How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 275

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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 (275)

 

1 minute ago.

 

‘What.’

 

Elias’s eyes widened in bewilderment.

 

Luca, who had gone before the deacon, staggered as soon as he took a sip of wine. Leo and Narke, sitting beside him, were also flustered. The deacon standing in front of him looked at Luca with surprised eyes.

 

Clang―!

 

The moment Elias frowned and opened his mouth, Luca pressed both hands to his throat and collapsed on the spot. The silver chalice rolled on the floor making a loud noise.

 

“Luca!”

 

Elias shot up from his seat and shouted. The congregation froze in shock at the sudden incident. The king, grasping the situation, drew his wand and stood up shouting.

 

“What is the meaning of this!”

 

“I-I don’t know either…!”

 

The deacon answered with a pale face, completely flustered. The king’s guards pointed their wands at the deacon and priest. Meanwhile, Elias immediately rushed to where his friend had collapsed. Elias shook his shoulder and shouted.

 

“What’s wrong. Get up!”

 

It was wrong. He didn’t even seem to hear properly. He was trembling violently as if having convulsions. Blood was streaming from his bitten mouth. It was so shocking how much he must have bitten to cause this, it was horrifying enough to make one not want to look.

 

“Permission to search granted!”

 

As soon as the king spoke, the captain of the guard struck down his staff. Warp restriction magic was cast on the church building. Narke, who had staggered up holding his head, pointed his staff at the deacon and shouted.

 

―Enter through the narrow gate!

 

The deacon staggered backward, lost consciousness, and collapsed. Narke strode forward, grabbed the deacon’s collar, and asked.

 

“Was this your doing? Were you trying to disturb the kingdom’s peace?”

 

“…”

 

The deacon shook his head. There was no other reaction. He just continued shaking his head as Narke shook him with force. Narke pressed his forehead and looked into his eyes. Having watched before, he could tell immediately. This was the appearance of using insight. If by any chance someone with abilities like Abraham had taken over the deacon’s body, even mental manipulation magic would only make him shake his head. So relying on insight immediately at the scene was most accurate.

 

However, the answer that came was unbelievable.

 

“Your Highness. This man is innocent.”

 

“…”

 

Elias looked up at Narke with a dazed expression. Narke was now looking at the faces of other clergy and congregation members using insight. But confusion still remained on his face. Was there no culprit inside here?

 

What had happened. The wine in that chalice was the same wine that the king, the king’s aide, Leo, and Narke had all drunk until now, and naturally the same chalice had been used continuously. There were no other chalices here to switch with. There was no reason for problems to arise now. Then was it this deacon, or the chalice cloth that was the problem. That couldn’t be. The chalice had been wiped with the same cloth every time from the beginning, and judging by the faint magical power emanating from his body, the deacon was not a strong mage. Hadn’t Narke also said no.

 

“Lucas. Stop!”

 

Leo, who had come to Luca’s bedside, cast healing magic and shouted. At those words, Elias’s mind snapped to attention. Luca was curled up clutching his chest area. Unlike the cold sweat he was breaking out in, his body was tensed with strength, so even with several people holding him down, attempts to lay him flat weren’t working properly. At least they had to stop him from biting his mouth. Blood was already flowing excessively enough to drip on the floor. When Elias put his hand to his mouth thinking to at least grab his jaw, his face contorted even more. At that moment, intense pain struck Elias’s arm.

 

“Ahhh!”

 

Elias, who had screamed and stepped back, doubted his own eyes. The pain in his arm wasn’t important at all. Luca, who had been lying on the floor just moments ago, had half-raised his body and was pulling him in. Unfocused eyes stared at Elias.

 

The strength that had been coursing through his body was draining away. Magical power was flowing from where his hand touched into him.

 

Elias looked down at him with his mouth open.

 

‘No way.’

 

The magical power flowing into him was fine. It was okay. How on earth could he take another person’s magical power, why was such an impossible thing happening – my common sense was being completely shattered, but anyway, if it was him, I could give him magical power or whatever. But…

 

His spine went cold. Even if some problem arose, the reason I felt chills wasn’t because of Luca. It was because of his family. Because of that person who had given a gift timed to when we left Anhalt. Was this why they had been lying low until now? But how in Bavaria? Moreover, even if they had planted spies in Bavaria, there had been no problems with the holy blood people had drunk until now!

 

‘Or.’

 

Or.

 

A crazy thought flashed through his mind.

 

It was absurd, but what if Luca from the beginning…

 

‘No.’

 

Even if that were true, it didn’t matter. However, making him believe that Luca really had such tendencies might itself be his strategy. He needed to be cautious.

 

Whether he was hearing things or not, Luca’s breathing became labored. At that moment, the flow of magical power that had been transferring stopped.

 

Thud―

 

Luca collapsed on the floor again. The sound of Bavaria National Medical Center mages summoned by the king arriving could be heard. Whether they came or not, Leo hurriedly checked his pulse.

 

The confusion that had been melting on his expression disappeared. Only shock remained, something he had never seen on him once in a lifetime of knowing him. Elias felt his nape grow cold as he asked.

 

“Why.”

 

“…”

 

“Why are you like that.”

 

There was no answer. Elias pushed Leo aside and covered Lucas’s heart with his palm. Like someone had turned off the power, there was no movement there at all.

 

* * *

 

“We meet again.”

 

I am at a white round table I’ve seen somewhere before.

 

Cutlery is in my hands, and there’s nothing on the white plate in front of me. Wine is filled to the brim in a wide-bowled wine glass. It looks like it would spill out with just a little shake. A strange sight.

 

Tunnel vision is interfering with my cognition. I raised my head to check the person sitting across the table. An unwelcome face.

 

The archbishop asked while drinking wine.

 

“Why are you looking at me like that. Didn’t you call it a positive-sum game before? You expected this, didn’t you. If only half-killing is everything, is that truly positive-sum? The gains are zero anyway once everyone recovers.”

 

“…”

 

“Of course I understand you looking at me like that. You’re even deceiving yourself. Your ability to live as an actor 24 hours a day is excellent.”

 

Unlike the sounds I was hearing, my vision moved slowly. As I looked around without responding, the archbishop opened his mouth again.

 

“It’s fortunate your heart stopped before causing trouble in front of others. Of course you have a plan to come back to life, right?”

 

“…”

 

“Having come this far, it would be a bit much to fail from cardiac arrest.”

 

I slowly blinked my eyes. Come to think of it, I wasn’t breathing. I looked down at my completely still chest and inhaled. It was quiet.

 

I slowly opened my mouth.

 

“Positive-sum is a term that doesn’t exist in this world.”

 

“Is that so? Then I must just be a delusion you’re having before crossing the river. The two worlds I know share similar information with each other.”

 

“‘The two worlds I know share similar information with each other’… You say words I cannot know with your knowledge, yet you speak words I cannot fathom?”

 

“Then my answer might already be content you’ve set up as a hypothesis. You’re someone who thinks of a hundred possibilities for one incident, so isn’t it quite possible? Think carefully about what’s true from where to where. Ah, but it would be better to think carefully about how long you can keep deceiving. Everyone continues to be deceived as much as you are deceived…”

 

The archbishop said, leaning toward me. My floating sensation blocked cognition from feeling any strangeness in the surreal scene. I blankly looked at the finely trembling wine surface. Meanwhile, the archbishop’s words continued.

 

“The important thing is this.”

 

“What is it.”

 

I only raised my eyes to look at him. The archbishop’s blue eyes shone brightly.

 

“That you judged me as a colleague good enough to join in strategic games. That’s why you called me out now before crossing the river. It’s an honor.”

 

“It’s not that I called you out, but that you infiltrated me.”

 

“That’s right. Because I am you. But if this statement is true, it means you’ve fallen into mental derangement, so you wouldn’t want to believe that, would you?”

 

“Now you’re saying something different from what you said at the very beginning.”

 

“People before death aren’t usually in their right mind. Of course all my words are a game. You’ll have to find where I cleverly twisted logic, how much is true… But that’s not what’s important now.”

 

He said, folding his fingers.

 

“First, who forcibly terminated you. You’ve now received the world’s reward that you hadn’t received yet and left behind.”

 

“A reward.”

 

“A reward for your kindness. Does it feel unfamiliar? You already know that something you call the ‘system’ helped you once without anyone knowing.”

 

“Hearing such stories with your face feels unpleasant.”

 

“The system must have given you more affection than expected. To drag out even forbidden things and offer them – I wouldn’t do that if I were it. Well, since it ultimately solved the problem with a death that has a 4-minute grace period, that system isn’t exactly normal either.”

 

He folded another finger.

 

“Then what has happened to ‘me’ now. Naturally, I’m dying. I wonder if your friends can revive you well before the golden time passes.”

 

“That’s not what’s important.”

 

“Of course it would be. It’s time to interpret Adrian Ascanien’s response to the Empire’s new hero.”

 

“…”

 

“Quite spectacular. As expected, he’s no easy opponent. It’s rare for a prodigy to remain a prodigy to the end, but he succeeded even past his twenties. Well, still, until now it felt one-sided enough that only you were attacking Adrian Ascanien, right?”

 

He smiled slightly. Then he cut the meat on his plate and said.

 

“Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Is the knowledge I had correct? The scent of blood that felt uniquely vivid? Who is the real villain. What happens to me when I leave here? Is this a permanent problem?”

 

“…”

 

“I don’t know. These are questions you’ll have to find answers to from now on. There are too few clues for now. However, as you’ve noticed, your hyung isn’t someone who would give such a simple-minded gift. For him, this incident was in his plans ‘in some way or another.'”

 

The archbishop said, wiggling his finger. I slowly agreed.

 

“Yes. In some way or another.”

 

The archbishop was thinking exactly what I was thinking.

 

Whether he directly created the incident, or foresaw this incident would happen, Adrian Ascanien knew about today’s events from beforehand.

 

Now the archbishop was silent. It was time for me to think by my own will. He was waiting for my words.

 

“My friend can always know the state of my core.”

 

“That’s right. How does it feel to have a dedicated doctor.”

 

“I’m glad I took out insurance.”

 

I brought the glass containing alcohol to my lips. Blood had spilled on my clothes and the tablecloth. It only appeared to be wine, but it was blood. Or perhaps the wine had become blood, and blood had become wine. As soon as I swallowed the blood, I felt breath filling my lungs. I opened my mouth.

 

“There was no problem with the alcohol in the chalice. That alcohol had been drunk not only by me but by countless other people, and even right before my turn, my friend drank it. Naturally, he was fine. Then did the deacon cast magic on the alcohol during my turn? It’s possible, but if that were the case, he would have had to do such a thing before the chalice came into my hands, so I would have felt the flow of mana the deacon released even before drinking the alcohol.”

 

“Yes. Your judgment is accurate even in this situation.”

 

“Then was collapsing during mass just a coincidence, and had something already gone wrong with my core? For example, after returning from the end of the terror attack. But there had been no abnormalities in my core during that time. If there were even the slightest problem, that friend would have told me immediately. So what was the real trigger?”

 

I muttered while touching the blood on my hands.

 

“There may have been no problem with the alcohol in the chalice itself, but it ‘reacted to me’ and caused problems. Here’s the issue. Though not frequently, I periodically participate in mass following my other friend. I’ve always drunk consecrated wine, but nothing has happened until now.”

 

“The holy blood you drank before had no problems at all. Then what do you think the real variable is? There must be a reason why this holy blood finally reacted to you, so what is it?”

 

“…”

 

I moved my lips slightly. There are several possibilities. But I deliberately didn’t speak. There are far too few clues.

 

The Archbishop’s voice was heard.

 

“Good. Since you’re still here with me, you’re quite lacking in information. You won’t be able to reach any conclusions until you go and investigate this incident. Then let me tell you something you must never forget from now on.”

 

The Archbishop interlocked his fingers and continued speaking.

 

“You were quite flustered this time. I’ve never seen you so shocked before, it was surprising.”

 

“…”

 

“Listen carefully. What if the good and evil you’ve known from the start were wrong? What if there’s no reason for you to be so shocked right now? Get your head straight.”

 

His eyes gleamed brightly. His firm voice grew louder.

 

“The stories that everyone in the world believes no longer function as fiction. No matter what happens to you on this game board, you must not lose your center. Even if certain things are true and certain things are false, the moment you let the opponent’s logic steal your center, this game becomes your defeat. Even if everyone in the world says the sun revolves around the earth, you must firmly believe that the earth revolves around the sun. Even if the truth of this world is that there are cliffs beyond that sea, you alone must know they are wrong. If you cannot destroy it from outside the world, you must become Ahura Mazda yourself and destroy Zarathustra’s worldview. Isn’t that your way?”

 

“…”

 

“It’s not someone’s conspiracy that destroys you, but your own beliefs that destroy you. Do you understand? Don’t let yourself destroy yourself. What would become of me if you lose here?”

 

I didn’t speak. I just stared at him intently.

 

Even though I said nothing, the Archbishop smiled and continued speaking.

 

“Yes, Rosalind. I’m talking about things I cannot know. Does that matter? What matters is that this isn’t a threat to identity or anything else, but the beginning of a strategic game between Adrian Ascanien and you.”

 

The light completely disappeared from the chandelier that had only one lamp lit. Darkness spread. The wine glass in my hand scattered and blood flowed to the floor.

 

Only a voice remained in this space.

 

“Once you’ve decided to live, survive to the end.”

 

* * *

 

“Lucas.”

 

Before I even opened my eyes, I heard a familiar voice.

 

The taste of blood.

 

I opened my eyes while feeling the taste of blood lingering in my mouth. I saw a familiar face. Leo was looking down at me with disbelieving eyes.

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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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