I Became The Academy Necromancer
Chapter 348: Side Story - Encirclement

Observing the three gathered around the table, I felt as if we were having a family meeting.

And the way they stared at me with bright, attentive eyes was somewhat cute.

“So, what’s going on?”

Noticing my troubled expression, Findenai asked with concern. The other women must have had similar thoughts as they simply remained silent and just stared at me.

“Haa…”

In the end, I began sharing everything that had transpired over the past two days.

At first, Findenai’s posture was tense and attentive, but as my story went on, she ended up propping her legs up on the table, her eyes twitching.

Once I finished my story, she finally spoke, unable to hold back any longer.

“So what? What do you want us to do? Oh wow, you’re so damn popular—did you expect me to say that?”

“You stayed out all night! You kissed your little sister, went on a date with your fiancée—so you weren’t bragging about it? Wow, I don’t really understand what you’re trying to say!”

“Haah.”

Findenai shot up from her seat, about to explode, but—I understood now.

I caught a glimpse of her exchanging subtle glances with Stella. So this was their plan all along.

“Just calm down and listen to me first. I already heard about Stella’s little scheme.”

[Huh?]

“…”

Stella blinked at me in surprise while Findenai subtly pursed her lips and averted her gaze.

“I heard everything. I know you’ve been exaggerating your actions intentionally—constantly showing jealousy to keep me from choosing anyone easily.”

It showed just how desperate Stella was. The plan was crude, even a bit forced. But the fact that it actually worked made me feel ridiculous.

“Honestly, I was feeling anxious thanks to that. Wondering if I could do anything for you all, I almost went down a weird path.”

Just the fact that I had even seriously considered the male-genital-shaped tool Professor Fel Petra had given me was already humiliating.

It was an incident I could officially label as a dark past.

“Loving just one person is already overwhelming enough for me. That’s why I tried to choose one from among you—I thought that was the right thing to do. For all of you as well.”

After all, no one would like seeing the person they loved being affectionate with someone else.

“But I guess I was on the wrong track with that because the mere idea of me choosing someone actually made you all more anxious.”

The fact that Stella came up with such a sneaky plan in secret proved it.

“And honestly, I don’t know. I really don’t know what I should do or how to even handle this. I always believed that asking this question would mean I was just pushing the responsibility onto someone else, but…”

[You’re asking for help.]

The Dark Spiritualist responded with a bright smile. She seemed to be the only one completely at ease in this situation.

Why was she the only one acting like this?

I wanted to ask, but she continued speaking.

[You can’t be the only one deciding how to define our relationships. We’re here too, aren’t we?]

“Yeah, you’re right. I was being arrogant.”

[Compared to that, you were just being considerate. You cherish us, so you wanted to keep things from becoming too complicated.]

The Dark Spiritualist was taking my side completely. The other two must have felt something was strange as they stared at her intently.

Blushing, the Dark Spiritualist covered her flushed cheeks with both hands and twisted her body slightly.

[Well, I did have a sexual relationship with him, didn’t I? Do you really think he’d just throw me away after that?]

“Wow…”

[Wow…]

I never imagined there would come a day when both Findenai and Stella reacted in the same way.

The two of them just stared at the Dark Spiritualist with their mouths agape, looking like they had a lot to say—but knowing it would only lead to a huge fight, they forced themselves to hold back.

“Well, she’s not completely wrong. Considering Master Bastard’s sense of responsibility, if he did ‘that’ with someone, he wouldn’t just abandon them.”

[…]

Well, she wasn’t wrong, but I couldn’t help feeling the urge to point something out.

“Let’s just be honest.”

In the end, I asked as I tried to ease my throbbing head.

“What do you want me to do?”

It was a question I had agonized over for a long time before finally voicing it.

The three of them exchanged glances but remained silent, pressing their lips together.

It was clear they had a lot to say, so why were they hesitating when I asked them what they wanted?

“That’s something you need to answer.”

Findenai’s words stabbed me like a knife.

“You’re the center of our relationship. You are the one who needs to make the decisions, Master Bastard. We will just follow.”

“…”

“It’s your choice. Pick one of us, or pick all of us. Whatever you decide, we’ll go along with it.”

“But—”

I wanted to ask if that wouldn’t be too hard on them, but—

[Why do you think we’re still here with you?]

Stella asked the most important question.

[Do we look like we’re waiting around just because we believe you’ll eventually pick one of us?]

“…”

[Sorry, but that’s not it.]

She smiled brightly, yet her gaze was firm as ever. It was the determination of a kind yet strong-willed woman.

[I just want to be with you. Even if I am compared to other women or if it means I’m wasting my time, I still want to be with you.]

“I have never compared you to anyone else.”

[I know.]

Seeing Stella grin happily, I scratched the back of my head.

My artificial body couldn’t even feel any itchiness—it was just that I felt awkward.

[Well, there’s one thing I’m curious about.]

Stella leaned in and whispered softly.

[Do you really think that the rest of us would all leave if you chose just one of us?]

“Huh?”

My head began to throb instantly.

As I tried to process Stella’s words, I instinctively looked at the other two.

Meeting my gaze, Findenai simply shrugged.

“I’m your maid, remember?”

“I mean, yeah, but—”

“Won’t a newlywed house need a maid? ANd we have a contract, don’t we?”

“…”

I was at a loss for words.

It seemed almost certain that she would continue to stay in this house, even if I chose Erica or Stella.

When I turned to Dark Spiritualist, I could see that she certainly would do the same as well.

[I’m your overseer and teacher, remember?]

[And I’m also your overseer.]

Stella already answered before I even asked. Only now did I realize that, just as they said, no matter what decision I made, nothing about our situation would actually change.

[So? Do you get it now?]

Stella smirked playfully.

[In the end, we’ll stay by your side. The choice is ultimately yours.]

Whether to love just one—or love them all.

“At some point… this is how things turned out.”

When I came to my senses, I found myself cornered at a dead end.

The moment I became aware of the pressure of not being able to choose just one, their gazes felt different.

I was being coerced.

I was being forced to make a choice.

I was always indifferent to the concept of love, and now, I had no choice but to admit that I had failed to notice their encirclement.

[Well then.]

The sweet whisper of the former Saintess flowed into my ears.

[So then, shall we make a choice?]

As if daring me to go ahead and do as I pleased.

As if we all already knew what the final outcome would be.

Trapped under the tightening pressure, all I could do was let out a hollow laugh instead of feeling tense.

“Is this really the ending you all want?”

[It’s the ending everyone wants.]

“I’m clueless and I lack understanding when it comes to love.”

[That’s great then. That means you can share multiple loves at once. You’ll learn quickly.]

I was left speechless seeing Stella speak so confidently.

“Well… even though it feels shitty, I’ve also gotten attached to those other bitches.”

Findenai added, scratching her cheek.

“I see.”

I dropped my head.

With a newfound resolution, I smiled bitterly.

“I may be lacking in many ways.”

I could feel the conviction I had stubbornly clung to—

“But there’s only one thing I can say.”

— crumbling under the weight of their endeavor and affection.

“I will keep saying that I love you.”

This was the only way I could repay them for all the effort they had put in.

“Until the day you no longer want me.”

Would something as simple as this really be enough?

That thought crossed my mind for a brief moment but faded just as quickly.

The smiles blooming on their faces were like flowers in full bloom.

“He he.”

[Until the day we no longer want you? So, that means you’ll stay together with us forever until we say otherwise?!]

[Yes!]

Findenai tried her best to hide the smirk twitching at the corners of her lips.

The Dark Spiritualist, as usual, demanded a more detailed explanation.

Meanwhile, Stella turned away quietly, clenching her fists in silent victory.

Observing their varying reactions, I moved on to the next topic with my newfound seriousness.

“The bond between a man and a woman is also important. And I’ve been rethinking about that lately.”

Just look at the Dark Spiritualist. After spending just a bit of intimate time together, her trust in me was unwavering, and there was no trace of doubt.

I wanted the other women to feel the same sense of security, but my physical limits were real.

However—

“Velas told me something. That gods don’t have physical bodies, but they live as though they do thanks to mental bodies.”

I had already informed Velas that I wanted to research the mental body and asked him to drop by when he had time, but I was yet to receive any response from him.

However, I had already stumbled upon a lead on the mystery of mental bodies.

“When I was spending time with the Dark Spiritualist back in the forest, she wasn’t an ordinary soul. She had saliva, warmth, and even fluids flowing.”

**[**A-arghhh!Are you crazy!?]

The Dark Spiritualist rushed toward me in panic. The other two glared sharply, but for now, I didn’t want to change the topic of conversation.

“I believe this is a clue about the mental body. A soul comes close to having a body. If I can obtain that, there’s no need for artificial bodies…”

I could engage in a complete relationship.

However, the other two looked at me with somewhat skeptical eyes.

“You don’t have to push yourself so hard.”

[That’s right, there’s no need to obsess over it.]

Findenai and Stella responded, as if apologizing for the research and efforts I was going to do for them.

“No, this is for my own sake as well.”

Since it was my earnest desire to deepen my relationship with them, there was no longer a need to hesitate.

“So, I’ll begin the research from today.”

I walked up to Stella, grabbed her by her wrist, and, seeing her confused expression, I spoke flatly.

“Looking at the situation back then, I discovered a clue about the mental body when in an extremely excited state. So, from now on, I’ll continue from there.”

[Huh?]

Stella stared at me with a confused expression, but I began dragging her toward the bedroom.

[W-wait! I’m not ready yet…?!]

Flustered, Stella struggled, but I was already holding her firmly.

I responded with a somewhat mischievous smile.

“You’ll cooperate, won’t you? It’s for all of us.”

[Y-you! You’re mad at me, aren’t you?! Because I did something weird behind your back! And now you’re cornering me like this!]

I didn’t feel the need to answer her.

I did have the thought of punishing her a little because she had been so cheeky.

[W-wait! Wait! S-senior! Findenai! Please stop him!]

Despite Stella’s feeble cry, the other two just stood there, watching us in a daze.

Click.

Once inside the bedroom, I locked the door.

“What the hell?! Why am I the last one?!”

[Wait! Y-you got the hint from me, so shouldn’t it be me instead of her?!]

Now that the other two had regained their senses, they started yelling, but I ignored them.

I looked down at Stella, her cheeks flushed, and gave a small smile.

“Try to bear with it for a little while, even if it’s tough.”

After all, all of this was for everyone’s sake.

[Hic.]

Stella looked cute as she hiccupped, tears forming in her eyes.

***

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