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 13

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 13   Determination and resolution

Having decided to enter combat, Ekina and her group devised a plan and launched a surprise attack on the black-clad men. Observing this, Kakyu calmed his wife Elsa, who was ready to jump in and take out the five bandits, while keeping an eye on the situation.

“Wow, Abel’s really impressive. He changes completely when he gets serious. Don’t you think so, Hades? Ekina, too, is staring at our grandson’s cool figure just like you used to!”

Kakyu praised Abel’s bravery, which shone through when it mattered most, while Fradalia’s cleverness and Ekina’s knack for mischief were as expected. Hidden and watching the children’s progress was the last member of their group, Hades, who was using Kakyu’s optical camouflage magic. She blushed, recalling her past relationship with her husband, Ars.

Naturally, Kakyu tried to capture the moment with his camera, causing Hades to turn her face away in a continuous loop of avoiding the camera. Eventually, the original tsundere princess of the demon world, annoyed by the persistent lower-class demon, raised her voice.

“Ugh…! I know, you don’t have to say it! And stop trying to record it! I didn’t want this to happen, so I wanted to switch positions with Ars this time!”

“Ha ha ha ha! How delightful!”

“Ugh, you’re so annoying…!”

Reflecting on her past, Hades saw herself in Ekina’s gaze at Abel. She remembered looking at her hero husband, Ars, with the same love-struck expression and was mortified by the memory.

She rolled on the floor in embarrassment, holding her head, until Elsa hit her on the head to bring her back to her senses. The lower-class demon Kakyu, known as the “evil old man,” was indeed skilled at targeting the most embarrassing memories.

It was truly a ruthless mental attack.

“You… remember this, evil old man! When Ars returns after wiping out the dark guild, I’m going to tell him everything!”

“Ha ha ha ha ha! Feel free!”

“Damn it!”

Of course, Kakyu had no problem with being tattled on to Ars. The “dark guild extermination” referred to the current cleanup of the Rador Viscounty being handled by Ars and Gaius.

When the children accepted the mission, Kakyu, having anticipated Ekina’s desire to become an adventurer, coordinated with Ars and Gaius to create a safety net around the mission. He knew that Ekina couldn’t formally register as a rookie adventurer due to the rules, and that Fradalia would likely take her along, using her rank to allow the children to take on the highest difficulty B-rank missions.

By having Gaius and Amanda complete almost all the B-rank missions within a day, it was clear that Ekina would choose the highest difficulty remaining mission. From there, it was easy to adjust which mission the children would choose and provide support to ensure their success.

This time, to make sure Ekina and her group could complete their mission without any issues, Kakyu and his team divided into two groups by drawing lots: one to eliminate the dark guild behind the black-clad men and the other to secretly observe and support the children.

Incidentally, the dark guild that had infested the Rador Viscounty, along with similar evil organizations, had already been eradicated. With the major clean-up done, the only thing left for Ars and Gaius was to relax and reminisce about old times as master and apprentice at Kakyu’s house.

Therefore, Ars wouldn’t be coming to Hades’ aid. The lower-class demon Kakyu knew this and took full advantage to tease her.

“It’s the kids’ moment to shine, Hades. Try to restrain yourself. Look, Ekina has finally cornered the man who appears to be their leader.”

“I know! Damn it… I can’t focus on Abel’s performance because of that old man.”

After the adults’ banter settled, the children, having completed their surprise attack, had cornered the five black-clad men.

Initially, Ekina had thrown a special bomb that emitted light and loud noises to disorient the enemies. Knowing her strategy, the children covered their ears and eyes and then charged in. Fradalia boosted their physical abilities with support magic, while Abel and Wasabi, in high spirits, subdued the black-clad men except for the boss.

Finally, Ekina concealed her presence, approached the boss from behind, and held a knife to his throat.

However, the boss, experienced in hunting adventurers, didn’t give up easily. He laughed and attempted to negotiate with Ekina.

“Hey there, young lady. Not bad at all.”

“Shut up, you scum. Choose: die here, or release their families.”

“Ooh, scary. But are you sure? Your voice and the tip of your knife are trembling.”

The boss was right. Ekina, inexperienced and not prepared to kill, found it difficult to handle a life-and-death situation, as did the other children.

Sensing their hesitation, the boss slowly distanced himself, smirking. Unable to pursue further, the children hesitated.

No matter how strategically advantageous they were or how powerful Wasabi was, if they couldn’t resolve to kill, it was difficult to continue the attack when the enemy used their own lives as leverage.

“Haha! You got me there! I was careless, thinking you were just kids not even registered as adventurers. But even so, there’s no way I, their leader, could be cornered. Alright, everyone, retreat.”

“Understood.”

The other black-clad men, seeing their boss’s move, made the same decision. They distanced themselves from Abel and Wasabi, heading for an exit opposite the entrance.

Realizing the difference in their resolve, they cautiously moved with slight tension but with a clear path to escape.

Abel, frustrated by his inability to save the boys and their families, shouted in desperation.

“Wait! Where are their families!?”

“Huh? Who knows.”

Of course, no villain would kindly answer such a question. Even in a disadvantageous situation, they wouldn’t leave evidence for pursuit.

From the villain’s perspective, their actions were correct.

However, this was assuming that the world’s greatest former assassin, who had been hiding from the start, wasn’t there.

“Well, we’re retreating from here, so you’ll have to find the rest yourselves────”

────”No, that won’t be necessary.”

The moment a sound like a string being plucked echoed through the air, the equipment of the black-clad figures heading for the escape route was instantly shredded to pieces. They realized that countless threads had been woven around them.

The boss’s expression, initially puzzled by the sudden turn of events, quickly shifted. His experience with dangerous situations told him that a lethal presence was near, one that brought death.

A dense and overwhelming killing intent emanated from behind, paralyzing him to the point where he struggled to stay conscious. His knees shook violently as he tried to remain still to avoid being sliced by the thin threads encircling his body.

“W-who are you…?”

“Shut that filthy mouth of yours. Your vile words are bad for my daughters’ upbringing.”

“Gah!?”

Without hesitation, Elsa, who had appeared silently in front of Ekina and her friends, incapacitated the bandits with precise strikes. She left them in a near-death state but avoided killing them outright to spare the children from the trauma of witnessing such violence. She seemed eager to kill them but refrained, taking a deep breath to compose herself in front of her daughter.

“Mom, why are you here!?”

“I’ll explain later. And be prepared for when we get home. Your reckless behavior was observed in its entirety by this mother.”

“No way! Help me, Abel! Big sister!”

The scene was chaotic. Realizing her mother had seen everything, Ekina, in despair, sought help from her friends.

It was a desperate, if underhanded, tactic, but Elsa, unlike her father Kakyu, wouldn’t be swayed by tears. With no other options, Ekina clung to her friends for support.

“Well, sorry, Ekina. I got caught by my mom too.”

“What!? Oh, no!”

It dawned on her. Hades was standing imposingly, having caught Abel by the scruff of his neck.

“…That’s how it is. Abel, Gaius’s daughter, and Ekina, you should give up. This adventure ends here. Leave the rest to that evil old man and go home.”

Looking around, Ekina saw that her father Kakyu had used teleportation to retrieve the girls who seemed to be the boys’ families. They were tearfully reunited in an emotional scene.

Though it was a close call with the bandits almost escaping, the sudden intervention of the adults left Ekina pouting in frustration, stomping her foot in protest at the unsatisfactory outcome.

“You’re such a jerk, Dad! So stingy! You could’ve let us do a bit more!”

“Well, you see… I understand you want to go on adventures, Ekina, but right now, you all are quite unprepared. Your abilities aside, your mindset is the bigger issue. Your mother and I will train you for a while, so behave until then.”

As soon as Kakyu said this, he teleported the paralyzed bandits away and pointed to Elsa. Her smile was barely perceptible, twisted into a slightly eerie grin.

“I’ve taught you how to conceal your presence and evaluate as an assassin, but you haven’t learned the mindset needed to kill or the offensive techniques. We’ll focus on those from now on, so be patient for today.”

“Ugh! Such a pain!”

Muttering to herself, Ekina couldn’t help but feel that the world still held many interesting things for her to discover. Despite her quiet muttering, unheard by the adults with their sharp ears, time moved on.

At this time, Ekina was five years old. Though she gained much from her first self-planned adventure, it only increased her anticipation for the unknown.

It’s easy to imagine that this five-year-old won’t sit quietly and will cause many more uproars in the future.