My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 181

No matter what I do, it’s fine?

Such a broad request was unacceptable.

“It’s not that anything goes. I need to hear what it is to see if I can agree to it or not.”

“Then, if it’s something I can agree to after hearing it, anything’s possible, right?”

Her tone sent a chill up my spine. What does she want?

“…If it’s something worth listening to.”

“Ah~ I won’t do anything that Lord Praus dislikes. But if it’s something like what Lady Todiah did to Praus, then that should be fine, right?”

Something like what Ella did to me…?

Could it be that she wants to go on a date?

If she wants to have fun alone together, I could agree. But if it’s a sign of affection, that’s a different story.

If she wants to do the same things with Seri, that would lead to a kiss.

Doesn’t that just mean I’d be a playboy!?

…No, on second thought, since we’re not dating, then maybe not a playboy?

“No way….”

I quickly brushed aside my reasoning.

Rationalizing is only a modern concept.

In this society with a clear class structure, there’s no way I could engage both a princess and a noble lady and get away with it unscathed.

Todiah is sending me this way despite giving up on an arranged marriage. If she finds out I’m straddling both, she will definitely bombard me with all sorts of magic. Did I foolishly reveal a way to hit the 7th rank?

I scratched my head in confusion.

“Indeed. It seems something has happened.”

“…Huh?”

“Since others don’t know either, it must have happened in a secret place. If a man and a woman spent time in a secret place together, there’s really only one conclusion.”

“That…?”

I unconsciously asked.

Seri glanced at Tori. Is this something to be cautious about?

Then, she leaned closer to my ear and covered it with her hand. And her breath toyed with my earlobe.

“A kiss.”

I flinched.

I blankly blinked at her straightforward answer, forgetting the ticklish sensation.

“…Why do you think that?”

Is she still whispering? She doesn’t take her hand off my ear.

“You two didn’t seem that close, did you?”

“…Is that so?”

“Lady Todiah calls Lord Praus ‘you’. Doesn’t that mean Praus has drawn a line because of relationship issues?”

“Maybe it’s just for convenience?”

“Who thinks calling someone ‘you’ is convenient? Unless Praus and Todiah have a special relationship like students…”

“That’s…”

“And no one calls someone they’re close to with such extreme respect as ‘you’.”

I was defeated in logic.

I had no words left. As I couldn’t come up with a counterargument, a chuckle echoed in my ear. It felt like she was mocking me.

“So, what led you to that conclusion?”

“Lord Praus seems to act on a whim, but he’s more responsible than you’d think. He’s not lacking in understanding of human psychology or knowledge. So, he must be aware of the value of a virgin to the nobility.”

Virgin.

I flinched again at the blunt word.

But Seri didn’t stop there and provocatively said, “A virgin cannot come back, right?”

“Pff!”

In the end, I couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.

Thanks to my expression management skill, my poker face didn’t crumble, but my body reacted reflexively.

“So, I only predicted that there wouldn’t be any consequences up to that point. What do you think? Was I right?”

She was already confident in her own thoughts being correct.

But the fact that she even asked me meant that at the moment she declared it correct, she was also implying she’d be okay with kissing.

Wow, she’s meticulous. Just because she’s not the type to attack head-on with a yandere attribute doesn’t mean it’s not annoying when she’s smart.

“…No.”

I denied it for now. There was no benefit in agreeing.

“Hmm~ I was expecting you to deny it. After all, it couldn’t have been initiated by Praus.”

Was she really next to me? How does she know this so well?

“Did you perhaps put some surveillance magic around me?”

“Of course not. I just analyze why Praus acts the way he does whenever I’m bored…! No! That’s not it! It’s just… um… it’s obvious, okay?”

Seri’s eyes darted around as she struggled to explain herself.

“Analyze…?”

“W-well, I-I just thought that and, um, um, right!”

She fumbled her words in panic. Her face had turned completely red as if she’d become a tomato. Her hands were lost, and she was self-destructing.

“Ah, anyway, that’s not the important part! I’ve done everything Lord Praus told me to do well so far. Of course, it wasn’t too difficult to solve because I was given hints… But I also handled the things he didn’t ask me to do well! I studied really hard too!”

I started to feel she was acting like a little kid throwing a tantrum.

“I know.”

“Oh, knowing makes things quicker!”

She responded and patted her chest. As her chest slightly shook, I couldn’t help but glance at it. It was quite impressive and comparable to Ella’s.

“I think I deserve a reward.”

“I appreciate your hard work, but…”

I wonder if she even realizes that everything she did was for her own sake. Shouldn’t she be giving me rewards instead?

But taking a loss here, I decided to adopt a victim mentality and give her a reward.

“Alright, understood. What kind of reward do you need? Is there something you want?”

She clenched her fist with a triumphant expression as if she had conquered me. Seeing her getting so cocky made me want to give her a playful punch.

“Ah, I think it’d be better to talk about that in my room.”

“In your room?”

“I think it’ll be fine right now. Let’s go when my students and S-Class members are busy training outside.”

“For now, I was speaking with Duke Tori, though.”

At that moment, Tori, who had been staring blankly from the opposite sofa, reacted belatedly when his name was mentioned.

“Hmm?”

“Duke Tori, have you finished talking with Lord Praus?”

“Uh, I’m not sure. It was interrupted midway, so it’s hard to say it’s finished…”

Tori’s eyes rolled sideways. He stopped speaking when he saw Seri.

“…Well, it’s done.”

“Is that so!”

…What was that silence just now?

What on earth did he see?

When I turned to look at Seri, she was smiling foolishly.

“Seems that way, Lord Praus.”

Her arm coiled around mine like a snake. I couldn’t escape. Not only my arm, but also her chest pressed against me, restricting my movement.

“I’m going. Let go.”

“But Todiah already did, didn’t she?”

“…Seri, I’ve been thinking about it since a while ago. Did you originally call Ella ‘Todiah’?”

“Oh, I didn’t before. But now she’s an ‘enemy’.”

“Enemy…?”

“Ah, I don’t mean enemy in the literal sense. Just a little bothersome at this point.”

With that, Seri lifted me up.

“Let’s go now. Enough about other girls. Understood?”

With a somewhat sharp tone, I reluctantly nodded my head.

*

“So this is what Seri has been doing for the past year?”

In the audience chamber of Secret Garden, Dex faced Emperor Lupin, kneeling on one knee on the carpet.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The parchment held in Lupin’s hands detailed the ventures Seri had undertaken based on hints from Praus.

At the top, it was written that she had apprehended illegal drug trafficking organizations that had been troubling the nobility, as well as organ trafficking groups. She had suggested effective operations to tackle bandits targeting merchants based on geolocation and terrain advantages.

She played a crucial role in ending disputes among the nobility, turning them into opportunities for commercial exchange to procure necessary goods for each territory and foster harmony between them.

Seeing that, Lupin realized Seri’s evaluation was much higher than he had expected.

“I’ve heard that the sudden cold wave in the northern regions caused a shortage of food and that supplies were drawn in from the south… Is it the direct seeding method?”

Moreover, she had even extended her reach to resolve the food problem.

Seri had achieved several accomplishments, any one of which would have earned her recognition as a noble.

“As you may know, this method, by attracting the labor of other races, has significantly increased the production of rice grown in the southern regions.”

“I’ve heard that this method requires good water quality management.”

“It seems that among the elf tribe, those with good responsiveness to water properties are selected for management.”

‘So that’s a way to utilize other races as well.’

“Has this method been applied elsewhere?”

“It seems other nobles are starting to adopt it from this year.”

“Does that mean they aren’t monopolizing technology…?”

Monopolizing technology.

That was a topic widely discussed among the nobility.

Even though the nobility divides territories among themselves, all are part of one empire, so some nobles argue that monopolizing technology should not be permitted, while others claim that respecting rights for independently developed technologies and buying them is the way to go.

In the end, the matter was reported to the royal family, but it was resolved in such a way that those who developed the technology hold independent developmental rights.

Still, instead of earning money through monopoly, she made a significant contribution to solving the empire’s food issues through her openness.

This was something Lupin had no choice but to commend.

“I never imagined it would be tied to so many places.”

That was because Lupin had never heard of who was responsible for these accomplishments. Most duties were handled by Chris, the next emperor, so unless a report was recorded, it was easy not to know without personally looking into it.

He only occasionally heard of Seri’s evaluations from visiting nobles.

‘But, if she had the wits to think of such measures, she must have been capable of much more from an earlier age… Why hasn’t she showcased her abilities…?’

With such quiet lamentations in his heart, Lupin could understand a bit why Praus wanted to raise Seri to the position of emperor.

“Head of Secret Garden, Dex, was it?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Continue to watch over her. I will not skimp on rewards.”

“It is an honor, Your Majesty.”

“Now, I shall take my leave.”

Dex deeply bowed his head, then rose to leave the audience chamber with purposeful movements while pondering.

‘The emperor is interested in his youngest daughter, who was considered incompetent, rather than other princes. Things sure are getting interesting. Is this all due to Lord Praus’s influence? What an intriguing person he is.’

With a smirk, Dex shook the pouch of coins he received from the knight guarding the entrance.