The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

Chapter 222: A Newfound Interest

Chapter 222: A Newfound Interest

“I am the hero of justice, Chappie Mask!”

“So you’ve finally shown up, Chappie Mask! I am the hero of justice, Pocchie Mask, and I shall defeat you!”

Why the hell are fellow allies of justice fighting each other, anyway?

“Pocchie Mask! Know that your code of justice is wrong! True justice is served only when all evildoers are destroyed!”

“No, Chappie Mask! Your code of justice is actually the one that’s wrong! Just because they’re evildoers doesn’t necessarily mean they must be destroyed!”

Ah, I see, I see… This is quite a noble clash of ideals.

Never have I expected to walk into such an interesting skit, right after getting back to the inn in Regalia.

“Why not?!”

“Some of the evildoers may have the ability to make delicious food! They must be kept alive!”

Nope, that’s not it.

“Ngh… I see!”

Huh, despite Pochi’s face being so… unconvincing while she said that, that actually convinced Chappie.

Now I’m curious how this will end. I’ll juuust stay here and watch them do their thing.

“Additionally! There are some people whose evil is too minor to warrant an execution!”

That should’ve been the main point! Why’d she bring up the delicious food part first… oh, right, because she’s Pochi.

“Hmph, evildoers have no rights! That is final!”

Okay, looks like the story is back on track now.

Pochi probably improvised that tangent just now… then again, it’s Pochi, so she may very well have written that down in the script as well. Now I’m curious to know which one was it.

“Ngh… looks like we’ll never be on the same page, Chappie Mask! There’s but one option remaining – we fight!”

“That’s exactly what I wanted! My jet-black wings shall effortlessly destroy you!”

“Big talk! My black claws- wait! I know they look white, but they’re black! My black claws will rip you apart!”

Chappie’s lines are fixed. Pochi’s, on the other hand, not so much.

Could it be that Pochi had written her script without checking the color of his nails first? Hmm, makes sense. That must be it.

“Eat this!”

“No, you!”

They aren’t duking it out for real, but man, their facial expressions are so on point.

It’s amusing and all, seeing two little beasts’ non-serious scuffle like this, but it’s terrifying to imagine them going at it for real… because it would technically be two Heavenly Beasts fighting in a cheap inn.

“Ngh… I can’t keep this up for long! Very well! I shall display to you my true form!”

“WHAT?!”

Oh, is he going to transform?

“QUAAAAAACK!”

Chappie Mask quacked. Just like a duck.

“Whew… THIS is my true form…!”

He hasn’t changed anything at all.

All he did was make his feathers point up a little.

“W-what power! At this rate, you might actually beat me! I’ll have to use… that thing!”

What’s ‘that thing’?

“Ooh…?”

Leon seems to be curious as well.

“AWOOOOOOOOO!”

That’s a great howl, but all it did was make MY hair stand a little.

It sure is a convenient ability for a beast to have, though.

“Ngh… Looks like this battle will be a long one!”

“Hmph! You could surrender now, if you would like to!”

“I will not! My code of justice will prevail! Bring it on, Pocchie Mask!”

“On my shoulders rest the future of all the food- no! Of all the CHILDREN all over the world!”

Seems to me that everything would turn out perfectly fine if these two were to work together… right?

Pochi’s gonna be Pochi though – she probably never had that possibility in mind.

“HNGGGGGG…!”

“N-not bad! I didn’t expect your powers to rival mine!”

“I should be the one saying that… Pocchie Mask, know that true justice will prevail…! Now is the time… for me to show my true-true form!”

So he had another one of those, huh?

“What?! You had a true-true form, too?!”

…This one isn’t any better.

“YOU had one, too?! Heh heh heh… If only we had met at a different place and time… perhaps we could have been good friends…!”

Yeah, because they’re technically mother and son.

“Cease the thought, you fool. Do keep in mind – if we unleash our powers, neither of us will make it out unscathed… probably.”

“…Hmph, that’s what I thought. We may not have become friends, but I suppose we should consider ourselves blessed with a good rival…”

“”OOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!!””

They shouted in unison, their eyes bloodshot… and a moment later, the inn’s manager knocked on our room’s door.

“Dear customer! It’s late at night, so please keep your voice down!”

“”APOLOGIES!!””

Oh, right, it’s past midnight now. Man, these two can be such troublemakers sometimes.

…Wait, was the manager actually speaking to ME just now? Oh, the injustices of this world… 

“Oh, I didn’t see you there, Master. Welcome back, sir.”

Quite a surprise that she didn’t notice me, but I suppose that just goes to show how much she was into this ‘Pocchie Mask’ role.

“How did you like my grand performance, father?”

“Ah, well… It’s not bad, I guess?”

Quite impressive how he’s so confident to call his act a ‘grand performance.’ Also, aren’t their ‘masks’ just their sunglasses? Do they like those accessories that much?

It would’ve been nice if they had something more mask-like… well, not like they’ll really understand, I guess.

??????????

Two days later, I began investigating for various information while avoiding the Douglas household’s surveillance.

With Pochi and Chappie’s help, I forced the stalkers to spread themselves out, and then I used magic spells such as Invisible Illusion to sneak into the Douglas residence.

Inside, I found out a few things.

According to a conversation among the servants that I overheard, Chiquiata had never contacted back.

The head of the house has yet to return from his most recent mission, either.

And so has Myans, for that matter… could it be that she had chosen to follow Chiquiata instead?

The biggest question I have now is in regards to those warriors that were with Chiquiata back at T’oued. Assuming that they haven’t returned, it would mean that the whole group has disappeared.

So where the hell did they disappear to? I vaguely remember Chiquita being called a ‘Witch of the North,’ so maybe they’re north of here?

I don’t think there’s anything much past the Regalia Lake, though?

A little further northwest, maybe?

Still, as long as we don’t know approximately where they are, we won’t know what’s going on with anyone, be it the group or Chiquiata herself.

It would be a blessing if they were to keep laying low, but… that’s probably not going to happen.

Blue didn’t seem to be evil, at least, but what’s truly important is her Master’s- ugh, I’m going too far off-topic here.

Now, the REAL problem is the Adams household’s stolen money – looks like taking it back will prove to be extremely difficult.

We’ve searched the entire Douglas residence, and through eavesdropping and consulting some informants, we have discovered the existence of a ‘secret ledger,’ but the ledger itself seems to be carried around by the head of the household, Bayes Douglas.

If only we could find that ledger, we might even be able to corner both the Douglas household and the Empress Faction, including the Empress herself… but the head of the household has been missing for some time, with no way of tracking him down.

So I tried using the spell that had helped me find Lala before – the Magic Stalker.

I tried it on various objects inside the house, and everything inside of Bayes Douglas’ room, but there was no response. Well, some of them DID respond, actually, but the things all lead to different owners.

The spell is meant for following a person’s trail, but after the object in question has gone untouched for a certain amount of time, its tracking effectiveness is significantly reduced.

That goes to show how long Bayes Douglas has been away from his own house.

Could he have been killed by another relevant figure of the Empress Faction?

Or maybe he’s just in hiding… ugh, I can’t figure this out.

For now, I reported to Polco and June via Telepathic Calls, after which I have been ordered to simply be on standby.

Without anything else to do, we headed to the Adventurers’ Guild and got some monster hunting jobs to pass the time.

And then, a few days later, it was finally time for Pochi to make her Familiar Chalice debut.

“Third match! Representing House Adams, the Familiar of Poer… SHIRO!”

Now, Pochi, it’s the Familiar Chalice Cup you’ve always wanted to fight in!

…A past version of it, but hey, same difference!