My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 150

Tina and I were moving at high speed toward Count’s territory.

KyouKyou, who appeared in the game, runs away every time she encounters a hero. She is well aware that she is no match for them.

The hero must track her down repeatedly until they finally catch her.

If they fail to do so, the Aioum Kingdom would face destruction at the hands of Stella Forna the moment the Demon War begins, threatening the Empire severely.

Unlike the north, south, and west, which are adjacent to the Demon World and are prepared against the Demon Tribe, the east had almost no preparations, becoming a critical weakness.

To prevent that, the Aioum Kingdom had to exist as a nation until the Demon War.

“Teacher, where are we going now?”

“We need to anticipate the next route.”

“Next route?”

“There must be a route where that Demon Tribe is escaping. We need to find that route.”

I know the sequence of KyouKyou’s escape routes.

However, to predict her escape route, someone was needed to continuously push KyouKyou.

The problem was that there was no news of that person. Despite using the delivery scroll to contact Iris and Maria, there was no response.

Am I relying too much on the heroes?

Maybe I shouldn’t rely too much on kids who are only fourteen years old just because they’re heroes?

Thinking this, I felt apologetic.

I hoped they wouldn’t blame themselves for any problems caused by my mistakes. After all, it was mostly my fault for not thinking that far ahead.

“Tina, Iris and Maria are strong. Don’t worry too much. They’ll contact us quickly as if nothing happened.”

Tina suddenly said that, as if she could read my expression.

Due to my Expression Management Skill, my expression usually wouldn’t change, but did she notice the slightest change?

“What do you mean?”

“Eh! Were you not thinking about Iris and Maria?”

“…Well, I guess that’s true.”

“What? So you were pretending it wasn’t the case while knowing?”

“Anyway, I hope you’re right.”

If there’s no communication by the time we reach the next route, I’d have no choice but to ask Tina for help. Or I could lure her in and have Tina kill her.

Either way, my top priority was to kill KyouKyou.

Just then, a light began to shine from within my clothes.

I stopped walking and pulled out the delivery scroll from my chest. Words began to appear on the scroll.

“Teacher, I need help. The knights have attacked, and although we’ve managed to escape for now, Iris is not in a good condition. We’re currently outside of Marquis Lector’s territory and plan to teleport toward Aioum. If you tell me where to go, I’ll head there.”

“Iris?”

I murmured involuntarily.

If she wasn’t well, I would surely think it was Maria, not Iris. But it was surprising that it was Iris.

Moreover, since she directly asked for help, it seemed like an issue I needed to meet her for. I definitely needed to change my strategy.

“Tina.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll grant your wish next time with something else.”

I pressed the delivery scroll against the tree and wrote down some words.

I indicated I would head back toward Aioum and instructed the two to come down from the southern direction.

If I continued to emanate killing intent, whether it was Iris or Maria, they would sense my mana and be able to approach. There would be no mishaps.

“What does that mean?”

“Tina, I think you need to lead KyouKyou toward the route where I will be waiting with Maria.”

If Iris’s state was such that we couldn’t carry out the plan.

*

I joined the heroes who had come out of Aioum.

I immediately checked their appearances. Neither Iris nor Maria looked to be in poor condition.

The concerning point was that Iris had blood on her sword, and there were cracks spreading across her clothes.

“How’s your condition?”

“I’m fine. But Iris…”

Since joining, she hadn’t once looked me in the eye. She was subtly trembling and lowering her head even more as if she didn’t want to show me her face.

Could it be that she’s feeling guilty about killing Marquis Lector? If that’s the case, it’s a bit troublesome.

At this rate, it would lead to hesitation during battles against the Black Light Corps or White Light Corps. Hesitation in combat was equivalent to losing one’s life. I couldn’t afford to lose a hero even before the Demon War had started.

“Explain everything that happened.”

I’ll think about how to handle Iris later. For now, understanding the situation was paramount.

Maria calmly explained.

She described how Marquis Lector and KyouKyou had been together, that Iris had killed Marquis Lector, and how she ended up being labeled as a murderer while pursuing KyouKyou.

After hearing the entire explanation, I realized time was of the essence.

If this continued, the kingdom would either execute the envoy or send pursuers. I needed to conclude this matter quickly before it interfered with our plans.

How hardcore is this update, seriously?

“Tina, Maria. You need to move immediately.”

I pulled out the Aioum Kingdom map and drew a line on it.

“KyouKyou will move along this route. Iris and I will be here. Keep pushing her that way and bring her to me.”

I circled a point on the map. It was the Baron territory.

KyouKyou’s escape route was following the rank order of the nobility she was threatening.

After the Marquis comes the Count, and after the Count comes the Baron. Once the threat fully dissipated, she would revert back to the Marquis but wouldn’t move at all before that.

I know well that the secret to having survived hidden in the kingdom for decades lies in relentless vitality and patience.

“Is that Demon Tribe’s name KyouKyou?”

“…That’s right.”

“What a weird name!”

“Is it?”

Even though I felt a bit reassured by Tina’s unchanging attitude, I couldn’t shake off the unease.

I already messed things up, so it didn’t really matter, but it would be better to have fewer things to clean up afterward.

“But earlier, we pushed her hard, and though Iris cut her throat, it ended up being a clone…”

“That’s enough. Track KyouKyou, who is currently in the Count’s territory, and cut off her head just like last time.”

She’d need to feel the life-threatening danger of being decapitated at least once to move on to the next noble territory. Iris and I planned to be waiting at the next Baron territory.

“If we borrow the power of the Spirit King in the pursuit, we’ll quickly find KyouKyou’s position. Move now.”

“Yes, I’ll be back soon~!”

“I’ll see you shortly then.”

With that, Tina and Maria left, leaving only Iris and me behind.

“Iris.”

“…Yes.”

“We’re going too.”

“Yes.”

We set off immediately.

However, we barely got a few kilometers before we had to stop. Iris couldn’t keep her focus and was falling behind.

“Iris.”

“Ah, yes. I-I’m sorry. It’s all because of me…”

I understood what was going on.

I knew what she was troubled about.

I also knew how to comfort her. But was comforting her truly the right thing to do?

I worried that I might end up making her too dependent on me.

There would be many instances in the future that might shake her mind. I couldn’t constantly step in to stabilize her mind at those times.

“Pull yourself together. How long are you planning to stay like this?”

“I’m sorry!”

Seeing her bow down to the ground repeatedly, I sighed.

“I’m not looking for an apology right now.”

“But because of me, my mistake has put you in a difficult position. I wanted to help, so I made a contract with Naiad, but… I…”

I had no intention of blaming her for killing the Marquis. Moreover, I wasn’t planning to criticize something that had already happened.

It wouldn’t improve the situation to scold her, and it was far better to think of the next move instead of wasting time.

“Enough. What does that matter right now? What’s important is how to resolve the situation moving forward.”

I said as I watched her sulk. She noticeably flinched, and her shoulders trembled. Is she about to cry?

“I’m sorry… I’ll take responsibility for my mistake. So please…”

She bowed her head deeply.

“Please don’t cast me aside as useless.”

Iris said desperately, with tears in her eyes.

What are you talking about?

I stared blankly at Iris, blinking.

No, after everything I’ve gone through to raise her, why would I toss her aside now? Am I crazy?

The hero is the only hope of this world.

Even if more than half of the Empire is engulfed by the Demon Tribe, if the hero is alive, there will always be a chance for revival.

To abandon such a hero would mean denying everything I’ve done until now, which is absurd. It would be weirder to even entertain the thought of abandoning her.

If anything, I should be the one begging and holding onto her.

“…Iris.”

“Yes?”

“I remember having talked about this before. When you made a contract with Naiad, do you recall what I said?”

Her tightly closed lips gradually loosened.

“You said you wouldn’t abandon me.”

“Right. I said that. Did you doubt my words?”

“N-No! It’s not that! But… I’m just not sure if I’ll really be of any help to you—”

“You are. Just your being alive is helpful.”

I approached Iris. I fidgeted and twisted my fingers as I moved closer.

“Do you remember what I said right after?”

“…You said if I can’t fight, you would.”

“Exactly. You remember well.”

To ensure Iris wouldn’t think of anything else, I messed up her hair.

“Just like I said, if you can’t fight, I’ll fight. You can’t do everything in this world. It’s okay to admit it’s tough. Saying so won’t get you thrown away or have me pass the responsibility off on you. I’ll take responsibility for what you’ve done.”

Right. I’ll take responsibility.

So you just focus on fighting the Demon Tribe for me. So I don’t have to.

“Therefore, you should just believe in me and act with confidence. Of course, you should reflect on your mistakes if they happen.”

“Are you saying you’ll keep me by your side forever?”

Forever…?

“Well… Um. Yes, I suppose it would be that way?”

“If so, I won’t hesitate anymore. I will only believe in you and fight, solely for you.”

It seems like my words have somewhat comforted her, but the nuance felt strange.

It sounded like something a knight would say when pledging their life to their lord.

“…Right. Now, let’s shake off these distracting thoughts and move at high speed toward the Baron territory. Don’t fall behind.”

“Um, um… Teacher.”

“What is it?”

“Can I hug you for a moment? Just a few seconds. I haven’t hugged you ten times for the wish I wrote last time…”

Can’t you see I’m busy right now?

I wanted to say later, but since I was already comforting her, I decided to allow it.

“Fine.”

As soon as I gave my permission, she body-slammed me. I almost fell over. Holding my balance, she rubbed her face against my shoulder.

Her white tail was in total chaos, swaying left and right non-stop.

“Thank you… I really… like you.”

I couldn’t tell if she meant she liked me as a person or if there was a romantic undertone.

I didn’t have the luxury to ponder such things right now.

“…Just keep this between us. Remember the second ability of Absolute Domain I mentioned before?”

It was not long after I had handed over the Guardian of the Sanctuary to Iris. The skills of Absolute Domain contained an additional function depending on how it was used. I had explained that to Iris.

“Yes, I remember.”

“We will deploy Absolute Domain at KyouKyou’s second resting place. So she can’t escape.”

“Yes.”

“Make sure you kill her this time without fail.”

I told her, passing on the past glory. Iris looked up at me and smiled.

“Of course. As long as you’re by my side, I’m confident I can bring back the Demon King’s head!”

Sorry, but that’s an exaggeration.

I was relieved to see her enthusiasm return, but it seemed her tendency to lean on me was growing stronger.

I hope this would have a good influence…