Demon's Virtue

Eiro looked down at Marius, who was currently bowing in front of him. Maybe he should have made this clear earlier, so he couldn't blame the humans for thinking this. He let out a slight sigh, and shook his head, "I'm not your king. Stand up."

Taken aback, Marius looked up at the Demon, "A-Are you... are you abandoning us? I-I know we have yet to engage with the people of your kingdom, but-"

"No, that's not what I mean at all. I'm just saying I'm not a king," Eiro interrupted Marius, "Yes, I'm the Lord of this town, but what I'm trying to do is not to found my own country. I'm trying to allow monsters to break free from their limitations to live alongside people."

The villagers started muttering amongst each other, confused. It seemed like they weren't sure exactly what Eiro meant. He figured he should try and explain it to them. All the monsters in the town knew this already as well, so he should try to educate these humans as well, "Monsters and people each have differing systems.

One of those systems is blessed by the gods, and they bestowed some protections upon people. However, those protections came at a cost. And that cost is a curse that was given to monsters; the curse of 'Monstrosity'."

As Eiro explained, he used air magic to ensure that his voice was properly carried along to every single villager. He spoke clearly, trying to make sure everyone truly understood what he was saying, "Monstrosity is a corrupting force. It manipulates monsters into an unnatural violence. Every monster, without exception, suffers from this curse."

The humans grew anxious as Eiro explained the situation, and Marius went almost deathly pale. Clearly, despite going so far as to accept Eiro as a 'king', they were all still truly terrified of him. And he couldn't really blame them either, "However, I have learned to control and suppress this force. And with that method, I have developed a way to permanently weaken the curse.

Not to mention, I have come by a way to truly and forever rid monsters of this force."

Eiro held his hand to the side, grabbing a card from his treasury. He carefully pulled it out, and it turned into an ornate, golden key between his fingers, "This is an artifact that can open even the souls of living beings. Using this, I will try and find a way to forever rid monsters of the curse.

They will no longer have that unnatural drive to violence, and can start living alongside you as any person would."

"Th-That..." Marius muttered quietly, looking at the demon unsure what to think, "I apologise for being so blunt, but... do monsters truly have the capability to live alongside people..?"

Eiro laughed slightly, "Don't worry, while it may be blunt, you do have a point. Many monsters lack the level of intelligence that many people have, but are much more intelligent than simple beasts. It is a hard balance to see what part of society a monster may take up. Soldier, or mason. Scholar, or livestock.

Many of them are currently uncivilized and lack education, but is that reason enough to abandon them? Compared to the nobility in the capital, some may call into question your own capability to live alongside them if you were to take those threads of thought."

The humans silently stared at Eiro. They weren't happy with that comparison, but they would never be able to tell that to the demon directly. They valued their lives, after all.

"...So, your majesty-"

"I told you, I'm not a king. At most, call me 'Lord' like the others do or something," Eiro sighed loudly. He really didn't want to be called a king. That was troublesome.

"I... I see. Then, my lord, do you... do you truly think that we could live alongside monsters?"

Eiro rubbed the bridge of his nose, "That's exactly what I told you all before coming here, right? I'm sorry, but if any of you choose to leave now, you will not get the benefits that you could have if you chose to leave earlier."

Marius immediately and rapidly shook his head, "No! That is not it, I just... we all are scared. We see monsters flying through the skies, staring at us from above. And at night, we can hear the loud screams and yells of the monsters in that town, and..."

Eiro understood what they were worried about. Obviously he did. He didn't expect them all to bravely live alongside the monsters right off the bat, but this was something that Eiro had warned them about. This wasn't going to be easy, but everyone here chose to come of their own accord.

"I give you my word, by the honour of the Lady of Winter, that I will protect you all. None of you shall even receive a scrape from the monsters living in this city," Eiro assured them, placing his hand onto his chest, "Of course, that requires you all to not be hostile toward them either. You must try to live alongside one another. But I promise that you all have nothing to be scared of.

You are under my full protection."

"... Even if we don't get killed by the monsters in that town, what about the Devil? You said that he held control over our village, but now that we are gone... what if he chooses to take revenge on us? Will you be able to protect us then?" Marius seemed to grow a bit in confidence as he spoke, something Eiro was quite glad about.

But from the way he was speaking, it was clear that this was something that Marius had practiced. The villagers must have worked together to come up with things to ask Eiro; things they were all worried about. And of course, they most likely worked together to ensure that Marius could speak in a formal manner. Eiro doubted that Marius came up with the idea of calling him 'king' completely on his own.

But well, that being the case, Eiro didn't feel the need to necessarily play along with that. The more casual he spoke, the easier it might be for these people to stop fearing him so much, "Oh, him? No, he's dead."

"H-Huh?"

"Yeah, he was fully incinerated through holy flames," Eiro explained, "The Devil no longer exists. And I have sealed away the major arcana's card that corresponded to that title as well; the Devil has died, and will never be reborn. This town is under the protection of the man that has slain multiple Royal monsters. You have nothing to worry aobut, whether from here, or out there."

Immediately, the silence of the villagers disappeared without a trace. They were muttering and whispering to each other in deep confusion. It had only been a few days since they were brought here, and the devil was already dead? It couldn't have been so simple, could it?

Marius stared at Eiro, trying to stop himself from avoiding the demon's gaze, "Your... My lord, what is your goal? Why did you create this place? For fun, as an experiment... to raise an army?"

Eiro scoffed, shaking his head with a smile, "What? No, why would that be my reasoning? I've created this place for a simple reason. To allow this world to leave its current era. I will forever erase the concepts of 'Hero' and 'Monster King', free all monsters of their curse, and allow this world to run its course without the meddling of those that are looking down at us from above."

The eyes of the humans' representatives slightyl widened. What Eiro was saying... it seemed ridiculous. It seemed impossible. But nonetheless, Marius wanted to believe in his words. Once more, he dropped down onto his knees, bowing deeply in front of Eiro.

Slowly, the other villagers did the same, properly bowing their heads to Eiro. He wasn't sure exactly what eaxctly they were trying to do with that. Simply show subservience, or maybe something beyond that. Something more akin to a display of faith.

It wasn't a great feeling, but Eiro didn't particularly care enough to stop them. If it made things easier for the time being, he didn't mind letting them show a bit of faith.

"Marius, stand up," Eiro started, and he quickly did as told. His heart was beating fast, and Eiro slowly turned around, "Follow me. It's time to properly introduce you to the others leading this town."