Chapter 46 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble Family
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I answered the reporters' questions and checked my watch.
Under the premise that Dasrote would exploit the purification announcement, I considered the directions they might take.
The first thought from Dasrote's perspective would be this:
'Are you pretending to be virtuous to cover up the controversy?'
Naturally, they would need to emphasize that my intentions weren't pure.
The way to most strongly stir public emotions would be to cast me out as their out-group, so presenting an unrealistic figure for magical compensation was a perfect tool for Dasrote.
Anything involving money or objects of desire was a field they exploited to exhaustion, so the possibility that they'd touch on compensation was already high enough.
"I have a question."
"Yes."
"The Imperial Family expressed their intent to investigate Dasrote, and the Imperial Court immediately issued a search and seizure warrant. On the grounds that Dasrote used photos of Prussian Kingdom citizens unrelated to the interview for false reporting."
It wasn't a question related to the purification topic, but my aide wisely didn't intervene.
Here it comes.
I'd blocked one of their expected counterattacks with the preemptive donation, but that wasn't the end of it.
Did I think these guys would back down just because their predictions were off?
No. They still had plenty of room to shift focus slightly from money to adultery.
'If they break the false reporting story then, it's over.'
I'd thought the Bavaria warning would hit first timing-wise, but this one came first.
No matter. Both would have a big impact.
I smiled and listened to the reporter's continuing words.
"I'm wondering if this case really warrants a search and seizure, and about the Imperial Court's response in issuing the warrant. Do you know if the Bavaria Kingdom or the Bavarian Federal Government was involved?"
It's natural to have doubts.
To summarize, his question boiled down to this:
'The Imperial Family ignores everything unless it harms them directly—why go so far as a search and seizure over just a few commoner photos?'
Honestly, even I wasn't entirely certain the prosecution—though it's really the Imperial Family—would request a search and seizure warrant.
Unless I could peer into others' minds, there's no certainty in acting.
But it wasn't unreasonable for the prosecution to deem a search necessary.
Would a media outlet that always diligently sourced proper evidence for its articles suddenly fabricate on such a massive scale this time?
'No way.'
Especially since the culprit was Dasrote, it was far more likely they'd been doing it all along.
Of course, Dasrote wouldn't want to hand over records of all their past fabrications, so they might discard them or move them to a safe place.
There was ample reason for a search right now.
So, let's think about it.
'Why is the Imperial Family reacting so strongly to someone else's issue?'
Had Dasrote never slyly manufactured gossip about the Imperial Family or government officials in their reporting over the past few years?
Of course they had. They'd touch anything for buzz.
Of course, they hadn't gone as extreme with me.
They'd end it in a few lines at the level of 'suspicions are being raised' to evade regulation and punishment.
'And... those were all suspicions first fabricated by Dasrote.'
It might not have been a huge blow, but from the Imperial Family's standpoint, Dasrote would be someone to keep a close eye on, someone deserving a firm hand.
But in a society rife with media-government collusion, the Imperial Family and Dasrote often aligned.
There was precedent for the Imperial Family tipping off Dasrote about targets to eliminate, steering situations their way.
So... cutting off mana support would mean discarding a useful card, but a verbal warning? Dasrote would recognize the Imperial Family's own vulnerabilities and shrug it off.
Thus, from the Imperial Family's view, when a good pretext arose, they'd press hard once—showing strength without long-term damage, just a sharp sting.
The timing was perfect.
The Imperial Family wanted a chance to meaningfully warn Dasrote, and I needed to prevent Dasrote from shifting focus to adultery and amplifying false rumors.
Having finished these thoughts, I answered the reporter's question.
"As you know, I'm a Bavarian citizen. I reported Dasrote's false interview and photo materials to the Bavarian Investigation Bureau based on my nationality. I know nothing about what happened after that."
Another reporter raised their hand.
"Including the interview and photos, five people were featured in Dasrote, but the Imperial Newspaper reported that recordings already prove the information false for three of them. Can we take this to mean all of Dasrote's claims are lies?"
This one's trying to outright confirm Dasrote's claims as false. I like the attitude.
I nodded and replied.
"Yes. Of course. To reiterate, I have no romantic relationship with anyone. Not in the past, and not now. The people in the materials Dasrote claimed are all strangers to me—not even acquaintances."
At that moment, the atmosphere in the press section shifted.
It wasn't because of my words. Reporters glanced at notes being scribbled on papers they'd brought, then quickly spoke up.
"I have a question."
"Yes."
"Two minutes ago, the Bavarian Royal Family warned that if Dasrote publishes more false articles attacking the royal authority, they will permanently expel the Dasrote Bavaria branch. Did you know about this, Lord Nikolaus?"
Perfect timing to connect.
Perhaps the Bavarian Royal Family had heard about the Imperial investigation process and timed their announcement to match.
Dasrote had taken a hit from the search and seizure, making it hard to sustain the issue, but this drove the nail in further.
With Dasrote's credibility now in question, the Bavarian Royal Family had essentially proven all their claims fake at the royal level.
This sealed it completely.
I smiled beneath my mask and spoke to the broadcast camera.
* * *
Ding—!
〈 Chapter 4. Constant Droplets Pierce the Stone (2) 〉
Proposal 3: [Impression] Score 5 Defense (?/N) (107 hours 09 minutes 58 seconds)
* Route 1 — 〈 Chapter 5. Good Things Take Time (1) 〉
* Route 2 — 〈 Chapter 5. Don't Praise the Day Before Evening 〉
Congratulations!
'Proposal 3: [Impression] Score 5 Defense' successful!
'Route 1 — 〈 Chapter 5. Good Things Take Time (1) 〉' confirmed.
I lay back comfortably and gazed at the status window.
107 hours was about four and a half days.
It had ended just over two days after the proposal appeared.
I'd thought the 'N' meant it'd run a full week, but no.
And...
Yesterday, the impression score's back digits were 2513.
Lucas René Ascanien
Impression: -9.9 [+5.0025496]
Thanks to the purification report and donation news hitting full force this morning too, it had jumped nearly tenfold.
Recalling it ended in the 15,000s after the proposal appeared, this was even higher.
'Ending early means no further impression drops expected here within the week.'
With the preemptive donation, search and seizure, and Bavarian expulsion warning hitting all at once, Dasrote dropped the topic entirely.
They even started writing articles subtly praising me.
They must've figured pushing further would cost more than it gained.
'But that doesn't mean I'll stop.'
No matter how long the lawsuits drag, I'll make sure to crush those bastards.
Of course, suing as Nikolaus would just get my info exposed in turn, so I'll reveal I'm a student first before proceeding.
'Still, raising the score isn't easy.'
Even dumping 4.2 billion only got it to the 6s—I felt that keenly once more.
I closed my eyes and continued calculations in my head.
To raise the impression score by 4 more points, I'd need events like the live broadcast two or three more times.
Even the same positive influx gets harder to leverage as the number grows, so expecting a 3-point jump from one activity like before was unrealistic.
'If I'm putting in the effort anyway, better to build a more refined image.'
As long as I attended school looking perfectly fine, my brother's anxiety about 'Luka' would only grow.
I couldn't completely avoid school life as a student, so unless I dropped out, 'Luka' consuming resources was inevitable.
I'd accept the wariness toward Luka, but in turn, make Nikolaus even more undeniably safe.
Just then, someone tapped the floor with the tip of their shoe.
Opening my eyes, I saw Leo standing by my head.
Not surprising. This was Leo's training ground.
Leo nodded at me.
"Get up. Let's train."
"Sorry, came to say I can't."
"What? Why?"
Leo raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Got a lot to think about."
"Thinking? You can think while training. I won't nag today."
"..."
He ramped up the intensity every time my skills improved.
How could I think of anything else amid that? It's amazing he thought it possible.
Above all, this guy had a sixth sense for when I was distracted during training and would earnestly advise me.
Saying so now just screamed he wanted to train and was coaxing me.
As I closed my eyes wordlessly again, Leo tried coaxing once more.
"We haven't trained for over four days anyway because of the council and Dasrote. Slack off now, and all the feel I built up will fade. Gotta practice steadily."
What could I expect from this magic-obsessed maniac...
I shot up and leaned against the wall.
"Feel matters, but first I need stamina to think. Starting tomorrow."
"...Fine, whatever."
Leo plopped down beside me, his face oddly gaunt.
Seeing his magic-maniac side after so long was nostalgic.
Still not training, though.
Elias was still healing his leg, so no training with him...
"Do it with Narke. He's good too."
"Hmm..."
From his response, they hadn't built that level of rapport yet.
Natural. Outside secret meetings, they had nothing in common, so they probably saw each other as just 'classmate 1.'
Come to think of it... being able to see others' affinity levels would be useful.
'...Nah, scratch that.'
Getting a skill to check others' affinities would suck.
Sure, usable, but compared to insight and such, it'd be relatively worthless.
Insight would help view others' affinities anyway.
If you're giving, give insight.
Thinking that, I recalled who Leo trained with last year. Luka paid zero attention to class dynamics, so no one came to mind.
"Who'd you usually train with?"
"Just same-class friends. Rotating."
"Then call one today."
"Nah... Training plus dealing with pointless chit-chat is too much. Weren't you resting to think?"
Mostly gossip or family talk, so yeah, pointless.
I nodded and answered his question.
"Trying to build Nikolaus's achievements more precisely. Gotta plan in detail."
"You're trying to make Nikolaus as big as your brother, right?"
"Yep. Gotta set that foundation so even if brother stirs something later, it won't budge."
For that, start with the groundwork.
Especially my past and ID, still full of holes.
Needed patching.
"Speaking of, it's already November 15th—end-of-month evaluations?"
School arbitrarily postponed, and a week later, no word.
Leo squinted.
"Technically can't say till day after tomorrow... but you should know. Just don't blab anywhere till then."
"What is it."
"Before festival, lower-grade restricted zone cleanup. Magic department only."
"...What? They'll all die coming back."
"...Wonder how the kids would react hearing the practical bottom trash-talk like that..."
I smiled, ignoring Leo's hollow laugh.
That's just surface-level bottom, whatever.
"So, why do I need to know?"
"You'll have to redo core check too. Told prof it's pointless, but they wanna see anyway since school's got buzz on restricted zones."
"Hmm..."
"But spots for aptitude issues are short, so schedule's shifted. Debating sending only good ones after checks... nothing fixed. What about you—gonna potion it?"
"Yeah."
Good opportunity.
Can solidly inform brother of my core status. He won't fully relax, but decent data.
I pulled Nikolaus's ID from my bag tossed far away.
More like a wizard registration card than plain ID.
[Nikolaus Karl Bernhard Yoon Ernst]
The boldly printed name caught my eye first.
Couldn't help a wry chuckle at the length—noble habit, unavoidable.
The random Korean surname in the middle couldn't be removed due to first restricted zone visit record, so middle name it was.
Not the point, though. What I wanted to check:
Bavarian Royal Magic Association Temporary Registration
General Magic Grade 5
"Registered as 5th grade."
"Yeah. Temp cards all default to median."
Can't leave as temp forever.
Expiration: end of year.
One month and three weeks left...
"Gotta go now. You free? If not, solo."
"Huh? Right now?"
"Timing's key."
If school does core check, brother hears my core grade...
Matching that with ID issuance timing clears some suspicion.
Brother's suspicion, viewing Nikolaus as observation target.
School wants to flex with student deployment.
Benefits me indirectly.
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