The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

Chapter 482: Asley, to New Heights

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~~Eighth Day of the Ninth Month, Ninety-Sixth Year of the War Demon Calendar~~

Departing from T’oued, Asley and the others used Lala’s Teleportation magic to head to the former site of Faltown, now known as Lala Farm. Utilizing their magic, magecraft, and honed physical strength, they leveled the land, and cut wood and stone.

“Man, even with all the help of Asley’s magic, this is still exhausting…” Bruce grumbled as he carried stones, his expression strained.

“Bruce, the stones go here. Please arrange them carefully,” Bright instructed.

“C’mon, Bright, I know you’re paying me to do this, but you’re not expecting us to carry THAT much from day one, right!?”

Bruce shouted as he counted the stones.

“Actually, I do; the plan is to have a castle built by the end of today.”

“A castle!?”

“This is the pathway connecting Lala Farm and the castle, you see. And I must say, it’s quite unexpected for you to tire out so quickly, seeing that it hasn’t been even a full hour.”

“How much work were you even expecting to get out of me!? I swear, you and Warren and your overestimations…”

“Naturally, we’re factoring in the bottomless stamina of Bruce the Silver Wolf, who dove into the Devil King’s army and survived.”

“Hey! That was for WAR! You know, a life or death situation!”

“Building a nation involves more life and death than a war that has already ended. Besides, Bruce, you’re short on cash, aren’t you?”

“…! D-damn it! Stop bringing that up already, man!”

“And just so you know, Bruce, you’re the one falling behind the most.”

“What!?”

“See, Miss Lylia has already begun cutting stones for the castle. And this is after she was done leveling as much land as you did.”

“Well, Lylia’s level is way higher than me, you know!”

“Oh, but didn’t Blazer say that you’re the strongest adventurer?”

“That’s just an exaggeration!”

Bright continued to count the stones, ignoring Bruce’s breathless complaints.

Bruce’s frustration was evident, but Bright seemed to have no intention of entertaining it.

Betty arrived, drenched in sweat as she carried a large log.

“Hmm? You’re still here, Brother? What, you’re not done with this yet?”

“I didn’t sign up for this backbreaking labor, you know!”

“What are you talking about? It’s way easier than dealing with monsters, isn’t it? What are you, stupid?”

Betty tilted her head like a clock’s second hand, looking at Bruce with pity.

Then, she glanced at Bright as if to say, ‘Isn’t this guy strange?’

“See, Bruce, this is how a normal person would react.”

“Damn it! Fine! I just gotta shut up and do it, right!?” Bruce shouted, his face contorted.

After watching Bruce storm off toward the stone yard, Bright and Betty exchanged a shrug.

“He’s like a spoiled child… Heh, that’s actually kinda ironic.”

“Perhaps it would be better not to take his sword away from him.”

“He’s on par with Lylia when it comes to stone cutting, though.”

“Understood. Let’s have him focus more on that, then.”

“He’ll notice it, you know?”

“It’s my job to make sure he doesn’t.”

“Heh, looks like intellectual labor is tough too.”

Betty chuckled at Bright’s troubled expression before running off to the north.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

When Bruce arrived at the stone yard, he found Asley berating Warren.

“It’s absurd! Absurd, I say! Why won’t you let me use the Eternal Fool!?”

“If His Majesty the Devil King were to use it, the world would be plunged into chaos. That must be avoided at all costs.”

“Then at least let me use the Ultimate Limit!”

“I’ve calculated that if His Majesty the Devil King were to use the Ultimate Limit, everyone’s efficiency would decrease by thirty percent.”

“What kind of calculation is that!?”

“Of course, it’s a calculation based on the efficiencies of the strongest warriors and mages, and how said efficiencies are modified by the Ultimate Limit state of the world’s strongest man, the one who defeated Devil King Lucifer.”

“Ugh… Look, my fingers are cramping from drawing so many Storeroom Spell Circles!”

Asley pleaded, clinging to Warren’s robe, but Warren remained unmoved.

“Give it up♪”

“Okay, then I’ll drink a Pochibitan D!”

“We’re running on a limited supply, so no♪”

“Damn it! Gimme a break, man! Actually, know know what? I’ll just use this…! Storeroom: Count 10 & Remote Control!”

Asley proceeded to invoke more and more spells like there was no tomorrow.

Warren nodded in approval.

“That’s right. If you put your mind to it, you can do it.”

“This is absurd! This isn’t what a Devil King should be doing!”

“But that’s not true at all. Connecting Storerooms to key points will ease everyone’s effort.”

The plan was to cover a part of the stone yard with one Storeroom and transport the remaining nine to key points of operation. This would allow everyone to access the stone with ease.

“Teleportation takes time, you see, so this is what you should do if you are to maximize the operation’s efficiency.”

As Warren finished speaking, Bruce approached from behind.

“Nah, let’s use Teleportation — connect one to my area!”

“You’ll be using it?”

Warren turned around.

Bruce nodded vigorously, trying to emphasize the necessity of having him here.

“Your location is close enough, so purely manual labor should suffice, though.”

“C-c’mon, man, have some mercy, will ya?”

“Your daily wage might decrease — would you mind that?”

“Why would it!?”

“Teleportation magic requires a special fee, and that fee is… somewhat pricey, let’s just say.”

“Uh, yeah, you know what? Never mind!”

“Now, magic doesn’t come cheap — we can’t just sell it at a discount, you know?”

“Gah…!”

“Don’t worry, Bruce. With your extraordinary physical prowesses, we’ll gladly throw in some special allowance.”

“Uh… Can’t you make even a small exception, man?”

“If we allow it once, it sets a precedence — and eventually, we’ll have to allow all. If we’re to build a nation, we need law, and abiding by it is necessary.”

“Ugh…!”

Defeated in an argument once again, Bruce slumped his shoulders and began transporting the stones.

Asley, who had been listening in on their conversation, suddenly felt motivated.

“I see! These Storerooms must also come with a special allowance, too — you know, a magic bonus! All right! Count me in for as much work as possible!”

“No, His Majesty the Devil King receives a fixed salary.”

“What–!?”

Asley twisted his neck around and stared at Warren in disbelief.

“Why is that!?”

“Because the Devil King… holds a public office.”

“Public… office…!?”

Asley’s eyes widened in astonishment.

Then Warren chuckled before adding a clarification to Asley.

“Bruce gets the bonus because he’s affiliated with Team Silver. Well, I think that will change soon enough, though…”

“Huh? Is he leaving Tem Silver?”

“No, it’s not like that. Team Silver is currently transitioning into being an official organization.”

“Isn’t it already official enough, though?”

“Think of it as keeping the team’s characteristics while creating a separate division… Does that make sense?”

“Isn’t that what the Pochisley Agency did?”

“Close. By establishing a connection to the nation here, we prevent concerns about unemployment.”

“So, they’re like freelance government workers…?”

“That’s a very fitting term. I think I’ll adopt it.”

Clapping his hands together in agreement with Asley’s words, Warren nodded.

Asley, looking at him with incredulous eyes, squinted, wondering about Warren’s intentions.

“Did you get permission from Blazer for this?”

“Oh, but why would I need to? This was a proposal from Blazer, Sir Ryan, and Itsuki.”

“Itsuki, too?”

“I was actually thinking of negotiating the plan myself, but Itsuki must have seen through that and brought a contract herself. Remarkable skill, truly.”

“It’s amazing how she was one step ahead of even you, Warren.”

“Hehehe… I suppose I should take that as a compliment.”

As Asley realized he had inadvertently praised Warren despite intending to praise only Itsuki, he could only smile wryly.

Then Leon arrived, wiping sweat from his forehead with a cloth.

“Whew… Looking good so far.”

“Ah, Prime Minister Leon.”

“Hmm… I still don’t feel quite accustomed to being called that… Perhaps it is too soon?”

Leon, now holding the position of Prime Minister, spoke with a hint of embarrassment, but Warren shook his head.

“Everything starts in some form. Besides, if we don’t stabilize this territory quickly, we’ll face the crisis of the Devil King’s resurrection again.”

“Indeed, you are right. Then may I address you as the Junior Minister, Warren?”

Smiling, Warren responded to Leon’s jest,

“I’m a subordinate to you, the Prime Minister. Feel free to simply call me by my name.”

“Hahaha, I’ll do that once I get used to it.”

“Understood.”

As Asley listened to their exchange, he tilted his head.

[…Nope, this TOTALLY doesn’t feel natural.]

It was not unreasonable for Asley to think so.

Despite having ascended to the position of Devil King, all he saw in front of him were piles of stone.

Even in the midst of the castle’s construction, the predetermined roles felt jarring.

It was natural for anyone to feel that way.

However, it would soon become a reality.

Everyone who had come to this place possessed physical abilities that far surpassed ordinary people, outstanding senses, and mastery over the arcane arts. The benefits of Limit Breakthrough were significant.

Reluctantly, Bruce, directed by Bright, shifted to stone cutting, and everything ran smoothly. Before the sun set, a simple yet sizable structure that could be called a castle was completed.

Warriors covered in mud, exhausted magicians, an empty audience chamber with a single small chair placed before it — In front of all that, Asley tilted his head once more.

“What’s with this tiny chair?”

The chair was clearly meant for children.

It was so small that even Natsu and Itsuki would find it cramped.

Pointing at the chair, the answer Asley got was Pochi’s boastful statement,

“I spent the whole day making this!”

“The whole day!? So, you mean you did nothing else but make this chair!? While I was going through all that hard work!?”

“What are you saying!? This was an important and noble task that only I could accomplish!”

“What task!?”

“Now, Master, feel free to take a seat!”

“Huh!? W-wait a sec — how am I supposed to sit on this tiny thing!?”

“Don’t worry, Lina helped me with it. It won’t break under your weight or anything like that!”

“Wait, so this is an Artifact!? Really?”

“Come on! Just sit down, sir! Everyone’s waiting!”

“Waiting for what?”

“For you, the Devil King, to sit on the throne!”

Upon hearing this, Asley stared at the chair, which seemed capable of accommodating only half of his rear end.

For the third time today, Asley tilted his head, expressing a mixture of understanding and reluctance.

“…The throne?”

“The throne, sir.”

While everyone burst into laughter, Asley alone could not quite stomach Pochi’s explanation.

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