Reincarnated Devil's Strongest Hero Training Plan ~The baby he picked up has grown up so well that his father is confused~ - Chapter 56

Reincarnated Devil’s Strongest Hero Training Plan ~The baby he picked up has grown up so well that his father is confused~

Chapter 56   Ein’s conflict and the person lurking

After a while from the recovery magic festival held during the day, it was now the late night when everyone had settled into sleep.

In a corner of the garden at the Margrave’s mansion, a young man gazed up at the moon, lost in thought.

As he looked up at the moon, the young man, in a moment of impulse, reached for the sword at his waist with trembling hands… and then hesitated, withdrawing his hand as if recoiling from the act of grasping the sword itself.

His hesitant demeanor seemed to imply a self-reproach for even considering wielding the sword.

“Ugh… the sword feels distant and heavy… No, that’s not it. This is my own fear,” muttered Ein Kruger, a young man who, while continuing to pursue the path of the sword, was now losing sight of the path itself.

Ever since a few days ago, when he had inadvertently endangered the saintly maiden, his liege whom he should have protected from his own carelessness, he found himself unable to even hold a weapon properly.

It might be easy to misunderstand, but it wasn’t the fact of his carelessness that tormented him. What truly haunted him was the trauma of being unable to move a single step… when his beloved sister was on the brink of death, due to his delayed response born of his own emotions.

In reality, it wasn’t like that at all, but he likely believed himself to be a coward who trembled before demons, or a coward who had fled from making crucial decisions at important moments.

And perhaps unable to bear witnessing him tormented by such self-reflection, a lone girl appeared before him in the moonlit garden of the Margrave’s mansion late at night.

“Oh my. The knight sworn to protect me is showing quite a gloomy face,” said the maiden.

“My lady…”

Appearing before him was the saintly maiden, Isha Grace de Calamiera, her beautiful blue hair shimmering in the moonlight.

As if she had seen through Ein’s troubles, she spoke sarcastically and gently placed her hand on his trembling one that couldn’t even touch the sword.

“How disgraceful…”

“…Yes, as you say, my lady. Although I am supposed to be the knight protecting you, I failed in my duty and was saved by Ars. Not only that, but I’ve also become a broken swordsman. I didn’t expect you, my lady, to see through me like this.”

In response to the sharp and sarcastic words from the one he should protect, he returned affirmation with a smile that seemed on the verge of breaking.

However, to him, it was a fact that didn’t need to be said. He understood his situation better than anyone else.

If there was any miscalculation, it was perhaps that he thought he had concealed it as much as possible from those around him, only to realize that this saintly maiden had completely seen through him.

Yet, upon hearing Ein’s response, the saintly maiden, Isha, shook her head and laughed self-deprecatingly.

“That’s not it. You seem to misunderstand. The disgrace is mine.”

“My lady?”

“Hey, Ein. Don’t belittle yourself. It’s not your fault that you couldn’t resist the demons at that time. It’s my own failure. I was raised with expectations to be someone who could resist demons, treated as the princess of the Holy Kingdom, as a saint. But I failed.”

Her eyes, filled with a hint of anger as she stared at Ein and made her declaration, contained a determination that was far from fitting for a ten-year-old girl.

Seeing that resolute determination that resembled fury, Ein faltered and took a step back.

“Alright. Listen well, my knight. If you truly care for me, then never betray the efforts you’ve put in to protect someone like me, nor the sword you’ve wielded all this time for that purpose. Even if I fall short in the future, even if I should perish at the hands of demons halfway through the journey, as long as you and Lord Ars are with me, I believe this world will find a way. Somehow, I just know it. Well, perhaps it’s just another one of those divine revelations bestowed upon a devout saint like me, isn’t it?”

With a hint of jest, she stuck out her tongue at the end, and the fiery passion from before seemed to evaporate into thin air.

With a cheerful expression, the saintly maiden chuckled as if she had teased Ein, just as she always did.

But no matter how lightly she tried to brush it off, Ein couldn’t help but feel unsettled by her words, spoken as if she were trivializing her own life.

Whether it was the effect of adrenaline rushing to his head or the temporary suppression of fear by anger, Ein, with a resolute tone, confronted her.

“I won’t allow you, my lady, to throw away your life like that!! I will never stand by and watch as you perish before my eyes again!! Such a future will never come to pass again!!”

As he declared this with conviction, there was no trace of fear, hesitation, or regret in his eyes.

All that existed was a single determination—to never again expose the person he swore to protect to danger.

And before he knew it, the sword, the very soul of a swordsman, was gripped firmly in his hand.

“Hehe. Yes, that’s the expression I wanted to see. What’s with that look? You’re capable, you know. I worried for nothing. …Could it be you wanted me to worry, so you deliberately put on a pitiful facade? But still, you look most fitting when you hold that sword.”

“What!?”

Awakening from a brief moment of rage akin to losing himself, Ein blinked in surprise at the sword now held in his hand.

As the problem seemed to have been solved so easily, despite the turmoil of the past few days, he couldn’t help feeling a little embarrassed, yet he was overwhelmed with gratitude towards the saintly maiden who had spurred him on like this.

“Kuh, you got me there, my lady! …However, thanks to you, I’ve come to my senses. Honestly, to use such words as throwing away your own life to inspire your guard, truly fitting of the spirited young lady you are. But, indeed, I admit defeat for today. Yes, it’s my loss.”

“Oh? What are you talking about? I merely spoke of one possible future. Don’t read too much into it~”

As they continued their banter, their expressions had already returned to their usual light-hearted tone, provoking each other as usual.

To anyone watching, it was just Ein and the saintly maiden, their usual dynamic unchanged. And even if someone happened to be passing by and caught a glimpse, they would surely breathe a sigh of relief, reassured by what they saw.

Surely, that must be the case.

◇

“Hmm. Even though with Isha-chan’s trick, in the end, you managed to pull through on your own. Well done, Ein. Looks like there’s no need for me to step in after all. I was a bit worried that you might break, you know. Well, we’re friends. …Can’t just abandon you.”

Muttering to himself from the shadows behind a pillar in the garden where the young man and the girl laughed together, the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy revealed.

Though his blue eyes held a pure sense of relief, there was also a hidden wisdom, showing he was not complacent about future challenges.

“Well, no need to worry, Ein. I won’t let a future where you, Isha-chan, or Hades are lost happen. No matter what formidable opponent we face, I won’t allow it, you see…”

With these words, the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy, Ars, melted into the darkness of the night, leaving behind a scene where his presence was no longer necessary.

What exactly was reflecting in his heart at this moment?

That, only he knew.