Currently, Eiro and Lognir were walking through the Capital toward the centermost part of the City. It seemed like he never really had the chance to walk through here like this before, just taking the surrounding area in and eating random food from stalls.
But Eiro was a pretty good guide, considering that he knew literally every square inch of this place already. The Demon was able to suggest food that he figured Lognir would like, and even ate some more stuff himself, practicing his combination with Bavet. If they were able to realistically keep it up in such situations, they were most likely going to be fine. They already knew that combat was going to be fine as well.
Either way, what Tom said really was correct... Sure, in the past people would sometimes steal a glance in his direction, but now it was a whole other deal. People were really focused on Eiro and Lognir. Lognir because of how disgustingly handsome he was, and Eiro because of his new, rather unique features.
He could hear a bit of gossip about them already as well, although there was obviously nothing too major. Luckily, it seemed like all their current targets were currently gathered in the exact same spot. The Academy. It would be Eiro's second time setting foot in there, the first time being that time when Solomon helped Eiro out by escorting him to the library.
Eiro wanted to see his children and discuss a few things with James, who was currently there for a rather special request made by Solomon himself, and Lognir was of course there in order to meet up with that King himself.
At some point, since they were still rather far away from the Academy's gates, Lognir and Eiro both practically made themselves disappear without anyone noticing and simply rushed toward the Gates using their extraordinary physiques.
Eiro and Lognir soon reached the large metal gates, that were surprisingly currently open. A few other areas were locked off with the help of things like Earth Magic to create a direct path, but for the most part it seemed like the area was mostly open for everyone that wanted to enter.
As far as Eiro could remember, the place that all these random people were heading to was the 'Showcase' area of the school, where they literally showcased students and 'products' from different sections of the school.
"Interesting. I think I know what's going on here." The Demon pointed out. It seemed like Solomon wanted to show the people of the Capital City that despite the incident before, the Academy was still prosperous.
"Let's go there, then." Eiro suggested, "From the noises I can hear, it seems like everyone's in the same place right now..." The Demon added.
"What place is it?" Lognir asked while stuffing the leftovers of a meat-skewer into his face, and Eiro just swiftly replied, "The combat arena, it seems."
And just like that, the two of them quickly reached the place in question. With just a quick flash of the brooch he was given by Solomon, Eiro and Lognir were allowed into the private viewing-room of the nobility, where the stuck-up parents would watch their stuck-up children win in show-fights.
Eiro and Lognir quickly stepped inside, and the moment they did, everyone in the room stared at them. They tried to whisper amongst each other about how dirty and poor they seemed, especially Lognir at that due to the fact that he was just running around with his shirt barely covering his torso and completely without shoes, but even Eiro was trying to hide his armor for now. It was pretty valuable after all, and he didn't want its secrets to be revealed too quickly.
"Excuse me, could it be that you have reached the wrong place? The viewing-area for commoners is elsewhere." A butler to what seemed to be a random noble approached Eiro and Lognir, although the Demon just shook his head, "I guess we are in the wrong place, yeah"
And with that, although the Butler was just about to show Eiro and Lognir out of the viewing-room, the Demon went for a straight-line for the special area that was reserved for Solomon, Charles, and surprisingly the queen, who Eiro had seen now for the first time ever. Or rather, he had seen body-doubles of her before, but to Eiro it was obvious that they were fake. This one seemed to be the real deal, though.
Eiro swiftly stepped up to there, and the nobles became noisy. So noisy that Solomon quickly turned around. But of course, in his current form, the disguise of 'Eiro the Adventurer', the Demon was no longer recognizable to Solomon. And Lognir was a bit hidden behind the crowd that was trying to stop the two from approaching the King, so he wasn't able to see him either.
With an emotionless gaze, Solomon locked eyes with Eiro, while the Demon simply smirked. He whispered something that he only wanted Solomon to hear. Manipulating the air between the two men, he made sure that this really happened.
And so, with a deep sigh, Solomon stood up from his chair and walked up to the entrance to his private area, "Please, let him through. And whatever companion he brought. That man is my dear friend." The King explained, and as if he had just spoken a spell, everyone in the room froze up.
There were only two people that didn't. Eiro, who slowly stepped toward his 'dear friend', and Lognir, who let out a loud laugh.
"Hahaha! Who would have though that this little brat would-"
Immediately, Eiro snapped his finger and sent a concentrated shockwave of air at Lognir's face. He was about to say something insulting that even Solomon would have trouble explaining. It would be easier if he just stayed silent, "Oh Lognir, please. I'm grown up now, I'm no longer a 'brat'. But please, act respectfully in front of his Majesty." The Demon said in a respectful tone with a calming voice that flowed into the ears of everyone present like honey.
Lognir of course understood what Eiro was trying to do, and quickly approached him before greeting Solomon properly together with Eiro, and then they were brought into the private area. It was temporarily closed off with a red curtain protecting this area using sound-nullifying magic.
Solomon rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Eiro, why do you look like- No, wait, let me first ask why YOU are here, Lognir. Didn't you say you still had to take care of your children."
"Of course. And I am soon going to return to my children and my mate. I simply wished to see you, make sure you are alright." Lognir explained, and quickly approached the other two that were sitting on the chairs that were now behind Solomon. He rubbed his hand through Charles' hair and smirked at him, before turning toward the Queen, "It is a pleasure to meet you again."
"Likewise, Lognir." The Queen said in a soothing voice, and Solomon sighed, "Fine. I'll talk to him later then. For now... Did you-"
"Yes, I did. I remember everything, and gained plenty of new abilities that will improve my overall power considerably. I'm prepared to win the competition this summer, don't worry." Eiro pointed out, and Solomon sighed in relief.
"I'm glad that is the case. But well, you probably already figured out what is going on here, roughly at least, so I would like to ask you a favor before we miss the chance... Did you think about that proposal I gave you before you left?"
"Of course I did. And it would be an honor to take up that position, Solomon." Eiro said bluntly, simply because it was true. He would gladly do this particular thing, for multiple reasons of course, "But I will do so the way I look right now, rather than in my normal form. I would like to spread the image of this 'persona' around."
"Then that is fine. I'll explain what I want you to do right here then real quick. It is part of the favor, to an extent." The King told Eiro. He seemed rather happy that he was able to have things work out like this, since he would have liked this in the first place.
After the explanation, Eiro looked out the window in front of him with a broad smile on his face, looking at the people sitting in the rows around the arena, seeing all of his children sitting together, beside the two that were ready to perform within this arena now.
"Sounds perfect." The Demon said bluntly, and quickly turned around, "I assume I'll meet James-"
"Down there, yes. I personally requested your party to help out with the preparation for this event, and James is the only one that seemed capable of truly teaching others, so... That is why."
Eiro rolled his eyes, thinking back onto what Jess and Krog were doing while their friend was busy working, "Right. Then I guess I'll take over. You'll do the announcement, I assume?"
"Of course, just leave it to me and play along." Solomon suggested with a light smile on his face. Without hesitation, Eiro left and made his way back out of the nobles' viewing area, before then going to the place where the participants were gathered.
There, he already saw the two children that would be participating in this event beside himself, as he now established together with Solomon. He smiled at them softly, although they were just weirded out due to the fact that a random guy smiled at two children he didn't know.
Although Arc seemed to be a bit suspicious, at least.
And so, soon enough, the event started and Solomon began his introductory speech. Once Eiro's prompt came up, the Demon swiftly stepped through the open gate in front of him and entered the inner part of the Arena. There, James was already standing at the sidelines to make sure nothing would go wrong, confused to see this random guy with rainbow hair enter the arena.
"Before we start showing off our students to all of you, there is someone else that I would like to introduce you to, however. This young man here is what you would call a prodigy! Magic, Combat, even the arts! He has mastered them all in his own way! Of course, those are not just empty words... This will all be demonstrated to you in due time, do not worry! This young man will be taking over as a new, albeit temporary, teacher for the upcoming semester! Adventurer, and close friend and benefactor of mine, Eiro!"
Eiro stood there during the introduction, and soon bathed in the gossip of the people in the arena that he expected to hear just about now. Well, they would be silent out of awe in just a few moments anyway, so it mattered quite little to the Demon.
