How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 388

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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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“Ernst Yha.”

 

As soon as I set foot on the warp point in the Trier Cathedral district, I heard a voice calling me. A familiar voice with a familiar expression, a familiar face. I glanced at the water-colored eyed Cardinal who had grabbed my hand to prevent me from falling, then looked up at the Trier Cathedral in the night. The Trier Cathedral before it was damaged in World War II was somewhat larger in scale than the cathedrals in our world, and even though it was almost midnight, it was faintly surrounded by magical light, giving off an ancient and venerable atmosphere from its Romanesque architecture and old bricks. Perhaps it was simply because I had come to this country’s representative cathedral in my capacity as a Cardinal that made me feel particularly moved.

 

“I heard you would come soon, but to meet you right away – how delightful.”

 

A Bishop among the clergy standing in a row behind Narke approached me and spoke. He said gently with an extremely serious face.

 

“I am the Archbishop of Trier. I was very surprised to learn that Nicolaus Ernst Yha is a secret Cardinal. As there was a promise with His Holiness, I will keep the fact of Your Eminence’s appointment as a secret of Trier.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

They gestured for us to follow them and walked toward the back of the cathedral.

 

The letter that came to me was sent by Narke, in order to carry out two requests – disguised as orders – received from the Papal States. The Papal States had designated Trier Cathedral as their base and communicated with Narke from here. Since they couldn’t open portals frequently, creating a branch-like cathedral in Germany was a reasonable thing to do.

 

I followed them while speaking to Narke through divine power.

 

―”I have a lot to ask you.”

 

―”I know. It shows.”

 

You know?

 

I came here to ask why I am the messenger of the covenant chosen by Pleroma, and you know that? I realized I was thinking cynically. Narke just said ‘it shows.’ It’s true that Narke can easily use insight on me, but I also know that he doesn’t freely use his abilities until times when I don’t want him to.

 

The Bishop disappeared somewhere in the middle, and another clergyman assisting him stopped in front of a room and opened the door.

 

“This is it. Ernst Yha may use this room until your mission is completed.”

 

“It seems I’ll need to stay quite a long time.”

 

“This is merely to reduce the inconvenience of travel, so please think of it comfortably. We do not know when the mission will end. He said it depends entirely on Your Eminence, both of you.”

 

“….”

 

I answered with a smile. The clergyman also gestured to Narke and quickly disappeared. Narke smiled and pushed my back.

 

“Rest first. It seems you haven’t been able to rest at all.”

 

“Where’s your room?”

 

“Next door.”

 

He helped me take off the robe I had worn and hung it on a coat hanger. Then he purified the water that had been drawn in the bathtub and sprinkled some unknown herbs. He did things that a Cardinal would normally never be expected to do personally without any concern, then came out again and smiled.

 

“I hoped you could cool your head even a little, but you’ve come after suffering hardships again.”

 

“On what basis?”

 

“Your magical power doesn’t seem to have stabilized yet. Even more than when you absorbed that person’s magical power during the day.”

 

“….”

 

Right, he simply knew through magical power. That’s possible. That’s also normal. Even Leo seemed to notice my condition before I came here. I was cornering my friend with unnecessarily sharp thoughts over information that any mage at the level of my friends could easily know. Narke opened an unfamiliar book on my desk and laughed.

 

“First, go wash up. I’ll wait here reading a book.”

 

I bathed for almost an hour. Since no one was rushing me, I did so. Anyway, it was late today, and perhaps because Narke judged my condition to be not very good, the clergy of Trier Cathedral also didn’t seem to have any intention of giving me any orders immediately.

 

I got tired of counting the number of herbs Narke had sprinkled and came out wearing a robe.

 

“I didn’t know there was a place like this in the cathedral.”

 

“It’s the clergy’s residence. It’s also the place where we’ll receive orders from the Papal States from now on. You don’t need to worry about surveillance or anything here.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes, because it’s directly protected by the Papal States’ technology.”

 

‘Hmm.’

 

That’s not the problem, but I wonder what Leo is doing now. Not just that guy, but Elias, Ulrike, and Julia as well. Ever since Haike lost consciousness, I felt at ease only when I was with my friends whenever I came out of the extra chapters. Until now I was with Leo, but the other friends….

 

“You were going to come here anyway. You would have had to find the lost relic yourself.”

 

Part of what Narke was saying as if talking to himself suddenly caught my ear.

 

“I have to find the relic. Why? I didn’t say that.”

 

“Well….”

 

“Narke.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Don’t you know where the relic is?”

 

If it’s you, wouldn’t you know who took it.

 

I was well aware that the situation I had experienced and emerged from in the extra chapter was strengthening my suspicion of Narke without clear evidence, and that this was making my voice sharp now. I had to try my best to ensure that my countless questions and doubts wouldn’t attack my friend, and I was trying, but it wasn’t as easy as I hoped. Just as I took a deep breath and prepared to apologize for being hasty, Narke lowered his eyes with a face that understood my feelings completely and answered calmly.

 

“It would be different if I developed it well, but right now I don’t have abilities like Haike. I was called at the government’s request, but even Haike couldn’t figure it out. It’s not something I found out through abilities like you think, but I also have my suspicions. I also reasoned with the clues I have now, just like you. That’s why I thought you would say you need to find the relic.”

 

“….”

 

“The relic culprit you’re thinking of right now. I agree with you too.”

 

Narke raised his head with burning eyes and looked straight at me. I stared into those eyes for a while and then opened my mouth. And Narke was faster.

 

“You don’t need to apologize.”

 

“Did you read it?”

 

“I can see this much without reading. And though I don’t know well, I can see that you’re trying to ask me about the pain you’ve endured, and I also realized that I somehow made you angry.”

 

“….”

 

“I didn’t use my ability. I just saw it. Will you understand?”

 

“What am I supposed to answer when you say that.”

 

I smiled faintly and pulled out the chair in front of him to sit down.

 

“Now then. So what exactly are the two orders sent from the Papal States….”

 

Crash―!

 

I flinched at the sound of the door being torn off. Narke also seemed not to be using insight, as he frowned and jumped up from his seat. The pale human who burst into the room pointed at us. No, precisely at me.

 

“Oh! You really came!”

 

“…?!”

 

It was Elias.

 

* * *

 

“Why is this guy here….”

 

“I told you a hundred times. I don’t know either. Narke said I had to come too. I guess I was preparation material.”

 

“Haha….”

 

Narke nodded awkwardly with a laugh.

 

That’s right. Narke also said he received an order to bring Elias, though he didn’t know why either. Perhaps Elias’s power is needed. Elias in pajamas crawled into my bed and shouted at us with only his head sticking out.

 

“More than that, what Luca found out is really amazing, right? That they put such deep meaning into Ishmael? If that’s the case, why not just call it a super giant whale that makes seawater boil like cauldron water?”

 

“Isn’t this Moby Dick? Going from biblical Ishmael to Moby Dick excerpts, how many times did you twist this?”

 

I answered with narrowed eyes.

 

I had just explained an extremely small part of what I learned from Helga Brandt to my friends. Of course, Narke and Elias also had time to talk about what they each investigated, but Elias was particularly interested in my information.

 

Elias opened his eyes wide and then spun his finger around.

 

“…Usually it’s called Psalms, Luca. Translated by someone whose knowledge is power. But you’re right! I saw it at the beginning of Moby Dick too. That’s settled, but I just remembered something. I need to get out of here.”

 

“Why, again.”

 

“There’s no alcohol here!”

 

“Because it’s a cathedral!”

 

I grabbed my head. Elias, regardless, just repeated several times that he was going out, then quietly lowered his voice.

 

“I’ll figure out how to get out myself, but I really remembered something just now. I’ll show you guys one decent insight.”

 

What could it be. I exhaled deeply and rested my chin on my hand with the attitude of listening for now. Then Elias slipped out and said seriously.

 

“Among those whale excerpts at the beginning, there’s one meaningful one: ‘When Leviathan passes by, it leaves a shining path behind it, so that the sea appears to have white hair to human eyes.'”

 

“That’s just a metaphor for how it looks.”

 

“That’s true, but we can’t miss it. Something’s related…?!”

 

“Haha.”

 

Narke let out a meaningless laugh and got up from his seat, taking Elias with him. He probably thought he was going to talk about something unrelated again. He gestured to me to sleep well and went into the next room.

 

“….”

 

Narke might have judged it useless, or perhaps he didn’t want to let me hear it, but my thoughts were different.

 

I need to listen.

 

* * *

 

Time passed quickly. At six in the morning, Narke woke me up and we went down to the dining hall, and excluding Elias – he ate too well – the two of us barely touched our bread and headed to the cathedral where the Archbishop was. The Archbishop, who had been waiting first, greeted us with a solemn face and went down to the underground through a door attached to the sanctuary. Each time he stepped, dim yellow light shone into the passage that had been like darkness.

 

The Archbishop kept talking to us about trivial matters throughout, then finally got to the main point.

 

“Relics are like the heart to us Christians.”

 

Elias, being Protestant, seemed like he wanted to object to that statement – though perhaps it wasn’t because he was Protestant but just because he suddenly wanted to say something random. That expression was hard to distinguish – and Narke, being Catholic, also seemed to want to correct the expression somehow, but fortunately they remained silent. In other places it might be different, but when the Archbishop of Trier reacted this way, it wasn’t very strange when applying universal empathy. The Archbishop continued speaking in a voice as dejected as if his own heart had fallen out.

 

“Especially the Holy Nail, that Holy Nail we had stolen, is one of the Arma Christi, isn’t it. The Holy Cross is the same.”

 

Arma Christi refers to the instruments of Jesus’s Passion, including the Holy Cross, Holy Nail, Holy Robe, Lance of Longinus, etc. The relics we had been calling until now become a broad interpretation as they include the remains or objects of ‘saints’ other than Jesus. Just then, the Archbishop stopped in front of a reliquary with a gloomy voice.

 

“This side contains the skull of Saint Helene. And that contains the coffer with the tunic that Christ wore.”

 

The Bishop pointed to various places, then walked a bit more and stopped in front of a reliquary. He raised his hand without saying anything, then muttered an incantation while moving his lips and opened the box.

 

“….”

 

As expected, the inside was completely empty. This must have been the box that contained the Holy Nail. In front of the reliquary that was cleanly maintained without a speck of dust and from which pure magical power flowed, I answered what the Bishop had said earlier.

 

“…Yes. Both the Holy Crown and the Holy Cross. To examine it more closely, only the Arma Christi were stolen from among the holy relics.”

 

Seeing that the remains of Saint Helene—the saint—were left intact. I already knew that only the Holy Crown and Holy Cross had been stolen, so this wasn’t surprising news. The Bishop nodded deeply and gestured toward the box containing the holy vestments.

 

“That’s correct. But if the Arma Christi were the target, I’m quite curious why Christ’s holy vestments remain here.”

 

“They probably turned the stolen Holy Crown into an artifact. Christ’s holy vestments would have been difficult to artifactize.”

 

“Artifactization. I heard about the jewels from the government. You think it’s the same case.”

 

I nodded.

 

“And the culprit used the stolen Holy Crown and Holy Cross to commit new crimes. They seem to have modified them into artifacts with an unheard-of function—remotely stopping core functions.”

 

Elias’s face hardened. Meanwhile, Narke’s expression showed no change. His reasoning and mine were indeed aligned.

 

Previously, I had thought, ‘I don’t know if remote attacks are even possible. It’s technically impossible.’

 

It didn’t take long to think. Wasn’t there someone in France who had already made the technically impossible possible?

 

The Archbishop, who had been standing dazed, turned pale and pressed his forehead.

 

“…Don’t tell me, they killed people with the Holy Crown…!”

 

“Perhaps they had no intention to kill. They probably tried to turn them to their side. There might be more deaths to come.”

 

I said this while looking at Narke’s face. Narke looked at me silently, then turned his head away. I muttered as if nothing had happened.

 

“I can guess what orders the Papacy issued.”

 

“….”

 

“I also understand why the Papacy didn’t suggest this to Germany’s Special Operations Command. Beyond just religious reasons.”

 

The Archbishop kept pressing his forehead as if he had a headache. Narke grabbed the Archbishop’s arm and channeled divine power into him. The Archbishop seemed to barely regain his composure and nodded at my words.

 

“…I still don’t understand. There was indeed a reason His Holiness sent you two. The Papacy made two requests.”

 

The first one is quite predictable. Find and retrieve the Holy Crown, that would be it. I said nothing and waited calmly for him to continue.

 

“First, as soon as you identify the suspect, elite mages will be sent to Germany, so work with them to recover the Holy Crown.”

 

Another infiltration operation. Just different wording.

 

Now I’m only curious whether my guess about the second request will be correct.

 

“What’s the second?”

 

“Second, thoroughly protect Duke Elias Hohenzollern and keep him safe from harm. Worried you might consider it simple escort duty, he added that it’s a very important mission.”

 

“….”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

I take back what I said about understanding. Why? Why him out of nowhere?

 

Perhaps having the same sentiment, Elias, who had been gaping, punched the wall with his fist. Excluding the startled Archbishop, a sound-blocking spell was cast on Narke and me.

 

“The Papacy granted my wish.”

 

At that ominous voice, Narke and I both looked at him in confusion. Elias, whose eyes flashed as he looked between us, soon spoke clearly without even blinking.

 

“Now you have to play with me under Papal authority. Right?”

 

I exchanged glances with Narke. If there’s something I learned from Leo, it’s ‘what you must do when protecting someone.’

 

What would that be? Just lock them up.

 

But Leonard in the novel I read had already tied up Elias and locked him up for a whole day. Actually, such incidents weren’t frequent, but that time was special because Elias was trying to do something that would get his head chopped off.

 

And naturally, Elias escaped. He made strange monologues about having to dig the floor with a spoon, then took out a razor blade he had hidden inside his shoe sole, split in half, and instead of digging the floor, he cut through the ceiling. Then he used tree-climbing techniques he learned from a friend he made when the Emperor dragged him to a tropical colony, applying them to climb pipes and escape. Now I have to find the Holy Crown while simultaneously protecting such an Elias. A friend who could bolt anywhere.

 

‘Why Elias?’

 

“Let me say again, the second matter seems quite important to me as well. I don’t know the truth of the case or the Papacy’s intentions, but personal temperament is… this isn’t meant as an insult, but we should probably be cautious.”

 

You can stop talking… we know too. I bit my lips while looking at Elias, who was flashing a crooked smile triumphantly, and Narke, who sat with an unreadable expression—yet somewhat soul-drained face.

 

* * *

 

“Great.”

 

We naturally returned to my room. Elias spread both hands and shouted.

 

“This is destiny. Come with me to catch sperm whales on the awesome submarine Nautilus and go down under the sea. His Holiness the Pope has given permission.”

 

“Now Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is added too?”

 

“Something like that…!”

 

I quickly covered his mouth before he got louder.

 

“Alright, Elias.”

 

“Mmph?”

 

“I know you won’t docilely let us capture you. You’ll probably take out a razor blade from your shoe sole, channel mana into it, then break and tear through the ceiling and climb the pipes.”

 

“What? That sounds good. Luca seems to have had some fun.”

 

How unfair. That was truly an unfair statement. I shook my head and continued solemnly.

 

“Telling a free spirit like you to stay trapped in this Trier Cathedral is absurd. No matter how many dozens of defensive spells the mages from the Papacy have set up, such safety would only bring you boredom. Romanesque walls and Gothic spires don’t suit your nature that should run freely across those fields, and it’s not ideal for you, who should recite tens of thousands of poems praising nature, sometimes dismissing everything as futile, and occasionally trying to defy or accept fate, to sing hymns about surrendering yourself to His will. Besides, you were just planning to escape Trier because there’s no alcohol.”

 

“…You should have written like this in your letters from the start. But you understand well. So?”

 

Elias’s face became serious. I placed my hand on his shoulder and called him quietly.

 

“Elias.”

 

“….”

 

“You’re free. You can go now. It’s absurd for you to play with these boring Catholic Cardinals.”

 

Elias opened his mouth. Narke, standing beside us, smiled ambiguously and squinted while looking between me and Elias. Soon an answer came from Elias.

 

“You really are….”

 

“Yes.”

 

“A good friend. Yes, Luca, you’ve always been like this. I won’t forget this kindness.”

 

“So you’re going out after all. How will you leave?”

 

“I can’t tell you that.”

 

Elias snapped his fingers. He gathered up the miscellaneous items he had scattered around my room in just one night and said wistfully.

 

“Then I’m going. I’ll take care of my own body, so don’t worry too much. Find the Holy Crown and… find a way to save Haike too. I’ll look for methods from outside.”

 

“Alright, take care.”

 

I smiled and bid him farewell. At the same time, Elias disappeared from before my eyes. Then Narke covered his mouth and muttered.

 

“L-like this….”

 

“Didn’t you use Insight?”

 

“…Huh?!”

 

As expected, Narke’s reaction was faster. A thunderous shout came from right behind my head.

 

“Whyyyy! Freedom?!”

 

Something heavy climbed onto my back and fiercely grabbed my head.

 

“No way, Luca. How can you abandon me! Huh?! No!”

 

“Ugh…!”

 

I tried to shake off Elias, who had bitten my head with his teeth—I tried, but he wouldn’t fall off—and bent over. Elias took advantage of this to completely hang on my back, pressed my waist tightly with his legs, and began choking my neck with the inside of his arm. Because of Elias, I swept all the furniture to the floor, and an errand boy who must have been wandering outside rushed to the door urgently and shouted.

 

[Your Eminence! Is something wrong?!]

 

“No, nothing’s wrong.”

 

Everything’s going exactly according to plan. Though the hair I set up after a long time for acting as a Cardinal is all ruined. And my scalp hurts, but anyway.

 

I rubbed the upper part of my ear that Elias had torn—then my hand was twisted the other way—and straightened my body. When I spread my hand to signal a brief stop and caught my breath, Elias now grabbed and stretched my cheek. As I squinted and tried to remove that hand, Elias’s ominous voice came vividly from beside my ear.

 

“I’ll never let go. Carry me around for life. Got it?”

 

“No, that won’t work. I told you to leave? You’re free.”

 

“I don’t want to!”

 

Good.

 

Narke, who had been watching with a surprised face, now began smiling and clapping.

 

—”So this is how it’s done~”

 

“Right.”

 

But I shouldn’t do this too much. If he really gets hooked on something, he might abandon friendship and regulations and really run away. So this is just the beginning.

 

‘Let’s give it a try.’

 

Leonard in the novel couldn’t beat you, but I will definitely see it through to the end.

 

When else would I get such an opportunity?

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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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