The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

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“All right, next.”

“Awoo! Hail, Your Majesty the Devil King! My name is Hitch!”

“All right, Hitch. Have you properly read this consent form?”

“Yes! I’ve listened to Father Chappie’s recitation of the ‘esteemed words of Grandfather Devil King’ approximately three hundred times, and properly understood the contents!”

“I see. Well, if you’re confident that you did, then that’ll do.”

“Thank you!”

“Rise, A-rise! Breeding Enhancement!”

The nation known as the Holy Demon Kingdom bustled through yet another busy day.

But with the completion of the crucial stronghold, Asley’s duties differed from those of the previous days.

“All right, next.”

“Awoo! Hail, Your Majesty the Devil King! My name is Fitch!”

“Have you read the consent form?”

Seated upon the makeshift throne Pochi had crafted, Asley diligently applied magecraft to the Violet Phoenixes.

This magecraft, dubbed the ‘Breeding Enhancement,’ amounted to nothing more than castration, ensuring that a Violet Phoenixe would no longer lay eggs once every five hundred years.

“All right, next.”

“Awoo! Hail, Your Majesty the Devil King! My name is Mitch!”

“Have you read the consent form?”

Before Asley’s eyes stretched the line of Violet Phoenixes, from the audience chamber to the castle gates.

These were the individuals whom Chappie had repeatedly lectured about the Breeding Enhancement consent form.

Naturally, while not every participant was present due to some harboring desires to experience egg-laying at least once, almost all of them stood in line. And from this line, Bright and Warren would allocate their duties.

Whatever the circumstances, they were still dealing with Violet Phoenixes — Heavenly Beasts straight out of the legends.

Changing the internal workings of such creatures required Asley’s arcane energy, and the burden on him was immense. Beneath his feet lay a Giving Magic Circle, steadily exerting its restorative effect. 

While the Violet Phoenixes appeared delighted at the prospect of conversing with Asley, his own countenance bore the weariness of his efforts.

“Gah…! My back… It’s killing me…”

Grumbling about the discomfort of the throne, as the sun began its descent, Asley finally concluded his work. As he made his way to the makeshift mess hall, Lina, his first ever student disciple, approached him. On her tray were two cups of tea, one for Asley and one for herself.

“Good work today, Sir Asley.”

Placing the tea before Asley, Lina smiled as she took her seat opposite him.

“Oh, uh, thanks, Lina.”

As Asley accepted the tea with gratitude, Lina sipped from her own cup and inquired,

“Have you finished attending to everyone?”

“Yeah, but tomorrow seems just as demanding… Bright has given me a mountain of tasks, you see…”

Lina chuckled sympathetically at Asley’s exhausted state.

“Hehe… S-so, what kind of job is it, exactly?”

“Well, for starters, it’s about… stocking on foodstuffs, I think? Setting up a large-scale cultivation, that kind of thing. The plan is to establish the second Lala Farm and produce affordable crops under Tzar’s supervision. With my magic and magecraft, they’ve calculated that we can start shipping within two to four weeks… apparently.”

“The second Lala Farm? Affordable crops mean cheap ones, correct? And you’re going to produce those?”

Lina tilted her head, not quite disgesting the whole information.

“Yeah, and they’re making it a point to differentiate this new Lala Farm from the original one. Consumers will have the freedom to choose, which supposedly stimulates consumption, or something like that? Well, I don’t quite understand it, but if those two say so, it must be right.”

“Tzar may be fine with this, but this sounds like something Lala would get mad about, though…”

“Nah, it wasn’t like that. According to him, making limited crops under limited conditions is the essence of the original farm’s business. And so… well, from tomorrow, the first Lala Farm will be under Lala’s management, and the second will be under Tzar’s. In a way, it’s another mentor-student competition.”

“So, the first Lala Farm sells high-quality crops, while the second produces quickly and sells low-priced things… is that it?”

“The first one has to aim for stable supply, while the second researches for ways to improve quality. They’re fighting on the same field but aiming for completely different goals. It’s quite an interesting experiment, I think.”

As Asley paused for a moment and took a sip of tea. Then, Lina peered at him.

“What’s up, Lina?”

“Hehehe…”

Then, with a smirk as their eyes met, Lina chuckled softly before gazing up at the ceiling.

“…Uh, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“Nah, can’t be — you wouldn’t start laughing for no reason.”

“Well, I was just thinking… life is tough, but it’s also enjoyable. That’s all.”

“Oh, yeah, definitely. I never thought it would be this tough…” Asley said as he looked into the distance, his voice weary. “To be honest, dealing with Lucifer might have been easier.”

“Is that so?”

“Maybe not… yeah, not really.”

With a smirk, Asley’s comment got another laugh out of Lina.

“But I do agree that your workload has been too much, you know? Will it always be like this?”

“Nah, it’s only busy this month. Eventually, everyone will take over the tasks I’ve been doing, and Leon mentioned something about optimizing efficiency.”

“Leon seems quite busy too…”

“Well, sure, being the Prime Minister is always hard work — but the other ministers are the ones having it the hardest, actually.”

“Huh?”

Lina widened her eyes.

“Those two haven’t gotten to sleep properly for the past few days.”

“Really!?”

Surprised, Lina leaned forward over the table.

“Hahaha… Honestly, those two are monsters. They’ve been trying to keep the nation above the red line without taking out any loans right from the founding year.”

Watching Asley chuckle wryly, Lina sighed and settled back into her seat.

Then, she directed another question toward Asley, spurred by her economic curiosity,

“Come to think of it, where does the money come from?”

“We get support funds from T’oued and contributions from Warren, Miss Irene, Sir Gaston, and others.”

“So, it’s mostly personal funds at work…”

Learning the reality, Lina sighed with a mix of surprise and resignation.

“But they intend to pay it off by the end of this year.”

Asley’s words brought Lina to a sudden halt.

“This year… But we have only a little over two months to go, right?”

Indeed, it was already halfway past the ninth month.

The notion of a newly founded nation constantly operating in the surplus within such a limited time frame was nothing short of astonishing.

“Those two will crunch the numbers with absolute precision. And we have Leon’s decisive leadership, too.”

Asley declared, expressing a mix of exasperation and satisfaction.

Lina, recognizing the indirect praise towards the trio, grinned and carried the tea to her lips.

“Still, where will the income come from now?”

Lina pondered. Personal assets alone would eventually dwindle. It was only natural to question future income sources.

“That’s where Itsuki comes in, apparently. She’s planning to wholesale crops to the Adventurers’ Guild worldwide. There won’t be any tariffs if they sell to a universal organization like the Guild. Well, she’s also considering trade with T’oued and the War Demon Nation, but that’s not happening just yet.”

Shrugging, Asley explained.

“That’s incredible… Commerce is already in motion in places I didn’t even know about,” Lina exclaimed in admiration.

Then, Asley remembered something and added,

“The Kisaragi family is also being invited, so they’ll gradually expand into processing and crafting items, too.”

“Right, they can deal with more than just weapons.”

“Mm-hm.”

With Asley nodding in agreement, Lina leaned back in her chair and remarked,

“Looks like your kingdom is starting to take shape now, Sir Asley…”

Though Lina’s words conveyed excitement, Asley shook his head in denial.

Seeing Lina tilting her head, Asley clarified,

“It’s not mine. It’s everyone’s.”

Embarrassed yet pleased by this statement, Lina beamed a smile.

“Right!”

It had been just a few days since its founding, but the Holy Demon Kingdom was already making significant strides.

After all, this was just the beginning of what would eventually become a colossal nation at the heart of the world.

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