I’m an Alraune, a plant monster child.
Right now, I’m flying through the sky, being carried by White Bird-san.


I never thought I’d end up flying through the air while stuck inside a bucket.
You really never know what life is going to throw at you.


The reason I, a plant, was able to move like this was because the little witch had replanted me into a bucket, turning me into a potted Alraune.

I had moved into a new home, though it wasn’t exactly what I would call a good one.

The soil in the bucket was bone-dry and completely lacking moisture.
If the little witch were to abandon me like this, I’d definitely die.
No matter what happens, I can’t let her throw me away.

On top of that, the bucket was just the perfect size, too perfect—I couldn’t slip out at all.
Escaping on my own was impossible.
I’m completely stuck…


So here I am, sitting in a bucket high up in the sky.
Being transported by White Bird-san, I kind of feel like cargo.

Ah, the wind feels nice.
The view was wide open, and I could see far into the distance.
Was this how birds felt all the time when they flew?

The only reason I could move like this was thanks to the little witch.
She had transformed into White Bird-san and was flying while holding the bucket in her talons.

Since the little witch could use levitation magic, it seemed easy for her to move even while carrying me.

She’d have an easier time holding me in human form, but you never know who might see her, so she turned into a bird.
Staying human would look far too suspicious, after all.


White Bird-san glided gracefully far above the blackened earth.
She flew so naturally that she hardly seemed different from a real bird.

I shifted my gaze from the bird down toward the ground.
The scorched remains of the forest stretch on endlessly. The landscape had turned pitch-black from the flames.

It looked like the fire caused by Fire Dragon-sama had spread across a huge area.
This region wasn’t suitable for living creatures yet.

That was why we were searching for a new land, a large forest to call home.

The little witch said there should be a forest in this direction.
She must’ve passed through it once when fleeing from the Empire to the kingdom.

Yes, she had been telling me all sorts of stories from her past.

Flying gets boring, after all.
It wasn’t exactly a self-introduction, but she told me about everything that had happened since she first found me a year ago.

It turned out she really had been watching over me and taking care of me all that time.
Honestly, I couldn’t thank her enough.

It really does make me happy.
I thought I was all alone, but to think someone had been helping me all this time from the shadows.

Ah, thinking about the forest makes me miss everyone. My female knights, Ms. Bee, Lady Butterfly and the others.
I really hope they all managed to escape the fire safely.


While I reminisced about everyone in the Forest Club, White Bird-san let out a tired-sounding chirp.

“I’m starting to get tired from flying.”

“Want to… rest?”

“I think I’ll be fine if I get some nutrients. So I want nectar.”

This little witch… she asked for my nectar so naturally!

Is it really okay to give her some?
I already gave her nectar earlier when we took off because she said she was hungry.

“Alraune’s nectar is my favorite. I think I’ll feel better if I lick some. So… pretty please?”

Hey, since when did my nectar become your favorite?
You only tasted it for the first time a few hours ago. That’s way too fast to call it your favorite.

But even so, when White Bird-san begs me in that sweet voice, there’s no way I can refuse.

Oh well, I guess I’ll give her some nectar and play the big-sister role.

Between a little bird and a little Alraune, I should barely be the one who looked older, right?
Well, once she turns back into human form, I’ll obviously look like the younger one…

Grrr.
I’m sure my mental age is higher, so why is this happening?

I bit into my vine, coating it with nectar, then stretched it up toward White Bird-san’s beak.

She licked the nectar as she flew through the sky.
Satisfied, she chirped out a “thank you” and kept flapping her wings like nothing happened.


Our comfortable journey through the sky continued.

At last, the unchanging scenery began to shift.
In the distance, I spotted something long and thin, like a stick.

I wondered what it was, but as we drew closer, its shape became clear.

It was a tower.

Unlike my previous life in Japan, this world had very few tall buildings.
So if a tower could be seen from this far away, it was easy to recognize.

In this region, when mentioning tall towers, there was only one place it could be.

The Tower City.

That had to be it. A large town spreading across a high plateau, with a massive tower standing at its center, the symbol and heart of the city.
It could be called the most prosperous city in this frontier region.

I was pretty sure I once saw on a map that there was a large forest near the Tower City.
If we lived in that forest, the Tower City would be the closest town to us.


As I was thinking about that, I noticed a road appearing at the edge of the blackened land.
With the Tower City drawing closer, it seemed a proper highway had emerged.

It looked like we were not the only ones heading toward the Tower City.

There were other travelers on the road as well.

A single carriage was moving along the highway.
It was probably headed for the Tower City.

But more than that, something on the carriage caught my attention.

I was shocked.
I never thought I’d see that symbol again.

The emblem painted on the carriage belonged to the Heiliger Cathedral of the Church.
It was widely known among the public as the symbol of a saint.

Nearly all those in the kingdom who were capable of wielding light magic are gathered at the Heiliger Cathedral in the royal capital.

The cathedral, owned by the Church, functioned as a training institution for saint apprentices.
I, too, was officially affiliated with the Heiliger Cathedral back when I was a saint.

Which meant there was a very high chance that a saint apprentice was riding inside that carriage.

They were probably being transferred to the Tower City.

Back when I was active, I was the only one in the kingdom officially titled a saint.
Even if new saints had been appointed since then, there would only be one or two at most.
Therefore, the person being sent to a remote region like this certainly wouldn’t be a saint, but a saint apprentice.


Saint apprentices, as users of light magic, were valuable both in peacetime and during combat.
That’s why they’re dispatched to churches in important cities across the land.

Maybe there was a saint apprentice I knew riding in that carriage.

The trashy junior saint apprentice who betrayed me supposedly married the Hero in the royal capital, so there was no way she’d be sent out to the middle of nowhere like this.

So whoever was in that carriage couldn’t be that trashy junior.

If it were someone I knew from back then, that would be kind of nostalgic.
Before I knew it, memories from my time as a saint came flooding back.


I found myself missing my days as a saint, back when I was still human.

But I could never return to that role again.

Because I was no longer human.
I had become a monster, an enemy of humanity……


As I lingered on the symbol belonging to those who were once my comrade, I felt something strange.

It felt like someone was watching us.

I don’t think it was coming from the carriage.
There didn’t seem to be anyone else on the ground either.
So maybe the gaze wasn’t from below.

I lifted my eyes upward.

High above us, far in the sky, a massive bird was flying.

That was a giant eagle-type monster, a Begia Adler.

A terrifying bird monster capable of snatching up not just humans, but even large monsters, and carrying them off with ease with its talons.

The mere fact that such a fearsome giant eagle was flying overhead sent a chill down my spine.

The little witch noticed it too, murmuring, “That bird is scary.”

Could it be… we’re in danger?

If a violent giant eagle monster like that attacked us, White Bird-san wouldn’t stand a chance.
Even if I, a plant monster, tried to fight, being in the sky would give it the advantage.

We’d probably be eaten in no time.

──Ugh.
I had no idea the sky could be such a dangerous place.

So even the birds that can soar freely up in the sky are vulnerable to predators like this.


The little witch desperately tried to put distance between us and the giant eagle, but she couldn’t match its speed.

There was no way we could escape.
It’s all over for us… or so I thought. But no matter how much time passed, the giant eagle didn’t come any closer.


Huh? What’s going on?

It was easily within striking distance, yet it didn’t attack.
Instead, it kept watching us from far above, as if standing watch.

Almost like it was monitoring us.
Or maybe it was watching the saint’s carriage on the ground.

Either way, the giant eagle never attacked.
After a while, it simply left without doing anything.

What on earth was that all about?
In any case, that was a relief.



Before we knew it, the sun had already begun to set.

The Tower City was right in front of us now.
At the same time, the forest we were aiming for finally came into view.

“That’s the new forest!”

The little witch exclaimed happily.


But a strange sight awaited us there.

The blackened earth ended abruptly.
A straight line, as if drawn with a ruler, sharply divided the forest from the scorched ground

It almost felt like there had been an invisible wall there, shielding the forest from the flames.
After all, beyond that line, the forest hadn’t burned at all.

It was deeply unnatural.
There had to have been some kind of supernatural power at work.


And just like that, we arrived at the mysterious forest.
This vast woodland bordering the Tower City was marked on maps and even had a name.

The Forest of Dryades.

An ancient place that existed long before the kingdom was founded.
For a thousand years, it had endured as a vast, inhuman forest where non-human monsters roamed freely.

And now, it would become our new home.

Thus, the little witch and I descended into the mysterious and frightening magical forest.


At last, our new life had begun.

***

Author’s Note:

Thank you very much for reading.
If you found the story interesting, I would be incredibly happy if you supported it with a bookmark or five stars. That encouragement truly helps motivate me to keep writing.

Next Time: The Nectar-Devouring Witch