Chapter 9: Suicide

And practice Arthur did, spending the next couple of hours creating flimsy constructs out of water and attempting to solidify them to create a genuine weapon out of his mana before he eventually exhausted his mana supplies and collapsed helplessly onto the bed. All in all, Arthur made little progress in his advancement and control of his magic, still unable to create simple constructs out of the water, but hey, it is how it is. He wasn't some heaven-defying genius who could instantly master his gifts on the first try. No, he was just some loser who played an eroge so much that he managed to capture the attention of some higher beings.

Though it would be a lie to say that Arthur wasn't disappointed with himself. After all, he couldn't help but compare himself to the protagonists of the novels he would read. 'I mean, we both have systems, and most of the time, their talent is considered utter dog shit like mine, yet they still manage to develop their abilities to the utmost almost instantly….' Arthur groaned, his childish face plastered against the exquisite gold-laced fabric of the pillows like a blushing schoolgirl.

'Though I suppose theirs no point comparing myself to those fictional characters. They're merely puppets made to be a vessel for their author's persona, whereas I'm an actual person that's living through a fictional experience, but…but it still sucks. I….I hate this. I know I should focus on seducing the capture targets, but I can't help but want to get stronger. I don't like this feeling of powerlessness' Arthur sighed. Unknowingly he had started to place strength on a pedestal after his fight with the man in the alley and his first experience with magic.

The thrill that came with power was something that gave the former 18-year-old a high he never had before experienced, and after having that high quickly cool off thanks to the system's abrupt assessment of talent, Arthur couldn't help but crave the forbidden fruit even more.

Sure he was strong relative to his peers. No strong would be an understatement. He was nigh-invincible, but this strength would be fleeting thanks to the talents the heroines and main characters of the world possess, quickly leaving Arthur in their dust to wallow in his powerlessness before having his soul tortured for eternity. So, of course, Arthur would crave strength and power, whether it be for the supposed goal of seducing some of the stronger heroines or for the more human purpose of simply living without fear.

Though Arthur refused to acknowledge these notions, instead opting to simply ignore this glaring fact and calm his self deprecating thoughts the old fashioned way. By sleeping, falling into a deep state of slumber that he would remain in for the rest of the day and night, utterly unaware to both the world around him and the unannounced visitor who entered his room in the middle of the night.

"He's really so cute when he's sleeping," The figure silently whispered, drawing ever closer to Arthur's bedside, looming over the boy with an obsessed smile. "Ahh, I could just look at him like this for hours without ever getting bored," And that was what it did as the figure would remain by Arthur's bedside until his eventual awakening in the morning.

"Arthur, wake up~" The soft loving voice of Charlotte filled Arthur's ears, awakening the transmigrator to the eave of the new day.

"Urgh, do wanna," Arthur groggily moaned, rolling to the other side of the bed in silent protest against the unusual alarm clock that he still had not taken notice of and failing to keep up his act of a peasant child instead resorting to the morning routine that he had on earth.

'Cute!' Charlotte inwardly grinned, her eyes glistening at the sight of Arthur's morning protest. 'Is he so comfortable that he doesn't want to wake up…that's adorable!' Charlotte squealed, jumping onto the bed and moving over to Arthur's half-awake body.

'If he isn't going to wake up with my call then I suppose it's only right that I wake him up with a morning kiss!' Charlotte all but moaned, her pupils momentarily morphing into the shape of a heart before quickly returning to their usual form. Soon the hot breath of Charlotte could be felt precipitating against Arthur's pale white cheeks. Heating them up to a bright pink hue while an unsettling feeling of warmth began to rise from the pits of Arthur's stomach.

Sure he may talk a big game about seducing the girls and heroines of the world, equating earning their love to a menial task like taking out the trash, but the truth was… Arthur had literally no experience with girls. Yes, he was both a virgin and a shut-in that spent the majority of his life behind closed doors, his eyes only ever being exposed to the blue light rays that emitted from his sun-like monitor. His only form of "Social Interaction" comes from the few Q&A Sessions he was occasionally asked to participate in and share his knowledge of the gate to Avalon.

And this lack of physical affection was now showing in full force as the boy began to uncontrollably squirm in defence against Charlotte's heated breaths, his eyes remaining shut as if in denial to the weirdness of his unknown situation.

'This is no good, Arthur. If you keep on squirming around like that, you'll just end up tempting me more,' Charlotte drooled, her lips finally millimetres away from Arthur's bright red cheeks. Where…They soon found their target falling upon Arthur's now scalding hot flesh and giving him a quick peck which sure enough woke the boy up as Arthur's eyes shot open upon feeling the strange sensation, immediately falling upon the figure of the blushing blonde who had recoiled to the other side of the bed in surprise.

'Did…Did she kiss me,' Arthur mumbled, his hand unconsciously drawing closer to the place where Charlottes had only recently left her mark of love upon the "Young" boy, and sure enough, his course fingers soon fell upon the texture of his saliva dampened skin.

Normally Arthur would have been happy with such a beautiful girl taking his "First kiss", Even if it may have only been on the cheeks, but as if in stark contrast to that prediction, the young transmigrator was inwardly crying.

'FUUCCKKK, This is bad….No, this isn't bad. This is terrible!!, why the hell did she feel the need to assault me like that? Isn't that basically a declaration of love….URGHH, if I knew she would have behaved like this, I would have left her to be saved by those guards and instead tried my luck in getting into the Zepar household some other way,' Arthur inwardly panicked though his face never made his thoughts known to the outside world as it remained plastered in an expression of blushing disbelief.

'How the hell am I meant to play this off? I can't go getting into a relationship with Charlotte so early on into my stay here when I still haven't made a bond with either her mother or sister. That's basically suicide…. She's going to be the death of me!! I can't die so early into my playthrough here…I don't want my soul to burn for eternity. That sounds painful!' Arthur cried, his gaze remaining ever locked on the still squirming figure of Charlotte, who, far from looking like her usual angelic self, currently looked like nothing more than a cruel vessel of death for the poor Arthur.

'Think Arthur, Think!!! You'll end up dead if you let her speak her mind now! URgh, Why did I have to wake up the moment she kissed me!' Arthur screamed in reaction to Charlotte's attempt to break the strained silence that befell the two.

"Good morning Charlotte!" Arthur beamed. He didn't really know what to do at the moment, so his best bet was to try and at least play oblivious to the girl's advances and hope that he could drive away the prospect of a relationship for the time being.

"Umu, good morning, Arthur!" Charlotte all but screamed, pouncing towards the still "Stunned" boy in delight who just so happened to "Fail" to dodge the girl's sudden approach.

'Ok, this is going well at the moment, I just need to avoid bringing up the kiss, and I'll be set.' Arthur gleamed, setting up the flags of self-destruction that would almost immediately be toppled by Charlotte's untamed happiness.

"Erm…Charlotte…What are you doing?" Arthur questioned, "Confused" with Charlotte's sudden gesture of affection and seemingly "Oblivious" to her morning ambush.

"Hugging my Arthur…Why do you ask?" Charlotte purred, her blonde hair mixing with Arthur's dirty brown while her arms that she had wrapped around Arthur's back began to squeeze the boy tighter and tighter to her petite figure as if attempting to fuse herself with him.

"Oh um, Then can you please let go of me… I'm pretty sure that I have to start my job soon," Arthur pleaded, fully expecting the girl to comply with his relatively simple request. Yet, he was shocked to feel the warmth of what he could only assume to either be tears or saliva spread and stain his simplistic blue pyjamas.

'Is she crying…No~, there's no way, right? She can't be that attached to me already!' Arthur inwardly yelled, despair racking his body. 'If she's gonna be like this, how will I be able to get some alone time with any of my targets,' He continued. Unknowingly Arthur had underestimated what it truly meant to go beyond the 100% threshold, a mistake he would soon come to regret in both the coming years and throughout his entire life.

*Sniff, Sniff* The sound of Charlotte's stifled cries soon filled Arthur's ears as the girl slowly withdrew herself from her self imposed embrace, revealing her tearful appearance and bloodshot eyes to the frantic Arthur, who had already started seeing visions of his own demise. "Ar-*Sniff* Do you hate me, Arthur," Charlotte wailed, cementing Arthur's view of the demoness.

'Shit,' Arthur growled. 'Why did I have to wake up when she kissed me… If I hadn't have done that, I would have been able to play this all off, but nooo~ My virgin body made a lapse in judgment, and now I'm being guilt-tripped by a nine-year-old,'

"Eh! What do you mean?" Arthur "dumbly" responded. 'Stall, just stall. I need to buy some time until I can figure out how to escape from this predicament,'

"Do you hate me, Arthur!!" However, it seems like Arthur's question had no effect on the delirious charlotte, who appeared to be fixated on getting a response to her one particular query.

"No, but it's just that what you're doing isn't really…well, normal, is it," Arthur continued though his words may seem counterintuitive as they led the girl back to the topic of the kiss Arthur was sure that he would be able to steer the conversation in whatever direction he so pleased after the girl answered his following statement.

"What do you mean this isn't normal?" Charlotte beamed her mind already in a state of euphoric glee that stemmed from Arthur's assurance that he, in fact, did not hate her. However, she deemed it more appropriate to momentarily overlook this and instead question the latter half of his response. "I'm pretty sure what I'm doing is something that lov-"

"What I mean is this isn't something that you should be doing to a peasant like me!" Arthur "Yelled," Cutting off Charlotte, who was in the middle of pronouncing his hypothetical demise. His words, of course, shocked the young Marquis, who couldn't help but recoil once again from Arthur's passionate display of pseudo rejection.

'Is he uncomfortable with this because of his status?' Charlotte pondered, overlooking the fact that anyone would be uncomfortable with such an abrupt display of affection, though this was, in fact, the thought that Arthur wished the girl to have, as long as he put the idea of class division in her mind now he would be somewhat safe from entering a relationship with the girl and as for how he would deal with her gestures of affection…. He'd just continue to act oblivious. 'Aw, he's so cute, to be worried over such an insignificant matter my Arthur really cares so much for me,' Charlotte inwardly purred, her pupils once again momentarily morphing into the shape of a heart that Arthur thankfully couldn't see.

{+2 Love (Charlotte Zepar)}

{+2000 Affection points}

'Is it working?' Arthur anxiously questioned. His entire life depended on Charlotte's answer, and that type of stress was really getting to the boy. 'I haven't even started getting ready for my job yet, and I already want to just quit and return back to earth. I know it's repetitive but fuck you, whatever gods gave me this shitty quest,' Arthur berated, much to the entertainment of those higher deities who couldn't help but release a teasing grin at the words of their champion.

"Well, if you're uncomfortable with this, I suppose I could stop….For now," Charlotte coyly replied, her body squirming under Arthur's heated gaze. 'If he's so uncomfortable with his status, I can build up our relationship bit by bit until Arthur is comfortable with this…Just like mum and dad taught me too,' Charlotte inwardly giggled, reflecting on the lesson she had been given when she was merely seven on how to seduce a prominent noble less her family failed to set her up in an arranged marriage.

Hearing this, Arthur let out a relieved smile, all tension releasing itself from the confines of his body. 'I suppose this is good enough for now. I've at least managed to avoid the topics of a relationship, and knowing Charlotte's personality from the game, I probably won't have to worry about that discussion for a while,' "Thank you," Arthur breathed, pulling himself up from his exquisite bed and making his way over to a nearby chair in which rested a tidy white long sleeve dress shirt along with a pair of earth-coloured loose cuff trousers, pants and finally an emerald green blazer.

"Can you please turn around?" Arthur blushingly declared, momentarily dropping his act and portraying his true feelings to the young Charlotte, who could only reluctantly obey his commands.

And almost the second he got confirmation that Charlotte was indeed not looking, he stripped, revealing his "Not so glorious physique" to the world. With a chest so thin, it would make one wonder if the boy had even eaten at all in his many years of existence and arms so brittle it was a miracle that they had not already snapped in half one hundred times over just from Arthur picking up the clothes. 'How the hell was this body able to live for seven years like this!' Arthur screamed. Arthur's body state could only be classified as horrific even compared to peasants.

But to the young Marquis who had managed to stealthily observe this scene, everything about Arthur was perfect. To her, he was gods gift to mankind, which….Technically wouldn't be a lie. 'Arthur~' Charlotte drooled as she continued watching what she considered to be the greatest piece of entertainment she could have imagined.

{+1 Love (Charlotte Zepar)}

{+1000 Affection Points}