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

Chapter 22

Morning. As my consciousness surfaced, I sensed a “foreign object” in my bed at the same time.

It was heavy. And warm. A sweet smell like sunshine tickled my nose.

I remembered the pink typhoon Mimir crashing into my room last night. So I naturally thought that foreign object was her.

“…Good morning, Lyle-sama.”

A voice like rolling bells whispered in my ear. I fearfully opened my eyes, and my entire view filled with porcelain skin and shining golden hair.

It was the saintess Celesfia. She used my arm as a pillow and rubbed her cheek against my chest with the naturalness of being there every night.

“…Celesfia?”

“Yes, your Celesfia.”

She smiled brightly. That smile was full of more compassion than Maria in religious paintings, and at the same time, more inorganic than a Noh mask.

“Wh… What are you doing?”

“Sleeping together. You seemed to fall asleep early last night, so I held my breath beside you to not disturb.”

She muttered dreamily while running her fingers over my chest.

“…You only held your breath, right?”

“Hehe. Of course. More importantly, Lyle-sama. After the ‘holy war,’ a new agreement was concluded among us. I must report it to you.”

“Treaty?”

“Yes. Named the ‘Grand Cathedral Love Fair Distribution Agreement.'”

Celesfia sat up. Her thin negligee slipped down, and her voluptuous body showed through in the morning light, but her expression was as serious as a general in a military meeting.

“If ‘sneak attacks’ like Mimir’s run rampant, the grand cathedral’s order will collapse, and your body won’t hold up. So we discussed it. And decided.”

She held up one finger.

“Starting today, we will manage your person on a ‘one-day rotation system.'”

“…Eh?”

“In other words, today is my day to monopolize you. Tomorrow is Sizzle, the day after is Aira… and so on. Your ‘ownership’ rotates. On the assigned day, interference from other heroines is completely prohibited. Complete alone time is guaranteed.”

I was stunned. What kind of rule is that, like taking out the trash.

“My opinion!?”

“We made Saturday and Sunday free.”

“Isn’t the day of rest given by God only Sunday?”

“That’s wrong, Lyle-sama.”

“Why?”

“Because there are five of us.”

“Don’t change church teachings on your own!?”

“I’m a saintess.”

I wanted to say that’s not a reason to change them, but I let it slide for now since it was not the point.

In short, I would deal with them five days a week and rest two. I swallowed the question of what happens if two more join.

“By the way, who proposed this rule?”

“Me.”

“Figures…”

“But everyone agreed. Even Mimir said right away, ‘Eh, I want every day, but if we follow turns, I can definitely flirt for sure! Okay!'”

That pink one is really easy.

“So, Lyle-sama.”

Celesfia leaned over me, bringing her face close. Her blue eyes were deep like the deep sea, dark, absorbing light.

“The memorable first day is assigned to me, Celesfia… Are you ready?”

“Ready for… We just spend it normally, right?”

“No. ‘Normal’ is not enough. You are in my ‘sanctuary,’ loved only by me, managed only by me.”

She snapped her fingers. With a crisp snap, the air in my room changed instantly.

The view outside the window blocked off, and golden geometric patterns floated on the walls. Furthermore, my personal items in the room corners—half-read books, scattered clothes, half-drunk glasses—turned into light particles and vanished. In their place appeared polished antique furniture and furnishings like a model room with no sign of life.

“Wh… My collection!?”

“I ‘purified’ them.”

Celesfia said without remorse.

“Under my management, unhygienic and inefficient environments are not allowed. This room is now a ‘sanctuary’ isolated from the outside by the highest barrier. Even Sizzle cannot enter here.”

She got off the bed and elegantly opened the curtains. Even the incoming light was adjusted by magic to “the most beautiful intensity.”

“Come on, Lyle-sama. Time to get up. Holy water for washing your face and the finest towels are ready. After that, breakfast, reading, moderate exercise… You will follow the ‘perfect schedule’ I created.”

A minute-by-minute schedule appeared on the wall. ‘Wake up’ ‘Face washing’ ‘Breakfast (with ahhn)’ ‘Saintess appreciation’… It was suffocating.

“…Celesfia. Is this a date? Or prison labor?”

“It’s ‘love nesting.'”

She smiled and pulled my hand to lead me to the sink.

“I’ll do it myself.”

“No, I will. You need not lift a finger.”

She carefully wiped my face with a steamed towel, applied lotion, and combed my hair. Her touch was like a professional craftsman’s and at the same time delicate like handling fragile glass. But I felt something off. Her hands trembled slightly.

“…Hey, Celesfia.”

“Yes, what is it? Was the massage too strong?”

“No, not that… Aren’t you kind of rushing?”

At my question, her movements stopped dead. Our eyes met in the mirror. For a moment, her face looked like she might cry, then she covered it with a smile.

“Rushing? No way. I am a saintess? Always calm and perfect…”

“It’s about Mimir.”

When I hit the core, the comb she held snapped with a crack. Come to think of it, this person was a power type.

“…It has nothing to do with it.”

“It does. Since that girl came, you’ve been acting strange.”

“It has nothing to do with it!!”

She shouted. Cracks appeared in the sink mirror.

Come to think of it, this person was a power type!

She breathed with her shoulders and looked down.

“…It has… nothing to do with it. I just want to prove it.”

“Prove?”

“That I… am the woman most useful to you.”

She looked up and gazed at me pleadingly.

“That girl can do nothing. Housework, calculations, magic control. She just rampages on instinct and causes you trouble… Yet.”

Her voice trembled.

“Your profile looked like it allowed heart to that ‘useless’ girl for some reason… I cannot forgive it. I try so hard, manage you so perfectly. Why does a woman who does not ‘function’ enter your sight?”

I see. The cause of her runaway was there after all.

Celesfia had always been valued for her role as “saintess.” Worthy because “she can heal people” “she can protect the country.”

For her, raised that way, an existence like Mimir who “serves no use but shouts unconditional love” was an incomprehensible threat.

If she became “useless” too, she might be abandoned by Lyle. That fear drove her to excessive “management.”

I kind of understood Celesfia’s driving principle now.

“So watch, Lyle-sama. Today’s me is perfect. I will serve you perfectly so you need not move a finger. Then you will understand that I am the best after all…”

She was desperate. That figure was endearing and pitiful.

“Come, let’s eat. I reproduced your favorites with perfect nutritional balance. I will ahhn for you.”

She pulled my hand toward the dining table. A full course like in a hotel was laid out. A mad menu recreating my favorite junk food flavors with top-grade ingredients.

“Open your mouth.”

“…Celesfia.”

“Hurry. It will get cold.”

She thrust the spoon at my mouth. Her eyes said “If you don’t eat, I’ll die.” I sighed and took the spoon in my mouth. Delicious.

Impossibly delicious. But I tasted nothing. This was not a meal. It was a ritual to fill her anxiety.

If I spent the day as her puppet, she might be satisfied. But that would solve nothing. Tomorrow the anxiety would return, and management would escalate further.

I chewed, swallowed, and decided. I would smash this perfect birdcage.

“…Thanks for the meal.”

“Eh, that was just one bite? Eat more, for your health—”

I stood up, took the spoon from her hand. Then wiped my mouth with the napkin on the table and looked straight at her.

“Sorry, but it doesn’t suit my taste.”

“Wh…!? Top-grade ingredients!? The seasoning is perfect…”

“The taste is too clean. What I want to eat is more sloppy, careless… the kind where you taste it and laugh ‘It got a bit burnt.’ That kind of cooking.”

Celesfia froze. I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close.

“I don’t need management. I don’t want to be your pet.”

“B-But… If I am not useful, you will…”

“Do you think I choose people by such annoying standards like useful or not?”

I grinned and pointed to the window closed by the barrier.

“Celesfia. Release this barrier.”

“N-No! If we go out, those thieving cats again…!”

“We won’t go out. We are leaving here.”

“Eh?”

I pulled her close and fell onto the bed. I trapped the surprised her in my arms.

“Today is my turn for the day, right? Then you follow my way.”

“L-Lyle-sama!? But the schedule…!”