“Oh, right!”
Suddenly, Director Brett clapped his hands as he said that. Badak and the others involuntarily braced themselves.
“Even though I was welcoming guests, I haven’t served any tea yet. Maybe it’s because of my age, but I’ve been very forgetful lately….. I’ll bring it to you guys right away.”
“N-No, no need to bother..…”
They don’t care about tea now. Badak and the others tried to stop him but the director already stood up and walked towards the kitchen. Badak and the others who remained in the cafeteria exchange words in whispers.
“Is the director really the culprit of the abduction case……?”
“But come to think of it, there may not be a better place to hide a baby than here.”
“……Does that mean that he’s taking the baby away and raising it as an orphan?”
“If that’s the case, that’s an outrageous story……”
The motive is unknown, but who could have imagined that a person who is known as an impeccable man by those around him would be such a person behind the scenes?
But, although they only had a little contact with him, they didn’t think he was a suspicious person. After waiting for a while,
“Hey, a stranger came.”
“It’s true!”
“Hey ojiichan, what are you guys here for?”
Children started to gather around them. They seem to be orphans living here. There must have been more than 20 children, ranging from children who were only about five years old to children who were about twelve or three years old.
“Ojiichan, are you guys adventurers?”
“Wow! Are you going to defeat a monster or something?”
“But, what did you guys come here for?”
Surrounded by innocent laughter, Badak and the others let their guard down. They must have been fed well, and all the children seemed healthy and very happy.
“Hey, hey, let’s play.”
“Ya-y! Play, play!”
“I’m going to play too!”
Saying this, the children flock happily.
“……?”
It was almost intuitive. Or maybe the slight killing intent was sensed by his experience as a B-rank adventurer. By the time Badak looked behind him, a kid was already eyeing the nape of his neck as he swings down the knife that one of the children had hidden.
“Kuu!”
The blade grazed the skin slightly but Badak dodged the fatal blow and immediately kicked the kid in the belly. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who was attacked by a deadly blade. His companions were also dealing with the children who suddenly bared their fangs.
Although they were weak children, they suppressed their murderous intent and made a surprise attack aimed at a vital point without any hesitation. If Badak and the others weren’t advanced B-rank adventurers, they would have been fatally injured.
“What’s going on all of a sudden!?”
“This is obviously weird. Uh-, these kids!?”
The children still have angelic smiles on their faces as they shout in excitement.
“Hey, let’s play!”
“Oniichan, let’s play?”
“Play~, play~”
When they look closely, it’s not just the few people who attacked them. All the children have their own weapons and are ready to attack at any time.
“That was a surprise attack after you let your guard down. But…. even though you guys were dealing with children, you guys handed it well huh. It looks like you guys are quite capable adventurers.”
There, the director appears from the kitchen. He still smiles meekly, but they won’t be fooled by that smile anymore.
“Uh! You…… What the hell is going on here!? What did you teach the children!?”
“No matter how I think about it, this guy is not just a director!”
“Is he the culprit of the abduction after all!?”
Unfazed by the shout of Badak and the others, the director readily confessed.
“I’m indeed the culprit. I knew the Adventurer’s Guild was working on the case the other day…… I didn’t think it would be so easy to find out though. When you came to visit me earlier, I was a little shaken you see. But thanks to that, it gave me a great opportunity to practice.”
Then he commands the children.
“Come on, everyone. As you can see, these brothers are quite formidable opponents. However, I believe that you can do it. After all, you guys are the elite who have endured such rigorous training and survived.”
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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