The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

eeing Regalia, Master!”

 

“You mean the FOOD in Regalia, right?”

 

With me saying that to her so casually, Pochi suddenly came to a stop.

 

“H-how did you know that, sir?!”

 

“What makes you think I would NOT know that, doggo?!”

 

“What will be doing in Regalia, father?”

 

Seeing how confused Chappie was as he landed, I finally explained to him the details of our mission.

 

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“Aha, so that’s why we didn’t bring Bright and Ferris along?”

 

“That’s right! Do you now see how thoughtful we are?!”

 

Pochi puffed up with pride, despite me being the one making most of the decisions.

 

“Rise, Torch.”

 

“Hyah?!”

 

“Gwah?!”

 

“Whoops, sorry.”

 

Pochi and Chappie closed their eyes, dazzled by my light source spell.

Man, I always forget how spooked these two are by sudden changes in brightness.

Maybe this trick will work on the other Violet Phoenix as well.
I’ll remember to try it out next time, if we get into a fight with it.

 

“Bah, you really need to be more careful when doing that, Master…”

 

“Sorry.
Anyway, I’ve had you all run just to get far enough from Master Bright – and even if we rush, it’ll cut our travel time only by half at most.
How about we walk for a bit? Should be pretty nice, us three – well, four – taking a late night stroll and all that.”

 

“Aah-ooh!”

 

“Oh? Leon’s awake.”

 

I’ve gotten used to it at this point, but a baby who doesn’t cry in his sleep is… something to be feared, I’d say.

I shrugged my shoulders once.
Pochi and Chappie chuckled before we proceeded to walk on our way.

 

“So, when is the Familiar Chalice going to be held, sir?”

 

“The fifteenth of next month.
It’s just about the end of the fourth month now, so we’ve got about half a month to go.
According to Master Polco, it’s not unusual for contestants to arrive in Regalia just a few days before the event opens.
We still have no idea how or if we can infiltrate the Douglas household, but there’s a lot of stuff we can do around here, don’t you think?”

 

“Huh, and here I thought you’d try to be hired as their servant or something.
You could use your transformation to pull it off, sir.”

 

Chappie nodded in agreement with Pochi’s statement.

 

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“That’s probably the best option, yeah, but we will be publicly known as having entered Regalia to participate in the Familiar Chalice.
Better assume that we’d be marked from that point, from where we stay and where we go.
And if I do get a job as their servant, our actions will be severely limited, not to mention that they’ll definitely be suspicious.
I think it’d be better to cover more ground and act from the outside while evading the tracking as much as possible, you know?”

 

“Then I think there are a lot of things I can do to help, father.”

 

“Exactly – I think you’ll be a key factor in this mission, Chappie.”

 

“Why him?! Why is it not me, sir?!”

 

As Pochi threw a tantrum, Chappie tilted his head again.

 

“You’ll stand out too much if you’re not with me, that’s why – and Chappie can actually fly.
He’ll be super helpful when we need to keep watch on our enemies.”

 

“Ohh! I’d be honored to, father!”

 

“O-oh?! I see you REALLY want to be with me, Master! Not that I mind, of course?!”

 

Chappie I can understand, but I wonder why Pochi is so… happy.

 

“You’re not gonna slack off, are you? It’s an ancient version of the Familiar Chalice, sure, but it’s still Familiar Chalice.
I don’t know how seriously you’re taking it, but as your Master, I want you to aim as high as you can, yeah?”

 

“Of course, sir! With how strong I am, I bet I can beat any Familiar out there! Even Dīnō can’t win against me now!”

 

Well, since she’d claimed a few hours ago that she’d blow the Devil King away, I’d seriously doubt her if she were to lose to Dīnō before then… not that I’d believed her in the first place.

Also, I still don’t know how much of an effect our actions in this era will have on the future, but I’m indebted to the Fulbright and Adams households.

If possible, I would like us to win the competition and secure the two households’ positions of power in the Senate.

 

Assuming that this is a national event, even if it’s during the Devil King’s Fetal Stage, the pool of participants will contain many talented people from all over the Nation.

Will Pochi be able to show her full capabilities here? In a sense, this may even be our first step toward defeating the Devil King – better make it count.

 

“Oh? The sun is rising, mother.”

 

“It sure is! …Hmm? Looks, Master! Over there!”

 

Pochi pointed her front paws forward at a certain familiar thing.

Okay, ‘familiar thing’ might be too vague of a description, not to mention it’s quite a grand view.

The sun’s rays shone dimly.
And the higher it rose above the horizon, the wider the distant outline got – illuminating the Capital of the ancient Holy Nation.

 

“I can see it now… that’s Regalia!”