How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 248

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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 (248)

 

“You know how to break the curse magic.”

 

The floor is cold.

 

I felt the chill of the restraints filling my hands and wondered who the person standing in front of me speaking might be. Someone was holding my head down against the floor, so I couldn’t see the face of whoever had come before me.

 

Even for me, taking on about 30 people was unreasonable. It was actually natural that I was caught and subdued by the guards.

 

However, according to the original plan, I had succeeded in drawing aggro.

 

“That’s enough! There seems to have been a misunderstanding between us for a moment. This person is not someone who would do dangerous things.”

 

“No, Minister, but still…”

 

“It’s clearly a misunderstanding. I’ll interrogate Adrian Ascanien myself, so please leave now.”

 

How could it not be successful when the Minister of Magic came here personally?

 

The Minister drove away the mages who were pinning me down. Even though I had launched an attack out of nowhere and turned this place into chaos, he was letting me off so easily. It seemed the statement from the previous timeline that he judged me favorably wasn’t false.

 

The Minister placed his hand on my carotid artery and warped somewhere with me.

 

It wasn’t the strategy room attached to the arena. The place we moved to was his office somewhere in the committee building.

 

Still, perhaps worried about being attacked by me, he didn’t remove the restraints on my hands. When a guard grabbed my shoulder and sat me in a chair, the Minister who sat down next to me spoke with a worried expression.

 

“Adrian Ascanien. I know you’re not someone who would act so rashly. I should have given you my contact information if I knew this would happen.”

 

“I can only apologize for causing a disturbance.”

 

“More than that, you said you know a method. What exactly are you referring to?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

The Minister, who had been looking at me seriously, stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.

 

“I don’t know, Minister. How would I know what or how?”

 

“No, then what…”

 

“I felt I needed to have a conversation with you, Minister.”

 

I glanced at the Minister’s hands.

 

Unlike before when he wore thin white gloves, he was wearing thick leather gloves. What could that mean?

 

“Minister. Please remove your gloves. There’s something I want to confirm.”

 

“…”

 

The Minister’s face hardened. I looked at his face and tilted my head with a meaning of pity.

 

“I suppose no cross appeared on your hands.”

 

“…”

 

“It seems you’ve been going around with sound-blocking magic cast the whole time, Minister. From when player Helga Leibnitz first mentioned Revelation chapter 7 verse 10. That means…”

 

“No, about that part…”

 

“It means you realized from the beginning that it was curse magic, doesn’t it, Minister?”

 

I shook my head and looked at a small magical energy cluster forming an image on one wall of the room. That image showed the first floor stage of the arena.

 

The tournament was coming soon, but now they were even calling an archbishop to hold mass. He wasn’t a heretical archbishop like those from Pleroma, but an orthodox archbishop.

 

“But calling a choir here, and now even the Archbishop of Brandenburg? Minister. You can’t disguise terrorism as something that isn’t terrorism.”

 

“…”

 

“I came to inform you of this. You are making a mistake right now, Minister.”

 

“Adrian Ascanien.”

 

The Minister clasped his hands together with a troubled expression.

 

“I understand your feelings. You too must have known something was going wrong from when player Helga Leibnitz recited Revelation and something appeared on people’s hands.”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“You know Gustav Hohenzollern, Prince of Prussia, the father of Prince Elias.”

 

“…”

 

“He mobilized his guards and the imperial guards to save numerous people at this venue from the curse magic. Currently, approximately 600,000 people are under the curse. Considering that 1.9 million people have entered, it’s a small number.”

 

600,000.

 

It was reduced by more than half compared to before. Moreover, this time there was amplification magic cast over the entire venue, so there was a risk of more people being cursed than through broadcasting. The Minister also called 600,000 a ‘small number’ in that sense.

 

For example, tourists who weren’t watching the broadcast but were talking with people and eating would not have been cursed in the previous timeline. However, if the terrorist who failed to transmit the curse through broadcasting this time shoots the sentence directly into people’s ears through amplification magic, more people would inevitably be cursed than before.

 

‘…It was good that I told them to cast reverse sound-blocking magic.’

 

I anticipated that the terrorist, unable to access broadcasting, would use amplification magic and said that. That’s also why I said to target places without screens first. Why? Because I can only deliver the dispelling incantation through broadcasting, and the group cursed through amplification magic would inevitably be larger than the group listening to broadcasts, so people in that difference set would die exploding. Telling them to cast reverse sound-blocking magic starting from places with low screen accessibility was an attempt to reduce the size of that difference set.

 

‘There’s no way so few people would be cursed just by casting magic on buildings.’

 

Gustav Hohenzollern may not have had magical power, but his mind seemed to work quickly. He must have found new ways to reduce damage beyond the instructions I conveyed through Elias.

 

“Gustav Hohenzollern ordered sound-blocking magic to be cast in reverse in various places to block external sounds from being heard. But when investigating the truth, Gustav Hohenzollern said this was actually first proposed by Adrian Ascanien.”

 

“…”

 

“If not for Adrian Ascanien’s swift judgment and response, all 1.9 million people here would have been cursed. We tried to reduce damage by cutting the broadcast, but once the terrorist noticed and used amplification magic instead of broadcasting, there was no way to avoid it. Our committee owes Adrian Ascanien a debt.”

 

So he knows those were my instructions.

 

Good. Things are proceeding smoothly. At this rate, I’ll have testimony to defend against prosecution charges.

 

“But, sir. Have you considered this?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“The curse magic has already been executed. We tried to prevent it by blocking screens as soon as the word ‘Revelation’ came up… but ultimately failed.”

 

They blocked screens as soon as that word came up? Why bother?

 

When I narrowed my eyes at the somewhat unexpected statement, the Minister nodded as if to explain.

 

“This evening, there was one piece of mail delivered to the committee. It said this: ‘Beware of those who read scripture.’ Perhaps meaning to be wary of divine mages. Throughout our committee activities, we checked if there was anyone reading scripture. With half-believing, half-doubting hearts, thinking it might just be a prank.”

 

“…’Beware of those who read scripture’?”

 

“But then player Helga Leibnitz mentioned Revelation. We had nothing to lose. It might be a prank letter, the player might just be reciting Revelation, but we thought it was better than not preventing it and facing potential danger. And it really was a curse.”

 

The Minister bit his lips as if still unable to believe it.

 

Regardless of that, I couldn’t help but be shocked by this startling news.

 

“…You received a letter. Why didn’t you tell me this?”

 

“Could you tell if that letter was a children’s prank or a real warning just by looking at it? Besides, you’re only here for the mana level terrorism, not a committee member or one of the core people. Since we don’t know where information might leak and what problems might arise, it’s right to keep such information as confidential as possible. You would do the same.”

 

“…”

 

I suppressed the urge to hold my head and closed my eyes instead.

 

Right. This person wasn’t wrong. If you obtain information predicting a major crisis, that unconditionally becomes classified. No government would openly spread it to the media asking ‘does anyone know what this means?’

 

‘To think I’d encounter information I couldn’t access in the previous timeline like this.’

 

Just as I first thought.

 

The development of the ‘possible world where the player doesn’t commit suicide’ proceeds like this. Actually, if I could turn back time once more, I could handle it more perfectly, but I don’t want to turn back time again from this position.

 

“So, do you understand why I brought up this story? We did our best, but everyone is already cursed. If our committee announces in this situation that what appeared on your hands is actually a curse and you might die soon, what do you think will happen?”

 

“It would become chaos.”

 

At my unhesitating answer, the Minister slightly furrowed his brow.

 

The answer was correct, but my attitude in answering was too calm, so he seemed to think I didn’t understand properly.

 

“Sir. Listen carefully. In the human world, when terrorism occurs, it’s right to evacuate people. Because attacks mainly use firearms or bombs.”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“However, curse magic is an attack that already far exceeds the human system, and it’s an event that has already occurred. What meaning does evacuation have in this situation? If we report everything truthfully one by one, do you think that crowd will say ‘I see. We’ll sit quietly and wait until countermeasures emerge, listening to your instructions’?”

 

“…”

 

“People will immediately trample others and run out of here. In a situation where nothing gets resolved even if they leave. The damage from maximized fear would be greater than from the curse magic itself. Now do you understand why we called the choir? To buy time. During this peace, we can find a solution. I know how stupid we must look. But the people falling into shock and panic, and us losing control. The terrorist truly wants that.”

 

People think so differently.

 

I partially agree with his words. However, I still don’t agree.

 

“Fine, Minister. But what if the terrorist no longer allows peace? You’re mistaken about something. We never had control to begin with. The peace seemingly achieved with the choir is only possible because the terrorist is ‘letting it slide.’ If they make someone commit suicide right now, or kill someone by exploding their body as an example, do you think this peace will be maintained?”

 

“…”

 

“Announce the truth even now. At least stop this charade. I know falling into panic is dangerous. I don’t want that situation either.”

 

Why? Because if everyone panics, no one will try to listen to broadcasts. I’ll lose the chance to chant dispelling magic.

 

“But even so, this is deceiving the people. The people have the right to know what situation they’re in. Even without using methods that deceive the people, if the government transparently shows the process of working toward countermeasures and that progress, the people have the ability to trust and wait for you.”

 

“…”

 

Now is the opportunity.

 

Now is the timing to calmly report the situation to the people with words so they can understand.

 

Because once someone dies like before, it becomes complete chaos from that point.

 

Rather, by cleanly reporting the facts now that ‘the government is assessing the situation and preparing countermeasures,’ we can prevent people from being seized by fear and running out seeking their own survival when the terrorist carries out murder.

 

‘Wait, I should check something around now.’

 

I slightly moved my hands bound by restraints. I rubbed my fingers to send a signal to Leo. Then, my core immediately tingled.

 

Leo is currently receiving this entire conversation through the communication artifact I have on my ear. He’s probably recording it too.

 

Why am I doing this?

 

‘I can’t be the only one to die. Why should I die when these bastards are screwing around.’

 

Since I can’t become a saint, I won’t accept a bad ending where I get prosecuted while handling terrorism. Let’s all go together.

 

I nodded and spoke to the Minister.

 

“Minister. So, have you found a way to dispel this curse magic?”

 

“We should be able to find it soon. Just a few minutes ago, we made contact with a doctor who claims to know the answer.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“There’s someone who says they can dispel the curse magic. They’re a professor in the Department of Magic at Jena University, so their credentials are trustworthy.”

 

I just smiled, feeling like I wanted to faint.

 

‘Good grief.’

 

This is driving me crazy. As the incident changes, so does the development. Actually, that’s obvious. Let’s say the response to incident 1 is A or B. Just because incident 2 occurs instead of 1 doesn’t mean the same responses will necessarily follow.

 

Just how many heads are involved in this terrorism? I mean actual physical heads. The more subjects involved in any incident, the more complex the interests become intertwined, making it harder to understand the truth. Each subject tries to make the best choice they can.

 

“Minister. Have you met this doctor in person?”

 

“No. We made contact just before coming to see you. We’re supposed to receive the dispelling method by mail soon. Of course, there’s a possibility they might give us wrong information, so our government is also inviting numerous other experts to research ways to break the curse magic.”

 

There’s no point in pointing out more here. Let me say what I need to say.

 

I nodded, took a deep breath, and continued speaking.

 

“There’s another reason I came here. You’ll remember the white phosphorus match cipher. The culprit said ‘Sagt es allen,’ ‘Tell it to everyone.'”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“Perhaps that might be the answer to dispelling the curse magic. If we tell ‘it’—whatever that refers to—to everyone, the curse magic might be lifted.”

 

“Hmm. That’s certainly possible to think. Those under the curse magic are less than half proportionally, but there are enough that it wouldn’t be strange to call them ‘everyone’ with some exaggeration.”

 

“Then we need to find ‘it’ now. Since it was delivered as a cipher, wouldn’t ‘it’ also have been delivered as a cipher? I have some idea what that might be. It’s a somewhat fanciful thought, though.”

 

“….”

 

“Please lend me a sound engineer and the sound room. From drawing attention to attempting to ‘tell it to everyone,’ just give me one minute without interference.”

 

The Minister fell silent. Then he smiled with the expression of someone looking at a disobedient young person. Soon he slowly continued speaking.

 

“‘Tell it to everyone.’ That’s the cipher you deciphered. It’s also the cipher found in the basement around Tis Hotel. That cipher wasn’t meant to inform us, but was a cipher the terrorist received. Someone gave instructions to the terrorist. To ‘tell everyone’ a specific biblical passage.”

 

“So you still believe that rat-filled basement was the real terrorist’s basement. How many times must I say it was a smokescreen.”

 

“It might be truth disguised as a smokescreen. Just how many times are you going to deceive and deceive again? Now we can’t even distinguish what’s real and what’s fake.”

 

You know why? Because there aren’t just two interested parties involved here.

 

While I didn’t open my mouth, he spoke seriously.

 

“Adrian Ascanien.”

 

“Yes, what is it.”

 

“Your judgment is excellent. It comes from your alertness and sharpness.”

 

“….”

 

“Your help has been very reasonable. The government will formally express gratitude to you for this. However, before that, our remaining method is to buy as much time as possible and maintain a peaceful state so the audience doesn’t panic. You understand how serious secondary accidents from panic can be without explanation.”

 

I just smiled and shook my head.

 

The Minister spoke with patience despite my defiant attitude.

 

“As it happens, I also had something to ask of you.”

 

“What is it.”

 

“Currently, player Helga Leibnitz has lost consciousness and been transported to Imperial Central Hospital. Because of this, countries are withdrawing from the tournament citing player condition as grounds.”

 

“No, that’s not the reason. Unlike those 99% of spectators, they’re high-level mages who realized the marks on their hands aren’t ordinary. If there was going to be an event to inscribe marks, the authorities would have contacted them in advance, but they didn’t, which was suspicious from the start. So they withdrew from the tournament right before them to investigate the truth.”

 

When I pointed out the facts, the Minister looked at me silently.

 

He slowly nodded.

 

“…You’re not wrong. But as you know, the government’s primary goal right now is stabilizing public sentiment. We need to add more programs to the schedule, so we can’t delete programs we’ve already planned….”

 

“No. Your primary goal is ‘the citizens must not become interested in the marks on their hands before we find a solution.'”

 

I was speaking up to that point when an unbelievable thought occurred to me and I opened my mouth.

 

Why did the story about ‘player Helga Leibnitz’ and ‘diverting citizens’ attention elsewhere’ come up together?

 

The Minister looked into my eyes and spoke.

 

“We’ve urgently sought understanding from six countries and recruited participating players again. All mages included in the teams refused citing competition condition, so they were newly composed of government-affiliated mages. Now only our Empire remains.”

 

“….”

 

“It’ll just be for a moment. If you accept the request, we won’t hold you accountable for what happened in front of the sound room.”

 

“Why me specifically?”

 

The Minister shrugged.

 

“Our government simply focused on the fact that this continent knows your name.”

 

So they want to use my Pleroma nature to draw some attention.

 

I burst into laughter. The Minister’s eyes were fixed on my pupils, and I could easily feel that ultimately he wasn’t looking at me but at my irises.

 

The Minister opened his mouth again.

 

“What will you do?”

 

“Well.”

 

I looked at him and tilted my head.

 

My core is stinging like crazy. Someone listening to this conversation is hitting my core. Whether they do or not, I smiled and answered.

 

“What do you think I’ll do?”

 

* * *

 

[The International Friendship Tournament will begin shortly.]

 

“….”

 

Elias stood with his arms crossed, staring straight ahead.

 

Right now he was in an empty space in the middle tier of the audience seating with the Eschete team members. Leo and Narke weren’t in this space yet.

 

‘When is Luca coming back.’

 

It hasn’t been that long, but maybe because I lack patience, I wish he’d return quickly.

 

[Due to withdrawals creating vacancies, at the request of each country’s Penthalon organizing committee, the stages have been reduced from the existing round of 16 to quarterfinals, and each country’s participating team mages have been replaced. First, following the opinion of the British Penthalon organizing committee, Britain’s Finley Goodwin has been replaced with Elizabeth Spencer.]

 

The team members spoke with puzzlement at the announcement heard just before the match.

 

“Spencer? Suddenly it’s a noble.”

 

“Isn’t she not an athlete?”

 

“Good grief… these bastards are really struggling. Earlier they called in a choir, now why are they changing players too?”

 

Elias shook his head and sneered.

 

[Next, following the opinion of the Penthalon hosting committee, Germany’s Helga Leibnitz has been replaced with Lucas Ascanien.]

 

“Oh~ I knew our country would do that too.”

 

Elias whistled with a smiling face.

 

However, it didn’t take long for him to feel something was strange.

 

Elias shouted and grabbed his head.

 

“…Huh?!”

 

“What? Lucas?”

 

“Suddenly?!?! No, why suddenly?!”

 

“What, what, what? Why is Lucas going out? But they said all the other countries’ players withdrew too, so what’s going on?”

 

Ulrike, who had been listening to the broadcast, spoke with a bewildered expression. Even Haike, who doesn’t show much emotional change outwardly, had her eyes wide open.

 

Elias didn’t answer his words and shouted.

 

“What are you thinking! You should include me too!”

 

“Include you too…?”

 

Feeling like some crazy words of a different nature had come out, Ulrike muttered.

 

“Ah, Elias, you didn’t know either?”

 

Julia tilted her head and asked. The other team members were also looking at Elias, curious about what was going on.

 

“I didn’t know. Did you know?!”

 

“I didn’t know either. Hmm, I guess they picked Lucas because he’s first place in the advanced division.”

 

“Most of the other teams seem to be adults though?! That’s too much!”

 

“Hmm….”

 

Julia smiled as if troubled. Elias just held his head.

 

“And it starts in just 2 minutes! When might the ter… I mean, when might the cross countdown start?!”

 

“Cross countdown…? Hmm, 2 minutes is a bit tight. But Lucas gets a bye this time, so we can see him from the next semifinals. There’s a little time to prepare.”

 

“A bye?! A bye?!”

 

“Yeah. Why?”

 

“He’s obviously going to get criticized…. Even a little….”

 

As it got increasingly hard on the ears, Ulrike carefully cast sound-blocking magic between herself and Elias.

 

Julia, who had been staring intently at Elias, smiled and said.

 

“It’s only temporary anyway. Even if he gets criticized, it’ll be the people who made the bracket that take the heat, not Lucas. You don’t need to worry about him. You’re sensitive about Lucas getting bad-mouthed.”

 

“Aren’t you?”

 

“I don’t like it either, of course. He’s a friend.”

 

At that calm answer, Elias looked into Julia’s deep golden eyes and grumbled.

 

“You don’t express your emotions enough. You’re totally like Leo.”

 

“Mm. Thanks.”

 

“That wasn’t a compliment. Right now, if someone who doesn’t know anything saw you, they’d think you’re not worried about Luca at all.”

 

“Haha, no~ I really am worried.”

 

When Elias grumbled, Julia laughed lightly.

 

He watched the mages organizing the screen’s audio circuits into a single unit and continued speaking.

 

“I’m just thinking this. This work won’t last long either. Right?”

 

Elias nodded silently.

 

He knew that the ‘work’ Julia was referring to meant Imperial politics. Even though Julia hadn’t heard about the terrorism, she had already sensed that the situation was taking an ominous turn. That Luca had somehow gotten caught up in the Imperial Government’s deception.

 

‘No. Luca isn’t the type to just get caught up in things.’

 

If Luca’s own volition was involved even a little, he could understand why he made such a choice.

 

The crosses in people’s hands were still maintaining their length.

 

According to what he heard from Leo and Luca, the crosses would start shrinking once the book cipher appeared.

 

There were still at least 30 minutes left, but he was still anxious.

 

Julia looked at the arena and said.

 

“The first game is between England and Italy. Mm, since I work with Narke, I should cheer for Italy.”

 

“That guy has no interest in anything except the Vatican.”

 

“Haha, still~”

 

Julia laughed lightly then asked quietly.

 

“But I’m curious why all the players forfeited. Elias, do you know?”

 

“…”

 

Elias didn’t answer.

 

Julia was too quick-witted. If he told her that the players had probably gone to protest to the Penthalon organizing committee about the crosses by now, he would figure out the implications of this absurd fact that government-affiliated mages would end up filling in for the program instead of the players.

 

The match result was just pathetic.

 

After 6 minutes, Italy defeated England.

 

And now, mages from the Ottoman Empire and Qing were fighting fiercely.

 

Such sparring matches happened every day and weren’t particularly interesting, but the crowd was going wild. Of course, Elias himself would have enjoyed watching if terrorism wasn’t involved.

 

But now wasn’t the time for that. He didn’t know when the book cipher would appear on that screen. Elias’s gaze kept turning toward the screen.

 

Meanwhile, it seemed three teams’ matches had ended. The people’s cheers grew louder, and the lights went out. Now only dozens of markers sparkled in the arena.

 

Leo suddenly spoke through the artifact.

 

[Elias. Nothing appeared there, right.]

 

“Yeah.”

 

[People outside are starting to notice the curse magic. It’s complete chaos. Isn’t the government doing anything on your end yet?]

 

“…It’s the same here.”

 

They’re just holding some damn tournament. Anyway, since people absorbed in entertainment vastly outnumber those who know the truth, the government has incentive to keep this up. Of course, aside from diverting attention, they’re probably shitting themselves trying to find countermeasures too.

 

Elias tapped the railing with his finger. He could faintly hear people talking from the lower floor. They were speaking French, so they were probably Frenchmen.

 

[Is that guy coming out now?]

 

[Probably. Everyone’s watching Pleroma in action.]

 

[That’s not Pleroma, is it?]

 

[You’re saying this even after seeing his eye color.]

 

[Maybe something just went wrong when he was born.]

 

[What could go wrong to make…]

 

Luca had become too famous. So famous that he was getting criticized unnecessarily.

 

‘Ah, I want to punch each of these bastards.’

 

Elias smacked his lips.

 

What he was worried about now was this. Terrorism aside—but Luca wasn’t the type to postpone terrorism, so that was fine—more than that.

 

Luca had said he would ‘draw aggro to go meet the Minister of Magic.’

 

It was a really good idea. I like this kind of approach. But there’s a huge problem with this kind of idea…

 

It’s completely unpredictable.

 

‘What if he does something like when he went to meet the Minister of Magic here too…’

 

He wouldn’t suddenly do something unexpected, would he?

 

For example, performing some civil disobedience act right there.

 

If he did that, attention would definitely be focused, that’s for sure.

 

‘Fuck… No.’

 

No. I need to buy a time-turning clock and turn it back.

 

[Next, we’ll have the match between the Group 3 winner and the semifinalist who advanced by default.]

 

One side of the stage entrance opened, and Luca walked out from there with a nonchalant expression.

 

I wanted to jump down immediately and ask what the hell he was doing—because I wanted to be included too—but now I could only watch.

 

Cheers poured out when his turn came.

 

Even a kindergartner listening to this would know these weren’t cheers in a good sense. Whistles mixed with laughter poured down from all directions. The audience’s faces showed subtle expectation and leisure.

 

They probably weren’t trying to mock him with malice. But you could read the resistance against Pleroma melted deep in their hearts and curiosity about the ‘non-aggressive’ Pleroma affiliated with the Imperial Court.

 

To sum up the sentiment: Let’s see how well he does.

 

[France?]

 

Luca’s voice came through clearly.

 

He checked the flag displayed at the opponent team entrance and said that, then shook his head. It seemed like he just changed clothes and came without even looking at the bracket.

 

‘Haha, what exactly are you planning~’

 

But I’ll take it as meaning he’s focused on the terrorism.

 

Luca seemed to have nothing but thoughts of terrorism in his head right now. That was fortunate in another sense, at least.

 

While Elias leaned against the railing and looked down expressionlessly, the countdown began.

 

[3, 2, 1…]

 

Beep—

 

[Begin.]

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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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