My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 17

“My head’s ringing from the morning.”

I got up as calmly as I could. It felt like I might die from embarrassment, but thanks to my expression management skills, I managed not to show it.

“Are you awake?”

“Am I awake?”

“Have you woken up?”

Three people bowed and greeted me. I felt like a noble receiving greetings from my servants.

I looked out the window. The sun was already quite high in the sky.

“…It seems a bit late. Let’s go have breakfast.”

I couldn’t let them make do with just dried meat for breakfast.

I was at an age where I should be spending some money. I needed to grow strong, defeat many demons, and work for the peace and safety of the world.

I stepped out first, and the kids followed me.

“One more has joined us. Are you a collector of races?”

“…The owner’s attitude has been getting worse by the day.”

“Is it just me you’re talking about?”

After staying for about a week, I could now banter back and forth with the owner. It was perhaps the kind of bond that grows from familiarity.

Honestly, my attitude hasn’t changed, but since I was increasing his profits, he seemed to accept it.

It seems that money truly is the ultimate truth.

“I could use some breakfast.”

“One silver coin per person.”

I placed five silver coins on the table, and a slight smile appeared on his face.

“Hey! Four breakfasts!”

“Understood~!”

As I sat at a suitable round table, the kids also took their seats.

“Lord Praus.”

“Yeah.”

“What’s the plan for today?”

I pondered for a moment at Iris’s question before speaking.

“We will be leaving the capital tomorrow.”

“We’re leaving the capital?”

Maria looked at me in surprise.

“Yeah.”

If it were up to me, I would have wanted to leave immediately. After what happened yesterday, the Royal Knight Order and the Secret Garden would surely be on high alert.

Moreover, before taking part in the slave auction, I had previously sold artifacts to an appraiser in the black market.

Not only had I already exposed quite a bit of information, but there were also future heroes among us, so it was best to leave the capital as soon as possible and go into hiding.

“So where are we heading?”

“I’m thinking of going to the Brih Forest, where wolf monsters have settled recently.”

The Brih Forest was located close to a city called Aus in the southwestern part of the empire, which was governed by the Duke Aus.

Although it would take about a week to reach from the Secul Village where I lived, it was the safest way to encounter demons.

“To a place with… monsters? May I ask why?”

Because it’s where you’ll awaken. To fight demons with the will to battle is the only way for them to truly awaken.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason. There were two artifacts on the way to Aus.

One was the Purification Stone I had sold once before, and the other was a pair of shoes with the High-Speed Movement skill attached.

As they grew stronger, they would eventually surpass human limits, so to keep up with them, they needed at least to wear artifacts like these.

“The reason I took you in is right there.”

“Um, may I ask if you plan for us to fight monsters?”

“That’s right.”

“!”

“We’re not as strong as you, Lord Praus.”

“Exactly. We couldn’t even win against E-Class Adventurers right now.”

“Don’t worry. The moment you face a monster, you’ll realize you have to fight.”

I would urge them to feel that way. Whether they were weak or strong didn’t matter. What I needed was their determination.

As long as they could ignite the will to kill demons, they would safely become heroes.

“Anyway, to prepare for the long journey, I plan to buy the necessary supplies before we leave today. I’ll also get a coachman. You all should buy whatever food you want from the market as well.”

Though wandering around in our current situation would not yield any benefits, we needed to leave the capital as soon as possible.

If I prepared robes to cover myself up, at least I wouldn’t stand out as much.

“Anything’s fine?”

I took out three gold coins from my pocket and placed one in front of where they were sitting.

“Anything is good. Decide what you want to do, eat, or buy within that amount.”

With one gold coin, you could even buy a dress that nobles wear. But surely the kids wouldn’t buy that.

“Gold coins…?”

“Can we really accept this amount?”

“Is it alright to give this to us?”

“No problem—”

“Breakfast is here. Clear the table a bit.”

The owner’s sudden interjection made me frown as I crossed my arms defiantly.

“I don’t have any reason to do that.”

“You’re an insufferable brat.”

Thud!

The owner slammed the plates down roughly. He also carelessly tossed food in front of the other kids. But unlike mine, it didn’t make a sound.

“I don’t think the owner’s character is very good for the mental education of the children.”

“Is that something you should be saying?”

As I received the owner’s retort, I started my breakfast.

Although it was a bit late, it seemed like it was going to be a pretty peaceful day.

*

“Delma.”

I looked at the coachman who had transported me from Secul to the Pretéum Empire. He was managing the horses in the stables.

As soon as he saw me, his expression soured instantly.

“Delma, you damn brat.”

“You’re still in Pretéum.”

I lightly ignored his words. Even if I thought to be more familiar, my mouth had a knack for blabbering things that had nothing to do with my will.

“Why? Are you done with your business in Pretéum?”

“Yes.”

“What about that beastman slave you had before?”

“That child’s coming with us, too.”

“…So you bought her after all?”

“There are two more besides that child.”

“Don’t tell me you’re a pedophile—”

“Shut it. Do I look like someone who gets excited by kids?”

This was an understandable misunderstanding, but it was unavoidable. It was just that the game’s writer had set the starting age of the heroes at ten. There was nothing I could do as the player.

“I prefer women with larger chests.”

“…I have no interest in your preferences.”

“If you’re not interested, then don’t say that.”

“You insolent brat! You didn’t say a word! Tsk! So where are you planning to go this time?”

“I’m thinking of going to the Brih Forest next to Aus. Are you heading there?”

“The Brih Forest? I heard it’s been a bit tumultuous lately, so I think the empire warned against going there.”

Hmm? It seemed that news about the wolf monsters settling there hadn’t circulated yet in this period.

I should test it out.

“Tumultuous? What do you mean?”

“I’ve heard that people going there to gather herbs have been disappearing more frequently. Mages had issued a notice warning against going near because they felt the magic beasts.”

So there’s still no specific information about the monsters.

Given that, should I not have told the kids about the monsters? It was possible they would question how I knew such information.

“Since the Duke Aus requested an investigation into the Brih Forest, it should settle down soon, but S-Class Adventurers must be quite busy. They’re probably fighting on the demon world’s borders.”

One of those S-Class Adventurers is right here, though.

Of course, in Inkuro’s case, he had just returned to the capital for a break after fighting demons a few days ago.

He was effectively fulfilling his duties as an S-Class Adventurer, which was why he was carrying around three thousand gold, quite a fortune.

“Anyway, are you planning to go?”

“For that distance, I should at least get three silver coins.”

“Three coins, huh? Understood.”

“What about the escort?”

Since we were traveling a long distance, it was natural to worry about meeting bandits.

“But this time, I’m feeling a bit apprehensive.”

“…No need.”

“What?”

He gasped.

The reason for going to Brih Forest this time was not only to find artifacts but also to awaken the heroes. I needed to minimize the number of eyes watching us.

At least until they gained the power to kill demons, it was better to keep it hidden from the outside.

“Don’t worry. I’ll step in if something happens.”

“What? You’re the officially recognized weakling of Secul.”

…Really?

Was I considered the weakling of Praus? I thought everyone was being cautious about living, assuming I was strong.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Why am I a weakling?”

“Because…”

He scanned me from head to toe.

“Only your body is weak; I’ve never even seen you fighting or training. Your arms are thin.”

“Don’t you know about compression muscle?”

“…? How can muscles be compressed?”

I realized after saying that it was a term used only occasionally in modern times.

Everyone was mistakenly thinking I was strong, but only Delma was looking at me normally, leading to a cognitive dissonance that caused my thinking to become impaired.

“Anyway, I—”

“Hey.”

“…?”

I turned around at the sudden male voice.

There stood a man completely cloaked in a robe. His impressive green eyes peeked out from under the hood and dark hair. His features seemed oddly familiar.

Additionally, seeing the black outfit that peeked through his robe, I could roughly guess where he belonged.

“…Dex?”

“!”

He flinched at my words and stepped back.

He hadn’t expected me to identify him so quickly, so he kept his distance.

“Uh, how did you know?”

He looked incredibly shocked, unable to hide his emotions.

‘What’s there to know? I already made sure of how NPCs looked in the illustrations.’

“Did you think I wouldn’t know?”

Thanks to that annoying filtering, we got into a quarrel.

*

“Crazy!”

Dex had no choice but to panic the moment his name was mentioned.

Just when he needed an escort, his identity had been discovered while trying to sneak around to gather information on Praus, disrupting all his plans.

After receiving a solid blow, Dex swallowed hard.

“Are you saying… you left me alone knowing who I was?”

“A few flies buzzing around isn’t a problem.”

‘So he knew I had been observing from the roof since the beginning. His absolute confidence that he wouldn’t be caught, no matter how or when… that mindset isn’t something a non-S-Class Adventurer could possess! And furthermore…’

Since he had been following me from the inn, he had overheard some remarkable information.

That the reason magic beasts were felt in Brih Forest was because of the ‘wolf’ monsters.

This was information that had not yet been revealed across the entire empire. Even the top information guild, the Secret Garden, had not obtained it.

Yet Praus knew of it. Dex thought to himself.

‘There’s a much more capable information guild behind this man than our Secret Garden! Where could it possibly be? Who on earth is this man affiliated with that even such a guild follows him?’

In reality, there was no such thing. Praus was merely using the memories obtained while playing the game.

Dex had no way of knowing that and could only consider Praus as the ‘leader’ of a group he wasn’t even aware of.

“Oh, Delma. Speaking of which, you mentioned needing an escort? Use this guy.”

“Me? Wait, hold on.”

Dex looked at Praus’s finger pointing at him in disbelief.

‘Is he trying to use me to hide his own power!?’

“Making an appearance in front of me isn’t supposed to mean that, right?”

“Well, that’s… true enough.”

‘What on earth does he not know? How many steps ahead is he planning?’

‘As the guild master of the Secret Garden, his skill goes without saying. Moreover, he’s started to draw attention after fighting with Inkuro last night, so the Secret Garden’s eyes must be on him. In that case, it’s better for me to control the situation from my end.’

“I’m not going to pay you. Any objections?”

“…Impressive. You certainly are something else.”

‘Knowing that being with him alone would leak information and using it as a bargaining chip? He’s a person of both strength and eloquence.’

“I understand. I’ll accept your escort offer.”

With that, Dex resolved to uncover the secrets and the organization hidden behind Praus during this journey.

In reality, there was nothing of the sort.