I’d said my farewells to everyone in the Forest Club.

Now, I’m the only one remaining in this forest.


It looked like the fire had reached the right side of the forest too.
Soon, everything around me will be consumed by the flames.


Fire Dragon-sama’s blue flames are consuming me, but it seems like the wildfire will get to me before they do.
Well, either way, I’m still going to burn.


Ahh.
So this is the end of my life, huh.


In my previous life in Japan, I died when I was a high school student. In this world, I became a saint and died at seventeen.
And now, as an Alraune, I’m going to die at about age one.


Looking back, what a miserable life this turned out to be.

When I awakened to light magic as a child, my life was spent training to become a saint. Then, when my childhood friend, the prince, became a hero, and I became betrothed to him, that’s when the gears of fate started turning.

We had set out from the capital as a party to defeat the Demon King. The journey was fine up until the moment we defeated one of the Demon King’s generals.

The problem started right after that.

It all began on that day.

Betrayed by the Hero and that awful junior saint-in-training, all my limbs were cut off. As if that weren’t enough, the Hero had been stolen away by that damn junior. Drowning in despair, I was eaten by a flower monster. When I woke up again, I had been reborn as an Alraune.

Unbelievable, right?

And even after that,it was nothing but one life-threatening event after another.

Ms. Bees nearly pollinating me, Papa Bear licking me all over. Thinking back, all that comes to mind are the terrible memories.

Still, getting to meet White Bird-san and everyone in the Forest Club had made me truly happy.


I even became the Lord of the Forest, and I grew attached to this place.

In a movie I watched back in my high school days, there was a captain who chose to sink with his ship. Now I understand how the captain felt.


I was reborn as an Alraune, given new life in this forest. This forest was my new home.

And within this forest, my kin, the other plants, thrived in great numbers.
Those very trees and plants were burning now.

Look, the fire is about to reach that withered tree I was always curious about.

Even if it’s dead, I understand not wanting to burn. But we’re plants. We can’t run. There’s nothing we can do about it.


Then I’ll go with them.

I can’t escape the fire. I can’t extinguish Fire Dragon-sama’s blue flame either.
So I’ll share my fate with the forest


Together with my fellow forest plants.
We’ll all burn together.
And when that happens, we can become one as ashes.

Then… I won’t have to feel lonely anymore… right?


One last thing.

I wonder if White Bird-san is okay.
It looked like it was fleeing from the Fire Dragon, so I hope it’s safe.


White Bird-san.
Please, at least you must survive.
Because you are my… my Prince… oh…………


For the forest plants, a wildfire means the end of its life.
Plants don’t normally run away just because the heat of the flames as they close in is unbearable.

So, my life ends here.

Just as I accepted that and gave up, I heard a loud sound, like something being violently torn out of the ground.


Pop!

The sound snapped my consciousness back, which had been drifting away.


What was that?

What made that sound?


I looked around, and it felt like I made eye contact with a tree.

Or rather, a withered tree


It was the strange withered tree that appeared out of nowhere that I had been curious about.

And that withered tree lifted its roots out of the ground and started walking.

It walked with its roots like feet, taking little steps.

That withered tree isn’t just any tree.
It was a monster.

The true identity of the tree was a monster called a Treant.

I was shocked. So you were a tree monster.
Which means you didn’t just suddenly wither. You secretly walked over here and planted yourself near me.

The reason why some of your branches were angled differently, or was growing in slightly the wrong spot, was because you moved when I wasn’t looking.

Treants are tree-type monsters.
Broadly speaking, we were both plant monsters. But unlike normal plants, Treants can move. They’re rare.


The wildfire was close now, so it was trying to move away from the flames. Well, if it can walk, of course it would do that. Yeah… I get it now.


The Treant stared at me intently.
Yes, Treants have eyes. It seemed to have been hiding them until now, and it even had a mouth.


That Treant and I had known each other for a long time. We’ve been neighbors for almost a year, I think.

Just a hunch, but I think the Treant is male.
I don’t know if Treants even have genders, but that was the feeling I got.

It bothers me that he took root in a spot where I could see him.
Because he always planted himself where I could see him, he risked being attacked by me as a monster, yet he deliberately stayed nearby. The Treant must have been interested in me.

Otherwise, he could have moved somewhere else.

Thinking back, the reason I kept looking at that withered tree was probably because I felt his gaze.

That was why I found myself paying attention to his presence and kept staring back at the withered tree.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but maybe we really were looking at each other this whole time.

But I always thought the withered tree was just a tree. He had plenty of chances to reveal itself, but he never did. The Treant just silently observed me, a fellow plant monster.

It was almost like unrequited love, wasn’t it?


Maybe he had been quietly watching over me because we were both plant monsters.

Or maybe, and this might be me getting full of myself, he was captivated my appearance.

After all, both the minotaurs and the Fire Dragon said I was beautiful.
I’m confident that I’m a truly beautiful flower.

So maybe the Treant was smitten by my appearance too.
Between plant monsters, it feels plausible.
That’s why I thought he might be male.


Then… maybe he’ll do something about my crisis.
As Withered Prince Charming, maybe he’ll save me.
I hope so.

If I want help, I should speak up.
I gathered my courage and called out.

“Hey, Treant-san… over there, please help me…”


I had already given up on my life once, but when someone is there who could save you, it’s hard not to cling to hope.
As I stared at the Treant, he suddenly moved.


The Treant glanced at me once, then sprinted in the opposite direction at full speed.

It happened in an instant.

Treant charged deep into the unburned part of the forest with amazing form.

It all happened so suddenly that all I could do was watch the Treant’s form disappear into the depths of the forest.



——No way.

That thing abandoned me!

He ran off to save himself.
I can’t believe it.

As a fellow forest plant, as another plant monster, he’s beneath contempt.

You… you traitor—!


Nectar streamed from my eyes as I burst into tears and shouted,

***

Author’s Note:

Thank you for reading.

Next Time: I Don’t Want to Burn

TL’s Note:

Sorry for the slow uploads. Work has been destroying me recently.