I Became The Academy Necromancer

“Did you just try to force yourself on Findenai?”

No matter what Deia said as she stood beside me, I remained indifferent, my mouth refusing to budge.

However, this time, I unconsciously turned my head towards and fixed my gaze on her.

“No.”

It was a perplexing question, but surprisingly, I answered calmly.

Perhaps I subconsciously figured out that if it were Findenai, it was possible that she could have spread such rumors.

“You hesitated for a bit, didn’t you?”

But she was still my younger sister.

Although we hadn’t grown up together, she was one of the few people who knew me the best within the family framework.

“I did not.”

Once again, I denied it firmly, but Deia’s suspicious gaze didn’t waver.

“You know Findenai tends to speak nonsense a lot, right?”

Deia leaned in slightly, looking down at me sitting at the desk.

Her fingers twitched under her crossed arms, making her look like a sheriff itching to draw a gun.

“But she has never spoken in such detail before.”

“…”

What kind of situation was this?

It seemed insane that I had to present evidence to my younger sister that I hadn’t engaged in any relations with my maid.

“You came right up to her.”

Grab!

Deia grabbed my wrist, which was holding a pen. She wedged herself between the desk and chair, placing her knee between my legs.

“Grabbed her by the wrist and pinned her against the wall so she couldn’t escape.”

She positioned herself in a way that seemed to corner me in my chair. Her scent tickled my nose, and her slightly longer hair cascaded down.

“You also declared that you’d catch and eat her up, didn’t you?”

I looked at Deia, who was staring at me with her mouth wide open, as if to devour me, and replied gruffly.

“Back off.”

“That’s rather detailed for her, isn’t it? Just tell me honestly, is it true or not?”

“Sigh, I just warned her. Findenai has crossed the line occasionally.”

“So you did?”

“…”

“It seems like old habits die hard, huh?”

Despite saying that, Deia still didn’t move and continued staring down at me. Feeling that we might bump foreheads if I wasn’t careful, I took a deep breath and said again.

“Back off.”

“I’m warning you to be careful. Don’t become like that bastard.”

I could understand why Deia was worried since she had numerous unpleasant encounters with the original Deus.

At that time, Deus was flirting with the household’s maidservants almost on a daily basis, and the maid uniform worn by Findenai was also Deus’ work.

“But hearing what Findenai said, I was suddenly reminded of those days.”

“…First, just take a step back before we continue.”

I could feel her breath brush against me. However, no matter what I said, Deia didn’t budge and continued speaking.

“In the end, you’re using the body of that bastard of a second older brother of mine, right?”

“You could say that.”

“Then can it be that your preferences are now mirroring my asshole brother’s? Something like that is usually inscribed into the body, isn’t it?”

“…”

It was a rather refreshing deduction.

I hadn’t considered that aspect before, but my tastes in food or music had indeed become similar to Deus without even realizing it.

“Findenai’s maid uniform was originally created based on my asshole brother’s preferences. So, I was wondering why you, who usually showed no reaction at all, suddenly started behaving like that.”

“But then again, I should have greedily requested things like drugs or alcohol.”

Because Deus liked those things.

However, Deia shook her head with a subtle expression.

“Isn’t addiction different from preferences? You know, even you could get addicted if you sniffed some drugs.”

“That makes sense.”

It was a concern that served as a brief distraction from my research.

“But for now.”

“Please, step aside.”

I was starting to feel suffocated.

However, instead of backing off, Deia narrowed the distance even more and whispered.

“Are you feeling flustered?”

“…What?”

“Or maybe excited?”

“Nonsense!”

How did she get the idea that I was attracted to her, my younger sister? I snapped, genuinely angry now. Only then did Deia finally step back, nodding her head.

“So, it seems like the physical body doesn’t completely influence preferences and desires.”

“…”

“You know, that asshole brother of mine used to get sexually excited whenever he got close to me.”

“Did you get that close to me just to confirm that?”

“Isn’t it a natural thing to do? You can never be certain, right? What if you suddenly go crazy and jump on me?”

“Huff.”

My head throbbed with irritation. First, it seemed that I needed to make a few things clear to Deia.

“We are siblings. I will never see you in that way.”

“…I know it’s a natural thing to say, but given the shitty things I’ve experienced in the past, it makes it hard for me to believe you just like that.”

Deus Verdi—I never thought there would come a day when I would dislike you this much.

The pit he had dug was so deep that I sighed in resignation and tried to convince Deia that I understood what she was trying to tell me.

However, I realized there was a contradiction in her words. To be precise, it felt like what she said and the context didn’t exactly match.

“But, regardless, you still call him brother.”

Even though she still added ‘asshole’ before the word, she no longer cursed at him and instead called him ‘brother.’

“…”

Hearing my words, Deia crossed her arms and turned her head abruptly. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, she answered with a subtle mutter.

“Uh, well… He’s an asshole, but still, in the end, he sacrificed himself for the family.”

“…”

“Well, I still hate him to the point of disgust. And I hope that he never appears before me again.”

It was obvious that she would still feel that way.

Some wounds might not heal easily.

“Still… I can at least call him brother now. After all, there must be many siblings whose relationship is as shitty as ours, right?”

“Sure.”

A gentle smile appeared on my lips. There was only one thing I could say to her.

“You sure have put in a lot of effort this time.”

“I still haven’t forgiven him!”

“I do not expect you to forgive him completely.”

Even though their relationship hadn’t changed and Deia still disliked him, the simple fact that she now called him ‘brother’ showed that she had overcome a lot.

A brief silence ensued.

Deia, who seemed like she wanted to say something, eventually thanked me after swallowing her saliva.

“It’s all thanks to you. Because I have gotten somewhat used to that bastard’s face, I was able to get through like this.”

“I’m glad.”

I felt satisfied knowing that I was able to be of help to her.

However…

“But will you still address me as ‘you’?”

“…”

“Even though we are more like step-siblings, I am still your older brother. I am not really fond of the way you address me.”

No, honestly speaking.

I didn’t quite like being addressed as ‘you’ when she called Darius and Deus ‘brother.’

And it was not like I was a worse brother than either of them.

Deia’s lips started twitching again, as if she was about to say something but held back.

“Ah, whatever!”

Irritated, she turned around sharply, and went outside.

It was pretty similar to a scene I’d see in a movie, where an annoyed younger sister storms off and locks herself in her room.

I unconsciously watched her go up the stairs for a moment before turning my attention back to my research.

[Are you busy?]

However, not long after, a gentle voice came from beside me.

It was Stella, the Saintess with dull blonde hair and turquoise eyes.

“I thought you said you had become an evil spirit.”

When I asked Stella, she covered her mouth with her hand and giggled mischievously.

[That is right. I became an evil spirit and caused a lot of trouble in the royal palace.]

“What did you do?”

[Shall I tell you?]

I still didn’t put down my pen.

I listened to Stella’s story while calculating magic formulas.

[A cat entered the royal palace. So, Senior and I secretly brought the cat in and fed it.]

[We cleaned the rooms before the maids could arrive, leaving them with nothing to do.]

[We also surprised Tyren and ran away after tapping Lucia on the shoulder.]

[We even picked a flower from the garden.]

A flower popped up in her hand as she smiled brightly. Since she had been materialized by my magic, it must have been difficult for her to move around unnoticed, yet she managed to do quite a lot.

After her story of her childlike mischief came to an end, I, still calculating the formula, asked her.

“Was it fun?”

In response to my question, Stella smiled brightly, her atmosphere different than usual—an innocent and sunny expression.

[It was so much fun. And I especially enjoyed it because I did it with Senior.]

I didn’t know where the Dark Spiritualist was right now, but I could tell that Stella had quite a pleasant time.

[Do you know what my lingering attachment was?]

“I wasn’t completely sure. I simply helped you because I thought it might be something like this.”

Stella’s lingering attachment that I assumed—When I watched her, red-faced, flipping me off and cursing despite her embarrassment, I could only vaguely guess what was going on.

“It’s all about living for your own enjoyment.”

[Fufu.]

Stella had grown up in a convent from a young age and lived under the teachings of God.

As a Saintess, she had to adjust herself to the doctrine even more and lived a life for others.

[I don’t regret that life. Rather, I’m proud and satisfied with it.]

Even if she were to go back in time, Stella would undoubtedly choose to live the same life.

She would love everyone she met, pray for them, and comfort them through their tears.

Even though she would eventually lose all her Holy Power and meet a tragic end at the hands of demons.

[But after traveling around with you, I realized that such times were also necessary in my life.]

Even if it were just small and playful jokes, Stella had never done anything like that before, and these things now became great spices in her life.

[Thanks to Senior, I have learned a lot.]

Stella giggled softly.

Going around with the Dark Spiritualist seemed to have a positive influence on her.

If I were to define their relationship with words, I could say they were friends.

[And now, I no longer have any lingering attachments, Kim Shinwoo.]

Stella, who approached gently, carefully hugged me from behind. It was natural that I felt no sensation at all. However…

Could it be because of the mana she held?

Or was it an illusion due to visual effects?

I felt warmth and a soft sensation.

[Thank you. It is enough now.]

She thanked me.

And as if comforting me…

[Until the time your efforts for the deceased bear fruit.]

Stella whispered that everything was okay.

[I will close my eyes for now.]