How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 321

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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 (321)

 

I was told to stay as well.

 

It wasn’t difficult to guess the reason for that.

 

I considered sitting next to Leo, who was also from the 101st Unit, but decided to sit in the same seat I had taken earlier… and at that moment, I had to endure what could only be called a protest without being a protest.

 

“…!”

 

Clatter—!

 

My knee jerked up without me realizing it. When I hit the desk, everyone’s gaze turned to me again. The Representative Mage of Class 91, who had maintained his usual expressionless face today, asked with a rare look of confusion.

 

“Is something wrong?”

 

“…”

 

“Count Ascanien?”

 

“…No. Nothing.”

 

I was about to look toward Leo but took a deep breath instead. The moment I pulled out my chair and sat down, Leo’s mana stabbed deep into my core, forcing me to work hard to keep my mouth shut. Leo, having stabbed me, looked at the 91st representative with an expression as if nothing had happened.

 

Anyway, seeing him send a signal made one thing clear. It probably wasn’t that we really needed to stick together as fellow 101st members—was he joking? It was only five chairs away anyway—Leo was probably trying to tell me to be on guard because this situation wouldn’t turn out favorably for me. Probably.

 

This was the most logical path I could deduce, and if it wasn’t for this reason, I couldn’t even begin to guess why he would stab me. Leo seemed to be imagining even the worst-case scenarios, as he always did. My thoughts differed from Leo’s. Certainly, this wouldn’t be a particularly kind time for me, but I wanted to turn even this moment into an opportunity.

 

“Let me get to the main reason why we kept you here today. We plan to reorganize teams and create a new organization composed entirely of A-class members.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

A reflexive question burst out from the Captain of the 98th Class B Team. The 91st representative glanced at him and turned his eyes back to continue.

 

“I will not explain the purpose of this now. What is certain is that we no longer have time to delay, and we need to divide our 45 members into four grades and select only about 10 A-class members whose abilities have been clearly proven.”

 

I exchanged glances with Leo.

 

I had never suggested such a ‘need’ to Abraham. I only asked him to create grades, not to form new teams based on those grades. I didn’t know what they were plotting, but the hastily created evaluation system was about to shine. As I was thinking this, another bolt from the blue reached my ears.

 

“Next, regarding the efficiency of Rampage disposal, we gathered you here to hear about the disposal methods of the 98th Class A Team.”

 

“…”

 

This point was indeed the worst, as Leo had predicted. First, words had been coming out in a different direction than I expected, which was shocking in that sense, and the specific mention of the 98th Class A Team was also shocking. However, I couldn’t just keep being shocked, so I quietly waited for his words to continue.

 

“The 98th Class A Team’s Rampage disposal time is remarkably outstanding. An average of 4 minutes. The damage to public facilities from Vitriol has been reduced to an extreme degree, making post-processing costs half of the overall average. Another team also shows unusual numbers, but since some verification is needed, setting that aside, most teams process according to the recommended processing time of about 10 to 15 minutes. Therefore, the Chief of Staff suggested that all three of our classes benchmark the most efficient method. There’s more to convey about this, so let’s move on immediately to verify that as well.”

 

Despite the continued praise for the 98th Class A Team, Albert Mecklenburg looked straight ahead without any change in expression.

 

“You should know that yesterday, evaluation grades were set for the first time and the first group training, the Anti-Pleroma Strategy Game, was conducted. I heard that yesterday’s training winner challenged all sets and won them all. I proposed upgrading the training evaluation grade of 98th Class A Team Deputy Captain Erich Reichenau to A-class, but Deputy Captain Reichenau said something interesting. He answered that it was entirely Lucas Ascanien’s achievement, so Lucas Ascanien should be upgraded to A-class instead of himself.”

 

“…”

 

The gazes of the 91st Class B and C Teams and the 98th Class A through C Team captains turned toward me. Leo, five seats away, also slightly turned his eyes to look at me. This was a topic I had expected. The 91st Representative Mage, who had been looking only at documents as if he had written this story on paper, raised his eyebrows and asked.

 

“Is it true that Count Ascanien achieved 9 wins out of 9?”

 

“…”

 

“I will not tolerate lies. Sub-players are equally game participants. Since no cheating was committed, answer properly.”

 

I thought they kept me here to talk about yesterday’s strategy game. The people sitting here were all those who had never faced me—98th Class A Team Deputy Captain Erich Reichenau—in yesterday’s strategy game, so it made sense they would ask if the rumors were true or not.

 

“Yes, sir. I did it.”

 

“You’re from the 101st.”

 

101. The pronunciation of the three-digit number 101 was emphasized.

 

“That’s correct.”

 

The 91st Representative Mage clasped his hands together and looked at the 91st Class B and C Team captains. They also exchanged glances with the 91st representative. As the ice-cold atmosphere continued, I could feel it intuitively.

 

‘As expected.’

 

Even if rumors had spread, no one here would swallow them whole. They didn’t blindly believe the 98th Deputy Captain’s and my words were lies, but they clearly thought they needed to verify once more whether it was true or not. It was understandable suspicion since they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes.

 

“The opinions of the soldiers who were present at the time also match the claims of both deputy captains. However, unfortunately, since I wasn’t present at the scene, please understand that I must approach this more carefully with more data. First, I’ll ask 101st Captain Leonard Wittelsbach.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“A complete victory is not an achievement anyone can obtain. Do you agree with the claim that yesterday’s score was entirely Count Lucas Ascanien’s accomplishment?”

 

“I agree. Count Ascanien possesses the skills to warrant such results.”

 

Leo answered immediately in a dry tone without a moment’s hesitation. The 91st Representative Mage nodded and looked at Albert Mecklenburg, the 98th Class A Team Captain at the right table.

 

“Captain Albert Mecklenburg has watched Deputy Captain Erich Reichenau for a long time, so you know him well. What do you think about Deputy Captain Erich Reichenau achieving first place in this training?”

 

“Though I’m concerned about causing trouble for a colleague I’ve worked with for a long time, I believe that 101st Deputy Captain Lucas Ascanien’s contribution was indeed significant in this training’s results. If grades need to be adjusted, I believe it should be 101st Deputy Captain Ascanien’s grade that gets upgraded, not Deputy Captain Reichenau’s.”

 

Mecklenburg answered calmly with an expression devoid of malice or anything else. I hadn’t expected anything from Albert Mecklenburg, but like the 98th Deputy Captain, he didn’t seem to be the type to fabricate stories. Someone who would engage in politics by telling obvious lies would actually find it hard to survive in the political world. Considering that he was from a ruling family, and that he had maintained his position as the 98th representative without being eliminated, and most importantly, considering the Professor’s evaluation of his character, his honesty wasn’t particularly surprising.

 

“Good. Then Count Ascanien. Finally, I’ll ask one easy question as a test.”

 

“Yes.”

 

At my answer, the 91st mage smiled faintly, put down his paper, and spoke quickly.

 

“Currently, under your view, there are Human national forces and French forces of similar strength, and the Human national forces and mages have advanced and encountered a river. Naturally, the French side has already deactivated all warp points, so the strategy of warping across the river is impossible. If you deploy a barrier over the river right now and advance the Humans, the opposing mages will try to break the barrier. Additional forces will arrive soon, and you must use those forces to reduce the enemy’s numbers here. I’ll give you 30 seconds.”

 

“…”

 

“30.”

 

Since he couldn’t watch the strategy game, he would ask this directly instead… Perhaps the reason Leo raised his guard was to prepare for such questions.

 

The question has many gaps. I don’t know what types of soldiers both sides are composed of, what other moves the enemy has prepared behind the river, what their supply lines are like, or whether it’s acceptable to bypass the point in front of us. Most importantly, I don’t know why we must endure the disadvantage of the river and cross it, why we can’t make them retreat, and why we must reduce their forces in this disadvantageous position. It’s truly absurd.

 

In other words, the intent of this ridiculous question, which takes a piece of spacetime from some game board, is clear. Even without considering the above, it asks how you would act ‘in terms of the most basic theory.’

 

The important thing is the river, nothing else matters. What kind of river it is, what terrain surrounds the river—none of that matters. It’s a game that ends once you grasp the question’s intent, and even that intent is so obvious it makes me wonder if they’re mocking me.

 

“…27. 26.”

 

“Within the range of quick return, and simultaneously at positions where joint attacks seem impossible from the enemy’s perspective, I would disperse our national forces along the river. At least the mages.”

 

“…”

 

All eyes turned to me. I could see the 91st Class B and C Team captains exchanging glances, and Leo lightly touching his lips with his hand. The 91st Representative Mage, who had been counting on his fingers, raised his eyebrows.

 

“Dispersion. You would attempt suicide in front of a river… What?”

 

Theoretically, the way an attacker can offset the disadvantage of a river is to attack with numbers and speed. So my words about splitting those numbers could sound like that.

 

Anyway, though I answered vaguely with ‘within the range of quick return, and simultaneously at positions where joint attacks seem impossible,’ the reaction wasn’t bad. Since the question itself was ambiguous, there was no basis to claim that the environment would definitely fail to meet those two seemingly contradictory requirements. So now comes the real answer.

 

“Deception is necessary. Usually, river defense doesn’t serve as an absolute victory condition for defenders, and attackers often don’t gain much advantage from breaking through river defenses. When we interpret your request in this context, sir, you’re asking us to prevent the French forces defending the river from retreating or taking detours to attack us from other flanks rather than the river until our additional forces arrive.”

 

I continued speaking while ignoring Mecklenburg’s persistent gaze fixed on me.

 

“In short, buy time. If the national forces that reached the river front deployed their army incorrectly, the enemy would also likely not want to miss the opportunity to strike our forces or the immediate opportunity to effectively defend the river. Since we need to give the enemy a strong immediate advantage regarding the river, it’s necessary to give them the sense that they can win.”

 

“…”

 

“At least if the enemy commander isn’t suffering from paranoia.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

The 91st Representative Mage let out an enigmatic laugh and nodded readily. He briefly exchanged glances with the other two 91st captains and answered.

 

“You grasped the question’s intent within 5 seconds.”

 

I remained silent for a moment, but when no words followed, I answered briefly.

 

“You said it was an easy question at the beginning, sir.”

 

“I’m not criticizing, so there’s no need to explain. Good. First, regarding the results of the first training, I have no choice but to report that Count Ascanien’s contribution must be recognized.”

 

Perhaps because what needed to be conveyed was almost finished, he looked around with a more relieved expression than before.

 

“Now I can continue with what I couldn’t say about the topic I brought up first. The 101st Eschete’s average Rampage disposal time is 8 minutes. The first dispatch was 15 minutes, the next report they handled was 10 minutes, then 8 minutes, 6 minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes… it keeps getting shorter. Post-processing costs are also below average.”

 

If he suddenly brought up this topic again… I had to work hard to keep my gaze fixed ahead instead of turning toward Leo. The 91st Representative Mage looked around at the six mages seated and said.

 

“With these statistics, along with yesterday’s training news and what I just saw and heard directly, I want to examine the 101st’s Rampage disposal process together with the 98th Class A Team’s disposal process. Do both teams agree?”

 

For a moment, Mecklenburg’s gaze swept over Leo and me. It didn’t take long for answers to come from both him and Leo.

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

* * *

 

Narke, who had been waiting for us outside, quickly caught up.

 

Watching Mecklenburg smile and greet the 98th Class B and C Team captains, Narke quietly muttered.

 

“That person always thinks a lot about you.”

 

“What kind of thoughts. Thoughts of beating me? Thoughts of humiliating me in front of the 91st? Thoughts of crushing me with training evaluations?”

 

“…”

 

When I responded to Narke’s words with such an answer, I could feel Leo beside me finding it absurd. Narke also pondered for a moment before laughing.

 

“It might be better not to know. It’s complicated, so it’s hard to put into words.”

 

“…What could it be then. Then why did you bring it up…”

 

Even though I squeezed out three of the worst, most terrible thoughts I could imagine, it goes beyond that? Then what exactly is he thinking? Narke lightly laughed and patted my shoulder.

 

“Hahaha! I was only thinking from an observer’s perspective. Sorry. But it’s not that different from the hypothesis you thought of.”

 

“He sees Adrian Ascanien overlapping with me.”

 

Narke smiled and nodded.

 

I had wondered if I was being too hasty. When judging people rashly, what’s revealed is often one’s own reflection. People only know the world they’ve seen and project it onto others. After seeing the shocking scene of a murder site, I had to make immediate judgments about Mecklenburg to quickly assess the situation, but it’s actually better to refrain from speculating about others you don’t know well. Speculation about someone reflects the judge’s life more nakedly than the actual circumstances of the other person. In short, you only see what you’re looking for.

 

Mecklenburg’s almost obsessive insistence on weapon use and justification could have various motives, and contrary to my speculation, it might not be because he acts more stubbornly due to an inferiority complex toward Adrian Ascanien. The thought that I might have simply dismissed Mecklenburg’s complex calculations as mere inferiority complex because I had always focused on others’ malice directed at me in my past life never left my mind.

 

So at times like this, I was grateful to have Narke. It allowed me to break free from my obsessive thoughts about countless possibilities.

 

Narke continued.

 

“That’s why he doesn’t just dislike you unconditionally. You know?”

 

Because he sees Adrian Ascanien overlapping with me, he doesn’t just dislike me unconditionally? It was ambiguous, but what I had to do remained unchanged anyway. For now, this wasn’t the time to discuss that. I activated my communication artifact and asked Narke.

 

“Are there any reports coming in right now?”

 

“No.”

 

“That makes sense.”

 

All the reports that would come in now would be handled by Team B and Team C of the 98th Batch. I muttered that and immediately continued speaking.

 

“Could you call the friends? We need to go to the Training Ground right away.”

 

There wasn’t even time to prepare anything.

 

The words of the Mage of Team A of the 91st Batch about comparing the Rampage handling process between Team 98A and the 101st Generation were immediately put into action.

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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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