I Became The Academy Necromancer
Chapter 356: Side Story - Final Growth

I hadn’t forgotten that Deia had informed me about having arranged meetings for about a week.

It was just that I wasn’t expecting to run into her in a city as large as Loberne in this manner.

And now, I sat in the café, pressing my lips together in silence.

I had always prided myself on living confidently, holding firm to my own convictions.

But at this moment, like a narrowed-minded person, I couldn’t utter a word. Not that I had anything to say in the first place.

Slurp.

Deia sipped her coffee.

Rather than acting irritated or annoyed, she sipped on it calmly, which somehow made it feel even more unsettling.

“Hmmm.”

After a while, she let out a cold sigh and crossed her arms. Sitting with her legs crossed, she stared at me, making me feel like I was in a high-pressure interview.

“Is she beside you?”

Deia asked, unable to see the Dark Spiritualist who had regained her composure and had already returned to her spirit form.

I replied with a small nod.

For the record, the Dark Spiritualist was currently kneeling with her hands raised high.

[I’m sooorrryyy.]

Well, not that the Dark Spiritualist had done anything wrong in the first place.

In the end, it was my fault for getting greedy and wanting to grant her wish.

“Let me ask you this first… is that really your preference?”

“…Yeah.”

[Kim Shinwoo?]

I hesitated for a moment but I still wanted to protect the Dark Spiritualist.

Discovering her own preferences was already shocking enough, so I didn’t want to add humiliation on top of that.

After all, a preference was just a preference.

Though… it did seem a bit wrong.

I mean, that sort of thing was legally prohibited in public.

Maybe in the forest, but definitely not here.

“Sigh… am I really supposed to take this seriously?”

Having clearly realized my intent, Deia sounded annoyed, but there was no need to continue with this discussion any further.

“Yeah, take it seriously.”

[Kim Shinwooo.]

Still kneeling, the Dark Spiritualist clung to my thigh, sniffling.

[You should do it again laterrrr…]

It seems like she still hasn’t come to her senses.

Her subtle attempts at appealing to me were impressive. As I clicked my tongue at the Dark Spiritualist, I noticed Deia resting her chin on her hand as she asked.

“Should I start practicing too?”

“…”

“You said you were into that, so shouldn’t I practice as well?”

“You… don’t need to.”

“Why not?”

“You shouldn’t be exposing skin in public so carelessly. That’s not okay.”

When I warned her, Deia smirked.

“Because I’m your girl?”

“Because you’re my younger sister.”

“Bullshit.”

Deia chuckled even as she spoke. It was a smile of relief, as if she had just set down a heavy burden.

“Why are you even in the city? Weren’t you supposed to be staying at your villa in the Republic?”

“My former students are supposed to be visiting me today, so I came here to buy some snacks.”

“Hmm?”

Deia made a subtle, unreadable expression. Wondering if she was upset about not being invited, I quickly extended an offer.

“Do you want to come as well? You’re more than welcome to join.”

“No, I don’t.”

Her firm response caught me off guard, but then, she smirked, unfolded her arms, and rested her chin on her hand.

“I’ll pay you a visit later, when it’s just me. If I come with the girls, it’ll just be noisy and annoying.”

“Well, I see. You should also bring Darius along.”

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

“…”

“You really don’t like the idea of me coming there alone?”

“It’s not that.”

Of course, I didn’t mind.

However, Deia’s assertive tone made me feel like I could barely keep up with the women around me lately.

“Right? Then it’s settled.”

Seeing her bright, cheerful smile, my heart softened again. No matter what, Deia was my sister, but ever since that last incident, she had been toeing the line a little too closely.

“By the way, can I ask you something?”

Pushing away the Dark Spiritualist, who was still kneeling but now rubbing her cheek against my thigh, I nodded.

“So, why did the Dark Spiritualist suddenly reveal herself?”

At first, I found myself momentarily at a loss for words, but upon seeing Deia’s genuine curiosity, I realized I had forgotten to inform her about something important.

“Oh, I never explained mental bodies to you, did I?”

“Mental bodies? What’s that?”

Deia had seen me when I visited Professor Fel to discuss my artificial body, but with everything that had happened, I never got around to explaining mental bodies.

Besides, the reason I even decided to research it properly in the first place was because I came home feeling unsettled after hearing Deia’s confession.

“Well, it’s—”

However, just before I could speak, an alarm rang in my head.

If I were to explain this to Deia now, wouldn’t it only fuel her already-preheated excitement, leading to an uncontrollable situation?

“Come on now, what is it? Why are you hesitating?”

Still, keeping it hidden would only be strange.

Deia was my family member, after all.

And Darius would probably love it if he learned about mental bodies.

“A mental body is…”

In the end, I cautiously explained the concept to her.

Of course, I left out the part about having discovered it while having a sexual relationship with Stella and the Dark Spiritualist. Instead, I vaguely described it as a state where emotions became intense and merged with mana.

“So that’s why the Dark Spiritualist became visible? Because she got excited?”

Sharp as ever, Deia quickly connected the dots.

“Wow, you must’ve really worked hard, biting and sucking so much to figure this out, huh?”

It was hard to deny that.

[That’s actually true.]

The Dark Spiritualist, now becoming slightly annoying, casually chimed in from the side.

“So what about you? Can you form a mental body?”

“I’m still not sure. Unlike Stella and the Dark Spiritualist, I haven’t shown any signs of forming a mental body at all.”

[Maybe it’s because you’re inside the artificial body? I think it’d be good to test it out.]

I pretended not to hear the Dark Spiritualist’s words, but Deia glanced at my body after a moment of thought.

“Isn’t it because you’re using an artificial body? You even went to see Professor Fel because your artificial body couldn’t withstand your mana and broke. And mental bodies are also made of mana, right?”

“…You could become a mage at this rate.”

Feeling the pressure from all sides, I tried to resist in my own way, but Deia shut me down immediately.

“Don’t try to change the subject. You’re naturally less emotional than others, so it makes sense that your reaction would be weaker in that regard.”

“…Findenai said the same thing.”

“Really? She’s an idiot, but she’s got good instincts.”

[That’s true. Even I’m occasionally surprised by Findenai. She’s dumb, but her instincts make up for it.]

“I’m not sure if you’re talking behind her back or complimenting her.”

[Findenai’s the one who talks behind your back. Oh, and by the way, she secretly smoked yesterday.]

I suddenly felt the slight urge to make the Dark Spiritualist disappear. She just stood there spouting nonsense seriously, making my head hurt.

I still couldn’t believe that this was the same woman who was once a renowned necromancer across the continent.

“Anyway, can we at least try testing it? If you get excited enough to break your artificial body, you might get a feel for it.”

“That would be disrespectful to Professor Fel.”

I argued that breaking the artificial body intentionally would be rude to Professor Fel, but—

“…”

[…]

Both Deia and the Dark Spiritualist just stared at me.

[This is serious.]

“Whoa, shit! You startled me!”

The Dark Spiritualist revealed herself without warning.

Thankfully, we were sitting in a secluded corner of the café, or else it would have caused a huge scene.

The Dark Spiritualist dragged a chair over and sat between us to speak to Deia.

[So I’m not the only one who’s noticed that he’s deliberately avoiding this, right?]

“So, you really were listening to everything from the side.”

Deia was a bit startled to see her up close but ultimately agreed.

“Yeah, it does feel like he’s intentionally avoiding forming a mental body.”

“That’s not true.”

I was serious—it really wasn’t.

I definitely wanted to form a mental body. After all, there were people waiting for me, and I wanted to fully experience warmth with them.

“Then what’s the problem?”

[Yeah, what’s the problem?]

Under their scrutinizing gazes, I had no choice but to respond honestly.

“I just… can’t imagine myself like that.”

“Huh?”

[What?]

In other words—

“Like you both said, I used to be emotionally dull. And I’ve definitely improved a lot compared to before, but…”

Looking back, I was probably more like a puppet or an AI than a human.

However, to be exact, that was just two years ago— meaning it wasn’t as distant a past as I’d like to believe.

“I’m worried about losing myself to emotions because I’ve always lived my life maintaining rationality.”

For a quick instance, just look at Stella and the Dark Spiritualist.

Whenever they formed mental bodies, both of them were in a state of extreme excitement—revealing a side that was completely different from usual.

They could barely control their own bodies.

But it wasn’t that I thought it was bad. In fact, seeing them satisfied made me happy.

However, imagining myself in that state was difficult.

Deia’s and the Dark Spiritualist’s expressions were hard to read.

I knew my answer wouldn’t be easy for them to accept. But since I always lived differently from others, I never expected to be understood in the first place.

“So your dulled emotions are what shaped you into who you are now?”

[I can somewhat understand that.]

However, their responses were filled with consideration for me. Their warm gazes told me that it was okay to feel that way.

“However, no one can remain stagnant forever.”

[As your teacher, it’s time for me to help my student break out of his shell.]

Deia wore the playful smile she often had when joking around, and the Dark Spiritualist’s aura reminded me of her days as my teacher.

“It’s time for you to graduate from being Deus Verdi.”

[That’s right. And—]

It’s time to go through your final growth as Kim Shinwoo.

That was what they both told me.

***

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