I Became The Academy Necromancer-Chapter 280: Before The Tea Cools Down

“I cannot give you much time.”

“…I understand.”

“Good.”

Creak.

Thud.

The door to the room I had given Xiao Hu slammed shut, as if reflecting its owner’s conflicted heart.

And although her dispirited tone worried me, it wasn’t my place to offer comfort.

I had already given her a choice right at the start: to not follow me and settle peacefully in the Han Empire’s city instead.

She even had the diner left behind by the goblin.

Although I was unable to taste the food because I was in my artificial body, the fried rice she cooked for me looked appetizing enough.

If she opened a diner, I felt she would have had no trouble making a living.

However, she had made her choice.

And with that choice came responsibility she would have to bear.

Is this truly better for her?

A white lie or a black truth.

She chose the black truth. It would hurt and it would definitely make her cry, but if she could endure and overcome it…

“It is still not enough to call it growth.”

Could something like that even be called growth?

People often equated growth with pain.

The more scars they bore, the more they believed they had grown. Pain that didn’t kill you only made you stronger, and so forth.

It was a valid sentiment.

While pain could indeed accompany growth, it was not a universal truth.

Sometimes, pain only left scars, not growth.

[Isn’t that too harsh?]

The Dark Spiritualist beside me spoke up, which was surprising in itself.

I had assumed that if anyone were to say something, it would be Stella.

“She is not my responsibility.”

Unlike Owen or Iluania, Xiao Hu was someone in that ambiguous area between acquaintance and stranger.

“And it is better to not let matters like this drag out.”

[Huh?]

[He’s right.]

From the Dark Spiritualist’s reaction, it seemed that she didn’t understand what that meant, but Stella, who followed behind, agreed with me.

Only now did I notice that she had paused at Xiao Hu’s door to offer a prayer.

Even after ascending to the position of a demigod, Stella continued to pray—not because she expected answers from god, but because it was all she could do.

It was a very Stella-like thing to do.

[Time can sometimes become a cure, but it can also cause wounds to fester and rot even more.]

Instead of letting Xiao Hu stew in her thoughts endlessly, a certain amount of external pressure could help force her back to reality.

And for a young girl like her, this seemed like the right prescription.

[Tsk.]

Lacking depth in matters of wounds and emotions, the Dark Spiritualist let it slide without any further comment.

[But don’t push her away completely.]

Stella, walking in step with me now, made her request cautiously.

“…”

[You are aware, aren’t you? She’s still a child. There’s no need to always show her such a cold side.]

“…Alright.”

Seeing me nod without much hesitation, Stella’s eyes quivered slightly in surprise before she linked arms with me on the sly as a pleasant smile appeared on her lips.

[It seems that I said something unnecessary. There’s no way you wouldn’t know something like that.]

“…”

Even though there was a line between acquaintance and stranger, I hadn’t forgotten that Xiao Hu was just a child.

Although I had no intention of taking responsibility for her, I didn’t plan on pushing her away coldly either.

“It is nothing. You are simply overreacting.”

Wasn’t her reaction too excessive for merely deciding to help Xiao Hu?

I felt there was no need for such a response, but Stella shook her head.

[I just fell for you again.]

“…”

Not expecting to hear something like that, I stopped in my tracks for a moment. I was aware that Velica was still in her body, but Stella was already wearing a mischievous, devilish smile.

[Ah, what are you doing?!]

Naturally, we weren’t the only ones in the Verdi Mansion corridor.

The Dark Spiritualist trailing behind stepped between Stella and me, pushing us apart.

[Hasn’t Stella been getting way out of hand lately?!]

“Well, she does act like that at times.”

Before we went to see Lanhardt, she suddenly hugged me from behind while I was seated, deliberately brushing hands with me in secret, and even pressing the backs of our hands together.

Stella had become quite bold compared to before.

[Well, it’s love—]

[Shhh! That’s enough. Zip it! It seems that I need to set things straight as your senior. Stella, follow me.]

[…]

Stella pouted, resisting the Dark Spiritualist.

I had never seen this side of her before.

[It’s been so long since we last met. Besides that, now that I’ve received a divine position, I can’t even be called one of the dead anymore.]

Stella ignored the Dark Spiritualist. Intrigued by this fresh dynamic, I began observing them with interest without realizing it.

[W-Wait! But there is a line we can’t cross, you know! I’m your senior, and I don’t even act like that!]

[…]

[Aren’t you going to stop pouting?! You’re really asking for a scolding!]

Even so, their standoff remained unchanged.

A passing household servant gave me a strange look, asking what I was doing there, but I simply gestured for them to move along.

[Deus!]

The voices of the two women overlapped.

Before I knew it, their gazes were fixed on me.

[What do you think?]

[Please speak some sense to senior!]

“Why am I suddenly caught in the crossfire?”

Though I found it puzzling, since the decision had fallen to me, I decided to be honest.

“The Dark Spiritualist is right.”

[Woohoo!]

[…!]

Raising both hands in victory, the Dark Spiritualist bounced with joy, while Stella glared at me with resentful eyes, as if asking if I was being serious.

However, even though it had only been about a day since we reunited, Stella’s recent behavior was a bit too much.

If I didn’t rein her in now, she’d probably keep escalating her displays of physical affection.

And that wasn’t a direction I would have wanted her to take.

[This is it! This is the bond! The trust! The persistence! You know, I have shared a meal with Deus! Huh?! Taught him magic! Huh?! Annihilated evil spirits together! Huh?! Even slept together! I’ve done it all!]

“That last part is news to me, though.”

When I turned my gaze to the Dark Spiritualist, she quickly averted her eyes and tugged Stella along.

[Come along now. As your senior, I’ll reintroduce you to ghost society and carve it to your very bones.]

[I keep telling you, I’m no longer a ghost…]

[Oh, hush! No talking back!]

Dragged away by the scruff of her neck, Stella still glared at me resentfully…

[Fakkyu, Deus!]

“…”

And disappeared after leaving behind a rather boisterous remark.

Though there was a bit of commotion, I eventually resumed walking. I had much to do, but I couldn’t take action recklessly.

First, I had to inform the palace that I had returned.

However, I had no intention—and did not even consider—of returning with fanfare, trumpets blaring, and applause ringing.

I must keep my return as quiet as possible.

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Everyone was pretty much aware that I had taken in the countless souls of the continent.

It was only because Lanhardt was so aggressive that things had moved this quickly.

Honestly, it wouldn’t be strange if someone else came after the souls within me.

My return needed to remain discreet.

After all, it wasn’t just something that would only affect me—it could also bring harm to the kingdom as a whole.

To my surprise, upon returning to the office, I found Findenai cleaning the room.

Not just that, but there was also something disturbing the air in the room.

Was it the diluted scent of tea leaves?

It smelt like overboiled tea had turned into the smell of a soggy rag. At this point, I began to wonder if she used to be part of the resistance or was an alchemist.

“I am not drinking that.”

It was better to strike preemptively.

Hearing me declare that I wouldn’t drink the tea she had made, Findenai gave me an incredulous look.

“I didn’t make tea.”

“…”

“I washed a rag in hot water,and I left it by the window to cool off because it was too hot.”

“…”

“Damn it.”

Having heard me compare the tea she brewed to the smell of a half-dried rag, Findenai felt a surge of anger rise within her and blurted out a curse.

“Ahem.”

Realizing I had made a mistake, I cleared my throat awkwardly and turned toward the desk. However, Findenai continued to stare at me with her hands on her hips.

“Want to try it out? I’ll bring both the dirty water and my tea. How about you compare them yourself?”

“…”

Honestly, I didn’t feel like apologizing.

Mainly because I didn’t plan on drinking either one, making them pretty much the same to me.

“Sigh, here I am trying to do something nice after so long, and this is the crap you give me. You damn Master Bastard.”

Muttering under her breath, she resumed dusting the shelves with a duster.

“Do that later.”

Dusting while someone was present in the room—what kind of behavior was this? Even after working as my maid for over a year, it was impressive to see how little experience she seemed to have with cleaning.

“No way.”

Was she sulking?

But her voice sounded too lively for that. Even her lips were curling up slightly, making it seem she was in a surprisingly good mood.

The fact that she seemed so cheerful even after being insulted like that was suspicious in its own way.

“Why are you cleaning all of a sudden?”

Hence, I decided to get to the root of it.

Findenai wasn’t the type to clean. If she was, it had to be because she was in a good mood.

At least, that was what I thought.

“Huh? It’s just that I don’t like being embraced in a dusty place.”

“…”

Her response, exceeding my expectations, left me feeling somewhat shocked.

“After all, a maid is supposed to be embraced in places like this, right? While I’m in the middle of cleaning, you will naturally come from behind, brush against my hips, and then slip a hand into my under—”

“Stop.”

I quickly stopped Findenai before she could finish her indecent rambling.

What the hell was she saying?

“Who told you something so absurd?”

“The other maids said so. The ones you harassed.”

“…”

“They said you’d sneakily whisper in their ears, ‘You bitch, bark for me.’ And if they refused, you’d grab them by their wrists and steal a kiss from their lips…”

“That was not me.”

Seriously, every time I heard stories like this, I wished Deus hadn’t been annihilated.

I knew he’d stepped aside for my sake, but I sincerely wanted to ask him if it was true.

Did he really say things like that?

“Keke.”

Findenai chuckled as she watched me sigh and massage my throbbing temples.

She seemed thoroughly amused as she turned her body toward me.

“That was a lie. None of the maids who were harassed by the previous Deus are still around. It’s obvious they all left.”

“I heard a few stayed behind.”

“Deia gave them a generous severance pay and even found them new jobs. They’d have definitely noticed the stark difference between the former Deus and you.”

Geez, I always felt sorry for my smart younger sister.

“Don’t worry. They all left while bowing in gratitude to Deia.”

“…I see.”

While grateful to Deia, a new question naturally popped into my mind.

“Then, where did you learn all those things from?”

The obscene jokes she’d told me earlier weren’t something a maiden like Findenai would usually say.

She immediately pulled out a thin book titled ‘The Spider of the Wailers Household’, tucked away in a corner of my bookshelf.

Frowning slightly at the name, I noticed the red cover, which suggested it was probably an adult novel.

“I finally understand why the previous Deus made the maids wear outfits like that.”

Was that the book that cemented Deus’ sexual preferences? Not wanting to sort through his belongings, I simply left them as they were while adding my own books, but I never imagined that something like that would be among them.

“Whoever wrote this must’ve been completely unhinged. Like this.”

After placing the book on my desk, Findenai suddenly raised her skirt.

Then, holding the hem in her mouth, she spoke with a straight face.

“Mahsterrr, please forgive meee. That’s what it says here.”

It wasn’t just her black underwear that was clearly visible—since her skirt was already short, even her navel naturally visible.

Lowering my head quickly, I scolded her.

“Findenai!”

There had to be a limit to what was acceptable.

If anyone had to be dragged off by the Dark Spiritualist, it should have been Findenai, not Stella.

When I ordered her to lower her hands immediately, she let the hem of her skirt fall without argument.

Returning to her usual self, she smirked and said.

“That was payback.”

“…What?”

“Who told you to get split in half right in front of me without any warning? You scared me to death.”

Was she talking about Kim Shinwoo’s artificial body? While I had expected her to be upset, I hadn’t anticipated her to manifest it like this.

“Huff, I will apologize for that.”

“But you won’t apologize for comparing the tea I made with rag water?”

“…”

I had no intention of apologizing for that because, to be honest, it was pretty much the same.

Seeing me pressing my lips together, Findenai, claiming she was genuinely annoyed, spun around and headed straight for the teapot.

“Brace yourself, you bastard.”

As she clattered about preparing tea, it sounded more like someone gearing up for war. Watching her, I quietly opened the window behind me.

I was prepared to escape if necessary.

“Wait, come to think of it, why does showing off women’s sexy underwear count as payback? Isn’t that a reward?”

“You are the one who said it.”

“This is so fucking unfair. You strip too, you bastard! Let’s see how big you are.”

While leaving the water to boil, Findenai strode toward me. Her fiery gaze was filled with genuine intent.

Fortunately, before she could reach me—

Clatter.

“Deus!”

The door opened, and Darius stepped inside.

“Uh… is something going on?”

Noticing the serious atmosphere, he wondered if he had come at the wrong time, but I shook my head.

“What is it?”

“Ahem, I need to talk to you.”

“Talk to me?”

“Yes, it’s… something we need to discuss privately.”

Noticing Darius’ subtle hint to send Findenai out of the room, I glanced at her and said.

“Step outside for a moment.”

“You have a guest here; shouldn’t I at least serve him some tea?”

“…Fine, make the tea.”

I wasn’t planning on drinking it anyway.

Luckily, the eldest son, who was also quite burly, showed up.

Findenai brewed the tea, placed it on the table between Darius and me, and then left the room without another word.

Darius let out a deep sigh and spoke in a grave tone.

“This is about Deia… and you.”

It clearly sounded like a serious matter.

But first—

“You should drink the tea.”

It was better to deal with the rag water on the table before getting into anything else.

***

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