I’m an Alraune, a little plant monster girl.
And with something on my mind, I decided to ask the older Dryad sister, who had invited me to join her, what was bothering me.


“What… about… humans?”

“You’re a plant, princess. Why should you concern yourself with humans?”

“That’s…”

“Being a newborn princess, you may not know this, but I heard your mother was called a monster by humans and had her life threatened time and time again. That’s what humans are. They’ll try to kill you without a second thought just because you’re a plant monster. So why are you trying to defend them?”


I couldn’t answer.
Humans have tried to kill me countless times.
More times than I could count.

They have never listened to a word I’ve said.
It wasn’t even that long ago that they formed a subjugation force, branded me a man-eating Alraune, and tried to burn me alive, all the while shouting, “Death to monsters!”


“Don’t you hate the humans who would do things like that?”


I hated the people from Tower City who had tried to kill me.
But there were people I hated even more than them.

The Hero, who abandoned me even though I was his fiancée and tried to have me killed. And that trashy junior, who not only stole him away from me, but also personally tried to kill me herself.


The only reason I turned into a plant monster from a saint was because of those two.
Not once during my survival in the forest or my days living with the little witch had I forgotten them.

Since I couldn’t drag the little witch into my revenge, going after them had never been possible until now.
But if I joined forces with her, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, getting payback on those two might not be just a dream anymore.
Her offer wasn’t that bad, looking at it that way.


“I despise humans myself. Especially any with the title of Hero. I want them all dead, no matter what. “


According to her younger sister, the older Dryad sister had killed the Hero she loved fifty years ago.
This might be my chance to finally learn what happened back then.


“Did… something… happen?”

“There was a time when I trusted humans. But the Hero betrayed me. And as if that wasn’t enough, my own little sister betrayed me as well. That’s why I joined the Demon King’s army. To get my revenge on both humanity… and my sister.”


The Hero and her own sister betrayed her?
Lady Dryad told me she didn’t know the full story of what happened fifty years ago, but I never expected something like this.
For some reason, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of kinship with her, as if this wasn’t just someone else’s tragedy.

There was one thing that didn’t make sense, however. What did she mean when she said her sister had betrayed her?

On that point, her account didn’t match what Lady Dryad had told me.
Was one of them lying… or had there simply been some kind of misunderstanding?


“I wonder how humans would feel if they were slaughtered by the very plants they used to trample beneath their feet like weeds.”

“Are you… going to kill… all the humans?”

“I suppose I might spare a few. They could make decent seedbeds for my plants.”


I pictured the Hero and that trashy junior transformed into living seedbeds.
That honestly would make for a pretty decent sight. After all, they would be turned into plants, just as I had.


Then I imagined the little witch and Nina being overtaken by plants, their bodies turned into seedbeds.
The two of them slowly withered away, the roots draining the life from them until their eyes turned dull and lifeless.

It was something I never wanted to see.


Just because they were human doesn’t mean they all were deserving of hate.

There were some humans, while few, that I could walk alongside.
One being the little witch, of course. And if I met Nina again, I’m sure we would get along this time. Even the corporal seemed like someone I could have built a good relationship with.


“I don’t think… living… alongside humans… would be… such a bad thing.”

“Then let me give you a warning, princess, since you still don’t know the reality of the world. Humans are creatures that will inevitably betray us. Because in the end, what matters most to humans… are other humans.”


The little witch… betraying me?

──No, that’s impossible.
She’s the little witch.
The same girl who hated humans, who told me she could finally open her heart to me because I was a plant monster. She would never betray me.


“Humans can’t be trusted. That’s why it’s better to turn every last one of them into seedbeds. Then they can become fertilizer, spending the rest of their lives to feed our paradise of plants until every last drop of life has been drained from them.”


At that moment, I understood.
This Dryad had no intention of sparing a single human.


For plants, she might create an ideal world.
But there would be no place in it for the little witch.

I can’t say I would care if something happened to the humans I despise, but I can’t accept the idea of killing the humans who had shown kindness to me, a monster.
It’s true that I want nothing more than to spend my days living quietly while photosynthesizing.
But also I want there to be room for my family and human friends in that life, too.


It was then that I realized that the Dryad’s ideal paradise for plants and my dream of a peaceful plant life could never coexist.


“Well? This is your last chance. Won’t you join me?”


If I take her hand, I would make all of humanity my enemy.
As a former saint, it would mean betraying mankind completely.

Ever since becoming an Alraune, almost everything humans had done had only given me reasons to dislike them. Even so, I can’t bring myself to hate all of them.
I want to get along with the friendly ones.


Maybe the reason I’m still able to feel this way is because a fragment of my humanity still remains.
And I’m sure that fragment survived because of the little witch.
If it weren’t for her, then perhaps I would’ve abandoned humanity altogether and bared my fangs against the human race as a monster.


“I can’t… become… your ally.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Yes. Besides… I’m Lord Grüschwanz’s… maid now. It wouldn’t… be proper… for me to get… involved.”

“……I see. If that’s the choice you’ve made, princess, then I won’t ask again.”


The Dryad withdrew her hand.
Then, guiding the giant tortoise beneath her, she turned away from me.


“Fine. I’ll take revenge on humanity alone. And before that… I’ll destroy the forest and the town alongside my little sister, who killed Oin.”


Oin… that was the poisonous fairy who had tried to wither me to death.
The last time I met the older Dryad sister, she had said Oin had simply gone missing. But it seems she’s finally learned the truth.


Which meant the Forest of Dryades was truly in danger.
And so was the little witch, who should still be there.


“Our guest is leaving.”


The Fallen Spirit Princess clapped her hands twice, and the door opened.
A maid had come to escort me out.


“Take care of yourself, Princess Alraune.”

“Thank you… I will.”

“Goodbye.”


Those last words felt strangely loaded, as though she meant something by them.
The way she turned back to glance at me, with the eyes of a predator watching its prey, left an unsettling impression in my mind.



As the maid carried me away, I thought back over everything Feagismeinnicht had said.


She declared that she would exterminate humanity for the sake of creating a paradise for plants.
Wouldn’t that mean she intends to do the same to the people of Tower City?

Now that she knew Oin had been killed, Feagismeinnicht would surely head for the Forest of Dryades and Tower City.
After all, the Kingdom of Gardenia was the territory she’d been ordered to conquer. And it was also where the younger sister she hated lived.


I can’t just sit here like this.
Not only was it for the little witch, who the Witches’ Village was trying to abduct, but for the sake of the forest itself, I had to get back to everyone as quickly as possible.
After all, I’m the forest’s guard.



There was only one other way for me to get back to the forest without relying on Feagismeinnicht.

I had to devour a plant that would let me escape from the Demon King’s castle.
And to do that, I’ll first have to reach the botanical garden and find the plant I’ve been searching for.


But before that, there was one major problem.

I can’t get there unless someone takes me to the botanical garden.
Now that I’m currently Fire Dragon-sama’s maid, I doubt I would be allowed to leave the castle without his permission.


Guess this settles it. I’ve got no choice but to ask Fire Dragon-sama for a favor
I would like to use my nectar as a bargaining chip, but he’ll probably just dismiss it, saying it was already part of my regular duties as a maid.


In that case… I’ll just have to use the signature technique of an Alraune.
I never had a chance to use it until now, and frankly I didn’t want to, but I don’t have the time left to be picky.

I’ve made up my mind.


I’ll use my allure as an Alraune to charm Fire Dragon-sama.


I’m going to seduce Fire Dragon-sama!

***

Author’s Note:

Will she be able to earn Fire Dragon-sama’s approval?

Next Time: Little Alraune’s Grand Seduction Operation