Go Away, Yandere!

Naoki dreamed again of a large pit filled with corpses.

Once more, he dreamed of Arthur stabbing Sajyou Manaka from behind.

Naoki stood atop countless dry bones, staring at Manaka, whose chest had been pierced, and Arthur standing behind her. Due to the hood on his head, Naoki couldn't clearly see Arthur's expression at that moment.

However, as a knight, he had ultimately betrayed his Master, which must have been extremely uncomfortable for him.

Unconsciously, he wanted to step forward and speak with Arthur, but after taking one step, Naoki's limbs froze in mid-air as if chained. Not far away, Manaka's body, which had been stabbed to death by Arthur, strangely stood up again.

"Don't move, you vixen."

Manaka spoke with a smile, her voice as sweet as nature's own, enough to make even a man without any particular fetishes feel lustful. Naoki didn't know if it was because her voice was naturally like that or if she was using charm Magecraft, but he at least understood one thing.

Manaka's smile was a smile of death.

"This must be a dream. You are a remnant of Arthur's memories, an image of a girl named Sajyou Manaka from the past. But judging from your appearance, you still retain your true self... Are you Sajyou Manaka herself?"

Dreams are just dreams, and everything in them is false. Even Magecraft related to dreams fundamentally affects the mind. Therefore, nothing that happens in a dream can interfere with the real world.

The reason Manaka appeared in Arthur's dream might be because the impression and influence she left on Arthur were so profound that he always remembered her existence, which is why Naoki could now meet her in his dream.

Strangely, though, it had been half a month since Naoki summoned Arthur, yet he only started encountering Manaka yesterday.

"Yes, it's me." Manaka smiled, "I'm not interested in Magecraft or black magic, but now I have to be a little grateful to Magecraft. After all, only through Magecraft could I come here like this. Oh, I also want to thank the succubus sister who gave me the information."

'The female version of Merlin on Arthur's side!?'

Indeed, if a succubus were to become a candidate for Grand Caster, with the help of Manaka's ability connected to the Root, it wouldn't be impossible for her to interfere with dreams across parallel worlds, but why? Why would Merlin do this?

'No, the reason should be very simple, she just wants to have fun!'

Thinking this, Naoki's heart immediately sank. First, he was targeted by Manaka, then by Merlin. How could he still survive? Just go and prepare a coffin early and wait to lie in it.

"Then, how should I punish you, vixen?" Coming before Naoki, Manaka reached out her hand and placed it on his heart. "Taking Saber from someone else is absolutely forbidden. Saber is my prince. He belongs to me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me!"

Manaka's speech grew faster, and her tone became increasingly insane and erratic. Her flushed cheeks and fanatical eyes could even be described as pathological.

Is this girl infatuated with Arthur?

"Oh, sorry, I lost my composure a little." Manaka quickly recovered, "But this is also your fault. If only you hadn't taken Arthur from me, I wouldn't have been so embarrassed earlier."

"So this is all my fault?"

"Um, it's all your fault."

Gnashing his teeth, Naoki grew somewhat angry. Even a Bodhisattva would get angry. He was just an ordinary person, yet all the blame was placed on him without any explanation. He was treated with inexplicable hostility and intimidation. Did people really think he was a good person who would never get angry?

"You're the one at fault."

"Hm?"

"You must know Arthur better than I do. You must know the character of the King of Knights, who upholds justice, always makes the right choices, and takes the right actions, better than I do."

"Oh, please don't say that so bluntly." Manaka couldn't help but blush, "Yes, I am the person who knows Saber best in this world. You still understand this quite well. Vixen, you're somewhat self-aware."

"You vixen... I'm male! My gender is male, and my sexual orientation is female! Don't call me a vixen!" Naoki was so angry that his entire body trembled. "Besides, since everything Arthur does is right, then it must be wrong for you to become his enemy. In this way, aren't you the one who was killed and rejected by him as the wrong party?"

"This isn't my fault, nor is it Arthur's fault. It's your fault, you vixen! You're a love-starved little girl. Your hair hasn't even grown long, and you're still trying to hook up with a rich man. If you want Arthur to fall in love with you, then go back and grow up for a few more years and become a sexy older sister. With your flat chest, forget Arthur, no one would even want to take your sign in the red-light district. You'd be looked down upon if you took the initiative to find work on the streets. You deserve to be a loser and cheated on after taking the initiative for so long—"

Before Naoki could finish speaking, Manaka, whose face had turned pitch black, covered his mouth. Chaos and darkness faintly writhed in her blue eyes. Needless to say, Naoki's handiwork had also angered her.

*Pu-chi!*

That small, white, and delicate hand suddenly pierced Naoki's chest, and the still-beating red heart was immediately grasped by Mana. Dark Mana continued to flow into Naoki's body along her arm.

"I have cursed you." Manaka said. "Although I cannot affect reality through dreams, if I want to target your mind, I can do whatever I want. From now on, you will be tormented by endless nightmares every night until you suffer a mental breakdown."

"This is my first punishment for stealing Saber. I will come to see you again tomorrow and give you a new punishment. So goodbye, Onii-san."

Manaka disappeared from Naoki's sight with a smile.

Her smile was truly enchanting, with a face like an angel and a voice as melodious as a siren's. Anyone would be captivated by her greeting. But for Naoki, Manaka's smile was the sneer of a devil.

However, neither Manaka nor Naoki noticed, or rather, it happened after Manaka left. In the heart engraved with the curse, a flower quietly bloomed.