How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 314

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magic Family (314)

 

“So we weren’t going back to school after all.”

 

Elias stood beside me and whispered.

 

We had come to the Prussian Ministry of Defense headquarters. The management authority over us, which had been scattered across various places like the Eschete Operations Committee, the cadet corps headquarters, and the Royal Mage Association, was now consolidated into one place. Anyway, it wasn’t just nonsense when they said they were creating some kind of special forces unit.

 

“You’ll only be coming here today. The reorganization isn’t finished yet. Starting tomorrow, you can report to the Special Operations Command headquarters.”

 

Since Elias had whispered without casting a sound barrier spell, the civil servant in front of us interjected into his words. Elias corrected his earlier mistake by casting a sound barrier spell and spoke sarcastically.

 

“Special operations, wow… Are we taking on assassinations or something?”

 

“Handling rampagers is pretty special though…”

 

No matter where you look, there’s no precedent for this, so if this isn’t special, what is?

 

The civil servant who had received a pile of papers from another civil servant diligently shuffled through them before putting them away with an uncomfortable expression. For someone who had gone to focus on something and came back, what he said to us was quite mundane. It was stuff we already knew.

 

“You’ll have a simple medical examination, and since today is your first day, we won’t connect you to any more reports. And… you must have many questions, but we’ll inform you of the details once the reorganization is somewhat complete. There are still many changes happening.”

 

“Still?”

 

“Well, all of this was decided just yesterday.”

 

The civil servant snapped his fingers to cast a sound barrier spell and spoke while glancing around nervously. It really hit home that we weren’t the only ones caught up in this situation. Since there wasn’t much to say—we weren’t curious anyway, as there wasn’t anything we ‘absolutely needed to know but didn’t’—we all came outside. I looked at the clothing of people passing by at the Ministry of Defense headquarters and thought.

 

‘Anyway, now we’ve completely entered the Prussian Army.’

 

There are three foreign ruling families here alone, plus other foreigners, but they’ve definitively nailed us all down as Prussian military, so from Hohenzollern’s perspective, this must be very good. Even the Royal Mage Association, if you examine its membership clauses, has sufficient grounds to be mobilized as defense force officers, so it’s generally included in Prussia’s military strength, but not satisfied with even that, they’ve made it completely certain.

 

Since Anhalt is a pro-Prussian nation, even if war breaks out, I’ll have no choice but to work here, but at least the Prince of Bavaria here would return to Bavaria if war broke out, so what could be the meaning of going this far?

 

I can definitely feel that Germany has war in mind and is preparing for it.

 

“…”

 

No one opened their mouth during the entire journey back to the Eschete dormitory that had been reassigned to the 1st Training Institute. Everyone probably reached the same conclusion I did.

 

With my 21st-century knowledge, I know what kind of nation Germany was during the two world wars, so this behavior isn’t surprising. When you think of militarism, which countries come to mind first? Germany and Japan—ask any passerby and 8 out of 10 would say this. Though I couldn’t feel it at the liberally organized Imperial 2nd Training Institute, if you go to a Prussian gymnasium, you can immediately sense that even schools here operate quite strictly. The teacher’s word is law, and if you disobey orders, whether you’re a student or not, you’ll face immediate disciplinary action without exception. Even my grandparents’ generation, who attended school in an era where traces of militarism hadn’t been erased, grew up receiving education with this kind of atmosphere subtly underlying it, didn’t they?

 

‘But not me.’

 

Even the Eschete friends here didn’t receive that kind of education. Germany’s militaristic foundation reached its peak during the two world wars, and it’s still a bit before that time, plus the three schools of the Imperial Academy were established with liberalism as their ideology through the German ruling class’s ‘reform from above’ policy.

 

‘…So.’

 

I’m now at the starting point where militarism begins to seriously infect the German Empire beyond just Prussia. I never thought I’d find myself at this historical moment racing toward destruction in a world with magic.

 

“Oh.”

 

The moment we warped to school, Narke, who was holding my hand, opened her eyes wide in surprise. I was equally surprised. Professors and students were gathered around the warp point.

 

“You’ve returned.”

 

Our class professor said while holding his wand. He lightly embraced Leo, me, and other team members before stepping back. Only then did other professors approach. They were part of the minimal personnel the government had left to protect the school. Whether they had too much to say and thus couldn’t say anything, or whether it was consideration, they just patted our shoulders instead of saying anything.

 

They were definitely here to confirm whether students returned alive. Since we and other cadet corps friends all went out as reports came in, these people would be waiting here longer. I really felt once again that this was truly the beginning.

 

“…It really is an emergency situation.”

 

Though she spoke rather suddenly as usual, even Haike seemed to feel a similar sentiment to mine. Since no one else spoke after that, when we opened the front door to enter the dormitory, Ulrike raised her voice.

 

“Looking at it again, our new dormitory is nice~”

 

The newly assigned dormitory wasn’t divided into rooms from the beginning, but had a structure with rooms centered around a living room. Friends just smiled and scattered to enter their respective rooms. Then, Elias began calling us.

 

“Hey guys. Sit down for a moment.”

 

Everyone looked a bit tired, but no friend particularly objected. Since I was too lazy to change clothes and lie down anyway, I quickly plopped down on the sofa. When Haike also slowly sat down, Elias looked around at us and said.

 

“I think we need special training.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Ulrike opened her eyes wide and asked.

 

“Let’s borrow the school’s mimesis. Like when we were in the training ground all day preparing for exams, we’ll go in and subdue everything.”

 

Elias unusually seriously looked around at everyone and continued speaking.

 

“We can’t keep doing things like today forever. Especially Luca, your strategy was good, but someday you might get hurt too.”

 

“…”

 

“And… if our skills improve, we can send rampagers to the hospital faster.”

 

“Good. I’m in favor.”

 

Haike quietly answered. Leo and Cheringen were still resting their chins and thinking. Ulrike hesitated about whether to speak or not, then opened her mouth with a tense expression.

 

“Um, I think it would be good for me to have an adjustment period first. Since this is still the beginning, we need to take care of our condition too.”

 

Elias didn’t argue or get annoyed, but calmly listened to his words. He didn’t particularly like Ulrike, but he still knew how to listen.

 

“I’m not saying this because I don’t want to run around. If we want to work for a long, long time without collapsing… there’s nothing good about moving too hastily from the start. Certainly improving our skills is important, but I think of this as a long-term battle, and I think we should adjust our pace accordingly.”

 

Ulrike asserted firmly while reading her friends’ reactions.

 

I know. Ulrike actually just didn’t stand out today, but according to my review of the footage from the 3rd exam, her combat style was quite aggressive and she likes moving and using her body more than anyone. She doesn’t need to worry about us misunderstanding.

 

Just then, Cheringen spoke.

 

“I want to mix both opinions.”

 

Train to improve skills, but don’t let the sense of duty and passion go too far. Though he spoke diplomatically, he actually meant he agreed with Ulrike’s opinion.

 

Leo would probably lean toward Elias’s side—would that magic fanatic pass up the training ground?—and Narke seemed to have a similar opinion judging by her expression.

 

I’m also drawn to the ‘let’s reduce time’ part and am ready to train right now. Actually, high-risk rampagers basically don’t have very high survival rates, because they’re rescued after their bodies are already severely damaged. That’s why it’s important to rescue them even a little earlier to prevent damage. I already knew this through the numerous statistics I saw while working as Nicolaus Ernst.

 

For now, Elias’s opinion would pass by majority vote. But…

 

“Let’s rest today.”

 

At my words, Elias exhaled like a deflated balloon and sat down as if lying on the sofa behind him. Haike, who suddenly bumped heads with him, slightly pushed Elias away. Elias collapsed onto Narke’s lap and slowly nodded his head.

 

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

 

“About what.”

 

“I was a bit impatient.”

 

“Not really. I understand.”

 

I was about to end my words there, but seeing Elias’s expression that looked dejected, I continued.

 

“Your opinion was good too. How about we do the special training you mentioned once everyone adapts?”

 

“Yeah. I like that for now.”

 

“Me too.”

 

Following Elias’s words, Haike immediately answered. Cheringen, who was listening, lightly clapped his hands and said.

 

“That settles it. Good work today, let’s rest a bit and have dinner together later.”

 

Since everyone seemed to lack energy, the sound of people quietly entering their rooms continued without further words.

 

It finally became quiet. Going to my room, I roughly took off my jacket and sat on the sofa. I had something to think about.

 

‘They said rampages happen frequently at mental hospitals.’

 

I already knew this, but having actually gone there today, I clearly felt the reason. Rampages are bound to happen. Everything is excessively inhumane. Where exactly is supposed to be humane?

 

Rather than handling the aftermath, since places like mental hospitals where rampages frequently occur have problems, we should prevent them in advance. The environment where medical staff despise patients, coercive treatment for diseases. I can’t grasp how to improve this, but if we want to lower the rampage rate, we need to take time to think about it.

 

And…

 

First, I need to go to Abraham. How to act in this international situation, how much he knows and predicts about Maria Osterreicheste, why he assigned this work to me.

 

The moment I grabbed the jacket and hat I had briefly taken off and went outside, someone knocked on the dormitory entrance.

 

Knock knock—

 

When I opened the door, a school employee held out a telegram and spoke quickly.

 

“Ah! You’re here. Are any of the 101st out right now? Quickly.”

 

Why so urgent? I thought that and shook my head.

 

“Everyone’s inside.”

 

“That’s a relief. You need to go to the front of the Tiergarten Victory Memorial Tower right now.”

 

Right now?

 

Why?

 

As soon as I thought that, the employee continued.

 

“The 98th class of the Royal Mage Association is waiting for you.”

 

* * *

 

“They told us to come tomorrow.”

 

“I thought so too until then, but this is how it turned out.”

 

The civil servant shrugged in response to Elias’s playful words. We had warped to the Tiergarten entrance first to meet the person written in the telegram. It was the civil servant we had seen at the Ministry of Defense headquarters earlier. He led us while speaking in a louder voice.

 

“It was decided that some of the remaining classes in the Royal Mage Association would be deployed for public security, and some for rampager handling. Among them, we had to confirm which classes would handle 1st to 3rd grade high-risk rampagers…”

 

“Did it happen to be confirmed?”

 

“That’s right. Two classes were confirmed 30 minutes ago. The 91st and 98th classes decided to handle high-risk rampagers, and the rest are still having their skills verified. Now, for rampager handling duties, the 98th class becomes your immediate senior class, 101st class.”

 

“We don’t even know the name of where we belong yet, but it’s already like that? Actually, forget the 98th class, we haven’t even met the 100th class seniors, haven’t been to the Special Operations Command headquarters, and haven’t heard about how the special whatever system works.”

 

“You’re right. I don’t really know either.”

 

The civil servant answered in a soulless voice to Elias’s pointed words.

 

“The 98th class happened to say they wanted to meet you all. That’s all I heard.”

 

“We heard that too.”

 

“That’s good then.”

 

The civil servant stopped around the Victory Column in Tiergarten and gestured. In the distance, people wearing uniforms that looked like Imperial Mage Association attire could be seen. We could also see the 98th class members looking at us and talking among themselves. We silently walked toward the Victory Column. As we approached, someone who appeared to be one of the captains of the 98th class—101st class forms one team, while other classes are divided into two or three teams—came forward with a friendly smile and extended his hand.

 

“You’ve come. I’m Albert Mecklenburg.”

 

A member of the Mecklenburg Principality, a mage from a ruling family like us. Leo smiled appropriately and was about to shake his hand when he hesitated. There was something strange about the smile on the other person’s face and the look in the eyes of the 98th class mages standing behind him.

 

“…”

 

It was a look that seemed to be watching and looking down on us somehow, but why for just a simple handshake… My friends also seemed to sense something odd as they glanced at each other.

 

When Leo didn’t immediately shake his hand, Mecklenburg tilted his head.

 

‘Ah.’

 

At that moment, I instinctively knew what they were waiting for. I should have anticipated this from the moment the Imperial Mage Association operated on a class system. Countless class-based organizations I experienced in the 21st century flashed through my mind. And the fact that this was the 19th century maximized my disillusionment.

 

‘…Whether he shakes it or not, they’ll say something.’

 

It was inevitable.

 

I hadn’t particularly heard that the atmosphere was bad, but since it’s bad everywhere, no one would think it was bad.

 

Leo looked at him and then shook his hand in greeting. The other person and the mages standing behind him began to laugh as if they had expected this.

 

“…Oh.”

 

“Doing what they tell you to do…”

 

Clack!

 

Leo clicked his heels and gave a Prussian salute. The other person froze and then wiped the expression from his face. I signaled to my friends and did the same. Now I was the one who had to hold back laughter.

 

‘He’s doing both…’

 

Of course, if they keep nitpicking, there’s no end to it. They could naturally drag this out with something like ‘who told you to greet twice’ and it could actually make things worse. But since I believe it’s better to escalate things, I have no objections.

 

The other person shook his head while staring at Leo intently, then stepped back. Then he spoke kindly again.

 

“It’s nice to meet you like this. It’s been quite a while since the 101st class was selected, but we haven’t had a chance to talk directly, and you don’t know how disappointing that was.”

 

“We should have come to see you. We apologize.”

 

At Leo’s words, he shook his head.

 

“Haha… No, if you apologize for something like this, what does that make me? It’s not that, but since we’ll be doing the same work from now on, I called you because there’s something I want to tell you.”

 

He checked his watch and said.

 

“We just received a report about a Grade 3 rampage 10 minutes ago, so we need to go right away. Let’s go together.”

 

They received a report 10 minutes ago and are going now? It was absurd. Not just me, but my friends’ faces also became serious for a moment.

 

They distributed papers with warp coordinates to us and quickly disappeared from Tiergarten.

 

“…”

 

I exchanged glances with my friends. Leo nodded and warped first. Like that, we all moved to the reported location.

 

‘It’s a building again this time.’

 

It was a 5-story department store. Fortunately, all the people had evacuated. They signaled to each other and split in half, taking us up divided 4-3. When we reached the 3rd floor, Albert Mecklenburg gestured to Leo and me and said.

 

“You can see the rampage over there, right?”

 

“We can see it.”

 

The rampage was wandering around the 3rd floor hall. It was covered in mud so we couldn’t tell exactly, but the sounds it was making almost seemed like crying.

 

Mecklenburg put his arm around my shoulder, brought his face close to the artifact, and said.

 

“It’s nothing else, but I heard it took you a whole 15 minutes to subdue a rampage, so I called you because I have something to tell you.”

 

Are they planning to make an issue of our skills? Fine, go ahead and tell us. Leo and I, as well as Elias and Cheringen who came up with us, all had similar expressions. Leo asked calmly.

 

“Is there a problem with our processing time?”

 

“There’s no problem. But if we honestly stick to that, we won’t live to see our natural deaths.”

 

“…”

 

“It seems no one has told you a good method yet. We’ll show you how everyone does it…”

 

The mages who came up through the back gate and the two mages standing next to Albert Mecklenburg began firing attacks indiscriminately. Surprisingly, up to this point it was identical to us—they too surrounded the rampage from all sides. I’m really curious how they’ll realize their declaration to reduce time.

 

Albert Mecklenburg, who had been watching leisurely, touched his wand holster with his hand.

 

“Watch carefully.”

 

However, what came out was not a wand. Silver metal glinted under the magic lamp. My friends’ eyes widened and Albert Mecklenburg closing his mouth and concentrating began to appear in slow motion.

 

Boom—!

 

Before anyone could stop him, the explosive sound continued two more times. As blood that was halfway to becoming Vitriol began spurting from the rampage’s head, the mages released the rampage. Albert Mecklenburg looked back at us with a refreshed expression as if he had finished all of today’s work.

 

“This is how you do it.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————