The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

oll one of her contract sheets.

And then…

“Oh, but I can see that you already have.”

“Huh?”

Trace shot a subdued wink to Tifa as the latter stared back blankly.

Tifa now realized that Trace was rescuing her.

She remembered how she had heard the name ‘Trace’ yesterday, from Natsu back at the Pochisley Agency.
Tifa simply had yet to connect the dots at the time.

Because of that, she also couldn’t quite figure out why she was being helped in the current situation.

Tifa followed Trace down to the podium at the very front of the classroom, the latter’s heels ringing a prominent ‘click’ every step along the way, and then proceeded to drop the still-blank contract sheet into the box of the White Faction.

Trace smiled, her glasses shining as she pushed its frame up.

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[She has chosen White… I see… Then she will be a very welcome addition to our ranks, especially with how Miss Lina and Professor Irene has been informing me on… things… that have been going on with the Black and White Chain lately.
I reckon there is no need to force her into this, especially since she’s an acquaintance of Mister Asley’s… In fact, I should have known when she did ‘that chant’ during her entrance examination.]

Naturally, the Magic University’s entrance examination did have a demonstration of practical skills as one of its criteria.
Even Asley, Lina, and Hornel had gone through it in some form despite making the cut with just the test of knowledge.

As Trace had been the one to oversee the examinations for this semester, she had seen Tifa cast some spells and heard the chanting that came with them.

It was the same chant that she had started to do recently – and a clear sign of one’s connection to Asley.

Tifa, heaving a sigh of relief, hurried back to her seat… and proceeded to poke Tarawo’s forehead, to the latter’s confusion.

　◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

~~Five O’clock in the Afternoon, First Day of the Fourth Month, Ninety-Fourth Year of the War Demon Calendar~~

“Sir Asley’s room?”

Itsuki, back at Pochisley Agency, responded to Tifa’s question of her own.

Getting a nod back, Itsuki then shook her head in disapproval.

“Well… it’s on the second floor, on the side of the street.
So you go up the stairs and straight to the end of the hallway… Now stop right there, Tifa! You can’t just walk in there!”

Tifa, who had started to ascend the stairs in the middle of the sentence, stepped back down upon being called out by Itsuki.

“Oh, I’m not going to just walk in.”

For a moment, Itsuki felt relieved to hear that.

“Because I’m gonna break my way in!”

“Hey! That’s not what I meant!”

Itsuki tried to follow Tifa up the stairs, but was prompted to stop her feet by a ringing of the doorbell.

She peeked at the entrance doorway through the staircase’s railings, and saw that a shabbily-dressed woman and a girl was waiting there, both looking around restlessly.

She could immediately tell that these kinds of people were here for the Pochisley Agency’s services.

“Oh, a customer… Look, Tifa, just get down here… wait, she’s gone?!”

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Tifa and Tarawo, having silently slipped away from Itsuki, were already in front of the room at the end of the second-floor hallway.

Just like any other room, a wooden board with the name of the room’s owner, with the addition of a paw print stamped to the end of it, hung from the center of the door.

Tarawo took a step forward, perhaps misinterpreting Tifa’s emotion as she locked her gaze on that name.

“Thinking of assassinating the person inside, Tifa? Heh heh heh… very well.
Just follow my lead.”

Tifa ignored him, instead stepping forward herself and twisting the doorknob open.

“Hmm, I see, I see.
So you want me as the rear guard? Rest assured – I shall protect you with my li-“

Then she slammed the door shut right in front of Tarawo.

“…oh?”

Tifa looked around Asley’s room, and saw that it was quite plain, not being furnished with anything particularly unnecessary.

The thing that did catch her eye, however, was the mountain of doc.u.ments and writing materials on the table.
That, and a comb with bundles of fur stuck on it, left lying around in front of a mirror.
The next thing Tifa caught sight of was a dimly glowing Spell Circle in a corner of the room.

She crouched down and examined it, tracing over the formulas with her finger.

[The formula is extremely complicated and applied with a personal identification code…… this is probably the fixed-position Teleportation spell… Amazing.]

Outside the room, Tarawo kept rambling on while he faced the door.
He was quiet now, but considering his tendency, he was sure to blow up sooner or later.

But of course, Tifa paid no attention to him.
Finding nothing else of interest after looking around for a while longer, she proceeded to sit down on the bed.

Then the realization hit her – of what this nostalgic scent was that had been getting into her nose this whole time.
It was the scent of the beast beside the person who had been teaching her magic up until three years ago.

Overcome with nostalgia, Tifa’s face put up a naturally wry smile as she grumbled at how the room smelled of Pochi.
She then proceeded to lean down on the bed, directing her eyes up to the unfamiliar ceiling.

The time now was ten past five in the afternoon, fifty minutes before Asley returned to his room.

Index