DEMON'S VIRTUE

Eiro stood in the classroom, explaining what makes a bond with a familiar special. And then, a student asked another question, "And is there a particular reason for choosing to get a familiar? Wouldn't it be simpler to just try and tame something? And in that case you can have more than one at a time..."

"Well... If you ask like that, then... sure. It might be. But the connection between you and a familiar is much, much deeper. You share things between one another. When you grow, your familiar grows with you, to an extent at least. Abilities that you gain might affect your familiar, and vise versa. That is not something you can get from tamed creatures. And not only that, but to a certain extent, you can share your senses with a familiar. Communicate with them without words. This is actually the reason why this art was created." Eiro explained.

"Let's go back to the bit where I mentioned that it's possible to have a person as a familiar. There was a certain tribe, a long time ago. Their weddings were not only ceremonies as we know them, but they were familiar ceremonies. To strengthen the bond they had already formed based on their emotions, they became each other's familiars."

"Then..." A student said, "Isn't it like you're married to your familiar?" A couple of other students laughed, and Eiro quickly shook his head.

"Of course not. Such relationships aren't so simple. And the art of forming familiar contracts is much older than this tribe I just mentioned." The Demon told them all, "That simply is not what this is about. A familiar is a partner that you trust and have by your side through any circumstance. If everything else goes haywire, you still have that being to rely on."

Seeing that none of the students seemed to care for this central aspect of having a familiar, Eiro moved on to the bit that he figured people wanted to actually hear, "But there are of course certain, more 'practical' ways that a familiar can come in handy. Let me show you."

Eiro placed his hand onto Lugo's back, and created a flow of mana between them. Usually, the mana of two people couldn't mix, but in this case, it was basically like Lugo and Eiro had the same mana to begin with.

The Demon took a deep breath and then stepped away from Lugo, walking to the other side of the room. And then, he waved his hand around. In front of Lugo's antlers, as if they were encasing this, a ball of wind formed. To show what was happening, Gondos appeared and created some dust-like rock to make the wind actually visible to the students.

"With a bit of practice, you can cast magic by using your familiars as a proxy. Of course, it's not directly as useful as you might think. What I just did was basically plant the mana that I wanted to use for the spell inside of Lugo, my familiar. I don't think I ever used this in practice, however, there are many ways it can come in handy. Let's say... Lugo was a bit more inconspicuous, instead of this large. Let's say I formed a contract with a bee, which is certianly possible. Then, if I were to cast a fire spell through that bee, it opens up a lot more ways for combat. And let's say I were more interested in ceremonial magic, where certain spells have to be invoked at different places at the same time... A familiar would be able to help assist with that as well." Eiro explained, looking at Lugo in the distance.

He clearly felt a little bit woozy from that, since his mana was suddenly brought in disarray. Lugo really wasn't made for casting magic... That is why Eiro never really used this before, and why he made use of one of the simpler and less-straining spells in his arsenal.

Eiro approached Lugo again, and rubbed his hand over the stag's head to calm him down a bit, "Of course, that is only part of what you can do. Anything else is more... unique to each pair of person and familiar, depending on the set of abilities either of them have." Eiro explained. From then on, the lesson continued with Eiro telling a few stories about such pairs that displayed rather special abilities. Or simply pairs that one might not expect to be a thing. Bit by bit, the students became more excited about the idea of gaining a familiar, although in Eiro's opinion, for the wrong reasons.

All of them just wanted to use them to become more powerful. Of course, Eiro himself was power-obsessed as well, but Lugo simply wasn't. Lugo was a lazy, hungry, slightly stupid stag. And just because of this connection between them, Eiro knew that he couldn't just use Lugo in order to gain more and more power himself. Sure, he did want Lugo to improve a bit more in his abilities, and level up now that he gained the ability to do so, but that was just because he didn't want to leave Lugo behind.

The more Eiro grew, the less he would actually need Lugo. And the less he needed him, the less they would interact. And that was just a sad thought, considering that Lugo was really just his best friend.

At the end of the class, Eiro once more walked through the building with Lugo, although a bit more frustrated than he was before.

A few students stopped them because they were curious about Lugo, but that just came because they thought Lugo was 'cute', a fact that clearly rose to Lugo's head. With a smug expression, he eyed Eiro whenever they continued walking.

"I get it, you're more popular than me." The Demon sighed, and Lugo let out a puff of air through his nose. The two walked through the building together, and Eiro crossed his arms in thought. Was there any way to bring the concept of familiars closer to these students? Because it was certainly something valuable. He couldn't reccommend it to everybody, because not everbody was a good fit for having a familiar, but overall it was an experience that was hard to compare to in any way.

"What the hell is that animal doing in here?" A familiar voice exclaimed. It was someone that Eiro had been hoping to meet with for a few days, but he had been on an unexpected leave for whatever reason. Today was the first day that he returned. Eiro looked right at him with a smile, "Hello Merlin. He's not just an animal. He's my familiar." He explained, and the man raised his brows surprised.

"Your familiar? A stag?" Merlin asked with a squint, "That does not seem like the best fit, now does it? I would have expected something more like a war-horse. Or a pixie-dragon, due to their incredible control over their innate magic, but a regular stag..? Interesting."

"Do you have a familiar as well?" Eiro asked Merlin, who quickly shook his head, "Not anymore. It sadly passed. He was a wonderful specimen. A magic beast known as Woodsnake. He would act as my staff. But sadly... He passed in a battle that I regrettably was unable to avoid."

"I'm... I'm sorry to hear that." Eiro said, but Merlin looked back and shook his head as he stroked his own beard, "There is no need for you to feel sorry. It has been a few decades already, after all. And now, he is a wonderful large tree in my private garden."

Eiro looked back at Merlin, happy that there was at least one other person that appreciated familiars for more than their 'practical use'.

"But if you will excuse me, but I have a few matters to catch up on again." He explained, but before he was able to leave, Eiro stared him right in the eyes.

"I would prefer it if you didn't. I need to speak to you about Arcane Magic." The Demon explained, and Merlin raised his brows, "If you wish to learn more of this topic, then it would be appreciated if you could come to my office later today. But for now, I-"

"I'm friends with Armodeus. I was basically raised by Jura. And I just recently fought a battle side-by-side with Koperia. Those are familiar names, aren't they?" Eiro asked him, and Merlin stared back at him, "Jura...? My old friend... We grew up side by side... What a nostalgic name that is."

Merlin's smile kept on growing as he and Eiro spoke, "But how did I not know he had a child your age? I am still regularly exchanging letters with him!" He exclaimed, "Of course, due to circumstances, it had to happen more in secret, but we would send a letter at least once a year. Actually, I have been waiting for his letter for a few weeks now, but it simply did not arrive."

"...Could we go to your office right now, maybe?" Eiro suggested, and Merlin slowly nodded his head, "Of course. This is something that I can postpone the matters I had in mind for."

Silently, Eiro and Lugo both made their way to Merlin's office together. Eiro had a bit of time to kill before his next class as well, so it was fine for now. He pulled out the Ace of Cups and spread the liquid inside of it around the room so that he and Merlin could speak to each other in private, without having to worry about anyone.

"I had heard a lot about his recent handiwork, especially ever since his woodcarving skill reached master grade, but I haven't seen it in action in quite some time. Does this mean that this hand of yours was made by him?" Merlin asked quickly, and Eiro shook his head.

"No, it wasn't. I made it myself." He explained. Merlin looked at Eiro's wooden hand more closely, "Is that so? I meant to meet him some time ago. Maybe a year or two, actually, but it sadly wasn't possible. But he did send me a few packages in advance that he wanted my help with. He was trying to create some sort of... puppet. He wished to practically give life to it, but he needed my help to make sure it could actually think properly. It was an interesting project. I wonder what became of it..."

"...It's here in town with me right now. It's a training puppet that Jura made for me, for when I had to leave our home." Eiro explained, and Merlin looked back a bit confused.

"Why would you have to leave your home?" He asked, and Eiro locked eyes with the man.

"Merlin. Did you not think anything of the fact that I have impossibly strong senses?" Eiro asked, and Merlin stopped for a few moments.

"You... That must be a coincidence, correct? Jura taught you ways to increase your perception, is that not so?"

"Merlin. I'm sorry, but..."

"No... I know. I think I... I realized that the time was close some time ago. I just didn't realize that it was that close.. Nobody thinks that they would be able to live longer than someone who was basically your elder brother."