The Saint Candidate
As Iris followed the maid's measured footsteps down the academy's cold stone corridor, her mind was a tangled mess — a ball of thread knotted beyond all hope of unraveling.
Her head knew perfectly well where she was headed: the reception room. But the strange, alien physical sensations and surging waves of emotion shaking her entire body refused to be reined in.
What weighed on her steps more than anything, though, was the habit's hem — the way it swayed with every stride, brushing teasingly against the bare skin of her thighs.
Uuugh, no matter how I think about it, this outfit is just obscene…! I get that I'm a Saint candidate of the Sariel Church, but do people seriously walk around dressed like this?
It was a hem of outright micro-skirt absurdity — the moment she spread her legs even slightly, or a light breeze happened to blow, the dangerously skimpy undergarment beneath would be exposed for all the world to see. The smooth, pale thighs and the curving line of her hips peeking through the near-sheer slits of the leather habit were almost too much for anyone looking her way to bear.
The entire walk down the corridor, Iris kept her nerves wound tight, clutching the skirt's hem so fiercely her knuckles went white, straining with all her might to drag it lower. But no amount of pulling could hope to conceal her improbably voluptuous hips or the shamelessly splayed lines of her pelvis and legs.
According to the original Iris's memories, which had flooded in only moments ago, she had once sat across from Marie, chatting pleasantly without a trace of embarrassment, in priestess robes designed to be even more revealing and lewd than these.
But for the current Iris — a woman whose core had been a man in his twenties — there existed no tolerance whatsoever for an outfit this audacious, let alone one this bold.
Can I really face Lady Marie looking like this, with everything practically on display? A wave of deep misgiving and embarrassment rolled in like an ebbing tide, and Iris froze in a flustered dither before the towering ornate doors of the reception room, unable even to grip the handle.
No — stop wasting time on useless worrying. The Marie in my memories has already seen Iris dressed far worse than this. If I start fussing now and act unnatural, she'll only think something's stranger. Don't think about it. Throw out every last stray thought!
She gave her faintly flushed cheeks a light slap with both palms, whipping herself onward. Exhaling her trembling breath in one long rush, she steeled herself and rapped lightly on the antique wooden door with unsteady fingers.
Knock, knock.
"Lady Marie, it's me — Iris. May I come in?"
"Hehe, come in, Iris."
The voice from beyond the door was as calm and graceful as silver bells rolling across glass, carrying a strange charm that tickled the heart just to hear it. At the permission from within, Iris swallowed hard, slowly turned the handle, and stepped inside.
The fine reception room was bathed in the warm glow of antique orange candlelight, laced with the subtle fragrance of cedar. There, waiting, sat Marie — a beautiful girl with a slim, toned, athletic figure, leaning lightly against the table. Just as she appeared in Iris's memories, she was a vision of perfection: golden hair that gleamed as if it had soaked up the sunlight itself, and clear green eyes like a deep, tranquil lake.
But the instant Iris's gaze met Marie's head-on, an unreal, transcendent reaction erupted through her body and soul.
"Ah… haaung…?!"
Thud—!
Something near her womb lurched heavily, as if it had dropped straight through her, and a violent wave of pleasure came sweeping mercilessly through her lower half, teasing every last cell. A sweet, lingering moan slipped out of her before she could stop it, her toes curling in her shoes, and she clapped both hands over her mouth in shock.
Wh-what is this…?! What on earth is…?!
Deep inside her body, in the region of her womb — the very seat of her womanhood — something had begun to vibrate with ecstatic abandon the moment Marie entered her field of vision, as if it had been waiting all along.
This was no mere emotional admiration. Distinct physical pleasure and heat, an irrepressible stimulation, coursed up through her entire lower half and shot straight along her spine into her brain.
Iris's eyes trembled, glazed and drenched in rapture. The strength drained from her body, and she felt as though she might collapse to the floor at any moment. Worse still, the thin panties wrapped around her lower half had begun to soak through all at once. At the vivid sensation of hot, sticky arousal seeping stealthily out to dampen the tender skin of her inner thighs, her mind went blank white, and she could not gather her wits at all.
My-my head's about to break…! Why is it that the moment I make eye contact with Lady Marie, my womb vibrates like some separate living creature and my body burns up like this…?! My body is going wild with pleasure completely against my will…!
The self that had lived twenty-seven years as a man was screaming in horror at the situation — but the body called Iris had already surrendered completely to the being called Marie, spilling out one lewd response after another.
Iris bit down hard on her lip, then pressed it firmly shut, desperately damming the moans that threatened to leak between her teeth. And forcing down the heat surging through her chest as her vision spun, she somehow squeezed out the honorifics engraved into this body and opened her mouth.
"Haah… ah, hngh… Lady Marie… it's… been a while. Was there… some matter… you needed me for…?"
Marie gazed quietly at Iris's faintly trembling gaze, her cheeks flushed past pink into scarlet, and the subtle way her thighs twisted against one another. For an instant, a strange light flickered through her green eyes — then it was gone, replaced by her usual warm, kindly smile.
"It has been a while, Iris. You're as beautiful as ever today. Actually, the truth is I called you here because there's something urgent I need to ask of you."
"A… request…, you say…?"
Iris was still clenching her fingers tight, struggling to endure the tremors rolling up from her womb like waves from below.
"Yes. A very pressing matter has come up. We've received a report that a mutant monster capable of threatening the safety of the order has appeared in the deepest depths of the Undead Labyrinth near the academy. Under normal circumstances, this would be a task for me, a Saint candidate, to lead a company out and subdue it myself… but as it happens, I've been left with no choice but to answer an urgent summons to the Headquarters Temple. So I've called you here because I wish to entrust this crucial task to you."
Even amid the teasing pleasure needling at her lower half and the feverish heat spreading through her, the last shred of reason within Iris raised a question. The doubt surfaced unbidden in her mind: why me, of all people? No matter how great a debt she owed Marie, she was merely a Level 10 Priestess — hardly the rank for shouldering the subjugation of a labyrinth's deepest depths.
"Haah… hngh, why… why me, though…? Surely there are others with greater martial strength and more experience…"
To Iris's trembling question, Marie launched into a careful explanation in a tone of unbroken warmth and kindness.
"Hehe, you know this well already, Iris, don't you? Among the many denominations, our Sariel Church has one of the largest numbers of clergy. And yet, ironically, we are desperately short of personnel skilled in pure wide-area recovery and wide-area purification magic."
Marie rested a finger against her chin and continued calmly.
"Owing to the nature of our church, which venerates the goddess Sariel, the overwhelming majority of our clergy belong to combat-focused callings — martial clergy like Monks, or warrior hybrids such as Crusaders and Paladins. But against a massive horde of undead swarming in from every side, no matter how skilled a fighter, cutting them down one by one is a hopeless matchup. It's an exhausting war of attrition, and sheer numbers leave no room for clever play."
Marie's clear green eyes bored deep into Iris's face.
"But you are different, aren't you? Across our entire Sariel Church, the only person who has truly mastered Wide-Area Heal and Wide-Area Purification — capable of cleansing and restoring an entire domain in a single casting — is you, Iris, and you alone. That is why I have judged that the only one fit to carry out this mission as my proxy is you."
It sounded like an eminently reasonable argument. And then there was the lavish praise Marie poured over her without reserve.
With the joy of being acknowledged by the one she revered deep in her heart, the blind devotion to Marie etched into this body burst into full, explosive bloom. With her lower half burning hot and her cheeks dyed scarlet with embarrassment, Iris was finally swept up in Marie's persuasion and bowed her head deeply.
"If… if Lady Marie trusts me that much… then I will carry out this duty…"
The moment Iris's consent fell, Marie broke into the brightest, most beautiful smile in the world, as if she were the happiest woman alive.
"Thank you, Iris! I knew if it was you, you'd grant my request."
Marie drew from her breast, as if she had prepared them in advance, an antique parchment map and a single cube-shaped red jewel radiating a brilliant light, and set them on the table.
"This is a fully completed mapping survey of the labyrinth, drafted during our preliminary investigation. And this jewel is a Jewel of Protection, infused with plenty of my mana. The Undead Labyrinth may be its name, but the place where this creature appeared is a comparatively low-hazard dungeon — you'll be in no real danger. Still, should any unforeseen emergency arise, this jewel will keep you safe. Think of it as a talisman, and be sure to keep it treasured close against your chest."
"Haaung♡… Yes. I shall receive it gratefully, Lady Marie."
In a daze, Iris accepted the parchment map and the red jewel, tucking them carefully against her chest. Feeling her heart tighten at Marie's tender, thoughtful care for her, she bowed at the waist in a courteous parting bow.
"Then… I will finish the mission as swiftly and precisely as I can, and return."
"Yes. Take care of yourself out there, Iris."
Desperately holding back the lewd moans that kept threatening to spill up from below, Iris hurriedly opened the reception room door and stepped out. Her labored breath faded, and the sound of her heels slowly dissolved into the silence.
And then, at last, Iris's footsteps fell away entirely.
In the room where only the two had remained, the sacred, graceful smile that had adorned Marie's face twisted upward into something grotesque in an instant. The gentle, dignified Saint of moments before had vanished without a trace, and beneath that golden hair, her clear green eyes now gleamed with a dark, flickering madness.
"Hehe… hehehe, hahahahaha…!"
Marie toyed lightly with the cooled teacup with her fingertips, letting loose a low, sinister laugh. An unsettling sneer and malevolent glee filled the quiet of the reception room, hanging heavy in the air.
"Poor, poor Iris… you know nothing at all, and you've walked straight into my snare with your own two feet."
Recalling the innocent face Iris had made as she hugged the red jewel to her chest, treasuring it like some priceless treasure, Marie slowly licked her lips with the tip of her red tongue.
"Yes… go on, just like that. With no idea where that jewel will lead you…"
Marie gazed out the window toward the labyrinth, a distant speck on the horizon, and carved a shivering smile deep into her face.
"Everything… is unfolding precisely according to my design."