The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

Sure, it’s definitely a possibility, but-“

Huh? What did Lylia just…

“-I don’t think they would stoop down to playing such petty tricks.”

“W-wait a second.
You mean the Devilkin is part of the Devil King’s army?!”

And of course, Pochi was the one who asked it before I could.

“Of course they are; the Devilkin is the leader of the monsters.
Isn’t that supposed to be common knowledge?”

“T-then, wouldn’t that mean the Devil King is one of the Devil Kin?!”

“Ah, sorry about that…”

Not that I could, because I didn’t know anything either.
Only Pochi herself knew that about me, though.

Giorno heaved a sigh, and then started to explain the whole thing.

Perhaps it was just me, but I believe I saw Lylia’s expression cloud over for just a moment.

“First of all, it was said that the monsters are acting as an advance party of sorts for the Devilkin’s efforts to destroy the world.
The definition of ‘destroy’ here is more similar to a turf war to them, but it doesn’t change the fact that they would be completely eliminating humanity in the process.
At the start of their invasion, they may have claimed that they would use us as livestock, but that hardly fits our definition of being ‘alive’.
That’s why we’re all rising up and taking the fight to them.”

“I do know that much, but I’m confused by the part where the Devil King isn’t the king of the monsters, with the Devilkin having the command to themselves instead…”

“Well… that stemmed from an incident from about a century ago.
It was when the Elves obtained magecraft after one among them performed the Devil Summoning Ceremony.
That practically meant they were borrowing a Devil’s power, you see.
Since then, the Elves have been discriminatingly referred to by many as the ‘Dark Elves’ as a result.”

Oh, they were already called that by this point in time.
I see, I see.

And that was why Lylia took it so personally…

That was perhaps due to all the recognition Lylia had obtained through her abilities and contributions.

“Now, do you know why the Devil Summoning Ceremony was successful?”

“Because they paid an appropriate price… at least I think that’s how it works!”

Pochi, while leaning forward, answered.

“Right, that is the most important part.
In this case, what the Elves paid was ‘the Devilkin’s intervention in the human world,’ among other things.”

“…”

“…Um, what does that mean, exactly?”

Pochi asked, then let out a suppressed, fear-laden chuckle.

“The Devilkin isn’t supposed to exist at all in this world, yet they now have the ability to be so.
That is what it means.”

“What?! But that’s not something for just some of the Elves to decide!”

“The deal has no care for that whatsoever.
The Elves, as a price for magecraft, have brought into this world in the form of the invading Devilkin.”

And so….
they were collectively called the Dark Elves, huh.

Considering the situation now, why would the Devilkin of our time want to defeat the soon-to-resurrect Devil King of our time? Aren’t they supposed to be of the same kind?

Well, I suppose since humans do wage wars among themselves, it would be reasonable for the Devilkin to do so as well.
Yes, some sort of conflict among them – that should be the case.

“…Then…what differentiates the Devilkin King from the rest of the Devilkin? I know the latter is ‘normal,’ while the former resurrects himself in a cycle… are there any other factors?”

“Well, since I’ve never fought him, I don’t know how powerful the Devil King is, but strength should be it.
Also, it’s worth keeping in mind that the Apostles comprises of both monster variants and the Devilkin… though I reckon we’re capable of dealing with them – Lylia and I.”

He’d said something quite outrageous, this man.
But I suppose it was good to know that these two might be able to defeat the Devilkin when they worked together.

Right, I’ll take this opportunity to ask them more…

“By the way, since you two are extraordinarily strong, I’ve been wondering… Do you happen to know of others as powerful?”

Giorno thought it over for a moment before turning to Lylia, who had just found herself a boulder to sit on.

“What, you’re asking me? Hmm… I can think of the leading man of House Adams… and the first daughter of House Fulbright… yes, they were quite impressive…”

“Ah, right, they were.”

Oh, I think I might have heard both those household names before?

The latter was… Warren’s family, and the former was… huh? Whose family was it again?

While I racked up my brain for an answer, Pochi whispered into my ear, hiding the front of her mouth with her paw,

“The Adams household… That’s the family name of the bully trio’s leader, isn’t it?”

Aha, it was our beloved Student Council Vice President, Hornel!

Index