How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 499

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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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“…Me~?”

Elias tapped his chest and asked. Luca nodded.

“Yeah.”

That I now realized we needed Leo? Was that it? Elias smiled and fell into confusion.

However, the grounds and justification for bringing Leonard Wittelsbach to this place were very clear to me. I could neither persuade Luca nor give him an answer. That was… because Luca was a person very similar to me. It’s not enough for a person to just look ahead and run. A human who runs forward blindly to distant yet close beliefs and values is a human in a state where they can even accept being crushed to death by the massive and heavy rock they decided to carry on their back. The things that made us see the end of the world have kept us alive until this day, but we are also prepared to surrender ourselves to the Thanatos that intervenes in between. A struggle for dignity can use death as a noble means of dispute. Or we must exhaust ourselves down to the last atom, prepared to die and sacrifice our bodies, because only then might the unjust oppression of the times change. That is the rebellion of one who was pressed under the oppressor but claims they will no longer do so. Or because they were driven to die, they prepare to die and disobey orders—until I can entrust myself to the Thanatos that comes from nature, I will conspicuously shake off the Thanatos summoned by humans and breathe on this earth. The age of divine right of kings ended long ago, so it’s entirely possible, while making such jokes that aren’t even jokes. This is my struggle for dignity. Therefore, I am a human who might run toward the end of the world and die crushed by a rock—and as mentioned, that would be an honorable death—and Luca is the same. We are alike, and because we’re alike, there are parts where we can step on each other and rise up, but there are also clear limitations—people who could willingly fall together into Hades’ land with a common void beneath us, because we’re empty in the same parts. So what we need is…

Someone who would make us put down the boulder we’ve been carrying on our backs without even knowing we were being crushed. Elias slowly raised both hands to cover his mouth. He felt an unfamiliar sensation pierce down his spine and rubbed his cheeks thoroughly. Put it down? He had never once thought about it. It was impossible. The revenge that had been half-sublimated into aspiration, the unilateral sense of solidarity toward tens of millions of weak people as one who was dying crushed under the same oppressor, the determination to tear apart and fix the various and multi-layered absurdities emanating from my oppressor, the scattered verdigris that started with revenge but once recognized, made it impossible to return to before knowing it…

Had I ever turned my gaze away from them? Had I ever put it down, even for a moment? To put down survival as disobedience and survive for a life lived together with beloved friends—I had no such thoughts. As long as I remain conscious, I don’t intend to do so in the future either. But what if, without knowing, I had already become like that, soaked like clothes in drizzle? Seeing that I sought Leo based on the irony of unspecified clarity, I may have already unconsciously become unable to escape from the abundance of peace, stability, and love that Leonard Wittelsbach as a human being represents in itself. So when a friend similar to me from deep within suffers, I brought the love that would bind our feet to the earth, wanting him to exist on earth in the same way as me! When the underlying thoughts I hadn’t been conscious of revealed themselves in the clearest words and forms, Elias was swept by a shock accompanied by fear that could easily be mistaken for ecstasy. Then how was Luca so certain that I would realize this fact? As if he had seen the future and returned…

When he came to his senses, Leo was looking into Elias’s own eyes. Eugene Lamour, Luca, and even the senior who wasn’t much of a senior were all looking at Elias. Leo, who had been blinking while looking down at him from a slightly elevated position, turned his head and opened his mouth. The chandelier’s light poured in from where his head had disappeared.

“He seems to be fine.”

“….”

What’s good about childhood friends? They have the ability to tell just by looking at your eyes whether you’re okay or not and reassure everyone. Of course, I’m the same way. Elias thought this while grinning and recalled when Leo had shown those eyes to them. Whenever he returned from the Imperial Palace or palace stories came up, if he was frowning, he would unfold his own curtain in the midst of commotion, in quiet, breaking all rules of time. At first, Elias, who wasn’t in contact with it, was only bewildered by it, but after becoming familiar with his way, he could always find peace within it.

Luca poked his side. When he turned his head, Luca cast a sound-blocking spell and just quietly stared at Elias. When Elias blinked rapidly, only then did Luca open his mouth.

“Thanks, Eli.”

“Huh?”

“I know you thought about it and brought him. I’m in debt again.”

Elias grinned and put his arm around his friend’s shoulder. Then he whispered in his ear.

“If you call each little thing like that a debt, what are you going to do from now on!”

“Hahaha…”

Behind Luca’s laughter, the conversation between Eugene Lamour and Leo could be heard. Elias pulled himself together to figure out how far their conversation had progressed.

“…I still want Bavarian citizenship. I cannot return to France like this.”

“Why do you say you cannot return?”

“Too many interests are entangled.”

Could this overturn his retirement? As soon as Elias thought this, Leo expressed concerns about acquiring citizenship.

“From France’s perspective, no matter how much you’ve retired, they won’t welcome your move to Bavaria. They won’t want your symbolic value to transfer to Bavaria.”

“Let them not want it. I can no longer remain there. I want to spend time in a place where everything is peaceful and finish things.”

At those words, the senior’s eyes twitched. Leo nodded slowly and asked.

“I’d like to know why you chose Bavaria rather than another country. Bavaria is close to France, and Germany is also paying attention to you like France. The place that’s been eager to break your exclusive story is also the Saxon Daily. Also, you said your mother is from Darmstadt, so you could go to the Grand Duchy of Hesse. Why do you want Bavaria?”

“First, the reason I didn’t choose Hesse is that even though it’s my mother’s hometown, since I grew up in France, any German-speaking place would be foreign land to me. If I’m going anyway, I want to be in the most powerful nation among them.”

Elias interjected in their conversation.

“You’re not even considering Prussia.”

“I thought it wouldn’t suit me. An artist is…”

Eugene Lamour answered immediately but trailed off. Elias waited patiently, and Eugene Lamour quickly opened his mouth, perhaps not having trailed off because he was conscious of the people present.

“I keep bringing up the word artist, which someone might find distasteful, but I cannot help but think about ethics. Spreading a world viewed with a complacent perspective under the name of art is the reproduction of violence. Therefore, having tried to live as an artist my entire life, I cannot now go to Prussia. I may be committing rudeness with a Prussian royal present here, but wrong is wrong.”

Elias felt a certain wonder at Eugene Lamour recognizing him and smiled.

“No. I like it. Please continue.”

“Continue. I suppose I should state the reasons for not choosing other countries.”

He took a sip of the brewed tea and continued.

“First, the reason I decided to retire was because I no longer have the strength to endure their vulgarity. The dignity they once abandoned by committing rudeness to others without any hesitation will return to them and someday pierce their hearts. I want to ask why they don’t know this fact.”

Everyone exchanged glances. At first hearing, it seemed unrelated to the matter of choosing a country. Eugene Lamour muttered to himself.

“Society seems to be… flowing in a direction where it’s dominated by ideology and forgets concrete, multifaceted thinking. At first, I also tried to enter America.”

“Oh, America.”

“In America, they conduct intelligence tests during immigration screening. I also took the test using a pseudonym, and the immigration office gave me a very good grade and notified me. ‘You are qualified to become a proud citizen of the United States.’ That day I gave up on going to America. This was recent.”

Elias nodded. Eugene Lamour continued slowly, looking only at the ground.

“They don’t let foreigners with low test results into American soil, and among Americans too, they attach the title of ‘mentally deficient’ to people with poor test results and manage them specially. How dangerous this way of thinking is needs no explanation. What they call ‘mental deficiency’ refers to manpower that cannot create much economic value, manpower incapable of intellectual labor, and sometimes mentally disabled people who have difficulty living alone without others’ care. Some Americans consider this right because they believe that only the minimum average and the few brilliant people with high intelligence can guarantee America’s national prestige and power. And such national power means development in technological fields and also means prosperity under the capitalist economic system. They think the best thing for everyone is to herd the mentally deficient into barn-like buildings and make them repeat simple labor. The reason they think this way is because the logic of survival of the fittest is inherent in them, and they surprisingly say they isolate them from society to prevent the worst thing—the weak being devoured by the strong.”

Everyone waited for his words without responding. Eugene Lamour continued with his eyes almost closed as if sleeping.

“Classifying people into three categories through intelligence tests and having the state intervene based on those results… or even without intervention, having the current create a situation where civilians actively classify the three… doesn’t end simply with dignity destruction for the low-intelligence or mentally disabled. This is a powerful signal that the state or public may differentiate the dignity of some who produce only low economic value under the capitalist economic system. Blades don’t only point at others’ necks. Even ordinary people of average intelligence who aren’t low-intelligence become worthless objects unworthy of dignity the moment they become unemployed, or the moment they become low-income earners or beggars. The most violent thing is that those who created and followed an invisible caste system, when they fall to the bottom of the caste for some reason, even come to think they deserve such treatment. Truly, the era when personality annihilation became the spirit of the times has arrived.”

Elias exchanged glances with Leo. Eugene Lamour opened his eyes and drank tea. After moistening his throat, he continued.

“Usually when insulting others, they don’t think this far, and therefore don’t know what they’re giving up. But all of this is neither unrelated nor independent. This only continues complementary decadence. I don’t know what destruction such long absence of thought will bring tomorrow. I’m too afraid to even look. So I, with the same motivation as deciding to retire, decided not to go to America. I wonder if this explanation suffices.”

Eugene Lamour’s long explanation ended, but no one opened their mouth. Elias looked at Leo and Luca and muttered.

“Perfect fit.”

“Exactly.”

Luca answered immediately. Luca, who exchanged glances with Leo, opened his mouth.

“We’d like to give you a role.”

“Now? I was thinking of resting.”

“Of course you can rest. Rest as much as you want. We’re talking about what comes after. We hope that Count Eugene Lamour, who drew a line in art history, will also contribute to history in a different way, and if it’s alright, we’d like to make a concrete proposal. It’s up to you to accept or reject our proposal.”

Luca looked down at the gloves he was wearing, then raised his head.

“Are you willing to listen?”

Count Eugene Lamour looked at Luca wordlessly for a long time, then nodded.

* * *

Eugene Lamour’s safety was not completely secured with this. Rather, this was just the beginning. We told Mecklenburg to wait until Bavarian Royal Army mages came to escort Eugene Lamour and left the room, and Elias was already running far away, seemingly excited.

On the way out of the mansion, Leo quietly asked me.

“Are you okay?”

What was he asking if I was okay about? I could roughly guess. I belatedly regretted not taking off my earring. Instead of meeting his eyes, I nodded first.

“I’m already fine because you hit me for a while.”

“Hit you? I was trying to help.”

Leo answered with a smile and didn’t ask further. While I was in the meeting room and throughout the carriage ride, he moved his magic power that he had injected near my heart. It was probably an attempt to suppress the irregular rebellion of the core that wouldn’t move as intended with healing magic, but since the beginning of the agitation was in the mind, not the core’s abnormality, he would have known that the core’s fluctuations couldn’t be controlled that way. Yet no more questions came. While he usually wants to hear all plans and reasoning when it comes to my safety, he often remained silent about other, internal problems. This was evident when neither Elias nor Leo demanded an explanation from me when I showed the strange 21st-century scene in the Catacombs.

When we moved to the Crown Prince’s palace, Elias looked up at the sky and shot his hand upward as if stabbing the sky. Then he said. A pigeon that looked like a messenger pigeon was flying around in the distance.

“This pigeon was here earlier too…”

“How do you know if it’s the same pigeon or a different pigeon?”

Leo said to Elias listlessly. How do you know if it’s the same pigeon or not? What did he mean? I watched them.

“Just intuition. These guys can cross the barrier. Why do you keep hesitating from before? The very fact that it’s hesitating means it’s a complete stranger pigeon whose magic power isn’t registered to the building here.”

“Hmm… That makes sense.”

The two who had been talking to each other suddenly turned their heads toward me. Seeing my face, they realized there was something they hadn’t told me yet and patted my back. I entered the room with a face wondering what they were doing.

I stood silently gripping the desk after seeing the note they handed me. Ainsiedel had sent us a message. About an hour ago at that. When a note was wrapped around the scytale cylinder that Narke had brought before, letters that made sense were arranged at one point.

“City hall on the bridge. 3rd floor, last room, bookshelf 3rd level.”

I read the code written on the scytale. The 3rd floor last room of city hall, the third level of the bookshelf. What could this mean? The answer was obvious.

“It’s the location to enter Pleroma’s world.”

I put down the scytale and sat down. Even Ainsiedel was saying we should strike Pleroma. Very good. Wasn’t that what we wanted? We were thinking of rummaging through extra chapters to find an entry route, but thankfully he told us first. Leo picked up the unrolled note with his fingertips and said.

“The city hall on the bridge must mean Bamberg City Hall. It must be the path to enter Bamberg Archdiocese. Lucas, once more. There’s writing on the back too.”

I nodded and wrapped the note in reverse.

“Easter. As many as possible.”

“As many as possible?”

Elias frowned. Easter is tomorrow, and as many as possible means… only this meaning comes to mind. I stroked my chin and said.

“There’s a time limit. Does it mean to handle as many dioceses as possible tomorrow?”

If this note was sent meaning to handle one diocese, there would be no need to add the redundant phrase about handling as many as possible. Once we enter, we either sweep them all or fail—it’s one or the other. The extreme restraint shown in this coded message tells us that only absolutely necessary words were conveyed. I glanced out the window and continued.

“Seeing that they stationed a messenger pigeon nearby carrying no note, it must be right that they want us to handle as many dioceses as possible. Ainsiedel arranged for us to use that messenger pigeon to send him letters if needed. There couldn’t be any errors in communication between us.”

Then Leo agreed.

“I think so too. If we enter Bamberg Archdiocese, it must be a structure where we can probe other Pleroma dioceses as well. So we need to gather as much manpower as possible. Include me in the strategy.”

I opened my notebook and picked up a pen. Then I pointed the pen tip at Leo’s arm, still wrapped in bandages.

“Your arm.”

“What.”

“Don’t you need to take medicine for one more day? It doesn’t seem completely healed.”

“I’ll do it three more times after we get back.”

Leo said calmly with unwavering eyes. Was this friend always so bold? I gripped the desk and warned him.

“If you strain it without it being properly healed, you might not be able to use that arm freely anymore.”

“If that’s a problem, I’ll fight with the other arm.”

Leo’s determination was unchanged despite my warning. I understand. First, because he has the skills to back it up. Second, because he’s someone who knows the right timing. He leaned back against the chair and said.

“The timing is the worst. The Papal States’ demands are reasonable enough. When the whole world turns its back on Germany because of Pleroma, a real crisis will come. I have a duty to prevent Bavaria from being harmed by that trend.”

“The world isn’t turning its back now. Public opinion that Germany should bear responsibility for Pleroma compensation has always existed. Nothing has happened so far.”

“Easter, as many as possible.”

Leo recited the contents of the note again. I silently looked into his calm eyes. Leo spoke composedly.

“You must have figured it out by now too. Ainsiedel would have felt something was off, whether at Terminus Yukairya or Pleroma. The time he can buy is only one day, and before that, we need to obtain something first. Whether it’s honor or safety.”

Yes, there’s no way I couldn’t figure it out. He delivered the most decisive blow.

“Whether one person goes in or not makes a big difference.”

I remained silent, then wrote Leo’s name in my notebook. Then I recalled the names of the Kingdom of Bavaria’s mages that I remembered.

“Many mages were injured in the Stadelheim Prison collapse incident. We need to scrape together every single one without exception. Don’t touch the students… Let’s mobilize all the Kingdom of Bavaria’s mages and move out. It wasn’t in the plan, but I’ll have to call Julia. Luise has no excuse to avoid when headquarters calls, so think about that more. What about Narke?”

Elias snapped his fingers and said.

“He said he went to catch sheep.”

“What? When?”

“He said he has to catch them now.”

“What sheep is he catching right after returning home?”

“I don’t know. He might be back by tomorrow morning.”

I pursed my lips in bewilderment and spun my pen. The pen made regular sounds as it hit the desk. Meanwhile, Elias shrugged his shoulders. I straightened the pen I was spinning and drew a line in my notebook.

“If we move the Kingdom of Bavaria’s forces simultaneously like this… Prussia will notice the movement and find it strange. But there’s no choice. Whether we get summoned or not, we need to eliminate as many Pleroma as possible before Easter ends. We’ll think about the aftermath later.”

“Easter, huh. That’s a problem… Too many people will be moving around. Fortunately, the Christians will be stuck in their dioceses. Those Pleroma bastards, I mean.”

“To devastate as many dioceses as possible while minimizing damage…”

I need to investigate. Yuri Alekseyev’s extra chapter has me as a child unable to fight, and crucially, it’s in Russia. Mecklenburg’s extra chapter is also problematic since he moved from Mecklenburg-Strelitz to Russia, so it would take time to return to Bavaria. In a situation where even 10 minutes of real time is precious, I can’t waste time on travel. It would be less of a problem if I raised the time difference level with points… But what if I started in Bavaria entirely?

I held my head. Looking out the window, I muttered.

“There’s too little information. To hit other dioceses all at once, I need much more information.”

“So~?”

“Let’s send a message to Ainsiedel. Tell him we want to meet and talk.”

Elias nodded and wrote the requirements on the string used for carrier pigeon communication that was on my desk. He returned to the Prince’s Palace 5 minutes later with a response. He wrapped the note around the scytale tube and decoded the cipher.

“Only to Count Kleist.”

We just stared at each other in silence. Both Leo and Elias were furrowing their brows, wondering what we had heard. Leo was the first to speak.

“It sounds like he’s saying to tell only Luise.”

“That’s nonsense.”

As soon as he finished speaking, I put my hand on my hip and let one arm hang down as I spoke. Since it didn’t make sense no matter how I thought about it, I shook my head and continued.

“Fine. I’ll investigate directly myself. Even if we get more information from Ainsiedel, we’d still have to go investigate northern Bavaria directly to formulate a strategy anyway.”

“Are you worried Ainsiedel might attack Luise?”

Elias asked, resting his chin on his hand. There’s no benefit for Ainsiedel in attacking Ulrike. It would destroy the alliance, so it’s actually a loss by calculation. But I can’t carelessly say it’s safe either. I picked up the note and waved it, speaking harshly without realizing it.

“Only to Count Kleist. What’s the intention behind saying to send only Luise to Ainsiedel, for Luise to come alone?”

“So you’re saying we can’t send her alone? What would you have done if you were in his position?”

I looked into Elias’s eyes and remained silent. After thinking carefully, I put down the pen I was holding and spoke calmly.

“Right. We should hear her opinion. Let’s ask Luise directly.”

Then Elias clapped his hands and shouted.

“I’ll bring her~!”

“Wait, if you go…!”

Elias didn’t listen and kicked open the door to leave the room. Leo sighed briefly without any change in expression. I want to do the same. I can predict what face Ulrike will have when she enters the room.

Less than 5 minutes later, there was the sound of something running around frantically in the hallway. Ulrike, grabbed by the shirt collar, was dragged into the room by Elias, creaking as he came. As expected, he was frozen stiff like Fai facing Elias. Judging by the time it took, he was clearly dragged here without getting a proper explanation. Leo called to him with a worried tone.

“Luise.”

“Happy Easter… What’s this place?”

Ulrike squinted and sat in an empty seat. He clasped his hands together and rolled his eyes around aimlessly.

“Why are you all gathered like this? The atmosphere is scary.”

“Luise.”

“Hmm?”

Ulrike answered, putting strength in his eyebrows. I sat in my seat, pondering how to begin.

“We need to attack Bavaria’s Pleroma. We found an entry route.”

Ulrike’s eyes widened. He leaned forward in bewilderment and asked us.

“…! Is this a headquarters operation? Did they order another Pleroma destruction operation when you’re not even fully recovered yet?!”

“No. It’ll be something we do among ourselves with the Kingdom of Bavaria’s help. For diplomatic reasons, we need to attack Bavaria’s Pleroma as quickly as possible. As you know from the Munich-Freising experience, once we strike, other dioceses will change their entry patterns, so it’s best to handle many at once.”

“So finding an entry route this time means…”

“Ainsiedel passed on the information.”

Ulrike’s expression hardened. It’s a face that looks cold at first glance. I quietly observed that eerie change in expression and continued speaking.

“He wants us to eliminate the Pleroma. This is definitely cooperation, not a one-sided debt relationship. We also need to attack the Pleroma, and so does Ainsiedel. So when I said to provide more information…”

“You said, but?”

“The answer came back that he would only talk with you.”

Then Ulrike tilted his head without blinking once. I continued speaking.

“We called you with the opinion that we should respect your wishes, and we’ll actually follow your answer, but I thought it would be better if you didn’t go since I can’t guarantee your safety. And everyone else would be worried about you too.”

Leo nodded slightly. We waited for Ulrike’s answer, but since no one spoke, silence flowed. I clasped my hands together and asked slowly.

“What will you do? I’d like to recommend finding another way.”

Ulrike made a face asking if I was seriously asking. He spread both hands and shrugged his shoulders while looking around at his friends.

“I have to go. Obviously!”

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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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