To save the little witch, who had collapsed from hunger and heat, we set off toward the forest’s sacred sanctuary.


The Treant carrying me, the little witch, and Fairy-san pushed his way through the trees as we went.


A forest spirit, a Dryad.
Fairy-san told us she is the master of this forest, a being that has existed since the moment the woods were born.


I recalled what I had read about Dryads in books from the royal capital.
Forest spirits are famous for rarely appearing before humans.
They are said to appear human-like, yet their true form is that of an ancient tree.


Having a human form while also being a plant.
That’s a situation a bit like mine.

And considering she’s a higher-ranking being than me, a monster, I suppose I should respect her as a senior.


While I was lost in thought, I realized we had entered a dense fog.
Then, all of a sudden, something black and massive appeared in front of us, like a huge rock.

No, it wasn’t a rock.
It was a giant bear!

Emerging from the fog was a bear-type monster, a Raub bear.
And it looks like it’s over ten meters tall. About the same size as Papa Bear!


Nice to meet you.
Might you be a relative of Bear Papa?

I had a very good relationship with Bear Papa, you see. So I believe we can build a similarly friendly relationship as well.


As I stared at the bear, trembling uncontrollably, the fairy casually called out to it.
“Thanks for guarding the place.”

Huh… Does she know this bear…?

“This bear is kind of like the guardian of Lady Dryad’s sanctuary. So you can relax.”


Just as she said, Bear Papa’s relative showed no sign of attacking us.
To command such a powerful monster… the forest spirit truly seems to be no ordinary being.

Leaving the bear behind, we pressed onward through the fog.



“We have been expecting you.”

A woman’s voice echoed from somewhere.
As if responding to the voice, the fog suddenly cleared.

Before we knew it, we had been transported deep into another part of the forest.


Standing before us was a colossal tree that seemed to pierce straight through the forest itself.

When we flew above the woods on the back of the white bird, I never saw a tree this large.
Maybe some kind of sanctuary barrier hides it from the outside.


Beneath that enormous tree stood a single woman, her back to the trunk.
She must be the forest spirit.


Good day to you, Lady Dryad.
I am deeply honored to be granted an audience with the exalted spirit who reigns as queen of this forest.

We came so suddenly, and I am terribly sorry for the discourtesy of appearing before you while still stuck in a bucket. Please forgive me.


Unlike my sorry state, Lady Dryad was so beautiful I could hardly look away.
She was just like a goddess from a sacred scripture.

At first glance, her appearance was identical to that of a human woman, but her hair was so distinctive that it immediately drew the eye.

Her hair was made of vine-like tendrils woven together with leaves, a very plant-like style.
It was a form no human could have, and it gave her an air of quiet divinity.

Her hair, made of green vines and countless leaves, fanned out elegantly, shining with a natural luster.
Branches sprouted from her head like hair ornaments, perfectly befitting a forest spirit.

And what surprised me most was her clothing.
She was wearing a human woman’s dress, a white gown arranged with vines. It was absolutely beautiful.


Compared to her, I’m a world apart, only wrapping vines around my chest to cover myself.
Meeting a forest spirit like this without proper attire feels painfully out of place. It’s honestly a little embarrassing.

But my current form is that of a little girl.
I feel like any outfit would be forgiven on a little girl. I’m so glad I’m a little girl…!


“So you are the Alraune I’ve heard about.”

Lady Dryad’s gentle voice reached my ears.

“I’ve heard from Kiri about finding a very unusual pair, an Alraune and a witch.”


Kiri must be the fairy.

If word had already reached her from a fairy I only met yesterday, then the “errand” she mentioned must have been reporting to Lady Dryad.

Come to think of it, the books in the royal capital’s library mentioned that forest fairies sometimes serve the forest’s master, the Dryad.
It seems fairies act as messengers for the forest spirits.


“You don’t seem like an ordinary Alraune. I can see a very powerful light within your body.”

Light?
Is she talking about the power of light I had back when I was a saint?
She can tell even that. Forest spirits really are on a different level.


“You can speak despite being an Alraune, your appearance is indistinguishable from a human’s, and you possess strength far beyond what a small plant monster should have. You appear to be a truly exceptional Alraune.”

Well, there probably aren’t many Alraune who were saints in a past life.
I’ve never met another Alraune, so I can’t say for sure.


“Your species is that of a monster, yet your inner power may be closer to that of a spirit.”

Huh. Am I being praised right now?
I kind of like it.

Hearing this evaluation, Fairy-san murmured in surprise.

“For Lady Dryad to praise this Alraune so highly…”

“This Alraune harbors strength equal to, or even greater than, the Raub bear guarding the sanctuary outside.”


This was before I became a little girl, but I’ve already eaten two Raub bears before.
If we fought again, I’m confident I could win using the same strategy.


“Now then, what business does such a special Alraune have with a forest spirit like myself?”

“A request… Please… save this child.”


I lifted the little witch with my vines and held her out before Lady Dryad.


“Hmm. It seems this girl is ill, and also suffering from malnutrition. In that case, I should be able to heal her.”

“Really!?”


Just hearing that the little witch would be saved made me feel as though a path had opened up right in front of me.


A single vine stretched out from Lady Dryad’s feet.
It reached above the little witch’s face, and a single flower bloomed at its tip.

From the center of that flower, one drop fell.
The tiny droplet slipped into the little witch’s mouth, as if being gently drawn in.


“I have given her my life force. With this, her illness should be cured.”


I placed a vine against the little witch’s forehead.

It’s true! Her fever is gone!
Such instant results… Is this the power of a spirit’s dew?


As I marveled at the spirit’s power and looked back at Lady Dryad, I noticed she seemed slightly tired.

Looking closer, most of her hair leaves were green, but here and there I could see some that had turned brown and withered.
Maybe even a forest spirit can grow tired.


“All that remains is proper human food. I’ll leave that to all of you.”

As Lady Dryad spoke, dozens of glowing orbs burst forth from the surrounding trees.

These lights… they’re fairies.
I never imagined I’d see so many fairies at once.


The fairies flew off beyond the sanctuary’s borders.
Where could they be headed, I wonder.


Lady Dryad looked down at me and calmly suggested us to stay here for the night.

“By tomorrow, the issue of food for that girl will be resolved. For tonight, rest here.”

“B-but…”

“There are no ill-mannered beings here who would attack you. This is a garden of women, so sleep in peace.”


──Huh, a garden of women?
So that means there are no men here, right?


I shifted my gaze in turn to Lady Dryad, the fairy Kiri, the little witch, and then the Treant.

Wait, this Treant is a girl?
Does that mean she’s a female Treant??


Lady Dryad’s words seemed to have reached the Treant too, because she started fidgeting shyly.
That behavior is… kind of girlish.

Eeeeeeh?!


“Ah~well, guess the secret’s out~.”

Fairy-san spoke up, revealing the secret.


“This Treant is female. Apparently she has a real weakness for beautiful things, and she seems to admire the lovely blooming flower, the Alraune~”


A Treant who loves beautiful things?
So she wasn’t stalking me because she was male—she was just a fan of the same-sex?


“She asked me not to tell anyone she was female, but now there’s no helping it, right? I guess she was embarrassed because her appearance and her tastes didn’t match at all.”


I see. So that’s what the fairy and the Treant were whispering about!
Now it all makes sense.

So this Treant wasn’t an underling, she was more like a little sister.
What am I going to do? Somehow, I’ve become an older sister!



Still reeling from the revelation that the Treant was female, I decided to move and secure a place to sleep for the night.

As the Treant lifted me up, I glanced toward the edge of the sanctuary and spotted something.
In the shadow of a nearby tree, there laid a helmet and a flat stone slab.


I asked the Treant to carry me over to the helmet.

From the looks of it, it was a very old helmet.
Judging by its size and shape, it must be for a human.
It looked like it had been there for decades.


And then it dawned on me.
This helmet had been placed in front of a grave.

The flat stone lying on the ground was a gravestone.


Covered in moss and beginning to weather away, it’s clear that several decades have already passed since it was placed here.


“Lady Dryad… whose grave… is this?”

“It is the grave of a regular human who lost their life in this forest.”


It was undoubtedly a human grave.
But Lady Dryad didn’t tell me everything.


After all, this gravestone bore an inscription revealing the identity of the one resting here.
There are words clearly carved into the stone.

She must have assumed I was just a monster who couldn’t read human writing.
That’s why she didn’t explain further.
But unfortunately, I used to be a saint.

For someone who once lived as a human, reading carved human words is no challenge at all.


There was only a single line written on the gravestone.


“Here lies the Hero.”

I understood immediately.

That helmet must have belonged to the Hero.


And this is the Hero’s grave.

***

Author’s Note:

Thank you very much for reading.

Next Time: The Great Fairy Nectar-Soaking Operation