How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 166

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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 (166)

[….]

The antagonist remained silent.

“You’re really testing my patience.”

I know the limits of mind manipulation magic.

Contrary to popular belief, leaving half the consciousness intact is more effective for getting answers than completely wiping it out. I couldn’t do that right now since this wasn’t a normal situation.

I know that, but….

‘I keep moving on instinct.’

My fists are itching for action.

Must be the drugs. Anyway, if his head gets cracked any more here, he might just die.

“Let me change the question. I’m already confident about who I’ll be meeting anyway. So then, are you the one who brought me here?”

The antagonist shook his head.

“If not, is there someone in this establishment, in the Imperial 2nd Education Institute, who’s been pulling strings? Shake your head if you don’t know.”

The antagonist shook his head again this time.

I let out a light laugh and tried to gather my patience.

‘Ah, he might not know.’

I took a brief deep breath.

He can’t not know. Why would they bring some bastard who knows nothing?

Well, it won’t drag on for long.

I can just find out.

“What do you do here, bastard. Do you handle money or not?”

The antagonist didn’t understand this expression.

I slammed his head into the table once more and asked. The sound of pooled blood splattering on the floor came amplified.

“Do you have authority to manage the money in this establishment?”

[Uh… uhhh….]

The antagonist shook his head frantically.

I understood well that he was a powerless thug. Then shall I organize what I need to find out?

I grabbed my head and fell into thought for a moment.

‘First, I can’t find out who installed magic in the Imperial 2nd Education Institute. Then I need to find a superior….’

I grabbed the antagonist by the collar and pulled him up.

There was a sound of air getting blocked and then bursting from his throat. Still, he must have survival instincts as he began to steady himself and stand up in his own way.

“Guide me to the highest-ranking person among those currently in this building.”

[….]

“Go to someone who can fire you.”

Only then did the antagonist’s legs slowly begin to move.

This bastard is definitely a bit stupid. Or maybe he has no sense.

He’s even worse than me, whose brain is completely soaked in drugs and thoughts flow slowly.

‘Hmm, the photos….’

I’m going to turn back time anyway, so whatever.

I stomped on the artifact with my foot and went straight forward to kick the door.

And as soon as I opened the door, bright blue mana came rushing at me.

Bang! Crash―!

The upper hinge fell off and the wooden door began to tilt.

‘Fast.’

To notice even with soundproofing magic cast.

They must have decided to take an open door as a signal that an accident had occurred.

[St-stay still!]

Someone gripped a wand with both hands and shouted loudly.

Putting aside the thought that they were complete rabble, I focused my drowsy eyes and examined his appearance.

‘A new human as a guard?’

Or is he a human who uses magic?

In any case, it was unfortunate. Perhaps thinking he alone couldn’t stop me, the hand holding the wand was trembling.

I pushed forward the caretaker who had become almost a corpse from the guard’s magic.

“Guide me.”

Crash―!

[Kuhek…!]

I threw the mage against the wall, knocking him unconscious, and continued walking.

People who came out due to the commotion stood pressed against the walls in shock.

Except for the mage I just threw, everyone visible so far were only human girls.

‘Did they minimize surveillance personnel because of the investigation?’

I tilted my head while checking their faces.

Then this rabble situation makes sense too.

They must have only stationed expendable people here as caretakers. Even these would be withdrawn once the investigation resumed.

There probably isn’t much time.

There must be a real reason they had to bring me here. If there’s one problem, this caretaker walks too slowly, perhaps because of the beating earlier. He was almost at zombie level.

“Hey. You’ll just have to tell me verbally where your boss’s office is.”

As I said that and aimed my wand at the caretaker’s neck, someone shouted from the side.

[5th Floor Elevator Area!]

[Hey…!]

“….”

I turned my head toward where the voice came from.

A human who looked about Luca’s age was blinking frantically while looking at me.

He seemed to regret speaking a little, but it appeared to be only from fear.

Indeed, a conscious human is more helpful than one whose consciousness has been completely wiped.

‘Next time I meet someone, I should only half-wipe their consciousness.’

In that case, the truth wouldn’t be certain, but if I set things up well, what couldn’t I do?

I smiled at him, greeted him, and opened my mouth.

―Enter through the narrow entrance.

I snapped my fingers to release the magic before they collapsed.

Now there was no one here who remembered that person had told me something.

Even that human was looking around with a bewildered expression.

I pushed the caretaker toward where the elevator was.

Each time we passed through iron fire doors, the lighting gradually became dimmer.

Now there were no wooden floors or walls.

I opened the fourth fire door and confirmed that a wall now blocked the path with nowhere further to go.

To its left, I could see a typical iron cage elevator. I stuck my head inside and looked up.

‘Hmm…’

First, I need to block the escape route.

Far above, I can see a copper-colored floor.

At that height, it would be about the 5th floor.

I grabbed the bars with my hand and pushed mana through.

Crash― Clang!

I could hear the sound of the elevator floor tearing.

I shot mana once more, being as careful as possible not to fall to the bottom.

Bang―! Screech―

Rattle rattle rattle―

Soon the elevator plummeted at a terrifying speed.

CRASH―!!

[…!]

The sound was so loud that even the corpse in front of me flinched.

I was grateful that the sounds were faintly audible as I led him toward the stairs.

From the first floor to the second floor, even as we slowly climbed up, the air was changing.

“….”

And I stopped on the third floor.

The moment I raised my hand upward, a black object rattled between the railings above.

Kwaang―!

Something like a needle rolled across the barrier and bounced off.

I could hear the sound of someone holding their breath from above.

“Isn’t a tranquilizer gun a bit much to use on a person?”

I muttered this as I rushed up to the upper floor.

‘Four people.’

I could see people hesitating.

It was obvious that the human wearing all sorts of accessories from gold necklaces like a painted gangster would be the superior. Around him, mages in plain robes pointed their wands at me with panicked faces.

Kwaang! Dududeuk― Bang!

I maintained the barrier until the magic stopped, then threw the barrier at them.

[Uh, uh!]

[Ahhh!]

Spending more time on them would be a luxury. I immediately grabbed the superior Human by the collar.

[W-wait. We just need to hold out for five more minutes…!]

―Unless the Lord watches over the castle, the watchman stays awake in vain.

He instantly fell asleep.

It seemed they had already tampered with the air before I arrived, so it was too late to control it now.

A peculiar scent began entering my nostrils.

It was definitely similar to the air I first breathed in this place, but it was starting to feel different from before. I couldn’t help but know what was causing it.

‘The addiction is no joke.’

Earlier, since it was my first time experiencing it, I would have only perceived the pain. The New Human body was uselessly quick to adapt.

‘Well, I suppose this much is acceptable.’

This was an opponent easy enough to make me yawn compared to Pleroma.

And anyway, I hadn’t come here to beat this guy to death, but just to ask a few questions. Though those few questions would be the most decisive achievement.

I sat down beside him with a gentle smile and grabbed him by the collar.

―Enter through the narrow gate.

As I infused divine power, his eyes slowly opened. The superior’s eyes widened instantly as he realized who was grabbing his collar.

“You said five minutes.”

[….]

“You’ll have to wait five hours until your support forces arrive from now on. You know that, right? You can’t call them right now either.”

[….]

Even at words that were clearly nonsense, fear filled his eyes.

The brainwashing seemed to have worked well.

“Let’s play a truth game with me. Do you know how warp magic was cast on my room?”

[I, I, I don’t know. Th-that’s not my jurisdiction…]

There’s no time.

I cut off his words.

“Fine. Then, did your side decide to capture me first? Not because your support forces requested it first?”

[W-well… I’m not sure about that…]

He rolled his eyes and nodded.

I drew mana from my hand. Red mana scattered around.

“What do you want to experience for five hours? You’ve got some nerve.”

[Ahhh! I’ll talk!]

“Speak as quickly as possible.”

He caught his breath and spoke rapidly.

[Th-the talk about wanting to meet you was brought up by their side first about a month ago… as far as I know. We just heard that Count Nicolaus had visited the Imperial Palace, and among Duke Elias’s associates, there happened to be someone they wanted…]

He’s rambling, but I understand the conclusion.

“Then who is ‘we’? Who exactly ordered this operation?”

[Probably the Chairman…]

“Chairman? What’s the name?”

[We don’t know either.]

When I relaxed the force in my eyes, his face turned pale.

[We really don’t know. Really…! I’ve worked in this district for a long time, but I’ve never seen them even once!]

“….”

Let’s wrap this up here and move on to the next thing.

There’s one thing that’s bothering me. It might be the most important question.

I held onto my mind that kept trying to fly away due to the drug, and this time completely extracted consciousness from his mind.

“Listen. You were proceeding with work after receiving notification. Did you meet directly with the person who gave you that notification this time to receive instructions?”

He shook his head.

“Then, did you exchange contact in writing?”

“….”

“Or was it delivered through an artifact?”

“….”

“If not that either, was it delivered through some medium, whether person, animal, or whatever?”

He still shook his head.

Now there was only one thing that made sense.

“Ah… Don’t tell me?”

I couldn’t hold back the laughter that kept bursting out.

Just then, the clock was pointing to the exact hour.

I finally pulled him by the collar to ask about what I had deduced, and whispered in his ear.

“….”

He nodded.

I immediately stood up from my seat.

“Thanks for the good information.”

Now I need to prepare.

Even if I can overturn everything, I have to wait, and even if I’m furious, I have to endure it.

Since I can turn back time, I can endure anything. No, I have to.

When will I get another chance to obtain such valuable information?

Let’s see who called me here and what they want.

Thud―

Then, there was a presence behind me. Someone had definitely warped.

[Oh dear. I asked them to prepare well…]

―Blessed are those who hope to find comfort in the sea of temptation!

It’s not scripture.

At the passage from Faust I heard after a long time, I burst into light laughter.

‘Right.’

It would be disappointing to fall for it.

A group that could operate without caring about Ascanien or Hohenzollern at all.

Yet a group that hadn’t completely seized political power, so couldn’t avoid raids and investigations.

It was pointing perfectly to one group.

Primrose Pass’s support force is Pleroma.

I felt my eyes closing from the magic they cast and collapsed.

* * *

‘…der.’

[Looks like he’s properly intoxicated.]

Wait, what more?

Someone was flipping my eyelids back.

[We’ll need to reduce the effectiveness when supplying this to Primrose Pass. No matter what, I never expected a new human, especially someone from Ascanien, to lose consciousness to this extent…]

[No. We should keep it as is. With addictive substances, it’s better to hit hard from the start.]

It was Pleroma.

He wore the exact vestments of a Roman Catholic bishop, but had Pleroma’s insignia hanging as a necklace.

After saying that, he muttered.

[You never know what might happen. Those who sold opium to the East also made the wrong choice. They have mages over there too, but those British bastards are just too arrogant…]

[They did end up withdrawing, so you’re right. So, how are his qualifications?]

[You should know too, shouldn’t you?]

I felt something being inserted into my arm.

It seemed like they drew blood, so I took that opportunity to regain consciousness. The smell of blood cleared my mind somewhat.

Now the thought I should have had earlier crossed my mind.

‘My pupils should have reacted, right?’

The fact that they didn’t notice means I must still appear unconscious on the surface.

Then this is fortunate. I’ll have time to observe.

Pleroma let a drop of blood fall onto his finger, then muttered.

[This is absolute. Our diocese must absolutely acquire him.]

“…”

He was wearing bishop’s vestments earlier.

To think I’d encounter a Pleroma Bishop again.

However, looking at their faces, they’re not from the Diocese of Osnabrück.

A different diocese, and likely not the Bishop of the Diocese but an auxiliary bishop or assistant bishop. That would explain why they personally came to such a shabby place.

More importantly…

‘Acquire me?’

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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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