My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 53

“Now that I think about it, you killed Dink.”

“…What?”

Boom!

The ground rumbles. The sparring arena floor splits wide open.

Yeah, in this world, being S-Class isn’t the only way to be strong.

Thanks to my Real Expression Management Skill, I’m losing my mind, seriously.

And isn’t it a bit much to load Aura onto a wooden sword? I’m weak, cut me some slack.

But I couldn’t bring myself to grovel in front of the Royal Family and all the nobility.

“Hah…”

Let’s throw out some Killing Intent first.
My body might tense up and slow down, after all.

[Activating skill “Killing Intent”.]

The moment I glare, Conver has already disappeared from my sight.

I just turn my eyes to look to the side.
There, Conver is swinging his sword toward my neck.

“High-Speed Movement.”

I quickly move my body to evade Conver’s blade.

“Whoa!”

I thought it was going to be a one-hit sparring match, but to my surprise, it continued, and a gasp escaped everyone.

Thank goodness my shoes are artifacts.

The design of the shoes didn’t match my formal attire, but I had no choice.
If I didn’t wear them, I wouldn’t be able to escape if something happened.

In the sparring arena, I stood where Conver had been, and he stood where I had been.
It was just a change of position.

“Remarkable movement… So it wasn’t just an awkward showoff. I’ll have to be serious too.”

Crash!

Maybe it’s because I put more strength into my legs, but the sparring arena crumbles mercilessly.

Seriously, can we tone it down? I can’t fight, you know.

Bang!

With a sound of the ground exploding, Conver vanishes.

“You can’t dodge this.”

I couldn’t even react. There was no time to call “High-Speed Movement” against Conver’s direct onslaught.

I saw the wooden sword coming toward my side and thought,
Crap. This is bad.

*

While Praus was desperately dealing with the sparring, Iris, Maria, and Ariel—who had not attended the New Year’s party—were roaming the market, eating food.

“By the way, Ariel.”

“Hmm?”

Ariel, with a chicken skewer in her mouth, turned her gaze toward Maria.

“What is that blessing of the wind? What kind of magic is it?”

“Oh, that? It’s a technique that counterattacks when Praus is hit with a deadly attack. It’s one-time use, though.”

“To think you would cast such a thing on the Teacher; are you worried about him like I am?”

“Well…”

‘Since he’s weak… I thought he needed that kind of help.’

Ariel smiled awkwardly in agreement.

‘Speaking of which, when will these kids realize that Praus is weak? Should I just tell them outright?’

The truth is, it’s all because of his equipment.

Just as Ariel was lost in playful thoughts, Maria, who was walking beside her, opened her mouth.

“Is the Teacher an important person to you, Ariel?”

“Huh? An important person…?”

Ariel paused her mouth, which was heading for the chicken skewer. After mulling over Maria’s words several times, she scratched her head.

“Yeah… I mean, he is important.”

‘He’s the one who connected me and Pasma… Besides, he’s also a fun person.’

Ariel chuckled as she recalled Praus’s image.

‘His way of speaking is rough, and despite being weaker than anyone, he acts tough. But still… his skill with a weapon is real.’

She recalled the scene where Praus obliterated a mountain.

‘Honestly, it’s so unpredictable. He seems like someone who is using mana for the first time, yet at times, he feels entirely different. It’s ambiguous whether he’s weak or strong. But that makes it even more fun.’

“But won’t giving him a blessing lead to misunderstandings from the Imperial Palace? Since they say he is using magic. The Teacher said that there are many capable magicians in the palace.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. It’s a blessing using Praus’s mana, not mine. So it’s hard to detect it as magic. I already tried it on Pasma, and the palace magicians couldn’t recognize it.”

“Are you talking about Pasma? The one whose spirit is on the sword?”

Iris, who had been quietly listening, joined the conversation.

“Yeah.”

“I see. Pasma said that if the Teacher has a master, then he must really be such a person.”

‘It’s funny how the focus is all on Praus, but to these kids, he must be a lifesaver. Maybe I…’

“Anyway, nothing will happen. As long as my blessing is active—”

Ariel couldn’t finish her sentence.

Suddenly feeling the activation of the blessing, she jumped back and dropped her chicken skewer.

‘Huh? Why did the blessing activate all of a sudden…?’

Ariel broke out in a cold sweat and turned her head sharply. She furrowed her brow at the towering Imperial Palace.

‘Praus, what the heck are you doing…’

*

Bang!

“What is this…?”

Dust wildly erupts from a section of the palace wall.
Everyone present stared blankly at it.

I was just as confused as everyone else.
I had no idea what was happening.

“What’s going on…?”

“Captain!!”

A knight rushed down from the sparring arena in a panic.

His booming voice stirred whispers among the spectators watching the sparring.

As the dust settled, a silhouette gradually became visible.
There, Conver was slumped against the city wall, leaving behind a massive crater.

The wooden sword he had was in pieces, leaving only the handle behind.
The shock had been so great that even the famous golden armor was dented and severely damaged.
The shoulder armor fell off weakly.

“Cough…!”

Conver spat blood.

“Healing Magician!”

At the knight’s words, the waiting magicians rushed over in a hurry.

I was just standing dazed in the sparring arena.

“Wow! As expected of the Teacher!”

Tina cheered while raising her arms in celebration.
Without having time to think about her praise, I pondered how this had happened.

Just before Conver’s wooden sword had touched my side, I had felt something enveloping me.
What was that?

“Was it this strong…?”

“Ha, to think he could take down Conver so easily?”

The royal side looked at me in awe, while the nobility showed signs of fear.
They were guessing and swallowing their fears, worried that I might harm them.

“Even S-Classes have struggled against Conver…”

“I wasn’t overly confident for nothing.”

Hearing the voices from all around, I felt flustered.
Because I had no idea what had just happened, I was at a loss for how to react.

“Was that rumor true?”

“That a new eighth S-Class adventurer has appeared, defeating other S-Classes?”

“Who would have thought it would be a commoner… I thought he came from the Todiah Family.”

I sighed after listening to the nobles’ chatter for a while.
Let’s think about how this happened later.
For now, I needed to escape this situation.

“With this, I guess my proof is in place?”

I spoke calmly with my Real Expression Management Skill.
After hearing my words, Chris finally regained his senses and heavily nodded.

“…I just want to ask one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Was that technique a ‘full power’ move?”

Full power, what are you talking about?
I don’t even know what just happened.

But saying it wasn’t full power is less pressure than saying it was.
“I wouldn’t have said such a thing if that was full power.”

“You mean… that you could kill everyone here and leave without a care?”

I didn’t say it out of desire; I never thought it would connect like that.

“Seeing Conver like that makes me trust your words.”

“I hope you won’t mention that my words are too informal in the future.”

“…Alright. That was the agreement, so I won’t.”

As I finished my precarious tightrope act and was about to leave the sparring arena—

“I thought I recognized that name. Aren’t you the son of Paroco?”

When Praus’s father’s name came up, I turned my head instinctively.

“There stood Marquis Medis, who had taken Praus’s father as his butler, pointing at me.”

Oh, right, I remembered that this was the place all the nobility gathered…

I slapped my forehead, realizing I’d have to explain this to my father.
What a headache.

*

What was supposed to be a light-hearted sparring had turned into everyone filling the banquet hall with talks of the sparring.
Naturally, I was at the center of that conversation.

They were saying things like they never expected me to be this strong and that I should be sent to the border near the Demon World immediately, among other things.

“I never expected to meet you here.”

Marquis Medis, a character rarely found in games, had left a warm impression in Praus’s memories before his reincarnation.

“…I see.”

He was someone who spoke well of my father, so I wanted to use polite language, but I couldn’t.
My Real Expression Management Skill was devoid of any flexibility or subtlety.

“To think there would be such a capable young man under Paroco.”

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to mind my lack of formality and appeared to be more impressed by how I defeated Conver in one hit.

“My father often said you’d be quite a remarkable person, but here you are.”

“…Thank you…”

How could “thank you” become “thank you”?
I didn’t use polite language until the end, did I? Should I test and see who gets the last laugh in the end?

“…What are you planning to do in the future?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Literally that. With your power, you can do anything.”

“There’s nothing planned yet, but I have no intention of misusing this strength.”

“Is that so?”

“…I’ll be right back, I just need to go to the bathroom.”

Seizing the opportunity while the conversation halted, I quickly left the banquet hall.
The knights flinched when they saw me. The knights who had been watching me quickly stood up sharply, on guard.

I glanced at them as I walked away.

“Whoa… Did you see that atmosphere? Crazy, right?”

“He must have been deliberately hiding his strength.”

Hearing the knights’ admiring comments, I wandered the corridors in search of the bathroom.

But wow, why is it so spacious here?
Just as I was getting lost for a while…

“Excuse me!”

A strange woman’s voice, which I hadn’t heard all day, called out to me.
I turned around.

Despite her somewhat drooping demeanor, her golden hair shone brightly.

Of course. I knew you would try to stop me.

From the moment you mentioned me, I knew you’d be watching me.

“…Princess Seri.”

It seemed the time had finally come for me to use the artifact I had prepared.