"...What follows involves a fair amount of speculation, but still."
Everyone in the room held their breath as he began to speak about the Archbishop Johann's greatest trump card—Future Sight.
"Most likely, their precognition has inconsistent accuracy. And the factor that triggers that uncertainty is—people."
"...People?"
"Yes. Depending on one's precognitive ability, there are people who are 'easy to read' and people who are 'hard to read.' The more closely someone who is easy to read is involved in an event, the higher the accuracy tends to be. Comparing outcomes that matched their expectations against those that didn't, I found a consistent pattern."
He called it speculation, but his tone carried real conviction. The group accepted this with a measure of understanding and, united, raised the same next question. Receiving their looks that clearly said *then that means—*, Ermes gave the answer.
"And most likely—the one who is easiest to read is me."
...In a sense, the most painful answer of all.
"......No way."
Katia squeezed out a shocked voice, and everyone agreed. Of course they would. He was unmistakably the central figure of their side, and yet—though this was purely an impression—he had always seemed like the person least likely to have his *movements* predicted. To hear that in reality, every single one was being perceived... It drove home, once again, just how extraordinary their opponent's precognitive power truly was.
But even so, someone gathered their courage and posed the next question.
"Then... conversely, who is the person who's hardest to read?"
"...The fact that comes up first tells me you already know the answer."
Ermes addressed the young lady in a quiet tone.
"—You are. Lady Lilili."
"!"
"You are the hardest to read—no, rather, you are probably the only person who is *almost completely unreadable.*"
Ermes continued, laying out the reasoning behind this conclusion.
"There have been two situations so far where our opponents clearly miscalculated."
"..."
"The first was *letting us slip through their fingers at the very start.* That initial skirmish—they deployed what was surely their strongest card, Lord Lucius, along with Lady Nina, who is our natural nemesis. On top of that, the Archbishop himself appeared. Given that setup, they had unquestionably read our arrival point and moved to corner us from the opening move."
"...But they failed to catch us."
"Yes. And the decisive factor was a spell cast by me after my transformation—a spell that came from an idea of *Lady Lilili's.*"
"—Ah."
That self-destructive spell, as they called it, had been born from Liliana's questions along the way. Indeed, the Archbishop had been... the only one wearing a look of genuine shock at that moment.
"And the second—goes without saying—is *this situation itself.*"
Ermes surveyed the room as he made his declaration.
"Through their scheming, our relationship with all of you soldiers had been pushed to the brink of irreparable. The person who reversed that was Lilili through her persuasion... It is virtually impossible that this situation falls within their predictions."
The reason was simple: there was no advantage whatsoever for the Archbishop in engineering this outcome.
He went on to enumerate other incidents in which Liliana's involvement had thrown off the enemy's assumptions, reinforcing his argument.
"In contrast, for events that only I was involved in—taking into account that even a spell only I should have known about was countered—I think it's safe to say I was *read* with near certainty."
Why Ermes was the most readable, and what factors influenced that readability... There were several hypotheses, but none had been confirmed yet. Still, simply having trained hard clearly wasn't enough to change it. Including that aspect as well, he felt anew just how extraordinary this magic's power was in every sense.
...But that didn't mean he intended to give up on finding countermeasures. Not in the slightest.
And so, with that in mind, Ermes straightened his posture.
"Which is why—from now on, I want to center our strategy on Lady Lilili's approach."
He announced the direction forward.
"!"
"Lady Lilili's vision—the development of 'powerful magic that anyone can use'—will become the core of our overall military strengthening for the northern alliance countermeasures going forward. That way, the chance of being read through and through by the opponent can be minimized to the greatest extent."
"...In parallel, I will also step back from the main role in base defense. I will continue my analysis of the Archbishop—abstaining from taking direct action and focusing solely on interpretation. I believe that would be... for the best."
Of course, Ermes had no intention of staying on the sidelines forever either. But... for now, at least, this was the right call. His expression, as he spoke, was tinged with something bitter. Understandably so. He was, in a sense, declaring for the first time that the situation had grown beyond his ability to handle—and yet asking *someone else* to take over the response.
—But he already knew.
The strength of those around him. The feelings that existed between him and them.
That was precisely why Ermes spoke without hesitation.
"...I'm sorry. Could I ask for all of your help?"
Their answer had been decided long ago.
"—Of course."
Katia answered on behalf of the group. Because—
They had been waiting. All this time.
Every single one of them had been saved by him, and every single one had wanted to do something in return—for as long as she could remember.
But he was too strong. For most things, it was fastest to just let him handle it alone. Even when they chased after him to keep that from happening, his pace and his standing were simply too far ahead. The frustration had lingered for so long.
And now, this man—who had finally answered their calls to stay, who had abandoned his solitary stride—had finally, *finally* reached out his hand.
...Could anything spark more fighting spirit than that?
"Leave it to us, Erm. After everything you've done for us until now, it's our turn to work hard—so please, *let us.*"
"That's right, Master!"
Liliana spoke up next.
"I will do it too! If anything... if I am the one who can do the most, then that is exactly what I wish for!"
Sara and Albert nodded in agreement as well, and Ermes let his expression soften with relief at the sight.
Meanwhile, Yurugen—who had been watching from a step back the entire time—murmured with a smile full of heartfelt joy.
"...Thank goodness."
"They can change—*they can change things.* These children, at least."
"Rose... the path you didn't take—the path *we* couldn't walk—they'll surely walk it for us."
—Watching the Liliana camp's exchange from a distance, Knight Captain Toa fixed them with a solemn gaze. The very captain who had been gnawing at them all this time muttered the same thought Toa had voiced earlier.
"...They really are just kids, aren't they."
They hesitated. They stumbled. They wandered. Even on the verge of being crushed by some vast force beyond their reach—they still struggled, striving to seize even a sliver of a better future.
For those who had thrown so many things away, the sight was almost painfully radiant.
...Yes, but. Even so.
He remembered. Back when he had no talent for magic, no strength to speak of, and yet still chose this profession—
Wasn't the reason *because he wanted to protect something like this*?
"...Captain."
"Yeah. But you go first. That's how you settle things."
His superior, standing beside him, gave the answer of someone who understood everything. Feeling a touch of embarrassment but acknowledging that it was only right, the captain took a step toward them.
Before long, he found himself standing before the Third Princess's camp—and before Liliana, its emblem.
"So. I'm... sorry for everything. I really am."
First, he bowed his head. The stiff, formal words were far from natural for a rough man like him, but he offered them with all the sincerity he could muster.
Then, raising his face:
"I don't fully understand what you're all aiming for. ...So let me ask one last thing."
His true feelings, one final time. Filled with the bitterness of having been toyed with and a genuine, unmistakable hope, he posed the question that would test them.
"Can you do it. Can you give us—the power to protect our homeland... the power to give that Archbishop bastard what he deserves... Can you really do that?"
"—Yes. Without question."
There was not a hint of hesitation in the reply.
"In the name of the Third Princess, Liliana—I swear it. The magic that will change this country... the spell that marks the first step toward a nation where *anyone* can seek the power they desire... I will create it."
Hearing that declaration, he bowed—truly, deeply, from the heart, perhaps for the very first time.
"—If that is so, then the Harvist Knights shall from this moment follow you, my lady."
Knight Captain Toa, stepping forward beside him, offered a quiet salute.
"If you can deliver on what you've just declared, the rest of us will be convinced. ...No—allow me to *make* us convinced. That will be our atonement for all the trouble we've caused you."
His words and bearing carried—finally, in the truest sense—unmistakable loyalty.
...And before them, finally obtained for the first time, was the military strength that Ermes and the others had desperately wanted—strength they would have given anything to have.
After so long in the wilderness... here, at last. They all sensed it instinctively: they were standing at the starting line for taking back their country.
What followed was a continuation of the intelligence briefing led by Ermes. The remaining urgent countermeasure involved the Archbishop's two other abilities.
Namely—*Divine Punishment*, and *the Bloodline Magic of Brainwashing.*
One of them had already yielded an effective countermeasure through Ermes's efforts—or rather, the conclusion was that there was no need to fear it beyond what was necessary.
As for the other—the magic that served as the source of the Archbishop's confidence and power—Ermes delivered his final words on how to break through and bring the Archbishop down.
"The key will be... Lady Nina."