The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 999

Davey wasn’t sure if his words were a command, or simply a request to the girl who had always been by his side—someone he was truly grateful for.

All he did was hold Amy close as she sobbed, offering a plea that wasn’t quite a plea.

"Please... Amy."

Her body trembled as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Then, as he let her go, she lowered her head and spoke while suppressing her tears as best as she could.

"If... If that is truly what you desires... then... I will do as you say, Your Highness...."

She said no more.

Turning away from her, Davey shifted his gaze to Royal Attendant Bernile.

"Royal Attendant."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Perserque and Aeria will assist Amy in her preparation. I need you to take the lead and support them."

"As you command, Your Highness."

He bowed deeply in response.

Then, without another word, Davey turned and walked away.

After he had fallen into a coma and been abandoned in the prince's palace, Amy was the only one who’d stayed by his side.

"Davey..."

"Should I call her a benefactor? Or the child of my enemy?"

"You’ve already come to your own answer, haven’t you? Asking me again isn’t exactly a good habit."

Perserque looked at him with a teasing grin.

"In times like this, you should ask it differently."

She paused.

“Something like ‘did I make the right choice’ would work a lot better.”

"Well then, do you think I made the right choice?”

"You did well."

She smiled at him like an older sister watching over a younger sibling.

Later that night, Davey dragged his exhausted body into his room.

The gentle glow of starlight seeped through the windows.

Waiting inside was a pair of mysterious, enchanting eyes watching him in silence.

"Aeria?"

"Oh, my. My dear husband. This is the second time we’ve found ourselves alone like this at night, isn’t it?"

Her voice was unusually relaxed—far different from the usual shy, flustered Aeira he was familiar with.

Behind her, nine softly glowing tails swayed lazily.

She wasn’t like Perserque, who teased him mischievously yet was shy at heart.

She wasn’t like Illyna, who was bold and teased him whenever she had the chance.

Her instincts—the nature of the Nine-Tails—were fully awake.

She took light steps forward with her pure-white feet as her negligee fluttered gently.

With a self-assured, sultry smile, she reached out her hand toward him.

"As a matter of pride for my race... I believe we need to settle this, my dear husband.”

"That ‘dear husband’ you keep saying sounds ridiculously embarrassing and cringe."

Davey muttered bitterly, only for her to let out a soft, playful laugh while stepping back.

"What does something like that matter between a married couple? If you prefer, I could always call you ‘darling’ instead?”

"Call me whatever you want."

For some reason, a sudden chill ran down his spine.

"You're not saying you don't like it because I’m me... are you?”

"There’s no reason for me to reject you; it’s not like you have a split personality or anything. And besides... even a tipsy Aeria is quite beautiful."

She quickly averted her gaze.

"W-Wow... that's a bit much."

She lightly smacked both of her cheeks with her hands before covering her face, leaving only her nose and mouth exposed.

At the same time, her jade-green ears perked up, her embarrassment seemingly melting away as she mischievously looked at him.

"And what? You want to go at it with me? You’re so bold."

She looked at him with a sly, enticing smile.

"You seem to think the legends about the Nine-Tails are just myths. If you keep underestimating me... you might really end up regretting it."

People often hesitated when faced with the unknown, confronted with something they've never experienced before.

That night, Davey finally understood why Aeria was called a Nine-Tails.

* * *

After her conversation with Davey had concluded, Amy spent an entire day and night deep in thought.

For someone who had dedicated her entire life to atonement, being offered a different path must’ve felt completely foreign.

But things took a drastic turn when Bernile, Perserque, and Aeria—all people who deeply appreciated Amy—stepped in.

They dressed Amy properly and ensured that she started experiencing life in ways she should as a human being.

It wasn’t something Davey needed to involve himself in directly.

"Your Highness, this is the budget allocated for acting lord Amy. How does it look?"

"Hmm..."

He reviewed the budget report assigned to Amy and closed his eyes in thought.

"Did I... set it too high?"

The beastfolk girl standing before Davey had been managing the territory’s finances to assist Amy.

She was incredibly sharp when it came to numbers, with an exceptional talent for financial calculations.

Most people could manage basic arithmetic, but she was different—one of the most gifted individuals he had taken from the slave market, in fact, especially when it came to profit and loss management.

The budget she prepared was absolutely flawless—not a single but of excess, not a single wasteful expense.

In response, Davey added another zero at the end and adjusted the first digit.

"M-My goodness..."

"Do your best. Amy has been my loyal aide since the moment I fell into a coma. She deserves at least this much."

"I-Isn’t this too much? Even the imperial family doesn’t spend sums like this...!"

"And why should Amy receive less than them?"

"B-But, Your Highness! If she spends more than royalty, it could create complications!"

"Don’t make me repeat myself."

“...”

"If any issues arise, I’ll handle them personally."

"Y-Yes, Your Highness! Understood!"

After giving a deep bow, the beastfolk girl turned and left.

Davey closed his eyes for a moment before slowly reopening them.

He didn’t care if she spent more than royalty. Had it not been for Amy, he never would’ve made it back from the Hall of Heroes.

Put another way, Amy was the reason he was still alive.

And whatever he was doing for her at the moment... was simply paying her back for saving his life.

* * *

With a haggard face, Davey chewed on the homemade waffle Aeria had packed in his lunchbox.

Despite her shy smile when handing it to him, the victory was clearly hers.

Unlike him, she was radiant, flashing a carefree, triumphant grin and telling him to have a good day. Seeing her so adorable, there was no way he could ever tell her to never get drunk again.

Aeria was usually timid and reserved when it came to affection.

But when her true nature surfaced... It was an entirely different story.

"Turns out succubi aren't the real demons—the clear winner is the Nine-Tails."

Her hidden side only awakened under extreme emotional distress—life-threatening danger, unbearable grief, seething rage, or other triggers.

Normally, Nine-Tails were a race that had a perfect balance between their instincts and reason.

However, Aeria had been born unable to control it.

As a result, she ended up subconsciously separating a part of herself—something akin to a split personality.

Of course, it wasn’t completely a dual personality.

It was more like a form of self-hypnosis driven by her nature. It was somewhat similar to how a person’s behavior changed when they became drunk. Neither description would be entirely wrong.

Just as alcohol results in an altering of a person before and after they drink, her transformation was triggered not by intoxication but by extreme emotions acting as a catalyst.

That was her true nature.

And the catalyst was likely the death of her friend, Yoon Seo-Na.

"Tastes good."

Davey finished off the waffles, leftovers after setting some aside for gifts, and stood up.

He soon arrived at the borrowed research lab where Aeonitia and Tiara were stationed under a government-affiliated institute.

Though the facility lacked some of the best equipment, POSTECH’s research labs were being exclusively rented out for the project.

As he approached the building, he overheard a conversation.

"Professor Um, are you sure?"

"Absolutely. This is a groundbreaking discovery."

He saw Professor Um, a female researcher, along with a male professor, both sipping coffee.

The way they excitedly chattered suggested that Aeonitia and Tiara were fully cooperating with them in serious research.

Or so he thought, until he overheard them talk on the phone.

"Hey, it’s me. Seong-Hwan, can you gather the grad students? I’ll be submitting a few government project applications soon, so start preparing the proposals—”

“What? They need a break? Don’t worry, I saw a couple of girls today who were way younger than you guys, and guess what? People don’t die that easily."

"Yeah, it’s me, Hwan-Woo. Round up the students. We’re doing all-nighters for a few months.

“What? It’s fine. People don’t die that easily."

Completely unfazed, they hung up their phones and exchanged chuckles.

"This is truly remarkable. Now we finally know just how much work you can squeeze out of a person before they drop dead. This is thesis-worthy research."

"Professors from different countries will welcome this with open arms."

"Hey, you lunatics—do you hear yourselves right now?"

Unable to hold back, Davey stepped forward, staring at them in disbelief.

They blinked at him for a moment—then suddenly grabbed his hands, their eyes blazing.

"Prince Davey! You’re a genius!!"

Davey’s brows furrowed in response.

"We had no idea you were a walking textbook example of how much a person can be pushed before breaking! We’ve learned so much!"

As he grimaced at their gleeful enthusiasm, he noticed movement from the research lab’s entrance.

Aeonitia, struggling to push a cart stacked with small boxes, spotted him and widened her eyes.

"Davey!"

"What the hell did you do to these people?"

"What do you mean? I didn’t do anything."

"Nothing? Then why the hell are they like this?"

Clearly, these professors had completely lost their minds.

"I’m serious, I really didn’t do anything. We just conducted research as usual."

"My goodness! If this is just their usual research, then humans are truly incredible beings! The mysteries of the human body are astounding!"

Davey realized that there was truth to the rumor that there were a lot of lunatics in research.

"I sent you guys under a research agreement, and this is how you act?"

Still dumbfounded, he shifted his gaze toward Aeonitia—or rather, toward the boxes she was transporting.

At a glance, he could tell there were enormous amounts of some material.

"What’s in there?"

"Oh, these? Government-issued stimulants."

He stared at her in silence.

She stared back calmly.

"I see. And... you shared them with others?”

"Nope. I took them all myself."

"Ah, I see."

Seeing Davey casually nod, the eyes of the professors flickered once again.

Illyna, who had arrived on Earth first and somehow snuck up behind him, casually kicked his leg.

"This. This is why the professors act like this, you damn demon."