How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 209

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

How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magic Family (209)

No sound could be heard.

I looked down at the door handle and said.

“Professor.”

Knock knock―

“I know you’re inside.”

[….]

After a long while, the door opened.

A middle-aged mage with an irritable and tired expression greeted me.

Actually, I couldn’t say he greeted me. Before I could even start my greeting, Traut was already glaring at me intensely.

“What business do you have here? Did I ever schedule a meeting with a student? What’s the meaning of coming to the faculty dormitories instead of the research lab on a weekend morning?”

“I apologize. It would have been better if I could have informed you in advance, but that wasn’t possible. I need your help so desperately right now that I came to see you despite knowing how rude this is.”

Only now did Traut look at me with questioning eyes and narrow his brow. Naturally, he still looked displeased.

But it couldn’t be helped.

There are limits to human conquest that I can achieve on my own.

What did the system want from me? Looking at the ‘conquest available’ function updated at the beginning of the semester, the system is pursuing something I don’t particularly want to get close to. I have no idea when in my life I played that kind of game to deserve such hardship.

So, I won’t move according to what the system wants.

It’s natural to not want to do something when you’re told to do it.

Thinking about moving contrary to the system’s intentions somehow makes my heart feel warm already.

“May I come in?”

“….”

Traut looked me up and down, then closed the door and said.

“I’ll come out.”

* * *

Lucas Rene Ascanien

Title: Count Nicolaus

Stamina: +4.0 (+0.4) [+7.0]

Mental Power: +4.3 (+1.3)

Mana: ?

Skill: +5.1 (+0.3) [+8.1]

Reputation: -5.8 (+1.2) [+3] [+8.126]

Luck: +5.0 (+0.8)

Traits: Dawn777, Divine Power, Charm (Lv.5), Retry (Lv.3)

The last time I checked my status window was two weeks ago during the arts festival.

I sat in Professor Traut’s completely white research lab and read through my status window.

‘Everything has increased a lot.’

Now both stamina and mental power had reached the average level of the Imperial 2nd Education Institute, and skill had exceeded the average.

‘No wonder magic worked better during exams.’

What I need to focus on now is the reputation value.

It increased by 1.2 points over two weeks, so now the national reputation value is -5.8.

It’s been about a month since I escaped from -9.9, but I always feel refreshed when I see that generous number.

And the school reputation value increased by 2 points to +3. Nicolaus, who hadn’t focused much on external activities over the past two weeks, also increased by 0.1 points.

I need to remember this well since I have to compare.

Then, from the other side of the research lab, Traut asked in an annoyed voice.

“Coffee?”

“No.”

Traut roughly nodded and shuffled in his shoes before plopping down in his seat. He held what was truly black coffee in one hand.

“I didn’t expect you would listen to my request, Professor.”

“I haven’t listened to anything yet.”

“But you came out like this.”

I answered with an appropriate smile.

Since it wasn’t a very good answer, Traut was now looking at me like I was exactly the kind of troublesome work he found annoying.

Of course, even though it was troublesome, he didn’t tell me to ‘go away since I have no intention of helping.’

Was this kindness to listen to what troubles a student who came whining to his dormitory might have?

No.

‘It’s closer to not being able to chase me away.’

At this point, I need to examine why I had to seek out Traut.

Stefan Traut burst into an emergency meeting of the Department of Magic faculty the day after warp magic was cast on my room, urging me to declare my innocence.

‘Are you trying to pin the blame for all this on Ascanien? No matter how wrong Lucas Ascanien’s temperament is, whether he drinks other people’s blood or not, there’s no way to obtain that medicine without approaching Pleroma. Isn’t that right?’

These were the words he had spoken.

Why would someone who had sworn loyalty to Adrian Ascanien do that? Why would someone who found me so disagreeable hope for my innocence rather than my downfall?

Thinking from multiple angles, the answer is simple.

From my perspective, Traut is an enemy, but focusing on that prevents seeing the essence.

Why did Traut assign a monitor to me, and why did he lock the laboratory door during the magic potion experiment competition?

It was to find out whether I use mana or not.

Using mana means the effectiveness of the medicine Hyung feeds me has worn off, which means the core’s restraints have been released.

What does it mean for the core to return to normal range?

It means my temperament might manifest without my knowledge, greatly increasing the possibility of completely draining people’s blood and mana to death.

This was what Traut was most wary of.

If I kill someone, Hyung’s reputation for trying to raise Luca as a decent human being would plummet to rock bottom.

From Traut’s position of being connected to Hyung, this would be the worst situation.

Now it’s clear.

Traut’s goal wasn’t to attack me, but to monitor me so that ‘Adrian Ascanien’s approval rating wouldn’t drop.’

Then, now that media manipulation has intensified and all media outlets are persistently targeting me as Pleroma, what does Hyung become, who ostensibly tried to socialize me?

Now I understand what values Traut and I share.

If we had no common ground at all, I wouldn’t have considered any option other than throwing him in a prison cell, but he had been showing potential to become a good tool for me from the beginning.

What remains is manipulating him.

Then Traut poured the steaming coffee straight into his mouth and said.

“The inauguration ceremony practice must have started.”

“Yes. So I don’t have much time.”

“What matter brought you to find me on a weekend morning?”

I pulled out a newspaper from the file folder I had brought.

“You must have seen it.”

Newspaper articles warning against Lucas Ascanien were placed in front of him.

Thinking my tone wasn’t very proper, Traut raised his eyebrows.

“Yes, I’ve seen them.”

“Contrary to the facts, the people seem to worry that I will cause harm to society.”

Traut looked at me with narrowed brows.

He seemed to find it somewhat out of the blue.

Of course he would. Are we close enough to have this kind of conversation? We’ve never even properly exchanged greetings, practically strangers.

I continued without any trace of humor.

“Hyung personally traveled across the entire country to obtain medicine for my temperament that neither religion nor magical medicine could cure. That’s been over ten years now. Thanks to his devotion, I now live with a healthy core, but the people are underestimating Hyung’s efforts.”

“No, you came to me on Saturday morning just to talk about this….”

I cut off Traut’s attempt to protest with a puzzled expression.

“As someone who has been indebted to Hyung my entire life, I cannot stand by and watch such articles that disparage Hyung’s efforts.”

Traut looked at me with confused eyes and shook his head.

“…Yes. It’s certainly disrespectful to Deputy Minister Adrian Ascanien. To the student as well. But what? Why are you suddenly telling me this?”

“Don’t you know what I’m asking of you?”

Instead of answering, Traut narrowed his eyes as he watched me lean my face closer to him.

“You have quite an extensive network, Professor. If it’s you, Professor, I believe you could sufficiently clear our family of these false accusations.”

“….”

Traut’s face contorted.

Traut, who grasped the meaning of my words, cursed me with his eyes and stood up from his seat.

“Let’s go back. Even though I receive sponsorship from Ascanien, I’m not obligated to fulfill unreasonable demands.”

I knew he would react this way.

Someone who’s aligned himself with my brother wouldn’t be favorable toward me.

But it’s too early to give up.

“You should listen to the end. Casting curse magic on someone’s arteries, how surprising.”

“…?”

Traut’s complexion changed as he was getting up from his seat. He widened his eyes and looked down at me with an expression asking what I had just said.

“Just to avoid becoming a suspect. Professor, you know who the culprit was that locked me in the laboratory on the day of the magical potion experiment competition.”

“….”

“No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand why Jurgen Beck would frame me, so I requested more detailed investigation records. The Investigation Bureau told me that your name came out of Jurgen Beck’s mouth.”

I clasped my hands together and leaned back against the chair.

His face had now lost composure and turned pale. I maintained an expressionless face and continued speaking.

“A mage who received sponsorship from Ascanien and even obtained a professorship interfering with Ascanien? My brother would be quite surprised to learn this.”

“That was entirely for Ascanien’s safety….”

“Safety? My brother wouldn’t have ordered you to lock his younger brother in a laboratory.”

This is true.

I thought about it back then too.

Adrian Ascanien isn’t someone who would take such dangerous actions. Like he did initially, he might send a letter with the nuance of ‘fearing his younger brother’s disposition might manifest again,’ but he’s not someone who could openly command anything beyond that.

With his paranoia and perfectionism, it’s impossible for him to entrust anything to others.

“I’m well aware that you’ve aligned yourself with my brother’s faction. But do you think my brother believes he might lose his ducal inheritance rights over something like winning a high school magical potion experiment competition, and that I would steal the position of the brother I regard as no different from a father? Also, do you think my brother is someone who would be wary of a younger brother seven years his junior in such a manner? Haha, if my brother knew about this, what kind of reaction would he show….”

Of course, I know this isn’t the reason he locked me in the laboratory.

But within the limited scope of what he knows about me, it’s reasonable enough to think this way, and Traut also has no excuse that could make his true intentions understandable.

Traut unconsciously stepped backward.

When an unexpected situation struck, his legs seemed to lose strength.

I watched this and continued speaking.

“How insulting. To both me and my brother.”

“…I, I didn’t mean to….”

“Not trusting me is one thing, but at least trust the lord you serve. Ah, no. Perhaps that’s too much to ask of you, who doesn’t even trust the effectiveness of the medicine my brother gives me.”

No answer came.

I stood up from my seat and approached him.

“Now you must be ready to have a conversation.”

“….”

“As you know, I don’t want to tarnish my brother’s name with my problems. My brother is a benefactor who led inadequate me to this place. Now it’s time for me to repay his devotion. Professor, you also respect my brother like I do. Then you must understand well how much of a threat those knights are to Ascanien right now, and how they’re insulting my brother’s love?”

Traut didn’t answer. He didn’t even nod.

It was a scene that showed how prideful a person he was.

But his eyes were wavering.

It wasn’t a lie when I said he was ready to have a conversation. He was prepared to follow my words.

However, only when I don’t touch his pride, or completely trample and suppress it.

Then now it’s time to put away the whip.

“I trust you, Professor. When I entered this school and attended like a dead person without a single friend, just knowing that an elder from my hometown was at the same school was such a comfort.”

Traut’s shoulders flinched.

‘Ah.’

At this point?

For the first time, a meaningful reaction emerged.

I suppressed the smile that was about to form and continued speaking.

“When I heard the investigation results from the experiment competition day, I felt bad as if I had been betrayed by someone I trusted. I still feel that way now.”

I stared into his eyes.

He’s clearly someone who lives and dies by trust. When I mentioned feeling betrayed, his eyes began to wander slightly, unable to find where to look.

“I understand what you’re concerned about, Professor. I deeply respect my brother, and I can swear in Christ’s name that I will not do anything that would harm him. So please, Professor, give me and my brother your confidence again.”

“….”

Traut, who had been silent, nodded after a long while.

Still maintaining his pride, he stared directly at me.

“Good. Let’s sit.”

I smiled and magically pulled over the file folder that was on the desk.

Then I opened it to an appropriate page and handed it to him.

Previously, I had told Jurgen Beck to ‘write down a list of those who helped obtain information, other than Traut.’

This is the list I obtained then. Those within my brother’s sphere of influence who share similar views with Traut.

I said I would investigate everything so he shouldn’t write lies, but naturally I thought he wouldn’t keep that promise, so I investigated everyone thoroughly and learned they were all people with the same inclinations as Traut. The connections between them were quite active too.

“Coincidentally, there are many connections between Jurgen Beck and Professor Traut. Two each in the political and social departments of the Imperial Newspaper. Also the chief editor of the Berlin daily, and… even the Berlin branch of Daslotte.”

Unlike me who was smiling, Traut’s complexion worsened again.

Every time I turned pages showing their personal information, he swallowed and tried to relax his expression.

‘Of course. I reminded him of his own crime.’

Even if I don’t directly trample his pride with harsh words, I needed to confirm his position so he wouldn’t become arrogant or prepare revenge.

I retrieved and closed the file folder as I spoke.

“48 hours.”

“…?”

Traut looked at me with eyes full of fear and discomfort.

At his wary gaze wondering what I would say next, I clasped my hands together and opened my mouth.

“You need to completely reverse Berlin’s atmosphere by Monday morning.”

* * *

I spared his life, so I should receive at least this much in return.

Is this just once?

I’ll continue to milk this like soup bones in the future.

“This time let’s move to the right!”

Someone shouted from far away.

Having arrived at the Imperial Palace and practiced meaningless position changes dozens of times, I half-emptied my brain and became lost in other thoughts.

Those knights who appeared at 6 AM today, don’t they have a very familiar atmosphere?

It’s exactly the same as the reaction when the January Student Military Corps exam was held for the first time.

[Can ‘Pleroma’ be cured?]

[Anhalt Protestant Church Union strongly criticizes “the era of Pleroma handling Pleroma”]

[Lucas Ascanien, the only way forward for the Ascanien family]

[“Cannot entrust citizens to Pleroma” – fierce opposition to Imperial 2nd Education Institute’s decision]

These were the articles that came out after the first exam last month.

I thought this at the time.

‘This is a natural result, and if the accumulated negative public perception were to flip overnight like turning over one’s palm, that would be stranger. It would mean someone in high places is controlling the media according to their intentions.’

This thought hasn’t changed even now.

Then how can I collect 10,000 favorability points in this crisis?

When you think about it, it’s the right time.

The media has already been dragging out the same topic sluggishly for a month. In that process, the citizens’ interest has gradually decreased. The problem of ‘Lucas Ascanien participating in the Imperial 2nd Education Institute military corps exam’ remains unresolved and continues to exist as is, so what more can be done?

In early January, the citizens wanted one of two things: either kick me out or definitively confirm my safety.

However, the school didn’t kick me out, and I proved my core condition was normal through verification by the Bavaria Medical Magic Center.

The public quickly becomes accustomed to stimuli they’ve already received. They soon want to get even more shocking stimuli beyond that.

Apparently the media companies believed that this news of me passing in first place and even entering the Imperial Palace would be exactly that ‘more shocking stimulus beyond that.’

It was good judgment.

But I’m in a situation where ‘the negative public perception must flip overnight like turning over one’s palm for me to gain points, so I can’t wait any longer. Then what should I do?

The answer has already emerged.

Now it’s time to control the media.

“That’s all for today!”

The imperial protocol team leader who had been practicing with us for the launch ceremony cast an amplification spell and shouted.

Looking at the time, it was already 6 PM.

“Ugh… this is really exhausting.”

Elias sluggishly walked over, draped both arms over my shoulders, and slumped down.

“Really boring, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s hurry and go eat. Everything’s rotten but the food at our house is delicious. I haven’t been home in a while so now I’m thinking about it.”

Our house… I suppose it is.

As always, I wasn’t particularly used to him casually referring to the Imperial Palace as our house.

I gave a wry smile and looked around.

Not just Elias, but all my friends had scattered with completely drained faces.

That was understandable.

Unlike my friends who had arrived at the Imperial Annex at 7 AM, I only arrived here at 2 PM. I was still energetic, but my friends wouldn’t be.

Elias had been rambling about playing poker with Haike during breaks and such, then leaned his face toward mine from behind and shouted.

“Come to think of it, why did you come so late, Luca~ I was bored without you!”

“The Professor had something else for me to do.”

“Something to do?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded and looked at Narke running toward us from far away.

“Lucas!”

“Hm?”

Looking closely, he was holding a bundle of newspapers in his hand.

Just as I was about to tell him not to run, surprisingly the newspaper fell at my feet first. Narke must have warped the newspaper ahead of himself.

Elias quickly picked up the Imperial Newspaper first. He pushed aside the front page with the First Education Institute Student Military Corps story and flipped through the paper.

“Oh.”

As soon as he turned to the next page, articles scattered throughout caught our eyes.

[Lucas Ascanien, 1st Place in Imperial 2nd Education Institute Student Military Corps Final Selection Results]

[Royal Mages Association, Lucas Ascanien Has No Disqualifying Factors… “Perfectly Qualified”]

[Lucas Ascanien, Following in Adrian Ascanien’s Footsteps]

[Karl Reitsberg, Imperial 1st Education Institute Honorary Professor: “Lucas Ascanien Possesses the Greatest Potential as a Mage”]

“…”

Quite different wording from 6 AM this morning.

My eyes met with Elias’s. He cast a sound barrier spell and patted my back firmly.

“Hey~ wasn’t it a difficult situation for Nicolaus to interfere? You even manipulated the media using Lucas’s identity?”

“That’s how it turned out.”

“I see. That’s great!”

Narke, who had run to where we were standing, smiled and answered at the same time as me. He was outside the sound barrier so he couldn’t have heard our conversation, but he seemed to have read it through pure intuition.

Elias included Narke within the sound barrier range as well and said.

“But that professor couldn’t even make the front page.”

That’s right.

If he had been that influential, he would have gotten out of detention without my help. Though how many people could have enough influence to extract someone the Emperor had imprisoned?

I smiled and shook my head.

“Just getting the criticism of me off the front page is beneficial enough.”

Given the high dependence on newspapers, it was fine even if it wasn’t the front page.

And…

What I’ve prepared doesn’t end here.

* * *

At the same time, in Berlin.

In a tavern frequented mainly by commoners, someone quietly listened to their companions’ words.

“I just can’t understand how they could put such a person in first place. Even if he had the grades for first place, how could they pass someone with such rumors going around?”

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