This story is told from the perspective of a newbie apprentice saint.
My name is Nina.
I’m a newbie apprentice saint working in Tower City.
It all began while I was having nectar for lunch, just like any other day.
One of the sisters who usually joins me for the meal brought up the topic.
“You really do love your Saint Nectar, don't you, Nina-sama?”
“You’re one to talk—you eat it every single day too. Wait, did you say ‘Saint Nectar’?”
“It’s incredibly popular in the city right now. People say it’s delicious and that eating it makes you feel like you’ve met the gods. I’m not sure who started it, but everyone seems to be calling it ‘Saint Nectar’ now.”
“...But why that name?”
“Well, weren't you the first one to buy it, Nina-sama? It’s common knowledge around the city that you, an apprentice saint, buy that nectar almost every day. It seems that’s why the name ‘Saint’s Nectar’—or ‘Saint Nectar’—stuck.”
“Saint’s Nectar... I’m still just an apprentice. It’s honestly a little embarrassing.”
The nectar sold by little Rufe-chan had become such a sensation that it felt like there wasn't a soul left in Tower City who didn't know about it.
Even those who hadn't tasted it themselves had at least seen someone else eating it; that was how famous it had become.
“By the way, Nina-sama, I heard the Priest instructed you to join the monster subjugation squad. Will you be all right?”
“Yes. Even if I’m only an apprentice, I have a duty to fulfill. Please, don't worry about me.”
Rufe-chan gathered her nectar in the forest.
The traces of light magic I’d sensed in the nectar matched the location where a Light Bird had descended into the woods the other day.
Worried that Rufe-chan might be attacked by monsters while she was working, I had submitted an investigation request to the adventurers.
I never dreamed it would escalate into something so serious...
Because of my request, an adventurer was attacked by a plant monster.
That led to even more adventurers being sent out for a subjugation, which only made the plant monster more aggressive. Now, it had become a named monster known as the “Man-eater Alraune.”
As a result, I was drafted into the subjugation squad myself.
I had been through combat training many times before.
But it seemed the time for my first real battle had finally come.
Saint Iris, watching from heaven... please look over me.
I promise to do my job as an apprentice saint with honor!
The squad tasked with hunting the Man-eater Alraune was a large group of twenty-four, consisting of the Knight Order, adventurers, and myself representing the Church.
Franz-san, the adventurer who had been helping Rufe-chan, was assigned as my guard.
Being paired with someone I knew made me feel a little more at ease.
However, that peace of mind was quickly lost in a forest of bewilderment.
The Top Hat Adventurer at the very rear of the squad was just... wrong!
I don’t know how else to put it, but he looked exactly like a giant stuffed bear.
A human-sized, bear-like creature was walking on two legs, dressed in a gentleman’s suit.
No matter how you looked at it, he wasn't human, right?!
I was frantic, wondering how everyone else could look at that Top Hat Adventurer and remain so perfectly calm!
“Franz-sama, that man in the top hat at the back... doesn't he seem a bit strange to you?”
“Judging by his stride, I’d say he’s quite the veteran.”
“No, not that. His appearance... doesn't it look a little off?”
“Well, he is wearing a monocle and a top hat. I agree he stands out to an absurd degree.”
“That’s not... no, never mind. It must just be my imagination.”
It seemed that to Franz-sama, the stuffed bear looked like a normal human.
That meant the rest of the squad likely saw the Top Hat Adventurer as just another person too.
Then why was I the only one seeing something else?!
I couldn't make sense of it.
I was the only one seeing a non-human form.
That fact was incredibly eerie and, more than anything, terrifying.
I couldn't see him as anything but a suspicious intruder. I decided I would report him privately to the Knight Commander later.
Just as I received a fire bottle from a worried Franz-sama, the squad finally encountered the monster.
There, I came face-to-face with something even more shocking than the bear adventurer.
A mysterious Alraune stood there, rooted in place, possessing the exact same face and presence as Saint Iris.
“How...?”
Why did an Alraune have Saint Iris’s face?
Why was it draped in the exact same aura of light as her?
The realization hit me instantly.
This Alraune, a monster of the Demon King’s Army, must have devoured Iris-sama to steal her body and her power.
I had heard that Iris-sama’s body was never recovered.
Of course it wasn't. This Alraune had eaten her and digested her. It all made sense.
My body felt hot.
The blood rushed to my head so violently I thought it might burst.
For the first time in my life, I realized I was capable of such pure, unadulterated rage.
I didn't care about the Top Hat Adventurer anymore.
The only thing on my mind was slaying the Man-eater Alraune before me and avenging Iris-sama.
I would have my revenge, no matter the cost.
With every fiber of my being, I swore to the Iris-sama in heaven that I would wipe this monster from the face of the earth.
But the Knight Order and the adventurers were defeated by the Alraune.
I channeled all my fury into magical power and challenged the monster myself.
Yet, even I was no match for this named monster.
I was caught by its vines, a pathetic sight.
Bound from head to toe, I couldn't move an inch.
Having every part of my body restrained by a plant was beyond humiliating.
At this rate, I was going to be eaten by this thing, just like Iris-sama.
If I was going to die, I would take this monster with me. I was prepared to die for my revenge.
I reached for the fire bottle I’d received from Franz-san, intending to blow us both up—but then, my body twitched.
Suddenly, a fragrant, sweet scent wafted toward me, so heavenly it made me feel like I was floating.
“This scent... it’s the same as the nectar... But why?”
My entire body began to seethe with heat.
My mind, which should have been consumed by rage, was being invaded by the scent of sweet, melting nectar.
I... I want to eat that nectar right now...!
I even caught myself thinking I wanted to kneel before the Alraune and beg it for a taste.
Ugh, I can't believe this is happening!
To think that the scent of Saint Nectar would come from the very Alraune that wore Saint Iris’s face.
I should have realized it the moment I noticed the light magic in the nectar and the Alraune’s presence were identical.
Does this mean... that all this time, I’ve been licking the nectar of my own sworn enemy?
I won't accept it! I refuse!
But my body wouldn't listen.
The sudden, overwhelming craving for that nectar was more than I could endure.
The Man-eater Alraune really is detestable!
To lead me astray with the scent of nectar... it’s just so unfaiiiiiiiiiir!!
This was the perspective of a newbie apprentice saint.
We were able to see things from her point of view that weren't clear from the other characters.
Next time: Newbie Apprentice Saint's Named Monster Subjugation Chronicle – Latter Part.