How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 162
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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 (162)
I stayed still to see what he was doing, and it was good that I did.
“What’s going on.”
I’ve never played a game with affection ratings, but I roughly understand what “non-conquerable” means.
A character the developers didn’t consider, or a villain who can’t be reformed.
If it were someone who would die soon and couldn’t see the ending, that would be different, but based on the clues I’ve gathered so far, the latter seems more appropriate.
In other words, this system probably said “should not be conquered” in the sense that Haike could have a negative influence on me.
There are roughly two cases.
First, “Bishop Ainsiedel” plans to reach out to Heike Einsiedel, and we won’t be able to stop that flow with our power.
Second, “Ainsiedel” and Haike have already joined hands.
The Bishop has sufficient incentive to draw Haike in.
A descendant with the same unique ability as himself – could there be a better target than this?
For Pleroma, which needs to manipulate human psychology and avoid detection, the ability to know the past of all things would be quite in demand.
Especially when someone has enough talent to be adopted as a direct heir, how could they not covet that.
Honestly speaking, despite all this talk about being non-conquerable, I couldn’t sense danger from his actions until now.
The fact that affection doesn’t rise, that I can’t find traces of the Bishop at his house – these things only make it hard to guess what’s entangled, but don’t necessarily mean immediate danger.
I was planning to maintain our relationship as I had been doing, being cautious but continuing unless I found evidence today that he harbored malice.
But…
‘I really didn’t expect him to come out like this.’
I came here assuming he could harm me, but I didn’t actually hope he would have truly threatening intentions.
I felt slightly bitter.
Anyway, I need to decide.
He doesn’t know how much I know about his abilities, so he can make plenty of excuses. So should I press him hard from the very beginning?
‘I should take advantage of opportunities.’
Let me try an experiment.
After thinking for a moment, I twisted the corner of my mouth and said.
“Honestly, you invited me to your house, so I thought we’d hang out late together, but it was strange how you sent me home right at midnight.”
“…”
“It would be a waste to just go to sleep like this, right?”
I’ve laid the groundwork, so let’s see which way he jumps.
If he’s someone who joined hands with Pleroma, he can’t reveal the truth. There’s no mission failure quite like letting the target know your objective.
“…No. That’s not why I came.”
“Then.”
The moment he said that, heavy footsteps could be heard from outside. The door shook.
Crash—!
“Luca!”
Elias burst into the room, grabbing Narke by the scruff of his neck.
Narke had a dreamy face with a puzzled smile, whether he had just woken up or was dragged here suddenly.
A cold light briefly crossed Elias’s face, but it was only momentary. He looked back and forth between us two and grinned.
“That’s too much. You were going to play just by yourselves?”
* * *
I looked down at the board game in front of me.
Elias and Narke had already pulled over an empty bed from beside us to make space.
“Ah, I won this time. Right?”
“No, Elias.”
“Why?!”
“I took four red pieces. You have to leave one~”
“Ahhhhh! Wait! Just listen to me for a moment.”
But Narke slapped Elias’s arm without a moment’s hesitation.
Elias frowned briefly, then cast a sound-blocking spell excluding Haike and said.
“Narke.”
“Yeah?”
“Is it okay for a clergyman to hit people?”
“Hahahaha!”
When Narke brushed it off with laughter, Elias shook his head.
“Are all Italian people strong…? Someone I met before was pretty tough too.”
“I was born in the Vatican though~?”
“Anyway. Come to think of it, you speak Imperial really well. Like someone from before the Tower of Babel.”
I feel a sense of disconnect whenever the most mischievous person I know from all eras makes religious metaphors. It hit me again that he’s from an era not corrupted by internet language.
Anyway, Elias made that obvious comment and then sprawled out at the foot of the bed.
He seems to have lost interest since he keeps losing.
He buried his face in the blanket, then suddenly turned his head.
“Haike.”
“…”
“Why aren’t you playing? This is the second round and it’s no fun because you’re not participating.”
“…”
“Ah, if just one more person joins, it’ll be really fun~ Right?”
Haike, who had maintained silence since our friends burst in, quietly opened his mouth.
“Sorry. I don’t know the rules.”
“Huh?”
It’s not easy to not know the rules since it’s a game that’s been popular at school recently.
Elias looked at us with puzzled eyes, then seemed to remember that we said we had no one to play poker with, and quickly said.
“That’s nothing~ You learn by getting beaten. It’s easier if you give up a blood vessel or two.”
“Right, Haike. I’ll teach you well.”
Narke grabbed Haike’s arm and spoke in a gentle voice.
Anyway, Elias isn’t acting like this just because he wants to play.
He knows that Haike was trying to do something to me. But he probably thinks it’s better to lighten the mood before starting the verification rather than pressing him suddenly.
Since he remained silent, Narke moved to sit next to Haike and said.
“Haike. What happened earlier that made you so dejected?”
Actually, it’s not that he’s dejected and not talking, but rather he’s staying quiet because our friends burst in when he was about to tell me something.
“I have something to say to Lucas.”
“Ah, go ahead. Should we give you some space?”
“No. You can stay.”
Ainsiedel stared at the area between the wall and floor and said.
“During the day, I said I could read the past of objects with my unique ability.”
“Right.”
“I can also read people’s pasts.”
I raised my eyebrows slightly.
An unexpected answer.
I briefly made eye contact with my friends.
“I tried to read your past. I’m sorry.”
“…”
I even prepared an escape route for him, but he’s being this honest.
“Why did you try to read my past?”
“…I…”
Haike muttered with an emotionless face.
“I was worried I might touch on your wounds or… unpleasant topics. It’s my first time getting close to a friend I want to be close with, so I wanted to do well this time.”
“Haike.”
“…I know I shouldn’t have done that.”
A subtle scratching sound flowed slowly, as if he was forcibly dragging out something he didn’t want to say.
His expression wasn’t visible, but I could see that he was pressing down on his knee with his fingertips.
“I didn’t want to make a mistake, but I went beyond mistakes and caused problems. I’m sorry.”
It would be better to take a step back.
If he had joined hands with Ainsiedel, he wouldn’t have revealed his abilities to me so straightforwardly.
Honestly, I expected him to evade with something like ‘I just came to see if you were sleeping well,’ but I didn’t expect such a soul-baring answer.
In other words, this is either based on another calculation, or it’s the truth.
I looked at Narke. He nodded slightly.
‘He certainly did seem like he had no friends based on his overall behavior.’
How long has he been without friends to act with such poor social skills?
Since his communication skills aren’t very good, maybe he thought reading memories and adapting to the other person would be a better approach.
It seems like his interpersonal skills have remained at a childhood level, perhaps from not interacting with many people.
‘That doesn’t mean it’s not wrong, though.’
Whether Antagonist is connected to Pleroma or not.
That’s what’s important to me, not giving him a lecture on social skills.
Since he apologized, I can’t keep getting angry and harping on it, and if I was really upset, I could have gotten angry from the moment Antagonist broke through the door, so I don’t feel like reacting strongly to his mistake.
“Hey… Haike, you did do wrong here. You know that, right~? You speak perfectly fine without using that stuff.”
Anyway, Elias also seemed to think it wasn’t dangerous enough to turn him into a complete enemy, as he continued trying to lighten the mood.
Haike just nodded.
“So, Luca? What do you think?”
“So, you were planning to study ahead and accommodate everything for me?”
“…”
“Haike. The process of getting to know that is the process of becoming close. That’s what I think.”
“…I’m sorry. I lack experience, so I was scared you’d be disappointed in me.”
Although his face was expressionless, Antagonist really didn’t seem to have any intention of making excuses.
I haven’t met someone with such rock-bottom interpersonal skills in a long time, so I’m at a loss for words.
I clasped my hands together and opened my mouth.
“I was very surprised and I’m still bewildered… but still, thank you for being honest with me.”
“…”
“Hey~ That’s clean. So we’re done here?”
Elias said, looking back and forth between us.
The resolution… I wasn’t angry to begin with, so it’s already finished in my heart, and I have something else I need to ask.
“Haike. But I didn’t really feel that you wanted to become close friends with me. Didn’t you not like me much?”
In other words, why isn’t your favorability rising? That’s what this is about.
“Can I be honest?”
“Of course.”
“Not now, but at first I didn’t like you much.”
“Why?”
“Because Pleroma is kind of like that.”
“…”
That’s what I should be saying, you bastard…
There’s a Pleroma bishop among those who use your family name, so who’s calling who Pleroma now?
Narke nodded slightly, confirming there was nothing wrong with his words.
“Now I know that you, Lucas, aren’t Pleroma. If you were, all the students at Our School should have gone berserk by now.”
I stroked my chin and fell into thought.
“Haike. Aren’t your feelings still similar now?”
“Did it seem that way?”
He looked into midair and continued speaking as if entranced.
“Maybe so. I find everyone in this world difficult, including myself. Even at this moment, I don’t know what expression I should make or what emotions I should feel more clearly.”
“…”
“I think of you as a wonderful teammate… but that might just be stubbornness from wanting to become close to you, not an impression I truly feel. Of course, I don’t even know if my desire to become close started from a preference for you, or from an obsession to try making a friend for once.”
‘Hmm, I see.’
I’m not sure if this is directly connected to not giving favorability, but if he’s the type who barely feels emotions about anything, it’s enough to affect favorability too. Some people give it out easily and others don’t.
‘The problem is… then doesn’t that mean there’s a possibility it could rise? That’s also puzzling in its own way.’
Is it normal to record the favorability of targets that can’t be conquered?
Is it unconquerable because favorability can’t be raised? Or is it unconquerable because there’s no ending?
‘…It’s probably both. I’d know for sure if I had played such games…’
Still, the fog has cleared more than before.
What kind of Pleroma would be telling their target all about their abilities?
That guy seems to be nothing more or less than a friendless, emotionally deficient high school student.
So now the remaining possibilities are greatly reduced.
The most plausible case is this.
Soon, Pleroma will approach Haike.
“…”
My goal was to prevent the ending where unconquerable targets are neglected and lead to catastrophe.
‘But if this guy is likely to fall…’
He might not just end up as a low-level organization member, but become a definite villain.
Actually, when I think of villains in the novel, Pleroma and Adelbert come to mind together.
But surely Adelbert was conquerable, wasn’t he?
Haike might become an even more serious villain than him.
‘Then.’
Would it be right to deal with him beforehand?
Of course, since he’s done nothing wrong yet, preventing Pleroma’s approach would be most ideal, but if that’s impossible, wouldn’t that be why he was ‘unconquerable’?
I slowly raised my head to look at the face of Ainsiedel from Class 1.
I could hear Narke inhaling, having read my thoughts.
“…”
“If you’re uncomfortable, I won’t acknowledge you anymore.”
“No, not to that extent.”
In the end, wasn’t the reason he approached me today ultimately ‘because he wanted to become close’?
Having imagined the worst case of ‘to gather information for Pleroma,’ I can now just sneer and let this much slide.
Most importantly, if our relationship sours, that’s also problematic in its own way. It would mean abandoning the teamwork for the third exam.
“Don’t feel too guilty. I wasn’t that angry.”
“…”
“I’ve had such fantasies too. If I knew the other person’s heart, I could become closer to them, something like that. It was definitely wrong to try to execute it on someone who was trying to sleep, but…”
I continued speaking while carefully examining Haike’s face.
“Considering your current situation, I understand why you acted that way. I’m fine now, so don’t be gloomy for too long.”
“…Thank you.”
Unlike his completely expressionless face, his fingertips were curled into his palms and pressed down tightly.
I can well imagine what his state of mind must be like.
Then, Elias suddenly stood up from his seat.
“Guys.”
“Yeah?”
“What.”
“All done~?”
“Well, I suppose so.”
“Listen.”
“To what?”
By the time I asked, it was already too late.
About 30 minutes later, I grabbed a handful of goose feathers covering the floor and threw them into midair.
“…I didn’t know this would be such a time-honored activity…”
“Whew~ That was fun!”
Narke folded the pillow that had lost all its stuffing and smiled.
I don’t know what he’s smiling about after getting beaten with a pillow by Elias.
‘Come to think of it, this kid is also experiencing school life with peers for the first time after living as a cardinal.’
Still, the completely frozen atmosphere from earlier had thawed. That happened because Elias ended up hitting Haike along with the others.
But there should be some manners, especially when we’re at someone else’s house…
“Guys. When are we going to clean this up? If we call a servant, it’ll reach the ears of the adults in the house.”
At my awkward laugh, Haike said.
“It’s okay… We can just secretly burn it.”
“You just don’t touch anything.”
“Fire? Would uncle scold you for throwing it in the trash? If you say you were playing with friends, wouldn’t he just let it slide~?”
When uncle was mentioned, the color drained from Haike’s face, which had been flushed from running around just moments before.
“Uncle probably…”
“Why?”
“…Never mind. Since you guys are here, he might say it’s okay.”
“You don’t seem close with your uncle~?”
“Right.”
Since Haike unusually ended his words so firmly, no one continued that topic.
Of course, it doesn’t matter. Elias wouldn’t want to continue that conversation either.
There doesn’t seem to be much more information I can get from Haike here.
Except for one method.
‘It would be nice if I could use divine power to get some information.’
Extracting information and erasing memories would also be a good method.
But there are reasons why I haven’t done it.
Since Haike has mental-type magic as his unique ability, mental manipulation might not work.
Didn’t even Narke say he ‘felt like hitting walls’?
‘Should I try bluffing that everyone uses enslavement magic when they become close these days?’
No.
Even that guy wouldn’t believe this.
“Guys, want to drink more?”
“We have to be at school at 7 tomorrow, Elias.”
“Right. We should sleep now. I’m going to bed.”
Haike used magic to sweep all the goose feathers into a corner at once, then stood up.
“And, Lucas. Earlier…”
“Isn’t that conversation over?”
Haike smiled faintly at those words and nodded.
As he was about to leave the room, he turned back to look at us.
“Thanks for today. For looking after me.”
* * *
We moved to Narke’s room, which was the farthest away.
“It’s my first time seeing someone try to become friends using their unique ability.”
“Surprisingly, there was no malice.”
Elias and Narke cast soundproofing magic and talked quietly.
That really is the surprising point.
Narke muttered.
“For now, it doesn’t seem like there’ll be a problem immediately, but still, he’s not completely unrelated to that side. I’m certain.”
“Based on my ability’s judgment, it seems like Pleroma will contact that friend soon. What do you think?”
At my words, Narke closed his eyes, then opened them with a frown after a while.
“That might be… possible. At least what you said, Lucas, seems closest to the right answer.”
“Oh, are you seeing the future right now, Narke?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow~ That’s cool.”
Elias said that and clapped his hands together.
“Guys. I know what you want to talk about more. You want to discuss what to do about that friend now. But we need to hear the real reason you came here.”
Elias naturally shifted to the real purpose.
Though we didn’t come because of Primrose Pass, I looked at Elias.
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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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