My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 161

“Oooh! Oooooh! Oooooooh!!”

Tina couldn’t hide her excitement as she gazed at the shimmering navy-blue sea illuminated by the moonlight. The energy she felt standing on the sandy beach seemed ready to pierce the sky.

“Ooh! Sand! It’s so soft!”

“Tina, quiet down.”

“Wuuung~!”

She puffed out her cheeks, pretending to be sulky, directly signaling me to cheer her up.

“Hey! It’s my first time seeing the ocean! I’m allowed to be excited!”

…Has she hit puberty? She’s talking back.

“And Teacher, why didn’t you pat my head earlier? You have to do it right now!”

Pat her head while she’s already rubbing her own head against my hand?

I quietly watched her for a moment before sweeping her bangs away. Her fair skin and adorable face were now fully exposed under the moonlight.

“You’re such a clingy one, Tina.”

“Yes! I’m clingy! So hurry and pat my head!”

“Alright.”

In the end, I couldn’t resist her enthusiasm and gave her a thorough head pat. Pinching her squishy cheeks was a bonus.

“Just standing by and watching, it seems like you only favor Tina, Teacher. By the way, I’m also seeing the ocean for the first time.”

“…Huh?”

What kind of appeal is that?

Iris, who had stealthily approached, snuggled close to me. Standing with her hands clasped politely, she rubbed her silver hair against my arm.

“I try to stay still so as not to bother you, but if you like someone as proactive and… um… cute as Tina… I might…”

“No. One character like Tina is more than enough.”

Having a troublemaker like Tina is already a headache. If the other heroes made me suffer too, I might just collapse from parenting stress.

“Uuu… I want to act cute too…”

…I guess that’s true. I shouldn’t treat one differently, right? It’s said that discrimination can lead to resentment.

“I’ll make time for you later. You can go all out then.”

I whispered into Iris’s ear, causing her ears to perk up and tremble. It seemed to tickle her.

“…Can I do it while hugging you?”

She stood on her tiptoes to whisper back to me.

Ah… I still have to deal with that, huh? Just how many times do I have to go through this?

I nodded for now.

“This one is without counting… is that okay?”

You really have no shame, do you?

I nodded again, this time affirmatively.

Only then did Iris break into a big smile, her tail swaying and hitting my thigh. She seemed completely relaxed.

“…Maria is the same. I’ll do it for her later.”

I preempted Maria, knowing full well what she might say next.

“Did you promise? You have to keep your promise, okay?”

“Yeah.”

After accepting the heroes’ whims in moderation, everyone started moving freely.

Now we were watching the waves coming in from the sea.

“The water is coming in this far.”

“No, it’ll come in more.”

“That’s amazing.”

Seeing the three heroes squatting down and chatting softly, I felt a sense of ease wash over me. Yes, we need moments like this to relax.

“Praus.”

While I quietly watched the backs of the heroes, Ariel approached me stealthily.

“What is it?”

“Why did you come to the ocean?”

“I have something to find.”

“What is it?”

“The magic circle drawn by the Archmage himself.”

“The Archmage’s magic circle?”

This was not the current Magic Guild Leader with the Archmage title, but rather, one who emerged shortly after the Empire was founded.

That Archmage was very capricious, suddenly declaring he wanted to see the ocean and abandoning his research to come here.

Although the scenery must have changed a lot since then, he undoubtedly drew a magic circle somewhere in this area. All I had to do was find it.

“Why are you searching for it?”

“I’ll merge the weapons made by the Spirit King here.”

“Merging weapons made by the Spirit King? Is that even possible?”

“It is possible.”

If the magic circle I’m looking for exists.

“To do that, I plan to summon Orient here—”

“Puhaha!”

Tina’s head dove into the beach sand, and she quickly popped back up.

“Wooah, salty!”

I stared at Tina’s amazed back as she beamed with sparkling eyes. Suddenly, she turned around and waved at me.

“Teacher! This is super salty! It’s like they’ve pickled it in salt!”

“…You’re not supposed to eat it.”

“But sometimes you sprinkle a ton of salt on your food, Teacher! It’s super salty!”

“That’s just a mistake from making too much food. And if it’s salty, just don’t eat it and let me know.”

“But what if it’s delicious?!”

Watching her shout loudly made me chuckle. Ariel, who was listening from the side, gazed at the ocean with a wistful look in her eyes and murmured.

“Come to think of it… Pasma had said he wanted to see the ocean after he retired…”

“…Is that so?”

“I knew how the ocean looked, but Pasma had lived his whole life as a knight and never got to see it.”

“That’s what they say about Pasma.”

[Indeed. Just being able to see the ocean like this makes my heart feel a little fluttery.]

“If you want, I can let you touch the water.”

[No, it seems like I have something to do right now. I hope we can make time for it later.]

You’re not completely拒绝, huh?

I nodded. After all, it was thanks to Pasma that I was still alive. I could manage that much.

Of course, if I ever got a girlfriend, I might not be so generous anymore.

But then again, wouldn’t Pasma be watching while I’m with my girlfriend? That would be pretty creepy…

I turned my head sharply to gaze at Pasma hovering in the air. He tilted his head as our eyes met.

[What’s up?]

“…Nothing. Forget it.”

If it ever happens, I’ll definitely keep it outside the house.

*

“Orient, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Hey… why are you so close to Ariel? Are you still friends with her? Who do you think you are?”

Orient, hiding behind Ariel, pointed an accusatory finger at me. Ariel chuckled and pushed Orient away.

“Orient seems to be bothered every time he sees Praus, huh?”

“Well… it looks like you’re super close to Ariel!”

“I thought I was closest to you, Orient.”

“Ehh, hehe… Really? Hehe, is that so…?”

“I just wish you’d find the magic circle already.”

It felt like the conversation was dragging on unnecessarily, so I interrupted.

“Since Ariel asked, I’ll do it as a special favor!”

“Ah, okay…”

Honestly, he’s just as tiring as Tina, despite his image.

If the magic circle wasn’t buried in the ground, I wouldn’t have even bothered summoning Orient.

As I sighed, Orient started muttering something with her hands pressed together. Then her body and hair floated up, and something brushed past my skin.

It seemed to be mana. The heroes, who had been talking amongst themselves, turned to look at Orient as if they felt her mana.

After about a minute, Orient’s hair settled back down.

“Follow me.”

She said, and the spot she stopped at was a sandy area jutting out towards the beach. It looked higher than the surrounding ground.

“This is it. The spot where I’m standing. I can feel very faint mana here. But I can’t tell what attribute it’s based on; it feels strange.”

“Is that so? Good job.”

If you can’t tell what attribute it is, you’ve made a proper discovery.

“Now that we’ve found it, break up with Ariel.”

“Orient, didn’t I tell you not to say that to Praus…?”

“It’s not like I have a special connection with Orient. It makes no sense to tell you to break up.”

“Praus, are you really going to say that without affection?”

Actually, isn’t that true? Well, I think of her as a reliable comrade, but…

“Before the Crown Prince, I called you my friend, didn’t I?”

“…Then let’s consider ourselves friends.”

“Oh~ that’s just too casual!”

“Exactly, exactly! Get lost!”

“…I think you should just be quiet for a while.”

“Ugh! Ariel! You told me to shut up! You told the Spirit King to shut up! Someone like this isn’t a friend! Cut ties with him right now!”

If you’re a Spirit King, at least show some dignified behavior.

It’s ruining your character.

“…Anyway, is it here?”

In the end, I decided to ignore Orient.

I took out the four swords wrapped in a blanket. It was time for Tina and Iris to use them again after they had gotten their final weapons and had been temporarily neglected.

Fire Sword – Flamme to the north.

Water Sword – Mare to the south.

Wind Sword – Aura to the east.

Earth Sword – Terra to the west.

I set the four distinct swords, each in different styles and colors, upright in the sand in the cardinal directions.

Under normal circumstances, we would have to undergo the Spirit Kings’ trial to create Maria’s final weapon, but thankfully we could skip it due to the smooth contract process with the heroes and Spirit Kings.

“Maria, give me the gem on your necklace.”

I received “The Archmage’s First Footsteps” from Maria.

If it’s an artifact imbued with the Archmage’s energy, it should react to the magic circle she created.

“But why are we sticking the swords we made into this?”

“Just watch.”

This magic circle was the very first multi-attribute fusion magic created by the first Archmage. And now it would become a means to create Maria’s final weapon.

As I placed the gem in the center, the Spirit King’s Sword and the gem began to resonate under the moonlight.

As time went by, the swords started to lose their color. Soon, their shapes turned to dust and began gathering towards the gem.

When the shapes of the swords completely vanished and a whirlpool formed in the center, a flash of intense light erupted, bright enough to erase darkness in an instant.

I kept my eyes closed until the light faded, then opened them again.

What slowly came into view was an emerald-like sparkling turquoise staff thrusting where the gem had been moments ago.

I immediately grasped the handle of the staff.

[You have obtained the “Staff of Primordial – Azure.”]

“Alright. We did it.”

Maria’s final weapon.

Not only would it allow her, currently at the 8th tier, to use the 9th tier spells, but it also provided her with a far more abundant mana pool than what she gained from the contract with the Spirit King.

With this, when Maria achieved the 9th tier, she would possess power that surpasses a Spirit King.

“What is this…?”

“This is the staff made by the Primordial Spirit King.”

“The Primordial Spirit King…?”

The three Spirit Kings turned their attention to me.

They all gazed at me with serious expressions, clearly intrigued by the notion of the “Primordial.”

Ah, I wonder if the Spirit Kings don’t know.

There was one being that existed above the current Spirit Kings before you were born. People usually think of them as the World Tree, but in reality, there was one more above that.

It was the first Spirit created by the World Tree.

“The Spirit King before you… No, the Primordial Spirit King was one being. And you all are the existences born from the division of that Primordial Spirit King.”