Chapter 50 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble Family
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"Opting out of going that far? Someone tell that bastard we've already gone in."
Elias muttered with his chin propped up.
Leo adjusted the artifact plugged into his ear and bit his lip slightly.
"Magic right from the start…"
"Judging by the reaction, he hasn't been hit directly yet. The problem is that Luca's been moved to an entirely different place."
"…Right. What does it mean that the coordinate system is different? Have you ever heard of that? Didn't you say you looked at imperial records before?"
"No, I've never heard that term. But there might be higher-level record vaults that I didn't get into?"
Elias continued.
"I thought I'd ransacked everything, but there could be places storing even more classified materials. If it's truly top secret, even its existence wouldn't be known… The key players might be aware."
"…Connecting to the imperial side comes first, then."
But what if the imperial side truly didn't know either?
Leo leaned back against the chairback, crossed his arms, and let out a deep sigh.
If even I didn't know and Elias didn't know, then our options here shrink dramatically.
'Narke…'
That guy wouldn't have the info.
According to the light investigation I did at the start of the semester, he came from a priestly family deeply tied to the Papal Court, but there were no signs that Narke himself had been involved in its politics.
'The Papal Court might know, but contacting them…'
Leo groaned and clutched his head.
How did we get here? Warp magic inside and outside the empire is banned.
Should he open a portal, factoring in some backlash from the kingdom side? Honestly, given the circumstances, it could be justified as an emergency after the fact.
The imperial side would have to go along with it too.
Beep—
At that moment, Leo grabbed the artifact in his other ear and listened intently.
Leo nodded, gave a short reply, and turned to Elias.
"He's been transferred to the Imperial Investigation Bureau now."
* * *
"Ugh!"
Boom—
Strauch toppled sideways from Lucas's kick.
Even if he could cast four or five more spells, that didn't mean he'd block every incoming attack.
The situation was already being handed over to the Bavarian Investigation Bureau, and if the investigators had quickly grasped it, it would now shift to the Imperial Investigation Bureau.
So a certain level of damage wasn't a big risk to him.
He'd come prepared to take a few hits anyway. No one enters a fight without that resolve.
'And I have to prepare for the plan going off the rails.'
The plan had been for Leo or Narke to rescue him once things wrapped up, but Strauch didn't seem to be using standard spatial magic formulas.
There was a reason the empire and Papal Court hadn't made much headway for over a decade.
Even with normal spatial magic, without a medium linking the two spaces, pinpointing the spell's origin was tough—and using an entirely new formula jacked up the difficulty exponentially.
'At least there's a medium.'
The artifact linked to Leo.
Whatever formula Strauch used, as long as it was spatial magic, that single medium boosted his survival odds.
But since it was unfamiliar magic, it would take time for outsiders to breach, so rather than wasting spells one by one, it was better to stockpile them and unleash in a do-or-die moment.
Lucas sat in front of the congressman, grinning, and nodded toward the blood trickling from his mouth.
"You should head to the hospital first. One hit and you're like this."
"Haha… ha…"
Strauch let out a hollow laugh, spat blood-mixed saliva onto the floor, and muttered.
"From your actions… I figured you wouldn't care about danger, but I didn't expect this level."
That's because he'd come knowing this would happen.
But he had no intention of giving away info by saying so.
Lucas replied in a flat tone.
"What can you do about what's already happened."
"This is insane. You don't think living in that state is normal, do you?"
"..."
Lucas stared down at him silently. The mask hid his expression anyway. No need to fake it.
Strauch pressed his lumbar vertebrae and slowly rose to his feet.
"Listen. I'll send you back to where you came from."
Strauch chuckled with a trembling voice.
"But when you get back, announce that Pleroma was never involved—that everything you uncovered was your own fabrication."
Digging his own grave like this? How considerate.
Lucas met his gaze and smiled.
"Why should I?"
"Do I need to spell it out one by one? Think about your position."
Strauch's shaking fingers swiftly traced the air. Pitch-black Vitriol shot toward Lucas's throat.
Boom—!
His vision shook from the impact.
Lucas gritted his teeth, grabbing the Vitriol choking his neck. The marble floor made the head slam hurt even more.
"..."
"No reaction at all… Lord Nikolaus, I hear you're awfully stubborn?"
Strauch grabbed Lucas's shoulder and yanked it back.
"No, wait. You're not Lord Nikolaus. You'd live as your true self normally…"
"Guh…"
"As I said earlier, I'm curious who's down here. Probably the whole nation is. How brazen do you have to be to step into the sacred council wearing a mask… And to get approval for it… Of course, that was thanks to the Wittelsbachs."
Strauch tapped the mask as he spoke.
Beep—
A faint alert tone sounded in Lucas's ear.
Strauch didn't hear it. He kept laughing with the same expression and pressed on quickly.
"Or maybe you're in a position that can't be exposed? Like the next pope candidate, or one of His Majesty's relatives… That would make serving under the Bavarian crown prince a blow to your pride, even nominally. Well, royals' circumstances are beyond a noble at the bottom rung like me."
"…Urgh, ugh…"
"How about it? Try blocking this. Or I'll take it as permission to check."
Strauch dodged Lucas's kick with a laugh. Then he grabbed the mask's edge and poured mana into it.
Crack—
The mask's black glass shattered along thick fissures. Strauch turned Lucas's head with a grin.
"What kind of bastard…"
Strauch's eyes widened. The Vitriol he'd been channeling cut off. He released his hand and slowly stood.
Boom—
"Ascanien? Why are you here…"
Strauch muttered with a furrowed brow.
Lucas, collapsed on the floor, clutched his throat, coughed violently for a while, then exhaled deeply.
"Hah, ha, whew…"
"You were supposed to be in the Papal States. No, you're younger—could it be…"
Strauch grabbed Lucas's robe and pulled his upper body up. He peered piercingly into Lucas's eyes and muttered.
"Ascanien, but… the younger brother. Right. The coloring's similar; I mistook you."
Lucas punched out, shoving Strauch away. He released the robe, stood, and stepped back.
"This is… enough to turn the empire upside down. That Pleroma's Nikolaus."
"..."
"How about it? Say something. How does it feel to deceive the masses? Slap on a mask, and a near-untouchable becomes a hero. Must be fun for you? Seeing the entire nation as unparalleled fools…"
"Your words are a bit harsh."
Lucas wiped his mouth with his robe sleeve and replied in a sharp voice.
Fortunately, the connection was cut. That faint alert earlier meant they'd smartly disconnected from their end.
Now, he'd have to initiate transmission again.
"What's harsh about it? You're not trying to represent the people in this situation, are you…?"
Strauch narrowed his eyes and stepped closer.
"Is there a better word? What does being Ascanien matter? No one wants to be around you. If you wanted to get by, you should've played it smart like me."
"You talk big for someone who couldn't even secure one lab properly and left it ripe for the picking."
"..."
Strauch was speechless for a moment, then shoved the rising Lucas back with Vitriol and shook his head.
"…Fine. Couldn't ask for better luck. Your ransom just doubled. There was already talk at the bishops' conference about contacting Lucas Ascanien…"
Contacting him was secondary…
Thanks for the info.
Knowing about a mere proposal—not even a decision—meant this guy wasn't just a lay Pleroma drone. Likely a bishop or right next to one.
'And from the self-staging mention, it's definitely gone to the imperials.'
The Strauch estate in that world was probably already being searched by the imperials. Now it was just waiting for backup.
'Factoring in the coordinate issue, say 30 minutes to an hour.'
In the meantime, he had to choose: subdue the guy now, or observe what he tries next…
'Latter's better for now.'
Half-killing Pleroma here would make a good picture, but honestly, he'd already proven his strength plenty in terms of stats.
What needed imprinting on the public now wasn't how strong he was, but how firmly he stood for justice.
With the recording flowing to the Imperial Investigation Bureau, taking damage while capturing Pleroma—countering their evils—would only boost support. No downside for him.
And running into a bishop-level Pleroma was lucky in a way. Most caught so far were low-level grunts with no importance or intel.
This one was different.
Handled right, he could get info useful for the next impression plan.
'The key is what methods he uses to achieve his goals.'
Strauch grinned, knelt in front of Lucas, and sat at his level.
"As you know, we've had no chance to meet until now? Well… my demands haven't changed."
Strauch patted Lucas's shoulder, then whispered firmly into his ear, word by word.
"When you get back, say Lord Nikolaus manipulated everything. It was all his delusion. The imperial police, Imperial investigators, Imperial Gazette, researchers from various agencies, all the subjects—everyone was swept up in your fantasy. Even Duke Elias sadly lacked judgment in people."
"I won't."
"Then… let's expose that Nikolaus is Pleroma in front of the masses."
Lucas let out a snort.
They figured revealing himself now would let Lucas Ascanien's image overwhelm Nikolaus.
Rare chance to hear others' opinions like this.
Of course, even without theirs, revealing now was premature in every way.
Lucas shrugged and asked.
"What if he's not Pleroma?"
"Your core's just a normal core, but you definitely carry our nature."
"…Haha…"
Lucas burst into hollow laughter.
These bastards…
Sloppier than expected?
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