How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 417

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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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“Hotel….”

 

Narke’s eyes flashed as he stopped abruptly in place. Even though it was Narke, since he was currently ‘Johanna’, all I could see was some stranger repeating my words. However, he soon smiled with the familiar facial muscle movements I knew well.

 

“Good.”

 

Once again, we didn’t need to go far – within 10 minutes we found something like a German grand hotel. Since this was the administrative center of the city, it wasn’t surprising that one of the few hotels of this era was nearby. What mattered was why we needed to go to a hotel right now.

 

It wasn’t because I’d decided to give up, go inside, and just sleep whether everything went to hell or not, nor because I was so absorbed in the investigation that I might end up sleeping on newspapers on the street when it was time to rest, so I decided to secure a place in advance. We don’t have proper sleep in our vocabulary anyway. It wasn’t even 8 PM yet, so why did we need to go to a hotel at this point?

 

Thankfully, Narke had already grasped the reason without me saying anything, which is why he wasn’t stopping me. Even if he knew through Insight, it didn’t matter right now, but actually, even without using Insight – meaning even if any of the 101 friends other than Narke had come – they wouldn’t have stopped me.

 

I walked in step with Johanna and entered the lobby. The moment I spotted other people standing in the lobby, I exchanged glances with him.

 

I could see several people in various uniforms. Among those wearing badges from other regional police departments, I also saw some in investigative bureau uniforms. They were all probably drafted from other places for Vienna’s security. Why look far – let’s think about Penthalon two months ago. How did the Espers, who were academically mages but culturally closer to Humans, escape the stadium? Why did the Royal Mages have to warp them to the national park when time wasn’t exactly abundant?

 

It was the same situation. These people also had enough magical power to become civil servants, but they still felt a great burden from the extreme magical consumption required for warping. After warping once or twice a day, they had no magical power left for more warping, so they had no choice but to stay at hotels. I glanced at them and approached an employee.

 

“Do you have a room available right now until tomorrow morning?”

 

“For two people?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Could you show me your passports?”

 

“….”

 

Here too? How thorough. Since refusing would mean having to leave, I reluctantly presented the fake passport I’d prepared in advance.

 

“Hmm….”

 

The employee who had received the passport with a bright face stared intently at the page with the photo, alternating between looking at it and my face. I smiled as if to ask what the problem was. Soon the employee gave a meaningful smile and returned the passport.

 

I almost broke out in a cold sweat for a moment, but I understood why he was acting that way. He probably thought I had done too much retouching on the photo. Like ‘Johanna’, I also needed to look unremarkable, so I had been mixing cognitive disruption magic on my face as well. If I walked around as I was, there was a high chance I’d be remembered. Since this experience was new to me, I just waited for the employee to say something, and the employee turned toward a drawer filled with numbers and asked.

 

“Would you prefer a double room or a suite?”

 

“A suite, please. The highest floor if possible.”

 

“Would room 6010 be alright?”

 

“Yes.”

 

The top floor. I took the literally metal room key, said I’d carry my luggage myself, then stood in front of the elevator. But….

 

―”Wait.”

 

Narke grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the lobby toward the garden behind the hotel. After standing there blankly for a few minutes, Narke suddenly led me back to the elevator. Only then did I realize why Narke had pulled me away.

 

‘Insight is the best.’

 

I was now in the same elevator as an Austrian Detective. Narke’s ability was serving as the best guide in small but crucial moments. What an ability – it made me want to have it too.

 

The Austrian Esper next to me was about my height, and since he was probably a combat-type mage – being a detective – the shape of his holster extending from waist to thigh was similar to what I usually used. I opened his status window and checked all the values. He was strong, but not as strong as us. In any case, I just hoped he wouldn’t sense our magical power. As I pressed my core with all my might and watched the needle of the elevator moving slowly unlike the 21st century, ‘Johanna’, who had been linking arms with me, pulled my arm more firmly. I tilted my head toward Johanna while being conscious of the investigator. I was just going to act with facial expressions, but Johanna tapped her own cheek.

 

“….”

 

I understood what she wanted me to do. The problem wasn’t doing it, but the Esper next to us…. As when I read scripts, I didn’t particularly like acting out nonsense in public places – though I had to act out such things most of the time anyway.

 

When I just brought my head close and returned to my original position, I could feel the Esper next to us looking at us like we were some creatures from a textbook. I had to suppress a laugh at that reaction. As expected, Narke’s aggro was successful. Espers seemed to find everything Humans did fascinating – except for crimes. Would they find it fascinating to watch us use spoons too? When my eyes met the investigator’s, I acted embarrassed, cleared my throat, and stood properly. The investigator asked with interested eyes.

 

“Humans?”

 

“Yes, that’s right.”

 

“You’re not Austrians, I suppose?”

 

“No. You figured that out quickly.”

 

“I’m good at figuring out these things. What brings you to Austria?”

 

“We came for an engagement anniversary trip. We’re thinking of going to Italy next.”

 

“Isn’t that important for Humans? You came to our country, but the timing is unfortunate.”

 

“But what can we do? Still, the hotel is nice, so that’s good.”

 

“Everything in Austria is nice. Welcome to our country.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

I smiled and replied, then looked at his clothes and asked.

 

“Are you an investigator?”

 

“Yes, I’m on my way back from the Prime Minister’s residence across the street.”

 

“Because of that incident. It must be hard with such a big case.”

 

“It’s fine. I can rest a bit now.”

 

“That’s fortunate. Are you off duty?”

 

“That’s right. The investigators who first came are at the hospital now for some reason… I’ll have to go out again soon, but where else can you find time for a quick glass of sherry?”

 

“What room are you in?”

 

“6013.”

 

“Oh, really.”

 

Ding―

 

It takes forever to get to the top. Sometimes I miss the 21st century when you could go up 50 floors in an instant if you spaced out for a moment, but right now I’m truly grateful for this slow technology.

 

I entered the room with Narke. There was no time to be satisfied with the room’s condition. After about 5 minutes, Narke and I took the wine from the table and immediately knocked on the door of room 6013.

 

“Hm?”

 

The investigator from earlier opened the door with a puzzled expression. This time, instead of me, ‘Johanna’ spoke.

 

“Since we met like this by fate, shall we have a drink together?”

 

Right. This is why we came to the hotel.

 

“…Alright.”

 

The investigator stood there blankly for a moment, then nodded. His pupils weren’t dilated, but I could immediately tell that Narke had put subtle power into those words. Since there were no others here, he could use mental manipulation magic more easily.

 

“Come in. Oh, I’m going to smoke – is that alright?”

 

“Yes, of course.”

 

I wondered why there were no smoking regulations when they could accidentally burn down the hotel. As I entered the room, I scanned the investigator’s clothes and the items in the room. The investigator had thrown his jacket and robe on the sofa as soon as he arrived. He was now hanging his clothes on a hanger, moving his luggage next to the sofa, and sitting down. I sat on the sofa he indicated and said with a smile.

 

“Shall we introduce ourselves? I’m Theo Neumann. This is Johanna Ritter.”

 

“I’m Markus Faber.”

 

“Mr. Markus. Actually, when traveling, there’s the charm of making new connections in that country, but unfortunately, given the current situation, that’s been difficult.”

 

“It can’t be helped right now. Especially for civilians.”

 

“That’s why I was happy when you spoke to us earlier, Mr. Markus.”

 

“I’m honored. Still, people in this country are usually kind to travelers, so when dawn breaks tomorrow, try talking to anyone. You’re German, so you can communicate, right? They won’t completely reject you.”

 

“That would be fortunate.”

 

“By the way, what do you two do for work?”

 

“Why do you ask?”

 

“Well, I don’t come to hotels often, but this is the first time I’ve seen Humans staying on the penthouse floor. I don’t know how this will be received. I don’t mean to insult you as Humans.”

 

From a 21st-century person’s perspective, this didn’t seem like something to be particularly curious about, but it must have been a different matter for 19th-century people.

 

“Haha, it’s nothing particularly special. There are many bourgeois these days, aren’t there?”

 

I continued with a laugh.

 

“Still, we are in business. We run a factory that makes small items like this.”

 

I said, pointing to the vase on the side table.

 

And now, the question we just heard is actually what we want to ask. Since he’s staying on the government’s dime anyway, where are the other investigators and why is this person using this large room alone? Room 6013 was also a suite. It wasn’t problematic, but it was worth thinking about. We could conclude that this investigator was at least not just a low-ranking officer, and Narke probably already knew this when he approached him.

 

After more conversation, the atmosphere quickly relaxed. This Esper didn’t seem to be particularly introverted. Thanks to that, we encountered some pointless questions.

 

“What does engagement mean to Humans?”

 

“A promise.”

 

“I know that much. But you must both know in some way that you’re dating with the premise of marriage, so I’m curious why you get engaged in advance.”

 

“….”

 

I had nothing to say since I didn’t know either. I’m not a 19th-century Human, after all. People just do it because others do – what special reason could there be? Or maybe the advantage of being able to strengthen your resolve together once more? But the more events there are, the more bothersome it becomes, so it just seems like inertia.

 

As I tried to laugh it off with nonsense, ‘Johanna’ took my hand, interlaced our fingers, and said.

 

“My tesoro is popular, so I’m staking my claim early.”

 

“So it’s a kind of preliminary contract. Not long ago I went to buy a townhouse near Niederösterreich train station, and there were so many people looking for that property….”

 

“….”

 

I smiled at Narke’s perfect acting while simultaneously having to interpret the word he used to refer to me and suppress laughter – though it was a word that could be used jokingly even between close friends, like the German “Schatz.”

 

The investigator still didn’t seem to understand the significance of engagement, but since I didn’t understand the existence of that system well either, there was no solution. In reality, there wasn’t a single 19th-century Human here – what could three Espers including one fake former-Human do asking and answering about Humans…. We could only laugh it off and tried to quickly change the subject, but the investigator kept asking about things he was curious about regarding Humans. At least it was a good sign that we weren’t being kicked out. However, we didn’t have much time. I signaled to Narke with my eyes. ‘Johanna’s’ gaze was directed at the investigator’s face, but his words seeped into my mind.

 

―”10 minutes, Lucas. You know where the jacket and robe are.”

 

―”I know.”

 

I knew, but I had to see for myself. I immediately leaned back against the backrest and muttered.

 

“I’m getting sleepy. Aren’t you?”

 

“I suppose so… I didn’t order alcohol to drink at the bar, but I should just order a bottle later. This is delicious.”

 

Markus said, checking the bottle’s label. Narke nodded at me. Now Narke would slowly make the investigator drowsy. I got up from my seat and approached the door.

 

“I’ll just go to the bathroom for a moment.”

 

“You’re going out? Why go so far? Use the one here.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

I opened the bathroom door and closed it again while looking around the room with the bed. I glanced at the investigator’s robe and jacket, then returned to my seat and said.

 

“Isn’t Mr. Markus going?”

 

“I am….”

 

He frowned slightly and slowly got up from his seat.

 

“Please wait just a moment.”

 

“Yes.”

 

While he went into the bathroom, I entered the bedroom, put on the jacket and robe, and came out to the living room. Narke, who had been rummaging through the investigator’s bag next to the sofa, handed me a record sheet.

 

Click―

 

With the sound of the door opening, I stomped my foot and warped to the front of the hotel lobby. The night breeze brushed against my face.

 

‘From now, 10 minutes.’

 

For exactly 10 minutes, only during that time would Narke project my image in front of the investigator. If it went beyond that, Narke’s stamina would be depleted, so I had to quickly check the interior and return.

 

There was no time to walk. I tucked the investigation record under my arm, recited the coordinates, and warped to the front of the official residence. I disguised myself with Markus’s face through illusion and presented my ID at the main gate, and the police officer nodded. I acted with the same expression as before and stepped forward.

 

Tap―

 

“….”

 

I stepped on the floor beyond the barrier, but nothing happened. I glanced at the badge attached next to the robe brooch and put my ID in my pocket. The official residence was a 3-story building. Once I entered the barrier, the building was clearly visible. I naturally stepped into the building’s lobby. From the atmosphere, the first floor seemed to be used as offices, while the 2nd and 3rd floors appeared to be used as living space in the capital. The Prime Minister’s ‘real home’ was in Niederösterreich, equivalent to Brandenburg in Germany, but that was for later. First, the scene where the Prime Minister collapsed was most important. As I walked expressionlessly toward the office, an esper wearing the same robe as me greeted me familiarly.

 

“Oh, Senior. What brings you back here?”

 

“….”

 

This was someone I’d never seen before. Clearly a junior investigator under Markus. I opened the status window to see the name―Katrin Behter―. I drew Markus’s sociable expression, yet slightly dark expression, exactly onto my face and answered.

 

“I couldn’t sleep even when I tried, so I came to supplement the investigation records. It feels like the deceased Prime Minister is telling us to catch the culprit quickly.”

 

“Hehe… This isn’t Hamlet. Don’t say such things at this hour. It’s making my liver turn cold.”

 

“Haha.”

 

It was the perfect excuse to later blame it on seeing a ghost. I deflected with laughter and stepped into the office blocked by the barrier. Again, I could enter without any obstruction.

 

‘Finally.’

 

Now I had 8 minutes left.

 

Back to the beginning.

 

The Prime Minister appeared to have been poisoned, but why was there no one who prepared poison for him, nor anyone who fed him poison?

 

From this question, we could establish various hypotheses about what method was used to assassinate the Prime Minister, and from each hypothesis, we could branch out dozens more possibilities, and surely Narke or anyone else would have already done so. However, we could assign the highest probability to one major category among them.

 

How was the Prime Minister poisoned? If he didn’t eat poison, how else could he have been poisoned?

 

I looked at the interior from the entrance.

 

The office was very large with high ceilings. Since the official residence was designed like a Roman temple, there were round limestone columns standing in front of the door. Inside, there were three large windows with an equally massive mahogany rectangular table in front of them. A red leather chair with brown trim was visible between the windows and table.

 

Fortunately, the wallpaper was red, not green. If it had been green, I would have checked whether arsenic was falling from there, considering the era. Though there are no crazy people using arsenic in this world now, there might be remnants.

 

I looked at the low chest of drawers on the right side when viewed from the entrance. A red ceramic piece was placed on it. From the color, I could easily tell it was porcelain glazed with cinnabar. A red dragon was painted largely on it. It didn’t seem to be genuine pottery imported from a craftsman in the real East, but rather something made in an Eastern style somewhere else. Aesthetically crude, it wasn’t to my taste. There was no moisture inside and no particular smell. I opened the drawer below. Here too was an Eastern-style box with what appeared to be cinnabar glaze. Everything being bright red made me not want to touch it much… but I’d try anyway.

 

Click―

 

“….”

 

My effort was in vain as opening the box revealed only a quality certificate. I sighed. The Prime Minister must have liked either red or cinnabar. I opened all the remaining drawers, but they were empty. Since they would have contained state secrets, the government must have taken everything. As evident here, I had to consider the possibility that the scene had been compromised.

 

The narrow walnut wardrobe was wide open, with a small white sachet hanging at one end of the empty hangers. Taking a deep breath, I could smell sweet floral fragrance. Truly, the Prime Minister had opposite tastes from mine. But there was nothing obstructive to breathing. I carefully touched the sachet, but the opening was perfectly sewn shut with no falling powder. The contents were full of brown leaves. My head remained clear. There was no magic here either.

 

I shifted my gaze to the table and looked at the coaster. It seemed he had been drinking water, but the Investigation Bureau would have taken it. I could pin my hopes on that, but unfortunately, didn’t I meet Otto Visser and learn from him that no one had prepared or fed poison to the Prime Minister? I decided to temporarily let go of my attachment to the water cup.

 

On the table, there were dried marks of transparent liquid that could have been saliva or water, which seemed to have first gotten on paper. The dried marks were slightly streaked as if water droplets had been pushed. Someone had taken away the paper that had been stained with it. It would be kept as evidence. I stood in front of the chair and looked outside from the direction the Prime Minister had been sitting. It was structured so anyone entering would be immediately visible. Nothing else caught my attention.

 

Then I looked at the chandelier that illuminated this office. Each lampshade of the chandelier was designed in a tulip shape with an opening at the bottom, so when looking up from below, there was nothing blocking the magic lamp light source even slightly. All bulbs were well-lit, but the bulb in the 2nd quadrant from my viewing position seemed slightly dimmer. It wasn’t problematic enough to matter. My eyes stung from looking at the light for too long.

 

I touched the drawers. There was no moisture or damage anywhere. I tried the fountain pen on the desk in my notebook. It was an ordinary pen without magic. This time I disassembled it. The ink was well-contained. Since they didn’t take it as evidence, they apparently didn’t consider it important, and looking at the investigation records, that was true. Their judgment was somewhat trustworthy.

 

This time I looked at the lever of the magic lamp stand placed in one corner of the desk. The lever was turned to the on position, but no light was coming on. I turned it back to the original position and moved it again. Whether up or down, no light came on. The cartridge must have been depleted.

 

‘4 minutes.’

 

I checked my watch and swallowed.

 

The noise of investigators moving around outside the office was disturbing my thoughts. What should I do now? In this room that had nothing special except tape marking where someone died? If I missed this opportunity, another might never come. I swallowed and opened the magic lamp cover. I glanced at the blue-dyed compressed magic cartridge. It was full, yet no light was coming on. Magic should transfer to the luminescent artifact, but the numerous glass passages in between were slightly melted or the magic was clumped, appearing somewhat darkly damaged. Right, the stand itself was junk. Did the Prime Minister have a hobby of keeping inferior things around him, like that cinnabar pottery I saw earlier? I lifted the stand toward the chandelier and illuminated the protective glass with light.

 

I opened the table drawer. Likewise, all documents in the table drawer had been taken by the government. The Prime Minister had come to work at dawn and collapsed in this office while working. Since he didn’t die at his desk, he must have felt something was wrong at some point. I slowly followed the path the Prime Minister would have walked from getting up from his seat until he collapsed, then lay down next to the deceased marker line. I thought it might be good to see what was in his field of vision when he died, but nothing particularly caught my attention. Truly, in many ways, this was an empty room.

 

But that was fine.

 

Now, I knew how the Prime Minister had been poisoned.

 

I slowly got up from my position and went outside, gesturing to the junior from earlier.

 

“Officer Behiter.”

 

“Yes, Senior?”

 

“Please collect fingerprints from the glass of this stand.”

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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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