#023. Veronica's Bookstore (4)
Crash───!
The window shattered into pieces.
Glass fragments scattered in all directions.
A stone flew straight toward the girl's startled face.
"……!"
Who could have anticipated this situation?
The girl's pupils flooded with terror.
Realizing it was too late to dodge, she squeezed her eyes shut.
But no terrible pain came, no matter how much time passed.
"……?"
She slowly opened her eyes.
Her mouth fell open in shock.
The stone hung trapped in the boy's hand, inches from her face.
A gust of wind brushed her skin.
Glass shards floated frozen in midair.
A drop of blood fell from the boy's clenched fist.
'Ah.'
Veronica understood.
He'd used wind magic, but failed to fully slow the stone's momentum.
"It's alri─"
The boy moved faster than her words.
Thud.
Ray immediately strode to the window, scanning outside through the pouring rain.
Boys in raincoats fled across the street.
'Jeph's gang. Four.'
Different members from yesterday.
Their motive was obvious.
This wasn't careful targeting.
From the street, the room's interior was invisible.
A pure intimidation tactic.
Breaking three arms yesterday should've been warning enough.
Clearly Jeph wouldn't abandon his "request" for the bookstore easily.
"This... I owe you again." A voice came from behind. "Thank you. This should've been my duty, if my body..."
Ray turned.
The old man's mana flowed from his ring, poised to release through his palm.
He'd tried casting upon seeing the stone, but couldn't match Ray's speed.
"Veronica. Heal him."
Veronica stared at Ray's hand with teary eyes.
"Your hand..."
The boy didn't understand her concern.
A minor scrape, not life-threatening - why the tears?
Especially for someone else's injury.
When he kept staring blankly, Veronica pulled his hand to hers and activated healing magic.
Huuuung──
The wound closed rapidly... but only partially.
She fetched a first-aid kit, meticulously applying ointment and bandages.
"This prevents scarring."
"......"
Scars wouldn't bother me.
They might even intimidate enemies.
...Not entirely useless.
After treatment, the old man advised:
"Avoid using magic until forming a circle. You've drawn ambient mana too frequently."
"Yes, Grandfather."
Watching her nod, the old man turned to Ray.
"Hard to believe you're self-taught. Channeling ambient mana faster than circle mana... Even with my aged body and mind..."
His words didn't register.
Ray's focus remained on Jeph's gang.
"They've been throwing stones for a while, you said."
"Over a month. The persistence suggests a backer."
The old man's face soured.
"Someone keeps pressuring me to sell. Likely their work."
"......"
Ray fell deep into thought.
This bookstore would be his magic classroom.
Letting petty rock-throwing interfere?
Unacceptable.
"You won't sell?"
"I've poured too much into this place. Money. Dreams. Yet sustaining it grows difficult."
Self-mockery tinged his voice, laced with regret.
His reasons for settling in Sector 49 were twofold:
Training disciples while completing lifelong research.
"Couldn't afford better sectors. But I found contentment. This place still has readers. And I met Veronica and the children here."
The store had survived six months as Sector 49's sole bookstore.
Intellectuals and minor elites provided enough patronage.
"After my illness made daily tasks impossible, Veronica took over operations."
Bandages secured, Veronica fetched a broom and dustpan.
As she bent down──
Whooosh──
Wind gathered every glass shard from windowsill and floor, depositing them neatly into the pan.
"...Grandfather says we should only use circle mana." She pouted. "Ambient mana makes people emotionally unstable."
"Fine. My emotions are dull anyway."
Literally true.
His emotional numbness was exceptional.
Veronica pursed lips at his nonchalance, shooting the old man a look demanding reprimand.
"Well... Ideally, magic should use circle-contained mana..."
The old man trailed off, observing Ray.
No side effects showed despite twice using ambient mana.
'Normally symptoms would appear...'
No trembling limbs.
No emotional instability.
No wavering gaze.
The boy's earlier question resurfaced:
'If someone could use ambient mana without poisoning... They'd hold tremendous advantage.'
'Impossible...'
Denial followed confusion.
This contradicted all magical axioms.
Yet considering the boy's miraculous talents...
"Your plans?" Ray's question snapped him from reverie.
"...My death will worsen everything. A shop full of children... Easy prey."
Veronica tensed, anticipating his next words.
"So we'll close shop and find them a small──"
"No!"
Both men turned.
"This place holds your dreams!" Veronica bit her lip, face flushing. "You've wanted this since childhood!"
"Veronica... I appreciate your heart. But the world rarely bends to will."
"I still refuse!"
Tears spilled from wide eyes, splattering the floor.
"This is..." The old man flustered - Veronica had never rebelled before.
"I hate it! Grandpa dying... The store closing... All of it!"
She collapsed into his arms, sobbing.
Half a year's pent-up stress erupted - managing siblings, the store, everything alone despite her brothers' token help.
Wrinkled hands patted her shaking back.
Multicolored mana swirled around them.
Ray watched silently.
Then whispered to himself:
It's fine.
We'll fix this.
He turned to the window.
Swoooosh──
Black rain fell violently.
It reminded him of that night in Sector 50.
The old man gradually fell asleep after more conversation.
"It's called Somnus Syndrome. Sleep periods lengthen until... you don't wake. Two months since onset."
"Return tomorrow? He's usually awake mornings. Much remains unsaid."
Ray nodded. No point rushing a dying man, and he had other business.
Passing through corridors, he spotted two peeking heads that quickly vanished.
Descending stairs with Veronica, Ray donned a new raincoat. Before exiting──
He turned.
"Don't worry. It'll be resolved."
He couldn't empathize with others' grief.
But knew comforting phrases.
"Huh?"
As she gaped in confusion──
Ding-a-ling──
The bell chimed as he left, face blank as ever.
Swoooosh──
Empty streets.
Shops shuttered against black rain.
Tap tap tap──
Ray's quick footsteps.
The chromatic mana barrier around him repelled raindrops.
No trace of Jeph's gang.
'Probably holed up.'
He changed course toward the eastern junkyard.
To find Philip.
During black rains, high chance he'd be at "The Hotel."
Philip had connections beyond Cedric - could arrange meeting Jeph.
Tap tap tap──
Near eastern outskirts, Ray found boys clustered around a container.
Raincoats. Dozen-strong.
Their vessels brimmed with pitch-black fear, sloshing like sewage with the rain.
22nd Street's end - Cedric's territory.
As he approached, thudding sounds and faint groans emerged.
"You..." A boy noticed him, sparking group-wide tension.
"That's the guy fighting Boss soon."
"What do we do?"
"Don't touch. Boss wants to crush him personally."
Their chatter meant nothing.
Ray focused on container noises:
Thud! Bam!
"Fuck...my eye...!"
Grunts.
Two familiar voices - Cedric and Philip.
Ray pushed forward.
Thud.
A hand gripped his shoulder.
"Wait. Who said you──"
Tunk!
A solar plexus strike dropped the boy into rainwater.
"Wha...?"
"He didn't even see──"
"Fuck! Subdue him! No entries allowed!"
They swarmed.
Ten against one.
Tunk! Thud! Thud!
They forgot:
Dozens of street fights.
Magic epiphanies.
Ray now transcended common brawls.
Thud! Thud!
Cedric's elites fell face-first into puddles within a minute.
Ray stepped over them, opening the container.
"Die! Just die! Seeing trash like you──!"
Cedric kicked huddled Philip.
A thick red mana stream connected Cedric's ring to his heart.
Ray grabbed Cedric's shoulder.
"Fuck──! You again──!"
Cedric spun, throwing a skull-crushing punch.
Snap!
Ray's mana-wreathed hand moved several times faster.
