Lugo trotted through the busy roads of the capital city. Eiro sat on his back, trying to make sure nobody could see that something was off with him.
Though, maybe that was just some kind of anxiety; logically, Eiro knew that he had the level of control over his body that it was near impossible for others to see even the slightest difference, at least as long as he didn't try to make any major movements.
If he were to suddenly get into a highly complex fist-fight with someone like Kassandra, then maybe that was going to be different, but especially just sitting on Lugo's back it would be impossible for others to see.
Well, maybe the masters would be able to tell, but that was something that Eiro could discuss with them later; he was quite curious to know exactly how his behaviour looked from the perspective of someone without the 'Ultimate Perception' bestowed upon him by the Five of Pentacles.
And, one of those masters was slowly coming into sight in front of him. Orion of Dagger Mastery; the middle aged man was swiftly moving through the crowd as if he was jogging through an empty road. Of course, Eiro was also moving similarly, though not through swiftness or because Lugo was trying to avoid people. It was the other way around.
The crowd was starting to mutter and talk, and Eiro was making an active effort to release just the right amount of an aura that these people could perceive so that they would pay attention to him and Lugo. The moment they'd notice them, they would step aside, letting Lugo move forward without having to slow down in the slightest.
Eiro took a deep breath, infusing the air in his lungs with magic, as he started to speak with as much of that magical air as he could. The vibrations of his vocal cords and the further shaping through the shaping of his mouth and lips was carried into that magical air, and Eiro pushed that through the crowd.
The wind carried a message from Eiro right to Orion, who heard what he had said and glanced behind him.
Seeing a man he didn't know seated on top of the massive stag's back was certainly surprising to him, especially considering that this man's voice sounded familiar. Orion stopped walking for a moment and locked eyes with Eiro.
And right then, a deep shiver came over the demon's back; a wave of malice and bloodlust flowed out from Orion's stare.
Despite his fairly innocuous appearance, as he looked barely different from any other middle aged, slowly graying man you may see out and about in this city if you didn't look too closely at the deeply defined muscles on his arms, just the slightest intent of malice made Orion seem utterly terrifying from Eiro's point of view.
"I guess you really have learned a thing or two from Shimour..." Orion replied, but Eiro slowly shook his head with a laugh.
"Sadly not quite. This is the Ace of Cups. I'm not nearly skilled enough to make this kind of thing happen without the potion's assistance, but I'm trying to figure out ways to make it happen," Eiro explained, as Orion curiously looked him up and down.
"Right, so... why do you look like that? Is that the aftermath of your 'Evolution'? That slime friend of yours mentioned that you initiated it."
Eiro scoffed and shook his head, "No, definitely not. Evolutions at this point take months, and they're quite impressive. And, frankly, I don't believe I will end up looking like a simple man. From the changes to my body, I will most likely look less like one.
Currently, Bavet, my 'slime friend' is fused into my body and helps my transformation," the Demon quickly explained the situation to Orion, who curiously listened with his hands behind his back.
"I see, I see. Well, why did you want to talk to me? Do you need help finding one of the others?"
"Well, sort of. I would love your help finding Shimour, but I know some ways to just have him find me. I just want to talk to all of you about this city and your intentions here; I promised the King that I would make sure none of you cause trouble."
Orion let out a slight laugh that he was hiding behind his fist, "Cause trouble? We are not children, Eiro."
"...When Partax arrived, he violently and loudly invaded the academy to find me during work. Which, in itself is excusable, but I assume that someone like you must have heard of the incident at the academy last year."
The master's heart skipped a beat as he awkwardly looked to the side, "I see what you mean, then... In that case, the ones you may most need to worry about would be Meshi and Kassandra. Meshi has no sense of private property and may find himself in places he doesn't belong, while Kassandra can get quite... aggressive. Shimour should be fine on his own, however."
"Yeah... I figured. Frankly, I'm more worried about Kassandra right now. I'm already tracking Meshi's mana, so I'll find him in time, but Kassandra can cause trouble. And she hates me, so having one of you with me would make me feel a little safer."
"I see. In that case, let us go. I already know where she should be."