I’m an Alraune, a plant monster girl.
And the Witch Queen, alongside her subordinate, were floating in the air, still carrying the little witch on her shoulder.


The Witch Queen had been working behind the scenes against the Hero and his companions fifty years ago.
She was the one responsible for changing the fates of the Dryad sisters and the Hero’s party from back then.

And apparently, she was also the one who requested the Demon King’s army to search for the little witch.
She said that since she had personally turned the little witch into a witch, she wanted to bring her back under her care.
But if that’s the case, there’s one thing bothering me.


“Why… when you… turned the little witch… into a witch… didn’t you take her… with you?”

“I only turned this girl into a witch on a whim, you see~ Judging by that pure white hair, she must’ve managed to inherit quite a lot of my power. So I figured I should bring her back to the village and educate her so she can become a leader.”


That’s basically like scattering seeds in the dirt, leaving them alone for years, then coming back to harvest the crops because they happened to sprout and grow into something impressive all on their own.
Isn’t that way too selfish? She hasn’t even bothered to ask how the little witch feels about any of this.


But what if the little witch says she wants to go to the Witches’ Village?
Maybe living with other witches, people like herself, would actually make her happier than staying here with me.
At the very least, she’d be able to enjoy the basic comforts of a normal human life in the village, as opposed to living in a forest surrounded by plants.
It might even help her overcome her distrust of humans.


The more I thought about it, the more I began to wonder if wanting the little witch to stay with me was selfish on my part.


“I intend to treasure this girl as one of my successors. So there’s nothing for Crimson Flower Princess-chan to worry about.”


Maybe the Witch Queen is right.
But the little witch is still unconscious.
Until I hear her say with her own mouth that she wants to go to the Witches’ Village, I have to do everything I can to protect her.


“Even so… you’re going to… give… her back… to me first!”


I sent my vines shooting up towards the sky.
But the Witch Queen, who could fly freely through the air, easily dodged them.


“Looks like you have no intention of behaving yourself. In that case, I suppose I’ll have to teach this little flower that doesn’t know how to listen a lesson.”


The Witch Queen looked at me with a glint in her eyes, as though she’d just spotted a delicious dessert.


“Gloria, take this girl and head back ahead of me.”


With that, the Witch Queen handed the little witch over to her subordinate.
It looked like the Queen’s Aide was a witch named Gloria.


I had no intention of standing here quietly and letting the two of them leave.
Lady Dryad prepared herself for battle too, seemingly feeling the same way.


“You were responsible for bringing about my sister’s downfall. I believe you owe me a proper explanation.”


I’ll be fighting together with Lady Dryad.
And it looks like my little junior, the Amazon Treant, is eager to join in as well.
Even Fea-chan, the young Dryad, cheerfully declared, “Mother, I’ll help too!”
All right! Time to show her the power of the women of the Forest of Dryades!


“Spirit Magic: Dominion of the Great Forest—Herrschaft Pflanze!”


Lady Dryad tried to grow plants up from beneath the ground.
During our battle with the older Dryad sister earlier, I’d used Nina’s body to cast Heiligenschein.
As a result, every plant in the surrounding area had been completely erased.
So Lady Dryad intended to start by restoring the forest.

But when the Witch Queen saw her spirit magic, she let out an amused laugh.


“Nyahaha. Dryads really are a pain. In that case, why don’t I take away your means of attacking?”


Centered around the white-robed Witch Queen, a violent storm began to rage.

Large flakes of snow and chunks of ice came flying through the freezing wind.
A howling blizzard swallowed the forest.


Can witches manipulate the weather at will?
No, this is way beyond something you could just call bad weather. The pressure pushing against my body is so intense, I could almost mistake it for facing an Ice Dragon.


Before I knew it, the ground had been encased in a thick layer of ice.
All the plants Lady Dryad had tried to grow had frozen solid also.
And not just them. Even my little junior had been frozen solid in ice.


Grrr… how dare she do that to my little junior.
I won’t forgive her.
I’ll have her taste my squirting cucumber machine gun!


“Crimson Flower Princess-chan, you freeze too~”


W-Wait a second!
I got frozen solid before I could even attack…!


The temperature around here had already dropped below freezing.
I wasn’t the only one too. Lady Dryad and Fea-chan were both encased in ice.
It was one thing for me to be helpless, but I couldn’t believe that even Lady Dryad was completely powerless against the Witch Queen.
S-So frustrating.


But I can’t let things just end like this.
I’m not the kind of woman, or plant, who gets taken down by a little cold!


I used the skunk cabbage’s ability to generate heat inside my own body.
The me who used to be weak against winter is no more!


The ice that had completely restrained my body melted away in an instant, freeing me from its grip.


──Wait.
What is this feeling?
It feels easier to modify my own body than it used to.
In fact, I couldn’t even control it properly and ended up making myself way too hot.
What’s going on with my body?


“Ohh, you can melt the ice? Not bad, Crimson Flower Princess-chan.”


The Witch Queen stared down at me with a smile on her face as I thawed out like a flower blooming in spring.


“That’s what I’d expect from a unique monster. As the one who named you, I couldn’t be prouder.”

“Named… me?”

“I was the one who came up with the name ‘Crimson Flower Princess.’”


I first heard that name from the adventurers who came from the town to subjugate me.
I thought the Adventurer’s Guild had decided on my title, so I couldn’t imagine what the Witch Queen had to do with it.


“When I was disguised as that dwarf adventurer, I suggested the name to the Adventurer’s Guild. Do you like it?”


W-Wait, seriously!?
I can’t believe the Witch Queen and I was connected like that without me ever knowing.
I have some pretty mixed feelings about this.


“Plucking a monster I named with my own hands… that sounds pretty fun too.”


The Witch Queen licked her lips as she looked at me.
She’d been staring at me a little strangely for a while now.


“And since you’re a unique Alraune, I bet I could make an excellent aphrodisiac out of you. I’m looking forward to it~”


I feel like she just said something I shouldn’t ignore…
That’s definitely not something I would’ve ever heard back when I was still a human.


“What… exactly… are you planning… to do with me?”

“Nyahaha. Obviously I’m going to use you for potion-making. I’m a witch, after all. To me, plant monsters all just look like ingredients.”

“…Ingredients?”

“Alraunes make for great aphrodisiacs, you know~”


You mean… I’m going to become an ingredient for an aphrodisiac…?

N-No way.
I don’t want to be an aphrodisiac……



“ Crimson Flower Princess-chan, you might be getting the wrong idea because you’ve devoured big shots like a saint and a Dryad, but no matter how strong you are, you’re still just a plant monster.”


The Witch Queen declared it to me with absoluteness, speaking in a tone of someone who believes they’re beyond question.


“A pitiful plant that can’t even leave the ground. Just because you gained a little intelligence, did you start thinking you were one of the demons or humans?”


The Witch Queen gave me a pitying look.
To her, a plant like me isn’t an equal. I’m nothing more than an ingredient for her concoctions.


It’s been a while since I’ve been treated differently because of my species.
In the Forest of Dryades, aside from the adventurers from the town, everyone accepted me as one of their own.


Even at the Demon King’s castle, I wasn’t treated that badly just because I was a plant monster.
Thinking back on it now, Fire Dragon-sama and the other demons really did accept me as one of them.
It’s making me feel a little nostalgic.


Since I’d been living together with the little witch, I thought I had learned a fair bit about witches too.
But now I realized, I still didn’t understand what real witches were truly like.


With her eyes sparkling, the Witch Queen made a one-sided declaration.


“Nyahaha. I’ll brew you into an incredibly potent aphrodisiac and make good use of you, Crimson Flower Princess-chan!”

***

Author’s Note:

This is actually about the mandrake rather than the Alraune, but mandrakes really were used as aphrodisiacs from ancient times through the Middle Ages.
Because of that, the mandrake is also known in Japanese as the “love eggplant.”

Next Time: I Don’t Want to Become an Aphrodisiac