Chapter 867: Eight or Ten Divine Artifacts
"I already told you not to abuse the royal emblem, Kazuma! Are you completely ignoring my words?! Ah, of course, Mr. Eiji, feel free to use it as you wish, but please don't use the emblem to do anything that would damage the royal family's reputation..."
Darkness roared at Kazuma like an angry lioness, but when speaking to Eiji, her tone instantly became respectful and polite.
"The favoritism is way too obvious!"
Not just Kazuma, even Megumin found this situation strange.
The way they looked at Darkness became increasingly suspicious.
"Ahaha, why hasn't Aqua returned yet? The food's getting cold..."
Hearing this, Darkness's expression stiffened, and she quickly changed the subject.
Seeing that she clearly didn't want to talk about it, Kazuma and Megumin exchanged glances and could only sigh helplessly.
As night fell, the temperature gradually dropped. The chill in the air seeped into their skin, giving them goosebumps.
Megumin and Darkness headed to the bath first.
"I'm back!"
Just as only Eiji and Kazuma remained in the living room, a dust-covered figure burst in excitedly.
"Aqua?"
Kazuma asked uncertainly.
"It's me!"
The dust-covered girl nodded enthusiastically.
Covered in mud from head to toe, her blue hair stained with dirt, she looked like she had just crawled out of a swamp. There was no telling what she had been doing!
"You came back at just the right time."
Seeing her, Eiji seemed to remember something. He reached behind his back and pulled out an object.
It was a light purple feathered robe, clearly designed for women, made from material that looked incredibly comfortable.
"My feathered robe!"
Aqua froze for a moment, then suddenly screamed.
She rushed over abruptly, hugging the robe while crying and sniffling, muttering things like "You've suffered so much" and other incomprehensible phrases.
"How did my feathered robe end up with you?"
"I found it in a trash pile while I was infiltrating the Demon King's Castle."
Eiji said with a completely serious expression.
"A trash pile?! Unforgivable, Demon King!"
Aqua immediately flew into a rage, shouting about making the Demon King pay as she rushed toward the front door. Fortunately, Kazuma managed to stop her, preventing her from throwing her life away for nothing.
"That's strange, why are there several footprints on my feathered robe?"
"...It must be because it tripped someone, and that person got so angry they stomped on it a few times before throwing it in the trash!"
Eiji couldn't help but admire his own quick thinking!
"That makes sense. If I find out who stepped on my precious feathered robe, I won't let them get away with it!"
Aqua gritted her teeth until they creaked, her features twisting like a villain's.
"Aqua, what's that you're holding wrapped in cloth?"
Kazuma didn't care about the feathered robe at all, even though he had indirectly given it away. He just looked curiously at the bundle in Aqua's arms.
Earlier, the boss said he would only join Aqua's religion if she brought eight or ten divine artifacts. Could that bundle be full of divine artifacts?
Kazuma suddenly became excited, his eyes glowing green with greed!
"They're divine artifacts!"
Aqua declared proudly.
"You sneaky Aqua, hiding things from me! I'm really angry about this - quickly give me five or three divine artifacts to make up for it!"
Kazuma immediately jumped up and rushed to snatch the package from Aqua's arms.
"I refuse! Kazuma, you never show me any respect at all! You're always calling me an idiot and saying I'm useless! I absolutely won't give you the divine artifact!"
Aqua pulled the package tightly against her, refusing to let Kazuma take it no matter what.
"...Could it really be a divine artifact?"
Seeing how preciously she was treating it, even Eiji began to feel uncertain.
"Of course it's a divine artifact! Get lost, Kazuma!"
Aqua kicked Kazuma away, then placed the package on the ground.
"...What are these?"
As Aqua opened the package, Eiji asked expressionlessly.
"Look at this!"
Aqua held up a stone with a serious expression.
"Don't underestimate it! This stone can actually summon Magical Creatures, completely ignoring power differences! It can even summon the Archduke of Hell!"
"...But to me, it just looks like an ordinary roadside stone. And doesn't this edge look like it just broke off?"
"Don't worry about such details!"
Aqua waved her hand dismissively, casually brushing past something important.
"And this! This is the cursed blade Muramasa! Injuries from this blade cannot be healed, and it can absorb the target's stamina and magic power through wounds to replenish its user!"
"But to me, it just looks like a mud knife."
Eiji said coldly, giving it a light tap.
The mud knife snapped with a crack, dirtying the floor in the process.
"...Actually, this is just the divine artifact concealing its true nature! Once it recognizes you as its master, it will immediately reveal its true form before you!"
After a moment of silence, Aqua spoke with a serious expression.
"And this, this is the Body Swap Necklace! Don't be fooled by its chain-like appearance - it only looks like this because it hasn't recognized you as its master yet! Once it does, it will transform into a necklace!"
"Enough—"
"Let me finish! Look at this egg!"
Aqua interrupted Eiji and held up a white egg.
"Actually, this is a dragon egg!"
"...It looks exactly like a chicken egg to me!"
"This must be a dragon egg! The door-to-door salesman this afternoon told me so! I spent 100 million to buy it, originally planning to raise it myself. But since I don't have any more divine artifacts on hand, I'll practically give it to you at a discount! Charging you 500 million is absolutely reasonable!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Loud laughter erupted.
Kazuma was rolling on the floor laughing - these were all fake divine artifacts!
"Wait a minute! You spent 100 million? Aqua, where did you get that money?"
"Why are you shouting? I used your money. Trust me, the dragon egg is definitely worth it!"
"Damn you, Aqua!!"
Kazuma wailed miserably.
The reward money for defeating the mobile fortress Destroyer had been completely wasted on this nonsense!
Eiji took a deep breath.
"Aqua, look at this!"
"Th-this is the cursed blade Muramasa... isn't it?"
Aqua suddenly became nervous.
What Eiji pulled out was a blood-red katana that he had copied from a reincarnator in the royal capital.
"And this!"
Eiji pulled out a sapphire-embedded necklace from his pants pocket.
"The B-Body Swap Necklace! Why is it in your hands too?"
Aqua exclaimed in shock.
"Do you have anything else to say?"
Eiji looked at her expressionlessly.
"Huh? Th-this... Divine artifacts are all made by gods, it's perfectly normal to have a few replicas..."
Aqua scratched her cheek, guiltily averting her gaze with an expression that suggested tonight's weather was quite pleasant.
This was a lie.
Divine artifacts always existed as unique items - there were never any replicas.
"Now look at this!"
Eiji slowly raised his hand.
"...What is it?"
"It's a fist!"
"Thwack!!!"
Eiji delivered a solid punch right to Aqua's skull.
Without even time to roll her eyes back, Aqua collapsed to the ground, a massive bump swelling on her head!