Reincarnated Devil's Strongest Hero Training Plan ~The baby he picked up has grown up so well that his father is confused~ - Volume 2 Chapter 11

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

Volume 2 Chapter 11   Fradalia’s Glasses

The boys who had picked a fight with Ekina and been thoroughly defeated moved to a new location. They navigated a dim, narrow underground passageway filled with traps designed to deter intruders, eventually arriving to meet with men dressed entirely in black.

Why could these D-rank adventurers navigate these traps so easily, and why did they know about hidden passages unknown to other adventurers? The answer became clear with the first words of the boss-like man in black:

“So? You couldn’t even lure a single new adventurer for the dark guild and came crawling back?”

“S-sorry, boss! We found some kids who looked like easy marks, but they turned out to be smarter than we thought and managed to steer the other adventurers’ attention away from us…”

The leader of the boys, who had picked the fight, groveled at the feet of the burly man referred to as “boss.” Though it wasn’t explicitly stated, it was evident from their conversation that their actions were tied to human trafficking for the dark guild.

This revealed that the previous targeting of rookie adventurers wasn’t carried out by professionals directly but by using other novice adventurers involved in their crimes.

“Damn it! I don’t care about your excuses! If they were just kids, there were plenty of ways to handle them! You could’ve pretended to protect them or interfered with their hunts. If you realized they were talented, it should’ve been a jackpot for you too!”

“S-sorry, sorry, sorry…!”

The boss vented his frustration at the apologizing boy, his harsh words revealing his scummy nature. Though the reasons why these boys were aiding the boss weren’t clear, the looks of guilt and clenched jaws of the other boys as they watched their leader apologize indicated they had their reasons.

Despite the leader’s groveling, his back seemed unusually strong in the eyes of his companions. One of them, tears welling up, almost drew his weapon but restrained himself at the last moment, not wanting to waste their leader’s efforts.

Witnessing this, a lower-ranked and diminutive demon, hiding in the shadows, contemplated wiping out the rotten organization before his daughter got involved. Normally indifferent to imposing his will on the world despite his power, he became proactive when his family was concerned.

This is an aside, but by this point, the dark guild and the boss who issued these ridiculous orders were doomed. Even if his daughter’s mission failed, the lower-ranked demon’s wrath would surely follow.

“Ah, man. You guys always do what I say, so I didn’t sell that blockhead’s sister and kept her on hold. But if you keep failing, I might just sell her off.”

“…! P-please, anything but that! I take full responsibility as the leader. I don’t care what happens to me, just please spare my friend’s family…”

The leader boy banged his head on the ground, pleading for the safety of his friend’s family, held hostage by the boss. It seemed the reason for their involvement in these crimes was solely to protect their families.

It became apparent they had been deliberately failing the adventurer hunting orders to buy time and find a chance to rescue their families. The determined look in the eyes of the boys standing behind their leader suggested they hadn’t given up hope.

As the lower-ranked demon watched this encounter unfold, he stood by with his wife Elsa, a former assassin with a gaze colder than his, both waiting for their daughters to arrive.

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“Hmm, hmm… These traps likely filter and adjust the concentration of venom from man-eating scorpions found in the Garard Kingdom’s desert region, ensuring it merely induces unconsciousness rather than death. Switching from a reliably lethal poison to one suitable for capturing people suggests the purpose of these traps might be human trafficking. Regardless, this underground passage remains their stronghold. …Are you listening, Ekina?”

Fradalia speculated various details after collecting poison samples from the thread-laden traps into beakers, deducing their effects. Ekina, not being a scholar, seemed visibly weary of Fradalia’s overly lengthy commentary.

Out of kindness, Abel nodded along admiringly to Fradalia’s comments, despite not understanding a word. Ekina, on the other hand…

“Big sis talks too much and it’s boring.”

“Uh?! I-I see… sorry about that.”

With a straightforward childlike remark, Ekina inadvertently dented Fradalia’s spirit ever so slightly.

Well, frankly speaking, even without such detailed commentary, all Ekina needed to do was use her alchemy to alter the traps’ structure safely. So, being told about scorpion venom and such was of no real use.

Near the wall of the underground passage, as if synced with Fradalia’s mental state, Fradalia’s glasses fogged up, the glass making a slight cracking sound as if imagining a crack.

Concerned about her reliable older sister, Abel quickly intervened, praising her like, “Wow, sis, you’re amazing!” or “I might want a wife like you in the future.” His attempts at reassurance seemed to help Fradalia recover.

“Ugh… Abel-kun is such a kind and good boy. I might consider swearing our future together with such a gentle Abel-kun… sniff…”

“W-what?! I-I-I’m really sorry, sis! I didn’t mean it like that at all! Right? Let’s cheer up!”

Sensing Fradalia’s emotional state from Abel’s desperate follow-up and the damage to her glasses, she swiftly changed her approach to calm the elder sister, resembling a toddler soothing someone older, creating a situation where it was hard to tell who was really the elder.

By the way, this was Fradalia’s genuine reaction in her natural state of feeling down, not an act to get back at Ekina. If it were an act, Ekina, being a cunning little devil, would have plenty of ways to retaliate.

However, when faced with genuinely pure emotions, Ekina didn’t quite know how to respond tactfully, leading to her getting flustered.

Pure feelings are a delicate area for a half-demon with a twisted mind, unsure how to handle them properly without resorting to a clumsy response.

In this way, utilizing their respective strengths, Ekina and her companions steadily disarmed traps while deducing the dark guild’s intentions behind the adventurer hunts, covertly advancing through the underground passage without raising suspicion.