How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 211
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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 (211)
‘…Already.’
Just then, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me.
Elias was supporting me as I hesitated while looking at the window.
“Luca, why~?”
“…It’s nothing.”
I said that and walked toward the end of the building.
‘It worked.’
They didn’t suddenly give me 10,000 points because they were shocked by seeing me. They hadn’t even properly looked yet anyway.
It’s just that now they’ve finally entered my range of activity.
There was one thing this system overlooked.
Namely, that my impression score wasn’t just 0 points, but had drilled through the floor and gone underground.
‘I shouldn’t be enjoying something like this.’
The profit I could generate with 30 points was too sweet.
As experience shows, if the value is negative, you can raise the score with just slight changes.
People don’t need to read articles and tabloids and have extreme reactions like ‘I misunderstood! Looking at tonight’s newspaper again, that student was actually a really good student!’
Even just giving slight unexpectedness and doubt like ‘But seeing those mages acknowledge him, maybe his skills really are decent?’ or ‘Could it be true that the Imperial Court and Anhalt joined hands?’ quickly fills up 1 point. That’s the difference between -10 and -9.
Just then, the ‘Congratulations!’ text in front of my eyes wavered as if it would disappear at any moment.
This was the first time I’d seen such a reaction. Just as I was wondering why this was suddenly happening, something flashed through my mind.
‘Ah… don’t tell me.’
Did I achieve the proposal I ambitiously prepared too easily?
Don’t be ridiculous. Of course it wasn’t achieved with difficulty, but I had to use this strategy of gaining both Berlin and the whole country – I can’t go around shaking hands with ten thousand people.
‘Good.’
It’s going smoothly.
I hope there are only days like this from now on.
The moment I smiled lightly, a new window appeared before my eyes.
Ding—!
Favorability 10,800 achievement success!
Favorability 10,810 achievement success!
Favorability 10,820 achievement success!
Favorability 10,830 achievement success!
Hm?
‘Wait…, wait.’
Every time I blinked, new windows came pouring out. The numbers began increasing at a frightening pace.
No, it’s not that it ‘began.’ As I thought earlier, it was continuously rising, I just wasn’t aware of it.
But why is this system showing me this in real time?
If this system intended to fluster me, it succeeded. Unlike when I was vaguely thinking it would rise, seeing the public’s reaction in real time made me want to turn around and go back the way I came.
“Luca? Why have you been acting like that since earlier?”
Elias casually put his arm on my shoulder like he always did at school.
My steps seemed to have slowed down a bit. The friends lined up on both sides of the door turned to look at me.
Ding—!
Favorability 11,000 achievement success!
After annoyingly giving even the final notification sound, the window stopped.
Only after Elias intervened did the window stop, and I intuitively realized what the system intended.
‘…It was teasing me.’
Was it because I said it was going well?
Just talk to me directly. If you can display text, why are you protesting like this?
When I let out a hollow laugh, Elias waved his hand in front of my face and said.
“Are you hot? Do you need to rest?”
“No, I’m fine.”
This wasn’t the time to rest.
This was the time to seize this opportunity.
I calmly approached the door and waited my turn.
Leo and Narke went out first, and Elias followed behind them.
When I heard the sound of Elias’s boot heels three times, I slowly moved my steps.
As the building that was blocking me disappeared, sunlight began beating down on my head. The sunlight reflected on the pure white stage as wide as a building entered through my eyes.
My gaze went beyond that.
The crowd I had seen hazily earlier was nothing.
Beyond the stage, there were 100,000 spectators who had come to watch the launch ceremony.
At that moment, the cheering stopped abruptly.
* * *
10 minutes earlier, outdoor first floor.
The young mages of the Royal Mage Association were watching the launch ceremony from the second row below the stage.
Unless they held important positions in the association, attendance was optional, but today everyone had attended.
They were just as curious about Ascanien as the commoners were.
That student had been shut up at home his whole life, so even being fellow nobles didn’t mean they could see him, and while there were media articles with his face from the experimental competition, arrest interview, or 1-1 exam, the arrest interview was blocked by Imperial 2nd Education Institute’s access restriction, and to find his face from the experimental competition, you’d have to search through a full 6-hour video.
Or look up the two-month-old Anhalt Daily.
For most people who didn’t want to go that far, Lucas Ascanien remained a veiled figure.
Moreover, being fellow Royal mages didn’t mean they were favorable toward Lucas’s entry into the Imperial Court.
‘Rather annoying, isn’t it?’
The mage who served as group leader of the 99th Mage Association stretched his body twisted from boredom while looking at the stage.
That Pleroma—though he didn’t think so now, the image still remained—entering the Imperial Court with skills learned in just 5 months.
Just then, a colleague mage who heard it was time for Eschete to appear spoke sarcastically.
“I’m curious what kind of person he is.”
The launch ceremony started at 12 o’clock, and after various greetings, congratulatory speeches from government officials, and short performances, an hour had now passed.
Eschete still hadn’t appeared. That made sense.
‘It doesn’t really start until the Emperor comes out.’
As he was killing time feeling the hard-to-get-used-to boredom, the Emperor’s secretary approached the second prince sitting far away.
“Your Highness.”
Adelbert rose from his seat. Taking one step forward, he lightly struck the imperial staff against the floor.
All the Imperial 2nd Education Institute students and Royal Mage Association members who had been sitting rose from their seats. The mage who had been watching the situation was no exception.
Hearing those footsteps, Adelbert moved his clenched fist to his chest. Everyone standing behind him followed his action.
“Waaaaah—!”
Applause and cheers that sounded like something exploding burst forth.
Adelbert looked ahead with a stern face.
There was one reason they were moving like this.
It was time for the Emperor’s speech.
At that moment, the Emperor standing in front of the stage raised his hand. The cheering gradually died down.
[Respected subjects.]
He paused once and looked at the people spread widely across the plaza behind him.
[To everyone who attended today, I am pleased to announce the beginning of our new era. You know that we have gathered today for the launch ceremony of the Royal mages. Those I will introduce here are mages who have undergone the Empire’s rigorous training for a long time and have confirmed their spirit of sacrifice to dedicate themselves to the safety and prosperity of our world. Moreover, these are promising mages who are more than adequate to fight against the forces of evil that threaten the Empire throughout Berlin, and from whom we can expect even more advanced development.]
“It should be about time now. It’s already 1:30.”
They’ll come out soon.
The mage let his colleague’s words go in one ear and out the other. That didn’t mean he was listening carefully to the Emperor’s words either.
His eyes were directed toward the door behind the Emperor.
[…Our Empire, which always pursues excellence, will lead the world based on all the resources we possess. No adversity can obstruct our goals. Starting with this launch ceremony, our Empire will officially regain peace and prosper today through the dedication of these seven mages who will officially register their names with the Imperial Court. We promise to dedicate ourselves to the end for the 100 million subjects of the Empire. We believe that the support and encouragement of our subjects will breathe even greater strength into their endless passion and dedication.]
As the Emperor finished speaking, the massive door behind where he stood opened.
The cheering grew loud enough to split ears. Someone was coming up onto the stage from far away.
The Emperor struck his scepter-shaped staff on the floor once and activated amplification magic.
[Royal Mage Association 101st class, Eschete.]
Leonard Wittelsbach. A mage he had encountered once in social circles walked out first and stood on the right side of the stage.
Murmuring sounds could be heard from around.
“That person is fascinating no matter how many times I see him.”
It was understandable to find him fascinating.
Among all the people he had seen in his life, this one looked the least human.
Still, it wasn’t particularly surprising, since the Wittelsbach family had been famous for their good looks since the Human era.
‘By the way…’
Was this year’s mage team planning to use federal colors?
The mage looked at them with a slightly annoyed expression.
If so, the Imperial Court clearly regarded Eschete as the team representing the Empire.
Honestly, the Empire’s intentions were too obvious.
They wouldn’t miss the opportunity to bring Bavaria’s next king into the Imperial Court.
‘Still, I don’t understand why the Prince didn’t refuse. Someone of that caliber could have gotten out.’
Thinking this, the mage watched the newcomers entering.
A mage from the Papal States and one Hohenzollern entered following at appropriate intervals. Thunderous applause came from those who hadn’t taken the pro-Emperor line.
‘I thought that Hohenzollern would just write a resignation letter, but how is he still here.’
The mage, who had been watching the stage lost in thought, froze upon seeing someone new entering.
‘He’s out.’
Lucas Ascanien.
His face, which had been hidden in shadows, was now properly visible.
At that moment, the cheering stopped as if possessed by a ghost.
“Hmm?”
The mage straightened up and fixed his gaze on him.
He looked more decent than expected. No, beyond decent…
“More than I thought…”
His colleague seemed to share the same thought, muttering the same words while exchanging bewildered glances.
No, not just this friend, but everyone must be thinking the same thing. From the moment Ascanien entered, even the Human seating area had gone completely quiet.
It wasn’t that they intentionally reduced their cheering due to antipathy.
The bewildered audience acted exactly like people who had forgotten how to react.
Then, Ascanien, who had been entering with the same expressionless, rigid face as the other students, showed a bewildered expression upon seeing something.
But it was brief. He regained his composure and stopped next to Hohenzollern with the same calm face as before.
The initially enormous cheering didn’t come when the next turn arrived.
Even the mage himself was fixing his gaze on Lucas Ascanien rather than the next Baden Grand Duke and the two Junker-born students.
If we’re thinking of Pleroma, shouldn’t he look like a villain? The student before his eyes had a gentle yet resolute face that reminded him of Adrian Ascanien.
He felt more of a leader’s atmosphere than anyone in the Royal Mage Association.
‘…Pleroma?’
Seeing him directly, it was hard to believe that rumors about Pleroma and such had circulated. Rather, it was like looking at Adrian Ascanien with a more stoic expression.
His colleague muttered in a voice that still hadn’t found composure.
“He’s too proper, isn’t he?”
“You mean he looks like someone living properly?”
“No… this is…”
His colleague couldn’t continue. He could immediately understand what he was feeling.
When his expectations were completely shattered, the mage began to exercise prejudice elsewhere for some reason.
He didn’t know he was such a decent-looking person—he had vaguely thought he would be someone strange—but there must be some peculiar element that would make one frown.
For some reason, only then could he consider the Pleroma rumors he had believed for the past ten years to be somewhat credible.
‘Their turn… I think they’re supposed to show some magic and give a speech now.’
This was a venue where he could confirm if he was a proper person.
When the Emperor saluted them, they took the same posture.
After the Emperor went down under escort, Lucas Ascanien, who had been standing in the center, stepped forward.
He drew the wand from his waist, extended his arm forward, and swept the wand to the end with one hand. The moment the wand transformed into an imperial staff, Ascanien lightly swung it in a circle.
Crash—
The mana that started from the eagle decoration at the end of the staff sparkled like fire in the sunlight and devoured the staff. The sound of mana tearing through air sounded like an explosion. That mana faintly reached this distant location.
‘He barely put any effort into it…’
The power?
The mage narrowed his eyes and carefully observed the scene.
As expected of an Ascanien, his mana capacity was not ordinary.
However, not only his simple mana capacity, but judging by his control skills, there was no trace of a beginner to be found.
Abundant mana was certainly good talent, but it was also difficult talent to handle. Mages with excessive mana capacity tended to be swayed by it. For example, putting a bit more strength in their arms while concentrating on control.
However, he was showing natural movements as if handling air.
In situations where everyone had skills above a certain level, such minor details made enormous differences. Having worked as a Royal Mage for a long time, he could tell.
“…Oh!”
“Oh!”
When he grasped the staff wrapped in fire-like mana with both hands, surprised sounds burst out from various places. They knew it was mana, but since red magic couldn’t exist in this world, everyone perceived it as fire.
When the six mages standing beside him drew their wands and aimed them at the sky, Ascanien struck the staff down on the ground. Even amid the roar, a calm voice enhanced by amplification magic was clearly heard by the crowd.
[Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.]
He raised his head to look at the sky while flowing mana through the staff.
Red mana spread out from where he stood. A fierce wind struck the mage’s face.
“…!”
The mage’s eyes widened.
It wasn’t because of the wind. As if the sky had cracked, mana that shone white from reflecting sunlight poured down from above.
The mage looked at his colleague.
He too, like the other mages of the Royal Mage Association, had eyes that were seeing something unexpected.
Despite being mana, it felt as clean as divine power.
[Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.]
The mage thought as he felt flames flowing rapidly through his seat.
His expectations were shattered once again.
His voice was decent, there were no strange behaviors to be seen, and though he hadn’t fully revealed it yet, his magic was excellent enough that no objections could be raised.
Though his mind still held reasons to maintain antipathy, he hadn’t yet formed a positive impression…
“….”
Strangely, the rejection he had been feeling habitually without personal judgment was gradually fading.
Ascanien put away his staff. From somewhere in the crowd that had been focused on the colorful flames came a voice of regret.
He smiled warmly at that unexpected reaction.
‘Hah.’
Pleroma, what nonsense—if he had to pick the opposite type of person, it would feel like that, so the mage chuckled in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Ascanien had now stepped three paces forward.
He waved his wand to cast amplification magic and spoke familiarly.
[Greetings, fellow citizens.]
“….”
The mage doubted his ears.
Clapping sounds started from the front seats and spread rapidly.
It was a different reaction from the beginning.
Ascanien smiled gently at the response, then raised his hand at an appropriate timing.
[I meet you for the first time in this place. Having become a member of the Royal Mage Association, I am moved to directly meet you, the loyal citizens of Emperor Friedrich.]
He was neither flustered nor excited.
Though not a politician, an atmosphere flowed as if he had already experienced political life.
‘Is this because he’s from a ruling family?’
Though he knew this was still someone he should be wary of, strangely he felt a power to control situations from him, and had the illusion that it might not be bad to follow that power.
“…Fascinating.”
His colleague spoke with a tone as if watching something interesting, laughing.
The mage agreed with those words. With that, they focused on Ascanien’s continuing speech.
* * *
After my speech ended, we fell into congratulatory speech hell.
Congratulatory speeches from the Ministry of Magic, Imperial 1st Education Institute, and Imperial 2nd Education Institute continued endlessly.
Of course, it wasn’t boring.
The reason was right here.
Favorability 49500 achievement success!
Favorability 49510 achievement success!
System, stop showing me the favorability window. The proposal is over….
I felt my mental strength being drained and relaxed the tension in the corners of my mouth.
Fortunately, since I’d been managing my expressions since I was single digits in age, no one seemed to notice that my mental strength was being drained yet.
‘Just how much more unexpected can it get.’
I knew my original image wasn’t very good, but when they throw me a favorability point calling everything I say unexpected, I wonder if this is really okay.
Of course, it also helped that I quickly raised my charm attribute after gaining points. Since there aren’t many opportunities to stand before so many people, I should sweep them up at times like this.
The lengthy congratulatory speeches from Imperial 1st Education Institute and 2nd Education Institute were racing toward their end.
What remained at the launch ceremony was the Royal Mage Association President’s badge ceremony and our final performance.
[Next, we will have the badge ceremony.]
‘Aren’t those people tired.’
I thought while looking at the audience standing all the way in the distance.
The event was already approaching 3 hours, but whether it was because royalty that’s hard to see in real life was appearing, or because they’d already drawn numbers and been confined, they were still standing properly and watching us.
I glanced at the door I had entered through earlier and looked at my friends. Narke’s expression was filled with bewilderment.
Before I could wonder why, a loud voice came from behind.
[Crown Prince Elizabeth Hohenzollern is entering!]
“…?!”
Where did the Association President go?
At that moment, someone walked out from the open door. Lemon-colored hair like Adelbert’s fluttered.
“….”
I hadn’t misheard.
Elias’s face hardened stiffly.
Perhaps because this wasn’t information received in advance, Leo’s eyes became slightly sharper.
“Huh?!”
“Waaaah—!”
Unlike us, the people’s reaction was heated. Since they were lucky enough to see royalty who wasn’t scheduled to appear today, it was natural.
The Crown Prince glanced at me, smiled, then proceeded to the presentation area at the front of the stage.
Anyway, this isn’t a situation to question why this person is coming out now.
I have no choice but to wait quietly.
[Dear subjects. We are here to gloriously commemorate the launch ceremony of mages who play a crucial role for national development and security.]
The Crown Prince continued with a short speech. It was the shortest congratulatory speech we’d heard so far.
[…Finally, I thank all subjects who contribute to developing our nation together with the new humanity, and hope we can create a more advanced empire together.]
After he listened to the audience’s cheers for a moment, he took a badge from the box held by an attendant and approached Leo.
Whatever conversation they were having, it took quite a while each time they stood together.
During Leo and Narke’s turns, a fairly ordinary atmosphere continued, but during Elias’s turn, we had to work hard to suppress the killing intent emanating from him.
And fourth.
It became my turn.
The Crown Prince cast a sound-blocking spell and spoke.
“Just one week, right?”
I knew he’d act familiar from the start.
I answered as briefly as possible to avoid having my lip movements read.
“Yes.”
He swept over my outfit and spoke as if offering kind words.
“I’m pleased to see you’re making good use of my second gift.”
Second.
I know the first was Daniel, but we’ve never talked about a second.
Eschete’s entry into the Imperial Palace must be his doing.
I looked into his eyes without speaking.
“At least the subjects here no longer reject you. I didn’t know you’d prepare so thoroughly, but that’s….”
“….”
“It wouldn’t have been difficult since you’re Count Nicolaus, right? The person who knows best in the empire how to get the public in the palm of your hand and manipulate them couldn’t possibly fail.”
The Crown Prince spoke leisurely in the tone he used only with Nicolaus.
Suddenly, he covered his nose and mouth with his hand.
My friends standing just 1m away looked at me. The Crown Prince organized his completely disrupted mana due to my mana, then slowly removed his hand and smiled.
Looking at him, I asked.
“What are you thinking? You know the qualification controversy is still ongoing.”
“Isn’t there no reason not to make this choice? It’s already a completed talent, too much to hand over to the still young Crown Prince Leonard, so why should we Hohenzollern miss this opportunity.”
He didn’t say what he was handing over, but it was obvious he was talking about me.
That’s ridiculous.
I belong to the kingdom anyway. The age of a superior isn’t a problem.
“Besides, your team has someone who uses divine power at least at bishop level or higher. While we’re at it, put the Crown Prince under Hohenzollern too, have our precious cousin return to where he belongs. We can even have Baden’s next Grand Duke… would someone like you miss that?”
“….”
He smiled and looked at me.
“We can’t throw everything away because of two loaches.”
Now I can see the outline.
I know who put Haike Einsiedel in 7th place.
“If you’re going to call them that, why did you let Ainsiedel pass?”
“What makes you think I gave such an order?”
“….”
So it wasn’t your doing?
I just continued looking at him without speaking.
Too much time passed, and the friends standing around began to look back at me.
He smiled while keeping his gaze fixed on me.
“Crown Prince Palace 3rd floor, the room next to the library. If you say you came to see me, they’ll let you in.”
The Crown Prince patted my shoulder once, then moved on to Cheringen next to me and said.
“See you later.”
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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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