Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble House
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I slipped on the white mask Narke had given me and dashed down to the lower floor. Fortunately, since we hadn't unpacked Phasia or changed clothes during the break, there was no issue heading out right away.
By now, everyone must have woken up from the screams, yet not a soul appeared in the wide corridors of this vast mansion.
'...Maybe they're afraid of getting caught in the crossfire if they come out.'
[ Aaaah! Uwaaaah! ]
A furious scream erupted from the room directly below ours.
No one would dare step out after hearing something like that.
I exchanged glances with Leo, who was standing by the door.
First things first, we needed Narke.
From what I'd read earlier, the optimal setup for an exorcism rite involved at least two priests.
But right now, we had zero properly trained people. Rushing in could just make things worse.
I glanced at Pie, clinging to my shoulder. She must have been scared to stay behind alone, since she'd followed me.
—"Pie."
"......"
—"Do you know where Narke is? If you do, could you go get him?"
Pie blinked rapidly and vanished from my shoulder.
Not long after, a loud crash echoed from upstairs, like something tumbling over.
Elias came bounding down first.
Narke followed, shaking a water bottle in his hand.
"Didn't expect you to be out here already. Quick on the draw."
Narke's divine power swirled around the bottle. The moment he flung the door open, a rush of pitch-black air hit us.
A servant with bloodshot eyes spotted us and lunged.
[ Aaaah! ]
"Calm down."
His arm never reached Narke.
Narke pinned him with divine power and said,
"We need the host's name. Can you check his belongings?"
"No, it's Martin Dürer."
"How... Ah."
Narke started in surprise, then met my eyes and nodded.
He'd realized I could identify the name of someone I'd never met before.
Kwaang—!
A flash of light burst like a flare, knocking the servant backward. Narke channeled divine power with one hand while bringing the bottle to his lips with the other.
"I'll help, so open it with your hand."
"Ah, thanks."
[ Let go! ]
As divine power crushed his limbs and chest, a strangled voice cried out.
'This doesn't even sound human.'
Like vitriol had been poured on his vocal cords.
While I observed him, Narke withdrew his divine power, dipped his finger in water, and traced a cross on the man's forehead.
The body jolted violently. Foam mixed with saliva dripped from his mouth.
"Hmm, classic possession symptoms. But this severe, this suddenly... We need to confirm if it's real. Elias."
"Yeah, say it."
"Can you keep watch so no one comes snooping?"
Elias nodded, shut the door, and stood guard outside.
Leo was already reciting prayers without being asked.
Leo's family followed the old faith, while Elias's adhered to the new, so Leo was the right one to assist with an old-faith rite.
"Leo, keep it up. Begone, ancient foe of man, from Martin, creature of the Lord."
As Narke muttered commands, Leo continued the prayers in silence.
After a stretch of prayer, focus returned to the possessed man's eyes.
"Looks like he's clear now."
The voice was clear, unlike before. He looked around in confusion and tried to sit up.
"Lord, thank you. What just...?"
Kwang—!
Narke slammed divine power into the restraint spell on his chest. The man's face twisted in agony.
"......"
"In the name of the Lord, reveal your name."
[ Why should I? ]
It was that voice again.
Our eyes met.
'...This is straight out of a ghost story....'
Pretty shocking.
The shock didn't last, though.
Not as shocking as a corpse-munching cult with over 120,000 followers thriving.
Narke looked at Leo and me.
"This could drag on past 24 hours.... You okay with that?"
"...We're already in it now. No choice but to see it through."
When we arrived, we'd met the noble and exchanged greetings. Backing out now would put us in a bad spot.
Plus... you don't just ditch someone foaming at the mouth and head to school.
Narke was probably worried about all four of us missing class, but I could send the other two and submit a sick note.
Narke nodded at my words.
"Right. If it runs long, we'll send Leo and Elias. Let's do this."
Four hours later, he returned to normal.
Six a.m. Perfect timing to wrap up and head to school.
The noble waiting outside greeted us, looking even more gaunt than we did.
"Thank you, Father. And..."
He greeted Leo and Elias the same way, despite their heavy perception-distortion spells.
"Brothers, thank you. We've never had a case like this in the mansion. What happens next? Will you stay through the weekend?"
"We pray to ease suffering, but exorcism ultimately rests on His will. We can't promise against mishaps."
Narke replied calmly.
"I'll come back tomorrow, so don't worry too much."
"Ah, I see. Thank you. Truly."
The noble seemed half-soul-gone from shock.
Noticing, Narke soothed him with reassurances.
'Hmm.'
Until now, I had no grasp on what demons even were.
But now...
'Earlier, something like black mana leaked from the possessed.'
One of the traits from the exorcism manual.
But could it be vitriol?
That stuff resembled black mana too.
Vitriol was known as a viscous liquid, but Ainsidel had exhaled it into the air like mana.
Contrary to common belief, vitriol could be emitted in non-liquid forms.
'And one more thing.'
Among the drugs Lichtofen fed us, there was one that 'converted mana to vitriol.'
It hadn't worked on me, but Leo felt effects briefly. The air turned black then too.
'Well, it's a trait from the manual either way. Still a hypothesis, but worth investigating.'
I turned to the noble.
"I have a request."
"Ah, yes, speak. Anything."
"Please investigate the victims' details."
"M-more than now? We already sent the files. Anything missing?"
"The files cover personnel and suspected behaviors leading to possession, right?"
"Yes."
Narke raised an eyebrow.
He'd caught my thinking before I spoke.
To the still-bewildered noble, I said,
"Investigate everywhere the victims went and every bit of food they ate three days prior—no detail too small, not even a sip of water."
* * *
The territory had no divine mages, so pulling all that off seemed shocking, but he was cooperative.
He promised to look into it and saw us off.
"Pleroma. So, per you, it's not possession—vitriol poisoning."
Narke rubbed his chin, leaning back in his chair.
Lunchtime hit, so I'd dragged him to the student council basement to explain my hypothesis.
"Not sure all possession symptoms match vitriol poisoning, but it tracks. Still, Insight didn't flag it."
"Yeah, that bugged me too."
Narke pondered before speaking.
"Vitriol might just be demonic essence. For something this deep, Insight not spotting it isn't odd."
"Hm."
"Let's investigate your angle. We requested the files anyway—should get them today or tomorrow~"
I nodded.
Demon or Pleroma, the Holy See wanted both crushed. No waste either way—worth a shot.
"See you in class later, Lucas."
Narke grinned, waving. Pie, hooked on paw-waves, mimicked him.
Clock showed thirty minutes till lunch ended.
'Perfect. School's got just the info source I need.'
Time to shake it down.
At the third-year Class 1-B room, Lichtofen spotted me returning and raised a brow.
"Fancy meeting you here."
"Got questions, Senior."
Lichtofen herded his friends inside and stepped into the hall.
"What, club recruitment?"
"As if. I joined Drama Club."
"Thought you hated acting?"
"...Anyway, not here for that. Let's move."
"Sure."
Lichtofen headed to the rooftop, sat at the table.
Cast a sound barrier, then said,
"What brings you?"
"The catacombs drugs you fed us. You gave us mana-to-vitriol converters."
"...Haha... Didn't expect that here. Yeah."
Admitting illicit acts in academy robes felt wildly off.
"Where'd you get them? I know Pleroma supplied—besides that, spill."
"Answer and you'll join my club?"
"......"
I narrowed my eyes; he waved it off.
"Fine. Remember, 5,000 man-year vitriol supply? Capsules. I opened one, used half."
"Why not just memory drugs if we were allies?"
"Squadron Leader attacked my core."
So, he suspected us.
Probably from my 'why stall?' question.
No apologies; changed tack.
"Speaking of, your enslavement's gone."
"Yeah. Just need yours undone."
This guy still hadn't dispelled my spell?
I'd cast it weakly on purpose—easy to break.
Could've nuked it with the Leader's, but nah.
"Dispel it yourself. As I said, your skill's enough."
"Hmph... You don't get it. Unlike Leader's, yours doesn't yield to my magic."
Really?
'Leave it then.'
Enslavement worked because he was defenseless; with active defenses, it'd block.
Might come in handy.
Lichtofen let out a baffled chuckle.
"...Your face says no dice...."
"Later. So, why didn't it trigger in me?"
"Your mana stayed stable. Why pair the drugs? Capsule's paired with nightmare inducer. Gotta destabilize mana for vitriol entry."
Made sense. He continued as I listened.
"Nightmares shake mana loose, making room."
"Got it. Pleroma dose followers this way?"
"Not sure. They called ours 'retail' grade."
Different batch, maybe.
Anyway, knew they injected vitriol directly—skip that.
I bombarded him with questions till lunch ended, filling a notebook page.
"Good enough. Thanks for the intel."
"Sure. Oh, wait."
I paused rising, looked back.
"Met Marian Baum?"
"Nope."
"Check the troupe this weekend."
* * *
Weekdays were out—catacombs duties kept them underground.
That dawn, we napped evening onward and warped there.
Leo the old-faith guy was optional, but new-faith Elias catnapped mid-warp to tag along.
"You sleep a ton."
"Not tons~ Share some, Luca."
"You'd crash twelve hours."
"Sounds good. Catch Leo's height."
Sleep-talk nonsense.
Knew from the novel he was a heavy sleeper.
The noble, spooked, had moved to the cathedral. He greeted us on warp arrival.
"The files you requested."
"Fast."
"Baden Archduchy lent a divine caster."
I scanned them.
'...Huh.'
Workplaces and haunts similar, but no overlapping food.
"No one mentioned food tasting oddly off?"
"Nope."
So, maybe not Pleroma—genuine demon, hard as that is to buy.
'Hold on.'
Scanning personnel, my hand froze.
A thought flashed.
'...No rule says drugs only in drinks.'
Eyes met Narke's over the files.
Same conclusion.