Peace returned to the forest.
The grueling battle with the Minotaurs of the Demon King’s Army was over.
Now then, time to appraise the loot.
I set about unpacking the bundles left by the Minotaurs and Bull Monsters.
Ta-da!
I found stores of animal meat that had been kept as marching rations.
And look at these—water flasks! Four of them!
Now I could finally store water.
Even if another drought hit this summer, I wouldn't have to suffer through the same nightmare I did last year as long as I had these.
If I felt thirsty, I could just water myself with the contents of a flask.
This was the absolute best!
I wondered how the original owner of these flasks was doing right about now.
The Rear-guard Minotaur, I mean. Even the bull that served as his porter now belonged to me.
In the end, I’d let one Minotaur escape. I wondered if that was really okay.
He must have been secretly watching the fight between the Eyepatch Minotaur’s group and our Forest Circle.
That meant he knew I was the one who took them down.
I just hoped he wouldn't come back for revenge with reinforcements in tow.
For the time being—though it might have been too late—I decided to destroy the evidence.
And so, it was time for an all-you-can-eat bull buffet.
I was exhausted from dancing at the ball and desperately needed the nutrients.
I took a bite of a bull.
Munch, munch.
There were plenty of seconds, too.
Ah, my throat was getting dry. I wanted some water.
But today, I was a different woman.
Because I had water flasks!
I poured the water from a flask over my roots.
Ah, it tasted delicious.
It really made me feel alive.
I was so glad I managed to survive.
And yet, there were companions who hadn't been so lucky.
The Lady Knights—the Hachi-san—and Madam Butterfly's followers, the Tefutefu.
It looked like over half their number had been killed.
The surviving Hachi-san and Madam Butterfly’s group were fluttering and dancing over the fallen.
Everyone, I’m so sorry.
I couldn't protect you.
Thank you for coming to save me.
Because of you, the forest was saved, and I wasn't burned to a crisp.
I carefully gathered the fallen Hachi-san and Tefutefu into one spot.
I couldn't just leave them like that.
I agonized over what to do, but in the end, I decided to return the Lady Knights and the followers to the earth.
I considered the idea of a memorial service where I consumed them as nutrients so we could become one, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.
They were born in this forest, they fought the enemies who invaded it, and they fell here.
It felt right to return them to the forest that was their home.
I worked diligently, using my briars to dig a hole.
A single briar wasn't enough to break the hard earth, but when I bundled several together into a rope-like shape, their strength increased.
I fanned out the bundled briars like a shovel and scooped out the soil.
I had learned how to dig.
I buried the Hachi-san and Tefutefu and quietly covered them with earth.
In place of a grave marker, I used an axe to cut off one of my own briars and drove it into the ground.
Then, I grew a Man-eater flower and cut that off too.
I’d managed to give them flowers, at least. I hoped it was enough.
It was probably the largest flower in the forest, second only to my own. I hoped they’d be happy with it.
Finally, I dripped my nectar onto the grave marker.
Everyone, you all loved my nectar, didn't you? You can come back to lick it whenever you want.
I gave nectar to the surviving Hachi-san and Madam Butterfly’s group as well.
Thank you, everyone.
If the Forest Circle hadn't been here, I never could have beaten those Minotaurs.
To the Forest Circle members who returned to the earth: let’s all have another ball when you’re reborn.
I was able to reincarnate, after all.
I couldn't help but hope that the same might be true for them.
Even if it wasn't realistic, I couldn't stop myself from wishing for it.
So much had happened in a single day.
We were having a ball with the Forest Circle when the Minotaurs of the Demon King’s Army intruded.
Just when I thought I’d dealt with the intruders, their comrades and the Bull Monsters arrived, and a Martial Arts Tournament began between the Forest Circle—the Lady Knights and Madam Butterfly’s group who came to my aid—and the Demon King’s Army.
Then, just as the enemies were eliminated, the Eyepatch Minotaur tried to burn the forest down. Once the fire was out, the Rear-guard Minotaur fled.
And finally, I dug a grave for my friends. Thus ended the Forest Circle's most turbulent ball.
I don't think I’d ever experienced so much in one day.
It was hard, but I was happy to have been with Hachi-san and Madam Butterfly.
Thank you again, everyone.
I’m looking forward to being with you from now on.
Once they finished gathering nectar, the Lady Knights and Madam Butterfly's group headed back into the depths of the forest.
The Hachi-san took the defeated bulls with them as gifts for their families.
They surely had nests to return to.
But I was all alone.
Ah, it really had been a noisy day.
Because it had been so unusually lively, I had accidentally remembered.
I remembered how precious the warmth of others could be.
The kindness of Hachi-san and Madam Butterfly was so warm.
When I realized they’d come to save me, I thought my heart would boil over with heat.
People cannot live alone. They lived by helping one another.
Perhaps because I’d been living as a plant for nearly a year, I’d completely forgotten that.
I’d been a loner for far too long.
But thanks to them, I remembered the happiness of spending time with someone.
"Ah, it’s cold..."
The season was spring.
The weather was balmy, and it stayed warm even as evening fell.
Even so, I couldn't help but mutter those words.
The Royal Capital of my home was far away.
My relatives would slowly forget the dead, and the Hero—the man who betrayed and killed me—was starting a new life with my junior, the Apprentice Saint. They probably didn't even remember I existed.
As for Japan from my previous life, that was a world beyond a dream, a place I could never return to.
I could only vaguely recall my parents' faces now.
I was all alone in this world.
I had visitors like my friends from the Forest Circle or the White Bird, but they were ultimately strangers.
I had no kin.
I had no family to rely on.
I didn't even have anyone to talk to.
I was just a plant, rooted all alone in the forest.
That hadn't changed, and it never would.
I would be alone in this world forever.
──That’s not right. It’s too much.
That was it. The truth was, I was just having a dream where I’d become an Alraune.
Yes, let me just close my eyes.
When I next wake up, I’ll be a Saint again.
My father and mother will be there, and my fiancé, the Hero, will come to fetch me.
That place where I belong, filled with warmth... that’s where I'll be.
So, this is a dream.
When I open my eyes, the dream will surely break.
I will have the courage to open them.
When I opened my eyelids, the dim, dark forest was there waiting for me.
I wasn't disappointed. I didn't agonize over which was the reality, like the Butterfly's Dream.
Escaping reality was useless. The past could not be changed.
I was an Alraune.
A lonely, solitary Alraune.
"I’m lonely..."
I had said those words in my heart a thousand times over the past year.
But this was the first time I had actually given them breath and spoken them aloud.
"I’m really... so lonely..."
Hachi-san, Madam Butterfly, White Bird.
Anyone... please, just stay with me.
Comfort me.
And if you could water me while you’re at it, I’d be really happy.
Thank you for reading. There will be two updates today as well. Next time: I'm going to be an actress.