The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

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“Ah, so in the end, you went back to being Sir Gaston’s Familiar?”

“Yeah, I just renewed the Contract a moment ago.”

The voice of reason among familiars, Konoha, had arrived at Asley’s side.

The reason, of course, revolved around the gathering of beasts that, unbeknownst to Konoha, had inflicted considerable financial damage upon Asley.

Unable to dismiss Konoha’s apology, Asley proceeded to engage in casual conversation.

And then, the realization dawned: Konoha had once again entered into a Familiar Contract with Gaston.

“Baladd seems happy about it too, so there shouldn’t be any issues. Hahaha.”

“Well, that’s definitely something Baladd would want.”

Konoha grinned on Asley’s desk.

As the conversation went on, eventually, Tifa approached.

Catching the sight of Tifa peering through the slightly open door, Konoha took notice.

“Oh, it’s about time. My Master did tell me to not take too long. Well then, until next time, young man!”

Konoha leaped down out of consideration for Tifa.

“Yeah, you’re welcome to hang out any time!”

Asley bid farewell to Konoha’s departing figure, while Konoha, using his tail to form a human thumb, encouraged Tifa to enter.

Tifa nodded in response and let herself into Asley’s room.

Meanwhile, Asley sighed repeatedly, staring at the bill before him.

“Man, I suddenly don’t wanna see Duncan today…”

It seemed Asley had not noticed Tifa’s arrival.

Troubled, Tifa deliberately cleared her throat to draw attention.

“A-ahem…”

“Hmm?”

Asley’s face turned abruptly towards Tifa, with no hope in his eyes, reminding Tifa of Bruce, who had lost his whole savings account just the other day.

“Are you… all right?”

Having obtained information beforehand from Tarawo, Tifa knew of Asley’s imminent disaster.

She seized the moment to deliver her prepared lines, already considering Asley’s forthcoming words. Everything was within Tifa’s grasp, as if preordained.

“Yeah, I’m… fine! Yeah!”

“It’s tough… isn’t it?”

As Tifa tilted her head and spoke, Asley felt her words piercing right through him.

Asley’s legendary deed as the one who claimed victory over the Devil King had already been overwritten by the legendary debt his Familiar had incurred for him — and it was a well-known fact by now.

Hence, those who admired Asley were scrambling to collect personal assets to bail him out.

Among them, Tifa took the lead.

With prior preparation and the assistance of Itsuki, a powerful and cooperative ally, Tifa was able to take the initiative ahead of the other girls.

“Uh…!?”

“Well, I happen to have just what you need in this trying time!”

A massive leather bag was placed noisily on the floor.

The sound emanating from the bag was the sound of gold, the very thing Asley desired most at the moment.

He narrowed his eyes sharply, fixated on Tifa’s leather bag.

“Sir Asley, do you have any savings?”

“U-uh, I’ve managed to scrape together three million…”

Naturally, these were merely comforting words.

Because Tifa knew the state of Asley’s finances.

“What a coincidence. The money here amounts to seven million Gold.”

“N-now that’s too much to be just a–“

“–It IS a coincidence.”

As Tifa asserted forcefully, Asley had no choice but to relent.

And then, Tifa’s ultimate goal lay just ahead.

“Well, I didn’t come here to simply give away this money, Sir Asley.”

“Y-yeah, of course you didn’t! I can’t accept it, either! What in the world am I supposed to do with such a large sum–“

“–So here’s the deal. I’ll lend it to you.”

“…Huh? Seriously?”

Tifa clenched her fists tightly.

Indeed, this was what Tifa was aiming for.

Given Asley’s nature, accepting money outright was out of the question. Hence, a loan.

If it was a loan, Asley would accept it. He had no choice but to make the deal.

At this moment, Asley had already concluded that he had no means to increase his wealth. Therefore, borrowing was the only option.

And then, at the perfect timing, Tifa arrived with seven million gold.

“Of course. After all, you’re my mentor, Sir Asley.”

“B-But Tifa… your being my student is exactly why I can’t borrow–“

“–First, let’s discuss the rate of interest.”

“What!? There’s interest!?”

“Naturally. Do I seem like a philanthropist to you?”

“U-uh, well… No, I guess…”

“Consider it a means for you to cast away your pride and ignore the trivial things that are preventing you from accepting the help you sorely need.”

“Uh… okay…?”

A means to prevent Asley from worrying about the teacher-student relationship. That was Tifa’s interest, and Asley’s obligation. Tifa had told Asley as much.

“Now, I’m not planning to milk money from someone in need. I just need you to do me a little favor.”

“A favor…?”

Tifa nodded affirmatively.

“Once a week, teach me magic and magecraft. And anything else you can teach.”

“Huh? Is that really okay?”

“Actually, there’s one more condition.”

“W-What’s that?”

“Since it’s a loan from me, keep the lesson it one-on-one. It’ll help me focus… Until it’s fully repaid, once a week, two hours… Sound good?”

“Oh… ohhh… right! Yeah! That’s totally fine! There are so many spells and magecraft I haven’t taught you yet, Tifa!”

“Then, please sign here.”

Tifa presented a parchment contract from her pocket.

“A-all right, I got it! Right here… There, done!”

Asley thanked Tifa and signed his name.

At this moment, in this place, Tifa’s face finally lit up with a smile.

[Itsuki… I did it! I DID IT!]

Tifa’s true intention lay here. The real purpose was indeed in Tifa’s interest.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the jobs for monster extermination in the Adventurers’ Guild would almost disappear from now on.

As such, repaying the debt to Tifa would take an unimaginable amount of time for Asley.

How many visits would occur within this unimaginable time? Neither Tifa nor Asley could foresee it.

And within the contract Asley signed, the verbal agreement Tifa made was written exactly as it had been spoken: “magic and magecraft, and anything else.”

Though Tifa was the one to be taught, she was also the one to decide what would be taught.

Naturally, as written in the contract, Tifa had gained the right to demand “anything else.”

[With this… I can go on unlimited dates with Sir Asley!]

With her deep scheming, Tifa had won. She had won over Asley’s shallow decision.

Asley held an important position on a global scale.

Yet Tifa, who secured two hours once a week from Asley, had outstripped the other girls.

This rumor would spread like wildfire.

And so, the other girls knew.

“…!? Tifa did WHAT!?”

Lylia’s face showed signs of agitation,

“She just went and bypassed me, practically her older sister… well, I’ll admit, Tifa, you handled it well.”

Lina acknowledged Tifa,

“Why didn’t I think of THAT!?”

Fuyu exclaimed, holding her head,

“Excellent… Excellent indeed, Tifa…”

Haruhana’s alluring eyes reflected in the blade of Kozakura, her beloved sword.

Irene, who had been silently observing, muttered softly…

“Well, not a bad attempt, I guess?”

…Simply praising Tifa’s actions.

Indeed, there was nothing but praise — for Irene knew what would happen to Asley next.

It came to pass only mere hours after Tifa concluded her contract with Asley.

“Wait, you’re repaying it in full!? ALREADY!?”

No one blamed Tifa for her voice involuntarily cracking.

No one blamed her, for there was only the Fool before Tifa, apologizing to her.

“Well, after that, Warren dropped by, you know? Remember the vault of gold Master Polco left behind as our war funds? Well, apparently, whatever was left of it is now mine. About two-thirds of it was already used up to equip our army, but that’s still a LOT of money that I’m free to use for whatever, so…”

“Y-you mean you’re…”

“Yup. Filthy rich. Hahaha…”

Tifa could not bring herself to meet Asley’s embarrassed smile.

She covered her eyes with both hands, as lamenting her own failure took precedence.

[I messed up! I messed up! I messed up! I messed up! I messed up! I messed up! I messed up! I messed up! I messed up! I messed up! I messed up! I messed up! I should have incorporated more clauses into the contract! I SO wanna punch myself from when the contract was completed! I want to gently and firmly HUG her with all the murderous intent until her spine snaps and advise her to include the ‘only partial repayments’ clause in the contract!!]

Tifa squirmed as she reflected on her past actions.

“W-well, I’ve made you worry and you’ve helped me out a great deal, so I’m always willing to teach you some spells and magecraft whenever–“

“–Then teach me Space-Time Transmission.”

“…Huh?”

Tifa had forgotten that, according to Asley and Lucifer’s mid-battle conversation, Space-Time Transmission required a poll of arcane energy beyond Godlike levels. Asley’s explanation reminded her of this fact about one minute later.

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