Elias, still unable to recover from the shock of having sixty years taken off his life, flipped through the booklet repeatedly.
To my side, Narce was silently shaking with laughter, his head bowed and his fingers pressed to his temples.
I could tell he was 200% laughing without even seeing his face.
Ding―!
〈 Chapter 4. Constant Dripping Wears Away a Stone (2) 〉
Suggestion 3: [Impression] Score 5 Defense (0/N) (167 hours 59 minutes 57 seconds)
* Route 1 — 〈 Chapter 5. Good Things Take Time (1) 〉
* Route 2 — 〈 Chapter 5. Do Not Praise the Day Before Evening Comes 〉
Yeah… this looks good.
It's something I needed to address anyway, so it's convenient if I can move on to the next chapter.
"Did you buy this?"
"Yeah… 1 pel."
Elias's hollow laughter filled the air.
To be honest, I expected him to guess up to his 40s, but not his 70s.
He really missed the mark this time.
Since Nikolaus hasn't revealed much, it's hard to determine his age easily.
Still, from his voice, silhouette, and overall demeanor, you could guess he's a young person.
So how did they come up with the shocking age of 70?
Consider this: the lifespan of mages varies greatly depending on their magic power.
It's not completely impossible for someone to maintain a youthful body even at 77.
Luca's father, for example, is approaching his 70s, but his body is that of a non-mage in his 40s.
'Though jumping sixty years isn't a common occurrence.'
It happens sometimes, but it's definitely not common.
Seeing someone who looks 17 but is 77….
No matter how much of a mage you are, that's too extreme.
Of course, that's my perspective.
For someone who doesn't know my age, it's plausible to think I'm in my 70s while maintaining a young body in my 30s or 40s.
'Let's think about it one more time.'
If they didn't just lump me into my 70s, it's possible they found some data that indicated my age.
'They must have misread 17.'
If it was handwritten data, it's possible.
Previously, when I heard that my name was in the military without my knowledge, I asked Leo about how he convinced our elders.
Despite his significant position, Leo could keep a suspicious person close because he claimed I was a friend from his class.
At least they believed I wasn't a threat to them.
However, that doesn't mean Leo revealed Nikolaus's exact identity.
The Askanian family rules the duchy and the Anhalt region.
And there's a lot of interaction between noble families, especially among the ruling families of various states within the Empire.
Even if Leo is family, there's a reason he didn't fully trust them.
So, let's think.
One day, your child appears in the newspaper with a masked figure as a companion without any prior notice, and that masked person's identity is unknown.
Even though they trusted Leo because he never spoke nonsense, claiming I was a friend from his class, there's no way they'd believe it if he said, 'I'm going to make a citizen's ID for him, but there's a slight problem with his birth year.'
So Leo couldn't manipulate my age even though he told the family I was a classmate.
Elias, who had wiped the astonishment off his face, nodded seriously.
"…Yeah, 77."
"Really?"
"No? I don't know. How can you tell a mage's age by just looking at their face? I didn't ask."
"Oh… I see…."
"What's this? Did they also guess why they wear masks? Because they're too ugly…? What? Infidelity? And a wanted criminal?!"
Elias laughed madly as he looked at Leo.
Leo sighed deeply with a complicated expression.
"No. Don't believe stuff like that."
"Really? I guess there's no way Wittelsbach would hire a wanted criminal…."
"Everything else too. Their usual behavior is also part of the qualifications."
The classroom fell silent at Leo's uncharacteristically serious response.
A friend close to Leo nudged him.
"Hey, the atmosphere's too heavy! You don't know. You only see him during work hours. How do you know what his usual life is like?"
"What do you mean, 'how do I know'? It's not true, so it's not true."
Leo replied with a frustrated look.
It was understandable.
He spent at least twelve hours a day with him, so he could be sure, but he couldn't tell them that Nikolaus was listening in the same class.
"No matter what, you…."
As the student was about to repeat the same thing, Elias propped his chin and looked at him.
"Guys, take it easy~ Are you saying the Bavarian Royal Family hired this kind of trash?"
"...."
What words….
I couldn't help but laugh.
"…No… that's not what I meant."
"Yes, that's what you meant."
Elias replied with a smile.
"Didn't this newspaper kill someone last year? And it's still popular?"
"...."
Elias grabbed the booklet from the desk and spoke to the student standing in front of him.
"If you understand, don't believe what's in here. Can I keep this?"
"Oh? Uh… sure."
The student reluctantly agreed.
The situation ended as the professor entered the classroom for the roll call.
As everyone reluctantly took their seats, Elias glanced at me and raised his eyebrows.
* * *
As I entered the meeting place, the eyes of my friends who had arrived earlier all turned to me simultaneously.
Seeing them gathered on a non-meeting day, it seemed today's incident was shocking to them too.
Of course, I expected them to gather, so my reaction wasn't completely unexpected.
"Oh dear, Elder… Hahaha!"
Elias stood up seriously, then collapsed onto the table laughing hysterically. Leo looked down at him with a mix of contempt and pity.
If I had been upset, I might have retaliated, but I just found it amusing. Honestly, being 77 was absurdly ridiculous.
Suppressing his laughter, Narce asked,
"Lucas."
"Yeah."
"How does it feel to be 77, Leo's eighth cousin, a wanted criminal, a missing grand mage, and the ugliest person in the Empire?"
"Doesn't bother me."
"Dasrothe says you're dating seven people right now. It's a preview for the next issue."
Narce waved the folded back cover of the magazine.
It's doubtful I'd have the time for that, leaving aside the morality.
They seem to plan to run with that for the next issue….
Surely, it's yellow journalism if they talk about unrelated, unproductive things like my accomplishments.
"They seem to have lost touch with reality by trying to sensationalize too much."
"Aren't you upset about the rumor that you wear a mask because of a complex about your looks?"
"Well, it's a hypothesis worth considering at least once in context."
It's less suspicious and doesn't pose ethical issues compared to saying I can't reveal it for personal reasons. Maybe I should just switch to this narrative too.
As I was contemplating, Narce laughed.
"Still, it seems you're not too bothered by it. That's a relief."
If it were a mix of facts and clever manipulation, I might get angry, but since it's utterly ridiculous from start to finish, I find myself staying calm.
Just thinking about the whole nation wondering if this nonsense is true or not makes me laugh.
Unlike Narce, who was suppressing his laughter, Elias let it out freely before taking a deep breath and asking,
"Ha ha… whew… Luca, to be honest, it pissed me off just reading it. Don't you want to just take off your mask and crush them all? All this bullshit would end if you just took off your mask."
"No. It's better to listen to nonsense than to mess things up."
I briefly opened my status window to check my Impression score.
Lucas Rene Askanian
Impression:** -9.9 (+0.1) [+5.0015131]
The impression score had jumped from 5979 to 15131.
It hasn't started declining yet, but according to the proposal, it will soon.
Even so, it's not a difficult task.
This proposal is a break for me.
It doesn't mean the opponent is easy. Those who kill with a pen are never easy.
But this issue is not a problem for me. In fact, it's advantageous.
Therefore, I can approach it more leisurely.
The social image Nikolaus is gaining is similar to my brother's in the past. A person who gives and gives to society without expecting anything in return.
Separately from my issues, my brother would have some interest in such a person as Nikolaus.
This is where the problem arises: I need to block all possible paths that could lead to Nikolaus's true identity.
At that moment, Leo threw Dasrothe down like a rag and spoke in a low voice.
"Lucas."
"What?"
"You haven't read this properly, have you? If you had read it all, you wouldn't be this calm."
"I read it."
At my answer, Elias raised his eyebrows and whistled.
Leo silently watched me.
"I read it all from start to finish. I need to know how the opponent is coming at me to deal with it properly. I can't ignore reports that might trip me up."
"Alright, then you should know well. This isn't about feeling wronged. It's outright character assassination. You're a student of the Imperial Second Academy, but Nikolaus isn't. Dasrothe is treating you as an adult and saying all kinds of disgusting things."
That's what yellow journalism is.
It's not surprising at all.
Even if it's not Nikolaus, many politicians and celebrities have been targeted by yellow journalism like Dasrothe.
Some have even ended their lives in suicide after being harassed by them.
"So, what do you want to do?"
"It's not about wanting. It's about what we'll do. We'll stop distributing Dasrothe in Bavaria."
"That's a good warning. But don't actually do it, just warn them. They'll back off on their own."
"What are you talking about after reading everything?!"
Leo frowned and stood up.
"Two-thirds of the Empire is controlled by the Royal Family. If we can't stop Dasrothe there, what's the point of driving them out of Bavaria, which is only one-seventh of the Empire?"
"...."
Of course, it's not that it's entirely meaningless to stop distributing Dasrothe to prevent people from reading it, but it's not entirely meaningless either.
Calling it one-seventh makes it seem small, but as an individual kingdom, it's the largest after the Royal Family's kingdom, with the second largest population.
It's not just a large land without substance; it also has strong economic power. Its dominance in magical medicine gives it significant influence as well.
So, from a businessman's perspective, it's not a simple matter.
"People with no hope don't care. The same goes for businesses. If Dasrothe's distribution is really stopped in Bavaria, they'll surely be frustrated. It would cause a huge hit to their sales. But that means they could bite into Bavaria, a market they've completely lost, even more viciously."
Leo glared at me, then sighed and sat back down.
I looked at Leo, who was taking a deep breath, and continued speaking.
"Sorry for speaking harshly. But you already know that just threatening them is enough. A threat only has meaning if it remains a threat."
"Yeah, Leo knows, but he seems really angry."
Narce, noticing that Leo didn't need any more realistic explanations, signaled to me with his eyes towards Leo.
It seemed he used his insight ability.
Of course, he'd be angry.
Even on the surface, they're slandering a person selected by Wittelsbach, a mage trusted by the Crown Prince. It's like insulting the entire royal family, not just me.
Leo and the other Wittelsbachs would undoubtedly have a negative reaction to Dasrothe's actions.
"…Yeah. I got excited. I'm sorry."
"No, it's understandable for you to be angry."
"It's a subject you should be angry about too."
Leo looked straight at me, driving his point home.
"Yes, you're right. I was angry. At first, honestly, I was."
"But not anymore?"
"Yes."
There are several reasons why I'm not severely affected.
First.
Unlike others who were targeted by Dasrothe as themselves, I'm disguised as the fictional character Nikolaus. In at most three months, I will reveal that he is a fictional character.
If I had to live as Nikolaus forever, it would be a serious blow. That would no longer be a fictional character but another part of me.
And, as soon as I reveal that Nikolaus is me, 95% of what's written in Dasrothe will turn into typographical garbage.
There's no need for a detailed explanation; it's clear at a glance that nothing matches.
Second.
There's a loophole in the first reason. Couldn't they transfer Nikolaus's suspicions onto me after revealing my identity?
There are no suspicions to transfer in the first place, and even if there were, there's no need to worry.
As mentioned before, articles about students are heavily censored, especially photos and videos.
This applies to all students supported by the royal family, meaning I'll be protected from such unproductive gossip even when I attend the Imperial First Academy.
In short, there's no persistence in the controversy.
Fires need fuel to burn.
I opened the part where the 77-year-old claim was written.
"Why 77?"
"They probably guessed."
Elias answered nonchalantly.
"Well, maybe, but what if it's a result of misreading 17?"
"Must be terrible handwriting. But yeah… some people do write like that."
"Yeah… Anyway, yellow journalism doesn't rely solely on imagination. They need some basis to convince readers. There's always some exaggeration and fabrication, but they do some investigation."
"So."
At Leo's words, I nodded toward the magazine he put down.
"Did you only check Dasrothe?"
"Yes."
I pulled out another magazine from my bag.
"Other places have similar content. Not as detailed as Dasrothe, though."
Elias laughed as he opened the magazine I handed him.
"Why does this one say you're in your 20s?"
This is why it's advantageous for me.
As I thought before, I can use this to create confusion.