Reincarnated Devil's Strongest Hero Training Plan ~The baby he picked up has grown up so well that his father is confused~ - Chapter 77

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

Chapter 77   Night attack

“This is quite the coincidence! Meeting you here, Amanda. If what you say is true, that such serendipitous encounters await, then traveling isn’t such a bad thing after all. Well, I’ll be damned.”

“Wow~. So this is the super beautiful lady that Gaius was talking about, huh? She’s really stunning, isn’t she?”

At a tavern with accommodations in the capital of the magical kingdom of Rulans, Ars and his companions, after finishing today’s adventure, were dining and drinking with a female adventurer who introduced herself as Amanda.

Normally, it would be about time to rest for tomorrow, but for Gaius, it was a reunion with an adventurer he had a connection with. Ars also had some interest in this female adventurer’s personality, so they decided to accompany her for a while.

“Yeah! There’s no doubt about it! I turned her down back then, but looking back now, she was way too good for me.”

“Huh? Hey, old man Gaius, you’re out traveling, and you’re rejecting such a beautiful woman. Are you stupid or something?”

“Well, when you put it like that, it’s embarrassing. But in fact, I am stupid! Hahaha!”

The people around laughed as Gaius admitted the truth to Hades’ sarcastic remark. Despite being so serious, this man had no malice at all, and even Amanda, who had been rejected in the past, was smiling sincerely.

Ars may be a charming person, but this ridiculously serious big guy wasn’t any less. In a way, in such aspects, these master and disciple were quite alike.

“By the way. I had my suspicions based on what I heard in the rumors, but to think it was really you, Gaius. Even I, as capable as I am, was surprised. And that blond kid is your infamous disciple, huh? Hmm. I wondered what kind of pupil you’d have since you turned down Lady Amanda’s invitation, but he seems like a pretty good guy, isn’t he? Hey, boy?”

Ars, feeling nervous as Lady Amanda exuded mature charm and winked, wore a troubled expression. While he appreciated the recognition, he couldn’t help but wonder if his presence had become a burden to the man who was both his mentor and friend.

However, noticing the slightly troubled expression, Amanda lifted the corners of her mouth and cut through his worries with a confident smile.

“Why are you feeling responsible, boy? It’s too early for you to worry about Lady Amanda. Both Gaius and I made our choices willingly, and we’re adults who can accept the consequences. No one will regret the outcome. So, lift your head up once you understand.”

Feeling a mixture of gratitude and amusement at the advice from the mature woman, Ars smiled wryly and said, “Thank you.”

No matter how strong he became through daily training, he couldn’t help but feel that the difference in life experience was still too vast for someone like him, who hadn’t even reached adulthood, to bridge.

Impressed by the sincerity of the young boy, Amanda nodded approvingly and then began to address the main topic, saying, “Well then, onto the main topic. Actually, this time, we have a bit of a tricky request on our hands. Despite having the power of this Class S adventurer, Lady Amanda, it seems we’ve attracted the attention of some rather formidable opponents. Do you guys know that several girls have gone missing in this capital?”

Switching to her adventurer persona, she spoke.

She revealed the fate of the missing girls in this town and the existence of the royal family as the culprit.

Furthermore, she emphasized that gathering enough evidence to corner the royal family involved in this case would require more than just her own strength.

After hearing everything except for the part about Amanda receiving a covert request from the Adventurer’s Guild and the fact that the requester was the First Prince, the three of them furrowed their brows in concern.

“Hey, Ars. What do you say, are we doing this? I don’t really mind either way. There’s no way I, Hades, would back down just because of some royal figures in this world,” Hades remarked.

From Hades’ perspective, the existence of royalty had always referred to herself, having reigned as the Crown Prince of the Demon Realm for two hundred years. There was no reason for him to cower before mere second or third princes of nations in the human world.

“Yeah, we’re doing it. Apart from Amanda’s request, I feel like we can’t just leave this issue unresolved,” Ars responded.

“I see. Then it’s settled. Alright, Ars, you hit the hay! Same goes for you, old man! Look at you, already sloshed!” Hades declared.

Although they all nodded in agreement with Ars’s prompt response, perhaps due to Hades having been drinking for quite some time already, they decided to call it a night and end the discussion there.

They must have thought it wise to rest early for tomorrow’s actions.

The two men bid a hasty farewell and headed back to their rooms, which were attached to the tavern as accommodations.

However, Hades and Amanda remained at the table, as if still waiting for something, continuing to sip their drinks slowly.

“Aren’t you going to bed? With that serious look on your face, it’s as if you’re wary of something about to happen in the future,” Amanda remarked.

“Yeah, maybe,” Hades replied.

Sensing something from the atmosphere, Hades, skilled in magical manipulation, remained alert while subtly scanning their surroundings with her magic.

“The old man, Gaius, might have been drunk out of his mind, but Ars is pure, you know? He doesn’t know how to doubt people in situations like this. So, it’s up to me to be suspicious and oversee the situation. …Hey, you agree with me too, you damn assassin,” Hades said to the dark elf man sitting in a corner of the tavern, his gaze icy.

But in that moment, as Hades intensified his magic, the dark elf man exposed to his gaze swiftly leaped from his seat, threw something, and extinguished the lights of the tavern illuminated by magical light in an instant.

Moreover, due to the late hour, there were barely any people around, so aside from the two women drinking, there was no one else to notice the trouble brewing in the tavern.

It was a perfect timing, almost as if it had been orchestrated, and Hades and Amanda found themselves under attack.

“Hey! Amanda, run! You’re the target!”

“Damn it! So that’s it! I was wondering why the tavern seemed unusually empty… guh!?”

Caught off guard in the pitch-black darkness, Amanda hesitated for a moment. Despite being a professional scout, she had sensed some unease in this sparsely populated tavern, and she believed she was accustomed to darkness.

However, unlike Hades, a demon from the underworld whose environment and physiology were different, humans experienced a slight delay as their eyes adjusted to sudden darkness from bright surroundings.

Exploiting this vulnerability in human physiology, the dark elf assassin had prepared himself with closed eyes and successfully executed his plan.

“Hey! Amanda!? Damn it! So, humans struggle a bit in this darkness, huh!? I misjudged!”

As she realized this, she lit up the area with magical light, but it was already too late.

The vigilant dark elf assassin had disappeared along with Amanda, and the tranquility of the night had returned to the scene as if nothing had happened…

Now, the only ones left in the tavern were the abandoned Hades and a young girl in sunglasses who had been quietly drinking milk in a corner, her back turned.

It seemed they had been completely outsmarted by their enemies.

The mysterious young girl, startled by the sudden flickering of lights, looked around anxiously, murmuring, “W-What’s going on? Is something bad happening?” But for now, that didn’t matter.

What mattered was that amidst her flustered confusion, the young girl stumbled upon something important.

“Huh? There’s some weird paper here. Let’s see… ‘Sneak in first? Look for the Dark Guild?’ What’s this? Just garbage doodles.”

“……….!!”

As the young girl casually tossed the paper aside and left, it was revealed that Amanda had left behind a note she had prepared before the attack.