How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 556

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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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How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magic Noble Family (556)

“Why….”

His stiffness was only momentary. Mecklenburg stammered in confusion before turning toward the window.

“This is 98th Unit Mecklenburg. There was an explosion sound from the 12 o’clock direction of the Kroll Opera House banquet hall. Please investigate where it came from.”

While he tapped his ear to contact headquarters, I quickly grabbed the Berlin map with both hands and pressed it down. One place had already exploded. I needed to figure it out. Where next?

If Terminus Yukairya planned to act recklessly without regard for consequences, the most likely target would be this banquet hall. The current reception hall, the restaurant connected to the inside, and the opera performance hall reached by turning direction and passing through the corridor from here—the damage would be enormous. I reflexively opened my mouth.

“Narke. We need to interrogate Lafayette and the high school students and isolate Gramont. We don’t know what Gramont might do inside here. As for the high school students, realistically we can’t interrogate them right now, but at least we need to….”

“I know. I’ll go tell them, so Lucas, you stay here until I come back. I’ll come get you at the right time.”

Narke placed his hand on my shoulder with concern. His words about deciding when I should leave meant he had already noticed my situation—being in crisis due to the existence of soil turned to blood. Although I hadn’t told him that soil had turned to blood, there was no reason not to trust his trained intuition. I nodded at his resolute gaze and turned my attention back to the map.

First, among the mages from France, the most likely intended murder victim was Gramont. France had chosen me to break Germany’s shield that was barely defending against external attacks. If they made me into Pleroma or made me appear to be a criminal related to them, they could make the German Imperial Court that employed me appear as an organization without Pleroma control. Gramont, the only French mage related to me, was planning to call me out before the reception ended, and the reason was….

To create a gap for me. A time without any alibi. More clues would make it clearer, but to simply outline the framework, they probably intended to make it look like ‘Lucas Ascanien had done something to Antonie Gramont, causing Gramont to die with a time delay.’ Then how were they planning to implicate the Social Democratic newspaper in a crime where I was the main culprit? My current hypothesis is either 1. That was just insurance for when framing me as the main culprit failed, or 2. It was a plan made with additional information I don’t know about. There aren’t enough clues. Unless I could get more information from the newspaper.

Next, the likely intended victim would be the French person with the lowest performance and evaluation. They would have selected someone whose death wouldn’t be regrettable as a backup sacrifice. Laurent Boguet from the Académie Puissance research department. Mecklenburg said this person had the lowest combined performance and evaluation, and I think so too.

“…Hmm.”

And among the British, the person with the least influence would be….

I could name Harriet Raygon and Hugo Lister, but if Terminus Yukairya was confident in their chances of success, they would try to kill the most outstanding or famous British person. That way they could drive British-German relations to catastrophe.

What if they weren’t confident in their chances?

Then they would target those two British people considering the risks. The problem is when they don’t consider their chances high but still stubbornly carry out their plans—in this case, everything becomes a variable from my perspective. I’d have to keep watch over people who are neither German nor French.

The scope becomes too broad…. I closed my eyes while slowly running my tongue along the inside of my lips. If I broaden the scope endlessly, for example, I’d have to consider people other than Laurent Boguet among the French as well.

Considering all of this might be a waste of time.

However, that’s the right thing to do. Now, when no consecutive explosions can be heard, is the last chance to think. Or to prepare. First, the place I should be most prepared for is… probably where Laurent Boguet would go.

I ran through the list of French people in my head, furrowed my brow, and tapped the table with my fingertips. None of the new French people had made significant contact with me, and since no low-performing French person was on my team, if they made someone other than Gramont the victim, it would be difficult to frame me as the culprit when I had no relationship with them.

Since we deliberately didn’t announce in advance who would guide them, Terminus Yukairya couldn’t have attached Laurent Boguet to my team. At this point, it’s reasonable to assume that France tried to frame the socialists as the culprits as a backup plan.

So I need to find out the locations of socialist-related buildings. The problem is that I have to make new assumptions from there, because naturally, trying to politically isolate socialists by bombing socialist buildings isn’t typical considering the backlash. Instead, I need to think of information that would have been used to orchestrate the crime—the usual routes of people who work at those establishments, commuting times, etc.

But….

Before that, I need to know ‘where’ the socialist buildings that France could use are located. Damn it, I muttered and looked at Mecklenburg, who was focused on communication. Mecklenburg’s knowledge might not be sufficient for the rapid selection needed now.

I need a Berlin native. Or at least someone who has lived in Berlin for a long time. But now that powder turned to blood has presumably exploded somewhere, it would be difficult for me to directly contact government agencies. Since calling the magical crime response team while mentioning the dust first would be perfect grounds for suspicion, I had to stay out of command as much as possible.

Neither Narke nor I would be of any help. I know the names of some buildings, but I don’t know whether their owners are socialists or not. Who on earth would know this well? Who on earth…. I just stared intently at the map where no answer was visible. The only place I could check was one small square I had seen in a newspaper article.

Ah, what about Ulrike? She’s not Berlin-born, but she’s lived here since Imperial Education Institute No. 3, so would Ulrike know which buildings and halls in Berlin are related to socialism? But she’s someone who stands opposite to socialism, and yet until now hasn’t lived with much consciousness of that fact. In other words, since she lived as an aristocratic high school student, I can’t be sure she has the knowledge that native commoners would have. Then someone flashed through my mind.

“…Hmm.”

I took out my notebook and scribbled something down.

Mecklenburg across from me pressed one ear and looked toward the other ear with a frown.

“Are there any injured? …Oh, damn. What’s the cause?”

Mecklenburg asked a few more questions and tapped the artifact once. He looked at me and said.

“They say they need to investigate the cause. They don’t know yet. It didn’t spread much, and they say it was an explosion accident at a smeltery. They say it’s not uncommon, but they dispatched firefighters to extinguish it. Since we can’t be certain it’s because of the soil you mentioned, for now…. I should go check it out.”

“Wait a moment.”

“Yes.”

“About that soil.”

“Speak quickly. You should know you don’t have time either.”

Mecklenburg urged impatiently, stretching his neck forward. I swallowed once and said quietly.

“Don’t mention it to anyone first.”

“….”

Mecklenburg began to move his tightly closed lips. I could clearly see confusion in his eyes. He carefully tilted his head to see my expression, but I cleared my throat and gestured toward his clutch.

“Please give me a spare communication artifact.”

“Good grief. What about me?”

“Stop by headquarters before going to the scene and get one. You must do that.”

Mecklenburg made a face like I was ordering him around too much, stretching his mouth sideways and narrowing his eyes. Even so, his hands were quickly searching through his clutch. As soon as he handed me the artifact, he walked quickly out of the room.

Just then Narke arrived, slightly opening the door and waving at me. While he kept watch, I carefully slipped out of the room and asked.

“Was there any trouble?”

“I delivered them properly. I made excuses with other topics and isolated them on the upper floor, and fortunately they followed obediently. I told our chief of staff not to rashly move them to another location, so don’t worry too much and prepare for what’s next. I’ll control Laurent Boguet and the next foreigners to go to the next point from here…. Let me check if there’s soil on the floor here too.”

Since Narke said it himself, whether our chief of staff is competent enough to trust is secondary. The problem is that asking if there was any trouble wasn’t about the situation. Narke, who always has the ability to figure out what I’m thinking, is giving a different answer.

“You, I mean.”

We don’t know what device was set up for Gramont or how he was supposed to die. Whether Narke simply conveyed words to government people or directly isolated Gramont himself is unknown, but whatever happened, we don’t know how things went. Seeing that he returned, he must have been safe, but still.

Narke stopped in place and looked at me in quiet silence. He smiled and answered.

“I’m fine, of course.”

Narke said that and went outside. He needed to find out if red dust was scattered here too. He probably went to deal with that.

After crossing the short corridor, going down the stairs, and arriving at the first-floor hall, I approached Ulrike, who was eating leftover food with mages who hadn’t gone to the restaurant.

“Luise.”

I have a favor to ask, what I’ve found out now is…. The words I was about to say flowed countless times in my head, but Ulrike, who didn’t know my inner thoughts, turned her head and picked up a jelly bowl.

“Hm? Try this while you’re here.”

She scooped jelly with a spoon and pushed it toward my mouth. I opened my eyes wide and looked at the jelly. In the banquet hall, which was noisier than the room, the explosion sound must not have been heard as important. People still don’t know anything. I closed my eyes tightly, then carefully accepted and ate the jelly, and gently pulled Ulrike’s shoulder. Ulrike asked, finding me puzzling.

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“Did you hear that loud noise earlier?”

“Loud noise?”

Even though I hadn’t said much, Ulrike’s face quickly became fierce. Having sensed something strange, she put down her spoon on an empty tray and looked back at me.

“There was some sound, but it wasn’t that loud. Is there some bad news?”

“There was an explosion accident at a smeltery, and of course for now everyone just thinks it was an explosion from a furnace, so it’s just speculation, but…. I need to properly check what the cause was.”

After casting a sound-blocking spell, I drew out my words while carefully putting the note I made by tearing my notebook and Mecklenburg’s spare communication artifact into his jacket pocket. Then I immediately stepped back. Normally he would have opened his eyes wide or laughed, but Ulrike knew what I had done and maintained a calm expression throughout. His quick wit always gives me confidence. I brought my head close to Ulrike and asked.

“I briefly summarized what I found out on that note. If you ask how I knew…. I can explain everything, but there’s no time now, and I’ll tell you after we handle the next explosion. Read the summarized note and burn it or eat it to get rid of it.”

“What!”

Ulrike, who had been listening intently with a stern face, laughed hollowly. It wasn’t a joke. As expected, Ulrike quickly nodded. We haven’t received much special operations training as members of the Imperial Mage Association, but even so, throwing a note in some trash can or just keeping it in a jacket and coming back—Ulrike would definitely never do such a thing. Even thinking about this is just unnecessary time considering his abilities. I didn’t say more about that and changed the subject.

“And one more thing…, Luise. There must be socialist-related buildings in Berlin. Do you know well where they are?”

“Well. The Social Democratic Party headquarters isn’t here, it’s in Brandenburg.”

That’s absolutely right. Only the media company is here. You know well. I accepted reality—probably even if I had asked Mecklenburg, an adult who had lived in Berlin seven years longer than Ulrike, he would have known mostly just this much—and asked.

“Right. Thanks, Luise. Then do you know Victoria Lyceum? The location?”

“I know it, but I don’t know the exact warp coordinates.”

He answers perfectly even when I speak simply. I gestured toward the note and said.

“I’m not free to move around right now. If I go outside without being called, I could be misunderstood as Pleroma again due to alibi issues. Could you go there briefly for me? Deliver it to someone named Sophia Nussbaum.”

“The situation is not just a little bad.”

Ulrike reached back to grab a canapé and ate it, putting one in my mouth. He was clearly trying to appear calm for others to see. Even while chewing cookies and fruit, he thought with sharp eyes and said.

“Victoria Lyceum is generally a school attended by humans. Maybe only humans can attend. Could I, an esper, or rather, could I as an outsider enter there? Besides, it’s their dinner time too, so it would be harder to find people.”

“Give the note and artifact to anyone entering or leaving. Ask them to take it to the student council president. Everyone would know who the student council president is. If anything seems like it might happen, please contact me, Luise.”

“Of course. But if you’re worried about me, there’s no need at all. I’m worried about you.”

“Right. That’s true, but I’m worried about you all—”

“See you in 10 minutes.”

Ulrike showed me his large open palm and stayed still. Momentarily confused, I quickly realized what he wanted. I don’t know when he picked it up, but he’s doing exactly what Cheringen does. At this rate, this behavior might spread to our entire team. I smiled and loudly slapped his leather glove. Ulrike raised the corners of his mouth with satisfaction and tried to go find a warp point. Then he suddenly stopped. He tilted his head back slightly at an angle and said this last thing.

“It would be better to see you in 5 minutes.”

I answered with laughter.

Now what remains here is Narke, who went upstairs to the second floor or moved to the restaurant to examine the floor, and a group of foreigners who seem thoughtless.

Beep—

Ulrike who just left couldn’t have already delivered the artifact to Sofia, but a notification sounded. This notification immediately turned into a human voice.

[Lucas Ascanien. This is headquarters control room.]

Ah, damn. I haven’t heard any sound yet, but instinct made my lips move.

[Deployment order. Move to the coordinates we’re calling now.]

Then my center of gravity suddenly shifted backward. I opened my mouth while pulling my left foot back to maintain balance and gripped the hand that grabbed my shoulder. Narke, whose face had turned pale and who had arrived at some point, held one ear with one hand and pulled my shoulder with the other. He pushed me toward the warp point while swallowing.

He pressed the artifact to turn it off and said.

“Stay close to me. Can you promise you won’t leave my side for even a moment?”

His voice speaking from behind my head trembled slightly, so I put strength in my eyebrows and answered.

“Of course.”

“Did you memorize the entire Berlin map?”

“Yes.”

“The elixirs? Give them all to me.”

Narke quickly opened my clutch and took all the finger-thick medicine bottles.

“Let’s go and think.”

Through the artifact I’m wearing, the antagonist’s one-sided reports continue. Then I heard words that caught my attention.

[…the fire is not being extinguished. The firefighters who arrived are collapsing, so we called the 97th, but the 97th are also unable to do anything.]

Why on earth did they call the 97th? When the fire couldn’t be easily extinguished with water and soda acid extinguishers, they probably tried to suppress the fire with magic power. Do they call the 101st when the 97th struggles? It’s a completely incomprehensible way of thinking. But there was something even more lingering in my mind.

The fire is not being extinguished—it seems they failed to contain the spark of the explosion and the fire spread greatly. To what extent?

Narke took my hand and stood at the warp point.

My thoughts continue nonetheless. Time playing in reverse throws countless images at me. An unextinguishable fire—there was something strange about it. When gathering the scattered dirt from the floor and putting it in the cylinder, does oil usually clump together visibly?

The reason that scientist who told me the dirt was presumed to be blood didn’t mention that the particles were coated with oil—was it because he didn’t think it was that important? Yes, even I would have been more excited to learn that the scattered iron oxide powder on the floor was actually blood, not iron oxide…

“It’s dirt made for fire. It was coated with oil. Though I don’t know if that small amount of oil actually helps with fire…”

But why did it have to be oil? Coating it with sulfur would have been much better. As if telling me to stop thinking immediately, Narke pulled my hand slightly to grab my wrist. Then he looked down and said.

“We need to stop Berlin from becoming a sea of fire.”

I wondered if that amount of oil could create a sea of fire, but I didn’t say it. The wind blowing came before my vision changed. Sweltering heat invaded my face and nostrils. Sparks that looked like fragments of the sun flew around nearby. The primal threat of fire gripped my heart tightly. Though I was standing fine, my knees felt weak.

Yes, so what I’m seeing is this—the entire 5-story residential building is burning so fiercely that sparks are flying and even the surrounding street trees are glowing red.

Above all, my eyes were directed toward the mages on the roadside—the firefighters and the 97th people. They were either collapsed on the ground like corpses or barely leaning against walls, gritting their teeth and pointing their wands at the fire. No attack traces were visible on their bodies, on the ground, or in the air. No one had attacked them, yet they were drained of strength.

And I was not.

The jelly and canapés were providing sufficient fuel for me. I wasn’t so powerless as to roll on the ground sweating like them, nor had I turned pale. I slowly turned my head to look at Narke. A barrier of divine power surrounded him and me. I could see Narke with his face contorted. The corners of Narke’s mouth repeatedly rose and fell as if having convulsions. His pupils, which appeared only red from the melted firelight, flashed with a desperate will I couldn’t understand, but his eyebrows creased above his eyelids.

I realized it wasn’t fear of the fire. He should have been the one to drink the elixirs.

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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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