Chapter 99: The Place We Came From (Part 1)
"Too bad. It would've been nice if Lady Renia were your mother," Rei said, glancing at Philip in the passenger seat while gripping the steering wheel.
Ten days had passed since the mansion's collapse. The group was leaving Sector 47 after gathering information. Watching the receding sector through the rearview mirror, Philip spoke in a dazed voice:
"It's okay. Our mom's out there somewhere. We'll meet her someday."
His voice carried a hint of gloom. Then, as if suddenly aware of his own melancholy, Philip straightened his posture and exhaled sharply.
"No! We will meet her! Not 'maybe'—we will! Wherever she is, I'll find her!"
Rei thought there was no need to worry much—Philip and Veronica both recovered from negative emotions quickly. Their emotional vessels rarely held negativity, being mostly filled with positive feelings like joy and curiosity.
Through the mirror, Rei saw Sector 47's silhouette shrinking in the distance, including the half-built mansion on its outskirts. Lady Renia would be fine too—the negative emotions that had filled her vessel had dissipated after that day's events and hadn’t returned. The street children surrounding her now filled that space:
"Lady! Thank you for today’s meal!"
"Call us anytime you need help!"
They treated each other like family—she cared for them as sons, and they revered her as a mother. When the mansion was completed, she’d run a school and shelter with their help.
A quote from a psychology book came to mind: "Pain isn’t erased but overwritten by other memories." Rei wasn’t sure he fully understood it, but it seemed applicable here.
"Anyway," Philip’s voice snapped him from his thoughts, "I still can’t believe it—a walking castle."
He was staring at the wasteland beyond the window. "When she told the story, there was no emotional fluctuation in Lady Renia’s vessel. So she must’ve really seen it."
"Well," Rei reasoned, "if flying deer exist, why not a walking castle?"
The notebook Lady Renia had given them contained her old wasteland expedition logs:
—Exploring during a sandstorm?! I don’t care about saving time—I can’t understand our captain’s thinking! And that ridiculous mustache!
—We’re supposed to move when the sun’s brightest? With all this sand limiting visibility?! I can’t see a thing!
—Finding ruins would be great! But aren’t ruins hard to spot even on clear days? Ugh! Hope I go bald after this job!
The early entries were mostly complaints about the captain. But the final entry told a different story:
—Damn it all. I’ll never forget today. During the sandstorm, everything went dark—like the sun had exploded. When I looked up... it wasn’t the sun!
—A massive shadow moved beyond the storm—swaying endlessly with metallic clanking sounds. That’s what darkened the sky! Even craning my neck back, I couldn’t see its top!
Later, Lady Renia realized: "The upper part resembled a castle, while the lower section had multiple legs propelling it forward."
Other mercenaries beyond her group had witnessed it too—between Sectors 48-47, 42-41, 37-36—always deep in the wastelands.
"But nobody knew what it was," she’d said. "Just rumors and theories."
The moving mechanical castle raised questions: How could something so massive move? Magic seemed the only explanation.
One popular theory among mages suggested Rainbow Fragments powered it by generating endless mana. Lady Renia shared various other hypotheses too.
"What do you think, Philip?"
"Hmm... maybe it wasn’t mechanical at all," he mused, scratching his nose. "Could’ve been some unimaginable monster making metallic sounds."
The suggestion held merit—everyone had only seen silhouettes through sandstorms.
"You’ll add 'mechanical castle' to our investigation keywords?" Philip asked.
"For now," Rei agreed. "But even if we find clues, we won’t pursue it immediately—we have other priorities first."
Philip nodded: "Since sightings only happen during sandstorms, we’d need to check weather patterns later..."
A groan interrupted them:
"My hair... all this sand... ughhh—"
The boys turned to see Veronica stirring in her cramped sleeping position behind them—still exhausted from overusing magic during mansion repairs yesterday.
Beside her stretched Nero—a black-furred cat with yellow eyes who’d started following Veronica everywhere after the mansion incident (essentially choosing her as his owner).
The adoption debate had ended when Rei cast the deciding vote: "Familiar Magic works better with established bonds than constantly finding new familiars in each sector."
Now Nero lay smugly beside Veronica as Philip bickered:
"...you wouldn’t be here without Veronica! Why do you hate me?! Tell me how to fix it instead of just meowing!"
Nero stared back until...
"Hey! This cat’s mocking me!" Philip yelped at Nero’s subtly upturned lip corner—an expression unmistakably smug even if animals supposedly couldn’t smirk. "Rei! Read his emotions right now! He’s laughing at me! Probably thinking 'Know your place, can-opener!'"
"Driving here," Rei replied. "And fighting cats is beneath human dignity, Philip."
It was something Lady Renia had once said. Though he didn’t fully grasp why it was undignified.
"Fine. I’ll endure it," Philip grumbled, calming himself with deep breaths. After observing Veronica’s uncomfortable slumber, he turned forward.
"I’ve been thinking—what about getting a new car?"
"Reason?"
"It’s outdated, underperforms, and since we spend so much time in it, more space would help."
Philip wasn’t wrong. Their white four-seater had been in poor condition since Rei first took the wheel in Sector 50. The aged engine overheated easily, and its max speed was limited even with the accelerator floored.
Not to mention accumulated damage.
The trunk bore traces of Lockdeer’s avant-garde "art," and bullet holes adorned the body like macabre decorations. Only Rei’s meticulous maintenance kept it running.
"......"
Realistically, the car could endure with continued care. But considering their needs, replacing it was wise—higher speed alone would drastically reduce travel time between sectors.
"Ignis has a branch in the next sector. If the card holds enough funds, a car shouldn’t be too costly," Philip added.
Rei’s final response surprised him:
"I’ll consider it. This car was inherited."
"Huh? Inherited? From who?"
"Niles."
"Who’s that? Never heard the name."
Rei paused. Summarizing Niles was complex. After deliberation, he answered:
"Someone I’m grateful to."
The boy’s gaze drifted to the horizon where Sector 46—the place where a man of special significance had once washed ashore—lay hidden.
"He taught me how to fight."
"Wow. I always wondered who trained you," Philip marveled.
"And other things. Drinking. Making medicine through loopholes. Hotwiring cars. Seducing women."
"That’s... wait, what?"
Veronica’s eyes widened at the last item. Both realized how little they truly knew about Rei—they understood his skills and goals, but not his past in Sector 50, his reason for seeking the Rainbow, or how he’d learned magic.
"Is he still in Sector 50?"
The reply came flatly:
"He’s dead."
Silence fell.
"Sorry," Philip stammered. "Didn’t mean to... bring up painful memories."
"For what?"
"Uh... hurting you by mentioning it."
Rei tilted his head. Philip and Veronica sometimes forgot his emotional wiring differed from others’.
Painful memories.
The term was half-true. Unless he deliberately summoned grief, thoughts of Niles didn’t hurt. After the mansion incident, facing sorrow no longer frightened him.
"It’s fine. It doesn’t hurt."
"Finally here. Ugh."
Veronica groaned, stretching as she exited the car. Nero mirrored her yawn beside her.
"So this is the sector where Rei’s benefactor’s organization is based?" Philip said, eyeing the buildings ahead.
They knew Niles’ story: betrayed by subordinates, drifted to Sector 50, became Rei’s mentor, died saving him.
"It’s Niles’ old sector, but there’s another reason we’re here."
Rei glanced at the ring on his palm. Invisible to the eye but palpable to his senses, the bond magic’s arrows flickered—one had morphed into a dot blinking at alarming speed.
