Genius Prismatic Mage Chapter 328

#328. Side story 2. The girl in the marble (4)

The vacation in Sector 49 passed leisurely in a peaceful atmosphere.

“The hotel market is saturated… I should expand my business while I’m at it. Instead of an abandoned factory, I’ll buy a building inside the sector and use it. Okay? Do you think I have enough money? Don’t worry. I have plenty of money.”

Philip swung the financial power he had accumulated in Sector 37 and checked his own business, which he had temporarily neglected.

“Why do you have all the same books on the shelf? It’s annoying, so you just put them in a haphazard manner? This is completely ineffective! The purpose of a shelf is to attract people’s attention by displaying a variety of items!”

Veronica was obsessed with fixing the bookstore's unsophisticated appearance, which was inevitable when there were only boys.

And, in Ray's case.

'Certainly, residents who read books tend to show a wider range of emotions than those who do not.'

I observed the emotions of the people around me as I went back and forth between the hotel and the bookstore.

And one of the important tasks was to visit the old site of the orphanage with Curiosa.

"how is it?"

“… You’re wrong. I can’t think of any.”

Curiosa looked back at the old site and spoke in a bitter voice.

Even though I visited persistently every day, inspected every nook and cranny, and stayed for hours, no memories of the past came to mind at all.

It was the only clue I could find.

This is the scene that flashed through my mind when I held the snowball.

'In the yard, children were running and playing, and in the corner, a girl was leaning against a tree and looking at a snow globe.'

At first, I was convinced that the girl was my younger self.

But after several days of no progress in the search, my confidence began to waver and I began to have doubts.

Is the girl in my memories really me?

Didn't I just fit the situation together out of a desire to know my past self?

I was anxious and nervous.

If I can't find clues in my past dwellings, where else can I go to find out about myself?

“… … .”

Ray silently watched and waited for Curiosa from behind.

I didn't rush it.

So that Curiosa, having organized all her thoughts, can make decisions purely according to her own will.

Knock, knock!

At that moment, I turned my head toward the entrance at the sound of busy footsteps.

The boy from the hotel took a deep breath and delivered the message.

“Ah, as expected! You’re here! I’ve got news for you! The snowball I left for you is finally finished being repaired! He asked if I could send it to the bookstore, but he said I can deliver it right away once the final cleaning is done!”

“Curiosa, this sounds like good news. It’s better to go and see for yourself without waiting…”

Ray, who was talking while turning his head, discovered that Curiosa had disappeared.

She was already across the gap in space, speaking on the other side.

“Hey kid, what are you doing? If you don’t come, I’ll leave you behind.”

“… … .”

This was the most agile Curiosa I've ever encountered.

*

Curiosa accepted the snowball with a trembling heart.

The boy wearing a monocle said, lowering the cover of a bag full of small machine parts.

“I was thinking of replacing the glass completely with a new one, but I kept the old one just in case. I disassembled the footrest part of the inner model and replaced all the parts.”

The black stains on the glass beads and the rust on the spring were all cleaned off, leaving it shining brightly.

The wooden stand also had a glossy sheen, as if it had been painted with something.

To this extent, it was a level of re-creation.

It's not just a simple repair.

“You too can handle the elements of creation.”

“Huh? What does that mean?”

“Our Camille is the best. From watches to engines. There’s nothing that has mechanical parts in it that she can’t fix.”

While the boys, including Ray, were talking next to her, Curiosa looked through the glass.

The scratches were still there, but it didn't pose any problem in identifying the model inside.

There were two models.

A cabin built in the wilderness.

And a girl in exploration attire.

Judging from the unprofessional appearance, it seemed like it was not a ready-made product but a handicraft made from something like clay.

Saaaa …

As the snowball was shaken from side to side, sand grains scattered like stardust, creating a dreamy landscape.

"oh."

“Wow, it’s so pretty.”

Ray and Philip were amazed.

“What do you think, Curiosa? Do you remember anything? It doesn’t look like something you would buy on the market. Maybe you made it yourself when you were young, or maybe someone gave it to you as a gift?”

“… … .”

I stared at the snowball intently, but no particular memory came to mind.

Curiosa turned the clockwork urgently.

Giggle. Giggle.

"oh!"

“It moves!”

The stool on which the girl model stood moved along a groove in the floor.

There were cheers from all around, but Curiosa remained silent.

'I don't remember anything.'

It might be something you made yourself.

Judging by the appearance, that's likely the case.

But that's it.

Nothing related to this came to mind at all.

'What did I expect?'

Curiosa felt the pounding in her heart gradually subside.

*

A few days later again.

The interior of Veronica's bookstore, which is temporarily closed for renovations.

The site was quiet after the workers finished their work and returned.

Veronica stepped carefully across the wooden flooring, which was being torn up in places to be replaced with marble.

Squeak─ Squeak─

“Ugh, I’m a little scared. It feels like the ground beneath my feet is going to collapse. Yulpin, Malta, can you push this bookshelf? If we’re going to replace the floor here, I think we’ll need to adjust the position a little bit.”

“Leave it to me, sister.”

“I’m confident when it comes to putting in effort.”

I thought I'd tidy up the mess a bit before the workers came for the next job.

Veronica, along with Malta and Yulpin, pushed the bookshelf and used their psychic powers to float the books that were too fragile to be damaged, stacking them up on the cloud bridge on the upper floor.

“Where should I put this?”

The soulless voice I heard then.

When I turned my head, I could see Curiosa standing there blankly, holding a bundle of books.

“Oh, Curie! Those books are over there!”

"okay."

“Uh, um, uh… .”

“Why is that?”

“No!”

Veronica, who was watching the back of Curiosa slowly moving away, seemed to be fidgeting for some reason.

The reason was clear.

That was because I unintentionally overheard Curiosa and Ray's conversation yesterday.

"Kid, I won't release you."

"To be honest, I'm scared."

“I can’t imagine what I’ll be like after I’m freed from the chains of my emotions.”

Curiosa's voice was complicated.

“I thought that if I knew my past self, I would have courage, but it was a vain hope and expectation. In the end, I didn’t find out anything.”

In the end, Curiosa gave up on taking a single step forward and chose to lock the door to her heart.

I couldn't force it rashly.

I couldn't advise or counsel.

Her life, which had been consumed by emotional attachments her entire life, was of a nature that could not be judged lightly.

Also, that must have been the conclusion she reached after much deliberation.

“… … .”

That was the reason why Veronica was unable to offer words of comfort and was just moving her lips.

That's how the work progressed.

“I think these books should be sorted over there.”

“Oh, thank you, Curie.”

Veronica, who was receiving the book, suddenly witnessed something.

I'm talking about the ripples of mana that occurred around the back of Curiosa's hand.

It was visible through it.

Skin hideously disfigured by burns.

It seemed that the illusionary magic that had been maintained with great precision was shaking due to the dazed mind.

“… … !”

Curiosa, who realized the situation too late, hurriedly withdrew her arm.

The book she was handing me fell to the ground, and her arm disappeared into the black cloth, creating ripples like waves.

There was silence for a moment.

Veronica bent down and picked up the fallen book.

My heart was pounding.

It is true that I was quite surprised.

Although we had become much closer than before, I had no idea what she looked like under the black cloth.

Is it just the back of the hand?

Or any other body part.

'It would be very rude to mention it first.'

There must be a reason why she has hidden her appearance and not talked about it until now.

…but.

Veronica, who had picked up all the books, looked up and saw Curiosa.

And then I took courage and said,

“If it’s not too much trouble, I can, I can treat you.”

A white halo surrounded Veronica's hands.

She was a miraculous ray of light revered as a saint in the upper sector.

“I can restore your skin to its original state.”

“… … .”

Curiosa, who had been silent for a long time, spoke.

“Red Kid, I already knew the power you possessed through rumors.”

“That’s right. So─”

“But to receive treatment, I will have to take off this cloth and mask.”

Curiosa continued speaking slowly.

This is the same resolution as fearing the release of the prison sentence.

“I can’t take off this cloth and mask. It’s scary. I found it at a certain ruins and put it on, and I haven’t taken it off since.”

I'm afraid to face my current self.

Whether it's external or internal.

That was the essence of the emotion that Curiosa had.

“That’s one of the reasons I tried to find my childhood memories in the old place. If I knew exactly who I was, I wouldn’t be mentally shaken even if I saw myself disfigured by burns all over my body.”

There was a complex note in his voice.

“Allegheny, do you remember?”

“Oh, yes.”

A Murkred executive whom Ray defeated in battle in Sector 46.

Also Curiosa's younger brother.

It was currently believed to be in a permanent state of sleep within Curiosa's subspace.

“That’s why I don’t wake up Allager and let him out of his trance. He must be going through the same identity crisis as I am.”

Establishing yourself first.

So, it becomes an unwavering sign to welcome the confused younger sibling.

That was Curiosa's goal.

“That’s probably why I’m more attached to my childhood memories. The sister Alleghan remembers. That’s not the sister who turned into a monster of curiosity, but the sister from when she was young.”

“… … .”

Veronica felt ambivalent.

Because Curios' obsession was understandable and yet incomprehensible.

Humans are beings who live in the present.

If you are tied to the past, you cannot go to the future.

Veronica licked her lips─

“I think my younger brother will definitely recognize you, Curie!”

─said confidently.

“No matter how your appearance, thoughts, and actions have changed! I think that the past Curie is still the same Curie, and the present Curie is still the same Curie. And no matter how your appearance has changed, family is something that can recognize and accept you right away!”

Veronica gasped for breath after saying so many words at once.

Still, he seemed satisfied that he had said everything he wanted to say.

“… … .”

“… … .”

A brief exchange of glances.

The eyes above Curiosa's mask became bleary.

“Even though you said that, you didn’t recognize your siblings.”

“Ah, ah, ah… That, that’s… .”

Veronica's pupils, struck hard, caused an earthquake.

Right then.

Wajikkeun.

“?”

With a sound of something hard breaking, Curiosa's body suddenly fell apart.

Kuung─!

Curiosa twisted violently as she was forced to test the energy of falling defenselessly into the space beneath the collapsed floor.

“Ugh! My back! I’m dying! The world’s greatest relic explorer is dying! How can you do such a cowardly thing just because I attacked you with logic!”

“Oh, no! I didn’t do that! The floor just collapsed on its own…?”

Veronica, who had been protesting urgently, gradually lost her voice.

This was because the place spread out about 2 meters below was an extraordinary sight.

A space that looks like it was carved into a cave.

A bookshelf full of old magic books.

Formulas are densely engraved on the walls.

No matter how you look at it.

“Secret laboratory…?”

In that moment, a deep sense of excitement and thrill filled Veronica's heart.

Malta and Yulpin, who came running after hearing the sound, couldn't close their mouths in surprise.

“There was a space like this under our bookstore…?”

“Is this the space where my grandfather used to write? No, no matter how I look at it, it’s not my grandfather’s handwriting.”

There are conflicting opinions at the top.

Curiosa, who got up despite the pain in her buttocks, looked around.

“Wow, what kind of annoying wizard would set up a laboratory in a place like this…?”

The laboratory. It wasn't an uncommon space.

Any wizard who has reached a certain level is bound to have at least one.

However, due to the wizard's characteristic isolation, it was common to build outside the sector.

Inside a scrap heap.

In a cave in the wilderness.

Or under an oasis.

'That's why I've unintentionally broken into more than a few homes while exploring historic sites.'

How surprised I was to see the wizards in their defenseless pajamas.

"Who are you? Reveal your identity!"

"Who are you to do that?"

Of course, the other party was even more surprised.

In any case, it could be seen that this place was now quite close to the living radius of ordinary residents.

Even if a research lab is located underground in a sector, it is usually constructed in a deep location rather than a shallow location like this.

'Hmm, was there a reason why it had to be built so close to the ground?'

Judging from the thick layer of dust that had accumulated on the furniture, which seemed like it would kill one to get tuberculosis, it seemed like the owner had not visited for a long time.

widely.

It was at that moment that Curiossa, who was walking around the laboratory, stopped.

I was in front of a desk where all kinds of research materials were scattered like a battlefield.

Her gaze was fixed on the title written on one piece of material.

─About restoration magic that retrieves forgotten memories of the past.