Eiji was staring at a black mask that covered the entire face.
The surface of the mask was smooth and polished, its lines sharp and cold, exuding an intimidating aura that made it seem quite extraordinary.
"That's a Deterrence Mask."
Airi suppressed the turmoil in her heart and stepped up to the display case.
"It's a magical tool used to psychologically intimidate opponents. Wearing it gives off a strong sense of intimidation, which works well on timid people and monsters. But if you encounter an especially arrogant opponent, it might backfire, so it's practically useless."
Ah, so it was just for show.
"I'll take this."
Eiji opened the display case and took out the Deterrence Mask.
"As you wish."
Airi didn't quite understand why he'd taken a liking to such a trivial item, but she obediently let him have it.
As expected of the Demon King's Castle, which had accumulated treasures over countless years, the vault was filled with all sorts of remarkable items. According to Airi, rare magical potions and tools that were nearly impossible to find elsewhere were commonplace here.
Eiji wasn't very familiar with this world's systems, so he only picked out two or three items that suited his needs.
"Hmm? What's this?"
Suddenly, Eiji's gaze sharpened, his eyes lighting up with interest.
Under Airis puzzled stare, he walked over to another display case and eagerly opened it.
"Wow, what a blast from the past. Isn't this Dragon Ball?"
Excited, he pulled out a stack of comic books from the case.
Though the pages had yellowed with age, the characters and dialogue were still clearly visible. As soon as he opened it, he saw a man with a bizarre hairstyle wearing an orange martial arts uniform, flying around on a magic cloud while holding a kid.
To be precise, it was Dragon Ball Z, the most popular arc.
"So you can understand these books?"
Airi spoke up, unsurprised.
"These are treasures passed down by our ancestors, but none of the descendants could make sense of them. I've looked through them before—they seem exciting, but not being able to read the words made it hard to enjoy… What kind of story is this, anyway?"
"It's rare for a girl to like Dragon Ball."
Eiji flipped through the pages rapidly while summarizing the story for her.
"Frieza is so evil! What's a 'planet' supposed to mean?"
"Wow! Gohan is that cool? Then why does he become so weak later?"
"Isn't Majin Buu way too strong? How are they supposed to beat him?"
Though the witch prattled on incessantly, Eiji didn't find her annoying at all. Instead, he patiently answered her questions, lamenting with her over Gohan's decline and marveling at Vegito's overwhelming power.
Immersed in this rare experience of rediscovering the past, Eiji even became more agreeable.
"Ah, I almost forgot the main task!"
Eiji suddenly snapped out of it.
This manga was truly terrifying—he'd lost track of time while engrossed in it!
"What happens next? What happens next?"
Airi asked eagerly, her face full of excitement.
"We'll talk about it next time. It's almost lunch."
Eiji rubbed his stomach—he'd been feeling hungry for a while now.
"Oh…"
Airi didn't bother hiding her disappointment.
"You really like this manga that much?"
Eiji looked at her with a hint of curiosity.
Dragon Ball was the youth of a generation. Back in the day, he too had fantasized about becoming a Super Saiyan to save the world and such. But these kinds of hot-blooded comics were basically designed for males—it was genuinely rare for a female to like Dragon Ball.
"After all, there wasn't much entertainment in the Demon King's Castle. When I was little, I spent every day learning magic. Reading these things called 'comics' was my only pastime."
Airi set down the yellowed comic book, her face filled with nostalgia.
"Though I could barely understand it back then."
Ah, so that's how it was.
Come to think of it, the surrounding display cases were covered in dust, but this one looked spotless. Clearly, someone had been cleaning it regularly.
"Let's take this out."
Eiji reached out and bundled the forty-plus volumes of comics into a stack.
"Take it out?"
Airi suddenly tensed up.
Was this guy planning to snatch these comics too?
"I'll continue telling you the story later."
Eiji slung the bundled comics over his shoulder and chuckled lightly at her reaction.
"I'd love to revisit it myself!"
Wh-what was this?
His smile had suddenly become dazzling!
She'd thought he was an utterly unreasonable guy, but this unexpected moment of tenderness made her heart skip a beat.
"O-oh, um, thanks..."
Airi's cheeks flushed slightly as she reflexively thanked him.
Damn it!
She snapped back to reality.
Wasn't I supposed to be using my charms on him? How did I end up falling for his instead?!
Damn it, as expected of a super hunk—his charm was no joke!
This infuriating bastard couldn't possibly have such a gentle side. She must've been so mesmerized by his face that she hallucinated it!
"There's even a sword-shaped magic tool here?"
Eiji scanned the surroundings again, his gaze settling on a counter.
A radiant knight's sword was carelessly placed on a wooden countertop, the area around it completely dust-free.
It looked like an incredibly powerful blade.
Eiji walked over.
"Um..."
Airi hesitated for a moment.
Her face flickered with conflict before she gritted her teeth and suddenly rushed toward Eiji's back.
With a loud "Duang," Airi, who had collided with his back, felt her head spin.
"What are you doing?"
Eiji turned around, utterly baffled.
"I was trying to—"
Airi's voice caught in her throat as she spoke.
Following her gaze, Eiji saw that he had extended a hand and grabbed the head of a monster.
The monster's lower half still resembled the counter, but the divine sword it had mimicked earlier had vanished, replaced by a vicious-looking head that was now snapping at him.
It was a type of highly unusual creature known as a mimic.
Specializing in lurking in dungeons and treasure vaults, it would disguise itself as valuables to catch adventurers off guard before delivering a fatal blow.
"I was trying to warn you about the monster..."
Airi swallowed hard and forced a smile.
Eiji glanced at the mimic and smirked.
No need to guess—this was undoubtedly the old Demon King's handiwork.
Under the pretense of presenting treasures, they had actually arranged for a mimic monster to ambush him here, intending to exploit his carelessness for a fatal strike.
"Quite interesting. I look forward to what comes next."
With a single karate chop, Eiji struck out.
The monster's head instantly split apart, falling to the ground and staining the Treasure Vault's floor crimson.
After delivering his indifferent remark, he walked out through the Treasure Vault's gates.
Airi's lips trembled slightly as the sight of bright red blood filled her vision. Though she wanted to say something, in the end, no words came out.