How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 4

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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 Noble Family (4)

Ding―!

‘Suggestion: Life is up to you! Find what you need to do.’ 3/3 achieved!

Congratulations!

‘Suggestion: Life is up to you! Find what you need to do.’ Success!

‘Chapter 1. God helps those who help themselves (1) Complete!

‘Route 1 — 【 Chapter 2. God helps those who help themselves (2) 】’ confirmed.

“Now this feels refreshing.”

I touched my shortly trimmed hair at the back.

Yeah, this is it. If you’re going to grow your hair out, either trim it as you go, or just cut it off.

Luca had no intention of growing it out but left it alone for so long that it looked completely like a beggar’s hair.

“Still, now that it’s cut, I look less haggard.”

Instead of the lifeless expression that came out unconsciously, I made a moderately normal face and looked in the mirror.

I didn’t realize it, but I actually looked surprisingly decent.

Though my skin was pale, if I ate well and exercised hard to get some color back, I’d look much better than now.

I left the shop and thanked the student who had been following a step behind me.

“Thanks for bringing me here. So, we’re in the same class?”

“…Y-yeah. At our school, once you enter, you stay in the same class until graduation, Lucas… You didn’t know.”

“I knew that much.”

Since the protagonist was a student here, I knew this kind of information from the novel well.

“Oh, really…? Haha! I see. I didn’t know that well. Haha…”

“So what’s your name?”

“Huh, me?! I, I’m Melvin. But why do you ask…?”

Can’t a classmate ask for your name?

And why are you trembling like this?

Somehow I felt like a thug extorting money, so I just kept my mouth shut.

When I saw the whole nation avoiding me with my own eyes, I didn’t think much of it, but seeing someone trembling like this in a one-on-one situation made me feel unnecessarily sorry.

When we arrived in front of a building, Melvin’s face brightened as he pointed to the building.

“This is the dormitory. I’ll go in now and see you in the classroom tomorrow.”

“Hey, wait a minute.”

“Yeah…?”

“Where do I go to find out which room is mine?”

Melvin, with a half-dead expression, kept his distance as much as possible while taking me to the administrative office.

‘His reaction is funny.’

The guilt was brief.

Having already adapted to such reactions, I smiled and waved my hand.

Curious about what level this was, I called up only the favorability rating, and sure enough, it was hitting -10.

“Thanks. See you later.”

“Y-yeah… I’m really going now…!”

Without giving me a chance to respond, the student ran out of the hallway.

I asked for the room number at the administrative office and went to find my room. When I opened the door, the luggage sent from home was already inside.

“I should organize things first.”

The luggage consisted entirely of a few sets of clothes, textbooks for classes, writing materials, and medicine. There was even the family’s wand, useless to Luca, shoved in a corner.

After throwing everything into the wardrobe and onto the desk, only the medicine box remained.

Suppressing the urge to kick the box, I opened the lid. On black cloth wrapped to keep out light, a cream-colored letter was placed.

I hadn’t checked who sent it yet, but I could immediately tell who had written it.

I tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter.

[To my beloved younger brother.]

[Hello. By the time you read this, you’ll already be at school. You don’t know how worried I was when you collapsed like that. I wish I could have stayed by your side even a little, but I had no choice but to leave early. Please forgive me.]

That apology must be the most hollow apology in the world. Knowing Luca’s ending, I could only laugh.

What followed was just useless content about how father was doing, what he had said about me, and how it would be good if I could raise my grades to at least average.

Reading with dead fish eyes, the text soon reached its end.

[I trust you know well what you should prioritize. Always think of your health first. Especially lately, there seem to be severe changes, so if even the slightest problem arises, please be sure to let me know.

May God’s blessing always be with you. With sincerity, your hyung.]

It was an utterly ordinary and useless letter.

I could feel his tenacity in taking the time to write such a long letter just to pretend to be kind.

I shifted my gaze to the sentence that stood out most in the letter.

[I trust you know well what you should prioritize.]

Yeah, I know well.

I picked up the box as it was, dumped the medicine bottles into the drawer, and locked it.

The poor fool who drank this stuff just because he was told to might have been your brother until now, but not anymore.

‘I’d like to just throw it away, but…’

I can’t do that.

To bury hyung, I need to keep some of this as evidence.

And if I can just get Leo on my side, this will become the best medicine possible.

Since future plans depend on how much medicine effect remains, I should first check how much magic I can use now.

‘Hyung made me drink one bottle three days ago.’

That was practically spat out immediately so it wouldn’t matter, and counting from the last time I drank two bottles in a row before hyung switched the medicine, it was four days ago.

Since it’s medicine taken on a weekly cycle, the effect would be considerably diminished.

So, let’s try using magic once.

‘…But.’

Even if I wanted to do something, the memory should be reasonably old. Was the last time when I was twelve?

Anyway, I was born into a magic family and just have a somewhat closed core, so it should work out somehow.

I first tried extending my hand straight out.

Whiing―!

At that moment, red magic flashed brilliantly. Before I could be surprised by the magic I was seeing for the first time, intense pain struck my heart.

“Ugh…!”

It really works. My knees buckled on their own. It was pain too difficult to endure while standing.

‘This is the state with diminished medicine effect…’

How could he sleep soundly while feeding his brother such medicine?

Even when I was a reader rather than Luca, it was absurd, but becoming the person involved made it even more absurd. I could only laugh like I’d lost my mind.

‘Anyway, there’s no problem with the plan.’

Today is the last day of weekdays.

Tomorrow is the weekend. Once the weekend passes, the medicine effect will be completely gone.

Even while breaking out in cold sweat, I laughed.

Right. First, let’s try to get Leo on my side.

* * *

The next morning, as I stepped outside my room, I encountered students preparing for school.

‘Surprisingly, they’re not avoiding me?’

I looked around, amazed by this surprising situation.

Then one student was calmly passing by, but after checking my face, he was startled and quickly moved away.

The situation was similar when I went down to the crowded dormitory lobby.

‘…’

They weren’t avoiding me—they just didn’t recognize me.

I should have known.

Today, having always appeared looking like a beggar but now showing up with neatly trimmed hair, there was just a delay in their reaction, but students had always shunned and despised Luca.

There are three main reasons for this.

First, because of the Pleroma rumors.

Second, because despite being unable to use magic, he entered the magic department through donation-based admission.

Lastly, because a student with solid influence at school dislikes me.

And… that student is Leo.

‘It’s a long road ahead.’

To be precise, the last part is more of a catalyst than a cause. Originally, everyone in this country already disliked Luca.

Still, the reason I specifically pointed out Leo is because of his influence.

Leo has excellent relationships, grades, and conduct, giving him a good standing within the school. His magical abilities also rank in the upper tier.

At this time, Leo wasn’t aware that his influence was different from others, and he openly displayed his emotions like other students.

Because of this, Leo seemed to dislike Luca more conspicuously, and to some students who had courage but lacked maturity, this was interpreted as meaning it was safe to bully Luca.

Luca also believed that Leo didn’t like him.

‘Looking at it this far, it’s a difficult situation to benefit from, but…’

From my perspective, knowing what happens 10 years later, it’s not a completely hopeless situation.

In the latter part of the story, Leo, who was investigating Luca’s death, confides his past to the protagonist.

Though Luca doesn’t know this, Leo had seen Luca before he was seriously tormented by his hyung.

From his family environment of physicians passed down through generations to his weak talent for general magic, Leo, who had been distant from magic, began to seriously dedicate his life to magic after witnessing Luca’s magic.

Perhaps because he had a blindly positive impression of Luca since childhood, Leo didn’t completely believe the rumors about Pleroma.

But because of this, the backlash hit Luca.

‘He was foolishly blunt because he thought it was stupid for someone with outstanding talent to succumb to strange rumors’.

This is what Leo confides to the protagonist while investigating Luca’s death case. And now would be that ‘blunt’ period.

‘How did I get entangled in such a problem…’

But actually, this worked out well.

Regardless of the type of emotion, having intense feelings is better than indifference.

Because I can dramatically reverse the direction while maintaining that depth.

Creak—

When I opened the door and entered, the noisy classroom instantly became quiet.

The confusion from my appearing with an unusual look was directly transmitted to me.

I pretended not to notice that reaction and found an appropriate seat in the back row.

I felt a piercing gaze from far away.

“What a sight to see.”

A cynical voice was heard.

I silently took out my book and inwardly let out a bitter laugh.

‘Just because I cut my hair, I’m hearing “what a sight to see”…’

Just what kind of beggar-like appearance had I been maintaining for the past year.

Anyway, it’s obvious who said those words.

I raised my head and looked in that direction.

A student surrounded by friends was resting his chin on his hand, slightly turning his head to look at me coldly.

Wheat-colored blonde hair and blue eyes, gently drooping eye corners and stubbornly closed lips.

And even his impeccably neat appearance—even without Luca’s memories, I could immediately tell.

That student is Leo.

Ding—!

‘Route 1 — 【 Chapter 2 】’ begins.

「 Chapter 2. Help Yourself, and God Will Help You Too (2) 」

【 Chapter 2. Help Yourself, and God Will Help You Too (2) 】

Quest: Make ‘Leonard Wittelsbach’ your ally. (0/1) (167 hours 59 minutes 58 seconds)

* Route 1 ― 【 Chapter 3. Undecided (1) 】

* Route 2 ― 【 Death 】

‘…Death.’

167 hours 59 minutes—one week.

To casually display such insane words as a Quest.

I unconsciously held my breath.

‘No.’

Even with the one-week limit, there’s a chance of success. Being in the same class as Leo now, I actually have no confidence in failing this quest.

I looked away from Leo’s bright blue eyes and sat down.

* * *

“Good morning, students. Did you have a good vacation?”

First class of the new semester, the professor energetically greeted while placing the attendance book on the lectern.

Unlike the professor’s greeting, the students’ reaction was lukewarm.

The professor paid no attention and continued with the class introduction.

“You heard this last year, so you know, right? Our class is a subject that studies the history of magic.”

Starting with a light subject from the first class—I like it.

I emptied my mind and leaned back against the chair while the professor’s explanation continued.

Leo’s favorability that I quickly checked when our eyes met earlier was -8.

It was higher than most students here who were at -10, but as long as it was negative, it couldn’t be called good.

To make Leo my ally within 168 hours, one week, I need to speed up from my original plan.

I scribbled something in my notebook for a while, then checked the time. An hour had already passed, but there was no sign of class ending.

“This is precisely the foundation that allows us to pioneer the future through the past. We can directly face the microscopic world of ourselves and independently pioneer our lives…”

“…”

Is it okay to talk about this stuff for an entire hour in high school?

I looked away from my notebook and scanned the surroundings. The students were already doing other things, half-listening.

Clap—

The professor clapped his hands to draw the students’ attention.

“Now, everyone. Pay attention. I’ll give you one last question. There was a meeting that decided those with manifested magical power should participate in communion once a year. What was it? The student who gets it right will receive full marks for attitude this semester.”

“The professor’s at it again… How are we supposed to know when we haven’t even learned it properly yet.”

“What do you expect.”

The students sitting in front of me whispered in barely audible voices.

No matter the distance, that attitude…

It was an attitude that could only come from looking down on the teacher.

‘Reminds me of high school…’

Once you’re looked down upon, there’s no teacher or anything.

I felt inward pity while listening to the professor.

“It won’t be on the exam. However, you should know at least this much to be called a student of our proud Empire 2 Academy. Though it’s not heavily covered in the textbook, it’s an important event that reveals the origin of current divine power. Does anyone know?”

Naturally, the lecture hall was silent.

I pondered while scanning the action routes I had scribbled in my notebook.

Second year, first class, first period.

It’s not a bad time to start the plan for achieving this quest and decide the direction of future actions.

‘Should I try it once?’

Do I really need to act at school like I do at home?

I had already shown un-Luca-like words and actions to the student who guided me, but that was just to one person, so I could still change direction now.

Moreover, the professor’s question was about something from the divine power texts I had memorized tediously on the way here.

Knowing the answer to the question, this is a decent opportunity to use.

‘Won’t anything pop up?’

I called up the Quest window just in case.

There were no other quests besides the one to make Leo my ally.

It pops up well for useless things, but when I actually need it…

‘Never mind.’

It’s just once anyway.

Yesterday I read in the newspaper that the Imperial Mage Order that hyung belongs to had departed for the Papal States.

It would take at least a year for hyung’s work to finish, and since inter-country warp magic is prohibited, he’d have to take a carriage or train to the imperial border to return.

In that situation, it would be difficult to return home solely for the purpose of confining me to the basement.

‘Most importantly… hyung was the one who first told me to improve my grades.’

I’m saying I’ll do as hyung says because I’m afraid of him, and he’d come to find fault with that?

Something like answering a question during class… he might be wary, but it’s insufficient to provoke direct action.

Even this thought is based on the premise that news would reach that far.

In the novel, hyung didn’t assign any watchers to Luca. That makes sense just looking at my state right after the possession. What could a human who was so completely broken both mentally and physically do proactively?

So, just because I answered once in class doesn’t mean it would immediately reach hyung’s ears.

I smiled and quietly listened to the professor’s complaints.

“Is there no one? This is a problem that connects with what I discussed earlier. I’m sure we briefly covered this topic last year too….”

“….”

“It can’t be helped. I hope you’ll remember well from now on.”

“The 7th Lateran Council.”

Silence fell over the lecture hall.

The students filling the lecture hall turned their bodies toward me and stared at me with clearly flustered faces.

The professor also couldn’t close his mouth, apparently not having expected me to answer at all.

There seemed to be no one who could break this bewildering atmosphere. I smiled gently and opened my mouth to ease the mood.

“Was I wrong?”

“Student?”

“Yes.”

“…Did you really answer that?”

I tilted my head and answered with a look that asked what the problem was.

“Yes.”

“…You’re not wrong. The 7th Lateran Council is correct. I know you often missed classes last year due to illness… but you remember?”

Instead of answering, I smiled to end the conversation.

When I met the countless gazes fixed on me, the students hurriedly turned their heads away as if something was stuck to my gaze.

The important thing isn’t the other guys.

I looked toward where Leo was.

Leo was looking at me with a bewildered expression instead of his earlier cold look.

At that moment, a new window appeared before my eyes.

Ding―!

Chapter 2 Special Reward

Hint: Check your survival probability!

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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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