How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 222

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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 (222)

The mage’s gaze turned toward the broken window.

There was no way anyone could have known I was carrying out a mission here.

Wiretapping? Tracking?

Such things are impossible for me.

[Switch! I’ll handle this better than you.]

Crash—!

As soon as those words were heard, the mage pulled out an artifact and threw it to the floor.

‘Switch?’

Those words didn’t register in my mind.

Through the broken window, I could see someone with pink eyes passing by. I couldn’t miss that the mana that first broke the window and came outside was red.

What was holding me back now wasn’t the investigation bureau or anything else, but his target.

“Hahahaha…”

I got played.

His face wasn’t smiling, but small laughter leaked from his mouth. Saliva was swallowed.

* * *

[We express our deep gratitude for the achievements of Deputy Captain Lucas Ascanien Eschete, who saved over 500 distinguished guests of the Empire. Our Empire and His Majesty Emperor Friedrich have confirmed Deputy Captain Lucas Ascanien’s loyalty in leading the protection of the Empire and world’s safety, and his outstanding abilities as a Royal Mage. We hope you will continue to dedicate yourself to the Empire.]

That morning at 9 o’clock.

The chairman of the Royal Mage Association cast amplification magic and spoke solemnly, then handed me a medal of merit standing beside him.

I had been called here after handling the rampage terror incident until 4 o’clock without getting a single moment of sleep.

‘The speed is remarkable.’

They probably wanted to downplay the coverage as usual, but since the victims weren’t citizens but overseas athletes, they seemed conscious—if they handled it wrong, instead of the supranational influence they wanted to attract through Penthalon, they’d only get criticized—so they decided to go with praising the mages and medical staff who contributed to peacefully resolving the problem and giving the athletes exceptional treatment.

In other words, they frantically criticized Pleroma and elevated us as heroes to advertise that it wasn’t the Empire’s fault.

[Also, we express deep gratitude for the swift cooperation of Leonard Wittelsbach and five other mages who resolved the terror together. Without your efforts, today’s peace would not have been possible.]

Leo came forward and received the medal of merit representing the five team members standing in a row behind him.

After the brief award ceremony lasting less than 30 minutes, our article and photos were immediately posted in the Imperial Newspaper.

When we returned to school, the team members smiled with indecipherable expressions.

“I just slept in the dormitory and went out, but somehow ended up receiving a medal of merit…”

“Haha, right. It’s embarrassing.”

“Hey~”

Elias shook his head at Julia’s words.

I also agreed with Elias’s sentiment and smiled as I spoke.

“Knowing that you could come running anytime allowed me to go that far. If I couldn’t have received your help, I wouldn’t have been able to do this much.”

It was the kindest tone I could manage.

Since the Imperial Court gave me a separate medal of merit, I had to be careful as subtle conflicts could arise if handled poorly.

But even excluding such problems, the team members were really helpful.

After all, it was work where speed was crucial.

The team members looked puzzled at my words.

After that, I barely escaped the crisis of being dragged into day drinking by the team members and returned to my room.

“…Huh.”

I raised my eyebrows.

The scene I saw after unlocking the door and entering was quite a sight.

Pink notes were piled up like a mountain on the table.

Elias’s expression, who had brought me here, hardened.

Since the culprit had entered inside, it was natural.

I stopped Elias from trying to throw away all the notes and unfolded what seemed like fifty notes one by one, arranging them in the order his consciousness seemed to have flowed.

[What the hell is this?]

[Do you know how hard I prepared? Do you know how surprised I was when you suddenly appeared at the hotel that day? It felt like my heart sank. No, I can’t express my feelings at that time with words.]

[It was the first failed mission of my life.]

[You’re taking my first failure?]

[You’re the best.]

[We’re really… amazing. At this level, it’s fate. Something is connecting us.]

[I really can’t believe it.]

[If you can read my mind, why have you never replied to me even once?]

[I understand the reason without you saying it. You definitely want to look at me for a long time too. That’s why you don’t reply to me. What happened before must have just been a joke.]

‘His ability for mental victory is amazing.’

I guess you have to be like this to do such crazy things.

I looked at Elias, who had a terrifying expression but was now putting his arm on my shoulder trying to distract me.

“Oh? Luca is finally looking at me.”

“Yeah. Why, do you have something to say?”

“I’ve been thinking…”

Elias wrote something on paper and showed it to me.

[How about I transform into you and respond to that guy. No matter how I look at it, I think that’s the only way to reduce the danger.]

It would be possible if I borrowed Narke’s ability. It’s not real transformation ability but illusion.

Anyway, this is too much. Why?

“What about your safety.”

“I’m fine~ It’s fun!”

Elias made an expression like he would smash that criminal’s head if he met him, while only lifting the corners of his mouth. It was a creepy sight.

Since I couldn’t let him go down the wrong path at this age, I ignored that suggestion.

Anyway, I had a plan.

“Elias, I have something to say.”

I pulled him close, cast soundproofing magic as close to my body as possible, and even used divine power to whisper in his ear.

Elias looked at me with widened eyes, then made an expression full of questions.

I patted his back and smiled.

“Tell the kids.”

* * *

“Wow, they received medals of merit when the team hasn’t even been formed for a week? They’ll be getting decorations soon.”

“What the hell are these kids doing.”

That night, at Imperial 2nd Education Institute.

3rd year mages resting in the school park chuckled hollowly while reading the Imperial Newspaper.

Today Lucas Ascanien and Eschete each received medals of merit from the Royal Mage Association.

Just the day before yesterday, there were stories going around that someone threw eggs at mages at Penthalon main stadium, and apparently because Ascanien was there, he tracked the traces left by the culprit and discovered the rampage terror attempt at Grand Hotel.

Lucas Ascanien had saved the lives of over 500 people staying at that hotel.

‘Honestly, I didn’t see him that way… but he really is Adrian Ascanien’s younger brother.’

Countless students have Adrian Ascanien as their role model, but so far, that person seems to be the only one who has come closest to him.

Really, at that level, didn’t the Imperial Court and Anhalt truly join hands like they did in Daslotte?

Having eye color that’s practically a symbol of Pleroma, yet acting exactly like real Royal Mages.

What’s even harder to accept is that it hasn’t even been a week since he was officially registered with the Imperial Court. This means it’s ultimately an achievement made through the capabilities he built up himself, but I can’t even guess how he found this incident. I also don’t understand why such a guy attended school in that state until last summer.

But…

‘Shouldn’t he be feeling good right about now?’

The Lucas Ascanien right in front of me doesn’t look well.

Since it’s the weekend, everyone is spending their free time today, and Eschete was called to the Imperial Court from morning, then returned to school again. After all this, school seemed most comfortable.

Except for Ascanien.

Ascanien would gently accept it when someone greeted him, but when they didn’t, his expression was completely rotten.

“But why is his outfit so sloppy if he’s Imperial Court affiliated? Where did his gloves and hat go?”

“Maybe he’s the free-spirited type.”

“Damn it… Think more creatively.”

The 3rd years giggled and bickered among themselves.

Then, something dropped onto the table with a thud.

“What’s this.”

It was a pink note. The student picked it up and examined it front and back.

“They sell paper in this color too? Where do they sell it?”

“Don’t think about that, just think about what this is…”

Just as he was about to unfold the note, a shadow fell across his vision.

Ascanien, who had been wearing a sour expression from far away just moments ago, was now smiling and extending his hand.

“It seems to have gone astray. It’s mine.”

It fell on my table, but it’s yours?

Countless rebuttals came to mind, but with every newspaper in the country only writing down this student’s words, I had no desire to talk back to him and escalate things.

The 3rd year student exchanged glances with his friends, then reluctantly held out the note.

“…Is that so? Take it.”

“Thank you.”

Ascanien smiled coldly and turned around.

I couldn’t help but notice his expression quickly souring again.

The 3rd year students just shrugged their shoulders with expressions that said they couldn’t make sense of it.

* * *

[Come to think of it. How about injecting your mana into my body? And you gradually dyeing your core with my mana? I’m experimenting on people to see if this kills them or not, and if it succeeds, I’ll let you know.]

[We should mix our mana with each other and try becoming each other. Then could I have pink eyes too? If we hold each other within ourselves, we’d all become superior mages.]

“…”

Sunday.

Ulrike looked at Lucas with a worried expression.

Lucas read the note with a darkened face, then threw it on the table and went to the bathroom to retch.

Lucas returned to the table where his team members were and sat down in his chair with a hardened expression.

All the team members were watching his mood.

Throughout the weekend, all the notes coming to Lucas had been filled with this kind of content.

“…Lucas looks like he’s lost weight.”

“He can’t afford to lose any more.”

When Elias casually tossed out a comment at Ulrike’s concern, Lucas looked at Elias as if he found it absurd.

He smiled politely with a dark face, then looked down at the table again with no expression. He rubbed his face with his hand.

“Leonard.”

“What.”

“Contact headquarters and ask them to tailor another uniform.”

Ulrike’s eyes widened.

Over the weekend, Lucas had been plagued by countless theft incidents. Whether the shapeshifter had transformed into a servant or something, no matter how thoroughly they secured things, he kept stealing items.

Now it seemed that bastard had even stolen the clothes granted in His Majesty the Emperor’s name.

Leo frowned slightly with a hardened expression.

I expected him to say something like ‘Why should I?’ but Leo didn’t react beyond that.

Lucas seemed to take that silence as agreement and stood up sluggishly with a face that showed everything was bothersome, without any greeting or eye contact.

Narke cast magic on this location to separate the space from the school, then got up and went to Lucas.

The two quickly disappeared to the manor.

Ulrike cautiously opened her mouth while reading the mood in the completely frozen atmosphere.

“…Guys… This is acting, right…?”

“Losing the clothes is probably real.”

Leo answered indifferently.

That meant except for the fact that his clothes were stolen, that attitude was indeed acting.

Julia clapped her hands and laughed.

“Wow~ Lucas is really good at acting. He must really feel bad too, but he wasn’t like that at first. So he can show such obviously bad moods too.”

Ulrike nodded.

According to what she heard from Elias before, Lucas had said the time had come.

‘I need to act properly hurt to make the stalker let his guard down. So whatever I do, it’s not really related to my actual emotions, so you don’t need to be too conscious of it. It’ll be very uncomfortable, but please just bear with it over the weekend.’

That’s what he told Elias, and it quickly spread to the entire team.

In fact, when Narke cast new spatial magic to temporarily separate him from the stalker, Lucas would smile and talk to us as usual as if he’d never been in a bad mood, so no student was unaware that the acting was just strategy.

‘Looking at that, the bright side is definitely real.’

Ulrike swallowed and recalled that realistic acting from earlier.

Whatever method he was trying to use to chase away the stalker…

‘I should really suggest hanging out together soon so his mood doesn’t actually sink.’

Ulrike steeled her resolve while having thoughts typical of her.

* * *

‘It’s successful.’

Returning to the manor, I suppressed the leisurely smile that was about to form and furrowed my brow.

‘What was my mistake? What else could have made the culprit unable to contain their impatience and appear before me?’

These were thoughts I’d had in that already vanished time.

It didn’t take long to reach a conclusion.

‘I didn’t show any signs of liking Julia.’

This was the conclusion I reached at the time.

No matter how much Cheringen threw herself at me, if I didn’t reciprocate, from the stalker’s perspective it would just remain something slightly annoying but not yet a real problem.

But what if not only Cheringen, but I too acted as if I had special feelings for her?

Naturally, that would change everything.

Because the possibility for them would have disappeared.

But there was a problem.

Did I have to do this act with my team members again? This time with me acting properly too?

The culprit’s wariness had already skyrocketed due to the acting with Cheringen and the Grand Hotel player incident. The possibility of them appearing before me if I did exactly the same thing was low.

So, I needed to find another method that would make them unable to resist appearing before my eyes…

‘I need to appear as if I have no intention of attacking.’

I needed to look like I was losing to them.

If I appeared to be losing, wouldn’t they fail to recognize that a trap was a trap?

Fatigue from stalking, resignation, helplessness, etc. – showing signs of being affected by them would be good examples.

Honestly, up until now I’d only filed reports and walked around expressionless every time, so it probably wasn’t very fun. People who harass others, regardless of type, do so because they want to see their target’s reaction, so I just needed to show intense reactions like others do.

After that, things flowed as expected.

The bastard started pestering me more whenever my reactions became intense.

So what would happen? Since he pestered me more, I just had to act even angrier.

‘A cycle of exploitation.’

Of course, the only one doing the exploiting was me. He wasn’t really managing to exploit me.

I slowly got up and looked at a box that could hold about three thick books. Inside was filled with pink notes I’d received so far.

My gaze moved to the notebook beside it. The list of items stolen by that bastard over the weekend was already exceeding one page of the notebook.

‘Hmm.’

It was going smoothly.

Now he was likely both wary of me while unconsciously thinking he held the upper hand. Unfortunately, the human unconscious works that way.

I felt my brow naturally furrow as my default expression and stroked my chin.

‘Let’s finish this soon.’

This wasn’t something to drag out.

All preparations were complete, so it was time to see his face directly.

Having reached this conclusion, I stared at the box for a while, then wrote on a memo pad while acting tired.

[What do you want?]

He’d said he could read replies left anywhere. I threw the memo outside the window and briefly left my seat.

Surprisingly, when I returned, there was a note placed on my bed.

It was the lyrics to that folk song I’d heard before, “That you are my dearest.”

In the end, he was saying come to him, that’s all he wanted…

‘You need to show yourself to get that, you bastard…’

It wasn’t even a proper answer.

While I wasn’t actually upset about feeling that the bastard was strutting around as intended, it was good material for acting angry.

I looked toward the window.

Now I didn’t bother with the trouble of covering the window with curtains. After all, whenever I went out and came back, he would have pulled them open again, so there was no telling when he had entered.

I thought it was good that I could advertise my helplessness, so I left it alone, but now he’s using it as a screen.

I looked down at the box containing thousands of notes and sat on the bed.

I slowly counted backwards from 10 in my mind. Then I buried my face in both hands and let out a deep breath.

I hadn’t done this much since coming to this place, but fortunately it worked well.

‘…6, 5, 4…’

My nose stung.

When I finished counting, I wiped my tears with my sleeve, got up, and irritably drew the curtains.

Pretending to be angry and smashing furniture—none of which was mine anyway—wasn’t a good choice, so I just needed to choose tools that would surprise the bastard who was probably watching me right now.

I moved to another room while thinking.

‘This is ridiculous, acting like this by myself makes me seem like a madman.’

But he is observing me from outside. He’s not in other buildings or on the street, but he’s definitely doing so.

I opened the safe in the other room and took out a familiar rectangular box that Leo had left there.

Unpleasant memories came flooding back.

‘To think I’d be touching this again.’

When I opened the clip, small glass bottles from stages 1 through 10 were neatly arranged inside the box.

What could it be?

It was the drug I had taken during the Gelda Asmann incident.

I clearly remembered thinking back then that I would never take such a drug again.

That resolve hadn’t changed.

If I had to turn back time and face Gelda Asmann again, I wouldn’t make this choice. I wouldn’t want to intentionally create fake emotions in front of someone who could read emotions to lower their guard again. Especially if that person was another victim.

But this case was different.

My hand moved toward the very end of the box.

Taking out one glass bottle, I headed to the rooftop of the manor.

Whoooosh—

As soon as I opened the rooftop door, the sound of wind hit my ears.

Maintaining the stern expression from before, I walked to the center of the rooftop and drank the drug I was holding.

The odorless drug went down my throat just like before. The difference from before was that this was a stage 10 drug.

Now, when I opened my eyes, I would develop sudden emotions toward the first person I saw.

No, since Elias hadn’t made that mechanical sound for nothing, I might not be able to be certain.

However, at least to others, it would appear that I had fallen in love with the first person I saw upon opening my eyes.

“Come out.”

I spoke loud enough to be clearly heard.

No response came. I had no choice but to raise my voice once more.

“You know what I just drank. Come out!”

Silence.

Only the sound of wind continued to ride along my ear and pierce my eardrums.

‘…Right.’

I knew it would be like this.

Even if I set the table for him, he’d wonder if I had poisoned it, so of course he wouldn’t come out.

He has a brain, so it’s natural.

In a situation where I had seen through his ambitious plans and cut them off at the root, he would have realized that to manipulate me as he pleased, he needed more sophisticated and thorough devices. If he appeared before me now while still unprepared and took the bait I was offering, he would half-ruin his work.

That’s why it was necessary to maintain the atmosphere that he had been winning up until now as the backdrop.

‘So I can’t back down after coming this far.’

I closed my eyes and touched the artifact at my ear. It was an artifact used only among Eschete team members.

I tapped the artifact randomly.

Since I didn’t know how many times I had tapped the artifact, I didn’t know which of the six it would connect to.

It felt like playing Russian roulette. Perhaps because I wasn’t keen on anyone in this situation, the sound of gears catching on copper sounded like a cylinder spinning.

It would be somewhat better if the person who answered could immediately give me an antidote, or if it was a friend who had already gotten under the stalker’s skin.

Clearing my mind, I ran my finger along the artifact and pressed the activation button at one point.

Beep—

Before the connection tone could even ring once, someone answered the phone.

[Lucas?]

‘Hmm.’

The god of probability was on my side.

Since I got someone who could bring an antidote right away, there was no burden even if I failed now. Separately from that, the culprit could never think that far in this situation.

I burst into laughter and looked up at the sky.

[Speak, Lucas.]

“…”

You can tolerate others taking interest in me like you do?

I wonder how the reverse would be.

Whether you’ll still use your head, or finally take action.

“Come to the rooftop. Right now.”

I spoke with force in my voice.

I didn’t need to speak that loudly into the artifact, but I had a different target audience in mind, so I had to.

Whoooooosh—!

Wind so fierce it was hard to keep my eyes open shook my robes and hair.

Cold hands like a corpse urgently grabbed my cheeks. I could hear ragged breathing, showing how hastily he had come down.

I could feel that where I stood had been changed by the other person’s space magic.

That wasn’t important.

What was important was that the target had now fallen perfectly into my trap.

I grabbed those cool hands and cast a binding spell between my hands and his as I opened my eyes.

“So we finally meet.”

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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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