The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

~~Four O’clock in the Morning, Twentieth Day of the Sixth Month, Hundred and Twentieth Year of the Sacred Calendar~~

And so a brand-new day came… no, the sun has yet to rise, but it was a new day nonetheless.

Pochi was still asleep, her belly inflating and deflating in rhythm with her snot bubble. I, on the other hand, sharpened my focus and covered the whole area of the Fulbright mansion with arcane energy for intruder detection.

We still had room for improvement – that was what Pochi had said yesterday, but it would be useless if we were to die before then. To be honest, I had a few regrets when it came to what had happened yesterday. One, in particular, was Pochi’s wounds… it bothered me quite a lot how she had fought so hard despite her grave injuries.

It was a different kind of ‘bothered feeling’ from my annoyance at her usual shenanigans, of course.

I don’t know how long we’ll be staying in this era, but my God… it’s chock full of danger.

All we’ve been meeting are strong people or monsters.

Pochi, being a Beast, had an eventual limit to her abilities.

I sat cross-legged on the floor and drew the Storeroom Circle, then reached into it for a certain sheet of parchment.

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Magecraft: Familiar Archetype Changer

I write this out of consideration that the day may come when it must be used on Pochi.

This magic is a relatively simple thing; its technical formula is not at all difficult.

Turning a dog into a cat, a cat into a monkey, a monkey into a monster – that is what it can do.

I’m sure that you’ll remember that you’ve created this magecraft once you see this sheet of parchment someday down the line.

Although it is indeed the Archetype Changer, the thing itself is not all so grandiose.

After all, it will do nothing to change the target’s physical construction.

What it does is rewrite internal information – think of that on the same vein as the statistics you would see through the Appraisal Glasses.

All you need to invoke is a large quantity of arcane energy, so you shouldn’t have any issue pulling it off.

That, in turn, makes Pochi’s willingness the biggest concern here.

The reality is that, through this, she’ll no longer be a wolf-dog Beast, but a monster.

Whether or not Pochi will be able to accept that term… that is the utmost issue.

Future me.

Give it thorough thought and discuss it with Pochi in all its details.

I can only pray that this magecraft is left unused.

P.S. Have you managed to achieve the title of Philosopher yet?

〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜

Rest assured, past me; I AM on track to becoming a Philosopher – the very best, like no one ever was.

(Anna: From pokemon? Now this brings back memories.)

Let’s be real here – I’m very much hesitant to talk about it with Pochi.

But it IS important that I do, since that would at least open up more possibilities.

After all, if Pochi were to find herself in the worst-case scenario because of my inaction, I’ll be the one to regret that the most.

In a way, this would serve to satisfy my personal ambitions and inflate my ego, too.

…Guess I’ll see if I can set aside some time to talk with her once we’re at Kugg Village.

“Mmm… Master, I’ve got a hangnail… Cast Hire Cure Adjust…”

Just a normal Cure should be enough for that…

Annoyed by my Familiar’s sleep-talk of wasting one of my best spells, I woke her up with a pull of her tail. Then I walked up to the door that connected my room and Bright’s.

Upon knocking on the door, I got a half-asleep reply permitting my entry.

I quietly opened the door to see young Bright, sitting on the edge of his bed and rubbing his eyes.

“Master Bright, it is almost time for us to depart. Please be ready as soon as possible.”

“…Yes, of course.”

He’s quite self-disciplined when it comes to serious matters, but at the end of the day, he’s still got a childish side or two to him as well.

Although this was usually Alfred and Jetta’s job, we had agreed yesterday that I would be the one to wake him today.

And despite me saying it was ‘almost time to depart,’ I had also included breakfast time, and so on, into that definition.

We’ll be actually leaving Brunnera at six o’clock. All we have to do is head to the north gate before then.

“Masterrrr!! I’ve got soap in my eyes!”

“High Cure Adjust.”

“Isn’t that a bit of an overkill, sir?!”

Despite being up so early, she’s looking quite energetic, this doggo.

Now then, I’ll go wash my face, too… Although I’d chugged down a vial of Pochi Bitande’d, it’s still important to keep myself feeling fresh.

While Pochi had her meal in my room, June, Bright, and Ferris had their breakfast in the dining room, with me standing guard. And then I ate, while Bright and June made some last-minute preparations in the former’s room. Pochi went to keep an eye on them at this time, of course.

I finished my meal quickly and proceeded to toss everything important into the Storeroom. After that was done, June came to call me at my room.

All right… time to go.

Alfred drove the coach, while Jetta sat next to him. June, Bright, and Ferris sat in the passengers’ seat.

June asked me to join them in the carriage, but I politely declined since Pochi couldn’t fit inside.

Must be tough living as a nobleman, having to deal with all these formalities…

Once we arrived at the north gate, I saw that several other carriages were on the ready there, along with a group of robust-looking warriors, presumably those carriages’ guards.

Hmm, their levels averaged at around a hundred-twenty. Perhaps this was an indicator of the level of adventurers in this region, too.

Looking on, I eventually caught sight of an individual clearly different from the others.

The man’s level was a whopping hundred-ninety-eight. That was as close as it gets to Giorno and Lylia’s power level.

From how he was dressed… I’d assume that he was a mage. However, his energy and manner of movement suggested otherwise. His hair was blue with hints of silver… And he had lost one eye, apparently. A particularly horrible scar ran from the center of his forehead through his right eye socket.

The ambiance he gave off vaguely resembled that of Hornel’s. If I had to guess, this man was the head of the Adams household, Polco Adams.

Hornel’s ancestor, one of the people whose prowess had impressed Lylia, and is young Ferris’ father…

“Father!”

Ferris said as she hopped down from the coach and approached him.

“Ferris, have you been behaving yourself?”

“But of course!”

…Who’s what kid?

She must’ve been rehearsing that act! When has she been doing it?!

“Hello, Lady June.”

“Apologies for the sudden nature of our request, Sir Polco.”

“No, don’t worry about it – I’m sure we all have our circumstances. Besides, you did take Ferris under your care for a half a month… without advance notice, at that. It’s only fair that we return the favor, isn’t it?”

“I appreciate that, sir. We all do.”

Well, he looks quite friendly and approachable.

The Traditionalist Faction would’ve been difficult to keep together otherwise, I suppose.

Despite having already heard that Polco was the leading figure of the Faction, I only felt that to be the case after getting to meet the man himself.

“Good to see you, too, young Bright. It’s been a while.”

“Thank you for agreeing to our request, Sir Polco. We will be in your care for some time.”

“I am Jetta, employed to attend to Master Bright’s every need. However, since I will be under House Adams’ care, please do give your orders if my assistance is needed.”

Both of them bowed deeply.

June proceeded to whisper something to Polco. After that’s done, it’ll be my turn, I suppose…

“I am Shiro!”

Always fast to talk, this doggo.

“I am Poer, employed as Master Bright’s instructor of arcane arts and bodyguard. If there is any need, I will provide assistance to the best of my abilities. Please do treat us well, sir.”

“Mm-hm… I’ve already heard from Lady June – that you are a skilled mage. Thank you for taking care of Ferris, too. It is nice to meet you.”

Polco reached down to briefly brush Pochi’s fur.

As expected of a respectable mage, he doesn’t give Familiars the cold shoulder. That’s definitely a good first impression.

June and Bright hugged and said their goodbyes one last time. Although they won’t be apart for long, I suppose it is sad for June all the same.

“Young Poer.”

“Yes, Sir Polco?”

“From what I see, you seem to be the strongest around here. Would you be willing to work with Guile, the leader of our convoy?”

“I would be glad to, sir.”

“And here he comes – yes, this man here is Guile. He is very much familiar with the road; you can leave all of the navigation to him.”

A giant fava bean…?

Oh, no – he’s just bald. No offense to either of those.

Guile had not a single hair on his head – not even brows and eyelashes.

He did seem quite intimidating, though, what with his perpetually stern expression. It’s just that…at a glance, he looked like a fava bean. That was what got me first.

“Um, so, Mister Guile? Sir Polco has tasked us with riding alongside you.”

“Yeah, sure… so you’re the Poer guy? Well, try not to cause any trouble.”

And so he promptly brushed me off with those words of his.

It seemed that Guile didn’t care much about being friends. Neither did the rest of the guards, for that matter.

I reckon there’s no need to think of it deeply, though. They do their job, we do ours, and provide each other with support, so long as we don’t cause any trouble for the other.

That’s how a mage typically operates, anyway… No need to worry about it, I guess.

“Sir Poer… I entrust Bright in your care.”

“You can count on us. We’ll let you know when we arrive at the destination, milady.”

Seeing how worried June was, I said that to reassure her.

June, now looking relieved, broke away from the group and back to the Fulbright coach.

Looks like everyone’s ready.

Pochi gigantified, then I hopped on her back.

Guile shouted loudly to everyone behind him,

“Let’s go!”

Our destination: West of Regalia, the village of Kugg.

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