How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 171

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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 (171)

“…!”

Adelbert’s face crumpled.

He must have been shocked to see the life drain from the professors’ faces.

On the other hand, Leo seemed unfazed, having already seen this several times before.

‘It’s amazing that nearly 30 people fell for a single spell.’

What the hell is going on with those Pleroma Bishops?

Even professors who were appointed to their positions fall for a single spell. At this rate, we have no hope.

More than that….

‘…This is unexpected. To think I’d hit a wall right here.’

There was no response from any of them.

I pressed my lips together and stroked the edge of my mask.

I deliberately didn’t ask ‘Are you in contact with Pleroma?’ I thought it couldn’t be that simple.

But there’s also a possibility that I’m overthinking the problem, so I should try the standard approach.

“Then let me change the question. Have any of you ever met or communicated with Pleroma even once?”

[….]

“Did you visit Dormitory 1 of the Magic Department last night?”

[….]

“Did you visit Lucas Ascanien’s room last night?”

[….]

All negative.

‘This can’t be right.’

The detailed warp coordinate access permissions to infiltrate my room, the warp magic cleanly installed on the room floor.

Considering all this, the culprit can only be a professor.

But none of them are involved?

Not just me, but Leo and Adelbert also seemed slightly flustered.

After waiting for a while with no answer coming, I put away my staff.

“As expected, this won’t work.”

[…Hm?]

[Just now….]

The professors suddenly raised their heads and looked around.

The professor who grasped the situation first protested.

[Your Excellency, even if you received an imperial command, shouldn’t you give us time to prepare?]

“There’s nothing special to prepare, but I apologize for not giving you sufficient time. My consideration was lacking.”

I answered as gently as possible in Nicolaus’s tone.

“However, I hope you’ll understand that we don’t reveal the exact timing of magic use during interrogations. So, to conclude, the magic revealed that there were no professors in contact with Pleroma, nor anyone who went to the dormitory yesterday.”

[Then there’s no one here under suspicion? Just as I initially suspected.]

Professor Vinter asked.

“Yes. That possibility has increased. There really might be no culprit here.”

Leo and Adelbert’s gazes turned to me.

Adelbert in particular looked clearly shocked. It was natural since I had confidently argued ‘the culprit must be here’ with various evidence, only to back down like this.

“May I ask the professors here one question?”

[Please go ahead.]

“I understand that all professors have access to detailed warp coordinates. What procedure must be followed to obtain coordinates?”

[There’s no real procedure…. You just need to provide a reasonable cause. For example, saying a student is in their room and seems involved in magical crimes, or the door is magically locked. The operations team will provide coordinates for such cases. But since such dangerous situations rarely occur, we usually don’t need to know them.]

“I see. Do the professors contact them directly?”

[That’s correct. Warp coordinates are strictly managed for safety reasons, so they won’t provide them if teaching assistants or students request them.]

“Very thorough. Then who are the people who check and provide those coordinates to professors?”

[The dorm operations team.]

There are curfews, but since anyone can warp outside at any time, it seemed rather lax, but there is a system in place. Of course, outsiders can’t normally warp here even if they know the coordinates.

“Thank you for the answer. As you said, students can find detailed coordinates by experimenting with shifting coordinates one space at a time, and dorm staff could find out if they wanted to…. Perhaps I set the wrong premise.”

[Exactly, so there’s no reason to detain and interrogate us professors like this. Now that Your Excellency understands why we’re protesting, I feel much relieved.]

Professor Vinter answered with a smile.

No matter how I think about it, there’s no reason my prediction should be wrong.

This isn’t baseless confidence. I’m doing this because there are still aspects to consider.

‘Then I’ll start with smaller hypotheses and work my way up again.’

I smiled similarly and said something to the Chancellor standing at the end of the platform.

The Chancellor conveyed my words to them.

“Ernst will return in an hour. You must be tired, but please wait here.”

As we went outside, the Chancellor’s attendants who had been waiting by the door followed us. I spoke to one of them.

“Teacher, I’d like you to gather the dorm operations staff in one place.”

“The dormitory? Understood. We’ll prepare a space in this building, so please wait.”

One attendant warped away somewhere.

Leo quietly asked.

“What do you plan to do?”

“….”

The reason for asking was obvious.

Now that there are no answers, what are you going to do?

“I’m curious too, Your Excellency. Didn’t you say the culprit would definitely be in there?”

Adelbert interjected with confusion still clear on his face.

“It’s nothing special. Since it’s awkward to only pursue professors, I thought I’d conduct interrogations elsewhere too.”

“I already know well that it’s not for such a simple and leisurely reason.”

Leo said without batting an eye.

Damn….

He knows too well.

Leo opened his mouth.

“Let’s say that revelation, which is like telepathy, controls people as you investigated. If a revelation came saying ‘fall from a high place,’ you thought ‘the victim would have no memory until the moment of falling.’ Am I correct in my interpretation of your words?”

“That’s right.”

“Then when they’re about to die from the fall, if the one who gave the revelation says ‘This is actually the result of you feeling pessimistic about life and contemplating falling for the past 10 minutes, this is the truth,’ wouldn’t they believe it completely?”

In other words, they manipulated thoughts once more through brainwashing-like revelations.

That’s why none of the professors responded positively to my questions. This is what he means.

“You’re right. It feels like Your Lordship entered my mind and came back out.”

“….”

For a moment, I saw Leo suppress a smile that was about to form.

Leo coughed and said.

“…Ahem, then why didn’t you consider that and ask again on the spot? Even if staff have coordinate access, the one who installed the magic probably isn’t staff.”

“Really? Why do you think so, Your Lordship?”

It’s been a while since I’ve seen this guy rack his brains like this, so it’s entertaining to listen.

It’s also good to have another review through someone else’s mouth.

“That warp magic wasn’t installed by an ordinary practitioner. Half the staff are Human, half are new humans. Among the new human staff doing simple office work, there are no practitioners skilled enough for such magic. …Though you wouldn’t know as an outsider.”

Just from seeing the warp magic in front of my room, he knew it wasn’t ordinary skill.

I called Leo during my baptism to find this out.

“But what else should I ask? I already asked four questions and not a single person matched any of them.”

“Then you must have come here to figure out what to ask.”

Exactly right. This guy knows too much now.

I simply answered with a smile.

Then, Adelbert, who had been listening intently to our conversation, said seriously.

“Your Excellency, I have a question. May I ask?”

“Of course.”

“You asked whether they had visited Dormitory 1 of the Magic Department, and whether they had visited Lucas Ascanien’s room. I want to know why you asked essentially the same question twice.”

“….”

Sharp.

It’s not for nothing that Adelbert always receives praise when compared to the Crown Prince.

“I’ll tell you later. I’m still in the hypothesis stage myself, so it would be better to inform you after it’s confirmed.”

“I see… But why do you really want to interrogate the staff? If the magic installed for the crime was sophisticated as Senior Leonard said, there wouldn’t be any culprits among the staff. Do you have a different opinion, Your Excellency?”

Just then, the Chancellor’s attendant who had disappeared earlier warped back to the end of the hallway.

I turned my head back to Adelbert.

“Let’s watch and see for now.”

* * *

There were roughly twenty dormitory management staff members.

I thought there would be five or six at most, but there were far more than I expected.

Anyway, they would be much easier opponents than the faculty.

“Count Nicolaus?”

“Huh?”

When someone they had never heard of entered, confusion spread across their faces.

I looked at the bewildered staff members’ faces and uttered the formal phrases I had said hundreds of times at the police station.

“We don’t have time, so please cooperate immediately.”

“Excuse me?”

“No, what…”

―Enter through the narrow gate.

This time, like when I interrogated the senior Human at Primrose Pass, I needed to hear specific answers. For that, I had to deceive them a bit, like when I previously said there were 5 hours left when there were only 5 minutes until support arrived.

I snapped my fingers to slightly invoke consciousness, then looked at their dazed eyes and urgently opened my mouth.

“I need help.”

“…?”

At the sudden words, Adelbert glanced at me.

“I’m a professor for Class 2, 2nd year Magic Department. There’s a problem with a student’s room and I need to know the warp coordinates right now. Do you happen to know the detailed warp coordinates for student Lucas Ascanien’s room?”

“…!”

“Ah.”

Leo let out a brief sigh.

‘Come out.’

If no one came forward here, I’d have to set up a new hypothesis.

Fortunately, the wait wasn’t long.

Twitch―

Someone standing at one end of the wall flinched their fingertips.

As if trying to inform me of something, he raised his hand upward.

However, perhaps because his consciousness wasn’t intact, his speed was excessively slow. I acted with an urgent voice and urged him on.

“Are you going to tell me, sir? I need the exact coordinates as quickly as possible.”

“233.3…”

“….”

“…808.3:000.1. What exactly is happening?”

“….”

I smiled beneath my mask.

I could see Leo’s face hardening. He verified the authenticity in rhythm.

“That’s correct.”

“Sir, do you know the warp coordinates for student Leonard Wittelsbach?”

At my words, he wandered his unfocused pupils, then muttered slowly like before in a voice that seemed drained of strength.

“No. I’d have to check. But didn’t you say it was urgent?”

“Good. How do you know the coordinates to warp inside a mere student’s room when there are no ledgers here right now?”

And specifically just my room.

It means he checked it frequently enough to memorize it.

Also, wouldn’t it remain vivid in his memory because he confirmed and passed on the information just yesterday?

I checked his status window.

[Gloria Klein]

‘Good.’

I snapped my fingers again and completely erased his consciousness.

―Enter through the narrow gate.

“Did you move to those coordinates and install the warp magic?”

“….”

“If not, have you ever given orders while informing someone of student Lucas Ascanien’s warp coordinates?”

“….”

He kept shaking his head.

He never gave ‘orders.’

He’s simply an information source.

“Good. Then have you ever checked the room coordinates for students Adelbert Hohenzollern and Elias Hohenzollern?”

A different reaction from before.

He nodded his head.

Crash―!

I struck the desk once to dispel the magic.

Of course, I had to erase the entire conversation that just happened from their memories.

I repeated the keywords to erase in my mind while injecting new memories.

“It’s finished. You may return.”

I nodded to the Royal Mage who had been standing behind us the whole time.

While the mage approached Gloria Klein, who was standing with a confused face, I went out to the hallway.

Adelbert asked urgently.

“Your Excellency! This is… I mean! Did you just catch them?!”

“No. The person who installed the warp magic and sprayed the drug in your room is someone else. As I said before, there needs to be a skilled person who can use magic cleanly.”

Only then did Adelbert seem to recall what I had said earlier.

“Ah… that’s right. Count Nicolaus, no, Your Excellency Ernst, this is my first time seeing you solve a case… my thoughts got a bit heated. So that person just passed on information?”

“That’s right. Now we’ve caught one of the two culprits.”

Then it’s time to use this information to find out who that ‘skilled’ culprit is.

Now it’s just a matter of time.

I said what I couldn’t say earlier.

“Your Highness, you asked earlier why I asked the same question twice.”

“Yes? Yes.”

“Memory depends not on facts but on what that person perceived. Let’s say I ate an apple. If I learned that an apple was a grape, I would nod to the question of whether I ate a grape, not whether I ate an apple.”

“Hmm… it’s a situation where it’s difficult to get correct information even with magic.”

“That’s right. Furthermore, if a ‘revelation’ is a command powerful enough to go against the subject’s will, the subject might not properly perceive their own actions. You could think of it as a living corpse state with only one goal floating in their head.”

“…It’s similar to brainwashing.”

“Seeing that it can be used remotely, it’s not a mental-type magic using divine power, but it is similar.”

I took a breath and continued speaking.

“Suppose they received coordinate numbers injected into their head in that corpse state and received orders to move to that location. Then they would think they had never set foot in Magic Department Dormitory Building 1 or Lucas Ascanien’s room.”

“Ah, now I understand. You asked the same question twice because you didn’t know how they might have perceived it.”

Adelbert said with sparkling eyes.

He understands well.

I explained it at length on purpose, but from now on I can just speak roughly.

“But, Your Excellency. Isn’t there one problem?”

“What is it?”

“As Senior Leonard said earlier, if commands dominate the brain and create time periods with no memory for the actor, then if information like ‘I was only in the research lab tonight’ is injected, wouldn’t that empty memory be filled with post-hoc judgment?”

“That’s right.”

Adelbert asked carefully.

“…Then even if we identify the informant, not being able to find the perpetrator would be the exact same situation as before, wouldn’t it? Moreover, if the informant and perpetrator aren’t directly connected, and someone else gave the revelation, then questioning based on the informant’s identity would likely yield nothing.”

He’s been asking incredibly insightful questions from the start.

Making someone like this into a villain would be a tremendous waste.

We entered the small auditorium again.

As soon as they saw us, several professors asked with tired faces.

[Didn’t you say there were no suspects? What are you trying to do now?]

“This is the last time. If nothing comes up this time either, I’ll report to His Majesty that the Faculty of the Imperial Second Academy is completely free of suspicion.”

After reassuring them, I cast a sound-blocking spell and spoke to Adelbert.

“Even if memories are overwritten through revelation, there’s a problem here. Let’s say the command was ‘Move to coordinates A and install magic.’ Then after completing the task, you could overwrite the memory by saying ‘You did nothing tonight’ or ‘You never moved to coordinates A to install magic,’ right?”

“Yes.”

“The biggest problem lies here. Even if you try to cover it with another command, that preceding command was already given anyway. No matter what words come next, the record remains.”

Adelbert’s mouth gradually opened as he stared into midair, lost in thought.

“…Ah.”

“Unless the memory is completely erased with mind manipulation magic like an eraser, there’s already a precedent of that information being processed in the brain. Then, we can finish this with just one question, can’t we?”

I counted on my fingers and opened my mouth.

—Enter through the Narrow Entrance.

“Between 8:30 PM last night and before midnight, have you ever thought of the coordinates ‘233.3:808.3:000.1’ even once? If so, please answer.”

Leo and Adelbert stared ahead without making a single sound.

A long silence continued.

[…—.]

A faint voice leaked out from somewhere.

Though it wasn’t comprehensible words, it was clearly an answer.

The moment I confirmed who that voice came from, Leo’s brow furrowed.

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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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