Escort the boy home.

After about an hour of walking, you start to decline down the mountain. It's still a long ways until you're back at sea level, but you're really far from home now. You'll be in the Featherwood forest soon. That's what you ventured into with Vivi to find that herb way back before a certain crazy event at the beach. You've never entered from the opposite side, however. It's quite a large forest all things considered, so you've barely seen a fraction of it. Deeproot is larger, which is south of Castle Phoenix, which is also a place you've only been to a couple times. That's actually where you met Vivi to begin with. Sandwiched between two forests, you feel like maybe you should explore them more, though they're both present down the sides of the Eastern Pecho Peaks, and it's quite tedious to descend such a mountain range.

This is how you occupy your thoughts during the quiet walk through the woods. Hopefully it isn't too much farther, but you didn't have anything else planned anyway.

"So, uhm... are you a dryad?" mutters the boy.

"It's hard to hear you when you speak so quietly," Peony says. "But I am, yes."

"I've only heard stories."

You speak up. "Back where I live, we've got all sorts of wild people, with a dryad only being a single example." It isn't often you get to entertain a child. Whether it's some sort of repressed paternal instinct, or you just feel a lot more comfortable and mature as of late after everything that's happened, you find it kind of relaxing to wow him. "I assume you've seen catfolk, bunnyfolk, and elves, right?"

He nods.

"But what about... devils? Harpies too. Did you know there are little mouse-like people called squeakin? It's like squeak and kin. It's adorable."

"Woah! Is that true, miss?"

Peony giggles. "You don't trust m'lord?"

"You call him your lord. Does that mean he's a big deal?"

You hear noises ahead, and it's clear Peony does as well. There's rustling, and you can make out the sound of footfalls. Thankfully the trees aren't too dense here, so you actually see the group of men and women from a distance. They're armed with crude swords and bows and look to be searching for something--more likely someone.

The boy immediately runs forward and waves his wooden sword in the air. "Hey! Hey, it's me!"

You breath a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. They were looking for him already, so we don't have to go all the way there."

"Tedrick!" a man calls back. After hustling over, he takes a moment to catch his breath. This man has long brown hair tied back into a braid, and in his hand is a tightly gripped bow. His outfit is rather plain with a brown tunic and green shirt beneath. There's a genuine look of concern on his face. "Tedrick, what are you doing out here? And who are these folk? I--" He stares in awe at Peony. "That's a dryad," he whispers.

Peony, unsure of how to respond, poses cutely. "Correct."

"Praise the gods above. A dryad came to save my son. Truly, the forest has blessed us."

You wave. "And I'm here too," you say quietly.

Embracing his son, the man looks to you with a smile. "Thank you. Both of you. My boy came out here no doubt searching for the flower known as the fuchsita sunrise. It's a key ingredient in... No, I'm not here to bother you with problem of my own. You already saved the life of one of my children. Oh Tedrick. You don't even know what the flower looks like."

"Neither do you, dad! B-But I felt like if I went and looked, I'd just find it, you know? Then I could be known as a hero, and the other kids wouldn't push me around all the time. Also sister, I just want her to--"

"I know what it looks like," Peony chimes in with a hand in the air. "You need it for medicine, right?"

The man nods. "Yes. That's right. For my daughter."

After a moment of hesitation, she plucks the flower you gifted her earlier from her hair, and she steps closer to the man with it pinched between her fingers. "This is a fuchsita sunrise. Beneath the light of the moon, it'll turn a lovely shade of greenish blue. That's the state it needs to be in before being made into medicine."

His trembling hand reaches out to accept the gift. "Again, dryad. You bless me. Is this true?"

"Of course! I'm a dryad. You just said it. I know everything about plants and stuff."

"Yes, yes. Apologies. I'll bring it back immediately. Might I know your names? I have to know why you're out here, because I don't recognize you as residents of our village."

"My name is Peony. It was a name given to me by my loving husband."

How do I introduce myself? If they find out who I am, they might freak out completely, and it isn't like I love super far from where their village is located. Is this the first time I've really interacted with regular citizens since I've become a wanted man? They're so far away that they probably haven't even heard, or not enough to think about it. Damn. This is why I didn't want this title. I don't want to immediately be people's enemy.

"This is him right here, actually. He's the Demon King, Kyle Warren," she continues.

...!

The area is silent for an uncomfortable amount of time.

Finally, the man speaks up. "That's... impossible," he mutters.

"Wait, wait!" you interject. "Listen, it's just a name, you know? Clearly we're not evil people."

Those behind him stir and mutter amongst each other.

"That is true," says the man. "But still."

"I have an idea." Trying to appear more formal, you rest a palm on the pummel of your blade and hold your other hand to your chest. "Allow me to visit your village. Not this moment. I wouldn't put that on you, especially with your daughter sick. But I want to come and make peace with your people. I want to prove to them that this Demon King title is something not chosen by myself."

You look to Peony, and you're taken aback by her sobbing puppy-dog eyes.

"D-D-Did I mess up?" she whimpers.

With a hand on your temple, you shake your head. "No. It's fine. It doesn't help anyone to lie to people, and that's why I want to come speak with you. Prove that we're good. Otherwise, there's going to be this terrible uncomfortable feeling every day, right? Knowing that I'm here but knowing nothing else. We need to speak like adults."

Tedrick, the boy, nods quickly. "Yeah. Like adults, dad. And they saved my life. The beautiful lady didn't even do it by killing anything. She convinced a bear to leave me alone!"

Peony wipes her eye, finally calming down. "Aw. He called me beautiful."

The boy stiffens up. "D-Did I?"

After looking back to his allies, the man returns his eyes to you. He nods. "All right. You speak the truth. This shouldn't wait long, so if you want to honour those words, come visit our coastal village of Gobiidae. Head straight east of here, through the southern wing of Featherwood. But if you are simply manipulating us, please... do not hurt us. We're a simple folk without anything to take."

"We aren't going to hurt you! If that were the case, I'd have convinced the bear to eat your son instead," Peony says.

"Oh man is that not helping," you reply.

She turns to you, once again with teary eyes. "Really?" she asks softly.

"Come then, Tedrick," speaks the man. "We were able to recover both my son and the fuchsita sunrise, friends. It's been a good day after all. Let's get home before dinner time and celebrate with a bountiful feast."

As they depart, Peony looks to you with a smile.

Eventually, you watch them disappear once again. You're left alone with your lovely dryad companion.

"I'm, uhm... sorry I had to give your gift away," she says in a somber tone.

"Hey it's fine. You did it to save someone, and it was just a flower. I can get you plenty more."

"You'd do that?"

"Of course. But in the future, maybe don't open immediately with calling me the Demon King before we can discuss it first."

She bows politely. "Sorry, m'lord. It'll probably never happen again."

"... Why did you word it like that?"