The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

“Hello, Duncan.
Everyone is on an A-ranked monster hunt.
I am not yet powerful enough to join them, so I have gone on another hunt by myself and have just returned.”

Duncan winked and spun the tray in his hand, now empty since all the ale had been served, and then turned back to the counter.

Haruhana, not quite understanding what Duncan had meant, tilted her head in doubt just as Lina had done earlier today.
Suddenly, Duncan’s voice echoed through the Guild, welcoming the return of a certain group of people.

The answer to Haruhana’s question lied in the ones being addressed, who had just come through the entrance.

“Sir Hornel.”

“Hello there, Haruhana.
Looks like you’ve some free time on your hands.”

Hornel, who had gotten an admirable and fearless countenance over these last two years, stood before Haruhana, resting the tip of his staff on the floor.

Haruhana smiled, and also greeted the two others standing behind him – Midors, who had grown quite brawny, and Idéa, who hadn’t changed much at all.

“Man, today wasn’t our lucky day, after all.
We were so close to catching that Lizard General, too…”

“And whose fault was that? Well, we did fulfill our quota of Lizard Knights, so I’d say it’s all good, nonetheless.”

“Gah, sorry for messin’ up all the time, man.”

Done talking for now, Midors sat down in the seat opposite to Haruhana.
Following him, Hornel sat down to the right of Haruhana, and Idéa to the left.

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“Considering the direction it went, that Lizard General should be going all the way to the Thirsty Desert.”

“True to its name, it’ll quickly drain the water off your body if you stay there… so there shouldn’t be any problem, right?”

“Right.”

Idéa nodded, and at the same time Duncan came to serve the drinks that they had ordered at the entrance.

Idéa and Midors had ale, and Hornel had the same gr.a.p.efruit juice as Haruhana.
They toasted, and then gulped all the contents of their respective mugs down.

“So, Haruhana, Lina and Sir Blazer’s team are on that hunt tonight?”

“Yes.
She said it would be dangerous to let the targets approach the town any closer.”

“I knew she’d say that… If she’d only invite us, we would have gone with her, too…”

“But their numbers aren’t that high this time, right? Just them should be enough.”

“Yeah, with Sir Blazer in team, I’m sure they’d have no problem at all.”

“I know, but… I have a bad feeling about this particular run.
Would be nice if it’s just me being paranoid, though…”

Hornel seemed quite worried, in turn making Haruhana’s face cloud up as well.
Idéa kicked Hornel’s leg under the table, prompting him to take action.

“Ah – but Egd is going as well, right? A bit hot-headed, but he’s actually pretty good.
You can expect that from Sir Dragan’s pupil, at least.
Besides, Lina’s gotten strong herself.
And she’s got Baladd with her, so I’m sure everything will go fine.”

Perhaps because of his rapid-fire speaking, Hornel was further assaulted by Idéa and Midors’ cold stares.
But then again, Haruhana smiled upon realizing that Hornel was trying to cheer her up.
Hornel himself was relieved to see that, and Midors promptly brought up another topic, so as to prevent things from going in an awkward direction.

“By the way, Haruhana, isn’t it about time you’re promoted to Rank C? With your skill level now, you could enter Warrior University, too, but you’re not going to?”

“Yes, after much consideration, I decided that I would like to be with The Silver.”

“Right… Sir Blazer does have the power to naturally draw people to him.
It was largely thanks to his influence that we have improved this much, too.”

“So it’s been two years, huh… A bit before Asley caused all that ruckus, if I’m remembering right.”

Haruhana chuckled at how nostalgic Idéa seemed as she recalled that particular story.
The gesture confused Idéa, prompting her to ask whether something was wrong.

“Miss Idéa, our conversations always seem to end up being about Sir Asley in some form, yes?”

“Wha – n-no! That’s not what I mean!”

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“Hmph, however large the gap between him and me initially, it must have shortened quite a bit over these past two years.”

“Hahahaha, looks like we’ve got another one worried about Asley over here.”

“Say whatever you want.”

Hornel stood up and headed toward the Guild’s entrance, prompting Idéa and Midors to ask whether he was going back home for the day.

“Sorry, I just can’t shake this feeling off… I’m heading out for a bit.”

Hornel walked past Duncan to open the door and leave, then Idéa and Midors stood up quietly.

“”Recover.””

Reddish tinges on the two of their faces started fading away as they were wrapped in a dim yellow light.

That had been done to lessen the effects of overexertion on their bodies.

“Oh, boy… what a reliable leader.”

“Kahahahah, you can say that again.”

“Be safe, everyone…”

Haruhana cast down her eyes.
In response, Idéa smiled, and Midors answered with an energetic nod.

When the two were out of the Guild, the establishment’s host, Duncan, narrowed his eyes and grumbled.

“Very brave of them to dine and dash so casually…”

Feeling her spine practically freezing, Haruhana hurriedly brought out her wallet.
Duncan had looked as if he was going to murder someone, but upon seeing that, he immediately went back to his tender, caring self.

“Uhuhuhu, mind covering their bill for now, Haruhana~?”

“I-I will!”

Haruhana sprang up to her feet and answered, and with that, Duncan went back to work with a smile.

[“Everyone… please be safe…!”]

Index