Chapter 359
Chapter 359
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 359
Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble House
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Staying put is the best policy. Hell, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to get scammed once in life and put some faith in folk remedies. I couldn't help but burst out laughing as I spotted Leo returning, and I opened my mouth.
"Hey."
Leo, who was closing the door with an enigmatic smile, raised an eyebrow.
"You're right."
Out of nowhere? His laugh carried that implication. He chuckled without knowing what was up, and I laughed because of the sound I'd just heard. And just like that, we were both cracking up. But as we kept laughing, a surge of irritation suddenly boiled up inside me.
'Hang on. What the hell does this bastard have to be so smug about? He got his ass kicked, and now he's laughing?'
Sure, considering the circumstances, it wasn't like I'd beaten him black and blue for no reason. I had walloped him, though. Still, even so, could I really pay back a friend who'd found a way to restore my hearing with the same treatment? But if this was training, didn't that mean I could strike back anytime? A whirlwind of thoughts raced through my head.
'I need to calm down.'
Time for some deep breaths and clear thinking. Closing my eyes wasn't an option—who knew what attack might come next?—so I stared wide-eyed and took a deep inhale.
"――."
Up above, Leo was gazing down at me with a gentle expression, striking up a conversation. Without a notepad, I just raised an eyebrow, and he widened his eyes, his face gradually turning puzzled. He'd probably thought my hearing was back, but since I didn't respond, he was clearly flustered. He picked up the notepad and shoved it in front of me.
[Didn't work, huh?]
"As if."
Like I'd admit you were right if it hadn't. I savored his panicked look and continued.
"It worked for a bit. Senior Hohenzoellern came looking for me, right?"
As I spoke words that weren't written on the notepad, Leo's mouth fell open. He clapped a hand over it and shot to his feet. Even without sound, I could tell he was shocked out of his mind.
In that instant, the notepad he'd been holding flew straight at me. At the same time, sharp magical energy surged up from the grass covering the floor.
"…!"
I sprang up reflexively, only for the magic erupting from his wand-tip to pin me down. Words scribbled across the notepad flashed in my vision.
[It worked. Great. Let's keep this going.]
* * *
"……."
I blinked up at the ceiling, lights blazing across it. A splatter of blood had gotten in my eye, blurring my vision. The notepad had vanished ages ago—I had no clue where, and I couldn't even search. My head throbbed so badly that any thought or intention burned white and fizzled out the moment it formed. My core was primed to devour any magic that came its way, even reacting to the blood splattered on the ground. Clutching my face with both hands, I rode out the crashing waves of disorientation.
"Can you hear me?"
"……."
"Answer me."
Boom―!
I stomped the floor with legs that felt impossibly heavy. The burst of magic sent Leo, standing below me, dodging a step to the side. It must've been such a feeble attack that he could afford to react so half-heartedly…. I was utterly drained, without even the strength to fight it. Ignoring my wordless strike, Leo just smiled and said,
"Good. Shall we test how long it lasts this time?"
What was he even asking me for? As if I had a choice. He'd been doing whatever he pleased this whole time.
Leo plopped down beside where I lay in no time. He opened the book he'd brought from another room just tens of minutes ago and read aloud.
"…It's like endlessly racing toward the horizon where the blue sky meets the earth, only for the sky to always stay one step ahead. Thus, the child, with the sky right there above the land, never reaches it and ends up exhausted."
Right—send the signal when this sound cuts out. First try: about 30 seconds. Second: over a minute. Third: around 10 minutes. It kept holding steady before dropping off, so Leo figured the magic from the blood I'd absorbed hadn't fully settled into my ears yet.
'So shouldn't we stop the attacks already?'
What else could explain why the absorbed magic went to my ears but didn't stick? It must've been used up fixing whatever was wrong around there. That's what I thought, but Leo saw it differently. He reckoned the pre-existing magic in my ears hadn't been fully shattered, making the effect minimal.
It was a grim assessment, but it made sense. Normal attacks—even special spells—wouldn't destroy the magic in one's sense organs. We might be past 'normal' now; maybe he had to pour on more punishment than anyone could withstand.
And on a slightly different note, he declared solemnly that we couldn't stop at just breaking the altered magic—we had to ensure not a trace remained in my body—before squeezing out every last drop of my magic. So…. Ah, piecing it together now, I realized again. Kicking the floor and casting a spell had revealed I had more magic left to extract, so this probably wasn't over. Should've just answered him.
"…But even if we clamber up there once or twice, what would we learn? Still, I think I can recall the day I first saw the stars. Perhaps they've been gazing down on me since long ago."
Leo's calm voice evoked theology lessons drifting from a midsummer monastery. It was the utter opposite of the foul craving pulsing wildly in my core, endlessly hungering for the lingering blood on my taste buds. He probably sensed my state and thought the same. Yet amid the swelling disorientation, the sensations I'd craved so desperately—the whisper of wind in my ears, the dry friction from the grass brushing together, the familiar vibration of voices rumbling through my body—brought relief, and drowsiness soon followed.
Buried in the world's sounds I'd longed for, I regulated my breathing. My consciousness faded bit by bit in time with my breaths.
"Lucas, asleep?"
"……."
Perfect timing. I twitched my fingers in reply. It didn't take long to surrender to the haze again, and each time, Leo shook me awake. This round, we passed 30 minutes. When we hit over an hour, his constant waking had burned off all my sleepiness, leaving me no choice but to chat with Leo to fend off boredom. Clearing my scratchy throat, I spoke up.
"Why'd the senior come by earlier? Nearly gave me a heart attack."
"All the squadron leaders and deputies are grabbing dinner. Since you weren't around, they pushed it to tomorrow morning."
Huh, not as big a deal as I'd thought. Nodding, I fired off another question.
"Got it. So why was Luise here?"
"What do you expect? She's the type who chats up everyone everywhere. Probably told Excellency Hohenzoellern I'd know where you were."
I saw it the other way around. Ulrike had been dragging Albertina Hohenzoellern around everywhere but the crown prince's palace searching for me, and finally, Albertina Hohenzoellern had come to Leo as a last resort. Ulrike thought Leo and I were the only ones in this team—all friends—not even managing friendship, so it was unlikely she'd gone straight to the crown prince's palace with Albertina Hohenzoellern.
Just then, Leo closed the book and checked his watch.
"Anyway, it's already been an hour. Maybe now it's really…."
Snap―
"……."
The sound cut off like someone had flipped off a radio. My expression shifted instantly, and Leo froze with his mouth agape. He flipped open the notepad and muttered as he held it out.
[Gonna have to make what I just said a taboo.]
"You believe in superstitions?"
[Whatever. Anyway….]
Leo knew damn well this was insane—his eyes were starting to glaze over. He stared at me with that soul-drained look from before, then slowly smiled.
[I figured we'd need one more round after seeing you cast that spell to reply.]
"……."
Self-awareness? Nah. If anyone could wring a human dry to jerky, it'd be this guy. So, I had to go through all that again. My heart pounded. The moment I bolted up at top speed, plant tendrils snagged my legs.
"…!"
As I slammed into the floor, a thought flashed by, and I widened my eyes. It wasn't the physical impact that startled me.
[Let's see how many hours your hearing lasts this time.]
"……."
That fleeting thought from moments ago slammed into my head. Amid the revulsion, a insidious hope crept in—that I could absorb more magic again. That was the problem.
* * *
Boom―!
I retied my shoelaces mid-stride as I sprinted like a madman. The marble floor beneath me felt like it could sprout tendrils any second to grab my legs. Leo's servants I passed gawked and bowed hurriedly, but I had no bandwidth to acknowledge them. Twisting my head messed up my aim, so I wiped the blood splatter from my face with my sleeve. Not enough. I upended a vase from a corridor side table, letting the water sluice the blood off my face, then kept running. My heartbeat filled my ears so completely I couldn't tell if Leo was chasing me.
'First things first.'
This wasn't it. I had no idea why Leo wasn't talking me down. His argument was that we'd sufficiently destroyed the magic in my ears, so now we test if hearing duration scales with absorbed magic volume—and obviously, I rejected that, and just as obviously, my rejection was ignored. I couldn't be sure whose it was, but Leo's magic definitely lingered in my mouth. Nausea welled up. Or maybe not just sensation. Blech—something like that escaped me. My vision blurred; I couldn't even recall what I'd done. Dunking my head in the Izar River might kill me, but it'd snap me out of it at least.
"Lord Ascanien, where…."
Boom―!
I blasted past the crown prince's palace guards blocking my path with a spell and bolted to the back of the building. Crossing the rear garden toward the postern gate, I spotted a dark figure. Again. Someone else in my way. I leveled my wand and shouted.
—Through the narrow gate…!
"Wait, hold on!"
Before I could place the familiar voice, my wand was seized. My reaction speed was definitely shot. The person ahead of me scanned me with furrowed brows, then recoiled in horror.
"You…!"
It was Mecklenburg. Why the hell was this guy here again? Place was turning into a tourist spot. Nikolaus would be thrilled to hear about his blood-sucking Pleroma buddies. Guts churning, I raised my wand again. Mecklenburg raised his hands placatingly, shaking his head.
"You're here after all."
"……."
His unexpected words left me tilting my head blankly. Mecklenburg eyed the blood on my clothes warily and explained.
"Excellency Hohenzoellern went all the way to the crown prince's palace and said she still couldn't find you. But I'd seen you myself before, so what was that about?"
"……."
"And I already heard about your hearing. I came because there's something you need to know right now… but even before that, knowing you couldn't hear, I figured I'd come in person."
He'd heard I couldn't hear, yet here he was saying it outright—and handing me a letter to boot. The contradiction was oddly fascinating. Same as me, though. A quick peek at the letter revealed neat handwriting full of condolences for my hearing loss. Steadying my breath, I grabbed him and dragged him along as I ran. In an empty corner, I cast a concealment spell, flashed a smile, and waved the letter.
"I can hear. Thanks for the sympathy."
"…?! You can hear…!"
Playing it cool in this state was tough. Cutting off his shock, I replied.
"Got treated. What brings a senior from the Imperial Mage Association here?"
"You think they wouldn't let in someone like me, a senior from the Imperial Mage Association? Have you forgotten why we're even in Bavaria at a time when anything could blow up?"
Guy snipes whenever he gets the chance. Fine, got it. After the 91st Class Rep left, Leo must not have ordered anyone barred entry. No one else would show up this late anyway. Leaning against the wall to catch my breath slowly, I watched Mecklenburg narrow his eyes and speak.
"So, you wouldn't happen to be…."
"What?"
He cautiously pointed at the blood on my clothes.
"What's this?"
"Not my blood, so don't worry."
"Who's worried about you?! I should be demanding to know whose it is…."
"Whose? Nearly got chomped by the 101st Squadron Leader."
"…?"
Mecklenburg tilted his head, squinting.
"Wait, Lord Wittelsbach? That's practically…."
"Just messing around. Sparring."
"This isn't 'messing around' level. Your strikes…."
His tone grew more serious by the word—tedious to deal with, but honestly, I'd ask the same in his shoes. Saying it wasn't my blood implied it was Leo's…. Waving him off to dispel whatever misconceptions he had about Leo's skills, I cut in.
"So, what brings you here? Can't stay forever."
He finally schooled his expression. Still eyeing me oddly, he reverted to his usual affected tone, calm and composed.
"The Pleroma Church's two most symbolic dioceses have been crushed by our hands. How do you think they'll move now?"
"Copying my rhetoric?"
Spit out the main point already in this situation? Clutching my pounding head and exhaling, I recalled the command HQ plan I'd overheard in passing.
"You said the other dioceses will unite, so we'll mobilize even the batches deployed for berserker cleanup to hit the remaining Pleroma. So…."
Mid-sentence, my head started aching for a different reason, and my mouth hung open.
Another diocese assault? Right now? Not even 30 hours since the last op ended?
Mecklenburg pulled an envelope from his jacket. Orders. I stared at it, feeling the blood drain from my face.
"The Pleroma leadership has proposed negotiations."
Negotiations?
I scowled. Shocking, to say the least. In the erased Pentaron terror timeline, they'd broadcast their intentions directly via the Imperial Gazette. That had been Pleroma's first official public appearance. And by turning back time, I'd erased that too.
"Then negotiations are out of command HQ's hands now—the Imperial government should step in. So why the orders…?"
Mecklenburg's lips twitched before he met my eyes with unwonted gravity.
"They want to meet Lord Ascanien.