Chapter 57: The Last Lesson (2)
“Do you really think you’ve never made an expression before?”
The old man’s words were truly unexpected.
“Are you saying I’ve made expressions before?”
In the past, Ray had tried hard to feel emotions. He had forced his facial muscles to move, attempting to create various expressions. The expressions themselves were possible, but the results weren’t great.
「Ray, are you angry? Why do you look so upset?」
「No, I’m smiling.」
「…That’s a smile?」
「It looks more like the creepy grin someone makes before they hit you.」
Though the results weren’t ideal, Ray could still form expressions. However, like an overstretched rubber band, his face would snap back to its usual blankness the moment his concentration faltered. Even the simplest expressions drained him mentally.
「…This isn’t efficient.」
It was like forcing his feet into ill-fitting shoes. Eventually, Ray abandoned trying to express himself and lived with a blank face. But now, the old man’s words…
“When you perfectly execute magic, the corners of your lips tend to rise.”
“…….”
“When you ponder someone’s words, the edges of your eyes narrow.”
“…….”
“Of course, these are subtle signals—hard to notice. But they all count as parts of an expression.”
The claim was difficult to believe. Had such tiny movements really been occurring on his face without his awareness?
“Practice reading others’ expressions. If my actions seemed like magic to you, and if you wish to learn that ‘magic,’ start there.”
“…I’ve never been good at distinguishing faces. They all look the same to me. I usually rely on clothing, voice, or hair color.”
Ray hadn’t found this particularly inconvenient. In some ways, he could identify people more accurately than others—a phenomenon akin to how those deprived of one sense sharpen another.
“I see.”
The old man chuckled dryly.
The old man drew his last breath two days later.
Leaning against the headboard, he gazed out the window before slowly closing his eyes. At first glance, he seemed to have drifted into his usual sleep. But the fading rise and fall of his chest and weakening breaths made the truth undeniable.
Soon, absolute silence settled over the room.
────!
──────!
Malta and Yulphin crumpled beside the bed, clutching the blanket as they burst into tears.
Ray watched silently.
He didn’t feel particularly sad. Instead, he replayed his final conversation with the old man.
「Don’t try to shoulder everything alone.」
Neither long nor short—just a single, simple sentence.
Creak─
Ray rose and left the room.
Veronica stood leaning against the wall beside the door.
Is he… gone…?
A storm of emotions raged within her—grief, anxiety, fear, regret. Given their intensity, bursting into tears would’ve been natural. But Veronica didn’t cry.
She entered the room with Ray, her face composed.
────!
─────!
The children rushed to Veronica, clinging to her as tears streamed like water from a broken tap.
Still, Veronica didn’t cry.
Her eyes stayed fixed on the old man’s peaceful face as she patted her brothers’ shoulders with both hands.
…….
Ray understood what the bookstore children were feeling—the death of someone precious. Though the circumstances differed, he’d experienced similar loss. If he dug up the sorrow he’d buried deep inside, he could’ve empathized more profoundly.
But Ray chose not to.
Sadness remained a horrific memory—one he never wished to relive.
Moreover, his focus lay elsewhere.
I don’t recognize this expression… This method isn’t working…
Ray stared at Malta and Yulphin’s tear-streaked faces.
「You struggle to recognize faces? Hmm… What if you tried this approach?」
Ray methodically tested each technique the old man had suggested for reading expressions. Most had already proven ineffective. Only one remained.
‘Focus on individual features first. Don’t try to process the whole face at once.’
Breaking things into parts was always easier than grasping the whole. Ray narrowed his focus.
“…….”
At first, nothing changed. But as he concentrated, facial features sharpened into clarity. He mapped each detail like an artist sketching a portrait—eyes to nose, nose to mouth, mouth to ears.
A faint thrill bloomed in his chest. Never before had he perceived faces so vividly.
Just a little more…
He lost track of time, absorbed in his task.
Then came the sound of Malta and Yulphin’s shallow breaths.
…They’ve cried themselves to sleep. Can you help move them?
Veronica’s voice was careful, still dry-eyed.
Nodding, Ray slid one arm under Malta’s neck and the other behind his knees, lifting him.
Creak─
He carried the boy into the hallway. Veronica followed with Yulphin in the same hold.
Squeak—squeak—
They reached another room. Even as he laid Malta on the bed, Ray’s mental work continued uninterrupted.
When they finally closed the door and stepped out, Malta and Yulphin’s faces crystallized in his mind—unforgettably clear.
And Ray realized why they’d always felt familiar.
Plink.
A tear rolled down his cheek.
Their faces resembled two siblings he’d once known in Sector 50.
Ah, this wasn’t supposed to happen.
I didn’t want to feel this sadness.
Through blurred vision, he saw Veronica sink to her knees a few steps ahead. Her shoulders shook. A muffled sob escaped.
“H-hic… Hk… H-heeehk, kuh.”
Veronica finally cried.
Once unleashed, the emotions battered her body and mind like relentless hammers. In that moment, she and Ray shared the same hue of grief.
As he approached, Ray thought:
Maybe this is a blessing.
At least I know how to comfort someone now.
Unlike last time, I can offer solace.
Kneeling, Ray wrapped his arms around the trembling girl. One hand rose to stroke her hair.
“It’s okay.”
He murmured softly.
“It’s okay, Veronica.”
The pink-hued mana in his bracelet pulsed in resonance.
To the rhythm of his heartbeat.
Veronica arranged the funeral through a service company. The old man’s coffin was carried to Sector 49’s central cemetery and buried by workers. She spared no expense for the plot or headstone.
Dressed in black, Veronica and her brothers watched the coffin disappear under soil with hollow eyes.
Days passed. The bookstore operated in subdued quiet, the air heavier with stillness. Veronica’s eyes remained empty. Though she’d completed the magic circle with Ray’s help, her face showed no joy.
After closing each day, she sat at the counter’s inner desk—once the old man’s workspace—surrounded by scattered books, notes, and writing tools. Ray knew what the old man had researched:
「Elemental distribution across sectors… Causes of the Black Rain’s spread…?」
The Eternal Sleep was one incurable disease among many caused by the Black Rain. The research had likely been an attempt to define his own condition and find a cure.
“You’re right—he sought treatments for others. He wanted no one to die as pointlessly as he did.”
Veronica spent every spare moment organizing the old man’s notes. “…The data’s insufficient. We need field research across multiple locations.”
Her questions about the outside world multiplied:
“What’s Sector 50 like? Is Sector 48 much different? Was crossing the wasteland difficult?”
Her obsession seemed a reaction to the shock of loss—her “vessel” now overflowed with anxiety and frustration. Malta and Yulphin mirrored this unrest:
“What’s street life like?”
“Is it tough? Dangerous?”
Their eyes shone with longing and fear. At nearly ten years old, they were neither fully children nor strangers to hardship by slum standards.
Meanwhile, Ray’s departure date was set.
“Fine. I’ll go with you. But I need time to hand over hotel operations.”
“How long?”
“Five days. I’ll wrap things up by then.”
Phillip added that he’d mentored a reliable junior named Welkers. “With him managing the hotel, I can leave worry-free.”
Ray trusted Phillip’s judgment—he’d always excelled at handling people.
…Cedric shouldn’t pose major issues either.
Cedric had shown fierce loyalty to Ray, his combat skills now sufficient to easily crush rival gangs.
「Ehehehe! My throws can take down anyone! One hit for you! One for him! I’m Sector 49’s Tossing Champion!」
「S-someone stop Cedric!」
「The kids’ backs are getting raw!」
Though overly enthusiastic, he’d become oddly protective of the hotel children—perhaps atoning for past misdeeds.
‘The gang and hotel should maintain their truce after I leave.’
Ray would add safeguards through Phillip, though truthfully, he cared little for their future relations. His insistence on securing their bond served another purpose.
Veronica couldn’t hide her shock when Ray proposed:
“Leaving… with you?”
“Yes.”
His reasons mirrored those for recruiting Phillip. Where Phillip complemented Ray’s social and financial naivety, Veronica offered academic and magical expertise.
‘I learned magic from Grandfather too.’
Ray’s practical skills were flawless, but theory eluded him. Memorizing formulas felt like forcing a lifelong right-hander to use their left—possible, but painfully awkward.
‘And Grandfather’s teachings were just fragments.’
Ray recalled the old man’s words:
「What I’ve shared is but a speck in magic’s infinite world—a realm too vast for any individual to fully grasp.」
Unknown phenomena would inevitably arise on their journey. Veronica’s knowledge would prove invaluable. To borrow Phillip’s term: an investment.
…And there was her white sun.
Ray wondered about its nature. If another crisis struck, that light might again act as a brake.
Catching his breath, Ray said:
“I leave in five days. I want you to come.”
“Honestly, I’m… overwhelmed. I have my brothers and the bookstore…”
“You’ve been wanting to leave too, haven’t you?”
Veronica flinched.
“…Was it obvious?”
“Yes.”
Her emotional state and earlier comments about needing field research made it plain.
“Malta and Yulphin can stay at Phillip’s hotel. I’ve already checked their luck—they’ll follow your decision.”
“…….”
“Close the bookstore temporarily. Cedric’s gang will guard it daily. No one will cause trouble.”
“…….”
As Ray spoke calmly, Veronica’s expression shifted by the second.
“You don’t have to bear everything alone.”
“…I need time to think.”
Ray nodded.
“Understood. Five days. Decide by then.”
