"What the fuck are you even saying?" James asked quietly as he stretched his hand out toward the collar and slowly picked it up. With a bitter expression, he started rubbing his thumb over the gem placed into it.
"This really is Avalin's mana, isn't it?" He whispered, and then slowly raised his head to look at Eiro, "Listen, man, I... I don't know... what to think anymore." James pointed out, "My whole life I've been taught that monsters are a force of absolute evil, that they're darkness to the light that are the people of this world... That's why I became an adventurer. It let me get rid of that darkness. I wanted to become like the hero, who could protect others... But then, I was shown that I couldn't protect anyone, and I thought it was your fault. For years, I built up a grudge, especially against demons... I even bought that demon mask for when we're on trips in places where people don't already know me. I tried to become the darkness to get rid of it... And then..."
"You saw me again." Eiro finished for James, and the Light Elf slowly nodded his head.
"Exactly. You stood up to us for the people of that town, you basically befriended everyone there. And fuck, you even have a family that would put themselves in danger for your sake. It's what I always wanted, but now the demon I thought took my friends from me gets to be this happy? It felt... unfair. And now I'm even speaking to you like you're some regular person, what the fuck is with that?" With a completely jumbled mind, James stared down at the table and involuntarily formed a grin made of anguish and surprise.
It took a little while for him to get his thoughts back in order, and then he raised his head again, "Fine. I'll think about it. Just tell me, what can you offer me? Why should I form a party with you? Besides the fact you'll kill me afterward."
With a slight nod, Eiro pushed his hand forward and pulled out another card out of his treasury beside the three of swords that he already had out, the ace of cups. The two cards were laying there next to each other. "I have three cards. Ace of Cups, from Zaragon's shop. Three of Swords, from a mercenary, adventurer, or whatever, after I fled the capital. And then, the Five of Pentacles, from my teacher and the man I consider to be like my father. I have been given the blessing of the former queen of naiads, as well as the blessing of the lady of winter, together with a gift from the latter to allow me to make a contract with a daughter of winter in the future. I have equal-basis contracts with two spirits, and am carrying items exclusively made by the King of Craftsmen, Armodeus. And to top it off..." Eiro said, before pulling one more item out of his treasury. A glass bottle filled with a pure black liquid.
"This is the blood of a being that belongs to the exact same race as Zaragon. And before you ask, no, I didn't kill one of them. I killed the thing that killed it, but I was able to injure it. I'm positive I could have beat it if given the chance." The Demon stared at James, who was just looking back at him with complete confusion as he slowly grew nervous.
"Are... are you trying to threaten me?" James asked, and the Demon shook his head, "Of course not. I'm just trying to tell you one of the reasons why you should party up with me. I have power, I have contacts, and I have immense capabilities for growth. Something that I can give to you as well. So, James... Won't you come and kill Zaragon with me?"
James looked back at Eiro, and a few moments later, just started to laugh, "That... that's ridiculous. You want to kill Zaragon? For what, some dumbass revenge?"
"Yes." The Demon replied without a moment's hesitation, "At least in part. And is there something wrong with that? It's not something I pursue with every fiber of my being. It's not my reason for living. It's just something that I'd like to get over with, to prove to myself that I'm capable of killing that being that utterly traumatized me."
"I won't be able to help you, you know? That fucking piece of shit completely crippled me. He ripped my arm out, including most of my shoulder. My main role in my party with Jess and Krog is to be a scout. I haven't been in a proper fight for years now."
"I know. And I can change that." Eiro pointed out. He hadn't really been keeping it hidden, but he didn't really fully expose it until now either. But now, Eiro stretched his right hand forward to show it to James, "When we met back then, you were looking for Jura the prosthetist to make a replacement for your arm, right? Well, that man was my teacher. This hand was made by myself, and it basically works as a complete replacement for my actual hand. I will make a new arm for you, don't worry. It might take a while, but we'll have to make sure you get used to a prosthetic like that in the first place." The Demon said, and James' eyes slowly opened wide as he rapidly stood up and leaned forward.
"What?! You- You're that man's apprentice?! Are you kidding me?!" James asked, and Eiro slowly nodded his head. James actually seemed to be getting excited somehow, although that excitement soon turned into suspicion.
"Why are you telling me all of this? I literally haven't told you a thing, but you revealed all of this information to me... What do you want in return?" The Light elf questioned, and Eiro just stared back at him.
"I want you to become a person I can actually trust my back on so that I don't die before seeing my children off on their wedding days." Eiro said, and James stared back at him, "Huh...? W-Wedding..?"
"Yeah, that's something important for you guys, right? I've read many stories about people falling in love and living happily ever after. I saw how happy others were when they were with their spouse. Of course, it doesn't matter to me whether or not my children actually marry someone or not. It just seemed like a pretty nice goal to work toward. I just want them all to lead a happy life, even without me."
Even more than before, James was startled by Eiro's tone of voice. It wasn't the kind of thing you'd expect from a literal demon, after all. But in return, the next thing that Eiro said made up for that, "And don't get me wrong... If you should try to fuck me over here, I can literally kill you, stuff your whole body into this bag, and use the ace of cups to make sure nobody remembers that we ever met. And if I don't kill you right here and now, considering that I've memorized your scent, you won't be able to run away from me for the rest of your life."
"How can you switch from something so kind, to something so completely fucked up?" James asked with a sigh and slight laugh, "Fine. Let's see how it works out for now. Jess and Krog told me you wanted to meet in a training room here tomorrow at noon? I trust that you'll be punctual."
"Of course I will be." Eiro said with a light smile underneath his mask, and then stood up after placing all of his items back into his satchel or treasury. He picked up the slime that had turned itself into the shape of a cloth-wrapped staff and placed it onto his back, before waving his hand to the side and dispelling the spell he placed around him and James.
And then, before leaving, Eiro pushed his hand into the small pouch hanging on his belt and pulled out a bundle of large copper coins, "The drinks are on me tonight." The demon said and placed the bundle on the table before making his way toward the door after telling Lugo to follow him.
Once they were outside again, Eiro climbed onto the stag's back and rode him back to the castle, while the demon's contracted Naiad was staring deep into his soul. Eiro couldn't just ask about it right here, because there were too many people, but once he stepped through the castle's gate, he finally looked at Nelli. And with an annoyed tone, he asked "Is something on my mask?"
"Hm? Oh, not at all, I'm just trying to figure out what the fuck's going on..." The Naiad pointed out, "I mean, it doesn't happen every day that you just suddenly end up being a good guy to someone that tried to kill you presumably multiple times. Or well, that you end up being a good guy. Period."
"Ouch." Eiro replied with a deep sigh, "Listen, you heard me back there. I can't explain it, it's just how it is. What, you expect me to be cold and calculating all the time? You should know that there's more than enough occasions where I'm not that. I'm not just a murder-machine"
"You literally slaughtered half the inhabitants of a town a couple of weeks ago, what do you mean?"
"And you know exactly that I didn't do that on purpose... I didn't exactly have myself under control then. You've been with me for nearly eight years, you know exactly what I'm like. Just... Don't think that I wouldn't kill him if I needed to. I somehow would just prefer if I didn't have to."
But then, Nelli floated up in front of Eiro's face and stared deeply into his eyes, despite not actually seeing them because of the mask the demon was wearing, "There's still a big difference between 'preferring not to kill somebody', and 'trying to befriend somebody'. I mean, as long as you're sure that it's because you really, legitimately want to turn them into people you can trust, then it's fine with me, really."
With a slow nod, Eiro looked back at the Spirit, "Don't worry, that's all there is to it. They're going to be useful, and they don't seem like the kind to betray others easily. And I feel like especially James is going to be a fun guy to have around." The Demon said. It was actually genuinely how he felt. Nothing that he told James before was a lie. Eiro felt things he didn't understand that made him want to befriend James. He didn't hate or despise him somehow, and there was a weird sense of trust already there.
But all that was pushed away by the fact that something else was in the center of Eiro's thoughts right now. That was because there was one lie in what he said just now.
'That's all there is to it'... There was far, far more to why Eiro was trying to get closer to humans besides the children. Because there was something he really had to figure out. And the more he thought about it, the more he started gripping the cloth of his cloak in front of the center of his chest.
