I realized now that I haven’t talked yet about the many classes I’ve had with Chirene. After all, in her own words:

“You’re still a boy that knows nothing of the world, so I’d like you to take some time to listen to me instead of only reading the books that Master left behind.”

Funnily enough, these classes I had with her were nothing like what boys usually imagine when you’re talking about class with a high succubus.

“First of all, let me ask you, what do you know about Tyrants and Heroes?”

“Only what I was told in fairy tales and as a way to scare me into behaving: The last Tyrant to die was an elf named Teldarion, who was finally defeated by a party of more than ten heroes. Since he hated dirtiness or so is said, sometimes if I didn’t clean up when my parents asked me to, they said that Teldarion’s spirit might come to take me away.”

“Well, that’s something, but nowhere near enough what’s necessary to know. Specifically about Teldarion… He was a neat and beauty freak. During the many years that he reigned, many towns, villages and cities were completely destroyed because he deemed them ugly. Slaves were constantly being executed for the most ridiculous reasons, such as not completely wiping the dust of a gigantic hall in less than a day.”

“Really? You speak as if you knew him.”

She trembled a little.

“I did, I was one of the many consorts that he took against their will. Although my status as a high succubus protected my life, he did not hesitate to do a bit of “rough play” whenever I displeased him. If possible I’d rather not talk about him anymore.”

“I see, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, as unpleasant as it is, it’s all in the past.”

She had an expression that said she really hoped that it damn well better remain in the past.

“Tell me more about Tyrants in general then.”

“Very well. Tyrants are people who after a certain point in their life, start to exhibit a few things: Great power, be it magical, physical or both. An uncanny luck in terms of being granted posts of confidence or the trust of people that have political power. A penchant for unnecessary and unusual cruelty. Eventually, they amass great power and influence, causing huge calamities and tragedies around the world. They are pretty much unnatural existences.”

“Wait, if we know that much, then why do they keep appearing?”

“You see… There is no rule as to what kind of person becomes a Tyrant. Of the hundred or so that have been recorded so far, members of every single different race have become a Tyrant. Although a bigger number of them are humans, Succubae or incubi, most believe that the case of humans is that they are the most populous race and as for the later, these two are already very powerful races in their own respect. Still, we never know when the next Tyrant might be a minotaur, or an orc, or an elf like the last one.”

“But they’re always influential people, right?”

“Not necessarily, many Tyrants are said to have been adventurers, whose power came mostly from the powerful items they obtained in dungeons. Some were of humble origin, though some others were born in noble families. No Tyrant was ever recognized as such before their Reign started. Still others were never called such by the people they led, even after having been slain.”

“I see, and the people that kill them are Heroes.”

“Specifically, people become Heroes after having slain a Tyrant, though there were many cases in history where the people who killed a Tyrant were called Heroes before their success, there were many others who failed while being called heroes and still others who obtained the title only after the end of their quest.”

“Huh, but to kill the Tyrant wouldn’t they have to be abnormally powerful?”

“That’s where the funny part is, a huge amount of heroes weren’t all that much stronger than say, an adventurer, knight or wizard of renown. However, they always exhibited incredible force of will at the most complicated and dangerous of situations. For example, one Hero might miss all three arrows aimed at a target if there is nothing on the line. However, if missing any one of six arrows might mean the death of a comrade, the odds were much more in their favor.”

“Huh, somehow that feels so… Irresponsible.”

“Perhaps, but it does seem to work. Most Heroes simply seemed to have a sort of reversed fortune. The simplest things might go wrong, but if they needed ten different ridiculously rare things to happen at the same time to defeat the Tyrant… Then those ten things would happen. Although, it must be said that the stories of most Heroes were only chronicled after they succeeded, so there might be some embellishment.”

“And usually what happens to a Hero after they’ve defeated the Tyrant? Wait, are there ever two Tyrants at the same time?”

Chirene hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“It… Varies. They very rarely return to any sort of normal life. Many get involved in politics, wishing for it or not, and few ever manage to translate Tyrant-slaying skills into positive political action. As for your second question, I believe this next explanation should suffice: There have been cases where two people who would go on to become Tyrants lived at the same time, though they never reigned at the same time. The best example would be the Dark Hero: One man who years after having slain a Tyrant, became a Tyrant himself.”

“Huh, they seem like interesting stories.”

“Perhaps one day I will share them with you.”

“Oh, that would be nice. I have one more question.”

“Yes?”

“How do you know so much about this, like, about how there has been roughly a hundred Tyrants and their stories? You can’t possibly be that…”

She glared daggers at me then.

“Of course I’m not that old. Surely, as you read those books from another world, you know about the necessity of preserving knowledge. I have read many books in my life.”

“I guess…”

“It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that our world’s history has been in many respects frozen due to the existence of Tyrants. Countries rarely survive the reign of a Tyrant intact, regardless of falling under their rule or not. Even if it’s a Hero’s sword that cuts the Tyrant, it’s the people that keeps his armies at bay. And the cost of keeping a Tyrant's army at bay is paid in blood and tears.”

“That’s harsh.”

“Yes, the harsh truth.”