Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble Family (164)
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Elias suddenly dropped right on top of me after just blinking.
It was right to call it dropping. The guy roared as he got up and pulled me into a hug.
“You thought of using that here?! Hey, the timing’s perfect~”
“…….”
“Lucas’s face went pale….”
My heart skipped a beat for a moment, thinking I might fall backward, but Elias didn’t care at all.
Anyway, even if it hadn’t been me, Elias would have found a breakthrough. Though in the process, someone’s career would have been threatened in a drastic way….
‘That might’ve been more fun.’
But now that I’d fallen into this world, it was hard to just sit back and watch.
There was a huge gap between watching a fire from across the river and standing right next to the flames.
“Just tell Luca, and it’s all solved. Thanks.”
“No, it’s not over yet. We’ll know once you go and check. And….”
I looked at my friends in turn and said,
“I’m not saying it’s definitely connected to Pleroma. It’s just to extend the investigation. In case you think we can catch two rabbits at once.”
“Oh, I get it~ I didn’t assume it was connected. A full investigation would’ve made everyone use their abilities anyway, so we’re just checking politicians tied to Primrose Pass on the side.”
He got it perfectly.
Elias chuckled lightly and continued.
“From the start, those aren’t two rabbits—they’re double the headaches…. Even if they show up, it’s iffy to take them down.”
“You know it’s iffy too, huh.”
“Hey, I know what I know! If it were easy to smash, you would’ve blown up Osnabrück already. Saying you openly blew up Osnabrück means you’d have to take on all of Pleroma, which obviously isn’t easy.”
He was right.
We needed time to hone our skills enough to take on the entire Pleroma Church.
But now, even if every mage in the country teamed up, I wasn’t sure if it’d be possible.
Narke, who had been listening quietly with a smile, spoke up.
“Defying fate might make it possible.”
“…Huh? But can you defy that? The scriptures say it turns out to be God’s providence after all.”
“Hahaha, you know your stuff. You’ve read the scriptures too much.”
Even if everything worked out….
‘Is it okay for a cradle-faith cardinal to say that?’
It scared me sometimes that he might get excommunicated.
Since Narke ended it flatly without further explanation, Elias lightly changed the subject.
“Hmm~ If I had my way, I’d blow off Primrose Pass and whatever and just eat, play, and roll around. Right?”
“Right~ I’m just waiting for summer break.”
“Oh, we might be in training all summer break….”
At those words, the light faded from Narke’s eyes.
He must not have foreseen even this.
Anyway, now the two of them started chatting eagerly, leaving me out.
‘Wanting to slack off is unexpected.’
It felt strangely new that the future emperor would think that way. Even in this world, so different from the novel, whether he’d become emperor was uncertain, but by nature, he wouldn’t slack off and roll around.
Born as a new human, as royalty, how could he slack off with that innate curiosity constantly questioning everything?
Anyway, I liked that about him, so as someone who’d devoured that insane novel volume without noticing time pass, I had no reason not to go along with Elias’s intentions now.
‘My friends have gone along with my whims a lot so far too….’
Anyway, no time for such thoughts now.
‘It’s 4 a.m. now.’
To meet His Majesty today, I needed to give word to Bayern at least.
Just in case, I pressed the artifact to signal Leo.
Before the signal even finished, Leo’s voice came through.
[Lucas?]
“Oh.”
Fast.
[What?]
“You haven’t slept? Your voice sounds wide awake.”
[How could I sleep? Elias told me you were going there.]
Right, he was on guard against Haike too.
“Good thing nothing happened, so go sleep now. But there’s something I need to tell you. Today, I’m requesting an audience with His Majesty as Nikolaus. Thought you should know in advance.”
[You know what I need to know, Lucas.]
“…….”
He’d handled so much on his own before….
Anyway, I was under the royal family, and he was my superior. In this situation where the emperor was using Nikolaus while keeping him in check, Bayern’s royal family—my backers—needed to know my full schedule for safety.
[Got it. I’ll send a letter to His Majesty this evening.]
“Thanks.”
Once the connection cut, Elias waved the photo.
“How about asking Haike to read the memories on this? I’m curious who took it and who brought it to school.”
“Good idea.”
I said that and added,
“But if Haike really contacting Pleroma is the true future, it’d be best not to let him know any information at all.”
Even if it wasn’t a huge issue, better to be cautious since we didn’t know what butterfly effects any info might cause.
Elias nodded slowly, seeming to find it plausible, then looked at me.
“Luca. But shouldn’t we stop Haike before he gets caught by those guys~? That’s what I’m planning.”
“…….”
If impossible to conquer meant “we can’t change the future with our power,”
I’d been so caught up I hadn’t thought of the obvious.
“Yeah. We should.”
We had to stop it before it happened.
We couldn’t just give up without even trying.
Narke smiled and held out his hand.
“Want me to read it? I can if you’re okay with some useless info.”
“Yeah!”
Elias handed the photo to Narke like he’d been waiting.
Narke fiddled with the photo, then clutched his forehead.
“If the subject knew this photo was taken, they’d be in big trouble. More than that, I think the photographer thought it was you, Elias.”
“…Why me? Is the guy in the photo really Ainsidel?”
At that, Narke stroked his chin for a while.
“Elias. Don’t get mad and listen.”
“Yeah. Why would I get mad at you~”
“It’s you.”
“What?”
Silence followed.
Subjectively, one second felt like a minute.
Narke tilted his head with a smile.
“According to the ability, that’s how it reads… But I know better that it’s not~ I even dyed your hair black back then. My guess is the photographer mistook that person for you, so it read that way to me too. Anyway, if everyone mistakes it for you, then circumstantially, it’s probably Ainsidel~”
“…How similar is he? What are his features! Tell me so I can prepare. You said I’d die if I met someone identical~”
Then, Narke said to Elias, who still hadn’t grasped it.
“The important thing now is one. Primrose Pass has massive hostility toward you, Elias. That much is certain.”
“…Right.”
Whether mistaken or not, someone tried to take “Elias’s” photo to use as blackmail.
Elias seemed to think the same now, clutching his head for a while.
He slowly opened his mouth.
“And… like I said before, you guys be careful too. Primrose Pass will try to kill me from now on. Of course, not literally.”
Narke nodded at Elias’s words.
“Socially kill you~ Especially nobles; physical attacks would just backfire on the attackers… Lately, it’s common to slowly strip away those around them first.”
“What, you know why? The Faith Doctrine Office doesn’t do that stuff, right~?”
“…….”
Silence stretched.
Elias, who’d thrown it out just in case, wore a subtle smile.
“Haha, not me, people from a few hundred years ago…. I study my organization’s history a bit~ Just in case, the Faith Doctrine Office absolutely doesn’t do that now!”
Sounded like the Inquisition days.
“Right…. Anyway, like Narke said. They’ll slowly cut my relationships. They can’t pose a real threat to you guys, but like I said before, it’ll be annoying….”
Gangster tactics were obvious.
Torment the people around to induce guilt—that’s how they bleed you dry.
It wasn’t Elias’s fault. He’d just tried to stop a crime; the criminal gang doing gangster shit was wrong. Anyway, like in the novel, all this would affect his ascension, so I had no big reason to oppose or back out.
I organized my thoughts and said to Narke,
“Narke. When we get back to school, there’s something you need to do.”
“Hm?”
“The rampage incident. So far, the school investigation was all. When we told the professors about the victim, you borrowed your friend Leo’s influence to commission a drug analysis at Bayern’s Magical Medicine Center.”
“Yeah, we aligned the story like that~”
“I’ll convince Adelbert, so now tell the professors. The Crown Prince is ready to report the full situation to His Majesty.”
* * *
Adelbert hesitated a bit but ultimately went along with me.
That perfectionist didn’t want to tell his family he’d nearly rampaged after taking drugs.
We weren’t telling everyone anyway. Just two or three Imperial Second Academy professors and the emperor. That was enough.
‘The culprit’s still out of it and touched Elias.’
That meant they were still complacent.
We couldn’t let this slide.
That evening, I went to the emperor as Nikolaus.
I’d sent a letter at dinnertime, and surprisingly, the emperor agreed to meet me immediately, not even 30 minutes later.
‘The near-rampage shock must’ve been huge for him.’
He thought I’d somehow provide a solution now.
I stood before a room I’d never seen.
It was in the most remote spot, and the whole room covered in special magic showed how anxious he was.
The servant announced my arrival, and immediately a voice from inside said to enter.
“Have you been well, Your Majesty?”
“Yes.”
The emperor ended the greeting simply, without more.
I sat before him and said,
“Your complexion isn’t good.”
“I’ve heard unpleasant news, so I can’t help it. I’d appreciate your understanding.”
Without giving me time to reply, the emperor continued.
“You know, right? My nephew is also a victim in this.”
“Yes, I know.”
The emperor slowly picked up the teacup before him and took a sip.
His face was still flushed, making his attempt at composure pointless.
“Not catching the culprit yet infuriates me. Hearing about it a week later makes it worse.”
“…….”
“Of course, Adelbert’s decision to report late is forgivable, but the Imperial Second Academy’s negligence is intolerable.”
He sighed and spoke in a subdued voice.
“Of course, the culprit might not be on campus. Someone bold enough to try that on my child… I don’t know where to start. My head aches.”
He really looked out of sorts.
Straight to talking about his kid without preamble.
‘I’m not thinking sappy stuff like “underneath it all, he’s a father with kids.”’
It just made me want to vomit that the empire’s leader, who’d do his best for his own child, was crushing his old-human citizens.
God shed the blood of his only son for humanity, yet this man ignored old-humans’ suffering to check his nephew while raging and anxious over his child’s near-rampage.
Even as an atheist thinking this, the emperor was a theist. He was acting the opposite of his faith’s teachings.
But I couldn’t show this disgust before him.
“Your Majesty, I have something to say about that. Anyone who could commit such a crime against royalty isn’t ordinary. They’re surely deeply tied to Pleroma.”
“Likely.”
“As I mentioned before, there’s Pleroma in the imperial government too. As promised then, how about verifying all imperial officials? I’ll fully follow Your Majesty’s opinion.”
Silence flowed.
The emperor drank again, looked out the window, and said,
“You. We delayed verification because Pleroma started ruining our subjects’ lives. People are rampaging and dying this very moment.”
“…….”
What he meant was clear.
Considering his political life even now.
The emperor said slowly,
“We’ll conduct verification in utmost secrecy. Even after it ends, this mustn’t leak anywhere.”
Just what I wanted.
If we announced raiding the Prussian government today, how would other countries react?
They’d prepare, of course.
For verification where any complacency from him spelled doom, him taking the lead was welcome.
“As you wish, Your Majesty. And one more thing. Not directly related to this assassination attempt, but I learned of an incident suspected to involve Pleroma. Given the timing, you should know.”
“What is it?”
Tension entered the emperor’s brow.
He clearly wasn’t about to brush this off.
‘It’s over.’
I placed the photo from Elias on the table.
“A Pleroma bishop visited Primrose Pass.”
* * *
After that, it was smooth sailing.
The seized materials weren’t returned. Elias had told me earlier.
The emperor didn’t know the bishop’s face, but his image of me as the “Pleroma cleanup squad” was solid, apparently.
No point suspecting further when there was nothing more to gain, and trusting me only profited him.
And I immediately visited the police headquarters for verification starting today.
With a royal divine-power mage. This showed the emperor was checking me somewhat. To monitor if I implanted wrong ideas in government officials.
‘Of course, it benefits me.’
He didn’t want to frame me belatedly.
So I’d brought a king’s attendant from Bayern—with both countries’ permission—so no issues.
After talking long with the police chief and getting all I could, I placed my hand on his forehead and muttered,
—Enter through the narrow gate.
“…Hm?”
As soon as I finished, focus returned to the police chief’s eyes.
The magic working with one phrase showed his mental strength wasn’t that great.
‘More than that, his mindset is really….’
No desire to get more involved.
Anyway, I couldn’t read any Pleroma ties from him.
But there was collusion with Primrose Pass.
‘How much money did he take?’
I snapped my fingers to remove the brainwashing aftereffects and said,
“Thanks for cooperating.”
“No problem. Ask anytime about Pleroma movements.”
His random remark showed the fake memory I implanted had blended well.
I stood, gave a short bow, and left.
The emperor’s divine mage followed. He’d watched so far and knew, but I summarized again.
“First, no one we met today is tied to Pleroma. No connection to the Crown Prince either.”
“Understood. I’ll report that.”
I bowed briefly to him too and boarded the carriage the emperor provided.
‘Tired.’
Using too much divine power today gave me a headache.
‘Still, this is a success.’
Going smoothly.
To the point I wondered why everything was unfolding as planned.
Lost in thoughts, a while later the carriage stopped at the inn Elias had arranged.
I changed clothes there and warped straight to the dorm. The familiar room from yesterday spread before me.
Before I could relax, my legs felt glued to the floor, immobile.
“…?”
Not a rampage.
No sense of numbers in the air.
The problem was….
I looked down at the floor.
Unfamiliar magic, but I knew what it was.
Someone had cast warp magic on the floor.
The moment I thought that, my vision went black.