My Disciples Think I’m Strong

“Hey! Praus.”
“…What is it?”

I responded indifferently with my eyes closed to Tina’s cautious voice.

“I’ve been thinking a lot?”

Here she goes spouting some nonsense again, needlessly beating around the bush.
The annoyance was already starting to build.

“But I just can’t hold it in anymore!”
“Do you need to use the bathroom?”
“No, that’s not it?! Please show proper consideration for a lady!”

She’s a bit too young to be called a lady…

“Then spit it out quickly. I’m very tired right now.”
“Um, then… Wh, Why did you pat Iris’s head?”

Her unexpectedly blunt question made me involuntarily open my eyes. I looked at Tina.
Iris’s eyes were wide open, her face completely flushed.
Her ears and tail fidgeted restlessly, as if reflecting her flustered emotions.

‘Why ask that?’
“…What meaning is there in patting someone’s head?”

“!”

Iris openly displayed her disappointment. Her ears and tail drooped. Ah, damn this filtering.

Since I had no intention of making her a heroine, I hadn’t planned on any affection-building. However, it wouldn’t hurt to establish rapport with those who would become heroes.
You never knew when I might need their help.

“Don’t read too much into something meaningless.”

Our mouth sure was working overtime today.
Damn it. I felt like crying.

“Then do that meaningless thing to me too.”
“Why should I?”
“Because Praus took me in?”
“I provided you with food, clothing and shelter as compensation for taking you in. I disbanded the life you had. And now you’re demanding more from me?”
“Hmph. But I want it too…”

In the end, Tina couldn’t overcome my logic and became dejected.
Honestly, I understood her demand.

Having been abandoned by her family at a young age and leading a harsh life, she must have been as starved for ‘affection’ as she was for food.

In childhood, the love received from parents is everything, greatly aiding one’s positive development over the decades.
Neglecting this could lead to emotional deficiency, lack of self-esteem, and depression.

So I supposed I should take care to prevent that from happening.
I let out a sigh, resigning myself to the unavoidable.

“Haah… If you do something praiseworthy, I’ll do it.”
“Really? You promise? If you don’t keep it, I’ll stick needles in your butt?”

…Wasn’t it “eat a thousand needles”?
I barely stopped my hand from reflexively moving towards my butt.

“…Alright.”
“Children these days are quite intense, aren’t they?”

Dex’s oblivious remark.

“Dex.”
“Yes!”
“Shut up.”
“…But I didn’t say anything?”
“Do you want to die?”

[The Intimidation skill has been activated.]

“Ah… D, Don’t use Intimidation so recklessly. I wasn’t being serious.”

Just as I was about to close my eyes again after that trivial incident, Iris, seated across from me, slowly raised her hand and spoke.

“Um, can you… Al, Also do it for me?”
“…Alright.”

Head pats, huh…
I heard girls in the other world really hated having their heads patted.

…Did I pat her in a way she disliked? Shit.

The first night of camping.
We hid the carriage in the forest outskirts and lit a lamp inside the tent.

The children eagerly stuffed bread, fruit, and dried provisions into their mouths. Yes, eat up. You all need to gain some weight.

“Dex and I will take the night watch, so you kids sleep.”
“Lord Praus, let me take a shift too.”

Maria gulped down her food and raised her hand high, desperately trying to be accepted as a disciple.
I really wondered what she expected to learn from someone as incapable as me.

“If you don’t get enough sleep at this age, you’ll become a dwarf. You kids sleep.”

I bit into a hard tack and exited the tent.

Cool, fresh air entered my lungs along with the evening chill.
Every time I breathed, I realized the air I had inhaled in Korea wasn’t really air. The feeling of becoming healthier simply by breathing was completely new to me.

I looked up at the sky.
The cloudless night sky was brightly dotted with stars. How long had it been since I had seen the stars so clearly?

It was the first time I had felt the stars were truly beautiful. Although my facial muscles were frozen by the Emotionless Mask skill, I unconsciously let out an exclamation of admiration.

“Aren’t the stars beautiful? It’s as if the natural creation of God has been preserved as is, so whenever I travel and witness such a spectacle, I feel glad to be alive.”
“I suppose.”
“Do you intend to hunt the monsters of the Brihi Forest, Lord Praus?”
“If necessary, I’ll kill them.”
“If necessary…? Aren’t monsters beings that must be slain?”
“They must be slain, but that’s not my purpose. And unless I receive a request, it would be impudent of me to defeat them.”

I didn’t want to be interrogated for stealing quests, so I planned to preserve them if possible. However, if the girls felt they had to kill them, I was willing to respect that decision.
If they wanted to be the sole bulwark protecting humanity, how could I stop them?

“I see. As expected, you think deeply.”
“In any case, I’ll take the first watch. You take the next shift.”
“Understood.”

He agreed and climbed onto the carriage.
“Kehkeh. I’ll sleep first.”

He seemed quite comfortable, chuckling as he spoke. Watching his unpleasant laughter, I felt a sense of annoyance.

‘Be prepared for a beating if you don’t wake up on time.’
“If you don’t get up when the time comes, I’ll make a hole in your throat.”
“…Please wake me up.”

He entered the tent.
Voices could be heard from inside.
The children didn’t seem to view Dex as an outright bad person, as a stiff conversation continued for a while.

Thump!
The carriage violently shook as it hit a rock, causing people and luggage to bounce up.

“Oooww…”
“Hey, Delma. Drive the horses properly.”
“Then you drive instead.”
“Is that how you talk after being paid? I even exempted you from the night watch since you were driving the carriage.”
“Hmph.”

Delma snorted derisively and whipped the horses relentlessly.

I slightly opened the tent flap.
Riding the carriage swiftly advancing along the seemingly endless prairie evoked a sensation I could never experience in the modern world.
It had already been four days of continuous travel.

“It’s so empty.”
“Well, that’s how it is in areas without cities.”

Beyond the vast plain, a massive canyon came into view, similar in size to the Grand Canyon.

Everyone seemed quite fatigued from life in the carriage.
The children either dozed off or ate in the carriage, repeating the cycle.
Recalling how much more comfortable and convenient it would have been with a car, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.

We had traveled quite far south over the past four days. It seemed we would need another two days to arrive, but the pace wasn’t bad.

However, before that, we would come across the abandoned village where an artifact was hidden.
We had to stop there without fail.

“Delma.”
“What?”
“There’s an abandoned windmill along the way. Stop the carriage when we reach it.”
“An abandoned windmill… You mean that one?”

I emerged from the tent and approached Delma’s seat. Although mostly obscured by trees, I could see a structure similar in shape and blades to the windmill that had been built before Pretium.

“Let’s take a break over there.”

The carriage entered the village.
Every building was abandoned, with crumbling walls and collapsed roofs. Dark stains that resembled dried blood were scattered along the streets.

Not a single trace of life could be felt. In some places, plants had grown along the walls of buildings.
It seemed no one had lived here for at least a few years.

It was only natural, as this was once a village that had been ruined by an invasion of demons seeking to study humans.
While the mana was now gone, the devastation suggested how vicious the attack must have been.

“It’s creepy here.”

Tina poked her head through the tent opening, her brow deeply furrowed. Iris and Maria also looked outside.

“There’s a strange smell.”
“What are you planning to do here?”
“Nothing in particular. We’re just stopping for a break.”

I gave Delma a vague answer as I surveyed the village’s remains.

“Yet you speak as if you knew this place existed along the way?”
“Didn’t you see it on our way here? Don’t be so suspicious.”
“Hmph! When have you ever answered me properly?”

I attached two swords to my waist and drew the one I hadn’t used yet.

[The “Unwavering Vengeance” has been equipped.]
[You can temporarily use the Revenant skill.]

The sword was sharper than the indestructible glory of the past. It was a double-edged sword of a similar shape, but the honed blades seemed created solely for taking life.

“I’ll be back shortly.”

After sheathing the sword, I dismounted the carriage. Dex followed and spoke.

“May I come along?”
“No. Guard the children.”

In case of any surprise attacks, we needed combat power remaining with the carriage.
Those three, who had not yet become heroes, were still just weak children like their peers.

“Then what was the point of me following you? I came along to learn the information you possess. Refusing me like this is problematic.”

I let out a sigh as he pleaded his case.

“Don’t worry. I’ll show you directly why I came here.”
“…Alright. I’ll trust you this once.”

Although still clearly skeptical, he ultimately yielded his opinion.
This was likely because he deluded himself into thinking I was stronger than him, a significant factor.
Unlike the modern era, in this culture steeped in the law of the jungle where fighting and killing was common, anyone would know better than to provoke someone they perceived as stronger.

“I’ll be back.”

Leaving my party behind, I entered the village alone.
First, I should search for the artifact.

I headed towards the building I remembered.
It didn’t take more than a few minutes to find it – the building deepest within, with the most intact outer walls.

I rummaged through one part of the wall, inserting my fingers into the crevices to search for the Purification Stone.

That was how I discovered the Purification Stone, enveloped in dust and unable to emit its light.
After brushing off the dust, a faint purple glow appeared.

[The “Purification Stone” has been found.]

The Purification Stone was an artifact that helped remove mana. Since mana infection prevented the use of magic, for adventurers, it was an item as important as a mana protection potion.
However, unlike consumables, the Purification Stone could indefinitely remove mana, which was why it was called an artifact.

“Alright, got one. Next is—”
[Can you hear my voice?]

I raised my head at the voice in my ear.

“…?”
[I see you can hear me. You possess the sword I once favored.]

Ah yes, this was that kind of event.
Originally, this episode where Tina and Iris awakened as heroes was supposed to occur later, but I had changed the progression out of concern that the demons in this world might be stronger than I expected.

I cleared my throat with an “Ahem.”

“You were once the Captain of the Imperial Knights and received the favor of the Wind Spirit King, but you were slain by the Demon Army Commander and became a revenant lingering in this world due to your resentment towards demons… right?”
[…So you know of me?]
“There is no one in the Empire who doesn’t know you.”

I let out a scoff, as if saying ‘Why state the obvious?’

“It’s good to meet you, Sword Master Pasma.”
He was once the Empire’s strongest warrior, renowned as the ultimate swordsman.