How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 105

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magic Family (105)

“Outside the building.”

Richthofen pondered for a moment, then flicked his hand.

Leo nodded while keeping his wand pointed at him.

It meant it was okay to release the restraints on his hands.

I stomped on and shattered the sphere made of mana.

“Hmm, I wasn’t expecting it, but thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. I’ll block you again anyway.”

“Haha….”

Richthofen loosened his shoulders and cast a spell while sweeping his hand through the air.

[In omni re vincit imitationem.]

At that moment, the image of a crowd appeared in the range where he extended his arm.

In the distance, a familiar person was kneeling with someone gripping the back of his neck.

Their voices came through loudly, as if amplified by magic.

[Trying to end this with a few light words shows just how short-sighted you are.]

“Who is that?”

At Leo’s question, Richthofen squinted his invisible eyes and answered.

“That’s the Captain.”

“Robert Mueller?”

“You could say he’s one of them.”

The fact that Robert Mueller isn’t an individual isn’t surprising.

What’s important is that he’s our target for elimination.

And the fact that he’s with Elias too.

‘Perfect.’

How fortunate that Elias is with him.

[…Some call it blue blood, others call it an ill-mannered brat…. Does that make you too upset~?]

“….”

That’s so like Elias.

Even though he’s been openly captured by Robert Mueller, he shows no sign of tension whatsoever.

I found myself unconsciously looking at Leo, gauging his reaction.

‘Hmm.’

Leo neither showed disgust nor panic.

Surprisingly, what I sensed in his eyes was trust.

‘…Come to think of it, this happened often in the novel.’

[Since you don’t seem to understand what I’m saying, I have no choice.]

[No, I understood. Why are you making your own judgments and causing a fuss? Aren’t you planning to bring Nicolaus Ernst? You seem to think that by being so blatant about it, Nicolaus will come right to you.]

“Good judgment.”

Richthofen interjected with a smile.

I suppose the vigilante captain he has in mind would act that way.

Of course, I won’t go.

When the intention is so obvious, there’s no way I’d comply.

‘More importantly, this isn’t a part for Nicolaus to interfere with.’

The part about gaining the Catacombs’ support could be seen as the part that changed Elias’s fate.

From now on, every single word that comes out of Elias’s mouth must be entirely his own voluntary choice.

At that moment, the mana restraints on Elias’s hands shattered.

[Wh-what!]

[That person just…!]

[What Robert Mueller wants is obvious now, isn’t it?]

I let out a hollow laugh watching that scene.

“…We’ll need to drag this out a bit more.”

“Right.”

Leo answered simply.

I sat down and shattered the mana that had been covering Richthofen’s eyes.

“…Hmm?”

“I’ve changed my mind.”

I pressed firmly against his heart.

―I can do all things through him who gives me strength.

“Ugh!”

“Control it yourself so it doesn’t go beyond your field of vision. Or just dispel the curse magic directly.”

“….”

Richthofen squinted due to the light, then looked at me and raised the corner of his mouth.

“…Of course I should do that. Otherwise I’ll die, won’t I?”

“You understand well.”

It’s subjugation magic.

It’s magic I created by modifying other spells, and this was the first time I used it on him, but judging by his reaction, it seems to have successfully taken hold in his core.

“Now, you’ll need to come with us from here on. But first, you need to properly understand what we have to do.”

I looked down at him and asked.

“Why do you think we came here?”

“Because Pleroma is here… that’s what most people would say.”

And you think differently?

I swallowed those words and said with a smile.

“You’re right that we came to catch Pleroma.”

“Hmm….”

He gave a meaningful smile and nodded.

“It’s also true that we came to catch Robert Mueller, who tried to kill me. We came to eliminate both of them.”

“Yes, that could certainly be a personal grudge.”

I took out a folded letter from my pocket and said.

“His Majesty the Emperor asked us to ‘check on the Catacombs’ movements.’ I can tell you that we didn’t come here for personal revenge.”

“….”

Richthofen stared at me and asked.

“So you came all the way here? To show loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor?”

“It’s the opposite. We came to eliminate the pretext before His Majesty the Emperor could be given justification to massacre the Catacombs.”

At those words, Richthofen raised the corner of his mouth. He tapped his ear three times and said.

“Thanks for the good information. I was wondering when you’d bring up the Emperor.”

“…!”

I could immediately tell what he had used.

A sensory transmission artifact.

“Don’t worry. I only transmitted it to the members.”

I looked at him quietly, then burst into laughter.

I had checked if there were any parts with magic on them, but he had hidden this too.

He must have linked it with spatial magic again this time.

If it had been any other time, I would have immediately rewound time, but now this couldn’t have worked out better.

“I think I should be the one thanking you more.”

“It’s been quite troublesome. I’ve been here for 10 years, but because I’m a noble, I haven’t gained that many allies.”

Richthofen stood up from his seat.

“Still, fortunately, the Vigilante Corps doesn’t only have pro-Pleroma members. There were quite a few people initially who felt resistance to the Captain’s demands for vitriol injection. In such circumstances, if the Emperor gets involved, naturally things will change.”

“How many people?”

“With this, we should have secured about five hundred.”

Not bad.

I wasn’t expecting it, but he had even prepared something like this—quite useful indeed.

Now that the manpower issue is settled….

I looked back at the plaza’s projection.

While Elias wins over the hearts of the Catacombs people there, I need to deal with the Pleroma connected to this place first.

“Does the Pleroma that Robert Mueller is in contact with know about the current situation?”

“We haven’t contacted their leadership from our side, but they’ll know. The other Robert Mueller would have told them.”

That means there’s a way to contact the leadership.

I extended my hand to Richthofen and said.

“Lead the way.”

* * *

“…Robert Mueller?”

“You’re not thinking of denying it, are you? It’s too tiresome to say more.”

Elias tightened his grip on the shoulder he was holding.

At that moment, the Vigilante Corps mages lined up on both sides of the balcony aimed their wands.

[Immodica ira creat insaniam.]

“…!”

Elias quickly moved his hand toward his heart.

Whether the spell worked, the mana flowing with his blood gradually slowed. It felt like something was pressing down on him.

‘They must have thought one wouldn’t be enough. Multiple people cast magic simultaneously.’

My abilities seem to be greatly overestimated.

Elias grinned and slowly channeled his mana into his core. To avoid death, he had to act slowly but surely before their mana completely crushed his body.

“…I understand you’re trying to prevent me from using magic, but I’m not even angry yet and I’m not crazy either. Isn’t that spell a bit crude?”

“As expected, even a royal who’s called a wastrel can interpret this much.”

“We learn it tediously at school.”

“That doesn’t apply to me, who couldn’t even enter gymnasium.”

Elias let out a short sigh while maintaining his smiling expression.

“…Ahhh, really…. I never thought I’d be touched on this point again….”

“This point, again? Your very existence is bothering us, but you don’t realize it?”

“Yeah, I’d be pissed off too if I were you. But do you only get pissed off? It’s honestly surprising that you’re keeping me alive so peacefully like this.”

At those words, the Captain spoke gently.

“You are mistaken about something.”

“What is it.”

“The Latin studies you find tedious are what the slum children below desperately wish for. The shabby clothes you specially wore to enter this place are someone’s everyday wear, and the biblical spells you use without a care are proof of privileges that some want to use but cannot.”

The voices in the plaza decreased one by one.

They were clearly waiting for the royal’s reaction.

There were surely bourgeois commoners here too, but aside from ‘being persecuted because of mana,’ it would be difficult to create common ground, so given the nature of the Catacombs as a group, they clearly strategized to favor those at the lowest position.

Of course, the analysis could end there.

He had never been unaware. Even if everyone took it for granted, Elias himself had always lived with doubt about everything he said.

The Captain lowered his body and spoke clearly into Elias’s ear.

“No matter how much you consider yourself the black sheep of noble society, and even if that’s true. Aren’t you someone more familiar with Premier Cru Classé wine than a 5-pfennig glass of gin?”

“….”

Elias silently looked down at the people in the plaza.

It was true.

Could anything express himself more appropriately than that?

But even if he said here that his thoughts weren’t different from theirs, nothing would change. It would be fortunate if it didn’t provoke anger.

‘Standing in the center of privilege and saying such things would be meaningless.’

Also, he couldn’t distinguish whether these thoughts stemmed from stubbornness born of rebellion against his uncle or not.

Even if it was mere rebellious spirit, he had no intention of defending the class system, but without knowing his own mental state, and in a situation where his lifeline was held by commoners, saying things pleasing to commoners would only make him the same opportunist as his uncle.

‘The right time to say that would be just before cutting uncle’s throat.’

Then his meaning might be conveyed.

Of course, he might be seen as a tyrant disguising a coup as reform, but it would be more appropriate than now at least.

“To think you’d say ‘if I were you’ – I can only say it’s ridiculous. How much depth could those words have…. You are in a position where you cannot understand us from birth. Whatever caught your fancy, you probably rolled up your sleeves to help us, burning with excessive sense of justice?”

“Accurate.”

Elias murmured with a faint smile.

Uncle’s reach was now close.

If anything went wrong, this place would surely be discovered by spies the Emperor must have planted, and no matter how excellent their spatial magic techniques were, they would suffer tremendous damage.

Even though he always thought they were foolish, they weren’t real fools.

Like Lucas had done, I too couldn’t just leave them to die.

The Captain’s cold voice pierced his ears.

“But I’d like you to clearly understand that we don’t need help from such a noble person as yourself.”

Even though he was receiving such treatment now.

This was the result of driving the people they promised to protect underground out of fear of power subversion. Here were the results of oppression accumulated irreversibly over several generations.

‘…Of course, that’s one thing and this is another.’

Now it was time to bring up the main point.

Elias spoke clearly without any trace of laughter.

“You wouldn’t need it. Since you’ve joined hands with Pleroma.”

Instantly, the plaza became as quiet as a mouse.

Elias let out a hollow laugh at the sight.

“…Pleroma?”

“Pleroma, you say?”

Someone with a loud voice shouted from about the middle of the crowd.

“What does this mean! Please explain!”

Gradually, similar reactions spread throughout the entire plaza.

Elias shook his head.

“Hey, is this something that wasn’t agreed upon? Amazing~”

“Stop!”

The Captain stepped forward and raised his hand.

The voices in the plaza, which had been getting noisy again, gradually decreased.

Elias whistled at the sight.

“Amazing popularity. Yeah, you need this much to sell out the country as you please.”

“Let’s see how long you’ll keep telling fairy tales.”

Elias pulled up one corner of his mouth.

It seemed they thought having a conversation was much better than immediately confining him inside.

If suspicions were raised and they immediately hid the original speaker and stepped forward alone, it would only amplify suspicion rather than resolve anything.

Of course, it also meant they had something to defend against the claim of ‘joining hands with Pleroma.’

“You seem to consider the lives of commoners who don’t know when they might die more unfortunate than my ambiguous identity and position. Compared to a life where you have to worry about today’s survival, you’d think I’m just lying in a warm room making well-fed complaints. Did I understand correctly?”

“Your judgment is quick for someone who just woke up. But what does this have to do with your earlier claim?”

“Hahaha….”

Elias burst into quiet laughter.

How could it be unrelated?

To gain support, you must first acknowledge your weaknesses before proceeding.

Elias slowly removed the Captain’s hand and raised his knees.

“Your words are right. Saying I can understand everyone would be arrogance.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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