How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 311

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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 (311)

 

“204 people?”

 

Someone spoke in a stunned voice at the unbelievable number of missing persons. The news about changes to the mobilization plan was also problematic, but for now, the mass disappearance of mages was the bigger issue. Starting with that, voices erupted from students sitting throughout the area.

 

“What happened? How did they go missing?!”

 

“Don’t tell me the professors are also…”

 

Mages who have reached the level of magical ‘scholars’ are essentially equivalent to the Empire’s military strength, whether in terms of skill or anything else. While scholars don’t necessarily have large amounts of mana, they naturally have more compared to the new humans who were born with only cores like non-mages, and these mages determine the Empire’s magical national power.

 

‘…This is not good.’

 

My mouth went dry.

 

Right now, the Empire has failed to defend its core of cores. In this current situation where France and Austria are setting up confrontational positions like during World War I.

 

As the international situation that had barely found peace is once again racing toward the worst, the government must be in as much of an emergency state as during the Penthalon incident.

 

Weeeeeng—

 

An alarm began to sound. Bright blue light came in from the dark outside at 10:30 PM. A state of emergency was officially declared, turning the outside world an artificial blue color. An employee spoke with a face full of tension.

 

“We are searching for the professors’ whereabouts. From what I’ve been told, about 150 people went missing at a small magical studies conference held in Berlin today. We suspect there was a spy inside, but the remaining 50 or so people didn’t even attend the conference and are from completely different regions, so… we’re currently investigating that part.”

 

I felt a chill on the back of my neck as I spoke to Narke.

 

“They must have been in quite a hurry.”

 

Narke nodded.

 

No matter how I think about it, this is likely Pleroma’s crime. Let’s assume that France also has organizations like Pleroma and they came here. For those unfamiliar with German geography or society to come relying solely on security nullification abilities and kidnap 204 mages from different regions—when considering realistic possibilities, there are some problems. We’ll consider all possibilities, but for now, it’s more rational to place high probability on this being a crime committed by Pleroma that was born and raised in Germany.

 

Following their interference with Emmanuel, kidnapping our Empire’s magical scholars means they themselves want to develop technology comparable to what’s contained in Maria’s Peruer. The fact that an organization that had been lying low after Penthalon is acting so aggressively can only mean that Pleroma is currently very anxious, right? Then why are they anxious?

 

It’s as I thought earlier.

 

‘…If there’s an element that threatens Pleroma’s existence or groundbreaking growth.’

 

If an organization connected to the Orleans family, another organization comparable to Pleroma, has revealed itself in France. Other scenarios are possible, but this is the hypothesis I consider most likely right now, and I’ve already explained it to Emmanuel that way.

 

‘If I don’t consider this likely… then this should be seen as a declaration of war that Pleroma has sent us.’

 

We are currently in a situation where we’re concerned about a France-Austria war in a structure similar to World War I, and at the same time, we’ve encountered a situation where we must also prepare for war with Pleroma.

 

In this case, Pleroma would have completed all preparations. The Empire missed the right time to uproot Pleroma, and thanks to that, unlike 10 years ago, they now have a sophisticated parish system and their followers now number in the hundreds of thousands.

 

Sensing that my thoughts were becoming complicated, Narke reached under the table and touched the hand on my leg. He shook his head.

 

“Calm down.”

 

“…”

 

“There’s nothing we can change. This was bound to happen.”

 

He whispered.

 

There’s nothing we ‘can change.’ Would there be nothing even if we turned back time?

 

Unable to stop thinking, I looked into Narke’s eyes and recited the Berlin warp coordinate book from A. Narke understood my intention and turned his head. Now reciting the warp coordinate book has become a kind of signal for both him and me.

 

I also turned my head away from him. An employee was reciting warp coordinates.

 

“From now until 35 minutes, we’ll activate warp coordinates for 2 minutes. Please move immediately to the location I’m calling out. 255:786:094. 255, 789, 094.”

 

As the warp coordinates were announced, students who had been frozen in shock began disappearing from their seats one by one. Narke glanced at the gradually emptying conference room and said.

 

“We should go too.”

 

* * *

 

The dark sky turning an artificial blue color was more visible from here. I’m in the hall of the 1st Education Institute’s military academy operations building. Everything visible through the large window down to the ground is blue.

 

When a state of emergency is declared, darkness is intentionally erased for a while. Since it would consume quite a lot of mana, it won’t be maintained for long. Whistle sounds restricting passage constantly echo from outside the building.

 

When the mass disappearance incident broke and news came out, Leo, who had been in a strategy meeting in Bavaria, came out midway and came to Berlin. He arrived at the hall set up like a presentation venue and saw me, but didn’t say anything particular.

 

I didn’t feel like openly approaching Leo in a place with military academy students from the entire school. I don’t have the capacity to respond to questions about when we became close. The moment I lightly flicked my finger, Leo flinched and looked back at me. Understanding my intention, Leo cast a sound-blocking spell and walked forward looking straight ahead, speaking calmly.

 

“Let’s wait a bit longer.”

 

He knows well what I was going to ask when I called him.

 

“What’s your reasoning?”

 

“We need to move differently depending on the opponent’s movements. If this had been the first incident, maybe not, but from the moment a second incident occurred, complete prevention became nearly impossible.”

 

“…”

 

“Among the missing is a teacher who taught me magical studies when I attended the 3rd Education Institute. I learned from that person for over 6 years, so they’re like family to me.”

 

Leo’s low voice can be heard. The mana I feel from Leo around his core is subdued as if holding its breath. It’s different from Emmanuel’s case, but he’s definitely in a state of extreme tension. Noticing that I was reading his mana, he said this.

 

“You’d know what emotions I’m feeling right now. I’m saying this because I’m worried my intentions might be misunderstood. So… even if you try to turn back time to change the future, I won’t stop you. If we can identify the culprit, that would be meaningful. But we already turned back time once and were lying in ambush, yet no one was found around Emanuel’s mansion.”

 

“…”

 

“They’re probably moving organizationally, so it’ll be hard to catch them. Moreover, now that Pleroma has expressed their will to continue committing crimes, you and I alone can’t prevent everything, and we need to think more about whether preventing it might not cause something bigger to happen. I’m not arguing that you shouldn’t turn back time or that you absolutely must, but to see how the situation unfolds… let’s wait a bit longer.”

 

He always enlightens me whenever my thinking becomes rigid. I looked at Leo’s back and thought silently.

 

I prevented Emmanuel from going on a rampage, and perhaps I might be able to prevent the disappearance of 204 people as well.

 

But I know. If they had only attacked Emmanuel, turning back time to prevent it might have been meaningful, but Pleroma committed another crime in less than 24 hours even after their crime was discovered. Having committed this unimaginably insane act, this isn’t simply a problem that can be solved by turning back time, but a problem that requires changing Pleroma’s resolve. Or it’s a problem with the resolve of a specific parish within it.

 

‘Perhaps…’

 

Did this happen because I saved Emmanuel, who should have become a rampage and gone outside the mansion?

 

My head grows cold. If I prevent this incident, another will occur, and if I prevent that other incident, a new incident will happen again. In this insane class-based society, from the moment they targeted not commoners but royalty, their extraordinary resolve was predetermined. They directly confirmed that what the ‘Freiburg Cathedral’ alone did during Penthalon was successfully effective, and they know their potential impact on the Empire is enormous. The Empire has already crossed a river of no return. This is what Narke meant when he said ‘there’s nothing we can change.’

 

Once all the 1st Education Institute military academy students had arrived and sat in their assigned seats, lights began to come on the previously dark stage. Though this would normally be a place bustling with students’ laughter and chatter, now only silence flowed through this space without even small conversations. Everyone is tense.

 

[Can you hear me?]

 

There was a new human I’d never seen before on stage, wearing a Ministry of Magic civil servant badge. The Ministry of Magic civil servant, who had been checking if the amplification spell was working, spoke again.

 

[I am Henriette Gnadenau from the Ministry of Magic. You should know that a total of 205 magical studies scholars have gone missing throughout the Empire. Our Ministry of Magic judges this to be Pleroma’s doing.]

 

They mention the incident right from the start. The number of missing persons has even increased by one. The emergency situation mentioned in the initial announcement wasn’t mentioned for no reason. With the Empire’s core personnel missing and a state of emergency declared, there’s no reason to kindly joke around and waste time.

 

[Therefore, until the situation is resolved, students from the 2nd and 3rd Education Institutes will gather at the 1st Education Institute campus and receive protection from the Ministry of Magic. Military academy dormitory reassignment will be completed by 12 o’clock, and any necessary belongings can be submitted to the dormitory supervisor who will be assigned shortly, and the Ministry of Magic will move them directly to the 1st Education Institute.]

 

At those words, Elias, who had been sitting to Narke’s right with a hardened face, muttered.

 

“How unusual that they’re not telling us to guard Berlin. I thought they’d tell us to go out and do security patrol, even if not the other students.”

 

“…Don’t say things like that…”

 

“…”

 

I’m scared it might come true. At my words, Narke chuckled and covered Elias’s mouth. Anyway, this was necessary guidance up to this point, but this isn’t the main point.

 

[Now, I will guide you on the changed mobilization plan.]

 

Cheringen, who had been sitting in the front row, turned his head slightly. Our eyes met. He was showing a smile, but his expression wasn’t good, like mine.

 

[53% of the currently active Royal Mage Association 50th to 90th classes are missing, causing disruption in rampage processing. Since this disappearance is concentrated in the age range of 40 to 100 years old, our Empire’s Ministry of Magic has determined that mages of those classes are likely to become targets of criminal organizations, and to prevent those classes who also serve as Imperial military from neglecting national defense, we have decided to completely exclude them from rampage processing duties.]

 

“…”

 

“…Then?”

 

Ulrike, sitting in the front row, whispered.

 

Mages between 40 and 100 years old are practically the most core existence among new humans classified as mages.

 

As you can see from Eschete, who is publicly recognized as the most skilled throughout the 1st and 2nd Education Institutes, handling 8th to 9th grade rampages, the most core and high-risk 1st to 3rd grade rampages are handled by mages from those 50th to 90th classes. Declaring they’ll temporarily remove them from the front lines is a will not to let more of the Empire’s precious human resources go missing, given the situation. They too will now be under the government’s direct protection.

 

Yet mentioning the military means to be used for preserving national power rather than dying regrettably while doing ‘secondary duties,’ namely rampage processing.

 

The problem lies elsewhere. If they’re going to exclude all classes from 50th to 90th, what remains is…

 

[Royal Mage Association 101st class belonging to the Imperial Academy. Where are you?]

 

“…”

 

Throughout university and high school, we’re the only Royal Mage Association members. Even more so if it’s the 101st class.

 

I bit the inside of my lip. From the 1st Education Institute to the 2nd Education Institute military academy, all students’ bewildered gazes focused on us at once. Leo slightly opened his mouth, then composed his expression, stood up and said.

 

“This is Eschete of the 101st class.”

 

The Ministry of Magic civil servant nodded and said without any change in expression.

 

[Good. The Royal Mage Association 101st class will handle 1st to 3rd grade rampages nationwide starting tomorrow at 12 PM.]

 

“…?!”

 

Sounds of people holding their breath can be heard from various places. The noise created by them looking around at each other instantly swelled.

 

“…Excuse me?”

 

An unplanned question flowed from Leo’s mouth. Even though I expected it, no other words would come out besides that question. 1st to 3rd grade, and nationwide at that. Even though I had sufficiently expected those words, my head feels dizzy.

 

‘…So they’re breaking the agreement like this.’

 

Since it’s an emergency, existing agreements can change at any time. I understand that since international relations aren’t good, we need to prepare for war and protect adult mages with outstanding experience, knowledge, and skills. Moreover, isn’t this a situation where we need to consider not only wars between new humans but also Pleroma? Even if I blame the government, there doesn’t seem to be a more ‘rational’ Plan B than this. That is, if we accept the inhumane calculation method of simply converting people to numbers.

 

Even with this sarcasm, I don’t mind facing 1st grade dangerous rampages. I’m not being sarcastic about the government to avoid my duty.

 

But the problem is that the safety of friends who haven’t even reached adulthood yet is at stake here.

 

“1st grade?”

 

“…Oh no…”

 

I can feel other team students glancing at us. The noise created by students gradually increased. The Eschete team members were looking at empty space with hardened expressions.

 

That’s understandable since students have never practiced with or learned how to handle rampages of that grade level. At best, the 4th grade from the third exam was the highest grade. Moreover, since the government doesn’t release analysis articles about 1st to 3rd grade rampages to the media, they don’t even properly know their danger level. Since there’s a considerable ability gap between grades, you can’t even compare 4th grade rampages with 3rd grade rampages. It’s like entering a completely unknown territory.

 

Since I can’t use divine power outside, I can’t clear labyrinths either. I’ll have to handle high-risk 1st to 3rd grade rampages through combat alone.

 

“I was curious about what level 3rd grade and above would be for them to even block reporting.”

 

Ulrike’s muttering could be heard. She probably means it’s unbelievable that we’d find out this way.

 

The civil servant, seeing the students’ reactions, seemed to have mixed feelings, and didn’t stop the commotion, just waited for it to quiet down. Then, when everyone was waiting for his words, he answered Leo’s brief question.

 

[Pleroma is currently attempting to recruit the Empire’s core magical scholars, making it inevitable to change the existing system. The Ministry of Magic and the Imperial Court have established an elite unit within the Imperial Army to handle the highest-risk Rampagers in response to Pleroma, and have decided to include the 101st in this elite unit, highly evaluating the outstanding skills and achievements of the 101st from the Imperial Academy.]

 

The words that followed were just sugar-coating, so they weren’t important. Because they’re ‘currently attempting to recruit the Empire’s core magical scholars,’ they’re excluding the 50th through 90th from Rampage handling duties… Then what about the students here?

 

“So we’re not core, which means we get thrown into Rampage handling. But among the non-core ones, we’re the best, so they’ll stick us with the highest danger level. How very grateful we should be~?”

 

At Elias’s quiet sarcasm, Narke quickly cast a sound-blocking spell and smiled. Leo didn’t look toward where Elias was sitting. He too shared the same opinion as Elias this time. Cheringen also maintained his usual smile while stroking his chin.

 

The Civil Servant, having finished what he needed to convey to Eschete, looked toward the other students and continued speaking.

 

[This is the second change. All classes from the Imperial 1st Education Institute to the Imperial 2nd Education Institute, excluding Eschete, will handle 3rd to 9th grade Rampagers.]

 

This time my eyes met with Leo’s. I could sense some shock in his gaze.

 

“…”

 

To be honest, while this doesn’t apply to us, this statement is more shocking to me. The safety line of 8th grade and below being lifted applies not just to us, but to all student corps belonging to the Imperial Academy.

 

As the hall instantly fell silent as if doused with ice water, I began to sense some grief in the Ministry of Magic Civil Servant’s expression.

 

[Students.]

 

The Civil Servant hesitated, then began saying words that weren’t on the paper he brought.

 

[I’m truly ashamed to say this. We need your strength. The Empire is currently facing unprecedented crises in its history, one after another.]

 

* * *

 

The Empire was complete chaos. Just like after Penthalon, the streets were lined with police carrying guns and wands. The newspapers were filled only with stories about missing person search updates.

 

The scheduled ‘next day at 12 o’clock’ came far too quickly, and we’re now outside.

 

That’s right.

 

A report has already come in. At least for the next week, we were supposed to get only 3rd grade Rampagers as an adaptation period…

 

‘What a tearfully grateful gesture, you bastards…’

 

When this ends, I need to meet Abraham. From the circumstances, that Antagonist definitely knew that Maria Osterreicheste and the Peruer that went to France would cause this butterfly effect. He might not have predicted that there would again be a shortage of personnel like the first day student mobilization orders came down, requiring students to be dragged in, but either way, I must hear the information only he has about this current situation.

 

Of course, the key is surviving today intact before talking with that Antagonist.

 

“Are we really okay being deployed like this right away?”

 

Ulrike muttered. I looked at Ulrike’s tense face and patted his shoulder.

 

“They probably think we can just do what we’ve been doing. We’ve even experienced up to 4th grade, so let’s try our best.”

 

“Luca, I didn’t know you were someone who could say things like that.”

 

Elias said while staring at me intently. He wasn’t doing that out of surprise, but giving me a hint. I avoided his gaze.

 

So, where did we end up today…

 

[Announcing once more. A high-risk Rampage has occurred on the 7th floor of Building B at Karl Bonhoeffer Mental Hospital. The estimated grade is 3rd, and we will update immediately if there are any changes. We will signal when the Rampage’s Vitriol enters a brief dormant period, so teams 3-4 should enter through the back gate and main gate respectively.]

 

I muttered at the guidance voice ringing in my ear.

 

“What a truly spectacular initiation.”

 

“You’re telling me. It’s not enough that our team’s first case with full deployment is handling a 3rd grade Rampage, but it’s at a hospital with 2,000 patients admitted. Truly amazing.”

 

Elias unusually spoke in a textbook-reading voice, self-deprecating with a hollow laugh. I followed him with a hollow laugh and turned my head. Then, Cheringen clapped his hands to focus our attention.

 

“Hey guys.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

Cheringen looked at the hospital surrounded by temporary defensive barriers to prevent secondary damage from the Rampage and said.

 

“Even though it was fake made with Mimesis, we did face up to 4th grade in our third exam, right? Just like Lucas said earlier.”

 

“…”

 

Haike and Ulrike, who had been silent with tension, looked at him. Cheringen extended his hand to his friends and smiled.

 

“We can do it. Let’s do well. No matter how high the grade, we have to try to survive first.”

 

Doing well.

 

Right now, there’s no other choice but that. Whether it’s international affairs or Pleroma sending Rampagers to hospitals, this was originally the job given to us, so at this moment, we must do our best.

 

Beep―

 

Just then, the entry permission signal rang in our ears. My eyes met with my friends’.

 

“Yeah, let’s do well.”

 

I lightly tapped Cheringen’s hand and changed my wand to a staff.

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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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