How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 304

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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 (304)

 

Josephine Orleans.

 

The human who asked me about emotional magic earlier. If Josephine Orleans had succeeded in developing occult magical formulas, that would naturally be useless in the pre-magic era. However, I had previously seen Archduchess Maria turn occult magical formulas into ‘real magic’. Starting from the artifact I created by copying my unique ability and giving it to Leo, to the magic potion used for astral projection, to the material plane projection artifacts – all of these were realized from occult magical formulas.

 

If we assume that humans thinking of materializing occult formulas existed not only in Osterreicheste but also in other families, then the occult formulas of several Ecla Literer members might have been converted into family-specific magic in the post-magic era. That’s why I needed to know what those eight truly wanted to achieve in their respective fields.

 

Narke leaned back with his arms behind him, tilting his head back to look at me.

 

“Why did you suspect that side?”

 

Why, you ask.

 

Among the eight, only Josephine Orleans wanted the ability that the culprit of this theft case possessed.

 

The problematic ability he wanted was ‘the ability to watch every move of a loved one without breaking the law’. If descendants converted Orleans’ occult magical formulas into real magical formulas and continued developing them?

 

Setting aside unimportant matters, the advantages the Orleans family has in this crime are also clear.

 

As I thought with Emmanuel, divine investigations of nobles are rarely conducted unless there’s physical evidence. Moreover, the Orleans family was originally related to the House of Bourbon, and they were the ones who established the French Third Empire in the post-magic world. In other words, they’re currently the French imperial family. The French Third Republic never happened in the post-magic world.

 

Each family’s secret techniques are unknown anywhere except to their respective national magic ministries, and as the imperial family, the Orleans family has no obligation to report secrets to the French Ministry of Magic. It would be different if records from when the Orleans family were nobles remained, but if there really is a culprit in Orleans, this game is still absolutely advantageous to that family.

 

Anyway, if I were to explain this, where should I even start explaining to Narke?

 

I pressed my face with my hands and sighed.

 

“…Hmm…”

 

“If it’s difficult to say, you don’t have to. I haven’t read all your thoughts yet anyway, worried it might make you uncomfortable.”

 

“…Right. Thanks?”

 

When I glanced up, Narke was looking down at me with a gentle smile. For some reason, I couldn’t understand the meaning of the smile, so I spoke once more to confirm.

 

“It’s nice to have a considerate friend.”

 

“Mm, there’s no need to keep reading when you dislike it.”

 

“I didn’t say I disliked it. So, what do you think?”

 

“Orleans, huh. Not German. Since France doesn’t border Austria… they could easily pass through Germany.”

 

Narke closed his eyes and thought. I brought over the investigation record and drew a line under the name of who I thought was the most likely suspect, then handed it to Narke. Since my reasoning isn’t perfect either, I need him to verify it once. Narke stared intently at the paper, then looked at me and said.

 

“I’m curious how you made such a deduction. It’s definitely worth checking out. It’s information you brought, after all.”

 

He’s not just saying that because it’s information I brought. Also, since Orleans isn’t here, he’s not using insight on Orleans either.

 

Right now he checked whether my reasoning was forced or not, and even if there were ambiguous points, whether it was worth betting on when substituting his precognitive ability for ‘intuition’ one by one. In the end, Narke didn’t use his ability earlier, but due to that question just now, my brain has been somewhat picked clean.

 

As soon as I thought that, Narke burst into light laughter and turned his head to cough.

 

Are you going to keep making it obvious you’re reading like this?

 

“…Well, you asked.”

 

Right. That’s why I didn’t voice such thoughts. Anyway, thanks.

 

“What~”

 

“I’m grateful, but I’ll only speak aloud from now on. I suddenly feel like my body temperature dropped a degree.”

 

“Alright.”

 

Still, Narke really did use his ability on me minimally, as he returned to the original topic and asked.

 

“The problem is that investigating Orleans would be realistically difficult. How are you going to bring French royalty for investigation?”

 

“That’s now the turn of the guy who gave us this job.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Narke rolled his eyes and burst into laughter.

 

* * *

 

“Hmm.”

 

Abraham puffed on his cigarette in front of me while skimming through the report I brought.

 

The next day came, and I had investigated Josephine and the Orleans family before coming to meet Abraham. Josephine became Queen of Switzerland after the period I visited, but records remained showing she actively exchanged with each noble who was an Ecla Literer member until her death. The possibility that Josephine’s occult passion didn’t end as a temporary thing became somewhat greater.

 

But now isn’t the time to think about Josephine. Abraham smiled and turned the report.

 

“…From this, it’s possible to deduce that the culprit or criminal organization has the ability to partially manipulate the mana applied to objects and systems, and that there are decisive constraints on using that ability.”

 

He read my report aloud.

 

In both theft cases this time, the alarm and security magic on the objects were equally neutralized, so no one immediately knew about the incidents when the thefts occurred. And the mana on the missing objects was detected again near border checkpoints. This was already information I’d heard from the beginning.

 

What does this mean? The culprit has an ability good for infiltrating somewhere, and there are limits or constraints to it.

 

Abraham looked into my eyes and smiled.

 

“I was right to entrust this work to Count Nicolaus. Though I have absolutely no way to understand why you think Orleans is the culprit of this case, since the circumstances aren’t written down.”

 

Right. Why would I write that? Even if I tried to write it, there’s no answer. I won’t tell him everything about what I investigated.

 

Even so, for me with accumulated clues, those circumstances aren’t complicated.

 

Why was the mana on the jewels detected again around the checkpoint? What can we learn from this fact?

 

First, the culprit’s ability isn’t one that dismantles security magic. If they had the ability to dismantle security magic, it would have been cleanly removed from the Osterreicheste mansion, so there would be no reason for ‘mana to be detected around the checkpoint’. The same goes for the holy relic. In other words, the culprit’s ability is one that leaves the system as is but exploits its loopholes.

 

Second, then what exactly is the culprit’s ability? To use an analogy, theft prevention magic is like a pair of puzzles. The magic on the storage and the magic on the object are interlocked like puzzles, so an alarm sounds when someone moves the object. The culprit probably made another set of these puzzles and switched them with each Peruer and stand to make it seem like the two were never separated.

 

[‘The ability to make another set of puzzle mana’ – in other words, the ability to neutralize security magic is their special technique]. Up to here is probably what the investigation bureau deduced too. At first glance it seems easy, but why is it a special technique… If any Tom, Dick, or Harry could make another set of puzzle mana, naturally such security magic wouldn’t have survived until now.

 

Third, even exploiting that loophole, the ability isn’t perfect. Why? If the ability were perfect, they would have continued maintaining it the same way around the checkpoint too – why couldn’t they?

 

Now, back to the beginning. How did the culprit go around Spain’s monastery, the Vatican, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire doing the same thing? International warping is impossible, so pass. To be servants of all three places, the range of activity is absurd.

 

Here we must recall again that he’s a master of neutralizing security magic. He probably didn’t just use his special magic when stealing objects, but also neutralized the barriers around each building at the mana level when entering the monastery, cathedral, and mansion. Since simply handling mana problems can’t avoid visual detection, we can deduce he simultaneously operated stealth-type magic. Of course, he might have disguised himself as a servant or cleric, but since we know what Josephine Orleans wanted, by this point we eliminate that possibility.

 

And considering that the security magic neutralization was released only around the checkpoint, causing mana records to be caught, those magics were probably configured as one set, with stealth magic and neutralization magic operating simultaneously.

 

This is just speculation based on clues I obtained, not necessarily the correct answer… but with even the investigation bureau completely clueless and just stamping their feet, it needs to be verified once.

 

So why exactly couldn’t they use their ability at the border checkpoint? Don’t tell me they released stealth and passed through normally in human form to avoid inspection?

 

That’s right. That’s the correct answer.

 

“The official schedule of the French Emperor’s nephew exactly coincided with the incident date.”

 

At my words, Abraham answered indifferently as if it wasn’t new information.

 

“It was the French embassy’s new building commemoration ceremony.”

 

“That’s right. No matter how good an ability one has, breaking through a foreign border where the best existing security technology is concentrated while stealthed would be quite burdensome both technically and psychologically. It’s better in many ways to execute the plan when there’s a rational reason that can be used as a shield. No matter how much inspection there is, they don’t examine foreign royalty’s personal belongings one by one.”

 

“The schedules overlap… Normally this would be called a leap of logic.”

 

Abraham laughed as if amused.

 

Of course, countless people entered and left Austria-Hungary during that period. But I can’t explain all my thought processes and evidence used. No matter how much we’re currently allies with the common enemy of Pleroma, he’s still my enemy since he wants me. Though I won’t think deeper about this part as usual, for now I have no reason not to come out strong.

 

I didn’t answer Abraham’s gaze demanding explanation and pointed out.

 

“If you don’t want to believe it, that’s fine. And it’s not Count Nicolaus, it’s Ascanien, Your Highness.”

 

“…”

 

“I’m surprised you’d call me by that name. Prussia, which has no intention of giving Nicolaus any more achievements, would have no reason to call me that.”

 

“I’m curious how you reached such a conclusion.”

 

“It was something I couldn’t help but know even before the Penthalon terror.”

 

I’m referring to the meeting after the basement incident. Abraham also understood what I meant.

 

“Either way, didn’t the Minister of Magic end up sending a letter that day? A clear violation of imperial orders.”

 

“Nothing special about it. What place wouldn’t have sent one in that situation? Above all, I’m not speaking to the Minister but to Your Highness.”

 

“That was the greatest consideration I could show you. Now too.”

 

Since Abraham answered with a gentle face, I also responded with a smile. Though no one spoke directly, we could understand exactly what we were saying to each other.

 

“Of course, His Majesty the Emperor is surely sincere unlike me. No matter how high a position we try to give Count Nicolaus Ernst, he only considers safety and tries to take on advisor positions and such – how should Prussia interpret that intention? Naturally…”

 

Abraham exhaled smoke and said.

 

“Count Nicolaus Ernst is thoroughly a Wittelsbach dog loyal to Bavaria. Prussia has no choice but to accept that intention.”

 

“How trite.”

 

“Isn’t Count Ascanien already aware of this and trying to use it?”

 

“…”

 

For example, making Ascanien into Prussia’s own Nicolaus Ernst.

 

The insight to read thoughts and hit the correct answer with such a nonchalant tone is always admirable. Even though it’s just an ability honed within human limits, not insight as a unique ability, it appears transcendent at first glance.

 

Since he knows all my strategies yet signals he’ll play along, I have no reason to argue further. Abraham closed the report and said.

 

“So, I need to think about how to accept this proposal to suddenly investigate foreign royalty.”

 

“As I said before, if you don’t want to believe it, you don’t have to, Your Highness.”

 

Abraham didn’t mind my rude retort at all and smiled, then flicked his finger to burn the report in the fireplace. A third party would be shocked, but not for him and me.

 

I continued speaking without taking my eyes off Abraham.

 

“Anyway, Your Highness has already grasped that this report of mine will benefit you. Isn’t that right?”

 

I’m not simply talking about diplomatic relations with Osterreicheste. Normalizing relations with Osterreicheste is a natural matter.

 

So where exactly is the benefit?

 

In that the Pleroma stigma cast on the German Empire can be shared with France through this opportunity – this benefits the imperial family. Even though I didn’t say that much, Abraham silently looked into my eyes, then smiled and clasped his hands together.

 

“Exactly right. How could I let you go?”

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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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