My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 285

“Ah, I see.”

I roughly understood her story.

She shockingly knew so little. She was simply defending her own grievances.

I had no expectations from the start. I was only trying to confirm whether she had ever come into contact with the Demon Tribe.

“Do you… believe me?”

“I will.”

“Why…?”

It’s awkward for someone who hopes to be believed to question the reason.

“Regardless of anything else… I certainly understand your grievances.”

Though I spoke kindly, the merit in saving her was still non-existent.

Honestly, it might be better to just kill her right here before I become Deputy Commander.

Her very existence was already a risk.

But… that can’t be the solution, right?

It was already hardcore difficulty; going up another level just felt depressing, but I had no intention of regretting my choice.

So first, I needed to control the variables.

“First, I’ll make one thing clear, Stella.”

“Yes? Yes…”

“There’s someone from the Demon Tribe targeting you.”

While it was important to monopolize information as much as possible, I needed to prevent her from taking any impulsive actions that might lead her to escape.

“W-What?! Wh-Why me?!”

“Calm down. You’re at least not in any immediate danger.”

But instead, she would probably experience something even more horrific.

“That Demon’s name is Habito. He’s a Vampire and one of the commanders of the army. His pointed ears and pale skin are his most notable features, and he dresses in fine clothing like a noble. Remember that.”

“Com-Commander? Is he… strong?”

“He’s ranked fifth in the Demon World. Quite… no, overwhelmingly strong.”

Even if I fought alongside the S-Class in a city protected by Grand Anti-Demon Magic, I might win only if a good amount of time has passed since he entered the city. Otherwise, overcoming him would be incredibly tough.

That said, I didn’t have much time to prepare for him. I didn’t have the luxury of raising Heroes or the time to acquire effective artifacts.

Even with the Grand Anti-Demon Magic, there was no way a Demon could infiltrate the Empire, especially in Pretéum.

Surely, he would find it strange that I ended up with Stella instead of a fallen noble. And he would observe me. To see if I could bring despair to Stella.

For her, despair would cultivate the nourishment for her awakening as Deputy Commander.

“But we’re still incredibly short on time for dealing with that guy.”

At this rate, Habito’s Demon subordinates might ambush us as soon as we leave Pretéum.

That would lead to complete annihilation.

To prevent that, I had to give Stella the ‘illusion’ of despair.

That way, she would believe she was preparing to become the Deputy Commander safely.

“So, Stella, please understand that I might torment you for a while.”

“What do you mean…?”

“I need time. Time to fight and win against that Demon. If we fight without any preparation, we will all die.”

“……”

“So don’t even think about escaping, no matter what I do from here on out. Understood?”

She remained silent.

Having endured so much suffering so far, how could I expect her to respond easily when I asked her to endure more? Especially when she had just been liberated from slavery.

However, she had no choice but to understand.

My life was on the line too. At the very least, if she didn’t muster that much resolve, I would have no choice but to kill her.

“Even if you don’t understand it intellectually, you have to grasp it emotionally. This is the only way for us to survive. But I promise you that once everything is over, I will grant you your freedom.”

“Freedom…”

She murmured the nostalgic word with a wistful voice. After deep thought, she spoke softly.

“…I don’t need freedom. I want… revenge…!”

“…You mean against all those responsible for what happened to you?”

She nodded earnestly.

Revenge…

Well, for her, after hitting rock bottom, it was only natural that the only thing left was to seek revenge.

After all, I would still have to kill that Demon named KyouKyou who was manipulating Marquis Lector in the Aioum Kingdom. He was the main informant of the Demon Tribe.

From my perspective, there was no loss in this trade. Or was there already a loss from the moment I bought Stella?

“Fine. If the problem gets resolved, I’ll help you with that revenge.”

“R-Really?”

“But I’ll also give you your freedom. I want you to live even happier than you have suffered until now.”

Tears began to well up again in Stella’s sapphire eyes. She repeatedly said “Thank you” as she cried.

“Master.”

After a long cry, she quietly called out to me.

“What is it?”

“I want to know your name.”

“…My name is Praus.”

“Praus. I will remember.”

She was showing a relieved expression as she began to let go of her emotions. But I had to twist that expression to fit my needs.

“And one more thing. You’d do well to brainwash yourself into believing I’m a cruel and immoral human.”

There surely would be elements of despair within Stella that only the Demons could see. If I filled her with a certain level of despair, I could see based on how Habito would react if he retrieved her, whether she was feeling despair or not.

I couldn’t afford to play around.

“Yes. Understood.”

“Then let’s get to it.”

“Yes?”

I stood up from my seat and walked over to her.

This was for everyone’s survival. It was by no means genuine. I told myself that inwardly and then grabbed her neck tightly.

“Ugh, cough…! M-Master…?”

Just before her consciousness faded, I let go. I’m sorry, Stella.

“Cough, cough…!”

“From now on, the intensity of the torment I will inflict on you will gradually increase. Every time it does, you must sincerely hate, loathe, and fear me. Can you do that, Stella?”

“If I can just take revenge on those who destroyed my family… I’ll do anything…!”

“Good.”

As I traced my hand over her bruised neck, I turned away. I didn’t feel any sympathy.

“Now, go to sleep.”

With no more space left on the bed, I sent Stella to the bed where Maria was sleeping and pulled the chair against the wall, resting my back and head against it.

I need to ask for a change of room tomorrow. Somewhere with three beds.

*

“Eat with your face down there.”

“Lord Praus!”

The Heroes were taken aback by my actions. Everyone was sitting at the table to eat, yet Stella was the only one on the floor, burying her face in the bowl.

It was a sight devoid of any shred of human dignity. But it had to be done. She needed to truly realize that her situation had not changed.

“It’s okay… I’m a slave anyway…”

Technically, she wasn’t a slave, but thinking of herself as one right now was probably better.

“…Iris. Do you want to eat like that too? If not, then shut your mouth and eat.”

“……”

The Heroes must have caught wind of last night’s events.

If someone is crying around you while you’re trying to sleep, there’s no way you could stay undisturbed. But perhaps they simply couldn’t endure the horrible treatment that stomped on human dignity, despite knowing.

“……Yes.”

After that, I moved swiftly.

I quickly gathered some food, then took the carriage to visit the ruined village. There, I met Pasma, and by trading with him, I managed to connect with Spirit King Ariel.

I acquired the “Yuan Ghost” that allows Pasma to possess my body and obtained shoes as artifacts that let me use the “High-Speed Movement” skill, as well as learned the “Phantom Sword Technique.”

However, neither of them provided me with direct benefits yet, so I still felt insufficient.

As of now, the only ones capable of contending with the commanders were the S-Class. Thus, I contacted Glair once more to gather our full strength.

Even if he didn’t use Ella, it didn’t matter.

Glair was a Grand Duke of the Empire.

He was the one closest to the Royal Family. If I shared my information with him, he might be able to utilize the S-Class that the Royal Family had.

As I executed my plans one by one, I used Wolf Monsters from the rugged forest to awaken the Heroes.

This process took more than ten days.

Fortunately, there had been no attacks from Habito’s side. Thanks to Stella continuing to stack feelings of despair, it seemed they were puzzling over her condition and leaving her alone for now.

After returning to Pretéum, I used a transmission scroll to contact Glair once more with another transmission scroll.

I instructed that if I used the scroll again, I should come to Pretéum for help and told him to inform the Royal Family that Demons might invade.

The Royal Family was my enemy whom I needed to fight, but not right now.

For now, they were a target I had to use to protect my own life.

Moreover, the appearance of a commander-level Demon became a national threat to the Empire, so the Royal Family wouldn’t remain passive either.

Thus, I would utilize the S-Class and the Royal Knight Order that they had.

Days continued to pass, and then after about four more days, on a night when the full moon rose, Habito came to reclaim Stella.

The bold man who entered through the window was a Vampire with pale skin, just as expected.

Dressed in neat clothing made of fine fabric, if it weren’t for his pointed ears missing like Maria’s, I might have thought he was a noble.

“What a pity that you were dragged by such a strange human and couldn’t truly taste despair. If I had learned the despair I would give you in the Human World beforehand, it wouldn’t have been so burdensome.”

His red eyes looked at me as if judging my worth.

Damn. I thought I could buy more time.

What triggered this?

“You turned out to be a master who could control desires better than I expected.”

As expected, it’s not easy to act convincingly.

“Is it true that the Demons…?!”

Stella, who was suddenly awakened by the noise, looked shocked. Perhaps recalling the features I told her about, she identified him as one of the Demons.

The Heroes too jolted upright from their beds, placing their hands on their weapons, feeling the Aura emanating from him.

“Yuan Ghost!”

Much faster than anticipated. But I had prepared a response.

“Iris. Tear up the transmission scroll in your bag right now.”

I pointed to Iris’s bag while instructing her.

“I know.”

Immediately responding to my instruction, Pasma infused my body and concentrated the power of revenge in my grasp.

“Phantom Wave Slash.”

Boom—!

Habito dodged to avoid my sword strike, smoothly backing out through the window.

“Do you think your body can withstand this?”

“I have to, even if I can’t.”

Otherwise, we would all die today.

At least until the S-Class showed up…!