One Drop of Nectar

Like a hatchling that had just cracked free of its egg and was struggling to find food, Vita parted her lips with difficulty. Onto her bright-red tongue, I let fall a single drop of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Nectar.

Gulp.

Like a raindrop striking parched earth, the Nectar that landed on Vita's tongue mixed instantly with her saliva and vanished down her throat.

"Khuh!?"

Immediately after, Vita let out a pained moan and her body began to shake. I gave an order to Jamie, who still had a grip on Vita's hair.

"Put something in her mouth. Make sure she can't bite her tongue."

"Yes."

Jamie released Vita's hair at once and, without the slightest hesitation, forced her own hand into Vita's mouth.

"Ugh, uuugh——!!"

It was only a single drop.

Yet even that one drop was apparently unforgivable. Vita could not stop trembling, continuously letting out agonized moans.

Is even this too much?

From her bloodshot eyes, where the capillaries had burst, crimson tears streamed down. Veins rose and vanished across her skin in waves.

I glanced briefly at the clock on the wall.

Roughly three minutes had passed since Vita swallowed the Nectar.

But in those three minutes, Vita had become a completely different person.

In a negative sense, of course.

I should consider this a failure—

Though she had tried to take my life over a minor misunderstanding, that much I could overlook. Which was why I had decided it would be better to free her — someone I was rather fond of — from her suffering, and had acted accordingly.

She must have taken quite a liking to her.

Until the mark of Verdia engraved on my left hand began to glow, that is.

"Vita. The moment you lose consciousness, you die. Endure it."

"———!!"

In that brief span she had screamed so desperately that her throat had gone beyond hoarse — it was completely shredded, closer to a beast's than a human's.

I took in the sight of Vita, still trembling violently, soaked through with sweat and blood, then shifted my gaze briefly to my still-glowing left hand.

I trust you'll respect the order of things.

Meeting Vita had been pure coincidence, but luck is a skill too.

And the Nectar she had just ingested was something I had purchased with my own money.

Hmm.

The mark glowing a soft pink flickered briefly, then shone again.

I couldn't be certain what that meant, but somehow I was sure it wasn't a negative answer.

"Hah——!?"

In the midst of unimaginable, horrific pain, the man's voice telling her she absolutely must not lose consciousness came through with perfect clarity.

The thought that she'd rather die crossed her mind countless times, but he was thorough beyond measure.

Her hands and feet were already broken, and that damn Jamie woman's fingers filled her mouth, making it impossible to bite her tongue.

So she endured.

There was no choice but to endure.

But as a human being, there was a clear limit to what one could withstand.

As if to prove it, at some point her consciousness cut out — and now she had just woken up.

"It's nice and comfortable at home."

"In Sector 12, the only one who could think that is you, Priest."

Familiar male and female voices drifted in from beyond the closed door.

"Please put these in the refrigerator."

"Understood."

Click, click.

The sound of heels striking the floor grew gradually closer.

And that wasn't all.

The sound of a refrigerator door opening. The rustle of a paper bag. Glass clinking against glass.

"Crazy…"

She covered her ears.

Had her hearing always been this good?

The moment that question arose, all sorts of miscellaneous sounds flooded in.

Click.

Clack.

Even with her ears covered, the sound of the doorknob turning — and the gears and metal connected to it moving — came through as clearly as if she had her ear pressed against the door.

"You're awake."

"W-wait!"

It wasn't quite noise.

But it was at the level of a whisper tickling her ear from right beside her, so she had no choice but to urgently cut him off.

"That reaction…"

"Euk!?"

"…judging by…"

"Stop!!"

"…the Nectar has…"

"Aaaagh!!"

Damn priest!

"Interesting."

"Huk!?"

She'd realized from their first meeting that he was a lunatic, but separately from that, the mad priest's voice was a honeyed tone she could never expect from the men who prowled this sewer of a slum.

A moderately deep voice with weight to it, whispering as if right beside her ear — how many women could endure that unscathed?

It wasn't that her heart was moved.

The problem was that it was purely, physically ticklish.

Creak.

As the priest sat on the edge of the bed, even the sound of the springs bending reached her. She was truly going to go mad.

"……"

But after that, no other sounds came.

So she raised her head and looked at the priest.

"……"

"……"

The damn priest who'd been looking her way, when their eyes met as she lifted her head, raised both corners of his mouth ever so slightly and smiled.

It was a moment that explained why there were rumors that brothel prostitutes were a little kinder and gave better service to handsome men even for the same amount of money.

"Keep focusing on me, just like now."

"……!!"

Just when her ears were starting to feel a bit more comfortable, his voice scrambled them again.

"Someone who endured pain bad enough to prefer death is being quite the drama queen."

"Th-that's… a completely different problem."

Damn it.

Easy for him to say when he'd never been in her position.

But somehow, she also thought that if it were this man smiling in front of her, he might act completely unfazed even in the same situation.

"I can't empathize, since I've never experienced it myself."

"…I wasn't hoping for that."

He smiled again.

What the hell was so funny?

No. Smiling was his business, so there was nothing strange about that.

But this man was strange.

Why?

Even though it had been a misunderstanding, a woman who'd tried to kill him was in this room — and without even bringing along that damn bodyguard he always kept with him, he'd come in alone. On top of that, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he was sitting on the edge of the bed smiling.

He was a complete lunatic.

"If it's difficult, writing is fine too."

"…I'm fine."

Frustrating as it was, when she focused on him as the priest said, the miscellaneous sounds other than his voice stopped coming through.

"Good. First, I'll briefly explain Vita's current condition."

He stood up from the bed, brought over the chair that had been by the window with a table, and sat facing her.

"Since it's your own body, you'll feel it better than anyone — but Vita's current body is in excellent health. Not just the wounds, but any illnesses that might have been present. And even the addiction symptoms Vita so thoroughly despised."

He leaned comfortably against the chair back, crossing his long legs.

"Do you need proof?"

"…No."

Proof?

As he said, she knew her own body best.

The moment she opened her eyes, she knew.

That right now, her condition was better than at any other moment.

"As a bonus, since you covered your ears and put on that little performance yourself, you'll know — it's not just that you've become healthier. Overall, Vita's physical specs have… hmm, I don't know exactly either, but I'd say roughly three times stronger."

"Three times?"

"At least double, for certain."

As he said, she knew her physical abilities had improved somewhat, but the degree of increase was much higher than expected, which surprised her.

Double…

It was an increase that would be absolutely impossible through normal means.

"Is it thanks to that liquid you… fed me?"

"It's called Nectar."

"……!!"

Her hearing was better than ever, but the moment she heard the word from his mouth, she couldn't help but doubt her ears.

"Nec…tar?"

"Yes. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Of course, not a whole bottle — just one drop."

Her memories rewound rapidly.

That small bottle in the madman's hand.

It had definitely been about the size of a thumb.

And the contents in the bottle hadn't even been full — half full, maybe.

"I'll say this in advance — there's no need to express gratitude or think of it as a debt. I needed data too, so I experimented on Vita."

"…Understood."

She hadn't known the madman in front of her for long, but she was at least certain he wasn't the type to say things he didn't mean.

"Good. Then our misunderstanding is cleared up, and we go back to our previous relationship?"

"……"

She took the hand he extended.

"I have something I want to ask."

"I'm sorry, but from here on out, it's paid."

"……"

She immediately released the hand she'd been holding.

"It's about that precious person who appeared in your dream, isn't it?"

"…Yes."

What a sly bastard.

With his legs still crossed, tapping the armrest of the chair with his index finger — those eyes looked exactly like they were appraising her value.

"You remember the terms of the contract you made with me, right?"

"Three people a month. Promote."

"Correct. That was the price for treating Vita, so the price for the question should be calculated separately, don't you think?"

"What do I need to do?"

"As expected."

The priest made a satisfied expression, as if something had pleased him again.

"An ordinary person would have answered along the lines of 'I'll do anything.'"

"In the slums, idiots that thoughtless would have been dead long ago. No ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— you wouldn't have taken an interest in them in the first place, Priest."

"No. That's not it. My interest has little to do with strength."

Saying so, the priest pulled a contract from his coat and held it out.

As if deliberating, he'd tapped the armrest — but it seemed he'd already decided what to have her do.

"Read it, and if you think you can manage it, sign. No revisions this time."

"……"

She carefully read through the contract she'd received.

If it was the boy, she remembered.

Definitely the kid who'd been sitting next to her when she was pretending to be unconscious.

"Priest."

"Go ahead."

He'd clearly driven home that she didn't need to worry about the Nectar matter.

"In the process of being brought here, I lost all my equipment because of the man who brought me."

"That's unfortunate."

Damn it.

The moment he calmly interlaced his fingers and smiled, she knew instinctively.

"And so?"

"…Nothing. Just give me a fountain pen so I can sign."

"I like people who are quick on the uptake. And Vita is very quick on the uptake."

"Then the equipment…"

The damn priest, when she reached out to take the fountain pen, tilted it back slightly like a fisherman reeling in a catch, preventing her from grabbing it.

"In the slums, they say the one who gets taken is the idiot."

"…Shut up and give it to me so I can sign."

Only then did the priest place the fountain pen in her outstretched hand.

Damn.

He was a man she didn't want to get involved with a second time.