Chapter 218
Chapter 218
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 218
Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble Family
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The faintly smiling Cyringen stroked his chin thoughtfully before speaking to me.
"Ah, don't get flustered, Lucas. There's no room for mercy."
"Hm?"
"I'll give it my all, just once."
Cyringen grinned like someone looking forward to something fun.
He made a token effort to hide it, but he couldn't completely erase his enjoyment.
* * *
There was a reason I'd asked Cyringen to do this.
First off, Leo was putting on an act of having a strained relationship with me, so pretending to suddenly get chummy wouldn't mean much.
Next, Elias and Narke.
They were more psychologically comfortable, since we were actually close.
'But my friends wouldn't be able to hold back their laughter...'
No doubt about it. Even while acting friendly, they'd probably collapse laughing. Hell, their faces alone were hilarious sometimes—how could I even ask them to act?
What about Ulrike or Heike?
Not really.
We weren't close enough to ask for that kind of acting, and while hanging out might boost some goodwill...
There was a fatal flaw. They lacked the judgment and mana to fend off an attacker if the stalker came at us.
In the end, Cyringen was the perfect fit: he wouldn't crack up laughing mid-act, he had the skills to counter a special-ability criminal, and our relationship wasn't awkward enough to make the request weird.
"Haah..."
Leo's sigh stuck in my ears more than usual today.
We'd come to a different building today.
Not the main stadium hosting the opening ceremony and the international friendship tournament, but the ice hockey arena.
It had more blue decorations than the main stadium and far fewer people. We hadn't run into a single soul on the way here. It felt like the building might just have the three of us in it.
We walked to our destination, eyeing the banners and panels set up everywhere.
[1898 Berlin Pentathlon]
[Players of the 56 national delegations, we sincerely welcome you.]
The blackletter font gave it a solemn air.
That's when Cyringen smiled and spoke up.
"Ah, it's fun wandering around a place like this with just the three of us today."
He placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Right, Lucas?"
"Yeah."
As I smiled and replied, my eyes met Leo's.
He had no idea what I was planning, so he seemed puzzled by my choice to drag Cyringen along.
When we reached our destination, Cyringen clapped his hands.
"Alright, up till now, I've been moving with Narke, but actually, we've each been handling one room at a time. You guys too?"
"Yeah."
"Then... I'll take the left row on the first floor from this direction. Leo, you take the right row?"
"And Lucas?"
At Leo's question, Cyringen flashed a perfect smile and shrugged.
"Hm? He's coming with me, obviously."
"......"
Leo stared wordlessly at Cyringen before turning and heading into a room on the right.
I entered a room on the left with Cyringen and switched my wand to a staff, slamming it down.
No other mana bounced back off mine. I moved the staff to check the walls instead of just the floor when Cyringen shut the door behind me.
Click—
"Hm?"
"Haha..."
Cyringen glanced at the window and ceiling before smiling and slowly approaching me.
As I puzzled over it, he waved his hand.
"Why are you stopping? Keep going."
"......"
I let out a hollow laugh and pressed the staff to the wall. Pink mana flowed along it. Nothing triggered here either.
I stepped toward the metal rack in the center of the room to check it when Cyringen yanked my left arm, spinning me around to face him as he closed in.
His golden eyes were right in front of my nose. Strands of hair that should've been waxed and tucked under his cap brushed my forehead.
'What the hell is this?'
He'd been too casual earlier.
I was the one who might fail at holding back laughter now.
I desperately suppressed it and whispered to Cyringen.
"...Yulia, this isn't what I asked you to do."
"Ah, but we're friends~"
"What do you mean, friends?"
Look at him playing it off so naturally. From the way he was acting, he'd clearly done this a few times before.
Still, no goodwill window popped up, so he was probably just acting without getting swept up in the mood or entertaining weird thoughts. He even seemed a bit aware of the window outside.
I'd already formed a few hypotheses about the criminal by the time we got here. The chance of the perp watching through the window was low in my estimation, but since he was making the effort for my request, there was no need to point it out—I appreciated it.
As I shifted my focus elsewhere and fought with all my might to stifle my laughter, light leaked in through the door crack.
"...!"
I tried to shove Cyringen away at the anomaly, but it was too late.
Bang—!
A deafening crash poured corridor light into the room.
"Hey."
Cyringen, who'd been in front of me, casually turned his head, only for Leo to grab him by the nape.
A sharp pain stabbed my core instantly.
Leo yanked Cyringen's shirt collar with a look of utter disbelief.
"What are you two doing?"
"Friendship exchange? Trying to get a little closer."
"Don't make me laugh."
Leo shoved Cyringen out into the hall with an irritated voice and slammed the door shut.
Once Cyringen was gone, the mana density thickened, choking me.
"What the hell is this? Is this school? No, even at school, since when were you two that close?"
"Later."
I beckoned him over.
Leo was now giving me the cold shoulder even in front of my face. It was obvious what had him baffled.
"There's a misunderstanding. Sorry. To clear it up, I know it'd be hard to convince you right now, but this was legitimate slacking off."
"Legitimate..."
"......"
Hearing that icy scoff made reality hit hard. Leo twisted his lips in an expression I'd never seen before.
Was I thrilled? This was all just to lure the criminal out on their own.
My core throbbed wildly. I considered flipping his core inside out but held back, knowing full well I'd dragged him into an unseemly scheme at work.
"I'll explain. I wasn't planning to slack off while leaving you to do all the work, so go on ahead."
"When."
He cut me off mid-sentence, but it was clear what he meant.
"By end of day."
I couldn't explain now.
No telling where the perp might be eavesdropping, and if my hypothesis was right, soundproofing spells wouldn't help. Couldn't ruin Cyringen's efforts by spilling everything.
I felt Leo staring holes into me.
I avoided his gaze until I finally met it, and only then did he seem convinced I wasn't lying. He turned and walked out.
I followed, watching his back.
'He'd make a great manager.'
Perfect for eagle-eyed supervision to prevent slacking. I thought that far before remembering he was already class rep.
Leo approached Cyringen, who was retying his tie, and pushed him toward the left-side room.
"Switch. I'll pair with Lucas, so you go solo."
"Why? Now that we're paired, I wanna stick with Lucas."
"Why?"
Leo's sarcasm drifted over.
"......"
He was asking why now, wasn't he?
That questioning tone, those eyes—pure expert level.
Cyringen shrugged like he couldn't win.
"Fine. Give me a sec."
Cyringen grabbed me and pulled me a few steps away from Leo.
Feeling the chill from behind, Cyringen gave an awkward smile.
"We'll get cut by Leo before we catch the perp."
"He's such a stickler for rules..."
Not a place to play around—what were we doing? That's why he'd snapped earlier about whether this was school.
We were getting our work done; in a perfectly organized group setting, we couldn't pull this off.
Still, we'd curbed Cyringen's unexpected straight-ball recklessness, discovering Leo's unforeseen utility.
"Hahaha! You know that friend's a total stick-in-the-mud too, huh. Hm, we're just goofing off while doing our jobs..."
He trailed off laughing and changed the subject.
"It'll be breakfast time once we finish here and the annex. See you at meals."
"Yeah."
I exchanged brief goodbyes with Cyringen and followed Leo into the right-side room.
Not wanting to linger in this eerie atmosphere, I brushed past Leo and went ahead. Checking other rooms would save time too.
But just like with Cyringen earlier, my shirt collar got grabbed.
"......"
I could've countered easily, but what was the point of raging at a high schooler's rulebook zeal? To Leo, it'd just look like I'd been messing around, so I had nothing to say.
We spent three suffocating hours in various ways, and by 8 a.m....
I finally got to see Cyringen again. He held out the meal prepped by some imperial subcontractor-with-a-subcontractor.
"Mm~ Salad for breakfast today."
"Oh, really? Sounds good."
I felt my core poking at me.
What, was he gonna nitpick a simple chat? I lightly tapped the table with my hand.
Only then did Leo's signals stop.
But the peace didn't last. Barely ten minutes into breakfast, something Cyringen said had Leo's mana flaring wildly around my core.
"Like I asked before, if I get you a new artifact, wanna pierce your ears? There's really one I want you to wear."
"...Sorry. I'll think about it slowly later."
As I said that, I snapped my fingers under the table. Leo flinched visibly, turning away with a disbelieving headshake and tongue click.
Cyringen saw Leo's odd reaction and smiled at me.
"Yeah. I must've pushed you too hard."
"Nah. Thanks for the offer."
Then another five hours passed.
The plan seemed effective.
We'd gone through breakfast and into lunch without getting any notes.
'Good. Just vanish like that.'
And if possible, let me land a punch while you're at it. Contradictory, but that was my honest desire.
I clenched and unclenched my fist with a smile.
Of course, we'd gained peace from the criminal but nearly got collared by Leo several times instead.
I chased Cyringen off again and faced Leo approaching like he was ready to grab my collar.
"Why do you keep picking on me specifically?"
My words made his face darken further.
This guy's gotten too close to me. That's why he wasn't grabbing Cyringen's collar but harping on me.
Or maybe he had some baseline expectations of me.
He knew his limits, though—no actual collar-grabbing yet. Just the threat.
He closed in like Cyringen had, his startlingly clear sky-blue eyes unblinking as he murmured low.
"Lucas, do your work."
"I am."
"Is yapping with Cyringen all day 'work'? Ah, what a tough mission you've got..."
"......"
Leo smirked mockingly, so I smiled back and twisted our joined hands.
"...!"
Leo hunched over, frowning as he clutched his core.
I habitually call Yulia "Cyringen" in my head, but saying it out loud was another matter.
Plus, his class rep and model student sides had buried half his snark skills, but damn, he still had bite.
'Do politicians need this level of edge to survive?'
Anyway, I got why he was so uptight, but his attitude needed fixing. Of course, I'd started the slacking vibe, so I wasn't planning anything harsher.
"You said you'd explain later."
"......"
Leo started to retort but just sighed and turned away. Looked like he needed time to cool off.
I stepped out and approached Cyringen, who'd spent the day just fixing his tie thanks to Leo.
"Yulia. Talk to that... class rep. Why's he like that?"
"...Um, haha! Talking won't work."
"Why."
After pondering, Cyringen said casually, like it was no big deal.
"Hm, he's in a position where he has to care about national interests. You were the same, but we've been raised that way since kids."
National interests?
Random, but it clicked. As I leaned in for more details, Cyringen grabbed my shoulder first.
"So, what're we doing next?"
"What've we been doing? Weird vibes all day?"
"Haha~ We won't be awkward tomorrow, right?"
"If you know, show some restraint..."
But the effect was top-notch.
The perp was so pissed they couldn't do a thing, staying dead silent.
Like I'd thought earlier, no goodwill window meant Cyringen wasn't getting caught up in the laugh-suppressing mood either.
This way, we could maintain team cohesion without some sudden personal drama tanking it all, while scratching at the perp's nerves as planned.
Cyringen held out his hand. I lightly tapped it like usual, but his fingers slipped between mine.
"......"
I had to hold back laughter again.
Cyringen bit his lip—he'd noticed too—but honestly, there was a limit to stifling laughs; we were both at it. He desperately acted, relaxing his facial muscles.
He cleared his throat, smiled, and peered into my eyes. My face reflected in those clear yellow irises.
He kept drawing my mana toward him as he murmured.
"You know your mana is really unique, right?"
"Obviously. The color's different from yours."
"Haha, that's not what I meant... Now that I think about it, you're probably the only one in the world with pink mana."
"Yeah."
I smiled, feeling chills crawl up my nape.
"So, do you know why I keep asking to hold your hand?"
"Nope?"
"Really? Better if you stay clueless."
Cyringen beamed radiantly. I stared, wondering why he cut off there.
At least I got that it related to my unique mana and him wanting to hold hands.
Then he let go with a smile, like he'd hooked my interest enough.
That's when I learned the truth.
I turned at footsteps behind me and let out a hollow laugh.
Cyringen had let go because Leo had come over.
But Leo said nothing. He just gave us a chilly glance and walked past.
"......"
Seeing that look, Cyringen started awkward smiling. Like his 18 years of childhood friend big data had activated.
I sensed it too. That wasn't how you looked at another person. No need for words—it was beyond normal.
Cyringen grabbed my hand and chased after Leo.
"Come on, Leo."
"......"
Leo shot Cyringen a contemptuous look before walking ahead again.
Regardless of whether we followed, Leo unfolded the map in his hand to check positions and opened the large door in front of him.
Cyringen spoke up deliberately, sensing the frosty mood.
"Wow, it's huge~"
It said "Equipment Room," but it was basically a warehouse. It smelled like no one had been in ages.
One side held everyday items, the other artifacts galore. Mana lamps, radios, projectors—all non-electric. Farther back, repair equipment of unclear purpose was neatly stored.
"Checking for mana anomalies here will take forever. These places always do."
Cyringen muttered and tapped a shelf of mana items with his wand.
Leo blocked his path, so I naturally took the far side with non-mana stuff.
"Wow, they must be broadcasting the Pentathlon in color. Leo, your family's mana went into this Pentathlon's budget, right?"
Cyringen said while inspecting the warehouse artifacts.
Color footage cost more since you had to dye the mana, so it wasn't common.
"......"
No reply came, so Cyringen apologized in a serious tone.
"You're in a bad mood. Sorry."
"With two people slacking instead of working, who wouldn't be?"
Leo replied with a laugh—pure sarcasm, of course.
'We weren't slacking.'
Still, we'd ruined the vibe. Even we actors felt chills; to a third party, it must've been nauseating.
'I owe them some mental compensation, humanely.'
Ruining friends' moods just to catch one perp.
I'd think of a rational way to soothe them later.
That's when the door on my left vision shook.
Bang—!
"Huh?"
"......"
Eyes met all around. The open door slammed shut.
Leo shot up, and at the same time, the mana lamps went out.
'The mana lamps died?'
They didn't unless the artifact's lifespan ended or ambient mana was cut off.
No way the lifespan just ended from the door closing, so ambient mana...
The thought hit, and the corridor light leaking through the door crack vanished too.
Pitch black.
Click—
Leo rushed over and turned the handle, but it wouldn't budge. Tried again multiple times—same.
Realizing the door was locked chilled the room's air.
"Yulia, Leo. Did you sense anyone's mana outside just now?"
"Nope."
"...None at all. This building's been just us from the start."
I'd sensed nothing either.
What did that mean?
Obvious.
We hadn't met face-to-face as planned...
'Finally showed up, you bastard.'
Any action beyond letters.
That was key.
Now it was time to test the hypothesis.