As the demon spoke, it pinched a few beans from the plate between them and tossed them to the pigeons on the ground nearby, which looked expectant. Vesta City lay in the forested region of the Central Old Continent, where winter temperatures were nowhere near as low as along the coast. Most birds here did not fly to distant places for the winter:
"Do you know the relationship between a pigeon keeper and pigeons?"
Shade watched the pigeons peck at the beans without the slightest sense of danger:
"If you mean the literal relationship, then I think I do."
"Pigeons are a pigeon keeper's eyes, a pigeon keeper's ears, and sometimes can even be seen as the pigeon keeper's incarnation. The pigeons themselves may not realize that at all."
The demon asked Shade:
"The answer you want is probably this. Bennett is one of the pigeons that thing has raised and bred generation after generation in the forest."
"So you're just telling me so directly?"
"You wanted an answer, so I gave you one. If you're worried about the one outside the city, perhaps you haven't noticed that this town is safer than the forest beyond it. The Enlightenment Elements formed by a human settlement are more than enough to keep that tree, which is still unwilling to reveal itself, at bay. Otherwise, it would not need to raise pigeons generation after generation.
"Besides, tonight's celebration is truly lively."
Shade was actually worried about the pigeons' safety—those that had eaten the beans tossed by the demon. He lightly tapped the wooden table with a bent finger, then shifted his gaze from the pigeons to the bustling crowd around the bonfire:
"I originally thought it was omnipotent. Listening to you, it doesn't seem all that impressive."
The demon followed his gaze