My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 182

“Ugh….”

As soon as Seri entered her room, she crossed her arms and plopped down onto her seat.

Though her face was hidden, her ears and neck were flushed red. Her fair skin made the redness all the more conspicuous.

“What’s wrong?”

“Er, I was really trembling.”

“Trembling?”

“C-Crossing my arms in front of other people…! It’s way more scandalous than I thought!”

“?”

I stared blankly at Seri, who was shaking her head vigorously. Crossing arms is scandalous?

“How did Todiah do something like that… on the street, no less!”

Anyone would think they kissed on the street if they saw that.

Even though she had no experience with boys, I didn’t expect her to react like this.

“But here, um, there’s no one around. So you shouldn’t feel embarrassed. Probably.”

As Seri mumbled and stood up, I glanced at her unimpressed before speaking.

“Aren’t you too conscious of the gaze?”

“Y-Yeah, but it’s embarrassing, isn’t it? Isn’t it the same for Praus?”

I couldn’t deny her words.

When the hero party and I were tailing Ella on her date, honestly, I felt shy too. I never realized how humiliating it would be to show affection while someone we knew was watching.

“If you feel embarrassed, then don’t do it.”

“If I don’t, isn’t it taken away?”

“Taken away…?”

I couldn’t understand why all this drama was unfolding as if I were the protagonist of a light novel.

“I can’t afford to lose. I don’t want anything precious taken away from me anymore.”

“Just to be clear, I am not an object.”

“…True. Why isn’t Praus an object?”

What kind of bizarre nonsense was this?

“If Praus were an object, then I could just monopolize him without having to fight Todiah.”

That sent a chill down my spine—hearing it from a character with yandere traits was even scarier.

Just as I was suppressing a bitter smile, Seri suddenly clapped her hands.

“Ah, speaking of which!”

She hurriedly made her way to the drawer beside her bed. Squatting down, she began rummaging through it. After a while, she shouted, “Found it!” as she got back on her feet.

In her hands was a doll that was bigger than her head. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at it. It resembled someone. She hugged it tightly once before coming toward me.

“What do you think of this?”

It was a doll of a man in a suit with black hair.

It looked of poor quality for something that someone would buy from a store.

She handed it to me, and I accepted it in surprise. Doesn’t it look familiar?

“It’s Praus.”

Was it me…?

“I couldn’t help but make it because I thought of Praus every time I took a break.”

“Couldn’t help but think of me, huh…?”

“How is it? Think it turned out cute?”

“……I guess it’s well-made.”

“Right? You have no idea how many materials I wasted trying to make this. Hehe.”

“But why do you think of me during your breaks?”

I asked as I squeezed the doll. It was stuffed so tightly that it felt plump. Is her preference for chubby things?

Seri curled her fingers as she hesitated to answer. After a while, she bowed her head and spoke in a small voice.

“Well… I-I like you…”

“……Is that so.”

I chuckled and handed the doll back to her. She stared at my face blankly. It seemed she was surprised that I answered lightly.

“Wait, did you just confess?”

“I heard you.”

“Aren’t you going to… give me an answer?”

I could feel her disappointment radiating. I walked over to the desk she was using and said.

“If you want an answer now, you may be disappointed.”

I had thought of it since I entered, but her room was just as it always was. Her self-management was excellent and it implied everything was neat.

If there was anything different, it was perhaps the numerous books and documents piled on her desk.

I picked up one of the books lying on the desk. It was quite worn out. It wasn’t just this book.

The books I had given her when she first started studying were so old they were torn from use.

As I contemplated how incredible Seri would have been if she had been born in modern times, I heard the sound of fabric rustling behind me.

“……So does that mean I won’t be disappointed if I hear it later?”

Seri approached me, stroking my arm as she asked. For someone who said showing affection was scandalous, she acted very naturally.

“Well… I’m not sure. Who knows how things will turn out?”

“Then if I become the Emperor, will I get an answer that won’t disappoint?”

“……What?”

I looked at Seri in shock. She was gazing up at me expressionless and calmly, almost as if chastising me for my surprise.

“Seri, do you want to become the Emperor?”

I had mentioned that the only way for her to live was to become the Emperor, but I didn’t expect her to say it herself.

“I’m not as strong as Praus’s disciples or in S-Class. I don’t have a powerful family backing me like Todiah either. I’m practically a discarded child. To stand alongside Praus, I must become the Emperor.”

“To want to become the Emperor for such a reason…”

“But if time passes like this, I feel there’s no possibility that Praus would choose me.”

“Well…”

If Seri became the Emperor and chose me as her companion, I couldn’t help but chuckle at that assumption.

The husband of an Emperor?

Just the thought made my legs quiver.

That kind of high position was just too overwhelming for me.

If I had the audacity to be an Emperor, I would have staged a coup and usurped the throne from the start.

Furthermore, I was completely unaware of what had happened since the Demon War. Even if I were to become the husband of an Emperor, I wouldn’t be able to offer anything.

That’s why I thought I’d have to live separately from them once everything was over.

“Chris, in the end, will make a different choice than Praus.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“It’s not certainty. It’s just that from what I’ve seen, Chris would do anything to protect his rights.”

Honestly, I wasn’t too hopeful about Chris redeeming himself. But for the sake of the Empire’s stability, I had to count on variables to avoid clashes with the royal family.

In the end, I just needed someone to unite humans and other races. As long as I could borrow the power of other races during the Demon War, that was enough.

“If Chris tries to make the other races slaves again, what will you do? Will Praus kill him then?”

“Well… who knows…”

“But we can’t just let it go, right?”

“True, but…”

In any case, the idea of becoming Emperor for the sake of marrying me sounded unseemly.

“Don’t worry. As Praus said, I’ll just prepare to become Emperor anytime. Whether the opportunity comes or not will depend on how you act, big brother.”

Was that confidence? Or hope?

After raising her self-esteem and accumulating experiences, the demeanor I felt from Seri had changed significantly.

“……I won’t be able to help you once you become the Emperor.”

“I’m not asking for help. I just need you to comfort me whenever I’m struggling.”

With that, she snatched the book I was holding and placed it back on the desk. Then she suddenly threw herself at me.

“This is a reward for defeating the bandits.”

She buried her face in my chest, mumbling.

“The sound of your heart is really loud. Praus… are you nervous?”

“Cunning. You solved the situation with my hints.”

“Do you dislike it?”

“If I disliked it, would I not do it?”

“I’ll do it anyway. Hehe.”

With not a shred of hesitation in her words, I couldn’t help but smile.

“So… does that mean I’m making your heart race by hugging you?”

“……If a beauty like you hugs me, I think even the most indifferent man can’t help but have his heart race, maybe.”

“Is that so? That makes me happy.”

Laughter filled the air. As she held me, Seri slowly guided me toward the bed.

“Whoops!”

While still embracing me, Seri pushed me onto the bed. I couldn’t help but fall onto the sheets. In that gap, she completely clung to me.

“Please stay still! This is a reward, you know?”

“……How far do you plan on going?”

“Not how long, but how far. You seem to want it too, don’t you, Praus? Hehe.”

Seri smiled brightly, not hiding her enjoyment. Seriously, don’t point out weird things unnecessarily.

“……I’ll only do up to a kiss.”

As I said that, I wiped the smile off my face. I was serious. It felt like I was bracing myself.

“Does that mean the reward is complete now?”

“…Considering everything we’ve done so far, I think you could do more, you know?”

“After all, isn’t this something you should do with your partner? It’d be better to request gifts than to ask for this, I think.”

“All I want is Praus. Besides, I doubt that His Majesty will find me a partner for a political marriage, nor do I want to marry anyone else.”

“But even—”

Ah!

Seri covered her mouth mid-sentence. Along with the sound of air escaping, something smooth entered my mouth.

……Was that a tongue?

It seemed she was trying to find my hidden tongue with hers. The sensation was dizzying as if my head were spinning while common sense was muttering doubts.

Wait… I only lightly kissed Ella?!

It seemed that Seri thought I had done a “deep kiss” with Ella.