I Became The Academy Necromancer
Chapter 392: Side Story - Date_

[Haa… Hngh.]

We had arrived in Graypond by carriage, but for now, we left the windows open to let out the built-up heat inside. However, we couldn’t step outside just yet.

The reason? Stella was still sprawling out and gasping for breath as she had yet to return to her senses.

Her clothes were in disarray, her body damp and messy in more ways than one. I had tried several times to wipe her down with a magically dampened towel.

But every time my hands touched her, she let out faint moans and continued to react, making it impossible to proceed.

This is troublesome.

Entering the royal palace directly would draw too much attention, so we needed to find a nearby lodging first. But since we couldn’t leave just yet, the situation was frustrating.

Findenai and the Dark Spiritualist must have made it here on their own just fine.

They were probably either staring intently at the carriage, wondering what was happening inside, or having already figured it out and were sighing in exasperation.

“Stella, could you calm down just a little?”

I knew it was a bit much to say that after being the one who had left her in this state.

Stella tried to nod and force herself to regain composure, but her legs were trembling too much for her to stand on her own.

“Let’s get you dressed first.”

Since she now wore normal clothes after having a mental body, I carefully tried to help her put them on.

[Hnngh!]

But even just placing a hand on her shoulder made her shudder violently, a clear sign of how sensitive she was.

Feeling pleasure just from the touch of a loved one could be considered a blessing, but after dedicating herself to the gods so fervently, it seemed she had received an excessive amount of that ‘blessing.’

“Sigh… Velica, come out for a second.”

In the end, I decided to take drastic measures. At first, Velica refused to come out, but after I kept staring at her, she eventually gave in.

She appeared with horns sprouting from her head, glaring at me with sharp eyes. But with tears welling up, she didn’t look very intimidating.

[What do you want? I’m struggling too.]

Since Velica shared sensations with Stella, of course, she was having a hard time as well.

[You kept blocking me from coming out. That’s why she ended up like this.]

“What kind of couple wants to be interrupted in the middle of something like that? This is your fault.”

[Then, at least go easy! Seriously, every time you two do it, I feel like I’m gonna die, too!]

“…I’ll take it easy.”

Velica was, in a way, being forced to experience pleasure from a man she didn’t want, so she looked somewhat pitiful.

However, even though I promised to take it easy, it was an empty promise—Stella would inevitably want it again.

“Just bear with it for now and get dressed.”

Once she got dressed up, I could carry her into the hotel.

[Huff, huff! Ah.]

I thought it was a bit dramatic that she was making such noises over just getting dressed, but she managed to get Stela’s clothes on despite her occasional moans.

I then carried Stella to the hotel, booking a room, and we went inside.

Even while being carried, Stella let out weak moans due to her skin rubbing against me, but eventually, I managed to lay her down on the bed.

Clunk.

The hotel window opened, and in came Findenai and the Dark Spiritualist.

Their expressions were, as expected, far from pleasant.

“Did you enjoy yourself?”

[How much did you do to make her like this?]

“…”

I had nothing to say, so I simply kept quiet. No matter how much I tried to explain, I knew I’d end up losing the argument.

“Should we order room service? I’m hungry.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Since we couldn’t go out to eat, we would have to order room service every day while we stayed here.

Findenai started looking at the menu, pondering. Normally, the Dark Spiritualist would stick with her and chatter about what to order, but this time, it was different.

[U-Uhm.]

The Dark Spiritualist, fidgeting, came closer to me.

I had grown accustomed to her showing up with some problem or other whenever she did this.

“What’s going on? Don’t hide it, just say it.”

[You know that the gods live here, right?]

“Hmm? Yeah.”

I had already known since we were outside the walls of Graypond. Initially, it had bothered me, but thinking it over, temples were places dedicated to serving and housing gods.

If the gods weren’t causing any trouble, disturbing the balance of society or the order of the city, I didn’t really see a reason to interfere.

The bishops might actually be pleased that the gods had come down personally, and were likely enjoying it.

Or maybe the gods, hiding their identities, were observing their followers with a subtle, cunning eye.

“It’s different from when we were in the Clark Republic. There’s no forceful aspect to it, and they’re with the followers who have always worshipped them, so I don’t feel the need to intervene.”

But if God Velas was in this city as well, I planned to meet him. I had clearly told him to visit me, but it took so long that I ended up forming a mental body on my own.

[Ah, haha.]

Why was she acting like this?

The Dark Spiritualist, sweating profusely, started explaining what had just happened to them.

The sudden appearance of the goddess Justia, who was anxiously watching them, and the increasingly tense movements of the gods.

And finally, the Dark Spiritualist’s declaration of war.

No, it would be more accurate to say that she had declared war in my name.

“…”

I hadn’t even planned on fighting, yet now I was suddenly the one making threats with my fists. It was absurd.

[I’m sorry! You can touch my chest if you want!]

As a sign of apology, the Dark Spiritualist thrust her chest forward with all her might.

“Get that away from me.”

Having already satisfied my desires with Stella, I simply pushed the Dark Spiritualist aside. She seemed disappointed, but I pretended not to notice.

More importantly…

They came to us directly.

The Dark Spiritualist hadn’t made a completely wrong move. If the gods had approached them on their own, it meant they were definitely hiding something they didn’t want to be exposed to.

“No wonder. I did notice the gods were suddenly getting restless.”

I had just assumed it was because of my arrival and that they were simply being cautious. It turned out there was more to the story.

“Well, since I’m back in Graypond, I might as well do some cleaning.”

I spoke as if I was tidying up a storage room, but the situation could actually be quite serious.

Gods tended to see humans as mere expendables, so there was a real possibility they were engaged in inhumane activities.

It wasn’t uncommon for something that was mere entertainment to a god to be a devastating tragedy for humans.

[Oh yeah! So I did the right thing, didn’t I?]

“You have this talent for making me not want to praise you, even when you do something right.”

She was so smug about it that it made me reluctant to acknowledge her efforts.

“Gyaaah, they even sell beer here? Let’s get some beer and—”

“I’m going out for a bit.”

I handed Findenai just enough money before she could rope me into ordering anything, then stepped outside.

The two of them knew they wouldn’t be able to follow me anyway, so they didn’t react much.

“Call me if you need anything.”

Without looking up from the menu, Findenai muttered those words.

The way she spoke, as if she could drop everything and come running at a moment’s notice, made me smirk slightly.

“Hmph.”

Once outside, I noticed that the streets of Graypond were both familiar and different.

It had developed further, and there was a newfound vibrancy in the air.

Winter had arrived, but no one seemed to mind, continuing to enjoy their usual routines.

As I walked, I began to notice parts I had passed by unknowingly when riding the carriage, and just walking through the streets brought back memories.

There are quite a few gods around.

It was somewhat amusing to see non-humans posing as humans in the middle of the crowd.

For example, the goddess of abundance and earth, Demeter, ran a flower shop, and the god of wisdom and knowledge, Salaman, worked as a librarian.

They glanced at me in surprise but quickly composed themselves, bowing and greeting me.

It seemed even gods were enjoying their freedom in their own way.

So, is it like “the neighbors were actually gods all along”?

It looked like they had longed for a life among humans, and now they were thoroughly enjoying the time they had in this new role.

I walked right up to Goddess Demeter.

“W-welcome.”

She trembled slightly when I approached her, likely because of the declaration of war the Dark Spiritualist had made to the gods. However…

“I’d like to ask for flowers for the girls.”

As I politely requested flowers, Goddess Demeter stared at me momentarily before smiling and picking them out.

I didn’t want anything too extravagant, so I bought one flower each for Aria and Eleanor.

“Are you enjoying yourself?”

I asked as I received the flowers, and Goddess Demeter awkwardly scratched her cheek.

“There are tough times, of course. So, I wouldn’t say everything is enjoyable.”

“…”

“But, it’s still much better than before. It is much better than being bound by the chains of fate.”

“That’s good.”

Hoping the people wouldn’t offend the kind-hearted flower shop owner, I made my way to the royal palace.

How should I explain myself to the palace guards?

I wondered how to approach the guards at the royal palace to meet Eleanor, but it was resolved soon.

“Brrrroootheerrrr!”

“Brother Shinwoo!”

As I neared the royal palace, Eleanor and Aria spotted me and came out to greet me first.

Eleanor and Aria immediately ran to hug me, almost causing me to fall backwards, but I managed to embrace them in return.

I had to admit, it was commendable that they had waited for me in Graypond and behaved so well.

Snifff! Ha! Snifff! Ha!

“As soon as we meet…”

Of course, it was a bit awkward when they buried their faces in me, sniffing me as soon as we met.

However, no matter how much I tried, neither of them showed any signs of letting go.

“I bought flowers. Here, take them.”

They immediately pulled away when I mentioned that I had bought flowers for them.

“Did you say you bought dick?!”

“Shall we head to a hotel?”

“Flowers. You heard me just fine.”

I wondered if girls their age usually made such inappropriate jokes, but they both just laughed, saying it was a joke, and accepted the flowers I handed them.

Eleanor got a yellow flower, and Aria got a black one, matching their hair colors.

“Heehee! I’ll cast a spell so mine never withers!”

“Me too! Do mine, too!”

No matter what, seeing Eleanor and Aria chat so cheerfully made me feel good.

“Can you two help me with something?”

I especially needed Eleanor’s help, given her status as a princess.

“Come with me to visit some temples.”

Originally, I had planned to go straight to meet Owen, but since the Dark Spiritualist had already stirred things up, I needed to act quickly.

Some gods might actually be planning to escape.

If gods like Goddess Demeter were hiding among humans, going alone would just make me look like a crazy person.

But if I took Princess Eleanor with me, inspecting the temples would be much easier.

“A date?”

Eleanor asked with a smile, and I scratched the back of my head.

“Technically, we’re going to keep an eye on the gods and see if they’re up to anything strange…”

“So, it’s a date!”

“Me too! I’m going too!”

And so—with a girl on each arm, we set off on a temple inspection date.

***

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