How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 476

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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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Even though 30 seconds have passed since Matteo’s divine power was cut off, my breath is still choppy and interfering with my thoughts. However, I caught my breath while feeling a certain enjoyment. When I pushed Matteo Orsini’s shoulder, he turned and lay down helplessly as I directed, and as if proving his body was completely relaxed by divine power, he dropped his head to the floor. I grabbed Matteo’s chin like that, made him look at me, and asked.

“Do you know Terminus Yukairya?”

Matteo moved his lips with unfocused eyes as if dreaming. Although no sound came out, I know well what this reaction means. I smiled and urged him on.

“You know? What is that.”

“Ah…”

“Ah?”

“Augustine… 【City of God】…”

“…”

It was so absurd that only a sigh came out.

He studied religion thoroughly. Yes, even though he’s young, I would have been a bit disappointed if a priest didn’t know the writings of the Church Fathers.

My hypothesis is this. First, this person is not a Papal spy—he doesn’t communicate with Terminus Yukairya. Second, Terminus Yukairya used an alias when contacting the Papal spy. Third, there’s a separate Papal spy and this person sent letters to France without knowing most of what was happening, only forwarding letters the spy gave him. Having come to this, I should hear what priests who have studied theology from birth think about the name Terminus Yukairya.

“The two words are unrelated to each other. What does Terminus mean in 【City of God】?”

Then Matteo Orsini opened and closed his mouth with unfocused eyes. It took some time for him to squeeze out a voice that was completely cracked from his vocal cords.

“It is the god who announces the end times.”

The thought that they do all sorts of things surged up and I decided to give up trying to understand the cult. The name of the god who announces the end times is Terminus. The Yukairya attached next to it means a golden opportunity.

Do they see the end times as a golden opportunity? Are they saying that the god who announces the end times is themselves? Even if I can’t confirm it, I can roughly picture what they’re planning and pursuing.

“Have you ever forwarded letters that arrived from the Papacy to someone else?”

He grabbed my hand as if talking in his sleep and shook his head.

“Then, have you ever sent letters that others gave you to other places?”

It was the same reaction. With this, all three hypotheses I had established earlier collapse. What remains is the conclusion that Matteo Orsini is not a Papal spy. It’s quite regrettable that the culprit isn’t caught right away, but I have a good key so I won’t complain. I made Matteo Orsini open his eyes and said.

“Why did you arrive at Marcellus’s theater instead of being at the cathedral at that time?”

“I knew.”

“What?”

“I went because I was told it would happen.”

Matteo answered with a face that didn’t know what he was saying.

“Who told you?”

“It’s not who…”

He was falling into deep sleep. I grabbed his chin firmly to chase away sleep and tilted my head.

“If not ‘who’ then what do you mean? Do you have an object?”

“The, the heirloom told me.”

“What is this heirloom and who can access it?”

No answer comes. I waited a bit longer but no words began in the end, so I placed my hand on his forehead and pushed divine power without a magic formula. The sound of sparks from magic powers touching flows from his head.

“Ah, ah! Agh…!”

He was startled and convulsed, twisting his body. I cast a sound-blocking spell and pressed his forehead hard. He tried to spring up from his position but ultimately couldn’t escape the force pressing his forehead, and gasping for breath, he grabbed my arm. I slowly reduced the divine power. He still had unfocused pupils and spoke rapidly like a machine gun.

“The, the senate shares it and each person gives different advice. I just stopped by this morning to pray for today’s peace. So please stop…”

“You say it’s an heirloom but the senate shares it, how ridiculous. The Pythia of Delphi?”

“I don’t know what that is… Greek temples are…”

Perhaps because he’s out of his mind, his sentences are all jumbled. Having roughly understood what he meant, I shook my head.

“Why does a priest rely on such things?”

“It’s not a religious object. It operates with magic power that is Christ’s grace, so it might be religious, but still that’s…”

“What exactly is that object called?”

“It emitted magic power in a circle. Toward Marcellus theater…”

I suppose interpretation is up to the viewer. I faithfully remembered what Gabrielle had said and asked within limits that wouldn’t touch too much.

“What is the senate?”

“An alliance… It’s just an alliance.”

“Of what?”

“An alliance of Roman nobles.”

Seeing him repeat only the same words while lacking reason, this is all he knows. I was dealing with someone who didn’t know much. I smiled and lowered my body, asking only topics he could answer.

“Where is the senate located?”

“Forum Romanum… But it might not be.”

“They really do all sorts of things. Can I enter too?”

“No.”

I nodded and now moved on to other questions in earnest.

“How many Orsini are there in Rome?”

He just blinked blankly as if thinking too much with his inadequate mind.

That’s enough. Even counting all the branch families, it would be about twenty. The other branch families probably live in residences outside Rome. Among the Orsini in Rome, only three hold religious positions, and importantly, one of them is clean of collusion with France.

“Do you frequently contact the other two Orsini cardinals?”

He shakes his head. Since their positions are different and the age gap is probably about 80 years, it’s understandable that they don’t contact each other often.

“Good.”

I slowly raised my body again. Then I clearly imprinted it in his brain.

“Working as your secretary wouldn’t be bad either.”

I felt like I was doing something terrible to Narke. It probably was something terrible. However, he still hasn’t sent any signal through my artifact, and even knowing who I met, he hasn’t come to extract me from this situation. I’m not regretful that Narke isn’t giving me any contact. Only one thing was certain. It was a kind of signal, a signal that I could arrange things as I pleased. To finish this situation without consequences, it’s best to deal with Matteo Orsini to the end as originally planned. Before erasing his memory, I asked one last question.

“What do you usually think about ‘Yeha’?”

“…”

“Please tell me exactly what you usually think about ‘Yeha’.”

“That is…”

He floated through dreamland and lifted my hand. He closed his eyes and kissed the back of my hand, finally managing the greeting he couldn’t do earlier due to the implicit refusal. He did this for quite a while, so I had to shake off his hand myself. It was common for high-ranking religious figures like cardinals to receive such greetings from believers, but it was worth remembering that he only repeated greetings instead of answering this question.

I really want to retract what I said about working as a secretary not being bad. Though I shouldn’t retract it yet. I erased the memory of casting mind manipulation magic, then inserted appropriate false memories. Casting the mind manipulation magic formula once more, I muttered.

“Now you’re waking up from sleep. Your body will be full of strength. There were some complications because this person started a physical fight, but you succeeded in getting what you wanted. I also erased the memory of when you proposed the secretary position earlier and implanted information to have favorable thoughts about the secretary position. This should be perfect.”

This much is background explanation, and from now on I’ll lay the groundwork so I can utilize him.

“Let me tell you, the occasional drowsiness isn’t due to external factors but because you can’t control your joy and your mind becomes hazy. According to your fanatical respect, you can react that way sufficiently and you know well it’s nothing particularly strange.”

I erased the memory of Matteo Orsini being beaten by me from his head, and instead lay down beside him as if I had been beaten by him. Looking at Matteo Orsini’s transparent eyeballs, I snapped my fingers. Matteo Orsini’s pupils suddenly contracted small. His eyes sweep the ceiling. Then he grasped the situation and quickly got up with a flustered face. I just breathed in, imitating Matteo Orsini who had been drowsy. After looking down at me for a while, Matteo Orsini had a puzzled face, then perhaps recalling the memory I didn’t erase—that is, the memory of him recruiting me for the secretary position—he awkwardly raised the corners of his mouth and said.

“…So, how about it. I think it’s a welcome proposal.”

This is a question thrown to check before releasing the mind manipulation magic. He tried to make me have favorable thoughts about the secretary position through mind manipulation magic, so after releasing the magic, he’ll propose to me once more. The stone floor touching my cheek is cold. I closed my eyes and spoke slowly.

“…That’s good.”

“Hahahaha…”

Matteo Orsini still had a puzzled face, not knowing what had happened, turning his head this way and that, but on the other hand, he laughed satisfactorily. He spoke as if brainwashing himself.

“Of course you’d be satisfied to be able to attend university in Rome too. That’s right. That’s it.”

* * *

“You must have been very tired, you collapsed while walking.”

How amusing.

I praise myself for not saying it out loud. He dragged me out of the warehouse, returned to the cathedral, and cast mind manipulation magic on me to erase my memory. Naturally, since his level was lower than mine, my memory wasn’t erased. It would be really nice if I could erase memories this way. I noticed useless thoughts flowing in the back of my consciousness but let them flow by.

Now I was leaning against an empty cathedral chair. I smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of my neck.

“Is that so? This is embarrassing. Thank you for helping me.”

“It’s only natural.”

He smiled warmly with his back to the crucifix. Then he clasped his hands together again and said.

“So, I couldn’t say this because you were out of it, but I had a proposal for you. May I speak?”

“Ah, yes. Please go ahead.”

“How about working as my secretary? The friend who was doing secretary work just quit. If you help me, I’ll help you study theology in Rome too.”

I squinted and pondered for a moment, then nodded readily.

“That sounds good. I don’t know why, but it’s a nice proposal.”

Matteo Orsini seemed relieved, raised his eyebrows and exhaled. I pretended to think deeply then shook my head.

“But I’m British. I don’t have a house in Rome, so what should I do.”

“Ah.”

I entered the manor as Matteo Orsini led me. It was the very Monterotondo manor where I had sent Elias. How novel to come to this very manor where Elias is, wearing Narke’s face.

“Do you usually let guests use an entire dining room alone?”

I sat alone with a plate in front of me in the vast dining room where the entire Orsini family would surely have gathered, and asked. As soon as we arrived at the manor, Matteo Orsini first offered me a meal.

“There’s no reason it shouldn’t be allowed. Since we’ll be working together as secretary, I prepared this to celebrate. You should know that you’re not in the same position as the servants here, but are here as a guest on equal terms with me.”

“I understand that, but normally you’d sit and eat with family members, not leave someone sitting alone like this. Even if this is Italy and not England, people living is all similar, isn’t it.”

“You can’t speak Italian, so I’m being considerate.”

I nodded. I knew that wasn’t the case, but there was no need to respond to his nonsense.

He sat still and enjoyed watching me eat the entire time I was chattering away. I put down my fork without having barely emptied my plate and clasped my hands together. Then I said seriously.

“I’m going to get indigestion. Do you act like this in other places too?”

Of course, the time when I would get indigestion just because people stared at me like I was some animal while eating had long passed. There was a time when I had no idea why they found me so fascinating, why they wanted to watch me do ordinary things. Now I knew why he was looking at me and could decode every message contained in his gaze. I think it would have been better if this judgment of mine was just arrogance. He muttered.

“You look alike.”

“No, I don’t look like the person you’re seeing.”

This time I snapped back bluntly. Since the only area where he thought I had cast mind manipulation magic on him was the secretary job topic, I needed to maintain the personality I had initially established. He wasn’t flustered or troubled by my attitude, and instead began saying things that sounded out of place.

“Please speak casually.”

“Has that ‘Yeha’ person ever spoken casually to you?”

Matteo Orsini didn’t answer. I laughed at reading his damn curiosity. I wondered just how far he was planning to experiment. Matteo’s gaze remained fixed on me throughout. I let out a long sigh, ran my hand through my hair, and said roughly.

“I’m delighted that you’ve prepared such a thoughtful meal just for doing one secretary job.”

“This is monumental…”

“Ah, that’s enough. I understand. No need for explanations…”

With a snap of my fingers, Matteo Orsini’s pupils dilated again. I watched the focus disappear from his eyes and said.

“How could I prove to other people that I’m your secretary?”

“…”

He couldn’t answer. If this was a topic he could answer immediately, he would have spoken right away, but since he didn’t, it meant this question wasn’t particularly valid. In other words, it meant there wasn’t necessarily a need to prove from the start that I was his secretary—that is, his secretary—when visiting somewhere. After all, when a secretary moves around, they would carry letters or documents that could prove their identity.

Good. This topic was settled, so I moved on to the next.

We still had one unused element from Ainsiedel’s ‘St. Mark’ clue. There was no law saying we had to use every clue we had conceived, but since it was difficult to narrow down suspects with just the Orsini clue alone, we needed to consider Ainsiedel’s overlapping intentions contained in ‘St. Mark.’

However, right now it wasn’t important whether we considered that intention or not. This Orsini wasn’t very strong, though of course, perhaps my standards regarding strength were severely skewed… If I wandered around the manor and encountered an Orsini stronger than Matteo Orsini, there was a possibility they would discover that I had used illusions. I needed to prepare for that now. I stuck my hand in my pocket and tilted my head.

“Let’s make the salary prepaid.”

“…Of course…”

What do you mean “of course” when you don’t even know? I waved my hand dismissively. Matteo Orsini obediently closed his mouth with vacant eyes. I smiled and said.

“You probably have an artifact imbued with divine power. Something like a watch or a cross necklace. Let’s make that my first salary.”

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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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