DEMON'S VIRTUE

The carriages came to a halt in front of the royal castle, and some servants quickly opened the carriage's door.

"Welcome, Lord Daemonherz." They said, and a bit away, some other servants were greeting Armodeus and Eiro's party members. They had split up who would travel in which carriage, and Eiro's children were all travelling with him in his carriage.

Eiro stepped out of the carriage, helping his daughters do so as well, since Clementine and Sammy were both wearing dresses that made it harder for them to walk, before he picked up Avalin and Leon again. Eiro turned his head to the side, and saw one of his own servants, the orc who was driving this carriage, release Lugo from the front of the carriage. Just to show him off a little bit, they had connected Lugo there, so that he would be the first one anyone was going to see as the carriages approached.

The Demon quickly placed Avalin and Leon down on the Stag's back. He needed both of his hands to be free so that he could properly greet all the other nobles. And it was a good way to show Leon off some more as well. His body had changed so much that it was obvious he was a beastman now. Eiro knew that there were people that liked to discriminate against them in this country, but by showing him off right at the start as his loved son, then nobody would ever think about saying anything against him, especially since there was a certain event planned during today's party.

Eiro slowly looked at his hand, playing around with this trick he had been figuring out lately a bit more. Since the Demon was proud of the teachings that Jura passed on to him, Eiro didn't particularly like that he would have to hide his prosthetic when his arms were 'fused' together like this. And it seemed like his body quickly responded kindly to that. Since his hand had been fully recognized as part of the Demon's body now, it seemed like he could 'switch' which hand he wanted to be in the forefront. And when he wanted to have the prosthetic be shown, Eiro's other right hand would practically... disappear. As if seeping into the prosthetic somehow. This way, Eiro was able to show off his hand however much he wanted.

Right now, he was doing just that. It was part of who he was, and a part that he was not scared to show off to others in the slightest. The Demon walked in the front of the group as everyone made their way into the royal castle. And the moment they entered, they were met with the hustle and bustle of a huge party, spreading out to even this part of the castle. Everywhere, numerous royal guards of different countries were walking around, securing the perimeter. Some of them were incredibly strong, to the point where they might have cause Eiro some trouble had he tried fighting against them during one of those stronger waves of his evolution a month or two ago.

Eiro quickly started greeting some of the nobles that he was seeing there, and they quickly greeted him, as the whole group quickly made their way to the room where the party was actually supposed to take place.

"Alright, a few ground-rules. Rudy, this time you won't help the chefs out, no matter how much they ask you to. Arc, hold off on the alcohol, you know you can't feel when you're too drunk. And Clementine, stick to Sammy please, and don't just try to follow random guys into secluded places of the castle again, alright?"

"B-But they said they needed my help with something..." Clementine muttered with her head drooping slightly, and Eiro smiled at her, "Then when they ask you something like that, have Sammy confirm it first, alright? Make sure they're telling the truth, and if they actually genuinely need help with something, come to me and we'll figure something out."

"...Okay, that's fine..." Clementine slowly nodded her head, and Eiro rubbed her back for a few moments before the group continued.

The group stepped into the cental hall, and Eiro could immediately feel quite a few eyes on him. Quite literally, actually. Eiro's instincts had increased like crazy over the past few months, so it was like he was actually able to sense exactly where other people were looking on his body.

Some seemed to try and figure out how strong Eiro was by looking at his general build. Eiro was a tall man, and currently rather bulky, so it seemed like he had impressed some of the other people here in this hall. It was rather clear to Eiro who exactly the candidates of the different royal families were. For one, because each was actually carrying their weapon of choice with them, as if they were acting like some extra layer of defense in case something was going to happen. Like personal bodyguards or something like that.

The first person that Eiro naturally approached was Solomon, with Armodeus right beside him. The others all chose to scatter and try to socialize a bit. Well, partially. Arc, James and Krog immediately made their way to the bar.

The Demon let out a deep sigh as he heard Arc suggest a drinking contest to someone that was obviously the prince of another country, and was even more bothered when that prince agreed.

"Charles, could you maybe check on Arc at the bar to make sure that he doesn't accidentally start a war?" Eiro asked with a deep sigh, and the prince slowly raised his brows, "What? Why would he- urgh, not again... by the gods, that guy can never shut his mouth..."

"Sorry, but he'll probably listen to you more than me..."

"I know, I know, I'm on it." Charles let out a deep sigh as he made his way over to the bar, trying to avoid all the people that were trying to talk to him as he walked. Clearly, there were quite a few people staring at his prosthetics as well. Prosthetics that Eiro had finally completed just a few weeks ago. Charles had apparently gotten used to them quite quickly. After all, they were basically just like his original limbs, even if they were slightly more awkward to control. But like Eiro, Charles didn't seem to want to hide the prosthetics. Many other nobles tended to wear gloves, but Charles chose to show his prosthetic arm off a little bit.

With a light smile, Eiro looked at Solomon, "So, did the meeting go alright earlier?"

The King simply smiled back in response, "It probably could have gone better, but that was to be expected. I will explain the details to you later. For now, let us enjoy the party."

"Oh, you mean because of all those rude fuckers listening in on us?" Eiro asked, and managed to sense a few flinches across the room that were clearly caused by him calling these scouts that were placed around the room out like that.

"...Yes, because of those rude fuckers." Solomon laughed slightly, "I assume you've got them on your radar now?"

"Yup, don't worry." Eiro replied with a smile, as Solomon turned his attention toward Armodeus, "Anyway, how about you? I heard you only returned last week. Are you settling in alright now that you officially live here?" The King asked, before the elder dwarf simply replied with a light chuckle.

"I have basically lived here for a few months already, now it is just official. But yes, I am settling in alright." He explained, and Solomon replied with a slight nod, "I'm glad to hear that. If you need anything, let me know."

"Of course." Armodeus replied immediately. Eiro turned his head to the side, seeing that there were plenty of people just staring at the stag right behind Eiro. Of course, Lugo himself was quite a unique sight for these parts, but the two children on his back didn't quite help that uniqueness either, especially considering that it was quite obvious Leon was a beastman now.

"And you're sure you didn't want to hide this for today?" Solomon asked, noticing where Eiro was looking, and the Demon simply smiled at him, "Of course I don't want to hide this. Why would I?" Eiro asked with a smile, "Leon is a beastman from the lion clan, but he is also my son. And I want to make sure that both of these facts are known to the people gathered here today." Eiro said bluntly, noticing that a certain few people were currently approaching Lugo. Or rather, Leon.

They were beastmen themselves, and they turned toward Eiro with deep glares as they got closer to him. And then, Eiro heard some whispers from them, the two beastmen that were currently approaching Leon, "How dare that man..? Having such a young child as his slave, showing him off to proof how prosperous he is? Disgusting..."

"Let us rescue him. He will be happy if we can give him some money for this child." The other replied, and Eiro's heart immediately skipped a beat. He was stunned for a moment or two, when he saw that those two were actually quite close to Lugo now. Eiro pressed his foot into the ground, and the air cracked as the Demon shot forward like a bullet.

He came to a halt right in front of the two, moving through the room in just an instant. It seemed like none of the people, with the exception of a few, that had been watching Eiro until now had been able to follow along with his speed.

And not even the two beastmen could respond as Eiro stood in front of them, staring at the two. The mark of wrath was gone, but that didn't mean that Eiro wasn't predisposed to a certain amount of anger anyway.

"And what do you two think you're doing?!"