Chapter 275
Chapter 275
Jirata, who had just finished drying his hair, chimed in with a smirk, “Saveli, that’s the couch I use all the time.”
“That’s right.”
“…Are you picking a fight with me?”
Saveli smiled lightly in response to Jirata’s question.
It was an obvious disagreement, but all five averted their gazes, cringing at the rustle of papers in Kaichen’s hands.
It was absurd, but no one dared to challenge his words or actions. Kaichen studied the research results for a long time.
Jirata smirked and poked his ear with his little finger. “Look at this mess.”
Saveli scolded him for his behavior, but Jirata suddenly made a displeased face and walked briskly toward the window and opened it.
Creeak!
Thanks to the open window, a few sheets of paper piled on the desk fluttered.
“What are you doing all of a sudden?” Michelle, the desk owner, shouted as she scrambled after the flying papers. Jirata raised his index finger to his lips in a gesture of ‘shh.’
Michelle was about to mock him for his absurd behavior when he saw water droplets hanging in mid-air above Jirata’s head. The faint sky-blue magic surrounding Jirata’s body was enchanting.
Even Kaichen, examining the research findings, sensed the magic and turned his head.
“…Ugh…”
Jirata, who had let out a short groan, retracted the magic, pressing his temples, and looked at Kaichen.
“Did you know about it?”
“Know about what?”
“You don’t know?”
Kaichen’s eyebrows furrowed deeply. He had a bad feeling about this.
Jirata’s expertise was in magic detection. It was the main reason he had received the title of “Tenebre,” it was also the reason he held considerable influence in the empire, second only to Kaichen himself.
He could sense magic more keenly than anyone else. His influence spanned the entire empire, and he could discern even the slightest details about the use of magic, such as which spells were cast.
There were forbidden magics in the empire, and Jirata could detect them. Except for one instance, his detection had never failed before.
That one time was when forbidden magic had occurred in Hoiore. It was due to the sudden appearance of a snowstorm and a magic seal that prevented the use of magic. It was the only time Jirata had missed detecting forbidden magic since his birth.
Jirata knew that Kaichen was responsible for the palace barrier and the tower barrier, among many other ongoing spells. That knowledge alone made him not consider himself a better mage than Kaichen.
Kaichen was highly perceptive of nearly all forms of magic and possessed exceptional detection abilities.
So when Jirata asked if he truly didn’t know, Kaichen couldn’t help but recall forbidden magic. Despite the discomfort and irritation it caused him, Kaichen knew forbidden magic detection was beyond his capabilities.
As expected, Jirata, with his wet hair dripping, spoke up. “Time magic has manifested in the West.”
As always, the ominous feeling proved accurate.
Kaichen couldn’t hide the expression of frustration that creased his face.
“Time magic? Forbidden magic has manifested again?” Michelle replied, surprised, when Kaichen remained silent and frowning.
“Yeah, judging by the level of magic I sensed, it’s similar to Acrab… It’s on a similar scale, covering quite a large area in the west. Is there a city in the west similar in size to Acrab…?”
Jirata replied while staring fixedly at Kaichen.
The Tenebre found it strange that Kaichen, unlike his usual self, couldn’t answer a simple question. More than that, there was an unpleasant expression on Kaichen’s face.
Jirata, irritated, began to tousle his hair and, as usual, tried to be the first to report the news to the palace.
“Wait.”
Forbidden magic was named ‘forbidden’ for a reason, and detecting and preventing it was Jirata’s “job.”
He had discovered and blocked numerous forbidden magics in the past. However, time magic was an exception. Time magic was a large-scale magic with a sizeable area of effect that was easy to detect. Still, it could only be recognized after it had already occurred, making it impossible to prevent.
Jirata disliked time magic for a reason —it was futile to discover it after the events had already occurred.
“Call the precise coordinates; we’re going right away,” Kaichen suddenly ordered.