Ch.280280. Before the Tea Gets Cold

“I can’t give you much time.”

“…I know.”

“Good.”

Creak.

Thud.

The door to the room given to Soho closes noisily, as if expressing its owner’s feelings.

Her voice had lowered, which concerned me, but it wasn’t my place to comfort her.

I had suggested to her from the beginning. Don’t follow me, just stay in a city of the empire and live peacefully.

There was even the store that the monster had used.

Though I couldn’t taste anything due to my artificial body, her fried rice looked quite appetizing from the outside.

If she had opened a restaurant, she wouldn’t have had any problems making a living.

But the choice was hers.

Then she should take responsibility for it.

‘Is this better for her?’

A white lie and a black truth.

Of the two, she chose the black truth. It will hurt a lot, and she’ll cry a lot, but if she endures and overcomes it…

“I don’t have the right to use the word ‘growth.'”

Can that be called growth?

People often equate growth with wounds.

I grew as much as I was wounded.

What doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger, and so on.

Indeed, those are true words.

People sometimes grow through pain, but I don’t think those words are always right.

Some wounds and pains remain as simple scars rather than growing pains.

[Aren’t you being too harsh?]

The Dark Spiritmaster beside me casually interjects. It was unexpected.

I thought it would be Stella who would speak up.

“Because she’s not someone I’m responsible for.”

Like Owen or Illuania.

The ambiguous boundary between acquaintance and stranger. That’s exactly where Soho was.

“And it’s better not to drag out these things.”

[Huh?]

[That’s right.]

The Dark Spiritmaster didn’t understand what I meant, but Stella, who had followed behind, agreed.

Now that I look, she seems to have been praying briefly in front of Soho’s door.

Even though she had risen to the position of a demigod, she still didn’t stop praying, probably because it was the only thing she could do rather than actually asking something from a god.

It was very much like Stella.

[Sometimes time can be used as medicine, but other times, time can make wounds fester and deteriorate.]

Rather than continuously giving her time to think alone, it’s better to force her back to reality through some external pressure.

That kind of prescription was appropriate for a young girl.

[Hmph.]

The Dark Spiritmaster, lacking depth in matters of human wounds and emotions, moved on without saying much.

[But please don’t push her away completely.]

Stella, matching her steps with mine, carefully made a request.

“…”

[You know. She’s still a child. You don’t need to show only your cold side.]

“Right.”

When I nodded without much hesitation, Stella seemed surprised, her eyes trembling slightly before she quietly linked her arm with mine.

A pleasant smile hung on her lips.

[I spoke unnecessarily. Of course you would know that.]

“…”

Even if she was on the boundary between acquaintance and stranger, I hadn’t forgotten that Soho was a child.

I had no intention of taking responsibility for her, but I also had no intention of coldly pushing her away.

“It’s nothing. You’re making too much fuss.”

The price seems too high just for letting her know I’m willing to help Soho.

I thought this reaction was unnecessary, but Stella shook her head.

[I just fell for you again.]

“…”

I momentarily stopped walking, not expecting to hear such words. I knew Vellica was still in her body, but Stella was already wearing a mischievous, devilish smile.

[Ah, what are you doing?!]

Of course, we weren’t the only ones in the Verdi family corridor.

The Dark Spiritmaster who had been following behind immediately came between Stella and me, separating us.

[Hasn’t Stella been too forward lately?!]

“Well, she does have that tendency.”

Like suddenly hugging me from behind while I was sitting before meeting Ranhart. Or intentionally brushing her hand against mine and pressing the backs of our hands together when others weren’t looking.

Unlike before, Stella had become quite aggressive.

[That’s because love…]

[Shhhh! Close your mouth! This won’t do. I need to properly discipline you as your senior today. Stella, follow me.]

[…]

Stella pouts her lips in resistance to the Dark Spiritmaster.

This is truly the first time I’ve seen her like this.

[We haven’t seen each other for a long time. Besides, now that I’ve received divine consecration, I can’t even be called one of the dead anymore.]

Stella ignores the Dark Spiritmaster’s words. I found myself unconsciously watching this fresh scene with great interest.

[Ah, no! There’s still a line you shouldn’t cross! Even I, your senior, am holding back!]

[…]

[Put your lips away?! You really need to be scolded!]

Despite this, neither of them moved from their spots.

A passing servant of the family asked me with curious eyes what I was doing here, but I just gestured for them to move along.

[Deus Verdi!]

The two women’s voices overlapped.

Suddenly, both of their gazes were directed at me.

[What do you think?]

[Please stop my senior.]

“Why am I getting dragged into this?”

Though I was puzzled, since the choice had been passed to me, to be honest…

“The Dark Spiritmaster is right.”

[Woohoo!]

[…!]

The Dark Spiritmaster jumps up and down with both hands raised high, while Stella looks at me with reproachful eyes as if asking if I’m serious.

But Stella’s recent behavior has been somewhat excessive. Even if it’s only been about a day since we reunited.

If I don’t stop her now, she’ll probably gradually expand the range of skinship.

That wasn’t a particularly desirable direction.

[That’s it! That’s right! Bond! Trust! Perseverance! I’ve, you know? Eaten meals with Deus! Right? Taught magic! Right?! Vanquished evil spirits together! Right?! Slept together! I’ve done it all!]

“The last part is news to me.”

When my gaze fell on the Dark Spiritmaster, she quickly averted her eyes and pulled Stella away.

[Come on. As your senior, I’ll teach you about ghost society again, down to the bone.]

[I’m not a ghost anymore, I told you…]

[Hey! Don’t talk back!]

Stella is dragged away with the Dark Spiritmaster holding the back of her neck. Even so, she continued to look at me reproachfully.

[Deus, I hate you!]

“…”

After leaving that rather loud parting shot, Stella disappeared.

There had been a brief commotion, but anyway, I started moving my feet again. I had a lot to do ahead, but I couldn’t move carelessly.

First, I needed to inform the royal family of my return.

But I had no intention of returning with fanfare, amid cheers and applause, nor should I.

‘My return should be kept as secret as possible.’

Everyone knows that I accepted the hundreds of millions of souls from the continent.

It was only because Ranhart was aggressive that things moved so quickly.

In fact, it wouldn’t be strange if someone else targeted the souls within me now.

My return needed to be discreet.

It wasn’t just my problem; it could spread and harm the kingdom as well.

When I returned to the office, for some reason, Findenai was in the middle of cleaning.

Not only that, but something was disturbing the air in the room.

Should I call it the smell of diluted tea leaves?

It felt like the smell of a soaked rag that had been boiled too long. At this point, she seemed more like an alchemist than a resistance fighter.

“I’m not drinking it.”

Preemptive strike.

When I declared that I wouldn’t drink the tea Findenai had brewed, she made an incredulous expression.

“I didn’t brew any tea.”

“…”

“I washed the rag in hot water and hung it by the window to cool because it was too hot.”

“…”

“You asshole.”

Findenai burst out with a curse after hearing that the tea she brewed smelled similar to a damp rag.

“Hmm.”

This was my mistake.

As I cleared my throat awkwardly and headed to the desk, Findenai stared at me with her hands on her hips.

“Want to try drinking it? Should I bring both my dirty water and my tea? For comparison?”

“…”

Honestly, I didn’t want to apologize.

From my perspective, they were similar in that I had no intention of drinking either.

“Haa, I try to do something nice for once, and this is how you repay me. Master.”

She starts dusting the bookshelf again with a duster.

“Do it later.”

What’s the point of dusting while someone is present? She’s been my maid for over a year, yet it’s remarkable how she acts like she’s never cleaned before.

“No.”

Is she sulking?

But judging by the liveliness in her voice, that doesn’t seem to be the case. The corners of her mouth were slightly raised, making her look rather pleased.

It’s problematic in its own way that she looks so happy despite having just been insulted like that.

“Why the sudden cleaning?”

Let’s get back to basics.

There’s no way Findenai would clean. The reason she’s cleaning must be because she’s in a good mood.

Or so I thought, but…

“Hmm? I don’t like being embraced in dusty places.”

“…”

Her answer was more shocking than I expected.

“I heard maids are supposed to be embraced in places like this? While cleaning, the master naturally comes from behind, starts rubbing their butt, then slips his hand into their pant—”

“Wait.”

I stop Findenai from continuing with words I couldn’t bear to hear.

What nonsense is this?

“Who on earth told you such things?”

“The maids did? The ones who were harassed by you.”

“…”

“They say you whisper in their ear, ‘Bitch, let me hear you bark.’ And if they refuse, you grab their wrist and ravish their lips…”

“That wasn’t me.”

This is no joke; every time I hear such stories, I wish Deus Verdi had never perished.

I understand he vacated his position for me, but I genuinely wanted to ask him about the truth.

Did he really say such things?

“Kik.”

Findenai laughs as she watches me sigh and press my throbbing temples.

She turns toward me and mocks me.

“I’m lying. There’s no way maids who were harassed by the previous guy would still be around. They all left.”

“I thought some remained?”

“Deia gave them all hefty severance pay and found them new places to work. They’d definitely notice the difference between the previous Deus and you now.”

Indeed.

I always felt sorry for my clever sister.

“Don’t worry. They all thanked Deia and even bowed to her before leaving.”

“…I see.”

While I’m grateful to Deia, another question naturally pops into my mind.

“Then where did you learn such talk?”

The lewd talk she showed earlier isn’t something a virgin like Findenai would normally say.

She immediately pulls out a thin book hidden in the corner of my bookshelf.

The book’s title is ‘The Spider of the Weilerus Family.’

I slightly furrowed my brow, wondering what it was, but judging by the red cover, it seemed to be an adult novel.

“Now I understand why the previous Deus told the maids to wear such outfits.”

Did that book firmly establish Deus’s sexual preferences? I didn’t want to sort through his belongings, so I left them as they were and just inserted my own books, but I had no idea something like that was there.

“But this must have been written by someone with a twisted mind. Like this.”

She places the book on my desk and suddenly lifts her skirt.

Then, holding the hem of her skirt in her mouth, she says with a deadpan expression:

“Pwease forgive me, master.”

It’s not just that her black panties are clearly visible. Since her skirt is so short, even her navel is naturally exposed.

I quickly lowered my head and exclaimed:

“Findenai!”

She needs to know her limits.

It should have been Findenai, not Stella, who was dragged away by the Dark Spiritmaster.

When I told her to put her hands down immediately, she simply opened her mouth and spat out the skirt hem she had been holding.

Returning to her original state, she grinned and said:

“Revenge.”

“…What?”

“Who told you to suddenly split in half in front of me? I was shocked.”

She must be talking about Shinwoo Kim’s artificial body. I thought she would be angry, but I didn’t expect it to be in this way.

“Whew, I apologize for that.”

“But you won’t apologize for saying my tea smells like rag water?”

“…”

I have no intention of apologizing for that.

It really does smell similar.

When I kept my mouth shut, Findenai turned around in genuine annoyance and headed for the teapot.

“Just admit it, you bastard.”

As Findenai prepares to brew tea with clattering sounds, like someone packing military gear, I quietly opened the window behind me wide.

I’m thinking of throwing it out if necessary.

“No, come to think of it, why is showing you my sexy woman panties revenge? Isn’t it a reward?!”

“That’s what you said.”

“This is so unfair. You should show your dick too, you bastard. Let’s see how big it is.”

Findenai approaches me with determined steps while boiling water. Her blazing eyes held sincerity, but…

Fortunately, before she could reach me.

Clank.

“Deus!”

Darius enters as the door opens.

“Uh… is something wrong?”

He seemed to wonder if he had come at a bad time seeing the hostile atmosphere, but I shook my head.

“What’s the matter?”

“Ahem, I have something to tell you.”

“Something to tell me?”

“It’s, something I can only discuss with you alone.”

Noticing Darius’s subtle hint to remove Findenai, I glanced at her and said:

“Step outside for a moment.”

“A guest has arrived, I should brew tea.”

“…Right, brew it.”

I won’t be the one drinking it anyway.

Fortunately, the big-bodied eldest son has arrived.

So Findenai brewed the tea, placed it on the table between me and Darius, and then left.

Darius sighed and said in a solemn voice:

“It’s about Deia… and you.”

I can tell it’s something serious.

But first…

“Finish drinking the tea.”

Let’s deal with the rag-washed water in front of us first.