How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 273

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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 (273)

 

We all went down together to the garden by the river.

 

The dark-looking water of the Mulde River flowed fiercely in the wind. I could hear the sound of reeds in front of it bending in the wind. It was quite a gloomy scene for coming out to drink and have fun.

 

‘We’re drinking here? This isn’t right.’

 

“Hmm, this is trouble.”

 

Cheringen, who was walking beside me keeping pace, muttered quietly.

 

I have a rough idea of what he’s calling trouble. This scenery is one thing, but the other side is probably the problem. I also answered him quietly.

 

“You didn’t expect it to go this far either.”

 

“Yeah. Haha. Who would have thought there was magic in the world that connects a brewery to beer glasses… I wonder who invented something like this?”

 

His tone is so hollow.

 

There should be a word somewhere that encompasses this sense of futility, absurdity, and ridiculousness, but unfortunately I couldn’t find it even in German.

 

“Probably improved combat supply transport magic for drinking purposes, right? Hmm… I felt that Haike liked alcohol since the second exam, but I didn’t know she’d become Elias’ accomplice like this.”

 

Cheringen spoke mechanically while walking straight ahead. He’s analyzing it as if some great disaster has occurred.

 

“Hey guys~! Come here!”

 

Elias, who had gone ahead first, waved his empty glass and shouted. Cheringen, who was looking at him with a meaningless smile, asked me.

 

“Lucas, are you good at drinking?”

 

“Just average.”

 

“I see. Me too.”

 

Cheringen smiled gently and extended his hand to me.

 

“Let’s endure this together.”

 

“You’re full of enthusiasm even at times like this.”

 

I said while lightly hitting his hand. At first I wondered why he wanted to high-five so often, but now that he does it every time, Cheringen seems like a high-five and high-fives seem like Cheringen. If he suddenly stopped now, it would feel a bit empty. Cheringen grabbed my hand before I could pull it away and said.

 

“You’ve been wearing gloves all the time lately. Isn’t it uncomfortable?”

 

“I don’t know. It’s fine.”

 

“I see. That’s a shame.”

 

Cheringen smiled, let go of my hand, and changed the subject.

 

“Come to think of it, I have to be in Bavaria from tomorrow evening, so I should be in better condition.”

 

“That’s right.”

 

Cheringen probably said that because of meeting the King, but I have one more reason. Tomorrow in Bavaria there’s an Ash Wednesday ceremony. It would be quite embarrassing to be dying of a hangover during the ceremony.

 

Anyway, after stopping by Bavaria, I have to return to daily life completely. Going back to subduing victims and transporting them to hospitals all day. Since I hoped that would be possible, I’m looking forward to returning to the capital.

 

“Why aren’t you three coming!”

 

Elias stood in front of the garden table waiting for us.

 

The people coming last were just Cheringen and me, so I wondered who else there was and looked back to see Haike. She was drinking the liquor that Elias had poured earlier. She was getting slower because she would take a step, drink, then walk and drink again.

 

“Haike, come quickly.”

 

“It’s delicious.”

 

“I see.”

 

“I feel like I could eat this for life.”

 

“I see…”

 

We dragged Haike along and followed Elias at the same pace. Strangely, Elias didn’t stop at that table but kept walking. Even when we reached the small coniferous forest, he didn’t stop.

 

“Huh?”

 

Ulrike, who was walking one step ahead, said in a confused voice.

 

‘What.’

 

I feel the same as Ulrike. What’s in front of us now is a moderately sized boat floating on the river. The Prussian flag and the small Anhalt flag attached in front as a permit catch the eye. Leo asked with a darkened face.

 

“Why is this here? I definitely saw it at Elias’ house a few months ago…”

 

“Guys, we’re taking the boat.”

 

“You said we’d drink in the garden.”

 

“This is the garden. This whole river is part of Luca’s garden. What’s wrong?”

 

“…”

 

Leo just gave up and gestured.

 

Elias took our hands and warped us onto the boat one by one, then flicked his wand to raise the anchor and slammed a glass on the table. At that moment the boat seemed to move slightly. Of course, when I looked closely, it really was moving. I looked at the empty cockpit once and frowned as I asked.

 

“What is this? Do you even know how to drive?”

 

“What’s wrong? I got my license before I was even ten. There are officially 113 formulas in this cockpit alone. I thought I was going to die building up formulas over 10 years.”

 

“What formulas… This is automatic?!”

 

“Haha, but you can probably trust it.”

 

Cheringen’s words reassured me somewhat.

 

Today I was once again convinced that Elias’ rock-bottom school grades were fake. To make a boat self-driving with 113 magic formulas – this guy is definitely not ordinary either. Elias doesn’t own a car yet, but if he buys one later, he’ll probably turn that into a self-driving car too.

 

Elias brought out unknown sausages and meats from inside and put them on the table.

 

“Ah~ Celebrating Luca’s political debut~”

 

Elias said that and raised his glass by himself before pouring alcohol into his mouth. Ulrike asked with a bewildered face.

 

“What? Aren’t we toasting?”

 

Elias nodded while gulping down his drink. From the way he was waving at us, it seemed like he wanted us to just quietly drink. I don’t know how he’s held back until now.

 

We just pretended to clink glasses among ourselves and drank.

 

“Wow, this is good.”

 

“It’s really so delicious.”

 

Following Cheringen’s admiration, Haike’s dry muttering was heard again. If you stay near Haike, you’ll probably hear only this all day.

 

“Wow, what kind of harmony is this? I should come to Luca’s house often to drink this.”

 

Elias’ eyes were focused on our glasses as he said that.

 

When he waved his wand around, a box flew from somewhere. He grabbed the box and said dramatically.

 

“Now let’s play poker. Everyone except the winner has to take a shot.”

 

An hour passed like that.

 

Fortunately, we broke Elias’ stubbornness and changed the rule so that the winner and one person chosen by the winner didn’t have to drink.

 

Elias’ strategy of making us play games because he was worried we wouldn’t drink was excellent. Since everyone was competitive, no one refused this proposal.

 

But I don’t know why he spoke so confidently about what he wanted to do.

 

Elias was objectively quite good at games, but now he seemed excited and couldn’t keep up, often giving opportunities to Cheringen and me.

 

“Hmm, everyone except us has drunk quite a bit.”

 

Cheringen said, looking at Ulrike who was lying on the floor. Ulrike kept trying to put her hands in the river, so Elias was constantly pulling her back.

 

‘Sigh… It would be fortunate if they become close even by doing that.’

 

That’s why we all didn’t stop Ulrike’s antics. It’s just pitiful for Cheringen and me who have to stay near people who smell of alcohol…

 

Ulrike suddenly slapped her own cheeks and sat up straight, saying.

 

“Anyone want to play truth or dare.”

 

‘Drunk people should go sleep when they’re drunk, but they always do this.’

 

Of course, she can’t go sleep. Because Elias locked all the cabin doors, there’s nowhere to lie down except here on the floor. What a thorough guy.

 

Leo answered Ulrike’s words with a rotten face.

 

“I have bad memories of that, so I won’t play. Elias will hate it for the same reason as me.”

 

Personally, it’s the game I like least. Because I’m not curious about people, so I really have nothing to say.

 

The fact that this isn’t fun is something Elias agreed with in the Catacombs. He was even caught by the Vigilante Captain while playing this, wasn’t he? I carefully put my glass on the table so the refill magic wouldn’t activate and said.

 

“Right. It’s not good. Don’t insist on playing games, just let’s watch the boat ride, guys.”

 

“No? Let’s play a game.”

 

Elias said seriously.

 

“What?”

 

This guy was even caught while playing this, and now what?

 

Elias gulped down his drink and wiped his mouth, saying.

 

“I have a lot of questions for Luca. While the five of us drank five glasses each, you’ve only had one drink so far.”

 

“So what?”

 

“Sob sob…”

 

“…”

 

While I looked at Elias expressionlessly, Cheringen asked with a smile.

 

“I didn’t drink many times either. Elias, don’t you have any questions for me?”

 

“I’ve known you too long.”

 

“I want to do it too.”

 

“What’s in alcohol? Why do they like drinking so much? You guys handle it yourselves.”

 

Haike and Leo said almost simultaneously.

 

There are too many people here. Just when it gets comfortable, the audio doesn’t clear and my ears hurt. Elias said with a confident face.

 

“I’m going first, right? Come on, Luca.”

 

“Why do you get to go first?”

 

“You missed us when you were captured, right.”

 

Did he ask this question thinking I wouldn’t be able to answer?

 

Now that I look, the other friends were also keeping their eyes open, waiting for my answer. My image is more than I thought…

 

‘Did they think of me as someone who can’t even say things like this?’

 

I shook my head.

 

“You’re wasting the opportunity too much. Of course.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Haike blinked and said.

 

Elias shouted a beat late and stood up from his seat.

 

“Ohhhhh?!”

 

“…”

 

Haike took this opportunity to grab the turn.

 

“I’ll go next. Lucas. Do you want to come play at my house next time?”

 

“Is this really a truth game?”

 

“Ah, right. Aren’t you uncomfortable playing with me? If I invite you to my house again, can you come?”

 

“Sure… Why would it be uncomfortable…”

 

When I answered roughly, Ulrike who was lying down shouted with a slurred tongue.

 

“Wow. I want to go too!”

 

“Sure. You come too.”

 

“Guys, let’s stop.”

 

“Why?”

 

“What do you mean why…?”

 

The gap feels quite severe. I feel like I’m intruding on a middle school retreat. Drinking with 19th century people is really extreme difficulty.

 

Even though I swallowed those words, perhaps they sensed the reality check in my tone, silence flowed. The friends looked at me with surprised, round eyes.

 

Unlike the other friends, Leo had sobered up from the alcohol quickly, so he wasn’t particularly surprised. He just stroked his chin and asked this.

 

“Not fun, I guess?”

 

At those words, Ulrike who had been dozing began looking back and forth between us with a tense face. Ulrike was always concerned about discord, so that was understandable.

 

“…There might be some misunderstanding. I can’t say it’s fun, but it’s just like you guys and nice, so let’s continue.”

 

Leo slowly asked Narke.

 

“Narke, you can use insight easily on Lucas. Compared to foresight, how much stamina does it use?”

 

“It barely takes any~ I haven’t been using it so far, but why? Should I use it?”

 

“If you put your mind to it now, you can definitely tell if it’s a lie or not.”

 

“Hahaha, that’s right.”

 

“…”

 

“You said you couldn’t get along, Lucas.”

 

I never said that? But it was close to my inner thoughts. Does this bastard use mind reading too. I now realized that Leo was also somewhat drunk. This guy was never sober. He just didn’t look drunk. Whether Leo was acting in his own way, he picked a fight with me with an indifferent face.

 

“Let’s just do it five times.”

 

“…”

 

Leo chose his questions amazingly well.

 

I had no choice but to drink all five times. And now, Elias was clapping and laughing.

 

“Wow… Luca’s sleeping.”

 

“I’m not sleeping.”

 

I should wash my face in the river.

 

The moment I thought that, I realized I was drunk.

 

Washing my face in this dark river? Perfect for slipping and drowning. When I had that thought, the alcohol suddenly wore off and I returned to normal.

 

‘Good.’

 

If you’re drunk, just sleep, why are you sitting around trying to wash your face. Let’s just sleep. I spread magic power on the floor and used it as a mattress to try to sleep. Fortunately, everyone seemed out of it, so no one stopped me.

 

I could hear Cheringen and other friends muttering at the table next to us.

 

“Leo has pretty good insight. I knew that though.”

 

“Wow~ He’s really good at everything.”

 

“Now that Lucas is out, let’s kill each other until only one of us remains. Who should we kill next?”

 

Haike is casually making murderous sounds with a voice heavy from being drunk. That’s the problem. Someone needs to hit that guy first and kick him out of this game.

 

That was the last thought I had.

 

When I opened my eyes, it was dawn, and Elias was warping us to our rooms.

 

* * *

 

“Haha~ I saw Luca drunk, so my wish is fulfilled.”

 

In the carriage heading to Dessau Station, Elias said with a grin.

 

Narke sitting next to me was still not fully awake and sleeping, and the same was true for Leo across from us.

 

In contrast, I’m completely clear-headed. Originally I couldn’t sleep continuously, and that was the first time I slept then, so drowsiness just came faster.

 

“Why only me? Everyone was drunk. Looking now, they seem worse than me.”

 

“There’s something like that. But when the kids all get drunk, they sleep. It’s boring. Let’s not drink next time.”

 

‘Right. Good thinking. Drink in moderation.’

 

This time, I had no choice but to welcome Elias’s grumbling.

 

Then, the coachman’s voice was heard from outside.

 

[We have arrived.]

 

“We’re here, guys! Wake up! We’re outside~!”

 

Elias shook Leo and Narke awake and jumped out.

 

When I got off the carriage, the same scenery I saw yesterday unfolded. Countless Anhalt citizens were standing at the barrier line around the train station.

 

No, there’s one thing different from that time.

 

I approached that barrier line accompanied by one guard. A person leaning against the barrier line handed me a bouquet of orange tulips. He said nothing and looked at me with tense eyes. But that was just because he met the ruling house. Being able to see favorability, I could be certain that his silence didn’t have negative meaning.

 

“Thank you.”

 

I offered him a handshake. He carefully took my hand. I smiled and nodded, then moved around the area. I saw several people holding flowers similar to the person I just met.

 

After briefly greeting them and returning to the head servant, he smiled and said.

 

“To see such a day makes me happy too.”

 

“Is that so.”

 

“Yes. But you look a little tired. You must have had fun yesterday?”

 

“I wonder.”

 

I just think I shouldn’t play with Elias. When it’s okay to play with him, it should be after confiscating alcohol from the antagonist.

 

The head servant had a pleased expression, then handed me a bag and looked at the train station.

 

“It’s regrettable that you have to leave now. But now that Young Master can warp freely, you’ll be able to come often, right?”

 

“I’ll try my best.”

 

“Hehe. Please come often. And…”

 

He pushed the leather carrier he was holding toward me.

 

“Please accept this. It’s a gift sent by Elder Young Master.”

 

“…”

 

For a moment, I felt my head getting cold. It would be right to say it became chilly. I looked down at the large bag like a black box that he was holding. Somehow I thought the carrier he was holding looked too new. I looked at the red ribbon tied to the handle and asked.

 

“What’s inside?”

 

“He asked me not to open it, so I don’t know what’s inside either.”

 

“Did this just arrive?”

 

“Actually, it’s been here for two days. Young Master asked me to give it to you just before you left, so I’m giving it to you now.”

 

Just before leaving?

 

I maintained my smile and asked.

 

“Why?”

 

“He probably wanted to give you a surprise gift.”

 

“…I should write a letter to Hyung. It was good to see you again. See you next time.”

 

I bid farewell to the head servant one last time and boarded the train again.

 

This time it was our turn to visit the Duchy of the Saxon Union and the Duchy of Brunswick. From there to the Grand Duchy of Baden, and finally to Bavaria.

 

The friends who had boarded first and were waiting for me looked at the box I brought and asked.

 

“Oh, what’s this?”

 

“A gift from hyung.”

 

“….”

 

Elias closed his mouth. Curiosity appeared on Haike’s face, but there was no time to respond to it.

 

“Guys. I’m going in first.”

 

“Yeah. I’m going in too. I’m dying….”

 

Ulrike, who had been sprawled on the sofa in the first car, limped to another car. The alcohol didn’t seem to be that strong.

 

Of course, my interest wasn’t there.

 

I found a compartment car, went in, drew the curtains and sat down. Elias naturally followed me in.

 

When I opened the clips of the black carrier and spread it out, numerous items were visible. Just in case, I didn’t touch them, but what I could see was another black box, a shoe case, first-class railway tickets to Italy, several clothing accessory cases that didn’t take up much space like ties and gloves… books, wine, and a letter. That was everything.

 

Elias shot some mana at the box, then gestured to me and rummaged through the items. I had been avoiding touching them in case there were artifacts that detected my mana, so this was good help.

 

“Your taste is similar to his.”

 

Elias said as he opened the Italian shoe and glove boxes and set them aside. Nothing particularly strange on the surface. After taking out everything else, what remained was the other black box that had been in the carrier.

 

Elias looked at me once, then nodded and picked up the box.

 

“I’m opening it, Luca.”

 

“Okay.”

 

I answered briefly while keeping my gaze fixed on the box.

 

The sound of the clips sliding with a click was particularly grating on my nerves. However, that irritation didn’t last long. At what appeared before my eyes, I hardened my expression.

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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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