How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 316

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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 (316)

 

“He was trying to kill them. If Lucas hadn’t kicked his hand away, he would have shot more.”

 

Haike’s dry voice broke the silence.

 

The gazes of the friends gathered here, excluding Lucas and Leo, turned toward him. The 101st Unit, who had returned after receiving a lecture, was quiet. Getting scolded wasn’t particularly problematic, but the 98th Unit’s attempted murder wasn’t something easily forgotten.

 

“I clearly understand the dangers of disarming activities and have no objection to being punished.”

 

Ulrike, who had been listening quietly, was a bit flustered by Haike’s indifferent expression. He rolled his eyes before answering.

 

“…Yeah, that was handled smoothly. But the problem isn’t that…”

 

“But we were taught to rescue people, so why did they try to kill them?”

 

Haike wasn’t indignant or incredulous. He wasn’t upset from being lectured either. He simply felt puzzled by the seniors who acted differently from what they were instructed. Julia, who had been listening with an expressionless face while drinking tea, spoke calmly.

 

“The state is probably turning a blind eye. With the situation escalated this far, they probably think there’s no need to waste manpower. Even using the same 15 minutes, if they kill using firearms, our mages’ fatigue decreases, so they can be deployed for other missions, and it also reduces treatment costs.”

 

“Then they should have just ordered us to kill from the beginning.”

 

Haike asked matter-of-factly, as if he could definitely kill if ordered to. Julia, who had been silent, smiled slightly and answered.

 

“They want to catch two rabbits at once.”

 

“…”

 

Ulrike, who understood what she meant, covered his face and said.

 

“This isn’t right. Have those seniors been killing people like that all this time? Really? If this is what Royal Mages are like, it would be better to leave this group.”

 

At those words, everyone sitting there looked at him. Ulrike thought more by himself and added.

 

“…Though I can’t just quit out of stubbornness. …Elias suggested training earlier. I was thinking too complacently. Let’s go borrow Mimesis right now.”

 

“Our opinions align.”

 

Elias answered expressionlessly and stood up from his seat.

 

If people must be killed because rescue activities are inefficient, then there’s no other way but to increase efficiency. Elias had other thoughts in mind, but he couldn’t immediately voice unrealistic plans like overthrowing the class system in front of them. The other friends also all grabbed their training clothes and went outside the dormitory.

 

However, two of them had to be dragged out by Leo’s summons before finishing their training, and eventually all five had to.

 

* * *

 

“He was an outstanding student. He graduated with excellent grades.”

 

4 AM.

 

I’m at the 2nd Education Institute’s records archive with Narke. Naturally, this was after finishing all the meetings with the Eschete friends.

 

“Oh, and you should know this. Normally this wouldn’t be allowed, but I’m letting you in specially because you’re students.”

 

Our class’s homeroom professor suddenly turned toward Narke and me with a reminder. He carefully rummaged through a drawer and pulled out the Imperial 2nd Education Institute’s ranking chart from a few years ago.

 

‘Hmm.’

 

1st place.

 

Adrian Ascanien. Not surprising. If this person wasn’t first, who would be?

 

And, 2nd place.

 

Albert Mecklenburg.

 

“…”

 

Why did I end up with a revolver in my hands? Unable to shake that question, I came to the records archive to gather information on how to design the game board before beginning the real work.

 

As Narke and I smiled silently together, the professor also smiled along and said.

 

“Albert Mecklenburg got along well with your brother. Both students were at such a high level that they were the only ones who could communicate with each other.”

 

The professor brought out a group activity photo album. I can see a photo of Adrian Ascanien and Albert Mecklenburg with their arms around each other’s shoulders.

 

‘They got along well because they were the only ones who could communicate with each other…’

 

A good interpretation. Adrian Ascanien indeed wouldn’t have been able to communicate with his peers. For any kind of outlier to communicate with classmates without earning their resentment, they need to learn their peers’ perspectives, and in such cases, a friend who doesn’t harbor ill feelings even when you speak and act naturally is invaluable. However, the degree to which each deviated from the average is an important issue. It affects how they viewed each other. I asked indirectly while flipping through the grade report.

 

“Count Mecklenburg seems to be a person of good character.”

 

“He was a very polite and compassionate student. If there was a friend being ostracized in class, he would always go and look after them, and when fights were about to break out, he would mediate. He still keeps in touch with friends he became close to that way.”

 

That’s entirely possible. Even if he shoots and kills people he’s supposed to rescue without any guilt, that and this are problems of different dimensions. The professor seemed very fond of that student, smiling as he continued.

 

“Good leadership, courteous to everyone, well-mannered… If I were to have children, I’d want to raise them to be like this friend. Oh, your brother was also a wonderful student, of course.”

 

“I understand. I can fully empathize with why you say that, Professor.”

 

I said with a playful smile. The professor didn’t seem to think my intentions were bad, so he smiled along and nodded. Then he discovered a new document and showed it to me.

 

“This student also had the best volunteer service record in school. Yes… I remember he led his classmates to volunteer at orphanages every vacation.”

 

“I’m pleased that such a fine person is my direct senior.”

 

“Haha. Yes. You resemble Adrian in many ways…”

 

The professor, who had been observing my face after slightly brushing back my bangs, smiled and patted my shoulder.

 

“Albert will also be moved to be with a student who’s like his irreplaceable friend.”

 

* * *

 

The professor’s words were like a declaration.

 

You’re just marked, marked, and marked again. Every time Albert Mecklenburg sees your face, he’ll think of Adrian Ascanien and do to you what he wanted to do to your brother.

 

‘Interesting…’

 

I’m not being sarcastic—I’m genuinely amused. Wouldn’t anyone in the same situation as me react this way? I expect most people would react like me.

 

His handing me the revolver before I turned back time wasn’t coincidence.

 

There were many others he could have tried it on, and if he absolutely had to make someone do it, I expected he’d make Leo, another captain like himself, do it. Normally, if you’re planning to crush someone’s spirit, wouldn’t the right answer be to break the head of the organization first? Moreover, Leo had openly made him uncomfortable, so the possibility was even greater.

 

So why specifically me? If the reason was picking someone who seemed unlikely to shoot, there was no particular reason I’d stand out appearance-wise, and choosing Ulrike or Haike, who are easier to bully, would be best for him.

 

After finishing the dawn investigation and returning, this hypothesis gained strength.

 

He perceives me not as Lucas Ascanien but as Adrian Ascanien’s younger brother. He probably was wary that he might feel the same wall with me that he experienced with Adrian Ascanien, and the academic instincts accumulated over 10 years since the 3rd Education Institute days told him to crush this other Ascanien early. The second Ascanien who, after solving the Penthalon terror incident, was beginning to show signs of following his eldest brother’s life path.

 

“What are your thoughts? Still the same?”

 

After moving our luggage to the quarters we were assigned this morning, we naturally assembled right in front of the 98th Unit quarters again. Mecklenburg approached and asked me.

 

“Yes.”

 

Unlike yesterday, Mecklenburg nodded with an expression that said he expected as much, and gestured to his vice-captain to handle it. I spoke up before he turned away.

 

“However, I fully understand what Your Excellency intends to teach the 101st Unit.”

 

Mecklenburg slowly turned his head toward me. He smiled with a gentle face, yet as if he found it absurd, then answered.

 

“From my perspective, it doesn’t seem to have sunk in much. What do you think about this?”

 

“I will prove it to Your Excellency.”

 

“…”

 

Even though I hadn’t yet stated the main point, his eyes narrowed slightly and the corners of his mouth twisted. It was momentary, so no one else seemed to attach much meaning to it, but the significance that facial muscle change brought me was clear.

 

‘Mm, yes. …That must have been a satisfying thing to hear.’

 

It would have been more helpful to his self-efficacy if the person saying they’d make him acknowledge their proof was Adrian Ascanien rather than Lucas Ascanien, but anyway, the person he secretly intends to crush in this situation is me.

 

“I want to prove it. Please allow the 101st Unit to handle all the rampage reports assigned to the 98th Unit’s A Team today.”

 

“…”

 

A transparent request.

 

The intention to prevent the 98th Unit from using firearms is clearly revealed, and the intention of ‘if we do well today, you’ll allow us not to use firearms’ is also revealed.

 

I spoke knowing full well how it would be read. Now that I know what his weak spot is, and until the most basic groundwork is completed, he must be winning.

 

In other words, they won’t listen to our ‘proof.’

 

Instead, those who are overconfident might think it’s fine to give us hope. How naive would a junior seem who asks to be allowed to prove that their choice is right? Even if they see our proof, they’ll naturally refuse.

 

Even at my explosive request, my friends just looked straight ahead without any reaction. It was natural since we had already finished discussing this with all six of us at dawn.

 

“Do as you please.”

 

Mecklenburg’s answer, which came after a long while, was simple. He left his colleagues and departed.

 

I don’t know how much time passed. Judging by how short the shadows had become, it was already noon. Mecklenburg had skipped the lecturing again today, and everything was handled by the 98th Unit’s vice-captain.

 

“Stand up.”

 

The 98th Unit vice-captain, who had taken the artifact that was hanging on my ear and put it on, handed me the communication artifact. He probably told me to get up because the 101st Unit deployment signal came through my artifact.

 

Thud—

 

I stomped my feet to greet them, turned around, and ran.

 

“Luca!”

 

The friends waiting at the quarters’ main gate caught me. I roughly wiped my sweat with the towel they handed me and brushed the dirt off my clothes.

 

“…Are you okay?”

 

Ulrike has been asking this question continuously since our dawn meeting.

 

There’s a reason he asks this. I’m being called in between reports to receive mental education. What’s fortunate is that only I’m being concentrated on, and anyway, since we obviously can’t disobey orders right now before completing the first basic work—if we disobeyed already, we’d ruin everything—it’s much better for me to experience this alone than for the other friends to get harassed too.

 

“Of course I’m fine. Rather, since you all have been deployed multiple times too, that’s what I should be asking you.”

 

“What the hell are you talking about?”

 

Leo answered coldly before I even finished speaking. Since it was indeed just a polite remark, I had no intention of arguing back.

 

With my friends’ help, I warped to the rampage control center at the command headquarters main building, and a mage who had been receiving telegrams from the police bureau asked with a reluctant expression.

 

“Is there somewhere you’re feeling unwell?”

 

“No.”

 

It was reasonable to ask that. Even I could see my appearance wasn’t normal. Since I didn’t have time to shower, I naturally figured it wouldn’t look good and stopped caring, but Ulrike, thinking this question might have hurt my feelings, cast a sound-blocking spell and criticized the 98th Unit.

 

“…Why are you doing this right after we come back from a dispatch? I’m already exhausted and now even more….”

 

“They’re telling us to handle the next report like shit.”

 

Elias, who had been standing with a cold expression, cut off his words.

 

“If we become too exhausted to endure, they’ll use firearms as they please.”

 

He’s right. This is a strategy to make me exhausted and force me to use weapons. Whether it’s Albert Mecklenburg’s animosity toward me or whatever, they’ve been trying to force us to use firearms from the beginning. It was the same before I turned back time.

 

At least, the reason they only torment me and don’t conduct mental education on the other six is because they need an escape route in case their harassment drains all our strength and creates serious safety problems in the field.

 

Despite clearly having a meeting at dawn, Elias had been tense, but when I kept staring at him, he softened his expression and patted my back.

 

“Get on Luca’s back!”

 

“How kind….”

 

Kind in a direction I don’t particularly want. After a long struggle with Elias trying to pull me along, I was dispatched to the last report location, and afterward visited the hospital with friends who were already exhausted from dealing with rampagers three times.

 

And now it was time to briefly leave and go do some work. I had scheduled it to match the time when rampage reports frequently come in, and it perfectly aligned with the predetermined time.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

Leo took even Narke along to Bavaria to avoid suspicion. I passed through the Bavaria Checkpoint, took on Nicolaus’s appearance, and quickly warped to the council chamber. In the council chamber sat several deputy ministers and Committee civil servants whom I had asked Leo to invite. I shook hands with each of them.

 

“It’s been a while.”

 

“It has been a while. You’re hard to see.”

 

The Bavarian Deputy Finance Minister said while shaking hands with me. Even when I had spare time, I would visit directly twice a week to check on things briefly, but since most departments other than the Magic Department or Committee didn’t have much time for direct meetings, it was reasonable for him to say that. Since it wasn’t a reproachful tone, I responded with a smile, found my seat, and spoke while making eye contact with them.

 

“I express my deep gratitude to everyone who took time to attend. From now on, I will make additional proposals regarding the temporary plan for Bavaria’s national response measures.”

 

The time given to me was 5 minutes.

 

Since this wasn’t a scheduled meeting but one hastily arranged this morning, there’s no time to keep these high-ranking politicians for long. Also, since I need to visit the Prussian Government’s advisory committee afterward, I have no leisure to drag this out here.

 

“First, you all know that statistics on rampage and Pleroma terrorism have remained largely undisclosed until now. This decision was made because the prevailing concern was that it could stimulate public anxiety and intensify rampages.”

 

The politicians seated nodded lightly at my words.

 

“At this critical time when the situation in surrounding countries is serious, a large-scale disappearance incident targeting mages has occurred, a national emergency has been declared, and Bavarian citizens can no longer escape the confusion and fear caused by terrorist acts that occur daily without signs of improvement. Therefore, I have determined that existing responses cannot calm public anxiety, and that partial information restriction measures cannot suppress rampage phenomena. I would appreciate it if you could check the detailed analysis report I sent earlier.”

 

This isn’t just an excuse to achieve my goals, but a statistical fact. According to Prussia’s statistics, where trust in the government is lower than Bavaria’s due to hiding all information and controlling the media.

 

On the other hand, Bavaria has strong advantages in information disclosure, and currently it’s safe to say there are no factors that would stimulate anxiety regardless of what statistics are released. I looked around at everyone and continued speaking.

 

“At this meeting, I propose expanding the scope of disclosure for public medical institutions including the Bavarian National Medical Center, other public institutions, and the status of rampage handling and terrorism preparedness.”

 

This will be the first stepping stone for insubordination.

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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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