My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 257

“Have we finished the story?”

The World Tree reappeared. Seeing her twirling as she made her entrance made me want to give her a playful slap on the head.

“We’re done, World Tree. Thank you for your time.”

[Thank you.]

Ariel and Pasma expressed their gratitude to the World Tree. Yggdrasil smiled kindly at the two of them.

“No, thank you. I truly feel fortunate to be able to repay the support that Ariel and Pasma provided so that Praus wouldn’t perish.”

[Then what should I do now?]

“Just stay still.”

As the World Tree reached out into the floating flames, turquoise mana began to swirl around it. It gradually compressed as if trying to extinguish the spark. Soon, the spark faded, leaving only a small turquoise orb behind.

“Don’t be too disappointed. We will meet again soon.”

Seeing the regret on Ariel’s face, Yggdrasil spoke.

“Yes. I’ll look forward to it, World Tree.”

She smiled as she looked at the small orb resting on the World Tree’s hand.

[Ari, I love you. See you later.]

“…She said she loves you and to see you later.”

I relayed the voice that came from the sphere. Ariel took a deep breath, as if overwhelmed with emotion.

“Yes. I love you too, Pasma. Next time, let’s make sure to say it face to face, okay?”

[Of course, Ari.]

“Of course, Ari… Is what she said.”

“Hehe.”

Her innocent smile. Just having this conversation seemed to bring them joy. Despite having lived for hundreds of years, I felt sweetness seeing their purity still remain.

“Yeah, this is it. It’s the best.”

“…What are you saying, Praus? That’s pathetic.”

“Want me to zone out for a bit? You’re so oblivious.”

“Praus, let’s not forget this is the World Tree, right? An incredible being that governs this world? But the treatment I’m getting is quite harsh, isn’t it?”

Interfering with someone’s pure enjoyment means I have no right to complain.

“Shut up.”

Yggdrasil pouted her lips, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at her actions perfectly matching her appearance, though suddenly I became curious about her thoughts.

“Yggdrasil, by chance, if I hadn’t used my wish, would you still have thought to keep the bond between these two?”

“No, I wouldn’t have. From the outset, I have no desire for a spirit and a human to share their love.”

“Why not?”

“Because there’s no merit in it.”

Merit. That was quite a calculating statement.

“Praus, bringing back the dead consumes a lot of causality. The more causality you use, the more unstable the world becomes. That’s how beings like the Demon King are born.”

“I see.”

This was a reason I could fully comprehend.

“Furthermore, having spirits enter the Human World to contract was to ensure that this world wouldn’t break, not to have them be used by humans.”

“That makes sense.”

Many took advantage of the powers of spirits for reckless crimes. The most significant incident being the Massacre of Other Races.

“You know, Praus, seeing human nature can be quite sickening, right?”

“I’m a human too, you know.”

“You and the Heroes are the exceptions.”

“Is that so?”

I decided not to question whether that standard was too subjective. There was no need to devalue something that received positive evaluations.

[Praus, my dear friend. Thank you once again for coming back to me.]

“No need to thank me. I’m just repaying a debt.”

Having gone through hardships, it’s only natural to receive compensation.

Ah, thinking about it, I’ll probably receive gold coins from Seri as a reward for defeating the Demon King later. Just the thought of it had me grinning.

“But speaking of which…”

“Yes?”

I leaned in close to whisper in the World Tree’s ear.

“What happens if spirits get into a relationship?”

“Praus, that’s rather shameless of you. It’s dirty.”

“Is love dirty?”

“Your thoughts are dirty, Praus.”

“…Humans are inherently curious creatures.”

“Your rationalization is impressive.”

“So what happens?”

She looked at me with disappointment and sighed. Well, you know…

“…Pregnancy isn’t possible. Ultimately, spirits are made of mana. However, they can experience pleasures similar to humans. Mature spirits have sensory organs that resemble humans.”

In other words, natural contraception. Spirits are amazing.

…But why am I even asking this?

Suddenly hit with reality, I sighed. It’s all because I haven’t watched any adult videos for so long.

“I’d rather not hear such pitiful talk, so I’ll go put this away in the World Tree. What will you do, Ariel?”

“I’ll talk a bit more with Praus before I go.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll head off first.”

Yggdrasil gently wrapped her hands around the orb and faded away. The sudden silence made things awkward between Ariel and me.

“Praus.”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. Truly.”

“No, thank you for being so helpful.”

As I placed my hand on my waist, Ariel suddenly hugged me.

“…Ariel?”

I hadn’t expected her to be the first to hug me.

I froze, unsure whether to stand still or pat her back. Ariel spoke up.

“Thank you.”

“If you hug me too tightly, Pasma might get jealous.”

“Yeah. I know.”

I patted Ariel’s back as she held on tightly.

“If you ever feel lonely while waiting for Pasma, you can come over to my place.”

“Okay. I’ll do that.”

Ariel held out her hand after the hug. I took it and smiled.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“You too, Praus.”

And just like that, we parted ways in a warm atmosphere.

With Ariel gone, I was left alone in the ruined village. Looking up at the moon and stars that illuminated the night sky, I quietly murmured.

“Shall I go back?”

*

Back at home, I closed the door as silently as possible. Just then, as if waiting for me, the door to the Heroes’ room swung open abruptly, and the Three Heroes poured out.

“Brother, you’ve been cheating!”

“…Cheating?”

Tina clung to me, spouting incomprehensible words as she took a whiff.

“Gasp! I smell another woman on you!”

“…It’s true. Brother, where have you been? This smell seems to be from Lady Ariel.”

How did she know?

I guess a Beastman’s sense of smell is quite acute. Iris’s husband can’t possibly cheat on her.

“Why are you still awake so late? Won’t you not grow any taller?”

It was pointless to say such things to kids who were already tall. But admonishment needed justification, after all.

“Well, it is better for Tina to sleep early since she’s small in the chest department.”

“What?!”

Maria teased, causing Tina to flare up while still clinging to me. I was clearly just talking about height, so how did we end up discussing chests?

“…Stop saying weird things. Go to bed already.”

“You must tell me what you did with Lady Ariel before you go, brother.”

“I fulfilled Ariel’s wish.”

“A wish?”

“I found a way to save Pasma.”

The Heroes’ eyes lit up, and their voices grew excited.

“Is that so! That’s wonderful!”

“I’m glad! I heard you couldn’t meet after your weapons broke.”

“Honestly, I thought Lady Ariel had it tough, but it seems Teacher can resolve such problems.”

“Now that we know the reason, let’s sleep.”

I clapped my hands while saying this, but the three of them remained still, catching my gaze anxiously with their eyes. It seemed they still had more to say.

“…Um, um, Teacher!”

“Hm?”

Maria called me with a somewhat stiff tone.

“Do you have feelings for Emperor Seri?”

If you ask me whether I have feelings or not, I do have an affection for her. While her obsession is an issue, she seems to be handling things wisely on her own lately.

“What do you think about Ella or Urka?”

Are they fishing for compliments?

Wondering if I had feelings for those women over them?

“Maria, if you want me to say the answer you’re hoping for, please just say it plainly instead of dancing around.”

“….”

At my words, Maria fell silent briefly, glancing back and forth between Tina and Iris.

“I can’t… No, none of us can bear to see Teacher marry another woman.”

“You all know there’s a nine-year difference between us, right? Feelings are fleeting. As time goes by, you won’t be able to like me as much.”

As I said this, I moved Tina aside and sat on a chair in the living room. The three Heroes shook their heads vigorously in denial.

“That can’t be! Do you know how much I like you!”

“That’s right! Just because time passes doesn’t mean we’ll stop liking you. In fact, I can guarantee that we’ll like you more as time goes on.”

“Hm. But didn’t you agree not to compete with each other?”

“Yes. We agreed not to do that.”

Have they reached a compromise?

While it was fortunate that the Heroes wouldn’t fight among themselves, it was a bit unsettling for me.

Dating all three of them at the same time, let alone marrying them, was something I couldn’t even imagine in today’s mindset.

…But I guess I had to at least try to accept it.

“We promised last time. If, when you turn twenty, your feelings haven’t changed, then I’ll accept you.”

“Yes! We’ll remember it clearly!”

“…Starting now, I’m going to cast the True Word. Once I do this, you’ll all spill your innermost feelings to me, so if you plan to refuse, do it now.”

This could easily be interpreted by them as me not trusting them.

“I’ll do my best to hit it full force to you, brother!”

“I’m ready, big brother.”

“I have no intention of refusing. If I can say embarrassing things without you knowing, well, that’s something else altogether…”

Fortunately, the Heroes didn’t take it negatively.

“Alright, then will you please sit before the table?”

The three of them moved simultaneously and sat across from me. I looked at the faces of the Heroes. Their responses were different, but they looked determined.

“Today, I’ll cast the True Word for you, and I’ll cast it again five years later when you’ve become adults. If the answers are similar then and now, I’ll marry you.”

“Are you serious?!”

“Yeah.”

The Heroes looked at each other and quietly cheered. While doing so, I glanced sideways at the hologram displayed beside me.

Now that we’ve made this promise, there’s no way I can talk about going back to the original world. At least not for five years.

“Are you in?”

“Yes!”

Now I had to figure out what to ask the Heroes.

No, the questions I needed to ask were already clear. I was just hesitant to see if this was truly okay.

It was time to put an end to this relationship.

To conclude the Heroine story.

“「True Word」.”