The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

CH 404

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.”

“Man, you really gotta bring that up, huh…”

Bruce facepalmed, and Asley chuckled.

“So,” Better spoke up.
“What’d Lucifer say, exactly?”

After a moment of hesitation, Asley proceeded to say,

“…’In a matter of days, this world will turn into Hell.
Resist all you want.
Despair all your want.’ Yeah.”

“…Exactly what I’d expect a Devil King to say,” Trace muttered, subtly shivering as she kept her arms folded.

“Right, and it sounds like he actually is serious about the ‘matter of days’ part.
Our trip to the Labyrinth of No Return and back took a total of four days… so it’s safe to assume that the Devil King’s army will start acting within the coming week… No, actually, make that six days.
Hmm…” Irene said, resting her chin on one hand.
“All right.
Warren, follow me.
And Asley, you come see us when you can.”

“Ah-huh…? Yes, ma’am.”

Irene proceeded to walk to the far end of the magic classroom venue.

Warren followed her, as as he went past Asley he whispered to him,

“You look confused, Alsey.”

“Well, I thought she’d be angry, is all.
Like, ‘why did you never mention something so important!?’ and stuff.

“She IS angry, you know.”

“Huh?”

“You heard me.”

“…But why?”

“She did explain the reason herself just now…”

“Ah… Huh.
Really?”

“Hehehe… she can’t exactly get angry at you now, that’s why.
Saying things to demotivate humanity’s strongest fighter would have an effect on not only how much the people trust her, but also the morale of our entire force.
She had to consider the appropriate time and place, so to speak.”

“In other words… she’s saving that for later?”

“Exactly.”

“And she’s not actually concerned about how motivated I am?”

“That’s not true.
Here, let me help you out…” Warren said in a serious tone, lowered his voice further, and held out his hand.
“Take these.”

“…? What are those?”

“Earplugs.”

Several nearby people struggled to suppress their laughter.

Others, unable to hold back, simply burst into laughter.

Dozens pointed and laughed heartily at Asley as the latter received the earplugs.

And others — also dozens of them — were simply exasperated.

However, the conversation between Warren and Asley had been held in hushed voices.

Realizing that close to a hundred of his comrades had supposedly heard the whole thing, Asley asked himself,

[Damn it, they’ve all been listening in, haven’t they!?]

And he was absolutely correct.

　◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

“–Well!? Do you understand now!?”

Warren’s eye contact prompted Asley to remove one of his earplugs, which he did so by pretending to scratch his ear.

“Y-yes.
I understand, ma’am.”

“…Huh.
You’re actually listening for once,” Irene said, perplexed by Asley’s reaction, as he would normally put up at least some resistance.

“Wha–!? W-what do you mean, for once!?”

Asley’s reaction was quite obviously strange.
On the spur of the moment, he turned to Warren beside him, seeking help.

Irene caught on in an instant.

“Hmph!”

She proceeded to direct a piercing glare at Warren.

Warren simply smiled back at Irene.
As a man known as the Black Emperor, he was sure not to show any vulnerability, even if he was up against Irene.

“Hmph!”

Irene returned her focus to Asley — the man considered humanity’s strongest.
But precisely because he was up against Irene, his eyes darted around… and eventually, his face twitched involuntarily.

Irene, noticing all of the suspicious signs, looked closer and eventually saw the earplug in one of Asley’s ears.

“What’s that in your ear?”

“…A magic tool that lets me listen to the ocean waves anytime, helping my concentration.”

“Show it to me.”

“No.”

“Show me that earplug.”

“It’s a magic tool.”

“Then show it to me.”

“……It’s an earplug.”

“I knew it!”

Irene slammed her hands on the sinless desk.

“I’ll give you that lecture again… right from the beginning.”