How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 216

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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 (216)

At my words, Elias shook his head vigorously.

“We have to report it! You’re not embarrassed to say you had your gloves stolen by a glove-obsessed mage, are you?”

“No. He’s the crazy one, so why should I be? Anyway, of course we have to report it. What I mean is there’s no need to meet Narke directly.”

“Then? Why do you want to keep watching that? Narke told you not to get involved with people.”

This morning, I shared the conversation Narke and I had with my friends.

This kind of thing needs to be reported promptly – it shouldn’t be kept between just the two of us.

“First, the crime is too minor to arrest him for. From our perspective, having heard Narke’s prophecy, we feel like we should investigate that person thoroughly just in case, but others don’t know that much. Even if we argue that this incident should be used to arrest him or investigate him closely, it won’t be easily accepted.”

In other words, it would become a ‘what’s the big deal about this’ situation.

If he simply has glove obsession disorder, that would be fine, but if he’s the culprit trying to ruin Penthalon as Narke said, this incident alone won’t be enough to stop him.

“…There really isn’t enough evidence. Actually, thinking about it, I don’t think they’d seriously look for a glove thief either. If we tell them about Narke’s foresight, the Imperial Court might just take Narke away and interrogate him about how to get more information.”

Exactly.

Even if he’s caught, he’ll be released quickly.

He didn’t hit anyone or take jewelry – gloves are something he could excuse as accidentally taking.

Then the best approach would be to catch him on a suitable charge and ask for a more detailed investigation, or use mental manipulation magic to extract information.

The problem here is my safety…

“Second, you guys are here. Six people who are fully on guard thanks to the prophecy. If it were before hearing the prophecy, I wouldn’t know, but in a situation where we’re on guard, I think we can definitely turn things around.”

It’s already too late to avoid getting involved with people.

This kind of miscellaneous inspection work is just a preview of what’s to come. We have to stay here at least until the opening ceremony begins.

The Imperial Court openly removed the mage team that was working here and placed us in the arena not because of inspections, but to present us to the world’s representative mage teams on opening day. That’s what Narke said, and that’s what we think too.

“…”

Elias stared at me with wide eyes.

Soon he started blinking like crazy.

‘Ah.’

I made a mistake.

Elias grabbed both my shoulders and started spinning around.

Then he hung his head low and made a sound rarely heard from humans.

“Uuuuuuung…”

“What kind of sound is that supposed to be?”

“I’m moved!”

“Right…”

He definitely wasn’t like this at first, but after becoming close, this is all I see of him.

Having nothing else to say, I just smiled and pushed him away.

The report went smoothly.

They didn’t just overlook even seemingly trivial problems but investigated them thoroughly.

Alex Mueller was not the new manager of the underground restaurant, and the restaurant said no manager had ever changed.

All the information from that ID was passed up to higher authorities, so Alex Mueller can no longer set foot in this place.

‘I suspect the access restriction won’t mean much, but…’

We got confirmation from the Investigation Bureau and police that they would thoroughly investigate even minor things due to potential terrorist risks, so that was enough for now.

And surprisingly, I didn’t encounter anyone that day.

* * *

“I never thought you’d ask to train with me again.”

That evening, I trained with Cheringen for the first time in a while.

Cheringen smiled as he changed his sword back to a wand.

Since there was no time to train while rummaging through Primrose Pass and preparing for the third round, our weekend training sessions had recently fizzled out.

But why did I suddenly train with Cheringen?

‘I need to finish the proposal…’

It was because his tendencies were similar to Leo’s in some ways. I experimented to see if Cheringen would like what Leo likes.

‘As expected, he’s not as obsessed with training as Leo.’

Still, he seems to enjoy anything related to magic fundamentally.

Cheringen continued speaking.

“It’s nice sparring after so long. Your skills have improved even more.”

“You too.”

Clean.

Unlike Leo who pushes until you can’t open your eyes, Cheringen maintains courtesy between people during training.

Of course, I think positively of Leo’s style since it helped me improve my skills.

Cheringen raised his eyebrows and smiled.

“Ah, me too? I’m glad it was received that way.”

He also seemed drained from today, collapsing into a chair on one side of the training ground.

Following him, I sat casually in a nearby chair, and Cheringen brought up a light topic.

“People really shook hands a lot today. I think I did it about fifty times. Lucas, how many times did you do it?”

“Seven times, I think.”

A moment of silence fell.

Cheringen seemed to finally be conscious of my reputation. However, instead of being flustered, he started laughing.

“That’s good~ Lucas, you have to shake hands with me every day, so if you already did too many, you’d get tired of it.”

“Every day?”

“Yeah.”

Since Cheringen extended his hand to me, I lightly hit it. He grabbed my hand and shook it. Then a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

He muttered while taking out a water bottle.

“Who would have thought we’d be working as the same team. I couldn’t even imagine it until the second semester last year. Want some?”

“I’m fine. And… there was no choice back then.”

He smiled lightly and drank water.

Now that we’re a new team, it’s become a time when thoughts about friendship are gradually changing. If before it was recognition as ‘a classmate-honor student friend who changed a lot,’ now we’ve become friends who must share joys and sorrows until graduation.

Perfect timing to take advantage of.

“Julia.”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s train together often from now on. I learned a lot from you and it helped me greatly.”

Ding—!

Affection +1

“…!”

Julia Zehringen

Affection +5 [Capturable (Stage 3/5)]

When I last checked it was +3, but she gave me 1 point since then and another today.

Cheringen, who was looking at me, smiled.

“Yeah, good. Call me whenever you want to train.”

“Thanks.”

I don’t know what part of my words was worth giving affection points for, but it seems to have been a good proposal. I also welcome it since I can learn Cheringen’s orthodox style that’s subtly different from Leo’s.

The problem is that I haven’t been able to train with Leo lately because I’m pretending not to be close with him… What should I tell that guy?

The answer was simple.

‘Just don’t tell him.’

Leo is still my main training partner anyway. As long as I properly prepare the stamina to use with him, he won’t complain.

What can he do? I’m going to do two rounds.

After finishing our brief conversation, I headed toward the room where Narke would be, lost in thought.

Having gained 1 affection point, it was now time to reflect on what happened during the day.

‘What a complete lunatic.’

That was the thought I had all day.

Earlier I tried to pressure Narke for information, but Narke only answered that what happened today, that was his real goal.

When I asked if he was trying to collect something left on the gloves, he said no such future was readable.

In the end, the only remaining reason for taking my gloves is some abnormal thinking, as Narke disgustedly said…

‘That can’t be his real goal.’

Just shaking hands with me barehanded and stealing a glove is a spark that could threaten Penthalon?

To prevent that possibility, they’re not just stopping at reporting but even thinking of directly capturing and interrogating him, but realistically, it doesn’t seem easy for this matter to escalate into something that would ruin Penthalon.

With Narke’s help, I returned to my room and organized everything from the name Alex Mueller to the impressions and behaviors I saw today in my notebook, narrowed it down to ten possibilities, then went to sleep at midnight.

Or rather, I tried to.

“What the.”

About 30 minutes after falling asleep, I felt someone holding my hand and opened my eyes. The room that had only soft lamplight coming in until just now was completely bright.

“Huh? You came really fast.”

I was in my room, so why am I hearing Elias’s voice?

When I bolted upright and looked around, I made eye contact with the Eschete team members sitting here and there looking down at me. The atmosphere was similar to Narke’s dormitory that I saw yesterday, but judging by the items placed around, it seemed to be Leo’s room.

“What’s going on?”

“Celebrating the safe end of our first day of activities~”

Julia, whom I had seen about 3 hours ago, smiled while pointing at a bottle of alcohol.

“Since only you, Lucas, have a different dormitory, we felt sorry and asked the captain to bring you over.”

Ulrike, who was wrapped up in a blanket on the sofa, said while handing me the drink she was holding.

Captain? Leo?

When I looked at him, Leo sat on the bed with an annoyed expression toward Ulrike.

It seems he’s acting well, which is fortunate.

“Let’s just have one drink each. We have to go out from 5 AM tomorrow, so absolutely no getting drunk. Especially you, Elias, got it?”

At Julia’s warning, Elias shrugged his shoulders.

“There are so many people here who like alcohol, why only me?”

“Haha, somehow I feel like I need to tell you twice.”

Whatever they were talking about, I was just dumbfounded right now.

‘Unbelievable…’

Is this why they dragged me here? Right, these guys are still excited.

Since we won’t have time to meet while working anyway, I should gain some favorability points here.

I took the drink and sat next to Ulrike, who was sitting in a corner of the sofa.

“Do you like drinking?”

“Yeah. You?”

I lightly clinked my glass against his and answered.

“Me too. Let’s drink together often from now on.”

“That’s unexpected~ Lucas, you looked like you wouldn’t drink.”

“Really? No, I like drinking with you guys.”

“Wow, you’re really completely different from last year.”

I didn’t answer.

I just thought that if Luca returns here, I should properly help him adapt to what I’ve built up in his place all this time.

“Oh, come to think of it, Elias calls you Luca, right? I want to call you that too!”

“Well…”

“Aaaaah!”

Elias, who had been talking with Julia from afar, shouted and interrupted.

I wondered how he heard that and what he was doing, but just drawing out the conversation would only make things troublesome for me. I chuckled at that lion’s roar and said.

“He says no.”

“Really? Then fine. Do you have another name you use often? My full name is Ulrike Luise Margarete, but I used Luise a lot when I was young.”

That’s a really long name.

Actually, everyone here is like that, so I’m not in a position to be surprised.

Me too.

The name Lucas Rene Ascanien in the status window isn’t the name on Luca’s documents, and Luca’s full name is Lucas Carl Friedrich Leopold Ascanien. I understand they’re all names of Ascanien ancestors.

“I don’t have one I use often. Why? Do you want to call me by a nickname?”

“Yeah. It’s special~”

“Hmm…”

Since Elias kept his gaze on us, I couldn’t tell him my full name.

“There’s nothing really suitable for a nickname. How about I call you Luise?”

“…”

Ding—!

Favorability +1

‘Really…’

I guess it’s because it showed my intention to become closer.

Since his favorability is the second lowest in Eschete after Haike, he gives points relatively easily.

Let me check the current favorability.

Ulrike Kleist

Favorability +3 [Romance Available (Stage 2/5)]

‘As expected.’

If this makes it 3 points, it was 2 points before, which is above average but not a high value.

“Seems fine, Luise.”

“Wow, how many years has it been? This is a name only my hometown friends call me. It really feels like we’ve become close, which is nice.”

Ulrike suits him better, but if he likes this name, what can I do.

If we can become closer this way, it’s better to do that.

After talking with Ulrike for a while, about 20 minutes later, Ulrike tilted his head toward me and said.

“But, Lucas. You and Leo don’t get along well.”

“…Huh? Why?”

“No, just. We’re on the same team now.”

“It’s not that we don’t get along. You don’t need to worry.”

“Really?”

Ulrike nodded roughly.

When it was time for everyone to return to their rooms, Ulrike threw off the blanket and suddenly stood up. He argued with Leo in a low voice for a while, then drove the other team members out of his room.

He pushed Leo and said.

“Go! Take him back!”

“Hm? What about Narke.”

Before I could ask anything, Leo sighed deeply and warped me.

Arriving in the bedroom from earlier, I couldn’t hide my confusion.

“What’s going on?”

“Ulrike thinks we’re really on bad terms.”

Ah, so he wants us to get along…

I nodded.

“It’s understandable.”

“Right. And I just remembered something I should have given you earlier.”

Leo took out a letter from his robe pocket and handed it to me.

All letters coming to Lucas Ascanien, not Nicolaus, go to the military academy dormitory.

“You said earlier that someone named Alex Mueller was looking for you.”

Leo pointed to the pink envelope.

‘Irene Mueller.’

Another ‘Mueller.’

[I’m really envious. How does it feel to receive all the world’s attention? Don’t you care about those ant-like crowds? Or are you proud because you think you’re so great for receiving attention? I don’t know if you know this, but even your Pleroma-like characteristics are being received quite favorably these days, you know? How dramatic that someone born with Pleroma qualities would serve His Majesty the Emperor for justice? So what do you think of us? I’d be upset if you don’t think much of it. If you’re conceited, that would be annoying in its own way. Actually, I think this way because I’m one of the crowd cheering you on.]

My mind feels dizzy. It also gave me a strange sense of déjà vu.

How many question marks are there?

And is this jealousy or support?

Even in reality where I had been receiving letters for much longer than now, I had never received a letter with content like this.

“…”

“From what I hear from the seniors, letters like this come occasionally. In their case, they were talking about threatening letters though. But even if this is disguised as a supporter’s letter, in your case, we directly confirmed strange signs yesterday.”

The seniors must be referring to the upper classes of the Royal Mage Association.

“Why me of all people?”

“That’s right. It looks like an ordinary letter at first glance, but we should be careful. Right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll have the kingdom’s Investigation Bureau look into where this person came from. And as for the core….”

Leo flicked his finger and enhanced the mana in my core. His mana, which I hadn’t been conscious of before, felt much stronger.

“I’ll maintain it at this level.”

“Give me some warning before you boost it…. Anyway, yeah. Thanks.”

I greeted him as I saw him off.

“See you tomorrow.”

Even as I said that, my thoughts were elsewhere.

Mueller again.

Following Robert Mueller who had stabbed me in the stomach before infiltrating the Catacombs, then Alex Mueller, and now Irene Muller.

What could this mean?

I didn’t need to think long to know what it meant.

So, as expected, beating them up directly is the best method.

* * *

In the morning, we warped to the main street in front of Penthalon Stadium just like yesterday.

“Looks like they’re going to keep playing the promotional video continuously now.”

“The opening is right around the corner.”

My friends looked up at the large artifact hanging in front of the stadium.

Light shot out from the artifact, forming a single video. Mages from various countries flashed across the screen.

Of course, my attention was focused on the people around us rather than this screen.

Especially across this street, on the grounds where Penthalon Stadium was located, there were even more people than yesterday.

‘Did they all come to watch the video?’

Everyone’s gaze was directed toward the same place as ours.

Just as I was about to suggest we should get going, a familiar flag passed across the screen.

‘Oh.’

It was the Korean Empire.

A mage wearing a durumagi stood in the center of the screen holding a staff.

[Yeokchik cheon sang gong jung ji ha, so yu il che jak je jang nan….]

—I command all worlds above the heavens, in the void, and beneath the earth, to remove all existing obstacles and difficulties.

As the scene passed, a German translation appeared. Subtitles in this era didn’t appear together with the video.

[Bul seon sim ja gae rae ho gwe cheong a so seol ga ji beop eum.]

—All those without goodness, come and kneel! Listen together to the various dharma sounds I have spoken.

As the mage in the video chanted the spell and struck his staff down to the ground, bright light flowed into the arena. Since it was a black and white screen, I couldn’t confirm whether it was divine power or not.

Then a mage who seemed fluent in foreign languages spoke eloquently in German.

[This is an anti-demon mantra that has been recited in our country since ancient times to subdue demons of all worlds. Our Korean Empire representative team wishes for the peace of the German Empire and Penthalon.]

It felt refreshing to see them chanting Buddhist sutras and using magic in a Christian country.

Of course, it should be viewed from a cultural rather than religious dimension.

Whether it’s the Empire, the Papacy, or East Asia, without exception, everyone combines something historically significant from their countries with magic to win in cultural and ethnic rivalries.

I can guarantee that the three East Asian countries are fighting tooth and nail over who handles Chinese Buddhist sutras more authentically with that spell.

More than that….

“….”

It feels refreshing.

I’d like to meet them all in person sometime. Though it would be meaningless since I’d just be a foreigner to them.

While I was lost in thought, the video moved on to a West Asian country.

As I stood there, Elias, who had been walking ahead, turned around.

“Luca~?”

“I’m coming.”

When I walked quickly to stand beside him, he shuddered and said.

“We really need to examine everything carefully. With people coming from all over like that, if something happens… ugh.”

I smiled at his words and walked forward.

More than that, there was something strange.

The people who had been glancing at us were gradually gathering. With four of us Ruling House members here, it wasn’t abnormal in terms of interest level, but….

‘They didn’t come to watch the video.’

They probably came to see royalty after hearing that we work here.

Leo seemed to notice the situation too, as I could see him calling the local security team from up front.

I walked straight ahead with a barrier around my friends.

Leo simply responded with a smile to the citizens asking him for handshakes. It was impossible with the barrier up, and a handshake ban had been issued after yesterday’s incident.

[Knock on my door and turn the doorknob….]

Just then, someone’s peaceful and gentle singing voice struck my ears loudly.

I wondered if it was a voice I’d heard yesterday, but it was the first time I’d heard it.

My friends exchanged glances with me.

A human voice reaching here through all this commotion?

That meant they had intentionally cast amplification magic.

The team members drew their wands to strengthen the barrier.

Kwaaaaang— Crash—!

“Aaaaah!”

“What?!”

The moment they poured mana in, fierce mana struck back in the opposite direction.

I raised my arm to block the barrier fragments coming at me.

Or rather, I tried to.

“…!”

Someone grabbed my hand firmly.

What I felt at first was shock, but what I felt next was bewilderment.

It wasn’t the hand size that matched yesterday’s new human’s build. If anything, it might be the hand of a small old human woman.

Squelch—

Something like wet cotton squeezed my hand.

No, the other old human’s glove was soaked as if it had been dunked in water.

‘What?’

The moment I pulled my arm forcefully to see their face, it disappeared from my hand as if it had never been there.

I thought they might have warped, but the voice still remained.

[Father thinks. It must be the wind. Mother also thinks. It must be the wind. Father thinks. It’s just the wind. Mother also thinks. It’s just the wind.]

It’s a folk song.

A folk song in Low German. Although it wasn’t a song from this region, I knew what the title was.

Dat du min Leevsten büst, That you are my dearest.

I let out a hollow laugh.

Narke’s words weren’t wrong.

The glove theft didn’t have some profound meaning.

Of course, seeing how they’re openly giving me hints, they probably have more plans. There was Narke’s prophecy too.

“Luca!”

“Are you okay? What’s wrong with your hand?”

Perhaps because the barrier was broken, all the people had backed away. Security team mages who came at Leo’s request were standing around us.

I glanced at them and fell into thought.

‘More than that.’

It was an old human’s hand, but they cast amplification magic?

It’s not the Catacombs. They don’t use magic while simultaneously giving clues that they’re old humans like this.

That means there’s a high probability that whoever grabbed my hand isn’t an old human but a new human….

‘Ah, this bastard.’

They’ll be hard to catch.

That was the thought that intuitively crossed my mind.

But at the same time, I found myself laughing.

It’s exactly this type of antagonist that gives you the most satisfaction when you catch them.

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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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