The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

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In the second-floor corridor of the Devil King’s Royal Castle, Warren walked with his hands clasped behind his back.

A shadow appeared before him, one that had been waiting for his arrival.

“Oh? You’re here.”

“Yes! I was drawn awake by the smell of Haruhana’s cooking! The Devil King Cup was quite entertaining!”

“I’m glad to hear it was worth organizing… Pochi.”

Warren acknowledged Pochi’s praise with a nod.

And then, as Pochi started walking past Warren, she said,

“But it must be tough for you, Warren.”

Pochi stopped upon hearing yet another one of Warren’s attempts at feigning ignorance.

“If anyone other than you had won the Devil King Cup, it would have been a disaster, right?”

“…Ah, so you noticed.”

“Hehehehe…”

“As expected of you, Pochi. Yes, I had to win this Devil King Cup. I understand their feelings, but everyone has forgotten one absolutely crucial detail.”

At Warren’s remark, Pochi spoke up again,

“My Master is still an innocent little boy, after all…”

“Heh, That may be an exaggeration… but it’s true that the Devil King’s immaturity is part of what makes him interesting.”

“Exactly.”

“The Devil King’s heart is still immature. Too immature to handle their feelings properly. This is the consequence of a five-thousand-year lifetime without interacting with others. But we can’t afford to let him remain unaware for much longer… hence the Devil King Cup.”

“If he’d only kept his mouth shut, he’d be pretty cool, too…!”

“Oh? I never expected to hear that from you, Pochi.”

“I said, if he kept his mouth shut! Which is practically never!”

Warren could not help but smile at Pochi’s emphatic words.

“Haha. Well, to be fair, he has saved the world twice… and will continue to do so.”

Warren’s words prompted Pochi to smile wryly as well.

“Playing the villain must be hard, Warren.”

“Thank you for your concern. But it’s only part of my job.”

“Really?”

“Well… perhaps it would be correct to say that I’m doing this partially for friendship. I hope that such feelings will grow along with the Devil King’s heart.”

“That’s very kind of you.”

“Which is why, Pochi, I ask that you keep this confidential…”

Warren raised a finger to his lips, prompting a feigned innocent look from Pochi.

“Meh~~ I dunno if I wanna~~”

Warren’s eyes widened in mock surprise at Pochi’s playful tone. He then sensed the pure desire in Pochi’s heart, a strategic instinct in the eyes sharper than those of Heavenly Beasts, that made even the Black Emperor chuckle.

“Pfft… hehehe… Hahaha! You truly are a fascinating person.”

“Am I?”

With a resigned sigh, Warren raised his hands slightly in a gesture of surrender.

“All right, then. How about a year’s worth of meal tickets for Diarmuid Kitchen as a consolation prize?”

The moment Warren made his offer, Pochi’s face lit up.

“My, my, I never said a word about that! But thank you, Warren — I’ll gladly take it!”

“Oh, no, I’m impressed… Pochi.”

This time, Warren bowed his head instead of just nodding.

Then Warren raised his head, and he and Pochi shared a knowing look before laughing.

Pochi, embodying the spirit of encouragement, turned to head back to the ladies.

As she walked away, Warren called out,

“The party starts soon. Do enjoy yourself.”

“I sure will! Oh, and do look forward to the stew!”

“Oh?”

As Pochi departed, Warren mused aloud,

“Taking the consolation prize without a fight… as expected of the Devil King’s Familiar. No, I suppose it is more fitting to say… as expected of Pochi.”

From the corridor window, Warren looked down at the courtyard.

He saw Pochi cheering up the six young women, bounding around to lift their spirits.

“The stew, hmm? Perhaps she gave some advice to the cooks. This should be interesting.”

Warren smiled, recalling when he had given Pochi a stew recipe in the western woods of Regalia.

Another pair of footsteps approached.

Warren instantly recognized them as Bright’s.

“Well done, Warren.”

“It was nothing special, really.”

“Let’s move on to the matter of closing the gap in the Devil King’s schedule we opened as a contingency.”

“I have several drafts prepared.”

“Good. Do any of them include an audience with War Demon Emperor Vaas?”

“Of course♪”

The two Black Emperors exchanged smiles.

Just then, Prime Minister Leon arrived.

He seemed unfazed by their eerie grins — In fact, he was perhaps the only one who could remain so calm.

“Gentlemen, the party is about to begin. Let’s not keep our distinguished guests waiting.”

“Yes, sir!”

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

As the party concluded and the sun fully set, a single figure darted through the Royal Castle.

It was none other than the Devil King, Asley, a sight that would concern many, especially with distinguished guests from various Nations present.

Prime Minister Leon intercepted him.

“Your Majesty, is something the matter?”

“Ah, Leon! Good thing I found you! Have you seen Warren or Bright!?”

“Those two? What do you need them for?”

“”Your Majesty, I am right here,”” came the synchronized voices of the Junior Ministers from behind Asley.

Realizing their presence, Asley whirled around and seized Leon, Warren, and Bright, displaying his formidable strength as he spirited them away to his private quarters.

Once inside, he cautiously peeked outside the door before locking it securely and turning to the perplexed trio.

“What in the world has happened?” Leon asked.

In a hushed voice, Asley replied,

“The thing is… THAT THING has been stolen.”

“”!?””

The three immediately understood the gravity of the situation.

“That can’t be! Are you saying that, despite all the skilled individuals present, someone infiltrated Your Majesty’s chambers!?”

Leon’s astonishment was justified.

It was only natural that one who had survived the battle against the Devil King would be surprised and frightened by a being that could move undetected by them.

“Well, It wasn’t a finished product, and I still have the recipe, so the loss isn’t too severe, I guess…”

“That doesn’t make it any less concerning,” Warren said.

“Indeed, we must remain vigilant until we figure out how the intruder got in,” added Bright.

Asley looked sheepish.

“Y-yeah, sorry…”

Leon placed a reassuring hand on Asley’s shoulder.

“No need to blame yourself. This is our oversight. We’ll find the culprit immediately.”

“But who could it be?” Warren wondered aloud.

“Could it be an inside job?” Bright speculated.

Time seemed to stop for the trio of Ministers — Warren, Bright, and Leon.

The implications were clear to all of them, perhaps due to their degree of familiarity with ‘her,’ though Asley remained oblivious.

“”Your Majesty.””

“Yes? What is it?”

Asley tilted his head in confusion.

At that moment, soft footsteps approached from the corridor.

The door creaked open, revealing a familiar long nose.

“Ah! There you are, Master! Chappie has been looking for you!”

Indeed, the one entering the Devil King’s bedroom this time was none other than Pochi.

“Now’s not the time for that,” Asley grumbled.

“What happened, sir?” Pochi asked.

“We’ve had a break-in,” Asley explained.

“A BREAK-IN!?”

Pochi’s shriek echoed through the room. At the same time, the trio of Ministers moved swiftly.

They surrounded Pochi, who turned in circles, trying to keep all of them in view.

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