Chapter 1494: Close-Knit Allies

Chapter 1494 -954: Close-Knit Allies

Listening to Raymond’s words, Alfred froze for a moment, then furrowed his brows tightly and began to ponder.

But forgive him—among the nobility, he could already be considered someone with very broad horizons, and within that group he was also one of the more enlightened ones.

Yet even so, even at this very moment, he still didn’t have that sudden flash of insight that would let him swiftly grasp where the problem lay.

If you gave him some time, let him spend a whole night thinking carefully, he might be able to sharply pick out the clues in all this—but right here and now, with his mind still somewhat muddled by the newly received information, he simply couldn’t quickly reason it through.

All that could be said was that under Raymond’s patient, step-by-step guidance, he’d vaguely started to grope toward something, but had yet to precisely seize that sliver of inspiration and string the issue together in a clear line.

Seeing the confusion and contemplation twisted together on Alfred’s face, Raymond understood that the other man’s thoughts weren’t going to settle by waiting, so he went on without pause.

“You just mentioned that the Night Watcher uses newspapers to provide correct information—that’s absolutely right. But have you ever dug deeper into how they make these people feel that this information is correct?”

Raymond didn’t wait for an answer. His speech sped up, carrying a sense of urgency, like someone desperate to tear the truth into the open.

“It’s true, the newspapers do open up new information—but far more than that, they are continuously, subtly, and relentlessly instilling a particular kind of teaching.

“They praise the pioneers’ sacrifice and courage—that’s not wrong. But at the same time they spare no effort in forging the Night Watcher into the only Savior, the final guardian of Order, the sole right and just existence.

“They paint the horrors of a Void apocalypse, hammering home the necessity of rallying under the Night Watcher’s banner—that’s not wrong either. Yet at the same time, they are invisibly, cleverly, and persistently belittling all forces that try to maintain the old Order or question the Night Watcher’s authority—such as the Kingdom’s noble system.

“They take all those worries and attempts at checks and balances coming from the Royal Capital against the Night Watcher, and turn them into all kinds of little stories that look lighthearted yet are razor-sharp in substance, printed right there… I’m not saying that’s wrong—but you can’t just let everyone accept it so naturally, you understand?”

Those little stories are fun, humorous, and also extremely, brutally straightforward.

The sort of thing that, in noble eyes, isn’t worth a copper—only good enough to pass the time in the latrine.

But for commoners, they are just right.

And on top of that, the Night Watcher has hidden something utterly outrageous inside that “blessing.”

It was something Raymond himself hadn’t even paid attention to.

Instead, it was Kana who had spent the effort, carefully phrasing a wish, and only then, in the mutations of Datafication, created it.

Every being who made a vow and obtained Datafication—miraculously learned to read.

The panel information on a Datafication interface is presented in a form that the individual can understand.

Which is to say, Humans see their own language and script; Elves see the language and script most familiar to them.

Even if you know multiple tongues and writing systems, what appears will still be the one you’re most familiar with, the one you grasp best.

This was the most basic ability built into Datafication right from the very beginning.

Later, Kana deepened and amplified this ability, engraving it firmly into Datafication; by then, Members of the Night Watcher came from every corner of the world, representing almost every Race on earth.

That is, they brought with them nearly all written forms and languages—and those datasets naturally got recorded into the system.

For those who could not read, based on the language they spoke, and the characteristics and regions they lived in, the system would automatically teach them a script.

This was the earliest, most fundamental core groundwork—the foreshadowing Kana had laid down unconsciously back when she still hadn’t figured out what exactly she wanted to do.

And now those foundations were blossoming into brilliant flowers.

Those articles are simple enough; those stories are transparent enough.

Even the commoners can recognize the words; they can find delight in them and grasp the plain truths they convey.

The most basic, most simple moral sense and view of good and evil are enough to distinguish the good and bad, the right and wrong in a story.

Perhaps there will be disputes.

But those disputes too are things the Night Watcher deliberately buried and carefully arranged within the stories after deep consideration.

Only through dispute, only through exchange, can certain ideas blossom—and truly take root in the soil of thought.

These were things Raymond had never imagined, but he had already begun to faintly perceive a trace of them.

Raymond drew in a deep breath and cast out the core, thunderous warning that lay at the heart of his visit.

“Lord Alfred, have you paid attention to what the commoners, soldiers, low-tier Adventurers… who read these newspapers are now thinking in their heads?”

“Those Level Seven Guards of yours, who swore loyalty to you and shed blood on the battlefield for you—during the lulls between fights, in the tavern of the Adventurer’s House, they sit reading the Night Watcher’s newspaper, day after day listening to Adventurers’ heated discussions of the Night Watcher’s Legendary deeds and ideals.

“Do you truly believe that, in their hearts, the figure who commands greater prestige is still you, the esteemed Count, or the Kingdom of Orlan?”

“When the newspapers and the omnipresent forums of the Adventurer’s House keep telling them over and over, as if by continuous indoctrination: nobles are the symbol of evil, the source of suffering;

“the Kingdom’s bureaucratic system is a synonym for inefficiency and incompetence; that taxes, that Power itself seem stained with original sin and never truly justified—

“tell me, when some day in the future, your orders come into even the slightest conflict with the Night Watcher’s ‘higher goals,’ or with the new sense of justice sprouting in their hearts, or with those Kingdom laws that are being ceaselessly attacked… which side do you think they will choose?”