The Possessed Princess (3)

It had been a while since I'd had a dream. Not a dream in the literal sense, but rather revisiting the Regarium Kingdom arc quests after such a long time.

I needed to figure out exactly what promise Isella Carsein had mentioned. So, I decided to slowly review everything, checking if I'd missed anything along the way.

'Damn, I did a ton.'

Human memory fades the longer time passes. The main quest with the Regarium Kingdom happened right at the very beginning, so the details were fuzzy.

"Sure thing."

With my response, the world crumbled and began reconstructing itself. It was like the authority of a constellation, transcending time and space.

-KYAAAHH!

And what greeted me was a familiar scream I'd heard countless times.

'Ah.'

Looking around the reconstructed world, I faced the sight of an antique mansion engulfed in flames. A familiar woman's shadow vanished down the corridor. A group of pursuers followed her at high speed.

The hounds of the constellations. They were chasing the princess with savage ferocity to threaten her safety.

'Right.'

Isella Carsein was a woman who had been betrayed once. By her own fiancé, no less. It wasn't a marriage of love to begin with, but this incident must have made her hate it even more.

'Who was it again.'

'Ah.'

Blond hair, common in this world, and eyes that looked a bit unhinged.

"Heh heh, Princess. There's nowhere left to run. Today, you and I will..."

The guy chasing Isella last down the corridor was the main villain of the tutorial and a prince from another country. Apparently, he'd secretly contracted with a constellation for his family's sake.

'Idiot.'

Look at the state of him after contracting with a constellation just because it sounded good. Reason gone, drool of desire at his mouth. Could you even call that guy human anymore? No, he was nothing more than a monster that needed to be put down.

"S-spare me, please..."

The noble crawling on the floor begged, but the fiancé approached with a wicked grin.

-SPLASH!

What followed was eternal rest bestowed upon him. This was the day the golden sun bastard, possessed by the constellation, put on his grand aerial acrobatics show.

A lavish party for the engagement celebration, where he openly attacked the princess and nobles attending. The tutorial's main task was to stop the golden sun's rampage using the followers.

'At this point...'

The cult was still small in scale and numbers. Newbies fresh to the game would be panicking in the streets, but I was different. Rotten to the core already.

To clear the game optimally, I'd prepared everything. And to survive as a weak constellation, I needed strong devotees.

-BOOM!!

A wall exploded outward with a thunderous crash. Amid the thick dust, a red-haired priestess emerged, her hair fluttering.

'My Lisia.'

Lisia, our dutiful daughter pulled from the starting package, had arrived on the scene.

"...!"

I couldn't help but gasp in admiration. Seeing her in the game with its stiff graphics was one thing, but facing her in reality was on another level. Those early days struggling with low progress made the memory special.

'Yeah, this happened.'

With a warm heart, I watched Lisia's actions.

"....."

Lisia entered the building silently, scanning the surroundings calmly. Piles of corpses, raging flames, and thick traces of constellations.

"Grrr..."

Monsters reconstructed by the constellation's grasp drooled at the intruder. Their levels floating above their heads matched Lisia's, potentially dangerous, but this world—this game—had rankings beyond levels.

『S』

Our dutiful daughter, boasting the highest efficiency, displayed combat prowess on another level, swiftly clearing the mansion's interior.

"Kek!"

"Grahk!"

Monsters crumpled from a single punch. Despite their gruesome looks, their end was pathetic.

Having sorted the situation, Lisia looked up at me.

"...."

'...Huh?'

Ah, right. It's a simulation, so I have control?

I mentally ordered her to protect the princess, and Lisia's avatar moved accordingly. Following her swift advance to the center of the chaos, the corridor was littered with knights' corpses. They'd tried to protect their princess, but no matter how strong from a human perspective, the enemy was backed by a constellation—essentially like Lisia.

'Playing dirty with ranks.'

Leaving the pitiful victims behind, I guided Lisia inward to uncover the truth.

And there it was.

"...I'll offer you to the constellation and elevate my homeland to the unrivaled pinnacle, heh heh."

"D-don't touch me...!"

The excited golden sun, thrilled at the sacrifice, and the terrified princess. Here, we'd smoothly rescued her as per the tutorial.

-THWACK!SMACK!

"Urk...!"

Setting down the bloodied golden sun completed the tutorial quest. The constellation, losing interest after its pawn was taken, seemingly erased his existence.

'...No.'

More precisely, it pretended to. The real hidden villain of this tutorial targeted the princess right there.

"Hngh, guh...!"

Checking the princess's gasping state, she was on the verge of constellation domination, as I recalled.

'Yeah.'

Now it all came back crystal clear. That day, right here, I'd saved the princess from the constellation's grasp. And the rescued princess's eyes burned with venom.

"I... I hate you all—your kind, the constellations...!"

What a response after I saved her. Back then, Isella Carsein was full of thorns. She'd nearly lost everything ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to a constellation, and her savior was another constellation's apostle? Constellation this, constellation that. Enough to make anyone sick.

But that was the princess's fault, born into this world as the constellation's plaything.

'Whoa, whoa.'

I quickly held back Lisia, who looked ready to slap her. Even in simulation, she was like this. Her love for me felt nice.

"In the end, you want my body too...! This cursed talent of mine."

Talent. Isella Carsein's talent.

The community back then was flooded with ways to recruit Isella Carsein. But it meant nothing to me. There were plenty of alternatives, and I could cover it myself. It was tempting for newbie pervs sniffing something lewd, but useless to me.

So I refused. And while refusing, I planned to use the privilege's power to "objectify" her. Anyone else would've had their head explode, but her talent made it possible. Just a glimpse.

Of how insignificant and laughable she was in this vast universe.

Of how many constellations beyond this world were watching. The world was too cruel to hate it over personal grudges.

"Hah, guh...!"

Sharing my vision through Lisia, Isella confronted a fragment of the universe. Her dusty pink hair became disheveled, her body soaked in cold sweat. But her eyes sharpened with spirit.

After thousands of star clusters passed in her pupils, Isella finally ceased her hatred of constellations and grew calm.

'Up to here.'

This was where my knowledge—and the game's progression—ended. Afterward, Princess Isella kept offering cooperation to the cult. And as everyone knew, I'd repeatedly refused.

I wanted a business partner, not a ticking time bomb devotee. Her beauty wasn't worth the risk. Persistent refusal would wear her down eventually. In Ragnarok, the game I'd played to death, that was the standard route.

'But why.'

The lingering mystery unsolved. Suddenly, a message popped in the corner of my vision.

...Huh?

I doubted my eyes. What enlightenment?

"Ah."

And the system began revealing the hidden plausibility's truth.

"...I pledge to serve you, right here and now."

The game's hidden truth revealed itself here. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠No, this level of detail was cheating.

'Come on.'

My divine power. No idea from which point, but not good news.

'There must be a reason for this.'

I needed distance. Distance from her. She was the infamous wicked woman of the six stars, devouring pitiful newbies with her alluring looks—a sly fox.

'But.'

Setting aside past grudges, the princess's traits were undeniably attractive.

Dazed, I ended the tutorial recap.

"...."

Back in my room—or rather, the one prepared by the royals. Staring at the window pouring pale moonlight, I sorted my thoughts.

'What now.'

So, that's why she'd applied to join the cult in the game. No matter the situation, Isella's advances would continue, and I'd have to keep rejecting her. With tact.

'Do I... disgust you...?'

Blunt refusal would breed resentment. Resentment from the king's only princess would affect her father, Edmund. It could put our upcoming talk at a disadvantage.

"Hmm, what to do."

Didn't see this coming. If I had, I wouldn't have stopped Lisia from slapping her that day.

"....."

"What the hell."

Feeling absurd and deflated, a community alert pinged.

"I'm not taking her. You guys take her."

First sensible words in a while.

"Words that deserve a smack."

I punished the annoying punk, then racked my brain.

...Just flip the table on everything?