The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

“The hell happened to you? Why’re you bleedin’ from your eyes like that?”

Once Melchi was done gathering information from Regalia, she decided to head to Radeata.

However, the day before she departed, she was bleeding profusely from her eye sockets, prompting Tūs to take a look at her.

At Melchi’s feet lay a medical knife stained with blood.

“Wha–!? D-damn it, I was careless! I was trying to finish this before you noticed, too…!”

Melchi, noticing Tūs approaching her, hastily stuffed her tools into a leather bag.

Tūs proceeded to squat down to take a closer look at Melchi’s face.

“C-c’mon, Master Tūs, I know I’m cute enough to make a world-class beauty bow down to me and all, you’re not supposed to stare at my face like that~~! …Uh, I mean, the look in your eyes is kinda giving you away… Teehee♪”

Despite trying to hide her face in a flustered manner, Tūs saw through everything, as apparent from his stern expression.

It was not as if she was doing a good job at this misdirection, however. Despite desperately playing up her so-called cuteness, she was laughing while streams of blood flowed from her eyes. The sight could not be described in any way other than ‘horrific.’

“Evil Eyes…”

[Oh no! He figured that out already!?]

“You forced the incorporation of the Information Disclosure Magecraft formula by drawing it directly into your eyeballs, and then, when you put your eyes back, you used recovery magic to restore vision… Hmm. Well, you really planned this out! Since Gaspard is said to roam where the strong people are, you having this would make it easier to gather information…”

[Ohh! He gets it! This will make the search for Gaspard much more efficient! I won’t get scolded–]

In an instant, Melchi’s field of vision dropped by about twenty centimeters — and at the same time, an unbelievable pain struck her head.

“–GAH!? That… hurt!! What was that for!?”

Melchi clutched her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

She tried to talk back at Tūs, but was stopped again… this time by Tūs’ iron fist.

“Kyahhh!? Again!? You hit me AGAIN!? You hit a girl’s head TWICE!? My neck felt like it was going to end up inside my body, like a tortoise!!”

“How about a THIRD hit, huh?”

“Ah… No! No way!”

“Well, you better be thankful that you’re you — if you were someone like, say, Kokki, I wouldn’t have been so considerate.”

“Of course I’m not a tortoise! Anyway, never mind that! Look, my Evil Eyes are invoking without any issue! Yes! YES!!”

Tūs sighed in exasperation.

“Artificial Evil Eyes… yeah, it makes things a bit easier. But you didn’t tell me when you were going to do it, so I hit you. Understand that.”

“I’m so sorry!!”

“One wrong move and you could have gone blind… well, actually, even if it’s just the Information Disclosure Magecraft, it’s still dangerous enough that it might cause your head to explode. I can understand why you would want to do it, though…”

“Uh… I… I know, right~~?”

“Well, yeah, you’re not all that different from me. A magic NERD of the highest order!”

“For a moment, I thought you were gonna say I look as ugly as you! Hahaha!”

“And you’re foolishly honest…”

“HAHAHA– Huh? Did you say something else just now?”

“Nah.”

Melchi tilted her head, but she only got a nonchalant response out of Tūs.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Several years had passed since the night Gaspard left Tūs behind.

As time went on, the information Melchi could gather dwindled steadily.

It was not that Gaspard’s existence disappeared, but rather, it was the result of his prowess.

“Man… I’ve been traveling for so long, but even the stream of info from Argent and Team Silver General has become extremely scarce. This is the worst…”

The only place where Melchi could express her lamentations was here.

After all, there was nowhere else but this Far East Wasteland where Tūs, the other person who knew Gaspard, resided.

Melchi sat on the ground, gazing at the dusk-stained sky with a tired expression.

“Y’know, I just remembered what Gaspard said the day he left…”

Tūs, who had turned his back to Melchi, spoke up casually.

“…I don’t even remember what he said and what day that was anymore.”

Melchi remained sprawled on the ground, grabbing her floating wizard hat and placing it on her face.

“I mean, I don’t remember the exact words either, but didn’t he say something about ‘eliminating conflict from the world’?”

“No longer calling him by name, eh, Master?”

“Hmph, and I’m already being generous — I probably should be calling him a bastard at this point.”

“Nahahaha… Uh, so, why’d that you bring that up?”

“Just think about it — how does he think he’ll do the eliminating conflict thing, anyway?”

“………Oh?”

Lifting her wizard hat, Melchi responded to Tūs’ question with a bewildered voice.

Tūs, being known as a Philosopher, had just posed a question so simple that even a child could come up with it.

“Well, maybe he’s trying to be like the War Demon Emperor from some time ago — master both the military and the literary arts to lead the people, eliminating conflict in the process?”

“Even if he does that, conflicts will arise. That’s what being human is all about.”

“Well… Now that does make it hard to achieve…”

“There is ONE way.”

“What way?”

“The way to end all conflicts.”

“Ooh! That’s awesome, Master Tūs!”

Melchi sat up excitedly.

“You kill them all — every single human in this world.”

“Wow… That’s… Awesome, Master Tūs…”

Melchi’s shoulders drooped, disheartened.

Then, Melchi’s eyes widened. She stood up and confronted Tūs, her mentor.

“W-wait a minute! You’re not saying that Gaspard was thinking of doing that, right!?”

“If it was him from before you met him, he wouldn’t have said that.”

“What the hell!? Are you saying that Gaspard changed because he met ME!?”

“No, not you…”

“…Huh?”

“I mean, not YOU as a person. It’s the Arcane Energy Circulation Optimizer that he learned from you.”

“H-huh…? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Tūs, with an annoyed expression, answered the confused Melchi.

“It made him realize how… incompetent I was.”

“What!? You, incompetent!? How come!?”

“All the techniques I’ve gained are results of the passage of time. The same goes for your Arcane Energy Circulation Optimizer — I recognized what needed fixing thanks to years of cultivating my intuition and experience. Just think about it. I’ve barely taught you anything other than that.”

“…Well, it’s been mostly repetitive training, yes. I did achieve some breakthroughs once in a while, though…”

“That’s what I meant by things gained from the passage of time. When you have your thoughts to yourself, you’re bound to figure something out eventually. Breaking things down is an essential part of the learning experience — whether it’s your muscles, arcane energy, or knowledge.”

“And Gaspard realized that? Because of my Arcane Energy Circulation Optimizer?”

“Well, back then, you weren’t old enough to be a grandma, right? Well, after all this time, now you ARE old enough to be a GREAT-GRANDMA!”

“O-okay, I’ll just ignore the fact that you were super rude just now… But are you saying that it happened because of how young I was at that time?”

Tūs nodded, seemingly to affirm that point.

“In other words, he learned that there’s more to gain from leaving here. Well, not that coming to me had no significance in the end — After all, thanks to ME, his abilities improved dramatically.”

“Hmm… So Gaspard decided that there was nothing more to gain from you? Is that it?”

“Yeah, that bastard… Doing away with this Philosopher once I served his purpose…”

“Yup, and you’re totally salty ’bout that…”

“Hmph! Well, his desire for power is immeasurable. I just hope he doesn’t end up in a strange direction.”

“What’d you mean, strange?”

“I mean Black Magecraft, what else? If you get close to the Devilkin, the Devilkin will come to you. They’re actually easy to get favors from, but you have to pay a price…”

Melchi found herself holding her breath upon hearing Tūs’ words.

Then she remembered a certain piece of information she had heard from her old friend Argent during the search for Gaspard. To convey this to Tūs, Melchi reluctantly spoke up,

“…By the way, I heard that an organization called the Black and White Chain has been formed recently in the War Demon Nation.”

“The hell’s that?”

“Looks like they’re gathering talented individuals under one banner so that they don’t lose the techniques they’ve cultivated. Internally, they’re split into the White Faction and the Black Faction, challenging each other to improve themselves… or something like that.”

“…Hmm, sounds like something that bastard would like to be a part of.”

“And according to Argent, the Black Faction’s leader is… shady.”

“Meh, sounds like just a mid-boss to me.”

“Sure would be nice if that’s the case…”

“They definitely are.”

Melchi’s eyes widened in surprise.

The next thing Tūs said would then confirm Melchi’s fears,

“A mid-boss won’t attract anything bigger than a mid-boss… A big boss, on the other hand, can attract THE boss.”

“Oh, I see…”

A streak of cold sweat ran down Melchi’s back.

And, as if the world itself was affirming those thoughts, several months later, the Ishtar of the Black manipulated War Demon Emperor Vaas and welcomed ‘Grey’ into the War Demon Nation.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

~~ Twelfth Month, Ninety-First Year of the War Demon Calendar ~~

As usual, after Melchi returned from her journey, she shared information with Tūs.

It was valuable information, but this time, it was not about Gaspard.

By this time, they had already uncovered the true identity of Grey — it was none other than Gaspard, an apprentice of the Philosopher of the Far East, and Melchi’s senior. 

The information concerned the talents that could serve as bait to draw out Gaspard — the mental states of those who persevered in the pursuit of arcane arts, and what led them to their success.

“So this Irene the Invincible Sprout… she’s completed the Teleportation spell?”

“Hard to believe, I know, considering how sudden this came up…”

Melchi, an old friend of Irene’s, who once considered her a rival, shrugged at the fact that someone she knew had achieved the unprecedented feat of inventing the Teleportation magic spell.

“…Talent alone isn’t enough to achieve this — this spell’s too big to invent in a single lifetime! There are only three types of people who can do this — either they’re an ABSOLUTE fool, a SUPER genius, or they’re both. And, well, accomplishing this would require quite a relentless passion. Did this Irene person actually do it? Is she even one of those three kinds of person?”

Tūs asked, seeing that Melchi should have a deep enough understanding of Irene’s character.

“She’s… well, probably neither of those three, and let’s just say the Teleportation spell is WAY bigger than even the Arcane Energy Circulation Optimizer. She’s talented, sure, but I also can’t exactly believe that she’s the one who completed it. I mean, she only started researching it relatively recently. There has to be more to this announcement…”

“Hmm…”

After saying this, Tūs fell silent for a while.

Whether it was due to their long association or some other reason, Melchi quietly observed him during this contemplative moment.

This was a common occurrence since that day when Melchi, based in the Far East Wasteland, began her journey. And at times like these, Tūs’ response was always the same.

“Okay, Mel, you go to Beilanea and keep an eye on that fool. Now that we know Grey is… HIM, we also know that he’ll have his sights set on Irene’s talent. If the War Demon Nation takes possession of the Teleportation spell, they’ll be untouchable.”

“Aye, aye, sir!”

Melchi saluted with her right hand on her forehead and set off for Beilanea.

At this point, Tūs had made a misjudgment.

Gaspard had in fact already mastered the Teleportation spell by absorbing the knowledge of Devil King Lucifer. And in turn, Lucifer subtly sensed something crucial: the true creator of the Teleportation spell.

It was none other than the Holy Warrior Poer, the very one who defeated his past self. The existence of this magic spell carried the scent of the Asley the Eternal Fool.

And by extension, it could be traced to Tūs, the very one who sent Melchi to investigate Irene. The reason being that, in the past, Tūs and Asley had faced each other once during the Familiar Chalice.

And now, once again, Tūs’s stagnant time was moving forward — And so was Asley’s, as he spent his days pursuing the arcane arts.

Whether or one one liked it, the gears of time were in constant motion. All events converged into a single line.

This was a tale from just a few days before Melchi, who had devoted half her life to saving her friend and fellow apprentice, brought her first junior apprentice back to the Far East Wasteland.

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