How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 272

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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 (272)

 

Silence.

 

An enormous silence flowed.

 

‘Wow~ This is suffocating.’

 

Elias grinned and clapped his hands enthusiastically. He didn’t even look back, but he could feel the confusion from behind. Ah, of course. The first greeting when appearing before hundreds of thousands of people for the first time is ‘Good evening’? Our country’s etiquette culture belongs to the most rigid and stiff on this continent. This isn’t America, and is that an attitude that could come from someone with absolutely no political experience? Not only his appearance, but he looked stiffer than Adrian Ascanien, so everyone would have thought that if Luca wasn’t trembling with fear, he would treat his subjects like Georg Ascanien.

 

That small detail of knowing what he lacked and what to touch to make people feel a reversal was truly befitting of the drama club. Well, it might not matter much, but Elias himself thought this was thanks to Luca’s keen observational skills and acting ability regarding humans.

 

At perfect timing, applause began to be heard from the politicians sitting in the VIP seats as well.

 

Luca smiled slightly and waited until the applause died down. Soon his words continued.

 

“It is an honor to formally greet the subjects of Anhalt like this. The memory of terrorism is as vivid as if it were just moments ago, yet to welcome such a peaceful evening is truly a meaningful moment. First, I know that many subjects must have been greatly shocked by the serious danger that befell the Empire’s security network and safety due to the Penthalon opening ceremony terrorist attack perpetrated by Pleroma. Disasters are bound to remain as trauma shared between the nation and its subjects for a long time. Therefore, I have arranged this occasion today for the right to know of the subjects of Anhalt and the Empire. I hope that my statement can somewhat lighten the burden of terrorism.”

 

‘Oh, good.’

 

This isn’t eloquence from just a day or two of practice.

 

I’ve felt this since Nicolaus’s time, but I’m curious when he’s stood before people to be able to speak so fluently.

 

As Elias leaned forward and kept grinning, Leo, sitting next to him, tapped his shoe.

 

“Before the conference, as one of the victims of terrorism, I extend my deepest condolences to the 52 other victims like myself. I wish for your swift recovery.”

 

Of the 53 moderate to severe casualties, more than half—36 people—were discharged before Luca regained consciousness. The remaining 16 people excluding Luca were all seriously injured patients who suffered damage because they couldn’t fully dispel the double-space magic in their hearts, but they too had most of the curse magic that spread through their bodies during the two days Luca was unconscious removed and were about to be discharged.

 

Luca, who briefly regained consciousness but collapsed again and was on a respirator for two days, was in the most critical condition among them. Fortunately, thanks to Bavaria and Baden defending well against negative public opinion, everyone knew well that Luca had the highest probability of death among them, and that this was something that someone who would commit terrorism merely for honor couldn’t handle.

 

When Luca finished speaking, the Prime Minister gestured to the journalists and opened his mouth.

 

“We will now take questions.”

 

When Luca gave the floor to the first journalist he gestured to, the journalist looked back and forth between the notes he brought and his face before asking.

 

“This is Lea Frost from the political department of Daily Anhalt. At that time, Your Excellency shouted ‘The Osnabrück Diocese is looking for you’ and disappeared. The Catholic Osnabrück Diocese of our world denied any connection to terrorism, and according to official announcements, it was very likely the Pleroma Diocese. What was the reason the Pleroma Osnabrück Diocese was looking for Your Excellency?”

 

Elias stroked his chin and looked at the new-human journalist sitting in the press section.

 

The most important question came from the start. And it’s a difficult question for Luca. Unless Luca immediately reveals that he is Nicolaus, he must hide his connection to Pleroma Osnabrück until then. No, the connection to Osnabrück must be handled carefully even if he reveals he’s Nicolaus. Because the Catacombs are involved. Just before pushing the Imperial government to the edge of a cliff and making them fall, only then can the Imperial government move for the Catacombs. Revealing anything about the Catacombs before then would be a bad move.

 

The journalists sitting here aren’t particularly hostile to Luca. Since they’re carefully selected by Ascanien and the Anhalt government, they can’t make aggressive statements.

 

‘They won’t let you into the press room next time if you make them too angry.’

 

So if they only ask overly provocative questions while ignoring reporting principles, or ask malicious questions filled with personal emotions. This question is difficult for Luca, but it’s a question all citizens want to know and the intent is legitimate.

 

Now Luca’s answer is the key.

 

Luca nodded with a calm face, listening to the journalist’s question, and answered as soon as his words ended.

 

“I know there’s sufficient reason to be certain that the ‘you’ in that spell refers to me since I was the one who shouted the spell. But it’s not the truth. There are numerous clues and codes obtained by the committee organized to counter Penthalon terrorism. According to information obtained by the committee from 2:30 to 3:00 AM that day, the spell was delivered to over 100 people, and I was one of many targets who received the code presumed to be a spell.”

 

Luca spoke at an appropriate pace, looking at the journalist and the public in turn.

 

“I will state here that I judged the content of that spell to be Pleroma’s deception intended to delay accurate investigation. The Pleroma diocese I was moved to was not the Osnabrück Diocese.”

 

At those words, the Anhalt subjects’ section behind stirred. The confusion that started as small sounds now became a buzzing noise of hundreds of thousands combined.

 

His skill at redirecting public attention all at once is good. Instead of giving a false answer to the journalist’s question, Luca is saying that the point the journalist’s question should have targeted was wrong in the first place.

 

“You said it wasn’t Osnabrück, could you explain in more detail?”

 

The journalist asked with a confused face. This hadn’t been announced before. Our side didn’t announce in advance information that Luca could use as a weapon. When we reported the situation, we reported ‘successful entry into Pleroma’ rather than ‘successful entry into Pleroma Freiburg Diocese.’ The concept of Pleroma’s dioceses wasn’t widely known to the public anyway, and the public had been thinking of it vaguely as just Pleroma without distinction.

 

The Imperial government did receive real-time sharing that we entered somewhere other than Osnabrück, but they didn’t come forward to announce it in order to frame Luca as the culprit.

 

If he moved to somewhere other than Osnabrück, the ‘Luca as culprit scenario’ becomes overly complicated. If Luca staged a self-directed play, why would he bother to drag in unrelated Osnabrück? If Luca was really Pleroma and the Pleroma side also wanted to safely plant a spy in the Imperial government by making Luca a hero, wouldn’t it be more natural and rational to dramatically shout ‘Osnabrück’ and destroy ‘Osnabrück’? He shouted Osnabrück but was suddenly captured and taken to Freiburg, then returned unconscious without even destroying Freiburg—why is that? Did he twist it once more to avoid being caught as a terrorist?

 

If they announced that Luca moved to another diocese, the Imperial government would have much more to prove. Because they’d need solid evidence of the twist. This is why the Imperial government kept silent about the fact of movement to Freiburg.

 

‘Go ahead and try~’

 

Since we’ve exposed it like this.

 

Actually, the Empire told us not to reveal that we moved to Freiburg. But we didn’t exactly violate that threat. Why?

 

Luca answered the journalist’s question with a serious face.

 

“Yes. The place I was moved to and held captive was not located in Osnabrück, and there wasn’t a single Pleroma member belonging to the Osnabrück Diocese there either. This is a fact that Eschete, the Bavaria-Baden forces, and the Papal States can testify to. Cardinal Valdobino Catanei representing the Papal States is present here. Your Eminence, may I ask for your testimony here and now?”

 

“Yes. The place our support forces moved to rescue His Excellency Lucas Ascanien had absolutely no connection to Osnabrück and wasn’t even an adjacent diocese.”

 

The elderly cardinal stood up and spoke with amplification magic.

 

Securing the subjects’ trust in the answers—this would be one of the reasons Luca brought politicians and mages from across the nation.

 

A journalist from Prussia raised his hand, got the chance to speak, and asked.

 

“This is Melanie Schoenwohl from the political department of Imperial News. Then Your Excellency, where exactly did you move to?”

 

“I would like to tell you in detail, but since we cooperated with intelligence departments of various countries, it’s currently classified as confidential by the Empire and other authorities, and disclosure is prohibited. I inform you that information reported by our media can also be obtained by Pleroma. I ask for the cooperation of the subjects to prevent secondary damage from Pleroma. I sincerely hope for the day when we can uproot Pleroma from the Empire and reveal all of this.”

 

Why I said we didn’t violate the Empire’s threat.

 

We just need to not reveal that we moved to Freiburg, right?

 

“Hahaha.”

 

Elias laughed quietly, then shut his mouth after receiving Leo’s glare. Anyway, when you try to use loopholes, you get blocked by loopholes! Serves them right. Uncle must be watching this too.

 

It’s difficult for the Imperial government to tell Luca ‘Say that you were captured and taken to Osnabrück’—or more diplomatically, ‘Don’t reveal that you moved to another diocese even if questions come in.’ There’s insufficient justification for why they should do that, and it would be like declaring to Luca that they’ll use him as a culprit.

 

Therefore, the Imperial government used the security reason that ‘mentioning Freiburg specifically could make them a concentrated target’ as a shield to say ‘Don’t tell anyone that you moved to Freiburg.’ Even this was absurd advice for us since their basis was thin.

 

So I hope they stop trying to sacrifice Luca now.

 

‘Because the government is like that, we can’t drink aged beer.’

 

We need to drink salted beer as soon as possible before leaving here at dawn, but Luca kept rejecting our requests to have fun while preparing this.

 

As the previous journalist gave thanks and sat down, the Prime Minister gave another journalist the chance to speak.

 

“This is Alexander Schultz from the political department of Prussian Imperial News. I understand you returned here with help from the 101st Royal Mage Association. Was this arranged in advance?”

 

“Our Imperial government and royal family made every effort to prevent terrorism and various dangers that would befall Penthalon, and actually prevented terrorism several times. In that process, my colleagues and Eschete members who are royal mages had already established safety rules and countermeasures among ourselves in preparation for possibly getting caught up in terrorism. I can say that what we had always prepared for paid off. I feel deep gratitude for the help from the Imperial 2nd Academy and my 101st colleagues, and the royal families and governments of various countries including Prussia.”

 

Good. From the first word to the last, this much saved Prussia’s face too. Although I don’t want to praise the royal family for even a second, such processes are essential in politics, so Luca’s choice is a wise one.

 

Thus, the 30 minutes originally scheduled for the conference time only ended after becoming two hours.

 

Thanks to Luca doing well without time to worry, I almost dozed off later, but I didn’t sleep because that annoying cousin was looking at me strangely from the side.

 

Many journalists were given chances to speak, and it was gradually time for the conference to wrap up.

 

“I sincerely consider it an honor to meet the subjects of Anhalt for the first time in this place and speak directly with you. This terrorism was not something I could resolve alone. I express deep gratitude to the countless people who made it possible for me to be here today. As I mentioned at the beginning of this year, I will do my best to fulfill the duties I couldn’t fulfill during the 10 years of treatment.”

 

Luca continued with a calm face.

 

“With this, I conclude today’s conference. I hope today’s conference was helpful to the subjects. It’s gotten very late. Please return home safely.”

 

It’s 10 o’clock. Elias checked the time and looked around. Now the royal mages supported by Prussia will be in charge of security until this crowd disperses. It goes without saying that this is a beneficial choice for them whether they use Luca as a scapegoat or not.

 

Luca came down and shook hands with those mages one by one, and greeted the Anhalt subjects who approached hesitantly.

 

Thus, when we returned to the mansion, it was 11 o’clock.

 

* * *

 

I stared at the status window in the carriage on the way back.

 

[Anhalt]

 

[2/28 Favorability +153,905/?]

 

‘Are you insane.’

 

Earlier, thanks to this, even a Chapter 7 special reward appeared.

 

[ Chapter 7 Special Reward ]

 

[ Points +20 ]

 

It’s a bit strange that it appeared starting from 7, skipping Chapter 6’s special reward. Anyway, I closed the points window and looked at the favorability window again while thinking.

 

I understand about 50,000 people gathered here. Does that mean they gave about 3 points per person? In that Anhalt?

 

Bringing numerous Imperial politicians trusted by Anhalt citizens and deploying them for my image promotion was a successful strategy. It would have been even more successful since quite a few gathered like that. It became like advertising that I’m a ‘normal’ politician who can get along well with them. I wonder what I couldn’t get along with, but the stereotypes embedded in Anhalt people are much more severe than other regions.

 

Of course, that alone doesn’t solve everything. Seeing this score, it seems my subsequent answers also didn’t come across as unsatisfactory to them.

 

They might have seen Adrian Ascanien reflected in me. Whatever it was, it’s beneficial to me. Now that I’ve taken the first step in Anhalt, it’s time to find ways to gradually increase this favorability and establish a position in Imperial politics without being trampled.

 

“Where are you going. We need to have an Anhalt political debut commemoration party.”

 

When I arrived at the mansion and tried to enter my room, Elias grabbed my neck and pushed me into his room.

 

‘It must be because of the aged beer.’

 

A commemoration party, what a nice excuse. Yeah, Elias held back for a long time for him.

 

He dragged all the other team members too. Now I see there were seven glasses placed on the table in his room.

 

Leo asked as if absurd.

 

“What? The room suddenly got cramped with seven people in here.”

 

“To drink? Wouldn’t it be better to go to the brewery building? There was a restaurant attached.”

 

I heard Narke was curious about aged beer too, though not as much as Elias. Even Narke tried to appease him, but Elias firmly shook his head.

 

“No. Listen carefully. If we go to the brewery side to drink, we’ll have no choice but to maintain dignity, guys.”

 

“Eli, since when have you…”

 

“Conscientiously, exclude yourself.”

 

Despite mine and Leo’s words, Elias didn’t yield. He took passionate motions while persuading us.

 

“So we need to be in a space where others can’t see. Otherwise, this Prince will sip while maintaining dignity.”

 

“Hmm… Don’t you think you drink like a madman?”

 

“Mm. I think that’s correct.”

 

When Leo finished his indifferent answer, an unexpected person spoke up. Cheringen, who had been leaning against the wall watching Leo and Elias’s argument, spoke.

 

“We can’t drink properly at restaurants. The waiters will be watching us the entire time we’re seated. Since we have to leave the country soon anyway, let’s rest properly when we rest.”

 

Cheringen answered with a smile. Even Cheringen, whom I trusted, was saying we needed to drink properly, so Leo closed his eyes and pressed his neck. Ulrike seemed to have been waiting for the go-ahead like Elias even without saying anything, and Narke also nodded, showing no objection to Cheringen’s words. Emboldened, Elias pointed out the window and said.

 

“So we’re going to set up a barrier back there and drink. There’s a garden in front of the river. Luca, have you seen it?!”

 

“No. But you’re going to deploy a barrier just to drink?”

 

“Yeah. While we’re at it, let’s go out so you can familiarize yourself with the layout of the house too, Luca. This place will soon be your home…!”

 

Leo covered his mouth.

 

“You… when did you drink alone?”

 

“Wha ar yu saing?”

 

“You’re already drunk, I see. Got it?”

 

“Got it.”

 

Ulrike nodded vigorously while glancing at me. And… well, drinking outside might not be bad either?

 

When we actually drink, Elias doesn’t particularly encourage excessive drinking, but if I try to match his pace, there’s a high chance I’ll end up drinking too much. Since we can’t drag a whole barrel out, we’ll have no choice but to drink moderately.

 

“Fine. But where are the bottles we’re taking out?”

 

At my question, Elias snapped his fingers as if I’d asked the right thing and slammed down a glass that had been set on the table. Beer that hadn’t been there moments before filled the glass to the brim.

 

“Look at this. Haike taught me an incredible magic.”

 

“…”

 

Whether everyone had agreed with the same thought as me, even Narke and Cheringen’s smiles froze in place. There was no need to mention Leo.

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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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