How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 429

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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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“It looks like ticks were likely used.”

The doctor said as he removed his hands from Mecklenburg’s neck. We were now at Bavaria’s National Medical Center. The Chief of Staff had tried to call people to send Mecklenburg to the Imperial Central Hospital, but I somehow managed to change our destination through Mecklenburg’s mouth to bring us to Bavaria. Because.

I needed to prepare countermeasures in advance as Nicolaus Ernst. From now on, I would be frantically called around for witness testimony, so I needed to act as quickly as possible.

As the doctor’s hands withdrew, Mecklenburg put his shirt back on with a displeased expression and stood up from his seat. Judging by his strangely sour expression, he seemed to want to disinfect where the doctor had touched him, but I couldn’t understand why he found even this disgusting when the doctor had worn gloves and applied medicine. It was even more incomprehensible that such a person had been deployed on various operations. The doctor continued speaking while I looked at Mecklenburg with disbelief.

“Judging by the bite marks, it could have been a wingless deer fly or mosquito, but if it had been a mosquito, it would have been difficult to transfer, and if it had been a deer fly, Your Excellency would have immediately noticed being bitten by the insect. Though they’re all small at 2mm, a deer fly’s jaw is incomparably harder and sharper than a tick’s jaw.”

“I see.”

“As you know, ticks usually attach to and parasitize animals like cattle, and naturally they can also attach to stray dogs. However, while it might be possible with livestock, it would be difficult for ticks to live attached to dogs managed by humans…”

“It was originally healthy but deliberately sprayed on.”

The doctor seemed momentarily speechless, opening and closing his mouth, then nodded without asking further questions, knowing he wouldn’t get answers anyway. He had already heard from me that someone had maliciously attached insects to Mecklenburg’s collar. He probably thought it wouldn’t be good for his safety to learn details about political terrorism. Since all the Espers in the country would soon learn about that ‘terrorism’ anyway, I didn’t bother explaining further.

“We’ll have to monitor the situation, but from what I can see now, there are no major health issues with Grand Prince Mecklenburg. In severe cases, the skin can swell up significantly, but fortunately it’s only slightly reddened with no problematic rashes or swelling.”

There was some swelling, but since it wasn’t life-threatening, it seemed they wouldn’t treat it.

“I understand. Is the treatment finished?”

“Yes, just apply the medicine consistently, and since swelling can occur later, please come back then if needed.”

“I’ll do that. And before that, please give this person one injection.”

When I gestured toward Mecklenburg while speaking, he panicked and protested as he was buttoning his vest.

“What…?!”

I gestured to the doctor to excuse me for a moment and cast a sound-blocking spell.

“I meant vitamins. I need to stay here for about 30 more minutes. Senior, don’t return immediately and wait a bit longer to recover your strength.”

“…”

“Don’t we need to find out how a 2mm tick managed to inject Atropos into the bloodstream of a strong mage like you, Senior? Even if we know that blood-sucking ticks exist, how could Atropos on such a tiny insect’s jaw possibly affect us…”

“Doesn’t getting infectious diseases from mosquitoes make sense? It’s common for these insects to transmit diseases. What more is there to investigate that you’re telling me to get an IV?”

Mecklenburg interrupted me but pressed on in an unusually gentle voice. I answered just as calmly.

“That’s exactly why we need to find out whether Atropos spreads not just as a simple drug but in the form of bacteria and viruses. Even if it’s unlikely since it’s a magical drug, shouldn’t we thoroughly investigate what extraordinary mechanism affected you, Senior? Why do you keep nitpicking my words when you’re so wise, Senior? Are you doing this because you want to finish quickly and go home?”

He should have been furious at these words, but Mecklenburg’s eyes just wavered. He looked at my face then finally turned his eyes away.

“…”

“Even if you return to Prussia now, you can’t go to your residence. You’ll be called around all night. If you don’t want an IV, take a shower or something. Anyway, we need to buy about 30 minutes.”

“…Yes, fine, I understand.”

Mecklenburg muttered while still avoiding my eyes. I couldn’t help but know why his attitude was different from just moments before.

I was still standing here with black hair and pink eyes, but he knew I would be working as Bavaria’s Special Minister for the next 30 minutes.

Of course, Mecklenburg often regarded me as Nicolaus Ernst even when I had black hair and pink eyes. But it seemed different when he conveniently treated me as ‘Count Nicolaus’ when it suited him versus when he was made aware by Nicolaus himself that I was Nicolaus when he had no particular desire to do so. The fact that I was on my home ground and would be engaging in activities unrelated to the Imperial Mage Association seemed to burden Mecklenburg. I had no idea why he was more nervous than me, who had to present before high officials.

“I’ll be back.”

“…”

As soon as I left the hospital room, I immediately stomped my foot and warped. I skillfully regained my balance and stood up to see my office—that is, the living room of Leo’s room. Though I usually couldn’t warp directly here, I had drawn blood and sent it ahead to enable entry in one go. When I flicked my hand, mana gathered to form the shape of a mask. Wearing a pitch-black mask on my face and changing into equally black clothes, I walked to the royal conference room.

Creak—

“Special Minister Nicolaus Ernst has arrived.”

The servant standing at the door shouted loudly to the people inside the conference hall. As soon as I entered, I bowed toward the King and looked around at those seated in the conference room, frozen like midwinter.

The King, ministers of each department, and vice ministers. But the Kingdom’s Prime Minister was absent. He was currently in Prussia to hear the information Prussia was announcing, and would be frantically traveling back and forth between Bavaria and Prussia all day. The news that Atropos was circulating in Bavarian Passau and that the Prussian mage guarding Passau had been poisoned by the drug needed to be known not only by Prussia but also by Bavaria. The King sat expressionlessly at the end of the long table. Standing in the seat facing him, I spoke to everyone.

“First, I would like to express my gratitude for accommodating this urgent schedule.”

“Welcome, Your Excellency Ernst.”

The Bavarian Minister of Magic spoke in a voice stiff with tension. I nodded to him in greeting and opened the discussion about my purpose for coming.

“Everyone present here must have heard about the existence of Atropos from the Imperial government. The Empire selected two mages and sent them to Austria-Hungary, and they returned to report the continental crisis at 7 AM this morning. About half a day later, at 6:30 PM, the first infection case appeared domestically.”

“…”

“According to the testimony of the victim who has regained some mental clarity after purification, between 12:00 and 12:30 PM, he encountered a stray dog wandering around Ringer Street in Passau, and around 4:30 PM, the same dog from Austria-Hungary entered the checkpoint through Weiner Street in front of Ahlleiten. The victim testified about this dog as follows: ‘It seemed to have been handled by humans for a long time and had good coloring, but parasitic insects that live on animal fur were clustered on its ears, jaw, and belly skin, so it appeared healthy throughout but seemed to have been sick for not very long.'”

The faces of the seated officials gradually hardened. Their eyes wavered as if trying to deny the speculation that crossed their minds, yet their eyelids were firmly fixed with strength from their eyebrow muscles, like the moment they received shocking news. The King slowly put down his pen, interlaced his fingers, and looked at me.

I had to voice the same claim here that had drawn a barrage of questions and fierce disciplinary threats from the Chief of Staff.

“This very dog is the main culprit that moved Atropos from Austria-Hungary to the German Empire. The perpetrator sent an animal to German soil instead of humans who cannot cross the border.”

As expected, silence flowed. Air filled with shock filled the conference room. Bewildered gazes moved between me and His Majesty the King.

The King asked in a clear voice.

“A dog transmitted Atropos?”

“That’s correct. More precisely, insects that humans attached to the dog’s body transmitted Atropos.”

Then, breaking through the terrifying silence, someone asked back in a thin voice they couldn’t control, a voice that conveyed fear to the listener.

“But, Minister. There’s a river in Passau.”

“There were 12 Royal Mages in the same area. Only 4 of them were contaminated. None of those directly touched the river water.”

“…”

“The enemy’s target is Espers. Contaminating land and rivers to poison the absolutely small number of Espers doesn’t have the same efficiency as the previous rampage incidents. I’m not hastily concluding that they’ve given up on contaminating rivers and land, but they have sufficient incentive to devise methods to effectively contaminate the small number of targets called Espers at low cost, and they actually did so.”

I caught my breath, paused once, then answered.

“Precisely, using living creatures as drug storage and carriers.”

“Mefen’s mosquitoes have been revived.”

The King’s rigid voice slowly settled down. He hit the nail on the head. The ministers’ mouth and jaw muscles were pulled taut downward. The cold transmitted from the glass covering the massive mahogany table seeped chillingly into my hand bones.

“That’s correct, Your Majesty.”

“It’s going to get busy.”

The King’s eyes were directed at me.

This was a warning to me. The people who uncovered Mefen’s contaminated mosquitoes were none other than Elias and me, and the Empire’s request for rescue would be directed more toward me, a Bavarian, than toward Elias, who was Prussian.

Prussia might have taken Bavaria’s talent, but it completely refused aid and help carried out under the name of the Kingdom of Bavaria. This was all too natural just by imagining the German Empire of the world I used to live in.

Though much better than this time last year, Elias was still not regarded as an equal intellectual among Espers. Despite having survived without being discarded. He was just a thorn in the side proving that Esper physical-intelligence-safety tests couldn’t guarantee perfect humans, and paradoxically, therefore a half-wit Esper who couldn’t threaten the throne. Only we of the 101st knew that Elias was rewriting Hamlet.

So Prussia would not choose a true Prussian born with royal blood, no matter how deeply Elias was involved in the Mefen incident. Regardless of any national barriers, whether I was Bavaria’s dog or whoever, this time they would choose me.

Considering that Nicolaus Ernst was not included in the meetings held several times during the Penthalon preparation period—actually, Nicolaus Ernst’s participation in the Empire’s political meetings wasn’t very justified, and I could list more than five reasons for this—it was premature to be certain they would call me out this time too. But the King seemed to think differently. It wouldn’t hurt to take note.

“Using insects doesn’t guarantee a high success rate. However, if they succeed just once, they can control that infected person to infect other targets as well. Suppose a tick that attached to clothes after petting a stray dog bites a person’s skin ten minutes later. That bitten person is now in the hands of whoever administered the drug. Therefore, Your Majesty.”

I looked at the King and continued in a clear voice.

“From now on, mages must not travel alone. They should minimize external outings as much as possible, strengthen warp postal network security, and mobilize Bavaria’s Arcane Mages to constantly purify Esper residential areas.”

“Hmm, fortunately I heard that it’s a drug that can be purified with divine power. Finance Minister, how much stored divine power do we have?”

“179 tons total. Only 5 tons are available for use.”

“…This is troublesome… Sir Siller, tell them to develop emergency medicine with what’s available.”

The King spoke to his aide. I raised my hand to their conversation and said.

“However, Your Majesty. May I say something?”

“Please do.”

“I dare to speak. While Your Majesty’s command is certainly reasonable, we shouldn’t stop at just dividing divine power into small portions.”

That was the method I had used until now, but it wouldn’t work anymore. This was the second time. The first was rampage drugs targeting everyone regardless of whether they were Humans or Espers, and that too was largely resolved with divine power. The second, Atropos, also seemed to require dependence on divine power. Even though the range of people Atropos affected was smaller compared to rampage drugs, dependence on divine power had become excessively high. Developing emergency medicine with divine power was no different from doing nothing. We couldn’t continue this way forever.

At those words, the King looked at me in silence without any expression. It was a signal to continue talking.

“Divine power is too limited in quantity. There are limits to receiving external help. If the Papal States cut off support, the continent will perish as is. While it’s true that the Papal States are Bavaria’s ally, entrusting too much power could greatly affect national sovereignty and survival.”

“…”

“As soon as we obtain Atropos, please develop an antidote that uses minimal divine power or none at all.”

“It will be difficult.”

The King answered my words without a moment’s hesitation.

He was right. It would be difficult. The King continued calmly.

“Also, this time it will require much less divine power than when rampage drugs were circulating throughout the Empire. Yet you’re asking us to develop an antidote that doesn’t use divine power…”

“…”

It must sound difficult. I understand. To those desperately waiting for support from the Papal States, the words ‘receive support from the Papal States, but gradually reduce dependence’ couldn’t sound good. In the midst of chaos, they might think I was looking too far ahead, and I couldn’t argue with that. But I had to say it. If we didn’t look far ahead and problems struck, that would be the end in its own way. History was a repetition of mistakes—looking microscopically when we should look macroscopically, and looking macroscopically when we should look microscopically.

“However, I fully understand Minister Ernst’s concerns. Your words are not wrong.”

At the King’s words, the ministers’ heads turned in that direction.

I knew what the King was thinking. As a Catholic nation, Bavaria maintained close relations with the Papal States. But it hadn’t been long since the Papal States had hidden their claws as evangelical Protestantism and Enlightenment ideas spread. Just as the conflict between imperial and papal authority couldn’t be omitted from medieval German history, the same would be true going forward. They could try to gain national interests at any time, and in my view, they had already prepared to do so. Sending humanitarian aid to nations that couldn’t function without divine power was a statement with great potential for corruption.

The King looked straight at me and spoke to his aide.

“As soon as Atropos is discovered, tell them to begin developing magical antidotes.”

* * *

“Developing magical antidotes.”

Two hours had passed since returning to Prussia. It was now 9 PM.

During that time, I had given statements, and statements, and gone to other departments to give more statements. It was the height of inefficiency. I downed an elixir used as a fatigue recovery agent and walked with Elias to the command headquarters conference room. Actually, I still had to do inspections at Passau, but after the 98th Unit’s contamination, all Association mages at the border had withdrawn. They were receiving purification from government Arcane Mages and gathered at the Association building, while command-affiliated mages were separately at headquarters.

“It looks difficult. If we can handle it with divine power, wouldn’t it be better to focus on that? It’s true that the number of Arcane Mages is small, but we don’t have time.”

Elias, who had cast a sound-blocking spell, spoke calmly. After news spread throughout headquarters that even our side’s mages had contacted Atropos, he had become calmer than ever. I answered just as calmly.

“Since we don’t have time, we should receive foreign help for now, but we need to prepare countermeasures since we don’t know what diplomatic variables might arise.”

“Hmm… That’s true.”

“And in some ways, being locked up in the research facility all day might be safer…”

“Hahaha! That’s really true. As long as no one comes out drugged from there.”

Elias burst into hearty laughter, then gradually calmed down and finished his words.

“Right, Count Nicolaus will handle it well enough.”

“I need your opinion too, always.”

“Ooh~ This is an honor.”

“…”

I smiled while watching him whistle. I was sincere, though I’m not sure how much it resonated with him. But he was always a necessary presence for my decision-making. Even with problems I could solve alone, whenever Elias and I agreed, I could always lighten the burden on my heart.

I quickly passed through the bleakly quiet headquarters hallway and entered a council chamber I’d never seen before. All headquarters personnel were seated in a circle, this time with even the Representative Mage of Class 91 sitting in a non-head seat. The Chief of Staff sat at the head seat, testing amplification magic. I sat next to Narke and Elias, quietly waiting for the briefing to begin.

“Now, first.”

Once everyone had arrived and filled every seat, the Chief of Staff opened his mouth. Fortunately, it seemed headquarters had the privilege of quickly receiving news from overseas first. Though I’m not sure if that was truly fortunate or not.

“We’ve received investigation results from Austria-Hungary. Duke Torrigiani of Tuscany died this morning at 11 o’clock.”

“…”

For a moment, my eyes met Narke’s. The Chief of Staff immediately continued.

“Torrigiani is the family that owns the Acqua Panna production factory. After determining that Pleroma failed in their attempt to seize Austria-Hungary’s hegemony using Torrigiani, they killed the Duke. Italian authorities are currently protecting the heir of the Torrigiani family.”

In less than a day, nobles were dying off.

“The border region has been directly purified by 50 arcane mages from Hohenzollern. However, unless we continuously purify, we cannot know when Atropos might enter our borders again, and if Atropos is brought into the city center through mages capable of free warping, the aftermath would be difficult to handle. Therefore, until the situation is resolved, you must absolutely not go outside unless accompanied by arcane mages from the Papal States. Anyone who disobeys orders and leaves the premises will face severe disciplinary action.”

‘Hmm…’

Given this situation, I have no choice but to avoid going outside if possible, but when I absolutely must go out, I’ll have to take Mecklenburg with me like I did today. Without making arrangements through him, there would be no way to leave.

That aside, seeing them confine us like this suggests they have some plan to handle things among themselves. With Adrian Ascanien there too, I suppose I can expect proper politics.

At that moment, the Chief of Staff touched his ear with an uncomfortable expression, then responded to someone beyond the artifact with a “hmm” sound. The gazes of dozens of seated mages all focused on him. The Chief of Staff gradually opened his mouth wider, then stood up.

“Let’s adjourn now.”

Adjourn? The council chamber stirred at those words. Not even five minutes had passed since we gathered.

Crash—!

At that moment, someone rushed into the council chamber as if ready to tear down the door. What appeared to be one of his adjutants burst in breathlessly, clutching papers and shouting rapidly.

“Sir, the Papal States say they cannot send the promised number of mages! The Austria-Hungary Foreign Office also sent a telegram three minutes ago. They said most arcane mages registered with the Imperial Court lack the ability to purify Atropos. Moreover—”

“I heard you. Stop!”

“—The heir to Torrigiani died ten minutes ago, sir!”

The two voices overlapped. The adjutant, who seemed not to have finished reading the papers, shut his mouth tight at his superior’s rebuke. The Chief of Staff gestured irritably and quickly left the council chamber. I slowly raised my head to look at Narke.

With this, two members of the Torrigiani family had died.

That too was a problem. It was a problem. The aura of death cast shadows across the continent like a specter. In Italy, the homeland of Atropos, nobles were dying one after another. We needed to protect other nobles who might be related, though we didn’t know for certain. Immediately.

However, that was the Italian authorities’ responsibility. What we needed to address right now was a different matter.

‘Most arcane mages lack the ability to purify Atropos?’

Then Narke and I.

Currently, there are 94 arcane mages registered in the Empire. One more than before. Of these, only 24 are special management grade, capable of handling divine power above a certain level. The remaining 70 don’t properly know how to use mind-control magic, and their divine power purity isn’t very high either. This was something I had discussed before the Emperor previously, and it’s a number any Imperial mage would know.

This means we must rely not on the 94 arcane mages we already worried were too few, but solely on the 24 special management grade mages.

And that means the Empire’s lifeline truly depends on the Papal States.

“Our Special Minister has remarkable foresight.”

Elias’s voice came through the sound-dampening magic. Cold sweat broke out, making the corners of my mouth twist upward involuntarily.

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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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