I Became The Academy Necromancer-Chapter 273: A Chaotic Reunion

I’m a bit worried.

Following Mountain Lord’s advice to return to Norseweden and observe the situation, I was making my way down the mountain.

However, the strange presence that had suddenly appeared beyond the mountain range continued to bother me.

What a tremendous power.

Honestly, even calling it tremendous seemed insufficient.

Even Mountain Lord would rank several tiers below that extremely massive power .

Yet, there was a part of me that was familiar with it.

The same feeling as the billions of souls I had gathered.

It seemed that something had gone wrong with Deus’ body and the souls.

Is that even possible?

In order to leave the general store, it had to use Deus’ body.

But I wondered if the souls would have just stood by and let that happen.

The souls had answered my call and many were favorable toward me.

They won’t tolerate any soul using my body recklessly.

Being well aware of this, I didn’t have to wait inside the general store and was able to come outside to observe the world.

With billions of souls gathered in one place, unexpected situations could occur.

However, the opposite was also true.

The billions of souls could keep a watch in my stead.

Even after thinking about it, I still couldn’t find an answer. For now, it was necessary to maintain some distance and observe what that presence was moving for.

“Hmm?”

On the path down the mountain, heading toward the city.

When Deia, who was leading, came to a sudden stop, Xiao Hu and I naturally halted as well.

There was no need to ask what was going on.

It was because a familiar woman, who I could recognize even by her breathing, was standing ahead.

“Gasp! Gasp!”

Just how much of a hurry had she been in? It was the first time I had seen her so breathless from running.

“Stay still for now. Don’t speak.”

Deia signaled me to pretend to be oblivious, but I shook my head.

I knew I was already discovered.

Walking past Xiao Hu and Deia, I moved forward along the path.

Her flushed cheeks stood out even more against her pale skin, and I knew the moisture around her eyes wasn’t just sweat.

“…”

No words were exchanged between us; no further explanation was needed.

Findenai stood there, gasping with her mouth ajar.

I approached her cautiously.

“I’ll speak first.”

When we finally reunited after a farewell that felt both long and short, it would look bad to speak aimlessly or say too much.

A journey.

A journey was said to be an interval for escaping a tiring life, unwinding, and reflecting to recover oneself.

And in that time, I saw many worlds, experienced numerous emotions, and organized my thoughts about those who were by my side.

So, as Kim Shinwoo rather than Deus Verdi, I disclosed my sincere feelings.

“I missed you.”

“You…!”

Staggering backward under the weight of Findenai as she suddenly lunged at me, I carefully embraced her back as she held me tight, savoring the brief moment.

Had it been a while since she smoked?There was a faint, musty smell of books from her instead of her usual strong cigarette scent.

Just from that, I could almost see how she’d been spending her time in Norseweden.

“You didn’t mess up my study, did you?”

Comforted by the soothing scent, she probably drifted off to sleep while spending time in the study in my room, occasionally feeling a touch of loneliness.

Just thinking about it made her seem somewhat endearing.

I gently wrapped my arms around Findenai.

Still, Findenai said nothing. She simply held onto me tightly, as if she’d never let go of me again.

I was glad I was currently in my artificial body.

If it had been Deus’ body, her effort to burrow deeper and hide her tears would have been in vain.

“I might break if you hold me too tight.”

I said as I carefully placed my hand on the top of her head. Her soft, white hair felt especially welcome at this moment.

“I’m… so glad.”

Finally, a single sentence of relief, condensed with all her feelings, slipped her lips.

“That you came… back.”

“Yeah*.*”

If someone were to ask me what I liked the most about this unexpectedly long journey…

Several scenes would surely come to mind.

The vast grasslands that greeted me when I first stepped outside the general store.

The lively animals I saw while wandering through the forest in search of a city.

The unknown seaside I reached by chance by following a salty scent.

The city in the Han Empire with a distinctive Eastern aesthetic.

However, at the end of the day, the answer was already decided.

What I liked the most about traveling through so many lands by foot was having a place to return to.

“Thank you, for waiting for me.”

***

This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.

It felt like all the stories had come to an end, but that wasn’t actually the case.

We were all gathered in my office, which I hadn’t seen in a long time.

Kyaa!

Sevia, Illuania’s daughter, giggled in my arms. I still found it hard to comprehend that such a small child held countless possibilities and diverse emotions.

“She’s growing up healthy and well.”

I nodded at Illuania’s words as she brought out tea and gently poked Sevia’s cheek.

There was a bit of drool, making it somewhat sticky, but that only made her seem even more like a baby.

“I’m glad.”

“…”

“For Deus’ sake, you need to be undeniably happy.”

Illuania, who was about to set down the teacup and step back, paused for a moment.

She glanced back and forth between Sevia and me, then smiled softly.

“Sevia is growing well and you, Master, have returned as well. I couldn’t be happier.”

Master.

She still called me that, even though I was no longer Deus.

A small, bitter smile formed on my face, but Findenai sitting next to me with her legs crossed chimed in.

“Why are you calling Shinwoo master? We’re all equals now.”

“…”

“Aren’t we?”

Well, it was just like Findenai to bounce back to her usual self even though not much time had passed.

“Don’t call me Shinwoo.”

However, I didn’t like how she said my name so casually.

As I frowned slightly to warn her, Findenai’s eyes opened wide as she quickly glanced over at Deia, who was sitting across from her.

The two of them seemed to agree on something, nodding in unison before speaking together.

“He really is Deus.”

“Definitely Deus.”

“…”

It felt slightly annoying to see them grow more confident after witnessing whatever that was. Still, we needed to get this discussion underway, so I signaled Illuania with a glance.

She cautiously opened the door and asked Darius, who was standing outside.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“H-hic! Y-yeah! I-I’m fine!”

He was choking on his tears—perfectly capturing Darius at this moment.

His eyes, red from all the crying, were proof as he stepped back into the room.

He cleared his throat and regulated his voice before looking at me again.

And then…

“Sob! Huuuuh! Waaaah!”

He started crying again.

“Oh, damn it.”

Findenai, who didn’t want to watch a grown man cry, turned to the ceiling and pretended not to see him.

“Act like the head of the family should—Ugh, forget it.”

Repeating the words she had already said several times, Deia seemed to have finally given up. Unlike Findenai, she chose to curl up and cover her face with both hands.

Kyaaa!

The only one who seemed to be enjoying Darius’s crying here was Sevia.

“Ah, sob! No! Hic! My, my younger brother is back, sob! He’s finally back!”

“Alright, thanks for calling me your little brother, but we really need to continue the discussion. This is the third time already.”

That was the third time he started crying like that and ended up going outside to pull himself together when he couldn’t stop.

At this point, it was fair to say he simply couldn’t pull himself together.

While I appreciated how much he valued me, even that had its limits.

With him creating a fuss like this three times now, the emotional impact was starting to fade.

“Anyone would think this bastard is your lover. You two didn’t sleep together, did you?”

Unable to hold back any longer, Findenai blurted out something bizarre.

Feeling a wave of displeasure wash over me, I glared at her, but she met my gaze with a mischievous grin.

“Damn, you’re so fucking adorable. How about we kiss a bit?”

She was really starting to sound like some creepy manther…

“Watch your mouth. You’re in front of the kid.”

“Then let’s get a room. But if we leave this place, it won’t end with a kiss.”

“As I said, there’s a kid here.”

Using Sevia as an excuse, I tried to divert the topic of the conversation.

However, with the meeting stuck at a standstill, Deia finally drew her magic gun, roughly the size of a handgun, from her pocket.

“How about you stop bringing shame to the household? Just press this against your temple and let me pull the trigger. With De—no, Shinwoo and me around, there’s no need to worry about succession, right?”

“…Shinwoo?”

“Tch.”

Deia, who seemed ready to argue, clicked her tongue and fiddled with her magic gun for no reason.

“Hiccup! I-I’m fine now! Norseweden’s crisis is at, kuhuh!”

“Ugh, should really I just shoot him and be done with it?”

Watching Deia sigh at Darius’s response, Findenai smirked and put forth a suggestion.

“Let’s settle it with rock-paper-scissors.”

“Fine, let’s include Illuania and brother Shinwoo. Sevia can sit out since she doesn’t have enough strength to pull the trigger yet.”

“…”

“Sniffle… M-my bad! Sob!”

Kyaaa!

The oldest, Darius, crying and the youngest, Sevia, laughing—this mix of sobs and giggles made it clear that it would take a bit more time for the meeting to get underway.

***

[…Hm?]

Late evening.

Sitting on the rooftop of the royal palace in Graypond, the Dark Spiritualist felt a faint shiver run through her body while she watched the moon tonight.

How should she describe the feeling?

It felt like a wave that began far away, flowing and rippling until it barely reached her.

[What was that just now?]

The Dark Spiritualist, who had been dangling her legs and swinging them back and forth on the railing without a care, turned her gaze toward the source of the wave.

It was extremely far away, deep in the north.

To be exact, it came from the direction of Norseweden.

[…Could it be?]

As the Dark Spiritualist floated up slowly, a subtle expression appeared on her face. Despite being dead, the feeling of anticipation made her heart pound.

Rattle!

She tried to get closer to the north but couldn’t stray too far from Heralhazard’s staff.

[Let’s not tell Stella yet since it is not confirmed yet.]

In the end, she grabbed hold of the staff with mana, attempting to discreetly head north.

[…But I should probably inform Owen.]

After all, it was necessary to inform the next Soul Whisperer, who played the piano on the rooftop every day, to prevent any confusion if she disappeared without any warning.

Upon quietly arriving at Owen’s room prepared in the royal palace, the boy in his pajamas looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“Huh? You haven’t left yet?”

[Pardon?]

What was he talking about?

How did he know she was about to leave?

And what did he mean by ‘yet’?

“Lady Stella said she felt a strange energy coming from Norseweden and left about ten minutes ago.”

[…]

Hearing that, the Dark Spiritualist immediately turned and rushed outside.

[I am the one with the right to be the first to meet Deus when he returns!]

Recalling how she had won at rock-paper-scissors the last time, the Dark Spiritualist sped off toward /genesisforsaken