My Disciples Think I’m Strong

After the situation was resolved, Urkha began clinging to me.
“What are you? That sword technique was interesting.”
She vigorously swished her tail as she followed me closely.
“Go away.”
“Hmm, I like rude men too. And subduing those kinds of men.”
What should I do about this, Pasma?
Urkha’s tendency to latch onto powerful individuals seemed to stem from an unusual obsession to achieve her goals.

[Oh dear. But I have Airy.]

Don’t get the wrong idea.
This girl just wants to fight, for her own purposes.

Unaware of this, Pasma simply kept chuckling, “Heheh.”
Is it my fault you’re having trouble?

“So who are you? Where did you come from?”
“Please stop.”
“Perhaps it’s best if you restrain yourself a bit?”

Since I was blatantly avoiding her, Tina and Iris simultaneously intervened. Tina pushed Urkha away, indicating she shouldn’t approach any further.

“I’m in a good mood now, so I’ll let it slide this once. But not twice.”

She showed a subtle hostility. Tina gripped her sword as she stared directly into Urkha’s eyes, blocking her from getting closer to me.

“Go ahead and try it.”
“Hah, damn brats…”
“Anyone who makes Lord Praus uncomfortable is unforgivable.”

At this point, they seemed more like bodyguards than anything else.

“Urkha, you brat! Are you already picking a fight?! Come here!”
“Ah, Tori! I haven’t had a proper chat with that person yet! And I need to teach that insolent brat a lesson too!”

As if she could easily crush an ordinary person’s skull with a single strike.

Urkha was dragged away by Tori without resistance.
Having been together since childhood, they seemed quite casual with each other.

Urkha pretended to be overpowered by Tori’s strength as she was led into a room.
Only after the door closed and she was out of sight did Tina release her sword.

“Tina, Iris.”
“Yes, Lord Praus.”
“Thank you.”
“Ehehe! It’s only natural, Praus. No, Master!”
“Yes, you brat!”
“How many times do I have to say it? I’m not your master.”

I ended the conversation with a final scolding.

Although it wasn’t too late at night, it was too much for those who had been camping and keeping watch for a whole week, wasn’t it?

Amidst all this, where was that bastard Dex?

I peeked into the room Dex had chosen and saw him sleeping soundly without a care in the world.

Ah. I didn’t expect anything more.
Yeah, better for him to sleep than to give useless information.

“Um, P-Praus…?”

As I closed Dex’s door, Maria was standing behind me.

She fidgeted with her hands and rolled her eyes anxiously. Her pretty doe eyes seemed drenched in guilt.

“What is it?”

Surely she wasn’t going to say anything about me embracing her?
To be honest, it was unavoidable. If I had just grabbed her arm, her shoulder might have dislocated.

“Th-Thank… Thank you…”

She lowered her head.

‘No need. I’m just glad you’re unhurt. I should have rescued you sooner. You must have been scared.’
“Don’t worry about it.”

Even though there were kinder things I could have said, my mouth wouldn’t let me.

“But I want to… Why do you care about someone like me, Praus?”

Why do I care?
For some reason, I couldn’t easily answer her question.

“I understand that you knew I would grow stronger, but as Iris said, even if I do grow stronger, there’s no benefit for you. Unless I was your slave…”

Well, without you, the Empire would crumble, and I would die too?

There were plenty of reasons, but it wasn’t something worth saying aloud.
Didn’t we just argue about whether I was using her or not?

I needed to find words that matched her expectations.
After a brief contemplation, I spoke the most plausible words that came to mind.

“This is my role.”
“Huh?”

I don’t know why I was made to possess Pasma. But at the very least, I wasn’t sent to this world to see a bad ending.
So these words weren’t a lie.

“That’s all there is to it.”

I felt like I should have said more, but I decided to be satisfied with this. It was better than having my words filtered in a strange way.

“Your role… Did someone request this from you?”
“Do I look like someone who was requested to do this by others?”
“No, I suppose not…”
“As I said, don’t worry about it. Everything will become clear as time passes. By then, Maria, you will surely have become a true adult.”
“A saint…?”
“Yes.”
“Can I really become such a great person?”

Anyone can become an adult as time passes, so a ‘great person’?

Well, from a child’s perspective, even adults may seem great. I used to admire my rather large father when I was young too.

“You will. Don’t worry.”
“It’s difficult to live up to such expectations. I’m not as good a person as you think, Praus.”
“Who knows? While I can’t speak for others, at least I don’t think you’re a bad person.”

With those final words, I patted her shoulder and walked away to find an empty room where Maria could rest.

“Praus, are you alright?”
“Do I look alright?”

His gaze swept over me from head to toe.

“…You seem alright.”

Now that I think about it, this guy also had a poker face.

Of course, it was unimaginable for a high-ranking noble to lower his head and apologize to someone.

“I suppose even a Sword Master would have trouble against Urkha.”
“But you know, it felt a bit lacking?”

Urkha commented as she munched on the apples a servant had brought.

“Lacking?”
“How should I put it? You seemed to lack power. When I touched you earlier, you didn’t seem to have much muscle.”

So this brat clung to me just to check my physical condition?

“You didn’t even have calluses. Anyone who handles swords should have basic calluses, but your hands were unsullied, as if you’ve never worked a day in your life.”

She was perceptive.
She scrutinized me as she chewed on the apple.

“But your movements and that Aura Sword were real. Surprisingly fast. Even I couldn’t react in time.”

Urkha’s gaze briefly turned towards Maria.

“Well, while speed can improve as one gets stronger, an Aura Sword is different, you know? That’s something only a Sword Master can achieve.”
“What are you getting at?”
“I mean, what kind of person are you? I’m curious. There’s no way you could have created an Aura Sword just by picking up a sword. You… what did you do? With those scrawny muscles and mediocre strength, there’s no way you could have reached the level of a Sword Master.”

My apologies, but I did create an Aura Sword just by picking up a sword.
An Aura Sword that couldn’t cut anything, but still an Aura Sword nonetheless.
…Or maybe not.

“Curious?”
“No, I think I know.”

Urkha cut me off, her expression turning grim.

“You weren’t serious when fighting me, were you?”

Why would she come to that conclusion?
Knowing I was a scrawny guy with little muscle, shouldn’t she have thought I used some kind of trick?

“Did you think I wouldn’t be able to kill you? If Tori hadn’t intervened, I would have killed you.”

‘I know, I know. Killing me would have been as easy as squashing an ant.’
“Do you think you could have killed me?”

This mouth of mine never rests. Instead of letting it go, I provoked her and dug my own grave.

“I really want to kill you now.”

She glared at me viciously.
Tina and Iris tensed up, ready to intervene at any moment.
I extended my hand to stop them from jumping in.

“Don’t keep exuding that intimidation. You’ll die.”

[Activating the Intimidation skill.]

As I focused my gaze on her, Urkha’s eyes widened in shock.
She seemed startled, but only momentarily.

“…Ahah! What’s this!”

After blinking once, her surprised expression had vanished completely.
Instead, she was smiling, a flush appearing on her cheeks as she didn’t bother hiding her excitement.

“Ahahah! I see! So you weren’t serious either? This is fun!”

Urkha stuck out her tongue and licked her lips, her eyes like a beast that had found its prey.

“Come to think of it, you blocked my sword despite those scrawny arms? Maybe you have battle-trained muscles like me. Yeah, yeah. Alright then! Let’s have another round right here. This time for real!”

As Urkha naturally moved her hand behind her back, a fist landed on her head.

Whack!

“Ow! Why did you hit me?!”

Urkha pouted as she rubbed her head with both hands.

“Stop it, Urkha. If you want to fight, challenge him to a proper duel.”

A proper duel…?
…Don’t tell me, this girl.

Was she aiming for this from the start?

It seemed Duke Tori wanted ‘official’ proof that I had defeated Urkha.
He probably thought it would be better to make Urkha ‘accept’ the outcome in this way.

“A proper duel? That’s only a disadvantage for an S-rank like me. There’s a training ground behind, so we could just have a match there and quietly settle it—”
“Don’t worry. Praus is the one who defeated Incurou.”

Had the information from the capital already reached here?
However, in this situation, it wasn’t a favorable rumor. Whether I liked it or not, that incident made me out to be a ‘powerful individual’.

And that powerful title acted as a catalyst for Urkha.

“What?! He defeated that madman? Ah, the more I hear, the more interested I become.”
“And the less interested I become in you.”
“Great! I’ll do it. A proper duel. This time, we’ll both be serious. I’ll make sure to crush you so thoroughly that you won’t utter another word afterward.”

While I was indebted to the ducal family, I could have covered that with the gold I had.
I could have refused the Duke’s proposal right now.

But to abolish the slave system without violence, maintaining a connection with Duke Tori seemed better.

Otherwise, Iris or Maria might resort to violence in the process of abolishing the Empire’s slave system and liberating other races.

That was an absolute no-go.
An all-out war with the Empire was one of the conditions for a bad ending.

However, having it officially announced that I had defeated Urkha wasn’t a good thing either.

The more I stood out, the more likely I would have to meet those in high positions.
The more that happened, the more frequently I would have to fight demons, and end up being challenged from all sides.

Could there be anything more miserable than that?

“Is there a reason I have to do this?”
“Lacking motivation? How about this then?”

She pointed to herself as she said that.

“I’ll give myself to you.”
“What?”
“If you defeat me, I’ll give you the ‘right’ to do whatever you want with me. Does that pique your interest?”
“Urkha! What are you saying?!”

Duke Tori exclaimed in disbelief. The others also showed their unease at her words.
Aerial, in particular, reacted the most strongly.

“I mean it literally. Beastkin are naturally attracted to powerful individuals, you see. Ah, I’m not saying I’ll become your slave or anything. Just that I’ll follow you. What do you say? Interested now?”

Urkha raised the corner of her mouth in a sly smile.

Whether it’s attraction or whatever, can’t you just disappear already?
Did I wrong you in a past life or something? Damn wench.