My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 87

“How are you planning to conduct the duel?”

“It’ll be a 3 vs 3 captain match. You should send out three of your own as well.”

Captain matches were a form of competition where one fought head-to-head, with the victor continuing to battle.

“I’ll ask in advance: What level are those kids you claimed are your disciples?”

It seems he doesn’t believe they’re better than me. But they really are.

“For now, they are all B-Class Adventurers.”

“B-Class…? After all that, you’re only putting forward B-Class fighters?”

“…I’ve heard a lot about the Todiah Family’s combat strength through rumors. Just your knights alone are definitely on par with the Royal Knight Order, so they must be quite capable.”

Isn’t Ella, an S-Class Adventurer, part of the Todiah Family’s maximum force?

I spoke dismissively, but it’s undeniable that the Todiah Family is indeed the most powerful family in the Empire.

“Don’t underestimate them just because they’re B-Class.”

“My knights wouldn’t lose to B-Class fighters.”

“The rank of Adventurer is merely a guideline. It’s not absolute.”

“But there’s nothing more objective than that.”

“Then let me make a promise here. No matter who you bring, those kids won’t win.”

The Heroes are already of equal or superior caliber to S-Class. As long as they don’t let their guard down, they will definitely not lose.

“Ha, your confidence is through the roof! Ella!”

“Ah… Yes, Dad.”

Ella responded in a daze at the sudden call.

“Get ready. It seems like you’ve been acting all high and mighty since no one has pointed it out. Let’s set your mind straight this time.”

Does he think there’s any possibility of winning against me just because I’m stepping out? If anything, my absence has taken away even that slim chance.

“Who will the other two be?”

“I shall step in along with Acker Todiah.”

A 6th Tier Magician and an A-Class Adventurer close to S-Class, huh?

It won’t be easy, but it seems doable.

“Dad, are you really going to do this?”

Ella is looking to me for guidance.

She seems to be hesitating over whose side she should take. It seems she’s weighing whether to side with the family that raised her or the one she personally likes.

Normally, one would choose their family without a moment’s hesitation, but the fact she’s contemplating between the family and me shows that her feelings for me are genuine.

“Our family’s pride is at stake. We can’t continue to let Praus’ arrogance run rampant. Scum like him need to be brought down a notch to learn humility.”

That’s a bit much. You can learn humility without getting stomped.

Let me reiterate, I’m a person who becomes a corpse without humility.

“Hey! Go and bring Acker Todiah.”

“Understood!”

The knights replied and then shot me a glance. When their eyes met mine, they shrank back and hurriedly left the reception room.

Looks like they were intimidated by my earlier killing intent.

“Keep your promise. If I win this spar, show your loyalty to the Empire. Naturally, your manner of speaking will need to be amended, and you must use honorifics.”

“That shall be the case.”

I nodded willingly.

—

“My engagement is at stake?”

The man with hair the same color as Ella’s. He was handsome enough to sweep women off their feet wherever he went. His masculinity enhanced his charm.

His name was Acker Todiah.

He was the second son of the Todiah Family.

Currently, he was an A-Class Adventurer but had the strength to not fall behind Ella Todiah.

“That’s right.”

“Why… no, why…?”

He seemed taken aback by the sudden turn of events and was about to take Glair to task. However…

“You should ask that cocky brat.”

Glair shifted the responsibility onto me.

I’d love to ignore it, but since I was the one who brought up the engagement cancellation, it was indeed my responsibility.

“You are… Praus, right? I’ve heard you are a rude commoner who disrespects nobility.”

While that’s not entirely inaccurate… don’t people usually say things like that face-to-face? Is it a privilege just because you’re high-born?

Or maybe I’m just too egalitarian due to my modern mindset.

Regardless, I’m not gaining anything by building such a poor image, so I should try to speak a bit more kindly.

“I’ve done things that warrant such treatment, so I can’t say much, but it’s not like I intend to be rude.”

“So what do you suggest? Just because you say I’m rude doesn’t mean I’ll change how I speak.”

Yeah, I knew that wouldn’t work.

Now I’m just curious. Who translates this stuff?

How does someone manage to be so abrasive and leave people questioning? It’s starting to go beyond sighs and into admiration.

“Hahaha, this guy is seriously bold. I could try to be respectful, but he isn’t worth it. I never thought I’d hear such words from a commoner in my lifetime.”

“Your tongue is quite long.”

He stepped closer at my words.

Like in a fighting match where both assess each other before the bout, he leaned in. His male features were a bit intimidating.

“If you didn’t have the power to kill a Black Dragon, I would have personally killed you myself.”

…Wait, does that mean he’s scared of me?

“So what exactly did you do that brought up the cancellation of the engagement?”

“I said if I win this duel, I want the engagement canceled. Glair Todiah accepted that.”

“What? Is that true, Father?”

“They say they’re trying to cancel the engagement to make Princess Seri the Empress.”

“What?!”

Acker scoffed loudly at Glair’s words, openly mocking with a smirk that tugged at one side of his mouth.

“Do you really think the princess can ascend the throne now?”

“She can, because I’m here.”

“You sure have a lot of nerve. If that were possible, anyone could have become the Emperor.”

Sorry, but if there truly wasn’t a possibility for the princess, I wouldn’t be doing this.

If Princess Seri had been foolish, she probably would have tried to set Crown Prince Chris on the throne and propose to liberate the Other Races from slavery.

“Father, why on earth did you accept such a foolish proposal?”

“I had no choice.”

“What do you mean?”

If Glair hadn’t accepted, it would have gone to the Crown Prince, and he would have accepted without hesitation.

I suppose the fact that he didn’t doubt that showed Glair understood the Crown Prince’s character well.

“I deemed it better to settle this on my terms than to trouble His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“What on earth are you saying…? What did Praus promise in return for winning this duel?”

“He said he would be loyal to the Empire, and of course, he must do so with the proper etiquette.”

“I see how it is. It makes sense for someone with the power to kill a Black Dragon to not be turned away by the Crown Prince. Though, I doubt an idiot like him would understand the meaning of loyalty.”

“Indeed.”

What do you mean, “indeed”? You should be denying that!

I’m not an idiot; I graduated from university!

“That said, I’m not too fond of the idea of accepting a proposal for an engagement cancellation without telling me first. Father.”

“You don’t have to accept it. If you don’t, we can maintain our pride and force Praus to pledge loyalty.”

“But Praus has the power to take down a Black Dragon by himself. Can we really win?”

“It’s fine. Our opponents are his disciples.”

“Disciples?”

At the mention of “disciples,” the Three Heroes had suddenly inserted themselves between me and Acker.

“Please step back. Our Teacher is feeling uncomfortable.”

Iris pushed him away, making him take a reluctant step back as he frowned.

“What’s this? You want me to fight kids like these?”

Acker brushed off the place Iris had touched with a vague flick. Then, Tina turned to me while pointing at Acker.

“What’s this? You want me to fight a weakling like this?”

“…?”

Tina’s unexpected parody caused question marks to hover over everyone’s heads.

“How ridiculous, really.”

With those final words, Tina grinned.

“Ooh… that’s a pretty good provocation.”

Maria praised her.

“Not bad. Don’t you think it looks a bit too arrogant?”

Iris looked worried.

“It’s fine. The Teacher does it too. When you’re strong, ranks and status don’t matter.”

No! Absolutely not!

My Expression Management Skill leaves me no choice!

But Tina isn’t bound by any such force; she can freely express her thoughts and feelings.

And intentionally saying something malicious means her quality is even worse.

If this goes wrong, I might have to drag family education into this.

“This brat might really be insane…”

“Stop!”

Glair intervened.

“Enough chit-chat; let’s head to the Sparring Arena. We can have a conversation after the battle is over, and prolonging this will only make it uglier.”

Thanks to him stepping in, the quarrel that seemed inevitable in the reception room came to an end.

I guess it’s different when someone of status says such things.

—

“Father, do we really have to fight someone like this?”

“They won’t be weak. I don’t know about the others, but that Elf… The amount of mana she has is extraordinary.”

“…I know that.”

I looked from the three standing at a distance to the Heroes stretching nearby.

“Tina.”

“Yes?”

“Go and assert our dominance.”

“Assert dominance? How?”

I whispered into Tina’s ear. She responded with an “Oho~!” as her eyes sparkled with interest.

She nodded in understanding and boldly walked up to the sparring arena. On the Todiah side, Acker was also stepping in.

It seems they plan to send Acker first.

“Though this is a duel with real swords, we must not inflict fatal wounds, and under no circumstance should you disobey my orders. Do you understand?”

The referee standing in the center simply explained the rules.

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

Hearing the answers from the knight referee, he raised his hand.

“Then… begin!”

“Ugh, is it really okay to fight someone like this—”

Swish—!

At the moment the referee’s hand came down, Tina drew her sword and charged at Acker.

Acker reacted to Tina’s movements, flexing his hand to draw his sword quickly.

But before he could, she already had her fist clenched in front of him.

Thud!

As Tina’s fist struck the tip of his half-drawn sword, Acker’s sword was sucked back into its scabbard.

“What?!”

Seizing the opportunity, Tina swung her sword, halting the blade just short of his neck.

“You’ve already died once, haven’t you?”

Tina provocatively said, a sly grin forming on her face as she took a beat to pause before speaking again.

“You little piece of trash.”

…I never told her to call him that!

Where on earth did she learn such a word?