that blooms in my heart every time I see the boy is probably what people call love.

However, the girl did not yet have the ability to clearly define her soft yet infinitely strong feelings in words.

Many thoughts were going through my head.

‘I don’t know what love is either. But Ray can read emotions with his eyes. So doesn’t that mean my feelings were discovered a long time ago?’

… But how can you ask like you don’t know anything?

For a moment, I felt a surge of emotion.

“Huh! Love! I know exactly what that feeling is! I’m a love doctor! But I’m not going to tell you! At least! Not right now!”

Veronica spat out each word with force.

On the back of the hand that was pulling Philip’s tail hair as if expressing anger, a single vein stood out.

“Krung…!? Veronica! Why are you suddenly pulling my hair! Ouch! Ouch! It hurts! Krung!”

“I won’t tell you! Never! Never!”

Knock knock!

Veronica walked away angrily, disappearing across the settlement.

A back view moving away.

Ray thought as he stared at the emotion that was constantly changing clothes on Veronica’s plate.

‘Red, orange, yellow, and again… When I see it sparkling in so many colors for a short moment, I can tell it’s love.’

It was natural that Veronica would know a lot about love, having experienced it firsthand.

But I couldn’t figure out why he kept his knowledge of love a secret.

… I thought you would definitely tell me.

Ray, who was thinking deeply, suddenly had a question.

By the way, who does Veronica like?

*

3 days later.

Curiosa asked Ray, watching him pack his luggage from the bus and put it into his personal bag.

“Kid, are you finally going to leave this damn bus behind?”

“I told Bishop Cardio that I would be introduced as a child of the upper class. If I were to pull a bus converted for use in the wilderness, it would be contradictory.”

“Well, it certainly has the grim look that mercenaries would attract.”

Jiik!

Ray said as he zipped up his art supplies for the last time.

“And we should leave the bus at the settlement, so that Curiosa can travel between the settlement and the mansion to prepare for the Doctor’s attack.”

“Tsk, you’re really using it well.”

“The Doctor’s attacks on both locations may become more intense. It’s just a guess, but I think the crimson spheres acted as surveillance.”

A sphere that looked down from the sky to the earth.

Now that it was destroyed, it would be more difficult for the doctor to determine its destination.

“… Since it’s hard to track you, you’re saying that attacks may be concentrated on your mansion or settlement. I get it.”

“I’m not sure. Rather, the sphere I worked so hard to build might be destroyed, so I might disappear for a while.”

Curiosa agreed with that statement.

After a moment of silence, he changed the subject.

“You said you were going to have dinner with Bishop Cardio.”

“That’s right, today is the day.”

Ray’s story was delivered to Bishop Cardio via Solité along with fake identification documents.

An upper-class child who wants to capture the moment when the artificial sun rises in a painting.

And yesterday.

Solitaire relayed the bishop’s answer.

I can give you permission to join the transport team, but I would like to meet you and talk to you before that.

“Hmm… Let me see your face first. Kid, did he find out that you eliminated all the envoys of the Nambit Dawn Society?”

“I think it’s unlikely. Neither Kramer nor Cardio seemed to know of each other’s existence.”

The members of the Nambit Dawn Society do not share all of each other’s existence and actions.

That was Ray’s guess.

“It’s more likely that he really wanted to have a conversation. We only had a conversation once at the cathedral, but he seemed to be very interested in art, including paintings.”

“Ha, what a funny guy. What kind of art is that when you modify a ring into something like that…?”

Woof!

At that moment, a market appeared in the space at the end of the bus corridor.

“Ah, Master Ray, you are right here. The Solitaire Priest has come to the mansion.”

When I checked the time, it was already noon.

Upon returning to the annex, Ray was able to find Solité admiring a painting in the studio.

“You’re early.”

Solitaire, startled by Ray’s voice, only then realized where she was.

“I saw a picture through the open door, so I came in. Please forgive me.”

“It’s okay. I don’t care.”

“Thank you for saying so.”

Solitaire raised her head and looked around at the art supplies on the table and the empty picture frames that filled the walls as she asked.

“By the way, is this Ray’s studio?”

“that’s right.”

“What a wonderful place. I think that if I paint in a place like this, my creative desire will greatly increase.”

Solitaire, who had been letting out a small exclamation, turned her gaze back to the painting she had been admiring.

“Of course, it is purely Ray’s talent that allows you to create such wonderful works.”

It was a picture of a yellow electric current haphazardly painted over black darkness.

The abstract style gave the impression of the aurora scattered across the night sky.

“If it’s not too much trouble, may I ask what this piece represents?”

“…I just expressed the image that came to my mind.”

That wasn’t a wrong statement.

The first magic drawn with imagination.

Because it was a picture showing electrification.

If you look closely, you can see that the current stream forms an overall human shape.

‘It’s better not to reveal anything about magic that uses imagination.’

It was Curiosa’s advice, and Ray agreed with the idea.

Magic that ignores existing theories and formulas would cause great upheaval in the magical world simply by existing.

“It’s a picture drawn purely from imagination, so it’s very interesting. The giant tree and the machine-made castle drawn in the frame next to it are also interesting.”

The World Tree and Rael Row are not my imagination, but rather I drew them from what I saw.

Anyway, Ray talked a little more about Solité and the painting, then got into the church vehicle that was waiting at the main gate of the mansion and headed to the downtown area.

We arrived at a fancy restaurant and were guided to a room inside.

And it wasn’t long before the wait happened.

Knock knock!

The door opened and the bishop appeared.

“I’m really sorry. The service ran longer than scheduled and I’m late for our appointment.”

“No, we just got there.”

Solitaire stood up and bowed her head, and Ray followed suit.

After everyone was seated, the bishop asked Ray to shake his hand.

“It seems like it’s been a month since we last met at the cathedral, young gentleman. Or rather, I should call you artist. I would like to express my deepest gratitude for taking the time out of your busy schedule.”

“… … .”

The hands that were holding each other fell apart.

Ray, recalling the rough feeling left on his hand, slowly opened his mouth.

“I’m still not good enough to be called an artist. I’m also young.”

“Haha, I don’t think you have to be old to be called an artist. If you can produce work that can impress someone, then you deserve to be called an artist.”

“Is that so?”

Ray responded calmly and examined the bishop’s vessel.

Because of the length of life I have lived, all kinds of colors are engraved on the bowl like scars.

It wasn’t easy to identify the feelings, but it was clear that there was no sign of suspicion or caution.

‘As Solitaire said, my fake identity seems to have worked perfectly.’

Still, I didn’t relax.

The bishop was a 4th circle wizard who could single-handedly destroy a small sector.

Of course, I was confident that I wouldn’t lose easily since I had the same number of rings, but battle was something where you never knew when or what variables would arise.

In the meantime, the meal was served.

Dalgrak. Dalgrak.

The bishop began his meal with neat movements and continued the conversation.

“I think you already know the story of finding the saint. Even if it wasn’t through Solité, it’s already been spread by word of mouth, so everyone knows it.”

That was indeed the case.

Even in Sector 37 alone, the entire street was abuzz with talk of artificial suns and saints.

“Raising a new sun in the sky has been a long-cherished wish of our church and the people. The source of all life is light. If we can secure a powerful luminous body, vegetation will grow in the once barren wilderness, and humans will be able to expand their territory beyond the sector.”

Light, the source of all life.

The story itself was true.

However, it is not known whether the light that the Yeomyeonghoe hopes for is a bright light that gives warmth to everyone.

‘The blue sphere that Crymer had floated, if I think about it, had some similarities to the crimson sphere. The concentration of mana, the elemental combination pattern inside, and also… .’

… there might be some connection between the doctor and the Dawn Society.

It’s still a leap, but I think there’s a chance that the doctor may have passed on the technology to the Dawn Society.

“… Getting to the point, Ray-nim’s request to join the transport team.”

Then the bishop’s voice broke his thoughts, and Ray began to recite the words he had prepared.

“Yes, I have a desire to draw a picture of a new sun rising. Of course, just being there would be an honor I will never forget.”

There was silence for a moment.

The bishop, who had been staring at Ray, soon spoke with a gentle smile.

“If an artist like Ray were to accompany us, we would be happy too. We could hang a painting that captures a historical moment inside the cathedral. If the visiting believers could indirectly experience that miraculous moment… what could be happier than that?”

As soon as the bishop spoke, Solitaire let out a sigh of relief.

Because that was the moment when Ray’s joining was finally approved.

Afterwards, the conversation, which had been flowing in a friendly atmosphere, returned to the topic of the saint discovered in the upper sector.

Ray muttered involuntarily as he looked at the small piece of stone the bishop took out from his bosom.

“Terracotta.”

“Oh, you know. It’s terracotta, the material for artificial suns. It’s also a tool used in the search for saints or saintesses, of which only one exists in each parish.”

I heard about it through Solitaire.

A mind that cares for all things unconditionally.

According to the revelation, when someone who has the qualifications of a saint holds the Terranot, a light of a certain color will emanate from it.

“According to what I’ve heard, the moment the saint we’re about to meet took hold of the shard, a huge amount of light enveloped the streets.”

Solitaire couldn’t help but be surprised by the bishop’s words.

“… When I held it, it only emitted a small amount of light, but the revelation was truly true.”

“That’s right. If a normal person holds it, it will just emit a small light and then go out. Would you like to hold it yourself, Ray? You never know, it might give you some inspiration for your work.”

Ray paused for a moment, assessing the situation.

And then.

“I’ll try.”

I was handed a terracotta pot.

One, two, slowly, the boy’s fingers began to wrap around the smooth stone.