Avoid Yandere Constellation

It has been quite some time since my date with Lise.

In the meantime, a lot has happened.

-Smack!

“Ugh!”

“…”

I’ve been sparring with Willy as usual.

Before, she would have avoided me, but ever since our first spar, she has been following me around.

Or maybe she just wants to beat me up?

To be honest, it’s more like I’m getting beaten up one-sidedly.

Nod nod.

She’s a good listener.

She’s nothing like those stray dogs I’ve seen.

“Master, you were cursing me in your mind!”

Kage pouts and stomps her feet.

This kid is so sharp.

“Huh? Do you have evidence that I was thinking that?”

“Yip! Your face was clearly showing that you were cursing me!”

What? What does my cursing face look like?

I was speechless for a moment, but then I said with a shameless tone,

“That’s not evidence. Ah~ If you can prove it, then prove it.”

“Yip!”

Kage trembles with no rebuttal to my words.

Willy, seeing how cute she is, strokes Kage’s puppy ears with a gleam in her eyes.

“So fluffy…”

“S-stop touching me! I may look like a puppy, but I’m a princess of the Dog Beastkin tribe!”

Leaving those two alone, I turned my head towards Lise.

She has been working hard to improve her skills, perhaps feeling guilty about the trouble she caused me.

I approached Lise, who was wearing a tight training outfit that made me feel embarrassed just looking at her.

From a distance, she looked fine, but upon closer inspection, she was drenched in sweat.

“Lise, don’t overdo it.”

“Yes, I know. But seeing how fast you and Kage are growing, I feel like I can’t afford to slack off…”

Indeed, it’s not surprising that Lise would think this way.

My growth rate is beyond question, and Kage, with her exceptional talent, is rapidly improving as well.

Of course, I’ve gotten stronger mainly due to the system’s help.

But if only I were to grow rapidly, it wouldn’t be a problem.

Lise must be feeling quite anxious about her own progress.

It’s obvious that she’s worried about becoming a burden to us.

Is there anything I can do to help her?

As I pondered this, Karin’s words suddenly came to mind.

‘Master Kaine, we can secure more of the doping potions you gave us before.’

She did say that, didn’t she?

To be honest, I have plenty of experience potions left.

I’ve been wondering what to do with them, and I never expected to find a use for them like this.

Why don’t I give them to Lise?

I have more than enough for myself, so it would be better to give the rest to her.

It would be a waste to leave them unused.

“Lise, would you like to try this?”

“That… isn’t that the potion you drink before training every day?”

“Yes, it is. It will be very helpful for your training.”

“I-indirect kiss?”

Lise tilted her head in response.

I answered her question firmly,

“No, it’s not like that. I’m not drinking it anymore.”

“Tsk!”

Lise clicked her tongue in disappointment.

“Thank you, Master.”

“It’s nothing. I have plenty left, so you might as well use them. But if you feel unwell during training, let me know. I never had any issues, but you never know.”

“Yes, I understand.”

To be honest, there’s no way she’ll have any problems.

I’ve been using these potions for almost half a year now.

If there were any issues, I wouldn’t have given them to her.

By the way, Mark still hasn’t returned.

I shouldn’t be worrying about him, but the reason I’m thinking about him is…

“Bro, what if Mark… is late…?”

Just as Willy said, I’m worried that he might be late.

If things had gone according to the original story, he would have been staying at the family mansion.

But after seeing our spar, he disappeared somewhere to train in seclusion.

Of course, it’s not a bad thing for him to get stronger.

We might have to fight for the position of the head of the family, but even if he becomes the head, it’s not my concern anymore.

With the Holy Cross of Divinity, I can recover from any non-fatal injuries instantly.

In fact, wouldn’t it be better if Mark became the head of the family?

Being the head would mean having a lot of responsibilities, and since I’ve already made quite a bit of money, I’d rather be a freeloader and live a comfortable life.

But first, I need to break free from this dog-eat-dog scenario.

Anyway, if Mark gets stronger, we won’t be at a disadvantage when we go to war with the Cult.

I didn’t respond to Willy’s question, so she tugged at my sleeve with a worried look on her face, thinking I hadn’t heard her.

“Oh, sorry. I heard you. He’ll be fine, he’s not a kid anymore.”

Nod nod.

To be honest, I’m more concerned about the next episode than Mark being late.

After the last incident, the future has changed, so I’m curious to see if the next episode will follow the original story or if it will be completely different.

The next episode is particularly important because I’ll be involved in it as well.

‘The upcoming episode is the entrance exam for new students, right?’

The reason I’m worried about Mark being late is that he’s also a new student.

If he’s late because of his seclusion training and misses the entrance exam, it would be quite embarrassing.

But knowing his personality, I don’t think he’ll be late.

He’s very particular about such things, just like his appearance.

If Willy is all about strength and swordsmanship, Mark is more focused on strategy.

So, it’s unlikely that he would do something as foolish as missing the entrance exam.

He’s smart enough to have thought of that, right?

“Let’s go ahead without him. Father said it would be better if we arrived early to prepare.”

Nod nod nod.

Willy nodded her head three times in a row, her eyes sparkling with excitement at the thought of going to the royal capital.

“Let’s go back to the royal capital with Lise, Kage, Philip, and Ms. Lien.”

“Huh? Master, are you leaving already?”

“What do you mean ‘already’? It’s been almost a month since the break started.”

Although it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long.

“Is that so…?”

“Yes, so go and get ready.”

“Okay, Master!”

“Yes, Master.”

Hearing my words, the two of them stopped their training and returned to their respective rooms.

Then, Willy and I also went to our rooms to prepare for our stay in the royal capital.

.

.

.

After finishing our preparations, we left the mansion.

Thomas was busy and didn’t say much to us.

“Mark said he’ll come back on his own, so he told us to go ahead.”

“Yes, I understand, Father.”

“Okay, Kaine, since you have more experience living in the royal capital, take care of your younger siblings.”

I almost blurted out, “Shouldn’t I be the one protected by Willy?” but managed to swallow the words back down.

“Yes, I understand.”

“Okay, then be careful.”

With that, we headed to the warp gate in the territory and arrived at our destination.

“Welcome, Master. We’ve been waiting for you.”

Unlike last time, a junior staff member greeted us with a warm voice.

It seems that the lesson from last time has been quite helpful.

The junior staff member approached me with his hands clasped together.

I put my arm around his neck.

“Why aren’t you blocking my way like last time?”

“Ahahaha. It’s because I was new back then… Ever since then, I’ve been waiting for you, Master. Oh! And I heard the rumors. I heard that you won the Royal Academy Tournament and taught those troublemaking nobles a lesson! I was so touched when I heard that. Others didn’t believe it, but I knew it wasn’t just a rumor!”

“You… you little…”

What the hell happened?

The last time I met him, he was so inflexible that he blocked my way, but now he’s grown to the point where he can survive on his silver tongue alone.

Of course, anyone could tell that he was just flattering me.

Normally, I would have just ignored his words, but…

“I know you’re flattering me, but you’re quite good at it. Here’s a special tip for you.”

To be honest, I felt good hearing his flattery after being ignored and called a liar before.

I decided to play along with his flattery and flicked a gold coin with my thumb in a cool way.

-Ting!

He caught the gold coin as if he had been waiting for it.

Then, he bowed at a right angle.

“Please be careful, Master!”

“Okay, take care.”

I waved my hand in a cool manner and walked away without looking back.

Of course, I could feel the stares from behind, but I’m sure it’s just my imagination.

Yeah, it’s just my imagination!

.

.

.

Upon arriving in the royal capital, we quickly made our way to the mansion without any sightseeing.

Once we arrived, we unpacked our luggage.

“Why does this place feel like home to me?”

My house is supposed to be the David Mansion, but I feel more comfortable here.

Is this just my imagination?

“…”

When I think about it, I’ve lived in the royal capital longer than in the David territory.

So, it’s not surprising that I feel comfortable here.

As I lay comfortably on the bed, I received a message.

[The Goddess of Fate will be making an appearance after a long time.]

“Oh, what’s up? Why are you contacting me now?”

[The Goddess of Fate says it’s because of the Constellation Conference.]

The Constellation Conference.

I know it’s a meeting held by the Constellations, as mentioned in the game.

But is that why she’s late?

It’s strange that she’s contacting me now just because of that.

The Constellation Conference only takes about 10 minutes.

“Is it really because of the conference?”

[…The Goddess of Fate says so.]

“Something feels off. If it were you, you would have descended instead of sending a message.”

[This is why you’re a sharp kid.]

I knew you’d say that.

This excuse might have worked for the people in the game, but not for me, a veteran player.

“I can tell just by looking at you. You must have been running around recklessly at the orphanage and ended up like this, right?”

[The Goddess of Fate remains silent.]

Silence means consent.

To be honest, I had a hunch about this.

I didn’t see how much she ran around, but from the traces she left behind, I could tell that she must have used a lot of her power to relieve some stress after a long time.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have just sent a message.

To begin with, this is not a normal descent but a descent with a penalty.

And it’s a six-hour proposal.

To be honest, it would be more unusual if she were normal.

“So, when can you descend?”

[The Goddess of Fate says… she can descend soon, probably around the next semester.]

Hmm. That’s not too far away.

The next semester is only about a month away.

For a Constellation that has lived countless lives, a month is like a blink of an eye.

As I was having a pointless conversation with the Constellation, there was a knock on the door.

-Knock knock.

“Bro… can I come in…?”

“Yeah, come in.”

Willy opened my door.

She stared at me blankly.

As I read her eyes, I could tell what she was thinking.

‘Bro, let’s go out and play with Kage!’

“Do you want to go out with Kage?”

Nod nod nod nod.

She nodded so vigorously that her head left an afterimage.

Sis, you’re gonna break your neck.

“Okay, let’s go out now. Have you asked Kage?”

-Shake shake.

“Then I’ll go and ask her…”

Before I could finish my sentence, someone rushed into my room.

-Running footsteps!

Soon after, Kage appeared with a happy face and shouted,

“Master, let’s go out and play after a long time!”

When speaks of the tiger, it comes right away.

“Okay, I was planning to take you and Willy out anyway. But I think it’s better to ask the others as well.”

“Master, don’t worry. I’ve already asked Lise, Lien, and Philip. Ahem!”

Kage puffed out her chest with pride and crossed her arms.

She’s so unnecessarily fast when it comes to these things.

“Okay, it looks like you’re the only one who wants to go out. The others seem to want to rest, so let’s go now.”

“Yes, Master!”

“Yeah, bro.”

With that, we left the mansion.

We wandered around the street stalls.

It’s only been a month, but I thought it would feel like a long time.

However, it just feels normal.

I turned my head towards Kage.

She’s enjoying the delicious food with a silly smile on her face.

Chomp chomp.

Munch munch.

The two of them were enjoying the food sold at the street stalls.

As I looked at them, I realized that they looked similar in some ways.

Of course, it’s not their faces but their love for food that’s similar.

By the way, if things had gone according to the original story, that guy would have been here too, right?

As I was leisurely looking around, I thought to myself,

“Hmm?”

Is today some kind of special day?

Coincidentally, I caught a glimpse of the Saint of the Goddess of Battle in my line of sight.