How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 355

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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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“We’ve dealt with them. One remains!”

 

“Leo! Where’s Luca?!”

 

As soon as my words ended, Elias shouted at me. Elias, who had killed the one bishop Lucas had left to us without hesitation, grabbed my shoulder while dripping the bishop’s blood from his hands. Having arrived late, he didn’t know where Lucas had gone. However, not knowing where he had gone was the same for me, who had been in the same place.

 

The burning fields of Corbiniano and the murky sky began to melt away. Soon, the small chapel that the Pleroma of Munich-Freising had used as an archive, St. Nikolaus Crypt Church in Füssen, spread out before us. We stood in the narrow corridor where moonlight entered, covered in vitriol all over our bodies. The sound of someone shouting and running could be heard.

 

[…It seems Saint Corbiniano has sided with the Empire.]

 

Lucas’s faint voice struck my head hard as it passed. Only then did I realize it. We had returned. We had returned, and it was over. Everything. I ran blindly toward where his magic power was pulling me.

 

I saw the back of Albertina Hohenzollern from the 91st, and behind her, familiar yet alien red eyes that were half-closing. Albertina Hohenzollern’s reflexes were faster than my speed of running to Lucas. He fell into Albertina Hohenzollern’s arms.

 

* * *

 

Until then, I think I was relieved. Regardless of the process, we could go home. So we all came to Bavaria’s hospital after dawn broke, and I now learned that one of Lucas’s senses, who had been admitted in advance, had disappeared.

 

“Prince Leonard Wittelsbach, please come in.”

 

“Hey, Leo. They’re calling you.”

 

In a voice two tones lower than usual, Elias struck my back with a thud. I don’t know what state of mind I got up with. I took one look at the hospital room where Lucas was and slowly turned around to pull the handle of the examination room door. The doctor saluted me, sat down, and pulled out a file. Steaming black coffee and a sugar bottle were placed in front of the seat.

 

“We’ve completed all examinations on Count Ascanien. Since you’ll want to hear the explanation right away, let me start with the main point…”

 

The plains of Corbiniano and the black smoke that had shot up to the sky from all directions scattered just like that. Like sand. We patrolled the quiet monastery village of Füssen until dawn broke, but nothing remained from that evening. No matter where we stepped on the grounds behind St. Nikolaus Crypt Church, the fields that had been burned and soaked in vitriol could no longer be found, yet irrationally, the influence of that space still remains. I no longer know with what heart I should step on Neuschwanstein in Füssen. The doctor’s voice is buried and scattered in the smoke rising over the black liquid.

 

“Your Highness, I know your heart is heavy because your colleague has suffered misfortune. Still, thanks to quickly escaping the spell, you avoided the worst situation. In the end, time will solve…”

 

I had already heard that my friend’s condition wasn’t too bad and the outlook was positive. I well knew the concerns the doctor was inferring from me as he observed the subtle movements of my facial muscles, but for me now, the point wasn’t that Lucas had lost a sense. Yes, I can admit it though I can’t tell anyone. The countless thoughts bursting and settling everywhere were unrelated to the examination results. There was no meaning in keeping him tied to that place. My friend always moves contrary to my wishes. By moving contrary like that, he ultimately achieves what I desire. The relationship I had wanted to gain from the beginning but couldn’t obtain, it was he who moved the first button I had fastened wrong, and everything depended on his hands. It’s the same now. Ridiculously crude devices, plans, promises I thought I could feel secure about… A white island that fell on the black surface is devoured and disappears. With just one piece, there wasn’t even a taste of sugar.

 

Creak—

 

I might have to pour out all the sugar in the bottle.

 

“What are you saying. What happened.”

 

“…”

 

“Hey! You have to tell me!”

 

When I opened the hospital room door, Lucas, who had been reading a book, looked up. He showed an awkward smile and scanned the 101st friends entering behind me. He cleared his throat and asked, as if drawing out words that wouldn’t come.

 

“You came?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Silence flows. Lucas rolled his eyes, closed the book, and leaned against the headboard. Watching him, I found myself muttering without realizing.

 

“What should I do.”

 

“So even His Highness the Prince has things he doesn’t know what to do about.”

 

Why does this familiar sarcasm that I would normally let go in one ear sound so spiteful? Because I truly know nothing, a thorn stabs deep into my heart. Facts spat at those who have are no different from ants on shoe tips. Facts spat at those who don’t have all become well-sharpened iron arrowheads that pierce deep. I pressed my eyes under my palm and muttered.

 

“I don’t have the luxury to play word games.”

 

“…Do all my words seem like jokes to you now? So even my questions sound completely transparent? Does our Prince see even my concern for a friend as frivolous, no matter how improperly I behave?”

 

If we’re going to keep this up, it would have been better to take him to that imperial whatever hospital where everyone got their heads blown off by bombs, then at least there wouldn’t be a Bavaria Prince monopolizing examination results without any relation… His continuing words become daggers again. But what entered my eyes at this moment was Elias’s adam’s apple moving with weight, his eyes growing darker, and his past that I knew. This is why I always had to sharpen and refine myself. My fatigue leaves wounds on others, and those wounds return to me again.

 

“Everything seems like jokes, no. Whatever my intention was, it was enough…”

 

“That’s how it sounded, so I’ll apologize. I’m truly sorry, Elias. I heard you well and I’m sorry too, and I’m grateful for your generosity. We always have deadly word fights, but fighting here too is a bit tiring. Now will you answer?”

 

Julia, who had heard such conversations tediously since childhood, and the always emotionless Heike Einsiedel gave us no attention as usual, but Ulrike Kleist looked back and forth between us with a face full of fear. That semicircular sweep wasn’t only seen from Kleist. Perhaps because he couldn’t immediately grasp what conversation we were having, Lucas’s gaze quickly went back and forth between me and Elias. Ah, my thinking was short. When Elias and I closed our mouths simultaneously, Lucas smiled, crossed his arms, and tilted his head. It was the face he usually made when we presented some flawed logic or did something wrong. So, does this mean he’s more uncomfortable with us keeping our mouths shut while reading his mood? I couldn’t guess. He pointed to the bandage around Elias’s neck and the bandage on my left hand and said.

 

“You’re hurt.”

 

I raised the corners of my mouth with effort at his words.

 

“We both got burned a bit. The vitriol was quite strong.”

 

“Right. I got my hair cut again this time. Look at this~ How hard I grew it!”

 

Elias grumbled while showing his shortly cut back hair. How hard he grew it, indeed. Didn’t he cut it once when infiltrating Munich theater and grow it back with divine power? Anyway, again… I was about to say something but stopped and looked at Lucas. Lucas was silently looking at Elias’s neck, then smiled while mimicking vitriol splashing.

 

“Your hair got cut. No, I guess it was cut?”

 

“…”

 

Julia maintained her smiling lips while twitching her eyebrows with a complicated expression. We were the ones who couldn’t adapt to the sudden change. Even knowing he couldn’t hear, we spoke as usual because it didn’t feel real. Even knowing. Elias quickly nodded, then expressed with his hands something flying toward where his back hair was, and mimicked crying. Lucas chuckled, paused for a moment, then asked.

 

“So, when will it come back?”

 

We all knew he was talking about his hearing. Ulrike Kleist quickly looked at me, and with Heike Einsiedel last, everyone’s gaze turned to me. I looked into his pink eyes and moved my lips.

 

“Nobody knows.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Elias frowned and turned his head.

 

To be precise, this was part of ambivalent feelings. While thinking of ways to make him recover faster, these words came out of my mouth first.

 

The estimate was about a month. When most of the magic power in his body is replaced with new ones, wouldn’t the lost sense return too? It would be faster if combined with treatment. That was what the doctor had said. I took out the notebook I had received from a servant and wrote.

 

[They say we have to wait about a month. The magic formula that affected you was something they’d never seen before, so they can’t be certain.]

 

“What, a month?”

 

Lucas burst into hollow laughter and touched his forehead. Ulrike Kleist opened her mouth wide and rolled her eyes.

 

“Whoa… That’s way longer than I thought…?!”

 

“Hmm. Either way, it’s good that you can hear again, but what about work in the meantime?”

 

“That period depends on how well you…”

 

Recover. And if you don’t go around doing research again, you could recover quickly, right? I should have said that, but thoughts blocked my mouth. If your hearing recovers to its previous state, you’ll go to work again, and you’ll take on another impossible operation and create another impossible breakthrough, and you’ll end up in the hospital like this again. If that’s the case, I’d rather…

 

“…”

 

I pressed my pale fingers against my lips. The thoughts I’m having make my liver run cold. Such thoughts can’t be normal. Narke looks back at me. An amused smile lingers on his face where surprise had flickered.

 

“I’ll make you recover quickly.”

 

I deliberately speak with confidence to crush and eliminate the thoughts that suddenly arose. Even knowing Lucas can’t hear. I took the sketchbook and wrote to show him. Lucas laughed heartily, grabbed and patted my hand, and leaned against the backrest.

 

“Ah, how reassuring. Thank you. For now, I won’t be able to handle incident reports, and to recover, I should just play around by myself. Right?”

 

“…”

 

“I’m confident. Confident in doing nothing and just playing. I’ll try to set a record for fastest recovery time.”

 

“Like hell you’ll play.”

 

“This guy just cursed at me, didn’t he.”

 

Lucas pointed at me and asked his friends. Shamelessly, his friends nodded with smiling faces, so I gave them cold looks as a warning. Then Ulrike spoke seriously with intensity in her eyes.

 

“Guys. Lucas and Senior Albertina Hohenzollern have to go out together later, but what do we do since Lucas can’t hear sounds… We, I mean Lucas has never even trained in lip reading.”

 

At those words, Narke spoke as if just remembering.

 

“Ah, that’s right~ Haven’t you all heard the news yet?”

 

“The examination just finished not long ago. Not everyone would know yet.”

 

“Mm, I see. If I relay it directly so Lucas can hear, it should be fine.”

 

Speak so he can hear? Confusion rose faster than memories from before. Narke moved closer to Lucas, leaving behind mine and my friends’ questions. Lucas, who had been reading a letter, rolled his eyes for a moment at that strange reaction, then raised his eyebrows. Soon he showed surprised eyes, then smiled and opened his mouth.

 

“I’m happy too.”

 

I’m happy too? Suddenly? Narke spoke with divine power, and Lucas answered with his voice. Even knowing this fact, the confusion didn’t easily subside.

 

“Ah, what conversation are they having exactly~? I’m feeling left out.”

 

Before Elias’s joke ended, Lucas, whose face had brightened further, answered Narke.

 

“This is useful at times like this. If you’re okay with it, we can communicate through you from now on?”

 

“No way! Talk directly with me!”

 

Elias snatched my sketchbook, endlessly wrote the same alphabet, and showed it to Lucas. His tilted eyebrows looked detestable, so I clicked my tongue. Julia snickered from far away.

 

Meanwhile, Lucas, who squinted and read it, laughed.

 

“‘No way’? That’s so like you.”

 

Then, while we all stared blankly at them, he began conversing with Narke.

 

“Ah, I’m going too? That’s fast. I didn’t know they’d do it starting today.”

 

“…”

 

“I suppose so. Good. I prefer meeting people rather than staying in the hospital room.”

 

At the unpredictable conversation between Lucas and Narke, Elias widened his eyes and hit my arm.

 

“Did you hear? Lucas says he likes meeting people.”

 

“What am I supposed to.”

 

“Forget it, man.”

 

What am I supposed to do about it. I was decoding Elias’s words but quickly erased the thought and looked at the 101st friends.

 

“Guys. I have something to talk about with Lucas for a moment. If you’re done greeting him, could you step out briefly?”

 

At those words, Narke’s eyes widened.

 

“Um, I have to go out with Lucas later for the banquet~?”

 

“Come get him then.”

 

I sent all my friends out of the hospital room. Perhaps dissatisfied that his conversation partner had disappeared, Lucas looked up at me with displeasure. I wrote the first thing I wanted to say in the notebook and showed him.

 

[Congratulations on the successful operation. It’s thanks to you.]

 

“I congratulate you too. It’s good to see everyone not badly hurt and fine.”

 

At Lucas’s generous answer, I responded with a smile and wrote on the next page to show him.

 

[You’re not in your right mind.]

 

“…”

 

Lucas chuckled and tilted his head.

 

“That’s interesting. Senior said the exact same thing. What do you think?”

 

Senior…? I frowned. That foul-tempered person from the 98th… There was no point in saying more. I sighed and quickly scribbled down some words.

 

[In my opinion, you’re obviously not in your right mind. You knew that Pleroma would desperately launch a final attack.]

 

“Of course. Think about it from that Pleroma’s perspective. Just by drinking blood, it can deploy spatial magic. It can use all its strength to bring an opponent to near-death, drink their blood, and not only recover to full health but become even stronger. Why wouldn’t it make that final strike?”

 

What I couldn’t understand was that he charged in knowing all this. When I moved my lips slightly, I saw Lucas’s gaze turn to my lips. I waved my hand to signal that I wasn’t saying anything. Lucas shrugged with a calm expression and continued.

 

“Because I knew, I could figure out what magic to use, and that’s why we’re all here right now, isn’t it? Though I didn’t expect to temporarily lose my hearing, thanks to the magic formula I prepared in advance, it ended at a level that can be healed with treatment.”

 

Yes, I understand your thinking. I get it. Maybe it was something someone had to do. Perhaps it’s a luxury for me to wish that a friend I admire wouldn’t die in such a place. That’s why I couldn’t say anything more. Lucas broke the silence and asked.

 

“Am I speaking properly though?”

 

I felt like I’d been hit on the head and looked down at him wordlessly. So far, he was speaking no differently than usual. When I nodded, Lucas quickly accepted it and brought up something else.

 

“You have more to say to me, don’t you.”

 

Isn’t that obvious? This couldn’t be everything. Though I didn’t answer, Lucas read my expression and let out a hollow laugh, trembling as he stood up from his seat.

 

“I can’t even guess what you’re going to say. I’ll listen to the scolding later. Don’t we have to go down in an hour? Go on out.”

 

He’ll listen to the scolding later…

 

He was right. I hadn’t even said half of what I wanted to tell him, and I had no intention of saying it all during such a hectic time.

 

Lucas kicked me out and came out after changing from his patient gown into dress uniform. After a brief rest, and a little while after everyone except the two hospitalized in intensive care had gotten up, we all went down to the ballroom. Everyone who participated in this operation sat on both sides of the ballroom, and I could see the chairman of the Imperial Mage Association—nominally the supreme commander of headquarters—who had been delegated authority by the Emperor was there. There were no Bavarian royals. They had only temporarily lent their space to Prussia and the Empire, so there was no obligation for them to attend.

 

An aide to the chairman, whom I was seeing for the first time, read through a prepared speech. In front of him stood Albertina Hohenzollern of the 91st and Lucas.

 

“…We award the Corbiniano Military Merit Medal to the 91st, 98th, and 101st units of the Imperial Mage Association who led this operation to success.”

 

Narke sat in the front row and seemed to be relaying everything the supreme commander said directly to Lucas.

 

“No matter how I think about it, this is either hasty excitement or a speed achieved by grinding people up. When did they even make the medals?”

 

Elias muttered. The processing was fast. Everything was just as Lucas had reacted earlier. From the Empire’s perspective, it was a natural decision since they would want to maintain this victorious atmosphere without breaking it.

 

The chairman, who had hung medals around their necks as representatives, placed his hand on Lucas’s shoulder and spoke seriously.

 

“Thanks to the brilliant achievements of 101st Deputy Captain Lucas Ascanien, our Empire was able to achieve a great victory. From the beginning to the end of Operation Corbiniano, there was no place untouched by Ascanien’s hand. Our Empire will never forget Count Ascanien’s dedication.”

 

“My strategy shone thanks to the thorough training of the Imperial Mage Association. It was an honor to protect the safety of the Empire alongside outstanding mages.”

 

Lucas answered as cleanly and cheerfully as usual. It was the ordinary attitude he showed in front of friends other than me, Elias, and Narke. Regardless of what happened to one sense, naturally, he was still himself.

 

A brief celebratory atmosphere continued. We moved to another banquet hall right next door. Before Lucas joined up with Narke, when I approached Lucas, he looked at me and spoke briefly.

 

“Do they hold a banquet every time we finish an operation? That’s nice.”

 

“Usually.”

 

I could have spoken longer, but I stopped doing so after realizing that Lucas’s gaze was focused only on my lips. He deflected with laughter and didn’t open his mouth again. After staying silent for a while, Lucas pointed to a canapé with cherry tomatoes and white cheese. When I shook my head, he ate the canapé by himself. Everything continued through hand signals. He was originally a friend of few words, but he seemed to be speaking even less than usual, perhaps worried he might misspeak. My stomach felt a bit sour.

 

“You want your hearing to return as soon as possible, even if it’s just a day sooner?”

 

When I spoke using my mouth, perplexity crossed Lucas’s face as he belatedly noticed my lips moving. I wrote something on a memo and handed it to him. Lucas, who would normally have responded with a serious and blunt affirmation, answered cheerfully, perhaps worried about our concerns or just in a good mood.

 

“What… Isn’t that obvious? If I were doing other work it might be different, but as a combat mage, I need to recover my senses today if possible. Or train to move without senses.”

 

Then he paused briefly and continued.

 

“Do you have a method or something?”

 

The moment I opened my mouth to answer, Lucas looked behind me and raised his eyebrows.

 

“Wait a moment. I need to call Narke over.”

 

Why again?

 

Thinking that, when I turned my head to where his gaze had landed, I could understand. I had to prevent my expression from souring at the sight of this neat face that I had seen sickeningly often since the Corbiniano coordinate system. The 98th A captain standing next to me looked incredulously at Lucas disappearing in the distance.

 

“Why is the Deputy Captain just leaving?”

 

Isn’t it because of you? I swallowed my words and smiled.

 

“Well. I don’t know.”

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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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