My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 60

“Shall we take turns hitting each other?”

“Alright. Then let’s decide with rock-paper-scissors like Teacher taught us.”

“What the hell are you kids doing! Can’t you shut up?!”

A man raises his voice. The people around him snicker as they drink.

“Hey~ Are you getting dissed by kids now? Kekek!”

“Shut the hell up, will you?!”

Iris glares at the man, unable to hide her excitement as nearby adventurers jeer at him.

“Please, stay quiet. Teacher said not to kill anyone, so I won’t be killing you.”

The man flinches, sealing his lips. He was overwhelmed by Iris’s aura. The people around him laughed even harder, mocking him.

His pride seemed to take a hit, grinding his teeth. Meanwhile, Tina and Iris played rock-paper-scissors.

Just as both heroes presented rocks simultaneously, Maria turned on her toes.

“I’m going to hit someone else. You can play with that guy.”

Wait, what? You only allowed to hit that person!

Maria boldly marched over to a guy next to an Elf who was drunk off his ass.

“Wait… This guy is the one you can touch—”

“「Strengthening」.”

Ignoring my words, she reinforced her body with magic. Oh man, if she’s already acting out like that, she’ll become quite the bullheaded brat later on.

“What’s up with this kid?”

“I’ll let it slide if you apologize.”

Maria stood defiantly before the big guy, who was much bulkier than her.

“What the hell is he saying? Hey, get lost. I’m not interested in brats like him.”

As he waved his hand dismissively while lifting a drink to his lips…

Whack!

Maria’s foot slammed against his drink, smashing it against the ceiling and spilling its contents everywhere.

“So you won’t apologize, huh?”

Using wind magic, Maria cleared away the mess, clenching her fists.

“You think just because I see you as a kid I’ll let it slide?!”

Bam!

The moment the man stood up, Maria’s fist hit his gut.

“Guh—!”

Bam!

With a scream that didn’t even have a moment to escape, he was sent rolling into another table and crashing against the wall. He slumped over, out cold from a single hit.

“Humans never listen.”

Maria shook off her hands lightly, clicking her tongue. As she was about to move in for another hit on the fallen man, I grabbed her shoulder.

“That’s enough.”

“…Fine.”

Maria pouted, begrudgingly releasing her magic augmentation.

“Oh, but just to be clear, the humans I mentioned exclude Teacher. Don’t get the wrong idea!”

“……Right.”

The crowd began to disperse when they realized the true power Maria possessed. Even the large man standing before Tina and Iris was not exempt from that realization.

Just then, rock-paper-scissors concluded. The winner was Tina.

“Yay! I won? I get to hit first?!”

“Yeah.”

“Okay~”

Tina blew on her fist.

“I won’t knock you out for Iris’s sake.”

“What? Are you serious? Is that how today’s kids grow up without ever getting hit?!”

The man swung a fist towards Tina first.

Whack!

But it was too light and was effortlessly blocked by Tina’s hand.

“What’s that~? I’m the one hitting you. What do you think you’re doing?”

With incredulity, Tina pulled the fist she had caught toward herself.

The man was tugged forward helplessly.

Just as Tina was about to get up close, she executed a lightning-fast uppercut that was invisible.

Bam!

The sound of impact was completely different. His head got knocked back completely from the hit.

“My turn.”

Wham!

As soon as Tina struck, Iris jumped in and kneed him in the chest.

Bam!

The man crashed into the table at the counter and was knocked out cold.

“Be grateful I’m not killing you. If it weren’t for Teacher, you’d be missing limbs right now.”

Considering Iris’s power, he had a hundred percent chance of having a broken jaw and ribs.

If he was unlucky, broken bones might puncture his organs, but we had no obligation to take care of that.

After all, they were the ones who started it.

A silence fell upon everyone as the three heroes made their adventurer debut. The previously cheerful guild atmosphere was shattered.

“If anyone else has complaints, come forward now. Waiting until later could genuinely get you killed.”

At Iris’s warning, the adventurers flinched and began to back away.

“Whaaat?! What’s going on?!”

An assistant rushed out, covering her mouth in shock.

“Can someone explain what happened?!”

“…Those two fought.”

I pointed at one adventurer sprawled in a corner and another propped against the counter.

It was a lie, but no one dared to call me out on it.

“Charge them for any damaged goods. If anyone has something to complain about, let them know they can shove it.”

“Who do you think you are?!”

Looking bewildered, the assistant frowned at my response.

“I came to register as an adventurer. Is the Guild Master around?”

Given that two years had passed, I wasn’t sure if he would even be here.

Typically, when the Guild Master goes out, it’s either due to taking on requests too difficult for the adventurers or being summoned by the royal family or nobility.

“He might be—”

“Geez, it’s noisy since morning.”

A guy scratching his head while yawning walked down from the second floor.

His disheveled appearance seemed to reflect his laid-back personality.

A scruffy-looking man stretched lazily.

“Why’s it so loud during lunchtime? Damn adventurers.”

“G-Gilder! It wasn’t us!”

Gilder.

The unified Guild Master of the Empire.

I clearly remember that name.

On the surface, he looked like a lazy and foolish old man, but when he got serious, he was truly a ‘leader’ like no other.

“What the hell?”

As he came down the stairs while yawning, he stopped at the sight of the lobby in disarray. With a heavy sigh, he surveyed the chaos.

“Why’s the lobby a mess?”

“Uh, well…”

“Did you do this?”

Before the assistant could explain, he looked at me and asked.

“These two were fighting, and they both fell.”

I repeated what I had similarly told the assistant.

In situations like this, expression management skills are incredibly useful. I could lie without changing a single facial expression.

“Pfft! You’re lying! It was you, wasn’t it?”

His narrow blue eyes focused on me.

“……No.”

To be precise, these kids were the ones.

“I was the one who did it. Got a problem?”

Tina’s brash response made Gilder look at her disdainfully.

Her tone was really rude. Where the hell did she learn to speak like that…?

…Me, perhaps?

“I did it too.”

“I’m in on this, too.”

With Tina stepping up, Iris and Maria joined in as well. The three kids blocked Gilder’s path. He scoffed at them.

“What’s this? Are these your daughters? This is not a suitable place for kids.”

He knew well enough. If he knows, then why not change things up a bit, Guild Master?

“They’re not my daughters. Our relationship is Teacher and students. Correct me if I’m wrong.”

Tina, aren’t you being a bit too cheeky…?

Seriously, who did you take after to become such a violent person…?

…Is it me?

“Teacher and students… Is that so?”

Gilder listened quietly to Tina and seemed to ponder something deeply.

“Then again, if they’re strong enough for a person like you, they must have a disciple or two. But bringing such young disciples is a bit much, isn’t it? Praus.”

“……You know me?”

“How could I not? You’re the one who defeated S-Class adventurers Urka and Inkuro, and even took down the leader of the Royal Knight Order, Conver, in one blow. It’s been two years, so forgetting would be strange.”

He pulled a potion from his robe. Opening it, he poured it into the mouth of the adventurer sprawled out nearby. He tossed the leftover half to the assistant.

With a nod from Gilder, the assistant rushed to the adventurer pinned in the corner.

“Just because you’re called a ‘Hero’ doesn’t mean everything gets a free pass. Being strong doesn’t give you the right to beat people up.”

“The way he spoke was really rough, so I had to teach him a lesson. If he had a problem, he should have managed the adventurers better.”

“The way you talk, I can’t tell who sounds worse.”

Because my situation was due to skills out of my control, while he’s just a terrible person. How can you even compare the two?

“…More importantly, I came with a purpose.”

“What is it? Have you finally decided to take down the Demon Tribe? I heard the royal family sent commands to defeat them, but they were all rejected.”

Ah, that…

A few months ago, a letter arrived from the royal family.

Thinking it was just another useless invitation, I was going to ignore it, but the knights who brought it urged me to read it.

Reluctantly, I opened the letter and discovered that it contained a royal command.

To summarize the letter: ‘The Demon Tribe has been actively encroaching upon the Empire’s territory recently. Praus, go to the Empire’s border immediately and fight the Demon Tribe.’

The moment I laid eyes on that letter, I was furious.

I felt an impulse to raise my middle finger toward the Imperial Palace, proclaiming that if they ever sent such a letter again, I would burn their palace down.

But considering the image I’ve built, I needed a plausible reason for my actions.

So I thought hard.

After some serious contemplation, what I came up with was this.

‘I will gladly step up if the Empire is in danger. But right now, the Empire is not in danger.’

What I ended up saying was this:

‘Don’t get ahead of yourself. You’ll die.’

…And that was it.

I’m at a loss for how my words shortened so drastically, but in any case, that was what I sent back with the knights, and not long after, more knights came to visit.

At first, I believed the Order would come, but judging by the damage that would occur if they confronted me, they didn’t take an aggressive approach.

However, they kept sending letters, relentless.

The first letter was an ‘order,’ gradually changing into a ‘request,’ and eventually became a form of ‘begging.’

Yet I refused every single time.

For me, there were no options. If I don’t refuse, I’m done for, so what else could I do?

“That’s right.”

“Are you serious? Living in the Empire and ignoring the Emperor’s orders? Is there any way to survive with the Empire as your enemy?”

“Enemy? Ha! There are no enemies for Teacher! If he wiggles a finger, they’re all finished!”

Please, shut up, Tina…

“That’s right. Teacher is someone we three couldn’t defeat even if we teamed up!”

Iris, don’t exaggerate. You always end up tiring me out because of your antics.

And besides, we’ve never fought together…….

“Teacher.”

Maria waved her hand at me, signaling for me to lean down. I lowered my body. Maria leaned in to whisper in my ear.

“How about this opportunity, Teacher? You could become the Emperor!”

Maria, you…

…Are you out of your mind?

“If even the Empire confronted you, it would be possible for you to win, I’m sure!”

Her eyes sparkled with expectation as she looked at me.

How high are her expectations that she would throw such ridiculous suggestions out there?

And more importantly, are you aware that saying that is ‘treason’? Right?

Don’t these kids realize they’ll need to function independently later? Do they really want to be spouting such dangerous nonsense?

“Everyone, quiet down.”

As I softly chanted, the noise-makers shut their mouths.

“The purpose of my visit here isn’t for me. I intend to make these kids into adventurers. Gilder, I’d like you to conduct their exam yourself.”

“…I’ll ask in advance, but how old are these kids?”

“They’re thirteen years old.”

“Thirteen…! Hey, no matter how much they’re Praus’s disciples, that’s a bit too young, don’t you think?”

“Don’t worry. These kids are stronger than you.”

Suddenly, a vein stood out on Gilder’s temple. The previously relaxed atmosphere tightened.

He stepped closer to me, radiating a menacing aura. Even if he didn’t quite match the S-Class adventurers, he was still considered one of the strongest in the Empire.

There’s a reason he’s been a Guild Master.

It makes sense he’d get angry after I said they were weaker than kids.

But it actually is a fact, so what should I do?

“Are you saying those kids are stronger than me?”

“Open your eyes wide. You’ll die.”

Facing his hostility, I widened my eyes in response.

[Skill 「Killing Intent」 activated.]

“Ugh!”

His expression twisted at my aura. Grinding his teeth, he glared at me, though his hand did not drift towards his weapon.

“The only thing you should say is ‘Yes, I will’.”

“…Looks like an extra punk just appeared. Follow me.”

He sighed and relaxed his expression.

Luckily, it seemed my persuasion had succeeded.

As he proceeded toward the sparring arena, I instructed the heroes, “Let’s go.”

“Just as expected from Teacher, the ultimate defense is—”

“Alright, stop talking and hurry up.”

You all only cause trouble whenever you open your mouths. Just shut it.