#082. Curiosa (2)
"I killed him."
"Hmm. Did you now?"
As expected, Curiosa showed no sign of anger.
"How do you have Walter's ring?"
When she asked this, Curiosa's curiosity reacted not to "Walter" but to "ring."
In other words, Curiosa had no interest in whether her colleague was alive or dead.
She only wondered why the ring had passed to someone else.
"He was the weakest among us. Always has been. Blind Walter. Angry Walter. Poor, pitiful Walter."
Her voice carried no trace of actual pity.
The latter part almost sounded like singing, mixed with humming.
"Then what about the other bloodstones Walter had—"
"That's enough questions. Now it's my turn to ask."
"...Fine."
"How did you know I have Walter's ring?"
The answer came immediately.
"All executives have one of these rings. They're given by the Doctor. They have a slightly modified binding spell that lets us sense each other's locations."
"......"
Graham had examined Walter's ring once before.
At that time, the only magic he'd found and removed was an exploitation spell.
This meant the binding spell's formula was cunning and elaborate enough to evade Graham's detection.
"Ha! 'Family should stay connected no matter where they are'—what ridiculous nonsense. They designed our missions not to overlap for over a decade in the first place."
Perhaps eager to take her turn, Curiosa answered rapidly, even volunteering unasked information.
"Second question then. Tell me about that Rockdeer called Blue you mentioned earlier. Why is your organization tracking it?"
Rais raised the stakes with his question,
testing how far he could push this interrogation.
"Blue. Sure, I'll tell you. It's not that important anyway."
Blue was a spirit creature Mecrad had been tracking for years, she explained.
Its power source was a blue gem embedded in its forehead, and notably, it couldn't be considered a single entity.
"Not a single entity?"
"Because the gem gets passed down. Everything—memories included—gets transferred to the next generation."
Things began making sense.
A typical Rockdeer's lifespan is around 15 years, yet John had encountered Blue over 50 years ago.
'But earlier, that creature seemed to recognize John.'
At first Rais thought some mysterious power extended its lifespan,
but if memories were inherited, it explained why Blue appeared to recognize John.
"Next question. Tell me about this organization called Mecrad."
Rais escalated again.
"Mecrad's an organization created by the Doctor. Executives with assigned missions operate independently across the continent. There are too many types and numbers of missions to count."
Curiosa answered surprisingly fast again.
She seemed...
to have absolutely no loyalty to the organization.
"Now my turn. What are you? A homunculus?"
"I don't know what a homunculus is, but I'm—"
Human, Rais nearly said before hesitating.
"...Disgusting."
"You're weird. Scary."
"Get away! You monster!"
Childhood taunts resurfaced.
He'd genuinely agonized over being different from others.
Wondering if he wasn't human but some other lifeform.
Not that it mattered now—those were past concerns.
Yet why...
—Human.
That single word stuck in his throat like a fishbone.
Just then, pressure squeezed his outstretched hand—Veronica tightening her grip.
The clarity returned instantly, letting the trapped words flow smoothly.
"—Human. No affiliations really. Just a street orphan."
"Ah. Human then. Though some things wouldn't make sense if you were a homunculus... Yes, of course."
Curiosa repeated Rais's answer like a child savoring cookie crumbs.
"Human... Yes human..."
Over and over in euphoric tones,
savoring this moment of revelation.
Rais pressed on with another question:
"Tell me about this Doctor person."
"The Doctor."
Curiosa paused thoughtfully before answering.
"Mecrad's leader. Raised all current executives too. But nobody knows their true identity—always wears masks and glasses covering their face completely, and uses a voice modulator."
Doctor.
Likely the person hugging children in that photograph.
"Those charge stones your members carry. I heard they're organization-issued supplies."
"You're quite well-informed. Correct. They're just supplies distributed by the Doctor. But they're fakes."
"Fakes?"
"The Doctor has the real one. A gem identical in shape and size to Blue's forehead stone. (Different color though.)"
Rais's heart pounded.
He muttered unconsciously:
"...the rainbow split into seven fragments."
Curiosa reacted with surprise:
"Oh? You know about the rainbow?"
"Any mage would've heard rumors."
Though Rais said nothing more, Curiosa continued musing aloud:
"Yes... I think so too. That the Doctor possesses rainbow fragments. That gathering others is why they built this organization and commands us."
The Doctor has a red gem.
Rais filed this away as he continued:
"Understood. Next question. You can read emotions right? And what did you mean only the Doctor can manipulate them?"
Veronica behind Rais tensed.
'He cleverly combined questions three and four!'
Her heart raced.
But needlessly—Curiosa answered without noticing:
"Yes. I read them. I feel them damn intensely."
"Just feeling? Nothing more?"
"...? Yes. What else could there be?"
Apparently not visual emotion-reading like Veronica.
"Like it or not, I feel every emotional vibration around me. All because of that damn Doctor bastard."
"You seem to hate the Doctor."
"Hate? Ha! As if that word could contain my fury!"
The wind howled once more around them.
The rage contained within Curiosa’s vessel began to violently expand.
“If only—! If I could—! I’d kill him right now! Just standing before him—if my emotions didn’t short-circuit—!”
Ray continued the conversation while staring at Curiosa’s blood-red hatred.
Through this, he learned several facts about the Doctor.
The most crucial among them—
“That’s why I was shocked by you. The moment you manipulated the ambient mana, John’s desires swelled.”
—was that the Doctor used ambient mana to control people’s emotions.
“I tried to understand the principle, but it was impossible. The moment I sensed the ambient mana shifting, I’d regain consciousness only to find myself already manipulated into a puppet-like state.”
The boy’s heart began to pound harder.
Someone like me… or maybe exactly like me.
After what could be called a sense of self had formed, the first emotion to take root in the boy’s subconscious was loneliness.
—Why don’t you cry?
—Aren’t you angry?
He couldn’t feel emotions.
—…You creep me out.
—You’re weird. Scary.
—Something’s different about you…
He could read others’ emotions.
When this truth came to light, people didn’t offer understanding or concern—only discomfort and fear.
—Get lost, you creep!
—S-sorry. I don’t think we can be friends.
During those days when he was welcomed nowhere, the boy realized deeply: all of this was because he was different from others.
Thereafter, he shut his heart tightly and lived without revealing his “difference,” striving desperately to blend in while questioning his his own divergence.
Much later, those who understood his difference appeared—like the Gulbridge children or Niles—but the existential loneliness buried deep in his subconscious remained unshakable.
For they lacked any trait that might mark them as his kindred.
Then, someone with abilities like his emerged.
What kind of person are they?
Not kinship or camaraderie—just raw, unparalleled curiosity flaring within a soul long worn down by the world’s friction.
“How do I meet the Doctor? Is the Doctor a mage? How many rings are there?”
“If they use magic, they’re a mage. But you want to meet the Doctor? You?”
“I’m also searching for the scattered rainbow.”
A brief silence followed.
Curiosa threw her head back and erupted into laughter.
“Kuhahaha! You? Yes! That’s possible! Right! You did say earlier that finding the rainbow was your goal!”
As she laughed, the straight lines drawn on the mask’s mouth curved upward at both ends.
Her eyes also arched into crescent moons.
“I thought… that was drawn with a pen or paint.”
Veronica muttered behind Ray, her voice tinged with shock and betrayal.
Curiosa barely stifled her laughter before speaking.
“So you plan to steal the rainbow fragments? Fine. It’s possible. The Doctor isn’t that strong. They’re weak enough to collapse from a single flick.”
“…….”
This, too, was true.
It seemed the Doctor wasn’t a high-circle mage.
“But your emotions will be manipulated. The moment you face the Doctor, a single gesture will make you kneel and pledge loyalty—”
Curiosa abruptly cut herself off, as if struck by a shocking realization.
She then spoke, dazed.
“…You… your emotions…”
“Right. I can’t feel emotions. Even when I do, I can suppress them instantly.”
“…….”
Curiosa had already witnessed Ray controlling his emotions while hiding in John’s shadow.
The moment she realized this—
The lavender curiosity within Curiosa’s vessel began swirling like a storm.
She panted heavily as she spoke.
“Good. I’ll tell you how to meet the Doctor.”
“Where do I go?”
“You don’t go. The Doctor only appears when they have business. They usually visit the executives every few years to issue orders. The next visit is still far off.”
Six executives, scattered and operating independently.
Thus, Mercradle had no central headquarters, and the Doctor’s whereabouts were unknown.
“Is there another way?”
“If you can’t go to them, lure them out.”
Curiosa’s hand wriggled beneath the black cloth.
Ray’s coat fluttered open.
A ring slipped out from the inner pocket, floated into the air, and hovered before Curiosa.
Huum—
The ring pulsed with red light.
“I’ll tweak the binding magic settings on this ring.”
Her hand moved again beneath the cloth.
The light’s pulse quickened, and elements danced chaotically around the ring.
Soon, the light stabilized.
Curiosa smirked.
“Now you’ll sense the other executives’ locations. Of course, they and the executioners won’t detect yours.”
The ring drifted through the air and landed on Ray’s palm.
When he put it on, he distinctly felt the presence of another ring in Curiosa’s possession.
And—
I sense four more rings.
Their directions, when calculated—
The upper reaches of the Elton River.
Though clearly distant, the rings’ presence felt vivid.
It was as if arrows marking their locations had materialized in his mind.
Ray fiddled with the ring and spoke.
“You want me to defeat the other executives.”
“Sharp. Correct. If the executives fall one by one, the Doctor will have no choice but to reveal themselves. Their precious organization crumbling and all.”
Curiosa’s logic was sound.
But following it blindly was another matter.
His goal was to find the rainbow, not mindlessly pick fights.
Yet it was undeniable that Mercradle and the Doctor held major clues about the rainbow.
…….
Thoughts and judgments collided in the boy’s mind.
My journey was always meant to follow the Elton River upstream anyway.
The ring would undoubtedly aid his travels.
It would act as a compass, revealing the executives’ locations for advance preparation—even if he ignored Curiosa’s advice.
“I’ll take the ring for now.”
“A wise choice.”
“What’s the range of the binding magic?”
“Nearly limitless. The spell’s foundation was crafted by the Doctor themselves. Plus, the closer you are, the stronger the sense of other rings.”
Ray nodded and tucked the ring away.
Curiosa, her voice brimming with anticipation, declared:
“Now, I’ve told you how to meet the Doctor. It’s my turn again. The most important question.”
So excited was she that her hands rubbed together beneath the cloth.
“How did you provoke John’s emotions? How? What’s the method? Huh? What’s the secret?”
After a brief silence, Ray answered:
“I won’t tell you.”
