My Disciples Think I’m Strong

“From tomorrow, I will guide you in the direction you need to grow stronger. If you develop according to that, you will surely become powerful.”

I spoke as I tidied the bedsheets in my room.

After tidying up, the three children seemed to find the single bed too narrow for them all.
As ten-year-olds, it was impossible to have all three sleep on a one-person bed.

“Aerial… You should return to the spirit realm. There’s no space for you in the beds.”
“That inner bedroom has a fairly large bed. Wouldn’t it be enough for me, Praus, and one of the children to lie down together?”

She pointed to the inner room where my parents had slept.

Why didn’t she understand that wasn’t the important part?
Didn’t she realize the implications of an adult man and woman sharing a bed?

Of course, a Spirit King probably wouldn’t care about such things.
But I would be too uncomfortable to sleep properly.

‘Hey, if you sleep with me, won’t Pasma get jealous?’
“Why would I have to sleep with you?”

“Wasn’t that our agreement?”
“We never made such an agreement.”
“Praus, if it’s because of Pasma, don’t worry. No matter what anyone says, Pasma is the only one I love.”

Pasma was the only one.
Her words made me realize how happy she must have been for Pasma’s return.

But did she know?
That although Pasma now wandered this world as a disembodied soul, he would eventually disappear.

Currently, Unwavering Vengeance was the medium connecting us to Pasma. But if the weapon broke or was lost, we could never meet Pasma again.

Of course, it wasn’t that Pasma himself would disappear from this world, just the medium linking us.

However, the moment Pasma’s lingering desire was fulfilled, he would vanish.

And I already knew Pasma’s desire, and that it would eventually be realized.

In the end, this couple was just another link in the tragic chain of relationships that couldn’t last.

“…What would you do if Pasma were to vanish forever?”

I blurted it out without meaning to.
I hadn’t intended to say it at all, but the words had slipped out, leaving me flustered.

“Huh…?”
“No, never mind.”
“Wh-Why would you ask that? Did something happen? Can’t you talk to Pasma anymore?”

She urgently grabbed my arm, her previously smiling face now solemn.

“That’s not it.”
[My friend, can you not hear my voice?]
“I can hear you.”
“Th-Then why would you ask something like that?”
“I was just asking. It doesn’t mean anything.”

I had no intention of doing anything to Aerial. NTR was a sin, after all.

In the game, it was staged to evoke sadness and emotion. But now that it had become reality, it was simply lamentable.

“Praus, what do you know?”
“I said I was just asking.”
“…Ever since we first met, you seemed to know about me. You were ‘certain’ about things that would happen in the future.”

She forcefully turned me towards herself by grabbing my arm.

“Tell me.”

‘If you knew, it would only bring you more pain…’
“What would change even if you knew?”

Couldn’t I speak a little more gently at times like these?
No matter how indifferent my words came out, I couldn’t shake the sense of their harshness.

“At the very least… I don’t want to hurriedly part ways when that time comes.”

Aerial had a resolute expression as if she had steeled herself, but the sadness lingering in her eyes was unmistakable.

“…I can’t be completely certain either. But at least for the next ten years, nothing will happen.”

Unless the demon race suddenly started acting strangely, causing unforeseen variables.

“Then—”
“Let’s end this idle chat. For sleeping arrangements, you and two of the children will share the inner bedroom. One will sleep with me. Who wants to sleep with me?”

Sensing the conversation would only drag on, I changed the subject and arbitrarily decided.

However, the children seemed to think it was a rather serious matter, unable to easily move on to the next topic.

Ah, I shouldn’t have brought it up.
I sighed, about to make the decision myself.

“Me! I want to sleep with Praus.”

Tina, who had already hugged a pillow, raised her hand as she spoke. Only then did the others regain their senses.

“Ah, wait a moment—”
“Do as she says.”
“Since it’s decided, Iris and Maria will sleep in that room. I’ll ask the village carpenter to make more beds, so bear with it for now. Now go to sleep.”

To prevent any further objections, I swiftly concluded and entered the room. Tina followed and closed the door.

She immediately rushed and plopped onto the bed. With just me lying on it, the bed was almost full.

Tina then carefully climbed onto the bed. Feeling it shift under her weight, I glanced over to see her curled up with her back towards me.

“Praus…”
“…Sleep.”
“Yes. Good…night.”

It seemed Tina also wanted to ask me something, but I didn’t feel like entertaining it right now.

I closed my eyes.
It took less than a minute for me to fall asleep.

After Praus and Tina entered their room, Iris and Maria headed towards the bed.
Having bathed and eaten a filling dinner, the ten-year-old children entering their growth spurt could hardly stay awake any longer.

After tidying the bedsheets, the two climbed into bed, situating themselves as they looked at Aerial.

“Aerial, aren’t you coming?”

Maria asked, but Aerial wasn’t in any state to respond.

‘Pasma will disappear? Again? Why?’

Ever since witnessing the three children awaken as heroes, Aerial had been placing trust in Praus’s words and actions.

While his statements lacked ‘evidence’, they had never been lies.

His remark about Pasma potentially disappearing was likely close to the truth as well.

That fact gnawed painfully at her heart.

‘What’s the point of being a Spirit King if I can’t even protect my loved one?’

The wind whirled around her, disturbing the furniture in the house.
Only after one of the clattering dishes fell to the floor did she regain her senses.

She picked up the dish at her feet and returned it to its proper place.

“Haah…”

With a deep breath, she barely managed to calm herself.

‘It’s ten years, right? Ten years, it’ll be fine. If I can find a way within that time, it’ll work out somehow.’

Struggling to push away her negative thoughts, she entered the inner bedroom.

“Tina, take this.”

I handed Unwavering Vengeance to Tina.

“Pasma’s disembodied soul resides within this sword. Use its skills to learn the Mirage Waltz from Pasma.”
“The Mirage Waltz?”
“Yes. Once you’ve fully learned it, pass it on to Iris. You two will learn swordsmanship from Pasma.”

The Mirage Waltz was a sword technique that caused bewilderment by making the opponent unable to predict what kind of attack would come, due to its irregular nature. However, it was also described as an all-purpose sword technique whose form changed depending on the swordsman wielding it.
…Or so the game’s setting material stated.

While an absurd concept, there was no faster way for them to grow stronger.

Ordinarily, they would have met Pasma around the transition from early to mid-game.
In other words, around the time they reached their growth limit after awakening as heroes.

But I had employed a shortcut to accelerate the heroes’ growth.
Although there were still years until the Demon-Human War, there was no room for complacency.

Considering the various conflicts with the demon race and others they would face along the way, they had an obligation to grow stronger as quickly as possible, day by day.

In any case, Tina and Iris would develop distinct characteristics as they learned the Mirage Waltz.

Tina would become reckless and focused on powerful strikes, while Iris would be rational and counter-oriented.
I intended to guide them in those respective directions.

“First, learn the basics from Pasma. Once you’ve fully learned them, I’ll suggest the directions most suitable for you.”

The two girls exchanged bewildered looks before nodding.

“Pasma, while they have awakened, they’re still only ten-year-old children. Teach them at an appropriate level.”

I spoke into the air, unsure if he would hear. Surely he wouldn’t have run off in a huff after yesterday’s conversation?

“Begin.”

Leaving those words, I turned to Maria, who was fidgeting nearby.

“Aerial, teach Maria wind magic. Help her reach the highest tiers possible. When teaching other elemental magics, it would be good if you could summon the other Spirit Kings as well.”

She specialized in wind.
While she likely had knowledge of other elements, it would be more efficient to have other Spirit Kings specialized in those areas provide instruction.

“I’ll do that. And in exchange, tell me how and why Pasma will disappear.”
“It’s nothing you would want to hear.”
“…I thought about it all night.”

She clenched her fists as she spoke, undeterred by my firm attitude.

“I want to hear it. How Pasma will disappear. It doesn’t matter how many years are left. If I know how he disappears, I’m sure I can find a way.”

No. That method could never be found.
If nothing else, I was certain of this. Pasma’s attainment of Buddhahood was an ‘inevitability’ that couldn’t be avoided in this world.

“…I’ll judge based on how well you teach. It would be troublesome if you prioritized Pasma after hearing the story unnecessarily and then ran off.”
“Alright. I’ll teach to the best of my ability. But tell me later, no matter what.”
“Don’t worry about it.”

I surveyed the children’s appearance just before their training was about to begin, then turned away.
I should prepare lunch, I suppose.

“So this is Pretium.”

After traveling for several days, the Demon Lord Habito stood atop the formidable walls renowned for their sturdiness, gazing down at the capital of the Empire.

At his feet lay fallen and withered Imperial Knights.

“Lord Habito.”
“What is it?”
“It may not be wise to linger here for too long.”

One of his subordinates appeared before him and knelt.

“What seems to be the issue?”
“A ‘Grand Anti-Demon Magic’ field that weakens the demon race’s power has been established throughout the capital. The longer we stay, the more our strength will drain.”

The Grand Anti-Demon Magic.
No matter how powerful the Demon Lord, it was a demon race-exclusive countermeasure magic that inflicted debuffs without exception.

It greatly reduced the potency of magic skills and adversely affected mana discharge.

Not only in the capital Pretium, but such magic was installed across every city in the Empire, as well as throughout the Empire’s lands.

“I see. Very well. Let’s retrieve the target as quickly as possible then.”
“And we’ve identified the presence of a ‘Purification Stone’ here as well.”
“…What? Why would the Purification Stone, which was lost to history, be in the capital?”

It was an object the demon race was all too familiar with.
An utterly loathsome and vile object.

Just being near it caused all demonic energy to be absorbed, rendering demons as weak as humans. From the demon race’s perspective, it was the most abhorrent stone to be avoided at all costs.

So much so that it was said even the Demon King would be rendered helpless if encircled by a few dozen Purification Stones.

“I’m uncertain about that.”

Habito felt a throbbing in his head.

“The situation is unfavorable. If the Purification Stones have started being uncovered, it could pose problems for future wars. Destroy any Purification Stones found on sight.”

‘Who discovered the Purification Stones? With this and the matter of the heroes, could all these events really be mere coincidences?’

It was unlikely.
He was convinced that someone was interfering with all of this.

“Understood.”

The subordinate deeply lowered his head.

“I will retrieve the subordinate Demon Lord candidate. You take care of the Purification Stones.”

Demon Lord Habito spoke as he leapt down from the walls, easily over twenty meters high.

‘While they may not be in the capital, I should investigate who is behind this scheme.’