Chapter 268
Chapter 268
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 268
Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble Family
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“Why are you coming in here so naturally?”
Leo walked over to the window and replied curtly.
“There are only three compartment cars.”
“The other two must already be a mess.”
“Yeah.”
That guy’s soul had already been ransacked too.
He waved his hand over the hip flask I’d left open and cracked the small vent window. He seemed utterly sick of the smell of alcohol by now. He glanced at my book and asked.
“What’re you reading?”
“Thus Spoke Zarathustra.”
“Hm.”
Leo apparently had no intention of bothering me further. Even with the monstrous roars coming from the next room, he ignored them completely and pulled out his own book to read.
Then, as I started thinking about getting some sleep and pulled out my eye mask, he suddenly spoke up.
“You got married?”
“......”
I checked the title of the book he was holding. The Wealth of Nations. His eyes were still fixed on the pages.
I concluded I’d misheard him and just tried to sleep. Or at least, I tried.
“I’m asking.”
“Would I? Ah, this bastard.... I’m sleeping, so don’t wake me.”
He gestured toward the ring hidden under my glove and said.
“You said you’d wear it for a week and then take it off.”
“......”
I got why he was doing this. The last scene he’d witnessed was enough to make anyone suspicious of their comrade. I’d probably wonder the same if I saw a friend cozying up to the enemy.
We hadn’t yet had a proper talk about the techniques and info I’d gleaned from the archbishop’s space, or his whereabouts. It’d been less than twelve hours since I’d woken up and come to Bavaria, and I’d spent most of that time in meetings with government officials and the knighting ceremony, leaving almost no chance to hang out with my friends. So it was about time for this conversation.
“The thing you saw at the end wasn’t a wedding—it was an engagement ceremony, and it got cut short before it finished. It was all part of my plan, so no need to worry. And...”
I slipped the ring off my finger and showed him my bare hand.
“I can take it off. But I can’t throw it away.”
The inscription on my finger was the same.
The plan had changed. This was the last bit of the archbishop’s magic left to me, so it had value to preserve. Of course, putting it that briefly made it easy to misconstrue my intentions.
“You know the situation isn’t resolved yet. We can’t just discard our remaining resources willy-nilly before it’s over.”
“Hm.”
Leo nodded as he turned the page.
“Then that’s fine. You haven’t done anything yet, right?”
“Of course not.”
He seemed worried I’d gotten swept up in some Pleroma ritual. Did he think their marriage or engagement rites were the exact same as the ancient humans’? Unlikely, given the archbishop’s actions. He’d have tried baptizing me or dragging out some unheard-of ritual to bind me magically.
I’d half-expected a Pleroma-style baptism at the engagement, but thankfully it hadn’t gone that far. I’d exposed Lu Var’s true nature before it could end.
Leo spoke in a hollow voice, as if his mind was elsewhere.
“If I upset you, sorry. The way you made a name for yourself in the Empire in under a year, and how that person shot straight to a key position in Pleroma...”
Leo’s eyes were on the book, but his irises weren’t tracking the words. Deciding he didn’t need to pretend to read, he closed the cover and continued.
“I’m saying it only worked because your ability scores matched up. Your way of thinking and insight when tackling problems—I can’t comprehend that person, let alone take them down, but I’m sure you can.”
Not praise—worry. So I needed to give an answer that fit his intent.
“I couldn’t do it alone.”
“......”
As Cherlingen had said, most of the core strategies had come from me, been executed by me, directed by me. But did that make it 100% my achievement?
No. That day, I’d concluded the game had wrapped up as a positive-sum game. If I’d had to handle it solo, it would’ve turned into a game of chicken. Only ruin left behind.
But Leo was worried I was even in a position to mutual-destruct with the archbishop, so I had to soften it.
“If you guys hadn’t helped, I wouldn’t have even started the plan. I’d be dead.”
At that, Leo looked at me silently and smiled faintly.
“…Yeah. Thanks for trusting us and handing it over. Now we’ve gotta work toward the day we can lead you to success without using you as a means.”
“You’ve already done more than enough, but thanks for saying that. No need to feel burdened, though. You’re already the best comrades I could ask for.”
Leo just smiled and dropped the topic. Instead, he pointed at my ear.
“But why no earring?”
“Just didn’t.”
Leo let out a dry laugh at my ridiculous answer.
“Funny…. Just didn’t?”
“Sorry, didn’t bring it.”
Even then, Leo replied lightly, as if it were no big deal.
“Must be clogged then. Mine’s been pierced over ten years, and it still closes up if I leave it out.”
“Yeah?”
Human recovery really is impressive.
But....
‘Why’s he so nonchalant?’
It was suspicious. With that inflexible personality of his, he should’ve launched into a lecture starting from why I’d left it behind.
I didn’t have time to probe further. Right then, I heard people stopping outside.
Bam—!
Elias barged into our room, dragging Cherlingen, Ulrike, and Heike along. Now I noticed Aria from the G deck coming out too.
“Guys! Why’re you being boring—no board games, no drinks!”
“Where’s Narke?”
“Passed out.”
Poor guy. I’d heard he wasn’t in great shape from overusing his abilities during the tournament. These idiots must’ve kept the noise up and knocked him out early.
“What were you talking about?”
“Nothing.”
Leo answered irritably.
“Nothing?! No way! What’d you guys say? ‘They’re too low-level to hang with’? Something like that?”
“Hit a nerve?”
Leo smirked with a sharp retort, but Cherlingen ignored it and chimed in with a prim smile, just like Leo.
“Right?~ Wonder what they were chatting about.”
“What’s it to you....”
“Let’s hit the dining car!”
Before Leo could finish, Elias grinned and shouted. I let out a baffled laugh and asked.
“What for?”
“To eat! What else do you do in a dining car?”
“We just ate—room for more?!”
“Don’t they say you gotta eat five meals a day?”
“......”
‘What’s he on about....’
Leo and I, who ate to live, didn’t agree, but we had no choice. We got dragged out.
The dining car was similar to our compartment car but far more ornate. Chandeliers and intricate wallpaper caught the eye. The Persian-style thick carpets and green velvet sofas from the compartments were here too.
Elias was already at a round table draped in white linen, slicing into a steak. He must’ve ordered before barging into our room. The five-meals-a-day bit applied only to him—Cherlingen, seated across, was sipping juice.
I glanced around and spotted a small orchestra at the far end. This was where the Bach they’d been playing earlier came from.
I headed to the next car and ordered a drink from the bartender.
“Bach, huh.”
“You recognized it. It’s for His Excellency. This is the train to Anhalt.”
The bartender smiled.
Bach had served as court musician in Anhalt once, so that explained it. As a fan, it was pleasant to listen to.
Too bad for my friends, though. If it was all Bach in Anhalt too, I wondered if they could handle it.
As I opened my book from earlier while sipping my drink, Elias yelled from beyond the open gangway door, mouth full.
“Luca.”
“Finish eating first.”
“They say there’s a library here. We’ve come this far—let’s explore the train!”
“Do it after eating, please....”
“You’ll come if I finish?”
I could hear his fork scraping faster from here.
“Wow.”
Heike muttered, staring at him. Not just any noble, but from a ruling family, scraping his fork on the plate—must’ve looked odd.
I sighed and downed my brandy in one go. Why promise that? Because I knew Elias’s pace. Sure enough, he bounded over and waited behind me.
“Let’s go!”
Leo and I got dragged along—Leo had slipped back to the compartment but got yanked out—.
Thanks to Elias hunting Leo down, Cherlingen, Heike, and Ulrike got pushed aside. Since they weren’t following, maybe they’d passed the baton to us.
‘Got dragged in for nothing....’
They were probably sighing in relief right now.
The library wasn’t far, a bit brighter than the dining car.
“Wow, right up my alley~”
Elias marveled upon entering.
No wonder. The shelves were packed with poetry and novels. Elias loved novels first, poetry second.
Exhausted, I half-reclined on the couch below the stacks and opened my book. The library’s cozy vibe and the warm yellow glow from the Baroque lamps were nice.
The only thing disrupting my focus rhythmically was Elias rustling through bookshelves in the distance, his whistling and chatter loud.
“Oh, Pushkin’s good. Though I’m a German strutting around with a big head, beer mug full of mud, cigar in mouth.”
Not literal—sarcastic. Pushkin had described Germans like that in a poem.
Having to parse that meant I wasn’t focused on the book at all.
Leo scolded him.
“Quiet down. It’s a library.”
“But it’s just us~! Yay~ Screaming in a library’s been my dream.”
“Scream in your family archive!”
“No thrill at home.”
“......”
I heard Leo groan. Elias, more hyped than usual—like a kid—bounded over to me. At this level, it was just travel excitement.
“Luca, what’re you doing?! Reading here?!”
It’s a library—why not? Common sense shattered.
And we’d barely spent half a day together, yet my eardrums felt pierced.
“Yeah, gonna read here. Out.”
“What? No. We stopped by once—that’s enough. Let’s check other spots! There’s a barber too....”
“How old are you? Go alone.”
“Tired?”
“Yeah.”
“Hm....”
Elias chewed his lip, eyes darting. He squatted in front of me and yelled.
“Fine, I won’t bother you anymore! Just come with me one last time.”
“What now. Keep this up, and no Goje for you.”
“No, really! You won’t regret it.”
I glared. But Elias was stubborn. His sparkling eyes got me—I chuckled helplessly.
“Fine. Last time.”
Elias nodded vigorously, grabbed my hand, and bolted at near-flying speed.
“Hey! Warn before running! Give me time to channel magic into my legs.”
“You’re good at magic, Luca~”
Elias grinned, ran awhile, then stopped at a heavy wooden door.
The wind sounded louder. This seemed like the last car.
“Close your eyes.”
“......”
I shot him a suspicious look, but Elias just covered my eyes. He grabbed my arm and flung the door open.
Whoooosh—
“…!”
The wind hit, cool air rushing over me. Instinctively, I opened my eyes.
“Ta-da~”
Elias grinned and gestured.
I let out a light laugh at the sight.
Moon and lake in the distance. Dark conifers whipped past the train. We were passing through forest.
Elias leaned on the wooden railing, waving me over.
“…Wow.”
Even Leo, who’d followed, muttered in awe.
Elias had brought us to the observation car.
No idea what they call it in Korea. Anyway, it was the car at the very back for sightseeing.
“Cool, right?”
“Yeah. How’d you know about this?”
A newhuman like him, probably his first train ride.
“Found it while you two holed up. Gotta check everywhere, right?”
“Born four hundred years earlier, he’d have discovered the New World....”
Elias beamed proudly at Leo’s mutter, shrugging. Leo had said it offhand, but Elias was already fantasizing aloud about how he’d have hidden the continent with a magic barrier, unlike the barbaric Spanish.
“Keep everyone out with a force field. Sounds right.”
“Yeah. That’s you.”
Leo chuckled back.
Meanwhile, I sat at a table inside the observation car, taking in the view.
Time passed; Leo returned to the compartment. Heike, Cherlingen, and Ulrike popped in once or twice per stop. Narke kept sleeping.
We stopped at Ingolstadt and Nuremberg, then Bayreuth and Jena. Dim cityscapes, the Danube, streams, and nameless noble estates caught my eye. I kept gazing out.
“Man~ Nice.”
Elias stayed awake with me to Jena, chugging straight from a bottle he’d bought.
“Ahh. Luca, why not sleeping?”
“Gonna watch this.”
“Yeah? Me too.”
Elias drew in the air with his wand. Blue magic sparkled against the pitch-black sky, scattering like embers. Felt like a movie.
I tried it—mine just fizzled like sparks. Same issue; Elias cackled at me. Then, unexpectedly:
“You okay?”
“......”
I knew what he meant. He understood what going home signified and was worried.
Yeah. Voluntarily heading to Anhalt was keeping me up.
But it wasn’t a big deal. It was inevitable, and I’d been waiting for this moment.
I smiled and nodded.
We hit Leipzig at 4 a.m., Dessau next.
As the train pulled out of Leipzig station, my booze-soaked friends staggered out. Ulrike and Heike plopped down beside me in the observation car, groaning miserably.
“Dead….”
“The compartment beds are so uncomfortable….”
“You used the seats as beds. Of course.”
I chuckled back.
Right then, Cherlingen and Leo followed them in. All seven of us gathered.
Narke had woken refreshed at Leipzig and joined us for morning coffee. As the others entered, he grinned and said.
“First time going to our Lucas’s house. Right?”
“Yeah. First for everyone?”
Ulrike glanced around.
Heike, emerging from the dining car with a bottle, nodded. Cherlingen, unflaggingly smooth-faced, smiled.
“I went once before, but don’t remember much. Basically first time.”
“Wow, you’ve been? Then you’re the only….”
“Leo went too. Right?”
Cherlingen asked Leo, leaning against the wall. Leo nodded. Ulrike blinked in confusion.
“When did just you two go?”
“For Adrian Ascanien’s vice minister celebration when he entered the court.”
Leo said simply.
Cherlingen and Heike didn’t know the details, but the mood nearly froze. Luckily, Ulrike perked up.
“That was ages ago? Anyway, excited! What’ll we do there?!”
“Dunno… Thought Goje. That alone’ll take all day.”
Ulrike couldn’t hide her doubt. She didn’t know yet that Elias stretched drinking games forever. But we’d do more than that. Still, downplay to avoid crushing expectations.
Thanks to my friends, I spent the last leg to Anhalt with a calm heart.
Leipzig to Dessau was quick. As the station came into view, I grabbed my bag, donned my hat, and asked.
“Ready?”
“Of course!”
Ulrike, stuck right behind me, chirped.
Soon, the conductor escorted me off. I looked up—familiar flag and buildings.
Anhalt.
Back here again.
The steward and attendants on the platform spotted me.
The steward met my eyes, lips parting slightly as if lost in thought, then smiled softly and bowed.
“You’ve arrived, Your Excellency.”