mtlumby2d Chapter 572 - 572
Chapter 572 - 572
The next morning."Thank you so much for your tremendous assistance to the kingdom this time, Mr. Nangou!"
The king personally received Eiji during court and publicly expressed his gratitude in front of everyone.
Yamada and the others cast envious and resentful glances his way.
The events of the previous night had been relayed to the king and his ministers by Iris.
Upon hearing that a Grand Duke of Hell had personally appeared, many were so terrified they collapsed on the spot.
To put it bluntly, Eiji had saved nearly everyone present, effectively rescuing the entire nation!
Though it had to be said that this enemy was also one Eiji had brought along in the first place.
"Name your reward—anything you desire!"
The king laughed heartily.
Then he sidled up to Eiji and whispered conspiratorially.
"Truth be told, our kingdom's finances aren't in the best shape. Do me a favor and ask for something other than money, will you?"
For a monarch to humble himself like this spoke volumes about the Belzerg Kingdom's dire financial straits.
"No problem!"
Eiji agreed readily without much thought.
After all, money would be useless to him—it couldn't be used in other worlds anyway.
In the end, Eiji chose the right to freely enter and exit the royal palace, along with permission to select one treasure from the palace's Treasure Vault.
"Thank you for understanding."
The king sighed in relief, handing him a royal token before having an attendant escort him to the Treasure Vault.
"Oh, one more thing," the king added with a fierce glare. "Just because you've done me this favor doesn't mean you can steal Iris away from me! I won't hand her over to you!"
This was clearly the impotent rage of a father seeing his precious daughter being snatched away.
Eiji rolled his eyes. Why would I want to take Iris?
Everyone knows I'm not a lolicon!
Guided by the attendant, Eiji made his way toward the palace's Treasure Vault.
"Well, if it isn't the streaking Claire?"
Along the way, he spotted a girl in a white suit and greeted her with a grin.
The white-suited girl froze mid-step, her face turning ashen as she clenched her fists.
"What. Do. You. Want?!"
"Uh, nothing really. Just passing by. Carry on."
Seeing her teeth grinding audibly and the dark aura of impending breakdown swirling around her, Eiji decided not to provoke her further.
On reflection, she was quite pitiable. She'd done nothing wrong, yet had been captured by the shapeshifter and locked in a dark room, only to be found this morning—only to learn that her most private secrets, down to the mole on her chest and her... lack of hair, had been exposed to the world. The poor girl was probably contemplating suicide.
A moment of silence for her.
Inside the Treasure Vault.
Eiji activated his treasure-sensing skill, wandering among the collection of magical artifacts.
To his disappointment, not a single divine relic responded to his senses.
"Due to the war against the demon race, all divine relics in the royal collection have already been distributed. Whenever a compatible wielder is found, they're immediately assigned to the knight order," the attendant explained.
Ah, that explained it.
No wonder there wasn't a single divine relic left here.
The nobles in the city treated divine artifacts as their private property, unwilling to give them away even when suitable wielders were found. But the royal family was different—they bore the responsibility for the kingdom's survival and would unleash every ounce of power they had.
To be fair, Eiji admired the king. If it were him, he might not have been so generous.
"What's this?"
Eiji suddenly noticed a small booklet.
Thinking it might be a comic, he picked it up with interest, only for his lips to twitch violently upon reading the title.
"The Lewd Book of Goddess Eris."
Eiji was utterly speechless.
Who would have thought that the king, who looked like such a tough, gorilla-like man, would keep something like this in the Treasure Vault!
With those thick eyebrows and honest face, who knew he was this kind of person?
If Goddess Eris herself saw this, what a hilarious scene that would be!
Eiji suddenly recalled Chris from last night.
Knowing so many secrets of the Demon Lords—that was undoubtedly Goddess Eris's alternate identity, as even the little princess had confirmed.
"I'll take this!"
Eiji pointed at the little book and claimed it.
Heh heh heh.
Chris, I really want to see your face when you see this book!
"Are... are you sure you want this?"
The attendant was stunned.
What kind of person was this?!
With so many treasures right in front of him, anyone else would be overwhelmed with choices—yet this guy picks a lewd book? Did he have no shame at all?
"Absolutely. The rest are useless."
Eiji waved his hand dismissively.
In terms of Treasure Vault collections, the Demon King's Castle was far richer. The royal family often had to take treasures out for use, but the Demon King's Castle's vault had been built centuries ago by the Yasaka ancestors specifically for their descendants—mostly accumulating, rarely depleting.
What a pervert!
The attendant muttered inwardly.
"By the way, where's Iris?"
"Her Highness is in her room."
With that answer, Eiji headed to the highest floor of the castle.
Unlike usual, neither Claire nor Rein were there. In this vast, luxurious room, only Iris remained.
"Big Brother Eiji, you're here?"
Iris beamed with joy upon seeing him.
"Even now, you still call me 'Big Brother Eiji'?"
Eiji closed the door, making sure no one was eavesdropping.
To an outsider, his actions would seem suspicious, immediately raising alarms.
But Iris didn't mind at all. She simply watched with a smile as he shut the door and sat across from her.
"Why wouldn't I call you that?"
Iris tilted her head.
"You know, don't you? My identity."
Eiji said.
That's right.
Iris must know.
After all, the Yasaka ancestor had roared so loudly that unless someone was asleep, they should all know who he was by now.
"Is that all?"
Iris, however, looked completely unfazed.
"I was surprised at first, of course. I never imagined Big Brother Eiji was the legendary new Demon King who conquered the entire Demon King's Castle to claim the throne. But after knowing, that's all there was to it."
"I trust what my eyes have seen. They don't lie to me—and they tell me Big Brother Eiji isn't a bad person. So no matter what identity you have, I don't care."
"I can't believe you trust me so much!"
Eiji was astonished by her words.
Any normal person who discovered the true identity of the Demon King would surely feel fear and instinctively distance themselves. Not to mention, Iris was royalty who had fought against the Demon Lord Army for years—she should have harbored an even deeper hatred for the Demon King.
He had thought their relationship was over, yet this child's trust in him had reached such profound depths.