When I Maxed Out the Zero-Star Saintess, a Yandere Confinement Life with Overwhelming Love Began - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A full month has passed since we moved our base to the Grand Cathedral. Food, clothing, and shelter are no trouble at all, but I’m still not allowed to leave my room; it’s a very loose form of house arrest.

Tomorrow, though, I finally get to go outside for the first time in a month. The plan is to raise Aira’s level and test the conditions for the second stage of limit release. Well, “going outside” just means a day trip.

“…That’s not fair.”

The saintess barges into my room while I’m packing for tomorrow, her cheeks puffed out in the cutest pout.

Celesfia sits on the edge of the bed, hugging a cushion so tightly it creaks, glaring up at me with resentful, upturned eyes as she watches me fold clothes.

“It’s my first outing in a whole month. Why do I have to stay home?”

“Can’t be helped. The archbishop sent a message that went, ‘There’s a mountain of unfinished paperwork, so if you skip work today I’ll blow up your room.’”

“Just burn the whole pile with holy fire! No, better yet, I’ll tear it to shreds with my bare hands!”

Celesfia puffs her cheeks even more—“Muu…”—while saying something terrifying in the sweetest voice.

Normally she’s the perfect saintess, guiding the people with a smile full of compassion. But in front of me, and only me, she lets this slightly childish side show.

…If only her possessiveness weren’t pointed in such a fatally wrong direction, she’d just be adorable.

“Look, tomorrow is mainly about testing Aira’s abilities. We’ll be hunting monsters on the plains, and I’ll pretty much just be watching. It’s not going to be fun.”

“…That woman, huh.”

The moment I say “Aira,” every trace of emotion drains from Celesfia’s face. The cushion in her arms starts squeals in protest as she squeezes harder.

“…That thieving cat.”

“Hm? Did you say something?”

“Fufufu, nooo, nothing at all… So you’ll be all alone with her? Out in the middle of nowhere? Nothing could possibly happen in a place like that, right… right?”

“W-well, Sizzle is coming along as an escort too…”

Celesfia mutters ominous curses under her breath, then suddenly lifts her face as if she’s made up her mind. The light has already vanished from her eyes.

“…Very well. I have official duties, so it is heaven’s will that I cannot accompany you. I shall accept it.”

“That’s a relief.”

“However! I cannot possibly let defenseless Lyle-sama wander in front of that wild beast. If she pushes you down, you wouldn’t be able to resist, would you? Before you know it, she might gobble you right up.”

Celesfia declares this with the most serious expression.

“Sizzle will be there, you know?”

“She might gobble you up!”

“Isn’t Sizzle stronger than Aira?”

“She might gobble you up!”

Whenever she gets into this infinite loop, I always lose.

“B-but ‘gobble me up’…”

“Of course I mean in the sexual sense♪”

“…Knowing Aira, the literal eating kind of scary is also on the table…”

“Ufufu. Please bring plenty of food, just in case.”

“W-well… I am a little curious about that kind of thing, though.”

If three stacks only require a hug, then simple skin contact probably has a limit for higher stacks. If quantity won’t work, then quality will. In other words, mucous-membrane contact isn’t completely off the table.

Sooner or later we’ll have to test kissing and… other things for the sake of stacking.

I only meant it as an objective statement, but when I see the shadow fall over Celesfia’s eyes, I realize I’ve been horribly misunderstood.

“…E-eh!? Wha—Lyle-sama!?”

“N-no, wait! That’s not what I meant! I don’t want to do it with Aira! I just meant purely for research—”

Before I can finish, Celesfia closes the distance and throws her arms around me. A sweet perfume tickles my nose.

“Then… please carry out that research with me instead. No matter how monstrously strong I become, I don’t mind. Even if people call me a demon god or a wrathful deity, if it’s for Lyle-sama… I wouldn’t care at all.”

“Celesfia…”

“And also—”

She slips her fingers under the collar of my shirt and slowly, yet with undeniable strength, pulls me toward her.

“Lyle-sama. Just to be absolutely sure, I will grant you the highest-rank ‘Saintess’s Blessing.’”

“A blessing?”

“Yes. A powerful combined barrier: anti-personnel, anti-seduction, and anti-infidelity… It lasts several days and will protect you from bad bugs.”

That sounded suspiciously aggressive, but Celesfia stares at me with deadly seriousness.

“However, because the blessing is so strong, I must connect a very thick magic pathway. Specifically, I have to pour the magic directly into a spot close to the heart where the blood vessels are near the surface…”

“Close to the heart and… blood vessels…?”

“Right here.”

Her fingertip taps the side of my neck—right over the carotid artery. A vital point. A chill runs down my spine at the exact same moment she rolls up the sleeve of her holy robes.

“…Please stay perfectly still. If you move, the magic might run wild… and turn into a ‘curse’ that never fades.”

“Hey, wait just a—”

“—Nn.”

Before I can protest, hot lips press against my neck. This isn’t a simple kiss. It’s a fierce suction, as if she’s trying to tear the flesh away with her mouth.

“…!? I-it hurts, Celesfia!”

“N… mph, chu… haa… not yet… deeper…”

She doesn’t let go. When I try to squirm, she locks her arms around my back and sucks even harder. Wet, lewd sounds—juru, chuu—fill the room.

These are not noises a saintess should make. This isn’t prayer; this is predation.

The “ritual” lasts a few seconds—or maybe minutes, it’s hard to tell—and finally she pulls away. My neck throbs with heat. She gazes at it in rapture, then gives one last slow lick with the tip of her tongue.

“…Fufu. It took beautifully.”

She holds up a hand mirror. On my neck is a vivid, poisonous red-purple mark, like fresh blood or overripe fruit—a hickey burned clear into the skin.

“Hey, this…! It’s ridiculously obvious!”

“Of course. This is a ‘blessing’ and, but at the same time it is a ‘mark of ownership.’”

“Ownership…?”

“Now I can rest easy. Even if that thieving cat tries to flirt with you, the moment she sees this mark she’ll understand instantly: ‘This prey already has an owner.’”

Celesfia smiles in satisfaction, gently fixes my rumpled collar so the mark is just barely visible.

“Now then, have a safe trip, Lyle-sama… Ah, no! I take it back! I don’t want you to go! Please don’t go! Stay here!”

She clings to my back, dragging her full weight to pull me toward the sofa. I lose the tug-of-war and end up seated.

Celesfia climbs on top, straddling me.

“I’m still worried. One blessing might not be enough. To be thoroughly safe, shall we ‘overwrite’ it one more time?”

“Once is plenty! It really hurt! Let go!”

“No! I don’t want to let go…!”

“…Mmph… mmgh…”

Celesfia hugs me head-on. My face sinks into her soft, generous chest. It seems I’ve been completely tamed by a truly outrageous saintess.