My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 149

“I can sense magic from everyone here.”

As I was carefully observing the actions of people while looking around the Mens Trading Company for about thirty minutes, Ariel said that.

“…From a person?”

“To be precise, it’s not coming directly from a person, but from the area around their chest. They probably have something like a necklace on.”

“Is that so?”

So it’s the same as using an accolade as a medium.

“But the amount is so small that even I might not notice it if I don’t focus.”

Is it a trace of magic so minor that even the Spirit King wouldn’t feel it? Only KyouKyou could pull something like that off.

Her physical abilities were lacking, but she was a demon adept at reading mana and the flow of magic. Because of that, despite the use of powerful spells, most were easily dispelled.

“I see.”

In any case, I had finished verifying the information. According to what came from the game, I felt confident to make a move.

“What are we going to do? Countless people are entering and exiting the trading company, and I can sense magic from all of them. Isn’t this a big problem? Shouldn’t we retrieve everything at once?”

“…It’s impossible to retrieve everything.”

The Mens Trading Company had grown significantly enough to support a pillar of the economy in the Aioum Kingdom. I had no idea how far the accolades had spread. Not to mention, KyouKyou had infiltrated the kingdom decades ago.

It was unrealistic to think we could retrieve everything now. However, there was not no way to resolve the issue.

There was just one way.

And that was to kill the orchestrator, KyouKyou.

Now that the verification of information had been completed, I could determine KyouKyou’s current location.

KyouKyou was likely underground in the Marquis House annex. The reason she could hide in the kingdom for so many years without getting caught was largely because there were no cities with Grand Anti-Demon Magic embedded in them and she had never engaged in external activities.

KyouKyou was capable of using the senses of the humans she brainwashed, so even while hiding, she could obtain most of the information she needed. There was no need for her to act outwardly.

“So what’s our plan?”

“We have no choice but to kill KyouKyou. I told the demon to kill the noble before we separated, so I think we’ll be fine, but I’ll need to make sure to remind them not to kill any nobles who may have been brainwashed.”

I took out the transmission scroll from my pocket. If nobles got killed before we had proper results, things would get complicated.

We had to avoid making it look like we were sent by the Empire to assassinate nobles at all costs.

Considering the current bad relations with the royal family, there was a possibility they might use the situation to eliminate us too, so we needed to be cautious.

I unfurled the transmission scroll. Just as I was about to write on it, the trading company’s door burst open violently.

“C-Crisis!!”

A man shouted as he rushed in. He looked like a commoner. He breathed heavily but stared straight at the staff.

The sudden intrusion drew the gaze of the other guests surrounding him. We were no exception.

“What’s going on? Speak calmly.”

“Just now, in the Marquis House… No, no.”

The man who was rambling took a few deep breaths and raised his head sharply.

“Marquis Lector has been assassinated by a beastman!”

His voice was loud enough to be heard from several meters away. With his words, the citizens who had been paying attention gasped and started murmuring in shock.

“What? Is that true?”

“Yes!”

“If you’re joking—”

“I wouldn’t joke about something like this! You think I want to be dragged off for insulting a noble?”

I was left in shock by the exchange between the two. An image of the worst-case scenario that I didn’t want to form in my mind materialized vividly.

“Damn it! You stay here and watch the store!”

The staff cursed as they hurriedly prepared to leave.

“Teacher, what does it mean that it’s a beastman…?”

Tina, who had tugged on my sleeve, asked cautiously.

“Uh. It seems that way.”

If it weren’t for my Expression Management Skill, all sorts of emotions would have spilled out. Luckily, the skill managed to control my internal emotions, so although I was flustered, I could regain my composure quickly.

Of course, the thousands of thoughts rapidly flooding my mind left my head spinning.

“Ariel, contact Naiad and Orient to find out where the children are. Now.”

For now, locating the heroes took precedence. We could assess the situation later.

Ariel nodded and summoned the wind around her. While watching her mutter something with her eyes closed, I rolled up the transmission scroll.

“I’ll head to Marquis Lector’s place.”

There should be demons over there.

If KyouKyou decided to escape, we would be cornered. No matter how well I knew KyouKyou’s escape routes, it wouldn’t be easy to track her while dealing with the kingdom’s pressure.

She wasn’t a demon who fought directly. If we could track and kill her, that would be fine, but if we failed this too, we’d be branded criminals, and I might even fail to clear the game.

“Praus.”

“What is it?”

“The mana connection is unstable. Is the Spirit King consuming mana, which usually happens when they manifest in the Human World?”

“Probably.”

The situation was becoming more complicated. With the current Iris, she could subdue KyouKyou without calling Naiad, but the fact that she had done so meant something unexpected must have occurred.

Did another demon ally join her? No, that didn’t happen in the game. Were these variables?

Could it be that bringing immature heroes to the Aioum Kingdom had become a variable?

“Damn…”

I couldn’t figure anything out here. Everything was merely speculation and assumptions. To gain certainty, we had no choice but to see it directly.

“Ariel, Phoenix, I have a request for you. Is that alright?”

“What is it?”

“From now on, I need you to go find the nobles I’ve written down and look for evidence of their connection to the demons. If this continues, the king is unlikely to investigate the nobles.”

To prevent the situation from turning to its worst, we had to at least secure evidence that the nobles were colluding with demons. Only then could we avoid completely losing trust.

“It would be better to leave evidence using Surveillance Magic. Normally, I wouldn’t want your help, but given the situation, I’d appreciate it.”

“Got it. I’ll gather evidence that those guys are involved with the demons.”

After I handed the list to Ariel, she readily agreed. Ariel soon concealed herself. Phoenix, who was watching Ariel vanish, shrugged.

“I’ll be sure to collect my meal money.”

“Yeah.”

“Our Tina will be fine even without me, right?”

“I’m okay! Because Teacher is here!”

“Alright.”

After Phoenix gently patted Tina’s hair, she too vanished after Ariel.

As soon as I sent them off, knights entered the trading company. They wore the same armor I had seen the knights in the audience chamber wearing.

“Search everywhere!”

Uh-oh. Has the royal knight brigade already reached here?

“Teacher.”

“Yeah. We don’t have time to waste.”

The issue now was the journey from the capital Aioum to the Lector estate. With the knights storming in, it was likely we wouldn’t be able to use the magicians.

Using High-Speed Movement would take time; it couldn’t compare at all to Teleport.

Then the option I had to choose was…

“Are you Praus?”

The knight who had discovered us hiding behind the wall emanated animosity.

Damn. I hadn’t realized until he was upon us because I was focused in my thoughts.

Tina grabbed the handle of her sword and took a combat stance. I stopped her.

If they weren’t demons, talking came first.

“…Well.”

“Good. It’s nice that you admit it. Do you acknowledge that you’re an accomplice in the noble assassination case?”

“The noble assassination case is a misunderstanding.”

“…Misunderstanding? Every knight in the Marquis House knows that the fox beastman you brought killed him. Are you still trying to deny it?”

“I came here to kill demons, not to assassinate the kingdom’s nobles. Why would I have a reason to kill the Marquis?”

“Just making a justification is enough, isn’t it? Shut up and come with me. If you don’t, I’ll chop off a limb before I throw you in jail.”

I broke out in a cold sweat at the knight’s menacing words. He drew his sword.

There seemed to be no room for persuasion.

I desperately tried to think of possibilities, but perhaps due to my anxiety, my thoughts weren’t functioning normally.

It was at that moment.

“Teacher, this is a waste of time.”

“!”

Tina grabbed my wrist, conveying a meaning to let go.

Seeing that, the knight frowned. Meanwhile, other knights who noticed us came closer.

As she said, there was no time to waste.

Whether I ended up captured by the knight brigade and taken to prison, or with a bounty on my head, the result would be similar.

I let go of her hand and placed a hood over her head.

“Tina, don’t kill anyone.”

“…Yes.”

Tina, who had been about to draw her sword, put it back and clenched her fist. Seizing the opportunity, Tina threw a punch into the knight’s gut.

Bam!

The knight, who had received a direct hit from Tina’s fist, collapsed flat on his back. The armor she struck was crumpled beyond recognition.

…She’s not killing anyone, right?

“There’s no time, so hurry up and come at me.”

She’s quite reliable when it comes to fighting.

*

“Hey! Iris!”

Maria yelled while chasing after Iris. But Iris didn’t respond. To be precise, she didn’t have the luxury to answer.

Her mind was solely focused on the need to kill KyouKyou, with no other noise registering.

Splash!

Water splashed around the vicinity of Iris’s foot as she stepped through the air.

“Iris!! Calm down! Your judgment was correct! It was unavoidable!”

“This can’t be happening. Teacher will be disappointed in me.”

‘I’ll take responsibility for what I’ve done. I have to make sure Teacher doesn’t think I’m useless. Otherwise, I’ll be discarded…’

The grip on her sword tightened. With her eyes fixed on KyouKyou, who was still within view, she increased her speed.

[Iris! The hero must not be swayed by the demons!]

The manifested Naiad desperately shouted at Iris. Nonetheless, Iris’s gaze was solely fixated on KyouKyou.

“Naiad, it’s okay. I’ll kill the demon…”

Seeing Iris lose her composure, KyouKyou smirked and struck the air.

Just as the distance began to shorten as Iris was about to draw her sword.

“What a pity. But I guess the chase ends here?”

KyouKyou suddenly melted into the crowd at the market. She was planning to escape using the crowd as a cover. Once she blended into the crowd, she erased her magic presence, reserving only a minuscule amount to avoid breaking the brainwashing.

But.

“‘Ascension Sword’!”

Swish!

KyouKyou’s forearm was severed clean off. Iris had emerged from an alleyway, cutting off KyouKyou’s arm.

“I got you at last…! Now you die!!”

Iris swung her sword toward KyouKyou’s neck.

At that moment, someone else intervened. To be precise, it was someone KyouKyou had brought in using her magic.

“What the!”

As she instinctively drew her sword, KyouKyou approached her instead, delivering a concentrated blast of magic directly into Iris’s abdomen.

Bang!

“Huh?”

KyouKyou panicked at the sudden sound of the blast reverberating, coupled with the cracking that spread over her clothing. In that instant, Iris seized the moment and cleared the way to swing her sword back at KyouKyou’s neck.

Swish!

KyouKyou’s head soared into the air. Her lifeless head rolled several times onto the ground.

“That’s tough fabric!”

Even from the severed neck, blood continued to flow, and the mouth kept moving.

“But what do you know? I’ve already moved elsewhere. So just stop resisting and resign yourself. My purpose was never to kill you.”

“Y-You damn demon…!”

Iris, unable to contain her anger, was about to stab KyouKyou’s clone, but Maria threw herself to stop her.

“Iris! That’s enough!”

“If I can’t kill that thing, I…! I’ll be hated by Teacher!”

“First, look around, you fool!”

At Maria’s words, Iris snapped back to reality, halting her actions. With hesitant movements, she looked around. The market’s crowd was recoiling at the sight of a woman wielding a sword next to a headless corpse.

The only visual information ended there.

If anyone who could sense magic were present, they would have realized that her actions were to kill a demon, but this was an ordinary marketplace.

Meaning, there would be no one here who could discern the righteousness of her actions.

“AAAHH!!”

Eventually, the market erupted into chaos with the screams emerging from the crowd, and Iris, who was staring blankly at the scene, plunged deeper into despair.

Everything unfolded just as KyouKyou had planned.

Iris had found herself beautifully trapped in a dilemma, and it wouldn’t be long before the knights stormed into the marketplace.