The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

Although Asley had already used his Teleportation spell to escape back to the Resistance hideout, Chappie was still stuck in a battle with Gaspard, making do with what little arcane energy he had left to spare.

At this point, the Phoenix was already close to his limit, only holding on with sheer willpower.

Eventually, Bright finally broke his reluctant silence and issued his order,

[“…! Chappie! It’s time to go! Instructor’s arcane energy signal has already left this location!”]

[“Yeah, hurry up and bail!”]

As soon as he heard Bright and Ferris’ voices, Chappie stopped his breath attack, turned around, and tried to fly away from Regalia… and Gaspard.

“Hoh–!”

However…

“Did you expect me to allow your escape?”

Just as Chappie was about to flap his wings, Gaspard appeared in front of him… ‘standing’ completely still in the air.

[“Levitation magic…!”]

“Try not to be surprised by every little thing, intruder.”

[“Shouldn’t you be worried about the War Demon Emperor, rather than wasting your time with us?”]

“Hmph, the puppet no longer has any value to us. Surely Ishtar will be happy to start running the Nation first thing this coming morning.”

[“Heh, so you’re not going to do it yourself?”]

“There’s no use trying to get more information from me. Whatever you do, your lives end now.”

And so the conversation between Bright and Gaspard ended with the latter’s brandishing of his right fist.

“Gah–!?”

Then he closed the gap between him and Chappie in an instant, and subsequently threw a powerful punch at the Phoenix.

Chappie took the blow to his right wing, and despite the stinging pain, he did not stop his attempt to fly away.

“Ha ha ha… Ngh–!”

“Oh-ho, would you look at the courage in those eyes…”

Chappie glared sharply at Gaspard through his sunglasses, and kept on flapping his injured wing.

“Regardless, it’s the end of the line for you.”

Gaspard raised his right hand.

Chappie braced for the incoming impact.

But then Ferris and Bright suddenly said something that totally changed the situation.

[“Ugh, took you long enough!”]

[“Now’s our chance!”]

“What in the…?”

The next moment, Gaspard’s back was hit with countless unidentifiable impacts — not unlike wind, but also not unlike a rain of pebbles.

“Hmm!?”

Gaspard’s eyesight was subsequently obscured by darkness, and within that darkness, he heard Bright’s voice again.

[Sorry for all the mess — we were here just to scout ahead, you see.]

[Bye now!]

“Farewell, villain!”

All that remained audible in Gaspard’s ears now were the quiet flapping of wings.

When the impact ceased, Gaspard opened his eyes and gazed up at the sky to the east.

“…They got away. What just happened? I smell some residual arcane energy… Could it be…”

Gaspard disengaged his Levitation spell and glided down to where Billy was.

“Hmph.”

Then he groaned in annoyance and kicked Billy up, sending the latter crashing into a wall.

“Gah…”

The impact was just what Billy needed to regain consciousness.

“M-Master Gaspard…! W-what about Lady Ishtar?”

Billy looked around, searching for his superior.

“She must have gone to rescue Lloyd. Meeting Asley seems to have loosened a few nuts and bolts in his head.”

“I see…”

Gaspard stared coldly at Billy before letting out a subtle sigh.

“You have been… utterly unhelpful tonight.”

“A-apologies–“

Billy bowed down, but before he even got the second word in, Gaspard turned away and walked back into Regalia castle.

Knowing that Gaspard had looked at him as if he was a piece of trash, Billy trembled with frustration.

“Damn you… damn you, Asley…!”

He bared his gritted teeth and slammed his fists against the wall, causing an explosion that reduced it to dust.

Then he looked up at the sky, and saw that the sun was rising.

“I’ll get you next time!”

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Inside the cathedral-like room that Asley had been in a moment ago, Lloyd of the White was standing around, shaking in a predictable pattern.

“Poc-chie…”

Without looking at Alphas’ corpses and the soldiers lying unconscious on the floor, he simply trembled as he muttered to himself,

“Ass-lee…”

Lloyd repeated those two names again and again as he stared at the room’s light fixture.

“Ass-lee. Poc-chie. Ass-lee. Poc-chie.”

Like a broken music box, Lloyd was limited in ranges of both action and speech.

But when he spoke those two names, for some reason, his face broke into a smile, even if just a little — very little.

“Ass-lee. Poc-chie. Ass-lee. Poc-chie.”

Then, someone appeared with quiet and graceful footsteps.

It was Idïa, better known now as Ishtar of the Black, in her usual black robe.

As soon as Idïa came into view, Lloyd, who had been repeating the same actions, stopped moving.

“Mother.”

His voice was as emotionless as his eyes.

Lloyd walked over to Idïa and knelt before her.

Idïa held out her right hand in front of Lloyd; Lloyd gently grasped it, and proceeded to kiss the back of her hand as a gesture of loyalty and respect.

[The brainwashing seems to still be intact…]

Lloyd let go of Idïa’s hand, then Idïa proceeded to stroke his hair.

“You let them get away.”

“Yes, I did. I have no excuse for my failure.”

Lloyd offered his apology in a perfectly monotone voice. Idïa narrowed her eyes very slightly, and decided to forgive him.

“It is fine. I did not fare particularly well, either. Still, we must do better going forward. Is your research progressing as planned?”

“Yes. I reckon it will be complete soon enough.”

Hearing Lloyd’s monotone, uncaring voice, Idïa cracked a smile and nodded, seeming satisfied.

“Hehehe… what a lovely son you are. Will you continue to serve me?”

“Yes, I will.”

Idïa stood Lloyd up and put her hand on his cheek.

“You truly look just like Hudl when he was a strapping young man. So dignified, so beautiful. Unlike Cleath…”

Then, after saying that, she ran her tongue along Lloyd’s cheek… slowly, as if tasting it with the tip of her tongue.

“I will never let anyone have you. Never again.”

Lloyd said nothing, and Idïa kept smiling at him.

Then Idïa sensed someone’s presence behind her. She narrowed her eyes and promptly lashed out,

“Feeling like a peeper today? Or is it jealously that I’m sensing now, Cleath?”

Behind her was Cleath, on his knees.

Idïa continued without turning to him, keeping her eyes on Lloyd,

“How does it feel to be defeated by a mere beast for a second time?”

“My resentment runs deep… And my desire to kill that dog further increases!”

“Hmph, at least you are feeling as you should. The thing has humiliated me in the past as well.”

“Please, please order me to take revenge on them!”

Cleath pleaded, bowing his head deeply.

“Fool. As much as a failure you are, you should at least try to use your head to think.”

Cleath tightly clenched his fists.

“T-then what do you have in mind, Lady Ishtar…?”

He asked, trembling with frustration.

“Hmm… First of all, you could try getting over your hate for Billy, and start working with him.”

Idïa cracked a grin, and Cleath raised his head to look up at her.

“Me and… him?”

Seeing Cleath’s confusion, Idïa continued,

“If you think only the heroes thrive on the power of friendship, then perhaps you’ve read too many fairy tales. Now, there is no need to be concerned — I do have my own ideas on how to proceed with that.”

“Y-yes, ma’am!”

Cleath lowered his head once more. Idïa and Lloyd proceeded to walk past him.

Lloyd took Idïa’s hand and walked ahead of her, escorting her — a usual sight for the pair.

And as Cleath looked at Lloyd as the latter went away, his eyes were filled with anger.

“If only you… If only you weren’t here…!”

He gritted his teeth, and as he was being wrapped in an aura of darkness, he grumbled,

“I am NOT a failure! I am not…!”

Before long, Cleath disappeared, leaving the room with only the Alphas’ corpses and the unconscious soldiers.

Then the darkness in Cleath’s spot was replaced by a ray of sunlight — the light of dawn that was breaking onto Regalia.

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