How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 250

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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 (250)

 

“….”

 

Event venue center, Italian restaurant.

 

Despite it being late past midnight, people were gathered everywhere eating and chatting.

 

No, that’s how it was until 5 minutes ago.

 

Until 5 minutes ago, all the numerous people here were talking about how Pleroma Ascanien happened to come out here, how skilled that Pleroma must be for the Imperial Court to take him, and whether he had ever actually done blood-sucking. This much wasn’t anything special. Countless lowly topics that could never be uttered face-to-face in one-on-one conversation were exchanged.

 

But now it was all over.

 

In the frozen atmosphere as if nothing had happened, no one opened their mouth.

 

Only Ascanien’s voice could be heard from the screen and newspapers.

 

[Love your enemies, treat well those who hate you….]

 

My eyes met with Ascanien’s through the camera lens.

 

[Bless those who curse you.]

 

He lightly placed two fingers to his mouth. While kissing his hand, his gaze was directed toward the audience seating, and because he didn’t blink even once, that sight looked extremely unsettling. It was a look that was somewhat distant from ‘loving your enemies.’

 

Soon he lowered his head and looked at the player on the floor. His hand pressed firmly against the center of the player’s forehead.

 

[Pray for those who insult you.]

 

[…!]

 

Beeeep―!

 

[The match is over.]

 

[The finalist is Lucas Ascanien of the German Empire.]

 

“….”

 

The restaurant was quiet.

 

I don’t know why, but I felt somewhat like we’d been had.

 

However, more shocking than that was the bright red world they had seen. Pink magic doesn’t exist in this world. It’s an impossible color except through artificially dyeing magic.

 

Originally, humans naturally have magic colors that match their iris colors. Therefore, that Pleroma Ascanien’s magic, with its unusual color, had the ability to captivate attention with just a single casting.

 

Moreover, that hue was as varied as if it contained every spectrum that could emerge from red, and it truly moved like fire, making one want to hold it in their hands at least once. I already knew that much. After all, the Ascanien Family’s magic was considered the most ideal magic that everyone dreamed of.

 

But today it didn’t stop there. Ascanien dyed that vast space entirely red, directly collapsed the magic pouring toward him, and defeated a mage with a much more brilliant career than his own.

 

[…Waaaah!]

 

[What was that? What did we just see?]

 

[Was that real fire…?]

 

[Huh….]

 

The cheers that belatedly began from the streets outside broke the internal silence.

 

The magic of his they saw today stimulated anxiety rather than being beautiful as per the Ascanien Family’s characteristic. Though they themselves didn’t believe they were feeling fear. Someone deliberately ignored that fact and cleared their throat before speaking.

 

“Amazing.”

 

From that, someone exhaled the breath they’d been holding and made a clattering sound by hitting their fork against their plate.

 

One person drunk on beer asked the people around them.

 

“…I just saw this, is it over now?”

 

“You mean this player appearing? After the semifinal next match, he’ll appear again in the finals.”

 

“Oh, that’s good.”

 

Someone glanced at them sideways.

 

“….”

 

There were two mages listening to people’s conversations in this restaurant.

 

They were wearing large robes turned inside out to hide their Imperial Court uniforms.

 

One mage who had been wiping away continuously flowing nosebleed looked at the face of the person sitting across from him and smiled.

 

“You kept acting like you were going to send someone the whole time~?”

 

“….”

 

At Narke’s words, Leo wiped the smile from his face and cleared his throat.

 

That was about when people had been conversing about whether Lucas might have tried drinking his hyung’s or father’s blood, or whether the Imperial Court paid salaries in blood—he really wanted to go ask if that was actually true.

 

Now that unpleasant feeling had completely improved.

 

No one who saw his performance could now carelessly run their mouth about him. It was an achievement made through Leo’s own teaching. No, this was Lucas’s accomplishment for following the lessons well, thanks to his talent, and thanks to his persistence and intelligence. However, it was natural to be happy about a friend’s success that he had helped with.

 

Narke stabbed an olive with his fork while looking around.

 

“Good. It’s fortunate this place has calmed down a bit too… and it’s fortunate that Lucas seems to be genuinely enjoying himself.”

 

“Rather than being about 1/3 crazy?”

 

“Exactly~ Right down to that 1/3 part.”

 

Narke said while snapping his fingers.

 

Leo looked around. He wanted to grab anyone and debate for 100 or 200 minutes about the magic Lucas had shown, but he couldn’t do that now. Blue crosses were shining on people’s palms. They hadn’t diminished even a little yet.

 

“So, Narke, what do you think about the book cipher? This shouldn’t take this long. I think the plan might have changed.”

 

“No, they’re also debating whether to send it or not right now. They’re probably thinking it might be better not to send it at all.”

 

Narke said while holding his forehead.

 

Not even a few seconds later, blood dripped from his nose. Leo narrowed his eyes and said.

 

“I didn’t ask you to use your ability to find out.”

 

“Haha~”

 

“…Never mind, sorry. I wasn’t asking you anything. Stop talking now.”

 

Narke nodded and closed his eyes. When he opened them a while later, his eyes were full of bloodshot veins. At a glance, even the whites looked red.

 

“Stop using your ability.”

 

“Ah~ I know. You don’t need to tell me again. Leo is kind to me too.”

 

“Kind or whatever, who wouldn’t say this after seeing your eyes right now.”

 

Instead of answering that, Narke said something else.

 

“At first you were really blunt. Remember? We went out to the suburban park because of final exams the month I came as an exchange student. Back then I had suddenly become close with Lucas, so you looked at me with really… suspicious eyes. It was really scary~”

 

“You would have been suspicious too if you were me.”

 

“That’s true. It’s just, seeing you say this to me reminds me of that time.”

 

“….”

 

Even so, they couldn’t be said to be completely close yet. If Lucas didn’t get along with Narke, Leo wouldn’t bother spending time with Narke. Even when the four of them were together, the two didn’t often talk to each other.

 

For Leo, who had a somewhat sensitive temperament, Narke with his many questionable points wasn’t particularly comfortable either.

 

However, he was a friend anyway.

 

He was a classmate, and at least regarding team activities, regarding citizen safety, he was a reliable and dependable colleague. Regarding Lucas he was still untrustworthy, but that was just Leo’s personal suspicion, and looking back, Narke had always only helped.

 

Even now he was bleeding from continuously using his foresight and insight abilities beyond their limits for the citizens.

 

Therefore, he couldn’t just stand by and watch him suffer. For now.

 

“Won’t you use healing magic?”

 

Narke said while pointing to his own face.

 

Of course, even though he couldn’t stand by and watch, he couldn’t listen to words like this. Leo opened his mouth in disbelief and stared at him.

 

“….”

 

“Haha~ How embarrassing.”

 

“I’d like to help but sorry, I can’t. It only works on Lucas.”

 

“Mm, too bad.”

 

Leo carefully opened his clutch so others couldn’t see, took out an elixir, and pulled out a pill package from inside his jacket.

 

He split the pill capsule in half, shook the powder into the elixir, and held it out to Narke.

 

“Drink this.”

 

“Aren’t capsules supposed to be taken as capsules?”

 

“Well, you can take them differently depending on the situation. Right now you need the medicine to work quickly, so let’s break it open just this once.”

 

“Oh, thanks~”

 

Narke smiled and downed the elixir.

 

When Leo waved his hand meaning they should start cleaning up and leave, Narke shook his head.

 

“Let’s stay a little longer. It’ll be safe to leave a bit later.”

 

“….”

 

“We came to observe the situation anyway. We also wanted to see if the book cipher would appear somewhere.”

 

Right.

 

Since we could observe both outside and inside reactions from here anyway, there was nothing bad about watching a little longer.

 

The government wasn’t calling us anyway, and since Lucas had already jumped into the match without any solution, there was nothing we could do.

 

When they sat back down, Narke cast a sound-blocking spell and opened his mouth.

 

“Now Italy and Qing will face each other, and Italy will win.”

 

Leo lost his words again and looked at him.

 

“…Patriotism…?”

 

“It’s not that. Tell Lucas, Leo.”

 

Narke moved closer and lowered his voice.

 

“Whatever he’s thinking, it would be better to end it quickly. He should just forfeit.”

 

What was the reason for suddenly saying such things?

 

Leo asked quietly.

 

“Is that person stronger than you?”

 

“Hey, comparing him to me~ I’m not even as good as you or Elias.”

 

Narke laughed and waved his hand dismissively. Leo said coolly without changing his expression.

 

“That’s not true.”

 

“…”

 

Narke tilted his head.

 

“What’s not true?”

 

“Why would you be worse than me or Elias? That’s not true.”

 

“Did you forget? I was always behind you two in every test…”

 

“I wonder. I don’t know what the truth really is.”

 

At Leo’s words, Narke just smiled and remained silent. Narke quickly changed the subject.

 

“That Italian player is going to use divine power now.”

 

“He didn’t use it in the quarterfinals.”

 

“He’ll use it now.”

 

Someone who hadn’t used divine power until now would deliberately use it in the next stage?

 

I don’t know about Lucas or Narke who use divine power like water, but normally divine power is harder to handle than magic power and isn’t used often.

 

No matter how much that Italian player could use divine power, it was actually natural that he hadn’t used it in the previous matches. He would have approached the matches centered on magic power, which came most easily to him.

 

Of course, though it was hard to accept, if Narke said it to that extent, that part could be believed.

 

Leo shook his head and said.

 

“Lucas uses divine power too, so it’s fine. Though he can’t use it here.”

 

“Of course he has resistance to divine power. Looking at how my mental manipulation magic didn’t work on him immediately. Even now… though it wasn’t drunk for the tournament, Lucas had already taken an elixir in that field beforehand, so divine power attacks won’t work on him even more.”

 

That would be the case.

 

After Lucas experienced the future and returned, he asked me to bring him drugs that could build resistance to mental manipulation magic, and after that he took medicine every hour.

 

It definitely wouldn’t have been for the tournament. He seemed to have no idea it would go that far.

 

Leo thought that far and asked Narke.

 

“You know everything well. Then what’s the problem?”

 

“…”

 

“Lucas isn’t someone who would forfeit, Narke. You still don’t know Lucas.”

 

Acting like you know everything.

 

Leo swallowed those words.

 

Narke didn’t think Leo’s words were wrong, so instead of arguing back, he looked out the window and said.

 

“I can at least let him make a choice. …I don’t want Lucas to get involved with that player.”

 

“…”

 

Leo tapped his artifact to contact Lucas. After briefly conveying Narke’s request and ending the call, people around them shouted and jumped up from their seats.

 

“Oh!”

 

“It’s starting!”

 

The magic screen on one side of the restaurant, which had been cut off after the match ended, was crackling.

 

Now the next group’s semifinal match would begin. It was also the last match of the semifinals.

 

The excitement now was much stronger than when the quarterfinal matches took place.

 

Leo looked out the window. People who had been walking on the street were gathering and sitting in front of places with magic screens as if some performance was starting, waiting for the match, and on other streets people were fixing their gazes on the front page of the Imperial Newspaper.

 

A perfect situation for terrorists to exploit. Of course, since the terrorists’ plan had already succeeded, they probably wouldn’t waste effort on the wrong places again.

 

[3, 2, 1.]

 

[Beginning now.]

 

Leo listened to the starting signal that sounded like background music while looking down at his untouched spaghetti plate. Narke had also only come to grasp the situation, not to eat, so it didn’t matter.

 

Crash—!

 

Impact sounds came from the screen and throughout the store.

 

It was time for the opening ceremony, but impact sounds? Leo raised his head.

 

“…!”

 

The Blue Empire’s mage was taking a defensive stance with an incredulous face.

 

The mage from Italy had suddenly attacked his opponent. A whistle sound indicating a foul was heard.

 

The Italian mage remained expressionless, then as soon as the match resumption signal was heard, he chanted a spell.

 

[—If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish.]

 

[ —.]

 

His opponent also chanted a spell with a stern face.

 

At least the Italian could be understood. I had heard that Blue Empire’s Imperial Palace mages mainly recited the Tao Te Ching, but since I didn’t know the Blue Empire’s language, unfortunately I couldn’t understand the meaning of both sides’ spells.

 

Instead, the Blue Empire mage’s golden magic power took on a dragon-like massive size and writhed, seeming to roar with the sound of tearing through air as it rushed toward the Italian mage.

 

Whoooosh—

 

A fierce wind arose, shaking the camera. The Italian mage bought time with a simple defensive spell, then switched his wand to a staff and chanted the same spell as before.

 

[—If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish.]

 

An amplification magic formula.

 

It was familiar magic. However, nothing happened. People around seemed puzzled by this as questions could be heard.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Why is there no reaction?”

 

Rumble— Screech—

 

Bang! Crash—

 

That Italian mage was barely managing to block the Blue Empire mage’s attacks with ordinary magic of the same output as before.

 

[ .]

 

The attacks launched by the Blue Empire mage were both fierce and gentle. The Italian mage expressionlessly continued to retreat, avoiding his opponent’s magic power that penetrated and seeped through his barrier. Then, pointing his wand at his opponent, he calmly opened his mouth.

 

[—Whoever listens to you listens to me.]

 

The Blue Empire mage raised one eyebrow.

 

The Italian mage continued to wipe his face with his hand. His opponent’s magic power that naturally permeated the air was clearly attacking his skin. He was probably feeling damage even to his lungs as he breathed.

 

[—Whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.]

 

At that moment, the Blue Empire mage looked at his wand with a surprised face. No matter how much he thrust his arm forward, he couldn’t emit any magic power.

 

Narke, who was watching this, bit his lips.

 

‘That…’

 

It was the spell Narke had used during the third test to stop Auguste’s unique ability.

 

Magic power spells and divine power spells share many formulas, but sometimes there are magic formulas that can only be used with divine power. This was one of them. In fact, it was magic I didn’t even know about until Narke used it.

 

Crash—!

 

[Cough…!]

 

When had his defense failed? The Blue Empire mage, crushed by the Italian mage’s magic power, collapsed to the floor. His shocked eyes were clearly reflected on the screen.

 

The Italian mage approached him and without a moment’s hesitation stepped on the Blue Empire mage’s chest area.

 

Thud!

 

[Ahhh!]

 

“…!”

 

“What’s wrong with this person?!”

 

“I-is this okay?”

 

It wasn’t just Leo who was shocked, as exclamations could be heard throughout the restaurant.

 

[10.]

 

The countdown had already started when not even 3 minutes had passed since the beginning. When that guy had faced England in the quarterfinals, it had taken a full 6 minutes to end the match.

 

Was the opponent mage he faced this time ridiculously lacking in skill?

 

No.

 

Both the Ottoman and Blue Empire representatives from the quarterfinals, being good enough to be employed by the Imperial Palace, would have had to pass even stricter standards than our country. Because of their large populations, they also have many mages, making competition even fiercer. Yet he was completely unable to use magic from one of his opponent’s spells?

 

Let’s set that point aside for now.

 

Then why didn’t that Italian mage use such high-level magic when he could, and why didn’t he do so in the first place? Why didn’t he use divine power so easily when he clearly knew how?

 

Perhaps he thought that winning too easily would violate the principles of the match as entertainment. It’s a bit deceptive, but entirely possible. But then why did someone capable of such consideration end this match in a mere 3 minutes with such a rushed finish?

 

‘…Don’t tell me…’

 

The Italian mage put force into his heel and brought the ornamental tip of his staff to the Blue Empire mage’s forehead.

 

The Blue Empire mage seemed more shocked by why his magic power wasn’t working than by being stepped on by another person.

 

[8.]

 

[―The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven…]

 

[4.]

 

[―Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.]

 

The Italian mage looked up with eyes that seemed to be waiting for something else entirely.

 

Whether the Blue mage tried to pull his foot away, whether his ribs were breaking, whether he screamed in agony—none of it mattered to him. Everyone beyond the screen could feel that his attention was elsewhere, not here.

 

His dry, emotionless voice could be heard.

 

[―Nothing shall hurt you.]

 

[1.]

 

Beeeep―

 

“Narke.”

 

Leo turned his gaze from the screen to look at his friend.

 

Narke looked at Leo. His expression wasn’t particularly good. It must have been because of the Italian mage who had conducted the match without any sportsmanship. Leo felt the same way.

 

Soon that man would face Lucas. Lucas was already having his focus divided between the terrorism and the tournament.

 

Even if it were just simple entertainment, they couldn’t just stand by and watch, but in the current situation, he was even less of an opponent they could simply overlook.

 

“How much do you know about that person?”

 

[The match is concluded.]

 

[The finalist advancing is Gabriele Farnese of the Italian Federation.]

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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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