That evening, Eiji and Airi Yasaka checked into the reincarnators' guildhall.
Since most reincarnators were currently away from the royal capital, the entire building felt eerily empty.
"How long do you plan to stay here?" Airi asked Eiji after finishing her bath.
"It depends," Eiji replied after so thought. "I'll spend the next few days exploring the capital. Hard to say exactly how long I'll stay."
The royal capital held an unusual concentration of divine artifacts. In just one day, he'd already encountered three—two of which were swords. The golden holy sword wielded by Princess Iris had particularly impressed him with its power. He intended to search the capital thoroughly for more such artifacts.
"I see." Without another word, Airi turned and left.
Watching her retreating figure, Eiji stroked his chin thoughtfully but remained silent before returning to his own room.
Late into the night, Eiji quickly fell asleep—only to be roused by strange moaning sounds.
"Next door? Isn't that the witch's room?" Pressing his ear against the wall, he confird the intermittent groans ca from the adjacent chamber.
"Perfectly normal for soone her age to relieve so tension at night!" Eiji nodded understandingly.
Then he silently opened his window, effortlessly crossed the several-ter gap, and landed on the neighboring balcony—student handbook ready to docunt the scene.
No particular reason, just potential blackmail material. If she ever caused trouble again, he'd publicly broadcast her nightti activities on loop!
He'd fully charged the handbook back at the Demon King's Castle using basic lightning magic—just enough voltage for charging purposes.
"Huh? Not what I expected..." Peeking inside, Eiji shook his head in disappointnt.
Airi lay in bed, eyes tightly shut, clearly asleep. But she clutched the blankets desperately, her face contorted in distress as she tossed and turned, drenched in sweat while emitting pained moans.
"Nightmare? Well then... though do normal nightmares get this intense?" Eiji pondered. Typically, people woke up quickly from bad dreams.
"...Ancestral One..." His ears perked up at the intriguing phrase slipping from Airi's lips.
Quietly opening the window, he approached her bedside. Even ordinary people would sense such proximity, yet she remained unconscious—whether unwilling or unable to wake, he couldn't tell.
After prolonged hesitation, Eiji pulled out his adventurer card and located a particular skill in the learnable abilities section. With so reluctance, he selected it.
...
Airi Yasaka had no childhood.
From the mont she gained awareness, every day was either spent leveling up or studying magic. There was hardly any free ti, let alone vacations.
Her childhood was shaped entirely by her father, the forr Demon King, Yasaka Kyoichi.
Whenever she entertained the thought of relaxing, she would face his harsh reprimands, and sotis even physical punishnt.
There was no chance to unwind. While other demon children could freely go out and play, she, the princess of the demon race—second only to the Demon King—was confined to a small room every day, forced to study damned magic and research the military strength of nations across the continent.
It was like being a prisoner.
Yet, despite all this, she never hated her father.
Because she understood—this was the fate of the Yasaka clan. Her father had walked the sa path in his ti, and now it was her turn. No one cared for her more than he did.
And even in such a grueling childhood, she wasn't entirely without joy.
Deep within the Demon King's Castle lay the Treasure Vault, exclusive to the Yasaka clan. There, a set of comic books was stored.
The text, supposedly from the holand of reincarnators—Japan—was incomprehensible to her. But for a child, the little figures fighting on the pages were entertaining enough. For her hollow, sponge-like childhood, it was her only solace.
Squeeze it, and nothing ca out.
For those few limited years, that set of comics beca her treasure. Even if she barely understood any of it, she flipped through them countless tis.
In her dreams, ti itself seed to turn back.
"Father, why must we invade the human nations?"
One afternoon, in the Demon Lord's Hall as the sun set.
Back then, Airi Yasaka, only eleven or twelve years old, was still naive and asked the forr Demon King with innocent curiosity.
"It is the fate of our clan. There is no escaping it."
The forr Demon King's expression was inscrutable, his face tense.
But then, he softened into a gentle smile.
"Airi, if we weren't part of the Yasaka clan—if we were just ordinary humans—what would you want to do?"
"A cleric!"
Airi answered without hesitation, her eyes shining.
"Do you like being an adventurer?"
"I think fist-to-fist combat is incredibly romantic!"
"I don't rember raising you like this. How are you ever going to find a sweetheart in the future?"
The forr Demon King sighed worriedly, but then chuckled bitterly.
"Ah, well. It's not like our clan is blessed with such fortune anyway. Happiness isn't ant for us."
Looking back now, that ti had actually been quite happy.
"What sweet dream are you having?"
Suddenly—
Everything before her was swallowed by darkness.
Airi jolted awake.
At so point, the Demon King's Castle under the sunset had twisted and vanished like a mirage, leaving only an endless void of blackness in all directions.
And not far in front of her, a swirling black mist hovered in midair, flickering like flas, its true form indiscernible.
"Ancestor!"
Airi's expression changed, and she imdiately dropped to one knee.
"Why have you still not reclaid the title of Demon King?"
The black mist pulsed slowly, and from within ca a voice of displeasure—impossible to tell if it was male or female.
"My deepest apologies! The thief who stole the Demon King's throne is simply too powerful..."
Airi quickly spoke up to defend herself.
"You've been using that excuse for half a month now!"
Like an explosion of flas, the dark mist surged violently.
"I refuse to believe he has no weaknesses at all! Poison, lust, greed—no one is without flaws, not even gods!"
Airi choked on her words and fell silent.
In truth, Eiji did have a weakness—he was extrely lustful, demanding demon beauties to attend him every night. Yet, he alone remained indifferent toward her.
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