Chapter 302
Chapter 302
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 302
Chapter Title: Astral Journey to the Past
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“How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble House (302)”
“Are you ready?”
“No.”
“Then we need to do more.”
Emanuel spoke as he took a cigarette filled with magic potion from its case. I inhaled the smoke from the nearly spent one, then let out a long breath.
*Living sure involves all sorts of crazy shit.*
I’d thought my job had already exposed me to experiences most people never have, but here, I kept racking up things I couldn’t even do in a second lifetime.
“Our flesh remains in the material world.”
A solemn voice chanted the incantation. Sitting beside my single-seater sofa, the Grand Duke puffed on his magic potion cigarette and gestured like he was giving a speech.
“But our souls will separate purely. We’ll strip away the layers binding us to the material world, one by one.”
“I don’t want to separate.”
Even as I said it, my body was drifting toward sleep. My mind, though, stayed sharp as ever.
The case I’d taken on wasn’t as heavy as past ones, and it wasn’t dangerous, so I figured I’d give it a shot. Maria had astral projected—her claim—multiple times with no issues. And hadn’t the Bourbon royal family story come after she’d visited France that way? Ever since, he’d been honing his mind to properly relocate his soul.
Unlike Maria, if something happened to my soul, I’d bolt straight out of this extra chapter back to reality.
Emanuel wore a soulless smile, like he couldn’t believe this was happening. I set my nearly finished cigarette on the tray, took a fresh magic potion one, and lit up. He stared at me, scanned my outfit, and muttered.
“You’re impressive.”
“Why?”
“Feels like you’ve given Maria a good friend... Or is it Sir Everett’s character? Or do you really love the occult this much?”
He meant it was impressive how I played along with Maria’s delusions. Truth was, I was doing this less for Maria and more for the technique she’d developed, but either way, I just smiled.
“You go next time.”
“Hmm, guess it’s not the latter. Must be the former.”
Emanuel opened the bronze box. It was an artifact infused with my divine power. He placed his wand inside, transferred the divine power, and brought it to my forehead.
“I’ve never used divine power before, so not sure if it’ll work, but let’s try. ...Soon, His Highness the Grand Duke will take your hand. He’ll handle everything, so relax your mind and let the tension drain from your body.”
Mana surged from the ring artifact the Grand Duke Maria had given me. I grimaced, forcing my drowsy body awake. Not sure if it actually happened, but that’s how it felt to me.
“You’ll travel to France, 183 years before A.A.”
The world went black after Emanuel’s nonsense. It was the year the Grand Duke had told us.
“......”
One moment I was in a smoke-filled room; the next, a cloudless night sky stretched overhead. I opened my mouth without thinking, about to look around, when a gust of wind forced my eyes shut.
“Gasp...”
I turned at the unfamiliar sound beside me and saw the Grand Duke—who was gripping my wrist—raise his eyebrows in surprise.
“What?”
“Didn’t think we’d really arrive with other people. This is truly novel.”
*That’s my line.*
Was this even possible? For real? Mouth agape, I took in the unfamiliar Paris street at night. The city center hadn’t been redeveloped yet, giving it a rural 19th-century vibe.
*No way.*
It didn’t feel like astral projection so much as a dream. I looked down at myself. My body was still visible in my field of vision. We hadn’t activated the artifact projecting our material forms yet, so my clothes looked as familiar as ever.
According to the Grand Duke, we were souls now, invisible since the projection artifact wasn’t active. The reason I saw my own body was because I believed it *should* be there. In other words, this was the me I pictured normally.
The Grand Duke tilted his head, studying me.
“You look a bit different somehow.”
“...How?”
“More exotic and handsome. Is this how you wanted to look?”
“No? Thanks for the compliment.”
I felt a chill run down my spine as I answered. This was insane. Had my face gotten mixed up? I desperately pictured Luca’s face in my mind and took a deep breath. Soul or not, it felt right.
“But how can Your Highness see my face?”
“We’re resonating right now. Influencing each other’s minds.”
Resonating.
This wasn’t mind manipulation magic. That scraped internals from an outsider’s perspective; this was becoming the insider. Like entering someone else’s labyrinth.
Unfathomable. I asked quietly.
“How is that possible?”
“That’s what I want to know. How can we interfere so deeply with another’s soul? It’s miraculous. Like gaining a divine authority.... That’s why the old human magic called occult has the power to heal the world. They were close to the gods and knew how to commune with them. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
So he didn’t know the principle either. I stared at him and asked.
“One thing I still don’t get. How’d you make the artifact that projects material forms? And it’s a material object—how can we even use it? You bound it to our souls, not bodies, but it still doesn’t make sense.”
It was about the artifact we’d use soon. The Grand Duke fell silent, then answered after a long pause.
“That method’s a secret.”
“Why?”
“You couldn’t replicate it even if I told you.”
I hadn’t expected a real answer. He’d shared spells, including unique ability duplication, but barely explained how they worked. Just “add blood, dry weirdly enchanted herbs in elixir, burn them, place candles at pentagram points, chant dramatic incantations like in a play.” Magic scholars would faint. I genuinely wondered how he got good results from that.
He’d rationally explained adapting some occult spell structures into general magic, but clear answers were rare. No wonder the world didn’t understand. Even I was seriously questioning my sanity.
*Still, hypnosis records from 19th-20th century psychoanalysis books mentioned traveling to the past... Or journeying inward.*
But I’d always been skeptical of hypnosis back then, so this reality hit harder.
*Can’t stay like this.*
Like when I first fell into this world, I needed to snap myself awake. Back then, certain death sharpened my mind; now, it wandered. Denying what happened wouldn’t fix it. I had to become the perfect modern man right now, nail this scene...
No time to waste. Adapt fast, soak up every detail.
I watched a policeman pass without glancing our way, then walked toward him.
*Thud—!*
Impact and pain shoved my body back. The Grand Duke Maria grabbed me in surprise. I staggered, but the cop kept walking like nothing happened.
“People pass through me.”
I walked forward and touched a house wall. Rough brick met my hand. Like with the cop, it didn’t phase through first. The impact, pain, and texture were what I judged *should* happen. Good. No issues treating the astral realm like material.
The Grand Duke watched, then grinned and answered his earlier mutter.
“Because Sir Everett, you’re a soul right now.”
He checked his pocket watch, gazed at the glowing palace below the hill, and said.
“Let’s go. The astral realm will take us to our destination.”
“The meeting’s already started?”
“Yes. It’s in a secret space under the queen’s study. Normally, no password means no entry, but luckily, we’re souls—we can go anywhere.”
“Right... Ghosts and all.”
“But the connotation’s poor.”
“True, but we *are* ghosts.”
The Grand Duke laughed at my deadpan gripe.
“Savor the astral realm. Even in this magic-less era, doesn’t everything feel made of mana? Only possible because it’s a mana-only world.”
It did feel like the ancient human world brimmed with mana, faint as my unadjusted senses made it. I smiled in reply.
“Now, I’ll lead. Make yourself comfortable. We just need to appear before them.”
The Grand Duke flicked the silver earring on his ear. It turned into a sapphire flower one; a wide-brimmed sky-blue hat half-hid his face. Soon, our material forms would be visible.
Before I could prepare and touch the artifact, he kindly activated it for me and stomped. A room unfolded before us.
“...?!”
Eight black-robed figures around a round table rose, eyes widening at us. The oldest, maybe 60s—an ancient human—quickly hid his shock and bellowed.
“Who are you!”
*This is nuts...*
My vision darkened. A pentagram was drawn on the table, candles at its points. Goosebumps prickled.
The Grand Duke didn’t flinch at the shout, drew his wand, and intoned solemnly in French.
“Hear now! I shall speak of the glory of our Dardanian bloodline.”
“...?”
“The heirs born of ancient Italy’s lineage, great souls who will inherit our name and legacy—I shall unfold their tale and reveal their fate!”
*You’ve got to be kidding.*
What the hell? When he should explain who he was?
My heart raced wildly, but my face stayed stone. Even if I cried blood tears, I had to keep composed to finish the job.
Once the Grand Duke’s Aeneid recitation ended—judging by context, probably to portray himself as transcendent, prophetic, and benevolent—the second-in-command, a middle-aged man, spoke.
“Who are you? State your names.”
*...Not chasing us out?*
No weapons or attacks, so maybe they’d talk first. I’d have booted them.... The Grand Duke nodded gravely and opened his mouth.
“We are Hermetic magicians from 1886. We know your great interest in magic and have come from the future to help.”
“......”
They exchanged looks like they’d spotted lunatics. We were being treated as crazies, but that brought relief.
A French noble spoke sharply still.
“Magicians? How can we believe that?”
*They’ve got common sense.*
The Grand Duke silently drew his wand and slashed the air. As the French nobles recoiled, my borrowed divine power sparked from its tip. Their eyes widened.
“You saw. I wield magic. So does the magician here.”
Color drained from the nobles’ shocked faces. Wariness lingered in their eyes, though. Good to confirm they had some sense.
The Grand Duke nodded like he’d expected it, touched his bracelet subtly, and flicked his wand. A water stream spiraled from thin air toward them.
“...!”
“Proof enough?”
I thought their faces couldn’t pale more, but they did—nearly blue. Even if they craved magic, they were from a magic-less era. Water manifesting mid-air shattered their worldview. Whether they believed us was secondary; the impossible had happened before their eyes.
As they froze, glancing around, the 60-something broke the silence.
“I asked your names. Understand we can’t be sure your intentions are good. We must verify if you’re trustworthy.”
“I am Maria Osterraich-Este of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and this is my name-brother here.”
*When did that happen?* I didn’t argue. The 60-something, brows furrowed, asked him.
“Osterraich-Este. Not Este family? When did Austria and Hungary become one empire?”
“Our Austria and Hungary uniting is a 19th-century event. About 150 years from now.”
He’d asked sarcastically, not expecting a real answer. The ancient human shook his head in disbelief, but doubt and fear crept into his eyes anyway.
“...How did you enter here?”
“Walls and locks mean nothing to us. Our magic made it so.”
“......”
The 60-something closed his eyes, thought, then pointed to nearby chairs.
“Sit.”
“Thank you.”
The Grand Duke sat confidently, beaming with success. I couldn’t believe we’d made it this far. Magic enthusiasts indeed—normals would’ve ejected and reported us. Now it felt like eight more Maria Osterraich-Estes existed, unease washing over me.
I swallowed, sat. The seven others glared warily, not sitting. The 60-something, club leader-like, regained composure and sat before us.
“Anyway.”
His eyes sharpened, dissecting us.
“You look awfully strange. Let’s talk about that.”