My Disciples Think I’m Strong

“So that’s what happened.”

I explained with some embellishments to the others.
I said that by chance, I had accepted the request of the Spirit King I met, and she had given me her prized possession and decided to accompany me on my journey since she wanted to travel after such a long time.
Dex gazed at me skeptically as he listened, but didn’t interrogate further.
After that long rest, the carriage departed once more.
As soon as we set off, Aerial sat beside me. She began giving me looks, signaling her desire to speak with Pasma.

“…What are you staring at?”
“I want to talk to Pasma.”
[I too wish to converse.]

‘My recovery is incomplete, so it’s not possible.’
“Forget it.”

…No, Aerial wasn’t some random thug from the city, but a Spirit King. Where would you find someone who tells a Spirit King to forget it?
My consistently rude remarks didn’t even elicit a laugh anymore.

“As expected, only you could speak to a Spirit King in such a way, Lord Praus!”

What was he getting so excited about?
I almost struck Dex for his obliviousness before letting out a sigh instead.

“That’s right. He’s probably the only human who would dare insult a Spirit King. But… if it weren’t for this person, I wouldn’t have had the chance to speak with Pasma again.”
“Is that so?”

Delight surfaced on Dex’s expression, as if he hadn’t expected to gain such information.

“By the way, about this Pasma person—”
“Dex.”
“Yes, Lord Praus!”
“If you go around blabbering needlessly, I’ll kill you.”
“Don’t worry. For information like this, I should at least receive a hundred gold coins!”

Damn it. In the end, he was saying he’d reveal it to others as long as he was paid, wasn’t he?

I felt a chill run down my spine.
In one corner, Tina and Iris were discussing the Spirit King.

“So she really came from a fairy tale?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”

“To witness the manifestation of Lady Aerial in my lifetime. A Spirit King that even the Elder Elves have never seen.”

Maria was practically becoming a devout believer. At this rate, a cult dedicated to Aerial might emerge.
…Or did one already exist?

“So, Praus, who is the child I’m supposed to teach? They all seem equally weak to me. I don’t see any notable talent, except perhaps that elf girl…”
“Wait a bit. The time isn’t right yet.”

Until they awoke, they were just ordinary young children.
But the moment they awakened, Pasma and Aerial would be left in awe of the three children.

They would witness the talents bestowed by the heavens.
Hehehe. I’ll savor the looks on these fools’ faces when that happens.

Time passed once more as the carriage continued moving.
It had already been over a week since we departed from Pretium.

“Hey, we’re near the Brihi Forest.”

At Delma’s words, I opened the tent flap.
At a glance, it was a massive forest composed of trees easily over ten meters tall. It resembled a jungle situated atop a plain.

“So the monsters are in there?”
“…Yeah. Let’s start preparing.”

The carriage stopped at the outskirts of the Brihi Forest.
I put on the boots worn by Aerial that I had polished earlier.

[The “Boots Worn by Aerial” has been equipped.]
[You can use the Swift Movement skill.]

The Swift Movement skill allowed me to move at superhuman speeds beyond human limits.
Even better, these boots had no penalties whatsoever.
There was no time limit or restriction on the number of uses per day.

This was because the Spirit King had spent decades imbuing these boots with her own mana.

“It’s kind of unsettling to see you wearing the boots Pasma was given.”

Aerial remarked as she followed me off the carriage, her arms crossed as she looked at me disapprovingly.

“There’s no need to feel unsettled. These boots were always meant to be mine in the end.”
“Don’t you think I could just kill you and take them back?”
“The moment you kill me, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. Without me, you’ll never be able to defeat the Demon Lord.”
“The Demon Lord…?”

Dex’s ears perked up, having overheard my conversation with Aerial. When did this guy disembark?

“Dex.”
“Yes!”
“Wasn’t the information I gave you on the carriage enough? How long will you keep eavesdropping?”
“Haha… It couldn’t be helped if I happened to overhear, could it?”
“If you have nothing better to do, deal with the Black Light Falcons. It seems there are quite a few lurking around here.”
“Hmm. You sure have some nerve for a weakling. I don’t know what the Black Light Falcons are, but there are indeed others tailing us.”

At my words, Aerial whispered as if surprised.
…Did I really hit the mark? I had just taken a shot in the dark.

“Aerial, change your appearance. Your current form is too conspicuous.”
[Indeed, our Eri is so beautiful that she stands out.]

Whoa, they’ve already confirmed their feelings, haven’t they? Now I wonder who will try to NTR them.
Then again, did I really need to worry about that?
What madman would attempt to NTR a Spirit King just because they lacked a partner?

“It seems you don’t mind revealing your presence as long as you’re with me? You could receive quite a bit of favor that way.”
“I didn’t make a contract with you, so what favor? Stop talking nonsense and take on an ordinary human appearance. It seems that’s what Pasma wants too.”
“…I, I see.”

Seeing how quickly she caved at the mention of Pasma, it seemed she would give up anything for his sake.
She was truly a person… no, a Spirit, driven mad by love.

Well, loving to this extent was probably how it was maintained for decades.

Aerial snapped her fingers.
Her appearance changed into that of a green-haired beauty. Her clothing also looked humbler, made of similar cloth to ours.

“Oh… So you can transform too.”

Truly a headache. Having an information source tagging along was one thing.
This was why I hadn’t wanted anyone else to come along.

“Stay back for a bit, both of you.”

I drew my sword as I spoke.

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

“Oh! Are you going to let me talk to Pasma?”
“No, Pasma and I have something to discuss right now.”

I began walking as I spoke.

“Are you planning to train your swordsmanship?”
“Well… I made a promise.”
“A promise, you say?”

Without answering him, I walked a considerable distance away from the carriage.
Only when I reached a distance where Dex’s ears definitely couldn’t pick up did I stop.

“Tell me the framework of the Mirage Waltz.”
“So that’s what you wanted to discuss. I was a bit puzzled when you said you had something to talk about.”
“I’ll only show you once, so watch carefully.”

Recalling the motions and descriptions Tina had provided, I slowly demonstrated the movements.
I repeatedly showed various stances, such as spinning and delivering an additional strike from the same position, taking large strides to seize the enemy’s back, and so on.

There were some stumbles due to gaps in my memory, but I did my best to teach the swordsmanship.
After completing all the motions, I wiped the sweat from my chin.

“That’s about it. The reason the flow keeps breaking when you use the Mirage Waltz is because you’re overly focused on minimizing movement.”
“The essence of the Mirage Sword style is indeed minimizing movement. The wide strides and spinning motions you showed cannot be considered efficient.”
“But you must also know how to apply the basics. With just that approach, the flow will inevitably break. This method is useful for evading attacks and seizing the enemy’s back.”

…Or so Tina had said.
Since the Mirage Sword style was a technique that disorientated the opponent by changing tempos, she had persuaded Pasma that it was useful to aim for vital points.
While the name ‘Mirage Waltz’ implied delivering a flurry of strikes, each one had to be an effective hit for it to truly be a secret technique.
The Mirage Waltz born from this maintained Pasma’s original framework while maximizing efficiency.

“…”

He remained silent for a while, deep in thought, before seeming to realize something and saying, “Let me borrow your body for a bit.”

“Don’t overexert it.”
“I’ll try my best.”

The initial movements were identical to the form he had created.
As he continued, he mixed in the motions I had taught him, increasing the irregularity.

Similar yet different movements.
There was no wasted effort. The astonishingly fluid and rapid motions made it feel like it wasn’t my body at all.

When all the motions concluded, he stopped the sword. My lungs rapidly inhaled and exhaled.

“So that’s what it was.”

He gazed at the sword in his hands, panting heavily.

“Thank you, Praus. Thanks to you, I was able to manifest the final form of the Mirage Sword style.”
“I’ve kept my promise. Now you keep yours.”
“Yes, I intend to keep my promise. But among those three children, none are worthy of becoming my disciple. They all lack any talent, just like you.”
“Don’t worry. Soon, there will be one child who will make you think otherwise.”
“I see.”

Pasma responded and turned my body around. Aerial came into view.

“Pasma… you succeeded.”
“I did, Eri.”

Pasma grinned and gave a thumbs-up.

“Huh? Praus is smiling!”
“I, I’ve never seen Lord Praus smile before. So that’s what it looks like.”
“Better than that stiff face.”

The children reacted positively to the smile Pasma had formed.
I wanted to clarify that it wasn’t me smiling, but given the filtering that only compounded misunderstandings the more I spoke, I decided to let it go.

“Pasma. I may need to borrow your strength in the process of defeating the monsters. Is that alright?”
“Of course. A friend’s request is always welcome.”

Since when did I become friends with the Sword Master?
I felt a bit awkward at his warm treatment.
I was simply trying to take advantage of them, so their sincere kindness only made me uncomfortable.

I gazed up at the darkened night sky.
Exceptionally, we had even made a campfire tonight.

“Aerial, can you sense any mana within the forest?”
“Yes. I can definitely sense it. But it doesn’t seem to be a powerful monster? It’s not very strong.”
“I see.”

I had certainly confirmed the presence of monsters and assessed their difficulty level.
Now, all that was left was to lure the monsters out.

I observed the children, Delma, and Dex, who were huddled around the campfire, chatting obliviously. Although listening to the children’s stories, Dex’s gaze was directed at me, an admiring expression on his face that elicited a wry smile.

Surely he didn’t think I could use the Mirage Sword style, did he?

“Aerial, erect a barrier around the campfire.”
“…While Pasma already explained it to me, I’m curious about your reason for luring the monsters out.”
“I intend to make those children usable.”

I had provided each child with a weapon.
For Tina, the ‘Unwavering Vengeance’; for Iris, the ‘Indestructible Glory of the Past’; and for Maria, a staff embedded with the artifact gem ‘First Steps of the Great Mage’.
I had given them the weapons they would initially use, and there were monsters present.
The preparations were complete.

“Those children have even less talent than you. The only thing you excel at is your tremendous mana reserves.”
“Who knows, they might suddenly awaken and become the ‘heroes’ who will protect this world.”

I drew the sword Maria had purchased. It looked far better than an ordinary self-defense sword.

“When it’s over, let me talk to Pasma.”
“Very well.”

At my response, Aerial erected the barrier. Dex was the first to react to the sudden shift in mana, followed by the others.

“Stay put and don’t move until I tell you to. I’ll be heading into the forest to lure out the monsters. Wait here.”
“Don’t do anything reckless and stay here!”
“Lord Praus, what are you planning?”
“Lord Praus! It’s dangerous!”
“Praus, don’t go in. It’s dangerous, you know.”
“Have a safe trip.”

Everyone tried to dissuade me, except Maria, who remained understanding.
She didn’t have a shred of doubt about my abilities. Did she really think I was some nameless powerful figure?

Pretending not to hear them, I looked towards the forest entrance.

“Swift Movement.”
[The Swift Movement skill has been activated.]

The blistering speed was so fast that even my dynamic vision struggled to keep up, let alone my organs.
No matter how good the artifact’s performance, with subpar hardware, it became useless.
I let out a sigh and reluctantly lowered my speed as I entered the Brihi Forest.