Demon's Virtue

666  The Leaders' Responsibilities

Eiro snapped his finger and pulled some water magic out of his spirit gateway, using it to clean his hands. He looked down at Rashi, who was still in the process of recovering from the damage that Eiro had done to her. As soon as her jaw properly popped back into place, she looked up at him, trying to get up as her torn-off leg fused back onto the stump that was currently left in its place, "I... What do you want from me?"

The Demon raised a brow, "What I want from you? To pull your own weight. I allowed you and the other trolls to live in this city because I believed that you were capable of reforming and becoming capable of living alongside others peacefully. But all that you've done so far is do your best to annoy the shit out of me."

"We never asked for this..!" Rashi replied in a growling voice, and Eiro scoffed, "You literally threw yourself at me the moment you realized I'm stronger than you. You quite literally asked to join me."

Slowly, Rashi pushed herself off the ground, and soon stood in front of Eiro again, her arm still placing itself back into its socket, "But you turned us into... this... thing. We're not even monsters anymore!"

Eiro looked back at Rashi, and locked eyes with her, "You're still a monster, you are. I'm just giving you a chance to decide who you want to be yourself, instead of being controlled by something forced on us by those disgusting gods who forcefully split the souls of this world into opposing camps."

"But-"

"The life you lived until now was wild. You got to do whatever you wanted. I get that it's hard to change from one to another. I do, I made that same change. But if you want to keep living in this place, then you'll have to do it," Eiro pointed out, "And if you're not willing to, then we'll have to find another solution."

Shivers ran over Rashi's back, something that she wasn't even aware she was capable of feeling. She saw Eiro's deep stare, and the pressure that he kept applying to Kitsue was starting to affect her as well. Rashi had never felt a fear like this, because she never saw anyone else as a true threat, but Eiro... he could kill her in an instant if he really wanted to. That was something that he showed off plenty just now. And clearly, he wouldn't hesitate to do so either.

Rashi slowly walked over toward Kitsue, and pulled the shivering Kitbold onto her knees. Eiro slowly let go of the pressure that he was exerting over her, and before long, both Rashi and Kitsue were bowing in front of the Demon, "Then what do you want us to do?" Rashi asked, and Eiro split his mouth back into two, so that he could talk to Rashi and Kitsue at the same time.

"First, you two will properly learn how you're supposed to act from Gobo and Boju. I don't care if you're sloppy, or lazy, as long as you pull through with your responsibilities. I want you both to take proper care and responsibility for your communities," Eiro explained, making sure to explain the specifics of what they had to do as well as he could. First, he knelt down and looked at Kitsue. She was mentally quite affected, and if Eiro didn't turn this around, then she would just end up being terrified of him every time they saw each other.

He placed his hand onto her shoulder, "Kitsue, you're born to lead the kobolds. Despite not being the same as them, you led their pack skillfully, to the point where you were able to nearly take over back when this city was just a small goblin village in the ravine. You should be proud of what you were able to accomplish with them. But just because they're living their lives without directly depending on you every day, doesn't mean that they don't still need you. Go out and talk to them, find out how their lives have gotten better in this city. Ask them about their needs and wants, and figure out ways to make them happen. I know you can do that."

The kitbold slowly raised her head and looked up at Eiro. He was trying to encourage her as best as he could. Kitsue slowly nodded, "I... I'll try my best... Gobo... offered to go with me before, I'll..."

"Take it slow. You don't have to rise up to your position instantly, that's not what I'm expecting. Slowly grow to the point where you can naturally feel like you can take care of your people as they need to be taken care of in this city. As long as you're aware of your position until then, everything's fine," the Demon said, placing his hand on top of Kitsue's head, before he turned toward Rashi.

"And as for you, with you we need to start from the bottom. The trolls aren't pulling their own weight in this city," Eiro pointed out, and Rashi frowned as she looked back at him, "What do you mean? We helped with the construction!"

"And that's great. Plenty of Trolls are still doing so, but out of all the communities of monsters that came together in this city, the Trolls are the least involved. It's mostly as though they're not taking this situation seriously. I asked them to clean up the area they live in, so that none of the other monsters get sick from all that dirt, and they might as well have laughed in my face," he explained, and Rashi slightly flinched, "You didn't-"

"No, of course I didn't. I didn't even touch them. Sorry, but your position is very different compared to theirs, and I put you to a different standard than them as well. But listen, the trolls also do that. They see you as much more important than anyone else in this city. As far as they're concerned, you're in charge more than I am. So do what you need to to make them listen."

Rashi slowly nodded, but glared down at the ground, "I will make sure they listen to you next time."

Eiro rubbed the bridge of his nose, "That's not what I'm getting at here. Sure, I want them to respect and listen to me, but that's hopefully going to come as a side-effect once they start becoming a true part of this city. I want you to take charge, and lead by example. If you laze around all day, they'll laze around all day. If you're dirty and rude, they'll be lazy and rude."

The Demon could tell that Rashi didn't know what it was she was exactly supposed to do, so Eiro sighed, "I spoke to some of the Trolls earlier. And two of the things that would make them happy right now are goat meat and alcohol. I'll find some goats in the area to bring here, and I'll talk to Gobo about having some sort of brewery set up, and of course ship some alcohol here to bridge the time that the brewery can't produce any alcohol itself yet. But that's where it stops for me. The trolls asked for the goats and alcohol, and you're going to make sure that's where they get involved. Raising, caring, and butchering the goats. Transporting ingredients and the final alcohol, and of course the brewery process. Those areasa, alright?"

Slowly, Rashi nodded, "Goats, and alcohol... okay. But... they don't know anything about any of that... So how could they..?"

"We'll teach them. The trolls aren't stupid, they can learn things just as anyone else can. We're going to find monsters in this city that have some talent in animal husbandry or brewery, and we'll teach them the basics. And from there, you figure out the rest. If you need any help with something none of the leaders can figure out, contact me through the servants scattered about. That's what they're for. And then we can find a solution together," Eiro explained, "You don't have to do all of this alone, but you do have to pull your own weight. Both of you two, alright?"

The demon stood back up and smiled down at them, "Now go get some rest, that was probably rather exhausting for both of you."

Kitsue and Rashi got up and nodded at Eiro, before turning around and heading back into the building. Once they were inside, the Demon approached Gobo, who had been silent for a while now, "Ask the harpies if they've spotted anyone who's good with animals. And ask around in the hunting parties too, if there's anyone who understands the beasts' behaviour especially well, so we can find candidates that are good with animal husbandry."

"Right... of course, my lord," Gobo replied quietly, and Eiro looked back at him, "What's the issue?"

Slightly flinching out of nervosity, Gobo shook his head, "Nothing is the issue... I just... hadn't seen that side of you in a while, my lord. It made me remember what things were like back when you first found us in the ravine."

"...It hasn't even been that long yet, now that I think about it."

"Might as well have been a lifetime," the Hobgoblin replied, before slightly bowing to Eiro. It seemed like even Gobo's fear and respect for Eiro was strengthened through this whole thing. Gobo quickly turned around so that he co uld get to work. And then, Eiro was approached by Partax, who was rather quiet, something that Eiro wasn't quite used to.

"What?" the Demon asked, and Partax just quietly replied, "When you told me your true origin, I assumed that you were simply a person in the body of a monster. But after seeing that..." the halfling said, looking at the blood-splattered grass, and the spot where Kitsue had huddled, pressing the grass down flat from her weight, "...well, I guess you can say I'm a bit more unsure now."