How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 477

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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 was swift and decisive.

Matteo Orsini gave me a pocket watch, and I didn’t refuse, hanging the shining gold chain prominently on my vest. Though I wouldn’t be wearing this outfit for long, I planned to put it in my pocket since I’d wear these clothes again.

This time, since the topic came up during ordinary conversation, there was no need to erase memories. I only used divine power to prevent him from thinking too deeply about my salary advance request, so he needed to remember giving me the pocket watch.

So where am I now? I received a room on the top floor of the Orsini manor. It was ridiculous because it was comparable in size to my room in Anhalt. When he tried to call a servant to clean the room, I used divine power to shut his mouth and keep him quiet. I patted the shoulder of Matteo Orsini, who had regained his senses.

“Now, isn’t it time for you to return to the cathedral? You found what that heirloom was talking about, and it’s the perfect time to work.”

Instead of answering, Matteo Orsini looked back at me. I asked with surprise, like someone who had just learned something new.

“Don’t tell me I have to follow you?”

“That’s right. You’re a scribe.”

Yes, that’s what you’d say. Get your head together, you bastard. Do I still look like a scribe to you? But I couldn’t say that. I waved my hand with a face that quickly became bored.

“I figured as much. Let’s go slowly. Since it’s my first day, let me unpack my luggage. I need to get my things from the hotel where I was staying.”

“…Ah, right. Luggage.”

Now you remember. I snickered and flicked my fingers in front of his eyes. Matteo Orsini jumped in surprise, flinching his shoulders and blinking. I put on a serious face and clicked my tongue at him.

“Try thinking.”

I’ve said this twice today. The first time was to my friends and Gabrielle, meaning we should quickly put our heads together, but now I’m saying it because I can see he’s spacing out. Matteo Orsini nodded without seeming offended at all, even though I hadn’t planted goodwill with divine power. This guy who just came of age is already going crazy – I wonder if he can live properly as a clergyman until he dies.

“Before that, please sit down.”

I led him to my room, seated him at the table, and sat down myself. Leaning back against the chair and crossing my arms, I shook my head casually.

“I’d like to do some more sightseeing in Rome. Please explain about three places worth visiting.”

“Um, the Colosseum…”

“Been there.”

“Then… the Pantheon.”

“Been there.”

“Circus Maximus.”

I waved my hand. After a long ping-pong game of exchanges, tired Matteo narrowed his eyes and asked.

“Then what about the Roman Forum…?”

“I’ve heard of that but haven’t been there yet.”

“Ah.”

Having heard explanations of the previous two places, this was the third. Matteo Orsini smiled with a relieved face. When he grabbed my hand, I shook it off vigorously. He spoke as if it didn’t matter.

“There probably won’t be much to see. It’s just ruins.”

“Well, Father, it’s your neighborhood, so of course you’d say that.”

“Haha. Actually, clergy frequently visit that place. It’s far from entertaining. There are no special events, and it’s just painfully vast.”

“Hmm.”

I smiled at those words and asked.

“Why do clergy frequently visit there? It’s just ruins.”

“I can’t tell you, but there’s special business there. Tourists can walk around those remains, but they can’t enter the temples with doors, so give up if you want to see inside those.”

“Why are there so many restrictions? I wanted to tour the Papacy too, but they said that’s not allowed.”

“If you work as my scribe, you’ll go there often. Once the lockdown is lifted, I’ll show you around.”

Matteo spoke gently. After brainwashing him with divine power to make him a scribe – of course, pretending such a situation – he seemed quite comfortable. I was impressed by his complete lack of guilt. I also smiled gently.

“So all clergy can go there? Since it’s not open to the public. This makes me really want to graduate from theological school.”

“Not all clergy can enter. Special qualifications are given to some clergy.”

“Aha. The gatekeeper must be quite tired having to select people one by one to let in.”

“A gatekeeper, hahaha! There’s no such thing. It’s just blocked by something like a magic barrier.”

“Ah, I see.”

I raised the corners of my mouth and squinted my eyes. Matteo Orsini did the same. Having contaminated keywords about the Roman Forum in case someone searched his mind, it should be fine to use divine power again from now on.

* * *

Time is crucial.

The reason I guided the conversation to naturally bring up the Roman Forum is because no matter how I think about it, Matteo’s arrival at the perfect time in front of Marcellus Theater bothers me. He should have been at his workplace right now, whether doing meditation or giving sermons at the cathedral. But what does it mean that he coincidentally found where Narke was at the exact moment we arrived in front of the Orsini manor at Marcellus Theater? Did the ‘heirloom’ tell him the time too, or did the ‘heirloom’ have another function?

The reason I’m pondering this now is that what led Matteo Orsini to Narke was none other than an heirloom – in the literal sense – shared by the Roman Senate, so other mages besides Matteo Orsini could come to interfere with us based on information obtained through the heirloom.

Of course, there’s no guarantee they’ll see prophecies about us through that heirloom. If that were the case, Senate members would have been camping at checkpoints to welcome Narke from the moment we set foot in Rome. However, the fact that the heirloom prophesies the near future is something I directly confirmed through Matteo. I needed to nip this in the bud. Wouldn’t it be quite troublesome if someone discovered what I’m about to do through the heirloom?

The priest who spilled all information with just a little leading interrogation is now in my arms. I walked toward the Senate carrying the completely sleeping Matteo Orsini, along with a wooden club I picked up from the street.

‘Actually, clergy frequently visit that place,’ he said. Good. Isn’t that my profession? Having changed into the cassock I brought, I stood before the site of the Roman Forum. I could almost smell the ancient sand from here. The feeling of going from a priest’s scribe to cardinal was… nothing special and a bit nerve-wracking. What I was about to do wasn’t ordinary. I tilted my head to tap the artifact with my shoulder and cast a sound-blocking spell cleanly before speaking to Narke.

“Can you hear me?”

Where could Narke be? Places with security magic like manors allow free exit but not entry. Even if you enter, you usually access designated warp points – of course, exiting is also conventionally and politely done from warp points. Therefore, even if Narke moved somewhere, he wouldn’t have warped to the Orsini manor. Unless he used deception to walk in.

Since my resolution not to use divine power was completely shattered thanks to Matteo Orsini, I was now in a situation where Narke needed to use his skills as Minister of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to cleanly fix Matteo Orsini’s memories. Honestly, since I was going to use it anyway, it would be fine for Narke to just use divine power too. It might look like breaking a window with your fist because you lost one coin, but when necessary, isn’t it best for anyone to use their abilities in the right place at the right time?

Even while I rationalized using divine power, Narke didn’t respond. That’s possible. I said.

“I think you know what I’m about to do from now on. You’re already reading me.”

[…]

“Could you tell me if it’s okay? I can’t just do things without knowing anything.”

Still no answer. Or maybe doing things without knowing anything is right. Like Gabrielle Caetani said. I channeled mana into my arm to carry Matteo with one arm and opened the hip flask Elias had put in his bag with the other hand. I took a sip of whiskey and poured the rest into Matteo Orsini’s mouth. There was a gulping sound of air hitting, but when I bent his neck a bit, he drank well. Even while sleeping, he was trying not to die. He would remain asleep until I infused divine power.

I properly held Matteo Orsini, whom I brought as a keycard, and stood before the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina. According to Matteo Orsini’s statement, the ‘heirloom’ was in this building. And surprisingly, the heirloom was also in his possession. Precisely, a miniature of the heirloom, which could be seen as a fragment of the heirloom. I could answer the question of how he arrived at the park on time like this – to conclude, he used two heirlooms. He visited the temple in the morning, then used the heirloom fragment he possessed from time to time. That fragment is now in my hand. Most important figures in the Senate would have such heirlooms. And the control tower for those heirlooms was here at the Senate’s headquarters. The reason such an important object wasn’t in the Papacy was probably because they thought it might infringe on the authority of the three families.

Naturally, and as the actual Roman Senate probably was, even if you belonged to the Senate, you didn’t sit in the meeting room 24 hours a day. This era’s fake Roman Senate went even further – since everyone had their own separate jobs, they didn’t camp out at the Roman Forum. And since there were few intact buildings and mostly ruins, there was nowhere to camp. Thanks to that, I got to do some sightseeing. I took another step forward and chuckled at the strong mana flowing from the temple door. Transparent mana like a snake’s tongue was emanating from the door as if to devour anyone standing before it. Ordinary mages wouldn’t even be able to approach, and even skilled ones wouldn’t ignore such a menacing warning to try to break down the door. I cast another sound-blocking spell and tapped the artifact at my ear.

“Eli. Are you done securing the warp point?”

[Of course~! When are you coming!]

“Wait. Narke, what about you? I’d prefer if you could be in the theater building.”

Since the Marcellus Theater manor is essentially defenseless. No answer came. As if he shouldn’t speak, or as if he hadn’t heard, Narke didn’t send us any signal. Of course, silence itself could be a signal. Elias asked playfully, already knowing Narke wasn’t responding to us.

[Narke. Can I do this? Do you understand even when I say ‘this’?]

“What are you going to do?”

[No matter how I look at it, going quietly is hopeless. Let’s blow things up spectacularly and return home.]

I frowned and shook my head as if Elias were right in front of me.

“No, stop. I can handle it on my end. You come out and get servant clothes if you can find them there. And did you hide all the watches? You need to hide them naturally.”

[I did…]

“This isn’t the time to be dejected.”

[Of course I’m not dejected. Tell me anytime. I brought silk string soaked in bean oil, so make some use for it. I also have clay lumps that explode when thrown.]

Since my head was starting to hurt, I half-listened. And I couldn’t waste any more time. Even at this moment, there might be someone seeing prophecies like Matteo earlier. Though those prophecies wouldn’t necessarily point to us…

I pushed Matteo inside as if throwing him. The interior was pitch black, with a second floor installed near the top of the temple with a large opening in the center where you could look up at the temple’s ceiling. Essentially, railings surrounded it in a circle. This seemed to be a relatively recent addition, as the materials were brighter than other areas. A single light hung from the high central ceiling. It illuminated the central glass tube like a pinlight. I pushed Matteo Orsini forward as a shield and approached the glass tube. Inside the glass tube was an angel statue painted in a subtle bronze color. A young angel looking toward heaven embraced a circular tower made of round arches. I admired the delicately crafted bird wings. Truly the birthplace of the Renaissance. Anyone could see this was the heirloom.

I didn’t know how to use this artifact, but since it was obviously an artifact, I’d naturally understand by channeling mana into it.

I was about to channel my divine power but felt uneasy, so I held out Matteo Orsini’s pocket watch containing divine power instead. Since I couldn’t overturn the divine power quietly contained in the artifact, I blew my divine power into the artifact to add propulsion, and Matteo’s divine power touched the glass tube. It somehow entered below the tower and shot upward. The divine power that reached the top of the tower converted to mana and created shapes I couldn’t decipher. I took out Matteo’s heirloom fragment from my pocket. Mana was also flowing from his fragment.

Seeing this, it seems that regardless of where divine power is input, the user’s prophecy is linked and output. Thinking this, I threw Matteo Orsini to the floor and gripped the club properly.

CRASH—! CLANG—

[What’s that sound! Luca?!]

“It’s fine.”

I cut the artifact connection. Wind brushed my face, making my cape flutter. I raised the corners of my mouth in exhilaration. The thick glass tube was shattered and flying through the air. I don’t know how long it’s been since I swung a bat like this. I smashed through the glass and swung the club once more at the statue inside. The marble statue broke as easily as striking hard bread and flew to the opposite side. The statue that hit the wall shattered into pieces and fell to the floor. I dragged it over and ground it to powder. When I took out Matteo’s fragment from my pocket, surprisingly it was also cracked.

Good.

With this, I believe all of Rome is in chaos. It’s unfortunate I can’t see the expressions of the Senate members. I finished my work and smiled while fixing my hair. Since the Senate would rush here, it was time to change clothes and return to the Orsini manor to ransack the communication room and the head’s chamber…

I looked up at a presence that wasn’t there before. Someone who hadn’t been there appeared on the second-floor railing.

“So you’re the one breaking it.”

Narke’s voice echoed in the temple.

Did he just warp here? Or did he use another method? I was glad to meet him again without incident, but now didn’t seem like the time to express joy. As I quietly looked up at him, Narke continued.

“Something I never even thought of breaking.”

I had an intuition that his not thinking of breaking it wasn’t simply because he was resigned or obedient, but rather because he hadn’t felt the need to. Was what I read from his tone true or not? Was it a decent insight?

Narke spoke calmly, lost in memories.

“Gabrielle once tried to break a statue with a club like the one you’re holding, but he gave up because he couldn’t.”

Why?

“He could break the glass, but couldn’t break what was inside. How about it, Lucas? Does it break well?”

Couldn’t break it – I understood well that this wasn’t ‘failed to break.’ I remained silent then nodded and answered.

“Yes. It breaks easily.”

Narke smiled. He pointed to the shattered marble that had become powder and spoke calmly.

“This is the Pythia of Delphi. A name Gabrielle and I gave it when we were young.”

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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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