The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

Chapter 436: Pochi the Grand Heavenly Beast

“Rise, A-rise, A-rise! Middle Cure!”

After the match with the Heavenly Beasts, Pochi cast a spell by drawing a Circle with her tongue to heal herself.

Seeing this, Kohryu could not help but express admiration,

“That is quite impressive. I never thought a beast would have the ability to use magic.”

“My Master has taught me well!”

Pochi cracked a proud grin. Watching Pochi’s tail wagging, Shi’shichou sighed in apparent exasperation.

“Great, just great. A mage who was once so weak has become an impressive figure we now look up to…”

“Oh-ho? Now you’re praising the youngling? That’s quite rare.”

“Hmph. He defeated Tūs without using magic. That at least deserves some praise.”

While responding to Kokki, Shi’shichou turned its head around 180 degrees and began preening his own feathers.

“The Philosopher of the Far East? I have also defeated him in the past.”

“It was a long, long time ago, Kokki.”

Kokki fell silent in response to the Yellow Dragon’s comment.

Haiko, whose bleeding had stopped by now, glared at the Black Tortoise and said,

“It’s about time you stopped boasting that you have ‘never lost to Tūs’ just because you never fought him again after a certain point.”

“B-but… Uh…”

Kokki could not say anything more.

Weldhun, folding his legs and relaxing in front of them, chimed in,

“No matter how you look at it, Tūs is stronger NOW. I don’t know when you last fought him, but that’s the truth.”

“Ngh! Not you, too…!”

“Kokki does have a bad habit of boasting like that — And yes, in reality, Tūs is powerful. That is why Shi’shichou and Bull have been calling him a ‘silly old fool’ as of late.”

Upon hearing Kohryu’s explanation, Shi’shichou suddenly stopped preening his feathers.

“Hey, Kohryu! I thought you promised not to say anything!”

“Oh? But I don’t recall agreeing to anything.”

“This is the first I have heard of you acting like this, Shi’shichou… Care to explain yourself?”

Under Kokki’s stern gaze, Shi’shichou covered his eyes with his wings.

“I know nothing! I have never called that silly old fool a ‘silly old fool’! Never!”

“…And who did you just refer to?”

“As I said, the silly old fool– Oh.”

Shi’shichou, realizing his slip of the tongue, peered through the gaps in his feathers with trembling eyes.

Before him was the sharp gaze of Kokki. The distance between them had vanished in an instant. Closing in on the Violet Phoenix without him noticing was effortless for the Black Tortoise, what with the latter having created a blind spot with his feathers.

“Nwoh–!?”

“Oh no you don’t.”

In the moment when Shi’shichou attempted to take flight, Kokki clamped down on his wing, preventing him from doing so.

“Ngh–! Oh no!”

“…Hmph.”

The Black Tortoise exhaled a powerful blast of air, blowing the Violet Phoenix away.

“DWAHHHHHH!?”

Witnessing the force that sent a powerful Phoenix flying so far, Pochi could not help but exclaim,

“That’s some incredible power!”

Seemingly to contradict Pochi, the Kokki replied,

“What are you saying, Pochi? The strength you possess is even more incredible.”

“Huh? Really?”

Pochi tilted her head with curiosity.

Kohryu proceeded to explain, interpreting the meaning of the Black Tortoise’s words for Pochi,

“You have survived against all five Heavenly Beasts at the same time. That is something no one else here can do.”

However, in response to this explanation, Weldhun stood up as if to counter that,

“Hey, I can do that!”

He said it with a hint of uncertainty.

“No way.”

Haiko instantly dismissed him, and Weldhun, now displaying anger, retorted again,

“What!? So you’re saying you can do it!?”

“Nah.”

Given a succinct response, Weldhun’s mouth fell agape.

Subsequently, he displayed even more anger, but Ashen Tiger put a stop to that.

“Pochi is the only one who can.”

“…! Hmph!”

Weldhun vented his frustration without target towards the ground, striking it with his hooves.

“…Whew.”

Shi’shichou returned, sighing in exasperation.

“”Welcome back.””

Greeting the returning Violet Phoenix were the Kohryu, Haiko, and Kokki… the very one who had blown him away.

“Welcome back!”

Pochi did so as well, of course.

“That was a terrible experience.”

“You reap what you sow.”

“So, Kokki, you’re not angry anymore?”

When Pochi inquired about Kokki’s lingering anger toward Shi’shichou, Black Tortoise replied casually,

“Why would I be? I have already vented it all out on the Violet Phoenix.”

“And that’s it? You’re done?”

“That is the way I am.”

With Kokki saying that, Kohryu proceeded to add,

“He’s the type to be grumpy about it later. Yes, when the memory randomly resurfaces…”

“Hey, Kohryu.”

“Oh, did I say something I shouldn’t have?”

“You have always been like this. Like a snake…”

“Well, I technically am a snake.”

“You never stop talking, do you…”

“Oh, my mouth is capable of much more. I could swallow you whole.”

“Do not forget, you once tore a massive hole in your stomach doing exactly that.”

“Did that actually happen?”

“I swear, you are the trickiest one among us Heavenly Beasts…”

Kokki shot a piercing look at Kohryu.

In response, Pochi raised her front paw and asked,

“Did you all not get along very well in the past?”

“Not really…? We used to fight sometimes, but we got together to hang out quite often,” Haiko reminisced.

“Weldhun used to come to challenge me, Kokki, and Haiko all the time. He would cry and leave quickly, though…”

“Hey! That was a long time ago!”

“Well, we ARE talking about things that happened a long time ago.”

To the retort from Shi’shichou, Weldhun fell silent for a moment.

“Come to think of it… that’s true.”

“Well, as the saying goes… fighting often can mean we are close… or something to that effect.”

In the end, Weldhun and Pochi seemed to agree with the explanation provided by Shi’shichou.

“Isn’t it the same for you and the Wielder of a Thousand Tricks? You two are always at odds with each other, but ultimately, you are quite close. I am quite envious of that friendship you have, I must say.”

This comment from Haiko caused Pochi to widen her eyes and drop her jaw in surprise.

“N-no, that’s not right! I’m just taking care of my Master! He can’t do without me! Really, he’s completely hopeless, foolish, clumsy, dorky, scatterbrained, dorky, foolish, a little — and I mean VERY LITTLE — kind-hearted, and occasionally tasty-looking! Oh, but I’ll admit, his blood has quite a nice tang to it! But seriously, he’s a big silly fool! Lina, Tifa, Haruhana, Fuyu, Mana — they all love my Master, but he just doesn’t notice them at all! Well, maybe he’s pretending not to notice, which would make him pretty naughty! No, evil, even! Definitely evil! When he gets angry, he even makes me skip meals! You see, that alone should be a serious crime! CRIME! I mean, all I did was spill a little ink on his research papers, and he was furious! Yes, that’s it! My Master is short-tempered! He has lived a long time, so what’s the big deal if six months’ worth of research goes down the drain? Well, he left me without food for two whole days for my mistake! I was so hungry I considered eating HIM! I mean, he looked so delicious! Well, I snuck out when he wasn’t looking and made sure to get myself some food to survive! But then that feeding bowl with my name on it remained empty for two days! It was just awful! And speaking of which, my name — ‘Pochi’ — that’s typically a name for a male dog, right? But my Master, without even realizing that, gave it to a female like me! It’s just the worst! Whenever he was in trouble, he’d say ‘Hey, Pochi!’ Whenever he’s tired, he’d say ‘Hey, Pochi!’ Whenever he has free time, he’d say ‘Hey, Pochi!’ Honestly! My Master really can’t do anything without me! The moment I take my eyes off him, he gets into some ridiculous situation! So, I have to keep a close watch on him like this! Oh, and by the way, my Master– …Huh? What’s going on, everyone?”

Pochi, looking confused, tilted her head. She seemed entirely unaware of the meaning behind everyone’s astonished stares. 

Kokki, who had been listening to Pochi with closed eyes, let out an exasperated sigh.

“…To be able to badmouth someone so extensively, you must be quite something. I admire that.”

“R-really!? Thank you so much!”

Pochi beamed with a radiant smile. The five Heavenly Beasts, though quite exasperated, showed their understanding, tinged with a hint of admiration.

[I wonder if I would have turned out differently if I had such a companion. Indeed, that youngling has that kind of charisma about him. It’s no surprise that Pochi considers him in such a positive light.]

[Miss Pochi and her master, the Wielder of a Thousand Tricks… Their bond goes beyond a mere master-retainer relationship. And what a wonderful relationship it is. I must admit I’m quite envious, Wielder of a Thousand Tricks…!]

[Will I ever have a Master like that? Someone who favors me despite this unnecessarily long body of mine? Pochi and Asley’s relationship is truly what all beasts wish for. And that is no exception even for us Heavenly Beasts…]

[A bond stronger than that of Tūs and Bull… Now that I think of it, Chappie used to talk about them all the time — every time he opened his mouth, it was about ‘Father! Mother!’ I wonder if I’ll ever have someone I can complain to like that… Oh, who am I kidding? I won’t. Pochi and Asley have built an eternal relationship others cannot hope to achieve. Quite enviable…]

[Lylia and me… we’ve had our arguments. But Poer and Pochi’s relationship goes beyond that. It’s an understanding of each other… They’re closer than any of us ever expected. How deep must a relationship be to become like that? Well, I guess it’s something that can only be understood through experience. Come to think of it, it was Poer who first suggested that Lylia gave me a name name. I should talk to her about this later. Even if it ends up becoming another argument… that should be fine once in a while.]

Pochi would never know what was in each of their minds. She would never know how much they admired her. 

Nevertheless, the five Heavenly Beasts were proud creatures. Expressing their thoughts openly was beneath them. As such, what the five ultimately arrived at was… the same sentiment.

[[Ah, how jealous I am…]]

This was a story from just a little while before Pochi, still tilting her head, had an argument with Asley.