How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family Chapter 48

“…I knew your abilities were impressive, but I didn't realize you could notice such fine details.”

“Huh? So you really are Level 2? I guessed right~”

Narce sat down in the chair next to with a bright smile.

“Guessed right?”

I chuckled in disbelief and asked, “Did you guess?”

“Not completely. I made an educated guess based on various clues. It turns out I know you, Lucas, quite well now.”

The longer you know soone, the better your ability works on them.

Of course, people’s thoughts and behavior patterns don’t change easily.

No wonder he noticed such detailed things with just Level 2 abilities.

At that mont, a gust of wind from a warp spell blew through the entrance.

“Lucas.”

Leo’s voice called out.

I instinctively hunched my shoulders, possibly because I had unintentionally skipped training today.

‘…….’

Why am I reacting like this?

Dealing with this magic fanatic has made feel unnecessarily guilty… but there's no need for that.

I adjusted my thoughts and raised my head, eting Leo’s gaze. He gestured outside with his head.

“Let’s go. Ti for core treatnt.”

“Did I say I was going today?”

“No, but you don’t have anything else to do. You can’t train anyway because you took the potion.”

He knows well. At least he has common sense.

Narce, listening to our conversation, spoke up.

“Can I co too? I’m curious.”

“Well… okay.”

Leo hesitated for a mont before writing down warp coordinates on a piece of paper and handing it to Narce, who accepted it with a smile.

“Thanks~”

“No problem. Let’s et at the hospital.”

* * *

The treatnt was extrely tough.

Anything involving the core seems to be like this, with constant shocks similar to the core examination.

‘It’s no different from giving an electric shock to the heart….’

The caster of the treatnt spell seed to be struggling as well, as the doctor wiped sweat from his forehead and exhaled deeply.

“Whew… The damage is quite severe, so one session won’t be enough. But we’ve managed to repair a significant part of the minor cracks. Let’s stop here for today and continue next ti.”

“How many more sessions will it take?”

“At least five more sessions. By the way, isn’t the mask uncomfortable? It must be hot. You can take it off.”

“No, I’m fine.”

The doctor laughed heartily at that.

“Hahaha! I was curious, but that’s too bad.”

“…….”

He asked to take it off because he was curious….

I let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

“Then I’ll take my leave. You can rest for a bit before heading back.”

“Yes, thank you.”

I smiled and greeted him. As soon as the door closed, I leaned back into the cushion and closed my eyes.

For so reason, less than 10 seconds later, the door swung open again.

“Hey there~”

I didn’t need to open my eyes to know who it was, given the gruff greeting and the sound of crutches clattering with every step.

Elias sat down heavily in the chair next to , exhaling.

“Phew…. You’re here too, Sir Nicolaus? And Narce. I was bored, so I’m glad you ca.”

Narce greeted him with a bright smile.

“Elias, you're here too. It’s nice to see you here.”

“Right? Where’s that rabbit?”

“Haha, I couldn’t bring him to the hospital, so I left him in my room.”

So Elias also knows about Pai. Though he probably doesn’t know it can talk.

Narce tries to keep the fact that Pai can understand and engage in conversations hidden as much as possible. So far, I’m the only one who knows the full truth.

Given that, just like with Leo, there’s no particular reason to tell Elias since they don’t interact outside of our secret etings.

Elias closed his mouth, seemingly disappointed.

“I see. I wanted to see him.”

“Elias! I told you not to walk!”

Leo, who had followed Elias into the room, scolded him.

“No way. I have a lot to do with Nicolaus.”

“Do?”

“I got restless just sitting around after making a fuss. Don’t you agree? Let’s find sothing to hunt down. Explain that plan you ntioned earlier.”

“Haha….”

I released the protagonist into the world a bit early. This kind of behavior wasn’t supposed to happen until next year.

Still, it’s not a big problem since it’s not that far off.

“I need to handle sothing first, so I can’t go imdiately. I’ll explain once this is done.”

“What is it this ti? You’re not going to cause trouble like you said earlier, right?”

Leo, in his haste, didn’t filter his language.

“I’m not…. This ti, I plan to go alone, so you don’t need to worry. I’ll consider moving with Duke Elias next.”

“What are you handling alone?”

I pulled out a letter from my pocket and handed it to him.

[Werner Strauch, cklenburg-Schwerin Federal Council mber]

A letter from the Federal Council, addressed to my office in Bavaria.

Leo frowned as he took the letter.

“The Federal Council? No way….”

Elias glanced at the letter in Leo’s hand and chid in.

“He actually ca to you.”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

“Since he ca directly, I have to deal with it.”

* * *

“I never thought I’d end up inviting three classmates to my room….”

We were now in Leo’s room for a strategy eting.

Elias looked around in awe.

“Your room is almost an entire floor! Lucky you!”

“You’ve been coming here every week since childhood! Why are you acting like it’s your first ti?!”

“Oh, why did you have to say that~”

Elias chuckled and plopped down in the middle of the table. He then pointed to a door at the end of the corridor.

“By the way, that’s the bedroom, guys. If you get sleepy, go ahead and sleep. This mansion has 50 rooms, but the owner probably sleeps elsewhere.”

“Just ignore him.”

Leo, seemingly resigned, sat down with a smile.

Narce smiled and rested his chin on his hand.

“Haha, you two are really close~ I didn’t really notice in the classroom.”

“Yeah. Wait, you didn’t notice in the classroom?!”

“Lower your voice, Elias. And….”

Leo let out a sigh mixed with a laugh and looked at .

“This isn’t the ti for jokes. You can speak freely here since there’s no risk of being overheard. Why are you handling the Plaroma case alone?”

“Well, first….”

I should take off the mask.

Seeing that all the curtains were drawn, I took off the mask and placed it on the desk. The cool air touched my skin.

Finally, I could breathe easier.

“Oh.”

Elias whistled as he scanned my face. Narce also burst out laughing at Elias’s reaction.

“Wow, really….”

"Why?"

I had a feeling this was coming, but I couldn't help but ask.

Elias gestured with his head.

"Do you realize this is the first ti you’ve taken off your mask in front of us since you changed your appearance? Seeing your hair color too, you really look like Adrian Askanian."

"......"

I shot Leo a look, expecting him to contradict, but he just shrugged.

We share so genes, so it’s inevitable.

Besides, with more people around, there's never a mont of silence.

Narce remained mostly silent as usual, but Elias's chatter made it seem otherwise.

I waved my hand, brushing off Elias's teasing gaze.

"Enough of that, let's get to the point. It's getting late."

"Yeah, tell us why you plan to face him alone. That's what we gathered here to discuss."

Leo pushed again.

I unfolded the letter and slid it over to Leo.

"Did you check the contents?"

"He ntioned he has sothing to request regarding Pleroma and needs your Divine Power."

"Right. The reason I'm going alone is simple. He requested only . Given the circumstances, could I take you, Narce, or Elias with ?"

"......"

Leo sighed deeply, understanding my point.

"Even if I did bring soone, he would find a way to isolate . His target is alone, and the mont another mage intervenes, he loses."

"It was obvious from the start. As the initial whistleblower, it was inevitable that you would beco a target, Lucas."

Elias leaned forward, adopting a serious tone for once.

"Well, I don't want to stop you from doing what you plan, but honestly, sending you alone doesn't seem wise."

"Why do you think that?"

I asked with a smile, wanting to hear their thoughts first.

"It's obvious. As you said before, since the cover-up attempt has already gone public, the Pleroma group won't view the insect experinter kindly. His position has surely beco precarious."

"Exactly."

"He must harbor a deep grudge against you, the initial whistleblower. He won't hesitate to bring you down. Want to hear my scenario?"

I nodded silently.

Elias raised two fingers as he had before.

"Either you get dragged there and turned into a Pleroma, or you die in front of the Pleromas. Both outcos are irreversible. Especially the forr, where dying would probably be a better fate."

"You're right."

That’s indeed what could happen.

Depending on the severity of the spy's punishnt, the degree of retaliation against might vary, but it’s safest to prepare for those two scenarios.

Just as I was about to speak, Leo calmly asked.

"You agree, but you're still going?"

"Yes. I have a reason to go myself. First, sending anyone else won’t help, right?"

"I might be useful."

Elias interjected lightly.

He had a point.

The person he would bear a grudge against next to , the initial whistleblower, would be Elias.

If Elias, who is just as prominent as , went instead, the spy could find satisfaction in capturing him and using him to restore his honor and position.

However…

‘I can’t let that happen.’

I don’t think the protagonist would just die easily.

But there’s no need to burden an 18-year-old with the risks I should face. Besides, I need to raise my impression score anyway, so it’s not bad if I go.

Although the protagonist in the original story was older than I am now, the present is what matters.

"No. Your leg hasn’t healed yet."

"Oh, if I knew this would happen, I would have eaten the boar as soon as I saw it…. It feels so unfair now!"

Elias grabbed his head, speaking nonsense.

"Anyway, apart from and Elias, it wouldn't an much for anyone else to face him. Moving on, the reason we need to deal with him ourselves is simple."

Narce, already understanding my thoughts, nodded with a gentle smile.

"We don’t have a way to imprison him imdiately. Should we report and demand, 'Werner Strauch is a Pleroma, arrest him imdiately'? On what grounds would they believe ? I can’t present any evidence that he is a Pleroma."

Leo, listening with crossed arms and a dissatisfied look, slowly nodded.

"Exactly, you haven't told us how you found out either. We accepted it because you're not one to spout nonsense."

"At least now, we have more reason to believe. We got a letter from the person Lucas ntioned."

Elias shook the letter.

"Right, he proved it himself. Still, this evidence is only known among us, not enough to request an investigation."

Leo continued.

"If the Bavarian royal family requests an investigation from the Imperial family, they might actually start one, but the outco is uncertain."

I nodded at his words.

"Yes. If he has thoroughly cleaned his office and ho of any evidence, that’s the end of it."

"Wow, that's really thrilling. Being labeled a liar against the Imperial family~"

Elias chuckled.

Narce seed fascinated by the royal person talking so candidly, observing Elias intently.

Leo clasped his hands together seriously.

"So, because of this, you're saying you have to confront him directly. You can't use public power until you have concrete evidence."

"Exactly."

The Imperial family doesn’t want to antagonize the countries that make up the empire.

At this mont, cklenburg-Schwerin, where Werner Strauch is a federal council mber, is part of a grand duchy.

From the Imperial family’s perspective, they have no reason to arrest a federal council mber of a grand duchy based on a Bavarian mage’s unproven claims.

If I could present sothing concrete, it would be different, but I can't.

So….

"We can't lead an investigation, and even if we could, the success rate is low. We need to get Werner Strauch to admit he’s a Pleroma himself."

To do that, we need to wait for the mont he reveals his true nature.

And that mont will co when he faces , the person he holds a grudge against.

* * *

I adjusted the clear artifact hanging on my ear.

"If this gets hit, it’ll fly off."

"You need to prevent that!"

Leo turned away, looking exasperated.

"It would have been more stable if we had another chance to test it."

"We don’t have ti to make more. Be thankful it even works."

We couldn’t use a regular recorder in magical environnts, so we borrowed the transfer magic.

We inscribed a magic formula on a blank artifact to create a temporary effect. Adding the function to disconnect and reconnect the transmission every ti it’s touched increased the formula tenfold, causing so difficulties.

Still, surprisingly, the effect was much more stable when worn on the ear than during tests, so we quickly finished preparations.

I felt firsthand why they say to maximize contact with the body to enhance the artifact’s performance.

Of course, there could still be situations where the artifact doesn’t work depending on the environnt he creates.

Thus, we prepared both regular and magical thods.

I finished adjusting my outfit.

It was almost ti to move, so I turned to Leo for one last check.

"Let's go over it one more ti. If there’s anything the investigator shouldn’t hear, I’ll tap the artifact connected to my arm. It’ll disconnect. You can also disconnect from your side if needed."

"I know. I’ve set it to have about a 30-second delay, so don’t worry too much about controlling it. We’ll handle the disconnection and reconnection."

He ant the Bavarian Investigation Bureau.

Once it escalates there, the Imperial Investigation Bureau will take over.

I nodded and tapped the recorder hidden behind my robe brooch.

"The recorder doesn’t transmit in real-ti anyway, so I’ll leave it."

"Right. We’ll store it and release it after deleting any personal information."

It was already 3 PM.

Ti to go.

"I’m heading out."

I entered the coordinates from the letter into the warp formula and snapped my fingers.

The Federal Council's main building appeared before .

As expected, the person I recognized from prior research stood in the location.

I approached the figure facing away and called out his na.

"Councilman Werner Strauch."