How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 379

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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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The snow we scattered falls on our cheeks. I squinted at the small chill seeping into my blood vessels, glanced at Yuri who kept throwing snow beside me, then turned my gaze back to the sky. The sky was hopelessly clear.

 

“Where should we go now, Lucas?”

 

“We need to go to the infirmary.”

 

“Can’t we play a little longer? I found where squirrels live here. Come see.”

 

Yuri chattered alone until my ears hurt and ran while pulling my arm.

 

“Wait, Yuri. Before that, try saying your name slowly again!”

 

No answer. Passing over topics that don’t interest him – that’s really typical for his age. I pressed my forehead and sighed, then asked calmly.

 

“Do squirrels live in Russia too?”

 

They probably do.

 

I did well to swallow my cynicism. Yuri lifted his chin and acted proud as if he represented all of Russia.

 

“Of course! Unlike your German squirrels, they have thick fur and are chubby.”

 

“What? I don’t think squirrels would be that different.”

 

“They are different! Russian squirrels are chubbier.”

 

“Alright…”

 

Is squirrel weight that important? Let’s just agree and end it. Following him silently, I soon arrived at the forest behind the monastery. Yuri, who had run ahead and was digging in the soil at the base of a pine tree, shouted.

 

“Look at this!”

 

“You said you’d show me squirrels, but you’re showing me food?”

 

In the burrow he dug were buried pine nuts and acorns. I smiled lightly and sat next to Yuri. Yuri picked up an acorn and asked.

 

“Should we eat just one acorn? They can’t find these anyway and forget about them.”

 

“They forget… Their memory is pitiful. Have you ever eaten what’s here?”

 

“I ate one that was rolling around after winter ended.”

 

“Oh.”

 

How nature-friendly. I’ve never put acorns in my mouth except for acorn jelly. I stood up and patted his shoulder.

 

“Don’t steal the squirrels’ food. We’re going to the infirmary now. And before we go, tell me your name.”

 

Let’s go have a sincere conversation. I lightly pulled and released his robe hood as a signal. Yuri swayed a few times at my touch, then quickly shook off my hand and just bounced around. Things aren’t going as planned. As I smiled, crossed my arms, and exhaled, Yuri, who had been circling between trees, urgently gestured to me and whispered.

 

“Here!”

 

I narrowed my eyes and looked where he was pointing. A black-furred animal was jumping between trees. Yes, a squirrel. I had no other impressions, but Yuri was so moved just to see a squirrel that he stared at it with his mouth open. Yuri gestured to me and ran to the field beside the forest. Part of the field seemed to be monastery territory with space to walk around, but the path to the wider plains was blocked by a wooden fence, and in front of it were three or four sections divided by crude fencing. Yuri pointed to the rabbits inside the fence and said.

 

“We also raise rabbits behind here.”

 

“What for? To eat them?”

 

“Yes.”

 

I wondered if he misunderstood my German. Then I gave up thinking and pointed to the adjacent pen.

 

“No chickens?”

 

“We raise ducks and geese.”

 

“To eat them too?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“…”

 

Self-sufficiency… I suppose. I rested my chin and looked at the rabbits inside the fence. The number 1888 was written in the date space of the metal inspection badge attached outside the fence. Yuri held out dried, withered chicory from a small wooden bucket to the rabbits and said.

 

“We rarely leave this monastery. The only time we go outside is when we help with village work like earlier and return. Remember that well.”

 

“Got it. But more than that…”

 

“So when the teacher sends us on errands, we must go out. Before, we could go out and play briefly because we had to buy butter. But if you get caught taking a different route, you get in huge trouble. This is a monastery, and whatever we do in the future, we must live ascetically now.”

 

“What do you want to do later?”

 

I asked while watching him now offer reeds to the ducks. The duck that had been sleeping with its neck buried in its body became curious when the reeds moved and smelled them, then quickly turned around and fell back asleep. Yuri said quietly.

 

“I don’t know yet.”

 

“…”

 

“I feel like I could become anything. I want to become anything.”

 

I nodded and after a long silence, answered.

 

“Yes, you’ll be able to become anything.”

 

If becoming Pleroma’s messiah is included in ‘anything.’ I immediately changed the subject and asked.

 

“What’s your name?”

 

“I told you, Yuri.”

 

“I mean your surname.”

 

Perhaps finding it strange that I persistently asked for his name, Yuri stared at me for a while then grinned.

 

“You should forget what you’ll forget! I’m debating whether to tell you or not.”

 

I put my arm around his shoulder and tilted my head.

 

“I won’t forget this time, so tell me, Yura.”

 

“…”

 

Large eyes blink rapidly right beside me.

 

Was I wrong? I smiled and watched his reaction. Isn’t Yura the nickname for Yuri? The book I just read said so, and it should be correct, so I won’t panic in advance. Even if I’m wrong, I can just push through.

 

Yuri soon burst into laughter.

 

“What’s with you when you just started talking today? You confidently called the teacher earlier, so was all that shyness until now fake?”

 

“…That’s not it. It can’t be fake.”

 

I want to say more but have nothing to say. Should I act introverted? There’s no time for that. I smiled at him and asked.

 

“What reason would there be not to call you that? Besides, I don’t even remember my own name properly. You know what my name is, right?”

 

“Of course! Lucas Konstantinovich Alekseyev.”

 

“…What’s Konstantinovich Alekseyev? Why is my name like this? And I’m German, so why…?”

 

“Why like this? Or would you prefer Konstantinovna Alekseyeva? But that has nothing to do with us.”

 

Nothing to do with us. I know that unlike Russian Humans, Russian Espers don’t make big gender distinctions in names. The first name he mentioned is masculine and the latter is feminine, but for Russian Espers, using Konstantinovich or Konstantinovna doesn’t serve as a means of indicating gender.

 

However, since I couldn’t understand at all why my name was Russian, I looked at him quietly and waited for him to continue. Perhaps seeing that I hoped he would explain why I had a Russian name – he was right – he smacked his lips and answered.

 

“Why can’t you still remember? When you first wandered around this area, the director brought you here. You said you couldn’t remember your surname then, so he gave you one. Don’t you really remember?”

 

“I don’t.”

 

“Really? Well then. By the way, it’s the same surname as mine~ Be proud.”

 

“The same surname as yours. You and me?”

 

So that’s why he reacted that way every time I asked for his name. But why should we have the same surname? I looked at him with as much composure as possible, not pressing the child.

 

“Right. The director gave us the same name. This is actually a secret, because…”

 

Yuri took off his gloves and clapped his hands loudly. Bright blue mana burst like waves from his exposed skin and swirled through the air.

 

“I’m the only Esper here. You’re an Esper too, right?”

 

The only Esper.

 

I recalled Ishmailov’s features, indistinguishable as male or female despite being past the age of finishing puberty. And only now did I recognize the ‘non-aristocratic’ attitude that Yuri and the other children here would have acquired, and recalled the monk’s grizzled beard grown down to his neck and his hands turned bark-like from aging – things unseen in Berlin, the metropolis full of Espers and Humans who admired Espers.

 

Good.

 

In the original past, Yuri Alekseyev is the only mage in this monastery. I forced a smile while seeing the empty future overlapping his face.

 

“Yuri! Isn’t it class time?”

 

Just then, a teacher who appeared to be a dormitory supervisor shouted with a stern face from the cloud bridge at the top of the monastery dormitory building. His booming voice echoed throughout the entire building like an echo. Though I felt sorry for Yuri, relief came first that I could finally take this child to the infirmary. Yuri, completely flustered, hurriedly got up and pulled my arm.

 

“This is bad. Let’s go in!”

 

* * *

 

The smell of dust. Vibrations created by the friction of horse hooves and bicycle wheels transmitted directly to my ears, and the joints of blue bricks laid on the sidewalk touched my fingertips. The busy footsteps of young men in Victorian dress hems and black shoes filled my vision.

 

“Very well, Senior.”

 

I kicked off the street and got up. Mecklenburg, who had been sitting next to me, was startled and made an “Ah!” sound as he fell backward and squinted.

 

“What, you clearly just fell… And Senior?”

 

Mecklenburg was pointlessly fixated on “Herr” and drew out his words.

 

That’s right. I’ve now entered Mecklenburg’s extra chapter. Throughout my time with Ainsiedel, I can see high school student Mecklenburg’s haggard face, completely drained from following us around.

 

And naturally, that title was a habitual mistake. I roughly brushed off the dust on my clothes from lying on the ground and patted his shoulder.

 

“Doesn’t it feel good? You seemed to like this kind of title, so I generously decided to be magnanimous.”

 

“What crazy talk is that? What title?”

 

“You like being addressed respectfully, so why are you pretending otherwise?”

 

“…When did I?! Call me normally!”

 

My ears hurt. I spread my fingers and signaled for quiet. I don’t know if the real Mecklenburg would be the same, but at least 18-year-old Mecklenburg obediently closed his mouth following my instruction.

 

“Just to confirm. We parted ways with Ainsiedel.”

 

“…Just now. And you were lying spread-eagle in the middle of Munich and called me Herr. It’s embarrassing, so could you move off the street to talk, Lucas?”

 

“The more you say that, the more I want to roll around here, so that won’t work.”

 

Mecklenberg looked at my face, then looked me up and down with eyes that were obviously giving me a hint. Looking at that expression, he’s probably thinking that despite looking like his friend, I say completely different things. I put my arm on his shoulder and pressed down on his head.

 

“Enough, Albert. Isn’t the Munich scenery truly beautiful?”

 

“What’s with you, all of a sudden.”

 

“I was really happy that you, a northerner, followed me all the way to Munich.”

 

“You dragged me here with lies!”

 

“No. You followed me. You came all this way to swat me down like some damn mosquito.”

This stubborn guy edits his memories however he pleases. You know that? Swallowing those words, I shook my head firmly and said.

“Now I’m thinking of going somewhere like home for you, a northerner.”

 

“…Right. Now we should go to Strelitz. Soon you have to go to school, and I have to go to the Imperial 2nd Education Institute.”

I smiled bitterly at his words, lowered my eyes, and nodded. The fact that I’m not affiliated with the Empire’s top magic school must be newly amusing, as a strange sense of victory rose on Mecklenburg’s face, making me snort with laughter. Mecklenburg stood in front of me, grasped my hand like a handshake, and smiled with melancholy.

“Even when I go to the Imperial 2nd Education Institute, I won’t be able to forget you. You especially look like my friend, and I’ll keep searching for why you look like that friend yet no one has recognized you until now… It was a good memory. I’ll always cheer for you from the Imperial 2nd Education Institute.”

 

“No, Albert. We’re going to Russia now.”

 

“What?”

 

* * *

Silence flowed.

After 15 minutes of arguing following that silence, we somehow barely made it inside the station and were still having a war of words.

“This is ridiculous, Lucas. Are you sane? No, you’re not sane. What did I ask? To ask if I’m sane while bringing this crazy bastard along, I’m not sane either.”

 

“Right, it’s nice that you’re unusually quick to understand your place. You’re not sane. And I am sane.”

I said, pointing alternately at Mecklenburg and myself. Mecklenburg clearly showed signs of having only dealt with people he could handle with elegant noble smiles his whole life, grabbing his neck and taking a deep breath. Looking at the sky, he soon spread both hands, waved them, and shouted.

“A sane person doesn’t suddenly say they’re going to Russia!”

 

“Please correct that to ‘a rigid person.’ I’m going to wander around freely.”

 

“Right, you’re not sane. But I don’t want to wander around, you know? Already being with you is too…”

Mecklenburg looked into the air with a frustrated expression. I know what he’s recalling. He must be thinking about the Pleromas I knocked down. I nodded and smiled warmly, then removed my hand from his shoulder.

“If you don’t want to, don’t. I won’t stop you. Go back to the Imperial 2nd Education Institute and have fun with that annoying friend who looks like me.”

It’s convenient having you around, but it doesn’t matter if you’re not here. I needed the time of 1891.

Seeing that Ishmailov’s extra chapter was set in 1888, there must have been something important in Ishmailov’s life during that period in some way. I don’t really know what kind of turning point Mecklenburg’s 18 years old was in his life. In Leo’s extra chapter, seeing Lucas Ascanien’s magic a few months later would be an important event. Couldn’t Ishmailov have experienced an important event like Leo? So I needed an extra chapter from a later time period.

I glanced at the dazed Mecklenburg, snatched my train ticket from his hand, and walked to the counter. Mecklenburg hesitantly called out to stop me.

“W-wait a minute. Lucas!”

 

“What, man.”

 

“If we’re going back, we need to take the train together…”

 

“We can take separate ones. Anyway, what else?”

 

“…Well, actually I need to tell home that you weren’t a heretic…”

 

“Hmm.”

 

“Even though we handled the aftermath, if Pleroma comes for revenge against you for overturning Munich-Freising, I wouldn’t feel comfortable, so I should protect your safety…”

I couldn’t hold back my laughter and burst out, tilting my head.

“Who’s protecting whom? Aren’t you hoping I’ll protect you?”

 

“…!”

Beep—

“The train to Saxony has arrived! Passengers going to Hof Central Station…”

The station attendant’s announcement was already out of mind. Mecklenburg’s face turned bright red, his mouth fell open at my words, then he frowned and stepped back. The expression he always made whenever he experienced something he thought was absurd appeared, so I grinned and patted his shoulder.

“Good. Take sick leave from the Imperial 2nd Education Institute.”

I immediately turned around and heard belated grumbling from behind.

“Fine, I’m not going! Ugh…!”

 

“Then don’t.”

 

“No…! The train is here…!”

 

“What do you want me to do about it.”

I dragged my luggage inside and plopped down in my reserved seat. Mecklenburg still had an annoyed expression, pouting and huffing. Regardless, I ate the Kuvakkkoilchen sprinkled with honey and raisins I bought at the station, then offered some to him who was forced to watch people outside the window because he didn’t want to look at me. Actually, the raisins were the worst, so I had no intention of putting any more of this flour lump in my mouth. Mecklenburg didn’t even glance at the bread and still muttered with his lips pouted.

“What are you going there to do this time.”

 

“You didn’t even know what I was going to do, and you’re asking that now. Looking at you, I wonder if you’re also the type who can’t enjoy daily life.”

 

“I haven’t said I’m going yet. I’ll listen and decide.”

 

“This time I’m also going because of heretics. There’s someone I need to find. Do you know Russian?”

 

“A little. I learned it for diplomacy.”

 

“Wow, genius.”

Mecklenburg pressed down the corners of his mouth. I chuckled and turned my head.

So we traveled by train to the Bavarian border, then warped to Mecklenburg-Strelitz. After having his pride in ability trampled, Mecklenburg found it distasteful even that I could perform long-distance warps without difficulty—this guy will never understand that I’m also a student at the Imperial 2nd Education Institute—clicked his tongue, then immediately teased me when I grabbed a pillar at the Neustrelitz ruling family’s exclusive warp point to maintain my balance.

“You memorize everything properly but still always stumble at the end. You were always first place when you were at school.”

 

“What does being first place have to do with it? I like lying down.”

Since he looked like he was about to get noisy again, I hit his back once and said quietly.

“First, there’s something you need to do for me.”

 

“What.”

 

“A person named Yuri Alekseyev attends the Lavrentiyev Orthodox Monastery School in Kaluga, Russia. He should be about 11 years old by now.”

 

“Why are you looking for… Never mind, so.”

 

“We need to find out if that person is still at that monastery school. Can I trust the Mecklenburg-Strelitz intelligence agency?”

 

“Hmm.”

Since Mecklenburg stroked his chin and avoided eye contact, I narrowed my eyes at that reaction and turned my head. Soon he looked around and said calmly.

“First, Lucas. Though I grandly call it an intelligence agency, the ‘Mecklenburg-Strelitz Intelligence Agency’ is actually a group established for domestic development.”

 

“You’re ominously verbose. Get to the point.”

 

“Russia is a bit difficult.”

 

“The Kingdom of Bavaria could easily confirm something like this, right?”

 

“That’s because it’s Bavaria! More than that, what?”

I waved my hand dismissively to mean forget it. Mecklenburg looked at me with a distasteful face and said curtly.

“…It’s possible to send advance contact to that school under the family name. We can send contact under the Mecklenburg-Strelitz name. There’s no problem with your plan, right?”

 

“No? There is a problem. Forget it. You’re advertising it to the whole neighborhood.”

What I need to confirm is whether Ishmailov still lives there, that is, whether he was captured by Pleroma or not. If he was captured, they would still be monitoring or managing the monastery, so we can’t let our message get through.

I thought for a moment and gestured.

“If that really won’t work, there’s no choice. Just convey one request to your family. Ask them to get train tickets to Russia.”

Then Mecklenburg, who had been walking ahead, nodded.

“It’s not difficult, but you know this, right? Even starting from the edge of East Prussia, you’d have to ride trains for at least 3 days to get to Kaluga. So from my perspective, you can’t help but be insane.”

How annoyingly he complains. Is spending about 3 days difficult? I smiled and answered.

“Right, I know. So if you’re scared to take sick leave, drop out.”

At those words, Mecklenburg stopped abruptly and slowly turned around.

* * *

 

“Whew.”

The air is fresh. I inhaled the chilly air of Kaluga, cold as winter despite being autumn, and exhaled long. I can see a dome-shaped roof in the distance—that’s the monastery school Ishmailov attended.

It’s a bit difficult to cast concealment magic on both me and Mecklenburg. Having that thought, I undid one button of my robe when pale-faced Mecklenburg pointed at the village and shouted.

“Illegal warp? Illegal? Ha, really! Pretending to be Orthodox to get coordinate system usage rights? Do you even know anything about Orthodoxy?!”

 

“We got the Russian Empire’s stamp, so why is it illegal? I told you to drop out if you’re scared, Albert.”

The whole nation will know we escaped from the train midway. With that meaning, I grabbed his shoulder.

“We did our best. At least we lodged on the train for 51 hours. A whole 51 hours. I thought I’d go crazy.”

We did stop at inns along the way, but anyway. At those words, Mecklenburg exhaled deeply. His eyes are dark from how tired he is.

“…It’s fortunate we’re not humans. If we were humans, we couldn’t have endured it.”

 

“Humans can also endure 51 hours on a train, you weak bastard.”

 

“What?”

 

“The important thing is that we’re weak bastards.”

 

“You’re the only weak one!”

I covered his mouth and pulled out a map.

If we endured 51 hours on the train, couldn’t we have endured a bit more and completed 72 hours? Of course we could. We could endure it if we tried.

But there was a reason we shouldn’t have.

“Why do you think we got off midway.”

 

“Because your butt was getting sore.”

 

“How funny… I’d like you to speak properly.”

 

I looked straight at his face and continued speaking.

 

“We can’t let anyone find out that we came here. Pleroma might have already heard news that some trio of mages completely ransacked Munich-Freisingr, and if that’s the case, they’ll be desperately searching for the culprits. I’ll explain the details later.”

 

Compared to the real past that Ainsiedel had created, this Munich-Freisingr archives raid operation had a much larger scope. So we had to consider the possibility that things might move differently from the real past.

 

In such circumstances, I was now in the region where the future Pleroma Messiah lived, which meant I was in a region that Pleroma might be keeping an eye on as of 1891. In 1891, their influence was much weaker compared to 1898, but it wouldn’t hurt to be more careful about everything. There was a reason I got off the train midway and warped here. If we were being tailed, I had to make sure they couldn’t easily track—or backtrace us.

 

On the hill overlooking Kaluga, I grabbed Mecklenburg’s arm and pulled him down.

 

“Hey, wait, Lucas! We just climbed up here, so why…!”

 

“I’m going to change our colors. I’ll change you to red hair. Green eyes okay?”

 

“What? How? Hey, wait! I like my eye color…!”

 

“Is this the time to argue?”

 

I snapped my fingers in front of him. He looked at me with eyes full of doubt and wariness, then only when I changed my hair to platinum blonde did his eyes widen like lanterns and his mouth fall open.

 

“…?!”

 

Mecklenburg’s face turned pale.

 

Good. Now I was ready to meet the 11-year-old Ishmailov. I took a big step forward and gestured to him.

 

“Let’s go. We’re almost there now.”

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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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