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.
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."