NOVEL NEXT Chapter 169.2
Chapter 169.2. After Rest
And so.
After Hermes confirmed certain matters… he was escorted with utmost care for his well-being by Liliana and Katia.
They made their way to the now-familiar meeting room.
“──Hermes!”
“You’re already up? Are you sure you’re not too exhausted?”
The ones calling out to Hermes as he entered the room were Sara and Albert.
After reassuring them that he was fine, Hermes looked around the meeting room.
Present in the room were everyone from Liliana’s faction, including Jurgen, and──
“──Pardon my presence, Hermes-dono.”
“……”
The knight commander Thor and… one of the captains who had been confrontational with Hermes earlier.
The captain looked awkward but managed a proper bow, at least indicating he wouldn’t be picking a fight here.
“These two are here because I allowed them to join. …I believe having them present will be beneficial for the matter you are about to discuss.”
“…Indeed. I appreciate it, Your Grace.”
As expected, Hermes thanked Jurgen, who had guided the two, and took his seat.
As always, his expression was calm and composed.
“……First, let me apologize for the trouble I caused.”
He offered his apology. Fortunately, like Katia and the others, no one seemed particularly accusatory.
And then,
“And──I’ve brought results to show for all the hardship.”
At these words, spoken without undue weight, the room buzzed with anticipation.
Everyone present had some inkling of what Hermes’ “results” might entail.
After briefly pondering where to begin, Hermes decided to address a slightly tangential topic first.
“……To start with, let me explain the situation regarding Nina-sama──and the state of the captain she incapacitated.”
“!”
Thor and the captain reacted immediately.
In front of their uneasy expressions, Hermes continued,
“First… as you are aware, their lives are not in danger. Despite significant blood loss, the wounds are not deep, and with Sara-sama’s magic, they should be able to return to the frontlines before long.”
After stating the captains’ condition──likely one “intentionally left that way”──
“And,”
he delivered the next revelation sharply.
“We discovered traces of the Archbishop’s brainwashing magic on all of them.”
“──!”
“What…!”
Thor and the captain widened their eyes in shock.
While the others were less overtly affected, they also showed signs of surprise. Hermes continued,
“The traces didn’t reveal the exact nature of the brainwashing or mental tampering, but… it’s not hard to imagine what kind of alterations were made.”
“──Ah.”
The captain uttered a sound.
His face showed recognition──as if recalling something he himself had said…
[And you know what? The three captains who got taken down──they were the ones most opposed to siding with you to the very end!]
This revelation, perfectly designed to harm Hermes’ faction, hung in the air as Jurgen posed a question.
“……This is your assessment. Not that I doubt you, but──”
“Yes.”
“But if that’s the case… are you saying you ‘didn’t notice’? That you failed to catch it? I’m not accusing you, but…”
“…No. Feel free to hold me accountable.”
With a tone of regret, Hermes replied.
This too was a testament to the Archbishop’s cunning.
The first clever tactic was keeping the mental tampering subtle enough not to appear “abnormal”.
Even if the modification was something like “absolutely refuse to support Hermes,” in the given situation, it wouldn’t seem implausible.
This made it difficult to deduce their condition through observation.
The second was the initial skirmish──showing Lucius.
It’s likely that Johann had anticipated Hermes would detect the Bloodline Magic in that situation.
By deliberately showing Lucius──someone whose brainwashing was blatantly obvious through magical detection──he implanted the assumption that “brainwashed individuals are obvious.”
Exploiting this cognitive gap, he made the three captains less detectable.
Even so.
If Hermes had scrutinized the situation thoroughly enough, his exceptional detection skills might have uncovered the truth.
──If only he had observed more carefully.
“They made sure I couldn’t do that.”
That was the third layer of their strategy.
“They cornered me, widened the rift with the soldiers, and prevented me from approaching or closely observing them. Additionally, if the soldiers avoided interacting with me, there was no chance of discovery.”
If, at that time, Hermes had requested “a brainwashing check”, the soldiers would likely have refused outright.
By creating animosity and depriving Hermes of any breathing room, they ensured their trap went unnoticed.
No matter what Hermes’ group attempted, the soldiers were engineered to harbor dissent and obstruct complete cooperation.
──They had created a situation where “failure was inevitable”.
“……”
A heavy silence fell as everyone digested the shocking truth.
The one to break it was the captain himself.
“…You’ve got to be kidding me…”
His tone, his expression, brimmed with anger.
Not directed at Hermes but at his own helplessness.
Yes, because if what Hermes said was true, then…
“So, we were nothing but tools… thoroughly exploited by that damn Archbishop to push you into a corner. We danced in the palm of his hand…!”
“…Yes.”
Hermes offered no comforting words.
It was clear from the captain’s expression that such words weren’t desired.
──If the Archbishop had the capacity to covertly manipulate the three captains, then crushing the soldiers of Harvest’s territory alone would have been trivial.
“To him, we were nothing more than insignificant pawns he could dispose of anytime! From the very start, we were just playthings… damn it, DAMN IT…!”
The captain, who likely took pride in defending this land, was now grappling with the shattering realization that it had all been an illusion.
The same sentiment was evident in Thor, who bit his lip in frustration.
Unable to offer further words, the group stewed in their anguish.
Sensing the need to give them time, Hermes turned his attention elsewhere.
“…Hermes. Then…”
It was Katia who spoke next.
Building on the discussion, she sought to confirm her understanding.
“So, Nina… is she──”
“Yes. Nina-sama is an ally.”
Hermes made his assertion clear.
…If Nina hadn’t taken down those three captains during the assault, this truth would never have come to light.
In fact, with individuals embedded who would “never cooperate, no matter the logic”, even Liliana’s desperate appeals might have failed.
“Nina-sama somehow realized this──I’ll explain how later──and likely aided us within the limits of the Archbishop’s commands.”
“!”
Their companions’ faces brightened with relief.
While they never fully believed Nina to be an enemy, having concrete proof was reassuring.
And now──the main topic awaited.
“Then, considering the captains and Nina-sama’s situation,”
Hermes surveyed the room with conviction.
“──I’ll now explain why the Archbishop was able to corner us so thoroughly, wielding such overwhelming power. I’ll detail the findings of our analysis on the Archbishop’s ‘mysterious’ techniques.”
As the tension in the room reached its peak, Hermes began to calmly recount the revelations.