I’m an Alraune, a little plant monster girl.
And after being summoned by the Dryad, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Uncle Teddy carried me to her room.


When I entered her room, I found it overflowing with greenery.
Plants were growing everywhere.
It felt like a miniature forest.


I was set down on the table in the room.
After carrying me in, Uncle Teddy bowed before quietly leaving.
It looked like he wasn’t going to stay with me.


“Sorry for calling you all the way here.”


The room’s owner, the older Dryad sister, moved over to stand in front of me.
Just like before, she was still growing from the back of the giant land tortoise.


“My name is Feagismeinnicht. This is our first meeting, isn’t it?”


That’s right. This reincarnated body of mine has never met the fallen Dryad before.
I’d better pretend this is our first meeting.


“Hello… it’s a… pleasure to meet… you.”

“So you’re the child that Alraune just gave birth to? I told her I’d make her a woman, but I never imagined she would become a mother all on her own and have a child.”


Actually, this was my second time giving birth.
And my second time becoming a little girl, for that matter!


“So, what do you think of this room? It’s just like a forest, isn’t it? Doesn’t it feel like a comfortable place to live?”


Now that she mentioned it, I have been feeling a little better since I came into this room.
I wonder why.


“There are two reasons. First, plants thrive best in forests rather than inside a castle. Second, the light indoors is insufficient. Without enough light, a plant’s growth begins to suffer… just like it has for our newborn Alraune princess here.”

“Not… enough… light?”

“Your petals have lost their luster, and your leaves are already beginning to darken. Didn’t you notice?”


Come to think of it, I haven’t been able to photosynthesize much ever since coming to the castle.
Everything had been so new and exciting that I hadn’t really noticed, but it seems I’ve actually been feeling unwell.


“This room is enchanted with a spell that creates artificial light. Thanks to that, I’ve been able to create a much more comfortable environment for plants.”


A spell that creates light… that sounds like light magic.
In that case, maybe it was the golden birdman’s magic.
Since the Dryad had been controlling him, who was another of the Four Heavenly Kings, the possibility seemed pretty likely.


“Well, how is it? Doesn’t this room seem like a much better place to live than that gloomy office?”

“What… do… you mean?”

“Why don’t you come to work with me, Alraune? We’re both plants. I think we’d get along quite well.”


So the reason I’d been summoned by Feagismeinnicht, one of the Four Heavenly Kings… was to recruit me.

Looking back, I feel like she said something similar back when I was still in the botanical garden.
Seems like she still hasn’t given up on me.


“Why… me?”

“Is wanting a fellow plant companion not reason enough? Strong, intelligent plant monsters are incredibly rare, so I’d like to keep one close at hand.”


As she spoke, the Dryad gently stroked the leaves of the plants growing in her room.


“Don’t you think it’s strange? Plants possess such incredible vitality, yet they’re looked down on by both demons and humans. All of them treat plants as though they’re inferior beings.”

“Well…”


It’s true. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been looked down on just because “I’m a plant.”
Whether they were demons or humans, I was often treated no differently than a weed growing by the roadside.


“Neither the demons nor the humans understand the truth. They don’t realize they’re the ones being used by us plants.”

“What… do you… mean by… that?”

“Plants can’t move on their own. Instead, they make other living creatures work for them like servants. For example, suppose a bird eats a plant’s fruit. That bird will later defecate somewhere else, and the seeds mixed into its droppings will sprout, allowing the plant to spread and flourish in distant lands.”


Just as the Dryad said, many animals end up working on behalf of plants.
Pollinators like the bees and Lady Butterfly, who carry pollen from flower to flower, are another example.
Though for a flower like me, who doesn’t want to be pollinated, they also happen to be terrifying insects that keep trying to force themselves on me.


“It’s the same with demons and humans who grow plants so they can eat fruits and vegetables. Without realizing it, they’re working for the benefit of plants.”


In other words, fruits and vegetables thrive because people protect and cultivate them.
That said, you could just as easily consider both pollination and farming to be forms of symbiosis with plants.


“Besides, even if every single demon and human in this world were to go extinct, plants would continue to propagate across the continent. We may not be able to walk on our own, but we possess a terrifying vitality that flesh-and-blood creatures simply cannot match.”

“I… see…”


No matter how many times a vine is cut, a plant can always grow another.

But what if a human had an arm cut off?
It would never grow back.

Unlike humans, having our vines cut off isn’t all that painful for plants.
As long as our roots remain, we can even recover completely.

After all, I’ve already been reincarnated twice while being an Alraune, so I know firsthand just how resilient plants can be.


“That’s why I want to create a world ruled by plants. I’m sure you would like to live in a world like that too, princess. One where you can live in peace. So how about it? Let’s wipe out those troublesome humans and build a paradise for plants together.”


A paradise for plants
It sounded remarkably close to my own dream of living quietly as a plant while photosynthesizing
I couldn’t help but sympathize with those words.

But during this past year as an Alraune, I’ve also learned firsthand just how difficult such a dream really was.


“Is… a paradise… for plants… possible?”

“Oh? Why do you ask that?”

“Because… plants… can’t move. We’re always… the ones… at the mercy… of others.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. Just look at me. There are plenty of ways for plants to get around.”


Thanks to the fact that she parasitized the land tortoise, even the Dryad was able to move about freely.
If I could do the same and attach myself to some animal monster, I’d be able to move around too.
Though the trade-off would be having to control my host.


“If you join me, princess, I’ll give you legs. I’ll even teach you how to freely control your host.”


The ability to freely control a host…
Was she talking about that blue flower growing inside the golden birdman’s mouth?

Still, even if I wanted to parasitize something, I had no way of doing it myself. So how was that supposed to work?


“I am, after all, a researcher. Making plants parasitize other organisms is child’s play. In fact… I’ve already succeeded.”


With that, the Dryad clapped her hands twice.
Then, a large figure emerged from the room in the back.


“Allow me to introduce you to one of my direct subordinates, one of the Three Spirit Beasts.”


It was a massive troll.
But what shocked me was the beautiful woman growing from its shoulder, her hair made of blue vines.
She looked exactly like the Dryad, Feagismeinnicht.
The only difference was that this one wasn’t wearing an eyepatch. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart.



“This girl is an artificial Dryad I cultivated from one of my own branches. I fused her with a troll, using its regenerative abilities as a source of nutrients. So, what do you think?”


──I was stunned.
So she was essentially a cloned Dryad.

Not only has she fused with a monster and gained the ability to walk freely, she also inherited the troll’s regenerative powers. That probably meant her regeneration far surpassed those of an ordinary plant.


“She hasn’t quite reached the level of integration that Barometz, who’s half plant and half beastfolk, has. But this is more than good enough.”


So that’s why she had examined Barometz so closely back at the botanical garden. It was all for this research.


“So how about it? Join me, princess, and I’ll give you slaves to serve as your legs. That way, you can walk wherever you wish, whenever you wish. Should you stay as just a plant, don’t you think that’ll be a dream forever out of your reach?”

“Does… that mean… I’ll be allowed… to go to the… Forest of Dryades?”

“Of course. I give you my permission. Whether it’s the forest or anywhere else, you’re free to walk wherever you please.”


──To be able to walk.

For me, it was an incredibly tempting offer.
Ever since becoming an Alraune a year ago, how many times have I cursed my own inability to walk?
I’ve wanted to walk more times than I could possibly count.

And now, this Dryad was offering to take away that weakness of mine.


“Isn’t there somewhere you’d like to go with your own two feet, princess?”


Somewhere I’d like to go…
Without a doubt, it was to see the little witch. My second choice would be the royal capital.


Right now, though, my biggest concern was the little witch.
With the Witches’ Village trying to abduct her, being able to return to the forest immediately would be a huge relief.

Thinking about it that way, this was an incredibly sweet temptation.

But at the same time, it also felt like the devil was whispering in my ear.
Because accepting this would mean letting the older Dryad sister completely remake my body.


“I’ll ask you one last time. Won’t you join me?”


The Heavenly King held out her hand to me.


To be honest, I wanted to walk on my own two feet again.
I wanted to walk again, just like I did back when I was human!


On top of that, this Dryad genuinely seemed to think of me, a plant monster, as an ally.
For a moment, I even felt like reaching out with my vine and taking her hand.

But before I did, there was one thing I had to ask.


Something that mattered more than anything else to me.

***

Author’s Note:

Our protagonist hasn’t taken a single step since becoming an Alraune. Now that she’s finally grown accustomed to life as a plant monster, she seems to have developed a strong longing to walk.

Next Time: A Paradise for Plants Is a Hell for Humans