The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

In the end, Lylia found it absurd how she had had that dilemma of hers in the first place.

Asley proceeded to take Lylia to the Adventurers’ Guild. As soon as he arrived, Bruce clung desperately to his leg, waterfalls of tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!? What the hell, Bruce!?”

“Asley, man… y-you gotta help me!”

“What’s wrong? Did you go so broke that you’ve gotta start selling your butt hair? HAHAHAHAHAHA–“

“–Dude, quit joking around! That hasn’t happened yet, but maybe I’ll actually have to!”

“…The hell?”

Asley tilted his head.

“But didn’t you say you were going to blow all your money today?”

“N-no! I-I mean, yeah, I did! But I wanna NOT do that anymore! But THEY won’t let me stop!!”

“What? Why’re you going back on your word like that, man?”

Asley tilted his head again, this time in the opposite direction.

“B-because! There aren’t any monsters left to fight, damn it!”

“Huh? Hmm… Aha! I see, I see!”

Bruce had indeed said he would spend his entire fortune tonight.

But that was because he had thought he had his previous way of life to fall back to.

The monsters Lucifer had gathered had been wiped out by Asley and the Resistance.

Even if there were still monsters remaining in various parts of the world, they were but a tiny fraction.

While there was a possibility they might increase in numbers later down the line, it would take a considerable amount of time.

In other words, adventurers were currently… close to being unemployed.

That was why Lylia had been troubled, but Bruce saw things differently.

“That’s why Duncan’s been busting his ass doing Guild work even though he’s dead tired!! And that’s why everyone’s grinning like idiots while they empty my wallet–! I beg ya, Asley! Get my wallet back from them!!”

Bruce’s belief that the adventurer’s trade could continue as before was incredibly naive.

Realizing that now, he cried out to Asley for help.

As such, Asley proceeded to crack an ear to ear grin and declared to everyone,

“Hey! Lend me some of that gold too! Come on! We’re drinkin’ and feastin’ like kings tonight, baby!!”

In an instant, hope drained from Bruce’s eyes, replaced by despair.

His eyes filled with desperation, his body weakened, and he was engulfed in misery.

In this world, Bruce saw nothing but enemies.

The money he had saved up was spent like water, piling up before Duncan.

“AHAHAHA! Here ya go, Duncan!”

“Ooh, a ten thousand Gold tip? Are you sure~~?”

“Ehh, sure, take it! It’s my brother’s money anyway! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

The ones who mainly indulged were Betty…

“Another one of these, please! And this to go!”

“Coming right up~~♪!”

…The Devourer Queen Pochi…

“Yes… I still have something to fight for! This time, I won’t lose!!”

…Former Devourer Queen Lylia…

“Remember the words of God: love thy neighbor as thyself!”

…The gleeful Fool…

“Well then, I suppose I’ll take these and deliver them to the Heavenly Beasts’ den…”

…The considerate and caring Great Mage of Flame, Gaston…

“Oh, then we should bring something to the Resistance Hideout, too.”

“Yes, indeed. The staff is sure to be quite exhausted from all the clean-up work.”

…Irene and Trace…

“IT’S SO GOOOOOOD!!”

…And once again, Pochi.

Nobody paid any mind to Bruce, who was practically getting ready to sleep on the streets.

Why? Because the wallet was right here!

The feast continued through the night.

Rest would come later. Everyone savored this moment together, enjoying the camaraderie of those they fought alongside.

In the midst of it all, Asley rose from his seat once again.

Lina asked him,

“Where are you off to now, Sir Asley?”

“Oh, just heading over to Tūs’ place.”

“Ah, now that you mentioned him… Where could he be? …Hmm? Now that’s…”

Lina sensed Tūs’ arcane energy and questioned Asley,

“Why is he there, of all places? …Huh? …Sir Asley?”

However, by the time Lina completed her sentence, Asley was already gone.

He disappeared as if fleeing, but Lina did not pursue him.

She knew — Asley was not going anywhere else anymore.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

In the forest to the west of Eddo…

“Kept you waiting, huh?”

“Nah, not really.”

Asley, arriving where Tūs was, was taken aback by the response the latter had for him.

Any further protests to that, however, were promptly halted by the other person who was there.

“C’mon, Master Tūs! You’re doing this all wrong! You’re supposed to say, ‘I just got here too!’ Then cue the unstoppable love between you and Ash! Oooooohhhhhh! What a… what an all-muscle display! Oh, wait… no! This kind of teacher-student relationship doesn’t work anymore! Let’s go with Warren instead! Ash and Warren! AW! Now THAT is a match made in heaven! Gah–!? Owowow…!”

In an instant, Melchi’s words were cut off by Tūs’ fist.

As Melchi held her head in pain, Asley chuckled.

“Gah… that actually hurt! What, do you prefer the AA ship instead? The other A is Adolf, by the way!”

“Want me to punch you again?”

“Nope, nope, nope!”

Melchi covered her mouth with both hands in the face of Tūs’ anger.

There was a reason that Melchi was unusually excited now — a reason that would become clear after she settled down.

“Sorry for the trouble, four-eyes.”

“Damn, you’re really saying sorry for once? What happened?”

“Hah, so you’re just gonna assume something’s wrong just because I’m a lazy guy? Is that it?”

Tūs grinned slyly, and Asley did so as well.

And then, Asley started drawing a Spell Circle with blinding speed — this time so fast that even Tūs could not keep up.

“Whoo… Nice. You’re a monster.”

“You askin’ me to beat you up or what? …Rise, Storeroom.”

“Heh, come on and try it.”

From the Storeroom Asley conjured, he retrieved something — or rather, someone.

Immediately, Melchi released her hands from her mouth.

“T-that’s… Gaspard…”

Seeing the unconscious Gaspard, Melchi had tears of joy and nostalgia run down her face, her expression radiant.

Asley had soared high into the sky, piercing the heart of Devil King Lucifer — but there was a reason for that beyond the act of finishing off an enemy.

As a part of the plan, Asley had to defeat Lucifer before anyone else could, and remove him from Gaspard, his vessel.

Some might oppose the saving of Gaspard, a figure much more complicit in this conflict than even Leon. He could not afford to let anyone see that happen.

That was why Asley needed to ascend so high, beyond anyone’s eyes.

There, he destroyed Lucifer, saved Gaspard, and swiftly stowed him away in the Storeroom.

Asley carried out this mission discreetly. Tūs heard of it from Asley and passed the message on to Melchi.

The late hour of the meeting, too, was to avoid prying eyes.

Tūs and Melchi, awaiting Asley’s visit, had declined to join the celebration.

All for the sake of taking back their old friend — the man known as Gaspard.

“Listen… I can’t guarantee that this will end well.”

“Yeah, if this leaks out, it’ll be a big deal.”

Tūs, carrying Gaspard, nodded in agreement with Asley’s words.

Then, Melchi drew a Teleportation Spell Circle beneath her feet.

This was to communicate that she and her mentor should leave this place and head back to the Far East Wasteland.

As Asley and Tūs exchanged glances, neither spoke.

However, as they stepped onto Melchi’s Teleportation Circle, Tūs muttered,

“Drop by sometime, eh? I’ll at least have some tea ready.”

Watching Tūs vanish, Asley widened his eyes in surprise.

Melchi shared the sentiment, though she recovered quicker than Asley.

“Well, that last bit sure caught me off guard.”

“Yeah…”

“Guess there’s actually a chance… well, you know.”

“Nope. Not happening. Eternally never happening.”

“Nahahaha!”

With a hearty laugh, Melchi stepped onto the Teleportation Spell Circle. Pointing at Asley, she declared,

“Farewell, my junior! No matter how strong you become, remember you’re still JUNIOR!! That’s right! I’m the world’s strongest SENIOR– ah.”

Before she could finish his sentence, Melchi vanished along with the Teleportation Spell Circle.

As Asley watched the dissipating arcane energy from the disappearing Circle, he chuckled wryly and muttered,

“Tea, huh… that thing they’ve got is more like boiled wasteland grass, though… Hahaha…”

After a wistful smile, Asley groaned out his nose.

Then, like Melchi before him, he drew a Spell Circle beneath his feet.

As Asley disappeared from T’oued, his destination was not back at the party, but rather…