Demon's Virtue

Eiro stepped into Solomon's study, following the king's lead. He turned around to the demon and the two of them locked eyes, "Alright, now tell me, what did you do?" He asked, and Eiro simply smiled in response.

"I did what I had to do. You heard him, you heard how blatantly insulting and disgusting he was. So, I just told him to be careful. Better than me attacking him and causing a war, is it not?" Eiro pointed out, and Solomon closed his eyes as he crossed his arms, "At least that part is true. But even then, Eiro, what is going on? You are revealing so much about yourself at the moment. What next, will you spread the word that Avalin is the Holy Priestess, and that you're an Imp?"

"Of course not. At least not anytime soon. In the future, maybe. But if I do, only after I killed the Monster King. I still have to think about things. I don't want Avalin to have to hide that part of herself forever." Eiro pointed out, as Solomon took a seat on one of the couches.

"That was meant as an extreme case, but I forgot that 'extreme' is your 'normal'. But even so, I'm glad you were able to calm yourself down. Even I was growing furious, I can't imagine what you felt."

"It was... unbearable. But with my experience suppressing the mark of the devil and the mark of wrath, I was able to still think in a rational manner." Eiro explained, "Listen, nothing else will happen tonight anyway. Those guys all retired for the night, so we can just enjoy ourselves and talk to each other. Some of the other candidates for the hero's companions seemed quite unique and interesting to me, so I would love the chance to talk to them. Introducing myself to some other kings will also be useful in the future. So let's relax for tonight, and just deal with everything tomorrow." Eiro suggested, and Solomon slowly nodded his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"I guess you're right. Sorry, I've been a bit... unwell lately. I've been having a migraine that makes it hard for me to sleep sometimes, so I'm somewhat on edge." Solomon explained, and Eiro immediately raised his brows as he stepped toward his friend, placing his hand onto his head without another word.

"What are you doing, Eiro?" The King asked after slightly flinching, but Eiro simply ignored his question, "Bavet, is it a residue of the seal?"

"Nope, at least I don't seem to notice anything."

"That's because it's not because of the seal... It's related to Lognir." Solomon explained, "He returned back to his nest to be with his mate and children. But since he's been gone, whenever we speak to one another, this... pain hits my mind. As if there is some sort of interference."

"...I think I know what you're talking about. Usually, powerful flows of magic influence the ability to communicate with your familiar. I would assume that with the physical distance between you to, that connection might be more susceptible to it." Eiro explained, and Solomon quietly sighed, "I see. I will ask Lognir to investigate things in his area that might be the issue. Thanks for the tip."

"Otherwise... are you sure it's not stress? You've been working non-stop lately. That certainly won't ease the pain."

"You do have a point. But there are so many things happening at the moment. I have to deal with the security issues at the academy, and since one of the prominent figures of my kingdom is a major pawn of the monster king, I have a responsibility to help fortify the border to the monster king's domain. Then the preparations for the tournament that is happening soon, trying to rid the slums of those drugs you told me about, as well as their replacements now that the source for that drug is simply gone, and also dealing with this king's meeting? Everything has been rather... bothersome lately." Solomon leaned back on the couch, and Eiro slowly sat down on the couch opposite to him.

"Don't worry, some of those things you won't have to deal with for too long anymore. Things will ease up in time. Once my evolution is finished, I will be staying in the area for a while and can probably help you deal with the drug issue. I can help you keep track of things for the meeting, and the tournament is over in a while as well. And as for the academy's security issues, once my evolution is over, I will have access to a few abilities that will be helpful in that regard. I am your friend, and with all that you have put up with thus far, I am in your debt a hundredfold, and I will repay that debt."

With a deep sigh that he let out despite the big smile that was forming on his face, Solomon shook his head, "I already told you, we're friends. There is no debt between friends."

---

With a loud clap, Eiro entered his son's room, "Wakey wakey, Rudy." He exclaimed, smiling broadly. Immediately, Rudy jumped up and stared at Eiro, before dropping back down onto his back and holding his head in pain, "Ahh, damn..." Rudy groaned. Eiro couldn't help himself but chuckle a bit as he placed a cup of water on Rudy's bedside table.

"I told you guys not to drink too much last night, but you didn't listen."

"Well, but I-" Rudy started, and Eiro raised his brows, "Oh, so you didn't lose a drinking contest against Armodeus?"

"I mean, I did, but... But what about Arc? He somehow drank way more than me!" Rudy pointed out, and at that exact tikme, Arc stepped into the room, "Hah. As if that little alcohol could do anything to me, lil' bro."

"Yeah, his skill is suppressing the pain of the hangover, but he already threw up a couple of times, so you're fine." Eiro pointed out, "Just both of you, stay away from Clementine for a few hours, that would be unfair to her."

"Right, right..." Rudy muttered as he slowly pushed himself out of the bed. Meanwhile, Eiro made his way back through the manor, before seeing James laying on the couch covering his eyes with a piece of cloth.

"Headache?"

"Shut it." James immediately replied, "Don't act like we're losers... you didn't even touch any booze yesterday."

Eiro laughed, "I had some wine, but I had to make sure that I looked good in front of the kings. If they saw me drinking with all of you guys, that would have been counterproductive. But we're meeting with the candidates at the guild today anyway, so I'll make it up to you then."

"...We're what?" James asked, slowly sitting up on the couch, and Eiro rolled his eyes as he sat down, as he was being handed his tea-set by one of the spiders.

"We were all talking about it last night. We're meeting with all the candidates chosen by the kings at the guild tonight. I already went there and reserved a whole section for us. Some of the guards that are off-duty are coming as well though, so try not to shit-talk any kings." Eiro explained, and James simply let out a deep groan, "Uurgh, another night of drinking? I don't know if I can do this, I'm not the youngest anymore, man... My back hurts, my whole body feels sore, and my jaw locked up last night while I was drinking at some point..."

"Oh, you want to talk about physical pain right now? To the guy whose body was changing from a fundamental level, to the point where his bones had turned into a completely different subtance and his muscles had turned as solid as metal for a week straight?" Eiro asked, and James slowly laid back down on the couch, "Just wake me up when it's time to go."

Eiro sighed with a light smile, "I'm going to be heading off to the royal castle for a few hours in the evening before we meet at the guild, so you'll have to head off alone. Jess will remind you later."

"Cool, cool..." James groaned loudly, as Eiro poured himself a cup of tea. At around the same time, Koperia stepped into the room, sitting down on the back of the couch.

"So, how was that party last night?" She asked, and Eiro shrugged, "It was alright. Some things could have gone better, but overall I think it was quite fun. Do you want some tea?"

"Well, I won't say 'no' to that."

"You should have been there last night. Solomon said it was fine if you came along."

"Hm, I don't see any appeal in mingling with the living. I will be gone from here soon anyway." Koperia explained, "Speaking of, I will adjust your jaws tonight again, but your soul is getting harder to manipulate. It's quite... massive."

"Massive? Don't you mean solid?"

"No, massive. You know of physical inertia, correct? You told me you quite experienced it with that island you moved. Just as with physical objects, the more massive something is, the harder it is to be moved. The same thing is happening with your soul. It has become much more massive over the past few weeks. Or at least, something comparable. The weight of the soul is quite minuscule, but for you, it is something... more noticeable. I assume it is because of your legendary skill, but I could be wrong.. Either way, it is how it is, so we need to be a bit more intense from now on."