I’m an Alraune, a plant monster girl.
And this is the mysterious White Bird-san who, for some reason, could speak human language.


When my bulb caught on fire, it was the white bird, my Prince Charming, who had appeared to save me from my crisis.


After putting out the fire with a bucket of water, White Bird-san suddenly spoke, telling me, “Hide.”
I was totally shocked.


But wait a minute.

Why can the white bird speak human language?

In winter all it could do was say “tweet.”
How did that magically become “hide” by spring? It just makes no sense.


They say “If you go three days without seeing a man, you should look at him with fresh eyes¹,” but can someone really grow this much?
I don’t even know if the bird was male or female.

Whatever the case, this is far beyond just being good or bad at chirping. Are you a prodigy, White Bird-san?

Well, that cannot be it.

It even said “Hide before he gets here,” which meant it clearly understood speech. That goes way beyond what talent could accomplish.

Did it suddenly become able to speak this spring, or could it always speak and simply hid it? I don’t know.

But one thing is certain.
I can hold a conversation with White Bird-san.


“Bird, you… can talk?”

The white bird stared at me silently.

“Please… Bird-san, I want you to… talk to me”

“…I am sorry for hiding it. But now is not the time.”

So it had been able to speak all along.
But you know, you don’t have to apologize. If anything, I’m happy.

Ah, this is kind of emotional.

To actually be having a conversation with White Bird-san, who has saved my life countless times, I can hardly believe it.

“Bird-san… what are you?”

“That is…”

White Bird-san’s beak stopped moving.


Then, a thunderous crash interrupted our conversation.
A heavy impact, like something enormous crashing nearby, sent a heavy tremor through the forest.

Something unbelievably massive had descended onto the forest

Whatever it was, it began to approach us step by step.
Thud, thud—each step shook the ground, growing louder and louder.


White Bird-san flapped its wings in panic.

“It’s coming. I have to go.”

Keeping low so as not to rise above the treetops, the white bird tried to leave.

“Talking flower… somehow survive, okay? Then I’ll come and water you.”

“Wait… Bird-san, who is ‘it’?”

My voice trailed off as White Bird-san glided between the trees and disappeared from sight, moving as if fleeing from something.


What… was that?
It felt like a dream.

I never imagined I would one day speak with White Bird-san.

So White Bird-san recognized me as a “talking flower,” huh.
I have always called it “white bird,” and now I guess it’s a “talking white bird.”
So we kind of see each other in the same way. That’s kind of funny.

Neither of us has ever introduced ourselves, after all. It only made sense we’d give each other nicknames based on appearances.
I wanted to ask so much more, but it seemed this wasn’t the time.


White Bird-san warned me to “hide.”
Because something was coming.

But… even if I’m told to hide, how am I supposed to do that?
I can’t move, so the best I can do is cover myself with vines.


Also, if I survive this fire, White Bird-san will come to water me?
I’d be absolutely thrilled!

The fact that White Bird-san is even willing to do something like that for me… I’m excited.


I imagined having a tea party in the forest with everyone from the Forest Club, including White Bird-san.
Ms. Bee and the other female knights, Lady Butterfly fluttering about, and now White Bird-san.

Unlike before, now I even have someone to talk to and share a conversation with.
Maybe I could even invite White Bird-san to a dance together.
What a delightful tea party that would be.

And so, in this forest, I’ll live a quiet, blissful life as a plant.


That would be a most joyous life, wouldn’t it?


——Okay. Time to face reality.

To keep this little paradise of mine in the forest, I need to deal with this fire.
And for some reason, the arsonist who caused it is coming straight toward me.


This might be my chance.
If I can just handle the arsonist, the fire won’t spread any further.

No matter how monstrous its attacks are, surely it has a weakness.

Meanwhile, I look like nothing but a harmless flower.
If I hide in ambush, pretending to be just another flower, then the moment the arsonist gets close, I can hit it with my poison pollen. That might give me a chance to win.

I’d like to be able to bury myself underground, but there might not be enough time.

I densely clustered several vines together and started digging.

Hmm, this is tough.

I can slip individual vines underground, but lifting large amounts of soil is difficult.

I can dig a hole big enough for Ms. Bee or the butterflies without much difficulty, but for something my size, it’ll take a lot more effort.
My bulb was huge. After all, it was large enough to have swallowed countless monsters whole.

If I had more time, I probably could dig it out.
But with something huge approaching right now, there was no way I could dig fast enough.

Yeah, there was no way I could dig a hole big enough to fit all of me in such a short amount of time. If I were the kind of plant that was good at burrowing, I might’ve been okay.

Maybe after I survive this, I should consider digging a proper hole. That way, I could protect myself from fires.


So for now, let’s make a cocoon of vines and hide myself inside.
Even from inside a cocoon, I can at least manage a proper welcome for the unexpected visitor.

This was the crucial moment. Time to focus.


Now, let the tea party begin.

As the forest’s guardian, I shall treat you as an important guest—even if you happened to be an arsonist.

First, allow me to send you an invitation.
It will be a most sublime tea party from which you will never return, as you rise straight to heaven.


I buried thorny vines in the ground ahead of its path.
The welcome preparations were complete.


Just as I finished my arrangements with satisfaction, the forest ahead suddenly leapt into the air.

The trees were swept aside.


The visiting guest was far larger than anything that could hide behind trees.

Its gigantic body swayed with each step, crushing the forest underfoot.

Finally, the guest revealed itself.

The true identity of the forest arsonist.
It was a dragon.


It moved through the forest on four legs, its wings stirring violent winds each time they moved.
Compared to Papa Bear, who had been ten meters tall, the dragon stood noticeably taller.

And this was while standing on all fours. If it stood upright, it surely would look even larger.


The dragon’s entire body burned like molten magma.
Its glowing tail was wreathed in searing heat

I had never seen such a divine yet terrifying dragon before.

This was no ordinary dragon.
It was a Fire Dragon.

A superior species among dragons.
And among Fire Dragons, this one was probably the highest ranking of its kind.
That was how overwhelming the pressure of its flames felt.

It has the kind of majesty that made people want to call it a Dragon King.
I could sense the immense power it concealed.


Come to think of it, the arsonist was also the UFO.
So the fiery flying object that brought summer was actually this Fire Dragon.

On a summer night last year, a flaming flying shape glowed across as it soared across the sky.
It had the very image of this Fire Dragon.

A dragon that can change the seasons.
What’s that? There’s no way it isn’t strong.


The brilliant light I saw earlier also makes sense now.

And the kaiju-movie beam must have come from its glowing tail.
The beam was fired from its tail into the forest

Yeah, somehow everything fits.
I thought it seemed like a kaiju movie, but I didn’t think an actual kaiju would show up.


I’ve never seen a being this powerful before.

Back when I was a saint, I even defeated a general of the Demon King’s army.

The general was an extraordinary foe.
Even back then, the battle I endured was so fierce I really thought I was going to die, yet I still managed to defeat him.

Compared to the demon general, the Fire Dragon before me was a creature of a higher magnitude—so much so that the general seemed adorable in comparison.

Stronger than the general? What does that even mean?

Could it be one of the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings?
Was it the strongest of them?
Or… something even greater…?


Ah. No. This is impossible.


Beep! Beep!

Emergency alert declared.

The tea party has been cancelled.
The plan has changed.


I cannot host a tea party with this dragon.
It was far too large for my vine chairs to support.

Besides, inviting Fire Dragon-sama—an exalted, superior member of the noble dragon race—to a commoner’s tea party in the forest would be terribly disrespectful.

As someone so lowly, it would be a serious offense to appear before Fire Dragon-sama.
Therefore, I shall exit the stage before it arrives.

My apologies.


—Wait… I want to run away somewhere.
But I can’t.

Because I am a plant…………

***

Author’s Note:

Thank you for reading.
It’s been about a month since my first post, and thanks to you all, I managed to reach 42nd place in the monthly rankings for Isekai Reincarnation/Transfer stories!
This is all thanks to your support. I’d like to express my gratitude once again m(_ _)m

Today will also feature two updates.

Next Time: The Flame King

TL’s Note:

1. Proverb (男子、三日会わざれば刮目して見よ) meaning is that people can change a lot in a short period of time. Therefore, people shouldn’t be judged by their past selves.