I Became The Necromancer Of The Academy - Chapter 61

Chapter 61: An Older Brother

༺ An Older Brother༻

“I want to eat meat, not the chewy, tough beasts like those in Norseweden, but something tender.”

“You’ve got quite a few orders.”

“What’s the big deal about this? Do you know how picky noble young ladies of my age are? I’m the Amazon of Norseweden, so I should at least be able to eat this much.”

Deia, who strangely took pride in living in the cold north, confidently stuck out her chest.

Naturally, I didn’t understand the sentiments, so I just shook my head and walked down the street, ignoring her.

Graypond was definitely a big, bustling city. Although Loberne, where Loberne Academy was located, was also a fairly large city, when compared to Graypond, it seemed somewhat inferior.

The hustle and bustle was filled with the disorderly footsteps of people, the rolling sound of carriage wheels, and the nerve-wracking haggling among merchants.

While it was white noise that could be heard anywhere, when there is too much, it would become irritating.

Although I wished to walk faster, Deia quickly turned her head around with her mouth agape in astonishment.

Having lived in the borderlands like Norseweden her entire life, until the age of 24, this sight must have been full of wonders for her.

With a regretful sigh, she tilted her head and came to my side with quick, short steps, matching my pace while giggling.

“I think I picked the wrong place to be born. It turns out I’m actually a city girl; it’s in my nature. I like everything here, even the air.”

“…It hasn’t even been 10 minutes since we came downtown.”

“Isn’t that why my statement is even truer? It feels like recognizing your soulmate?”

“Where did the Amazon from Norseweden go?”

“People evolve. I can feel that my body is happy to live and breathe here.”

After seeing Deia reach out her hands and take a deep breath through her nose, my eyes narrowed, subtly expressing that I found her actions to be somewhat pathetic.

“You’ve been living as an old maid until now, at 24 years of age, how do you know the feeling of meeting your soulmate?”

“This basta—”

She bit her lips, clenched her fist, and glared at me. Then, as if releasing tension, she exhaled and responded.

“Phew. You see, I have a bit of trauma, so I just didn’t want to find one.”

“I’m sorry, I misspoke.”

Feeling like I indulged in my younger sister’s temper, I apologized, acknowledging that I spoke recklessly.

The reason she developed this type of hatred towards others was precisely because of Deus.

After looking at me apologizing, Deia shook her hand.

“It’s fine. It’s not like you really are that bastard.”

“….”

After that exchange, we became silent; there was no longer conversation between us. Come to think of it, this was how the usual Deus and Deia interacted.

The big city, Graypond, briefly transformed Deia into a girl, but she soon had to face the harsh visages of reality.

We arrived at the restaurant at the perfect time. We saw a friendly indication that Mersen was open, and upon opening the door, we walked in.

“Welcome!”

Along with the energetic greeting from the waiter, the buzzing sounds of people’s conversations filled the air.

Seeing numerous customers, Deia glanced around with a slightly expectant expression, uttering, “Ohhhh.”

“Is it just the two of you? I’ll guide you to your table!”

The place the waiter led us to was quite a secluded spot. It seemed like they hastily cleaned the table, perhaps right after the previous customers finished eating and left.

“Here is the menu! Please call us when you decide on your order!”

The waiter handed over a menu that offered a wide array of choices. I took it and passed it to Deia first.

“You can take a look at it first.”

“….”

With a somewhat disapproving expression, Deia quickly snatched the menu after looking at me.

However, she quickly became absorbed and started to contemplate what she should order.

“It’s a Roast Beef, but it comes with cheese fondue? Wow, what’s this?”

“….”

“This one could be good with salad. Is it a healthy food? It seems like it has a lot of asparagus.”

“….”

“Oh! They’re hosting an event where, if you order a set menu, they give you a keychain. Wow, that’s something you can’t even imagine seeing in Norseweden.”

I silently observed Deia, who was continuously studying the menu for almost 10 minutes and expressing enthusiasm about it on her own.

After being engrossed for a while, Deia looked up from the menu and met my eyes. And feeling suddenly embarrassed, she quickly lowered her gaze.

“I want this one… The cheese fondue roast beef.”

“….Then let’s order it as a set. I’ll go with Set B.”

“Huh?”

After glancing at the menu, I promptly called the waiter and placed down our order. After adding a simple drink as well, I crossed my arms and stared at Deia.

She still had a sullen expression as she looked at me.

“Aren’t you choosing your meal too carelessly? You don’t even know what’s in Set B.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s all the same after all.”

“….”

After that, silence once again settled between us. If it were my past life, I could at least use a phone to pass time.

But it wasn’t like there was nothing to see here.

Perhaps because it was a big city, there were plenty of ghosts roaming around. Although they weren’t malevolent enough to inflict harm, there were still many wandering spirits harboring resentment.

Once the food arrived, the savory aroma stimulated my stomach through scent.

Even in the game, this restaurant received rave reviews from the characters, so it was expected that the visuals were impressive from the start.

“Here’s the keychain for the set!”

The waiter left the keychain with the food. I subtly pushed the keychain with a small bear doll attached towards Deia.

“Take it.”

“….”

“I don’t need it.”

I started quietly eating the accompanying salad. The taste wasn’t bad at all, and it had shrimp inside.

Watching me absentmindedly enjoying my meal like that, Deia awkwardly accepted the keychain and put it in her pocket.

“You didn’t intentionally order the set menu so I could get this, did you?”

“No.”

“….”

Although I said that, Deia still looked at me suspiciously.

She dipped the meat into the cheese fondue and began eating with a distracted mind.

After finishing the meal, we stopped by a nearby cafe.

I suggested going for a walk to digest our meal, but we opted to sit at the cafe since Deia wanted dessert.

“Wow, is this what Graypond is like? The meat was so juicy and incredibly delicious.”

“As long as you enjoyed it.”

Perhaps her mind was elsewhere; she didn’t realize that there was some food smudging her mouth. It bothered me a bit.

“You are different from usual.”

I rested my chin on one hand and Deia who was sipping on her coffee, flinched slightly and glanced at me.

She might have wished not to talk about it, but I couldn’t afford to waste time.

Tomorrow, I would have to face the King’s final trial.

So, I wanted to be a little straightforward. Deia quietly responded, tapping the ice floating in her coffee with a straw.

“It’s just… can we just say that I’m like this because I was excited about Graypond?”

“If that’s what you want, then I shall take it that way.”

I had no intention of probing further if Deia didn’t want to.

I, too, sipped my coffee without saying a word. Deia lightly traced her fingers around her coffee cup before speaking with determination.

“Name.”

“….”

“What was your original name?”

Upon hearing her question, I slowly took the coffee cup away from my mouth and calmly replied.

“Kim Shinwoo.”

“Kim… Shinwoo?”

“Yes, it might sound strange here, but it was a common name where I lived.”

“Kim Shinwoo….”

Deia repeated my name as if pondering it, before continuing with more questions.

“How old are you originally? Were you 28?”

“I’m 25.”

“Just a year apart. Still, you’re older.”

It was a bit surprising.

I didn’t expect Deia to ask about me in such detail.

Now that she started, she rode the flow and continued to pour out questions one after another, as if she was unpacking the words she had kept locked up.

“Were you a Necromancer there too?”

“No, it’s similar. Being able to see ghosts isn’t due to Deus’s constitution but mine.”

“I see.”

The conversation lasted longer than expected. When my throat grew sore from talking so much, I ordered more coffee and recharged our blood sugar with a sweet cake.

Even then, Deia didn’t stop asking her questions.

“Did you have a younger sibling?”

“I’m an only child.”

“Really? Did you get married then?”

“I also never had a lover.”

“Then, why did you call me an old maid earlier?!”

I didn’t bother to answer.

Although I never had a lover, it didn’t mean I was unpopular, as there were often girls who confessed to me. They apparently found charm in someone who was quiet and reserved.

However, being able to see ghosts made it difficult for me to accept such confessions lightly.

Because if things went wrong, it could easily lead to accumulating grudges, especially in the case of lovers.

“Well.”

After a moment of endless questioning, Deia took a brief pause before speaking again.

“Is Deus inside you right now?”

For the first time, I couldn’t immediately answer her question.

Deia noticed my reaction, her eyes didn’t let me escape with a different answer.

I, too, had no intention of lying.

“Deus Verdi has already rested in peace.”

Since Deia had been with me during the Emily incident, she knew what that meant.

From there, I calmly told her our story; mine and Deus’s.

When I possessed him, Deus was already in a deceased state.

He had been trying to kill me.

In the end, I properly faced him and conducted his funeral.

“He might be pitiful, but he doesn’t deserve sympathy.”

“….”

“Nevertheless, in the end, he departed with regrets about his own life.”

I didn’t ask for forgiveness, nor did I claim he was a good person. I knew that Deia wouldn’t relate to it even if she heard about it.

I just told her that he was a sad person.

He regretted his actions towards others.

“What does that matter to me?”

However, Deia gritted her teeth and responded.

“Whether that jerk regretted or repented, or begged me while crying. It doesn’t matter to me. He’s dead, right? It’s better that way. He was someone I didn’t need in my life.”

Her anger was justified, so I simply nodded without saying anything.

“Also, I’m truly sorry. But to me, you are no different from him. However, considering your actions in Norseweden and your behavior today… you’re undoubtedly a different person.”

“….”

“I’ll admit, you’re hundreds or even thousands of times more impressive than Deus. I once wished to have such a family member in the past.”

However, Deia added.

“Still, in the end, you are still Deus. That damn face keeps haunting me like some kind of trauma.”

“I understand.”

No matter how different I was as a person, it was still Deus’s body that I possessed.

Asking Deia for understanding was a terribly selfish request.

“I’m sorry for acting differently from what my heart wants. Every time I see that face, it always makes me uncontrollably angry.”

“Of course you would be.”

That was also a truly natural reaction. Deia forced a bitter smile understanding that.

“You speak as if you are my real brother.”

“I’ll make an effort to become that.”

“….”

Perhaps because it was an answer she didn’t expect at all, Deia stared blankly at me with her mouth open.

“My family has been broken since I was very young. It fell apart before I could do anything.”

My mother despised me for being able to see ghosts.

My father got scared and ran away from me.

Even my grandmother, who had been a source of comfort, passed away while I was in the military.

Although I hoped to see her again even as a ghost, my grandmother never appeared.

“To me, my family was already wrecked, and it was something I could never have.”

And also something I had always envied.

“You may not want it, but I will make an effort to be an older brother you can be proud of.”

Because this was also the last promise I made with Deus Verdi.

After staring at me blankly for a brief moment, Deia chuckled and turned her gaze out the window.

A lingering bitter smile was still drawn on her lips.

“We had both been hurt by and longed for our families.”

“Indeed.”

Silently nodding, Deia cautiously met my eyes. She forced a smile even though the corners of her lips were trembling.

That indicated that she still couldn’t smile brightly while looking at Deus’s face.

Nevertheless, she responded honestly, albeit with an awkward expression.

“If you were really my brother, how nice would things have been…”

***

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