I’m an Alraune, a plant monster girl who went by the name Iris back when I was a saint.

And the white handkerchief I gave to Nina as Iris has now brought our hearts together, just like it did our gazes.


The last time I looked this closely into Nina’s tearful eyes was four years ago. Back then, I used this very handkerchief to wipe away her tears.


I had left the handkerchief with Nina, but knowing she carried it with her all this time makes me so happy.

And she called me Iris.

I don’t know if she truly believes me yet. But if even a small part of her remembered who I was, then that alone is enough for me.


Come to think of it, Nina had been fighting while crying this whole time.
Her face was soaked with tears.

Even so, her tear-stained eyes seem to shine even brighter thanks to her light magic.


“Even now… Nina… you still have very… beautiful eyes.”


As I spoke my thoughts aloud, I used the handkerchief to wipe her face clean.


“They feel like… special eyes… blessed by the Goddess of Light.”


My words seem to have struck Nina deeply.


“N-No way……”


Her shock spread throughout her entire body, making the muscles in her arms tremble uncontrollably.
Because of that, the bottle slipped from her right hand..


“Ah, wait, that’s—!”


Just as Nina cried out in panic, the bottle fell onto my bulb.
The instant it struck, the contents exploded violently.

Flames burst outwards like an explosion.


A blast of air, centered around the bottle, struck both Nina and me.
Instinctively, I pulled the vines holding Nina away from my body.
But in that brief moment, my body was instantly engulfed in flames.


“Hyah!?”

“L-Lady Iris… ughh…”


I caught sight of Nina collapsing limply, her head hanging low.
It looks like while she had managed to avoid the flames, the force of the blast still hit her.

But me?

I took the hit directly.


Aah, it’s so hotttt!!

My body felt like it was burning with pain
Well, I guess I actually was burning.


Enduring the pain, I calmly began performing my Lithops molting process.

My skin split open with a crack, starting from the top of my head.
Then, with a flick of my vines, I tossed away the burning skin, and voilà, a shiny new unburnt me.
As for the damaged areas, I used light recovery magic to regenerate my plant cells.


That bottle must have been an explosive bottle imbued with fire magic.

By pulling Nina away from my body while shielding her with my vines, I managed to keep her from being caught in the explosion.
But it seems the shockwave of the explosion still knocked her unconscious.

Her eyes remained closed, and she showed no sign of waking up at all.
It’s a shame. We were finally about to get the chance to talk again too.


Still, I think my feelings got through to her.
When she dropped the fire bottle, she shouted “Wait!” I think she was trying to talk to me instead of fighting me.
So when she wakes up, I hope she won’t try to hunt me down again.



“L-Lady Nina!”


The adventurer who had remained in the back finally approached us.
Right, there was another person with her.


──Clank.

The adventurer set his weapon down on the ground.

Raising both hands, he slowly walked towards me.


“Crimson Flower Princess, I’ve got no intention of fighting you. Please believe me.”


──Hm?

Crimson Flower Princess?
What’s that supposed to mean?


“No, I guess that wouldn’t mean much to you. Do you understand if I say Alraune?”


Ahh, he meant me.
I nodded quietly to show that I understood.

Satisfied by my reaction, the adventurer let out a sigh before speaking again.


“Miss Alraune… the truth is, you just want to get along with people, don’t you?”

“Huh?”

“But before that, you’re not gonna eat me, are you? I mean, if I surrender like this, you won’t do anything bad to me, right?”


Wait, I feel like I’ve heard that voice before.

Come to think of it, this adventurer guy feels strangely familiar somehow……


“You’re that Alraune from back then, aren’t you? Though I guess this time you didn’t put the fire out with a water flask.”


Ahh!

I know who he is now!
This guy is that corporal!!

He’s one of the soldiers who attacked me right before Fire Dragon-sama burned everything down.


Huh?
Why is the corporal who used to be a soldier working as an adventurer in Tower City?

I can’t help but wonder what happened to him!
Well, from the corporal’s perspective, the fact that I, a plant, had somehow relocated to this forest is probably just as mysterious.
Still, I’m impressed he recognized me.


“So you really are the Alraune from back then. Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask to see your legs again.”

“Why… are you here?”

“Well, a lot happened. Honestly, I’d rather ask why you’re here, Miss Alraune… but now’s probably not the time.”


I remembered this corporal seeming like a kind person.
If those soldiers under his command hadn’t been there back then, I think we could’ve talked things out instead of fighting.


He probably felt the same way at the time too, that I was someone he could actually talk to.

That’s why he’s speaking to me now as though I were human.


“I’m sorry about last time. We ended up hurting you, Miss Alraune, but I’ve regretted it ever since. I kept thinking there had to have been a way we could’ve resolved things without fighting.”

“If you’re… truly sorry… then I forgive… you.”

“Thank you. And one more thing, the rumor about you being a ‘man-eating Alraune’ is a lie, isn’t it?”


Well, you see, Corporal-san.
I have never once called myself a man-eating Alraune.
So even if people call it a lie, it was really just a misunderstanding humans came up with on their own.


“If you really wanted to eat people, you would’ve had plenty of chances to eat not just the saint apprentice over there, but the knights and adventurers too. And yet you always fight in ways that only incapacitate people. Doesn’t that mean you’ve been trying not to hurt humans?”

“I’m happy… you understand. I do not… eat people.”

“…You said the same thing before too. Sorry it took me this long to believe you.”


N-No way!?

I can’t believe there’s actually a human willing to believe my words! I’m so touched!


“I don’t know what relationship you have with Saint Iris, Miss Alraune. Lady Nina probably understands that better than I do, so I won’t say anything about it.”


Judging by that, he must have overheard at least part of my conversation with Nina.

Though I don’t think he heard the part about the handkerchief, so surely he doesn’t actually think I’m Iris, right?


“All I can ask is that you return the saint apprentice, and that you let all of us go.”

“Even though… you all tried to… kill me?”

“I know we attacked you first and have no right to make demands. But I have no intention of fighting you any further. So please, in consideration of me, could you forgive us?”


The corporal dropped to one knee and bowed his head.
Well, I had planned to send the humans back to town anyway.
So there wasn’t a problem.


“Okay.”

“Thank you. I owe you one.”


The corporal promised that if I ever needed help, he would lend me his strength.
He also said he would come to visit me again another day.

Carrying Nina on his back, he returned to the city.
With that, it was all over.


And so, every human who had come to subjugate me was sent home.

For the unconscious humans, they were carried out by my little junior, the Treant, who, along with the fairy Kiri, had returned from patrolling the forest after hearing the commotion.



Watching the Treant diligently carry the humans away, Kiri and I discussed what to do next.


“Can we trust that corporal guy?”

“He seems… more trustworthy… than most humans.”

“Well, even if the humans from the town attack again, Lady Alraune would probably crush them anyway, so I’m not too worried.”


This time, after counting them all up, there had been twenty-three humans who came to subjugate me.

According to the corporal, they were the town’s strongest fighting force.
Which meant there wasn’t anyone in that town stronger than me.

So I let myself relax, believing there was no one in town capable of defeating me.



But I shouldn’t have let my guard down back then.


Because I had forgotten that humans weren’t the only ones living in the town.



Watching the figure in a top hat suddenly emerge from the thicket of the forest, I couldn’t help but think exactly that.

***

Author’s Note:

The little junior Treant didn’t carry all the humans at once, but she transported them over several trips. Seeing that, the former corporal blurted out, “Why is that Treant from back then here!?” in complete shock, but that’s a story for another time.

Next Time: Daily Report; The Rookie Saint Apprentice’s Named Monster Subjugation Log (Part One)