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

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 19 A new spark

Tick tock…

“Hmm…”

In a corner of the city, part of the largest magical nation on the Southern Continent, the Kingdom of Rulans, a certain individual, known as the guardian deity of the town governed by Viscount Rador, was having a meeting with the Viscount at the manor.

This living legend, now over fifty years old, showed no signs of physical decline. He sat heavily on the sofa opposite the lord, exuding an aura so imposing that even the captain of the viscount’s knight order, who stood by, was holding his breath.

The ticking of the clock in the silent room only served to amplify his presence. However, no one in the room dared to reprimand him for his presumptuous attitude towards the noble head.

This matter was extremely important, and above all, this man was Gaius, the S-rank adventurer who supported the hero Ars’ epic tales, known to every adventurer.

Moreover, Gaius had been welcomed as a guest by Viscount Rador, who had a penchant for adventurers. He was not only the town’s defender but also counted as humanity’s trump card for defending the Southern Continent if need be, making his position arguably higher than the Viscount’s in such matters.

The Viscount understood this, hence he interacted with this man naturally, without formalities.

“So, is it possible to ask for your cooperation on this matter?”

“It’s difficult. Rather, it would be better to say that it’s beyond my capability.”

“Ridiculous…”

Frowning deeply, Gaius responded clearly and straightforwardly to the Viscount’s question, saying it was impossible. While the exact nature of the request was unclear, it was certainly not a matter of intellectual labor, given that it was specifically requested of this seasoned warrior.

At the very least, the request likely involved a battle where his skills as a warrior would be tested. Yet even so, Gaius’s words carried weight, saying that no matter how he struggled, he alone was not enough. His honesty lent his words an air of truthfulness.

Indeed, the fact that such an honest and capable individual declared it impossible only deepened the sense of despair. The Viscount, momentarily doubting his own ears, struggled to accept this reality.

“But! There’s no other warrior greater than you on this continent! If you can’t do it alone, how about working with our knight order? Of course, we will provide the necessary supplies separately from the request fee. What do you think?”

“No, it would still be impossible. Even if I joined forces with the knights, it would be meaningless.”

Clinging to denial, the Viscount pressed on, but his plea fell on deaf ears as Gaius shook his head. Worse still, hearing that even with the knight order’s support, their efforts would be in vain only deepened the Viscount’s sense of hopelessness.

“Then, what should we do…?”

“It’s not that my combat skills are completely useless. In a one-on-one fight, I wouldn’t lose to any of their members. I confirmed their abilities when Ars and I raided their base some time ago. But…”

Gaius explained that it wasn’t their combat abilities or firepower that were the issue.

So, what was the problem?

The Viscount articulated it himself.

“If a hero or a super warrior gets involved, it would draw too much attention, right?”

“Exactly. The enemy isn’t stupid. If I or Ars make a move, they’ll definitely catch wind of it. That would lead to nothing but them escaping before the fight even starts. Even if the knight order, who are just as conspicuous, joins us, the result would be the same.”

Gaius agreed with the Viscount’s assessment. The real question was what had caused them to fall behind the enemy in the first place.

The root of the issue was an incident that happened in the town governed by Viscount Rador, where his daughter got involved.

It all began three years ago.

The incident started when Ekina, Abel, and Fraralia apprehended some criminals involved in kidnapping. Initially, it seemed like a simple matter of eliminating a criminal organization from the country, but things changed when they uncovered evidence pointing to a larger organization behind it.

Moreover…

“Wasn’t it about those human experiments mixing demonic and human genes? Even if an A-rank adventurer could take them on one-on-one, ordinary knights wouldn’t stand a chance against those monsters. It was a miracle we managed to rescue the Viscount’s daughter in the nick of time. It was pure luck… even if she did suffer some lasting effects. That was probably one of their retaliatory moves against us for interfering.”

And now, three years later, the ultimate goal of this revealed organization remains unclear. However, in a world where efforts are being made to unify humans and demons, these gene fusion experiments threaten to ignite new conflicts, especially on the Southern Continent.

Not just the Southern Continent, either. The demonic influence is spreading to the Western Continent, known as the Human Continent, where beings called “gene-modified humans” or those preparing to become such have started to appear.

Only those directly affected by these incidents, along with royalty and high-ranking nobles, are aware of this situation. Given the gravity of the situation, a gag order has been issued by the nation’s leaders.

Viscount Rador, a lower-ranking noble, is aware of the details due to the work of Gaius and Ars in eliminating the organization’s operatives three years ago and the subsequent capture of the kidnappers by Ekina and the others. The enemy had deemed these actions as the Viscount’s doing, resulting in retaliation.

And the victim was his daughter, Lady Sistia Rador.

At the age of thirteen, she is of the same generation as Fraradalia. Her right arm now bears a curse mark-like tattoo, a remnant of the experiments that infused her with demonic genes.

The members of the enemy organization referred to this as humanity’s new milestone, a “blessing.” However, to those affected, it was nothing more than an unwanted curse, making the situation all the more vile.

Fortunately, the curse on her right arm doesn’t seem to have any harmful effects on her body. However, in other cases, there have been reports of people losing their sanity or becoming emotionless like dolls.

This time, they were lucky, incredibly lucky to have rescued her in time. The fact that she was saved before the experiment reached its final stages was a silver lining in a dark cloud.

But having his daughter subjected to such a fate was intolerable for him, both as a father and as a noble. The viscount bowed his head in frustration, while Gaius, groaning and furrowing his brow, understood the gravity of the situation.

Thus…

“I have an idea on how to solve this problem…”

“What!! Are you serious!!”

“Leave it to me. I’d like to say that, but from here on out, it will depend on the viscount’s sincerity and negotiations.”

Reluctantly, Gaius decided to reveal his trump card. He deeply empathized with the viscount, as he also had a daughter of the same age.

And the invincible trump card that the legendary super warrior relied on was, of course…

“Ah, damn it. I owe my master another favor… Can I ever repay this?”

Gaius muttered to himself, thinking of a certain lower-class demon.