Genius Prismatic Mage Chapter 334

#334. Side story 3. Colors of love (1)

Ray could say with confidence.

“I don’t think anyone has been busier than me over the past year.”

Ray's official title to the public is Head of the Imaginary School.

My annual schedule was basically packed with managing exchange students and attending academic conferences, so I didn't have time to breathe.

Taking time out of his busy schedule, he had to continuously meet with leaders of various schools and related organizations to prepare for the collapse of the wall.

I had to visit the mansion in Sector 28 from time to time to give magic lessons, and also hold Nero, the cat that appeared in the hallway, on my lap and make him very cute.

I couldn't miss playing with my mechanical dog Cali and throwing a frisbee.

I also had to solve crossword puzzles in the monthly Magic Magazine from time to time to enter the contest.

And when you're this busy, there are bound to be times when you can't invest time.

“So that’s why you haven’t been to a settlement for over half a year?”

"huh."

To Veronica's question, Ray nodded vigorously.

It's not that I had completely forgotten about the settlement, but I had not been able to visit it due to time constraints.

Anyway, it wasn't like that.

How could I, who was a million years removed from the word indifferent, have done that?

In any case, it had been almost half a year since Ray had visited the settlement, which may have been why he was quite surprised at the sight that now unfolded around him.

"forest…?"

When you finally arrive near the settlement using space magic.

Even then, vegetation was sprouting here and there, and it was comparable to the surrounding wilderness, but it was not at the level of a dense forest like this.

“I think I set the coordinates wrong.”

“No! No! You’re right! Put that mana in!”

Veronica stopped Ray from using his spatial magic again.

“This is the right place for a settlement. The synergy of the elven growth magic and the dwarven technology.”

“Veronica doesn’t seem too surprised.”

“I’ve been here a few times in between.”

It was a well-known fact that the settlement was where Saint Veronica often fled from her order and took refuge.

The continuity of blue that did not exist around the human sector brought deep peace of mind and body.

Rustle.

Then a wild boar appeared from the grass.

The guy who found this and froze in place met Ray's eyes.

A tense atmosphere.

A suffocating silence, at the end of it.

Kkuik!

The guy turned around and ran quickly through the trees.

“I won.”

“Don’t like that kind of thing.”

Veronica lightly slaps his back.

Whether or not, Ray felt the passage of time anew.

The animals that originally migrated from the last forest recognized this face and were not wary.

But the fact that the guy just now acted like that.

'2nd generation.'

Maybe even a younger generation.

From the first generation, descendants have already been born and are living in this forest.

As we moved in a strange mood, elves and dwarves who were taking care of trees all over the forest came running out of breath.

“Ray-nim! Are you really Ray-nim?”

“Ray? The Ray I know is here?”

“See! I said I would come within a year no matter what!”

Attention was instantly focused.

Everyone's expressions were filled with deep joy, as if they had discovered a legendary animal.

“I came to see Rael.”

“Oh, are you talking about Rael?”

“Yeah. Do you know where it is now?”

“He’s right behind you.”

Ray and Veronica looked back in surprise.

There, pressed against each other, was a corpse that was perfectly visible to anyone.

“You’re finally here, Ray.”

“Kkaaaak!”

Ray caught Veronica, who was startled and fell down.

And then I looked at the opponent who appeared.

“Rael?”

The dwarf with disheveled hair and beard and sunken eyes was Lael.

“Yes, that’s right. I am Rael, who has been waiting for you for a long time, but was abandoned and thrown into the settlement after our first few meetings.”

“… … .”

It seemed like there was some substance to his words, but it must have been my imagination.

Veronica asked after calming her startled heart.

“Ra, Rael? Why does your appearance look a little different from the last time I saw you…?”

“Oh, Veronica. I’m sorry. I guess you were surprised by my shabby appearance. I’ve been so absorbed in my research lately. I’ve neglected to take care of myself. Oh, and by the way, I’ve neglected someone who has been waiting for me for a long time.”

“That person is a very bad person.”

I don't think it's just a little bit of negligence.

At this point, I thought he might have been locked up in his room, refraining from eating or drinking and just doing research.

Oh, of course, since it's a machine, it doesn't really need to eat anything.

Rael vented his anger at Ray.

“Why haven’t you checked all the messages I’ve sent you so far?”

“Did you send me another message besides the one yesterday?”

“If you add up all the messages I’ve sent so far, it’ll probably be in the three digits at best.”

“Then it’s highly likely that it was buried and not checked. There are so many messages being sent to my receiving code.”

Ray took a square mana pad out of his bosom and held it out.

Communication range originally limited to within the wizard's city.

It was an improved version that enabled messages to be sent and received from hundreds of kilometers away, thanks to Rael's touch.

Rael looked at the screen.

[Must Read – Information on Regular Academic Conferences]

[This message begins from sector 27 and brings good luck to all who receive it…]

[Collaboration-Work-related Support Guide]

[Sir, this is a really good investment opportunity.]

[Hello. I am Heckel, the head of the architectural firm I mentioned earlier. It is none other than…]

“I was really busy. I didn’t check many other important messages.”

It was somewhat true that I was busy.

Even 10 bodies wouldn't be enough. It was only now that the wall had collapsed that there was some room to spare.

"hmm…."

Rael sighed softly.

The work-related messages were endless, no matter how many times I scrolled down.

How busy must you have been?

I felt ashamed of myself for not understanding that and for complaining and complaining.

Then one message caught my eye.

[Read] [From: Rael]

[Classified as important message]

[Photos of small, cute animals running around in the forest of the settlement.]

"no."

“What is the research you recently completed?”

Rael's attention, which was about to explode, was diverted elsewhere by Ray's quick response.

“Ah, research, research! I have completed my research and solved a problem I have been facing recently. I have created an invention. This could truly be the invention of the century.”

The invention of the century.

It was the same phrase written in the message Rael sent yesterday.

That was also the reason why Ray couldn't overcome his curiosity and came to the settlement today.

“What kind of thing is it?”

“Do you know much about love, Ray?”

Veronica's ears perked up at the word love.

Ray thought for a moment.

'love.'

Unlike many emotions I had awakened during my journey so far, this was one I had not yet even begun to feel.

"Love? No one knows it better than I do!"

It was also a feeling that Veronica had been avoiding the answer for a year even though she had promised to give a clear definition.

"Veronica, what is love to you? Do you have someone you love?"

“Uh, um… It’s not time to tell you yet…!”

Veronica's blushing face reflected feelings of shame and frustration.

I was frustrated because I didn't know the definition of love, but I couldn't figure out why I was frustrated.

“I don’t know much about love.”

“Yes, that’s right. Love is a really difficult emotion to grasp. Every time you look away, its shape and form change, and it’s an emotion that has many detailed branches.”

An emotion that changes constantly, without any set form or shape.

That was Rael's definition of love.

“The thing I invented is related to the emotion called love.”

"oh."

“An invention related to love…!”

“I think it would be faster to show you than to explain it in words. Let’s go to the lab together first.”

The boy and the girl followed Rael with pounding hearts.

As we walked through the dense forest, we talked about each other's recent activities.

“Life in the settlement is not at all inconvenient. Rather, my descendants take such special care of me that it is sometimes burdensome.”

The dwarves of Rael Row did not care that the current Rael was a robot with memories and behaviors from his past life.

Rather, they cheered, saying that Rael was a living witness and embodiment of cutting-edge technology from the old days.

"A body made of flesh and blood? That's just the shell. What's important is the spirit."

"What a beautiful idea it is to transplant memories into a mechanical device and enjoy eternal life."

“Wouldn’t it be fine as long as it’s smart, whether it’s a machine or a living thing?”

But wherever there is light, there is also darkness.

The dwarves' obsession and madness with technology manifested itself in an impure attempt to attack Rael and bite, chew, tear and taste its structures.

"Ancestor! Please talk to us for a moment!"

"Haaak! Haaak! Wait, let me just take a look!"

"Let me just have a taste!"

"He's running away! Catch him! Ah, no! Stop him first and take him to a good place!"

It was a natural course of events for the elders' proclamation to be issued.

[Regarding the recent unfortunate events. Anyone who dares to harm our great ancestor Rael, regardless of their position…]

To summarize, it was an endangered species, so you should only look at it with your eyes and not touch it, and anyone who comes across it will be thrown to the ground.

After that, Rael was free from the threat of the five-body division that had been weighing on his heart every day.

By focusing on research, we were able to spread cutting-edge technologies from the old era throughout the settlements.

“The technology of the old days that I possess, and the help of giants like Nell. These two factors can be said to have greatly accelerated the completion of the underground city.”

Rael pointed somewhere with his finger with a proud smile.

A metal sculpture standing tall on the floor.

It has the shape of a huge bear face with its mouth wide open.

“The gateway to hell.”

“This is the entrance to the underground city.”

Rael let out a small sigh, the pride disappearing from his face for a moment.

“The design wasn’t my thing. If you’re going to put up some hideous metal sculpture in the forest, you should at least design it yourself. You damned rascals… oh, no, the elves insisted on it.”

It seemed that elf-hatred was a time-honored dwarven tradition.

Veronica's eyes widened.

“Are you a nobleman…?”

“Hmm, hmm! No. Did I really mean to use such a racist word? Anyway, there are entrances to the underground city in various places in the forest, each shaped like a different animal… But Lady Veronica, you’ve been visiting the settlement more often recently.”

Rael, who was making a desperate protest, changed the subject, and Veronica was embarrassed.

“Oh, oh! I’m on a long vacation right now!”

Submit your own vacation application.

I made my own payments and approvals.

But no priest of the church, including Solitaire, agreed to it.

Anyway, the saint was on vacation.

“Veronica, we usually say we ran away… .”

“Ray, if you don’t want to hide, be quiet.”

Ray kept his mouth shut because he didn't want to hide from the highest authority in the sect.

While they were talking about various other things, the group arrived at their destination.

There stood a citadel of machines.

Wrapped in vines and branches.

It looks like an ancient relic.

In the silence, in the sunlight.

After all the dwarves migrated to the underground city, Lael Low was left alone.