Chapter 225
Chapter 225
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 225
Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble Family
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The guy muttered in a dazed voice.
"Let's do it together."
"Yes."
"...Okay. Really."
He approached me with a smile in eyes brimming with madness.
"This will open your heart to me? You're showing interest in me for the first time."
"Isn't it the drugs you're interested in? ...Every time my mind doesn't work right, I take morphine and go to bed, but I've grown tired of that and was looking for new magic drugs."
I muttered while looking at the other vials.
"I haven't been able to lately because of you."
"Ah~"
He continued slowly, his eyes losing focus as he smiled.
"...Don't worry. I'm not afraid the illusion will shatter. I like you no matter what. Even if you become an ancient human, or suddenly turn 180 years old, it's fine."
"I'm not fine with it."
He was already no longer listening to me. He was lost in his own sentiments, rambling on about whatever came to his mind.
"Drugs, of all things. I thought Nikolaus wouldn't bat an eye at something like this, but to think he'd feel guilt over addiction...? Hahaha! It's so unexpected. Sir Nikolaus doing drugs... The Sir Nikolaus? Unbelievable.... Hearing that Nikolaus Ernst has been fooling everyone black and blue while playing on the high school rep team is just as satisfying."
"You're not going to tell anyone, right."
"Of course not. Why would I? Now we have a new secret just between you and me?"
His eyes sparkled as he replied.
I bit the inside of my lip lightly and said.
"Then let's do it right now."
"Ah, no."
No?
When I just stared at him in disbelief, he half-embraced me and spoke.
"Next time. When we meet again."
"...Why? I want to try it now."
"How about tomorrow? Or the day after? You'll spend that time thinking of me, counting the hours."
His irises trembled violently.
His eyes were completely filled with the intent to milk this opportunity. He'd figured out what got a reaction from me and was clearly planning to use it as bait to make me eagerly await our next meeting.
I could even faintly read his anxiety about not getting a positive response.
I pulled him slightly closer and leaned down.
"Can't we do it today?"
"......"
He stared at me blankly before replying.
"Next time. It'll be even better after waiting."
It was a firm refusal, despite his face giving everything away.
I'd seen well his determination to relentlessly exploit this one catch.
In any case, the deadline for the Eschet favorability +12 proposal was approaching soon.
I wasn't sure if I could fill all 5 points, but today or tomorrow was a day I needed to bond with the team members anyway, so it didn't matter how he delayed.
"...Fine."
I gave a casual smile and stepped aside.
After that, I ignored him and started examining the other vials and bottles one by one. Around the third or fourth time I asked about their uses, he muttered without answering my question.
"Doing drugs together..."
"......"
What am I supposed to do about that?
I smiled and replied.
"If you keep thinking about it, just do it now."
"...Together, of all things. How could you say that to me? To push back a chance to do drugs with you using my own hands! No, if you truly felt the same as me, there'd be no reason for me to do this."
He'd been rambling on his own since earlier, like a total madman, so I shook my head and moved away from him.
There were no special new drugs. Magic potions to draw blood faster, ones that kept covenant magic active while in the blood... Things that could easily be made in Wittelsbach.
'...No, it's impressive they can rival Wittelsbach at this level.'
Even accounting for the possibility he hadn't left important drugs at home.
I recalled the labels and uses I'd read earlier, then went outside and toured his house as I pleased. I planned to stop politely if he showed any sign of dislike, but his eyes just sparkled.
The mansion was vast and luxurious.
Far larger than the Wittelsbach capital villa I was borrowing, but that made sense since this was his actual residence, not a villa.
"You prefer the outside to the inside."
After finishing my tour, I sat on the bench by the lake, and he followed, sitting beside me.
A cool dawn breeze brushed past. Magic lamps dotted around the estate grounds softly illuminated the surroundings.
"It's relaxing."
Why did everyone go to the forest or parks?
Before the stalker showed up, whenever I had time, I'd rest in the Wittelsbach mansion's flower beds and gardens. Gotta smell the trees sometimes too.
And crucially, outside was better for fighting if something happened.
After that, he was silent for a long while.
About 10 minutes later, he peered into my face and muttered.
"No matter how I look, pink eyes suit you best."
I'd been walking around with blue eyes earlier. Wandering Pleroma with pink eyes would be like advertising for someone to catch me.
"I see."
"Of course, blue eyes are cool too. It's a pretty traumatic color for us, though. Especially the color of Sir Nikolaus's task force flag and armbands—blue. Know why? When they spot you, all they see are your eyes. What do you think comes to mind first?"
"Hm, I'm honored it left such a strong impression."
Interesting.
Thinking that, I asked another question.
"What do they do in my task force?"
"They track your location. They're trying to plant spies in the Bavarian Kingdom. Lately, they've been focusing on Berlin too."
"Just like you know who I am, do they know me too?"
"......"
He blinked at me with his smiling face intact, then grinned.
"No way. If they did... hahaha.... I'd have too many enemies?"
Just as I expected.
Even if expected, I hadn't thought he'd answer so straightforwardly.
I stroked my chin and asked.
"How did you learn my identity?"
"There's a way."
He ended brightly and peered into my eyes again.
His interest seemed more in my eyes than the conversation.
'If I dig too deep, he won't answer. We have drugs planned for next time anyway, so waiting isn't bad...'
"No matter how I look, it's wondrous. How were you born with pink eyes? Human eyes like rabbit eyes..."
"......"
It was just like him—the guy who'd rudely asked on first sight, "How does it feel to have the only unique color?"
"I didn't expect proper words, but this is more shockingly insulting than I imagined."
"It was a compliment."
"How is that a compliment? Are you kidding?"
I wouldn't have been born this way if I could choose, but I had no desire to tell him that. Still, I felt an urge to correct his wrong analogy.
'Forget it... Just drop it.'
Even with drugs scheduled, I couldn't waste time on this. He wanted to play lovers and chat idly, but not me.
I reviewed our earlier conversation.
He probably wouldn't answer most questions. Better to probe deeper into what he'd spilled himself.
"Just one question."
"Yes! What?"
"'The Lord you've been waiting for' and 'the messenger of the covenant' are the same being. But 'my messenger' is someone else."
Thus says the Lord of Hosts: Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he is coming.
It was a question about the passage he'd quoted earlier.
He looked at me with a flustered expression, clearly not expecting this.
"If you misheard and misquoted, fine, but Pleroma wouldn't make such an error."
"......"
"Why do you see them as different?"
He'd said, "The messenger of the covenant has come, so the Lord will come soon." It was strange to split one being into two separate arrivals.
Soon, he broke the silence.
"Because the prophet Malachi expressed them differently."
"Setting aside that the sentence clearly indicates the same person... The Bible often repeats content for emphasis, with varying expressions. You know that."
"It was just a literary device."
When I just smiled at him, he shook his head like he couldn't take it.
"Ah~ You're sharp. Obsessing over such trivial details? The important thing is we're saved, not that."
He muttered, then his eyes darted wildly.
"Did obsessing over trivial details get you this far?"
Something I'd heard recently. Madmen must understand each other.
I shook my head and replied.
"I don't think it's trivial. Isn't it strange for the same entity to come at different times?"
"To nitpick like that, the biblical writers shouldn't have used synonyms either. It was wordplay allowable with some leeway~"
Putting a strong fighter instead of a theologian in the priesthood was their mistake. After rambling nonsense and catching my sharp glare, he pondered and spoke.
"When Christ came, people didn't know he was the Lord. Did Christ know his own nature from the womb? Opinions differ, but growing to realize it is the dominant view now. That enough?"
What about it?
But I stayed silent. Pushing wouldn't yield better answers.
'The messenger of the covenant only knew his human nature, not his divinity yet.'
A cult-like unique interpretation.
Or divinity follows later.
Either way, nothing new to me.
Pleroma found a fake Messiah—like all cults, 100% human, impossible to be Messiah—and now performed necromancy hoping god would possess it.
Or perhaps metaphor for a powerful newcomer to save the church as the new era's lord.
But why not new? They resurrect corpses. That's their shtick.
The problem was hundreds of thousands in Pleroma sincerely believing this shallow interpretation and acting on it. Too much blood spilled because of it.
Someday, I need to end their antics.
"Who made this prophecy?"
"I'll tell you later."
Silence followed.
Yes, later. Even if days from now.
Unconcerned with my thoughts, he stared piercingly and said.
"I wish I looked like you."
"What time is it? If we're just talking nonsense, I'm going home."
"Hm, still midnight outside."
Only that much?
Staying till 5 would mean five more days here. Knowing their time flow made it eerie.
Of course, from the moment he promised to let me go first, he was plenty unusual.
Just then, as if reading my mind, he said.
"If you want to go, I'll send you. I don't want to tire you out on the first day. Plus... If you can spare just one hour anytime, we can spend a whole day here together."
"It's not 5 yet?"
"It's fine. But do me that one favor I mentioned."
I nodded for him to speak. He pulled a finger-sized vial from my jacket pocket.
What he wanted was clear.
"You're telling me to drink this without even saying what it is?"
"It's an amplifier."
"......"
Exactly as named: a potion to drink with magic drugs to boost their effects. I'd used it before at the magic drug contest.
Since he didn't think I was fully hooked, he wanted to enhance the potion I'd taken.
I'd come here to absorb everything from him anyway, and if risky results came, I could rewind time, so it wasn't a big deal.
But since he knew my personality, to play the calculating type, I needed to resist his will once.
"Not really in the mood. How do I know it's safe?"
"If I tricked you, I promise never to appear before you again."
He said with serious eyes.
Seemed to leverage the covenant magic potion from earlier.
Seeing him think that promise a big sacrifice was ridiculous, but the answer mattered, not the words, so I swallowed it without hesitation.
No rejection reaction.
Instead, my breathing quickened a bit. The clink of the metal lid against the glass bottle sounded louder.
His hand touched my cheek. One second meeting his blue eyes felt like a minute.
After studying my expression for a while holding my face, he beamed.
"...It works well."
"......"
"Your complexion matches your eye color now. You finally look a bit like me."
"Do you have to say it out loud?"
He chuckled lightly and pulled something from his small bag.
Like what I'd gotten from Chellingen and Leo, it was a small velvet box. He opened the lid and offered it to me.
"Will you accept it?"
"......"
Seeing what it was, my vision darkened. No way an amplifier covered this.
'How far did this bastard prepare?'
It was an artifact. Specifically, a ring.
He hadn't expected to meet me today and got trapped, so normally, no time to prepare this.
This meant he'd prepared for this low-probability fantasy long ago.
He must have firmly believed we'd meet someday. Why? Where did that baseless confidence come from?
"I want you to think of me when I'm not around."
He said, eyes wide open, smiling. Moonlight illuminated his clear face.
I stared at him silently for a long time.
'Should I just attack again.'
Though heat swirled around my eyes, I could kill such feelings thinking of my future.
But I couldn't act rashly.
If this let him feel superior, fully at ease... Not bad.
"It's not just for me, right."
He pondered briefly, then nodded vigorously. He removed his lace-trimmed velvet glove, showing his hand.
Seeing the identical design ring made goosebumps erupt on my arm.
"Hoo..."
"Why~"
"Why?"
My chilling reply made him grin sheepishly, realizing his mistake.
I gazed at the artifact quietly, then took the ring and slipped it on roughly where he'd calculated.
Don't know when he measured, but it fit perfectly, heightening the creeps. The drug effect neutralized it enough that I didn't launch a preemptive strike despite the chills.
I looked at his face instead of sighing. Contrary to expectation of a beaming smile, he wore an inscrutable one, staring only at my hand. His face held a newfound madness. He slowly raised his head, smiled, and lightly touched the ring with his wand.
"Promise when you go back, you won't drink the antidote?"
"Why?"
"I know you hate me intensely without the drug. So please."
"......"
Perceptive.
I'd shown dislike all along, but with him like this, time to stop resisting. The drug-induced feelings were his sole sense of upper hand.
I replied expressionlessly.
"Okay."
He smiled softly and channeled magic through his wand.
Suddenly, my skin stung like cut by a knife.
"...!"
The magic inside interfered with the magic in my hand.
Similar mechanism to Leo's artifact. But while Leo's connected to my core inside the body—since he'd used my magic—this one didn't connect to the core.
Easier to dismantle in that sense. The issue is...
I removed the ring.
The inscription inside remained on my finger.
[Totus tuus ego sum et omnia mea tua sunt]
Reversed like a mirror, but readable.
The ring's magic probably detects antidote magic through this...
Don't remove it, basically. Like tattooing a finger.
'More than that, put it somewhere with more magic flow.'
A finger? Old wizards embedding in forearm skin would've been better.
Classic case of obsessing over symbolism, missing essence. Thanks for the lesson.
I muttered looking at the sapphire-like gem on the ring.
"Now you can't steal my gloves."
"...!"
He widened his eyes, looking like he'd gotten an idea.
Probably thinking if he stole the gloves, I'd advertise the ring everywhere.
Who hasn't had an engagement ceremony wears this? If I weren't a student, straight to Dasrote front page.
I said seriously.
"Kidding? I might just throw it away."
"Ah~ Right! Got it. I'll remember."
For some reason, he kept smiling brightly beside me, fidgeting with his glove edge, unable to keep his hand still.
After that, neither spoke.
I was hit with reality and stayed quiet; he probably because he'd achieved a lifelong wish. I'm filming a crime drama, he's shooting romance solo.
Thinking to break the silence, his flushed face twitching, he looked at me and said.
"I'll send you back now."
"Good call."
"I said 5, it's a shame early... but a promise is a promise."
He stood and offered his hand.
I took it politely and rose.
"Thanks for today."
"......"
"See you tomorrow."
As he grinned and greeted, the scenery shifted.
The ancient human beside me vanished; I stood before Wittelsbach mansion's gate.
The familiar magic in the air confirmed: really our world.
"......"
Back.
How many times returned intact without rewinding, same as before leaving? Not a neighborhood stroll—I'd met Pleroma's bishop?
'...Downside: must do drugs next time.'
I'd brought it up first, so he's prepared. Actually good I got permission.
I opened the door, hurried through the garden to the mansion entrance. No, almost ran at the end.
Dating Pleroma's bishop in enemy territory wasn't relaxing. Excluding regret at not seeing him, the way home felt unusually comforting.
I'd braced for much, but aside from the magic mark on my finger skin, perfectly fine. Just ask Leo if Wittelsbach tech can remove it.
Worst case, do drugs with that stalker then rewind to today.
Before I reached the first entrance, the door burst open.
Friends still in day clothes at this hour appeared.
Narke drew a deep breath seeing me.
"You're back."