My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 31

“You’re such a bother all day long.”

“There’s no helping it, is there? You’re the one with that weapon.”

Ariel pointed at the sword strapped to my waist.

“Then if I give this to someone else, will you stop bothering me?”

“Well, that would be problematic.”

“Why’s that?”

“No one else can maintain the possession state as long as you can, and you actually resemble Pasma more than you’d think. So if you talk to someone else, I feel like it would lose its immersion.”

Resemble?

Is it similar to what Pasma meant about matching mana wavelengths?

“What do you mean by that?”

“Honestly, I’m not quite sure, but you are rather ‘alien’ in a way. I just can’t put my finger on why.”

I almost reacted to the term “alien” without thinking. If I didn’t have expression management skills, my face would have betrayed my feelings.

Is this what sets the Spirit King apart?

Has she caught onto the fact that I’m an ‘outsider’?

“And there’s one more reason you should be possessed right now. So you should hurry up.”

[Got it. I think I should follow Ariel’s advice.]

“Why’s that?”

[It seems there’s an intruder in this annex. A rather strong one.]

An intruder in the Duke’s Residence?

How could anyone get in when there are so many knights around?

“…Is that so.”

Now that I think about it, there is one such individual.

An absolute powerhouse who could come and go as they pleased in the Duke’s Residence.

As soon as I placed my hand on the sword, I recited the skill.

“「Soul Fragment」.”

Creating an ego that Pasma could seize control of at any moment.

“It’s coming from Maria’s room.”

Ariel said while closing her eyes.

She used a sensing ability that harnessed the wind. Since wind is everywhere, she could sense anything.

“Friend, is Maria someone precious to you?”

At Pasma’s abrupt question, I nodded.

“…Yeah. Tina, Iris, and Maria are all precious to me. I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”

“Exactly. Because you’re a ‘Hero.'”

“You knew that, Ariel.”

“How could I not? You knew those girls would awaken as Heroes, didn’t you? That’s why you spent a fortune of 1,300 gold to buy them. Right?”

“…So now you believe what I said?”

“The talk about the Demon Tribe invading the Empire in a few years is honestly uncertain. But the credibility of your words has certainly been proven.”

She smirked.

I’m not sure what she’s thinking, but one thing I am certain of is that Ariel, the Spirit King, would never betray the Heroes.

Only they could fight and win against the Demon King.

As long as the Demon King is alive, the Demon Tribe will persist and threaten the Spirit Realm at any moment. For the Demon King, creating a gate that transcends dimensions would be nothing.

“Even if you are a Hero, you’re still inexperienced. As her guardian, you should help her, right? Praus.”

“Of course.”

“If I had directly contracted with someone, I could intervene, but for now, I have no choice but to trust Pasma.”

“I know.”

The Spirit King cannot interfere with the Human World.

It was due to constraints between worlds.

To offset this constraint to some extent, a ‘contract’ was necessary. That was the only way to obtain the causal connections needed to meddle in the Human World.

“Come to think of it, you seem to know quite a bit, Praus. Almost as if you’ve already lived in this world.”

That was an astute guess.

But it wasn’t entirely true.

I’ve never lived in this world myself. I’ve only experienced it through other characters.

“I’ll leave it to you this time, Pasma. Save Maria.”

“Of course, I must fulfill the request of a friend.”

He moved his body and dashed out of the room, instinctively knowing Maria was by the door and crashed through the wall.

I could only admire the sight of the wall being sliced like paper.

On the other side of the wall stood a pink-haired beastman who was covering Maria’s mouth.

As I opened my mouth to speak, Pasma was faster.

“Let Maria go, you bastard.”

…Huh?

Those harsh words slipped from my mouth.

“Pasma, I didn’t say you could curse.”

“She’s a precious person, isn’t she? If someone dares to touch someone precious, don’t you think a few curses are in order?”

Good grief. Does she even know who she’s dealing with?

Pasma is a lot more assertive than I thought.

“What’s going on here?”

The pink cat girl, who was covering Maria’s mouth, glared at me with an intense killing intent.

“A ninja…?”

Her unusual outfit made my brow furrow.

It was a revealing outfit.

A tight outfit meant to flaunt her figure and stockings designed to stimulate a man’s desires—extremely provocative indeed.

While I appreciated her illustrated appearance, seeing it in reality was quite off-putting.

“A woman without modesty!”

Pasma finally couldn’t hold back and shouted.

“Stop with the useless chatter.”

“I don’t know why you keep muttering to yourself, but how dare you break the wall of the Duke’s Annex?”

She drew her dagger, aiming to take us down before dealing with Maria. As she released her hand from Maria’s mouth, I instantly moved.

“「High-Speed Movement」.”

I snatched Maria away and put some distance between us. While it was unintentional that we ended up embracing, I had no ulterior motives.

“P-Pragus…?”

Her eyes were welling with tears. I wiped the trickling tears with the back of my hand.

“Are you hurt?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Got it. Then.”

Letting her go, I turned my gaze towards the pink cat girl, drawing my sword.

“See, it was a good thing to be possessed, wasn’t it?”

Ariel, arms crossed, chuckled. She seemed to be the only one at peace. Ignoring her, I spoke up.

“Be ready to respond if an attack comes.”

“Understood.”

“Wow, you’re fast. What’s up? That Aura Sword of yours? Are you the Sixth Sword Master or something?”

“What about you? A whore? Why are you dressed like that?”

“What? A whore?”

Wait a minute, why would you say it like that?

I gasped at Pasma’s words, trying to salvage the situation, but he spoke up first again.

“How dare you lay a hand on a child when there’s nothing else to touch?”

The aura laced with revenge glowed brighter.

“I’ll kill you.”

No, wait, you can’t just kill her. Does he even know that this woman is the target of our request?

“Pasma, don’t kill her.”

“Got it. I’ll just tear her apart instead.”

What’s the difference between that and killing her?!

“How dare you call me a whore?!”

Clang!

Pasma accurately deflected her dagger with his sword.

But it wasn’t leisurely either.

The cat girl’s grip was shaking, and I could feel the strain in her muscles as she held her ground. It felt like her muscles were about to tear.

“You can infuse mana into your weapon as well.”

“Why would you think it was only possible for me?”

She was only able to infuse her weapon with mana to the extent that it prevented her Aura Sword from being damaged. Unlike Pasma, she couldn’t fully shape an Aura Sword.

“I’ll kill you!”

“Who’s killing whom here?”

Did her arrogance ignite something in her? The cat girl dropped her dagger and attempted to stab me with her short sword. But I twisted my body, dodging her attack effortlessly as I swung my sword.

Clang!

Blocked again.

“Your speed is decent, but your strength is really lacking. Are you really a Sword Master?”

“……「Phantom Sword」.”

The most basic form of the Phantom Sword Technique.

A technique that alters the trajectory of the sword erratically, making it impossible to predict where the sword will go until it touches the body.

If sheer force isn’t an option, the idea is to make it unrecognizable so it can’t be blocked.

Only mana can stop an Aura Sword.

Even if your skin is imbued with mana, it would be insufficient to block an Aura Sword packed with vast magical power.

Boom—!

Yet, Pasma’s strike didn’t reach her.

Thanks to the cat girl nimbly jumping back, she evaded the sword strike.

“Heh… that’s an interesting technique. I couldn’t see your sword’s trajectory. Who are you? This is amusing.”

Perched on the table, she crouched like a cat, her interest piqued.

It seemed like she cared more about my existence than about fighting. Her tail swayed playfully.

“I’m not interested in fun anymore. So let’s end this, ‘Urka.'”

“…How do you know my name?”

“Urka? If it’s Urka….”

Did she finally catch on? Damn you, Pasma.

Just mentioning her name was enough. There was no need for an actual fight.

“Is that so? So she was the target of the request.”

“How do you know about me?”

Urka’s eyes changed in an instant.

Not just her gaze, but her pupils vertically slit, resembling something feral.

“Duke Tori told me.”

“Huh? Why would you say something like that without knowing if I’m an enemy… that fool.”

“Sorry, but I’m not the enemy. I’m only here in this annex thanks to the Duke’s consideration.”

“…What?”

“And you should probably stop now.”

I wasn’t the only one to deal with here.

Tina and Iris stood before me, both ready for a fight, glaring at Urka.

“Lord Praus, are you okay?”

“You? Were you the one attacking Praus?”

Both of them had drawn their swords.

It was too early to give Tina any aura since I didn’t want to escalate things, but with her skills as a swordswoman, she’d be formidable no matter what sword she wielded.

“Oho. What’s this now?”

Urka’s eyes glimmered with interest as she held her short sword, tossing it skillfully.

“You think a few of you can take me down? I was holding back my strength to defend this annex. Guess that’s not an option now.”

She had swiftly placed daggers between her fingers. Flames surged from her short dagger.

Now I was beginning to feel assured.

She was a girl who had contracted with Ifrit and Ignis, the fire spirits, and had kunoichi characteristics that matched her outfit.

She was an S-Class Adventurer, Urka, just as I knew.

“I’ll burn this annex down. It’s time for you to die—”

“Stop it, Urka!”

Duke Tori, who had rushed in hastily, interjected between us.

“…Tori?”

Urka’s expression softened at the unexpected arrival of the Duke.

“Why are you here? It’s dangerous. Come over here.”

“Urka! These people are my invited guests!”

“Huh…?”

She blinked rapidly, tilting her head curiously. Duke Tori was shaking his head in frustration.

“I’ve told you time and again to think before you act. Charging in like that only causes accidents!!”

“Ah… ahh…? I see now.”

Thud, thud, thud!

The embers from her now-silent dagger fell to the ground like rain.

Urka’s pupils widened. She scratched her head awkwardly and apologized with a roundabout sincerity.

“Sorry about that.”

Though it lacked any genuine feeling.