How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 92

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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 Family (92)

“….”

The other person furrowed his brow with confused eyes.

I smiled while saying words I didn’t mean.

“I apologize. I came here to help Mr. Beck, but old habits came out.”

“…Habits?”

“It’s a habit from when I interrogate Pleroma.”

These were words I had to say to reveal that we were on the same side.

Here, if I may insert my thoughts a bit….

Hyung wouldn’t have given an order to ‘check whether he uses magic or not.’

That perfectionist isn’t the type to leave evidence.

Instead, like before, he would have sent something like ‘I’m worried there’s no way to confirm if his magic power is well-controlled even when the head butler gives him medicine,’ or ‘I’m worried my Younger Brother might lose control and go berserk without being able to hide his constitution.’

If I take Hyung’s cautious letter as a given fact and connect it to this violent result that’s practically the opposite….

‘The person who received the letter must be someone overflowing with a sense of justice.’

Someone who gnashes their teeth at Pleroma would have given orders to Jurgen Beck to prove my magic power.

And….

Looking at Jurgen Beck’s neat clothing, the possibility that he participated in this due to lack of money is low.

He was either threatened, or shares the same intentions as whoever gave the orders.

“Shall we begin?”

“….”

“Mr. Beck confining a Student is indeed a crime. Whatever your intentions, you can’t escape that part. However….”

I clasped my hands together and leaned my body closer.

“I’d like to hear why you did such a thing, what your motive was. I’m saying this because I too have heard plenty of rumors about that Student.”

“…What does Count Nicolaus think of those rumors?”

“Well. I’ve never met him, so I can’t speak rashly.”

“What would you do if that Student really is Pleroma?”

I looked into his eyes.

That Student is Nicolaus sitting right in front of me, so what should I do?

“If he’s really Pleroma, we’d have to uproot him early considering the damage that will occur in the future. But since there’s no solid evidence, we couldn’t take any action for 10 years, isn’t that right?”

At my words, he stared at me intently, then looked around with wary eyes and said.

“The rumors are true.”

“….”

“The people from that Family know. They all say the same thing. The moment that Student uses magic, Ascanien is a dead man….”

“I see. So that’s why you tried to find out whether he uses magic or not?”

“….”

The moment we return to the incident, he shuts his mouth like a ghost.

I smiled and said.

“Well, if you don’t want to, that’s fine. Anyway, according to what you said earlier, it was naturally your intention to find out whether he would try to use magic or not. Did you gain anything?”

“….”

“You didn’t. I heard that Student couldn’t use magic, so he set off the fire alarm to reveal his location….”

“It must be fake.”

“Is that so?”

I had to suppress another urge to laugh.

To say such things in front of the person in question.

Of course it was fake.

I deliberately chose a method that someone who can’t use magic would use.

“Mr. Beck, your claims need evidence. If Mr. Beck wants to report Lucas Ascanien as Pleroma, you need really proper evidence.”

“…Evidence? Don’t tell me Count Nicolaus thinks that way too?”

“This isn’t a matter of thinking or not. Investigation must follow proper procedures at minimum.”

“The locked door probably wasn’t a crisis situation for that Student. Conveniently, there was a way to get out without using magic….”

Beck trailed off mid-sentence.

He didn’t seem confident.

“Is that so? If he could use magic, he would warp, I don’t think he’d think to set off a fire alarm. Especially… he’s not such a bold person, is he? If there was a way to escape quietly, he would have used magic to do so.”

“….”

“Mr. Beck, evidence isn’t created this way.”

I leaned my head closer with a hint of pity.

For a moment, his eyes trembled finely.

“Wh, what do you mean….”

“What’s the result of trying to find evidence that way? Waiting for the next opportunity without catching any clues?”

I tapped his hand lightly.

“The moment divine power is injected, your artery will burst. Is this matter really worth obtaining through such means….”

“Of course it has value! Don’t you even remember what kind of magic power he had as a child, Count?! On top of that, if he’s Pleroma…!”

“Couldn’t you find a more effective method, didn’t you skimp on costs for planning and thinking… you should think carefully. Your life isn’t as expensive as you think.”

“….”

Composure disappeared from his face.

It would be natural if someone who willingly took on such work for a great cause heard that his artery wasn’t worth much.

But it’s the truth. Because he gained nothing.

Since I succeeded in shaking him, now I need to drive in the wedge.

“I think the results didn’t flow very well. Contrary to Mr. Beck’s intentions.”

“….”

“Whose magic is it? It’s quite elaborate. If it’s someone I know, I might be able to help a little….”

He looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“If you return like this, you’ll die. They’ll have to silence you somehow.”

“He’s not that kind of person.”

“I’ve watched many people and know, but everyone says that. But you can’t gamble with your life.”

“….”

I exhaled and leaned back against the backrest.

“Whether Lucas Ascanien is Pleroma or not, I’ll prove it myself within a year.”

“…A year…!”

“Is that too long? Still, I think it’s much more reasonable than an artery.”

He glared at me then muttered quietly.

“6 months.”

“Yes, that’s good enough. There must have been orders to find out as quickly as possible? Professor has quite an impatient personality.”

“…!”

Beck’s eyes widened. He unconsciously clenched his hands and fixed his gaze on my eyes.

I let out a hollow laugh at that reaction.

‘As expected….’

He doesn’t betray expectations.

If he doesn’t realize his mistake even after making one, naturally he has no choice but to use the same method.

‘His meddling has been impressive from the start.’

He probably believes that replacing the informant with Narke was his own will, so he thought I couldn’t know even if he did such bold things.

Instead, seeing that this time he used divine power to seal lips shows he developed somewhat.

“I heard Professor Stefan Traut tends to worry a lot. It’s really as the rumors say.”

“…H, how….”

Beck blinked frantically.

I don’t know if he lacks learning ability, or if he was too flustered so his reaction came first….

It’s surprising that he reacted like this again.

Didn’t he just answer that my words were correct?

However, there’s a problem here.

Ding―!

〈 Chapter 5. Good Things Take Time (1) 〉

Proposal 2: Make the optimal choice. (0/1) (0 hours 9 minutes 59 seconds)

*Route 1 — 〈 Proposal 3 〉

*Route 2 — 〈 Chapter 6. Not All That Glitters Is Gold 〉

‘…It’s been a while since I’ve seen this.’

‘Optimal choice’.

And even that annoying Route 2 name – seeing it after so long almost felt welcome.

From what I remember, that ‘optimal choice’ only appeared for events that would greatly influence future affairs, so this matter must certainly fall into that category.

That makes sense.

‘If Hyung knew the cards he’s holding were a rotten lifeline, he’d naturally pick different cards.’

The spy must remain in my hands.

Both Hyung and Traut need to stay in their foolish sense of winning, so I don’t have to struggle twice.

‘Then I need to guide them.’

I just need to draw out the result I want.

Fortunately, the result I want aligns with the other party’s interests.

“I hear all sorts of stories from where I am. I’m well aware that Professor Traut is always working hard. However…”

Beck looked at me without lowering his guard.

“This is somewhat surprising. Did that person order you to do this?”

“…”

“Considering how well you knew Ascanien’s atmosphere… That Professor must have been someone who received Ascanien’s patronage. Now things are starting to make sense.”

“That, that’s not… No, do we really need to go this far over such a trivial matter?”

Earlier he said he revealed his name because he feared punishment.

Of course it was a fake name, but seeing how noticeably his attitude has changed now, talk of punishment is the optimal topic to shake him.

“Of course. I understand the purpose, but the result is still a crime. Especially, we need to find out who planned this.”

As I fell into thought and tapped the desk with my hand, he fidgeted restlessly and bit his lips.

That’s a reasonable reaction.

For Traut to agree to use him as a hostage, it would require extraordinary loyalty.

“This is hard to believe. Does Ascanien also know about Professor Traut’s independent action? If this matter escalates, Ascanien will also consider punishment…”

“That’s wrong.”

“…”

As I stared at him intently, he averted his eyes and spoke.

“…I never said that Professor ordered me to do this. I simply planned and executed this based on what I heard.”

“Can you say that’s the truth?”

I continued seriously.

“The magic on the laboratory’s back door was dismantled by the Caretaker’s Office, but the magic on the front door was preserved as is right after the report came in. Finding out whose mana it is is just a matter of time.”

“…I know. It’s not a lie. That person is someone I already owe a great debt to. Since he’d be surprised by a sudden report, putting him on the suspect list…”

The Traut I know isn’t the type to act cautiously while just dropping hints.

Would such a person entrust surveillance of me to a student from his department? If it were me, I’d put in more effort and do the surveillance myself.

I nodded and tore off a sheet of paper from the file, pushing it toward him.

“Then, aside from that person, please write down a list of those who helped you obtain information. We’ll investigate everyone, so you mustn’t write false names.”

“Ah…”

Beck frowned.

Despite that reaction, he would readily fill out the paper.

‘Because it can prevent attention from being focused solely on Traut.’

Beck, who had been staring at the paper with his mouth open, raised his gaze to look at me. A subtle sense of victory flashed through his glistening eyes.

I smiled and gestured toward the pen.

Soon, Beck began writing names without hesitation.

‘He must think I’m fumbling around.’

Let him think that.

My goal was to know who had been mobilized for Hyung’s plan.

Just from his intense reaction to the word ‘Professor’, my objective was complete.

And with this, I’ve also obtained a list of people with similar ideologies to Traut.

‘So these people could also be within Hyung’s sphere of influence.’

They’re people with high potential for future use.

Beck, who had pushed the paper toward me, asked with a resolute face.

“Will you really look into it within six months?”

The error that people who jump into things regardless of consequences for justice make is that they don’t doubt whether the justice they believe in is truly just or not.

Even now, isn’t he throwing away everything for just one thing: ‘Is Lucas Ascanien Pleroma or not?’

Just leaving that Lucas Ascanien alone would be much more helpful in reducing Pleroma.

Anyway, I have no intention of lying.

I answered with an appropriate smile.

“Of course. I promise.”

Ding―!

Congratulations!

‘Proposal 2: Make the optimal choice.’ Complete!

‘Route 1 — 〈 Proposal 3 〉’ confirmed.

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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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