Continuing from the perspective of the former corporal turned adventurer.

***

My name is Franz.

I work as an adventurer in Tower City.


As I stood there looking at the wanted posters in the Adventurer’s Guild, I noticed something.
There, among the listings, was a monster whose features matched the strange Alraune I had encountered in the forest during the witch hunt.

While I was still lost in thought, two adventurers walked up to the posters and started chatting casually.


“Hey… doesn’t this Alraune look like that saint?”

“You mean the saint who married the Hero?”

“No, no, not that one.”

“Then who? There aren’t any other saints.”

“You know? The one who died four years ago.”

“Lady Iris? Yeah, now that you mention it, it does look like her.”

“I heard the guild’s resident artist was a huge fan of Saint Iris.”

“Well, no wonder the Alraune sketch looks like her then.”



The two adventurers laughed, walking off.

Something about that conversation is bothering me.
They said the Alraune in the drawing resembles Saint Iris.
But I’ve seen an Alraune before that looks exactly like this drawing.

If its face is the same as the sketch, then that Alraune must’ve had the same face as Saint Iris.


Even now, I still regret that I wasn’t able to interact with that Alraune more peacefully when we first met.

It’s probably not the same individual, but what if, somehow, it is the same one as back then.
Maybe I should go check it out next time.


“How do you like that nickname? I came up with it myself.”


Suddenly, someone patted me on the shoulder.
I turned around to see the usual old dwarf standing there.


Apparently, the name “Crimson Flower Princess” written on the poster was something the Adventurer’s Guild took directly from what the old dwarf had muttered.


“For a named monster, you’ve gotta give it a proper name. So I borrowed the ‘Princess’ part from that ‘Fallen Spirit Princess’ they’ve got over there.”


My eyes fell onto another wanted poster, framed prominently on the wall, the one for the Dryad of the western forest.
Since it’s a female plant monster from the same forest as the Dryad, I can see why he’d want to give it a name inspired by the “Fallen Spirit Princess.”


“So, how ‘bout it? Care for a drink?”

“Sure, I’ll take you up on that.”


We took a seat at one of the Adventurer’s Guild’s tables and ordered some alcohol.
It’s not exactly a tavern, but the guild does serve food and drinks for adventurers.


“That Alraune in the Forest of Dryades is the hottest topic right now, I tell you. But lately, there’ve been a lot of rumors about plants.”

“Plants…?”

“Yeah. Apparently, rare flowers have been getting stolen all over the place. Just between us, but even the lord’s manor here had one of their family heirlooms, a magical flower, stolen.”


What would the thief even do with a stolen magical flower?
Perhaps it could fetch a high price.


“That’s not all. From what I’ve heard, the Golden Fleece—Barometz—in the Empire vanished overnight.”

“…Barometz?”

“It’s a legendary plant that’s said to produce golden wool, y’see. There’s only one in the entire continent, and it’s incredibly valuable. But even that got stolen.”


With the Golden Fleece, a major source of revenue for the Empire, gone, the imperial palace is supposedly in complete chaos.
This old man really is well-informed.
I’m impressed that he knows so much, even about another country.



“The real kicker is this. You’re a capable adventurer, so word might reach you soon anyway… well, I could tell you now, if you’re interested.”

“Come on, old man, quit beating around the bush and just tell me.”


I quietly placed some coins on the table, partly as payment but also as thanks for all the information.
Satisfied, the dwarf continued.


“It seems the decision to subdue the forest spirit has been officially made.”

“A forest spirit? Then the target’s the Dryad of the western forest, like on the wanted poster?”

“Nah, from what I heard, it’s the eastern forest Dryad this time. A direct order from the lord himself.”


The lord has ordered the subjugation of the eastern forest’s Dryad.

By words of the lord of Tower City, the city’s knight order will be taking part.
It seems the church’s priests and even the Guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild have given their approval.

A joint subjugation force made up of elites from the knights, the church, and the Adventurer’s Guild is being assembled.


“But why the eastern Dryad instead of the western one?”

“I don’t know the details. But one thing’s certain: the forest’s master has been marked for removal.”


The dwarf glanced around the room.
Following his gaze, I looked around the room, only to find the guild filled with seasoned adventurers before I even realized it.
Even the town’s strongest party, the Dragonwater Crystals, were here.


So the old man’s story really is true.

It may be presumptuous to question it, but since the decision has been made, there’s nothing to be done.


With human hands, the hunt for the forest spirit is about to begin.



A few days later.

The day of the forest spirit’s subjugation has arrived.


Outside the town gates, more than twenty people have gathered.
Among them, I spotted the saint apprentice, the same girl who bought honey from that honey-selling fairy the other day.

When I greeted her, the knight commander, who was leading the operation, noticed and said, “You know each other? Then you’ll be assigned to guard the saint apprentice.”


“Listen well, all of you! Forest spirits and monsters are enemies of mankind! By order of the lord, you are to eliminate them on sight. Be on your guard!”


With the commander’s pep talk concluded, the subjugation force marched into the forest.


I introduced myself to the saint apprentice as we followed behind, pushing through the trees.
After a moment, Nina, the saint apprentice, spoke up hesitantly.


“Sir Franz, that man at the very back, the one with the top hat. Doesn’t he seem a little strange?”


The man in the top hat is the adventurer I saw at the guild the other day looking at the Alraune’s wanted poster.
If he was selected for this mission, there’s no doubt he’s skilled.


“Judging by the way he moves, he looks quite capable.”

“That’s not what I mean. Doesn’t his appearance seem…… off somehow?”

“Well, he’s wearing a monocle and a top hat. That obviously is going to look odd.”

“No, that’s not it……… never mind. It’s probably just my imagination.”


Nina murmured, sounding a little worn out.
Just what was it about that man that bothered her?

No, maybe she’s just on edge, making her overly sensitive to the people around her.
It’s only natural. After all, this is her first time taking part in a monster subjugation.


“Lady Nina, if you don’t mind, please take this.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a firebomb I made with my fire magic. It should be useful against forest monsters.”

“Thank you, Sir Franz.”


Saying that, Nina tucked the firebomb into her robes.


Only a moment later, a shout rang out from ahead.

“Monsters!”



The subjugation force arrived at a strange clearing in the forest. The area was so barren it looked as if a hole had been carved out of the woods, with not a single tree standing.

At first glance, it resembled a grassy meadow, but the ground was covered in a web of green vines.
And at the very center of those vines, a single monster lay in wait.


A bulb with a massive, vicious maw. And from its deep crimson flower grew the upper body of a beautiful green-haired girl.

Her refined, almost noble features and the way vines covered her chest, they were exactly the same as the Alraune I had encountered before.

Rather than just the same species, it’s hard to believe she’s anything other than the exact same individual.


“So it really is identical…”

“Yes… too identical…”


Nina seems to feel the same.
Whoever illustrated that wanted poster did an incredible job.


The Alraune, both beautiful and grotesque in equal measure, shifted her gaze toward the subjugation force.
Since she was more than twice the size of a grown man, we found ourselves needing to look up at her.
The girl’s upper body was human-sized, but the massive bulb beneath her made her presence overwhelmingly imposing.


The gaze of the girl-shaped monster turned to the person standing beside me.
With a faintly lonely expression, the Alraune stared at Nina, the saint apprentice.


“Why…?”


Nina suddenly dropped to her knees.
She covered her mouth with both hands, her body trembling.


“Why does a monster have that face… and that aura of light…?”


What’s gotten into her all of a sudden?
Just as I was about to speak to her, the knight commander’s voice cut across the clearing.


“We know everything! The Dryad of the eastern forest siding with the Demon King’s army, and you devouring the missing adventurers! Monsters like you are enemies of mankind!”



“A monster of the Demon King’s army… no way!?”


Nina snapped her head towards the Alraune, as if she had realized something.


“That Alraune… don’t tell me…”


Hearing her voice, I recalled what had happened in the forest during the witch hunt.
Back then, I’d thought if we hadn’t acted hostile toward it, maybe that Alraune wouldn’t have attacked us at all. Maybe it had been friendly.


I tried to step forward and suggest to the commander that we hold off on attacking, but the surrounding knights blocked me.


Right… this is a subjugation force sent to hunt a forest spirit.

These people have no intention of negotiating with monsters.


And just like that, I found myself reunited with the Alraune once more. This time in the worst possible way.

***

Author’s Note:

So once again, this was told from the adventurer’s perspective.
It seems the group of humans the protagonist, the plant monster girl, encountered were these very people.

Next Time: The Alraune vs. the Forest Spirit Subjugation Force