I agree with you on the novel interpretation, read it in german, and the writing style bugged me at first, but reading the other stories, I realised it was written "by" him, so it's obvious some details would be altered, especially taking into consideration how careful hide is with the information he gives others (it reads like a report, tho I can't say much since I read a translation) so, long story short, I think hide's lying about a bunch of stuff (there are inconsistencies within the story)
Thanks for adding up! The impression of someone who’s actually read the novel -even if in a translation- is far more valuable than the one I can offer :)


















