My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 148

“Is this the Marquis Lector’s mansion?”

Iris pointed at the grand mansion and asked. The magician who had teleported them nodded in affirmation.

“Yes, this is indeed the Marquis Lector’s mansion. However, to enter, you typically need to notify a few days in advance and reveal your identity. Oh, now that I think about it, I believe they haven’t been letting anyone into the mansion lately. Meeting Marquis Lector might be quite difficult… Will you be turning back now?”

“No, it’s fine. My Teacher gave me permission to come freely.”

“Teacher?”

The magician looked puzzled.

If anyone was perceptive among them, it was only Praus.

‘Since my Teacher instructed me to focus on tracking and monitoring Marquis Lector, it should be fine to enter without prior notice. Plus, if I can take out the Demon Tribe, I’ll definitely earn loads of praise from my Teacher!’

In truth, it wasn’t entirely without problems.

Praus was already aware that Marquis Lector was tied to the Demon Tribe; otherwise, he would’ve warned them not to act recklessly.

It would be Praus who would have to take responsibility and compensate for any messes that arose from their reckless actions.

But even Iris couldn’t think that far.

Her absolute trust in her Teacher made her oblivious to how skewed her actions were.

In the end, while she outwardly acted mature, it was a testament that Iris was still mentally immature.

“There’s always a way to meet him, so let’s proceed.”

“…Really? I’ll trust you for now, but since you’re visitors from the Empire, please be cautious in your actions.”

With that, the magician used Teleport and they departed, leaving Iris and Maria gazing at Marquis Lector’s grand mansion.

“Iris.”

“Yes?”

“What do you think about living in a mansion like this with our Teacher?”

Maria suddenly dropped the question as Iris pondered how to cross the gate. Iris glanced sideways at Maria to gauge her intentions.

“Right now, focusing on the task our Teacher requested is the priority, but… Hm. Living in a place like this wouldn’t be too bad. It would mean our Teacher’s skills are recognized.”

“Right? I think our Teacher needs to stand out a bit more.”

“That’s true, but our Teacher is modest, so I don’t think they would accept living in such a mansion. Besides…”

‘Somehow, it feels like having a separate room in such a large mansion would be a bit lonely…’

Since becoming involved in caring for Princess Seri at Aus Mansion, Iris hadn’t had the chance to bond like when they lived in Secul, which was a personal regret.

“And besides?”

“It’s nothing. But why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“Oh, I just thought it would be nice if our Teacher governed a territory like Duke Aus. As you know, Aus is a place where Other Races and humans coexist harmoniously, right? Even though it’s an Empire that committed a Massacre, that’s the Emperor’s fault, not humanity itself… There are trustworthy people like our Teacher and Duke Aus, right? Honestly, this place is much more comfortable than living in the forest.”

‘Is she saying she’s willing to acknowledge humans?’

Iris felt a strange discomfort at Maria’s nonsensical statement.

It was evident that she still harbored hatred towards humans, so it was puzzling to hear such words suddenly.

As Iris stared at her, she suddenly realized that Maria’s words were aimed at Praus. Noticing Iris’s gaze, Maria hastily tried to retract her statement.

“Ah, don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I’ve come to like humans, but rather that their culture brings more convenience to life—”

“Let’s think about that after Slave Liberation.”

Iris interrupted Maria’s words.

“For now, we need to focus on the task our Teacher entrusted us with.”

Iris couldn’t bear the unpleasant feeling creeping in as she listened quietly. Realizing she almost snapped at Maria, she sighed internally and moved forward.

“Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, that was a bit out of the blue.”

“It’s okay. I want our Teacher to live in a nice house too.”

Iris smiled, letting the awkward atmosphere dissipate naturally.

“Well then, shall we go?”

“Yeah.”

However, Maria had noticed Iris’s unusual reaction, realizing that the emotions she sensed from her were not merely those of a Teacher-student relationship.

Feeling the mutual unease, they approached the mansion’s wall.

Before entering, Iris, being cautious, raised her nose and closed her eyes to concentrate on her sense of smell.

After sniffing around for a while, Iris suddenly pinched her nose shut.

“Kugh!”

“What’s wrong, Iris?”

“There’s an awful stench…!”

Iris’s face scrunched up. Being Beastmen, their physical senses were more acute than other races, making this unbearable for her.

“A stench? I don’t know about that, but I can definitely sense an unpleasant energy from beyond this wall. It feels like a Magic Beast.”

“…Yeah. As my Teacher indicated, there is indeed a Demon Tribe here. Maria, let’s go in.”

“Let’s move over this wall. There are knights patrolling inside the mansion.”

“Got it.”

“‘Invisibility’.”

Maria cast an invisibility spell on both herself and Iris.

Invisibility was a wind-based spell that distorted the surrounding air to make one undetectable.

“This doesn’t completely hide our bodies, though. If there’s someone inside the mansion who can detect mana, we’ll be caught for sure.”

“It’s fine. If we can just sneak in, once we know there’s a Demon Tribe, we can take out its head without anyone being able to complain about intruding.”

Iris kicked off the ground and leaped onto the wall. Maria followed her, gliding softly over the wall.

The knights, who were keeping an eye on their surroundings, glanced at the top of the wall but couldn’t perceive the two. Seeing this, Iris took action.

“Let’s go.”

She sprinted along the wall towards the annex, ready for a fight at any moment. The two arrived near the annex, braced for action.

Iris placed her hand on her sword, focusing on the presence coming from within the building.

‘Someone is coming up from the basement?’

“Two people are approaching the entrance. Get ready.”

Iris leaped off the building, half-drawing her sword as she prepared for the encounter. The moment a Demon popped out, she planned to use Phantom Wave Slash. Maria also gathered mana in her grip.

“—I warned you. Keep your promise.”

“Alright. I’ll keep my promise.”

Creeeak.

The door to the annex opened, and two figures stepped out leisurely. The identities of those two were KyouKyou and Marquis Lector.

‘Just as my Teacher said! But…’

Iris immediately repositioned her grip on the sword’s hilt. With Lector nearby, she couldn’t use the wide-area technique, Phantom Wave Slash.

“Oh my, guests have arrived!”

“Guests?”

Marquis Lector tilted his head at KyouKyou’s peculiar laughter. Currently, due to the invisibility spell, Lector couldn’t see the heroes.

“Welcome, dear disciples of the heroes. Thank you for visiting such a humble place—”

As KyouKyou leisurely spoke, Iris charged, kicking off the ground and thrusting her sword.

“‘Phantom Wave Slash’.”

A sharp thrust.
Iris knew that the Marquis Lector was an ordinary human, so she judged that he wouldn’t be able to react to her movements and attacked without hesitation.

However, the outcome negated her judgment.

The tip of Iris’s sword aimed at KyouKyou ended up piercing Marquis Lector’s torso. KyouKyou, who was the target, managed to evade just before being struck.

“Gah!”

Marquis Lector coughed up blood.

It wasn’t merely a stab; a gruesome hole opened wide around the sword, spilling out entrails that couldn’t be contained by potions due to the massive amount of bleeding.

“Oh my! I didn’t expect such a self-sacrificial side from you!”

KyouKyou said with mock enthusiasm, having mesmerized Lector into protecting her.

“What… what have you done to me?!”

“Thank you for your hard work. Leave the rest to me, would you?”

Thud.
Eventually, Marquis Lector collapsed, drained of energy. Iris watched that in stupefied silence, her face filled with guilt and despair.

Meanwhile, KyouKyou observed Iris closely, feeling exhilarated as she raised her tone.

“Ooh! That expression is delightful! The face of a human committing sin for the first time… Ah, are you a Beastman? Either way, it’s so sweet.”

“This Demon Tribe bastard…!”

Iris swung her sword in desperation, but KyouKyou wasn’t weak enough to be struck by her blade, especially when Iris was still reeling from the mental shock.

“Sadly, it seems like if things continue like this, I’d be assumed to have killed Lector, so how about I drop the magic?”

Saying so, she snapped her fingers. The wind swirling around Iris and Maria dispersed, allowing the knights to finally see them.

“Hey! Who are you?!”

Hearing one knight’s shout, others began to gather. KyouKyou struggled to contain her laughter at the sight.

“Marquis!!”

Knights rushed toward the fallen Marquis, just as they converged upon the two young women with swords drawn.

Having been under KyouKyou’s mind control for so long, the knights only alternated their glares between Iris and Maria.

“How dare you, a lowly Other Race, kill the Marquis?! Drop your weapons and surrender immediately! If you don’t, I’ll kill you on the spot!”

At the knights’ demands, Iris clenched her eyes shut.

Maria contemplated whether to use magic against the knights surrounding them while observing Iris’s reaction.

“I’m curious to see how this noble murder incident will unfold in the Aioum Kingdom in a few hours. And I’m really, really eager to see how your Teacher will handle this.”

At Praus’s mention, Iris lost the last thread of rational thought she was holding onto. When she opened her eyes again, the color had turned to that of a beast.