A Genius Boy Who Was Exiled From His Family Home for “Not Being Able To Use Magic” Becomes a Witch’s Apprentice and Masters All Magic in the Right Way. This Is How You Use Your Magic, You Know?

Chapter 173. On The Board

Nina continues to think.

(…There are still concerns.)

Archbishop Johann’s power stems from an artifact far beyond conventional magic: the ancient relic, Skaldlogia, granting the ability to foresee the future.

However—if someone asks whether that fully explains everything, the answer is no.

Particularly baffling is—

(Mind control through Bloodline Magic. …Why is it so powerful?)

A characteristic of thought-manipulating magic:

The strictness of the activation conditions correlates directly to the potency of its effects.

In other words, the more rigorous the conditions required to activate the magic, the stronger its effects when successful. Conversely, the easier the conditions, the weaker the effect. Nina’s Fairy’s Dream Palace leans toward the former—

…Whereas the archbishop’s magic should belong to the latter.

The likely conditions: touching the target for a certain period to infuse them with magical energy—relatively straightforward. In exchange, the scope of thought alteration would be extremely limited. This type of magic is usually broad but shallow in its effect.

Despite this, Johann’s magic wreaks havoc across the Northern Alliance.

Those close to the core of the Union have undergone significant thought modifications. The rapid unification of the Union owes much to this influence.

And above all—even Lucius has fallen under its sway.

Manipulating someone as magically adept and resolute as Lucius should be nearly impossible—or at least, the highest conceivable level of difficulty.

The fact that he shielded Nina earlier suggests he hasn’t completely succumbed—but on the flip side, “that’s all the resistance he could muster” is undeniably strange.

The power is far too abnormal. Bloodline Magic of this kind is not inherently that convenient—yet Johann easily controls dozens of people as if they were mere puppets. This, too, is beyond conventional limits.

There is, undoubtedly, a hidden mechanism.

The full picture eludes Nina, underscoring Johann’s unfathomable nature—but still…

(…That doesn’t mean there are no openings!)

Nina believes this. She must.

Because—the archbishop is using her. Knowing her defiance, knowing her foreknowledge of his abilities, he still assigns missions to her.

(—He has to. That means Herm and the others are such a thorn in his side that he needs to rely on my strength to corner them.)

Otherwise, even if bound by contract, he wouldn’t risk utilizing someone like Nina so aggressively. He could simply order her to “stay silent and hidden”, ensuring zero leaks.

That is his flaw.

And only Nina can exploit it.

By a twist of fate, she has touched the same ancient artifact and gained the same foresight. She alone shares the same view of the board—the game between them.

Additionally, mind-manipulating magic cannot affect those with similar abilities. This apparently holds true for their shared foresight as well.

In short—Johann cannot foresee Nina’s future.

Thus, they are equals.

From here, it’s a battle of wits across the board of the “Northern Rebellion.”

The chance to resist is real.

She will break free. With the strength he inadvertently gave her to move forward—not just to drift. She will shatter the gilded cage Johann has built. She alone can do it—

◆

—Such naïve resolve was shattered almost immediately.

(…No…)

It cannot be changed.

No matter what she does, how fiercely she resists—

The future where Hermes dies remains immutable.

Naturally, Nina resisted as much as possible. She worked within the constraints of Johann’s orders, leveraging her foreknowledge to help Hermes and the others wherever she could.

In their first skirmish, she deliberately cornered them early, blocking the slim possibility of an outright divine punishment ambush.

During a mission to sow distrust among soldiers by sending Count Harvist, she subtly guided him through a detectable path, allowing the sharp-sensed Liliana to notice and intervene before he could deliver a fatal remark. This slightly reduced the likelihood of Lucius ambushing a fatigued Hermes.

Countless other efforts—small and large—added up to a series of maneuvers to avoid total checkmate for Hermes and the others.

—And yet.

No matter how hard she tried, the changes Nina could make were minuscule—no, Johann structured his orders and missions so meticulously that rebellion was impossible, while fully exploiting her power.

And no matter her resistance, the worst outcome remained unavoidable.

Eliminating one factor only led to another. Blocking every visible path to ruin only resulted in new traps prepared by Johann.

—I will kill that man Hermes, no matter what.

A bottomless malice far beyond Johann’s calm demeanor.

Unlike past enemies, he recognized Hermes as an unparalleled threat, leaving no room for compromise—a singular, relentless drive to annihilate him.

This unyielding resolve steadily increased the probability of Hermes’s demise, despite Nina’s best efforts.

It was not Hermes’s fault.

He was strong—in every sense of the word. That was undeniable.

But precisely because of that, he was a terrible match against Johann—no, against this magic itself.

Because.

The ancient artifact Skaldlogia, with its foresight ability—

Its conditions for heightened predictability were…

—The stronger a person, the easier they are to read.

Strong individuals, those with great influence on the future, were most susceptible to being ensnared by this foresight. It defied conventional logic, rejecting human progress—a force beyond comprehension.

That’s why Hermes struggled so desperately.

And it’s also why Archbishop Johann had, in a way, managed to defeat even the Sky Witch, Rose.

Thus, Johann continued.

Any person capable of shattering his gilded cage was read and manipulated into elimination, using foresight and mind control to keep his hands clean.

He had maintained his authority, his so-called divine kingdom, for so long.

And this time, too.

“…Not yet…not yet…”

She jolts awake, haunted by nightmares of Hermes’s death.

The latest vision: “An exhausted Hermes, unable to resist a sudden assault from Lucius, is killed.”

It’s the most likely scenario—a nightmare for Nina, as her brother becomes Hermes’s executioner.

Other possibilities, too—Hermes driven out by soldiers, worn down by successive assassins, or overwhelmed by church reinforcements after his movements were fully read—each ending in his death.

Again and again, she witnesses Hermes’s demise.

These nightmares prevent any restful sleep, leaving only mounting fatigue. She often dozes off during the day, only to face more torment.

Even her foresight has turned against her.

After countless nights of hell—

“…Even so…”

—She rises.

Believing, somewhere, a breakthrough must exist.

Her fatigued mind persists, searching for a way forward, her solitary struggle continuing today.

◆

And so, finally,

The moment arrived.

“A new mission, Nina von Frodite.”

With a calm, composed demeanor—so much so that it betrayed his complete lack of concern for Nina.

As always, Archbishop Johann’s mission announcement was the catalyst.

“──Go and attack Knight Commander Thor of the Harvist territory.”

“!?”

“Currently, relations between the soldiers of Harvist and the faction supporting the Third Princess are near their worst. If word spreads that their pillar of strength, Thor, has been struck down, their unity will falter further. …They’ll lose all capacity to trust those enigmatic allies of theirs.”

“…So you want me to do it?”

“Indeed. At the very least, inflict wounds significant enough to send a message. ──You’re capable of that, aren’t you?”

…Knight Commander Thor was a formidable foe.

Yet, he was the great protector respected by everyone in the North. Thus, Nina’s magic would work against him. It was likely why the task was given to her.

As always, Johann’s knack for assigning tasks and his insidious cunning left her astounded──but.

“…Understood.”

Briefly, Nina responded.

“My, not even one of your usual sarcastic remarks?”

“Saying something like that would just please you, wouldn’t it? …I’ll get it over with quickly, even if I don’t want to.”

She brushed off his taunts, left the archbishop’s office without delay,

and, as the door closed behind her, clenched her fists with conviction.

──Finally, a crack in his defenses.

The mission Nina had accepted was to attack Knight Commander Thor. Of course, she would carry it out. She had to.

But──she had not been ordered not to attack anyone else.

She knew Johann had embedded brainwashed spies among the Harvist soldiers.

These spies eliminated any possibility of reconciliation.

Additionally, while she was told not to harm the Northern Alliance soldiers, nothing was said about the Harvist spies.

This was her chance.

She would incapacitate the spies enough to render them unable to act but not beyond recovery.

Thus, removing obstacles to peace.

Surely, Johann would soon find out, but she no longer cared.

Even if punished──if it could aid Hermes and the others, that was enough.

With this determination, she completed both the attack on Knight Commander Thor and the elimination of the spies.

And then.

“──Well done, Nina von Frodite.”

When Nina returned,

“Now, just as I planned, Harvist’s soldiers will believe the rumors I spread yesterday—that Hermes and his faction used you to eliminate obstacles forcibly.”

She realized she had been outplayed.

“This will sever their allegiance completely. How could they follow those who would eliminate mere dissenters by brute force?”

“But! Those people were spies you planted──”

“So what? …Surely you don’t believe Hermes and his group could convince them of that now?”

“!”

“The spies’ existence was bound to be exposed to Hermes soon anyway. Using you to plant a final bomb of distrust was simply the logical step. Understand?”

…She had been manipulated.

The archbishop had never allowed her even a sliver of control over her future.

By showing her nightmares, stripping away her composure and judgment, and feigning vulnerability, he had calculated everything, including her impulsive move to eliminate the spies.

“Even if things had gone differently, reconciliation would be impossible. Those soldiers, foolish, weak, and always seeking the easy way, could never rebuild trust after such a betrayal. I’ve even foreseen that future.”

“──”

“The only uncertainty is the princess, but…well, no matter. What can a frail little princess accomplish, one who barely resembles that ‘Sky Witch’ except in appearance?”

The archbishop spoke of the future as if it were already set in stone.

But that no longer mattered.

“Now then, you may go. …Or would you prefer to resign yourself to serving God?”

Johann’s words barely registered as Nina left the room.

She didn’t know if the future Johann envisioned would come to pass.

──But what shattered her was something else.

(…All along, I’ve been played.)

She had thought she could make a difference.

That she, with her unique power, could help them, protect them.

But in reality, she had achieved nothing.

Her power had been exploited, her movements entirely controlled. She had danced in the palm of his hand.

──Because they shared the same view of the board. And that, in the end, was all it was.

Even if she had managed to step onto the same board, from the very start, the difference in skill between her and Johann as players was like heaven and earth.

Someone like her could never defeat Johann.

As his demeanor suggested, the archbishop had never seen her as a threat.

“…………”

The fact that she couldn’t help Hermes and the others,

That she had failed them, tormented her more than any vision of the future.

(…Maybe I really am useless…)

Someone like her, without strong convictions or power,

could only be a pawn in this battle over the future.

Worn down by exhaustion and nightmares,

a hopeless resignation began to creep into her heart.

“──Now then. Sorry to burden you back-to-back, but here’s your next mission.”

Once again, Archbishop Johann summoned her. His words betrayed no apology.

He gave her orders to deliver a decisive blow to the Harvist territory.

◆

“……”

That night.

Nina infiltrated the Harvist territory once again, having already visited earlier that day to attack Knight Commander Thor.

The infiltration was simple.

It wasn’t that their defenses were poor. The vast fortress lacked the personnel to defend it effectively──

──And, above all, her precognitive ability was simply too unfair.

Her current mission was sabotage.

According to Johann’s predictions, the Harvist defenders, already on the brink of collapse, would soon fall apart.

Thus, it was time to deliver a final blow. By weakening the fortress’s structure, they would pave the way for an all-out assault and the assassination of Hermes by their trump card, Lucius.

If she succeeded, by tomorrow, the Northern Alliance would overrun the fortress──and Hermes would die.

Even knowing this, Nina, bound by the contract Geass, saw no way to avoid it.

And above all…what could someone like her possibly do?

Crushed by despair, she carried out her mission mechanically, her heart devoid of resistance.

…No one came to stop her.

No matter how much she wished otherwise, she knew. Her own precognition and Johann’s foresight confirmed this time and place as a blind spot in their defenses.

No matter how much she wished otherwise, no one would come.

Not even the person she most longed to see.

──Or so she thought.

“…………Huh?”

She sensed a presence.

And then, light footsteps echoed faintly.

She turned instinctively. There, where no one should have appeared,

“To say ‘nice to meet you’ might be a bit inaccurate.”

It wasn’t the person she had most wished to see.

But standing before her, with unyielding determination shining more brightly than during their first encounter,

“…Might we have a conversation, Nina von Frodite?”

Was Liliana Joseph von Eustia.