Continuing from the perspective of the rookie saint apprentice.

***

My name is Nina.

I’m a rookie saint apprentice in Tower City.



Captured by the Alraune’s vines, I was prepared to blow both of us up with the firebomb.
But at that moment, a gift from the heavens reached my nose.


That’s right. It was that honey!


For some reason, the scent of the Holy Honey Rufé-chan sold was drifting from the man-eating Alraune.


The instant the smell reached me, my mouth filled with saliva.
I want to taste that rich, supreme honey again.
I want to savor that melting sweetness on my tongue right now.


Temptation washed over me.


Haa… haa…

Trying to immobilize me with honey… this man-eating Alraune really is shameless.


Unable to suppress my excitement, I tried squirming my body around, but the Alraune’s vines wrapped tightly around me, leaving me unable to budge even an inch.



But the moment I looked at the Alraune, who has the same face as Lady Iris, reality came crashing back.

R-Right.
I’m here to take revenge!


This isn’t the time to be distracted by honey.

Forcing the thoughts of honey out of my head, I prepared to throw the firebomb again, fully braced to take the monster down with me.
But my body still hadn’t recovered yet.


As I reached for the firebomb, I accidentally pulled out Lady Iris’s handkerchief as well.


The white lace-trimmed handkerchief fluttered from my pocket.
It was my treasure, the keepsake I had carried with me all this time in place of Lady Iris.


Ahh, Lady Iris, please forgive me.

To think I would drop your precious handkerchief at a moment like this.


If Lady Iris saw me like this, she would surely be heartbroken.

But please endure it a little longer.

Even if it costs me my life, I’ll avenge you here and now.
I’ll free you from this detestable plant monster, and once I do, may you rest peacefully.


Just as I thought that, the man-eating Alraune murmured something strange.


“You still had… my handkerchief.”


────Huh?


“……What did you just say?”


Did the man-eating Alraune just call Lady Iris’s handkerchief “my handkerchief”?

And she said, “You still had it,” as though she knew Lady Iris had once given it to me.


That’s impossible.

I’ve never told anyone about the handkerchief.
The only people who should know about it are me and Lady Iris.


Which means—


“N-No way… Are you really… Lady Iris…?”


Our gazes met.


B-But there still wasn’t any proof that the Alraune was really Lady Iris.

Maybe after eating Lady Iris, she inherited her memories too.
Maybe she was just pretending to be her through those memories.

As though to sweep away my doubts, the Alraune continued to speak, her words seeping directly into my heart.


“Even now… Nina… you still have very… beautiful eyes.”


Using Lady Iris’s handkerchief, the Alraune wiped the tears from my face.
Just like back then.


“They feel like… special eyes… blessed by the Goddess of Light.”


──Ahh.

I can’t believe it.

Those were the exact same words Lady Iris said to me on the day she gave me that handkerchief.


As my heart wavered, tension spread through my entire body.


It’s unthinkable that an ordinary plant monster could act so perfectly to capture my emotions.
Which means that, unbelievable as it sounds, this Alraune really might be Lady Iris after all.


And now that I’m looking more carefully, her expression really does resemble Lady Iris’s in some ways.
Those gentle, compassionate eyes.


She was the very image of the saint I’ve always admired.


I never could have imagined something like this.
For some reason, Lady Iris was alive as a plant monster!



But then, I made a terrible mistake.

I dropped the firebomb I was holding onto the Alraune.

What have I done to Lady Iris!?
At this rate, I’m going to kill her!


“L-Lady Iris… ughh…”


The blast wave from the firebomb struck me.

And then, I lost consciousness.


──────

────

──


“Lady Iris!?”


When I woke up, I was lying in a bed at the church.


According to the sister who explained the situation to me, it was Sir Franz who had carried me back here.
Lady Iris’s white handkerchief was safe too.


Apparently, a full day had already passed since the Alraune subjugation.
As for her, the Alraune had survived the explosion from the firebomb and was still living in the forest.


“She survived… thank goodness…”


And then it hit me.

What have I done…!?


Not only did I try to kill the Lady Iris I revered while hurling insults at her, I even tried to blow her up.

There’s a limit to how disrespectful someone can be.


“……I need to apologize to Iris-sama!”



And so, I went to visit Sir Franz, an adventurer.
First, I thanked him for saving me the other day before I got to the main topic.


“So, Sir Franz, I would like to make a request of you as an adventurer.”

“Don’t tell me… you’re planning to go see the Alraune?”

“Yes. I’d like you to guide and protect me through the forest.”

“Well, I did tell the Miss I’d visit her again someday, so this works out perfectly. Leave it to me!”


With that, Sir Franz and I headed into the forest together.



Along the way, he told me about what happened after the Alraune subjugation battle had ended.


“I hear the knight commander is still bedridden. His mouth was stuffed full of onions, so the smell probably still hasn’t gone away either.”


But according to rumors, he was absolutely furious and planned to petition directly to the lord for another Alraune subjugation attempt.


“Oh right, the top-hatted adventurer you were worried about has apparently left the town.”


The man in the top hat had gone missing during the Alraune subjugation, but afterward the Adventurer’s Guild received a letter saying he had departed from town.
Now that I think about it, I hadn’t seen him ever since we encountered the Alraune.


In the end, what exactly was the deal with that stuffed bear-like appearance?

Maybe it had something to do with my eyes, which were imbued with light magic.
Since Lady Iris is knowledgeable about light magic, I’ll ask her to teach me about it when we meet again.



Taking breaks along the way to enjoy some honey, we continued deeper into the forest.


Thinking back on it, that Alraune carried the scent of Holy Honey.
Maybe Rufé-chan had actually been collecting honey from the Alraune all along.

Which would mean the Holy Honey was actually Lady Iris’s honey.
So that’s why it had an aura of light magic. It all makes sense now!


If that’s the case, then the Holy Honey really was the saint’s.

──Lick.

Ahh… how wonderful!


With just a single taste, Lady Iris’s divine figure vividly rose within my mind.
Whenever I savor this honey, I can sense the presence of Lady Iris’s light.

And all of that is because the source of this Holy Honey is the Alraune, who is none other than Lady Iris herself.

Now I finally understand why I became so obsessed with this honey.
At the same time, I found myself cherishing it more dearly than ever before.


Now that I know the truth, I’ll have to thank Lady Iris for the honey as well.

And while I’m at it, surely it wouldn’t hurt to ask for just a little more as well, right……?


“Lady Nina, we’re almost there.”


The Alraune’s dwelling was just ahead of us now.


I’m certain that the Alraune was Lady Iris.

Part of it was because I wanted to believe it. I had longed to see Lady Iris again.
But more than that, my intuition as a saint apprentice told me so.

That aura of light was unmistakably Lady Iris’s own.
It wasn’t that the Alraune stole Lady Iris’s power, the Alraune herself was Lady Iris.


And this time, I’ll return the handkerchief to Lady Iris.


I have no idea why she became an Alraune, but she must have endured through suffering terrible enough to nearly kill her.

She must have been so lonely, becoming a monster all by herself.
But that didn’t matter anymore.

Just as she supported and saved me when I was ten years old.
Now it was my turn to do everything I could for Lady Iris!


“W-What is this…!?”


Hearing Sir Franz’s confused voice, I turned my gaze forward again.


“The Alraune… is gone…?”


The clearing where the Alraune should have been was now completely empty.

She had definitely been here yesterday, so what happened?
All that remained were the belongings and weapons the adventurers had dropped behind.


In place of where the Alraune once sat, there was now a massive hole dug into the ground.
It looked as though someone had dug the Alraune out roots and all.


I can’t imagine a plant monster like an Alraune walking away on her own roots.
So how had she disappeared from this place?
I had no idea.


“Where in the world did you go, Lady Iris?”


No one answered my question.

***

Author’s Note:

This chapter was once again from the rookie saint apprentice’s perspective.
It seems the Alraune had entrusted the white handkerchief to the adventurer Franz.

Next Time: Beware the Hatted Plant Hunter