The following is from Niece Alraune's POV.
I was a plant monster, an Alraune.
My name was Mei Edelweiss.
I was not the Original (Iris), but a Child Alraune living in the Duke of Edelweiss’s mansion.
Having just been born, I had not only received a name but had also begun my new life as a Noble Alraune.
At first, I had been hesitant about whether I deserved such wonderful treatment, but by then, I was fully embracing it.
I was different from my sisters who lived in the forest.
Why? Because I had a name!
I was surely a special existence.
That was exactly why I would protect this city, Edelweiss, for the sake of Big Sister Tulpe, who had welcomed me so warmly.
I would not lose to some suspicious person.
"Big Sister Tulpe, leave it to me!"
"But the enemy might not be a simple suspicious person. It could even be one of the Twelve Sword Generals of the Empire!"
"Even if it is one of the Twelve Sword Generals of the Empire, do you really think I would lose to them?"
"T-That is..."
Big Sister Tulpe glanced toward the city.
Edelweiss remained covered in greenery. Since Mama had turned the city into something resembling a forest, it could not be helped.
"...If Mei-chan can do the same things as Iris-chan, then I do not believe you would lose."
"Right?"
Because I was strong.
After all, I was the daughter of that Original (Mama).
Even the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King Army would surely be no match for me.
I did not feel like I could lose at all.
"Then I will go deal with the suspicious person heading toward the city."
"Please be careful. I shall dispatch the Knight Order just in case, so if anything happens, please make use of them."
"Understood."
I connected to the Alraune Network that stretched its roots through the earth.
Thanks to those roots that Mama had spread across the entire country, I was able to teleport anywhere.
—I think this is the one.
Someone was moving at high speed on the highway extending south from Edelweiss.
Thanks to the roots crawling through the ground, I could perceive such things to a certain extent.
Mama was truly amazing for doing something so beyond the norm.
And I was her daughter.
In order to be recognized as a noble, I had to prove I could be just as active as Mama, and soon.
"U-Um..."
The Steward tried to say something to me as I was about to depart.
But I had no time for that.
A mysterious suspicious person was trying to attack the city.
Ignoring the Steward’s words, I left the spot.
"Well then, I’m off."
—Teleport!
I created a clone on the southern highway and teleported my body near the suspicious person.
I really was amazing, being able to move my body in an instant.
In this wide world, surely only Mama and us sisters could do something like that.
Now then, I thought, let’s just go ahead and defeat this suspicious person.
However, the moment I opened my eyes, I was taken aback.
"...What is this?"
First of all, there were two suspicious people in front of me.
The first was a large knight wearing the uniform of the Edelweiss Knight Order.
It bothered me that their clothes were incredibly tight—it was likely the size simply did not fit.
If I saw someone dressed like that in the city, I would have wanted to seize them with my vines as a suspicious person, too.
They stood with their sword drawn, seemingly hostile toward the other individual there.
And this second suspicious person was just plain dangerous.
This incredibly elongated suspicious person wearing a cloak was dressed so inexplicably that I might have believed they were a new species of monster.
First, they had two heads.
A black-haired man’s face was at the very top, and below that was another black-haired man’s face.
Both were so dirty it looked as if they had smeared soot on themselves.
Furthermore, they only had two legs, yet they had four arms.
From a distance, they looked like nothing but a monster, but I could see their true form clearly.
"Wait... a shoulder carry?"
The second suspicious person was not a long-limbed human or a new monster.
It was just a pair of guys in a shoulder carry.
Two mysterious men somehow doing a shoulder carry—this was, without a doubt, the suspicious person.
They were a picture-perfect suspicious character.
I wanted to hand them over to the Knight Order immediately.
Oh, how convenient, there was a member of the Knight Order right here.
This was perfect. It almost felt as if the knight had been waiting here to ambush the shoulder-carrying suspicious person just for me.
Just as I thought things were off to a good start, the man on top of the shoulder carry spoke.
"A... Alraune?"
He seemed surprised to see me.
But it was honestly offensive to have him look so shocked.
After all, I was the one who wanted to be surprised.
Who could have imagined that the mysterious suspicious person running down the highway was actually a pair of soot-covered men doing a shoulder carry?
No one, that was who.
I mean, this Shoulder-Carry Man was the suspicious person who had been running down the highway at high speed until just then, right?
A human doing a shoulder carry running three times faster than a horse was simply not realistic.
Who on earth were they?
Their faces looked familiar, but unfortunately, there was no data on such weirdos in Mama’s memories.
Their hair was pitch black, as if they had been covered in soot.
Their faces were painted like some indigenous tribe.
Well, they were so dirty with soot that I could not really tell.
Besides, it seemed Mama did not have any acquaintances who were weirdos that ran faster than horses while doing a shoulder carry.
I did not want to be friends with such a suspicious person anyway, so I was glad they were strangers.
Surely this knight here must have been horrified by this monster-like suspicious person as well.
Even though I thought that, the knight for some reason shouted while looking at me.
"What, an Alraune!?"
This knight also seemed surprised by me.
In fact, they had arrived far too fast for a knight sent by Big Sister Tulpe. They were already here before me.
Did that mean they were a knight on patrol?
If so, I was sorry for calling them a suspicious person.
"I apologize for startling you. But it's okay, let's defeat the suspicious person together!"
I pointed my vines at the Shoulder-Carry Man.
But then, something strange happened.
Instead of me, the Shoulder-Carry Man took a combat stance as if wary of the Edelweiss knight.
And for some reason, the Edelweiss knight leveled their sword at me.
It became a three-way standoff between me, the Shoulder-Carry Man, and the Edelweiss knight.
Just... what was going on?
The man on top of the shoulder carry said to me:
"I don't know why an Alraune is here, but be careful. That guy is likely one of the Twelve Sword Generals of the Empire!"
"I see, I see."
I turned my face toward the knight whom the Shoulder-Carry Man called one of the Twelve Sword Generals of the Empire.
"The Shoulder-Carry Man says that, but you are a knight of Edelweiss, right?"
"............Correct. I heard there was a suspicious person and was lying in wait here."
"I see, I see."
A knight wearing a skin-tight uniform and a pair of soot-covered men doing a shoulder carry.
If you had to pick which was more suspicious... well, obviously the shoulder-carrying duo.
This knight was just wearing clothes that were too tight. It would have been a pity to label them a suspicious person just for that.
Their body was probably just too big and the size did not fit. It was fine; I would ask Big Sister Tulpe to have a special extra-large size custom-made for them.
That meant the true identity of this Shoulder-Carry Man must have been the Twelve Sword General of the Empire.
They were trying to mislead me into fighting my own ally.
That was close; I almost got tricked.
As expected of a suspicious person, how wicked!
"I am Mei Edelweiss. Sir Knight, I shall assist you!"
"Our name is Kubira. Together, we shall capture them!"
—Wait?
I felt like I had heard that name, Kubira, somewhere before.
But I was not the one who had heard it.
It was as if I had heard that name in Mama’s memories...
Ah, no good. There were too many name memories to recall it instantly.
"I do not know what is happening, but this is a golden opportunity. Kubira of the Sincere Sword, coming through!"
Kubira charged at the Shoulder-Carry Man.
From their linear movement alone, I could tell they were no amateur.
With a unique footwork that created an illusion as if they had moved in an instant, they closed the distance with incredible speed.
I understood immediately.
Kubira’s swordsmanship had reached the level of a master.
"So fast...!"
And that was not all.
I could guess that one strike from Kubira, who swung a sword larger than my own body with ease, would be a lethal blow.
The knights of Edelweiss were so amazing.
Among all the knights in the city within Mama’s memories, this Kubira might have been the strongest.
"Behold our mighty blade that cleaves armor in two! Hraaaaaah!!"
Kubira flashed their sword at the Shoulder-Carry Man.
It looked like they were about to cut the suspicious person in two.
The man on top of the shoulder carry closed his eyes while holding his head.
"I-I'm gonna get killed!"
He let out a pathetic voice. Perhaps the Shoulder-Carry Man was weak after all.
The moment I thought that, however, I did not miss the man on the bottom of the shoulder carry flashing a smirk.
Without moving from his spot, the bottom man’s arm shifted slowly, and he snapped his fingers.
Snap!
"Gyaaaaaaaaaah!"
Kubira’s scream and the crackling sound of a flash of lightning echoed in my ears.
In the brief moment I closed my eyes against the blinding light, Kubira was charred black and collapsed to the ground.
—This Shoulder-Carry Man is strong!
Was that... magic just then?
But I did not know magic like that.
It resembled light magic, but there was no way a man like the Shoulder-Carry Man could use light magic.
Besides, although I could not see it clearly, I felt as if something like electricity had been discharged from him.
Lightning Magic did not exist, and the possibility of this person being an electric eel was very low.
"Nevertheless, this overwhelming power... there's no mistake."
This Shoulder-Carry Man was indeed the Twelve Sword General of the Empire.
Kubira, the Edelweiss knight, was strong, but they were nowhere near the level of a true powerhouse.
I never dreamed a suspicious person could be this strong.
The world was a wide place.
I only knew that through knowledge, and because of that, I might have been a bit conceited.
Just because I was Mama’s daughter, I had thought I was the strongest.
And yet, I felt an overwhelming power from the Shoulder-Carry Man before me.
It did not look like I could defeat him easily.
"But I will protect this city. And I'll avenge the knight, too...!"
"Hm? What's that?"
The bottom half of the Shoulder-Carry Man spoke.
Unlike the timid top half, the bottom half had a flippant, casual attitude.
"Is the Alraune girl... gonna fight me?"
"............?"
"I don't know what you came here for, but I was getting bored of just running, and I was a bit tired. I want to settle the score for before, so I'll take you up on that offer!"
At that moment, a yellow flash streaked from the Shoulder-Carry Man.
"Come on, play with me for a bit."
Seeing that, I finally realized it.
The Shoulder-Carry Man was not just a mysterious suspicious person.
He was the world’s rarest—the Electric Shoulder-Carry Man.