How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 575

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magic Noble Family (575)

“A photograph.”

Ulrike, who had been sitting with his eyes closed in anger, snatched the photograph from Leonard’s hand and began beating his chest while biting at the envelope and the remaining photos inside. He almost did it. I snatched it away from him while furrowing my brow.

“Are you Elias?!”

“I wanted to try copying him.”

He learned something strange. Elias… I bit my lip while smoothing out the crumpled photograph. When was it that Elias said something strange like “bite force is strong” when he was at school? As can be guessed from after he had conflicts with team members, the characteristic of naturally reproducing what animals do generally seems to stem from his particularly strong temperament, but for Ulrike, who doesn’t even get as angry as Elias, to copy this… I’m at a loss for how to accept it. Still, Ulrike, whose personality is the complete opposite of Elias, wouldn’t be able to follow the original. He didn’t seem to have any intention of doing so either. To be honest, even with the same sharp eyes, I was relieved to see Ulrike with his bright glimmer, unlike Elias.

“But this is really annoying. What kind of behavior is this? They were following us around. And then they make it obvious? Geez, the photos came out well though! But look at this, this bold mentality. All five of us are in it.”

“Say one thing at a time so I can understand what you’re talking about.”

“I was holding the camera so there couldn’t be many photos of me. Someone else must have taken… taken photos and that’s how I ended up in so many.”

Ulrike muttered while carefully examining the front and back of the photograph he had levitated with magic. I left him alone and said.

“Anyway, it seems they have collaborators in both Germany and Italy. Or maybe the main body is in one of either Germany or Italy and the other place just has collaborators. Except for when I was sleeping, I never felt like I was being followed.”

“So Ainsiedel was the most likely suspect after all. I’m not sure what they’re trying to convey with this, but I think it might be some kind of warning.”

Ulrike showed me a photograph with my profile in it.

“Lucas, you came out well.”

“I did.”

“Ah, this isn’t the time for this!”

Ulrike scolded himself and pulled himself together. Ulrike’s mixed feelings make him waver between “serious incident” and “spectacle.” I could roughly understand his feelings. I reached out to Narke, who was looking at the field. When I raised my arm, my stomach throbbed, so from then on I had to speak through divine power.

―”Narke. Is this where you saw the flock of sheep?”

When we came to Rome last time, he talked about sheep’s wool. The field on the outskirts of the city where you could see sheep playing where the sun sets. Narke smiled and answered.

―”Yes.”

―”It seems like all the places we’ve been to are connected to your past. Is it okay if we come?”

―”I didn’t plan to bring you all here, but… yes. It’s fine. Play comfortably.”

Narke sat on the low brick wall and looked at the dark horizon. When he snapped his fingers, light arose from there as if the sun was setting. I admired the earth and grass swaying yellow like just before harvest, and my friends’ faces dyed orange. Even the buildings lining the road disappeared cleanly and a plain appeared. It must be a scene Narke saw sometime. Since he didn’t cast this illusion on the other friends, only I was moving my gaze to follow the movement of the flock of sheep.

―”There’s nothing to play with here. What did you do for fun here?”

―”There are castle ruins along this spot, so I sat here and looked at the plains.”

―”That’s all?”

―”There wasn’t much to play with originally.”

Narke took me from Ulrike—Ulrike handed me over obediently, perhaps because he had great trust in Narke—and leaped gently. He climbed up a huge tree and leaned against a branch.

“I also took naps with birds in places like this.”

“You play simply. Sorry, but I’ve grown to dislike climbing trees since yesterday.”

“Ah, haha. That’s understandable.”

Narke burst into laughter and said as if defending himself.

“I say I play simply, but in nature there’s no choice. I just rejoice in that nature. And you need time for contemplation too.”

“That’s true. Is this place famous?”

Narke shook his head.

“It’s good that it’s not famous. You must have rested comfortably here. Does anyone other than Count Gabrielle know about this place?”

“Not really. Anyway, someday buildings will be built here much more densely than now, so before that happens, would it be good for someone to know? Nature is enough for just shepherds to see.”

“Well, if that’s the case. Don’t we need to look for anything here?”

“They already blatantly left a photograph on top of the warp point marker stone. It wouldn’t hurt to search more, but is it necessary right now?”

Narke leaned his head against the branch with an expression that was neither smiling nor stern. In the distance, Leonard and Cheringen are walking around the plain, gesturing to each other. They’re walking around looking for something hidden in this place, but we’re just resting here without telling them anything. I asked Narke while reviewing the poem Ulrike had told me.

“I’m curious about something. What happened with the fires while I was away from Germany?”

“It stopped at the second fire. That’s not what you’re curious about, right? Unfortunately, it’s not being considered France’s doing. Though they’re not completely off the suspect list, most people suspect it’s Pleroma’s work. France must be pleased.”

Narke answered slowly as if with regret.

“What about socialism?”

“There wasn’t as much damage as France would have hoped. We were worried that Germany would fall for the trick and attack their own socialism, but that didn’t happen. His Majesty the Emperor also had discernment. Or Abraham intervened.”

If the German government had tried to eliminate socialism at this time, they would have lost the opportunity to make Pleroma a substantial external enemy and would have caused internal strife. It would give France one more justification to attack Germany. So, if they succeeded in linking Pleroma and socialism to crime, they could demonize socialism itself, and if they failed to link Pleroma and socialism but succeeded in making Germany, which is wary of socialism, take the bait, they could frame Germany as an incompetent nation that doesn’t know how to think things through because it’s swayed by ideology. France set up the circuit so they could escape either way. It seems like background knowledge of past events is needed, but Prussia is boiling with tremendous nationalism and statism as the nation that achieved German unification. In this situation, the Papal States long ago published an error list treating separation of church and state, nationalism and statism, liberalism, and 80 other items as vices—as you can see, what the Papal States reject is exactly what Prussia pursues—and this was possible because Catholic believers regardless of nationality form a worldwide spiritual community with a tendency to be loyal to the Roman Papal States. In other words, Catholic believers tend to prioritize religion over country. Through a similar mechanism, there are those who are “considered” to prioritize class over country. Socialists.

Prussia-led Germany has treated such Catholics and socialists as the main enemies of the German people, and though it’s less so recently, looking at the past trends, they were perfectly positioned to fall for the scheme France set up this time.

The methods are so petty and dirty that I’m amazed every time I think about them. They’re not just ordinarily petty. To put it nicely, they’re bold enough to link two unrelated targets, Pleroma and socialism, and thorough. Did such people end this incident here?

I twisted up the corner of my mouth and then lowered just the end. Who exactly is the brain of Terminus Yukairya? Did they dig up and resurrect a corpse from Orleans too? I thought while tapping my chin with my finger. It’s just a shame I can’t meet the person who planned the operation. How exactly were they going to link Pleroma and socialism? If that were possible, it would mean they knew very detailed aspects of the socialist individuals and socialist organizations used in the operation, such as commuting hours and members’ hobby activities, which in itself means they planted many spies in Germany. The German government shouldn’t have stopped at rooting out cults. There are French spies throughout German cities…

Ah, gradually… I squinted my eyes and then strangely pulled up the corners of my mouth.

Abraham had the talent of intervening just when Prussia was about to collapse completely and reviving it just enough to keep it barely breathing. The fact that he knows how to do it but doesn’t, then intervenes, basically means that Prussia isn’t important to him but he needs the Crown Prince position, and there’s definitely a reason why he gives me support while having an interest-based tug-of-war with me. Another reason besides what I initially thought. But basically, whether it’s Ainsiedel or Abraham, these guys are holding their breath in the background using their excellent mental agility. Ainsiedel is the representative of distrust who believes neither Terminus Yukairya nor Pleroma, and it’s unclear what Abraham thinks about Terminus Yukairya. He also seems to not have much information.

For now, cooperating with Ainsiedel to obtain information seems most efficient, but whatever the case, I need to know what these Terminus Yukairya bastards are up to before I can feel at ease. Where their technology originated from, who their leader is… The things I need to do when I return formed a list in my head.

“Hmm. I thought this would happen.”

Narke, who had muttered lowly mixing words with his breathing, snapped his fingers to turn off the magic and went down below the tree. I turned my head. The mages who had come from the German government to Rome had warped here.

***

The operation to use coded letters to avoid entering the Papal States and buy time ended like this.

The Roman Papal States took all five of us at once. Since Narke didn’t comply immediately, I don’t know if they used force calling him and us “German envoys,” or if they had been requesting to meet with all of us from the beginning but Narke had been refusing without revealing it.

Called to the reception room of the Apostolic Palace with my friends, I’m sitting leaning against the sofa facing the Papal States people.

“I apologize for not coming in proper attire.”

“No, we understand completely. We at the Roman Papal States know that you have been more worried and worked harder than anyone recently. May God’s grace be with Count Ascanien. We pray for your recovery.”

The clergymen in black clothes greeted me with warm faces.

From being called to the reception room, I can tell that they’re really treating Narke as a mage who came from the German side. When that’s not the case, Narke would reveal his attitude as a clergyman first, but today he’s also playing dumb as if he never lived as a cardinal, so the Papal States are gradually playing along.

The priest sitting in front of us asked gently.

“Brother Farnese. We would like to ask how long you will stay in Germany.”

I take that back. Now they’re not even hiding it.

When Leonard’s gaze briefly touched Narke and then fell away, Cheringen was observing Narke intently. Ulrike was looking at him somewhat fearfully. Even though we didn’t meet the Pope and only met priests of the Papal States, Ulrike was nervous. Actually, that was most people’s natural reaction.

Whatever the case, these priests are pressuring Narke. Since Narke is supposed to be in Germany as an exchange student, asking “how long” he’ll be there can’t be valid. They’re revealing to us, his friends and colleagues, that it’s Narke’s authority to decide the period. They’re either testing Narke or putting him in a difficult position. Also, they’re waiting for the day when Narke will completely return to Rome again, but why? Narke answered gently.

“Do you not want me to be in Germany?”

“It’s not that, we just want to know when your plan will be completed.”

“Must I tell you that?”

“Yes, you have that obligation.”

“You also have no intention of playing along with this charade, so must I do so? The word ‘brother’ alone doesn’t cover everything, Your Excellency.”

Then the priest made eye contact with another priest standing beside him and looked at Narke again.

“If you think you can make me angry or anxious to make me return to Rome, you’re wrong. As you know…”

Narke wasn’t a friend who got angry easily. He would have been calm before, just like today. He would have quietly manipulated everything. About such a person, the priest said.

“The crisis continues. On days when neither Germany nor France is safe, I want to know as a subordinate how much progress has been made in the experimental event you’re conducting in Germany. Our statue was broken recently. What do you plan next?”

Experimental event, progress, subordinate… statue, plan. All words that would be hard for the other friends to understand. Leonard, who I thought would observe Narke with the coldest eyes on a day like this, still wasn’t looking at Narke. He just drank tea with his gaze somewhere on the table across and his clasped hands, with a face uninterested in the conversation.

Cheringen is still watching with a face that’s unclear whether it’s interest or indifference.

I can almost hear the sound of the second hand moving.

“How would I know?”

“Brother, I am ultimately doing as you wish. Please don’t be angry.”

The smile disappeared from Narke’s face. He looked at the air with an ice-cold gaze. As he was about to open his mouth, the priest struck first.

“His Holiness said in advance that you would request to see him. His Holiness says he cannot meet today.”

“Amazing foresight. I recommend you use that foresight to judge directly.”

“Rather than foresight…”

“What you’re saying is that you want to make me uncomfortable while finding out my plan. His Holiness similarly needs to know my plan but won’t engage in direct negotiations, and that’s not because he fears me but because I must go that path. Tell me directly how far I must tolerate this scheming.”

“It’s a misunderstanding. I have no intention of making you angry. As I said beforehand, this is…”

The priest just opened his mouth and fidgeted. Making metallic sounds, he closed his mouth again and suddenly shifted his gaze to the window behind us.

Crash… The explosion from behind continues in succession with slight time delays. It’s not the type of explosion we heard when buildings caught fire, but smaller and more localized. For us who have heard buildings exploding, it’s not such a heart-stopping sound, but it wasn’t the same for the clergymen. They got up from their seats with faces wondering what kind of sound was happening in this peaceful dawn in Rome and drew back the curtains. Narke muttered without looking at me.

―”There’s really no quiet moment. I should give thanks when we return.”

Exactly. If we quickly disappear to Germany, there wouldn’t be such commotion.

If the Pope has something he wants to find out from Narke, we might not be able to leave right now. Narke carefully pulled my shoulder while throwing his gaze toward the door.

―”Maybe.”

“Hmm.”

―”Depending on how we handle this, this might become an opportunity. No, isn’t this a stage set up for that purpose?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————