How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 360

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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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“Why?”

 

Pleroma is looking for me? Not anywhere else, but the leadership?

 

Mecklenburg fell silent at my words, which I had muttered to myself. Would there be anyone who didn’t know why my name had come up in their mouths? Mecklenburg was looking at me with eyes that were unlike him. There was no arrogant and leisurely smile that he had acquired from living as an elite his entire life, no cheeks stiffened by inferiority complex, and no tense expression he often wore in front of Nicolaus. He was looking at me silently, with his mouth firmly shut, containing dry compassion.

 

“….”

 

My confused mind became completely clear due to that expression. His compassion made me face my situation as Pleroma directly. Due to layers of fatigue, my naturally formed—misdirected cold gaze didn’t elicit any particular reaction from him. I turned my head away at his attitude that showed he could understand such a reaction. Mecklenburg’s words reached my ears.

 

“Still, you’re not the main negotiator. The Imperial government has no intention of selling you out either. Since we can’t send you alone, Lord Mecklenburg and His Majesty Albertina Hohenzollern will also participate together.”

 

“If I’m not the main negotiator?”

 

“You’ll participate as an observer.”

 

“….”

 

It would be unreasonable for the Empire to comply with every demand the other side makes. Now the Empire has also completed sufficient cost-benefit calculations and determined that calling me as an observer is something worth trying. Even if they had demanded to bring Adelbert, the Empire wouldn’t have kicked over the negotiation table over such a request. Of course, things would be different if it were an unreasonable demand like ‘hand over the Prince to us.’ Since this is so obvious, there’s no reason to think about it further, and such basic matters won’t occupy space in my head going forward.

 

Yes, back to the main point. Since it’s been decided, nothing can be changed, and as can be easily guessed, finding Abraham in this situation wouldn’t have much meaning either. For me too, it’s easier to respond when they reveal their intentions before my eyes rather than working behind the scenes. I smiled and shrugged my shoulders.

 

“I understand the reason. To think they’d specifically call for me alone.”

 

“….”

 

I deliberately twisted the corners of my mouth and spoke in a light tone, but my feigned nonchalance didn’t work. Mecklenburg was more serious than usual. Since he had already guessed that Adrian Ascanien was connected to my Pleroma rumors in some way, the reason he was showing me unnecessary concern now was probably also because of that. I corrected my expression again and answered.

 

“What trouble could there be?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

Mecklenburg finally gave a short reply. When heavy silence followed, he changed the subject.

 

“…As you’ll know when you read the letter I gave you earlier, I was a bit worried when I heard the news that you couldn’t hear. How did you have a conversation with me during the day earlier? And how did you get treated?”

 

“There are ways for everything.”

 

“…I thought you wouldn’t answer. Then did you spar right after the treatment ended?”

 

“Something like that.”

 

“Inside a building?”

 

Mecklenburg began asking as if interrogating me. It must have sounded absurd. I decided to remove some logic from my response.

 

“Technically speaking, a training ground is also a building, Senior.”

 

“No, you just came out of the Crown Prince’s palace. You sparred in a room?”

 

“It might sound ridiculous, but there are ways to do everything.”

 

“If you know, then say something that makes sense.”

 

“Why are you even curious about that? I just sparred with the Captain as a friend. Don’t act like someone who’s never kicked a ball in a classroom.”

 

“What do you kick in a classroom?!”

 

Crash—!

 

The concealment magic broke due to an attack from outside. The moment I lowered my body into a defensive stance with my left arm and Mecklenburg swung his wand, someone standing far away with arms crossed also flicked their wand. Two different colored magics collided in mid-air, creating a loud noise as they scattered.

 

“I wonder how long I have to listen to this.”

 

At the end of the corridor, Leo stood with a stern expression, with part of the garden and a lake reflecting the morning star behind him. He looked at Mecklenburg with a faint smile. Mecklenburg also greeted him with his usual gentle face. Leo dismissed the guards standing behind him and approached, quietly saying to me.

 

“Delphinium?”

 

“….”

 

I wondered what he was talking about, but apparently the bottle I had poured all over myself earlier while washing my face contained that. Yes, I’m sorry for killing your delphinium, but if you hadn’t kept dripping blood beyond reasonable limits, I wouldn’t have had to wash my face with water that had delphinium soaked in it, would I? Fortunately, Leo turned his head toward Mecklenburg before my gaze could turn cold.

 

“I didn’t expect to meet you here again. You must be tired, but what brings you here at this late hour?”

 

“I came to deliver orders.”

 

“Isn’t that not the kind of work Lord Mecklenburg does?”

 

“Given the nature of the matter, I thought it would be better to deliver it personally. Is there something you find displeasing?”

 

“I was merely honored. It’s concerning that the matter is serious.”

 

At those words, Mecklenburg nodded and pushed the orders he had shown me toward Leo.

 

“Pleroma has requested negotiations, and they demanded that Count Ascanien be called to that meeting.”

 

* * *

 

“Can you hear?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

I answered Leo’s question briefly. We were on our way to the negotiation site. With the 91st representative, Mecklenburg, and even Narke and Leo joining as observers.

 

Despite Leo’s attempts to make me drink more blood, after going through that final chaos, my hearing had continued for over a day and was still working now.

 

‘…It’s right to drink as little blood as possible.’

 

Given my abilities, I could become stronger than anyone using that as a medium, but at least, as a human, everyone has their own bottom line they want to maintain. I still don’t know whose blood I drank, but whoever it belonged to, Leo’s magic power lingered clearly in my mouth, so I didn’t want to accept any more.

 

Mecklenburg, wearing similar clothes to me but with a navy blue necktie in the 98th’s colors, looked back at us and matched my pace. He cast a sound-blocking spell and spoke quietly.

 

“Actually, what I told you was the last official schedule wasn’t this.”

 

“Then?”

 

“Our goal was to scout the next operation location. You had previously objected to entering Munich-Freising, hadn’t you? This time, since we revealed our methods to Pleroma through Munich-Freising, we had to decide even more carefully which diocese to enter.”

 

So headquarters needed my abilities. I smiled. To bring up talk about abilities to ease tension—that was a typical conversation topic choice for him. Mecklenburg, at least for today, didn’t try to stay away from me, show displeasure, or act awkward. Since I already knew his character was poor and he knew that I knew, he was considerately thinking about my feelings while pretending to be mature. I wonder if he knows that this very awkwardness proves the difficulty of this situation. I nodded and answered.

 

“What meaning would there be in reminiscing about it now?”

 

“That’s right. So, extending your sick leave and going to Neustrelitz?”

 

The dry spring wind brushed across my face. I could immediately tell it was an attempt to reassure me that nothing would happen today. I smiled and answered that I would think about it.

 

“The Chancellor is entering.”

 

The negotiation venue was the palace’s meeting hall. As we sat in chairs prepared on both sides of the room behind the table, the Prime Minister and his aides, ministers and vice ministers from various departments came to this place. We members of the Imperial Mage Union stood up from our seats and greeted them. The Chancellor looked around at the empty seats on the other side with apparent displeasure and made a comment.

 

“The other side hasn’t arrived yet.”

 

“….”

 

To wait for those who aren’t even in an equal position must be unpleasant. But the idea that they’re not in an equal position is habitual arrogance. The fact that the Empire responded to these cultists’ negotiation request already meant this balance was close to equilibrium, or tilted very slightly to one side.

 

A bleak tension pervades. This is the day to face Pleroma directly. We haven’t descended into their world, nor are we meeting some Pleroma members captured as prisoners. They are revealing themselves to the Empire as diplomatic envoys. It means they have risen from a small cult in the borderlands to an equal position with the Imperial government. It probably has been this way since the beginning of 1898.

 

Then one of the Foreign Ministry officials entered with a pale face and said.

 

“Chancellor. The Pleroma diplomatic mission has just arrived in the lobby. They said the security inspection took a long time, so they’ve just been sent to the palace.”

 

My eyes met Leo’s. I could see the bodies of officials and mages standing at attention around the table stiffening. The Chancellor answered with a solemn face.

 

“Tell them to come in now.”

 

“I’ll convey that.”

 

How much time passed after that? Moments of silence continued where not even the sound of an ant could be heard. In that quietness, it seemed even the finest vibrations from the floor were being transmitted. Then, footsteps were heard from in front of the door.

 

Creak—

 

“How refreshing.”

 

At that hoarse voice that didn’t sound human, everyone’s rigid faces turned toward him. That voice was enough to startle everyone. A small Human old man with neatly combed white hair walked in, leading several bishops and his monsignors. He had a long scar scratched by a blade on one eyelid.

 

“….”

 

Pleroma as diplomatic envoys—not mortal enemies to be killed immediately, but negotiation partners to converse with from an equal position. Everyone present was meeting Pleroma for the first time, and moreover, Pleroma from the leadership. The deep wrinkles carved into that face and the skin that had sagged under gravity over time gave a sense of transcendent kindness, but simultaneously appeared as an expression of strictness. Every time the hem of his vestments fluttered, a clear violet scent wafted from him. If not for the cross of alien form hanging around his neck, no one would have acknowledged that he was Pleroma. As the monsignors pulled out his chair, the old man stood before the table and began speaking slowly in an extraordinary voice that overwhelmed everyone.

 

“As a proud member of the German Empire, I am infinitely pleased to meet the holy spirits of the Empire. I am Lilli Lebendro.”

 

That voice curved and broke and stretched long in unexpected places, and from it seemed to arise a power that concentrated people’s minds. When the old man finished speaking, there was a kind of strange expectation and tension that he might say a little more. When everyone couldn’t take their eyes off him, the Prime Minister stood up from his seat and shook hands with him.

 

“I am Gertrud Rausch. Please, have a seat.”

 

This person was different from the Chancellor I had faced before. This was because existing government officials had been largely dismissed after Penthalon. The old man smiled at the Chancellor and sat down.

 

‘…Most Pleroma would maintain their youthful appearance.’

 

As we encountered during the Corbiniano operation, there are occasionally those who take the form of old men, but most have young faces in their 20s-30s. Was this to maintain dignity as leadership? If so, it would be successful. His appearance alone made tension rise to a suffocating degree. The Chancellor immediately opened her mouth.

 

“Before we begin, we haven’t heard detailed stories about your positions and duties. So, we would like to hear explanations about who Lord Lebendro and those seated beside him are.”

 

“That’s right. This monumental moment when Pleroma leadership stands before the Empire has finally arrived today. I’m reminded of this once again.”

 

The old man who introduced himself as Lilli Lebendro smiled and continued with his distinctive voice.

 

“Very well. I am the Bishop of the Brandenburg Archdiocese. The one seated here is Olaf Spess Munich-Freising, Bishop of the Munich-Freising Archdiocese. I’ll introduce the rest gradually if the opportunity arises.”

 

“….”

 

An archdiocese refers to a larger collective that oversees several dioceses, and usually the archbishop is held by the diocesan bishop of the archdiocese within that region. We had previously killed the archbishop in Brandenburg—that is, the Brandenburg Archbishop—but the old man here was claiming to be the archbishop. We didn’t rashly open our mouths at those incomprehensible words. The Chancellor stared at him expressionlessly, and the old man opened his mouth with an expected face.

 

“Don’t worry. His Excellency the Archbishop of Brandenburg who was martyred in the Empire and I are different people. In our Pleroma, archbishops don’t concurrently serve as archdiocese bishops. Also, as promised in advance in writing, I have come to this place in Pleroma’s name for today’s negotiations. The promises made with me will become promises made with Pleroma, beyond the Brandenburg Archdiocese.”

 

He quickly grasped the intent of the question and answered, then after pausing once to look around at all of us, opened his mouth again.

 

“Knowing that our Pleroma has no credibility from the Empire’s standpoint and cannot easily be recognized as an organization with negotiating power, we feel deep gratitude that you readily arranged this occasion today. We can promise in Pleroma’s name that we will not take the Empire’s goodwill lightly and will maintain the compromise that emerges today based on good faith.”

 

Goodwill, indeed. He’s praising us, but the reality is different. For the Empire, which had missed the opportunity and half-lost control over Pleroma, there was sufficient incentive to accept their negotiation proposal. Today’s negotiations also mean that the Empire recognizes Pleroma as a sovereign stakeholder, and both sides are aware of this. But whether the Empire recognizes it or not, now that Pleroma already has tremendous power and exerts significant influence on the Empire, refusing negotiations out of concern for this would be no different from pointlessly maintaining pride, so the Empire also accepted today’s occasion. It’s not a decision born from goodwill, contrary to what Pleroma is praising now. Moreover, whether the negotiations succeed or fail, just creating this occasion gives the Empire justification that it made efforts for the safety of its subjects and the peace of the Empire, so there’s no reason to refuse.

 

The Chancellor nodded.

 

“Good. First, let me state our Empire’s demands. The Empire wants the complete dissolution of the Pleroma sect and its prompt absorption into the Empire.”

 

“Heh heh heh….”

 

The old man laughed and nodded. Since he alone was laughing when everyone else wasn’t, the expressions of the Imperial ministers grew stern.

 

If the negotiating parties’ positions differ too greatly and there’s no common basis for understanding, negotiations cannot be established effectively. Therefore, for today, meaningful discussion about fundamental issues like ‘wanting the dissolution of the Pleroma sect’ would generally not be expected to occur. The Chancellor’s first claim was to emphasize the Empire’s basic position, not actually to draw out any compromise. The Chancellor maintained a gentle smile and waited for the old man’s words. When the old man didn’t open his mouth even after a long time, the Chancellor gestured and began speaking.

 

“If you surrender to the Empire now, we will let you maintain your previous positions as they are. You can maintain your wealth and honor while contributing to the prosperity of the German people.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

Generous conditions. Since this is also a common attitude in negotiations—naturally, during negotiations you can’t say ‘we’ll exterminate you as soon as your organization is dissolved’: the same applies no matter how beautifully you package it with rhetoric—none of us were surprised by this response. No one naively took those words at face value, and everyone expected that various clauses would be attached to that ‘generous offer’ and ultimately work against Pleroma. The old man, who briefly exclaimed, nodded and opened his mouth.

 

“I am infinitely grateful for the Empire’s and the Chancellor’s magnanimity. We know very well how much difficulty our Pleroma has caused the Empire. Nevertheless, you have shown forgiveness to your subjects as the same people. The grace of Lord Jesus Christ will be with the Empire.”

 

“….”

 

“However, that would be the same as demanding we betray Christ. We are fundamentally a religious organization.”

 

A chill runs down my spine. I feel like cold sweat might break out soon. It’s not because of anything else, but because the atmosphere around us has suddenly turned frigid. With this double blow of heresy, the faces of our people have hardened stiffly. Whether Protestant or Catholic, most of those present are Christians, so this was an absolutely absurd statement.

 

“We know that our Archdiocese of Brandenburg has wronged the precious Royal Mages of the Special Operations Command. Let us cleanly acknowledge what must be acknowledged. This was something our leadership had not been informed of in advance, and it was an inhumane unilateral decision by the Archdiocese of Brandenburg. As the Brandenburg Archdiocese Leader, I acknowledge that this was wrong and wish to deeply apologize to those involved in the incident.”

 

The bishops and monsignors sitting beside the old man nodded with agreeable expressions.

 

“Furthermore, our Pleroma clearly recognizes that the Empire has suffered serious unrest due to the mistakes of the Archdiocese of Brandenburg, and therefore we understand the motivation behind the Munich-Freising surprise attack.”

 

Surprise flashed across the faces of several civil servants standing around. Even the Chancellor looked at him with slightly furrowed brows.

 

Two dioceses had disappeared in an instant, and they would accept that with magnanimity?

 

“….”

 

Except for cases like Ainsiedel, most bishops showed no grief over their colleagues’ deaths. Even the last bishop we met, knowing that all his colleagues were dead and only two including himself remained, still grinned and tried to buy time by lying to us. I don’t know about priests or monsignors, but most Pleroma bishops and above lack humanity. So from their perspective, it’s like saying: dioceses that were incompetent enough to fall when the Empire struck are useless, so we’re not sorry to lose them either.

 

‘Hmm.’

 

I can only laugh. What nonsense.

 

In diplomacy with enemies, it’s common to scrape together every card you can hold to attack your opponent. Whether they were personally glad that colleagues they usually considered incompetent died, or thought nothing of it, internal and external affairs must be clearly distinguished. Diplomatically, this is clearly a loss and violation, and Pleroma could demand compensation from the Empire. This would be the normal expectation. But they’re taking the unnatural attitude of ‘we understand since you could reasonably kill us from your position.’ Unnatural responses always have motives.

 

‘I wonder what that reason could be.’

 

First, the most rational hypothesis is that Pleroma stepped back because if they demanded compensation appropriate for losing two dioceses, the Imperial Government could also demand repayment for expenses incurred protecting citizens from Pleroma’s threats. Even so, proactively giving up rights rather than skillfully avoiding the issue when it comes up is quite surprising behavior. The fact that they requested this meeting with the Empire first, and this – they clearly have a definite plan.

 

Simply because they don’t want their dioceses destroyed further? To prevent us from setting our next target after Munich-Freising? The next fight will be a particularly arduous confrontation for us. They will have figured out our methods, will unite, and we’ll have to devise strategy from scratch to face such a Pleroma. Given that, with the outcome still undecided and Pleroma actually having better odds now, blindly retreating is an un-Pleroma-like decision.

 

The Chancellor seemed to have decided not to speak hastily. When he didn’t hear reasonable words, he looked at the Pleroma with a stern expression as if scolding them. The old man also looked at the Chancellor with gentle eyes. The Munich-Freising Archdiocese Leader bishop sitting beside the old man spoke.

 

“Our people are currently in a precarious situation internationally. As members of the Empire, our desire to help our homeland in some way remains unchanged. Therefore, we Pleroma make this demand first: Please abolish the punishment and regulations on Pleroma’s missionary activities.”

 

While the Chancellor remained silent with his hands clasped, the old man spoke again.

 

“If you do so, the terrible things the Imperial Government currently defines as rampage, grave robbing, and kidnapping will no longer occur, and the next generation of Pleroma will stand on the Empire’s surface and become excellent mages loyal to the Empire.”

 

“Stand on the Empire’s surface and be loyal to the Empire….”

 

The Chancellor nodded with a cold smile.

 

“Interesting words. Could children raised with Pleroma ideology truly be loyal to the Empire? Could the undead who use pitch-black magic and sustain their lives by drinking animal and human blood truly become mages responsible for the Empire’s safety?”

 

“Isn’t there a precedent behind Your Excellency the Chancellor?”

 

At the old man’s words, the Chancellor’s smile stiffened.

 

“….”

 

I looked at the numerous blue eyes turning toward me. A Pleroma with gray-blue eyes, directly refuting the rumor that Pleroma eyes would be red, that Archdiocese Leader bishop old man spoke to me with warm eyes.

 

“You have more impressive eyes than I expected. No one could disagree about Count Ascanien’s achievements and abilities in resolving the Penthalon terror and annihilating two archdioceses. Even we Pleroma cannot help but acknowledge his capabilities.”

 

The old man’s words, creating complications at strange points, sounded almost mechanical. His head turned toward me sitting behind the Chancellor’s right side, then smoothly back to the Prime Minister. Sharp words flowed from his smiling lips.

 

“As you know, isn’t the Empire thoroughly protected from Pleroma by a single Pleroma? So what are you worried about?”

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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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