This is from the little witch’s perspective.

***

My name is Rufé.

I’m a witch who’s raising a plant monster called an Alraune.


It’s been a while since we started living together. She’s like a troublesome little sister who constantly needs looking after, but she’s also an amazing flower capable of defeating those powerful demons called the Four Heavenly Kings.

Still, Alraune can’t really do anything without me.
She’s a plant, after all.
Which is why I go down to the river, carry back water, and hydrate her several times a day. Pretty impressive, right?



Today, just like always, I’m out in town selling Alraune’s nectar.


“Excuse me, young lady. If you don’t mind, I’d like to buy all the remaining Holy Honey you have.”


While I was selling nectar in the town square as usual, a man I didn’t recognize approached me.
The man was calling my nectar “Holy Honey” too. It seems that, before I knew it, that name had spread all over town.


“I’m the head chef at the lord’s manor. One of our young cooks has become quite fond of your Holy Honey, so I was thinking of using it in a dish.”

“Okay. I’ll sell you all of it.”


The moment I answered, I spotted a familiar fairy fluttering behind the man.

──Huh? Why is Kiri in town?


“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing. Thank you for your purchase.”


The head chef walked away at a brisk pace.
Taking his place, Kiri approached me the moment he left, looking like she’d been waiting for her chance to speak.


“Listen, Rufé! This is bad!”

“For you to come all the way to town, Kiri, it must be something serious, right?”

“It is! Lady Alraune got kidnapped!”


My Alraune got kidnapped…?


“Kiri, we can’t just stand around! We need to rescue her!”

“Where did they take Alraune?” I continued. But just as I did, another man I didn’t recognize called out to me.


“Excuse me, lass.”


Instinctively, Kiri dove into the hood of my cloak and hid.

At the same time, a small man stepped in front of me.
His appearance could only be described as old, with hair as white as mine.

What’s more, he was only a little taller than I was. He was probably a dwarf. It was my first time seeing one.

I just hoped he hadn’t seen Kiri, since she was a fairy and all.


“Did you happen to see a tiny person flying ‘round here just now?”

“A tiny person?”

“A fairy, lass. It’s mighty rare to see a forest fairy flying around town. But more importantly… is the hair hidden under your hood white, by any chance?”


My heart nearly stopped.

That question shook me way more than when he’d asked whether a tiny person had been flying around nearby.


“…My hair turned white because it got burned in a fire. So even if my hair is white, I’m just glad I still have hair.”

“I see. I asked something insensitive. My apologies.”


The dwarf bowed slightly before heading off elsewhere.
Phew… that was scary.

Lots of people have looked at my white hair strangely before.
Deep down, I’m always nervous that someone might figure out I’m a witch.


Kiri, still hidden inside my hood, quietly whispered to me.


“You’re amazing, Rufé. How did you come up with a lie like that?”

“My late mother taught me to say that whenever I needed to hide my hair.”

“I see… she must’ve been a wonderful mother.”

“Yeah… that’s exactly why I don’t want to lose anyone important ever again. Kiri, let’s go find Alraune.”

“Of course!”



I hurried back to the forest with Kiri.

Before leaving on our search, we decided to report our departure to the Dryad of the eastern forest first.


When we told the Dryad that Alraune had been kidnapped, she informed us that the culprit had flown out of the forest on a dragon. Apparently, the Dryad had witnessed the whole thing.

If she could spy on everything, she could have at least helped, couldn’t she?
She doesn’t seem to be able to move around freely. Regardless, for some who’s supposed to be the ruler of the forest, the Dryad isn’t all that useful.


Still, thanks to her, we learned who the culprit is.
The one who carried Alraune away was a demon.
So there were still members of the Demon King’s army trying to attack this forest.

With that in mind, I asked the Dryad a question.


“Now that Alraune is gone, doesn’t that mean the forest is in danger? Is everything going to be okay?”

“Please rest easy. My sister is not currently in the western forest.”

“She isn’t?”

“Whenever she left, she always entrusted management of the forest to the fairy Oin. Now that Oin is dead, even if my sister intends to make a move, we should still have a little time.”

“You know where the Dryad of the western forest is right now?”

“Yes. She is most likely at the Demon King’s army’s castle. Since the western forest is effectively her own domain, that castle is presumably where she resides while serving the Demon King’s army.

“I thought Dryads couldn’t move.”

“My sister loves research. It seems she experimented on herself in various ways. That’s likely how she gained the means to move.”


“More importantly,” the Dryad said, maintaining her serious expression as she made a request of me.


“Once my sister realizes Oin is dead, she will surely attack the eastern forest in retaliation. It would help us greatly if you could bring the Alraune back before then.”

“Got it.”


So we have to bring Alraune home before the Dryad of the western forest returns.

I guess it can’t be helped. Alraune became the forest’s guard because she wanted to cure my illness. There’s no way I can blame her for that.


Since the sun was already beginning to set, we decided to spend the night in the sanctuary.


The next day, Kiri and I set out from the forest.

After leaving the Dryad’s sanctuary, we decided to return to the place where Alraune had disappeared, hoping to find a clue.


When we got there, for some reason, a familiar woman was waiting there. She was one of the regular customers who bought nectar from me.
Beside her was even the man who had helped me sell nectar the other day.


“Rufé-chan? Why are you here?”


The surprised woman called out to me, but the man stopped her.


“Fair—no, normal young lady. Do you know where the Alraune went?”


Apparently, the two of them were searching for my Alraune.
Could they be companions of the adventurers who attacked her?


“What are you planning to do when you find Alraune?”

“We want to talk to her. We’re not her enemies. If anything, I think we could be her allies and help her”



They didn’t seem like bad adventurers.
But I’ve met humans before who lured me in with kind words, only to capture and torture me afterward.
I shouldn’t trust humans so easily.


“Alraune isn’t here. I’ll find her myself, so just leave her alone.”


With that, I turned around and ran deeper into the forest.
As soon as I heard footsteps chasing after me, I slipped behind some cover and transformed into a bird.
With Kiri riding on my back, I flew into the sky.

The humans shouldn’t be able to follow us this far, right?


“So, Kiri, do you know where they took Alraune?”

“Of course I do. Just in case something like this happened, I put a little spell on Lady Alraune using spirit magic.”

“You mean the thing you said you cast on her when the adventurers showed up?”

“That’s the one. I hid some of my magical power inside Lady Alraune and placed a tracking spell on it. As long as it’s there, I can use spirit magic to pinpoint her location.”

“Why would you cast a spell like that?”

“Because there were so many dangerous adventurers coming into the forest. If something happened while I was away, like Lady Alraune being torn apart, my magic would react and I’d know immediately. Then I could rush over to save her.”

“Kiri, you can be pretty helpful sometimes. If you know where she is, then let’s hurry and go save her!”


She’s probably crying right now, not knowing what to do.
Being all alone is lonely, after all.


Just wait for me, Alraune.

I’m coming to save you.

***

Author’s Note:

This chapter was from the little witch’s perspective.
We get to see what the little witch and Kiri were doing right after the Alraune was kidnapped.

Next Time: Diary; The Little Witch’s First Search for the Alraune (Part Two)