How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 492

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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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I opened my eyes wide and then held back laughter. Since I couldn’t say that being scared was funny, I answered with a quite serious expression.

“Can we get back if we do it here? No. Let’s go back and treat it there.”

In that instant, Leo narrowed his eyes as if he had confirmed that I was holding back laughter.

“I’m definitely happy to have permission, but this feels quite unsettling.”

I rolled my eyes to the side and shrugged my shoulders. Leo paid no attention and persuaded me.

“Actually, there’s another reason I want to do it here. Right now the Vatican people are guarding the portal. They’ll give His Highness and me a farewell ceremony.”

“…Ah.”

To take all three of us together, there shouldn’t be anyone watching us on the way to the portal. So to create a reason to enter as quietly as possible—I think he’s saying he’ll get the injection now in order to say that since his condition isn’t good, only the personnel from Bavaria will gather together and return. He’s saying he’ll do that to create a haggard complexion.

“We need to make them withdraw, so we need a reason.”

“Why not just say you’re sick and want to return home quietly? They wouldn’t usually try to verify something like that.”

“I don’t like telling lies.”

“Ah, right…”

So if he actually becomes sick, it won’t be a lie? I too understand well what it’s like when your mouth won’t open unless it’s actually true, but I still don’t feel the necessity of having to treat it here. The biggest problem is that even if Leo shows an adverse reaction, I can’t call a doctor for him and there’s nothing I can do to help. I stood up from my seat and smiled with the corners of my mouth raised, patting Leo’s shoulder.

“Even if you’re scared, endure it well. Until we enter the Prince’s Palace.”

* * *

We used invisibility magic and stopped by Taormina’s ancient theater to see the sunrise scenery of Sicily and Mount Etna. After briefly enjoying the tranquil leisure, when the portal’s closing time was approaching, we moved to Germany. Breathing in the air of Munich’s city center instead of Sicily’s salty sea breeze and dust smell, I definitely felt like I had returned to Germany.

“Thanks to you, I was uneasy the entire way back.”

Leo said quietly as soon as we exited the palace’s underground passage and arrived at his building’s courtyard. Elias and Narke, hearing our schedule, headed to Nymphenburg Palace instead of the Prince’s Palace. I patted Leo’s back encouragingly.

“Yes, I see. You endured well. Where are Julia and Luise?”

“They’re probably painting.”

“Julia too? What about Theravada Buddhism.”

“Since you missed art class yesterday, it just happened. And Count Eugène Ramure didn’t come either, so they’re painting by themselves. Also, Julia and I have something to discuss, so I had to keep her in Munich.”

“Hmm.”

After that, silence flowed. Leo suddenly opened his mouth.

“I thought calmly about it on the way here.”

“What about.”

“After fixing my arm, I’ll have to lie down all day. I think it would be better to wait until the infused magic power stays completely in place. Then I won’t be able to fix your leg.”

So that’s how it works out. I remained silent then opened my mouth to make his plan fall through.

“Replacing the magic power in the bone with new stuff won’t immediately do anything. It might be a somewhat different problem from hearing.”

“No. The healing magic power and my magic power won’t scatter but will pool in the muscles above the bone. If you make the healing magic power pool inside rather than flowing it from the outside, it can help the bone heal much faster. I’ll use magic power first, then you help me.”

He explains things properly. Having entered Leo’s room, before I could even be moved by the familiar window and sunlight of the room, I flopped down on the sofa with a resigned heart. As I sprawled there with my arm draped over the backrest, Leo tapped my boots with his toe.

“Take off your shoes. Let’s quickly mend the bone.”

“Ugh…”

Like someone who sold their soul for bone mending. I sprang up from my seat and once again went into the bath and came out. As I sat back on the sofa with a refreshed face while toweling my hair dry, Leo, who had come down to the carpet on the floor, tilted his head and asked.

“Didn’t you go into the hot springs just a few hours ago? It’s not good to wash in hot water too often, so why don’t you restrain yourself.”

“How did you know it was hot water?”

Leo pointed at my forearm with a face that said why are you asking the obvious. The skin was cooked. I tapped the cooked skin a few times and nodded.

“You don’t know because you haven’t experienced having every cell torn apart and rebuilt, but I have. I’m preparing my heart by searing myself from head to toe.”

“What don’t I know. I’m scared too, you know. …Anyway, thanks to that your blood is circulating so we can see faster treatment effects. Instead, I’ll need to make sure the healing magic power pools well in the bone.”

I didn’t go in targeting blood circulation, but I’ll be moderately grateful that it worked out that way. As I said nothing, Leo counted and then placed his hands on my leg.

“It’s quite swollen.”

“I ran around with it not fully healed, so it can’t be helped.”

Leo slowly nodded then suddenly put force into his fingers. Magic power rushed in from the shin and spread longitudinally.

“…!”

I reflexively tried to kick Leo but pulled my leg toward my stomach. Leo, startled, opened his eyes wide and said.

“I haven’t even started yet.”

“…I know.”

Leo, with a shocked expression, backed away. He spoke seriously as if he were doing something unreasonable.

“If you’re going to be like that, I can’t do it.”

“…”

Here he goes again, this guy. All the times he’s said he couldn’t treat me have never been empty words but sincere. I considered leaving the room at this opportunity but conscientiously pulled out my wand.

After that, it felt like erasing my shin and making it again. It was natural since he was grinding the already damaged bone once more. Leo’s magic power would have attacked and removed the bone, and his healing magic power would have permeated the magic power’s place in the bone. It’s all good, but there’s no sensation in my leg, and above all, it’s hot. Lying sprawled on the sofa, I flapped the collar of my bathrobe to create a breeze. Though Leo advised not to wash frequently, I think I need to take another dip. I looked at the curtains fluttering at the window and said.

“It’s fortunate that it’s April and cool.”

“…No, it’s hot.”

Leo, sitting on the carpet, buried his head in the lower part of the sofa and muttered. I sprinkled divine power over his head. Leo muttered again.

“Thank you.”

“Yeah.”

After a while, Leo spoke in a hard-to-understand voice in that same position.

“Will you write my diary?”

“I said I would.”

“Tell me verbally.”

When I looked down with eyes asking what he meant, he calmly brightened his eyes.

“Tell me now what you’re going to write. You’re going to read it to me anyway, right?”

“That’s true. But why make me do the work twice?”

“Work…”

“Not that, I mean the action. The action.”

“Don’t want to?”

I shook my head and got up from the sofa.

“Get up. Let’s start right now. I’ll tell you while treating you.”

Though I got up spiritedly, my leg still had no strength, so I hastily changed my wand to a staff and planted it on the floor. Fortunately, thanks to training, balancing wasn’t difficult. Just as I was about to look for an open room in the hallway, there was a knocking sound. When Leo asked what it was, a servant spoke from outside the door.

“Your Highness, Count Eugène Ramure has sent a letter. He asks if he can meet you today as it’s urgent business. What shall we do?”

Eugène Ramure? Was there a reason for him to contact us? The most likely reason that comes to mind is the ‘Eugène Ramure’s Shocking News?’ article, where ‘Daily Saxony’ claimed to have obtained critical information about French national painter ‘Count Eugène Ramure’ from an anonymous informant… I wonder if he’s calling Leo because of that article. However, if this is the topic he wants to discuss, I don’t understand why he didn’t mention it yesterday but says he has urgent business today. I exchanged glances with Leo, and Leo answered calmly.

“Tell him to come in two hours.”

Then Leo went into the room with the refrigerator and took out the medicine box. After washing my hands, putting on laboratory gloves, and washing my hands again, I sat down in advance and tapped the table.

“Sit down. If something seems wrong, we’re rushing straight to the hospital.”

“We can just warp a doctor here.”

“Same difference.”

I gathered the medicines Leo handed me and read the instructions he had written. Whether my expression looked calm, Leo asked with a curious face.

“Aren’t you preparing your heart?”

“I am. Let’s make sure of one thing before we go. What if I give you the injection and something goes wrong.”

“You’ll have no choice but to take over my official duties.”

“Until when?”

“Until I’m completely healed.”

“No, I mean what if something goes permanently wrong.”

“Then do it permanently.”

“Sigh… We’re not communicating.”

Then Leo laughed. Whether it meant I didn’t need to worry, he shook his head and reassured me.

“If it were even slightly dangerous medicine, I wouldn’t have suggested I use it first. Nothing will go wrong. I’m going to get one set now and observe for half a day. Even after getting it all, I just need to not move, so don’t worry before we even start.”

I nodded and used divine power on his forearm after unwrapping the bandages as written in his instructions. Then I inserted the syringe into the vial, pushed the solution all the way to the end, and took a deep breath. Looking at Leo’s skin made me even more reluctant. Thinking of the future where a hole would be pierced in skin without a drop of blood made me feel queasy for no reason, so I frowned and asked.

“Exactly where should I administer it?”

“Right here.”

“Don’t blame me if you get bruised from a badly inserted injection.”

“That much is fine.”

Since Leo answered confidently, I slowly pushed the needle into the spot he pointed to with his fingernail. I observed Leo’s expression and said.

“You’re not crying.”

Leo made a puzzled expression. I meant it teasingly, but when he responds so seriously like this, it has the effect of making me feel awkward. Of course, since I’ve now adapted to Leo’s blunt reactions, I wasn’t awkward. As the vitriol gradually spread and his arm hurt, I could see his forearm gradually tensing up. I finished administering the medicine and pulled out the syringe.

“Vitriol is the result of amplified special magic power, so it probably isn’t close to absorption ability.”

“Why not? If you don’t push with enough force to destroy that vitriol, it sucks you in like mud.”

There was force in Leo’s voice. I placed my hand on the forearm where the vitriol had entered and pushed magic power in. Meanwhile, Leo pressed his eye area with his other arm and continued what he was saying.

“The victim too… Um, core, uh…”

“You can’t even speak properly.”

The medicine must be starting to take effect now. Or maybe the mana I pushed in like crazy to destroy the mana in his bones and muscle cells was incredibly painful. Still, it couldn’t be helped. Since I intended to replace the mana in his broken bones, I had to intensively destroy the mana in that area. Leo, who had been gaping and belatedly understood what I meant, got angry.

“You were like this too!”

“Right.”

He must have thought I was continuing to tease him. He was right. Though I readily admitted it, Leo paid no attention to my words. He was sweating cold sweat and his hands were trembling. Since the movement was getting in the way, I firmly gripped his shaking wrist with my left hand and sent divine power over the cracked arm to remove the vitriol that would have absorbed the damaged mana. I took out another medicine bottle and injected the drug into Leo’s arm. This time it was vitriol too. Next, I took out mana that was transparent like water, but the water had a slightly blue tint. It was definitely liquefied healing mana. Leo, who flinched and shook his arm every time medicine entered, tried to speak in his usual tone.

“The vitriol that forms cores or erodes them craves external mana. Though they’re not as amazing abilities as yours. Those vitriols seem to gradually weaken in absorption intensity over time, but that could be solved by extracting vitriol from the core parts of corpses.”

“Breathe. I won’t tease you.”

I said quietly. To speak without wavering, he had no choice but to hold his breath and squeeze the air in his lungs. It was bound to show in such labored vocalization. As soon as he finished speaking, Leo relaxed the tension in his shoulders and took a deep breath.

“Where should I start. Since I’m writing this in the diary I’m giving you, I should only talk about things related to you, not about me, right? I was on a boat, and it was rocking so violently that I thought of you. Because I wondered what you’d do from boredom if all three of us died at the same time.”

“You won’t die. I’ll be the one to die.”

Look how he speaks with perfectly correct pronunciation at times like this. I lost my words and looked at the ceiling, then pressed my palm against my eyes.

“Don’t say things like that…”

“I’m trying.”

“…Right. After that, Narke said she’d look for a secret passage for smuggling vegetarian manuscripts on Raihenau Island—”

“What? What passage?”

“There’s a smuggling passage in the building next to Raihenau Monastery. People from the Papal States might have come and gone through this passage that’s not drawn on maps. We need to investigate it thoroughly with the cooperation of the Grand Duchy of Baden.”

“…There’s really a secret passage? How?”

Leo’s tone seemed, yes, at least his tone seemed incredibly incredulous, but his large eyes shone with interest he couldn’t hide. I think I found a bit of the reason why he’s Elias’s friend today.

“That’s what I’m saying. Anyway, we went in there, but there was some risk of being discovered, so while being chased we found the passage. But water started coming in.”

At the mention of water coming in, Leo momentarily grimaced. It’s interesting how his expression changes according to what I’m saying. Thanks to diverting his attention, the pain in his forearm seems to have subsided somewhat. I spoke again.

“Water came in, I said. There’s a floodgate in the passage. I don’t know if it was made to block intruders or because of pressure. So I ran like crazy. All the way to where the Swiss border is. Even then, ah… I thought drowning was imminent, so I thought of you. Can this guy live well without us…”

“You shouldn’t say things like that either.”

“Right, sorry. After surviving the crisis of death, I warped to Switzerland, and Elias started beating me up.”

“What?”

“Of course it was acting. Because of the checkpoint crossing into Italy, I acted like a delinquent youth who’s German but lives in Italy. It was difficult because of the size difference between Elias and me, but what you taught me was helpful. So I cursed you and praised you in my heart.”

“Huh… I wondered what it was when you seemed to be startled from time to time after leaving, but now the puzzle fits together.”

“Just write a chronology based on core reactions.”

Even though I was fed up and complained, Leo chuckled. He seems to have gone slightly mad from the pain. Since his eyes were getting drowsy from fatigue, I looked at the remaining medicine bottles.

“After that we moved to Italy, and the scenery I saw for the first time was so wonderful that I thought I wanted to show you what I saw. To Julia and Luise and Haike too. But you came. That’s all.”

“The end?”

“No. I’ll write more for you. How’s your condition now?”

“Bearable.”

“How funny. It’s amazing that you’re doing this to replace the mana in your bones.”

“When it’s time to do it, you have to do it. I don’t intend to retreat anymore. I don’t want to leave it to you guys and stay behind either.”

You’ve never stood behind us. I wanted to tell him that, but I knew that just verbally denying what he firmly believed wouldn’t have much meaning. I shook my head and said.

“Tell me about future plans. That way I can prepare too.”

“I want to entrust you with tracking down Pleroma outposts within Bavaria’s territory. Like when you knew how to infiltrate the Munich-Freising Archdiocese, would it be possible this time too?”

At those words, I raised my eyebrows slightly then frowned.

“That’s a very surprising thing to hear from you. You don’t want me investigating information in unpredictable ways.”

“And your investigations are always conducted in unpredictable ways.”

Leo wiped away cold sweat with his other hand and looked at me as he asked.

“Can you go and come back safely?”

“Of course. I… even if I can’t give a definite answer, I think I can go safely with high probability. Excluding variables I can’t predict, you can definitely trust the safety of the parts I calculate.”

“That’s how it should be. Then that’s fortunate.”

Leo didn’t ask more. He just lowered his head, closed his eyes, and pressed his temples. He seemed to be half asleep. The aftermath of the process of removing the existing mana seemed to have been significant.

I thought about revenge and such as a joke, but in the end, seeing a friend escape into sleep because of pain isn’t very pleasant. I think I understand why Leo seemed out of it when he was treating me. After using up all the medicine, I helped him to the bed and threw him on it, then returned to Nicolaus’s desk and spread out the letters piled up in the warp mailbox.

Time passed quickly. Leo also regained his strength in 30 minutes with his characteristic healthiness and watched me work. When it was time to meet Eugene Lamour, we first moved to another floor.

I heard the sound of knocking on the door. I snapped my fingers to cast invisibility magic and stayed in place. It’s a bit difficult to sit still and try not to move any objects, but Eugene Lamour would also leave shortly, and leaving alone while leaving behind someone who couldn’t defend themselves like now wouldn’t be good handling as either Lucas or Nicolaus.

“Your Highness the Prince.”

Eugene Lamour, who entered after receiving permission, greeted with half-open eyes like the day we first met. He came to this place with a face that looked more tired than a few days ago. It might be because of the newspaper article we saw in Rome. He quickly continued speaking while gripping his hat in his hand.

“I tried to see His Majesty the King, but His Majesty’s secretariat said it would be better to tell Your Highness about matters contracted with Your Highness, so I came here.”

“What business do you wish to see me about?”

At Leo’s question, Eugene Lamour put strength into his slightly bloodshot eyes and said.

“Could you grant me Bavarian nationality?”

Leo and I couldn’t hide our surprise at what we had heard. Though Leo quickly made a sharp expression, Eugene Lamour spoke frantically like someone being chased by something.

“What should I do? I can provide all my assets to Bavaria. Won’t this work?”

Leo answered sharply to this direct and seemingly rude demand.

“Are you telling me to trade nationality? Explain the circumstances so I can understand and then speak.”

“I’ll hold a press conference in an hour, Your Highness.”

Eugene Lamour was trapped in his own world and said incomprehensible things. The press conference was probably to talk about the newspaper article that came out yesterday. He furrowed his brow and rambled.

“I never announced that I was staying in Bavaria, but somehow rumors spread and an article came out. People all over the world now know I’m in Bavaria. So with a ‘whatever happens, happens’ mindset, I set up a conference hall in Bavaria and reporters agreed to come. Bavarian reporters.”

What does that have to do with nationality now. It has no relation. Eugene Lamour was frantic. Whether he came to his senses a bit after seeing Leo’s stern eyes, or whether we were shocked by his next words, his statement stuck clearly in our ears.

“After this is over, I won’t be able to live in France.”

“Why do you think that?”

“That’s impossible. If I do that, it’ll become a path to losing everything. Definitely.”

Eugene Lamour wrinkled his nose bridge with a face full of disillusionment. Eugene Lamour’s eyes wandered greatly, and his hands constantly moved between his head, chest, and hat. Leo was no longer agitated. Instead of showing confusion in his expression, he gestured with a cool gaze.

“Count Lamour. I already know well your achievements and status. Calm your excitement and let’s talk slowly. Not today anyway. You can stay in Bavaria until your visa expires, so don’t worry and let’s talk on an appropriate date with a clearer mind.”

Even though he would know it was a considerate answer despite the stiff tone, Eugene Lamour grimaced and hunched his shoulders. I could tell it was a reflexive action closer to frustration than anger. Leo would have known too. Eugene Lamour said thank you, greeted again, and left the room.

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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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