When I Maxed Out the Zero-Star Saintess, a Yandere Confinement Life with Overwhelming Love Began - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

On the way to the grand cathedral, Sizzle had already brushed the dust off her maid uniform and stood there gracefully as if nothing had happened.

Yet the aura pouring from her entire body was clearly different from the woman she had been just moments ago.

(…Something’s definitely wrong.)

I glanced at her sideways while walking. The glow of her skin, the sharpness of her movements, and above all, the abnormal strength that had half-destroyed my shop a few minutes earlier.

The strings of light that had flashed across my vision the instant I caught her—『Contact Confirmed』, 『Debug Mode』, 『Limiter Released』.

If I line up only the facts: I touched her. Then her abilities skyrocketed. Those two points.

The original game was an RPG, so it had character growth systems. Besides levels and equipment, there was also the “dupe” system—when you pulled duplicates from gacha, it permanently raised stats.

I remember the benefits from dupes being pretty huge, probably to lure people into spending money.

Could it be that Lyle, who I thought was just a mob, is actually a debug character who can mess with other characters’ stats…?

This was the first time I had physically touched a named character, so it wasn’t impossible.

“…Sizzle. How’s your body feeling?”

“Never been better. It’s like I’ve grown wings on my back—an omnipotent feeling.”

“I see… Any idea what caused it?”

“Who knows. Shall we just call it the power of love?”

She only smiled seductively and refused to touch the heart of the matter. That very composure was proof something abnormal had happened.

At that moment, bells began ringing all across the city at once.

“It’s the demon god! Everyone, evacuate to safety!”

A man shouted as he ran down the street, and the people around us started running in panic.

“Demon god?”

When I tilted my head, Sizzle answered, “Demon god.”

“That doesn’t explain anything…”

“A demon god is a demon god. Have you forgotten last year?”

“Ah… y-yeah. Totally forgot.”

Something must have happened before I reincarnated.

“Demon gods appear periodically. Their purpose is unknown. We simply have to defend the city. The troublesome part is a special barrier that allows only one person at a time to fight it.”

“Ah… that thing.”

“Yes, that thing.”

That’s when I remembered the original game’s end-game content called “Demon God Subjugation.” It was a boss fight against a creature called the demon god to earn rare items.

And it was solo-only. It also required a heavily raised character.

“Who’s fighting this time?”

“Same as last time—Saintess Celesfia-sama. She has the highest level in this city. She’s the only person here at level 50.”

“Fi… fifty!? Isn’t that way too low?”

“The human level cap is considered 50. See, even I—wait, what!?”

Sizzle showed me her status screen. The level column read 『40/80』.

Every dupe raises the level cap by 10. Zero dupes—the initial state—caps at 50. Which means… she’s three-duped…

And the benefits from dupes aren’t just the level cap. Skill traits and stat boosts are included too.

That must be why she was able to wreck my shop.

“Your level cap just blew past the human limit…?”

“Th-this is wrong. Impossible. Not just the level—the stats too… this is—ah!”

Sizzle suddenly grabbed my wrist as if she had realized something. It felt like my arm was locked in a vice; I couldn’t move an inch.

“W-what is it?”

“Come with me.”

Without giving me a chance to refuse, she dragged me off somewhere by the arm.

◆

We slipped in through the back door of the grand cathedral and descended a long spiral staircase. The storeroom-like area smelled of damp air and dusty paper.

“…U-ugh…”

In the corner of the room, behind piles of ancient documents, a white lump was huddled. Pure-white holy robes. Platinum-blonde hair flowing down to her back. The spiritual pillar of this country and its strongest fighting force—the “Silver Condemner,” Saintess Celesfia herself. A named character. And my favorite.

Right now, though, she looked less like a condemner and more like a discarded wet rag.

“…Ueh… hurk… no… I don’t want to…”

She clutched a washbasin and sobbed violently. Her stomach had long been emptied; only yellow bile came up now as she shook uncontrollably.

“…Hey. That’s the saintess? Did she eat something bad?”

“No… that is terror.”

Sizzle spoke quietly. For once, there was sympathy in her voice.

“Last time, during the demon god subjugation… the official announcement claimed ‘the saintess purified it with miraculous light’ and she returned unscathed, but that was a complete lie. She fought for three full days and nights without sleep even after her left arm was torn off. Then a huge team of healing mages brought her back from the brink of death.”

Sizzle narrowed her eyes as if seeing straight through to something inside me.

“Even she, one of the strongest humans alive, was nothing more than a slightly durable punching bag against the demon god… She was nearly killed thousands of times, beaten tens of thousands of times, and finally won by pure luck. That memory is burned into her body.”

I silently stared at her trembling back. Of course it was. I knew the reason. Only someone like me—a hardcore gamer who had cleared everything—understood what “demon god subjugation” really meant in this world.

It was end-game content made to satisfy bored players who had already finished the story.

It was something you were supposed to challenge with a fully raised character. Even free-to-play players had to grind long weekly quests, dupe their characters, raise the level cap, and only then could they fight on equal terms.

Of course some people did self-imposed challenge runs at the initial cap of 50. With insufficient attack and defense, it was the kind of fight where you had to play perfectly for hours to win.

For us in front of the screen, dying just meant hitting retry. But for the people living in this world?

One person alone, trading blows for three days with a lump of violence that doesn’t even speak. Pain, terror, the sensation of death—all of it real.

Anyone who went through that would obviously end up with trauma.

“…This is bullshit.”

I muttered under my breath. Making my favorite character carry this kind of brutal fate is a joke.

I walked over to Celesfia. She flinched violently and looked up at me with frightened eyes.

“…Hii, who… are you? Don’t come near… I don’t want to fight…”

“It’s okay. I’m Lyle. The owner of the bookstore Sizzle often visits.”

I knelt in front of her and reached out to her trembling shoulders. So fragile. This slender body had endured that unreasonable raid boss.

“…Celesfia.”

“…Ah…”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to hurt anymore.”

“…Liar… it’ll come again… and eat my arm again…”

I pulled the delirious girl into my arms. This wasn’t out of romantic feelings. It was just to test a hypothesis—“maybe.”

When I touched Sizzle earlier, those mysterious logs appeared the moment we made contact. If that was a skill I possessed…

Please. Do it again.

The instant I wished hard, those glowing strings raced across the edge of my vision once more.

『Contact Confirmed (ContactVerified)』

『Target: Celesfia (PlayableCharacterID:201)』

『Contact Depth: Level 3 (DeepHug)』

『Debug Mode Activated. Rewriting Status Coefficients』

『Lv.50→Lv.80』

(…Just as I thought.)

I swallowed hard. It wasn’t an illusion. Through my palms, something was flowing into her. Her heart gave a huge thump.

Cold sweat stopped pouring from her body, replaced by a warmth like sunlight. The trembling ceased. Her breathing steadied. Right there in my arms, her very existence was being remade.

“…Huh?”

Celesfia murmured into my chest.

“It’s warm… and I feel… full of energy all of a sudden.”

“Just a little charm. Check your status.”

She checked her status screen and her eyes flew wide open.

“Wha… what!? My physical attack is this high… and the level cap went up!?”

When I looked at Celesfia’s status, it now read 『80/80』. She must have had enough accumulated experience that the level jumped the moment the cap was raised.

I gave her back a light pat and let go.

I was certain now. I had just twisted the rules of this world. The cloudy look was gone from her eyes; they shone with clear topaz brilliance again.

“Go. With the way you are now, saving the world will feel like a stroll.”

“…Yes!”

Celesfia stood up. There was no hesitation in her movements. The dirt on her robes was purified by the magic overflowing from her. She stared at me for a moment, then spoke with faintly flushed cheeks.

“Lyle-san, thank you. When I get back… I’ll come buy books again. Next time I’ll go myself, so please recommend something good.”

I probably shouldn’t mention before the fight that her maid was the one who destroyed the bookstore. Smiling wryly, Sizzle and I saw Celesfia off together.