The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

“Hey! Why the hell are you making decisions for me now!?”

“Well, you can’t say no to double money, sir! DOUBLE!”

As she spoke, I could see silhouettes of food flying around in Pochi’s eyes… Did she just cast an illusion spell?

Yeah, hell no! As if I could agree to it that easily!

“If not that, then how about we change it to something you want? This is a Gambling Den, anything goes as long as the stakes are established.”

Ngh… this little girl isn’t acting her age at all.

Maybe I’ll have to teach them some painful lesson… oh, wait?

This could be a great opportunity for me…

But that depends on whether or not they accept my conditions… yes, that’s a problem worth considering.

I’d have to ignore the allure of double money, but if they were to agree to play it my way, one of the purposes for which we had been sent to this time might be quickly fulfilled.

“Hmm? I’d thought you would be completely against it, but your eyes are saying otherwise, aren’t they?”

“Don’t expect to prevail over us so easily, Instructor.”

As Bright said that, he glanced down at a fat leather bag at his feet.

“W-whoa-!?”

Pochi, noticing something, approached the bag.

“Check out these coins! Each worth a hundred Gold – and there’s so much of them!? Gimme, gimme!”

Yeah, in your dreams, doggo.

Assuming that all those coins were worth a hundred each, their total value should be 500,000 Gold… right?

I suppose this is what’s called the fortune of those above – quite impressive.

“Father, we’re totally at a disadvantage here, don’t you think?”

“It’s all right.”

Yeah, all I need now is for them to adhere to my conditions.

“Let’s hear your conditions, then – what is it that you want?”

“The exchanges I will demand are… the magecraft ‘Limit Breakthrough’ and the medium through which it is used. Can they be provided?”

“THAT’s what you want? Can’t you just find them in most cities?”

As Ferris stared blankly at me, Bright moved his face closer to hers and whispered,

“Remember, Ferris, only one copy of it at most exists in any given city… that’s the value of what my Instructor demands.”

“…True, with that in consideration, the values might be fairly balanced out. All right, Poer, I will negotiate it over with my father.”

No, considering all the… technicalities of having Teleportation Spell Circles in this era, I believe I stand to lose a lot more than them.

“And now, the next condition…”

“What? Have you not had enough yet?”

“Don’t mind her, Instructor… please, state your wish.”

Bright interrupted Ferris, prompting her to stop complaining.

Could he have realized the true value of the things at stake, after all?

“I will teach the spell to either Lady Ferris or Master Bright, not both.”

“Well, then we could just-“

“-And if you successfully learn it, you must not teach it to anyone else for the rest of your life.”

“…No one.”

Bright muttered to himself. Pochi tugged at my mantle and whispered,

“Master, your terms do sound good and fair, all things considered, but aren’t you being way too self-assured about this?”

“That doesn’t mean much, coming from you. I mean, that’s how you always act…”

While we were discreetly arguing things between ourselves, Bright and Ferris seemed to be discussing things between them as well.

Now the stakes are evened out… I think.

Still, my conditions may have come off as undesirable for Ferris, what with her thinking the values were not matching up.

If they won this, one of them would be taught the Teleportation magic spell, but in exchange, they had to agree to two conditions just to get the game started.

Between them, Bright was the only one who realized and understood the meaning and values behind my conditions. Now, what will they do?

…Oh, there he goes. A subtle, quick Circle drawing – magecraft, Telepathic Call.

Bright was contacting someone… probably Polco.

All right, let’s wait and see how the current head of the Adams household takes these terms…

That, and how he will hold the reins of Ferris, who is now getting more and more frustrated in the background.

“I understand. House Fulbright will be the one to accept your conditions.”

“You stop right there, Bright! I haven’t agreed to this yet!”

Now then, what will she do?

…And as I thought that, Bright turned to Ferris.

He was… shuddering? His eyes sparkled… and he held his hands together… like whenever he prayed…!?

“Consider this, Ferris: If I learn the Teleportation spell, then I’ll be able to visit the Adams estate whenever I want~~♪”

Taken totally off guard, Ferris blushed and promptly nodded. Not that I’d blame her – what else could one do in the face of that boy’s expression?

“He’s never going to visit her, isn’t he?”

“Shouldn’t that be obvious?”

Bright, perhaps having heard my whispering with Pochi, coughed to clear his throat and got back into the topic,

“I’m ready whenever you are, Instructor.”

Bright proceeded to start shuffling a deck of cards, with me watching him from the opposite side of the table.

Hmm, he’s looking pretty dignified while doing that. Nice, nice.

Anyway, it seemed to be for a reason that Polco had chosen the Fulbright household. Perhaps he had decided that Bright was easier to keep under control than the maverick that was Ferris… But from how the boy’s acting now, that might have been a misplaced judgment on Polco’s part.

If I had an absolute say in this, I would definitely not hand over the Teleportation spell. Part of the reason was that it’s not even supposed to exist in this era, and I wouldn’t want there to be any obvious traces of me left here after I leave.

Well… I suppose I had always been using the name ‘Poer’, which the bronze statue had been made in honor of, so the traces here were technically not MINE… right, ‘no more than this’ should be a better fit.

“In the interest of fairness, I’ll be the one who deals the cards out.”

My Familiar, such interest, such fairness, wow – okay, I should stop.

Jokes aside, both of them seemed to understand that Pochi was not one to cheat.

And Ferris is staying behind Bright, keeping a close eye on him.

She seemed… somewhat more girly than she would usually act. Well, she DID just see Bright looking pretty cool for once, so I wouldn’t blame her.

Pochi dexterously flapped her paw and shuffled the deck of cards, then dealt them to me and Bright.

“We’ll decide by best of three.”

“Very well.”

It’s all right. The rightful king on my shirt has me covered-

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

“H-hwuh…!? What!? How’d it end like this!?”

“Look at you, talking all big, then losing two rounds in a row! Oh, you’re such a fool, Master!”

“No way, there’s got to be something wrong here!”

“What do you mean!?”

“Master Bright’s hands! I mean, First round a Four-of-a-Kind, then second round a Full House!? A-and I thought… my Flush was one hell of a draw…!”

“And then you got a No Pair on the second round, sir!”

“Shut up!”

While we were arguing, I saw Bright in the corner of my eyes, his eyes looking pretty… evil, and his mouth in a crescent moon-shaped grin.

W-what’s with that scary face…? D-don’t tell me he just…!?

I immediately looked around, and saw that the cards we had used had already been collected by Ferris and returned to the dealer.

Yes, all that remained here was-

“Now you will teach ME the Teleportation spell, yes♪?”

This kid, whose name and nickname make up a clash of black and white, is the ancestor of the modern-day Black Emperor.

…He got me. He’d played me like a damn fiddle!

Even after disregarding my naturally bad luck, his draws were just too good to be real.

He must’ve used a trick or two to get his way… which would fit perfectly with his character. Damn it. I guess it was my fault for simply tackling this kind of game head-on.

If only Leon had been awake… nah, I guess it’s all on me.

Damn you, Bright… is this your way of paying back the grudge you’d held since when I’d turned you into Aki?

Anyway, the boy had been genuinely, deeply interested in the Teleportation spell, that was for sure. Of course, he’d use any means available to him to secure his victory.

Right, that’s important. Today I’d learned an important lesson… well, no, more like have been REMINDED of it, thanks to my student.

Bah, what a scary kid.

He’ll definitely become a fearsome figure in the future. Or could he already be turning into one?

Also, despite everything, the deal was that I would be getting the Limit Breakthrough magecraft and the medium through which it’s used.

And I really can’t let myself be fooled just because it’s him, really. Next time I’ll remember to play something other than Poker.

Bright’s face was locked into an ear-to-ear grin, while Ferris was sniffling all the while.

These two make up a formidable pair indeed – at least on the rare instances of them conspiring together. I’ll have to be careful from now on.

And now, seeing that they were satisfied for the day, I suppose it’s time to head back.

With that in mind, I brought the two and Pochi along, walking on our way out of the Gambling Den.

…Huh? Why do I feel like we’re missing someone?

Everyone else seemed to have realized that as well, and were now looking around. Hmm, who was it?

Ah, right… the bird… with black and violet feathers…?

“Say, Master… where’s Chappie?”

“…You’re asking me?”

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