The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

e a move…”

 

Chappie made the most incomprehensible statement while I was occupied with my own thoughts.

…Did I hear that right?

 

“W-what are you, stupid!? We’re at a disadvantage here — we should fight together! Why do you want to fight it alone!?”

 

I was in complete agreement with Ferris — Chappie’s statement had been too irrational.
The best course of action, at least on paper, was to put up a fight, and escape at the first opportunity we saw.

Despite there being no other viable options, Chappie had opted for a duel.
A foolish choice.

 

“The young human woman is right… But if that is what you want, then I won’t object to it.”

“Look, I know you’re here just for me.
Stick to your plan and don’t do anything unnecessary.”

“Sense of duty and emotional attachment over honor… the humans have raised you to be so naive, I see.
But very well — I am indeed here only to enforce the Commandment of our kind.
The humans behind you shall not be involved.”

“”–!?””

 

Once we realized what Chappie’s intentions were, we were shocked and at a loss for words.

We were not being let go, nor were we escaping with our lives.
It was a trade — Chappie had agreed to the Violet Phoenix enforcing its Commandment, in exchange for it pretending that we weren’t even here.

 

“W-wait–!”

 

By the time Ferris managed to say something, it was already too late.
Chappie and the Violet Phoenix had spread their wings and flew off. 

They were heading toward the summit of a nearby mountain…

 

“H-hey, Bright! What do we do now!? If we let things go on, the chicken’s gonna be killed, right!?”

“Y-yes, most likely…”

“That’s all you have to say!? Bright, do you even realize what’s going on right now!?”

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This situation was the best outcome — was what Chappie had thought when he’d acted the way he had.

 

“They couldn’t have gone too far yet, so maybe we could chase them–“

 

Not that doing that would change anything.
Attempt to help Chappie out, and the Violet Phoenix was sure to mercilessly slaughter us.

We would be running to our deaths.
This wasn’t something we were meant to involve ourselves in.

 

“–We’ve got to do something! Things will work out in the end, I’m sure!”

 

No, no wishful thinking… Our top priority was to escape with our lives.
I knew that.

So why… why…

 

“Come on, Bright!”

 

…Why were my legs not moving?

Ferris’ shrill yells echoed in my head as she shook me by my shoulders.

 

“–Shut up!”

“…Huh?”

“…Can you shut up for a few minutes? I’m thinking…”

 

Unintentionally letting out what I truly thought, I ended up rendering Ferris speechless with surprise, but now was not the time to worry about that.

Chappie’s was in danger.
And it was our fault…!

We had all been doing our best ever since our departure from home.
And now, the very life of Chappie, one of our friends, was at stake.

For some reason, the only logical action, ‘escape,’ had completely disappeared from the list of options in my head.

But what other options were there? I couldn’t figure it out no matter how much I scratched my non-itching head.
Why? Well, I suppose I shouldn’t ask — some things were just meant to not be understood.

…No, no unnecessary question — all that needed answers now was HERE, not THERE.

Other than escaping with our lives… we could intervene; help Chappie out.

However, we currently had no means of doing so SUCCESSFULLY.

 

“Um… Bight?”

 

Ferris looked at me, seeming somewhat hesitant to speak.

Had my… brief outburst just now made that much of an impact on her?

…Now I regretted not trying that much earlier in our acquaintanceship.

 

“Got any ideas yet? Maybe we can get help from a nearby settlement…?”

 

No, that was too simple-minded.

The nearest settlement was one we had helped earlier.
It was extremely unlikely that they, who had needed help from us, would have the power to help us.
No… impossible, even.

……On second thought, I had been taught to never deny all possibilities.

…Taught? But by whom?

Sister? …No, not her.

Master Polco? …Definitely not.

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Who else? …Oh, I remembered…

It was during one of Shiro and Instructor Poer’s usual banters…

 

　◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

 

“H-hey, Master! Why are you drawing on my belly!? And what’s with this awful artwork, anyway!?”

“Shut up, furball! It’s a diagram for my new magic spell! And I’m doing this because I don’t have paper, that’s why!”

“THAT’S IT!? That’s why you’re drawing this shoddy Spell Circle on my fluffy, white belly fur!? This is why you won’t ever stop being a fool, Master!”

“Yeah, and when being a fool becomes the desired norm in the world, I’m gonna be the most popular guy ever!”

“That’s never going to happen, sir!”

“The world woulda boring place if we deny all possibilities! I won’t deny it! And I won’t write it off until I’m a hundred percent sure it’s not gonna happen! Don’t you think so as well, Master Bright!?”

“Eh… well…… hahaha…”

 

　◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

 

…What nonsense.

Again and again with their absolute nonsense, both of them.

I’m not yet tired of it, no — and that fact serves to further irritate me.

But considering how that strange memory has brought us this far, to the top of this mountain… the world sure works in mysterious ways.

…Instructor.

 

“The southeast should be… that way, yes?”

“It should be… but why do you ask? Is there something over that way?”

 

Ferris turned to the southeast just as I did.

 

“While we’ve been wandering somewhat aimlessly, and despite us sometimes reaching as far as north of Brunnera, our general direction has always been south… So, going by my estimates, we must be close to the uncharted south now.
After all, that was always where we were headed toward whenever we weren’t sidetracked…”

“Y-you mean…?”

 

Ferris seems to understand the point I wanted to get across.

 

“It’s closer than expected… Our destination, the town of Sodom…”

“Now hold your horses… you do remember that it’s a constant battlefield, right? The signal interference is too strong — your Telepathic Call won’t reach them even from here!”

“…Now, the world would be such a boring place if we were to deny all possibilities, Ferris!”

 

Not stopping to listen to Ferris’ further denial, I quickly drew a Circle for the Telepathic Call magecraft.

I have to keep calm, because both my mental state and the environment’s stability have direct effects on how easy it is for Telepathic Calls to connect.
Instructor Poer had also taught me that.

With the Devil King resurrected… it’s highly likely that the resulting shock has improved Sodom region’s overall conditions, rather than worsen.
After all, normal warriors and mages are not strong enough to withstand the surge of arcane energy, which means that Instructor Poer was sure to have done something to help them out… Because that’s how he has always been.

In other words, it is likely that at the present, the town of Sodom is not affected by the Devil King’s arcane energy as much as most other settlements, villages, and towns.

 

[“Instructor! …Please respond, Instructor! …Huh?”]

[“–Hello, and thank you for contacting the town of Sodom.
This is a pre-recorded message from Poer, Holy Warrior and Grand Philosopher.
I currently am heading northwest, after the presence of the Violet Phoenix, and thus cannot immediately respond.
Those who need to speak with me, please try redirecting your signal and reconnecting the call.
Hello, and thank you for contacting the town of Sodom.
This is a pre-recorded message from Poer, Holy Warrior and Grand Philosopher–“]

 

…The possibilities truly are messing with us.