Chapter 180
Chapter 180
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble Family
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Ludovica stared at me with a face that couldn't believe what she'd just heard.
"What are you basing that on...? You?"
"Why not? Believe it or not, I'm pretty interested in world religions. Especially when I can't relax even if I want to—religion helps me keep my mind in check, and it's effective in all sorts of ways."
"How? I mean, how did that happen?"
"You don't buy it?"
"Are you serious?"
"......"
"You're not just saying that because it sounds cool, are you?"
"No. A few years ago, some monks from the East came to New York for a religious lecture. That's when I first encountered Buddhism."
Ludovica let out a hollow laugh and leaned back against the headrest.
"...Buddha would be pretty dumbfounded if he knew he had a follower like you...."
"Isn't that a bit harsh?"
"So, you're definitely not a Christian, then?"
"Nope."
At those words, Ludovica's expression turned complicated.
It had to be.
The easiest targets to pull into Pleroma were Christians.
No matter the denomination, they had to believe in that one God. It only made sense since Pleroma was a heresy built on that religion as its base.
And considering that 99% of imperial citizens were Christians, they probably rarely ran into obstacles like this.
Ludovica pressed a hand to her forehead and muttered in a low voice.
"Sigh... Where do I even start?"
"Why? Don't like Buddhism? Buddhism is a religion that's developed over about 2,500 years, exerting profound influence not just in India but across East Asia, offering deep insights into life and the universe. I get that someone like you, steeped to the bone in Christ no matter the sect and living as a priest, might not understand, but Buddhism's teachings can't be fully grasped through a Christian worldview...."
"No, it's not that I hate Buddhism...."
Ludovica pressed her forehead and fell silent.
Then she opened her mouth seriously.
"Seeing Mr. Jeremiah use so many words like this, you must really be a devout believer."
"Surprised?"
"Yes."
Ludovica answered immediately, then realized her mistake a beat too late and looked conflicted.
"I've already seen it all."
"Haha, sorry about that. Anyway, getting to the point... As you know, we run a very exclusive operation. Only those approved by the leadership can participate."
"Ah...."
I put on a serious face, pretending to grasp her meaning.
Ludovica clasped her hands together, looking regretful.
"I'm not saying you have to convert... but to get approval for the business, you need to align with our ideals a bit. How much do you know about Christianity?"
Not business approval—to survive as Pleroma, you'd have to.
It wasn't like you could just grab a heathen, implant Vitriol, and call it done.
They wouldn't blend into the group, so brainwashing was inevitable.
"I know a lot. I grew up in a Christian culture."
"Good. That's a relief."
Ludovica grabbed her bag, stood up, warped somewhere in an instant, and came back.
Now, instead of the bag, she held a bottle of wine in her hand.
"Shall we start the test?"
"Hasn't it already started~?"
She smiled at my cheekiness.
"Honestly, missionary work isn't all that familiar to me. I'm not in charge of recruitment. So let's set religion aside for now and talk about this first. Are you interested in strong mana?"
"Not really. I'm more into making money."
"Money over mana? Treating them separately sounds so American. What about living longer, healthier?"
I lifted the corner of my mouth as I replied.
"That changes things."
"Because the longer you live, the longer you can play, eat, and enjoy?"
"Yeah. Exactly."
Ludovica nodded and uncorked the wine bottle.
"God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living."
"......"
With no lights on, relying only on the sunset outside the window, the red wine looked even redder.
She slid a glass toward me.
"There's a passage in the Old Testament like that. It might not sit well with you as a Buddhist, Mr. Jeremiah."
Instead of answering, I looked down at the glass.
*She called it a test.*
This must be where it really begins.
Of course, even if I could see the play coming, there was no reason to dodge it.
Belatedly, I pulled out a question Jeremiah might ask.
"It's new to hear that God didn't make death. Does that mean God can't control death either?"
"Aquinas's philosophy might help you. Sticking strictly to the scriptural text, the answer is this: 'Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.'"
"......"
"He didn't want to bring death upon us, but it came through Adam's sin. Death is the price of original sin."
Ludovica continued calmly.
"If we could wash away original sin, we might not have to die, right?"
"......"
What a leap.
And since I'm not religious, I can't easily accept citing scripture as indisputable fact.
I frowned, feeling a faint haze creeping into my mind like an illusion.
"I think humans without original sin are the new humanity. Sorry to say it to you as an old humanity type."
"We shouldn't judge original sin simply by being born from a human womb. We know what true original sin is, how to atone for it and turn it into power rather than sin, and in doing so, we've found the narrow gate that truly belongs to Christ's bosom."
"......"
"We're saying we know how to live forever without dying, Mr. Jeremiah."
I looked at Ludovica with confused eyes and shook my head.
"This really sounds like a cult...."
Not sounds like—it was a cult.
If this wasn't a cult, what was?
The moment I thought that, a familiar yet strange sensation rose from within.
I stared blankly at the table, then slowly raised my hand to examine my glass.
I tried to look up, but my vision rippled, and the figure across from me shook along with it.
The memory of that moment ended there.
* * *
[...Yere....]
Someone called my name.
It was an imperial pronunciation.
I felt someone slapping my cheeks urgently and slowly opened my eyes.
[...You're awake? Mr. Jeremiah.]
"......"
[This reaction is a first—I thought you were dying. Just now, you nearly....]
I finally realized what that sensation from earlier had been.
It was the feeling from when I'd been injected with Primrose Path.
So that's what she'd slipped me.
My eyes narrowed at the sensation of conversing underwater.
[Have you ever done drugs before, or not?]
"......"
When I didn't answer, she pried my eyes open and shone a small lantern into them.
[...Need a bit more.]
She'd just said she thought I was dying, and now more?
Contradictory. Why?
It didn't take long to figure it out.
*The desired effect hasn't shown up yet.*
My pupils must have reacted.
So, what exactly was that 'desired effect'?
It couldn't be just preventing any reflex response—that wouldn't be the final goal.
As I thought that far, I recalled the incident from a couple nights ago at midnight.
When Narke applied mental manipulation magic on me, it had felt similar to the Primrose Path drug.
*...Ah.*
Now the puzzle was coming together.
*This is their truth serum interrogation method.*
That's why they call it a test.
I let my head loll as laughter seeped through my gritted teeth.
Once the puzzle clicked, I understood why Pleroma developed this drug.
*To become independent from the Chairman.*
Mental manipulation magic was hard to use widely—mana users with divine power were rare, and poaching them wasn't feasible.
Relying on the Chairman forever would just solidify his position.
So they'd created a magic potion mimicking mental manipulation magic.
Suddenly, it felt like my blood had turned entirely to the drug.
When I opened my eyes again, a good amount of time had passed once more.
Ludovica was lightly pressing my nose and mouth, then slowly released. I heard her voice tinged with concern.
*...How far did you get?*
Right.
If my earlier reasoning was correct, I had to answer her interrogation.
From experience, as the drug wore off, strength returned like sleep-talking.
And now she'd found the right dose. I had just enough energy to squeeze out words.
Knowing the mechanism of mental manipulation magic well made acting easy.
*If they could give revelations, they wouldn't need this nonsense.*
Couldn't meet the Chairman yet, huh?
Thankfully, thanks to divine power, the drug didn't affect me much mentally. Physically it worked fine—no complaints there—but mentally, at least.
In other words, this was another chance to get closer to the Chairman.
[...This test method won't work on you. You're really resistant to drugs. You look like the type who'd do them daily, but surprisingly....]
"What do you take me for...."
I shook my head.
[You said it sounded like a cult earlier.]
"Yeah."
[Magic's been around for ages—nothing to be shocked about. Has God's will ever been beyond human capability? But like I said, we're not forcing conversion.]
"Then?"
[As long as you align with our ideals in front of the leadership, you can do business without converting. You said you're interested in living long and healthy. Just play along, and we'll grant you eternal life too.]
"Why go that far for me?"
[Different religion or not, you'd be one of us. You want to enjoy life, right?]
Ludovica sipped her drink while watching me.
She was good at pretending to be generous.
The attempt to break free from the Chairman was admirable.
Time to turn it to dust.
I shook my head.
Or at least tried to.
"No."
[......]
"That's a bit scary. Eternal life?"
In a truth-serum situation—forcing out only the truth—saying this much, she'd have to accept it now.
"I don't want to live that long."
Ludovica just stared at me silently.
As the air grew tense, Ludovica spoke brightly.
[That makes sense. I put unnecessary pressure on you.]
"Glad you understand."
[What about the business?]
Instead of answering, I calmly pretended to think it over first.
There were limits to backing down.
Even weighing the risks, better not to retreat this time.
"As long as it's not religious activity, I'd be okay, but it's still scary. Not everyone's as open-minded as you, right? Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if I even need to get into business this deep...."
I trailed off, slowly closing and opening my eyes.
Ludovica nodded with a gentle expression.
[Good. Let's do this first.]
Ludovica pointed at herself.
[I'll take responsibility. Since you said no, no one will give you Vitriol until you give permission.]
"......"
I looked at her expressionlessly.
Empty words.
But we were almost there.
[In exchange, let's set one safety measure.]
Boom—!
Ludovica stomped the floor with her foot.
In an instant, the air turned pitch black.
She whispered in a calm voice.
—Blessed are you who hope to take tranquility from the sea of temptation.
My stomach churned, and my vision went black.
I slowly twisted the corner of my mouth.
An illusion.
I had no choice but to break my promise with Leo at this hour.
Not that I took it lightly.
A peaceful solution—who wouldn't prefer that?
But without this process, I couldn't meet the Chairman.
Ludovica wouldn't want to hand me over to him, and the Chairman would try to recruit me since I'm a similar religious type to Pleroma.
So naturally, she'd make me dip a foot into Pleroma first for ideological training. This was the safety measure.
Conversely, once past this, meeting my target wasn't far off.
Something drew a line across my left palm and wrist. Then came the sound of flesh slicing—not mine—followed by the sting of unfamiliar blood at my nose.
Ludovica's cold hand gripped mine tightly.
[This isn't ordinary.]
Ludovica pressed my wrist firmly and smiled. A subtly different blood scent mingled, vibrating.
[You've been baptized before. Once 23 years ago, once 15 years ago.]
"......"
[Wonder how you got baptized twice and even converted anyway.]
"......"
[Doesn't matter much now. When you open your eyes, you'll be somewhere else.]
—This final cup, I offer the worship of blessing for the dawn, dedicating my soul.
My palm grew hot.
A voice laced with satisfaction.
Ludovica smiled warmly and continued.
[See you later.]
* * *
A long while later, I snapped my eyes open.
The pain from the drug and the cut had cleanly vanished.
And a stranger was looking down at me.
A typical old man leaning on a cane.
"......"
Even in this abrupt scene, I knew exactly who he was.
He smiled and opened his mouth.
"Do you know me?"