My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 143

“……What are you talking about?”

Leoness’s lips quivered.

Seemingly caught off guard by my demand to hand over her organization, she looked at me in disbelief.

“Are you out of your mind?”

Taking a deep breath to regain her composure, she stood up. With her standing tall, our eyes met at the same level. Wow, she’s really tall.

“……If you want to take back that comment, do it now. I can pretend I didn’t hear it.”

Muscles peeked through the worn fabric of her clothing, bulging slightly. She looked ready to punch me in the face at any moment.

“I mean it.”

“Yeah, you’ve really lost it.”

She let out a hollow laugh and placed her hand on my shoulder.

“If you want to talk to my sister, get your head straight. I’ll let this slide because I know what you’ve done to other races. But there won’t be a second chance.”

Sister? When did I become your sister? Sure, she is actually older than me.

She tapped my shoulder three times as a warning. Her icy gaze sent a shiver down my spine. Leoness, looking displeased, turned away as if licking her lips.

“I’m not insane.”

I said calmly as she walked toward the exit. The moment she heard my words, her feline ears twitched.

“Ha…”

Leoness let out an obvious sigh and turned back to me. Her eyes had shifted to those of a beast, a clear sign of anger.

“Do I look that easy to mess with?”

“Not exactly.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m only tolerating you because I know you’ve been working for the other races. If it were up to me, we wouldn’t even be talking right now. And if we did, I would’ve smashed your human head in. So don’t overstep your bounds.”

Smashing my head? Just how much does she despise humans?

Leoness grabbed the collar of my clothes, making it feel like they might tear. Iris, watching from the side, seized Leoness’s wrist.

“Please stop.”

“…Hmph, you’ve trained her well.”

Leoness glanced at Iris and snorted. Then she swatted Iris’s hand away and released my collar.

“Just go do your charity work and leave. And if you so much as mention the Resistance anywhere, I’ll take your head.”

I straightened my disheveled collar and grabbed her ankle just before she stepped outside.

“If you’re so confident, you can do it right now.”

“You little bastard!”

Perrk!

Leoness threw a punch at me, but it was blocked by Iris’s hand.

“I told you not to do it!”

Iris placed her hand on her sword. It seemed Leoness recognized Iris as a worthy opponent, as she hissed and took a step back.

“I heard you’re a piece of work, but hearing it up close is worse.”

Calling me a piece of work to my face… isn’t that a bit much?

I wanted to say something similar, but I held back.

Suppressing the sigh that was rising in my throat, I spoke up.

“……Leoness, the Resistance acts as a ‘last resort.’”

“What?”

“If the Resistance rises, there will be no more negotiations. We can’t peacefully abolish slavery, and all other races that escape slavery will be enslaved again.”

I knew when the Resistance would kick off. But the excessive interference of episodes had begun to create unstable variables.

So I planned to control those variables from now on.

“I don’t care! We’ll win anyway!”

It’s nice to speak with such confidence, but…

The Resistance alone could ‘never’ defeat the Empire.

Even if they rebelled simultaneously in numerous regions, they couldn’t overcome the nobles who owned their armies.

Plus, most of the S-Class, who were equal to heroes, were human.

The size of the Resistance would grow to a threatening level, but no one would match the S-Class.

In the end, everything would be for nothing.

Unless Duke Tori and the heroes intervened, of course.

The chance for the Resistance to win arose when the heroes and Tori got involved.

Tori intervened because right after the Resistance emerged, the Empire deemed S-Class Urka the greatest threat and tried to take her out first.

To save Urka and for her own actions thus far, Tori had no choice but to join the Resistance.

And the heroes, upon hearing from the Spirit Kings that, if the Empire collapsed, humans would face extinction at the hands of the Demon Tribe, also decided to join. This was referred to as the World Tree’s prophecy in the game.

Thus, Duke Tori and the heroes became the strength of the Resistance, but the war between humans and other races showed no signs of stopping.

With neither side willing to back down to the end, negotiations failed, and eventually, the heroes planned to establish a new emperor.

That emperor would be none other than Princess Seri.

At that time, Princess Seri was married into the Todiah Family but was treated as if she didn’t exist. No one could challenge the authority of the royal family.

This was largely due to the Todiah Family’s unique culture of loyalty to the royal family. Even when they knew it was wrong, they had no choice but to follow.

However, shortly after the Resistance broke out, the princess desperately tried to convince Todiah to cease the war against the other races and face the Demon Tribe instead. She cried out to them, even if it meant being treated like a nobody, to please just listen to her once.

But the image she had built for herself resulted in her statements being disregarded. It was then that Seri resigned herself to the belief that she could never do anything.

At that moment, the heroes and Tori provided her with help to become human again. I was supposed to take on that role.

Thus, the war continued, and as the time to manage the Resistance dragged on, the Demon War started, leading to the worst gaming disaster.

That was the progression of episodes in the game.

But if I could control the Resistance, I could prevent the Resistance War from breaking out at the time of the Demon War.

If that happened, the heroes could focus more on hunting the Demon Tribe.

That was my plan.

Moreover, when the time came and forces were needed for the Succession War, I could request their help. It wouldn’t be much, but I could at least ask them to handle reconnaissance.

“Do you really think you can win? How would you respond if I were on the Empire’s side instead of the Resistance?”

“!”

As I sneered and said that, she flinched. Her eyes shook uncontrollably. It felt like I landed a good blow this time too.

“Ah… Were you under the impression that, since I’ve been acting for the other races until now, I was naturally ‘on their side’?”

“You little…!”

It seemed she had no words and just spat out curses instead.

This clearly established the power dynamic. From now on, I would toy with her at my own pace.

“……What do you want?”

Leoness, letting go of the doorknob, asked.

“For now, just come over and sit.”

I gestured to the table where the pouch was placed. She clenched her fist angrily, fully expressing her frustration.

“Teacher, um… what do you mean by that…?”

“Your turn will come later.”

This was just a bluff to steer the negotiation in my favor.

I understood why Iris was anxious, but that could wait until it was just the two of us. Either way, she’d have her doubts about my actions.

Leoness sat back down. I patted Iris’s back, who was looking confused, then stood in front of Leoness.

“So what do you want from me?”

Talk about being impatient.

She was getting anxious since the conversation wasn’t going the way she wanted. She was probably listing countless possibilities and scenarios about me by now.

But it was all in vain. I only had one thing I wanted.

I leaned on the table, looking her in the eye. The tension was palpable.

“I already told you. Hand over the Resistance.”

“Are you kidding?! The Resistance is made up solely of the Beastman Tribe and Elf Tribe. Each one of them has a huge grudge against humans, and they’re itching to kill them on sight. You think they’ll listen to you?”

“Not now, they won’t. But one day, they will—when the only way to survive is to rely on me.”

“Are you saying… you’ll hand us over to the knights?! Are you really a demon?!”

Her strong pride seemed to waver as she struggled to keep her voice steady. But her face was already shadowed, consumed by fear and anxiety. Oh no, did I scare her too much?

“W-Why is Duke Tori taking sides with a cunning human like you?”

“Cunning? Since when is that a bad thing? Making the best of any situation is a skill. I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t disregard my abilities.”

“Grr…”

Since she couldn’t think straight, every word I said must have sounded extraordinary. I couldn’t help but grin as I watched Leoness biting her lip, failing to retort.

“Well… as much as I say that, I do need the Resistance. So I won’t hand you over to any knights. Don’t worry.”

I said this deliberately to ease the tension, but the suspicious glare from Leoness only intensified.

“Why… why do you specifically want our Resistance? There are other organizations preparing to stage a rebellion against the Empire.”

That was because they’d all get absorbed into your side, right?

But I couldn’t say that outright, so I threw out a vague excuse.

“Because I think you’ll be useful.”

“What…?”

Why am I being filtered here?!