My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 218

“I’ve decided to stay in the Spirit Realm for a while.”

“The Spirit Realm? Why?”

The heroes tilted their heads in confusion.

I decided to fully accept Yggdrasil’s suggestion. The heroes needed to gain enlightenment as soon as possible to be prepared for the Demon War whenever it might occur.

With the advance of war by reducing monsters at the borders, it was foolish to think that a war would break out once every thousand years of imperial power as I remembered. That would be nothing short of naive.

“What? Are you falling in love with the World Tree?!”

“Absolutely not. I’m here to help you break through your limits.”

The heroes seemed to panic at the thought of me being with another woman. Was it that displeasing to them?

“Who said you could stay here?”

A Naiad who had been eavesdropping suddenly interrupted our conversation, looking less than pleased.

“Never has a human stayed in this place before. If other spirits find out that humans are here, they’ll feel uneasy.”

“Enough, Naiad. This is something I permitted.”

Yggdrasil intervened, calming the Naiad.

“Eh? But….”

“These are heroes. They are the ones who will need to protect the Human World from the Demon Tribe in the future. It is only right for them to be given the chance to grow here.”

“That may be true, but the spirits will feel uneasy. Many of them distrust humans.”

I was well aware of the reason for that. They entered into contracts with humans to protect their Spirit Realm but often ended up getting used and overworked instead.

The Spirit Contract fundamentally acted against the spirits’ interests.

“I see. That’s a valid point. But I believe Praus has a way to address that issue.”

“What?”

“Yes?”

Both the Naiad and I responded simultaneously, looking at each other in surprise.

“What’s that?”

“It’s cooking!”

“…What?”

“I’m not saying it just because I want to eat. Please don’t misunderstand me?”

Seeing my annoyed reaction, Yggdrasil pointed a finger at my lips, as if to say to just listen.

“It seems Praus has been cooking in ways unknown until now. The Phoenix was also impressed by Praus’s cooking skills, right?”

The Phoenix nodded vigorously.

“It’s not that I was impressed, but it was delicious. Most human food is either way too salty or bland, but Praus’s cooking has the perfect seasoning and is mostly stuff I’ve never tasted before, it’s super fresh! He must have been a chef in his past life!”

Not at all.

I just helped my mother cook since I was little and experimented with recipes while living alone, so I was only familiar with it. In that other world, just searching for a recipe would give you step-by-step instructions, as long as I measured the quantities right, it was easy for me.

“Praus cooked Tteokbokki for Glacer, right? That dish….”

“…The spirits had the human tools and cooking ingredients, so I just made it.”

I couldn’t believe I had all the cooking ingredients at hand. Where on earth did they get them…?

“You should make it here again. I’m sure that will ease the spirits’ fears about Praus and the heroes staying here!”

Delicious food can’t calm people’s hearts like that, it won’t resolve things so simply.

Honestly, doesn’t everyone just trust what the World Tree says?

…Could it be? Is this guy somehow making excuses to finally try my cooking?

“Are you asking me to cook for every spirit here?”

“No, Praus just needs to teach us how to cook. We’ll handle the making!”

“…That could work. But adjusting the seasoning while controlling quantities won’t be easy. I’ll give you the recipe, so make it as you see fit.”

Though I find this situation rather bothersome, it’s an opportunity to bond with the spirits, so there’s no harm in it.

So it came to be that the Tteokbokki recipe I provided later became a ‘universal rule’ in the Spirit Realm.

*

“You can stay here. It won’t be uncomfortable.”

The cabin seemed large enough even for a big family. The atmosphere of the house wasn’t much different from my home back in Secul, but the size was on another level.

“Is this where you live?”

“No, it’s just a guest house. I don’t usually show myself like this. It’s only because this is a special situation where I get to meet Praus for now.”

“I see.”

“So please defeat the Demon King along with the heroes. Before you come to the Spirit Realm.”

That was a given. If the Demon King comes to the Spirit Realm, it meant the Human World had perished. I could never allow that to happen. All my efforts were to see a happy ending for this world.

Even knowing hidden truths because of Yggdrasil didn’t alter my goal.

“That won’t happen. As much as you want to save this world, I also want to see it come to a happy conclusion.”

“Just as I expected from you, Praus. I look forward to it.”

Yggdrasil smiled warmly.

“Then I’ll be on my way. It sounds like the spirits are noisy, probably excited about new cuisines.”

“Wait.”

“What?”

“Can I still contact you even if I tear this?”

I asked while pulling out a delivery scroll from my bag. While staying here, I couldn’t let the empire be attacked by the Demon Tribe and fall apart. And even if they were attacked, we needed to be prepared to respond immediately.

“Um, this can’t be used.”

Shaking his head, Yggdrasil looked at the delivery scroll.

“This doesn’t have the density of magic to cross dimensions.”

“I see.”

“But I think it might be possible if you tweak it a bit.”

“Really?”

“I can’t do modifications myself; ask the Spirit Kings to do it after everything is finished. They should be able to.”

“Alright. I understand.”

Fortunately, it seemed like I’d be able to know if something happened to the empire while I was here.

“Then I’ll go back now. I hope the heroes manage to break through their limits before I return.”

“They will. They’re the ones you specified, after all.”

“Wow! The Teacher is chatting cozily with the World Tree!”

“…It’s not exactly cozy.”

I shared more of a secret bond with Yggdrasil than anything else.

With that in mind, I wondered if there would come a day when I would tell the heroes that I wasn’t from this world after all.

That day would likely come just before my death or something.

“…Well, yes. Because they are the heroes you appointed. I’m not worried at all.”

With a gleeful smile, she surveyed the heroes. That smile carried an oddly strong sense of trust.

Eventually, Yggdrasil disappeared from view. As I gazed at the spot where she had been, the heroes began to look around.

“Doesn’t this place remind you of Teacher’s house? It’s similar but looks much nicer and seems built with higher quality materials!”

Maria looked back at me while caressing the wooden walls.

“Why don’t you also build a house like this, Teacher? Just demolish everything and go for it!”

“If I get my father’s permission… I’ll think about it.”

“Alright! I’ll persuade Father for you!”

…Father?

Don’t tell me… No way, right? I mean, they did seem to get a little chummy last time…

“Let’s think about that later. For now, you all have things to do. As I explained a moment ago, the reason we’re staying here is to help you break through your limits.”

The heroes, who had been exploring the house, finally focused their attention on me.

“The mana here will be much easier to sense than in the Human World, so use it as much as you can to gather hints. Of course, if you can break through your limits, that would be even better. Try to achieve results to the fullest.”

“Yes!”

The heroes showed firm resolve. If they could gather hints here and learn to grow, it would surely lead to good outcomes.

So until then, I need to silently hope that nothing happens to the empire.

*

“Your Majesty, it seems Praus has gone to the Spirit Realm with the Spirit Kings.”

At Habito’s report, Blas frowned slightly.

“…Is that so? So that power was from the World Tree… It seems I wasn’t mistaken.”

‘Even if just for a moment, I felt a presence from the World Tree. An entity that cannot intervene until this world is on the verge of collapse suddenly used its power… Did that rascal Praus do something again?’

Blas tapped a finger on the armrest as he pondered.

He had attempted to kill Praus multiple times but had also schemed to take the upper hand in the Demon War. Yet, each time, the monsters he sent were killed, causing his plans for the war to fall further behind.

‘Whatever the case, it’s reaching its limit now. Preparations for war must commence.’

“What is the current status of the legion? Report from the 1st Legion Commander in order.”

“The 1st Legion is fully prepared to deploy at any moment. The previously accepted S-Class members are still growing, so they haven’t reached the Deputy Commander level yet, but even ordinary high-ranking demons are no match for those two.”

Pereus spoke while subtly avoiding Blas’s keen gaze.

Originally, his legion should have been completed by now. However, he had executed several of his monsters on suspicion that there might be someone among them involved in Pero’s death. This, of course, resulted in his legion’s growth lagging behind the others.

Aware of this fact, he couldn’t bring himself to look Blas in the eye.

“The 2nd Legion is perfect.”

Lichen reported next. Seeing the abundant confidence in his voice from within his black armor, Pereus frowned. However, he couldn’t say anything, as he had brought it upon himself.

“The 3rd Legion has lost its Deputy Commander due to the unexpected death of Raghur and has also lost an elite unit. It seems it will take quite a while to recover.”

Ecabel reported with her head bowed. Blas furrowed his brow.

“The 4th Legion is also perfect. However, as its elites are in the empire, immediate reunification seems unlikely.”

After hearing Habito’s report, Blas nodded.

“No need for reunification. The elites of the 4th Legion will carry out distraction operations when the war begins.”

“Understood.”

Hearing the full report, the Demon King made a brief pondering sound.

“Then there’s no need to wait another two years. Reduce it to half a year. Perfectly complete the absence of the Deputy Commander and the readiness of the legions within half a year. Understood?”

“Yes!”

The legion commanders responded robustly. The Demon King’s orders were absolute, and there could be no denial from their lips.

“And Habito.”

“Yes.”

“I heard you found the roots of the World Tree. Is that true?”

“Yes, I discovered one location. It may be cumbersome as they move the root when detected, but I’ve definitely found one spot.”

Habito nodded impressively.

“When the war begins, head straight there and cut the root, diminishing mana in the Human World.”

“Understood.”

‘Let’s see how long you can stay so cocky once the war starts, Praus.’

Blas gritted his teeth, recalling the interference that Praus caused to his plans.