Chapter 22
Husband is Possessed 22
"……?"
Alex's eyes wavered at the sudden appearance of the Status Window.
Pink letters floated above the table where the food was almost gone.
……My Affection level went up?
I wasn't even expecting it.
He almost cried out in surprise.
First, he closed the Status Window and nonchalantly drank his water.
Why did it go up?
'Could it be because I made dinner……?'
It seemed that was the case.
Luise's words that it was so delicious she could cry seemed to be pure sincerity.
It was a simple dish for him, but his Affection level went up with something like this…….
In fact, he had cooked a lot in his previous life.
He even obtained Korean, Chinese, Western, and Japanese cuisine licenses.
That was because of a 'Special Quest' he had in his previous life.
He had to get a cooking license one by one because he could receive special rewards each time.
Thanks to that, he could easily make simple dishes like pasta.
Who knew it would be so useful here.
However, he had to think a bit to choose a menu that wouldn't feel out of place in this world among the dishes he could make.
In fact, he had given up on leveling up.
He wasn't confident in gaining Affection from Luise, whom he hadn't met long ago, and he felt uncomfortable trying to get Affection on purpose.
'Maybe…… if I cook ten times, my Affection level will rise to 10?'
He began to think about what other dishes he could make deliciously besides pasta.
\ \ \
After a truly satisfying dinner.
I brewed black tea and headed to the drawing room. I was planning to share a cup with my family.
'Did I eat too well? I feel energized.'
As I was about to enter the drawing room with the tray, I stopped for a moment.
The candlesticks and flower vases I was going to sell at the market during the day caught my eye.
I was sure I was going to take them out, but the candlesticks and flower vases were still in their place.
Or did I dream it?
Tilting my head, I entered the drawing room with the tea set, and the eyes of my family, who were sitting on the sofa, all turned to me.
I put the tray on the table and said.
"But is this really a house where ghosts live? It doesn't seem like anything has happened yet."
It had only been a few days since we moved in, but other than two candles going out on their own and falling into a strangely deep sleep, nothing strange had happened.
I thought the wind must have come in somewhere for the candles, and I must have been too tired to take a long nap.
"……Hmm, that's true."
My mother-in-law was the first to respond to my words.
As I poured her a cup of black tea first, she nonchalantly lifted the cup and smelled the tea.
My sister-in-law hugged her legs as if she dreaded the word 'ghost'.
"No. Don't talk about ghosts. If you say things like that, they might pop out."
I handed Alex a teacup as well.
Alex, who had been listening to our words silently with his chin resting on one hand, slightly stirred his eyes.
"But Alex, have you had anything strange happen? I'd really like it if ghosts didn't come out like this, but I'm a little worried because the previous owner even moved out."
I raised the warm cup to my lap and stared at Alex.
Soon he moved his lips.
"……Well, they haven't chased us out yet, so maybe it'll be okay as it is."
"That would be great. We don't have to worry for nothing."
As I said hopefully to him, he lowered his gaze slightly.
He fiddled with his lips for a moment, then quickly lowered his hand.
"Or maybe the ghosts have already accepted us as the owners of the house. So don't worry too much."
His eyes were unwavering and without hesitation.
I stared at those eyes for a moment, then replied with a faint smile.
"Okay."
I'll worry about it again when the ghosts really appear.
I soon continued with other trivial conversations.
\ \ \
After a short tea time, everyone fell asleep in the quiet night.
Alex opened the System Window again long after his family had gone to bed.
It had been a long day for some reason.
He woke up early in the morning and caught the sheep, and after eating breakfast, he captured Gideon as his Familiar Spirit.
The family still looked uneasy, wondering when the ghosts would come out, but the things they were worried about would not happen.
Because Gideon had accepted the new owner.
Thinking that, he checked the Status Window.
Thanks to recruiting Gideon, his job skills, which had been locked, were opened.
[Job: Necromancer / Level: 1]
[Owned Familiar Spirits 1/1]
The problem was that his current level could only accommodate one.
It was beneficial that his job skills were reopened, but his job level had also plummeted to 1.
All of the tens of millions of Familiar Spirits he originally had were gone.
Other skills related to Necromancer were also useless.
To increase the number of Familiar Spirits, he had to raise his level or receive rewards from Special Quests.
'Gideon.'
He called out his first Familiar Spirit with his mind.
Familiar Spirits and players were in a state of mental connection, so it was conveyed even without making a sound.
Soon, a small beast appeared under his bed.
[Grrr!]
'Did you call, Master?'
'Shh. Quiet.'
He went down and knelt on the floor, stroking Gideon's small head.
'You can't let other people see you.'
Gideon, who understood his words, replied with his mind.
[Grrr.]
'Okay.'
Alex smiled slightly and stroked Gideon's back. Although it was a ghost, soft fur wrapped around his fingers.
As Gideon became affiliated with his System, he called him Master as prescribed.
Basically, ghosts were set to be loyal to the player when they became Familiar Spirits.
The more innocent the ghost, the easier it was to be influenced by the player.
However, he had to warn him in advance because there was a possibility that he would run into other family members while following his instructions.
'Be careful not to run into your family later.'
As Alex instructed, Gideon barked softly as if he understood.
After all, Familiar Spirits could not come out of the System unless he let them out, but there was no harm in instructing them in advance.
'……By the way, my job skills are open, should I raise my level?'
He got Affection by chance, so that thought came to mind.
Several voices flashed through his head.
'Raise your level and defeat the tyrant Axen and eliminate the forces of evil!'
'Still, how refreshing would it be if someone appeared and got rid of the tyrant? I would be so happy then.'
'Now Alex is our hero.'
"……."
It seemed as if the world around him was urging him to defeat evil and achieve peace again.
He didn't understand why he had to do that troublesome thing twice, not just once.
'This isn't a real game, why do they keep making me do hard work.'
Alex pressed his forehead with his hand.
Moreover, this world was making him difficult in ways he never expected.
'Why does leveling up require Affection?'
5. Affection is needed for leveling up
"Do sheep originally walk like waddling ducklings?"
The next morning.
After finishing breakfast, my mother-in-law and I were sitting on a picnic mat on the hill, getting some sunlight and digesting our food.
The scenery was quite nice, with our new mansion, the flock of sheep, and the vast forest in the distance.
But my mother-in-law said something after looking at the sheep, whose fur had swollen loosely.
Even to me, it looked like large cotton balls were rolling around, not sheep.
Even if they were grazing freely, had they not been managed at all?
The moment a good idea came to mind, I asked my mother-in-law.
"Mother, would you like to shear sheep with me?"
"……What? Are you telling me to do such hard labor now?"
As expected, my mother-in-law's reaction was not good.
"Hard labor? This is a high-end activity that can only be done in such a peaceful and clean pastoral place. If you shear the sheep, your random thoughts will naturally disappear, so it will be very good for your mental stability."
"Far from stabilizing my mind, I think my whole body will ache."
"Originally, it's good for your health to move your body moderately."
"If it's so good, you can do it a lot by yourself. I'm going to go in now. My face will get tanned if I stay any longer."
"……Yes."
As expected, my mother-in-law rejected my offer without hesitation.
