Chapter 246
Chapter 246
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 246
Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble House
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"As Your Excellency said."
Dr. Public Security's voice echoed through the entirely white hospital corridor. The guards and the black-coated doctor matched my pace with stern expressions at my side.
I spoke first, repeating what the doctor had said before.
"Yes. You've uncovered the real terror plot—their true plan."
Just like last time, I was heading to the Emergency Countermeasures Committee's strategy room to resolve the mana lamp terror incident.
In truth, the mana lamp terror could have been prevented before it even began. By blocking access to the mana lamp pipes or thoroughly inspecting to prevent white phosphorus powder from being brought in.
'But... that wouldn't do.'
We already had a solution for the mana lamp terror. Interfering in a problem our government could handle on its own would be a bad move.
Let me put it precisely.
If we stopped the incident from happening prematurely, variables could arise.
As you can see from the sequence of events so far, the mana lamp terror was intertwined with the basement rat incident. Both were elaborate smokescreens for the real plan.
If we blocked the smokescreen from detonating early, the terrorists might alter their execution order or details. For example, recruiting and suiciding a different player than in the previous timeline.
That couldn't happen.
After the Bayern palace meeting, I met with the player who would soon commit suicide, alongside Narke. Everything I'd prepared to stop the curse terror was based on experiences from the previous timeline.
If the mana lamp terror had caused casualties, I would have stopped it regardless of timeline disruptions, but since it hadn't, it was far safer to let the sequence I'd experienced play out exactly as before.
The doctor nodded at my words.
"You've pinpointed exactly what I was about to say. We've confirmed how far the problem has spread without alerting the culprits. Now, all that's left is the help of Your Excellency Ascanien and the other mages."
"I see. We'll do our best. Ah, and I burned the note from the Committee."
"Good. You probably haven't heard the details yet..."
"Wait a moment. I have something brief to tell you."
"Yes?"
These were words different from before.
But I needed to plant this seed now, so the Committee could piece together clues on their own later and reach out for my help.
What I had to say was...
"I've deciphered the code on the white phosphorus matches."
"...Pardon?"
"Sagt es allen. A, A, E, E, G, L, L, N, T, S, S. 4 letters, 2 letters, 5 letters. It's just my guess for now, but has the government deciphered it this way too?"
"...!"
A direct translation is 'Tell it to everyone.' It's a blunt phrase that makes you wonder what kind of person would phrase it like that. 'Tell it to everyone' could have been written longer, but they kept it as short as possible while conveying the meaning, since even one or two extra letters would take time to crack.
"...Wait, that clearly indicates the theft..."
I widened my eyes at those words.
Theft. I knew about it from secret notes with Elias, but since I was confined in isolation with no external news, I wasn't supposed to know officially.
Leo never lifted the visitation ban. The Crown Prince's influence kept me hospitalized, so releasing me entirely would require talking to him.
Instead, he repeatedly sneaked me out to the palace and back. That's why I stayed in the hospital until the end. Now, I'm exploiting that fact.
Anyway, I had to act. With a flustered expression, I asked,
"...Theft? Of the matches?"
"Yes. They were stolen from the police station. Only the box with the hole was taken. How do you know the letters?"
"I have a good memory, so I memorized them when I saw the physical evidence collected. But theft? I just mentioned it to you because the code seemed out of place and to check if my guess was right. If I'd known, I would've contacted you sooner..."
The doctor clutched his nape in shock, frowning as he muttered.
"...Indeed. If I'd known, I would've contacted His Highness the Crown Prince earlier. To think someone could memorize all eleven letters...!"
The doctor tapped an artifact, speaking to others. He cast a soundproofing spell on me too, so I couldn't hear.
He ended the call with a grave face and said to me,
"I've reported that information to the government for now. We don't know what the code means yet, but it's better than not even having the deciphered text. To think you cracked it from your hospital room... Thank you for your efforts on behalf of our government."
Hm. Good.
My attempt to lay the groundwork had succeeded cleanly.
After the mana lamp terror, they'd contact me again upon noticing anomalies before and after the next terror, just like in the previous timeline.
Better to sprinkle the information I knew gradually and naturally than dump it all at once.
"More importantly, I said earlier I'd explain the details. I'll quickly brief you on what the Committee has uncovered about this terror incident."
The doctor's solemn voice flowed like background noise. My gaze shifted around.
Everything around was the same as before.
Just once. Not multiple times, but experiencing this single event again felt like a dream. I looked at the white marble floor and its gray marbling veins. As we passed, old-model humans in pure white uniforms and typical nurse caps appeared, unlike modern ones. Turning left, I saw the 19th-century style elevator we'd stood before last time.
Ding—
The bell rang from below. The elevator car stopped at the 4th floor last time, and now again. Unless I took aggressive action, this past led to the same future. That truth hit home once more.
"...The 1st Guard Infantry Division in charge of inspections reported no mana anomalies."
I turned my eyes from the elevator back to the doctor.
Right. 'No mana anomalies whatsoever.'
Yet ultimately, millions filling this land and countless building layers fell under the curse spell. From the perspective of someone who'd seen the future, such words offered no reassurance.
The doctor extended his black leather-gloved hand again, saying solemnly as he looked at me,
"Once we proceed, Your Excellency will officially join this counter-terror operation. You'll be tasked with saving millions of subjects."
"......"
I smiled faintly for a moment, then replied expressionlessly.
"I understand."
The moment his glove pressed my wrist, darkness fell. Perhaps from repeated warps with him last time, or from warping to Brandenburg New National Park dozens of times, my mental strength had strengthened—I didn't stagger like before.
A dimly lit strategy room with walls all around appeared. Memories here flashed by like a montage.
No time to dwell. The Guard Legion commander I'd seen about 60 hours ago leaned on the desk, approached, and extended his hand.
"Hugo Strauss. I already know about Your Excellency, so no introductions."
A good choice. I knew about him too.
I let his continuing words flow past and, instead of asking my role as before, spoke first.
"My role is to provide you with the most efficient ideas."
"You know well. His Highness the Crown Prince directly ordered Your Excellency, as the ideal strategist, to review countermeasures for this terror plan. Now, let's move."
He casually offered his hand.
The destination was the same set prepared by the Committee.
The mana lamp explosion experiment proceeded smoothly as before. After a few minutes, we returned to the underground strategy room.
'Now it's time for the Magic Minister to join the meeting.'
Unsurprisingly, the Magic Minister, chairman of the Committee, sat at the table. The commander shook his hand and said to me,
"Perhaps in this Pentathlon, we can use this terror to wipe out the Pleroma leadership entirely. They'll be desperate not to miss this golden opportunity. Enemies blinded by gain are always easy to bring to their knees."
I'd been skeptical of those words last time too, and sure enough, they were all wrong.
As Alexander Klüger the assemblyman said, the Pleroma leadership had withdrawn from this incident, and the Imperial government would be the one kneeling. On land stained with the blood of 1.37 million.
I shook my head slightly and addressed the Magic Minister, commander, and Dr. Public Security.
"Time is short. I have an idea based on the reports so far. May I share my opinion?"
"Quick. Of course. What solution do you propose, Your Excellency?"
"Could I see the building cross-sections?"
I pretended to examine the cross-sections again.
The minister and doctor standing around swallowed hard. Something I hadn't noticed before now registered.
I set down the cross-sections and looked at them.
"The best method here is to cast cooling spells between every floor—across the entire venue grounds."
"......"
The commander raised an eyebrow in approval, then tried to add something.
I knew what it would be. The rebuttal that cooling spells should only be partial.
I signaled for permission with my eyes and continued.
"If you knew where the white phosphorus was, you'd have removed it already. But with 1 hour 40 minutes left and no action, you don't know its location. Am I correct?"
The Magic Minister nodded.
"...Yes."
"Since we don't know where the white phosphorus is, we must cast spells over the entire grounds. It'll require massive mages, so suspicion from sourcing them externally is the biggest issue. To avoid suspicion, let's hold a diversion."
"A diversion?"
"Set a fire outside."
* * *
Up to here, it had gone as smoothly as before—flawlessly.
But I couldn't relax.
Would variables arise or not?
I had to check.
No matter how hard we tried to prevent changes, with people knowing the terror would happen, the situation could shift unpredictably.
Beep—
A chime from the transparent artifact on my ear announced one minute to opening.
Like before, after checking the fire outside, I returned to the strategy room, shed my coat, and stood at the table.
Tension showed on the faces of the Committee members remaining.
I removed my gloves, pocketed them, and awaited the countdown. The artifact in the table's center broadcast the band's drumroll.
Beep—
30 seconds.
Amid people on the verge of biting their lips in anxiety, I calmly gazed at the artifact.
"Hoo..."
Someone with rapid breaths forced deep inhales. Another compulsively stroked their chin. I hadn't noticed before, but extreme tension flushed their faces red, blood rushing to their heads.
I glanced at the minister and commander, then back at the relay artifact. Soon, all sounds from it ceased.
Beep——
A slightly longer chime.
In the silence, the Emperor's voice rang out.
[My dear new and old humans of all nations, welcome to Berlin.]
"......"
I crossed my arms, tapping my fingers on them as I counted seconds.
[...This Pentathlon symbolizes victory. God is with us. May God's blessings be upon you!]
Boom—!
Beep—
Fireworks burst with the commander's preset timer chime.
No variables yet. We'd monitor the first hour post-opening closely, but for now...
'...Good.'
The commander looked up from his pocket watch at us.
"Well done. We've successfully passed the first hurdle."
You know this terror is just the first hurdle yet can't stop it. I swallowed those words and looked at him blankly.
"This is the first step among hundreds. For the next five hours of the opening ceremony, we must maintain this alert level. You know why."
"I do."
"Yes."
"Good. Let's aim for the best results again."
One hour later.
After confirmation all white phosphorus was removed, I left the Committee with the doctor's help.
That fully ended the mana lamp terror again.
I stood quietly at the warp point in the staff passage, gazing outside, then checked the time.
One more hour, and I'd be deployed for the facility inspections and checks Eschet originally handled.
And that's when the player would suicide.
Not this time. Over the past two days and eight hours, as Nikolaus, I'd met the player with Narke and discussed what might happen.
Naturally, he didn't believe me at first. But ultimately, it succeeded. Thanks to five hours of persuasion, with a bit of divine power.
I left the Committee and, like before, headed down the basement stairs. No special reason. Just that I'd met someone here at this moment last time, so likely again.
"Good work."
Leo said with a faint smile. The same words as before.
Casting soundproofing, I replied,
"Did you say it exactly like last time on purpose? We still have more work."
"Still."
Leo glanced around and continued.
"Remember our talk here?"
"I do. You?"
"I do. That's why I'm saying this."
"......"
I didn't reply, just looked at Leo. Unlike two days ago when time had reset and he was reeling from the terror shock, he now wore his usual impassive face. The age-appropriate vulnerability from that day had vanished cleanly. Like when he'd rescued people and joined the Committee in the previous timeline, he maintained composure even with confirmed terror imminent.
In the novel, Leo only showed raw emotion toward Elias during serious crises. I'd thought that state two days ago was rare, but it was even rarer than I'd imagined.
Seeing me stare silently, he smiled lightly and extended his hand.
"What're you doing? Let's go, Lucas."
* * *
"Nice weather. Have a good day."
A new old-model human handed flowers to me and Leo and left. This time, I didn't infuse mana into the flowers to check for contamination. I now knew the terrorists hadn't tampered with something like flowers.
I just wondered how long this 'good day' would last.
I looked around.
Huge screens placed around the grounds broadcast the opening ceremony, mana glowing to project images.
To avoid variables here, I hadn't touched major elements. Like the Imperial Newspaper live broadcast, mana screens, or Pentathlon itself.
But minor parts, unnoticeable tweaks, I adjusted slightly.
The screen I passed now had lower volume than before.
I'd reduced max volume to 70% of usual, starting two days ago—not sudden.
I'd proposed conserving mana to invest more in venue space expansion magic—for accommodating more people—and the government accepted readily.
Also, unlike last time allowing entry post-opening, I suggested closing entry three hours before, but it was modified. Entry restricted 30 minutes before start. Probably commercial reasons rejected my full demand.
'This won't stop everything, but...'
Better to spare even one person.
Of course, no bloodshed would occur here today.
Ascending to the observation deck like before, I saw our team friends minus Narke.
"Lucas, hey~ Been three days."
"Oh, Luca's here."
Cherlingen sat in a chair far off, greeting the same as before; Elias, unlike last time, wasn't smiling.
Elias draped an arm over my shoulder upon seeing me, pulling me toward the railing. Leo approached us, unlike before.
"Luca."
"Yeah."
"Luuuucas."
"Speak properly."
"Cold..."
I chuckled. Elias lowered his voice.
"No issues so far?"
"Yeah. Smooth sailing."
"Good."
The talk ended there. Elias fell silent in thought.
From last year to early this year, he'd always asked where I got my info, but not about this terror.
Same with Narke.
Grateful they trusted me not to lie, but sorry I couldn't explain.
Then, Heike, who'd been staring intently from behind, popped up.
"Lucas."
"Hey, Heike."
"Where were you? I spent all day looking for you."
Same as before, huh.
Smiling, I replied.
"Yeah? Me too."
"You were looking for me? Why?"
"After this, let's go to that photo studio we went to before."
"Huh?"
Heike tilted her head, then smiled faintly.
"I was about to suggest that."
"We match well, huh."
I extended my hand like Cherlingen did to me; Heike lightly slapped it.
Leaning against me, Heike said expressionlessly,
"Relieved nothing happened at the opening today."
"......"
Neither Elias nor I replied.
We knew trouble was coming soon. Instead of responding, I muttered,
"Weather's a bit windy today."
"Yeah. Tough standing all day."
Heike misunderstood and replied.
I smiled faintly and looked down at the grounds.
Time to head down soon.
* * *
Elias checked his watch. Midnight, February 25th.
On the opening venue's first floor, lower seats area, Elias stood with Lucas and other mages.
He kept glancing at his friend.
Luca looked serene, unaware of impending events.
'Hmm...'
Acting, probably?
The international friendly tournament was next. Survive this, and the tedious opening would end. Elias swallowed, eyeing the screen.
Interviews with tournament players played.
'...That guy's the terrorist target, supposed to suicide.'
Per Luca. Hard to believe, but since the mana lamp terror Luca briefly described two days ago actually happened... credible. Luca never spouted nonsense.
'Where he got it, no idea.'
Doesn't make sense? Ignore it.
Until now, Elias's world was full of senseless things, so he followed nothing.
That's how he built his reputation.
Blindly following the senseless started after meeting Luca. Even his baffling actions always aligned with Elias's goals.
The urge to uncover truths still surged occasionally...
But Luca's word was worth waiting for.
If anyone else, he'd grill for answers. Not him. Just hope he'd tell someday.
Anyway, pray that guy doesn't suicide.
Luca said if he did, 'it's game over.' Obvious. Opening or not, total chaos, government loses control. A boon for terrorists.
Elias thought, reading the player's name at screen bottom: Helga Leibnitz.
To avoid hearing curses, one-way soundproofing blocked external noise; couldn't hear screen talk. But organizers displayed real-time text in a corner.
[After three years since the last Imperial Championships, your return. Fans are thrilled. Heard you've prepared long, rumors of your passion abound. Before tournament thoughts, your resolve for this first Pentathlon?]
"......"
The player's face was dark as Luca described—fearful. Hard to tell if suicide imminent.
Beside him, Luca held a rolled newspaper, arms crossed. Elias glanced at his still-calm face, then back to screen. Outwardly so, but Luca staked his life on this moment too. Player's survival was the sole path to stopping terror, first button.
Player wouldn't want his ignition spreading curse spell (whatever it felt like) to masses, but terrorists wouldn't stop at passive suicide resistance.
'Ah, if they would, why terror at all.'
Elias stood hands behind back, tapping fingers. Swallowing, the player's mouth slowly moved.
[...Fortunate to kick off Pentathlon, symbol of world's peace and humanity's progress. Prepared best past three years for matches; today, as always, thinking of our subjects, pour out all efforts.]
Luca's short exhale.
Elias felt slight hope.
'Good.'
Didn't look suicidal. Even seemed calmer speaking. Don't die. Elias watched the screen thinking so.
'One more step.'
Player must recite the incantation. Luca's claim nearly drove Elias mad, but even he agreed preemptive fix hard. Per all info Luca claimed gathered.
Reporter's follow-up text appeared.
[Good. Words for fans?]
[......]
Player's irises trembled finely. Long silence; reporter spoke.
[If none...]
'No!'
Speak! Elias grimaced, mouthing.
Luckily, player pivoted desperately to camera.
[Revelation 7:10 says: Salvation belongs to—]
Click—
Light vanished.
Opening venue screen showing player went dark.
Elias instantly dropped soundproofing. Luca's eyes widened, then narrowed as he unrolled the newspaper.
[[—our God on the throne and the Lamb.]]
Newspaper screen and audio worked fine.
Player's Bible recitation reached only newspaper.
'No...'
Who, what idiot shortsightedly?
Cutting screen to block curse suggested ally. Elias looked around.
Newspaper aside, killing screens drastically cut curse victims. Were Luca or he idly watching without knowing reduction methods? Watching was strategy.
This blatant screen cut screamed intent: 'I detected the curse spell; now confronting you terrorists head-on.' Nothing more, less. Would that make terrorists retreat?
No.
"Luca."
"Yeah?"
"Part of the plan?"
Luca shrugged, then shook head.
"Nope. Time to fix it."