My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 115

“Seri, just take it easy today and relax.”

“……Okay.”

There would be no more opportunities to present Princess Seri to the nobles. At least not for this year.

The year the Emperor passed away was 997.

Excluding the year of his death, there were three years remaining. In other words, Seri had a total of three chances.

Of course, apart from the noble meetings, there were various social events and gatherings, but I had no intention of sending Princess Seri to those.

The noble meetings alone were sufficient to build a network, and given the societal context of this time, the influence of women encountered in social circles was not particularly strong.

Unless it was a peculiar case like that of a son-in-law, men overwhelmingly held the power. Thus, the future Emperor Seri needed to face men rather than women.

What’s more, now that Seri wouldn’t need to go to those places, others would come to meet her instead.

As her vulnerabilities were about to be exposed to the world, could the nobles just sit back and do nothing?

Definitely not.

Previously, I had utilized the information I had for her ‘position’, but now that information would be used for ‘threats’.

If a declaration of war had been made, there was no reason for us to hesitate either.

And I intended for Urka to take down Soro as the first step in this declaration of war.

When Urka realized that the leader of the White Light Corps was no match for her, the Emperor and Chris would be in for quite a shock.

Having been given the opportunity like this, I had to use it well.

“By the way, I heard that Urka and Soro are going to have a formal duel. It seems they had a disagreement over the slave liberation issue. What happened?”

“……Every time I tried to appeal for slave liberation, Soro opposed me. He said it couldn’t possibly happen.”

“I see.”

“But I argued that the liberation of other races wouldn’t become a threat to the Empire. Rather, maintaining the status quo would continuously poke at the other races’ sore spots.”

She understood this well.

The fact that she was observing all this meant that perhaps Seri was predicting that a resistance would occur.

She really is an intelligent woman.

“However, Soro insisted that it wasn’t the Emperor’s will and told me not to dream about it. Urka, who was quietly listening to that, pressed him, asking by what right he thought that… and the argument escalated into a formal duel.”

“I see.”

“I’m sorry. I should have stopped it.”

“No. That was something I couldn’t have stopped.”

Urka had once been willing to sacrifice her life for slave liberation.

She had struggled and hesitated over a long period, due to Duke Tori’s protection, but her determination to liberate the slaves had only grown stronger with time.

If her resolve had not been broken earlier, her current state would have been much more sensitive.

If anything, to have proposed finding a resolution through a formal duel meant that she had been greatly rehabilitated.

“Did they set any conditions for the formal duel?”

Duke Tori hadn’t said anything, but I asked just in case.

Regardless of the circumstances behind it, two S-Class fighters were going to fight, so it was necessary to be informed.

“There weren’t any specific conditions. There was a suggestion to make Urka a slave, but the nobles opposed that, saying it could become a problem if an S-Class active at the border became a slave.”

“Is that so?”

Fortunately, it seemed not all the nobles were complete idiots.

“However, they did say that the loser of the formal duel would not be allowed to participate in any capacity in the noble gatherings moving forward.”

That essentially meant that they intended to exclude Urka, who was a ‘beastman’, from places where ‘noble humans’ gathered.

“Did Duke Tori have anything to say about that?”

“Unfortunately, that was something Chris said, so…”

That made sense. When the strongest one led the atmosphere, the others wouldn’t have much to say or do.

“Well, anyway, since the formal duel is going to happen, I should go meet Urka.”

“Ah, wait…!”

As I stood up, Seri hurriedly grabbed my clothing. I looked at her in surprise.

“What is it?”

“W-What should I do from now on?”

I gently took her hand that was gripping my clothes. Slowly pulling it away, I knelt down to meet her eye level.

“Continue to learn from Duke Tori like you’ve been doing for the past few months. Follow him around and learn how the world operates. Also, think about the direction you need to pursue and act on it. That’s what you should do.”

Though it was somewhat vague, that was all Princess Seri needed to do.

She was smart, so she could turn even the slightest experiences into great nutrients. As those accumulated, she would gain strong insights, making it so no noble could disregard her.

“I understand. I won’t fail this time. I won’t disappoint Praus.”

“You don’t have to strain yourself to only show good parts.”

“Huh?”

“It means you can fail. No, I actually hope you do fail and get hurt. That way, when you become Empress, you won’t fail.”

I tapped her back twice and stood up straight.

“And when it becomes unbearable, feel free to vent to me. I’ll listen. I know better than anyone how burdensome and tiring what you’re doing is.”

“P-Praus…”

“Well then, I’ll be on my way.”

As I walked toward the door, Seri murmured something.

“……I really—”

When I turned to look at her, she was smiling. It was a strange smile, different from her usual demeanor.

I stared at her for a brief moment before stepping out the door.

“——Love you.”

*

Just in case, I filled a glass of water and headed towards Urka’s private training area in the backyard.

When I stepped near the training area, a scorching heat enveloped my skin.

There, a massive Flame Tornado was soaring into the sky.

I could now understand why it was Urka’s private training area. There was barely any distance to feel the heat, yet it was also absent.

This meant that a Barrier had been installed in the training ground.

It appeared that her magic was set up to prevent damage to the mansion.

Feeling the searing heat, I stepped forward.

In that place, the Heroes and the two Spirit Kings were watching over the training ground where the Flame Tornado was swirling.

“Ah… You’ve arrived, Teacher.”

Iris, the first to spot me, approached me in quick steps. Tina followed suit.

“Yeah.”

“How is the princess?”

“She’s okay now. You don’t need to worry.”

The real issue to worry about wasn’t Seri but rather Urka, who was about to engage in a formal duel.

After patting Iris’s head lightly, I looked over the group. I noticed that Maria was absent among them and glanced up at the training area.

“They’re in a duel—”

Boom!

Before I could finish my sentence, the Flame Tornado dissipated. It was because a massive Tsunami, generated by Maria, crashed over the storm.

“That kind of power won’t break through me.”

“Ugh…!”

“My turn now.”

As her words were spoken, a multitude of water droplets floating in the air defied the laws of gravity and came to a halt.

“What is happening—”

Urka looked around, seemingly confused.

“「Freezing」.”

With a shatter, the droplets transformed into icy spikes threatening Urka’s life. In response, she hurriedly chanted her skill.

“「Wall of Fire」.”

Flames erupted from her entire body, forming a barrier. As the ice drew near, it melted upon contact with the flames.

“Ugh! Hah!”

Perhaps consuming considerable mana, her breaths became ragged, and sweat poured down incessantly.

Well, thinking about it, it was Maria’s magic, who possessed Hero characteristics. Even for Urka, blocking her attacks would inevitably expend a lot of mana.

“It’s not easy to defeat someone with more powerful mana using magic. I told her to push herself to the limit of her mana, but now it seems she’s reached her limit, so let’s wrap this up—”

“Not yet!”

Urka shouted back.

“I can’t win against… her with this. I have to stretch my mana’s limits.”

“No, stop now.”

As I interjected, both Maria and Urka turned to look at me simultaneously.

“Praus?”

“Oh, Teacher, you’re here?”

Maria jumped down from the training area and hurried over.

“I was just casually sparring because Urka said she wanted a match.”

As Maria brushed back her blonde hair, I noticed sweat trickling down her face. It seemed she had also exerted herself to some extent.

“Is that so? Then take a break.”

After gently patting Maria’s head, I stepped onto the scorched and broken training ground. There, Urka was sitting, panting heavily as she sat on the ground.

That position made me hope she wouldn’t inadvertently expose herself.

“Urka, drink this.”

I approached her while fixing my gaze on her face. Upon reaching her, I crouched down and handed her the water bottle.

Urka briefly looked up at me and accepted the water bottle. She opened it and began to drink.

Watching her throat move continuously until all the water had been consumed, she wiped the moisture from her chin with her hand.

“Whew… Thanks.”

“……Is it because of the formal duel that you’re working so hard?”

I observed Urka, who was avoiding my gaze, and asked. At that, her pink ears and tail perked up.

“Y-You’re aware of it…….”

Her ears and tail drooped. They were truly busy bodily features.

Urka fumbled her hands, hesitating.

“I’m sorry. At the noble meeting… I couldn’t hold back… Since Praus promised to liberate the slaves… I feel like I messed everything up…”

“No, it’s fine. It doesn’t matter. After all, the slave liberation will happen within seven years, whether earlier or later.”

“Seven years?”

“That’s just how it is.”

I mumbled that casually and stood up from my seated position.

“Anyway, let’s stop the training here. If you push yourself to the point of mana exhaustion, you’ll be bedridden for days.”

“Okay….”

Urka nodded obediently. After finishing her water, she closed the bottle and sighed while looking at the Heroes.

“That girl has become incredibly strong. Those using swords are likely stronger now too, right?”

“…Indeed.”

“I always thought she had talent, but I didn’t expect her to become this strong in just two years. No, considering how strong she got in just a week… perhaps it’s only natural?”

She chuckled.

Seeing someone with more talent than yourself can be quite a source of deprivation, but even an S-Class has near-Hero-level talents.

In fact, it hadn’t taken her long to be acknowledged as S-Class; it was only that she realized she had inherent strength late.

“Perhaps her growth has been thanks to you, Praus?”

“I haven’t done anything. I’ve only given a few pieces of advice from the sidelines.”

“Advice?”

I nodded.

“Speaking of which, you mentioned last time that I could grow even faster here.”

“……That’s right.”

Even as I replied half-heartedly, I intuited one thing.

“Um, Praus. If that’s the case… can you tell me the method?”