How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 39

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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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How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magic Family (39)

Elias smiled faintly and shrugged his right shoulder, the one without a crutch.

He quietly asked the legislator.

“Do you enjoy dropping logic?”

“Excuse me?”

“The conclusion that some experimental mosquitoes possess five times the attack power of the control group is a result born from mosquitoes that survived through slim odds.”

“Yes, Duke Elias. This is exactly where the problem lies.”

“Let me hear what the problem is.”

Elias smiled generously and nodded his head.

The legislator raised his voice with bulging veins.

“Your Grace is telling us to dedicate a whopping 500 million pel to deal with one or two super mosquitoes that happen to appear by chance. We just need to exterminate the contaminated mosquitoes in Meppen! Those who don’t know better might call this passive administration, but this is excessive administration. It’s wasting taxpayer money in useless places.”

At first glance, it sounds like a reasonable and valid argument.

But it’s missing the most important point.

Elias also seemed dumbfounded as he opened his mouth, then spoke after a long pause.

“You seem unaware that mosquitoes fly around.”

“…”

“I know that.”

“You also seem unaware that what this research suggests isn’t just ‘after several generations, four incredibly strong mosquitoes appeared.'”

Elias smiled with exaggerated raised eyebrows.

“You must have felt quite proud. The research report pointed out the mosquitoes’ power in its conclusion, but you focused on the number of mosquitoes with a new perspective. You must have been quite pleased, thinking you caught a blind spot no one else could catch.”

“Now see here.”

“Then think about this. What was the reason insects couldn’t become surveillance targets until now? Why has insect contamination become such an issue?”

“…”

“Because the main body must be strong to withstand contaminated magic power. But what did we learn this time? We learned that contaminated magic power can definitely be loaded onto something as small and fragile as insects. Oh, don’t worry. We’re not the first to know this. Pleroma also found out for the first time this year.”

Elias, who had been pouring out words like crazy, suddenly closed his mouth and clapped his hands softly.

“No, I should say ‘Pleroma has finally figured out even this’ for you to understand.”

The legislator just stared at Elias silently.

“Do you understand? This research doesn’t need to obsess over mosquito numbers or ratios like you do. We’ve learned that mosquitoes can carry magic power strong enough to be called ‘super mosquitoes.’ That’s what this research suggests.”

“Duke, we know that. Let’s move on to a more productive topic…”

As the situation turned unfavorable, another legislator stood up and tried to stop Elias.

Elias waved his hand at him and raised his voice.

“In short! Since it’s possible to load such magic power onto mosquitoes, Pleroma can mass-produce such ‘super mosquitoes’ and spread them nationwide in the future. That’s our point, and it’s what the Imperial Palace, Council, and magic privileged class who must protect the citizens’ safety should detect and prepare for.”

The hall fell silent. No one dared to speak rashly.

Elias looked around the quiet legislative seats and secretary seats, then smiled.

“It seems you’re not in a position to talk about others’ sense of reality.”

“…”

He handled it properly.

No, that expression isn’t enough.

He’s handling it much more successfully than expected.

Elias Hohenzollern

Impression: +4.5 (+1.5)

The impression score I checked just in case had skyrocketed insanely in just one hour.

‘1.5 points in one hour.’

For a positive number increase, this is an incredibly high level.

Countless people nationwide are evaluating Elias higher and higher.

‘Certainly, showing himself nationwide helps improve impression scores.’

Of course, it’s still too early to feel relieved.

They must have used up all the stories they prepared so far, and when they feel cornered, they’ll act shamelessly without logic.

Since their opponent is Elias, they probably didn’t prepare very hard in the first place.

When they come out like that, Elias has no choice but to respond the same way.

Then, another legislator spoke up.

“It’s too premature a thought. Above all, there’s no guarantee they’ll succeed in mass production.”

“…Ha.”

Elias couldn’t hold back and burst into open laughter.

“Usually in times like this, don’t you say ‘We’re also concerned about that point’? Please don’t forget that your duty isn’t to argue with me, but to guarantee the citizens’ safety.”

“Duke, you didn’t come here to teach us.”

“Ah, yes. I wanted to try using some words I picked up somewhere. Happy? So, what will you do if Pleroma succeeds?”

It’s not words he picked up somewhere, but probably his original thought.

The reason he speaks properly throughout but occasionally lightens the mood like this is because he’s conscious of the Emperor.

“It won’t be too late to allocate a new budget when that time comes.”

“It will be too late. You said they succeeded in mass production.”

When it seemed like stupid questions would continue, one Law Enforcement Mage stopped the legislator and spoke up.

“I understand the anxiety and fear Duke Elias must have. But if we think that way, magical beasts are also surveillance targets. We didn’t bring this up earlier because we planned to report it during next week, but we also suspect that to be Pleroma’s doing.”

“Oh, yes. You brought that up well. I personally explored the restricted area, and there’s another problem.”

“There are no problems. We regularly inspect…”

“There were problems. The evidence is on my body, though I’m not sure if you can see it.”

Elias gestured toward his legs.

“I clearly prepared according to the Security Bureau’s manual since it was called an upper-level restricted area, but a situation that could be called supreme level or higher was unfolding there. Before I could properly use magic, I was poisoned by contaminated air and fell off a cliff.”

“This isn’t a place to talk about personal mistakes…”

“How far do I have to explain?!”

Elias shouted and slammed the desk.

“Let me be direct. We need to adjust the barrier grades. From the existing 15, 5, 1 to 8 lower-grade, 8 intermediate-grade, 3 upper-grade, and 2 supreme-grade. The budget will be a total of 11.5926 billion pel including purification costs. The materials have already been submitted to you.”

“…Good grief, 11.5 billion…”

“Duke, you’ve been bringing up unrealistic topics like this from the start, which is problematic.”

“This doesn’t match the theme of this main meeting. Let’s deal with it in depth at the next opportunity.”

I spoke up at the legislator’s words.

“No, it’s related. Barriers that don’t match the contamination level make it easy for contaminated animals to escape. Insects included in animals are naturally the same.”

The Magician of the Public Security Bureau, who had been grimacing while listening to our words, shook his head as if he couldn’t take it anymore.

“As I said earlier, I understand the anxiety the Duke and Sir feel. But…”

“Isn’t the problem not my anxiety but the citizens’ safety?”

“Of course it is. But right now, you’re too frightened, overestimating Pleroma, stimulating citizens’ emotions, and distorting reality. The budget is limited, so we can’t pour money recklessly just because there’s a slight possibility of danger. That’s why we made an adjustment plan to guarantee citizens’ safety as much as possible.”

Elias nodded as if telling him to speak.

“Once a month. We’ll investigate the period when mosquitoes go through one cycle to create a new generation and cast purification magic.”

“…Hmm.”

Elias smiled.

“Sorry, but mosquitoes aren’t the only bugs that bite people.”

“…”

An ‘oh no’ expression flashed across the opponent’s face.

He answered calmly again with a cool expression.

“If we consider that far, as I mentioned earlier, too much budget would be invested. Regarding various insect groups, Pleroma’s research and development speed can’t be that fast, and we thought they would prioritize mosquitoes over other bugs in terms of accessibility and symbolism from size and habitat.”

What nonsense is that?

The problem itself was being able to load contaminated magic power onto creatures like insects that have difficulty withstanding magic.

Once it becomes possible to stably load it onto one insect, loading magic power onto other insects is just a matter of time.

‘Even though I set expectations low…’

I didn’t know they wouldn’t be able to apply it no matter how much I explained. It’s more amazing than expected.

I slowly refuted his words.

“Once they succeed, applying it to other insects will happen rapidly. Insects with short growth periods can reproduce and cause damage within a month, so please consider measures taking into account that magic power can be loaded onto insects themselves. No matter how budget issues are involved, isn’t it the Security Bureau’s job to devise measures that achieve maximum effect with minimum cost?”

“Yes, of course. It’s been less than a week since this incident occurred, so there are inadequate points. Please be understanding.”

He said this while looking back and forth between me and the broadcast camera.

Calling that speech. He must think that will work on the people…

I called up the status window with a hopeful heart.

Lucas Rene Ascanien

Impression: -9.9 (+0.1) [+3.8009128]

It definitely started at 2 points, but now it’s 3.8?

The impression score is rising quite nicely.

The reflected benefits from giving mediocre answers are quite substantial.

Then Elias opened his mouth.

“I’m asking just in case, but what about the regions?”

“That part will be announced through the Imperial Newspaper later.”

This means they have no intention of purifying all 21 zones, and if possible, they’ll purify as few as possible, deciding which zones to purify based on public opinion.

“….”

“…Let me guess. ‘We will provide regular purification magic support for Meppen and nearby restricted areas’ – that would seem quite generous, wouldn’t it? Are you really thinking of doing this?”

“Duke Elias.”

“I’m asking out of curiosity. Meppen and its nearby restricted areas are significant in that there are exactly two locations up to Osnabrück.”

“The government is working to distribute the budget as efficiently as possible through cost-benefit analysis. All projects and budget proposals are the result of reviews by the Imperial Economic Research Institute under the Imperial Palace.”

A perfect all-purpose answer.

He’s dodging well.

“Yes, I see. Since you’re not denying it, I suppose it’s similar. You can’t arbitrarily change plans before getting approval, can you? Everyone must be beating their chests at your rock-bottom flexibility and adaptability. I’ll give you a chance to clarify before you go back and get scolded. Go ahead.”

The magician from the Security Bureau furrowed his brow deeply and began to lose his temper.

“What exactly are you saying? It’s not such a simple matter. Osnabrück, including Meppen, is the most dangerous area in terms of insect contamination. If you focus so simply on how many areas are being purified, taxes will be wasted uselessly….”

At those words, Elias looked at him with a mocking expression.

He had already obtained what he wanted.

Those bastards had no intention of purifying all 21 zones.

He succeeded in getting under their skin.

Indeed, if you’re going to step into the political arena, you need someone like Elias who can be ruthless.

“Wait! These kinds of questions are unproductive. Let’s skip them due to time constraints.”

The Vice Chairman glared at the magician from the Security Bureau and cut off his words.

If this explanation continued, it would be tantamount to admitting they would only purify some areas.

‘I must have gained quite a bit of reflected benefit this time too.’

Now, it’s time to check the changes in favorability of those present here.

I turned my attention away from the discussion and looked around at people’s faces.

[Favorability 0*]

[Favorability +1*]

[Favorability +3]

[Favorability +5]

[Favorability +2*]

Except for the increase in those with asterisks, most were similar to before.

‘Could it be they’re not in this room?’

Someone from the existing pro-barrier faction should be showing a sharp drop in favorability toward me.

They need to support the barrier, meaning restricted areas need to be created for Pleroma to operate freely within them.

‘…Ah.’

No, that’s not right.

I need to judge this flexibly.

Around the time I started scribbling numbers in my notebook while looking at people’s faces, Elias grinned and raised his voice.

“Honorable Vice Chairman.”

The Vice Chairman narrowed his eyes suspiciously, as if doubting he had heard correctly this statement that would come from a courtroom.

“I understand the government and Council’s opinion well. Then, what would you do if Pleroma succeeds in mass-producing contaminated mosquitoes and a disaster situation arises? Will you and the government take responsibility, Vice Chairman?”

“Such things don’t happen easily.”

“Why not?”

“Before a disaster occurs, the Imperial Palace will respond at the most appropriate time and in the most efficient manner. As it always has. I’d appreciate it if Duke Elias could first present the basis for believing otherwise.”

Now this side was also starting to give almost automatic responses.

Elias was left speechless and opened his mouth.

Then he burst out laughing.

“It sounds like you’re suggesting we have a children’s argument. The Imperial Palace will handle it just before something happens, so you have no intention of spending money now?”

“Please maintain your dignity. Realize where you are standing as a Duke.”

“I apologize, Vice Chairman. I had no intention of undermining the authority of the Council.”

Elias drooped his eyebrows and then showed a strange smile again.

Then he picked up the black box placed on the desk and walked to the front of the vice-chairman’s seat with the assistant’s support.

“…!”

I stopped writing and looked at him.

“Evidence… Yes. I should provide evidence. Though it’s modest, I’ll give you materials that could change your mind, Vice Chairman. Please open it.”

Elias tucked his crutch under his arm and staggered, then handed the small box to the Vice Chairman almost as if throwing it.

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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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