My Disciples Think I’m Strong

“…Praus.”

It was while placing an order for bed frames at the carpenter’s workshop. Aerial had arrived in the guise of a commoner.

“What is it, Aerial? Shouldn’t you be overseeing Maria’s afternoon magic lessons right now?”
“There’s a problem.”

Her voice was tinged with anxiety.

“A problem…?”

I immediately sensed the gravity and looked at the carpenter.
He was gazing at Aerial. Rather than focusing on our conversation, he seemed entranced by her beauty.

Even in commoner’s clothing, her transcendent beauty was bound to draw attention.

“Praus, who is this woman?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll leave the bed frame order with you. Also, prepare the mattresses.”

I placed a silver coin on the counter as I spoke. The carpenter frowned at my tone but treated me politely, no doubt due to the money.

“Leave it to me.”
“Let’s go.”

I exited the carpenter’s workshop and headed towards the house.

There were too many people around the village during the day, meaning too many listening ears.
With no secluded alleys, it wasn’t a suitable place to discuss private matters.

As we climbed a hill near the house, I glanced at Aerial. She had her hand over her mouth, fidgeting restlessly.

“There doesn’t seem to be anyone around here. Explain what’s going on.”
“Ah, right. Well… it’s hard to believe, but apparently there’s someone in the capital who has a contract with Silphi.”

Silphi was an intermediate wind spirit.

“So?”

I asked indifferently as we climbed the hill.

“One of the Demon Lords has infiltrated the capital, according to her.”
“…What?”

My head whipped around. I stared at Aerial in a daze.
The gravity on her face was enough to assure the credibility of her information.

Inadvertently, I let out a gasp of shock, though no emotion showed outwardly.

My face remained calm, but inwardly, my mind was in turmoil.

“Is it true?”
“Yes. What benefit would I gain from lying about something like that?”

No, this couldn’t be happening.

In terms of the game’s episodes, this was still the early stages.
The very beginning, before the heroes had even taken their first steps towards growth.

Yet a Demon Lord had come to the capital?
This was like a bolt from the blue.

In our current state, fighting the demon race would be hopeless – a 100% guaranteed loss.
The heroes wouldn’t have properly grown, their lives trampled by the Demon Lord, and not just the Pysis Continent’s Empire but even the kingdoms would fall to the demon race.

It was the worst possible ending I could envision.

Damn it. Damn it!
What the hell was going on? Had I missed something during this past month?

Desperately wracking my brain, I rapidly calculated the reasons a Demon Lord might have come to the capital, listing out possibilities and odds.

Where had this ‘variable’ occurred?
And I arrived at the most plausible possibility.

“Because this is ‘reality’.”
“What did you say?”
“No, just talking to myself.”

Yes. Because this was reality.
I couldn’t think of any other explanation.

In games, it was common for bosses to wait idly or for the episode’s progression to halt until the protagonist’s party arrived. Naturally, they wouldn’t grow either.

But what about reality?
When the protagonist moves, the enemies move too.

They don’t just wait around like in games.

Still, there shouldn’t have been any catalyst for a Demon Lord to come here.

While the progression had changed significantly and information had been exposed, I hadn’t done anything that would provoke a Demon Lord to visit the Empire.

That meant their objective wasn’t us, but something else.

Something else.
With so many possibilities surrounding the capital, it was difficult to narrow it down.

“Damn it. What brought them here?”
“She said they have pale skin resembling a human form, wearing clothes fit for nobility. And that he’s a pretty boy.”

Did the ‘pretty boy’ detail really need to be included? So unnecessary.
In any case, based on the information, only one Demon Lord came to mind.

“Habito, perhaps.”
“Habito?”
“The vampire Habito. One of the Four Demon Lords, ranked lowest among them, but the most troublesome.”

He specialized in blood-based attacks, making him the worst matchup for humans.
Even the slightest contact with the skills he used could drain all the blood from one’s body in less than a second.

For the heroes to defeat him, the minimum condition was possessing mana exceeding his own.
But the heroes currently didn’t meet even that minimum requirement.

“You seem to know quite a bit?”
“…The demon race is the enemy of humanity. It would be stranger not to know about a Demon Lord.”
“No, it’s normal not to know.”

Aerial flatly denied my words as I stared at her in bewilderment.

“Even I, who has lived for hundreds of years, didn’t know that information.”
“…Is that so?”

Hmm. Now that I think about it, there were a few lines like “Who is that guy?” during the Demon-Human War in the game…

But how could I possibly remember such details?! I’m barely managing to recall the major points without my head exploding.

I must have casually assumed a Spirit King would know everything. Had she been confined to the spirit realm due to some illness?

“Ah, I see.”

Awkwardly scratching my head as I averted my wandering gaze, I muttered:

“Heh! It’s the first time I’ve seen you flustered.”

She slightly bared her teeth in a smile.

“You finally look a bit more human now.”
“…Noisy.”
“I won’t ask how much information you actually have, Praus. So don’t worry about it.”

Aerial seemed to have resigned herself to not hearing the full story from me, at least for now.

“Hmm. Alright. So then… what was the reason for coming to the capital? No, I think I can guess.”

Even for a Demon Lord, infiltrating on a small scale without their subordinate forces implied they only intended to accomplish their objective quietly, not start a war.
It was difficult to see this as a prelude to an invasion.

Moreover, there was only one reason Habito would risk his life infiltrating the Empire’s capital.

“He’s looking for someone, isn’t he?”
“Huh? How did you know?”
“It’s obvious.”

I recalled the noblewoman from the Ayum Kingdom who had been sold into slavery.
Stella Porna, who had fallen into slavery despite being from the noble Porna family.

She was the only daughter of Count Porna.

“A bit too soon, isn’t it…”

Based on my expectations, it might be premature for Stella Porna to become a subordinate Demon Lord, as she likely hadn’t experienced true despair yet.

Furthermore, the reason her family fell was due to the demon race’s machinations, so at present, she would probably resent the demon race more than humans.

From multiple perspectives, it seemed the maturation period was insufficient, yet Habito had recklessly come to the Empire’s capital. The only explanation was that he had received orders.

However, in the Demon Realm, only one being could command him – someone ranked higher than the Demon Lords, revered by all demon race.
The Demon King, in other words.

There was no doubt the Demon King had ordered Habito.
While the catalyst was unclear, the circumstances were understandable.

“He intends to create a subordinate Demon Lord.”

From Habito’s perspective, whether Stella was in a state of utter despair or not wouldn’t matter.

If she was despairing, he could simply take her. If not, he could make her despair himself.

“Create a subordinate Demon Lord?”
“Habito is after Stella Porna. That woman possesses the qualities to become a Succubus Queen.”
“Wh-What did you just say?!”

Aerial cried out in shock.

“How can you say something like that so calmly?! Shouldn’t you inform someone right away?!”

She raised her voice in agitation.
It wasn’t about being calm – this was just how my skill worked…

“Then what will you do? Go there right away? It would take some time riding the wind, but… you could still make it in time.”
“No, I won’t go.”
“What?”

Please don’t say such nonsense.
With only three fledgling heroes who haven’t grown and one weakling like me who will die without relics, you want to go face a Demon Lord? That’s not something a sane person would say.
Moreover:

“They’ll come to us eventually.”

If they did come to Secul, it would mean the Demon King had caught wind of the heroes’ awakening.

“And there’s an S-rank adventurer waiting there. One who is utterly furious about failing to obtain Stella.”

Recalling him, I let out a chuckle.
In the capital where the Grand Anti-Demon Magic field was active, even an S-rank adventurer might stand a chance against Habito.

I intended to place my expectations on that possibility.
It would be akin to sitting back and reaping the rewards, so to speak.

Truthfully, I had initially regretted not acquiring Stella myself.
But for me, prioritizing the heroes’ growth, Stella would have been a hindrance.

Before the heroes’ growth was complete, Habito would eventually come searching for Stella.

Seeing Stella living peacefully by my side, Habito would have become enraged and attacked us, potentially leading to undesirable consequences.

But in the end, that didn’t happen, and Habito didn’t come here directly.
In hindsight, it had been the right choice.

“Then what will you do if they come this way?”
“Kill them.”

That was the only way to deal with the demon race. Aerial seemed taken aback by my firm declaration before appearing reassured.

“See? To me, you seem more like a hero.”
“…I’m not a hero. Just an ordinary villager.”
“Ordinary villager?”

Aerial tilted her head in confusion.

“More importantly, how are Maria’s magic lessons going?”
“She’s making good progress. It seems she’ll break through to the second tier soon.”

In just a few hours?
The power of a hero was truly fearsome.
…Wait, didn’t she reach the second tier within a day in the game too?

In a deserted black market of the capital Pretium.
Two men were engaged in a confrontation over a woman.
Stella, unconscious in the pretty boy’s arms, as Incurou blocked Habito’s path.

“Put her down.”
“You’re obsessed with a woman. You must be the unpopular type.”
“I simply don’t like others touching my belongings, you whoreson.”

Demon Lord Habito sighed while S-rank adventurer Incurou scowled.

The tense, ominous atmosphere stung their very skin.

“Let her go.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Are you asking for it, brat? You’re outmatched here.”

His massive Zweihaender was drawn, befitting his hulking frame.
The instant he gripped his weapon, an intense aura erupted – one Habito calmly observed.

“You’re quite a strong human, aren’t you?”
“And you look insanely weak, don’t you?”

Snap.
Habito’s expression froze over.

“Weak? Me?”

While holding the overwhelming rank of fifth in the power-centric Demon Realm, Habito harbored a lingering sense of inferiority for being the weakest among the Demon Lords.
Incurou had struck that sore point.

“Hah, well. Since I’ve come all this way, I might as well take a human’s head with me.”

Habito opened his mouth in a chilling smile. The moment he snapped his fingers, a deep red blood emerged from the ground.

“Shall we begin?”
“Ah, wait a moment!”

At that instant, Incurou held out his hand.

“Let’s not do this here. I don’t want to end up having to pay for needlessly damaging the surroundings.”

Recalling the thousands of gold he had previously been charged, Incurou broke out in a cold sweat.