How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 163
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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 (163)
“There’s no time. The Primrose Pass investigation will probably end today or tomorrow. The evidence seized in the search will be returned.”
Elias lowered his voice.
“What happens when it’s returned?”
“It’ll obviously turn to ash.”
“You know well~ Nothing will remain. The grounds to arrest them again will disappear too.”
Elias’s voice became serious.
“We have to stop that. That side is quite unusual.”
“Right.”
Elias raised his eyebrows as if he didn’t expect me to agree so readily.
“When you spoke the day before yesterday, you seemed to think differently.”
He caught that.
That was only because I disagreed with the hypothesis that ‘Primrose Pass would have tried to make Adelbert and Elias go berserk for revenge.’
Now the situation has changed. The fact that Primrose Pass escaped investigation means there was either a tremendous power holder from the beginning, or they newly acquired one.
“No. How could a place where murder is mentioned not be unusual? There are either considerable power holders behind them, or they have nothing left to lose and did something crazy. It’s one of the two. Same goes for now when they’re trying to cover up all the crimes.”
“Good. Then who do you think stopped this investigation now?”
I fell into thought for a moment before speaking.
“His Majesty. Or Police Bureau officials, and even if not, there would be many related people.”
Primrose Pass’s main industry is prostitution, which has been illegal since the emergence of the new humans.
‘New humans have the duty to guide old humans on the right path so they don’t make wrong choices.’ This is the current ruling class’s logic. Then where should they get evidence of inferiority?
The biggest difference between new humans and old humans is sex. More precisely, it should be called the level of interest in sex.
Since new humans don’t give birth to people between people, they have no interest in reproductive activities, and they perceive creating people with magic as the most similar method to Christ’s conception through the Holy Spirit, so they recognize it as a superior form. Therefore, their way of thinking about sex is distinctly different from old humans.
So one of the tools new humans chose was prostitution.
It’s an industry that doesn’t apply to new humans, and since pimps exist in most cases, there are many derivative crimes, plus there’s an enormous number of customers – 25% of all old humans – while it’s not considered a very honorable act, making it a tool that can quickly and easily convince people of new human superiority.
Considering that new humans’ benefits increase when crushing this industry, the action of ending the investigation by a cabinet composed of new humans doesn’t make sense.
In the end, it means there was a more important issue than eugenic domination logic.
What could it have been?
A large-scale incident that could justify new human superiority occurred, but in this situation, which new human would suffer losses?
‘If I think in reverse, the answer comes.’
Who would gain the most benefit from attacking Primrose Pass?
The one who achieved the greatest merit.
I didn’t calculate this far, but it’s certain that Elias, who conducted the undercover investigation and led to the search and seizure, would gain the most benefit. His approval rating and image improvement are scheduled.
In the end, in this incident, it’s not anything else but the person who brought justice that’s the problem.
The Emperor couldn’t let Elias Hohenzollern take the justice.
‘The Security Bureau must be in chaos.’
Nothing left but to be torn apart by the Emperor.
“Wow~ Luca, you’re refreshing.”
When I pointed to the Emperor, Elias clapped as if pleased.
“What about you, Narke?”
“I need to see some faces first. Haha, sorry.”
“No, what’s there to be sorry about.”
Elias answered roughly and started counting on his fingers.
“My thoughts are similar to yours, Luca. What wouldn’t Uncle do to prevent my name from rising? The report that I was involved here hasn’t come out yet, but… he must have known I conducted undercover investigation at Primrose Pass because of the disciplinary committee.”
Right. From what I see, either the Security Bureau tried to ride on Elias’s achievements or couldn’t resist his pestering and handed over the investigation warrant, but the possibility that they confessed to the Emperor belatedly after making a mistake is low. It’s more likely that the Emperor heard news of the disciplinary committee and made his own judgment.
“I never knew His Majesty’s ethics were so reed-like. Is it really okay for such a person to be Emperor?”
Elias spoke sarcastically.
From the Catacombs to this current matter, I agree in many ways.
Still, there’s something I need to point out.
“He probably didn’t support Primrose Pass until now. He would have started intervening after the Primrose Pass issue was raised.”
At my words, Elias and Narke looked at me simultaneously.
“Primrose Pass’s backer and the side that pressured to end the investigation could be different. Even if His Majesty ended the investigation, it’s likely someone else’s doing that Primrose Pass could run wild until now.”
“…”
Elias nodded.
“True. That person wouldn’t be the type to feed such things to Adelbert. No matter what, he’s still his own child.”
He still firmly believes that was Primrose Pass’s doing.
Of course, it’s quite possible for now, but wouldn’t it be better to leave room for doubt? Just as I opened my mouth to say that, Elias voiced my exact thoughts.
“And, even if that drug wasn’t Primrose Pass’s doing… there’s something else that doesn’t make sense. Catching Primrose Pass is beneficial for Uncle too. There’s a reason such a big article appeared in the Imperial Newspaper. There’s no reason for the Emperor to covet the small change that old human pimps offer as bribes.”
Elias let out a hollow laugh.
“So, Uncle is solely to stop me… It’s as you said, Luca. The backer until now probably wasn’t Uncle. It must have been someone else. Especially those Police Bureau guys.”
He understands quickly.
I have a hypothesis in mind, and if he’s also converging his thoughts toward my hypothesis, there’s no need for me to speak.
I waited quietly to see how far he would go.
After holding his head in both hands for a while, Elias suddenly spoke.
“…Then.”
“Yeah.”
“Then why did the one who’s been backing them do it?”
Elias’s eyes flashed as he looked back and forth between us.
The corners of my mouth naturally rose.
‘As expected, the Protagonist also has doubts about this.’
“Right. Even if His Majesty ended up doing Primrose Pass a favor because of you, since the crimes have already become visible, other new humans have no reason to help them. This is exactly an achievement and propaganda material.”
Elias answered half-jokingly and sighed.
“…Is it because of money? Maybe the Police Chief is poorer than expected?”
“Hahaha, how could someone who reached that position be poor? Still, Primrose Pass is probably raking in money, so if the Police Chief wants more money, it’s certainly acceptable.”
“Right. But that district became big enough for new humans to know of its existence… it’s questionable why no one raised issues during all that time.”
It was a very Protagonist-like statement that only considered justice.
That’s because it itself is propaganda.
Even though it’s prohibited by law, deliberately sneaking in to form a settlement is actually beneficial to new humans.
In the end, establishments like Primrose Pass are used as evidence that ‘more rational new human control and management is essential for old humans.’
Of course, I won’t put Elias’s criticism aside.
What if there were actually people backing Primrose Pass with other purposes?
Meanwhile, Elias muttered.
“Then stopping Uncle is the answer… I need to think about it. Finding evidence that Uncle blocked the investigation and exposing it wouldn’t be bad, but no media company would accept it.”
He knows well.
Still, I’m glad he’s not saying he’ll blackmail the Imperial Newspaper Chief Editor by grabbing his career like in the novel.
“Elias. If His Majesty also gains benefits, we could prevent the investigation from ending. Let’s consider how His Majesty the Emperor could also benefit if the investigation continues.”
“Benefits.”
Elias stroked his chin, then slowly raised his head.
Seeing his eyes light up, he must have immediately thought of what to present to the Emperor to work, what I’m thinking about.
“Wow~ You kept thinking my ideas were distasteful~?”
“I have to use what’s useful.”
I voiced what I was thinking to confirm if his guess was correct.
“First, my thought is this. His Majesty’s greatest current concern is Pleroma.”
“Right. There probably isn’t a politician who isn’t right now.”
“And it’s certain that the air in Adelbert’s and your room being contaminated was Pleroma’s method. His Majesty the Emperor doesn’t know this fact yet. Whether it’s related to Primrose Pass or not…”
“Ahaha! You still think my hypothesis is wrong~”
It’s more like lacking evidence to be certain rather than being wrong.
Anyway, I nodded and continued.
“The fact that his child was attacked by Pleroma is a matter that His Majesty the Emperor would move even more carefully and nervously about.”
“Right, what you’re saying now is this, Luca? You’re going to tell Uncle that Primrose Pass laid hands on Adelbert. Then he’ll definitely resume the investigation. The evidence won’t get burned either.”
Elias tilted his head as he spoke.
His eyes narrowed as he wore a subtle smile, a face that seemed to agree but had something to say.
I answered with a smile.
“No.”
“Isn’t that what you’ve been saying all along?”
“I won’t say it’s Primrose Pass’s doing. If I did, His Majesty could use that to attack you. With that logic, since a child was attacked because of his nephew, it would be somewhat forgivable not to show mercy to the nephew.”
“…Hmm. Fine. How considerate of you to think of me too. So then, how are you going to connect Primrose Pass and Pleroma to divert Uncle’s attention? Are you planning to say something like, ‘An incident attacking a Prince has occurred, so please decide carefully’?”
“Exactly.”
It’s all about how you phrase it.
And while it’s difficult to present as proper evidence, there’s something that could awaken the Emperor’s vigilance.
“Elias, do you have that photo that was posted on the bulletin board that day?”
“Ah, the one Gunter put up?”
Elias pulled out a photo from his jacket pocket.
I pushed it to the center of the table and said.
“Just looking at it, all you can see is that the hair is white. You can’t even see the face properly. But the white hair aside, doesn’t the atmosphere resemble you, Elias?”
“…Hahaha…. It’s annoying, but it kind of does. At first, I was shocked thinking it was a picture of me.”
I nodded and said.
“Sorry to say this, but… when I first met Ainsiedel, you were the first person who came to mind.”
“…?! What? We look alike?!”
“Just the feeling, just the feeling~”
Narke consoled Elias.
Since it wasn’t exactly a denial, Elias’s face turned ashen.
It really must be unlucky.
“In other words. Isn’t there a possibility this could be Ainsiedel? In my life, I’ve only seen two people with hair this white – you and Ainsiedel.”
“….”
“Of course, there’s no evidence to confirm this is Ainsiedel, and even if it is, I don’t know what he went there for. But it would be enough to raise His Majesty’s vigilance.”
Since Elias just stared down at the photo in silence, I continued immediately.
“It’s much safer to bring this up while connecting it to His Majesty. And it won’t stop here. We’ll need to find out if it was really just the Police Bureau people who backed Primrose Pass.”
“Wow~ Honestly, there’s definitely going to be more. It would be nice to know, but isn’t there no way to find out? Maybe we could all infiltrate together~?”
When infiltration was mentioned, Narke’s eyes lit up, so I shook my head.
“There’s a more reliable method than that. It just so happens that there’s a contract I had put on hold when Pleroma started using the entire country as a testing ground for suitable candidates.”
“…Ah.”
Narke crossed his arms and leaned back against his chair. His face was full of smiles.
“There was Pleroma in the Imperial Government. Luckily, I’ve secured an opportunity to legally use divine power on politicians, so I should make use of it.”
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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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