My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 5

“I’m going to buy some clothes to change into, so wash up and rest.”

I headed straight to the inn with her. Iris was in no condition to be taken anywhere else, covered in mud.

“It’s, uh, fine. I can just wash this and wear it.”

She held up her tattered T-shirt, which looked like it would tear apart at any moment with a slight tug.

“It’s dirty and smells. Take it off.”

“Ah…”

Iris sighed.

Ah, right, she wet herself…

With a voice that had no manners whatsoever, Iris hung her head low.

‘Could it be, is she about to cry? She mustn’t.’

“If you cry, I’ll throw you out. I can’t stand the sound of someone crying.”

Why can’t this mouth of mine understand it needs to watch what it says?

Iris isn’t a slave.

Though she hasn’t yet awakened the Hero’s power, fundamentally Beastmen were stronger than humans. Besides, having worked on the construction site, her physical strength must be better than mine.

If she hits me, it’s definitely going to hurt a lot. She might cry.

A nineteen-year-old getting beaten up by a ten-year-old…

Hmm. What an absolute disaster that would be.

‘Okay, I must never get angry at Iris.’

“I don’t like getting angry. If you don’t want to be kicked out, you’ll have to crawl your way back.”

What the hell, crawling like a ten-year-old? Seriously?

“Y-yes! Ah, I won’t cry!”

Iris hurriedly wiped her tears, trying hard to smile, but her eyes were still glistening.

“I’m going out.”

“Y-yes! Have a good trip!”

She bowed deeply. What kind of life must she have lived to act like that at ten years old?

I had already seen Iris’s past in the game, but I thought I should find an opportunity to have a serious conversation sometime.

“I’ve got water and dried meat in the bag. If you get hungry, eat. After your shower, change into my clothes. It’d be kind of awkward if you don’t wear anything.”

“……Ah, understood.”

I closed the door and stepped outside.

I just need to buy some clothes and underwear suitable for a ten-year-old, right?

Since the other kids also need clothes, I might as well buy several at once.

*

“Buying clothes for a slave…?”

Iris stared blankly at the door Praus had just exited.

“Moreover, he didn’t hit me for smelling bad. Polde used to beat me hard whenever I stank…”

Mumbling to herself while sniffing the smell of her muddy, tattered clothes.

“Such a strange person…”

A strange person. That’s how Iris thought of him.

Her tone was emotionless and oozed killing intent whenever she looked at herself, yet, oddly enough, he was considerate in his actions.

When she got scared, he handed her dried meat and water, telling her to not worry about being harmed.

When she was in pain, instead of cursing at her, he offered her potions.

He bought her for double the price and suddenly freed her from the life of a slave.

As someone she had never seen in her life, he was undoubtedly intriguing to Iris.

‘What kind of person is he…? What does he want from me?’

Iris knew there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

She fully expected that Praus would ask something of her.

“Now that I think about it, he did mention something about a maiden. Could it be…?”

‘No, he didn’t seem like that kind of person. If that were his objective, he wouldn’t have undone the slave contract… So, what on earth is his motive?’

After pondering for a while, she eventually sighed. It was impossible for her to fathom his thoughts.

“Still… he didn’t seem like a bad person…”

Iris thought of Praus and turned toward the restroom.

She wanted to get clean before he returned.

‘Since I, I made a mistake in front of my, my master…’

As that thought crossed her mind, embarrassment surged up, making her face flush, but she shook her head vigorously.

‘I just have to avoid making mistakes from now on. My master seems to let this one slide, so good, let’s do our best.’

Although there was no slave contract, she was fully aware that she was someone who had been sold, so she was filled with the intent to obey anything Praus said.

That had been her survival strategy until now.

*

There were no cute, airy clothes for kids that you would find in modern times. Most of the clothing was just scraps of fabric suitable for activity.

Of course, there were some fancier places around.

Glamorous dresses and everyday clothes made of nice silk were evident. However, those shops seemed to be places nobles frequented; the prices were on another level.

For now, it was sufficient to find something she could wear.

Moreover, since I had to buy outfits for three people, I had no choice but to prioritize quantity over quality.

On my way back, burdened with loads of stuff, I decided to take a longer route to the inn.

I wanted to run into the second Hero who was begging on the street as I was out. Just to become acquainted with her.

Ideally, I’d want to drag her away immediately, but I thought I’d make her want to follow me on her own.

That way, I could work the situation more flexibly.

“Where was it again? If memory serves me right, I think she was at the main intersection on October 1st.”

Continuing to walk while glancing around for a long time.

I spotted a girl covered in dirt, her face hunched down, both her face and clothes coated in dust.

It was hard to tell when she last washed; even the people passing by grimaced at her presence.

Perhaps the stench was so strong that they couldn’t even come close.

Then again, would a girl living off a thug have the means to wash? When survival is at stake, who cares about bathing?

Kids living off thugs had to beg and pay a certain amount, and failing to do so meant getting beaten was their everyday life, and they wouldn’t even get food.

You might want to say they could go to a better orphanage, but unlike in the modern world, in this realm, an orphan had to prove their worth.

Were they talented enough to enter the orphanage? What could they contribute to the orphanage?

Such were the standards of this world.

Although the orphanage received some support from the Imperial Palace, they weren’t well-off, so they had their own standards.

I approached the Hero.

At least she was still begging, which I was glad for.

As I took a step forward, hoping to gather more courage, an overwhelming stench hit me, making me want to pinch my nose. This was worse than Iris, who had wet herself.

“Ah, damn it.”

With my hands full, I couldn’t pinch my nose, so I instinctively cursed. The girl, who had been kneeling, flinched.

[<Killing Intent> activated.]

My body began to tremble. Ah, that’s right. My killing intent activates just by looking at someone.

I considered looking away, but it seemed better to keep the intent active for now.

I crouched down in front of the girl.

She trembled at the sound of my clothes brushing against each other. Her hair was long enough that I couldn’t see her face.

I glanced down at the cracked bowl. There was no money inside.

Clink.

I dropped a silver coin into the bowl.

“Ugh, a silver coin…!”

“Lift your face.”

Slowly, she raised her head.

Black hair and black eyes.

She was caked in dirt and sweat, and her long hair obscured her face, making it hard to tell if she was indeed the Hero.

She looked significantly worse than her illustration, making it hard to be sure.

Our eyes met. Though the grime on her face made it difficult to see clearly, her eyes were red.

But, why does it look like you’re about to cry? Is it because of what I just said?

The girl trembled in my killing intent but tried to lift her lips. Though she was scared, she seemed to feel pleased.

I guess so. Nobody would give money to someone begging.

“Your name?”

“Huh?”

“Your name.”

“T-tina… that’s me.”

Tina.

The name of the second Hero.

The strongest sword in humanity. A human with the ability to cut through anything.

Girl who was simple yet definitive in her power.

You’d think that wherever she passed, no living creature would survive.

“Is that so? Who named you?”

“My, my parents named me when they abandoned me at six.”

Though she trembled in fear, she replied properly. She felt scared yet had an honest demeanor. It matched the info I had in mind.

‘Not bad.’

“You’re a decent girl.”

I set down my luggage and took out the dried meat I had in my pocket. Tina blinked her eyes, accepting it.

“Uh, where do you do this tomorrow?”

“Huh? Ah… in the market area, um, near there. There are lots of children, so we always change up locations…”

“Understood.”

If she could speak a bit more coherently, she wouldn’t have to waste any expense. This damned mouth of hers had no sense of adaptability whatsoever.

I stood up to head back to the inn.

“Hey!”

She called out to me.

“T-thank you.”

“…It seems it won’t be today.”

“Huh?”

Without giving her dazed reaction a glance, I resumed walking.

*

‘So, so scary. What’s going on? What’s happening?!’

As Praus drew nearer, Tina almost wet herself from the overwhelming killing intent surging from him.

With each step, a man who exuded a far more oppressive aura than the thug she clung onto was approaching, and she felt her body tense up.

“Ah, damn it.”

Without saying a word but with her head lowered, he suddenly cursed.

‘Is today the day I die? If I had known, I should have bought something delicious with the money I begged for…’

Tears began to fill her eyes, but just before they fell, she desperately held them back.

She had been beaten up by thugs every time she showed her tears, so she couldn’t afford to cry now.

At that moment.

Clink.

The sound of a coin hitting the bowl resonated. Seeing the silver coin inside, her eyes widened in shock.

“Silver coin…!”

“Lift your face.”

Tina, unable to refuse the command, raised her face, dismissing any thoughts of her less-than-appealing appearance.

“Your name.”

The man who had been examining her face asked the question.

“Huh?”

Startled by her own dumb reply, she tightly closed her eyes, expecting to get struck.

However, his calm and patient tone reassured her.

Though she was still sensitive to the lingering aura of hostility, she reasoned that someone who intended to kill wouldn’t hand over a silver coin.

“Your name.”

Tina paused, feeling a warm rush of patience from him.

“Ah, it’s Tina…”

Caught off guard by the sudden inquiry, she stammered, but he didn’t ask for further details.

Then, he stood up and walked away.

“T-thank you.”

Relieved that she wasn’t beaten today, she hurriedly expressed her gratitude.

“It seems it won’t be today.”

His words, utterly devoid of emotion, left her in a daze.

As she watched him walk away, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

“Ugh! Sniff…!”

She instinctively stifled the sound of her cries, yet the tears kept flowing. No matter how much she wiped them away, they wouldn’t stop.

“It seems it won’t be today.”

That phrase echoed repeatedly in Tina’s mind.

Not only did he choose to spare her feelings, but it also felt as if he understood her situation completely, making Tina unable to hold back her tears.

After crying for a while, she muttered as she gazed at the spot where Praus disappeared.

“Will I… meet him again…?”

Tina looked at the silver coin that lay in her hands, sniffing dramatically.