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#038. The place where the lights go out (3)
Squeak──
Under the hazy morning sunlight.
The hotel’s huge doors opened and two boys appeared.
“Then I’ll go north. I heard there are a lot of abandoned factories there.”
“okay.”
Ray, who had been watching Philip’s back as he walked away, turned around and headed in the opposite direction, south.
Bruise. Bruise.
Looking at the countless mountains of scrap metal, something came to mind.
Was I dreaming?
I furrowed my brows as if I had seen something important, but I couldn’t remember anything clearly.
‘… It was just a useless dream, after all.’
He immediately shook his head.
There was a lot to do right now and I didn’t have time to worry about such details.
Ray continued his thoughts, quickening his pace.
‘He said that the man’s routine remained the same even after the fire in the basement.’
I’ll have to check the situation out myself today, but that’s what Johnny, who works at the restaurant across the basement, said.
Also, according to Cedric, the date the man was supposed to visit the hideout was four days later.
“5 times? 6 times? I think I’ve been there about that many times. I’ve never missed a date before.”
A man who finds the hideout will find the site of a factory, reduced to a skeleton after being burned down.
And given the obsession and madness he displayed, there’s a very high chance he’ll start a search for the missing Cedric and the children.
There are dozens of them, so even if you hide, it’s only a matter of time before you get discovered.
‘… I had no intention of hiding or running away from it in the first place.’
About ten days after arriving at Sector 49.
I’ve gained a fair amount of information about magic, my ability to manipulate mana has improved, and I’ve even gotten a clue about rainbows.
But the boy was not satisfied.
‘This is not enough.’
To achieve the goal of revenge, more had to be achieved in a shorter period of time.
That’s why I chose to confront the man in the basement.
There’s sure to be more information and useful tools sleeping in the basement.
The intuition that had guaranteed long-term survival and profit on the streets was telling me so.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
While I was walking, lost in thought.
Before we knew it, we had entered the southern garbage dump.
I walked quickly inward, and before long I could spot a white… no, it was a tattered, almost gray car parked in the corner.
Squeak─ Crunch!
I put the bag of money I brought in the trunk and locked it.
The winnings from the bet almost doubled the initial stake.
2.27 million shillings.
An amount that an ordinary street orphan would struggle to even see in his or her entire life.
‘The safest way would be to borrow Philip’s safe.’
It was more comfortable to keep it in the car.
This was to prepare for a situation where you have to leave the sector without even stopping by a hotel.
After finishing his business in the car, Ray turned around and headed out onto the street.
Before long, we entered street number 8, and the Zephyr gang that had been active since morning ran away in terror.
“… … !”
“Run away!”
If it were me, I would have shot him a bad look or approached him directly and bumped his shoulder to start a fight.
Hit. Hit. Knock.
The place we arrived at was in front of a bookstore.
Ray sat down a little way from the bookstore, a wooden crate rolling nearby.
‘You should have woken up today.’
How much time has passed?
Veronica, who was coming down the stairs to the first floor, found Ray outside and Dodo ran over and opened the door.
“Layah! If you’re here, tell me!”
Ray got up, dusted himself off, and walked over to Veronica and asked.
“how?”
“Uh… Knock on the door. Or call my name through the second floor window?”
“I’ll do that from now on.”
“Okay, I understand. I’ll keep my ears perked up every morning.”
Veronica guided Ray into the bookstore with a face that couldn’t hide her joy.
“I was worried. You didn’t come yesterday or the day before. What could have happened─”
Veronica’s words stopped for a moment.
This was because he discovered burn marks on Ray’s clothes, and new scratches and bruises on his face and the back of his hands.
“─Something happened. Did you fight?”
Veronica’s face became serious.
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Although I had never experienced street life myself, I knew that the world outside the orphanage and the bookstore was quite dangerous.
Veronica’s bowl quickly filled with white mana.
“Maybe it’s good. Your skin is tanned too.”
“This much is okay─.”
The moment I saw the ripples of Veronica’s white mana.
Ray’s thoughts have stopped.
…beautiful.
That was the boy’s honest impression.
I knew that the same emotion could give completely different impressions to different people.
Depending on whose bowl it is put in.
Also, it depends on who your feelings are directed towards.
The difference was revealed not only in simple colors, but also in the tremors and resonances that Mana displayed.
For example, some people’s anger is as unwavering as a stone, while others’ anger is like a burning ember that cannot stay still for even a moment.
…but the vast majority are the latter.
Anyway, only in the case of anger, sadness, and worry where the emotional lock is unlocked.
The boy could perceive the difference more clearly.
‘…beautiful.’
Veronica’s white mana gathered together and emitted a bright light, sending thin rays of light fluttering around her.
It’s like a small sun emitting gentle light.
I have never seen anything like this before.
The white mana Veronica had last time definitely didn’t feel like this.
Could it be that being able to feel worry has allowed us to see things we couldn’t before?
Or maybe something had changed in Veronica’s opinion of me?
“… … .”
The exact reason was unknown.
But what was clear was that he was frozen in place, as if he had been shocked.
Because it was the first beauty the boy had ever felt since he was born.
“Just wait. I’ll treat you.”
Veronica reached out towards the wound and gathered white mana.
At that moment, Ray came to his senses and took control of Mana.
“Ah! My mana!”
The white mana that had gathered in Veronica’s hand dispersed like smoke before turning into magic.
“Your grandfather said that if you keep using up mana in the air, you’ll get mana poisoning.”
“ah…!”
Veronica looked surprised.
It was because I was so worried that I tried to use magic without realizing it.
“It’s okay. It’s not a big wound, and I just treated it with simple procedures. I disinfected it and applied ointment.”
“Ah! Yeah! That’s fortunate.”
“But, Veronica.”
“huh?”
“Do you consider me a friend?”
Ray’s face was more serious than ever.
It was a question I was really curious about.
Veronica tried to help them by using her magic without any cost.
It didn’t seem like a conscious action, but he took the risk of using up the mana in the air anyway.
‘The desire to give without any price. The desire to protect even if I get hurt.’
That was the friend Philip was talking about.
I wondered if other people had similar standards.
“Uh… friend…?”
Veronica was taken aback by Ray’s unexpected question.
Why are you suddenly asking this question?
Is there an answer you want to hear?
Anyway, I was asked a question, so I opened my lips to answer, but my thoughts stopped for a moment and I couldn’t utter a sentence.
“Do you consider me a friend?”
If it were easy, it would be infinitely easy; if it were difficult, it would be infinitely difficult.
‘Are we friends…?’
A topic that she had never thought about since birth, and that she would never have thought about if she had not been a boy, was troubling the girl’s mind.
It was clear that she had a crush on the boy.
Because he is the one who saved me twice in times of crisis.
There was a decisiveness and drive to act that was enough to make me admire him, something I lacked.
Also, the common denominator of magic made me feel a considerable amount of inner intimacy.
‘Can’t I just call you friend? No? This is only the third time I’ve seen your face.’
What if he thinks I’m the only one who’s friends with him?
Veronica agonized, pressing her fingers against the sides of her head.
In the end, I decided to speak my mind.
“Yeah. I think of you as friends.”
Veronica answered with a confident voice and looked at Ray with expectant eyes.
With a pounding and nervous heart, I hoped that the other person would give me the same answer.
“I see. Okay. Okay. Then let’s go up and see Grandpa.”
“Huh? Huh?”
But that was the end of the reaction.
Ray passed by a flustered Veronica and took the lead up the stairs to the second floor.
Now that my curiosity had been satisfied, there was no reason to continue the conversation any further.
Veronica quickly ran up the stairs and closed the distance between them, following Ray as she asked.
“What about you? What do you think?”
“what?”
“Do you think of me as a friend?”
Ray was silent for a moment.
The creaking sound of the stairs filled the silence between them.
In a somewhat tense atmosphere.
Finally the boy opened his mouth.
“no.”
The girl’s steps suddenly stopped.
Her white face turned as red as her hair.
“Yaaaaaa──! See─!”
A cry of resentment and shame echoed through the bookstore.
*
dripping.
“Grandpa, Ray is here. Can I come in?”
─Come in.
Veronica looked at Ray and said.
“You go in first. I’ll prepare some food for my siblings and then come back.”
“okay.”
“…joy”
Ray tilted his head as he watched Veronica disappear down the hallway with a thud.
Although I didn’t realize it, Veronica’s face was somewhat pouty, and her bowl was filled with resentment.
‘Why did you suddenly yell earlier? Did something unpleasant come to mind?’
I thought about it for a while, but I couldn’t find a suitable reason.
Squeak──
As I opened the door and went in, I saw an old man sitting with his back leaning against the headrest of the bed.
An empty dinner tray sat on the table next to them, and a cool morning breeze blew through the open window, fluttering the curtains.
The old man opened his mouth with a tired smile as he looked at Ray, who had come over to sit on the chair in front of the bed.
“It’s been a long time. I think it was three days ago when I last saw you. We were talking and then you fell asleep.”
Maybe it was because of my mood, but I looked noticeably thinner than last time.
“People say that as they get older, they need less sleep, but why does it only increase for me? I’m going to end up sleeping all day long.”
It was kind of a joke.
Because of his insomnia, the old man was actually awake for less than three hours a day.
Of course, Ray didn’t realize that was a joke.
I just broadened the conversation by recalling what I had heard from Veronica.
“I heard you were sick.”
“Yes. It is a very serious disease. It is tormenting an old person who already does not have much time left to live.”
“Are you going back soon?”
“I was thinking it would be at least half a year. But looking at the way it looks, it doesn’t seem like it will last even that long.”
Not much was known about sleep paralysis.
There have been many people who have delved into this area for research, but they have all withdrawn without achieving any results.
Both the cause and the cure are unknown.
What was certain was that people with sleep apnea gradually increased their sleeping time until they fell into a complete sleep, and eventually stopped breathing.
There are individual differences, but usually within a year.
“I don’t have much time to teach you magic. That’s why I’m going to start the lessons today.”
The old man looked at the boy and spoke in the voice of one who had to leave much behind.