How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 224

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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 (224)

“…You’ll send me back?”

“Yes, of course.”

“….”

Did I mishear? I stared at him blankly, then looked at the poster.

This Stalker just said he’d send me straight home.

Without drawing blood, without torture, without imprisonment. He didn’t make unreasonable demands of me, nor did he turn me into Pleroma. Not that I wanted any of that to happen. But….

‘Asking to shake hands bare-handed, stealing all the household items, sending a thousand notes – this isn’t the attitude someone like that should show.’

I expected the worst treatment like with Abraham, and was even prepared to become a blood supplier like with Asman.

But I can go home at 5 AM.

Is this a time when escape possibilities emerge? No, the enemy is saying he’ll personally escort me home.

This was my first time receiving such treatment, leaving me speechless. I was at a loss for words seeing someone with such a severe gap between before and after meeting for the first time.

Reading something from my expression, he spoke in a bright voice.

“You want to stay with me longer!”

“No? Please wake up from that dream.”

“I understand.”

I slowly looked into his blue eyes.

This is that person? The one I was determined to punch when we met—though due to his good skills, neither the Antagonist nor I managed to land a single effective hit earlier—and throw into a prison cell, ironically treats me the most humanely of all enemies I’ve encountered so far.

Of course, that doesn’t erase his crimes. If I don’t see potential to utilize him, I’ll deal with him according to my original plan.

But I simply don’t understand.

“Why do you treat me like this?”

It was a small question that slipped out like a soliloquy.

The Antagonist just blinked, seeming flustered by my question.

“Then what should I do?”

“….”

Exactly.

This makes me seem like the crazy one.

Just as I was about to shake my head and wave my hand dismissively, he hardened his expression and blocked my path, saying:

“I even sang for you. Don’t you know the title? ‘You are the person I love most~’ That one.”

“….”

“I sent you lots of notes until now. I said I wanted to hold your hand. I said I wanted to mix your mana with mine. I said I wanted to have the same eye color as you. I clearly said it would be nice if you could use my mana too.”

Goosebumps rose at the words hitting my ears rapidly and precisely.

This guy is definitely crazy. It seems he made my momentary confusion meaningless, leaving me dumbfounded.

The Antagonist grabbed my arm firmly. His voice gradually became more ominous.

“I’ve been saying I like you from the beginning until now. What did you think my words were?”

At that moment, other Pleroma stopped in place and looked at the Antagonist with surprised eyes. The Antagonist began emitting Vitriol close to murderous intent.

Of course it doesn’t resonate. He sent all that with genuinely positive intentions?

Thanks for confirming once again that you’re crazy.

I looked at him with contemptuous eyes once more and turned around.

Then the Antagonist urgently ran up from behind and grabbed my arm.

“Ah, sorry. Sorry…. Where are you trying to go without even knowing the geography here?”

I chose the submissive role, so why does this guy feel like he’s becoming submissive? Anyway, since the drug was taking effect, I looked at his face and sighed.

‘Right.’

It turned out as I thought earlier. Not in the expected direction, but I should be grateful it’s not that direction.

There are still many questionable aspects, and until I find out the location of the Antagonist’s artifact, until I find out if there are connections between the Antagonist and anyone else, I have no intention of missing this opportunity either.

It would be good if he stays moderate with me until then. I took out my watch, opened it, and looked at him again.

“…I have to be with you until five o’clock, right? Where shall we go now?”

“…!”

He blinked, then understood my meaning and opened his mouth.

* * *

I frowned looking at the fork thrust in front of me.

Pulling my head back, I turned my gaze away from the meat he was offering and drank my alcohol.

“Let’s just go our separate ways.”

“To express just eating a meal like that….”

Do you have to interfere with just eating a meal?

We’re currently in a restaurant in the Pleroma world. It was the kind of restaurant commonly frequented by the upper class of this era, with the gentle sound of an orchestra playing and numerous round tables covered with white tablecloths.

And the Antagonist is trying to feed me something directly without any shame in such a place.

I put down my wine glass and asked with a smile.

“You’ve never dated before, have you.”

“No.”

“I see. I thought so.”

“Oh~ How did you know?”

“You’re acting like you’re trying to do bucket list items 1 through 200 all at once in this one sitting, how could I not know? Do them in moderation, spread them out.”

The Antagonist rolled his eyes, then nodded as if he was hit somewhere. He seemed to understand intuitively even though he wouldn’t know what a bucket list was.

I clicked my tongue softly and finished my meal.

I’ve always been the one pursuing others, so it’s novel to see someone trying to pursue me.

The problem is that only my heart is beating fast while my brain remains coldly calm.

This is similar to how I become cold when facing the Crown Prince. Because the fact that he’s someone I need to eliminate doesn’t change.

Abraham is someone who’ll leave on his own if I wait, plus he occasionally moves in beneficial directions, so I’ll let that slide for now, but this guy has too many questionable aspects, making it worse.

Of course, compared to Abraham, his crimes haven’t reached the level of extreme evil. Did he have me beaten until I fainted, did he have my hands hammered, did he have my nails pulled out, did he have my head dunked in water….

“….”

He didn’t do those things….

My vision was becoming hazy. Thinking that far, I frowned slightly.

I’ve been thinking wrong about something since earlier. The feeling that my standards have somehow become twisted won’t go away.

Just then, the Stalker snapped his fingers in front of me.

“What’s wrong?”

“What about me?”

“You’re not doing anything.”

He pointed to my knife and fork.

I shrugged and put meat in my mouth.

The Stalker looked around and whispered.

“There are many people here.”

“That’s right.”

“It would have been nice if there was a quieter place, what a shame…. This is the only place suitable for us.”

The Pleroma world shouldn’t be that small, so why is this the only place?

I asked to gather information.

“Come to think of it, I remember there being quite a lot of opera schedules earlier, what’s that about? It’s novel to open so many different productions so frequently.”

This is an era when reviews are published in the next day’s newspapers and critiques are exchanged in salons and clubs throughout the city whenever plays and operas by even slightly famous playwrights and vocalists are performed.

It’s a popular art form to that extent, but even so, that packed performance schedule was a bit surprising.

In other words, it looked strange enough to warrant attention.

“Ah, we do it more often than outside? We don’t always do this though. And not all regions do this either.”

He took a sip of wine and said with a smile.

“This area is the meeting place of Our World. One day here is one hour outside. At least, that’s how it is now.”

“….”

“When time stretches like this, we should perform more and play more. Who knows when it might change again.”

Since he looked at me with expectant eyes, I avoided those eyes and thought.

‘He’s spilling information like this even knowing I’m Nicolaus.’

Nicolaus is currently Pleroma’s top priority target for elimination. I can’t even guess how much bounty is on my head.

But since he’s blinded by love, such things don’t matter? Or does it not hit home because I’m not currently in Nicolaus’s appearance?

Whatever it is, thanks for the good information.

According to what I learned from Strauchi and the Catacombs, this is evidence that cracks are forming in their world. Time flows so slowly here that one day in this place equals one hour outside.

‘Nothing has improved since last year.’

Since they’re not in good condition either, that’s why they’re so desperately causing chaos in the outside world.

Separate from that, it’s quite a problematic situation, yet the people here are having such a good time.

“Why has such a time difference occurred?”

“Our power is insufficient. But it will be resolved soon.”

“Resolved?”

At my words, he smiled.

He stabbed a piece of meat with his fork. Blood pooled on the plate.

“…Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming.”

“…”

“This is a revelation given to our world. The Lord who will come anew in the new age will save our world.”

It’s a passage from Malachi.

I was about to let out a hollow laugh but smiled and asked instead.

“The messenger of the covenant you’re waiting for will come to this place, and soon at that… on what basis? ‘The Lord who will come anew in the new age’? The Messiah will come soon and save all those loyal to our order – you know that’s the favorite line of cults regardless of religion, right?”

“That’s a fair view. After all, we’ve been labeled heretics.”

He didn’t seem bothered by titles like heretic or whatnot, speaking with his blue eyes gleaming.

“The Vatican is wrong. The messenger of the covenant we’ve been waiting for has already come to this place, so the Lord we seek will also come to His temple before long.”

“…”

He’s already come here?

That unwavering faith and absurd statement make my head spin.

Fine. What should I expect from those who distort scripture to kill people and extract their blood?

After that, the meal continued more quietly than expected.

When cognac was placed before me as a digestif, I asked my companion who was now pondering what to do next for entertainment.

“What is your rank?”

He must have held a position as bishop or monsignor in some diocese.

Caught off guard by the sudden question, he pondered how to answer, then said with a smile.

“I’ll tell you later.”

‘Probably a bishop.’

I just smiled.

What’s with telling me later? Who does he think he’s fooling?

He’s an opponent difficult to subdue by force alone. He was also skilled, similar to Ainsiedel.

It feels strange to keep meeting such people. Has the time for encountering small fry passed?

After finishing the meal, the place he dragged me to was a cafe facing a river.

It was called a cafe, but in reality it was used as an outdoor ballroom with some light refreshments. Such places were mainly frequented by people from the commoner class who had some means, which is why neither Luca nor I had ever set foot in such a place.

Even so, since I’m not a person of this era, I didn’t feel any aversion. Instead…

“We should have come here before eating.”

Dance right after eating?

When I let out a hollow laugh, he replied with a smile.

“The atmosphere was so frozen~ I thought we could dance together to lighten the mood, but I thought I’d get indigestion before the meal. It seemed better to loosen things up with some alcohol first.”

Just then the song ended, and different music began to play.

He extended his hand.

“Shall we dance together?”

Really getting his money’s worth.

I thought this as I took his hand.

Though he appears in human form, I don’t know what he’s like inside, so I worried that if he missteps, I might suddenly want to go home, but fortunately he didn’t make any mistakes.

Instead, he said something that made me want to go home in a different way.

“Everyone should know that I’m courting you. Unfortunately, I can’t announce it…”

His voice sounds somewhat hollow.

I laughed incredulously and replied.

“You’re stating the obvious. Since we’ve never courted, of course you can’t announce it.”

“Haha, you know how to do it properly but you’re only cold to me.”

I didn’t respond.

Literally, because I know how to do it properly but am deliberately not doing so. I’m suppressing the impulses caused by the drug’s effects every moment. If I say even one wrong word, there’s a high chance he’ll think he’s already won this game.

Thinking he wouldn’t get a good answer from me, he changed the subject.

“It’s interesting. My field of vision has lowered considerably, so it’s refreshing. I think I’ve shrunk almost 20cm from my original height, and to think the world looks so different depending on height… Actually, more than that, it’s fascinating that most people will only see the world from one height their entire lives.”

“Do you also find it fascinating that the Earth is round?”

“You hate me…”

“Not at all. Build up some tolerance.”

“People in love don’t say such things to each other.”

What kind of fantasy is he harboring?

I was about to say that but held back. Instead, I asked a question closer to the essence of this situation.

“What you’ve done to me so far doesn’t seem like something someone in love would do. It was closer to malice. So I’m asking – why do you think you like me?”

“It’s not that I think I like you, I do like you. You’re the only person in the world who can compete with me.”

The state of that reasoning?

I felt my vision darkening as I fell into thought. Is this bastard also a magic fanatic in a different sense?

“Then it doesn’t have to be me. That’s not the kind of love you want… isn’t it more like the affection that can build between benevolent competitors? In a way, that’s also love in a broad sense, right? So I think it wouldn’t be bad to get your head straight and just go our separate ways.”

“You think so?”

He answered that way and leisurely ignored my words. Even when the song changed, he just continued to hold my hand and dance.

I don’t think this person truly loves me.

He’s just mistaking some strange emotion for love.

I thought that emotion was closer to a kind of rivalry. His notes weren’t the kind of letters typical supporters would send, nor were they the kind of writing someone in love would typically send. The content of the notes increasingly focused on magic, magic synthesis, and ‘the fact that I had defeated him.’

In the end, he’s mistaking his desire to compete with me, his competitor and enemy, for love. That’s my conclusion after reading his letters all this time.

I looked at his face and said.

“Then I’m curious about something. Whatever your true feelings are, I understand well that you think you love me. But why are you trying to send me back on time?”

“…”

“We’ve never courted, but you want to announce that we’re courting, yet you don’t. With the mentality of shaking hands with gloves you’ve dunked in water, you shouldn’t be able to restrain yourself.”

“I wanted to leave you with a memory that would truly never fade for your entire life, and it seems I’ve properly left one within healthy bounds.”

I ignored that nonsense and said.

“You definitely have calculations. You’re not sending me back to the manor for my sake, nor are you refraining from bragging to other Pleroma about meeting me for my sake.”

What are those calculations? It’s not difficult.

“Which diocese is targeting me?”

“…”

Not the place he belongs to, but another Pleroma diocese is targeting me.

When he said he was protecting me, he must have meant he was protecting me from other Pleroma.

If he doesn’t send me back and keeps me with him, there’s a possibility that other dioceses will notice the situation and attack him.

So it’s closer to not being able to tip them off.

“You’re too perceptive.”

“Beyond perception, if you think about it slowly, the answer comes.”

“I suppose so. Since it’s your situation.”

He looked into my eyes and said.

“I can’t tell you that. But I’ll protect you properly.”

“When that protection ends, can I continue to stay like this? Which diocese are you from? I’m not sure if I’m going to become your diocese’s victory prize.”

“…”

I raised my hand according to the dance sequence. However, even though it was time for him to spin around, he didn’t.

Instead, he stood still in place and said.

“The Penthalon opening is this weekend. Around that time, you won’t have such questions anymore.”

“…”

I smiled.

This guy believes I’ll soon love him deeply.

His hand dug into my wrist. When he stomped his foot once, the surrounding environment changed.

This time it was clear he had warped rather than cast spatial magic.

Just moments ago we were under brilliant lights, but now we were in an unfamiliar manor.

It was a spacious area that should have been used as a salon. Through a large window in the middle of the wall, I could see the tilted moon and a lake.

With his back to the window, he looked into my eyes and spoke.

“I will absolutely never do anything that would harm you. I have no intention of tormenting you like the other Pleroma do.”

“You already have tormented me though?”

“Me? I suppose you could see it that way… But you know better than anyone what the other Pleroma are trying to do after capturing you, don’t you?”

“…”

“Compared to that, you’ll see that what I want is really nothing at all.”

He was saying exactly what I had been thinking earlier.

Right, at least here in this place, he hadn’t committed any crimes against me.

“I’ll protect you. No, Nikolaus Ernst doesn’t need help from the likes of Pleroma. I know that.”

“…”

“Instead, let’s make a deal. If you grant my request, I’ll become your informant. How about it?”

“You’d be fine with me bringing down Pleroma?”

Antagonist just smiled.

It seemed he thought that in the end I would fall for him, so I wouldn’t do such a thing.

“You haven’t revealed which organization you belong to or who is trying to attack me. Yet you talk about becoming an informant – how ridiculous.”

“I can promise I won’t betray you. Also, you know best that being together will naturally force me to give you information.”

“A promise. How am I supposed to believe that?”

He silently passed by me and went outside. Then he returned carrying two small medicine bottles.

He handed me a bottle containing pink liquid, while he drank the transparent medicine himself.

“I will not betray you. Is that sufficient now?”

“…”

The medicine Antagonist drank must be a magic potion that could produce effects similar to covenant magic.

But there was no guarantee he hadn’t deceived me, and even if the Pope vouched for his words, I couldn’t trust what he said while sane.

Instead of agreeing, I looked at the medicine in my hand.

“What is this?”

“Keep it with you. It’s medicine I’d like you to drink later.”

I looked at Antagonist, then as he plopped down on a sofa placed to one side, I put the medicine in my pocket and looked around.

Anyway, if I stayed like this, Antagonist would just spout more nonsense, and no matter what I asked, he wouldn’t answer properly. I needed to find a way to extract information before a strange atmosphere developed.

“Seeing you brought medicine from elsewhere, you must have a laboratory at home? May I take a look?”

By modern standards it would sound quite strange, but in this era many nobles interested in science commonly had laboratories in their homes.

“Of course. It will be your home soon enough anyway.”

“…”

I felt like everything I’d eaten was coming back up…

I grimaced and walked out of the room aimlessly. Realizing he had spouted nonsense, he smiled awkwardly and passed me to guide the way to the room.

The laboratory he entered really did look similar to laboratories in other houses. There was nothing particularly special about it.

‘I should just check if there’s any useful information and leave quickly.’

I glanced at the table scattered with medicine bottles and various powders, then opened the drawer underneath.

Countless glass bottles the size of a finger joint were lying on their sides.

Whether I did this or not, Antagonist just stood a little behind me with a smiling face, watching my actions. He seemed pleased that I was taking interest in his house.

“There are many.”

The moment I said that without thinking, I doubted my eyes.

At one end of the drawer, I saw a vial containing white liquid. The name written on the label was familiar.

‘This is…’

The magic potion I had seen at Primrose Pass, and with Ludovica.

It was the narcotic magic potion that Pleroma used instead of mental manipulation magic.

It half-knocked out consciousness, creating a state similar to the hypnotic therapy that psychiatrists of this era often used.

Of course, due to resistance from divine power, it didn’t work well on me.

‘Hmm.’

This could be useful.

The time when I had drunk the medicine was already gone. Meaning these guys didn’t know how much I knew.

“You have medicine too?”

“It’s all medicine.”

I didn’t answer and then spoke quietly.

“If Nikolaus Ernst were to do something not quite righteous, would your fantasy be shattered?”

“…Ah~”

Antagonist belatedly understood what I meant.

In modern times, it would be a statement deserving legal punishment. Personally, I also despise those who live addicted to such drugs.

But wouldn’t it be quite a good means to extract information from someone on whom divine power doesn’t work?

“Absolutely not.”

“Could you not hate me no matter what I say? If you heard stories unknown anywhere else… and if they were unrighteous acts, you might feel repulsed.”

“…How could that be. Everyone has secrets.”

Antagonist held his breath once, then answered in a voice that sounded slightly insane.

Rather, it sounded like he was delighted.

“So, do you have it?”

“It’s right next to you.”

“…”

I smiled while looking at the medicine I had been looking down at earlier.

“I’m not sure if it’s safe. Is it used outside, or did you develop it independently here?”

“It’s safe. It’s an opiate.”

Antagonist answered in a slightly quickened voice.

You like opium, don’t you. I know it’s a pure magic potion without such things mixed in.

Anyway…

You’re falling for it quite refreshingly well. Thank you.

“I have some hobbies.”

I smiled faintly and turned my head.

Antagonist, who had been staring with wide eyes, slowly twisted the corners of his mouth.

I picked up two vials and asked.

“Want to do it together?”

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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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