The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley” - Chapter 485.1, The Battle for Asley Scene 1 (Split Part 1/6)

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On the balcony equipped with a magical amplification Circle, another woman sat beside the hosts.

With Bruce orchestrating, the event began.

In the center of the Holy Demon Castle courtyard, participants in the Devil King Cup stood with determined gazes.

At the forefront, arms crossed, stood Lylia, the former Holy Warrior and now the captain of the Holy Demon Kingdom’s Royal Guards.

“Hmph, this will be a breeze!”

To her right stood Lina, the Silent Witch, whose relatively small pool of arcane energy was offset by the silver Key Pendant she wore on her neck. She was currently being trained as a diplomat by Warren.

“I won’t lose…!”

Next to Lina was Tifa, known as the Dark Ruler. Thanks to the recommendation of Tangalán, the Headmaster of the Magic University, she was not on a break and was recognized as the first exchange student to the Holy Demon Kingdom.

“FWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I may not match the Devil King, but my power is like his fangs and claws! Now, together with my master Tifa, we’ll put on a display of our ultimate combination…!”

“I’ll win at all costs! I’ll sacrifice you if I have to, Tarawo…!”

“…SAY WHAT!?”

On Lylia’s left stood Fuyu, who had just been appointed captain of the Holy Demon Kingdom’s Special Patrol Unit. Her gaze was so fierce it seemed ready to pierce through Lylia.

“I’ll win and claim my happiness…!”

Next to Fuyu was Haruhana, the chief of Human Resources of Silver Corporation.

She stood quietly with her eyes downcast, awaiting the imminent battle.

“…It is almost time…”

The Devil King Cup was about to begin — As Haruhana thought so to herself, the gate to the south of the courtyard opened.

Soft yet deliberate footsteps echoed, accompanied by an air of nonchalance.

But then the spectators lining the castle walls had to reconsider their initial impressions as they saw the figure approaching.

“”…!?””

Betty, sitting in the announcer’s seat, shouted excitedly,

“Why must I take part in something so humiliating!?”

Irene appeared with a sullen expression, scratching her head in embarrassment.

“Right, it’s for the prize… It’s all for the prize… Hmph!”

The crowd, filled with adventurers and renowned warriors and mages, greeted Irene with cheers and applause.

Bruce introduced the second guest,

“Hahaha, I’ll do my best♪” Warren said, stepping forward with a broad smile.

Lylia’s eyes narrowed with suspicion as she watched him.

[This can’t be right. There’s no way Warren would enter the Devil King Cup, considering its nature… unless that’s precisely why he’s here?]

From the balcony, Gaston observed the scene, a smirk forming on his lips.

“Well, well, this is getting interesting… isn’t it, young man?”

Gaston glanced at Asley, the Devil King, but Asley remained frozen in place, his smile rigid, unresponsive to Gaston’s words.

Despite their technically brief acquaintance, Gaston could read Asley’s thoughts in moments like this.

[I see… so he wasn’t informed, eh? Was this Warren’s doing? No, it must be both Warren and Bright… Well, considering how those two are, I suppose it makes sense…]

As if confirming Gaston’s suspicion, Asley turned to Bright, seated nearby.

“Bright.”

“Yes?”

“What. The hell. Is this?”

“It’s the Devil King Cup.”

“Uh… huh. Yeah, right.”

“This didn’t come out of nowhere, you know. We posted the announcement on the town notice board.”

“Well, I didn’t know about it…”

“But when you created the notice board, you did say ‘I’ll check it myself,’ didn’t you?”

“Well, I’ve been stuck in my lab lately, you know?”

“We also advised you to take regular breaks.”

“Ah, right. You did.”

Asley could only respond while staring into the void.

Leon and Gaston, who overheard the conversation, exchanged amused glances.

[These two…]

[They conceal the truth without lying. They’ve completely read through the young man’s nature.]

[They likely anticipated that His Majesty would be too engrossed in his research to take breaks.]

Considering Asley’s personality and that of his Ministers, it was all too clear.

Both Leon and Gaston felt a twinge of sympathy for Asley.

Yet, their curiosity about the outcome of the Devil King Cup remained strong.

The resident party girl — Betty, as one of the event’s hosts, stood up to explain the rules.

“WHAT!?”

Asley leaped to his feet in shock.

The reaction was inevitable, but Bruce continued unfazed.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa — wait, WHAT!?”

Asley turned to Bright.

“If you had any objections to the prize, you should have done what was written here… ‘Contact Bright or Warren.’ Too late now, I’m afraid — the deadline was last week,” Bright said, showing Asley a parchment.

Asley snatched it, scrutinizing it closely.

His hands trembled as he read, and when he lowered the parchment, he looked at Bright with desperate eyes, only to be met with Warren’s beaming smile.

Bright added with a merciless yet cheerful smile,

“This is official business too, Your Majesty.”

Hearing Bright’s words, Ferris, sitting next to him, struggled to suppress her laughter.

“Damn it… I’ve been had! But listen! I don’t have time for this kinda diversion–!”

“-—Now, no need to worry. Everyone’s schedules have already been adjusted. The participants agreed to coordinate with us, and everyone is happy to be involved.”

“What about Miss Irene — I mean, Lady Irene—-“

“-—Miraculously, she happened to have some free time.”

“And why is Warren even there–“

“-—He calculated that he could get everything done if he pulled an all-nighter.”

“That’s absurd!”

Everything had been meticulously planned.

Watching this exchange, Minerva, Barun, and Hornel grinned.

“Oh my, what an amusing endeavor. I should have joined too.”

“Same here. If I’d known we could have a whole day with His Majesty, I would have planned differently.”

“For me, the Diarmuid Kitchen meal tickets would be the real prize. That restaurant is quite famous despite being in Radeata.”

As the three chatted, the hosts finished explaining the rules.

The crowd dispersed to the edges of the courtyard. Seeing this, Asley tilted his head in confusion.

“Wha… why is everyone moving to the walls…?”

“Weren’t you listening, young man? It’s a battle royale among those seven.”

“WHAT?! Lylia will win that, hands down! Unless… it’s rigged!?”

Asley turned to Bright, but Bright just smiled without giving any indication. Realizing he would not get any information, Asley could only watch over the unfolding battle.

[Will they be using wooden swords, then? But Lylia could still split the ground with one of those, right?]

If they were to use real weapons, the mages would have Swift Magic-capable staves. Despite that, however, the courtyard was Lylia’s territory.

[All in all, I think Haruhana is at the biggest disadvantage… Wait, why does she have a staff?]

Asley noticed Haruhana holding a staff, puzzling over it. She was a warrior, not a mage, and her arcane energy pool was not particularly suited for magic.

With Betty and Bruce’s signal, the match commenced.

In an instant, Asley could not believe his eyes.

“”PERFECT INVISIBILITY!!””

“Wha–!?”

Strangely, only Asley was surprised.

None of the others seemed shocked at all.

“Hey, where did they learn that!?”

Asley called out to Itsuki, who remained unfazed.

Itsuki maintained a firm stance, even towards the Devil King.

Asley’s Perfect Invisibility spell was his own secret technique. No wonder he was shocked to see six others using it.

Rubbing his temples, Asley searched his memories.

[Remember, me… I’m in trouble here… Help me, Minerva! How the hell is this even happening!? I don’t remember teaching it to any– Oh, wait, actually… I did.]

The answer came surprisingly quickly.

There was indeed someone he had taught Perfect Invisibility to.

It was just recently, on the day of Ryan and Reyna’s wedding, when he had shared the spell’s formula with a certain individual.

Asley looked up at the vast sky, not glaring at anyone in particular…

…But with an expression of immense exasperation.

[God damn it, Giorno…! IT WAS YOU!!]

The clouds above seemed to form a mocking grin, reminiscent of Giorno’s. Asley’s irritation grew.

But what could he do? Giorno was God — mischievous as he was, he now ruled over all of creation. Resistance was futile.

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