The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

Chapter 406: The Audience

~~ South Gate of Eddo, Nine O’clock in the Morning, Twenty-Ninth Day of the Seventh Month, Ninety-Sixth Year of the War Demon Calendar ~~

Powerful warriors and mages faced the brigade of brave, experienced guardians.

And on top and front of the outer wall were the Heavenly Beasts — Shi’shichou, Haiko, Kohryu, and Kokki — guarding Eddo as if they were the city’s own defenders.

“Miss Lina! Where are you!? MISS LINAAAAAA!!”

Egd, the assistant to the Brigadier of the Royal Capital Warrior Guardians, was looking for Lina, the girl of his dreams. However, all he saw near the gate were Tūs, Bull, Team Silver, Silver General, Eddo Boars, and the most capable warriors and mages from each town and village.

“He hasn’t changed one bit…”

“Maybe I shouldn’t help him…”

“Quiet. The envoy will hear you.”

“Yeah, yeah… The envoy, huh…”

Blazer intervened, stopping Bruce and Betty from expressing their grievances towards Egd. 

A hooded figure, presumably the envoy, approached the south gate.

“We will now guide you to the temple.”

The ones appointed as guides were none other than Eddo’s trusted adventurer team, the Eddo Boars. 

Their leader, Eigul, stepped forward to introduce himself to the envoy.

“I am Eigul, leader of Kugg Boars, representing the Nation of T’oued. Pardon our rudeness — We would appreciate it if you could remove your hood…”

Before Eigul could finish his sentence, the envoy took off his hood, revealing a bearded, tall, and robust middle-aged man, dressed in a gray robe.

“…!? …Apologies for the repeated rudeness. We would like you to state your name, if able.”

“One of the Six Archmages representing the War Demon Nation’s Duodecad Conference… Stoffel.”

In an instant, everyone’s faces tensed up. 

Among the eccentric group that was the Six Archmages, the name of Stoffel the Blank Mask was one that nobody was unfamiliar with. 

Stoffel’s expression remained frozen, maintaining his smiling face without any movement.

“Ah! It IS Sir Stoffel! I did not know you were going to be the envoy! How did I never notice!?”

Egd waved to Stoffel from a distance. One of the other Warrior Guardians quietly punched him to make him stop. 

Seeing the brigade’s casual atmosphere, Tūs grumbled,

“They really don’t know that they’re being held hostage, huh?”

“Yeah, they probably don’t. It’ll be their problem if they derail our plan…” 

Tūs’ Familiar, Bull, adjusted his tone to match Tūs’s and affirmed the former’s thoughts.

“We apologize as well. It’s hard not to laugh when that… young lad is among the ranks of the Duodecad,” Stoffel said, directing his gaze at Eigul.

Stoffel’s facial expression remained unchanged from the moment he had removed his hood.

“We have heard of Sir Egd’s bravery… and your nobility as well, Sir Stoffel. It is an honor to see both of you in person.”

“Oh, I have only come here to fulfill my duties as an envoy… Now, shall we?”

“Yes, of course! We will guide you to the temple!”

Eigul and four of his subordinates surrounded Stoffel, then they walked toward the temple.

“It’s starting,” Tūs whispered.

He proceeded to close his eyes and invoke a Telepathic Call Craft Circle to contact Pochi.

[“They’re on their way.”]

[“Do you know who the envoy is?”]

[“Some dude named Stoffel.”]

[“Huh!? STOFFEL!? …Who?”]

[“Hell if I know. He’s one of the Duodecad, apparently.”]

[“Master! It’s someone named Stoffel, who’s apparently one of the Duodecad!”]

[“…He’s not in the call. Tell him directly.”]

[“Ah, of course! I forgot that it’s just us talking in our minds!”]

“…Seriously, couldn’t it have been someone other than Pochi?”

“There’s no helping it. Kaoru’s carrying a lot on her shoulders. Besides, that guy’s actually…” 

Bull responded to Tūs complaint, but was interrupted by Reid when he noticed the latter starting to reach for a weapon.

Ryan promptly tapped Reid on his shoulder.

“Not yet. They’ll need about fifteen minutes to reach the temple… We’ll act after that.”

“I-I know, Chief…”

Reid folded his arms and scrutinized the Warrior Guardians brigade with a sharp gaze.

[There is a Devil among them…!]

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

In the temple, Kaoru, Asley, and Pochi awaited the arrival of Stoffel, envoy of the War Demon Nation.

“…And then we beat him with the power of our minds! That’s what Master Tūs said!”

“He totally didn’t! You think Tūs would joke around at a time like this!?”

“Ah, but…!”

“But what!?”

“He might’ve said something else important before that…!?”

“Did he!? Well, what was it!?”

“Oh, I know! He said we should bribe the envoy with juicy stroopwafels!”

“Yeah, Tūs TOTALLY didn’t say that! And how can a stroopwafel be juicy, anyway!?”

“I say we try to find one! I wanna eat it!”

“Damn it! Take this job seriously for once, you Goddamned furball!”

“I AM taking this seriously, you fool!”

Asley and Pochi’s usual banter unfolded with Kaoru stuck between them.

After listening to them for a while, Kaoru spoke up,

“…So, it’s Stoffel, one of the Duodecad?”

“Ah! Yes! That’s him!”

“And where’d that stroopwafel even come from!?”

“I mean, they sounded almost the same to me!”

“We’re in the middle of a war!! Even a little bit of mistake could get us killed, you know!”

“But we can’t fight a war on an empty stomach, sir!”

“Oh, so you think you’re clever, huh!?”

“…You know, if he’s actually Stoffel the Blank Mask… he might be troublesome to deal with,” Kaoru said, her face greasy with sweat.

“Oh, are you tired?” Pochi asked, expressing her concern for Kaoru.

“No, I’m just nervous. And I actually wanted to ask you that — Are you two okay?”

“Ah, well… I’m nervous too, but that’s the just way it’s been for us for some time now…”

Hearing Asley’s explanation, Kaoru showed a faint smile.

“Hehehe… Right, things have always been stressful for you two. This should feel quite easy in comparison. Especially since you don’t know that…”

“Huh? Did you say something just now?”

“No, nothing.”

“Okay, then!”

Pochi gave Kaoru a bright smile.

“Heh, whenever I talk to you two, I forget that we’re in the middle of a war.”

Kaoru’s joyful ‘complaint’ caused Asley to chuckle and Pochi to burst into laughter. 

Suddenly, Asley’s gaze sharpened, and Pochi noticed that; both of them to fixed their gaze on the sliding door in front of them.

“So he’s here…”

Kaoru took a deep breath, and from behind the sliding door, Eigul’s voice reached her.

“Please let him in.”

Immediately following Eigul’s reply, the door in front of them quietly slid open.

As Stoffel stepped inside, Pochi let out an unintelligible scream.

“EEP!?”

She could not help but be startled by Stoffel’s eerie expression. As a wolf-dog, Pochi was especially vulnerable to this kind of intimidation — a face so still that not even a subtle shift could be identified, as if it was frozen.

Asley covered Pochi’s mouth and greeted Stoffel with a dry laugh.

In response, Stoffel spoke, his face frozen in the serious expression.

“Does T’oued have a tradition of using a dog to welcome an envoy?”

Upon hearing that question, Asley’s expression also froze.

Kaoru, on the other hand, proceeded to speak confidently, showing no signs of impatience,

“Would that be an issue?”

Being asked so by Kaoru, Stoffel went silent for a brief moment.

“If that is the culture of this Nation… then I shall not object. Ah, apologies for the delayed greetings. I am Stoffel, employed among the ranks of the Duodecad Conference.”

“I am Kaoru, representing the Shogun of T’oued.”

Immediately after that, Pochi’s scream leaked through Asley’s hands again.

It was due to the instantaneous change in Stoffel’s expression. Asley, Pochi, and Kaoru were now looking at a… supposedly enraged Stoffel.

[His face is so still… like a doll!?]

[So this is Stoffel the Blank Mask… He’s so damn intimidating…!]

Asley felt uneasy about Stoffel’s expression.

“Well then, let us immediately proceed to the main topic. We have heard that T’oued is providing shelter to an army of insurgents army… Is that true? I have come today to confirm the facts of this matter.”

“…I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“…Was that a denial, then?”

“First of all, this matter is unknown to us. I must ask: how did the War Demon Nation obtain that information?”

While feigning ignorance, Kaoru’s words had weight to them — and showed a great deal of trust she had in Asley and Pochi.

The situation could escalate into a fight at any moment, but she had faith in their ability to defend her.

“Could it be that some ‘weeds’ have infiltrated our Nation of T’oued?”

“Whatever are you talking about?”

“Where did this information come from? Who was it from?”

“From a certain source… is all I can say.”

“What absurdity is this? Are you telling me that a representative of a Nation has come here without any solid evidence?”

The exchange between Kaoru and Stoffel continued.

At one point, Asley noticed that there was no substance to their conversation at all.

(Something isn’t right. If Stoffel is angry, he could break off the negotiations… or just stand up and leave. No, that’s not it… Kaoru is the one controlling the flow of this conversation. She could just send him away quickly, so why isn’t she doing that? Really, why? She’s preventing the conversation from breaking apart at crucial moments. It’s as if… she’s stalling for time…?)

Then the change came in an instant.

Whether it was due to Kaoru’s skillful manipulation of the conversation or Stoffel sensing Kaoru’s intentions, a surge of powerful arcane energy emanated from Stoffel.

Stoffel proceeded to say, his tone completely different from before,

“Kaoru, Shamaness of T’oued… I did not expect you to put up this much resistance.”

The pressure of his voice — of his arcane energy — changed everything.

Despite sweating profusely under such pressure, Kaoru’s sharp glare did not waver as she kept her eyes on the Devil in front of her. She suppressed her fear, subtly trembling as she muttered,

“…Time to shine, Asley.”

“”Huh?””

The Fool and his Familiar still did not understand what was happening.

“He’s not Stoffel.”

“”Huh?””

Indeed, the one who had stepped into the temple and approached Kaoru was…

“HAHAHA!”

“What the–!? Lucifer!?”

…The man who called himself the Devil King.