Ch.357Side Story: The Final Growth

I hadn’t forgotten what Deia had said about having matchmaking meetings scheduled for about a week.

I just didn’t expect to run into her like this in Robern, which isn’t exactly a small city.

I kept my mouth shut as I sat in the cafe.

I had always prided myself on living confidently with my own principles.

But right now, I couldn’t say anything like some petty person. I had nothing to say in the first place.

Sip.

Deia drinking her coffee.

The fact that she was drinking it calmly, without showing irritation or annoyance, made me feel even more uneasy.

“Hmm.”

She sighed coldly and folded her arms. The way she crossed her legs while looking at me made me feel like I was in a pressure interview.

“Is she beside you?”

Deia asked because the Dark Spiritmaster, who had returned to her spirit form after regaining her composure, was nowhere to be seen.

I nodded.

For reference, the Dark Spiritmaster was currently kneeling with both hands raised.

[I’m so sorryyyy.]

What did the Dark Spiritmaster do wrong?

In the end, it was my fault for being greedy enough to grant her wish.

“First, let me ask you something. Do you perhaps have that kind of preference?”

“…Yes.”

[Shinwoo Kim?]

I hesitated a bit here, but I still wanted to protect the Dark Spiritmaster.

She was discovering and being surprised by her own sexual preferences, and I didn’t want to add any shame to that.

Preferences are just preferences.

Though it does seem… wrong.

After all, such things are legally prohibited in public places.

Unless it’s in a forest, that is.

“Sigh, am I supposed to take this seriously?”

Deia seemed annoyed, perhaps realizing my intention, but there was no need to discuss this matter any further.

“Yes, take it seriously.”

[Shinwoo Kiiiiim.]

The Dark Spiritmaster clung to my thigh while kneeling and sniffling.

[I’ll do it again for you later.]

‘She hasn’t fully come to her senses.’

It’s quite impressive how she’s subtly making advances. As I clicked my tongue toward the Dark Spiritmaster, Deia rested her chin on her hand and asked.

“Should I practice too?”

“……”

“You said that’s your preference, right? Then shouldn’t I practice too?”

“You… don’t need to.”

“Why?”

“How can you casually show skin in public? You shouldn’t do that.”

When I cautioned her, Deia grinned.

“Because I’m your woman too?”

“Because you’re my little sister.”

“That’s bullshit.”

Deia was smiling even as she said that. It was a refreshing smile, as if she had put down a heavy burden.

“Why are you in the city? Weren’t you staying at the villa in the Republic?”

“My former students are coming to visit today, so I came to buy snacks.”

“Hmm?”

Deia made a somewhat mysterious expression. Thinking she might be upset about them coming without her, I immediately offered.

“Do you want to come too? You’re welcome.”

“No, I don’t want to.”

Her firm answer surprised me a bit, but Deia unfolded her arms, rested her chin on her hand, and grinned.

“I’ll come alone later. It gets too noisy when the kids are around, and I don’t like that.”

“Well, alright. Bring Darius sometime too.”

“Are you doing this on purpose?”

“……”

“I said I’m coming alone, do you mind?”

“Not really.”

How could I mind?

But Deia’s bold tone made me suddenly think that it was becoming difficult to keep up with the women around me lately.

“Right? Then that’s settled.”

Seeing her bright smile made my heart soften again. Despite everything, Deia was still my little sister, though she had been acting as if she might cross the line since the last incident.

“But can I ask you one thing?”

I nodded while pushing away the Dark Spiritmaster, who was now rubbing her cheek against my thigh while kneeling.

“Why did the Dark Spiritmaster suddenly reveal herself?”

I was momentarily speechless, but seeing Deia’s genuine curiosity made me realize I had forgotten something.

“I never explained about mental bodies to you, did I?”

“Mental bodies? What’s that?”

Deia had seen me visit Professor Per because of my prosthetic body, but with various situations overlapping, I hadn’t explained about mental bodies to her.

Also, I had decided to properly research it after returning home in a troubled state due to Deia’s confession.

“It’s like…”

Before I could speak.

A warning bell suddenly rang in my head. If I explained this to Deia now, wouldn’t it lead to a situation where I couldn’t stop her once she got fired up?

“Ah, what is it? Why are you hesitating?”

But hiding it seemed strange too.

Deia was family after all.

Darius would probably like to hear about mental bodies too.

“Mental bodies are…”

In the end, I carefully explained about mental bodies.

Of course, I left out the part about discovering it while being intimate with Stella and the Dark Spiritmaster, and vaguely described it as a state where mana fuses when emotions become intense.

“So the Dark Spiritmaster appeared because she was excited?”

The intelligent Deia quickly connected the dots and understood why the Dark Spiritmaster had become visible.

“Wow, you must have worked really hard sucking and licking to figure this out?”

Hard to deny that.

[That’s true.]

The Dark Spiritmaster, who had somehow become an annoying presence, added her two cents from the side.

“So what about you? Can you become a mental body?”

“I’m not sure right now. Unlike the Dark Spiritmaster and Stella, I haven’t shown any mental body response at all.”

[Isn’t it because you’re in a prosthetic body? I think you should try it out.]

I pretended not to hear the Dark Spiritmaster, but Deia also thought for a moment and then looked over my body.

“Isn’t it because you’re using a prosthetic body? You visited Professor Per because your prosthetic body couldn’t withstand mana and broke, and you said mental bodies are also created with mana.”

“…You could be a mage.”

I tried to resist the pressure coming from all sides, but Deia immediately cut me off.

“Don’t change the subject. You’re less emotional than other people to begin with, so you probably have less response in that area.”

“…Findenai said the same thing.”

“Really? He’s stupid but has good intuition.”

[That’s true. I’m sometimes surprised by Findenai too. He’s stupid but his intuition makes up for it.]

“I can’t tell if you’re gossiping or complimenting him.”

[Findenai does the gossiping. He secretly smoked yesterday without you knowing.]

I was starting to wish the Dark Spiritmaster would just disappear. It was giving me a headache to see her standing there seriously spouting nonsense.

I still can’t believe this woman was a famous necromancer on the continent.

“Anyway. I think we could at least try testing it? If you get excited enough to break your prosthetic body, wouldn’t you get some kind of feeling?”

“That would be disrespectful to Professor Per.”

I said that deliberately breaking the prosthetic body would be disrespectful to Professor Per, but.

“……”

[……]

Both Deia and the Dark Spiritmaster stared at me simultaneously.

[This is a severe case.]

“Whoa, geez!”

The Dark Spiritmaster suddenly revealed herself.

Fortunately, our table was in a corner of the cafe, otherwise it would have caused a big commotion.

She pulled up a chair and sat between us, then said to Deia.

[Am I the only one who feels like he’s deliberately avoiding this?]

“So you really were listening to everything.”

Deia was a bit surprised to actually see her, but she agreed.

“Right, it feels like he’s intentionally avoiding becoming a mental body?”

“That’s not it.”

Seriously, that’s not it.

I definitely wanted to become a mental body too. There were women waiting for me, and I wanted to fully feel their warmth, but.

“Then what’s the problem?”

[Yes, what’s the problem?]

Facing the questioning gazes of the two, I finally had to answer honestly.

“I can’t imagine myself being like that.”

“Huh?”

[What?]

So.

“As you both said, it’s true that I’ve been somewhat emotionally dull. Though I’ve improved a lot compared to before.”

Thinking about it now, I wonder if I used to feel more like a doll or AI than a person.

But even that was only 2 years ago.

Meaning it’s not as distant a past as it seems.

“I’m worried about being swept away by emotions. I’ve always lived a life of maintaining rationality.”

Just looking at Stella and the Dark Spiritmaster makes it easy to understand.

Both of them, when becoming mental bodies, showed a different side of themselves in a state of extreme excitement, unlike their usual selves.

To the point where they couldn’t even control their bodies.

That’s not to say it was bad; rather, I was happy that they were so satisfied.

But it was hard for me to imagine myself in such a state.

The expressions of the two were profound.

I knew it would be difficult for them to accept my answer. But having lived a life different from others, I didn’t expect to be understood.

“So your dulled emotions made you who you are today?”

[I understand to some extent.]

But the answers they gave were considerate toward me. They gave me warm gazes and said it was understandable, but.

“But people can’t remain stagnant forever.”

[As a master, it’s time to help my disciple break out of his shell.]

Deia smiled with the playful expression she sometimes showed, and the Dark Spiritmaster had an air reminiscent of her old master days.

“You need to graduate from being Deus Verdi.”

[That’s right, and.]

And as Shinwoo Kim, I needed to make my final growth.

That’s what they both told me.