My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 171

“Really? Are you saying that His Majesty Lupin and Brother Chris have accepted Praus’s proposal?”

Princess Seri asked me again with a look of disbelief still on her face.

“Yes. This is the third time I’m telling you. Do you not believe me?”

“That’s absolutely absurd! I just…”

Seri began to twirl her fingers nervously while stealing glances at me. She seemed to have something to say but kept hesitating, which was quite frustrating for me.

Yet, I didn’t rush her. I sipped my tea and patiently awaited her to speak.

“Ah, then what about the embassy…?”

“The embassy?”

“Oh, oh! It’s nothing at all!”

She waved her hands in a fluster, stumbling over her words. I couldn’t help but find her panicked expression puzzling.

Honestly, I had thought she would be overjoyed without a worry, but her reaction was so ambiguous. It felt like she might be happy, but there was also a hint of disappointment. But what did the embassy mean?

“My plans have gone awry…”

“My plans have also gone quite awry. I never intended to resolve this through force.”

Settling issues peacefully is usually easier for future requests for help if complications arise later.

Now, I didn’t regret using force, but I couldn’t deny that I had acted rashly. If I had known this would happen, I probably wouldn’t have even gone to the Aioum Kingdom in the first place.

“That’s not what I mean…”

With the end of her sentence trailing off in frustration, I shot a glance towards Tori. When our eyes met, he let out a sigh as if he had been waiting for it.

“Praus.”

“Thank you for the—”

“Truly, you are the unparalleled madman.”

Well, even when I did well, he still insults me.

This is all because of the filtering system, I tell you.

I casually brushed off his words and took another sip of my black tea.

“Hey, Praus!”

“What is it?”

“Does this mean there will be no awards moving forward?”

“Award?”

“If you’re saying you won’t be engaging in public activities… Doesn’t that mean you’re completely giving up on the throne?”

“That depends on what Chris decides to do. If he tries to break the treaty between me and the Emperor or attempt to kill us, then I will definitely make sure he dies.”

You’ve got to make sure to have a reason for your actions.

“So, for now, just live freely. That will be your reward.”

“Not that I was particularly wishing for freedom…”

Seri mumbled, her cheeks puffing up slightly. She had been mumbling for a while now, and I couldn’t understand what she was saying at all. What was up with her today? Did I do something wrong?

“Seri?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Why are you acting like this?”

“It’s nothing.”

“…Alright. If you don’t want to talk, that’s fine. But anyway, you should keep studying. So you can rise to the throne at any time. You should also occasionally show your face to the nobility—not for work, just for maintaining connections.”

I hoped she wouldn’t take that as a public duty.

If she did, I’d just say, “What’s it to you?”

“Then… Does that mean Praus can be included in that freedom?”

“…Me? What do you mean?”

Oh right, Princess Seri has yandere tendencies.

A yandere would usually be infatuated with their crush, so my suspicion that she likes me is probably right.

“W-well… I… I like Praus…”

Ah, wait a moment. Is she about to confess? Here?!

“Praus!!”

Bang!

The office door swung open violently. There stood Urka, clothes dirty and torn, looking like she was about to cry.

Nice timing, but…

“What happened to your clothes?”

I inadvertently turned my head away from her considerable exposure. She really needs a change of clothes. Seriously.

Turning away from Urka, I popped a cookie into my mouth.

“Why have they gotten so strong?!”

She rushed towards me and hugged me. I hastily pushed her face away. However, her strength was too much for me to handle. She rubbed her dusty face against my chest.

“Gross, get away.”

“Urka, if you keep this up, Praus will be in trouble—”

“Get away?! What do you mean by that?! When I think back on that good atmosphere, I thought we had gotten really close!”

“…That time?”

I froze at her icy tone. Seri, sitting opposite me, glared at me and Urka in turns. Her gaze demanded an answer from us.

“Well, you might not know, Princess Seri, but the night before I fought Soro, I got some encouragement. The atmosphere was really nice, and I was just saying that.”

“Stop with the pointless chatter.”

If I had just said it that way, why was I trying to explain in such detail? Can’t you see her eyes? She’s glaring at you.

“Ah~ what~!”

Urka whined while softly whispering in my ear.

“Things like this should be nipped in the bud.”

“Stop saying stupid things and let go already.”

“Ugh! Why do you act this way when I say something! Okay, okay! Regardless, when are you going to clarify? You still smell like that beast from Praus!”

“Beast smell…?”

Seri’s poker face slightly cracked. Her shoulders began to tremble.

I was starting to get a headache. When I was about to grab my throbbing head and exhale, the door opened, and the heroes entered.

“Urka! Why are you running away? You were fighting well.”

Iris asked teasingly. Urka then pointed accusingly at Iris.

“You guys destroyed my training arena. I’m not fighting with you anymore!”

“We have our limits when we train among ourselves. If I keep fighting with those kids, I won’t know if I’m getting stronger or weaker.”

Tina pointed at Iris and Maria.

“Still, it seems like Urka is the strongest among those referred to as S-Class Adventurers.”

“Oh, really? Ehehe.”

Urka shyly brushed her pink hair aside at Maria’s praise. Dust fell all over. She really should go clean up.

“But why are you hugging the Teacher?”

“…Don’t you mean?”

“…Right?”

All three heroes interrogated Urka at once.

“U-uh?”

“How did you manage to hug the teacher without a wish token while I had to use mine to get a hug? Explain yourself.”

Iris pressed her for an answer.

“Huh?”

“Was there a situation so special you couldn’t control your emotions unless you hugged the Teacher?”

“No… that’s not…”

“Then why did you hug?”

“Um…”

Maria questioned her.

“Are you trying to monopolize the Teacher?”

“No, why are you all acting like this…?”

Tina pressed on.

Before I knew it, the heroes had come close enough to point their weapons at Urka. Their wide, innocent eyes turned serious as they fired her with their interrogative glares, making me feel oddly fearful.

“Alright, calm down. Urka should go wash up.”

“Duke Tori, please step aside for a moment.”

“Yeah, we’re having a lady talk here, okay?”

“They’re too young to be called ladies—”

“Didn’t you often get told you have no sense when it comes to this kind of thing, Duke Tori?”

When even Maria chimed in, Tori shut his mouth. Instead, he glared at me. It felt like he was saying this was all my fault.

Admittedly, the way I spoke to Duke Tori had the tone of my filtered speech just decorated with honorifics. Clearly, I didn’t do a good job of raising myself…

“You kids… that’s enough.”

Eventually, when I stepped in to mediate, the heroes’ fierce momentum slowed. I made sure to separate Urka as well.

“If you’re going to keep spouting nonsense, why don’t you go defeat the monsters by the border instead?”

Instead of saying sorry, they turned their back on me. Oh, so you don’t want to answer?

“If you dare to squabble over trivial matters before me…”

What can I say? Could there even be a punishment I could impose on the heroes? I can’t exactly spank the butt of a fourteen-year-old. Would it even hurt if a regular person hit them…?

After a moment’s thought, I blurted out what came to mind.

“For a week, I won’t talk to you.”

“Praus… do you really think that’s a punishment?”

I felt my earlobes heat up at Tori’s incredulous remark. Even I felt embarrassed after saying that! Just be quiet and listen.

“You’re harsh to others but soft on your disciples—”

“Hey, that’s not true, Teacher.”

“I think so too.”

“No, that’s not it. No matter what, he shouldn’t be soft; he’s not at an age to be sulking.”

But contrary to Tori’s expectations, the heroes looked flustered and rejected. But what’s with the counter-offense in the middle of this?

“I’m not sulking. I just didn’t want to see you fight.”

“I was just commenting after seeing Urka was hugging the Teacher for no reason. Doesn’t it seem wrong?”

“That’s true.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Eh…”

“You’re over thirty years old.”

“What?!”

At Maria’s brutal remark, Urka flared up.

“Anyway, don’t fight. There’s no harm in getting along.”

We’re going to have to deal with the demon tribe attacking us later, so we can’t afford to fall into emotional conflicts now.

“Got it.”

In the end, the heroes acknowledged it.

I sighed and looked straight ahead. Princess Seri, sitting across from me, was quieter than I expected.

But I knew that with her yandere tendencies, the quieter she was, the scarier she could be. It was impossible to know what she was thinking.

“Looks like you have quite a few competitors. Is it true that strong women gather around a good man?”

That was a phrase I had never heard before in my life. Where on earth did she hear that?

“Because of Urka, the Teacher got mad.”

“Huh? It’s my fault?”

Urka pointed at her face with the most innocent expression in the world. The heroes nodded along.

“I definitely should be the Emperor…”

“It’s because you keep nitpicking at everything.”

“What did you say?”

The commotion beside me made it hard to hear Seri’s voice.

“It’s nothing.”

She just smiled and stammered.