I’m an Alraune, a plant monster girl who can’t pass for a human girl anymore.

Which means the soldiers now know my true identity.


And now they’re even accusing me of trying to lure them in to eat them. That’s awful.
Sure, I’ve done that to animals and other monsters, but I never once tried it on humans, especially not soldiers.

I told them from the start not to come any closer.
But just because I’m a monster, they won’t believe a word I said.
I’ve been reduced to nothing but a target to be hunted. It’s too much.

I’m no longer human, but a plant monster, an Alraune.
That’s a fact nothing can change.
Maybe I really do have to give up…


The five soldiers raised their weapons and slowly closed in.

Honestly, I don’t think any ordinary soldier could beat me at this point.

Considering that I’ve defeated the Four Heavenly Kings, Papa Bear, and even minotaurs of the Demon King’s army, absorbing all of them for nutrition, I could probably wipe them out without trouble.

The real issue is not killing them.
And what to do afterward.

If I consumed them all for nutrients, the evidence would disappear.
But I’d rather not harm people if I can help it.


However, if I hold back and they escape, they’ll likely come back with a proper subjugation squad.
If that happens, I won’t survive. They’d fire flaming arrows from afar until everything around me is burned.
I’ll burn to ash for real next time.


Keeping five fully grown men alive and captive is also… well, that’s not realistic….
It’d be a huge hassle, and I doubt I could even manage it. So that option might be my last resort.

For now, I should focus on disabling them.
I’ll figure out the rest afterward.


I observed the soldiers.

The strongest among them is the man in the middle, the one they called Corporal-san. The others seem like standard soldiers.
I can tell at least that much thanks to the minimal observation skills I still have from my days as a saint.

And then I realized something.
All five men had their eyes glued to me.


My upper body was practically bare.
I was wearing nothing but vines wrapped around my chest to hide myself. It’s a terribly simple outfit.

In this world, women don’t normally dress so revealingly in public spaces.

So for me, a duke’s daughter and former saint, to be seen like this by five adult men is unthinkable. It’s unbelievably embarrassing.

Had I stayed a saint, there was no way I would ever have worn something like this. I’m not even married yet, so please stop staring at my skin like that.

My waist even has this huge red flower blooming from them. And beneath that was the bulb.
There, a monstrous, carnivorous plant mouth big enough to swallow a person whole gaped open.
They’re seeing all of it.

And worst of all, they now know that I’m growing out of… that terrifying bulb.
I want to disappear. It’s so embarrassing.


The animals and monsters in the forest never bothered me.

The minotaurs saw me, but they were demons, so it didn’t matter.
The nectar‑obsessed boy saw me too, but he was a child, and honestly I was so lonely that it didn’t matter.

When I was alone in the forest, the openness felt liberating, and I got used to it.

But having this form seen by strangers, multiple grown men no less, was unbearable. Especially since I’m basically naked from the waist down.

Even the place where my human body connects to the plant is completely exposed.


Ugh… they’ve seen everything.

What should I do? My face is getting hot.
I’m so embarrassed that I’m generating heat like a skunk cabbage.


While squirming in shame, I suddenly saw a possibility.
It’s because I looked like a human girl that this is so embarrassing.

That means, unlike ordinary monsters, I can actually talk to humans.
Since I look half-human, maybe they might feel a little sense of familiarity with me.

Alright, let’s try one last time.


“Please… listen. I don’t eat… humans.”

The soldiers froze.
Yes, that’s the spirit, me.

“I have no… intention of… fighting. Please, lower your… weapons.”

My words seemed to have reached Corporal-san somehow; he looks like he’s contemplating.
Maybe I can avoid a fight after all.

“Corporal, there’s no such thing as a monster that’s friendly to humans!”
“Remember, Alraunes are demons that lure people with the form of a beautiful girl!”
“Many men from our hometown were caught off guard and killed by Alraunes just like that!”
“You mustn’t trust her!”

Ugh!
Please, subordinates, be quiet for just a moment.
What are you doing?

See? Now Corporal-san’s arm tensed up again. Why do you keep doing this?

As I tried to speak to Corporal-san again, one soldier raised a bow to stop me.

Corporal-san was being convinced by his subordinates not to be fooled.
They told him that failing to eliminate a detected monster is a serious breach of military regulations.
With a sour expression, he raised his left hand.

“Alright, do it.”

One of the soldiers released an arrow.
Negotiations had failed.


I created a shield from my vines to block the arrows.

Ah, what a pity.
We might have resolved this peacefully if I’d had a chance to talk just with Corporal-san.

One soldier charged at me.

Subordinates, please just stay quiet for a moment.

I sent a burst of blue pollen at the soldier in front.

The sleeping powder hit him directly, and he collapsed on the spot.
The other soldiers gasped in shock.

Ignoring them, I extended my vines toward the archer.
He tried to retreat, but I had no intention of letting him go.

I grew vines from the ground at his feet and snatched his bow.
Then, I wrapped him up tightly and fired more sleeping powder.
Once he was snoozing away, I tossed the slacking soldier off to the side.

That leaves three soldiers remaining.


Corporal-san barked an order to the remaining two soldiers.

“While I keep it busy, you two drag those useless fools and fall back!”


Oh?
Corporal-san, are you planning to fight me by yourself?

That’s a bit much for a regular soldier, isn’t it?
I’m not letting anyone slip away easily.


He drew his bow.

Had he not watched what happened to the archer earlier?
Attacks like that won’t hurt me.


Corporal-san began muttering something under his breath.
Then the bow and arrow suddenly burst into bright red flames.

Wait.
Hold on.
You’re kidding, right?

To my utter shock, Corporal-san was a fire magic user.


What?!
Why is someone who can use magic stuck serving as a regular soldier?!

This is bad.
He’s exactly the kind of opponent I never wanted to meet—someone who can attack from range with fire magic.

He can’t run now with his men so close, but if he keeps firing those flaming arrows from outside my reach, that’s the end for me.

No matter what, I can’t let him get away.
If I don’t want to end up burned alive, I have no choice but to capture Corporal-san or take him out of commission.

“Go!” Corporal-san shouted.

And then a blazing, searing arrow came flying straight at me.

I threw up my vine shield instantly, and at the same time forced a wall of vines up from underground, forming a double defense.

But then I saw something unbelievable.

The flaming arrow tore through both layers of vines as if nothing was there, coming straight toward me like it was sucking in towards me.

I’m done for!

I threw my thin human arms in front of my face and squeezed my eyes shut.

But the arrow never hit.
It shot past my side, barely missing my stomach, and struck the ground behind me.


——That was close.
If I hadn’t made a double layer of shields to alter its trajectory, it might have been a direct hit.


Corporal-san is strong.

I’d suspected his strength was only slightly above an ordinary soldier’s, but his magic is beyond what I imagined.

Just a normal flaming arrow shouldn’t be able to pierce my vines.
Yet for him to do it so easily, he’s seriously skilled.

If only he weren’t a fire user, he wouldn’t be nearly as threatening.
I can block arrows of other elements with my vines, but fire… it’s a bad matchup.

The two remaining soldiers each hauled a sleeping soldier onto their backs and started retreating.


I can’t let them go.
They’re still barely within my vine’s attack range.

I bloomed a man-eater near them and scattered paralysis powder.
One of the soldiers collapsed right on top of the sleeping one.
That makes three incapacitated.

The other pair escaped, though. Well, at least I stopped at least one group.


Just when I thought to turn back to Corporal-san, I saw him right in the middle of releasing his arrow.

I shouldn’t have looked away.
Emergency defense!

I hurriedly formed a vine shield.
But with only one layer, the flaming arrow pierced through with ease.

It stabbed straight into my bulb.


Ouch, that hurts.
And it’s hot!

The arrow set fire to my bulb.
I can’t chop it off with an axe here, so what do I do?

Right. Water. I need water.

I pulled out the canteen I’d hidden.
Using a vine to pop open the lid, I splashed the water over the burning part of my bulb.

Fire extinguished.

Water bottles are convenient, aren’t they?


Then I met eyes with Corporal-san, who was staring at me with his mouth wide open.

He looked incredibly shocked.
Was he really that upset that I put out his fire?


And then I was shocked too.

I felt something was hot… and realized that my vine was on fire.
The section the arrow had pierced eventually caught fire from the heat.

This again.
I’m really too weak to fire…


Seeing me panic over the flames, Corporal-san took the chance to nock another arrow.
Looks like he’s going for the finishing blow.


Then it’s time for that.
A little stage prop to add some flair to the stage.


Corporal-san fired.

But I didn’t form a vine shield this time.
I already had a proper shield on hand.

I took out the minotaur’s axe that proved itself useful at the ball with the Demon King’s army.
I raised it like a shield and blocked the flaming arrow.

In front of a demon-forged axe, even fire magic can’t do much.

The arrow bounced off with a clang and fell to the ground.
It looks like the thick iron axe couldn’t pierce through, as expected. Unlike vines, iron axes don’t catch fire easily.

I then swung the axe down and chopped away the burning vines.
Then from the cut point, the vines regenerated. Good as new!


When I looked back at Corporal-san, thinking how fire arrows wouldn’t work anymore, he was once again staring at me with his mouth hanging open.

Was it really that shocking?
Well, yeah, your fire magic can’t get through as long as I have this axe.

And you know… it’s not the only one.

I lifted the remaining two axes with my vines.

After all, I took three axes from the minotaur.
I raised all three high, letting Corporal-san know resistance was futile.

His eyes went even wider as he darted back and forth between me and the axes.

Maybe he’s feeling down because he realized his arrows can’t reach me anymore.


But hey, it’s too early to lose hope just yet.

Now that I’ve shown off my triple-axe style, it’s time to offer the surrender ultimatum.

Using one axe to fan my face like a fluffy feather fan, I flashed a confident smile.

“Surrender. I won’t… harm you.”

At the same time, countless vines sprouted around Corporal-san.
Numerous man-eater flowers bloomed from the vines, aiming at him like gun barrels.

This is my garden.
You were a pitiful guest trespassing from the very beginning.


Oh ho ho.

The fire magic certainly startled me, but I still hadn’t been fighting seriously.

I hope you understand now.


Well then, dear human soldiers.
I’m afraid I have to capture you.

***

Author’s Note:

Thank you for reading!
Thanks to everyone’s support, this story reached 26th place in the weekly isekai reincarnation/transfer rankings!
This is all thanks to your support. I offer my deepest gratitude once again m(_ _)m

Next Time: As a Former Saint, the Thrilling Sense of Transgression Makes My Heart Race