My Disciples Became Scoundrels - Chapter 91

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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This was bad. Before I could even make an excuse, Cesare’s voice cracked like thunder.
“You didn’t tell us this? You said it was nothing?!”
“No, wait—”
My angry disciples pressed in on me. They were genuinely furious. Bella spun toward Anais.
“How should we care for your body, Master?”
“Recovery is slow, so keep me from getting hurt, make sure I eat well, and I probably won’t die suddenly. I’ll look into it more myself.”
She glanced at me sidelong.
“Your condition is getting rather interesting…….”
It sounded just like something Gai would say. Her eyes held that same strange gleam…….
Anais departed. My disciples’ gazes remained sharp and unwavering. I took both their hands.
“I’m not going to die. I’ll be with you both for a long time to come.”
“Don’t just say that with words.”
Cesare looked at me with an expression on the verge of tears. Bella kept her head bowed. Despite their years, their faces were still childlike.
“……I really do want to live.”
Fifteen years ago. When death stared me in the face, instead of a panoramic view of my life, that thought had filled my mind completely.
That I didn’t want to die. That I didn’t want to leave the children behind.
“So help me. Let’s find a way for me to survive together.”
There was no greater shame than asking my disciples for help. But did my shame matter?
Not if I could see relief bloom across their faces.
Fortunately, the two of them began to relax. Watching them clutch my hand so tightly, I renewed my resolve once more.
I want to live. I want to keep living.
I would never die again. Not this time. Never again.
17. Questions
When the children were young, they caused all manner of trouble.
Windows shattered regularly. Sometimes the house would catch fire. They stole things from shops nearby.
And they lied endlessly. Nothing had happened, they hadn’t done it…….
Each time, I punished them. I told them they could make mistakes. But I taught them again and again: never lie. Not ever.
Which was precisely why I now sat bound to a chair by Tentacles.
“Master, why did you lie?”
The living room felt like an interrogation chamber. Jenia stood over me, her eyes devoid of light.
“Master, you taught us not to lie. Yet you lied and said you weren’t in pain. Why?”
A few hours earlier. Bella and Cesare had returned home and told me everything about my condition.
That my body’s structure was abnormal. That at this rate, I wouldn’t live long.
They’d told me about the insomnia and taste disturbance, everything. Even that I’d been hiding it all along.
“Why did you lie? Why didn’t you say you couldn’t sleep well? Why didn’t you mention your tongue felt wrong?”
“I was wrong. Just this once, forgive me.”
Those words weren’t enough. Jenia didn’t release me—only continued to touch me with her Tentacles.
Arkel’s emotions were unreadable. Only heat or cold—something continued to leak from him.
“So the treatment method is unknown, and the best we can do is maintain your condition so it doesn’t worsen?”
“……Anais said she’d research it. She said she’d come check on me regularly.”
That genius healer. She’d said even if she didn’t know the illness’s cause, she could extend my life.
But it seemed that alone wasn’t enough to reassure my disciples. Arkel’s silver-gray eyes shone coldly.
“From now on, do not leave. If your body is damaged in a fight, it will be serious. Stay home as much as possible.”
Was I being treated like some elderly invalid? Just then, Bella approached. She held a bowl that steamed gently.
“Are you going to lock Master away?”
“If necessary.”
I’d hoped the usually obedient Arkel would protest. But not like this.
The bowl held meat. Bella lifted a fork.
“Eating well and moving your body is better than being locked away, she said. I even bought the most expensive Recovery Medicine.”
“How much?”
“Ten million Batz.”
That was an amount that would make Arkel jump. He furrowed his brows and asked.
“Wasn’t there something more expensive with better effects?”
“There wasn’t. If I find any, I’ll buy it.”
That penny-pincher……. She mends her own clothes and yet won’t hold back when it comes to this.
Even though I told myself it was natural for family, my heart didn’t feel right. Could I accept this much care from my disciples?
It felt like I was experiencing old age prematurely. Meanwhile, Bella brought the meat to my lips.
“Please eat, Master.”
“I’ll……I’ll feed myself.”
If I accepted even a meal from her, I felt I would lose something essential as a master.
Fortunately, the Tentacles released. As I picked at the meat slowly, Jenia asked a question.
“Does it taste good?”
“Yes, it’s delicious.”
“But you can’t taste anything, Master.”
Jenia tilted her head with a faint creak, looking up at me from below. Her blue eyes were unsettling.
“We agreed not to lie.”
“You’re right. I apologize. Let me try once more.”
I confessed immediately. So Jenia has grown sharp enough to lay traps. Impressive.
The creeping Tentacles withdrew quietly. I wiped my mouth with a napkin and changed the subject.
“Has there been any trouble with Gai?”
“No, he’s been well-behaved. I replaced the door with an Iron Door just to be safe.”
To anyone else, he’d look like a prisoner. Which wasn’t entirely wrong. Jenia turned to me with a question.
“But why didn’t you call Gai down to eat with us?”
“I want to keep the truth about my body secret from him.”
He’d been curious about how I came back to life. He seemed interested in my body as well.
But if he learned that something was wrong with my body?
An incident was inevitable. The man constantly pestered me about cutting my chest open to take a look.
Bella exhaled a long, heavy sigh at my words.
“That creature is so hard to trust. I’m not even sure we should keep him around…”
I wished there were just a few more reasons to have faith in him. As things stood, he was difficult both to leave behind and to bring along.
Then the front door opened, and Cesare rushed inside.
“Phew, the Postal Office was absolutely packed. I’ve delivered the letters to all the physicians we contacted.”
There was a priest named Anais, but we’d decided to reach out to other sources as a precaution.
It seemed we’d received letters as well. Cesare held up several envelopes.
“We got quite a few. This one’s from the Duke’s household.”
He handed me an envelope. When I checked it, the news I’d been waiting for was inside.
“The Temple Access Permit came through.”
“Finally! Now we can catch that bastard in his lies, right?”
Cesare’s face brightened before hardening again. His gaze toward the ceiling turned sharp. Gai was upstairs.
“…I want to know if that bastard killed Hayden.”
I too wanted to know the truth about Hayden’s death. If it came to light, I could trust Gai. Just a little.
Meanwhile, Bella was examining the remaining letters.
“This is a Named Request. The payment is substantial, and some come from nobles.”
A Silver Rank request would draw attention. Especially if rumors had spread that a duchess was interested in us.
I picked up one of the letters. It was from a Baron’s household.
“I’d like to accept this one, but the deadline is tight. I’ll go to the Temple with Gai, so you handle this request.”
Maintaining connections with nobility never hurt. We needed to raise our Domus Rank as well. But Arkel spoke firmly.
“We cannot send you alone, Master. How could you go by yourself in your condition?”
“What condition?”
I listened to a three-minute definition of “that condition” before telling him to stop. The reproaches came swift and cutting, without a trace of malice…
In the end, I decided to yield to my disciples.
“Very well. Someone protect me.”
At that, my disciples exchanged glances in perfect unison. Cesare suddenly cried out.
“Rock-paper-scissors!”
With that abrupt shout, they all hastily threw their hands forward. While most showed scissors, one person threw a rock.
Arkel raised his fist. Expressionless, yet somehow triumphant.
The man was thirty-three. Was he still too young to have matured? Jenia made a scissors motion with her fingers, then stopped, looking disappointed.
“Big brother, if Master seems to be pushing himself, stop him.”
“I will.”
“No matter what it takes.”
“I understand.”
His voice was resolute. I knew better than anyone that he didn’t speak empty words.
…I hoped Anais would find a cure soon.
* * *
What image comes to mind when people hear the word “priest”?
Most envision a calm atmosphere, a reverent and sacred presence. Most priests do carry that feeling.
But Justia Temple has a different atmosphere. You can tell just by looking at Kihano.
“You fool! Didn’t I tell you to report immediately when a visitor arrives? Where the hell did you spend your years of service?”
“Your Holiness, I apologize! I will correct this at once!”
“Haven’t cracked the whip in a while, so discipline’s gone soft?”
The conversation came through the wall with crystal clarity. I sat in the reception room, listening quietly.
The decor alone was austere, but the voices matched it. This place felt less like a temple and more like a barracks.
Dreary green wallpaper, weapons stacked where ornaments should be. And in the midst of it all, the High Priest bellowed.
Arkel and Gai waited in another guest room. Fortunate they couldn’t hear this.
Whether the Temple Reception Room walls were thin, or simply their voices carried—one thing was certain.
The High Priest knew. He knew I was listening.
“I took this request because of Duke Morban, but are we really so permissive? Just any Silver Rank riffraff wandering through?”
“No, sir!”
“Either ask directly, or don’t come at all. Using noble connections to sneak in like this? It’s shameful. Wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes, sir!”
The Holy Knights of Justia were obsessive about one thing: morality and justice. That was their fixation.
Ambush was dishonorable. Even at disadvantage, they insisted on facing enemies head-on.
They saw my approach through Duke Morban as a kind of sneak attack. As if they would’ve acknowledged me had I come directly.
I lifted the teacup. The tea had gone cold, but they seemed intent on continuing. The aroma was pleasant, at least.
“If you had any shame, you’d withdraw. Now get yourself to the Training Ground and run laps until I call for you.”
“Yes, High Priest!”
The door opened shortly after, and a man in his mid-thirties entered. He wore the temple’s green vestments and carried a warm smile.
“I am the High Priest of Justia. My apologies for the wait.”
Hard to believe this was the man who’d just been shouting. I rose and offered a slight bow.
“Not particularly tedious, actually. There’s quite a bit to observe here. The furnishings are quite… impressive.”
A sharp gaze touched me, then withdrew. I was familiar with that sensation—the kind you feel in combat, usually. The High Priest took the seat across from me.
“So you’ve come seeking a priest, I understand?”
“Yes. I’m looking for the whereabouts of Priest Kihano. Do you know where he is?”
The moment Kihano’s name left my lips, the air shifted subtly. It faded as quickly as it came. The High Priest’s smile turned slightly strained.
“Kihano, you say. That’s something I’m not entirely sure how to……”
“Why not?”
I lifted my teacup and smiled.
“A Silver Rank nobody who skulked in using a duke’s name and influence—surely you won’t refuse to speak to that?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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