It all happened without any warning.


All of a sudden, the snow that had piled up began to melt.
As the ice turned to water, the ground became a muddy mess.

The Amazon Treant and Fea-chan, the young Dryad, who had both been frozen solid by the Witch Queen, were finally able to move again.


But that wasn’t the only change.
I felt like the air was getting warmer.


This sudden rise in temperature.
There was only one thing that came to mind.
Could it really be him…?


I kept my eyes fixed on the sky, and sure enough, the person I expected appeared.

From beyond the horizon came a mighty dragon that looked as though it had stepped straight out of a mythology book.
Its entire body burned like magma, and its glowing tail was wrapped in scorching flames.


That’s right. It was Fire Dragon-sama.


I was stunned. What was Fire Dragon-sama doing here in the forest?
And alongside him was even Uncle Teddy, riding a transport dragon.


Uncle Teddy was the first to land.
Fire Dragon-sama then descended after him.


──W-Wait a second!
If Fire Dragon-sama, who’s the size of a kaiju and basically a walking inferno, lands in the forest, the whole place is going to burn down!


“Fire Dragon-sama… the forest… is going to burn!”


Fire Dragon-sama must have heard my warning, because his body was suddenly enveloped in light.

A moment later, a handsome red-haired man landed on the ground.
It seemed like he was considerate enough to take human form.


At least now I wouldn’t have to worry about the forest burning down.
That’s a relief, but I was still curious as to why Fire Dragon-sama came all the way here.


“Why… are you here… Fire Dragon-sama?”

“I came after you.”

“After… me?”

“You see, a maid of mine faked her death and ran away from the castle.”


So he figured out I hadn’t actually burned to death in his room and instead escaped from the Demon King’s castle.
My plan to fake my death had failed.

Could he really have flown all the way here because he was angry about that?
Was I about to get scolded…?


“There’s no need to be so frightened. Very few are capable of escaping from me, after all. It was quite an amusing experience, so I shall overlook your little escape.”


So I don’t have to worry about being burned alive.
My sincerest thanks to the generous Fire Dragon-sama!


“However, I cannot simply overlook the fact that you killed one of the Four Heavenly Kings.”

“…O-One of the… Four Heavenly Kings? I have no idea… what you… mean.”


How does Fire Dragon-sama know about that?

I was so startled that my voice started trembling.


“There’s no point in playing ignorance. Polar told me everything.”


Polar was Uncle Teddy, Fire Dragon-sama’s butler.
I turned towards the teddy bear in gentlemanly attire standing behind Fire Dragon-sama.


“Under Lord Grüsch’s orders, I followed after you. I observed all of your exploits on behalf of my master.”


So that meant Uncle Teddy had been hiding somewhere in the forest, watching me this whole time.
He saw me defeat the older Dryad sister, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s army, and reported everything to Fire Dragon-sama.


“Since when… were you… watching?”

“Since the moment you returned to the forest together with the young witch.”


That’s basically from the very beginning!
So he knows everything!!

As I clutched my head with my vines, Fire Dragon-sama spoke to me with his usual expressionless face.


“You defeated one of the Four Heavenly Kings. That means you intend to oppose us, the Demon King’s army.”


Fire Dragon-sama’s piercing gaze locked onto me.


“I cannot allow someone who has made an enemy of the Demon King’s army to go on living.”


Fire Dragon-sama is a dragon who cares deeply about his subordinates.
I still vividly remember being burned by him because he wanted to avenge one of them.

This is bad.
I’m going to get burned again!


“Feagismeinnicht was not the only one who was defeated. Garuda Hræsvelgr of the Radiant Crown also disappeared in this forest. Was it you who defeated him as well, Alraune?”

“N-No way… I’m not… that strong. You’re… giving me far too much credit……”


W-W-W-W-W-What am I going to do!?
That golden birdman from the Four Heavenly Kings who used to stalk me? I ate him.
If Fire Dragon-sama finds out I gobbled up two of the Four Heavenly Kings, getting burned alive might be the least of my problems.
What if he captures me, tortures me, and makes me suffer for ages before slowly killing me.

I don’t want that!
But there shouldn’t be any evidence left that I defeated the golden birdman.
After all, I ate him whole.
So I’ll just have to keep playing dumb, no matter what!


Just as I made up my mind, I heard Kiri calling out.


“Lady Alraune!”


It looked like she finally came out of the sanctuary.

Thanks to Kiri risking her life and charging into the sanctuary, we were able to free Lady Dryad from the older Dryad sister’s mind control.
She really did a great job back there.
Maybe I’ll reward her with some of my nectar later.


“Lady Alraune, look! I found more of that Heavenly King’s feathers hidden inside the sanctuary, so I brought them with me!”


Kiri flew towards us carrying a small bag stuffed with golden feathers.
That’s right. They were the feathers we’d plucked from the golden birdman.

What do I do!? The evidence just showed up!
Kiri, your timing couldn’t have been worse!!


“Those are Garuda Hræsvelgr’s feathers. Knowing you, Alraune, I assumed you had turned every last bit of him into nutrients, but it seems you kept some trophies after all. Just like you did with Dickkopf.”


Fire Dragon-sama!
It’s… it’s not what it looks like!
This is all a misunderstanding.
Please believe me…!


“So it really was you who defeated Garuda Hræsvelgr… to think you managed to defeat two of the Four Heavenly Kings. Truly astonishing.”


Fire Dragon-sama stared at me while nodding to himself in satisfaction.
He must be thinking about how he’s going to kill me.
I don’t want to die yet.
Please, have mercy…!


“Fire Dragon-sama… please… spare my life……”

“What are you talking about? I came here to commend you for a job well done.”

“…Huh?”


What does that mean?
I could understand him hating me and wanting revenge, but what had I done to earn his praise?


“There were signs that Feagismeinnicht had been using her mind-control flowers to manipulate members of the Demon King’s army. I had my subordinates investigate her in secret for some time now, but when you defeated the Spirit Beast at the castle, we finally obtained concrete evidence. And now it’s clear that Feagismeinnicht intended to betray the Demon King’s army.”


Come to think of it, the older Dryad sister had used those blue flowers to control that devil maid, hadn’t she.
I’d found it strange that she was brainwashing members of the Demon King’s army, people who were supposed to be her allies, but I guess that explains it.
She was a plant supremacist, so she must have intended to eventually bring the Demon King’s army under the control of plants too.


“I suspected Feagismeinnicht was controlling Garuda Hræsvelgr, another of the Four Heavenly Kings, with her mind-control flowers. There were times when his words and behavior were clearly abnormal.”

“You’re right. We found… one of the blue… mind-control flowers… inside the golden birdman.”

“Just as I thought. It seems my suspicions were correct.”


──Wait.
Does this mean I’m not going to be punished at all?

Y-Yessssss!!

I managed to avoid getting burned.


“As for the traitor Feagismeinnicht, I intend to conduct a thorough investigation to uncover the truth. There are many things I wish to ask you, but before that, I have a proposal.”

“…A proposal?”

“I know that you were already living in this forest before you became my maid. And since I brought you to the Demon King’s castle without your consent, I believe that you never truly wanted to become my maid in the first place.”


I did work as Fire Dragon-sama’s maid while I was at the Demon King’s castle, but I only ever thought of it as temporary.
Just as Fire Dragon-sama said, I never intended to stay employed there permanently.


“Therefore, Alraune, I ask you again. Will you become my subordinate?”


Fire Dragon-sama flashed me a confident grin.


“I want you. Let us live our lives together.”


F-Fire Dragon-sama wants me as his subordinate!?
The proposal was so unexpected that my mind went completely blank.

And what’s worse, his words actually made my heart flutter a little.
I mean, I’d been engaged to the Hero, but he’d never said anything like that to me face-to-face.


Even so, I already knew my answer.


“I must… decline.”

“…May I ask why?”

“There… is something… I have to do.”


The little witch was still being held captive by the Witch Queen.
That said, becoming Fire Dragon-sama’s subordinate might have its advantages. For one, I wouldn’t have to worry about the Demon King’s army attacking me anymore.
Still, I couldn’t take the decision to join the Demon King’s army lightly, especially since they’d been my enemies back when I was the saint.


“Very well. I shall be busy dealing with the traitor myself, so I won’t force you to decide immediately.”


To my surprise, Fire Dragon-sama accepted my refusal.
I thought he’d try to force me to obey him, but Fire Dragon-sama really does have a gentle side after all.


“What concerns you is that witch child, is it not?”

“…How do you… know about… the little witch?”

“A short while ago, I saw one of the Witch Queen’s subordinates flying away while carrying a young witch. Polar has also told me that you were living together with a young witch.”


Fire Dragon-sama knew about the little witch too.
There’s probably no point in trying to hide it now.


“Alraune, would you care to make a deal with me?”

“A… deal?”

“I shall retrieve the witch child from the Witch Queen for you. In exchange, you will pay me a price.”

“What… do you want?”


Don’t tell me he wants me to offer myself to him?
Am I going to become Fire Dragon-sama’s property…!?

Fire Dragon-sama studied my face closely before speaking in a calm voice.


“I want your nectar.”

***

Author’s Note:

Back during Uncle Teddy’s side story, Fire Dragon-sama ordered Uncle Teddy to go somewhere.
That order had actually been for him to follow the Alraune.

Next Time: Equivalent Exchange