Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Inspector (4)
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Ice Rainbow, or as it's otherwise known, Seven-Colored Ice.
This was a freezing spell that required no fewer than five incantations.
Though recent advancements in magic scroll technology were astonishing, most of that progress had leaned toward practical applications. In other words, scrolls for artistic realms like Seven-Colored Ice were still rare.
Put another way, the success and form of magic requiring inspiration lay entirely in the hands of the caster. It could even be seen as an art form, freely painted with mana as one's brush and paint.
Zekiel spat out the Sunweed, then flipped one hand palm-up toward the sky. The boy found himself focusing intently without realizing it.
...What kind of magic would unfold?
A chill began swirling above the palm.
It was incomparable to the clump the boy had strained to gather. The form was intricate, and its size several times greater.
"...".
The boy unconsciously held his breath.
Ice Rainbow. The certainty that he would witness something he'd never seen in his lifetime made his heart race.
Yet the man's gaze held a touch of wistfulness.
As if reaching a realm others struggled a lifetime to attain was utterly effortless for him.
As if spectacles that ordinary folk might glimpse once in a lifetime were all too familiar.
As if merely reminiscing on commonplace scenes from the past.
"...This takes me back."
Zekiel murmured just that.
Meanwhile, thirty minutes earlier. Near the Imperial Magic Tower's bustling district.
Widro, the head of the Theoretical Faction in the Imperial Magic Tower.
He stroked his snow-white beard and spoke.
"The inauguration is just hours away. Reservations going smoothly? And you didn't forget the letters?"
"Of course. We've booked Breath of the Sunset, the most renowned spot around here. The Practical Faction fools must be tasting bitterness by now."
"Well done."
He nodded in satisfaction. Currently, he was leading his group through the bustling streets for a strategy meeting ahead of today's inauguration.
As they headed toward Breath of the Sunset—
Paaang—!
A sudden sound made everyone frown.
Just as musicians' ears are keenly sensitive to notes, mages were acutely attuned to sounds born of magic.
And the noise just now was utterly repulsive.
The sound of a botched spell activation. Like savagely smashing an instrument.
Pang—!
Pang—!
Even amid the chaos, the failures and clamor continued.
Turning toward the source yielded nothing; the crowd blocked the view of the caster. Widro suppressed the urge to bulldoze through.
"Looks like someone's begging with magic."
"Is the bustling district always like this? It's changed a lot since I last came."
"Yes. This sort of thing is quite common."
In truth, Widro was unfamiliar with the district's ways.
He was the sort of supremely authoritarian mage who avoided spending time in bustling areas, deeming it too plebeian.
"They want to cast magic but lack the talent to back it up. They need money for spells but hate manual labor... So they resort to magic begging."
"Hmph. These youngsters take magic far too lightly."
Widro scoffed.
Magic wasn't some casual field lowborns could dabble in lightly.
Beyond the incantation difficulties, each activation demanded noble decorum, and any magical pursuit required vast sums of gold.
"No need to mind it. Fail enough at begging, and they'll vanish on their own."
"The offender making the noise is the real wonder. How do they keep trying? No shame or self-loathing when their own hands produce such trash?"
Passersby shared the sentiment, gradually thinning the crowd. Up close, it must have been even more horrific.
Finally visible, the caster was some beggar boy, his surroundings cleared as if a barrier had formed.
All but for one.
Neatly groomed white hair falling to his shoulders, tall stature... One man stayed by the boy to the end.
Widro nodded toward the man.
"What's with that guy not leaving?"
"Probably an out-of-towner. Makes sense he'd find it novel."
"Novel enough to watch that crap? Strong stomach."
Widro had no interest in such trash-tier casting, so their topic naturally shifted.
"Let's talk about the new Inspector taking office."
He pulled a rectangular envelope from his pocket. A letter.
"Sent a reply already? Quite the bold one."
"Shouldn't we check the contents? Who knows—might be sucking up, begging to stay on your good side."
"I've read it. The reply's even bolder."
Widro let out a derisive chuckle.
"Just the location scribbled down. As if that nobody could summon me? Commoner with no sense of place?"
"...Definitely odd. A commoner with no experience, daring to show such gall toward you?"
Officially, Inspector outranked him, but Widro dominated in Tower politics and practical know-how.
Just showing up with an Inspector badge meant nothing without that. Push too hard without insight, and you'd only earn gripes about ignoring local realities.
Anyone knowing the flow wouldn't dare such bravado.
"Ignorance breeds courage. An Inspector like that? The world's truly in its end times."
Widro clicked his tongue.
"In any case, he'll side with us, right?"
"Side with the Practical Faction scum? Anyone knowing your position wouldn't dream of it."
Only then did Widro's lips curl in satisfaction.
"I think so too. If he joins us, we'll have plenty to do. I've got a long list."
For Widro, the only lacks in his Imperial Magic Tower tenure had been higher status and greater power.
Acquire those, and he'd pull every aching tooth. Thrilling just to imagine.
"Start with purging the Practical Faction?"
"Naturally. Letting scroll-leeching parasites call themselves mages and infest the Tower is absurd from the start."
Yet one nearby voiced concern.
"But... Widro, I'm a bit worried."
"About what?"
"This year's Imperial Magic Tower schedule is packed tight. Decade performance reviews, inter-Tower competitions..."
The six Towers' performance disclosures happened every ten years.
Truth be told, it had stayed hidden thus far, but the Imperial Magic Tower had achieved little in the past decade. All flash, no substance.
...A massive problem.
To hold its position, it needed to outdo the steady accomplishments of other Towers in one fell swoop.
Widro stared sternly at him.
"So what are you saying? Skip performance and competitions? Rely on scrolls for victory?"
"No, not at all."
"Then?"
"The schedules are so grand, I fear the Imperial Magic Tower might not survive..."
"You fool!"
Widro bellowed before the words finished.
"Why should I worry about that?"
"P-Pardon?"
"If the Tower has issues, that's the Inspector's burden. I just need to oust those Practical Faction vermin I despise!"
"But if the whole Tower collapses..."
"Won't happen. The Imperial Magic Tower's traditions span ages—won't vanish over this. New Inspector, end of story."
A quick-witted one chimed in.
"Right. Purge Practical Faction, Inspector handles performance... You could even take the Inspector role yourself after."
"Inspector... Me? Heh heh heh..."
Greedy ambition twisted Widro's face.
"...".
Mid-stride, the Theoretical Faction halted.
Undesirable faces ahead. The opposition froze too.
Practical Faction head Knox and his crew.
"Out of the way."
But Widro's words yielded only mutual glares, neither yielding first.
"Even if we did, booking a low-class joint out of desperation? Planning to sabotage like this?"
"Absurd."
Knox adjusted his glasses with ring and middle fingers. His eyes behind the lenses were impassive.
"Mages stooping to compete over restaurant prestige? Childish and pathetic. We don't play that. We rely on skill."
"What?"
"I get it. Pouring years into each technique, only to see youths activate via scrolls—must twist your guts."
Widro's expression darkened further. Tensions between Practical and Theoretical Factions edged toward violence.
Widro slowly stroked his beard.
"Why would I feel that way?"
"Why lie so obviously? A has-been geezer thrashing in denial."
"Another death recently? From your Practical Faction."
"...?"
Knox's brow twitched.
"Accident. That's the announcement."
"...".
"Ludicrous. Not even a mage undone by spell backlash or trapped in mana-void. Just forgot scroll scraps and died."
Widro's tsking held only pity, as if a bug had coincidentally met a boot.
Open contempt, unmasked disdain.
"...".
Knox quietly toyed with a scroll in his pocket. Widro began subtly gathering mana.
As words threatened to turn to blows, someone shouted.
"Hey, hey! Look at that!"
It made sense.
Key Imperial Magic Tower figures openly clashing in the street was bound to draw eyes. Widro and Knox still glared murderously.
Knox pushed up his glasses.
"Care for a taste of those scraps?"
"You planning an accident today too? News to me."
Another shout.
"That...! What's that?!"
"Wha? Wh-wh-what?!"
Out of sync with their standoff, the crowd's reactions puzzled Knox and Widro into turning.
Then it clicked.
The attention wasn't on them.
"Hm?"
"Hmm...?"
Both voiced doubts simultaneously.
Far off in the air, an ice orb rotated, wreathed in frosty clouds. Even at a glance, its immense size emanated mana-source-like pressure everywhere.
The crowd kept shouting.
"Isn't that dangerous?"
"D-Don't know! Never seen anything like it!"
Like an egg quivering before hatching, the aerial orb rumbled ominously. No one could call it normal.
"It's gonna blow! That thing's exploding! For real, it's definitely gonna!"
"Run!"
If such massive chill exploded...
No one could predict the surrounding devastation.
Kwaduduk—! Kwak—!
Eerie prelude to disaster.
Panic scattering the crowd every which way.
...But then.
One near Knox yelled.
"Wha-what? That man...!"
He pointed wide-eyed at the commotion's source.
"No doubt! That's definitely the man!"
All eyes snapped to him.
Knowing the culprit behind such uproar? Curiosity unavoidable.
The follow-up stunned even more.
"The Inspector! The new Inspector inaugurating!"
Now both factions' gazes turned to the Inspector.
His expression? Mischievously roguish, not unlikeable.