Genius Prismatic Mage Chapter 325

#325. Side story 2. The girl in the marble (1)

Tak─ percussion─

A dark underground space.

Two pairs of footsteps echoed through the place.

The woman followed the boy.

The gray metal that made up the floor and walls resembled rock, giving the feeling of being sucked into a deep cave.

I became nervous without realizing it.

If it weren't for the dim lights of magic that stretched along the ceiling, not even the slightest visibility would be secured.

… … .

Percussion─ tak─

In fact, it was a matter of using magic to float a sphere of light.

Then your vision will become clearer.

It's incomparable to what it is now.

But the woman couldn't do that.

…because I didn’t have the courage to face this space straight on.

Fear, trembling, and bewilderment.

Those were the feelings that had been running through my mind from the moment I first stepped onto the stairs leading down to the underground space.

No matter how hard you suppress them, emotions that rise up again and prove their existence.

She was a woman who hated showing weakness more than dying, but this time she had no choice but to admit it.

Percussion – thump.

At the end of countless stairs and hallways.

Finally reached the bottom floor.

In the center of the small room, where silence was thick as dust, was a wheelchair.

If you look closely, you can see that there is a person sitting there.

But there was not even the slightest movement.

The boy next to me opened his lips.

─Doctor, he's dead now.

─… … .

While the woman felt her heart sink, the boy told her the story of what happened here yesterday.

As detailed and precise as possible.

So that the woman can know everything.

─So, the doctor laughed out loud in his last moments before he died. It seemed like he realized that he had harbored feelings of fear throughout his life, but in fact, he didn't need to.

Every human being lives in fear of something.

Just like yesterday, when the opportunity to meet the doctor came, he couldn't find the courage to go with the boy.

It was an ambivalent feeling.

I hate the doctor so much that I want to kill him, but I'm also afraid of him.

Tak─

After much hesitation.

The woman approached the wheelchair.

I confirmed the old man's figure under the dim light.

The face that was turned back and facing the ceiling was stuffed with an emotion that could be either relief or regret.

─Ah.

The woman was shocked.

The doctor who had completely taken away his life had the face of an ordinary old man you could find anywhere on the street.

It may also have sharp horns.

You may also have ugly colored skin.

He didn't even have red eyes like the demons in the imagination.

What can I say, I feel dazed.

I always thought that if I ever met the real doctor hiding behind the golem, I would tear his body to pieces.

Somehow I didn't feel like doing that.

I just felt empty and dispirited.

The dark fear of the doctor was completely eradicated from the woman's vessel.

─… … .

How much time has passed like that?

As I was blankly raising my head, my eyes met with the boy's.

─The restraint of emotions.

The boy spoke with his lips parted.

“Are you ready to release it now?”

“Uh, what?”

Curiossa, who woke up from her reverie, quickly looked around and recognized the situation.

Inside the cabin, bathed in sunlight.

The little boy stirring with a teaspoon in front.

Oh, yeah.

I was sitting at the table talking with a little boy who suddenly barged into my house.

The topic of the doctor came up, and I was reminded of something from the past.

“What did you just say?”

“Now I asked if you were ready to release your emotions.”

Aren't you going to lift the ban?

This was the third question.

The first question was when the little boy got his hands on an orange shard of the rainbow.

"I can release the emotional binding engraved on the back of your hand."

He answered after thinking deeply.

“… I’ll put it off until after I’ve finished taking revenge on the Doctor. If I release the spell, my hatred for the Doctor might cool down.”

It was a firm rejection based on a determination to seek revenge.

The second question was asked immediately after confirming the doctor's death at his residence.

"Are you ready to release it now?"

“… Not right now. I need time to sort out my feelings.”

It was a rejection because I wasn't mentally prepared.

“It’s been a week since I visited the doctor’s residence, so I thought you might have gathered your thoughts by now.”

And the third question is repeated.

Curiosa stared at Ray.

About two years ago.

The boy you first met as an enemy in the wilderness canyon has now grown up and is no longer a boy.

He still has that pretty appearance that makes girls his age cry.

But somehow, the deepened gaze and atmosphere tell us that the kid is definitely different than before.

It has grown.

Physically and mentally.

“I’m not a kid.”

“Don’t read my mind.”

…anyway.

'Me on the other hand.'

He lived at least twice as long as the little one.

But if you ask me if I've grown, well,

I have lived my whole life as a monster of curiosity under the hands of the doctor.

There was no room for change or growth in those repetitive days.

Life was stuffed.

That time had been long and long, and now her memories as a curiosa were much clearer than her memories as an orphanage girl.

That's why.

It's not easy to find the courage to let go of the emotional attachment.

According to the boy, everyone has a vessel that holds their emotions.

'… In my case, I said I was full of purple curiosity.'

An artificial and abnormal emotion created by the obsession with curiosity.

It would all disappear.

That is, if you release the parking lot.

…but what next?

'If the lock is released, what kind of emotion will appear in the empty vessel?'

I couldn't figure it out, and I suddenly became scared.

Releasing the bond is like facing your true self.

But didn't you forget your true self in the evening?

'I'm just a curiosa.'

A curious monster who lived only dreaming of revenge against the doctor.

Other than that… I don’t remember.

Woof!

“?”

When I came to my senses due to the sudden feeling of mana, I saw a child's hand dyed orange slowly approaching the table.

Curiosa used spatial magic to hurriedly move to the back.

“You, you punk! Aren’t you going to clean that up?”

“I have to release the parking lot.”

“Not right now. I need more time to gather my thoughts.”

“How much more?”

I was speechless for a moment.

It was a question that could not be answered definitively.

Curiosa shouted to hide her fear of being released from custody.

“Huh, what’s the rush? Since you’ve absorbed the power of the orange shards of the rainbow, you can release the binding at any time, right?”

“There’s no rush, just.”

"but?"

“Before I go on my trip, I want to finish as many things as possible.”

travel?

The dots and lines on Curiossa's white mask moved to form a question mark.

“You? What kind of trip are you on all of a sudden?”

“I’m going to go around places I’ve passed by before. Slowly. Leisurely. I think it’ll be a chance for me to reflect on myself a little.”

A chance to reflect on myself.

Curiosa could tell in an instant.

This means that the little boy is currently struggling with similar issues as himself.

The once sharp tone of speech became gentle.

“Ahem, yes, I hope you have a successful trip. Anyway, now is not the time to release the lock on the back of my hand.”

“Why are you afraid?”

Shudder.

Curiosa immediately laughed.

“Ha, you’re scared? What? As a top relic explorer, a high-ranking magician of the 4th Circle, and a cookie slayer of the Seanless Orphanage, I have nothing to fear… Kkaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Curiossa saw the mouse that Ray took out of his pocket and opened a rift in space and disappeared through it.

Direct.

The gap is closed.

“… … .”

It happened in the blink of an eye.

A silence fell inside the cabin.

Ray gave the mouse a small piece of cheese and put it back in his pocket.

And he spoke into the void.

“I found that Seanless Orphanage.”

Direct.

Curiosa, who had only stuck her head out, asked after confirming that the mouse was gone.

“You found it…?”

“Yes. It is an old site, with little of the original building left.”

Curiosa was dumbfounded.

He remembered what he had said before.

"The Seanless Orphanage? That's where we lived before we were taken in by the Doctor. All of the executives of Murkred, including me."

“I don’t really remember anything. It was dirty, stuffy, and dark. Other than that… not really? It was so long ago.”

These were words said carelessly.

There were no significant clues in it.

By the way, did you find the old site?

“… You’re not lying, are you?”

“I have quite a bit of money. And there are a lot of people in the world who would be willing to sell their skills for money.”

It was said that they thoroughly searched the places where notices were given to residents and pedestrians in each sector.

“Even taking that into account, there’s not enough time to issue a search notice to every sector… Ah.”

Curiosa realized as she spoke.

After the little kid in front of me retrieved all the rainbow fragments, he started to show off some really ridiculous abilities.

For example, you can cast spatial magic that consumes a lot of resources, including mental power, as if you were breathing in and out.

The distance between sectors is now no longer a barrier to the little one.

“I can guide you if you want.”

“… … .”

Curiossa was lost in thought for a moment.

In fact, the answer was already decided.

Even though it was an old site, it was something where you might find clues about your childhood.

“Okay. I’ll visit. But I need to prepare myself mentally. I’ll give it a couple of days… .”

“You don’t have to keep being so scared.”

Ray waved his hands in the air.

Mana began to ripple and a rift in space began to open.

“Now, wait a minute, kid!”

“I have people to go with.”

Curiosa, who was bewildered, closed her mouth for a moment when she saw the person and scenery that appeared beyond the gap.

“Quri! How have you been?”

Red hair and a brimmed hat.

Gorgeous travel clothes and luggage.

It was Veronica.

From behind the ornate hallways of the cathedral, the priests' urgent voices and footsteps could be heard.

“The saint has disappeared!”

“The meeting with the saints will begin soon, but where on earth is it…?”

“Search for escape routes you frequently use!”

Curiosa said in a trembling voice.

“I think I’m looking for you….”

“Veronica is free.”

"no…."

"freedom."

Veronica, who was staring at Curiosa and speaking clearly, came running into the cabin.

After that, the gap in space closed.

Jijik─

It opened again.

The scenery and people changed.

“Hello, Curiosa! Hey, it’s been a while, everyone!”

Philip, like Veronica, had his suitcase next to him.

The background was the interior of a stylish mansion, and behind it stood a brown-haired woman.

It was Philip's biological mother, Philia.

He was a member of Murkred and was active under the name Upss, but he has now been released from prison and has regained his life.

She was looking at her son with warm eyes when her eyes met Curiosa's.

“… … .”

“… … .”

There was no conversation between them.

But Curiosa could tell.

This means that Filia is the first to release the lockup and is sending a look of support.

“Then I’ll be back!”

“Okay. Take care of yourself and come back. I won’t worry too much since Ray is here with you.”

Philip came over and the gap closed.

“Veronica, I think you’ve gained some weight since I last saw you.

“You can tell Madame Philia that you’re seeing Sister Ayla.”

“Hahaha! Oh my, I misspoke! You’ve gained weight! Instead, you’ve gotten so thin that I can’t even recognize you!”

While the pleasant conversation continued.

Curiosa was suspicious.

The old site of the orphanage, what sector number is it in that the group is all visiting together?

Supporting─!

Ray opened a new door.

As Curios passed through the gap following the group, she could immediately perceive that the colors of the landscape had changed.

Buildings of dull colors.

Pedestrians dressed in shabby clothes.

The number '49' on the sign was written in black ink, flowing down like black rain.