Chapter 143
Chapter 143
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble Family
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The crown prince's attacks were strikingly similar to Adelbert's movements.
It had to be that way. This was his dream, after all.
I blocked the crown prince's assault and opened my mouth.
"It's all in your head."
[No, that can't be. His Highness would be disappointed in me...]
"You think you can presume to judge what His Highness truly thinks or doesn't?"
[...!]
His body flinched, so I knew he was shocked.
It was a repulsive thing to say, but it fit his mindset, and sure enough, it hit the mark.
Adelbert's confusion broke off, replaced by panic.
It was to my advantage, but this guy really needed to overhaul his thinking if he wanted to live normally.
Holding back a sigh, I swung my wand at the incoming Vitriol.
Boom—!
Bright yellow mana splashed outward like sunlight, dazzling my eyes.
Strangely, even though it was Adelbert's mana, it was as colorful as Luca's. Its power was no longer any different from what I usually unleashed.
I swept my wand horizontally and continued.
"Didn't you respect His Highness? Would someone you admire speak like that and attack his little brother with Vitriol?"
[......]
"If so, what a disappointment. The first time I meet Crown Prince His Highness, and he's this petty and narrow-minded... on top of being a Pleroma?"
A wave of nausea surged up. I dry-heaved and clamped my hand over my mouth.
'No, this bastard...'
So that's his form of resistance.
Right. He has an intense aversion to any thought that belittles the crown prince.
How much does he revere him to react like this just to a bit of negativity?
Of course, it was going smoothly for me. Like in my duel with Adelbert, I deflected the crown prince's Vitriol and pressed on.
"Isn't it? Or say it with your own mouth. Would that be something your brother would say?"
I kept calling him "brother," which felt a bit sorry, but since the environment had changed, I wasn't using the exact words baseline humans would.
"You might think you've always done the best, but your brother, who grew up before you, wouldn't see it that way. So how did His Highness handle your immaturity? Isn't the reason you respect him because he's magnanimous and understanding, and there's much to learn from that attitude?"
I could feel the mana swirling around his body gradually calming.
Good.
He's starting to sense the disconnect.
It was burdensome to defend him, knowing how Elizabeth Hohenstaufen had used her little brother...
But he wasn't stupid enough to reveal his true colors right in front of me.
He had noticed Adelbert's exceptional loyalty and exploited Adelbert's sole weakness—inexperience, his one advantage—to make him look up to him.
And Elizabeth had deliberately differentiated herself in the areas of understanding and mercy.
I responded to Adelbert's reaction.
"No. Right, it couldn't be. How dare Elizabeth Hohenstaufen be that kind of person? What an insultingly crude dream."
Boom—!
We'd been evenly matched until moments ago, but now the power was draining from the crown prince's Vitriol.
Clearly, the Adelbert outside was pushing back the Vitriol trying to embed itself in his core.
At that instant, the Vitriol barely holding off my mana vanished in a flash.
"...!"
It wasn't because the outside Adelbert had fully expelled the Vitriol.
It was Pleroma's strategy.
The moment the crown prince's head snapped back from my mana, I squeezed my eyes shut.
Not because I couldn't look, but because I couldn't let Adelbert see the full scene.
[Aaahhh!]
A scream was followed by the heavy thud of something hitting the floor.
Perhaps due to Adelbert's terror, the world turned red. I held my breath at the sudden chill.
But a single spell doesn't blow someone's body away.
It was a fake, crafted to amplify Adelbert's fear.
"It's fake. A bit of mana doesn't sever and send a head flying!"
Even as I spoke, Adelbert was panicking as if he'd truly witnessed his family's murder right before his eyes.
A natural reaction. It was shocking even to me, a third party—expecting calm from him was asking too much.
'Guess I'll have to calm him down myself.'
If I'd come alone, I'd be dead without a doubt. Can't keep up with the ideas of these blood-sucking corpses.
Ignoring his piercing screams, I gathered mana heavily in my right hand. Then, I slammed my fist into my left shoulder.
"...!"
I bit my lip hard.
It worked. Adelbert's attention focused on the pain.
Seizing the gap, I shouted.
"If you truly respect His Highness, you need to realize this scene is an insult to him. Did he raise you to be this weak?"
My shout at full volume had an effect.
Sensing defeat in the power struggle, the scene changed in the blink of an eye.
'This is...'
The place where I'd first dueled Adelbert. Elias's training grounds.
And now, another figure stood before me.
A glance at the floor showed no blood or corpse. As expected, it was just playing dead.
Of course. To deal with the core at the heart of the nucleus—the generator of Vitriol—blowing off a head wouldn't cut it.
'Man, this really is a dream.'
I let out a smirk at Nikolaus glaring at me with sharp eyes.
Giving him the experience of fighting me, huh.
I beckoned with my hand.
"Let's see what this Nikolaus can do."
"Your Highness needs to learn manners."
His voice and speech were eerily spot-on.
So thinking, I swung my wand wide.
Boom—!
Nikolaus formed a shield of pure white mana.
"Oh."
Pure white?
Now resorting to optical illusions.
Is this AI? Keep learning.
Holding a wand from the Bavarian royal army, Nikolaus said lowly.
"I've watched all of Your Highness's actions."
"Yeah? Disappointed again?"
At my rude words, Adelbert desperately tried to block my throat.
"Would you call it disappointment? You're the same as a few months ago. It feels like yesterday you tried to break Duke Elias's leg, and now you're attacking Crown Prince His Highness—your temper hasn't changed a bit."
"Didn't know you thought that way yourself. Elias must have told you to stop digging and wrap it up properly..."
I was talking to Nikolaus, but really conversing with Adelbert.
He had reason to question it, but lost in shock, Adelbert showed no reaction.
And naturally, this state favored Nikolaus.
"Your Highness. You asked me to be your sparring instructor."
"No. I don't need you anymore."
"Take up your wand."
"Why?"
"You must be punished for your wrongs."
"......"
Say that in reality, and you'd be pondering your epitaph right then.
You think you can talk to a prince like that? Seriously? He'd fast-track you to execution, making him the punisher, not you...
Anyway, Adelbert must have seen our last duel as a reprimand. Hence Nikolaus acting this way.
Without incantation, I unleashed mana wildly.
Nikolaus barely dodged and blocked. He seemed intent on countering harder than mere defense, but failed each time, leading to a standoff nearing five minutes.
"How many more mistakes will it take for you to come to your senses?"
Boom—!
I threw up a barrier to block the Vitriol and swung my wand at him again.
Stalemating like this was pointless. The key was turning Adelbert's heart.
There was actually a simple fix I could use right away.
Just tell Adelbert I'm Nikolaus himself.
But...
'I can't do that.'
Safety wasn't the issue.
With his loyalty, he wouldn't tell anyone I'm Nikolaus.
The problem was...
'This guy needs to learn how to make friends first.'
Adelbert didn't know human relationships beyond reverence.
If I revealed I'm Nikolaus, he'd revere me even at school.
To make him independent from the crown prince, I couldn't do that.
To teach him relationships beyond respect, I had to start as a friend, not Nikolaus.
Ignoring Nikolaus's words, I repeated attacks while speaking to Adelbert.
"Hey. I thought about that book thing."
[......]
"You think the Bavarian crown prince's guard would make such political remarks to the Prussian prince? Think logically."
Then, Nikolaus's expression crumpled.
These guys adapt fast when it looks like I'm winning. He said in feigned anger.
"How did Your Highness interpret my reply? I said expectations are meant to be shattered—not to keep repeating rude words and actions like this."
'Oh...'
I'm the one who wrote the letter, but if Adelbert interprets it for himself like this...
Works for me. Curious how well it matched my intent.
Smiling, I asked.
"Then what did you mean by writing that? Tell me."
"It meant don't overburden yourself with the exam—not to abandon manners. Isn't that obvious?"
"Be more specific."
"......"
Nikolaus focused on attacking instead of answering.
Smiling, I muttered.
"All those words that day just bounced off. Not surprising."
Earlier, I said we'd start with friends, so no revealing my identity.
But as long as I don't nail it as Nikolaus, a little prodding's fine, right?
Smiling, I said.
"Your Highness."
[...?]
Realizing I was addressing him, not Nikolaus, the mana flow around my body shifted slightly.
"I told you. Those words were to practice not leaving your value to others. I explained before—still don't get it?"
I could feel Adelbert's considerable confusion.
No wonder. A senior he saw as a mere vampire speaking like Nikolaus.
"Your Highness said the crown prince's expectations point to what you desire. But if others' approval shakes your core, it's poison, not medicine. Sometimes you need to distance your heart from that approval."
[No, right now...]
"In other words, it's not 'fail the exam, whatever'—it's that others' expectations can be shattered or not; even if broken, keep them from harming your core. Got it?"
He might understand intellectually but not practice it. Not meant for him to act on.
A guy who lived into his mid-twenties fumbling wouldn't get it.
But...
It was enough to sow confusion about my identity.
As before, I thrust my wand forward.
Boom!
Nikolaus's Vitriol was pushed back, followed by urgent landing sounds.
'Good.'
Just like with the crown prince, success again.
Power drained from Nikolaus's Vitriol. With its forces reduced, now was the chance.
'What to do.'
Being a dream, I felt him losing consciousness repeatedly, resetting thoughts. Had to act fast.
Maybe hit Nikolaus where the core might be, or purify the whole space.
Decision came quick. Remembering this space was Pleroma's creation made it clear.
My overly confident tone flustered Adelbert.
[How do you...]
"Who knows."
I switched my wand to a staff and drew power from the core.
"Think I'd know?"
I felt Adelbert wildly shaken.
That much, the Vitriol's power must have weakened. Unlike our even standoff until now, I could end it.
Sensing my intent, the space turned pitch black.
I chanted the purification rite, gripping the staff tight.
—And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Rumble—!
The moment I poured all power into the staff, a blindingly intense light spread.
* * *
"...!"
"You're back."
Narke looked down at me and said.
Adelbert was still deep in sleep.
'It's over.'
Narke must have kept infusing us with divine power—my body felt refreshed despite the sudden collapse.
He answered my unspoken question first.
"Five minutes passed."
"Yeah?"
35 minutes until the exam.
Unlike before, Adelbert emanated normal wavelengths. I channeled divine power into my fist.
Seeing it, Narke gaped.
"Huh? Wait, Lucas...!"
Boom—!
"Gah!"
The moment I struck his heart, Adelbert convulsed and opened his eyes.
He bolted upright, spotted us, and looked shocked.
"...!"
"You're awake."
"S-S-Senior... no way..."
"Nope."
"No, how did you know what...?"
"That's not important now. Just say divine power came from this guy."
I casually pointed at Narke.
He's famous at school as a divine power-using mage, so he'd buy it.
Truth be told, lying after all that "truth" stuff felt off, but knowing would plunge him into denial of reality—better for everyone to hide it.
Narke silently flowed divine power into Adelbert, checking for lingering Vitriol.
Meanwhile, I met Adelbert's eyes and said.
"You nearly rampaged. You know that, right?"
"...Senior, you went into my..."
"Yeah, I did. As you can see, it was a dream. Looks like Pleroma's expanding into this area."
"......"
Shocked, he just clutched his head.
Ding—!
Favorability +5
"...?!"
Suddenly again?
This guy keeps tossing favorability out of nowhere.
Then a new alert appeared.
Ding—!
Congratulations!
'Proposal 1: Reach +300 Favorability within time limit (500/300)' success!
'Route 1 ― [Proposal 1] ' confirmed.
Excess reward — +10.0 points
'Hm?'
What's that last bit?
And 500 points? Now?
Thinking back, I'd surpassed 210 three days before entering rounds 1-2.
By the end of 1-2, it'd be around 400.
So...
'Extra 10 points for going over?'
Total 25 points.
Hard to believe, but hey, if so?
Truth is, I need to raise favorability anyway without missions—bonus for exceeding 300 is welcome.
'After round 2 announcement, bump it up one by one.'
Satisfied, I closed the window.
Meanwhile, Adelbert lowered his hand from his face and said.
"...Thank you."
"You remember, huh?"
He didn't answer, lost in thought.
The anxiety from the dream was gone from his face.
If anything, the dream seemed to have sorted his thoughts.
After a long silence, Adelbert replied.
"Yes, I remember. I'm sorry. I kept holding you back in there, Senior."
"You took the drug, so it's natural."
At that, his eyes sharpened.
I knew exactly what he was thinking.
Someone drugged a prince an hour before the exam to put him to sleep and rampage him. Of course he'd be furious.
But now wasn't the time to hunt them.
"The culprit later. I brought this guy instead of reporting, fearing it'd harm you. So we can't blab right now."
Adelbert slowly nodded.
But no reason to stop here. Worth dragging to the exam.
I spoke up.
"One thing's clear."
"Yes, what?"
"Someone desperately wants you to fail."
"......"
"Kill you or turn you into Pleroma, probably. Dropping before even attempting 1-2 is obvious."
Adelbert's eyes turned icy.
He'd reached that conclusion too.
Expectations fueled high scores but became mere burdens. Not the best motivator.
So change it.
Luckily, he had a fiery side.
I knew what worked best for types like him.
Revenge was perfect for short-term drive.
Smiling, I patted his shoulder.
"You know how to make it back successfully without me saying, right?"
Adelbert smiled silently in response.
His face showed resolve fully set.
* * *
The first-years' round 1 exam was fully over.
And I'd gone to Bavaria without time to worry about first-year exams, returning to the second-year dorms.
Now it was time for the round 2 team announcements.
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