DEMON'S VIRTUE

After a while, the crowd slowly split up again, since the kids chose to return to one of their huts, and Eiro soon followed them as well so that they could speak about what just happened. Eiro opened the door and stepped inside, before the four of them quickly turned toward the Demon.

"Everything alright?" He asked, and Sammy slowly turned away again, "It is. And it would've been alright without you doing all that as well."

"Yeah, you seriously didn't-" Arc added with a sigh, but Eiro quickly interrupted him, "Oh, I did. I'm still your father, and I know situations like that all too well. Those people are all in incredibly high positions in other countries, they have the ressources and power not to stop bothering you even if you tell them to. They're all power-hungry, and bringing a few unique skill holders back to their country? Oh, that's going to push them above others even further."

In response, while the others stayed quiet, Arc rolled his eyes and said, "So? What tells you that they won't bother us now, then?"

"That they're scared of me. Building up respect takes much, much longer, and is much harder than building up fear. They know not to bother any of us. Oh, and in regard to the Goliath, Tin, he-"

"Dad, I really don't care about him right now." Rudy replied immediately, "Just... could you please leave for a while? And please don't listen in on us, we want to talk about something."

Eiro looked at his children and slowly turned around, opening the door again, "Of course. Let me know if you want to talk later." The Demon said, quickly stepping out of the hut. Eiro quickly manipulated his perception to make sure that he couldn't perceive anything happening in that hut, and then quickly walked away.

"Yikes... That was harsh. But you did kinda overdo it." Bavet pointed out, whispering into Eiro's ear, but the Demon didn't say anything in response. Right now, he was upset as is. Obviously not because of the children, but rather because he did something he clearly shouldn't have done, or else the kids wouldn't have reacted that way.

"Eiro. Could we please talk?" The Demon quickly raised his head, seeing the head warrior of Baram walking toward him, and Eiro stepped up to him as well, "Sure. About what, exactly?"

"About what just happened. First of all, you didn't tell me that your kids had unique skills when you made that request to me. And second... how dare you do that to everyone? They will be your comrades, you have to fight for your life beside them, and now you do something that will put this in jeopardy?" He said with anger practically seeping throughout his whole body, while Eiro couldn't help himself but scoff, "So what, now that you know they have unique skills, you want to take your promise back? I already told you what I would do if any of you try anything, and that includes you all."

"We are the forces supporting the Hero. How dare-"

"So what? Hero or whatever, I don't care what that kid is. Not only the Hero can kill the Monster King. And do you want me to tell you something? Not two years ago I was barely strong enough to fight on-par with a one-armed c-rank adventurer. What do you think is going to happen in the next seven years? I'm an incomparable asset to you, and you know that. Even when the Hero awakens, how long will it take for him to grow to the power that he needs to kill the Monster King? One year? Three? Five? Ten, even? By that point, I'll have already killed the Monster King many times over."

The warrior stared into Eiro's eyes, "What is it that you're trying to say? That we need you more than you need us? Then why are you even here?"

Eiro rolled his eyes, simply annoyed. He wasn't in a good mood in the first place, "I'm here because everyone here is trying to kill the Monster King, same as me. But I'm going to tell you again. My children will not be your tools, alright? I showed it to you earlier. We don't need them."

The warrior let out a deep sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "I wasn't going to try and use them as tools either. A promise is a promise. I was just bothered by the fact that you clearly didn't try to tell me the importance of the situation at hand. And the fact that you did all that earlier doesn't help my mood either, you know?"

"Then what is it that you want?" Eiro asked, and the warrior sighed deeply, "You had informed us about alternative ideas of how we should handle the hero's education, and I had just received a letter from the King, telling me to gather more information and suggest a new education plan upon speaking to the people here. Seeing how you clearly managed to raise four individuals with unique situations incredibly well to turn them into such upstanding young people, I have an idea I want to run by you. Considering your behavior earlier, we will have to make some special adjustments, however."

Eiro slightly frowned, "Alright, tell me."

"Just... come to speak to me later, we will discuss it then. The child's father is soon to arrive, so we are going to talk about everything when he is there to give his opinion on the matter." The warrior explained to Eiro, who simply let out a deep sigh, "Fine. I'll find you later, just call out my name when you want me to come, and I'll be there within a few minutes."

---

Eiro was laying on the beach of this island, looking up into the sky.

"Yo, do we have to stay here? The sand is being annoying..." Bavet groaned into Eiro's ear, and the Demon simply rolled his eyes, "Just shut it, it's not that bad." He sighed, "I just want to relax a little bit, alright?"

"What for? Ain't your mind racing faster than a dragon right now anyway?"

"Actually, no, I'm meditating. Or at least I was trying to until you yelled into my ear." Eiro quickly replied, although soon, he could hear the crunching of sand underneath someone's feet as he was being approached.

Slowly, the Demon turned his head, and looked at the man standing next to him, "Biril. Is something the issue?"

"You tell me." He replied immediately, "What was that earlier?"

"You as well? I did what I felt to be the right thing." Eiro said, before slowly sitting up, "Is that all you wanted to ask?"

"...No, I just... What is it that you wanted to reveal to me? Is it something like what your children spoke about, that you have some form of unique skill?"

"I mean, I have something greater than just a unique skill, but that's not what I was going to talk to you about. I guess now is as good a time as any." The Demon replied, as he pulled out the ace of cups, using its liquid to create a barrier around himself and Biril so that they could be alone.

"When we first met, I mentioned that I'm not a human myself, right?" Eiro said, looking at the beastman, who slowly and nervously nodded his head, "Yeah. But then... what are you?"

"We'll get to that in a bit. But first, I need to ask you something. If I told you that I was someone, something, that you should naturally, according to all instincts, consider an enemy, what would you say?" Eiro asked, but Biril frowned confused, "If that's the case, is the person you acted like this whole time a lie?"

"No, of course not. I'm still exactly who I am, just with a few slight differences here and there. I'm not a threat to you. I love my children more than anything else in the world. I like strong liquor, but I hate that watered-down beer sold basically everywhere. And no matter what, my goal is to kill the Monster King, much more than you can even imagine." Eiro said. Biril slowly sat down next to the Demon, in thought.

"If that's the case, then... I guess it wouldn't change anything. The way you worded it, I should consider you an enemy, but it sounds like you're not. So? What is it then?"

Eiro smiled slightly, glad that Biril was telling the truth. He was powerful, extremely so. He would certainly be another great ally in the future, and if that was the case, Eiro wanted him to know the truth.

"Bavet." Eiro muttered, as the slime immediately reacted. Slowly, a mass of flesh started to form on Eiro's hand, as if it was bubbling up, and his skin became discolored. His hair grew shorter and stood on its end, until the different strands split into their separate colors and fused together.

Eiro stood up, and stepped in front of Biril, as he pulled his wings and tail out of his back, and split up his arms. Having revealed his true nature, the Demon looked at the beastman, whose whole body had frozen up.

"I'm a Monster, Biril."