When I Maxed Out the Zero-Star Saintess, a Yandere Confinement Life with Overwhelming Love Began - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

“…Well, then.”

I was made to sit in the very center of the sofa. Directly across from me, Celesfia elegantly sipped her tea.

Aira was glued to my right side, relaxed and stuffing the rest of her crepe into her cheeks.

From the shadows in the corner, Sizzle watched over us. The air felt thick enough to choke on.

“We’ve changed locations, but my conclusion remains the same.”

Celesfia set down her cup and fixed a cold stare on Aira.

“Sizzle. Throw that stray dog out right now. The verification is over, correct?”

“…Make up your mind. Dog or cat?”

Aira started to turn away with a huff, but Sizzle stopped her.

“Please wait, Lady Celesfia.”

Sizzle’s glasses glinted as she spoke in her usual flat tone.

“Releasing her freely poses far too great a strategic risk.”

“Risk?”

“Yes. From what I observed in the earlier battle… if she gets hungry outside and runs wild, one or two cities would vanish without a trace. Only the three of us have a level cap above fifty. Among all currently known humans, she is top-class.”

Sizzle glanced at Aira.

“Moreover, she’ll wag her tail for anyone who feeds her. If a villain offered her better treatment, we would be handing our potential greatest enemy to them on a silver platter.”

“…”

Celesfia fell silent.

True, turning Aira into an enemy would be a nightmare, but as an ally she was the cheapest superweapon imaginable—just keep her fed.

Still munching, Aira grabbed my arm even tighter.

“…I’m not here because of food right now. I just want to stay beside Master. He saved my life.”

“Lyle-sama saved my life as well.”

Celesfia smiled sweetly, as if competing. Aira only answered with a bored “Hmmm” and let it slide.

Celesfia gave a strained smile and nearly toppled over.

“W-well… pulling myself together… So, Sizzle. You’re saying we should keep this walking bomb sleeping right beside our pillows?”

“Correct. The safest and most cost-effective method is to ‘keep her fed and harmless.’ Feed her just enough inside the cathedral and pull her fangs. That is the optimal strategy.”

Sizzle calmly voiced something terrifying right in front of the person in question. Aira just nodded like it was someone else’s problem, saying, “…As long as Master’s here and I get food, I don’t care.”

Celesfia wrestled with herself for a while, then let out a deep sigh.

“…Very well. If it’s your judgment, Sizzle, it can’t be wrong.”

She glared at Aira with open distaste.

“By the authority of the saintess, I permit it. You may use the empty room at the very end of this floor. However! Every single time you step out of that room, you submit written application. Approaching within two meters of Lyle-sama is allowed only with my direct permission! …Understood?”

“So you’ll give permission to get close to Master?”

“That depends entirely on God’s will.”

Celesfia nodded with a sly, triumphant grin, as if she’d perfectly trapped her.

“…That’s the classic ‘blame God and never approve’ trick, huh?”

“…Tch. You saw through it.”

Celesfia angrily punched her own thigh with a fist.

“A saintess clicking her tongue doesn’t really match the image…”

When I pointed that out, Celesfia blushed and looked down in embarrassment.

“No use trying to hide your dark side at this point…”

“I’m not dark-hearted at all. Lyle-sama, you even know the exact spot of the beauty mark on my pure white belly, don’t you?”

The air in the room flash-froze. Aira stopped chewing mid-bite, and Sizzle—who had been quietly tending flowers in the corner—dropped the vase with a crash.

““…Pardon?”””

I tilted my head at the statement I had no memory of.

“I’ll never forget that passionate night…”

Celesfia lovingly rubbed her stomach as she spoke.

“What are you talking about!? And why are those two staring daggers at me!?”

“…Master. You and the saintess are that far along?”

Aira forgot about her crepe and started crushing my arm. Sizzle soothed her with a calm “Please settle down.”

“Lady Celesfia’s level cap remains at eighty. Judging from the pattern of the first three stages, the fourth and beyond will likely require deep physical contact. In other words… nothing has happened between them yet, so the rest of us still have a chance.”

“““The rest of us?””””

Another dangerous phrase. The three of us turned to Sizzle. She gave an awkward little cough and slipped back into the shadows with a slither.

“…Anyway, as long as I’ve got Master, food, and a bed, I’m good.”

“Then allow me to show you to your room.”

Aira accepted without fuss, and Sizzle—who had watched the situation resolve—called her from the doorway.

And so, almost by accident, Aira’s residency in the cathedral was decided. The moment I breathed a sigh of relief—

“…Master. Before we part, give me a hug. Then I’ll be on equal footing with these two.”

Aira spread both arms wide, ready to receive me.

BZZZZZT!!

At that instant, a strange electrical-short sound tore through the air.

“Uwah!?”

I looked up. Countless spheres of light—hundreds of glowing eyeballs—had silently appeared in midair. Every single one was bloodshot, pupils dilated to maximum, veins bulging as if about to burst, all glaring murderously at Aira.

“…G-g-gigi… gigi…”

The eyes trembled violently, looking ready to pop.

“Hii…! Eyes! The eyes are bloodshot! What the heck is this!?”

“This is my new spell, an evolution of the kiss-mark blessing: ‘Saintess’s Eyes.’ They automatically track according to my emotional state…”

Celesfia gazed fondly at the bloodshot orbs and smiled elegantly.

“When a pest tries to touch my precious treasure, the blood vessels just feel like they’re going to burst ♡”

“It all depends on your mental management, Celesfia!”

“…Yuck. They look gross.”

Aira glanced up at the countless bulging eyes with mild disgust, but showed no fear and casually walked toward the door.

“…Gonna go eat. See ya, Lyle.”

Once Aira left, the saintess’s eyes all exhaled “Fuuu…” at once and returned to their original pure white. They can go back to normal?!

“…I’ll go keep watch over Lady Aira as well. There are room preparations to make.”

Sizzle bowed and left.

Only Celesfia and I remained in the room.

“…Hehe. The pests are gone.”

Celesfia whispered in a meltingly sweet voice. She slid over beside me and naturally pulled my body close.

“Even so, I still can’t relax when you’re this close.”

“Y-yeah… same here…”

When I nodded, she suddenly took my hand and stared into my eyes.

“Lyle-sama… Sizzle reported the results of the level-cap verification to me.”

“Ah…”

Right—the second-stage condition had been “patting her head.” Sizzle had witnessed my status rise when I did it on the way home.

“…It was ‘patting the head,’ correct?”

“Uh, yeah. Pretty much.”

“…”

Celesfia puffed out her cheeks.

It was easily the most dissatisfied face she’d made all day.

“That’s not fair.”

“Eh?”

“Nobody has ever done that to me.”

She squeezed my hand tightly.

“We hugged… well, you hugged me. But no one has ever spoiled me with gentle ‘there, there’ pats!”

“But that hug raised three whole stages at once, so—”

“That doesn’t matter! It’s unfair that only that cat gets spoiled while I don’t! I can’t forgive it! I’m telling God!”

The aura of jealousy began rising behind her again. The saintess’s eyes looked ready to go bloodshot once more.

“Even for a saintess joke, threatening to tattle to God has limits!”

Celesfia kept giving me the sullen stare.

“Fine, I get it! So what do you want me to do?”

“…It’s obvious.”

She repositioned herself, plopping neatly onto my lap, and pushed her head against my chest.

Her silky platinum hair tickled my nose.

“…Do it for me too. Pat me gently.”

She looked up at me with moist, pleading eyes.

“Even more gently than you did for that cat. For much longer. Pat me until I feel I’m really… your number one.”

“…Got it.”

Smiling wryly, I placed my hand on her soft head and slowly stroked along her hair.

“…Nn…”

Celesfia’s whole body shivered.

“…Ah… Lyle… sama…”

Her eyes narrowed, and she purred like a cat, rubbing her head against my hand. An expression of total, defenseless spoiled sweetness no one would ever imagine from the usual dignified saintess.

“…More. Please mess it up completely… keep patting…”

“Your hair will get all tangled.”

“I don’t mind… If it’s your hand doing the tangling, it’s everything I could wish for… ♡”

She wrapped her arms around my waist and clung tight, refusing to let go.

Above her head, the saintess’s eyes—which had returned at some point—floated silently.

But this time they weren’t bloodshot at all.

Instead, every single one of the twenty eyeballs curved into happy little smiles, as if delighted to see their mistress so blissfully patted.

…That’s its own kind of horror, though.

“…Hehe. Overwrite complete.”

Celesfia murmured triumphantly against my chest.

And so my peaceful life of captivity continued—with a new housemate and an even heavier dose of the saintess’s love.