I, Who Longs To Be A Dependent, Have Decided To Be Owned By A Yandere - Chapter 73

Eh!? Is there really a move that could turn this situation around?

“Why is Papa so strong?”

Sitting on her father’s lap and watching an online chess game, Fiene had raised the question after realizing her father had never lost even once.

“It’s simple, Fiene. Before the game even starts, they’ve already lost.”

“Already lost? What do you mean?”

With a loving smile, Papa gently stroked Fiene’s head and whispered to his squinting daughter.

“This game is designed so that if a player is away for a certain amount of time, an AI with the skills of a Grandmaster, which is the highest title a chess player can achieve, will automatically make the best move for them. So, at the crucial moment, an opponent who doesn’t know this stands no chance against Papa’s moves.”

“So, you’re cheating?”

At Fiene’s straightforward comment, her father laughed and replied, “No, it’s a ‘fair strategy’,” while embracing Fiene, who was leaning on him.

“There are rules in this world. As long as you follow them, ‘everything is just.’ Those who have lost to Papa mostly didn’t realize this mechanism, and if they did after their defeat, they would surely protest against Papa. But they’ve lost and will inevitably pay the price… Even though it’s just a game.”

Wrapped in a large, warm palm, Fine looked up at her father, the one person she respected and adored above all.

“Fiene, you must not enter a battle you cannot win. There are ‘dirty things’ lurking in this world beyond our imagination. That’s why we must always be vigilant. Sometimes we have to fight to protect what’s important.”

“But what if I lose a battle I thought I could definitely win?”

“Well, then… that opponent must be carrying something much more precious than what my clever and cute Fiene bears. To defeat my Fiene, they must be holding onto intense and earnest feelings.”

Papa whispered with a smile to his dearest Fiene.

“Fiene, please be happy. Live strongly, even without Papa’s protection. Laugh and spend your days with the one you love most.”

In Fiene’s memory, Papa was always smiling.

“Papa truly wishes for it.”

***

The allotted time was 30 minutes—only now did I realize that the time held no meaning.

On your mark, get set, go! The obstacle I faced was not only barbed wire but also mercenaries from a private military company (PMC), and my attempts to bribe them with the last of my hundred-yen coins were met with a powerful “No!”.

Honestly, their thorough preparation is laughable. They’ve completely blocked my escape route, and it seems they intend to keep me from escaping. They must have been tracking my movements with a distance-measuring watch to ensure the system remained a secret.

So the outcome was determined before the game even started… I want my romanticism back, which I pondered over before making a choice.

“If it’s come to this, I might as well camp out.”

As I resigned myself and began to prepare for a barbecue in front of the robust soldiers, they sent me mysterious words of praise, “What the f*ck!?”

Perhaps because of the rain, the wood I gathered wouldn’t light, and just when I was at a loss, the pitying foreign gentlemen shared with me a mysterious lump of wood fiber.

Now that I’d successfully kindled a fire, I warmed up the canned crab I’d stolen from Fine’s house, and the older men carrying assault rifles ogled me intensely.

“Are you crazy, boy?”

Are you a perverted boy?

As I slurped from the crab can in front of the pair of mercenaries, they began whispering to each other, and in response, I mimicked them by whispering to the crab can.

Their confused expressions seemed to doubt my sanity, and they retreated, taking out a radio to communicate with someone.

It was about time to get up when an alarm sounded, and Fine, dressed in pitch-black attire, appeared, bringing a large entourage like a feudal lord’s procession.

“Darling! I’ve been searching for you, where have you been? I was so worried, I even reserved our wedding venue!”

Caring for someone invites an inescapable marriage, huh? Akira, you had no idea!

“Hawaii is fine, right?”

Please, let’s value the subject!

“Well then, Darling, let’s go with Fi―”

“Stop right there.”

Fiene froze with a stiff expression at my command.

“Honestly, I ‘dislike’ the fact that everything moves according to your plans. Right after giving myself, Akira, the opportunity to ‘choose’, you’ve left me hanging. What will you do about my fleeting feelings?

If you do all this, there’s no room for me to choose.”

“But this is the rule of the game, right? Yui and others lost, so Darling has to become Fii’s.”

With a smile that hinted at a hidden agenda, Fiene spread her arms wide.

“Even you, Darling, agreed to it.”

“Yeah, I agreed. But Fiene, you haven’t ‘won’ yet.”

“…You have a move that can turn this situation around?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself. You’re smart, right?”

I shoved my hands into the pockets of my parka, looked around at the entourage with composure, and as if frightened, they took a step back.

“It seems someone understands. My move to turn the tables.”

“It’s impossible. In this completely surrounded situation, there’s not even one in ten thousand chances for Darling to escape from here.”

“Fiene, you’ve never lost, have you?”

As if hit by the truth, the intervals between Fiene’s blinks became shorter.

Seeing that, I―smiled.

“That’s why you can’t foresee my ‘hidden power.’ You underestimate me internally, so you’re convinced I can’t escape from here.

That arrogance of yours will be your downfall.”

“You will absolutely not escape from here―”

“Fiene.”

I interrupted her.

“Now, I’m going to teach you what it means to be defeated.”

The PMC soldiers and butlers tensed up, Fiene retreated into the defense line, and the atmosphere was filled with an eerie silence―

“Help meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Sensei, help meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

At the center of the yandere, I cried out for help.