My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 253

Upon receiving Seri’s message to come to the entrance of the Pretéum Castle, I teleported toward it.

Hearing a commotion and seeing various colored ribbons from a distance away at the castle gates, I thought they had made quite the extravagant preparations.

“Are we going in there?”
“That’s right.”
“Gah. This is too much.”

Honestly, I didn’t want to enter either. I had only expected a modest level of applause and welcome, but they had decorated the place with all sorts of flashy magic. For some reason, it felt like a bit of an overreaction.

Of course, it’s great to celebrate the return of the hero who saved the world from the Demon King, but still… it’s excessive.

“It’s only natural given that you saved the world.”

In the meantime, the World Tree was grumbling about the lack of attention. One would think you were the one who did the saving.

“Now that we’ve come this far, it seems safe. I’ll be heading back now. Ah! Praus, you can summon me if there’s anything you need. I can come here anytime from now on.”
“Got it.”

The World Tree firmly held the Purification Stone and opened a gate to step inside. Glancing back at the vanished Yggdrasil, I turned around. The heroes were looking at the castle gates with a disgruntled expression.

“Shall we head in then?”

I walked first toward the castle gates of Pretéum, and the heroes followed. The Royal Knight Order’s guards spotted us, standing tall and shouting at the top of their lungs.

“The heroes have returned!!”

It was as if they had amplification magic cast on them; their booming voices resonated throughout the area.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With sounds of something bursting, applause like thunder erupted. As we walked down the path, Humans, Beastmen, Elves; everyone was cheering together.

“Wowww!”

It was deafening. What were they so excited about? Was it because they thought they had survived? Or were they just doing it because the Emperor commanded it? Either way, it was uncomfortable and I wished they would stop.

“Teacher, these people are weird.”
“Don’t say that, you silly Tina.”
“Are you calling even the teacher a fool?! Am I going to sulk now?!”

It’s well known in heaven and on earth that you’re the foolish one.

“But isn’t it strange to be shouting like this? I understand the applause, but…”
“I think these people are expressing their gratitude to us. After all, we prevented an impending doom for the Human World.”
“Is that so…?”
“Wave at them, at least. They’re doing this all for us.”

At my words, the heroes reluctantly raised their hands to respond to the crowd. I subtly slowed my pace, walking behind the heroes who were walking side by side.

“Teacher?”
“Keep looking ahead and keep moving. You’re the protagonists of this world.”

I forcibly turned the heroes’ heads back toward the front. They looked puzzled, but walked forward a few steps.

As I strolled through the streets of Pretéum, I took in my surroundings. I quickly realized that a lot had changed since I first arrived here.

The most significant change was definitely the atmosphere. The streets were alive with vitality, and seeing the diverse races mingling together made me feel that the ideal peace I envisioned had been achieved.

Surely, as long as the Empire’s dirty history remained, conflicts would continue, but I could only hope it wouldn’t escalate into violence.

“Teacher.”
“Yeah?”

Suddenly snapped from my thoughts, Iris called out to me, as a stately middle-aged gentleman stood beside a large carriage on the path we were walking.

“Welcome! Tina the Hero, Iris the Hero, Maria the Hero, and Lord Praus.”

Although being referred to in such a trivial way was bothersome, I decided not to let it get to me since it was my desire to blend into the background.

“From here on, we will take you to the Imperial Palace by carriage.”
“…Right. Shall we go?”
“Yes.”

We got onto the carriage, and the enthusiastic cheers continued behind us until we headed toward the Imperial Palace.

*

“Everyone! Are you all okay?”

As soon as we arrived at the Imperial Palace, Seri rushed over to check our condition.

“I think we’re good. I took care of everything.”
“Eh? P-Praus… why are you using honorifics…?”

Ah… now that I think about it, I completely dropped my expression management.

“Don’t mind that part.”

I smiled and brushed it off.
“Y-You smiled…?”
“Is it really that surprising to see me smile?”
“No. It’s just that I’ve never seen you smile so lightly… It feels too friendly, and it’s making my heart race… It’s… nice.”

If Lupin heard that, he would faint. It’s hard to mumble through such honest expressions…

“Is that so? Thanks for thinking of it positively—”
“Hey! Your Majesty!”

Just as I was trying to smoothly express my gratitude, the heroes suddenly interjected, wedging themselves between Seri and me.

“My brother is mine, you know? Can you not covet him?”
“Brother?”
“We’re going to marry now that everything is over!”
“Uh, no, we’re not…”

“Eh! But you promised!”

Tina pouted and thrust her face at me, her grievance written all over her face.

However, I genuinely didn’t recall making such a promise. The heroes were just rambling on their own.

“Brother? Big brother? By the way, why are you calling him that?”

Maria expressed her confusion over Tina and Iris’s titles for me. Tina and Iris clung to me as they replied.

“Well, we won’t be in a teacher-student relationship anymore.”
“That’s true since we killed the Demon King, but…”
“Maria, will you keep calling him ‘Teacher’? Isn’t that a bit stiff?”
“No, it’s just… I’m embarrassed.”
“Pff. You’re cute, Maria.”

Maria’s ears, sticking out between her hair, turned bright red. Watching that, Iris’s ears flopped, and her tail swayed excitedly.

“Is it true that affection starts from how you address someone? Isn’t it strange to call the person who saved you ‘Prince’?”

Prince? Isn’t that from a fairytale?
Ignoring the ones who had strayed from reality, I quietly slipped away. Seri was tilting her head slightly, as if deep in thought.

“Praws.”

Eventually, she approached me, whispering in my ear.

“I thought you would know this, but polygamy is legal in the Empire.”

“…Yeah, I’m aware of that.”
“To be honest, I want to monopolize you. If you accept me as your main wife, I won’t say anything even if you take the heroes as concubines.”

Huh…?
“However, you’ll have to hug me every night.”

Her alluring voice froze my thoughts. I couldn’t believe what Seri was saying. Was she for real?

“Ugh! Seriously! Stop clinging to him!”
“What are you going to do?”

Tina rushed to pull Seri away. Seri smiled playfully as she forced me into a decision.

“No, I…?”
“Delaying this won’t matter anymore. Now that everything is over, it’s time for you to choose. Clearly.”

Clearly.
For some reason, Seri’s words felt like they were telling me not to play dumb like a dense protagonist.

But from the beginning, I hadn’t planned on dating anyone.
I had been using the feelings of these girls who liked me to achieve my goals all this time.

After coming to this world, I had been deceiving them straight through. Could I truly say that I genuinely liked them?

…Absolutely not.

“Well, I don’t think it’s appropriate to discuss this here.”

I spoke while glancing at the knights lined up on either side of us.
“Right. It’s true that this isn’t the right place for that. Then shall we discuss it inside?”

I really wanted to run away right then, but since I had to report about the Demon King’s defeat, I had no choice but to endure it.
Guided by Seri, we entered the Imperial Palace. In the corridors, the former Emperor, who seemed to be restless, was pacing back and forth.

“Praus…”
“Lupin…”

Upon facing each other, a wave of mixed feelings washed over us.
“Did we finally end it?”
“Yeah.”
“Right… You’re speaking to me with honorifics for the first time. Now that everything is over, are you trying to manage your image as the hero’s assistant?”
“No, this is originally my way of speaking.”
“I don’t believe that.”

He glanced at me suspiciously with doubt in his eyes.
I also don’t believe it. It’s quite miraculous that I’ve survived with such a way of speaking all this time.

“Well… It seems your skills are still adequate.”

It wasn’t my skill, but the World Tree’s power.
Ultimately, I hadn’t done anything in this world through my own abilities. In a sense, I was really just lucky.

“…Thank you.”

Suddenly, Lupin bowed his head and expressed his gratitude.
“Thanks to you, the Empire should continue to prosper. I really appreciate it.”

He then looked toward the heroes beside me and said,
“I’m sure I’ve made many mistakes toward all of you. Nevertheless, thank you for protecting the Empire. I sincerely apologize and express my gratitude.”

“I didn’t do it for the Empire. I was just following Teacher’s orders. And I haven’t forgiven you yet. I won’t accept your apology.”

Maria said with a hint of hostility. Lupin nodded as if it was expected.
“You don’t have to forgive me. What I’ve done, I must atone for until I die.”

The only atonement he can do is live quietly until he meets his end.
When he faces death, many from the other races will cheer, but it would be a burden that he and the Royal Family would have to bear.

“Now, let’s stop talking here and head inside.”

Seri guided us to her office.
So, we shared reports of our adventures in the Demon World while being warmly received by the Royal Family.