房客(糙汉)何璐程曜坤

"Youngster! I was looking for you!"

Zoemi thought he wasn't noticed by anyone but out of nowhere a big hand grabbed his shoulder and when he turned around he saw the tanned face of the headmaster Burdoff Mekhior Vereq.

|What the...!? Damn it – I almost had a heart attack...!|

The black-haired boy gritted his teeth doing his best to not flinch at the rather disturbing sight of the shadow leeching onto a corpse – and he did quite a good job of now freaking out.

"What's up, Aspi?"

He said in a friendly tone and the headmaster let go of his shoulder and took a step back.

"Aspi...!?"

His tanned face became flushed.

"S-since when are we so close that we are using nicknames...!? You locked me in the drawer and left my office!"

It was truly bizarre to see a grown man, especially one of such size as Burdof, to act like a flustered teenage girl especially that the necromancer controlling that particular corpse puppet wasn't exactly a teenage girl either – she looked and could act as one, but she was actually far, far older.

After all, according to the talk they had before, Aspakeony was old enough to count her age not just in years but in millenniums – and although that part wasn't said – it was the only way for her to still feel young.

"Last time you demanded me to smell you and wiggled your bum all over my lap – which both can be regarded as sexual harassment – why wouldn't I leave your office?"

Zoemi blushed at the memory of that exact situation, although it was hard for him to actually focus on that as he was talking with the corpse puppet – a burly red-haired man – and not the beautiful dark-skinned girl... which was actually better for keeping the clear mind.

"Th-that's not an entirely wrong way of thinking..."

Again, it was creepy when a full-grown man, an older gentleman at that was fiddling with his fingers in embarrassment and mumbling to himself in a bashful voice.

"...but you can't deny that you enjoyed it just a little bit..."

"...!"

Aspakeony added through Burdoff's mouth and made the black-haired boy flinch and look away while blushing.

"I... I am sorry, Aspi, but there are some things... I promised to meet up with someone - so if I may, can the thing you want to talk to me about wait until tomorrow?"

Zoemi asked and only then Burdoff or rather Aspakeony regains some composure.

The corpse puppet of the headmaster shook his head.

"No – sorry - you have to come with me!"

'Wha... what?! Why?!"

Zoemi was grabbed and pulled away from the student dorm right to the headmaster's office where he was seated into the chair and Aspakeony in person emerged from her drawer.

"I have asked around a bit and it turns out that you are quite the outstanding student."

The dark-skinned gray-haired girl said looking down at him.

Well, she was looking down on him in the literal sense since she was standing up and he was sitting - and not the I-am-better-than-you kind of way, but still.

For a moment it looked like she was about to sit in his lap but at the last moment, she actually blushed and only straightened her back.

"I-is that so...? Thank you, but I am nothing special – lady Espine and the first prince on the other hand..."

Zoemi blushed and really tried to not stare at the skimpily dressed necromancer, but even though the black-haired boy really tried to keep up the eye contact, his won eyes were darting down almost against his will...!

Still – he could get himself to calm down a little bit by reminding himself that the heroine is waiting for him with some sort of request – which if he will be able to fulfill it – she may turn out to be an ally instead of someone he will have to watch out for.

"...and that's why I find it strange that the Ghosts haven't contacted you yet! It's nearly impossible that they would miss having such an interesting sibling!"

Aspakeony smoothly continued her thought not affected by the black-haired boy nearly as much as he was with her.

"Sibling?"

Zoemi furrowed his brows and asked curiously, actually interested all of a sudden.

"Yes. Ghosts of Bellcephora consider every talented darkness magician as their sibling."

"But we already agreed on the fact that I am not a darkness magician but some kind of a variant magician that just so happens to share some of the darkness magic... Or was that just my misconception after all...?"

The black-haired boy tilted his head looking to the side with concern – he even raised his hand and focused – the only spells he didn't have to reach out for with were the darkness attribute ones – shadows connect, shadow gate, darkness blade, shadow emerge, shadow jump, shadow travel, and muffle.

When he focused and dived into the world of shadow though...

*whooo*

He closed his eyes and a dark fireball ignited on top of his palm.

"...now it looks like you are trying to impress me..."

*tssss*

Aspakeony smiled and leaned down, murmuring into the boy's ear, making him blush bright red and clench his fist causing the murky fireball to disperse.

"You know – people nowadays call any attribute other than the basic six a variant – but the truth is most of them are connected."

The necromancer straightened her back smiling with satisfaction at the young attendant's reaction.

"Let's take water and ice for example – people might call the ice attribute a variant – but in truth, it is simply a next step in for the water mana. All water mana wants to become ice mana. It's very similar to another variant attribute – lightning – the truth is that lightning is merely the evolution of fire. As far as my research lead me to believe – you are a shadow magician."

"Shadow magician?"

Aspakeony declared and Zoemi raised his brows and continued looking at her waiting for more information.

"Yes – but with the information at my disposal, the situation with darkness and shadow is reversed than those examples I mentioned – shadow isn't the next step towards the darkness – darkness is the next step for the shadow. Simply said – you are still at risk of getting targeted by the Ghosts of Bellcephora... Honestly, it is very shocking that you weren't contacted already."

"...!"

The gray-haired necromancer declared with concern and ended up sitting down – Zoemi managed to dodge her at the last moment, but still, two of them ended up sitting together at the cramped armchair.

"Speaking of Ghosts... you said that they would want me as their sibling – so basically a comrade – why would they want that? I am still considerably weak - are they actually weak too or something?"

The black-haired boy fidgetted nervously not knowing where to look with the dark-skinned necromancer so close to him – and after what she did the last time with forcing him to smell her, now her scent was that much more noticeable for the bashful attendant...

"What? No! They are terrifyingly powerful! Even when they were still loyal subordinates of little Kasorius. Even though there were no mana measurement devices back in those times I can assure you that they were transcended magicians with the weakest one amongst them having as least as much mana as an average wind magician! And their leader managed to gain the strength equal to a water magician before developing a spell that pushed them all into the path of treason!"

Apsakeony declared, shaking her head and leaning in closer to Zoemi while speaking with excitement.

"Really? How did they manage that? Were they just born lucky? The mana conversion is so ineffective! If they were using just that spell they must have spent dozens of years to get to that point"

Zoemi called out in an envious voice - getting stronger was always a good thing, thanks to that he would be able to better protect his master.

"Don't remind meabout that... Their commander... ugh... that guy was a maniac and it took him over thirty years to... wait...! You know about mana conversion ALREADY!?"

Aspakeony panicked, grabbed Zoemi's shoulders, and started shaking him.

"Since when!? Were you lying to me!? They did contact you, didn't they!? Did they say anything about me!?"

The gray-haired girl freaked out so much that Zoemi had to grab her hands and shake and squeeze them to snap her out of it.

"Calm down! I discovered this spell by chance a couple of years back when I was practicing with the first prince! No one has told me about it or contacted me!"

He declared looking straight into the scared gray eyes of the chocolate-skinned girl.

"R-really...?"

She anxiously asked with her shoulders slumped down looking shockingly defenseless

"Yes!"

The black-haired boy declared and smiled reassuringly.

"So then..."

*knock* *knock*

"Lord Vereq? I have an important matter to discuss with you – can I come in?"

"!!!!"

"!!!!"

Aspeakony spoke up but then she got interrupted by a sudden knocking followed by the voice of one of the teachers...!

"To the drawer! Quick!"

The necromancer panicked and immediately get out of the armchair and dived towards her hiding spot, pulling the surprised black-haired boy together with her.

Luckily, the drawer was enough to fit both of them – although barely.

As Aspakeony was using her spell linking her back to the corpse puppet principal and made it close the drawer, she ended up tightly embracing the black-haired boy....