The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

“All right, good job, Fuyu — Keep it up. Visualize your arcane energy flowing from your entire body while still keeping it contained on the surface. Just like that.”

“…! Yes, sir! Hng…!”

It has been several days since I started teaching the mages how to use the Ultimate Limit. 

As I expected, Irene and the others of the Six Archmages… well, the ones that are with us, anyway, quickly grasped the key to the technique and have already moved on to figuring out its practical applications.

Not long after, Warren, Lina, Idéa, and Midors figured it out, to the point of being able to harness their own arcane energy to invoke it.

And now, finally, Fuyu gets it down — the last one of us to do so. She has struggled every single step of the way, undoubtedly due to how little fundamental training she has received compared to the others.

And succeeded right before Fuyu was Natsu, who struggled just about as much as Fuyu had.

While both Fuyu and Natsu are talented, they have not gotten to study at the Magic University. It’s not bad to acclimate themselves to combat right off the bat, but that does come with the risk of neglecting fundamental training. 

Magic University provides ample opportunities for such training, ensuring that even wayward mages gain some level of understanding, which ultimately creates a gap between these two and the others.

Fuyu, beaming at me with a radiant smile, wiped the sweat off her forehead. 

Her perseverance remains unwavering, regardless of being the last to succeed.

Undoubtedly, this has been a result of Fuyu’s own efforts. I really can’t thank Gaston enough for all the guidance he has provided to Fuyu over the years.

“…Whew.”

“All right, let’s take a break and grab some food. You worked hard, Fuyu, so how about I treat you to something good?”

“We’re going together!?”

Fuyu seems excited, but her face has turned visibly red. Perhaps she’s exhausted. Did I push her too hard?

“Sure, why not? But if you’re tired to go now, I’ll just give you some cash for later–“

“I-I’ll go! J-Just give me a minute, please! I need to get myself a change of clothes!”

Fuyu began drawing a Teleportation Spell Circle in a hurry. 

Huh… her clothes aren’t even dirty, though. 

And, well, I’ve noticed that so many people are able to use the Teleportation spell nowadays, it’s as if it has gone on a bargain sale… 

As I watched Fuyu teleport away, I heard the usual light-hearted voice coming from behind me,

“I know what you’re thinking, Master — you’re wondering why she would need to change her clothes, aren’t you?”

“You are… correct! As expected from my Familiar!”

“We HAVE been together for over 800 years, sir.”

“So, you know why she’s doing this or something?”

“Of course I know! And I’m never going to tell you!”

Pochi turned away, suddenly grumpy.

Man, how the hell did my Familiar develop such a stubborn personality?

Maybe she would have turned out better if Gaston had raised her instead…

“Oh c’mon… you know who I am, right?”

“You’re my Master.”

“Right. I’m your Master.”

“Yes, though a semi-compulsory Contract. Oh, but that Contract has already been edited in my favor, thanks to the Contract Modification magecraft!”

She’s right — Pochi is technically no longer my Familiar due to the changes to the clauses by the Contract Modification magecraft.

This was done when I was training under Tūs to remove the title with negative effects, including ‘The Fool’s Familiar,’ that Pochi had.

“But didn’t you say that I’ll always be your Master, or something like that?”

“Yes, you WILL always be my Master. But this has nothing to do with that.”

Damn, this doggo operates on a whole new brand of logic. Who’s her Master? Is he around here? I wanna talk to him.

“By the way, Master, are we really doing that ‘war simulation’ thing this afternoon?”

“Yup! And the one playing the role of Devil King is… ME!”

“Why do you sound so happy!? You — the Devil King! DEVIL KING! Chappie would cry if he knew you were doing this!”

“Chappie won’t care about these pesky little details! Besides, while you’re his mother, you’re younger than him! Don’t forget that!”

“I-I never thought of it that way! Maybe I’ll have to change the way I talk to him, sir!”

“Eh, probably not — this is Chappie we’re talking about, you know. By the way… you got a little time to talk?”

Pochi’s ears twitched as she turned to me.

She understands that when I suddenly change the subject like this, it’s so that I could have a serious conversation. It doesn’t happen very often.

“What is it, sir?”

“The battle the other day was… pretty large-scale, right?”

“Yes, sir — by this era’s standards, it might’ve been the biggest one we’ve been through, what with Devil King Lucifer coming to fight you himself…”

All right, Pochi is taking this seriously.

“Do you remember the message from Shi’shichou?”

“I remember it well, sir — since I had him repeat it so many times after that!”

Pochi wagged her tail as she said that.

“Chappie — well, technically Bright — said that ‘it is not yet the right time for us to meet,’ so…”

“He did say that, yes. So what, sir?”

“So… there’s probably going to be a fight that’s EVEN WORSE than this one.”

“Ah, I see, I see…”

I nod.

“Since he said ‘not yet the right time,’ I’ve been trying to figure out a reason why we couldn’t just meet, but doesn’t it feel like something is… wrong?”

“You’re right, sir. Could there be a reason that’s truly out of everyone’s control?”

“Waiting for the right moment, maybe?”

“You were in grave danger this time, Master.”

“But even then, it was not the right moment… In which case, there has to be a different, more significant reason for him to not show up.”

“Yes. But knowing Bright, I’m sure it’s perfectly reasonable, sir!”

Pochi said with a cheerful and confident smile.

Indeed, that boy was so talented that he was called a prodigy, a genius, and the Black Emperor of that era — at such a young age, too.

There must be a lot of underlying factors at play in this whole mess.

Speaking of the Black Emperor, the one I know in this era is also full of surprises. I never expected him to be so resourceful. Knowing Lucifer — particularly how proud he is by nature — he might be angry as hell and demolishing Regalia Castle or splitting the sky apart by now.

Whenever I look at Warren, I can’t help but think that Bright must have something planned. Well, he’s pretty much as old as I am by now — and his mind is as deep as the sea. I’ll just trust him to do this thing.

I steeled my resolve with such thoughts running through my mind. Then, a few moments later, Fuyu’s Teleportation Spell Circle lit up again.

At the same time, Pochi started walking away from me.

“Huh, you’re not coming? We’re going to get lunch, you know.”

“Lylia is already treating me to a meal today! Because I won against her in last night’s eating contest! Besides, I wouldn’t want to disturb you two, sir!”

Pochi laughed and proceeded to leave.

Huh, what was that about an eating contest…?

Oh, right, I remember now. There WAS an eating contest with Lylia — the Devourer Queen of Sodom — last night. And Pochi won in the end.

And while the contest was going on, Bruce and the others of Teal Silver, Silver General, Eddo Boars, and even the Resistance were enjoying themselves, jeering and cheering along.

Those guys sure are tough, being able to celebrate while the world is in total chaos like this.

……Actually, maybe it’s exactly because things are going south that they’re celebrating while they can.

“Um… Sir Asley? Does it look strange on me?”

Fuyu asked with an embarrassed look.

Looks like I was laughing while recalling what happened last night.

“Oh, no, sorry — I was just thinking about stuff. You know, the contest last night — it was pretty funny.”

“The contest… oh, you mean the eating contest between Pochi and Miss Lylia!”

“Yeah, that… Huh, Fuyu? Isn’t that a…”

“Hehehe… Looks good, doesn’t it?”

Fuyu lifted her skirt slightly and swayed it from side to side, showing it off. 

She’s in a light purple off-shoulder dress, and as she touched the hair near her ear, she slightly lowered her head with a hint of embarrassment. The pale pink handbag and the high-heeled shoes of the same color with a small cherry blossom decoration matched perfectly with her wardrobe, too.

“…Wow.”

“Huh?”

“Looks super good, yeah! It’s beautiful!”

“Huh!? …Ah, uh, uh… T-thank you!”

“You’ve always been in the Magic Guardians Brigade uniform, you know — it’s surprising to see you in a different getup.”

“Yes, when it comes to combat training and such, the uniform really helps me get into the right mindset… Hehehe…”

“Really, it looks good!”

“N-no need to tell me twice…”

Fuyu, after saying that, seems to shrink as if she’s a flower about to wither away. 

Without looking at me, she spun right around and pointed towards… a random direction.

“T-then, shall we be on our way?”

There’s nothing but the empty sky where she’s pointing, but… well, let’s not interrupt her.

“Yeah!”

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