[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-how-to-survive-as-the-second-son-of-a-mage-famil":3,"chapter-how-to-survive-as-the-second-son-of-a-mage-famil-how-to-survive-as-the-second-son-of-a-mage-famil-chapter-75":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1473981,1923,"Chapter 75","how-to-survive-as-the-second-son-of-a-mage-famil-chapter-75",75,"\u003Cp>How much time has passed?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fact that just hearing a voice can stir up emotions like this means I definitely didn’t manage to take the antidote.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And I’m feeling weak, too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is a familiar sensation. The magical restraints placed on me feel exactly like the ones that bound me when I was captured with Elias.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is too much.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I muttered to myself, staring up at the ceiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could have broken free when I dealt with Koffman, but they brought the same restraints again, just using different materials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From somewhere out of my sight, someone replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Compared to how you’ve been lying and deceiving people with a facade of sincerity, which one do you think is worse?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turned my head to look at Gerda.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your skills are better than I thought. I hadn’t heard you could use mind control magic directly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shouldn’t I have at least one weapon of my own?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So she had been hiding it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I have no regrets about using the potion to exploit her emotions in order to break down her defenses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I thought she smelled like one of my own before, and it seems I was right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I need to think this through.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strauch and others might be lenient in some ways, but at least they didn’t completely immobilize me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what’s odd is that Gerda Asman is at least 15 cm shorter than me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘She must have something she’s relying on.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Does she plan to keep using that power she used earlier?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If she uses it before I can throw a punch, I’ll just keep falling asleep, and there won’t be much of a fight at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘As for the exit…’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’ll be a miracle if I can reach it without being put to sleep first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And even if I manage to open the door, it won’t lead back to our world without Gerda Asman’s pendant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, I noticed Gerda’s expression for the first time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her face was dark, almost frighteningly so. The way she stood made her look half-dazed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When our eyes met, she asked in a cold voice, “When did it start?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you talking about?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Wittelsbach potion.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now I understood why she looked more shocked than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no need to humiliate her further by admitting that I deliberately took the potion before meeting her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You don’t have to answer. It doesn’t matter anymore. After all, you used me to try and kill Koffman, so what else could I expect?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if it was necessary, Gerda Asman wouldn’t accept that justification. I didn’t expect the person I used to understand either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gerda Asman\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Favorability +9\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…Why did her favorability go up so much?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wasn’t I just someone she kept around for entertainment before the potion? Or did I misjudge the situation from the start?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…It would be nice if some traits could be shaved off to make it +6 instead.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In any case, the fastest way to resolve this is to play along with her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I grabbed my throbbing head and sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m sorry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t apologize.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gerda cut me off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could guess why she didn’t want an apology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as it’s easier for me to deal with a flat-out villain when Gerda Asman is a simple 25-year-old antagonist, it’s easier for her to attack me if I’m a thorough con artist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And apologizing would mean admitting that I used her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Let’s calm her down first.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then will I have a chance to feed her the potion that induces negative emotions. The process may not be pleasant, but it will lead to a peaceful outcome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I opened my mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Regardless of how it started, my feelings weren’t fake. You must have figured out my condition by now, Ms. Asman.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They may not be fake, but they’re still false. What else would you call emotions created by one potion and erased by another?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gerda shook a bottle containing a clear liquid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…….’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The antidote.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had put it in my inner jacket pocket, but it seemed she confiscated it along with everything else when she sealed off my magic. My jacket was gone too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t react, but Gerda immediately uncorked the bottle and tipped it over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*Splash—*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m sorry. I can’t give this to you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gerda got up and wiped away the liquid with her shoe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she sat back down beside me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the silence dragged on, I turned my head to look at my body. I noticed a pressure bandage on my arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before I could ask, she spoke up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It worked well. I didn’t want to drink it until you were ready, but… well, since I found out everything, there’s no point in apologizing. Isn’t that right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No. Bloodsucking in a church is beyond the pale.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, it’s beyond the pale anywhere, but there’s no need to point that out. She should already know that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I expected her to push back a little, maybe say that my actions were even more outrageous, but surprisingly, Asman asked calmly, “Is that so?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Before I was resurrected, I would have thought so too. Actually, come to think of it, drinking human blood wasn’t even a choice in my mind. It was something out of fairy tales or folklore.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She’s well aware.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Has the ideological re-education spell worn off? Why is she suddenly thinking so rationally?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You think Pleroma is a crazy cult, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re not a Pleroma yourself. You haven’t even received novice training. You came here to stop Pleroma’s plans through me, didn’t you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Precisely.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I refrained from saying sorry, as Asman had requested.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wasn’t sorry at all for thwarting Pleroma’s plans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I thought you were sincere.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s why I answered your questions without suspicion.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I know exactly how you’re feeling right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I knew what methods I had chosen, and I knew this would be the outcome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When I woke up again, there was nothing left. One day I opened my eyes and found I had moved 40 years into the future, and the truth was I had already died and been resurrected.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Talking about her past in this situation…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’ll just make things more uncomfortable for both of us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I listened quietly anyway. I didn’t want to cause more resentment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In a world where I was left alone, I thought I had finally found someone trustworthy, but it turns out I made the wrong choice from the start.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had no response to that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Am I supposed to convince her that this was the best way to prevent a crime?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘That’ll go over well.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, I have no regrets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’d make the same choice if I had to do it all over again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To me, lives are more important than Gerda Asman’s feelings. Even with the potion, that fact doesn’t change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perhaps you don’t care about the situation of a child kidnapper… but if it were me, I’d feel the same way. I understand why you tried to stop Pleroma’s plans, Mr. Weitzel.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now you understand?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why didn’t you think that before you kidnapped those kids?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But at the same time, I wondered why Gerda Asman had suddenly started speaking so “normally.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After the connection with Koffman was cut off, I realized something was wrong. I remember wanting something and bringing those children here, but I can’t recall what I wanted. How could I continue to trust Pleroma in such a situation?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Since we’re on the topic, let me tell you something: send them back immediately, before things get any worse.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve already sent them back to where they belong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt a sudden wave of relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She sent them back so easily?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is this a joke?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Well… it’s certainly good news.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gerda must have seen the surprise on my face because she gave a faint smile as she spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You were here to stop me from doing anything worse, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m still confused about a lot of things, but I understand at least one of your objectives. So… what if I no longer stand on their side?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gerda Asman took my hand the way I had often taken hers, overlapping our fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Would that change anything? Or am I still just a tool and a target to you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, she sent them back to see my reaction—to see if I’d view her differently if she removed the cause that made me use her as a tool?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She may be confused by Pleroma’s brainwashing, but she hasn’t completely come back to herself yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Then.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But the truth is, I can’t continue this relationship. I’m sorry. I was too careless in my thinking.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I admit it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was too focused on my goal, and I didn’t fully consider the emotional impact on the people involved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was an unavoidable situation, but it’s only natural for her to feel deeply betrayed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gerda Asman shrugged as if she had expected that. Then, with a cold expression, she spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, that’s too bad. But I need blood.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And there’s her true nature, coming out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I also stripped my voice of emotion and replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you’re thinking of returning to society, you’ll have to give up that kind of activity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gerda responded with an icy tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even if I wanted to, I don’t think I could return.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With those words, my consciousness faded again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>* * *\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘This is ridiculous… I’m at a loss.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Does Strauch deserve some credit for not drinking blood?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A day has passed in this world, and now my vision is spinning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This body already lacks stamina, and she’s practically draining it to the last drop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tried to use force a few times, just in case, but I failed every time. Whether it’s because she’s gotten stronger after drinking my blood, her skills keep improving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I even attempted to use the retry feature, but it didn’t work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It makes sense. To undo all this, I’d have to go back two weeks and avoid meeting Gerda Asman altogether….\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shook my now pale blue left arm and spoke up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s stop this and negotiate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go ahead. I’ll listen.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you let me go, I’ll let you drink my blood daily. As long as I have time to recover, you can decide the amount.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s your guarantee?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t you trust me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gerda burst out laughing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Trust you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she spoke again immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I suppose I would… if all the trust you’ve shown me wasn’t just created by a potion. But at least it’s convenient. You’ve already taken the potion a few times, so you probably won’t object to drinking it again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s a terrifying thought.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From what I understand, she’s suggesting that she’ll keep making me drink the potion while draining my blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gerda sat down in front of me, holding a bottle of an unfamiliar potion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You must be tired. Let’s make this easy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What stage is that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I asked, eyeing the bottle in her hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Does it hurt to know this much?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Does it matter at this point?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s ten times stronger than stage 10. Ever tried it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No way. Drinking that would be the end of me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I checked the status window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Six hours have passed in the real world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Leo and Elias…’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’re probably struggling to find the location of the coordinates. Narce must be having the same trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What should I do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To execute my plan, I need to free my magic first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stared at the floor, lost in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘There is…’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is a way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s risky, but… it’s about time to go home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m just grateful she brought me the perfect material.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked up and spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Alright, give it to me.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1956,"2026-06-06T03:11:08.303Z",1,"novelbin.me","f94bb27fec481578e0bf207d8038577dfa5757f28e66cc16485592c8d40999f1","how-to-survive-as-the-second-son-of-a-mage-famil-chapter-76","how-to-survive-as-the-second-son-of-a-mage-famil-chapter-74",367,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fhow-to-survive-as-the-second-son-of-a-mage-famil-cover.jpg"]