The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

“HMPH–!!”

Bruce twisted the circular handle on the door, opening it up.

What appeared behind it was a staircase leading further down underground.

I never thought they’d built something like this right under Kugg Village.

Polco’s magic and Garm’s craftsmanship certainly could do this, but what in the world is this place even for?

“So this is like a second basement, huh?”

There’s a room at the bottom of the staircase.

And behind this room, there seems to be another, bigger room.

We headed there, and then Pochi and Lina, walking excitedly in front of the rest of us, seemed surprised… and emotionally moved, even.

“It’s amazing!”

Bruce proceeded to look into the room.

“Holy moly…”

Even Bruce is impressed — what’s going on?

Hornel, Fuyu, and I entered the room after the three others.

In an instant, our eyes were dazzled by the light.

Well, not literal light. It’s just that the room is filled with… gold.

“It’s unreal…”

“..It’s like I’m dreaming.”

Fuyu, and even a descendant of the Adams household like Hornel, seemed to be captivated by the mountain of gold before them.

“M-M-M-Master!! How much gold do you think this is!?”

“I-I don’t know! I’ve never seen a treasure trove this big before, you know!? I see… so this is why it was buried underground! This must be enough to fill the whole Kugg Village square — every square meter of it!”

“Then it’s gotta be at least… Uh, how much? I have no idea. Hahaha…”

Even a long-time adventurer like Bruce can’t comprehend how much gold this treasure trove contains.

“”Haha… ha…””

Pochi, Lina, Fuyu, Haruhana, and I also started letting out the same dry laugh he had.

In the midst of that, Hornel muttered,

“…It’s…”

“Huh? What is it, Hornel?”

Pochi asked, tilting her head.

“…It’s probably enough to… Buy out the whole Nation a few times over.”

“”……””

We were so surprised that we didn’t even have any reaction to that.

“Hahaha… The whole Nation, huh? I guess it IS a problem that we have been relying on T’oued so much. Asley, your friend probably left this behind so that we could bolster our military strength.”

“…Yeah, probably. Hmm? Lina, is something wrong?”

“Sir Asley, take a look at this!”

Lina, holding something in her hand, called me over.

The rest of us quickly realized that it wasn’t like the gold that filled this room.

Once we gathered around Lina, we immediately knew what it was.

“That is… a letter, isn’t it?”

“There seems to be some sort of protective magic set up here, too — to prevent everything from deteriorating.”

Lina handed me the letter that probably was meant for me.

“I don’t recognize this spell… Maybe it’s my ancestor’s original creation?”

Hornel seems interested in the fixed position type Spell Circle drawn on the floor.

Polco Adams was one of the greatest magicians of that era, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he knew a spell like that.

“Now, read it, Master!”

“Yeah…”

With Pochi urging me on, I opened the letter I received from Lina.

“…!”

The shocking truth written in it left us all stunned…

[Hello, Poer. I hope you’re doing as well as I currently am. My son was born recently, so I suppose you could say I’ve fulfilled my duty as an aristocrat. The people of my territory are also important, of course, so I intend to focus my efforts on providing for them from now on. Now, since you’ve made it here, I can only assume that the Kugg Boars have delivered their message… or perhaps Shiro has led you here with her sense of smell. To tell you the truth, we’ve used magecraft to recreate your scent here. It was quite difficult to achieve, I must say. Since I had to take samples from your bed, my wife quite predictably treated me like an oddball for it. Anyway, I’ll get to the main point. You must be surprised, now that you are here, Poer. I have left all this treasure for you — Feel free to take it for yourself. Neither the other aristocrats nor the people will object to it. Such is the Holy Emperor’s decree that I and Lady June have requested and been granted by Emperor Hudl. It is up to you, Shiro, and your comrades to decide what to accomplish with it. Also, one important thing: I have recently received news that certain individuals have destroyed the village of the Elves. I have told Giorno and Lylia only the facts. They too are working toward leaving something behind for you, in their own ways. However, in the end, there was one thing I could not tell them. It concerned the people involved in the destruction of the village of the Elves. I don’t know whether or not it is true, but I have been informed that, the night before the incident, Empress Idïa and Prince Zaths were seen in the village of the Elves. Since the village wound up destroyed the following day, there was a strong possibility that those two were the culprits. After all, they were once heads of state, reduced to having no choice but to live in the wild. The resentment they hold toward you is immeasurable, Poer. Just as people like me, Giorno, and Lylia try to provide you with future blessings, perhaps people like those two are trying to counteract them with curses. I will investigate this matter further, but please understand that the truth I may uncover will not be written down here. I intend for my descendants to add to this treasure trove for as long as the bloodline persists. I wonder how big of a trove it will become by the time it reaches your distant future… and I am a little sad that I won’t get to see it. As you already know, those of my bloodline tend to be stubborn and duty-bound, so there likely won’t be any fool who dares to use the treasure for themselves. Ah, I’ve written so much already… I suppose I should end it here. — So what do you think, Poer? This is what I consider the true ‘friendly pricing’. I know the salary and severance payment I gave you were lacking, but you have done and achieved so much. I am quite proud of you for that. Heh, I can practically see your mouth twitching and trembling right now. It’s a pity that I won’t actually get to see it, though.

–Your friend, Polco Adams.]

……Man, he really left behind quite a legacy.

“…! Sir Asley! Use this!”

Fuyu handed me a handkerchief.

Yeah… I didn’t even realize that I had started crying.

“Thank you…”

I wiped my tears with the handkerchief before turning to Pochi.

Pochi was not on the floor, however, as she had climbed onto my shoulder while I wasn’t looking.

Looks like she’s quite interested in Polco’s letter. She’s wagging her tail, seemingly happy about something.

After taking a closer look at the letter in my hands, Pochi said to me,

“Ah, Master! There’s something else written at the bottom!”

Is there, though? Ah, here it is.

[P.S. — Apparently, Garm has a gift for you. Try looking in the back room.]

Huh? Garm?

He’s a master at his craft, being able to build a room that lasts millennia like this… And he’s even left something else behind for me?

“Hey! There’s another door over here!”

Hearing Bruce call us, we headed in that direction.

“Asley.”

But then I was stopped by a voice from behind me — a man’s voice that isn’t Bruce’s.

He’s my classmate, and for a short while, a school bully — But all in all, Hornel Adams is a good guy.

“What’s up, Hornel?”

“Smile.”

“What?”

“Just do it! Smile!”

For a moment, I thought Hornel was saying something weird… but then I figured that I was the weird one.

Indeed, in times like this, I should smile.

But I couldn’t manage a big one — let alone a visible one at all.

I can’t just do it because Hornel told me to.

In the end, I reminded myself of the contents of the letter in my hands, and the person who had written it, I showed Hornel an awkward smile.

A smile also meant for the writer, Polco Adams.

“……Hmph, you call that a smile?”

“I thought it’d look pretty nice, though.”

“All right, let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

And so Hornel walked ahead of me, and I followed shortly after him.

The next moment, I heard a gentleman’s voice say to me,

“Thanks.”

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