The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

“LET’S GOOOOOOOOO!!”

“NOOOOOOOOO!!”

Ignoring Pochi’s screams of grief, I bet on Chō again.

“Game’s on!”

The numbers… four… and three!?

“Four-Three! Han!”

“NWOOOHHHHHH!?”

“YESSSSSS! HAN! HANNNNNN!!”

I’m so reminded of our endless back-and-forth from back in the day… we’d never been able to really settle any of them.

Screaming each time I won, also screaming each time I lost – and it was the same for her.

I lost – panic! I lost – panic! I lost – panic! I won – calm.
I lost – panic! I lost…- 

“…Now wait a second!”

“Something doesn’t feel right, sir!”

We’re almost out of ch.i.p.s, and my allowance pouch is almost empty!?

Have we ended up being way into this gambling thing? Or maybe… did Pochi buy herself more ch.i.p.s without my permission!?

“YOU were the one who bought them, Master! And that’s because you were raging hard after losing so much!”

“What!? And what about you – following me like a dog and saying to buy your share as well!?”

“But I AM a dog, sir!”

Damn it! She’d always be angry when I don’t treat her like a human, too – talk about changing her standards to fit the narrative at hand!

How did we end up like this, anyway!? We were supposed to play within a limited allowance!

Who the hell forked out more of my money!? …Oh, it was me.

But no – there’s someone else equally at fault.
Guile recommended this Gambling Den to Ferris.
Ferris wanted to come here.
Polco gave us permission to come.
And Pochi ended up being so into the game.

Damn you, Guile! Damn you, Ferris! Damn you, Polco! Damn you, Pochi!

What can I even do now!? Tonight is a non-issue, but our lodging expenses from tomorrow on is in jeopardy!

At least I still have the money for taking care of Bright that Polco gave me…! NONONONO! Misuse that, and it’s my employment that’ll be gone next!

What can I do? Go kill some monsters? No – I can’t just leave Bright and Ferris here, let alone bring them along into a fight.

What can I do…? Come up with something, Asley!

“Ah-ooh!”

Hmm? I heard a clack… did Leon drop something?

“Andddddd the round if good to go!”

“M-Master! Leole just placed his bet on our last chip!”

WHAT!?

A bet on Chō!? It might’ve been an accident, but still-!

“Game’s on!”

“Ah!”

“Gah-!?”

The urn opened.

What are the numbers……!?

“One…”

“And one…”

“Double One! Chō!”

“”WHAT IN BLAZES!?””

Pochi and I hugged each other and voiced our joy.

“Leole… you did good!”

“Ahh-ooh!”

Leon responded to Chappie with a smile, then dropped another chip.
It landed upright, making his bet Han.

“Master… are you sure we should let him keep playing?”

“Well, we still have two ch.i.p.s left after the establishment’s cut, so another game shouldn’t hurt… right?”

We nervously sealed the bet by presenting the chip to the urn-bearer, then waited for the reveal.

“Game’s on!”

“…Four-One! Han!”

One day, the world will bow down to its rightful king!

…In fact, Pochi is already doing that.

Leon’s borderline-holy fingers rescued us out of our previous defeats with one right guess after another.

And then… once we started seeing some profit, Leon started to yawn.

“H-hey, Leole!? Things are just starting to get good! Hey, wake up!”

“Leole~~? Wakey-wakey~~?”

“……zzZZZ.”

It’s no use……!

Pochi and I wiped away our tears and, with eyes clouded, gazed up at the ceiling.

The rightful king… was here.
Was.

We walked away from the gambling group and sat around a small table to take a break, but then I heard Chappie calling from behind me.

“Father, do you not hear Ferris calling you?”

“Huh? Lady Ferris?”

What does she want?

Or could she have sensed that I had badmouthed her in my mind a few moments ago?

I slowly walked over to Ferros and Bright’s table, and saw that both of them were waiting with quite… sinister grins on their faces.

“Um, is something the matter…?”

“Poer, sit down and play.”

“Poker, Lady Ferris? I do know the rules, but… wait, there’s a dealer here already?”

“I’ve paid him to deal for us – so that all three of us could play.”

I see, so this is what rich people do.
I don’t get it.

“Poer, if you lose… you will teach us the Teleportation magic spell.
Do we have a deal?”

“Frankly speaking, this is totally in your favor whether or not I-“

“Instructor, if you would only participate, I will see to it that your wages are doubled from both House Fulbright and House Adams’ sides.”

“It’s game time!”

…Said some furrball of a dog around here.
Not me.