From a very…very long time ago, this necklace was the keepsake that had been left to Hamel after his parents were killed by monsters.
Now that he had been reincarnated, Eugene didn't feel any lingering sadness for this tragedy from his previous life. All the sadness from that event had long since been converted into hate, after all, and Hamel had eventually taken revenge for their deaths with his own hands.
Nevertheless, Hamel had continued to wear it around his neck until the day he died. It wasn't like there was any discomfort to be had from walking around with the necklace on and there had never been any particular reason for him to take it off. He had expected that this necklace had been buried with him.
Or at least that was how it should have been.
Eugene stood there, holding up the necklace for quite some time. His state of paralyzation was because he just couldn't understand what the necklace was doing here.
'...Could Vermouth have retrieved my body from Helmuth?'
But none of the weapons that Hamel had wielded were stored in this treasure vault. The only thing in here that was in any way connected to Hamel was this worn-out necklace.
Eugene snorted as his hand wrapped around the necklace.
'....It looks like they didn't just forget about me.'
For some reason, he had a bitter taste in his mouth.
To someday kill all five of the Demon Kings, that was the promise that everyone had vowed to each other. But despite this… Vermouth, Molon, Sienna, and Anise—those four had made an 'oath' of peace with the Demon Kings. Even though three hundred years had passed since then, Helmuth and its two Demon Kings were still alive and well.
'...Just what exactly did they swear in that oath? Even though you retrieved my belongings and laid them to rest here, all of you…especially you, Vermouth…just what were you thinking?'
Eugene couldn't put down the necklace.
Since he had even gotten the chance to reincarnate, he didn't want to get too bogged down with his past life. Even so, no matter how faint, the attachments to his previous life still existed. This necklace had stirred up a number of feelings that Eugene had been trying to ignore.
He suddenly had a thought. This necklace was an item that didn't belong here. It belonged to Hamel after all.
He didn't want to resent Vermouth and his other comrades. Since he believed that they must have had a reason for not being able to slay the remaining Demon Kings.
The Faithful Anise, the woman from his memories, was so cheeky and annoying that it was hard to believe she had become a saint, but her faith had been real. If even Anise had agreed to pull back at the last step, then they must have had an unavoidable reason for not killing the Demon Kings.
'...It might have been that they lacked the strength to do so after I died.'
After all, the last two Demon Kings were terrifyingly strong.
Although it embarrassed him to even think this idea to himself, he had to admit this was a possibility.
"What a pointless find," Eugene grumbled as he turned around.
He still wanted one of the weapons, but he couldn't bear to leave this necklace, the keepsake belonging to Hamel, inside the Lionheart's treasure vault.
That was his only reason.
"...That is?" Gilead exclaimed with a surprised expression as he opened the vault door.
His surprise was because he had made various guesses for what Eugene might choose, but he had never imagined that Eugune would actually return from the treasure vault after choosing a completely ordinary necklace.
"...It called to me," Eugene said with an awkward smile as he held up the necklace to display.
Gilead blinked his surprise as he alternated between looking at Eugene and the necklace.
"...Are you sure about this?" Gilead asked.
"Yes," Eugene confirmed.
"But there should be many other more amazing treasures…."
"As I'm too inexperienced, I felt that I wouldn't be able to handle them," Eugene recited his prepared excuse. However, even he found it hard to believe.
Gilead felt increasingly confused as he thought about it. Of course, a child wouldn't be able to fully assess the values of the treasures within, but weren't there many weapons that appeared extraordinary just from their appearances? Could Eugene really have declined such treasures to pick a necklace like this?
'...And what exactly is it?'
What made Gilead even more bewildered was that he did not recognize the necklace Eugene had carried out with him. Did the Treasure Vault really have a necklace like that?
And of course, there were a lot of other accessories inside the vault that were all so expensive that just one could be exchanged for a whole castle. Gilead would have accepted and understood Eugene's excuse if he had chosen such a trinket. Since there was nothing that had caught Eugene's eye right at that moment, he could have chosen to take something that seemed expensive and valuable so that he could somehow put the funds from selling it to later use.
"...Do you mind if I take a look at it for a moment?" Gilead requested.
"Please, go ahead," Eugene handed the necklace over with a nod of his head.
As soon as Gilead received the necklace, he scanned it all over. But it was just a crudely-made and worn-out… necklace. No jewels were embedded, nor was the workmanship extraordinary. Even when he inserted his mana, there was no reaction in response.
This was simply an ordinary and cheap necklace.
'...Why was such a necklace inside the treasure vault?'
The more he looked at it, the more Gilead failed to understand. He hesitated for a moment and then looked at Eugene.
"Please wait here for a moment," Gilead ordered
"Yes, sir," Eugene replied with an unbothered expression.
He understood why Gilead would feel so confused. Even in the privacy of his own thoughts, Eugene felt that choosing such a necklace was a very foolish decision. However, it couldn't be helped. Since he couldn't just leave it there, he had to bring it out with him.
"...Hm…" while letting out a curious hum, Gilead took the necklace and held it up to the treasure vault's door.
Everything inside the vault, the honor and glory that the clan had accumulated over three hundred years, had been recorded by the magic of the treasure vault.
"...This is quite…a mystery." After holding the necklace up to the lion on the doorknob, Gilead shook his head. "This necklace isn't an item that has been registered by the treasure vault."
"...What does that mean?" Eugene asked.
"Exactly what I said. This isn't a treasure of the Lionhearts. This is an item that shouldn't have been in there."
"...But then why was it in there?"
"That is why I said that is quite a mystery. I… do not recall ever leaving this necklace inside there. Where did you find this?"
"In the inside corner of a shelf."
"Could this item have been left behind by the previous Patriarch…? But if that was the case, then it should have been registered by the treasure vault's magic…."
"It's possible that the previous Patriarch may have just lost it inside there," Eugene offered as an explanation.
"Haha," Gilead involuntarily burst into laughter. "My father, the previous Patriarch, wasn't such a sloppy person. Nor was he the type of person who would play such a strange prank…."
Eugene was about to ask why Gilead didn't just ask the previous Patriarch personally, but then he remembered and stopped himself. Gilead's father, the former Patriarch, had already passed away long ago.
"...In any case, do you still want to keep this necklace?"
"Yes, I do."
"Why?"
"No real reason, it's just… it calls to me."
"This necklace doesn't seem to be valuable. It doesn't have any enchantments either. So even if you sold it, you wouldn't even be able to buy a cheap longsword."
'That's exactly right,' Eugene thought in agreement as he nodded his head.
"But I would still like to keep it," is what Eugene ended up saying.
"...You really are quite special," Gilead commented.
"I've heard that a lot from my father ever since I was young."
"If you really want to keep this necklace… then it can't be helped. However, I can't let you have it right away. Since the origins of this item are unknown, I'll have to ask Lovellian to examine it."
"An examination?"
"That's right. Although I've checked it myself, I don't really have any skill in magic. Just in case it does have some kind of enchantment, it feels like it would be better to have it looked over by a professional."
"So I can have it back once the examination is over?"
"...That's right, I'll even promise you that I'll return it once the results are in."
After Gilead nodded his head, he was silent for a moment.
"...About this necklace, it might have some kind of enchantment, or it might just be an ordinary necklace without any special qualities. However, since it is clearly not an item that has been registered by the treasure vault, that means it shouldn't have been in there in the first place," Gilead said when he finally broke the silence.
"...Yes," Eugene replied, unsure of where this was going.
"Although I really didn't think things could turn out like this… Eugene, strictly speaking, the item you brought back with you is not a treasure of the Lionhearts."
For a moment, Gilead hesitated. Would this really be allowed?
'There shouldn't be any problems with this,' Gilead thought as he patted Eugene's shoulder with a wry smile.
"As that's the case, go back inside and only come out after you've picked something else."
Eugene barely managed to restrain the exclamation of sheer surprise that he almost blurted out unconsciously and instead asked, "...Can I really?"
"It's fine. After all, I promised you that if you were the first to defeat the minotaur, you could go into the treasure vault and come out with whichever piece of treasure you desired. But Eugene, you didn't come out with a piece of a treasure, so go back in and return with whatever you like."
"Thank you so much!" Eugene shouted in gratitude, even as he thought to himself, 'I really can't believe that Gilead is Vermouth's descendant.'
Eugene bowed his head deeply towards Gilead, even as he held back a laugh. He had never imagined that Gilead would show such flexibility by giving him another chance to pick up a piece of treasure.
'I've decided, it's you,' Eugene thought upon returning to the treasure vault. He grabbed Wynnyd without any hesitation. 'From now on, you belong to me.'
As if it had read Eugene's mind, its silverish-blue blade shone with a gleam.