My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 243

“Safe travels, Lord Praus.”

At the western edge of the Rexton Territory.

In the place that had once been the center of the second defense line, Ella handed me a fragment of the Purification Stone and spoke.

“Thanks.”

With this, I had gathered all the fragments of the Purification Stone.

Originally, I had intended to use it to defeat the Demon King and turn Stella back into a human, but now it seemed utterly useless.

I was considering using it to set up Grand Anti-Demon Magic at the Demon King’s Castle, where a battle with the Demon King was expected. With this, even near the source of magic that is the Demon King, I could deploy Grand Anti-Demon Magic.

“No way. I couldn’t do anything in this war, right? And I’m an S-Class Adventurer…”

“What Logia was thinking by weakening you, Acker, and the soldiers was correct. If the Hero had come a bit later, not just Logia, but all of you would have died on the battlefield. Then, there wouldn’t have been anyone left to defend the third line, and we would have lost.”

Suddenly thinking of Logia, I recalled that Glair Todiah would be the next Magic Guild Leader. Excluding Maria, the Hero, he was the second magician to break through the eighth tier, so perhaps it was only natural.

Additionally, I heard that Benos Todiah would be appointed as the Royal Knight Commander, following Conver, who had fallen in battle.

The Todiah Family, already wielding significant influence in the Empire, was solidifying its position.

“Are you sure you can go on your own?”

Glair asked, her voice tinged with concern.

It seemed like she was asking whether just four of us would be fine, going straight into the enemy’s stronghold instead of facing the incoming Demon Tribe.

“It’s fine. It’s better than charging in as a group and getting injured.”

For ordinary people without immunity to magic, encountering magic was far worse than any sickness.

Even as an S-Class Adventurer, if a person has no immunity to magic, the moment they enter the Demon World, they would be infected by magic. Once the infection begins, they wouldn’t even be able to think about fighting the Demon King and would be too busy trying to survive.

It was better to take a reliable force and deal with it cleanly before coming back.

Of course, there would be questions about why I, who had no magic immunity like the Heroes, had to go into the Demon World at all.

But since the Heroes thought I was strong, I had no choice but to go along. Even if I said I wouldn’t go, they would surely try to drag me along.

Moreover, I was concerned about what the World Tree had told the Heroes.

The fact that the Demon King’s memories had partially returned because of the causal ties consumed to hasten the Heroes’ awakening was the worst variable I had witnessed since coming to this world.

I had to go along to see how to handle that directly.

Yet, just like always, I believed that somehow things would work out. After all, the protagonist of this world is not the Demon King, but the Heroes.

“Praus, come back safely.”

Urka waved her hand.

“If by any chance you run into trouble, contact me immediately. I’ll come running.”

“There won’t be any.”

There would be no problems aside from the Heroes losing to the Demon King. And if that happened, this world would surely not escape destruction.

A complete bad ending.

“Don’t worry. The things you’re concerned about will absolutely not happen.”

“Kuh~! Hearing that makes me feel really reassured.”

Urka displayed an uncle-like reaction and then extended her fist toward me.

“Then I’ll wait quietly. Just as you freed our kin from slavery, go and make sure that no more monsters are born in this world.”

Making sure no more monsters are born…

The best outcome would be for the Hero to kill the Demon King while I stayed out of the fray entirely, but hoping for that felt like too much greed.

“I won’t even need to say that.”

I bumped fists with Urka. She encouraged not only me but also clashed fists with the other Heroes. She did flare up a bit at Tina’s warning not to look down on the teacher.

“Praus.”

“What is it?”

Seri approached me with graceful steps.

“I have discussed the matter with Marquis Medis. Considering his past dedication to the Empire, we decided not to strip him of his noble title entirely. Instead, we will downgrade his title to Baron and grant him the most barren land in the Empire.”

“I see.”

In my heart, I wished to have stripped him of his title completely and even executed him, but that was too extreme. From others’ perspective, it’s merely the story of a common servant dying.

This is why social status is important in a medieval world. The value of life is different depending on one’s status.

“So please don’t get too angry and travel safely.”

“…Understood.”

I turned my body after exchanging farewells with the rest.

To my eyes, there was nothing left but the traces of the Demon Tribe’s rampage, but in the eyes of others, a purple mist would be visible.

This purple mist was a well-known sign of magic for anyone born in this world.

To those who were unaware, entering such a place must look like a suicide.

I thought so too, if it weren’t for the Purification Stone.

“Maria, prepare the Teleport.”

Maria, who had been speaking with the Elves tending to the battlefield, nodded several times and approached me.

“Yes, Teacher. Where shall we set the Teleport?”

“To the Katrode Mining Area.”

That place was the closest to the Demon World that Maria knew.

I took a deep breath. I hadn’t been this tense even when the Demon army invaded…

Feeling like a soldier heading toward a battlefield, something I had never experienced, I steadied my trembling body.

After tightening the bag filled with necessary supplies like food and potions, I calmly said.

“…Let’s go.”

*

As soon as we Teleported to the Katrode Mining Area, the fragments of the Purification Stone started to emit light. The fragments that the Heroes carried showed the same phenomenon.

This was a phenomenon that appeared when absorbing magic. It was proof that magic was present, even if it wasn’t visible.

“It feels like the magic is much denser than before.”

Tina remarked, glancing around.

Behind us lay the collapsed city walls, and ahead was the slanted mountain of the Katrode Mining Area.

The fact that magic couldn’t be seen didn’t only have bad aspects; in fact, it allowed us to secure a wider field of view.

“It’ll take a considerable amount of time to purify this.”

“Teacher!”

Iris urgently called out to me, pointing somewhere. That place was the entrance to the Katrode Mining Area.

There lay hundreds of corpses sprawled everywhere. Each one had missing body parts or was reduced to specific remnants. Some among them even appeared to belong to Beastmen.

“It seems the monsters fed on them as they passed by.”

With the sudden invasion of the Demon Army, it was clear that the miners and managers who had been working hadn’t had time to evacuate.

There likely weren’t many magicians available to help them escape, and the knights watching from the border would have lacked the courage to save them.

“Perhaps it was too early to start this venture…”

I had planned to use the Katrode Mining Area to persuade Rexton while also reducing the Demon Army, but it seemed that activating it was not a good choice.

If we hadn’t activated it, they wouldn’t have been working in such a dangerous place, and they wouldn’t have died either.

“Indeed, controlling variables isn’t easy.”

Muttering that, the Heroes openly showed their displeasure.

“…This is horrendous.”

“If we can’t kill the Demon King, countless victims will emerge in the future, won’t they?”

“It’d be best to completely eradicate them in this opportunity.”

The Heroes stared at the corpses, fortifying their resolve.

“That’s why we’re here. Let’s get moving.”

As I took the lead, the Heroes followed.

“By the way, it seems that Ariel hasn’t been coming to the Human World much lately?”

Tina said as we walked toward the Demon King’s Castle.

“Didn’t I already mention that the vengeful soul of Pasma, which had once resided in my sword, has disappeared?”

With Pasma’s vengeful soul gone, Ariel had no reason to be in the Human World. Accepting that he was dead meant he wouldn’t be concerned about the Human World anymore.

“But I wanted to talk to her before heading to the Demon World… Even if the other Spirit Kings are under contracts, it’s tough to call Ariel since we don’t have a contract with her.”

Thinking about it, that’s true. Ariel was the only one without a contractor.

For a moment, I considered using another Spirit King to summon Ariel but quickly shook my head, dismissing that idea. For some reason, I hesitated to suggest a contract with Ariel.

Even though Ariel had said she would accept, she had cherished her love for decades. I doubted she could master her emotions overnight.

“We’ll have a chance to talk soon. Don’t worry.”

“That’s true.”

Tina replied more nonchalantly than I expected. As if it didn’t bother her at all.

“But Tina, isn’t Ariel a rival too?”

“Eh, is she?!”

“…No, we’re just friends.”

Ariel had confirmed it as ‘just as friends,’ and I felt that the friendship meant a lot more to me.

“Speaking of…”

I shifted the topic while listening to the rustling sounds of leaves around us.

“First, we need to deal with these guys.”

I said, looking at the monsters creeping out as if welcoming us.

Hiding behind trees and bushes, they glowed red with their eyes and growled lowly.

They were Wolf Monsters.

Coincidentally, they had been the monsters that provided the trigger for the Heroes’ awakening. Of course, the Heroes from then and now were completely different.

“You must have killed a few by now, right?”

I pointed at the drooling wolves slinking towards us, step by step. They looked pretty hungry, their gazes menacing.

“Of course.”

Tina and Iris drew their swords while Maria gripped her staff.

“Alright, let’s get started.”

Before my words were even finished, sparks flew from the end of Maria’s staff.

“『Lightning』.”