I was Alraune, a plant monster girl.
Beside me was the White Bird, who, for some reason, was currently speaking the human tongue.
In the midst of the emergency where my bulb was in danger of catching fire, my "prince on a white horse" had appeared in the form of this bird.
After he extinguished the flames with a bucket of water, he suddenly spoke, telling me to "hide."
I was beyond shocked.
But wait a minute.
Why could the White Bird speak the language of humans?
Back in the winter, he had done nothing but chirp.
For that to change into a command like "hide" just because spring had arrived was simply bizarre.
There was a saying that if you didn't see a man for three days, you should look at him with fresh eyes to see how much he had grown—but could one really develop this much?
I didn't even know if he was male or female.
In any case, it was no longer a matter of being good or bad at speaking. This was a different dimension entirely. Was the White Bird a genius?
Well, that probably wasn't it.
He had even said, "Before that guy comes, hide," which meant he completely understood the context of the situation. This went beyond mere talent.
Had he suddenly gained the ability to speak this spring, or had he been able to talk all along and simply kept it hidden? I couldn't be sure.
Regardless, one thing was certain:
I was now capable of having a conversation with the White Bird.
"Bird-san... you can talk?"
The White Bird stared at me in silence.
"Please, Bird-san... I want you to speak to me."
"……I apologize for keeping it a secret. But now isn't the time for this."
Since he said he had been hiding it, that meant he had been able to speak for a long time.
But he didn't need to apologize. If anything, I was overjoyed.
Ah, I felt so moved.
To think that I was finally having a dialogue with the very bird who had saved my life so many times. I still couldn't quite believe it.
"Bird-san, what are you?"
"That is……"
The White Bird’s beak snapped shut.
Suddenly, a thunderous roar reached my ears, drowning out our conversation.
A heavy impact echoed through the forest, as if something gargantuan had just dropped out of the sky nearby.
Something of immense proportions had landed in the woods.
The source of the sound seemed to be approaching, one step at a time.
Thump. Thump. The noise grew steadily louder.
The White Bird began to flap his wings in a panic.
"That guy is coming. I have to go now."
Keeping low to avoid flying above the treeline, the White Bird prepared to flee.
"Talking Flower, do whatever you can to survive. If you do, I’ll come back to water you."
"Wait, Bird-san! Who is 'that guy'?"
Leaving my words behind, the White Bird took flight as if escaping.
He glided between the branches and vanished from my sight.
What was that all about?
It felt like a dream.
I never imagined the day would come when I would actually talk with the White Bird.
He recognized me as a "Talking Flower," didn't he?
I had been calling him "White Bird" all this time, and now I thought of him as the "Talking White Bird," so our perceptions of each other were actually quite similar. It was a little funny.
The only reason we only had nicknames based on appearances was that we had never actually introduced ourselves.
I would have loved to sit down and listen to his story, but it seemed we didn't have that kind of luxury right now.
The White Bird had told me to "hide" because "that guy" was coming.
But even if he told me to hide, how exactly was I supposed to do that?
I couldn't move, so the best I could do was cover myself with my vines.
More importantly, Bird-san... did he just say he’d come water me if I survived this fire?
I was incredibly happy about that!
To think he would do something like that for me.
I actually started to look forward to it.
I began to imagine a scene in the forest where I held a tea party with everyone from the Forest Circle, including the White Bird.
There would be the Lady Knight Hachi-san, Madam Butterfly and her Tefutefu, and the White Bird.
Unlike before, I would now have someone to actually converse with.
I might even be able to hold a Ball with the White Bird.
What a delightful tea party that would be.
Living a quiet plant life in this forest... that would be true happiness.
──Now then, let's return to reality.
If I wanted to maintain my paradise in this forest, I had to do something about this fire.
And the Arsonist responsible for it was, for some reason, heading straight for me.
This might actually be an opportunity.
If I could just deal with the Arsonist, the fire wouldn't spread any further.
No matter how much they acted like something out of a Kaiju Movie, they had to have a weakness. To the naked eye, I was just a flower.
If I lurked like a hidden soldier and waited for the Arsonist to arrive, I could blast them with poisonous pollen the moment they got close. That was my chance at victory.
Ideally, I wanted to hide underground, but I doubted I had enough time.
I bunched several vines together and started trying to dig a hole.
Hmm, as I thought, this was going to be tough.
I could snake individual vines into the earth easily enough, but I was quite bad at lifting large amounts of soil.
A hole big enough for Hachi-san or the Tefutefu wouldn't be a problem, but for someone my size, it was a major undertaking.
After all, my bulb was enormous. Having spent my life devouring various monsters in a single gulp, my bulb boasted a rather impressive diameter.
I could probably dig it out if I had enough time, but with something massive stomping toward me right now, I wasn't going to make it.
I couldn't dig a hole large enough for my entire body on such short notice. If only I were the kind of plant that specialized in burrowing.
Once I dealt with this massive intruder, maybe I really should work on a hole.
It would at least offer some protection from future fires.
For now, I would just weave my vines into a cocoon and hide inside.
Even from within a cocoon, I could still provide a proper "welcome" for a sudden guest.
This was the critical moment. I had to pull myself together and do my best.
Now then, it was time for the tea party.
As the Lord of the Forest, even if you were an Arsonist, I would treat you as an esteemed guest.
First, I would send out the Invitation. It would be a supreme tea party from which you would never return—one that sent you straight to heaven.
I snaked my Briars into the earth along the guest's path.
With that, the preparations for the "welcome" were complete.
Just as I finished my work as the host and sat back in satisfaction, the forest right in front of me suddenly flew into the air.
The trees were mowed down like grass.
It seemed the guest of this tea party was not a small being that could be hidden by the forest's canopy.
Easily trampling the trees and swaying its massive body, it advanced one step at a time.
Finally, the guest revealed itself.
The true identity of the forest's Arsonist.
It was a Dragon.
It moved through the forest on four legs, and every time its massive wings shifted, a gale swept through the area.
It was even bigger than Bear-papa, who had stood ten meters tall.
Since it was this large while on all fours, the Dragon would likely look even more terrifying if it stood up on its hind legs.
The Dragon’s body burned like magma.
And it possessed a glowing tail that radiated scorching heat.
I had never seen such a divine yet terrifying creature.
This was no ordinary Dragon.
It was a Flame Dragon.
A species far superior to a normal Dragon.
And among Flame Dragons, this was likely the highest-ranking individual.
The pressure of the flames radiating from it was overwhelming.
It possessed a majesty that made me want to call it a Dragon King.
I could sense the immense power hidden within its frame.
Come to think of it, the Arsonist had also been a UFO.
Which meant the true identity of the "UFO that brought summer" was this Flame Dragon.
Last summer, in the middle of the night, a burning flying object had streaked through the sky.
It was the exact image of this Flame Dragon.
A Dragon that could change the seasons.
What even was that? It was obviously too strong.
Furthermore, its appearance just now—shining like the sun—made perfect sense.
And the Beam from the Kaiju Movie had almost certainly come from that glowing tail.
It had fired a beam from its tail into the forest.
Yes, everything was clicking into place now.
I thought it looked like a Kaiju Movie, but I never expected a literal kaiju to show up.
This was the most powerful being I had ever laid eyes on.
Back when I was a Saint, I had defeated an Executive of the Demon King’s Army.
That executive had been a nightmare of an opponent.
I had experienced a battle so fierce I thought I would die, but I had still managed to destroy the enemy.
And yet, compared to the Flame Dragon before me, that executive seemed almost cute. This creature was on an entirely different level of existence.
What did it even mean for something to be stronger than an executive?
Was it one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's Army?
Was it the strongest among the Four Heavenly Kings?
Or was it something even greater……?
Ah... yeah, this was impossible.
Beep-beep!
Emergency alert!
The tea party is officially cancelled.
Change of plans!
I cannot host a tea party for this Dragon.
For one, he's far too large for my vine chairs to support.
Furthermore, to welcome a Flame Dragon-sama—a member of the most exalted Dragon species—to a commoner’s tea party for the Forest Circle would be the height of rudeness.
Should a lowly subject such as myself even enter Flame Dragon-sama’s field of vision, it would be a grave social blunder.
Therefore, I shall take my leave before Flame Dragon-sama arrives.
I bid you adieu!
──Wait, I want to run away!
But I can't.
Because I'm a plant………………
Thank you for reading.
It’s been about a month since my first post, and thanks to your support, I’ve reached 42nd place in the monthly rankings for Isekai Reincarnation/Transfer!
This is all thanks to your encouragement. Thank you once again m( )m
There will be two updates today as well.
Next time: The King of Fire.