The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

Chapter 398: To the Labyrinth Once Again

“By the way, how’d the sparring with Eigul’s crew go?”

“Great. They’re super strong — hell, just the word ‘strong’ wouldn’t cut it. Their team’s got a long history behind them, and they work together way better than us. They’re matching up really well with Silver General, too. In fact, when it comes to fights in large groups, they’re a bit better.”

“That good, huh? You don’t sound too salty about it, though, considering you just lost.”

“Dude, were you even listening?”

“Betty never said that we lost, you know.”

Blazer’s correction surprised both Pochi and me.

“He’s got a point, sir…”

“So you won, then?”

“No one said that we won, either.”

Damn it… he’s doing that on purpose, isn’t he?

I narrowed my eyes at Blazer, but he insisted on keeping his mouth shut. Instead, Betty explained,

“Everyone put up a good fight. Level-wise, we’re just about the same, but certain individuals on our side performed better overall.”

Makes sense — the War Demon Nation has had it worse when it came to monster outbreaks and invasions, at least as far as I know. I guess that plays into the difference between warriors depending on the Nations in which they operate.

Gotta give Eigul’s leadership some respect, though. If they hadn’t been so efficient and proactive, they wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the current level of Team Silver. Judging from the way Blazer and Betty talked of them, the training must have been a good motivating factor for both sides.

“Hey, sorry for the wait.”

“So you got something interesting to show us?”

Of those Betty called over via Telepathic Calls, the first to arrive are Reid and Mana.

“Sorry to call you here while you’re still resting. The job we’ll be doing is pretty important.”

“I drank the Pochibitan D, so no problem. So what’s the job?”

“Here, look at this.”

I handed Garm’s letter to Mana, who proceeded to read it with Reid… and then they both tilted their heads in confusion.

“So it says he’s hidden his stash somewhere to the south of Radeata…?”

“Lemme read the whole thing again… ‘Poer, I have hidden what you want in the deepest part of a long, long Labyrinth. Because of my contribution to the war, the Holy Emperor has given me some treasure — which I kept there for you as well. The treasure might be stolen by someone else by the time you get to it, but the actual thing you want should still be there.’ Hmm… so what does this mean?”

With Mana asking me that, I could only let out a dry chuckle.

Then Betty proceeded to bring up a story of our past, seeming quite nostalgic.

“It was back when the three of us first met Asley.”

“We were A-ranked then, and Asley was B-ranked, I believe.”

“We got into SO MUCH trouble back then… because my Master was so unreliable!”

“Well, can’t deny that, I guess… WE did cause you a lot of trouble. You three really taught us a lot.”

That time, I was on a job for the Adventurers’ Guild in Beilanea, with Duncan recommending that I worked on it with a team of other adventurers. We were attacked by the band of thieves called Laughing Foxes, too.

The place we went to was a Labyrinth located to the north of Beilanea.

Guessing from the way he wrote it in the letter, Garm — who had been living in Brunnera before the war — must have moved to Regalia after the invasion was over. It just makes sense — if one was in the Holy City, the location would indeed feel more accurate when described as ‘south of Radeata’.

“So WHAT was in that Labyrinth, Leader?”

“As the message said, there was treasure when we went there… but of course, because of our job contract, we had to hand it over to our client. The cage behind which the treasure was locked up, on the other hand… must still be there.”

Blazer answered Reid’s question, but he and his sister still didn’t seem to get the point.

“C’mon, Blazer, saying just ‘the cage’ won’t give anyone any idea why it’s important.”

“Hmm, right… The cage is valuable — and irremovable because of the specific kind of steel it was made of.”

While saying that, Balzer looked at my staff.

In doing that, Reid and Mana finally understood the meaning of the message.

“”Drynium Steel!””

Yes, the very same steel that my primary weapon was made out of… Garm must have collected the remaining Drynium ore and smelted them into Drynium Steel to make the cage bars in that Labyrinth.

“…Hmm, looks like everyone else is here now.”

I pointed that out that Ryan was approaching us, leading the whole group here.

“Huh? Oh, you’re right!”

After me, Pochi was the first to notice, followed by Blazer and the others.

“Sorry for running late. So, where are we headed today?”

Blazer, Betty, Pochi, and I looked at one another and said,

“”The Labyrinth of No Return!””

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

And so we were brought to Radeata by Lala’s Teleportation Spell Circle.

And by ‘we,’ I meant me, Pochi, Lala, Tzar, and the entirety of Team Silver except for Bruce and Haruhana.

We did not head to the Labyrinth of No Return right away, however.

First, since the sun was already setting, we decided to find ourselves a place to rest in Radeata. We could have done that just fine back in T’oued, but Lala, Natsu… and for some reason, Pochi, insisted that it had to be here, and in the end, everyone gave in.

Most of Team Silver proceeded to hold a meeting among themselves. Pochi and I, on the other hand, went out to get something to eat.

“Master! Let’s go there! There!”

“What makes you think you get to decide where we get dinner, huh!?”

“But Master, you said we’d eat here again!”

What? When the hell did I even say that?

The place Pochi is pointing at is a VERY run-down restaurant… that looks VERY familiar.

Hmm, now I’m starting to remember… Before going to meet Sagan, we stopped by this town, yes. And the place we dined at was called…

“”Diarmuid Kitchen!””

My vague memory overlapped quite perfectly with Pochi’s vivid memory.

“Oh, yeah… This place was called Diarmuid Kitchen back then, too.”

“Master, you’re the one who said they’re ‘more likely to stay in business in the future’! Did you forget that!?”

Oh, I see… so Pochi insisted on resting here because of this restaurant, huh?

“Uh, I do remember saying that, though…?”

It’s seven o’clock in the afternoon — barely even nighttime.

It should be the dinner rush right around this time, though, but despite that, there are only two customers… Wait–

“Lala and Tzar?”

“Oh, Asley! You’re eating here, too!? Hey, Pochi! Here, sit here!”

“Thank you, thank you! C’mon, let’s eat, Master!”

Man, this furball’s always ready to eat.

“”Quite brave of them to be open for business in the wake of the Devil King’s resurrection… Do you not think so, Sir Asley?””

“Well, you have a point there… There’s that, and the fact that Radeata was one of the last places I put up a Magic Shield for…”

“”Goes to show how strong at heart the people are, We say. Come, sit with Us.””

As told by Tzar, I went to sit with him — a few seats away from Pochi and Lala’s table.

I wonder if he wants to talk about something.

Come to think of it, I do want to talk with him a little bit about War Demon Emperor Sagan.

Before long, drinks were served, and then we enjoyed a wide range of creative dishes containing plenty of fresh vegetables.

Huh, speaking of vegetables… I recognize this taste from somewhere…

“”Well? Is the food to your liking?””

“Ah, yes. Everything is very delicious.”

“”Of course they are. This establishment’s fruits and vegetables are all provided by the Lala Farm.””

“Oh, I see. So that’s why the taste feels very familiar.”

“”According to Pochi just now, it seems that you have been here before… in the distant past.””

“Yes, we have. I must say, though… the food now is even better than back then. Their recipes definitely have evolved further since then, and your farm’s vegetables just make everything taste much better.”

“”Hehehe… is that so? Surely the establishment’s owner will be pleased to hear that, too.””

Tzar turned to the kind-looking man behind the counter.

He’s the one who did all the cooking, and also the serving. And judging from the way Tzar looked at him, he must be the current owner of Diarmuid Kitchen.

Eventually, the man joined the conversation between Lala and Pochi, while also seeming to have fun with his work all the while.

“”As We have been told, his wife passed away shortly after giving birth to their child.””

Well, the topic sure got heavy all of a sudden.

“Why bring that up now?”

“”Why would We not? It is very relevant to the current conversation, Sir Asley.””

“How exactly?”

“”We have done some research, you see…””

“Huh?”

“”…and as a result, We found out that he is Lala’s father.””

“Bwhuh–!?”

I ended up spitting out everything in my mouth out at Tzar.

He dodged it just in time, though, as if he had expected that.

But… Hey, wait a second…

What did he just say?