"Argh! Hinata-nee, you're too strong!"

"Huft… Hah… I… Can't… land… a single hit hah…."

"Huft… even my shield, can't fully block her sword"

Ryota, Kenya, and Gale had a spar with Hinata in the middle of our picnic. We all happen to walk to the nearby meadow. We didn't walk too far from the nearby road, so it should be safe.

"You all have grown significantly. I must say, you are already pretty strong"

"But we can't hit you, not even once. My arrows always miss, even though I imbued them with magic so they can trace your movement. How did you do that, Hinata-nee?"

"Yeah right! My swords cannot hit you, although I already have my eyes on your movement!"

"Me as well! I can't see where your swords go even if I go in full defense"

Oh boy, I think I knew the reason. But I won't say anything. All I can say is, Hinata didn't hold back. Scary.

Hinata only smiled and sheathed her sword. He helped those three to back on their feet. Their legs are still in wobbled but they manage to walk up here and drank a potion I brought.

After they drank the potion, they started to make a fuss again over Hinata. They pondered on how she could be that strong, and how she managed to attack them efficiently while avoiding their attacks.

"All right I will tell you, guys. It's my unique skill 'Mathematician'. It allows me to predict my enemy's movement and counter it with feints. So you guys only attack where I wanted to be"

"' Huh?! '"

The three of them were upset.

Yeah, don't blame them. Even I had a hard time when she first time using it against me. I luckily have Raphael at that time, so I can find out which one is the feint and which one is not. But these kids don't have Raphael, and heck, do they have a unique skill in the first place?

"So that's why! That's cheating you know!"

Kenya was still upset. Apparently, he's one of the strongest students at school. No, these kids are probably the strongest students in Tempest. I manage to obtain that info from the talks with the teacher before. So having them being toyed with by Hinata, must be hurting their pride, mostly Kenya who likes being strong.

But that's reality. Being beaten recklessly by another person except me shows them that they have a long ways to go. It would be naïve if they think that the only one who can beat them was me. It's a good lesson.

"Don't be upset guys. Hinata is strong. Even Shizu-san isn't as strong as her"

"What? Is that true Rimuru-sensei?"

"Shizu-sensei lost to Hinata-nee?"

"It's impossible, right? Shizu-sensei is the strongest!"

Ho? It seems like these guys haven't been able to read their opponent's strength. It's logical since they didn't have enough experience in battling against people and they also didn't have appraisal skills. But, inside Kenya, there's a greater light spirit, right? Why is he keeping quiet?

[It's probably to teach Kenya a lesson too]

Oh, I guess that makes sense. Ciel also deliberately let me feel pain on purpose to gather data at some point.

[Rude! I would never let any harm to Master!]

Lie, just admit it.

"Don't say it like that, Rimuru. Sensei is so strong. Only a few people can withstand her. Even an archdemon would find her a difficult opponent"

Whoops, even Hinata didn't want to make herself look stronger than Shizu-san? That's surprising actually. But don't blame me. I didn't say that, but I was told by Yuuki.

[Lie, my calculation also indicates Hinata is stronger than Shizu. Just admit it]

Damn, you Ciel! Now I have to save my face on my own.

"W-Well, Shizu-san is surely very strong. But objectively speaking, Shizu-san doesn't even have a unique skill while Hinata has two. Wouldn't you find that Hinata is stronger just from that point?"

"Rimuru, I never let you openly tell me about how much unique skill I have"

Damnit! I let it slip without realizing it!

Ciel-san, please help me…

[…]

Hey! What is this silence?

"Ehh? Hinata-nee has two unique skills?"

"Hinata-nee, you're clearly cheating this time"

"Now I'm certain Hinata-nee is overpowered"

"Fuh, somehow I glad to know without having to fight her. I'm glad to choose not to bring my battle doll"

Hinata glared at me with rage. Ah, I'm done for. I'll take any punishment.

I feel a cold sweat around my back. I don't know what to say to the kids. Well, just get along and not revealed any more than this is my only option right now.

"W-Well, don't say this to anyone okay? Every person would never reveal their trump card, right? But at least, for now, you all understand how powerful Hinata is"

"Yeah, if I knew that before, I wouldn't ask to have a spar you know"

"It's no wonder I can't hit her"

"Don't worry Rimuru-sensei. Hinata-nee secret will be safe. On another note, I would never want to become Hinata-nee's enemy"

"Hmph! Even if Rimuru-sensei told me, I would never blab about it!"

I smiled and hoped that their answer are somewhat enough to reduce Hinata's anger. So I took a glance at her.

She's sitting while drinking a cup of tea. It seems her mood is in a better state after taking some cake and a cup of tea. At least for now.

She glanced back at me. She seems to hear what the kids said.

"All right. I take your word for not blabbing it. But I think you misunderstood something, Rimuru"

"Eh? What is it?"

"I'm not irritated by your blab about my skills. I just didn't like you stirring things up to make Sensei look weaker than me"

"Ahh, sorry, I didn't mean it in a bad way. I just meant that objectively-"

"I'm stronger than Sensei, yes. I understand. But I can't accept it right away. After all, she's the one who made me this strong. Without her, I would only be a stray otherworlder. Forget about becoming a knight, having a life must be more difficult without Sensei"

So that's why. By the way, I never knew how she came to this world. Rather, I didn't know how's her life before she got here. It appears she's been saved by Shizu-san not just physically, but also mentally. Um, it doesn't weird if I wonder about it right?

But I got a feeling that it would be best to not pursue the answer.

"It's okay Hinata-nee. I understand. Shizu-sensei is strong in her own way. In my eyes, nobody is stronger than Shizu-sensei."

Gale suddenly speaks up. Perhaps, these kids and Hinata found a similarity in their situation without having to tell about it.

The other kids nodded in agreement.

My my, I could never beat you, Shizu-san. They always love you from their hearts. I could never replace her in their life. It doesn't mean I wanted to. But I feel sad thinking about how much loss they felt after Shizu-san passed away.

For them, maybe Shizu-san wasn't a teacher at all. She's their mother. And nobody can replace a mother, no matter how good that person is.

It's ironic, isn't it? Shizu-san was taken away from her mother because she was summoned here, but in the end, she becomes a mother to these kids. I did what I can to help them, but was it enough?

"Rimuru-sensei, don't be sad. You're also a great teacher after all!"

"Yeah! Shizu-sensei is the strongest, but Rimuru-sensei is also the best!"

"Rimuru-sensei, you have done a lot for us too. We would never forget Rimuru-sensei's kindness"

"Shizu-sensei is Shizu-sensei, Rimuru-sensei is Rimuru-sensei. I never compared you both and see who's the best. You all are the best for me!"

Ryota, Kenya, Gale, and Alice suddenly speak. Their words are touching. Is my face showing sad face?

"Your sad face doesn't suit you, Rimuru. Besides, you inherit Sensei's appearance. We never saw Sensei being sad, so don't ruin our memories of Sensei"

Uhm, sorry.

"Ahaha! Sorry, everyone. I just suddenly think about Shizu-san more than usual"

"Ehh… What are you thinking about Shizu-sensei?"

I wonder? It's been always about Shizu-san lately. And the idea of Shizu-san being reincarnated somewhere else is rather intriguing actually.

"Nothing, it's a secret"

"Ehhh that's not fair, Rimuru-sensei!"

"Right right! You always kept secrets between us!"

Hehe, not always everything can be told, especially to kids right? I kept it a secret for now.

"Speaking of which, how you met Sensei in the first place?"

Ohh Hinata is curious about my relationship with Shizu-san. All right, that's not a bad thing. Besides, I haven't told them properly about Shizu-san's death right? It's a good opportunity to tell them the whole story.

"Are you curious? How about some storytelling for now?"

"Yes! I want to hear it!"

"Rimuru-sensei, please tell me"

"Yeah, I always wondered how you manage to have a Shizu-sensei appearance. So please tell me about it too"

It seems the kids are also interested. It can't be helped then. I'll have to tell them from the start. From the moment where I go into Dwargon and told Shizu-san is my "destined one".