How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 32

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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 (32)

“If you had devoted even a tenth of the attention you pour on me to state affairs, this country would already be a much better place to live.”

“Elias.”

Leo quietly scolded him.

In the novel, the protagonist’s greatest enemy wasn’t Pleroma or anything else. It was the Imperial Court itself.

The uncle he speaks of is the current Emperor.

He had one younger brother below him, but since he was physically weak and had magical power even more meager than lower nobility, he was never once mentioned as the next emperor. Therefore, his uncle quite naturally ascended to the throne.

However, the Emperor’s peace began to crack when his younger brother had a child.

From his brother who was so frail it was questionable whether he could even be called a mage, a mage stronger than the current Emperor was born.

For the Emperor, who had grown up smoothly as a pillar of the imperial family from birth, this was like a bolt from the blue.

Because of this, it became difficult to pass the throne to his own children.

Of course, normally a child from a branch family being somewhat stronger than the main family’s child wouldn’t replace the main family’s succession. The branch family would simply gain the greatest honor and wealth.

But Elias was born with unprecedented magical power that went beyond that level, enough to threaten even the current Emperor’s throne.

So from the moment his magical power manifested, Elias became an enemy of the current Emperor and his children.

Elias calmed his emotions at Leo’s words and smiled.

“Anyway, you’re in the same situation. I definitely heard you couldn’t use magic, but if Adrian Ascanien is wary enough to be on guard, I’m curious how strong the magical power you’re hiding is. No, how have you managed to hide your magical power and live all this time?”

“Hyung has been feeding me poison since I was young.”

“Ah.”

Elias frowned and stroked his chin.

I took out the poison I always carry from my jacket pocket and handed it to him.

He held the bottle up to the light and burst into laughter.

“Well… that’s surprising. I can’t believe it. That someone who cares so much for the people would feed poison to his younger brother. And even frame him with strange accusations?”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s where my reason for dealing with Pleroma lies.”

“To directly shatter the rumors hyung created, right? Ah, this is thrilling.”

Elias snapped his fingers.

“You understand well. You might be disappointed that my intentions aren’t pure, but I’d rather you focus on the fact that I have a driving force stronger than anything else.”

“Don’t worry about that. If you told people to do righteous work with only spotless, upright, and pure intentions, seven out of ten would drop out.”

Elias raised his wine glass forward as if making a toast.

Then he scrunched his eyebrows and burst into laughter.

“I should keep my mouth shut but I made a mistake. Yes, I think that way because I’m that kind of person too.”

I answered with a smile.

I think he belongs to those three people he mentioned.

Even if not, regardless of intentions, I know from watching his 10 years that he’s more righteous than anyone else.

I continued speaking after an appropriate pause.

“I’m going to shatter the rumors hyung created, and ultimately escape from his grasp. To do that, I’ll need to eliminate Pleroma. So, I want you to join our group. You’ll be a great help to our strength.”

“What do you think I can accomplish? You saw what happened this morning, right? I’m just a student who goes around causing problems. Would I be helpful?”

“Don’t you know better about your own potential and capabilities? I think it’s remarkable that you judged the magical beast problem that even the Imperial Court hasn’t officially recognized as Pleroma’s crime and went out exploring here and there.”

At my smile, Elias, who had been wearing his characteristic leisurely smile the whole time, momentarily erased his expression, then showed a smile of a different nature.

“…Right. I should receive proper compensation for my labor.”

“Of course, I can provide you with equivalent help as well.”

“You’re overflowing with confidence. Good. Do you know what I want?”

“You’re also chasing Pleroma right now. No, let’s speak directly. You’re currently aiming to fulfill the imperial family’s duties in your own way.”

Elias seemed at a loss for words, opening his mouth while narrowing his eyes and slowly tilting his head. Then he burst into laughter.

“Are you being serious? Don’t you know what kind of evaluation I receive from people? I’ll believe you misspoke about disgracing the Imperial Court.”

“You’re partly living that way on purpose.”

The laughter gradually disappeared from Elias’s face. It wasn’t the expression of someone cornered. It was just the face of someone wanting to see how far I would ramble on. He stared at me intently.

“Because that’s the only way to avoid receiving people’s support. Of course, that image is also perfect for achieving your goals. The current Imperial Court is neglecting state affairs, and as a result, gaps have appeared in many areas. I know you’re running around in all directions to fulfill responsibilities on behalf of the Imperial Court under that image.”

Elias still watched me silently.

“Why would you do such things? Wouldn’t the desire to move opposite to the Imperial Court that insults and ostracizes you serve as motivation to some degree? In any case, if that’s your process of disgracing the Imperial Court in your own way, I want to say that despite different intentions, I’m also walking the same path as you.”

“…”

It’s not ‘wouldn’t it serve as motivation’ but a fact.

Because I’ve read Elias’s inner thoughts.

But I can’t reveal that now.

“I can help you achieve what you want, Elias.”

Elias stared at me intently without blinking an eye, then took a sip of wine and smiled broadly.

“Lucas, was it?”

“Yes.”

“It’s a wonderful name. Come to think of it, we both have names ending with that damn ‘s’. So… Lucas, Lucas, Luca. Hmm, this would be good.”

Elias tapped the rim of his glass to the rhythm of his words. Then he leisurely raised his head and met my eyes.

“Yes, I’ll cooperate with you, Luca.”

“…”

I was momentarily speechless.

The only people who call Lucas ‘Luca’ are hyung and the protagonist.

In Luca’s chapters, the protagonist called his 10-year-old classmate’s name as a nickname with strange affinity and for some reason, even though he was already dead.

Setting aside that story, hearing this directly made it hard to speak readily.

The protagonist remains the same whether 10 years later or now.

I felt the relief that the world I knew still remained here, the same emotion I often felt with Leo.

It would have been good if that was all, but somehow the fact that no one recognizes the original me, that everyone truly recognizes me as Luca, came to mind again.

Elias waved his hand at me for not answering.

“Hmm, isn’t this a moment to be happy? Was I a bit rude at our first meeting?”

“Yes, how can you call him that without asking first?”

Leo glanced at my expression and scolded Elias. Leo knows that hyung calls me by that name. So he’d be even more awkward being caught in the middle.

“No.”

I looked into Elias’s straightforward eyes and said.

“Welcome, Eli.”

Ding―!

〈 Chapter 4. Constant drops wear away the stone (2) 〉

Proposal 1: Make ‘Elias Hohenzollern’ your ally. (1/1) (11 hours 53 minutes 17 seconds)

* Route 1 ― 〈 Proposal 2 〉

* Route 2 ― 〈 Chapter 5. Do not praise the day before evening comes 〉

Congratulations!

‘Proposal 1: Make ‘Elias Hohenzollern’ your ally.’ Success!

‘Route 1 — 〈 Proposal 2 〉’ confirmed.

With this, I’ve made two characters from the novel my allies.

While I’m at it, should I check the status window too?

Elias Hohenzollern

[Favorability +2]

Title: ?

Stamina: +9 [+7]

Mental Power: +8

Magic Power: +9

Skill: +6

Impression: +3

Luck: +8

Traits: Eternal Protagonist (Lv.2), Charm (Lv.3)

Favorability is 2.

Since he would have believed I was Pleroma until yesterday, this isn’t bad.

If I had checked initially, I would have very naturally faced a negative number, but since I raised it to positive before checking, I felt pretty good about it.

‘…’

I’ve adapted to a life where I’m happy with 2 points out of 10.

The title was a question mark like Leo’s case, and below it were stats that were difficult to see in peers, just like Leo and Narke.

More than that….

‘Eternal Protagonist?’

My gaze quickly moved to the trait at the very bottom.

It’s truly a protagonist-like name.

I tried to check what effect it had, but another window didn’t open.

‘There must be a reason it’s in the trait slot rather than the title slot.’

While I was admiring the text before my eyes, Leo asked with a bewildered face.

“Eli…?”

Unlike Leo’s question, Elias clapped his hands with a satisfied expression.

“I like that! Learn from Lucas, Leo.”

“No.”

“I call you Leo.”

“You can call me Leonard, Elias.”

“Hmm, I’m getting curious about who belongs here.”

Elias lightly brushed off Leo’s words and tapped the table.

Looking at the clock, it was almost time for the meeting.

“Wait a little. They’ll be here soon.”

* * *

“Thirteen including me? That’s a lot.”

Elias said while counting the number of chairs the students were sitting in.

Last time there were ten people, but they brought two more in the meantime.

Since Leo was the only one from the group who went to hunt magical beasts yesterday, it should have been noisier than usual, but it was extremely quiet because Elias was sitting there.

The students glanced at me and Leo toward Elias. Their faces showed they didn’t understand how Elias ended up here.

Then, someone warped from the entrance.

Narke, who came in last, organized his muddy boots at the entrance while scanning the students.

“Hmm, everyone’s here. I’m not late, but why is the atmosphere so… Ah.”

Narke smiled, then spotted Elias and approached him, extending his hand.

“I’m Narke. Please take care of me from now on.”

“I heard about you. You’re an exchange student, right? I also transferred to Class 2 and this is almost my first time attending school, so it feels unfamiliar, but I feel a bit relieved to have a comrade~”

Leo scolded him for that comment.

“You skipped school without permission and only attended our class for one day, while Narke has been attending for a whole month already.”

“What matters is the heart. If you count by period, I’ve been attending this school for two years too.”

“Haha, I know how that feels. Let’s work hard together.”

“You’re a good friend.”

Narke smiled and winked before returning to his seat.

Perhaps encouraged by Narke’s greeting, Melvin, whose face had turned excessively pale, managed to force a smile.

“Eh, Elias joined here too…. Since when?”

“From today. It seemed like you guys were having all the fun. So, what activities have you been doing? I’d like to see some materials.”

I took out my file and handed it to him.

Elias flipped through the file page by page and whistled.

“You’ve had four meetings so far? The quality is good, who did this?”

“Everyone. We compiled and submitted the materials each person gathered.”

Someone at the table spoke up in response to my answer.

“Lucas did most of the conclusion drawing though.”

“That’s right.”

At that response, Elias, who had been burying his head in the file, looked at me with a smile.

“I thought so earlier, but there’s not much difference from the materials the Imperial Court has. Some parts are even better. They have more in quantity, but at this rate, you could extract enough here too?”

“That’s surprising in its own way….”

Leo grabbed his forehead and muttered at Elias’s smile.

This meant we should consider the Imperial Court to be at the level of a high school club.

Then, Leo suddenly raised his head at a thought that occurred to him.

“Wait, but how do you know about the Imperial Court materials?”

“I raided them once before. Couldn’t make copies though.”

“….”

We definitely seem to have gained a reliable person.

I smiled with satisfaction among the stunned students.

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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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