I Became The Academy Necromancer
Chapter 367: Side Story - Chaos

“Phew…”

Erica sighed, but the meaning behind it wasn’t negative.

We had just left Iceburn Village, and it was about this time that we departed.

Some people raised doubts about having a different woman with me this time instead of Stella, who had accompanied me before.

However, Erica casually claimed to be my wife and subtly pushed Stella’s position aside.

We were told we made a perfect pair, and since then, Erica had been exuding a happy, carefree atmosphere.

That sigh earlier was similar to one you’d hear after a satisfying meal, as if she was releasing a breath full of contentment.

Anyway, seeing Erica in a good mood made me feel happy as well.

During the ride in the carriage, Erica kept provoking me. This time, too, she sat between my legs and leaned against me, but there was no playful teasing like before.

Rising as she lifted her head slightly, her voice had the playful tone of a student rather than a professor.

“Not really.”

It wasn’t that I expected anything, but I didn’t not expect it either. It was stimulating, but that didn’t mean I could do anything about it here.

In any case, I spent some quality time with Erica. I wondered if a date in a small village would be boring, but simply being together was enough.

It was a time where I realized that just being with someone can be a huge blessing—more than I had expected.

As we got closer to home, I saw smoke rising into the sky. They must be preparing the barbecue for dinner.

If only it had just been the Dark Spiritualist and Findenai, I might’ve been worried, but with Stella around, there were no worries.

“Heengg…”

Erica seemed a little sad that our time alone was coming to an end, and she leaned into me even more. So, I embraced her in return.

Just as we stepped inside the house…

[Waaah! Waaahhh! Waaaaahhhh!]

Auw! Auuu!

In the middle of the yard, a large fire had erupted, and Dark Spiritualist and Fluffy IV were stuck, unable to do anything about it.

“Am I seeing this right?”

“…I was about to ask the same thing.”

It was hard to believe, but against the backdrop of the darkening night sky, the pillar of fire reached high into the air.

The heat radiated, the crackling sound echoed, and the strange scent of burning filled the air.

The flames soared high into the sky in a perfect, majestic column.

[Gyaaaah, it’s burning well!]

Stella, with horns on her head, stood on the roof, clapping her hands and cheering as she enjoyed the flames.

“Velica…”

I had trusted Stella, but the demon lord had defeated her. It suited the demon to be cackling at the sight of the pillar of fire, but it wasn’t exactly comforting.

“Erica, please put out the fire first.”

“And what about you?”

“I need to find someone who isn’t visible.”

I wondered what my maid was up to. So, I passed the fire and entered the house.

At least they controlled the fire so it hadn’t spread to the house or the garden.

Clunk.

I opened the door and entered. Bottles of alcohol were scattered on the floor. It was already clear what had happened, so I gritted my teeth and stomped forward.

These were the beers I had bought from Loberne earlier today, planning to drink them for dinner.

In the freezer where I had stored them, Findenai was hunched over, holding a beer bottle.

“What’s… going on here?”

I asked as I stood in front of her, looking down, and Findenai suddenly raised her head.

Her face was bright red, and beer bottles were scattered around her.

It was obvious without saying that she was already heavily drunk.

“Heh-heh.”

Findenai laughed, mixing in a snort.

“Masyter Bastardddd.”

“Sigh.”

From the way her tongue was completely loosened, it seemed like it would be difficult to hear anything from her today. She had said she would make barbecue, but what was she even thinking if she was this drunk alone?

“Forget it. I’ll hear the story tomorrow. Just go to sleep for now.”

“Heh-heh, Masyter Bastardddd.”

“Findenai, pull yourself together.”

I tried to support her, but Findenai wriggled away from my hand like a loach and then started knocking her head against the wall while whining.

“What about Aiiii?! I worked hard for it!”

“…”

“You told me not to smokeeee, so I worked hardddd!”

I knew that Findenai acted strange when she drank, but seeing her like this after such a long time was a bit surprising.

Did she remember what I said yesterday during sex about not smoking?

I was grateful, but honestly, it might have been better if she had just smoked instead of this.

“Sssssooooo.”

Whoosh.

Findenai suddenly lifted up her skirt, showing me inside.

“Why aren’t you wearing any underwear?”

“Hehehe. Surpryseeee!”

I knew she wouldn’t answer me anyway, so I just got tired of it and picked her up.

Being in a mental body, my strength was more than enough to compensate for any weight, so it wasn’t difficult at all.

Carrying her in a so-called bridal-style hold, I headed straight for the bed, and Findenai hung her arms around my neck, laughing.

I didn’t know what she found so funny, but I understood she had been drinking beer to resist the urge to smoke.

I’m not worried about her health, but...

Since the Mountain Lord had settled inside her, it wouldn’t ruin her body if she smoked or drank.

Things like that couldn’t hurt her anymore.

But if she gets addicted, that’s a problem.

Compared to the times when she always went around and fought in a battle, this was peaceful, but that also meant it was rather boring.

Findenai often said she had nothing to do.

It was because of that I was worried that if she couldn’t control her addiction to smoking or drinking, it would become a real issue.

I trust her mental strength, but…

Still, living in peace could change a person. I knew since it happened to me.

Plop.

When I laid Findenai on the bed, she immediately started undressing. She was quick about it.

She had been so exhausted yesterday, but now she was twisting her body and acting coquettishly, making my lower body tense up for a moment.

I had also gotten worked up when I went to the village with Erica earlier but didn’t get a release, so I felt a little like that.

“Just sleep today.”

I kissed her on the forehead and ruffled her hair a few times. Findenai quickly fell asleep, even though she seemed to want more.

Seeing her sound asleep did make her striking features stand out, but Findenai was far more captivating when she was her usual loud and lively self rather than staying quiet.

After getting her to sleep, I went outside and saw the culprit of the night, the Dark Spiritualist, holding Fluffy IV and trying to explain something to Erica.

[I’m not the culprit!]

Awooo!

Fluffy IV was also crying along with the Dark Spiritualist, and Erica let out a deep sigh, crossing her arms.

“Then why didn’t you put it out and just stood there? Someone like you should have been able to do it easily.”

[I-I was going to! But when I got close to the fire, it was too hot! I got burned! I got a burn!]

The Dark Spiritualist held out her hand while whimpering. But in reality, her hand was still perfectly smooth and unblemished.

“What a pretty hand.”

[Huh?]

The Dark Spiritualist scratched her head in embarrassment. She had been about to jump into my arms the moment I stepped outside, but after seeing my expression, she stopped in her tracks.

Then—

[If I confess, will my punishment be reduced?]

Whimper.

The Dark Spiritualist and Fluffy IV immediately lowered their tails. When I nodded as if telling her to go ahead, she quickly began explaining what had happened.

It all started with Findenai.

“Ugh, damn it.”

Findenai had lit a fire for the barbecue but ended up staring at it blankly, smacking her lips.

She had wanted to smoke, but because of what I told her yesterday, she was trying to quit.

“Guess I should drink instead.”

Since smoking was off-limits, she decided to switch to drinking and left the spot.

The Dark Spiritualist, who was utterly useless at anything but playing, had been fooling around with Fluffy IV. But then, as she watched the fire Findenai had lit, an idea struck her.

[A campfire would be nice!]

It wasn’t a bad idea. Even before this, the Dark Spiritualist had a habit of floating around campfires or large flames whenever she saw them.

If she had told us, we could have made it safer.

[Would this be enough?]

Of course, the moment she infused mana into the fire, the flames exploded outward, nearly setting the entire house ablaze.

[What are you doing?!]

For some reason, it wasn’t Stella but Velica who rushed out and stopped the flames from spreading.

Apparently, Velica had enjoyed watching the chaos unfold.

“So, in the end, it’s all your fault, isn’t it?”

When I reprimanded the Dark Spiritualist, she scratched her cheek and mumbled.

[H-huh. You’re right…]

“…”

[Wait, hold on! Don’t look at me like I’m completely useless! I have value too, you know!]

Black magic. Specifically, necromancy. But aside from that, the Dark Spiritualist was practically useless.

Even if she had locked herself in a research lab all her life to study Necromancy, it was hard to believe a person could turn out like this.

“And what exactly are you good for?”

At this point, I was genuinely curious.

If we ranked the household members in terms of usefulness, the Dark Spiritualist was just slightly above Fluffy IV, which only ate and pooped without contributing anything.

At least the Dark Spiritualist didn’t eat, which was the only reason she ranked higher than Fluffy IV. But now that she had started eating too, she was basically the same as Fluffy IV.

For reference, even Hannibal—the donkey that pulled our cart—ranked higher than the Dark Spiritualist.

The real competition for hierarchy was between Hannibal and Findenai.

Anyway, that was roughly how the household ranking worked in my mind.

[S-so, um…]

The Dark Spiritualist, struggling to come up with an answer, eventually smirked and winked.

[I have big breasts.]

“…”

[…Don’t look at me like that! You liked them too! You were over the moon when I let you touch them yesterday!]

“T-touch… breasts…”

Erica glanced at me out of the corner of her eye, and I instinctively avoided her gaze.

If the Dark Spiritualist had intentionally tried to shift the blame onto me, I would have admitted that she was quite clever. But judging by her pouting lips, it seemed purely coincidental.

[Haa, is that it? Too bad.]

Velica, who had been sitting on the roof, jumped down. I wondered why she was out instead of Stella.

Suddenly, her horns disappeared, and Stella shouted.

[Velica! I told you not to interfere!]

As soon as she said that, the horns reappeared.

Velica was back.

[No way! Just give me this one day! You’ve been going berserk for too long!]

Swoosh!

The horns disappeared again.

Stella returned.

[Kim Shinwoo, help me! Velica is taking over because she’s scared of sleeping with you!]

The horns reappeared.

[That’s not true!]

Velica stubbornly denied it, but her expression said it all.

***

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