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#056. Last Class (1)
A dark, abandoned warehouse illuminated by moonlight.
A number of boys wielding clubs were looking down at a man lying on the ground.
Among them, the boy who seemed to be the leader moved his lips.
“Fred.”
The man on the floor flinched.
I was so beaten up that I couldn’t come to my senses, but the other person’s voice came into my ears surprisingly clearly.
“8th Street.”
My heart is pounding.
“Veronica Bookstore.”
I want to get away from that scary thing quickly.
“Don’t touch me. There will be no second warning. Your family, your store, your car. I’ve located them all.”
Tears welled up in my eyes.
Fred nodded with all his might, mustering all the strength in his body.
*
Daughter─
“Welcome!”
Veronica gave a vigorous greeting to customers entering the bookstore.
It was a few weeks ago that something unpleasant happened at the bookstore.
What happened that day was quite a shock to Veronica.
Up until now, there had only been stone-throwing incidents among peers, but this was the first time a group of healthy adult men had barged in.
However, Veronica was quick to recover and did not remain shocked by the day for long.
Eat as usual.
I ran the bookstore as usual.
As usual, I tried hard to build a circle.
In a calm and still atmosphere, the clock hands repeated countless movements.
Ray has made progress in many areas.
The funds have been built up to a point where they should be fine at least for the next few sectors.
My writing skills have now improved to the point where I can read most books on my own without a dictionary.
I read books in the bookstore and acquired essential knowledge for my journey.
For example, car maintenance or first aid for injuries.
“Ray, here are the results of the investigation on street 28.”
He also continued to use his subordinates to collect clues about the rainbow and Murkred.
Although he gained no useful information, Ray did not think it was a wasted effort.
After all, the probability of missing something in sector 49 was greatly reduced.
Time faithfully fulfilled its assigned duties, and the seasons changed their colors.
In the hot summer.
Into the fall when leaves fall.
That also meant that the boy was ready to rise and leave for the next sector.
“I’d like to talk to you for a moment.”
It also meant that the old man’s final moments had arrived.
*
An evening when the sun is setting.
The curtains fluttered in the wind.
The dark room cast long shadows here and there, giving the feeling of looking at a black and white photograph.
In a moment where everything seems to have settled into the scenery.
“Have you decided on your plans for leaving?”
The old man opened his mouth.
“Within a few days. Not sure though.”
“Yeah. So in the end, I was the one who left first.”
The old man burst into laughter.
It was meant as a joke, but the boy didn’t understand and didn’t react.
The old man didn’t really care because he hadn’t expected any reaction.
Instead, he slowly turned his head and stared at the tightly closed door.
‘Hey, you’re not showing your face again today.’
Veronica, the red-haired girl, hasn’t visited the old man’s room in the past few days.
The old man knew the reason very well.
‘You probably don’t have the courage to watch me leave for the last time.’
A fearful and timid personality.
A personality that hates to show it on the outside even more.
A personality that would rather avoid a situation than face pain.
Although they had been together for less than a year, the old man knew a lot about Veronica.
Because they played the roles of father and teacher, they formed their own bond.
‘Even if I leave, you’ll find your way forward well. You’re a smart kid.’
You can sit back for a moment with your own death.
But before long, you will be able to shake off the depression and anxiety that has settled on your shoulders and stand up.
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And I will walk forward.
With a gait more unwavering than anyone else.
After finishing his thoughts about Veronica, the old man turned his gaze back to Ray.
“I wanted to say thank you. It might have felt a bit sudden to be told to learn magic.”
“I think it was just a coincidence of interests. My grandfather needed someone to learn from. I needed someone to teach from.”
The old man let out a low laugh.
He said that since it was simply an act close to a transaction, there was no need to be grateful to either party.
As expected, the boy hadn’t changed a bit since I first saw him.
“Yes. It’s just that our wishes coincided. But isn’t it true that thanks to you, I was able to leave my magic in the world?”
Magic that can be said to be the history of the elderly themselves, as it has been used, studied, and developed by the elderly throughout their lives.
If it weren’t for the boy, no one would have been able to absorb so much in such a short period of time.
Even if you are a high-ranking wizard with multiple rings.
Because understanding the number of rings and the operating principles of magic are completely separate areas.
Being able to imitate magic simply by looking at it was a talent that was far beyond common sense.
“So I want to say thank you to you.”
“… … .”
The old man asked with a faint smile at the boy’s unresponsive appearance this time too.
“Okay. Is there anything you want to say to me?”
The old people did not have much time.
The time I was awake yesterday was 4 minutes and 32 seconds.
According to the records collected by the old man, the time that the sleep patients were awake at the last moment was between three and five minutes.
It wouldn’t be strange if I fell into eternal sleep today, and no matter how hard I held out, the end would come within a few days.
The boy was also aware of that fact.
‘What I want to say… .’
The boy talked a lot with the old man, but he revealed little information about himself.
The fact that you can’t feel emotions.
The fact that you can see the colors of mana.
Things like why we look for rainbows.
That was the boy’s most intimate piece of information.
Revealing that would be like revealing a weakness.
But it is also true that people’s wariness toward the elderly has been greatly reduced.
The old man was a man who possessed more knowledge than anyone I had ever met, and who had answered many questions.
And maybe.
‘This might be your last chance to ask questions.’
The boy, who had caught his breath, spat out.
“I can’t feel emotions.”
“I see.”
The old man nodded his head softly.
There was no sign of any great surprise.
As if it was expected.
If you think about it, old people have always been like that.
Except for when he made a great achievement related to magic and when a gang of thugs raided the bookstore, he never showed any emotional turmoil.
“Did you know?”
“I was thinking that maybe that might be the case. I’m not sure, but I’m guessing.”
And even without saying anything, he saw through everything.
… Is this also magic?
“I can’t feel emotions at all normally. I can only feel them when I concentrate. And even then, they’re only a few types. Is this a disease?”
“What do you think? Do you think it’s a disease?”
“… … .”
The boy recalled the definition of the word “bottle” he had seen in the dictionary.
“party”
“A phenomenon in which a living organism feels distressed due to an abnormality in the whole body or part of the organism preventing normal functioning.”
It was clear that his emotional system was not normal.
However, if you ask me if I felt distressed because of it, the answer would be ‘no’.
‘I don’t really know what suffering is. But if you look at the dictionary definition, shouldn’t it be considered an illness?’
Ray answered after reaching a conclusion.
“Yes. I think it’s a disease.”
“Yes. I guess you could consider mental illness as an illness.”
“Is it a mental illness?”
“This is just my guess, so take it with a grain of salt.”
The old man began to tell the story slowly.
When I was young and wandering around various sectors, I met people who couldn’t feel emotions.
“There are differences between you and me. In their case, they said that they don’t feel certain emotions.”
A colleague I’ve known for a long time.
A drunkard who happened to sit next to me in a bar.
Companions who join you on your journey, etc.
People of all kinds told their stories to the old man.
“I grew up being abused by my parents. Because of that, I became a person who cannot feel love. Love? What is that? How can a person who does not know what love is love someone else?”
“Maybe I’m just afraid of feeling pleasure itself. That’s why I don’t enjoy anything I do.”
There was no sign of falsehood or pretense in their attitude.
And there was something I learned while talking.
“It seems like everyone stopped feeling that emotion after a certain incident.”
“What’s the incident?”
“Yeah. They were all negative things like abuse and breakups. I think maybe the trauma caused my emotions to close off.”
“… … .”
“Of course, in your case, where you can selectively feel emotions, this is likely to be a different story. However, I think this might be of some help in tracing the cause.”
Ray thought for a moment.
The idea that my emotions were closed off because of past events was something I had never thought about before.
Because I used to think that emotional insufficiency was caused by something wrong with the body or mind.
But I had no recollection of it.
To be exact, there was no past that could be recalled.
My oldest memory is of wandering the streets, hungry.
Any memories from before that didn’t exist in my head.
As if someone had intentionally cut out part of my memory.
‘Some event in the past… .’
It was then that a scene flashed through my mind.
A sphere of light that took the shape of an egg and split in half.
Hundreds of colorful beams of light spread out across the world.
A black and white landscape that changes into all sorts of colors when touched by a ray of light.
It was a fleeting blink.
A series of scenes flashed through Ray’s mind at lightning speed, leaving no trace behind where they disappeared.
What on earth could it have been?
Just now they.
Ray didn’t remember the scenes.
I was only aware that certain images had passed through my mind.
I thought about it for a while, but no clear answer came to mind.
Ray stored what the old man had said in a corner of his memory for a moment, then moved on to the next question, knowing that time was running out.
“… You knew everything even though I never said anything. I want to know what kind of situation I’m in. What I’m thinking. What kind of magic it is.”
The old man was silent for a moment.
Then he burst out laughing and said:
“Kuhaha. There’s no one more peculiar than you who thinks that’s magic.”
“Are you saying it’s not magic?”
“Then. It’s not magic. So, you’re wondering how I was able to see through your thoughts and circumstances?”
Ray nods without hesitation.
The old man continued with a smile.
“It’s not necessarily true that you can learn about someone only through conversation. All humans unconsciously shed, scatter, and drop pieces of themselves.”
Facial expressions. Gestures. Eye twitching.
The degree of sweating. The roughness of breathing.
Every little movement, every single one of them.
“The expression on one’s face contains the most information.”
“But I never made any facial expressions. What did you see in me…?”
A moment of rebuttal.
The old man uttered the following words.
“Do you really think you’ve never made a face?”