The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

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The next to approach Asley was… Tifa’s familiar, Tarawo.

After trotting over, he started barking enthusiastically at Asley’s feet.

“Devil King! If you don’t want the rest of that soup, I’ll finish it for you!”

“Huh? You’ll eat it?”

“Tifa spent so much time on it, you know! Fwahahaha! It looks even tastier than usual!”

Instantly, all eyes fixed on the single Chihuahua.

Oblivious to the stares, Tarawo dove right into the pot.

“Fwahahaha! Delicious! Tifa, this is fantastic!!”

[Something isn’t right. Didn’t he use to say that Haruhana’s cooking was the best…? Wait, could it be that Tarawo… is a terrible judge of taste!?]

Asley and the others wondered if Tifa’s cooking would remain uncorrected if Tarawo kept praising it. They could not discuss it further, though, because the last participant had already arrived.

Lylia approached Asley, holding a teacup in her hand instead of on a tray.

“…Drink this.”

Asley peeked inside the cup, still wary after Lylia’s previous culinary attempts.

To his surprise, the liquid was clear, like water.

“…Huh?”

“It’s a medicinal tea passed down in my elf clan. It warms you up.”

“…Wait, what? Where’d the dirt go?”

“What are you talking about? I would never put dirt in it. Come on, just drink it already.”

“O-okay… Here goes…”

Feeling disarmed, Asley drank Lylia’s tea without hesitation.

As advertised, his body gradually warmed up.

“Hey, this is… actually pretty good…”

The hosts stood agape at Asley’s pleased expression.

Commentator Itsuki proceeded to muse aloud,

Following Itsuki’s lead, the two other hosts snapped out of their stupor and exclaimed,

The two of them animatedly continued their commentary.

Asley, having tasted all the dishes, crossed his arms in contemplation.

Gaston, with whipped cream on his cheek, asked Asley a question.

“Surely Fuyu’s dish was the best, right, young man?”

“But Sir Gaston, you only got to try Fuyu’s dish…” Hornel pointed out, but Gaston just laughed it off.

“Hmph, from a sweetness standpoint, I suppose Haruhana and Lina’s dishes would be next in placements.”

“It’s not just about the sugar content, sir,” Barun remarked with a sigh, but Gaston remained adamant.

Minerva and Leon chuckled softly.

Asley nodded and stood up.

Betty approached, listening intently to Asley’s decision.

She nodded in understanding, then gracefully leaped onto the amplification Spell Circle.

All eyes turned to Betty.

Warren emerged victorious.

In the courtyard, Irene shouted out,

“Hey! You said my soup was delicious! Why didn’t I win?!”

“Ugh! Just you wait! I’ll make something WAY better next time!”

Despite her dissatisfaction with Betty’s explanation, Irene’s determination surged.

Bruce then asked Betty,

Bright and Leon immediately realized what was going on.

“”Ah, that explains it.””

A moment later, Itsuki caught on.

With a gleeful expression, Itsuki gazed at the battlefield.

The seven contestants continued to compete in the rule-bending Devil King Cup, filled with deception and sabotage.

In the quiz showdown, Warren and Irene seemed poised to dominate, but Tifa, with her Storeroom stocked with countless books, excelled. The winner’s statement: “No one said I couldn’t look up the answers.”

In the familiar contest, Lylia’s Weldhun appeared unbeatable, but Haruhana’s temporary team-up with Chappie proved invincible. The winner’s statement: “I used my culinary skills to lure Chappie with treats.” Meanwhile, Warren’s Latt and Irene’s Hawk were stuck fighting to not place last.

In the magic casting competition, Irene claimed first place, Warren second, and Lina third, with Haruhana coming in last. The winner’s statement: “C’mon, bring on the next one!”

In the singing contest, Warren showcased an unexpectedly beautiful voice, but Lina’s angelic tones left everyone else in the dust. The winner’s statement: “Ehehe…” Irene and Tifa, on the other hand, competed for the second-last place here.

During the cleaning contest, Fuyu’s meticulous attention to detail shone, transforming the rocky walls to a mirror finish, impressing even the Kisaragi family. The winner mimicked Haruhana’s tone, saying “The secret to my art is… a secret♪” though without any of Haruhana’s alluring sense of mystery.

The competition was fierce and filled with excitement, with cheers ringing out at every moment.

Everyone gave their all in the Devil King Cup, but all parties must eventually come to an end.

The time had come to reveal the final tally.

As Betty read from the parchment, everyone learned why ‘that person’ had entered the Devil King Cup.

As the gazes of the entire crowd reached out to him, he smiled as if he was certain of victory.

Indeed, it was the lone man who had entered this competition…

“–Warren the Black Emperor!”

“”YESSSSSS!! IN YOUR FACE, DEVIL KING!!””

A few adventurers heckled the Devil King, while the rest of the audience celebrated Warren’s victory. Naturally, all the other contestants were suspicious of this outcome.

Scrutinizing glances from the women were directed at Warren, who received them with a calm demeanor.

Among them, the sharp-witted Irene was the first to realize the truth.

“…Come to think of it, Warren, the slogan for this Devil King Cup was ‘Use any strategy,’ wasn’t it?”

“Yes, precisely. That is why everyone used every bit of their wits and strength.”

“But Warren… your strategies seemed quite modest, didn’t they?”

Irene turned to the discontented women, who all nodded in agreement.

Warren responded with a dark smile, sending a chill down their spines, causing them to shiver.

Irene’s eyes widened as she reached the answer. When she looked back at Warren, his face had reverted to its usual calm expression.

“You anticipated every strategy the participants would use… didn’t you?”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“I thought each contest was randomly chosen, but every single one was meticulously planned by the two ministers from the start.”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“And you emerging with the highest total score in the end… was also something you calculated from the start.”

“…Oh?”

Feigning ignorance, Warren’s demeanor did nothing to quell the women’s rising anger.

“”Warren!!””

As they called out to his retreating figure, Warren turned his head slightly, just enough to offer a sidelong glance.

With a dark aura and a sinister smile, he whispered menacingly.

“This is the Devil King Cup, you know? If you didn’t prepare countermeasures against the organizers, your complaints are nothing more than the howls of sore losers!”

“”WHAT!?””

Stunned into silence, the women could say nothing in response.

Irene was correct — Warren had employed his own cunning strategies. It was as simple as that.

Though they glared at Warren with frustration, their determined eyes were already looking ahead to the next Devil King Cup.

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