Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble Family
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The newspaper was from today.
It looked like Narke had left it behind before I arrived.
‘The contamination disappearing from the hot spring water… it’s not just because they got spooked by us.’
Looking at this result now, that place must have been their testing ground.
Once they’d figured out how to make people react that way, there was no need to keep experimenting in an area swarming with priests.
With five days between their withdrawal and today, it was clear they couldn’t afford to get caught back then.
[…All the victims share the commonality of living near rivers. In particular, over a hundred victims appeared simultaneously near the Bayern Salley River….]
“…….”
Bayern.
Demons or whatever, concentrating attacks on Bayern like this was definitely Pleroma’s doing.
“Py.”
“Yeah?”
“Can you call Narke for me? Leon or Elias works too.”
“Got it!”
I slipped on my priest robes and mask.
“Oh.”
On a sudden thought, I swept all the medicine from the drawer into my bag.
At this point, I couldn’t let stamina hold me back.
The moment I closed the bag and slung it over my shoulder, Elias appeared before me, his face unusually grim. He’d probably used a perception-distortion spell.
“Huh~?”
Even though he knew everything, Elias grinned mischievously and slapped my shoulders.
“Well, well, Luca’s alive and kicking~ You have no idea how much my mouth’s been itching without you~”
“Looks like you managed fine.”
He scowled at my smiling reply.
“That’s not it. I was freaking out, thinking you’d gone and died on me for good.”
“Hmm.”
Now that I looked closer, his face wasn’t great despite the casual tone.
Elias had every reason to be uneasy.
He was in a position where the emperor could lock him away at home on a whim, school or no school. He probably saw his own future in me.
I opened my mouth to change the subject.
“Anyway, did you have something to talk about?”
“What’s there to plan between us? It’s best when folks in the same boat just chat~ So… how’d it go?”
Elias’s face finally turned serious.
“Nothing happened. I look fine, don’t I?”
“What do you think’ll happen next? That guy came to see how you’d changed with his own eyes.”
“Yeah. I’ll fill you in later. But this demon stuff in the paper—it looks like things have gotten bigger. Know anything?”
“Hmm… you wanna hear it now?”
Even as he said that, Elias answered my question right away.
“It’s just like the paper says. Over five hundred victims across the empire already.”
“They’ve started investigating?”
“It’s bad enough that they have. But how do you investigate demon possessions? They’re just saying they need certified divine magic users from the Church.”
Elias unfolded the halved newspaper and showed it to me.
The entire article was about demons. Not a word on Pleroma.
‘They have no choice but to think that.’
Things were so tense now that every incident got pinned on Pleroma. Yet in the Baden Grand Duchy, they’d declared it demons from the start and called for an exorcism from the Papal Court.
The symptoms matched perfectly.
Honestly, even I’d thought the victims looked “possessed” when I saw their behavior.
No one suspects Pleroma’s crimes. Meaning they could pull off something even bigger hiding behind the demon name, and no one would know.
‘I need to make some kind of announcement as Nikolaus.’
But to announce, I need more solid info first.
For starters, I need to know exactly under what conditions those victims got contaminated.
“Eli, let’s go. We need to meet the victims from Baden-Baden.”
“Oh, gonna investigate? Probably won’t mean much~”
Why?
At my look, Elias continued.
“You said you needed to know why only some people were affected, right? We checked around… but all the victims had no memory of it. Not even right before the possession.”
They remembered stuff from hours before, like water or food, since that was before the incident.
No memory—definitely matches the symptoms when I was possessed by that forehead demon.
No wonder everyone’s confused.
If there’s no way around it, I’ll have to divide the situations and test by drinking it myself.
“Then, Eli.”
“Whoa~ your face changed. Thinking something shady again?”
What kind of phrasing is that…
Elias chuckled and asked.
“Gonna do a live test?”
“Yeah.”
“No need. You guessed emotional changes were the trigger, right? Narke’s already settled on that.”
‘Hmm.’
I hadn’t even told them emotional changes were the cause, but they’d figured it out and concluded on their own.
In that case, no need for me to experiment on myself. Narke’s abilities really shine in times like this.
“Then, Eli, let’s go see the others.”
“Oh.”
Elias narrowed his eyes awkwardly and spoke.
“They probably can’t talk right now. This article broke four hours ago? Even with priests from the Papal Court, they’re short-handed, so those two are running ragged.”
“…Huh?”
“I just came from casting spells. Gotta head back.”
So he was planning to leave me here.
At a time like this?
* * *
“This way!”
Contacting the Bayern Investigation Bureau got us directions fast.
The scene we arrived at wasn’t for the faint of heart.
Elias, who’d come with me, cast a physical barrier with a troubled look.
[Aaaahhh!]
[Save me!]
Screams that weren’t human anymore echoed everywhere. The air was already thick with black.
An investigator mage shone light with magic, his face panicked.
“We’re so relieved Your Excellency is here. The Papal Court and the palace keep sending mages, but with people turning like that nonstop, we’re out of options.”
I’d been thinking it since earlier, so Elias asked quietly.
“Do you really think this is demons, sir?”
“Of course not. God wouldn’t… do this to us. Not to one or two, but over a hundred?”
Well, Pleroma’s behind it.
I let his pious rant go in one ear and out the other as I surveyed the area.
“You said this region has the worst damage.”
“Yes, that’s ri—!”
Boom—!
Something looking like vitriol hurtled toward us before he finished.
The mage threw up a barrier, his face drained white as he panted heavily.
He’d been here a while with no resolution, and the fear was building.
Boom—crash—!
Elias unhesitatingly swung his wand through the air.
His mana shattered the mage’s barrier and seized someone far off.
[Kaaaahhh—!]
Boom—bang—!
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come….”
At the inhuman shriek, the mage recited the Lord’s Prayer frantically while firing spells.
Useless against non-demons, but I didn’t stop him.
If he wants to, what can I do.
“How many left?”
Repeating my question to himself, the mage told me.
“Twenty-three remaining.”
“Mages?”
“Fifty now, but it takes at least three per person from what we’ve seen. We’re short.”
Then he tapped the artifact in my ear with his wand.
“Connected to HQ now. You’ll hear them. Say what you need here.”
“Yes, got it. Then….”
I looked around and spoke.
“More support coming?”
“Ten more in thirty minutes. No divine users.”
Thirty minutes?
I got they couldn’t flood us fast with other hotspots, but… too long.
Whatever else, I knew what I had to do.
I tapped my ear artifact.
“I’ll head to the center. Send warp coordinates.”
His eyes widened at “center,” but I’d already warped on the heard coordinates.
Black smoke made it impossible to see here.
Bang—boom—bang—!
Attacks slammed around, vibrating my body.
I tapped the artifact again.
“I’ll halt their movements briefly. Attack then.”
After a wait, a voice replied.
[Relayed.]
Good.
Everyone here has artifacts—lucky.
If they botch it while I buy time, we’re screwed.
I spun my wand into a staff and slammed it down.
—If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you!
All sound vanished.
My black-smoke vision turned pure white.
Other mages’ attacks rained in from everywhere.
As I grabbed the artifact to return, my eyelids drooped.
‘…Wait.’
* * *
I woke in a building.
Probably Bayern hospital.
‘…Damn.’
Forgot about this curveball.
The painkillers worked too well; my condition wasn’t great.
“Hey, Lucas.”
A familiar voice from somewhere.
Leo sat arms crossed, looking at me.
I nodded at the welcome face I hadn’t seen in ages.
“First time seeing you greet me like this.”
“You look fine.”
Leo smiled—not his straightest. He continued calmly.
“Heard from Narke your state’s rough. Told Elias to keep you away… no idea how you got here.”
“Couldn’t stay out at a time like this.”
Should’ve told me not to come properly.
I sat up saying that.
Now I saw Narke and Elias sat nearby too.
“Situation over?”
“Yeah. Your area… cleared completely in fifteen minutes after your spell. Others just wrapping up.”
Good.
“Was gonna talk to you all anyway. Nice we’re together.”
“What?”
With Pleroma pulling this insanity nationwide, we can’t just sit.
Bayern government’s got the king’s orders.
Things this big, other nations’ll investigate too. But with the demon focus, not sure it’ll be proper.
Nations knowing it’s Pleroma need to analyze their intent first. Might uncover info there.
‘Then I can announce as Nikolaus first.’
I spoke slowly.
“You know how Pleroma tempts people?”
“Yeah~ Promises eternal life.”
At Elias’s answer, Leo added.
“Also advertised letting non-mages use magic.”
Vitriol takes better in non-mages.
To those with cores, it’s like poison—someone else’s mana. But without cores, it melts in like their own.
That’s vitriol’s known trait.
Here’s key material.
“Leo. Can you grab the Pleroma docs we took?”
“Sure.”
Leo warped off and back.
I rifled through, finding one.
Something useful from my skim before.
[Osnabrück Diocese Blessing Exclusion List]
From Asman, “blessing” means vitriol. I eyed one name.
[Caroline Bexler] [Reason: Constitution Incompatible]
‘Constitution incompatible.’
That phrase fills this page.
I held it up for my friends.
“If it says ‘constitution incompatible,’ even among non-mages, some can implant vitriol, some can’t.”
“They advertised it works for all? Total scam for those who bought it.”
Elias shook his head.
Yeah.
Pleroma hypes it for everyone to grow followers, but no.
Their world has aptitudes.
“Right. Let’s dig into what makes a constitution incompatible.”
—Seek, and you shall find.
“Incompatible.”
‘Hmm.’
Here it is.
Didn’t read it all, so didn’t expect this far.
I pulled the glowing paper.
A Pleroma personnel record.
I read one line.
“Vitriol fails to transform into core and vaporizes, deemed incompatible.”
“…Damn, so this is how they make coreless folks use magic?”
Vitriol becomes a core in non-mages.
Then they act like Pleroma we’ve seen; otherwise, incompatible.
“Vaporizes”—so these “possessed” are all rejects.
Leo, flipping pages, said.
“Way more incompats than compatibles.”
He showed me the compatible list.
Lists were nearly four times different in length.
Realization dawned in everyone’s eyes.
‘So that’s their play.’
They’re short on people.
Not desperate, but expanding, so unsatisfied. Plus I smashed their recruitment.
Short on people means short on compatibles.
I smiled and spoke.
“So they’re sourcing compatibles from the surface.”
“How do you even think like this? Not your average crazy.”
Elias said coldly.
Shocking, but they’re used to this thinking.
The catacomb doc to the emperor talked conquering the empire as territory.
“Impressed by the Strauchi mosquito contamination, huh. No different from that.”
I said quietly.
Pleroma’s turning the surface into a compatible farm.
No—already is.
Worst crime yet—no answer.
Soon, unwitting Pleroma conversions via vitriol will spread.
‘Hmm.’
Good idea hit.
“Time to make a deal.”