Chapter 216
Chapter 216
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 216
Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble House
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At my words, Elias shook his head vigorously.
“We have to report it! It’s not embarrassing to say you got your gloves stolen by a glove-obsessed wizard, right?”
“No. He’s the crazy one, so why me? Anyway, of course we have to report it. What I mean is, there’s no need for you to meet Naruke in person.”
“Then? Why are you saying we should keep watch over him? Didn’t Naruke tell you not to get involved with people?”
That morning, Naruke and I had shared our conversation with the friends.
This kind of thing needs to be reported immediately. We can’t keep it just between the two of us.
“First of all, the crime is minor, so it’ll be hard to lock him up. From our perspective, having heard Naruke’s prophecy, we think we should investigate him thoroughly just in case, but others don’t know that far. Even if we claim we need to arrest him over this incident or investigate closely, it won’t be easy to get that accepted.”
In short, it’s a ‘what’s the big deal about this’ situation.
If he’s just someone with glove obsession syndrome, fine, but if he’s the culprit trying to ruin Pentalon as Naruke said, this incident alone won’t stop him.
“…Yeah, that makes sense. Honestly, thinking about it, they probably won’t even seriously look for a glove thief. If we mention Naruke’s prophecy, the imperial family might just drag him off and interrogate him to squeeze out more info.”
Exactly.
Even if he gets caught, he’ll be released soon.
It’s not like he assaulted someone or stole jewelry. He could claim he took the gloves by mistake.
In that case, the best is to catch him on some minor pretext and hand him over for a closer investigation, or use mental manipulation magic to extract info.
The problem here is my safety…
“Second, you guys are here. Six people on high alert thanks to the prophecy. Before the prophecy, maybe not, but now that we’re on guard, I think we can handle it.”
It’s already too late to avoid people.
These miscellaneous inspections are just the prelude. We have to stick around here at least until the opening ceremony.
The imperial family removed the wizard team that was working here openly and placed us at the stadium not for inspections, but to show us off to the world’s wizard representatives on opening day. That’s what Naruke said, and that’s what we think too.
“……”
Elias stared at me with wide eyes.
Then he started blinking like crazy.
‘Oh no.’
I messed up.
Elias grabbed both my shoulders and spun me around.
He bowed his head deeply and made a sound almost inhuman.
“Waaahhh…”
“What the hell is that noise?”
“It’s emotion!”
“Right…”
He definitely wasn’t like this at first. But once we got close, this is all I see.
With nothing else to say, I just smiled and pried him off.
The report went smoothly.
They didn’t overlook even seemingly trivial issues and investigated thoroughly.
Alex Mueller wasn’t the new manager of the underground cafeteria, and the cafeteria said they never changed managers.
We passed all the info from his ID to the higher-ups, so Alex Mueller can’t set foot here anymore.
‘Speculating, access control won’t mean much…’
We got confirmation from the Investigation Bureau and police that they’d investigate even minor things thoroughly due to terrorism risks, so for now, that was enough.
And surprisingly, that day I didn’t run into anyone.
* * *
“I never thought you’d ask to train with me again.”
That evening, I trained with Chellingen after a long time.
Chellingen smiled and changed his sword back to a wand.
From stirring up trouble in Primrose Pass to preparing for the third stage, we hadn’t had time to train, so our weekend sessions had fizzled out lately.
So why did I suddenly train with Chellingen?
‘I need to seal the deal…’
Because his personality has similarities to Leo’s. I tested if he’d like what Leo likes.
‘He’s not as obsessed with training as Leo.’
Still, he seems to enjoy magic in general.
Chellingen continued.
“It feels good to spar after so long. You’ve gotten even better.”
“You too.”
Clean.
Unlike Leo, who pushes until you can’t open your eyes, Chellingen respects boundaries in training.
Of course, Leo’s style helped me improve, so I see it positively.
Chellingen raised an eyebrow and smiled.
“Oh, me too? Glad you think so.”
He seemed drained today too, collapsing into a chair on one side of the training ground.
I plopped down in a nearby chair haphazardly, and Chellingen brought up a light topic.
“People were shaking hands a ton today. Felt like almost fifty times. Lucas, how many for you?”
“Seven, I think.”
A brief silence fell.
Chellingen seemed to realize my rumor now. But instead of panicking, he laughed.
“Good thing~ You shake hands with me every day, so if you’d done too many already, you’d get sick of it.”
“Every day?”
“Yeah.”
He held out his hand, so I lightly slapped it. He grabbed mine and shook it. A satisfied smile spread across his face.
He pulled out a water bottle and muttered.
“Who’d have thought we’d end up on the same team. Never crossed my mind until last semester’s second half. Want some?”
“I’m good. And… we had no choice back then.”
He chuckled lightly and drank.
Now that we’re a new team, perceptions of friendships are shifting bit by bit. Before, he was ‘the guy whose class changed a lot—top student friend,’ but now he’s someone I’ll share ups and downs with until graduation.
Perfect timing to capitalize.
“Yulia.”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s train together often from now on. I learned a lot from you; it helped a ton.”
Ding—!
Favorability +1
“…!”
Yulia Chellingen
Favorability +5 [攻略 possible (Stage 3/5)]
Last check was +3, so he gave 1 point since then and another today.
Chellingen smiled at me.
“Yeah, sure. Call me whenever you want to train.”
“Thanks.”
I don’t know which part of my words raised his favorability, but it must’ve been a good suggestion. I welcome it too, to absorb his textbook style, subtly different from Leo’s.
The issue is I haven’t trained with Leo lately, pretending we’re not close… What to tell him.
The answer was simple.
‘Don’t tell him.’
Leo’s still my main training partner. As long as I prepare enough stamina for him, he won’t complain.
What can he do? I’m offering two rounds.
After the short talk, I headed to Naruke’s room, lost in thought.
Got 1 favorability point, so now time to recap today’s events.
‘All kinds of crazies out there.’
That was my thought all day.
Earlier I pressed Naruke for more info, but he insisted today’s incident was the guy’s real goal.
I asked if he was collecting something from the gloves, but no such sprawling future appeared.
So the only reason left for stealing my gloves is some abnormal thought, as Naruke disgustingly put it…
‘No way that’s the real goal.’
Shaking my bare hand and stealing gloves as the spark to threaten Pentalon?
I’m planning to catch and interrogate him myself beyond just reporting, to prevent that possibility, but common sense says this won’t escalate to ruining Pentalon easily.
Back in my room with Naruke’s help, I jotted down Alex Mueller’s name first, summarized impressions and actions from today, listed ten possibilities, and tried to sleep at midnight.
Or so I thought.
“What?”
About 30 minutes after falling asleep, I felt someone holding my hand and opened my eyes. The room, lit only by dim bedside lamp until moments ago, was now fully bright.
“Huh? You woke up super fast.”
I was in my room—whose voice was that? Elias?
I bolted up and looked around. Eschet team members sat here and there, looking down at me. It resembled Naruke’s dorm from yesterday, but the items suggested it was Leo’s room.
“What?”
“To celebrate surviving the first day~”
Yulia, whom I’d seen three hours ago, pointed at alcohol bottles with a grin.
“Your dorm’s different, Lucas, so we had the class rep bring you here since we’d miss you.”
Ulrike, wrapped in a blanket on the sofa, handed me her glass.
Class rep? Leo?
He sat on the bed with an annoyed look at Ulrike.
Good acting.
“Just one drink each. We leave at 5 AM tomorrow, so absolutely no getting drunk. Especially you, Elias, got it?”
Elias shrugged at Yulia’s warning.
“With so many booze lovers here, why just me?”
“Haha, somehow feels like you need the extra reminder.”
Whatever they chatted about, I was just dumbfounded.
‘Ridiculous…’
Is this why they dragged me here? Yeah, they’re still hyped.
No time to meet during work anyway, so might as well farm some favorability.
I took the drink and sat next to Ulrike in the sofa corner.
“Like drinking?”
“Yeah. You?”
I clinked glasses lightly with his and replied.
“Me too. Let’s drink together often.”
“Surprising~ You don’t look like a drinker, Lucas.”
“Really? Nah, I like drinking with you guys.”
“Man, you’re totally different from last year.”
I didn’t reply.
If the real Luka returns here, I just need to help him adjust to what I’ve built in his place.
“Oh yeah, Elias called you Luka? I wanna call you that too!”
“Sure…”
“Aaaaaah!”
Elias, chatting with Yulia afar, yelled and barged in.
How’d he hear that? What’s he doing? But saying more would just annoy me. I gave a hollow laugh at his roar.
“He says no.”
“Oh? Okay then. Any other nicknames you use often? My full name’s Ulrike Luise Margarete, but as a kid they called me Luise a lot.”
Long name.
Everyone here’s like that, so no surprise.
Me too.
The status window’s Lucas René Ascanien isn’t on my papers; Luka’s full name is Lucas Karl Friedrich Leopold Ascanien. All ancestors’ names, I hear.
“No common nicknames. Why? Wanna use one?”
“Yeah. You’re special~”
“Hmm…”
Elias kept glancing our way, so no full name reveal.
“Nothing nickname-worthy. How about I call you Luise?”
“……”
Ding—!
Favorability +1
‘For real…’
Maybe it signals wanting to get closer.
Among Eschet, his favorability was second-lowest after Heike, so relatively easy to raise.
Current favorability check.
Ulrike Klaist
Favorability +3 [攻略 possible (Stage 2/5)]
‘As expected.’
Now at 3, so was 2 before. Mid-range, not high.
“Looks good, Luise.”
“Wow, years since I heard that? Only my hometown friends call me that. Feels like we’re really close now.”
Ulrike sticks more to it, but if he likes it, fine.
Better if it helps us bond more.
After chatting with Ulrike for about 20 minutes, he tilted his head at me.
“But Lucas, you and Leo aren’t on good terms, right?”
“…Huh? Why?”
“Just… we’re on the same team now.”
“Not that bad. Don’t worry.”
“Yeah?”
Ulrike nodded vaguely.
Time to head back, so he threw off the blanket and stood abruptly. He bickered quietly with Leo, then shooed the other members out of his room.
Pushing Leo, he said.
“Go on!”
“Hm? Naruke…”
Before I could ask, Leo sighed deeply and warped me away.
Back in my bedroom, I couldn’t hide my confusion.
“What?”
“Ulrike thinks we hate each other big time.”
Ah, so get along…
I nodded.
“Fair assessment.”
“Yeah. And I remembered something I should’ve given you earlier.”
Leo pulled a letter from his robe pocket and handed it over.
Letters to Lucas Ascanien, not Nikolaus, all go to the academy dorm.
“Earlier, someone named Alex Mueller was looking for you.”
Leo pointed to the pink envelope.
‘Irene Mueller.’
Another ‘Mueller.’
[So jealous. How’s it feel to have the world’s attention? Don’t care about us ant-like crowds? Or proud thinking you’re so great? Not sure if you know, but even your Phleroma trait is seen as cool lately. A Phleroma-born pledging loyalty to His Majesty for justice—how dramatic? So what do you think of us? If nothing, I’d be sad. If smug, annoying. Truth is, I’m one of your cheering crowd, that’s why.]
My mind reeled. Déjà vu somehow.
How many question marks?
Jealousy or support?
Even in my old reality with longer fan mail, never got this.
“……”
“From what seniors say, these come sometimes. They meant threat letters, though. But even if this pretends to be fan mail, you saw weird signs yesterday.”
Seniors mean upper ranks in the Imperial Magic Association.
“Why me?”
“Who knows. Looks harmless at a glance, but better safe. Right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll have the Kingdom Investigation Bureau trace the sender. And core…”
Leo snapped his fingers, reinforcing my core’s mana. His mana, unnoticed before, felt stronger.
“Keep it at this level.”
“Warn me before boosting… Anyway, thanks.”
I saw him off with a wave.
“See you tomorrow.”
But my thoughts wandered elsewhere.
Another Mueller.
After Robert Mueller who stabbed me before catacombs infiltration, Alex Mueller, now Irene Mueller.
What’s this mean?
Didn’t take long to figure it out.
So, best to catch them myself.
* * *
Morning, we warped to the avenue before Pentalon Stadium like yesterday.
“They’re looping the promo video nonstop now.”
“Opening’s right around the corner.”
Friends looked up at the large artifact in front of the stadium.
Light from the artifact formed a video. Wizards from various countries flashed by.
My focus was on the surrounding people, not the screen.
Especially across the street, the Pentalon Stadium grounds had more people than yesterday.
‘All here for the video?’
Everyone’s eyes were on the same spot as us.
About to say let’s go, a familiar flag passed on screen.
‘Oh.’
Daehan Empire.
A wizard in durumagi stood center with staff.
[Yeokchik Cheon-sang Gong-jung Ji-ha, So-yu Il-che Jak-je Jang-nan….]
—Commanding all realms of heaven, sky, and underworld, remove every obstacle and hardship.
German translation appeared after the scene. No subtitles with video in this era.
[Bul-seon-sim-ja Gae-rae Ho-gwe Cheong-a So-seol Ga-ji Beop-eum.]
—All wicked ones, come kneel! Hear the branches of law I proclaim.
The on-screen wizard chanted, slamming staff down; bright light flowed from stadium. Black-and-white, couldn’t tell if divine power.
A multilingual wizard fluently said in German.
[This is the anti-demon incantation our nation has recited since ancient times to subdue demons of all worlds. The Daehan Empire team wishes peace to the German Empire and Pentalon.]
Fresh seeing a Christian nation chant Buddhist sutra and use magic.
Though more cultural than religious.
Empire, Papacy, East Asia—all tie historic elements to magic to win cultural/ethnic rivalries.
Bet East Asian three kingdoms bloody fight over authentic Hanja sutra recitation rights.
More than that…
“……”
Feels novel.
Wanna meet them all in person. To them, I’m just a foreigner, no meaning.
Lost in thought, video moved to West Asia.
I stopped; Elias ahead turned.
“Luka~?”
“Coming.”
I hurried to his side; he shivered.
“Gotta watch closely. With folks from everywhere, if something blows… Ugh.”
I smiled at his words and walked ahead.
But something off.
People glancing at us gathering. Four ruling family members here draws interest, not abnormal…
‘Not here for the video.’
Here to see royalty, knowing we work here.
Leo noticed, calling security ahead.
I walked forward with barrier around friends.
Leo smiled at citizens requesting handshakes. Barriers prevented it, and post-yesterday, handshakes banned.
[Knock on my door and turn the knob….]
Then, a calm, gentle singing voice boomed in my ears.
Sounded familiar? No, first time.
Friends exchanged looks.
Voice carries here amid noise?
Intentional amplification magic.
Teammates drew wands to reinforce barrier.
Kwaaaang—crash—!
“Aaack!”
“What?!”
As they infused mana, fierce reverse mana hit.
I raised arm to block incoming barrier shards.
Or tried.
“…!”
Someone grabbed my hand.
Shock first, then bafflement.
Not matching yesterday’s Newhuman build. More like small Oldhuman woman’s hand.
Squelch—
Wet cotton squeezed my hand.
No, opponent’s Oldhuman glove, soaked like from water.
‘What?’
Pulling hard to see face, it vanished like never there.
Warped? But voice lingered.
[Father thinks: just the wind. Mother thinks: just the wind. Father thinks: just the wind. Mother thinks: just the wind.]
Folk song.
Low German folk song. Not local dialect, but knew title.
Dat du min Leevsten büst, That you are my dearest.
Hollow laugh.
Naruke was right.
Glove theft no deep meaning.
But blatantly hinting means more plans. Naruke’s prophecy too.
“Luka!”
“You okay? What’s with your hand?”
Barrier broken, crowds retreated. Security wizards arrived at Leo’s call, surrounding us.
I glanced at them, deep in thought.
‘More than that.’
Oldhuman hand, but amplification magic?
Not catacombs. They don’t reveal Newhuman status while using magic.
High chance hand-grabber was Newhuman, not Oldhuman…
‘Ah, this bastard.’
Tough catch.
Instinct flashed that.
But laughter came too.
The tougher the prey, the sweeter the catch.