After the skirmish with Karma and the confrontation with the First Prince Herc.
Upon returning to camp, Ermes received a full report from Lucius, who had been guarding the main encampment. According to him, the necessary preparations for the newly expanded army — disseminating countermeasures, unifying the chain of command, and the like — were largely complete.
In other words — the final battle was close at hand.
"The day after tomorrow. At that time, we'll leave the minimum necessary forces to guard the direction of the Royal Capital and deploy the entire army — to crush the Monster army and Karma. That was decided at the meeting just now."
"...And what am I supposed to do with that information?"
And so, in a room within the base.
Herc, the First Prince, regarded Ermes with a look of deep suspicion as he delivered the decisions made at the meeting.
"The only reason you bothered talking to me was because you wanted information on Karma. I've told you everything there is to say — I should be of no further use to you."
Though Herc's circumstances meant he was practically a prisoner by this point, he was still technically royalty. They had treated him with the courtesy due to an honored guest.
Perhaps he had realized that stubbornly holding onto his pride at this stage was pointless, or perhaps the explosive argument with Laila had let him vent some of what had built up inside. He had cooperated fully with the information exchange and had even received basic treatment with Sara's help.
But his circumstances and his past were not so light that those small concessions alone would soften his attitude.
The gaze he fixed on Ermes was still painted thick with a tangle of emotions.
...Strangely, there was no sense of disgust.
Having witnessed his clash with Laila, Ermes had gained some understanding of what the prince carried inside him, and he could sympathize with his circumstances.
But above all — just as he had felt back at the academy when confronting Albert —
Even without enough strength, even without fortune on your side. Even when you're humiliated, even when you're a pathetic mess, even when you're on the verge of breaking under the pain —
If you still hold something you refuse to let go of, and face reality head-on while struggling to survive — Ermes didn't hate people like that. Even if he himself was the cause of it, and even if the other party found him infuriating.
Herc read something in Ermes' gaze — and spoke on.
"Or what, are you going to tell me to fight? You plan to put me in my place and drag me off to some forgotten battlefield to throw me at whatever Monster is convenient?"
"...No. I won't force you into anything like that."
Ermes answered quietly in response to the question, thrown out with an ironic expression.
But then, he continued.
"—However, I won't bind you here, either."
"...What?"
"When the time for the decisive battle comes, I'll set you free. After that, you're welcome to join the fight on the battlefield, flee—whatever you please."
The reason for doing this wasn't that he had absolutely no interest in what Herk ultimately did—though broadly speaking, that was essentially it. The reason he had arrived at this way of thinking was something a little more positive.
"'Just doing whatever I please.' Lady Laila told me that, and I suppose she's right about me too."
"..."
"I'm sure it's not just me—everyone is the same. Each person acts according to their own desires, and as long as those desires differ, even if only by small or large margins, conflicts and conflicts become unavoidable. And if you still can't stop—then the only thing left is to do exactly that: be as 'self-serving' as you can, all the way to the very end."
As he spoke those words and turned his gaze inward, Ermes arrived at one realization he had come to understand anew.
That he—more than anything—despised having that 'doing as one pleases' taken away from him. Whether it was his own, or someone else's.
And so, this was what he would do.
He would not interfere with Herk's wishes. He would give him as much freedom as possible—let him go where he wished, do what he wished.
"—That said,"
But, on top of that—
Ermes knew what Herk desired. He knew what he wanted.
If that was the case... then he would guide his actions in a way that aligned with that direction. Even Ermes was capable of wielding that sort of cunning.
Following that intention, Ermes took one of the conclusions he had reached—the fruit of synthesizing all of his past battles and actions, distilled through endless deliberation and experimentation.
And quietly, spoke it aloud.
"——————"
……Having listened to it all, Herk.
"………, ha."
He laughed. Bitterly, ruefully. Yet the light of undying resolve burned on in his eyes.
"……I still hate you. Probably always will."
With those venomous words, he understood most of it.
So no further words were necessary. Ermes returned a quiet bow and left the spot.
◆
Moving through the base, Ermes thought.
(……The path is visible. I've grasped the full flow up to defeating Karma.)
Of course, there was no denying the path was an exceedingly narrow one.
But the road to victory was clearly there. Having light at the end versus none of it made a world of difference, both in terms of strategy and motivation—at the very least, they could put up a fight.
…Well, on the other hand, there was no end to the uncertainties and concerns standing between here and there. Especially—
"The day after tomorrow, at last. ……Can we even win?"
"Yeah… Nobody's ever fought that many Monsters. I wonder if we can…"
"You fool, moping about that before we've even started. If you're talking about being beyond the norm, then so is Lord Ermes here, and that northern monster Lord Lukius as well."
"That's true. At the end of the day, all we can do is stand and fight…"
As he passed through the barracks, fragments of conversation drifted to his ears. Hearing them, Ermes thought.
(……As expected, the soldiers' morale is also part of the problem.)
That was only natural, he felt.
Ermes and his companions had always been thrown into the unknown, but most of the other soldiers in this country had been dealing with nothing but routine engagements against monsters of a certain caliber. Even then, all they had to do was support Bloodline Magic users — there had never really been a situation where things had to be decided by their own judgment.
This was the country's own weakness — a severe lack of preparation for the unprecedented.
In the current irregular situation, which felt like the ultimate expression of that deficiency, it was only natural that everyone would feel some degree of anxiety, whether large or small.
If they could pull off a swift decisive battle without letting the enemy gain any meaningful advantage and cut them down completely, there would be no problem at all — but the other side wouldn't be that naive either. When cracks appeared, the question was how those would affect everything.
(...There's no point in worrying about this.)
He agreed with the last soldier's words — that in the end, they had no choice but to face it head-on.
Everything that could be done had already been done. All that remained was to throw everything they had the day after tomorrow — and with that resolve firmly set, he was continuing forward when—
"Oh, El."
A voice he hadn't heard in a while called out to him.
Looking up, he saw Catia walking toward him from the opposite direction.
...The very fact that he thought "it's been a while" spoke to just how intense these past few days had been.
Well, anyway. It might have been a coincidence, but for the first time in a while—
With the decisive battle looming, he realized he might have a chance to talk with the girl who was both his childhood friend and his master, so he decided to enjoy that for the moment. He walked slowly toward her.
Next time — a conversation with Lady Catia, for the first time in a while.
Scheduled update on 10/12 (Wednesday). Look forward to it!