How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 376

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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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“Let’s do it this way.”

 

As soon as he sat down at the table, Abraham spoke with a smile spread across his face, as if something was terribly amusing.

 

“It wouldn’t be fair if I’m the only one talking.”

 

“….”

 

I looked at the first page of the foreign ministry classified documents he had deliberately spread out for show, stared intently at the bracelet he had obediently put on, and considered whether to flip the desk. Seeing him act so boldly while making a show of trusting me more than anyone else, he really was incompatible with me. I asked without moving.

 

“Is there something you want to know about me? You could learn about me through the Prussian intelligence department anytime, yet you speak so strangely now that it’s absurd.”

 

“Mm, yes. I do know well. I know that before the Corbiniano operation, you couldn’t even get a guest room at Nymphenburg Palace and had never put your name on any Bavaria hotel reservation list.”

 

“….”

 

“Since no Bavarian would dare treat Bavaria’s benefactor poorly, this was probably because that country’s royalty wanted to treat Count Ernst with special hospitality.”

 

I turned my head and closed my eyes. Even if it was Bavaria, since the command had moved together at that time, accommodation information wouldn’t have been difficult to obtain – anyone could know that. But to actually investigate and then tell me about it like this? I raised my eyebrows and lowered the corners of my mouth with sarcasm, meaning I was going crazy from his kindness, and Abraham calmly added.

 

“Of course, if it were me, I wouldn’t have given up my room.”

 

“That friend would have thought so until last year, and I think so too. If you want to please me, keep your mouth shut.”

 

Who was it because of that Leo reacted that way? Even if it wasn’t the complete reason, hadn’t someone provided a cause at least once?

 

As my voice gradually lowered, Abraham feigned a puzzled expression. I knew he wasn’t puzzled at all. Sure enough, he immediately smiled slightly, showed a somewhat questioning look, then naturally clasped his hands and rested his chin on them.

 

“Right. Let’s go back. The topic I called unfair was about the time each of us receives our transaction profits.”

 

“This isn’t even a deposit… When I hear such words, I don’t know what you’re trying to do.”

 

“It’s a matter of mood. I hate you.”

 

Puk―

 

That disgusting smell of blood again. Normally one wouldn’t find the smell of blood disgusting, so I knew I shouldn’t show such a rejection. Instead of expressing on my face the absurd impulse to dry up all the blood in the world and turn it to powder, I narrowed my eyebrows at the strange arrangement of his words.

 

“That’s a lie. How could you hate me? In return, my blood vessels aren’t holding up right now.”

 

“For that, you’re recovering quite quickly.”

 

He answered with a smile, adjusted his bracelet slightly downward, and spoke in a light voice.

 

“Drink. And ask questions. I’ll answer one question at a time.”

 

It was indeed a matter of who finished first. Since I planned to keep coming to find Antagonist not just today but in the future, I had no intention of running away without listening to his demands at the end. Either way the result would be the same, so yielding one step wasn’t bad. But the problem was this. I stroked my chin, looked at the blood flowing in his palm, and asked.

 

“What and how?”

 

“What and how indeed.”

 

“I think you should at least show the courtesy of drawing it with a syringe, but my common sense is shattered right now…”

 

“Unfortunately, I don’t have a syringe right now.”

 

“Do you think that makes sense? Then what am I supposed to do?”

 

“I’m not a medical professional, so why should I carry that around as Crown Prince?”

 

“….”

 

Before, even when traveling on horseback, he drew blood with a syringe, but today he doesn’t have one? He was saying something that directly contradicted what he had said before. So now he was making Ernst into Pleroma – though based on all the information I knew about him, the possibility of him using today’s events to attack me was extremely low – while claiming he was innocent of all things Pleroma, which was naturally untrue, and he was just actively using the typical noble way of speaking. If he came out like that, my response was obviously predetermined.

 

“Saying nonsense once or twice is one thing, but if you keep this up, I don’t know what you’re trying to do. I don’t even know how many times I’m saying this.”

 

“No one said you had to sit here.”

 

“Ah, this is also my choice?”

 

I looked at the blood pooled in his palm and sneered. Abraham smiled properly.

 

“Exactly.”

 

“To a subject who wants to know the truth about incidents involving Pleroma, the person who threatens not to tell the truth unless they act like Pleroma is…”

 

I took off my left glove, cast purification magic into the air, then swept the air with my hand. Then I dabbed the blood at the tip of his palm and touched it to my tongue. From the moment the smell of blood got closer I felt nauseous, but likewise, normally I wouldn’t react so strongly to this degree. Only I, who had been considered Pleroma by all people and finally became not-Pleroma, but gained their characteristics at that very moment, only I who had everything I believed in completely shattered and could no longer know what was right, would show such a peculiar reaction.

 

What kind of reaction would I have shown before the Ash Wednesday ceremony? Other than vomiting before even putting it to my mouth.

 

I stretched my imagination to the fullest, made a disgusted face with contemptuous mockery, and continued speaking.

 

“I already knew that such Pleroma was His Highness the Crown Prince of this country, but it’s always refreshing.”

 

“Your impression?”

 

“Actually, I didn’t have mysophobia, but I think I just developed it. I feel like throwing up.”

 

“Haha! I was asking about the magical reaction though…”

 

I already knew what reaction he wanted. He would want to see with his own eyes whether I really gained the ability to absorb magical power through blood after the Ash Wednesday ceremony – that is, whether his prediction was correct. He was already confident, but nonetheless, confirming something and leaving it in the realm of speculation were different things.

 

Since I had only dabbed a tiny amount, my tongue tip only tingled slightly from the offensive magic, and there was no absorption reaction strong enough to be noticeable from outside, but even if I drank a whole bottle here, my will wouldn’t change.

 

Whatever ‘magical’ reaction he wanted, I would never reveal it. I struck the table with my hand to cut off his laughter. Haike and Ishmailov. Between the two, I would dig into the essence of this problem. What I wanted to know right now was about Haike, but since I needed to know everything eventually regardless of what I asked first, let me start from the beginning.

 

“Now answer. Since when has Pleroma been preparing to make Ishmailov the messiah?”

 

“Come to think of it, you cleverly figured out that Mikhail Ismailov is the messiah.”

 

Since when did they make him, I asked. When I remained silent at his admiration, finally came the answer to my question.

 

“It hasn’t been that long. August 31st, 1897. Ah.”

 

He opened his mouth slightly and gestured. He was telling me to open my mouth. Is this a dentist’s office? As I glared at him with my eyes, not wanting to comply, Abraham suddenly brought his blood-filled hand to my mouth.

 

Splash―

 

“….”

 

Before the blood that fell on my collar could fully soak in, I knocked his hand away and stood up. The blood that later fell from his hand and dropped onto my clothes spread thinly on the floor. I spat out the blood trying to enter my mouth and asked.

 

“What exactly are you doing? It got on my clothes, how am I supposed to go home?”

 

“Such trivial things… Go out and ask a servant for a change of clothes. More importantly, there’s a reason I’m asking you to do this, isn’t there?”

 

“I never knew you were such a childish person.”

 

Abraham paid no attention and looked at the drops of blood that fell on the documents because I knocked his hand away.

 

“What a waste, considering how much magical power was in that blood.”

 

“Even if you say that, I can’t absorb magical power like you Pleroma.”

 

“I understand. Keep saying that.”

 

“I was planning to anyway, but thank you for telling me.”

 

I answered coldly and snatched the handkerchief placed at his seat to wipe my mouth.

 

“I didn’t tell you to use it.”

 

“So what.”

 

“Haha! I’m glad that Count and I finally seem to have become quite close. Count and I are similar in age too, aren’t we?”

 

“August, you say. Am I supposed to believe it became like this in just half a year?”

 

Whether I ignored his words or not, he calmly nodded.

 

“Of course. If you raise someone in a collapsing world, half a year is no longer half a year, isn’t it?”

 

“You mean time dilation. In a way, collapse seems like a privilege, what do you think?”

 

“It’s transcendence in a sense. But if that transcendence is rushing toward death, and if it’s transcendence involving the lives of thousands and tens of thousands within it, from the church’s standpoint it can’t be very welcome. Dilation as a side effect and dilation as normal function are different.”

 

Indeed, there wouldn’t be anyone anywhere in this world who would want to be sucked into a black hole. Now it was time to move to the next topic.

 

“How did you bring Ishmailov? That mage must have had a place where he lived until before last year. Where is it?”

 

“I hope you fail.”

 

Puk―

 

Abraham pulled out the bracelet and turned the needle to where there was healthy skin. I looked at the newly flowing blood and answered.

 

“So do I.”

 

“I told a lie, but somehow you seem to have told the truth.”

 

“Of course.”

 

“My true feelings are the opposite of what I said.”

 

Abraham made the same motion as before. He meant for me to open my mouth. I wondered if I could put the blood somewhere, but it wasn’t a very good idea. It was too crazy a scene to call a servant, and he didn’t seem like he’d let me. I opened my mouth with an insincere attitude, and when about six or seven drops of Abraham’s blood entered my throat, I grimaced.

 

“Ugh.”

 

I pulled my head back, wrinkled my nose bridge, and pressed my forehead. Whether my nonverbal expression of disgust was properly conveyed to him, he let out a sigh mixed with hollow laughter. I’ll die from the fishy taste, I said that, but that wasn’t the problem. Abraham’s characteristic sluggish magical power collided arbitrarily, creating the illusion that my vision flashed brightly. Nausea surged. I vomited up everything that had gone down and spat out bloody saliva. My characteristic of amplifying and accepting any magical power was desperately struggling to make even this magical power mine and become stronger. I held my mouth and then put strength into my foot on the floor to suppress my whole body’s magical power from surging.

 

“Oh my… To think you’d vomit. Don’t you eat? Nothing’s coming out except blood.”

 

Even when you speak, must you do it like this? Every word he uttered called for a punch. I thought that as I slowly raised my head.

 

“Your standards seem to have become strange.”

 

Just looking at how he spoke made it clear, but he was the most insane person I’d ever met. He had been like this since he was the chairman, from the very beginning. If I met the Archbishop of Freiburg again, would my impression change? No, no matter what, if I had to pick the most unconventional person – the one with the biggest problems in his soul at this moment, it would be this person.

 

“It’s not Sanguinaccio Dolce, it just came from blood vessels and the magical power isn’t even organized, no one would feel refreshed drinking someone’s blood. Honestly, it wasn’t even heated, so I don’t even want to think about how many germs there might be. To think you didn’t know I’d vomit…”

 

“….”

 

For the first time today, Abraham made an incredulous face and raised the corners of his mouth. I leaned toward him and shook my head.

 

“Our Empire’s next Emperor has become so accustomed to drinking blood that he’s now turning innocent people into Pleroma.”

 

“Haha.”

 

Abraham laughed honestly and then clasped both hands together.

 

“Yes, I’ll have to admit this. My common sense might have changed a little.”

 

“Consider the possibility that you never had common sense to begin with. When were you ever normal?”

 

“I’ve really given you many weaknesses. You’re probably thinking of turning even this very moment into my weakness if you’re not careful.”

 

“I’m glad you know.”

 

“Still, isn’t it quite fun? At least I find it entertaining.”

 

It would be interesting because he’s not in his right mind, wouldn’t it?

 

Abraham spoke quietly, trying to capture every change in my facial expression.

 

“To answer you, I know nothing except that he came from Russia.”

 

“You would have been the only one capable of brainwashing Ishmailov, and you surely must have participated, yet you don’t know?”

 

“Look, I was also gradually being pushed out at that time.”

 

“Because of Primrose Pass, I suppose. Did Pleroma also sense the strange currents?”

 

“It’s a bit different, but quite an accurate story. When Count Ernst brings up that topic, my stomach starts burning again. I hope you can never rise again.”

 

Pook―

 

He recited his answer and the machine activation spell simultaneously, making it sound like he was saying everything to me. No matter how I listened, it felt like he was cursing everything he could before leaving. However, the machine reacting meant it wasn’t the truth, and since he had already used the machine countless times in front of me, I knew he wasn’t cheating. Looking at the blood droplets on his fingertips thrust before my eyes―truly disgusting now―I asked.

 

“How did you discover a talent like Ishmailov? He’s even a foreigner.”

 

“I don’t know. The personnel team would have done it.”

 

“….”

 

Not knowing something was understandable. The fact that he knew some things and didn’t know others was information in itself. But….

 

I considered grabbing him by the collar and stared at him coldly. Abraham burst into laughter and answered.

 

“We don’t call it that, but naturally there’s a separate organization within the leadership that manages people.”

 

“More.”

 

“Hmm…. There are cases with good unique abilities and cases with good social capital. The former is top secret among top secrets. In cases like mine, most people often don’t even know each other by sight, and the latter are usually professors or combat mages. Naturally, although Pleroma is in Germany, it’s not limited to Germans. Especially people from countries that share borders like Russia or Austria-Hungary are seen quite frequently.”

 

It was already known that combat mages, in human terms, meant soldiers. More importantly, ‘in cases like mine, we haven’t even seen each other.’ This part was understandable. There was no need to waste time explaining unnecessarily, and I didn’t need to waste mental energy asking either. I pondered for a moment and asked.

 

“Does Pleroma also exist in the Imperial Mage Alliance?”

 

“Doesn’t it seem like there wouldn’t be? It’s too late now anyway.”

 

“If you had purged them in advance, the scholar kidnapping incident wouldn’t have happened.”

 

“Hmm, why are you so certain? I….”

 

“You didn’t purge them even after leaving Pleroma, did you?”

 

“….”

 

Abraham looked at me silently. I tilted my head while looking at him.

 

“Looking closely, you deliberately act incompetent. Why exactly?”

 

Silence flowed. He smiled to break the quiet and extended his bleeding hand again, while I crossed my legs and propped my chin on my elbow resting on top. As I openly observed him, Abraham tilted his head with eyes asking why I was doing that. Only then did I answer.

 

“I’ve played along enough, so let’s stop this appropriately. The room reeks of blood―what will you explain to the Vice Minister?”

 

“So if you drink it quickly and make it disappear, that would work.”

 

“….”

 

Suddenly I remembered some food campaign slogan from a neighboring country in the 21st century, and I laughed at the absurdity. He tilted his head while watching me let out a laugh close to a sigh. I calmly explained to Abraham, who didn’t even know what nonsense he had spouted.

 

“Miraculous logic. Stop drawing what should be in your blood vessels and get your head straight.”

 

“If it goes into the stomach, it won’t come out into the air.”

 

“That’s true. You drink it yourself.”

 

“Are the questions finished?”

 

“If you were gradually being isolated, who conducted Ishmailov’s brainwashing? I already have a guess about the reason, but does excluding you even make sense?”

 

“Even without Primrose Pass, I wouldn’t have been able to handle that man’s brainwashing. From the moment I became an irreplaceable existence in the sect, I was already being checked by them. They had to prevent the dependency from rising above a certain level so I wouldn’t devour the organization called Pleroma.”

 

This was the topic I thought earlier didn’t need further discussion. I nodded and signaled to finish the story quickly.

 

“It’s the same. You don’t attach bombs to bombs. Only in very unavoidable cases do they write one more magical contract pledging to die for Pleroma’s hands at any time before entering. Therefore, I don’t know who brainwashed Ishmailov, and I don’t know much about him either. It would be the same even if you searched through other strong Pleroma members. But it’s also not something ordinary priests, monsignors, or bishops would know if you asked them.”

 

Not knowing who brainwashed Ishmailov…. The problem was that there probably wasn’t anyone capable of brainwashing such a person other than someone like Abraham. Arcane mages like Narke could also be considered. Their sect had ability users beyond imagination, and if there were arcane mages who couldn’t go to the Roman Curia openly after dying and coming back to life, they could have been scouted by Pleroma.

 

“….”

 

Hmm.

 

“Can that brainwashing be accomplished in a short period?”

 

“Does it seem like it?”

 

He was saying no. It didn’t seem like it to me either. Abraham continued lightly.

 

“They probably kept working on him until right before presenting him to us.”

 

“Then how did you know about Ishmailov’s existence? When you couldn’t even participate in the process of making him a messiah.”

 

“That’s why I couldn’t help but be surprised when I saw him again. They didn’t know I was Gregorius, so they could make the mistake of bringing Mikhail before me. In other words, I intend to do my best to help ensure you don’t suffer harm from Mikhail.”

 

Instead of answering my question about how he knew of his existence, he only said what he wanted to say. He looked at his watch and continued.

 

“Now, you’re probably thinking of asking that friend questions… let’s look forward to next time. The Vice Minister is waiting in the adjacent room, so I can’t delay any longer.”

 

“Let’s do that.”

 

“Then, shall we do it like this next time we meet too? Let this be our new contract.”

 

Abraham put on black gloves and tapped his hand.

 

Without answering, I stood up, struck down with my staff to cast purification magic, and created a mask with mana. I pulled the robe brooch over the blood-stained shirt collar and pinned it there, then opened the door and came out to see the Vice Minister waiting in the hallway. He hesitated with an expression of wondering what to say, then extended a handshake and spoke.

 

“Though it’s a bit sudden, it was nice to meet you like this today. Are you alright?”

 

I stared down at him and muttered.

 

“Is there a reason I wouldn’t be alright?”

 

“Pardon? Earlier from inside….”

 

“You heard wrong.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

I nodded in greeting and immediately turned around to exit the hallway. Unlike earlier when I had entered through the main gate, I came out through the back gate and walked quickly. The familiar Mitte district scenery came into view. I put the communication artifact I had left out for security reasons on my ear and contacted Narke, who would be waiting at the palace’s main gate in the distance.

 

“Narke.”

 

[Ah, yeah. You’re completely finished, I see?]

 

“Yeah. But we can’t go back together. Go ahead.”

 

[Huh? Wait, Lucas!]

 

Since I had much to think about, his insight was unwelcome in many ways, at least for now. To wash off my disguise and organize my thoughts, I turned toward a cafe I used to frequent when attending school.

 

‘Haike and Ishmailov are unrelated, and Ishmailov was raised as top secret even within Pleroma….’

 

Haike’s life depended on my decision, and I needed to be wary of those who wanted me to rely on them while standing alone. All the information I heard today repeatedly tangled and untangled complexly in my head. Information with no apparent connection surely had connecting parts. How should I connect them?

 

Sitting down, I simultaneously threw coffee and the elixir I had brought into my mouth and closed my eyes.

 

“I wondered why you said you couldn’t go back together.”

 

A subdued voice came from in front. Within five minutes of my escape, Narke was before my eyes. He smiled faintly and tapped the corner of his mouth.

 

“Open your mouth.”

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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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