The following is continued from the perspective of the newbie apprentice saint, Nina.
My name was Nina.
Several weeks had passed since my private audience with the Saint of the Lamp. The day had finally come for me to depart the Royal Capital as a member of the Four Heavenly Kings Subjugation Party.
Including me, the party consisted of six members.
There was myself, Lord Wolfgang, the son of the Knight Commander, a mercenary, and the Granddaughter of the Great Sage. In addition, the Knight Commander of Tower City joined us to serve as our guide.
Amidst the cheers of the citizens who had gathered to celebrate our departure, our carriage began its journey out of the capital.
As the carriage rattled and swayed, my mind drifted back to the "truth" regarding Lady Iris that the Saint of the Lamp had shared with me.
I still found it impossible to believe that Lady Iris would ever betray the Kingdom to side with the Demon King’s Army.
However, when I considered the fact that Lady Iris—a woman who should have been a Saint—had truly become a monster, the theory wasn't entirely without merit.
Had she fallen from grace and become a monster because she was connected to the Demon King’s Army?
I didn't know if such a transformation was even possible, but the reality was that Lady Iris had become an Alraune, a plant monster.
Furthermore, Lady Iris lived with a Witch Child.
Witches were the enemies of humanity. More than that, they were the natural enemies of Saints.
In fact, every time I went to the forest to see Lady Iris, that Witch Child would stare me down with a piercing glare. The child clearly harbored ill will toward me for being a Saint.
Rumor had it that the witches were in league with the Demon King’s Army. If Lady Iris had truly betrayed humanity, it stood to reason that she would be on friendly terms with one.
And yet, if Lady Iris really was in communication with the Demon King’s Army, one question remained.
As an Alraune, Lady Iris had been actively fighting against them.
She had already defeated Gardafresvelgr of the Light Crown, the Spirit Princess Vergissmeinnicht, and the Beast King Marticoras—all of whom were members of the Four Heavenly Kings.
If she were really in league with the Demon King, why would she strike down her own supposed allies?
Not only that, she had built close relationships with the people of Tower City, and she had always been kind to me.
For those reasons, I simply couldn't believe that Lady Iris had defected to the Demon King’s Army.
Then again, the idea of a human turning into an Alraune was, by any normal standard, equally unbelievable. Thinking about it rationally, the transformation itself was the most impossible part of the story.
It would be far more convincing to assume that the Alraune was merely a monster that happened to possess Lady Iris's memories and was deceiving me for its own gain.
But no matter how I looked at her, that Alraune seemed like Lady Iris herself.
Though her aura had changed slightly, her fundamental nature felt exactly like the Lady Iris I knew.
Moreover, there was no mistaking it: the Light Magic infused into that Saint Nectar was undeniably Saint Iris's own.
I was certain that the Alraune was Lady Iris.
That was exactly why it would be so disastrous if the target of this Subjugation Party turned out to be her.
How could I possibly explain to the others that Lady Iris had become a monster? I couldn't think of a single convincing excuse.
Even so, I wanted to see her as soon as possible.
I had to ask her the truth about everything the Saint of the Lamp had said.
"Saint of the Yellow Wings, you’ve had a troubled look on your face for some time now. Is something the matter? If you’re nervous about your first expedition, I’m happy to lend an ear if you need to talk."
Lord Wolfgang, the leader of the party, called out to me. It seemed he was trying to be considerate.
"In that case, I would like to know... what were the circumstances surrounding Saint Iris's final moments?"
"...Iris’s end, huh? Now that you mention it, I heard the Saint of the Yellow Wings is quite a devotee of Lady Iris."
It appeared my reputation as a fan of Lady Iris had spread further than I realized.
"I’m told that the Hero and the Saint of the Lamp were the ones present when Iris died."
"You say 'you’re told'... does that mean you didn't see it yourself, Lord Wolfgang?"
"The three of them were operating separately from the rest of us. Besides, the battle against the Demon King’s Army was apparently so fierce that not even a corpse remained. The Hero showed me the site later, and it was a gruesome scene, to be sure..."
The details of Lady Iris's death matched the Kingdom's official announcement perfectly.
As I suspected, the news of Lady Iris's "betrayal" was being kept secret, known only to the Kingdom's upper echelons.
Did Lord Wolfgang really not know? Since they had even told me, I found it hard to believe that a former comrade like Lord Wolfgang would be kept in the dark.
There was also one new piece of information.
Regardless of whether Lady Iris had truly betrayed the country, only the Hero and the Saint of the Lamp had witnessed her end.
Lady Iris had told me that she hadn't died fighting the Demon King’s Army.
She had also warned me not to trust the Hero or the Saint of the Lamp too much.
Judging by the way the Saint of the Lamp had spoken of her, something had clearly happened between them.
Lady Iris, who was supposed to be dead, was now an Alraune.
I had a vague suspicion that there was a secret surrounding her death, but it seemed the Hero and the Saint of the Lamp had secrets of their own.
To be honest, the way the Saint of the Lamp had slandered Lady Iris was unforgivable.
I had initially thought she would jump for joy if she knew Lady Iris was alive, but given her current attitude, telling her would only be adding fuel to the fire.
I couldn't forgive the Saint of the Lamp for saying such horrible things!
Lady Iris and the Saint of the Lamp were senior and junior; they were master and disciple.
I had believed their hearts were connected, but I was clearly mistaken.
I had been conducting my own investigation into the Saint of the Lamp using the boys from the Slums.
Even so, I had learned very little. The only lead I had was that the Saint of the Lamp had visited Lady Iris's family home in a carriage.
I still didn't have the full picture, but one thing was certain.
The Hero and the Saint of the Lamp were deeply involved in Lady Iris's "death."
I had to confirm it.
What had actually happened between Lady Iris, the Hero, and the Saint of the Lamp?
That was another reason I needed to see her soon.
I wanted to meet her face-to-face and ask if the Saint of the Lamp’s claims were true.
And while I was at it, I would partake of Lady Iris's fresh Saint Nectar...!
Dozens of days passed after we left the Royal Capital.
On this day, we witnessed a strange sight in the familiar landscape of the Kingdom of Gardenia.
From the direction of the Alraune's Forest—our destination—a group of several dozen people came walking toward us. Every single one of them was burdened with heavy luggage.
Lord Wolfgang called out to the travelers. "You there! What’s happened that you’re all carrying such heavy loads?"
One man stopped in front of the carriage to respond.
"You lot are in a fine-looking carriage, but are you planning to go further ahead?"
"That is the plan."
"You’d best turn back."
The man took a deep breath and lowered his voice to a whisper.
"The forest is on a rampage."
The forest was on a rampage?
Could he be referring to the reports of the forest encroaching upon the Freiheit Great Plains?
"We’re from the city up ahead. We’re all moving to find a new place to live."
Others joined the conversation.
"Punishment has come for those of us who exploited the forest." "I knew setting fire to the woods was a mistake." "The Princess of the Abyss is furious."
Lord Wolfgang looked at the group. "Is this 'Princess' you speak of the Crimson Flower Princess Alraune?"
"That girl... no, that monster was definitely an Alraune." "Her flowers were crimson." "She was as beautiful as a Saint."
If she was "beautiful as a Saint," there was no doubt the Alraune was Lady Iris.
Unable to stay quiet, I spoke up.
"Did that Alraune attack the city?"
I couldn't imagine Lady Iris attacking people. Surely it was a misunderstanding.
"No, we humans were the ones who attacked." "A group from the city and some nearby adventurers formed a party and invaded the forest." "Actually, that Alraune didn't seem to want to fight at first."
I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Lady Iris was still Lady Iris. She wasn't the type to attack people unprovoked.
"The city has been swallowed by the forest. Well, you’ll see for yourselves soon enough."
With that, the men continued their trek toward the Royal Capital.
Lady Iris...
What on earth are you doing?!
Was becoming one of the Four Heavenly Kings not enough? Now you're turning entire cities into forests!
You haven't actually switched sides to the Demon King’s Army, have you? The report about you being appointed as a Heavenly King was a mistake... right?
The list of things I had to ask her was growing longer by the day.
But surely, there wouldn't be anything else... right?
At that moment, I had no way of knowing that my fears were about to be confirmed in the worst way possible.
And that was Nina's perspective.
It seems things are moving quickly in the Royal Capital.
Next time: Is It Not a Problem for a Saint to Rebuild the Goddess's Tower?