486 Reunion
"Eiro... are you sure that's what you really want?" Solomon asked with a worried expression on his face, and the Demon in question slowly raised his head to look at his friend. He had calmed down a little bit after his rant just now.
"I... don't know... Yes? No? Maybe? My mind is just racing right now. There are still so many things that I don't know about, to the point where I'm absolutely not sure what the right choice would be going forward. I see myself just... splitting in two. 'Eiro, The World, Sage, Monster King, and Hero', or 'Eiro Jura Daemonherz, teacher at the Academy and baron of Skyhart'. I don't know which one I should be anymore..." Eiro explained, looking down at the ground, when he suddenly heard another voice echo through the room.
"How pathetic." He sighed, and Eiro raised his head, looking at the Dragon of Truth standing in front of him. It seemed like Solomon just let him in through the balcony as well.
"I know I'm acting pathetic, don't worry..."
"How could I not worry, you child? I don't exactly know what happened to you, but I do know that this is not the man I am proud to call a friend. The first friend I have made outside of this royal family in centuries." Lognir explained in a strict tone, his voice echoing through Eiro's ears, "Now stand up, and look at me. And you, slime, leave him be for a few moments."
Bavet slowly split off of Eiro, turning into a humanoid form instead as he started to lean up against the wall. The Demon pushed himself off the ground and looked at the Dragon in front of him, as the two of them locked eyes.
"Who are you?" Lognir asked, and Eiro slowly averted his gaze, "I don't know anymore..."
"I'm not asking about who you were, or who you're going to be. I'm asking about who you are right this very moment." The Dragon said with a glare, and Eiro quietly sighed.
"I'm... a Demon. A parent, a teacher, an adventurer, a noble... I'm a lot of things, I guess."
"You're on the right track, but it's not what I wanted to hear. Eiro, you are simply you. Your race does not matter. You would be you even if you were a goblin, a kobold, or even a human or elf. You will always be a parent, that is something that cannot, and never will, change. And the rest? Those are occupations. They're temporary, but you can basically stop them and pick them up whenever you want. You will only grow in wisdom over the years. Even if you don't teach for hundreds of years, you will still be a great teacher. There's little to no need for you to be an adventurer in the first place, since you're only doing that for your end goal. Once that is achieved, you don't need that title anymore. And a noble? Hah, who needs those anyway? In a few hundred years, they'll be obsolete." The Dragon explained to Eiro, looking him deep into his eyes, "You know that I'm speaking the truth. Right now, you may be all of those things, sure, but are you actually defined by them? The man I know you to be is loving, as he cherishes his family above all else. The man I know is brave and strong, striving for greater heights. And the man I know will never budge to fickle concepts like obligations or rules. You are you. You always were, and you always will be. Even if you become the Monster King, the Hero, or just a simple teacher. You will be you, and you will always return to what you were meant to be. And you are the only one who can choose what that is."
Eiro listened to Lognir's words, slowly letting his head drop as he stared back at the ground. Lognir was right. Even if he ended up doing everything he had planned... There was nothing stopping him from being what he really wanted to do afterward. There was no way he would completely lose himself, even if he became such a being that never existed before. Even if he became a being that was incomprehensible... Eiro was going to make sure he would never cease being who he was right now. Even if he had to set up a plan to force himself to, Eiro would never give up the chance to see his children grow up. He shouldn't throw away his happiness like that. Eiro looked at the being in front of him with a smile on his face, "Thank you... That... really helped."
"Of course. But now, I do have a slight question that I am hoping either of you may be able to answer." Lognir pointed out, "What is that huge lump of earth floating right above the castle, which could very well destroy not only this country but the whole continent if it were to freely drop down onto us from that height?"
---
"Alright, we're here. Welcome to the city I stole." Eiro said with a wry smile, watching as Lognir turned back into a humanoid form to walk beside Solomon. Both of them were still trying to figure out how exactly Eiro moved a literal whole island here to this place, but since Eiro would try to explain that to them later on anyway, they just let it go for now.
"So, just come with me. We're meeting the others in the castle in the center of the city. It was the only place that was in an actually decent state. Also... if you see monster corpses, don't worry about them for now, I'll take care of them sometime later." The Demon explained to the two of them, as he started walking straight through the town.
"Right..." Solomon muttered, looking around at this ruined city with a deep, worried frown, "You know, I was here once, maybe ten or so years ago. It was a beautiful city, truly. But now... it turned into this? What do you even want to do with this place? What use does it have?"
"It's greatest use is that we have it now, and they don't." Eiro said bluntly, "Listen, this city has plenty of uses. It has a huge magic stone at its center, and this island was clearly created by some kind of magical genius centuries ago. The sheer knowledge this place has to offer to the kingdom is invaluable, and then on top of that, the tactical advantage? Solomon, even a regular island can be easily turned into an impenetrable fortress, but a flying island that's completely self-sufficient? It's just perfect. It's an asset that the kingdom should definitely make use of." The Demon suggested to the king in front of him, who slowly closed his eyes for a moment of thought.
"Fine, I guess you do have a point. And it's not like we're on particularly good terms with the Holy Empire... and even a tenth of our army could obliterate all of theirs, and that's not even including our 'special assets'. They won't even dream of attacking us, and no other country will try to join them in some kind of alliance, since we're on far better terms with all the countries on the continent than the empire... and since we're completely in the right according to that international law you spoke about... I guess there would only be moral issues. But I personally don't feel too many qualms about taking from that horrendous country either... Did you know that they alone own more than half the slaves on the continent, although their whole population makes up barely a quarter of the continent's people?" Solomon muttered, as if trying to somehow convince himself that this was actually a good idea. Because even he had to admit that he was jealous of what this floating island could offer sometimes in the past.
"Mhm, I knew." Eiro replied, as the group soon reached the center of town, speeding things up by Eiro flying and Solomon just being carried by Lognir over to the castle.
Once they stood in front of the castle's main gate, Eiro turned toward Solomon and locked eyes with him, "So, in there is someone that I would like you to meet with for a moment, alright? You are the only one who can truly tell if it is the truth or not, and I don't want Lognir to say anything to sway your thoughts in this regard either, alright?" The Demon told Solomon, who looked back at him with a deep frown, "What do you mean? Did you take someone prisoner?"
"...Not prisoner, no. We freed some people that had been taken captive here on the island. Most of them are in here, although we did let those leave that wanted to go." Eiro explained, before taking another deep breath. He opened the path into the castle, and soon, Solomon stepped into the castle's entrance hall.
And there, on the other side of the room, stood a young woman. Due to the light flooding in through the door, it was hard for Solomon to recognize her immediately, but as he took some steps forward to get closer to her, his heart rate sped up tremendously. Lognir seemed to have already recognized her.
"How sadistic, not preparing him for this a bit earlier." The Dragon said, watching the man who he formed a contract with embrace his younger sister while crying tears of relief.
"I... don't know... Yes? No? Maybe? My mind is just racing right now. There are still so many things that I don't know about, to the point where I'm absolutely not sure what the right choice would be going forward. I see myself just... splitting in two. 'Eiro, The World, Sage, Monster King, and Hero', or 'Eiro Jura Daemonherz, teacher at the Academy and baron of Skyhart'. I don't know which one I should be anymore..." Eiro explained, looking down at the ground, when he suddenly heard another voice echo through the room.
"How pathetic." He sighed, and Eiro raised his head, looking at the Dragon of Truth standing in front of him. It seemed like Solomon just let him in through the balcony as well.
"I know I'm acting pathetic, don't worry..."
"How could I not worry, you child? I don't exactly know what happened to you, but I do know that this is not the man I am proud to call a friend. The first friend I have made outside of this royal family in centuries." Lognir explained in a strict tone, his voice echoing through Eiro's ears, "Now stand up, and look at me. And you, slime, leave him be for a few moments."
Bavet slowly split off of Eiro, turning into a humanoid form instead as he started to lean up against the wall. The Demon pushed himself off the ground and looked at the Dragon in front of him, as the two of them locked eyes.
"Who are you?" Lognir asked, and Eiro slowly averted his gaze, "I don't know anymore..."
"I'm not asking about who you were, or who you're going to be. I'm asking about who you are right this very moment." The Dragon said with a glare, and Eiro quietly sighed.
"I'm... a Demon. A parent, a teacher, an adventurer, a noble... I'm a lot of things, I guess."
"You're on the right track, but it's not what I wanted to hear. Eiro, you are simply you. Your race does not matter. You would be you even if you were a goblin, a kobold, or even a human or elf. You will always be a parent, that is something that cannot, and never will, change. And the rest? Those are occupations. They're temporary, but you can basically stop them and pick them up whenever you want. You will only grow in wisdom over the years. Even if you don't teach for hundreds of years, you will still be a great teacher. There's little to no need for you to be an adventurer in the first place, since you're only doing that for your end goal. Once that is achieved, you don't need that title anymore. And a noble? Hah, who needs those anyway? In a few hundred years, they'll be obsolete." The Dragon explained to Eiro, looking him deep into his eyes, "You know that I'm speaking the truth. Right now, you may be all of those things, sure, but are you actually defined by them? The man I know you to be is loving, as he cherishes his family above all else. The man I know is brave and strong, striving for greater heights. And the man I know will never budge to fickle concepts like obligations or rules. You are you. You always were, and you always will be. Even if you become the Monster King, the Hero, or just a simple teacher. You will be you, and you will always return to what you were meant to be. And you are the only one who can choose what that is."
Eiro listened to Lognir's words, slowly letting his head drop as he stared back at the ground. Lognir was right. Even if he ended up doing everything he had planned... There was nothing stopping him from being what he really wanted to do afterward. There was no way he would completely lose himself, even if he became such a being that never existed before. Even if he became a being that was incomprehensible... Eiro was going to make sure he would never cease being who he was right now. Even if he had to set up a plan to force himself to, Eiro would never give up the chance to see his children grow up. He shouldn't throw away his happiness like that. Eiro looked at the being in front of him with a smile on his face, "Thank you... That... really helped."
"Of course. But now, I do have a slight question that I am hoping either of you may be able to answer." Lognir pointed out, "What is that huge lump of earth floating right above the castle, which could very well destroy not only this country but the whole continent if it were to freely drop down onto us from that height?"
---
"Alright, we're here. Welcome to the city I stole." Eiro said with a wry smile, watching as Lognir turned back into a humanoid form to walk beside Solomon. Both of them were still trying to figure out how exactly Eiro moved a literal whole island here to this place, but since Eiro would try to explain that to them later on anyway, they just let it go for now.
"So, just come with me. We're meeting the others in the castle in the center of the city. It was the only place that was in an actually decent state. Also... if you see monster corpses, don't worry about them for now, I'll take care of them sometime later." The Demon explained to the two of them, as he started walking straight through the town.
"Right..." Solomon muttered, looking around at this ruined city with a deep, worried frown, "You know, I was here once, maybe ten or so years ago. It was a beautiful city, truly. But now... it turned into this? What do you even want to do with this place? What use does it have?"
"It's greatest use is that we have it now, and they don't." Eiro said bluntly, "Listen, this city has plenty of uses. It has a huge magic stone at its center, and this island was clearly created by some kind of magical genius centuries ago. The sheer knowledge this place has to offer to the kingdom is invaluable, and then on top of that, the tactical advantage? Solomon, even a regular island can be easily turned into an impenetrable fortress, but a flying island that's completely self-sufficient? It's just perfect. It's an asset that the kingdom should definitely make use of." The Demon suggested to the king in front of him, who slowly closed his eyes for a moment of thought.
"Fine, I guess you do have a point. And it's not like we're on particularly good terms with the Holy Empire... and even a tenth of our army could obliterate all of theirs, and that's not even including our 'special assets'. They won't even dream of attacking us, and no other country will try to join them in some kind of alliance, since we're on far better terms with all the countries on the continent than the empire... and since we're completely in the right according to that international law you spoke about... I guess there would only be moral issues. But I personally don't feel too many qualms about taking from that horrendous country either... Did you know that they alone own more than half the slaves on the continent, although their whole population makes up barely a quarter of the continent's people?" Solomon muttered, as if trying to somehow convince himself that this was actually a good idea. Because even he had to admit that he was jealous of what this floating island could offer sometimes in the past.
"Mhm, I knew." Eiro replied, as the group soon reached the center of town, speeding things up by Eiro flying and Solomon just being carried by Lognir over to the castle.
Once they stood in front of the castle's main gate, Eiro turned toward Solomon and locked eyes with him, "So, in there is someone that I would like you to meet with for a moment, alright? You are the only one who can truly tell if it is the truth or not, and I don't want Lognir to say anything to sway your thoughts in this regard either, alright?" The Demon told Solomon, who looked back at him with a deep frown, "What do you mean? Did you take someone prisoner?"
"...Not prisoner, no. We freed some people that had been taken captive here on the island. Most of them are in here, although we did let those leave that wanted to go." Eiro explained, before taking another deep breath. He opened the path into the castle, and soon, Solomon stepped into the castle's entrance hall.
And there, on the other side of the room, stood a young woman. Due to the light flooding in through the door, it was hard for Solomon to recognize her immediately, but as he took some steps forward to get closer to her, his heart rate sped up tremendously. Lognir seemed to have already recognized her.
"How sadistic, not preparing him for this a bit earlier." The Dragon said, watching the man who he formed a contract with embrace his younger sister while crying tears of relief.
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