My Disciples Think I’m Strong

“Looks like it all turned out well?”

I wouldn’t say it turned out ‘well’, but I’m relieved this is the medieval era.
If it were modern times, I might have gone through months of trials and ended up in prison.

“I suppose so.”
“I see… That’s fortunate.”
“…Your face is swollen.”

I gently stroked Tina’s cheek with the back of my hand. The area where she had been struck was puffed up.

“Ah, this…”

She slightly backed away and covered her swollen cheek with her hand.

“Drink this.”

I offered her the potion I had bought before chasing after Tina.
Since I hadn’t given her any money, I expected her to get beaten.

“A potion? But, but I can’t drink something so expensive…”

Looking at the bottle of red liquid, Tina vigorously shook her head.
Thirty copper coins for a potion would allow a commoner to live comfortably for nearly a month, so her reaction was understandable.

“Also, the swelling from being hit will go down soon. I may look like this, but I’m a bit tougher than I seem.”

The reason she was tougher and healed quickly was likely due to her yet-to-awaken hero’s power.
If she didn’t have that hero’s power, she might have died long ago.

In reality, quite a few children had died after being beaten by those thugs in the slums.
Even in the game, though their names weren’t mentioned, it was officially stated that such settings existed.

“Be quiet and drink it. It’s cheap.”

I forcefully handed her the potion and walked ahead. I heard footsteps following behind me.

“Hey, Praus.”

Tina, now walking beside me, called my name.

“What?”
“Why are you trying to take me in?”
“…You’ll be useful to me.”
“As you know, I’m not very good at begging, and I don’t have any talents Praus would want.”

Her feeling of having no talents was because her awakening period hadn’t arrived yet.
The awakening period varied for each hero, but they typically awakened the moment they resolved to fight the demons.

“Don’t worry. What I’ll have you do won’t be something trivial like begging. And from the moment I said I would take you in, I intended to be ‘responsible’ for your life.”
“Responsible…”
“From now on, you won’t have to suffer for money. I’ll feed you what you want to eat, clothe you in whatever you want to wear, and let you sleep in a comfortable bed.”

Although I said that, I couldn’t afford anything too expensive.
Selling the relics would allow me to live comfortably for a few years, but supporting three people would cost more money than expected.
It was uncertain whether my father would continue providing financial aid.

Her black eyes looked up at me with a negative emotion.I snorted indifferently and said:

“Prove your worth yourself. Until then, I’ll patiently wait.”

It wasn’t a very kind thing to say to a child, but after passing through my mouth’s filter, it turned into a somewhat decent consolation.

“I understand.”

She opened the potion and gulped it down.
Immediately, the swelling on her face began to subside. At the same time, her eyes changed too, shining with determination.

“I’ll prove my worth. I’ll definitely become someone Praus needs.”
“Good.”

We headed straight for the inn.
I wanted Tina to bathe and also report to Iris.

Creak.

“Ah, Praus nim is ba-… Huh?”

As soon as I opened the door, the fox-eared girl, Iris, came bounding out as if she had been waiting.
Iris paused when she saw Tina beside me. Tina was also surprised to see Iris and pointed at her.

“A, a fox!”

It was the meeting of two heroes.
Iris and Tina stared at each other for a while.

“Praus nim, who is this child?”
“One of the two others I mentioned.”
“Ah… I see. So you sent me back to the inn to bring this child along?”

Her voice seemed to carry a hint of dissatisfaction. Her expression didn’t change, but her tail was drooping and stiff.

“That’s right. Are you dissatisfied?”
“Ah, no, not dissatisfied… Just… Well, couldn’t I have come along too…?”

Iris muttered. I let out a sigh.

“Don’t say unnecessary things. You don’t even know what happened.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Tina.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Go wash up. The clothes you can wear are in this bag. Take out whatever you’d like to wear.”
“Understood.”

I casually tossed her a towel, which she clumsily caught before entering the bathroom.

“Woah… Oh, hot water is coming out!”

Soon after, an exclamation came from the bathroom.
Even though she had been relying on someone, her lifestyle couldn’t have been much different from being homeless. It made sense that she would appreciate hot water.

I inwardly chuckled and flopped down on the bed.

“Praus nim.”
“Yeah.”
“May I ask about your future plans?”

I was about to habitually say, ‘None of your business,’ but I had said it so often that it had become ingrained.

“…I’ll participate in a slave auction.”
“A slave auction, you say?”
“There’s an elf we need to save there.”

The girl who would eventually master all elements and be called the Great Mage.
Her power was essential in a situation where we had to fight demons who could freely wield magic.

“I’ve heard slave auctions are expensive.”
“That’s right. Extremely expensive.”

In fact, when I played the game, the final auction price for the third hero was 986 gold.

The unit of currency was different.
However, it was an amount I could afford by selling relics, as there would be people in need of relics at this time.

The only issue was that the auction price was randomized, according to the official guide.
It could be lower or higher than that figure.

In reality, based on some forum posts I had seen, some people had paid 1,201 gold, while others had paid as much as 1,392 gold.

I had to repeat the process numerous times because of this.
Every time I thought I had saved enough money, the price would renew, frustrating me throughout the playthrough.

In any case, considering the randomized figure, the amount I needed to save was around 1,500 gold.
As I was calculating in my head, Iris’s voice reached me.

“…Was that elf forcibly taken, like me?”
“That’s right.”

The circumstances were no different for Iris or that elf.
Their lands had been taken away by humans, and they had been enslaved, stripped of the rights and dignity they should have naturally pursued.

“Why are people so selfish…? We didn’t invade human territories or cause any trouble. We were clearly living peacefully together. So why do people who are living well…”

Her resentful voice made my chest tighten. Looking up at the ceiling, I quietly murmured:

‘I’m fucking sorry.’
“That’s just how humans are. It can’t be helped.”

A sense of helplessness rose in my throat.
I couldn’t console her or apologize on behalf of humanity, which felt utterly pointless.

I wanted to ease her mood even a little, but my mouth wouldn’t allow it. The best I could do was express myself in a roundabout way due to the filter’s limitations.

“You mean Praus nim understands the actions of the humans who took our land?”

I sat up and looked at her. Iris had a displeased expression.
It seemed she was determined to argue with me, even if I hit her.

Well, with the way I spoke, it was no wonder misunderstandings arose.
I let out a sigh.

“…Humans are greedy. Humans will readily trample over others to get what they want. That’s why crime runs rampant wherever humans live. They steal to survive, they kill to live. This is human nature.”

Even I couldn’t deny this fact.
If there were no laws in the modern era, and the perception of crime was no different from the medieval period,
could South Korea truly be called a country with good public safety?

“Then are you saying the reason you’re taking us in is also to obtain what you want, Praus nim?”
“That’s right.”

I didn’t deny it. They would find out eventually.

“Just what is your goal?”
“I’ll… explain once all three of you are gathered.”
“…Then tell me one thing.”
“What is it?”
“Do you intend to use us for evil deeds?”

Evil deeds? On the contrary.
What you’ll be doing from now on is saving the world.

“If I had intended to use you for evil deeds, I wouldn’t have brought up freeing you from slavery last night.”
“……”
“Don’t worry. What you’ll be doing from now on are things you can hold your head high while doing, no matter where you go.”

You’ll even be praised.
Beyond the title of a new S-rank adventurer, you’ll be called heroes.
And on the front lines, you’ll defeat countless demons, eventually even killing the Demon Lord.
That was the destiny of heroes.

“I understand.”
“Once Tina comes out, we’ll go eat. Get ready.”
“Yes, Praus nim.”

“Woaah… Can, can I really eat this?”
“Yes.”

She looked at the dishes placed before her in wonder.
It was a freshly roasted turkey dish. Even Iris seemed flustered by its size.

“Eat as much as you want. If you’re still hungry, order more.”
“Wooow! The meat is so tender! It feels like it was just made!”

Tina couldn’t hide her excitement as she stuffed her mouth with meat. Iris tore off pieces of turkey and ate while watching Tina.

“Delicious…”

Iris’s eyes changed as she tore into the turkey with her sharp teeth, her mouth covered as her eyes shone.
I was relieved it was to her liking, as our conversation had become a bit awkward.
As I dipped bread into the bland soup, I inwardly felt at ease.

“This is the most delicious meat I’ve ever eaten in my life!”

She exclaimed while chewing noisily.

“Heh.”

I heard a chuckle from behind and glanced back to see the innkeeper smiling contentedly as he snorted.

I wish they would eat a little more properly… All eyes were on us.

“Tina.”
“Mmph?”
“You’re being noisy.”
“…Okay.”

At my remark, she furrowed her brows into a straight line and mumbled softly.
Just adding one more person made it so noisy. Indeed, the mood maker of a hero party was different.

That morning at dawn.
When everyone was quiet.

Tina, who had always slept on hard floors, couldn’t adapt to the fluffy bed. Or rather, she couldn’t calm down.
The countless events that had unfolded within a single day flashed through Tina’s mind.

Tina sat up. Iris, who had been sleeping right next to her, also opened her eyes groggily.
Since there were only two beds, Tina and Iris had to share one.

“Praus. Are you awake?”
“…Go to sleep. It’s late.”

Without even turning to face her when she called his name, Praus curtly replied.

“…Thank you for today. Saving me, giving me clothes, treating me to delicious food. It feels like no matter how many times I say it, it won’t be enough for Praus.”

Praus listened silently with his eyes closed.

“Will I be able to live such a luxurious life from now on?”

In fact, it wasn’t luxurious.
It was a lifestyle any working commoner could easily afford.
But for Tina, who had never even experienced the basics that others took for granted, it felt relatively luxurious.

Knowing this, Praus hesitated inwardly whether to affirm or deny her statement.

“If you prove your worth, that is.”

What he ended up saying was a remark so devoid of kindness that you would have to look hard to find any.

But Tina didn’t mind such things.
After being under Dingk, who had beaten and cursed her, Praus’s words sounded kind to her.

“Yes! I’ll definitely show you! Good night.”

Tina bowed her head to the Praus who wasn’t looking at her and lay back down.
Iris, who had been silently listening beside her, bit her lower lip and muttered:

“My worth…”

Time passed, and the day of the slave auction arrived.
The preparations were complete.

I had only managed to raise 1,336 gold by selling two relics, Sylphie’s Ring and the Purification Stone, but that amount would be enough to at least give it a try.

The relic repairs were also perfect. I drew the sword that had been rusted.
Its gleaming blade looked far better than my self-defense sword. Satisfied, I sheathed it after a moment.

Yesterday, I had put on a necklace made from a blue gemstone relic.

This sword and gemstone would protect me from S-rank adventurers.

[Unbreakable Glory of the Past has been equipped.]
[Temporary access to the Absolute Defense skill has been granted.]

[Frost’s Hobby has been worn.]
[Fire resistance increased by 50%.]

“Alright, let’s go.”

I looked up at the moon in the sky and put on a black mask covering my eyes and nose.