I was Alraune, a plant monster girl who couldn't walk.
Running away over there was the Treant, a tree monster capable of movement.
And just like that, I’d been abandoned by a gentleman once again.
First, I was betrayed and discarded by my fiancé, the Hero. Now, I’d been forsaken by the withered tree Treant, who had supposedly harbored a one-sided crush on me.
...Haha.
My life was just one disappointment after another.
The only ones I could ever truly trust were my girls in the Forest Circle.
I just wanted to live in the Forest of Lilies from now on.
Actually, I kind of wanted to just become a lily myself...
Being abandoned by the Treant—a fellow plant monster, no less—set my mind into overdrive.
Until moments ago, I’d accepted my fate and let my mind go blank as the world burned around me.
But being betrayed by the Treant, a companion from my own forest, made me furious.
I couldn't stand the thought of him being the only one to escape the fire and survive.
If that Treant was allowed to live, then I wanted to live, too.
I wasn't ready to die yet.
The spark of my will to live flared back to life within me.
It was far too late now, but I couldn’t help but think that if I’d only caught and eaten that Treant, I might have gained the ability to walk. I’d really messed that one up.
I shouldn't have let him get away.
They say regret always comes too late, and they’re right.
But I had to forget the past and focus on the future.
All that mattered now was figuring out a way to survive.
The problem was how to overcome this crisis.
There were two primary obstacles I had to clear to stay alive.
First, the forest fire.
The surrounding trees were all engulfed in flames. It was only a matter of time before the embers rained down on me. No matter how much of a clearing I’d made, I wouldn't escape unscathed while surrounded by a blaze this massive.
Second, the Flame Dragon’s Blue Flame.
This magical fire, which supposedly couldn't be extinguished even with water, was slowly eating away at my body. Half of my bulb was already scorched. Soon, the Blue Flame would consume me entirely, and that would be the end.
The Flame Dragon had been quite confident when he declared I would burn. He clearly didn't think I had a chance.
If I didn't solve both of these problems simultaneously in the little time I had left, I had no future.
...Yeah.
Wasn't this just impossible?
Either one would have been a nightmare to solve; having both at once made this a total "no-win" game.
There was nothing I could do.
Maybe I really was destined to die in this forest.
It felt like only a year had passed since I was born as an Alraune.
But in the outside world, four years had already gone by since I was betrayed and killed as a Saint by the Hero and that Shitty Junior Apprentice Saint.
So, perhaps my death had simply been delayed by four years.
I had essentially died that day I was betrayed.
This past year as an Alraune was just a bonus stage.
And now, that stage was ending in fire.
Thinking about it that way made me feel a little better.
...No, it didn't.
Because I was still alive right now.
Even if it was a bonus stage, the game wasn't over yet.
I might have died once, but I had reincarnated and was living my life here.
Because I’d died once as a Former Saint, I knew the truth.
Dying was terrifying.
I never wanted to experience that ever again.
That was why I didn't want to die!
I still wanted to live as an Alraune!
I wanted to spend my days in peace, just photosynthesizing and living my plant life.
That was my dream.
I couldn't afford to give up on it yet—"Ow!"
Just as I was psyching myself up, something smacked me right in the face.
That actually hurt.
Wait, what was this?
A seed?
It looked like a plant seed had flown in from somewhere.
But why now?
I picked it up with my fingers and studied it intently.
Then, in the distance, I spotted a specific tree.
It was the one I’d noticed while expanding the clearing right after the fire started—the strange tree with the corn-like things growing on it.
It looked like the flames were just beginning to catch it.
Looking closely at that "corn tree," I saw other strange things growing on its branches.
There wasn't just yellow corn, but red corn as well. No, wait—those weren't corn cobs at all. They were flowers.
They were bizarre, brush-shaped flowers.
Near the flowers were rugged, brown, fruit-like pods.
They were mysterious fruits that looked like clusters of gaping shells.
I felt like I’d seen them somewhere before.
I looked back down at the seed in my hand.
A seed that flew through the air because of a fire... I knew this plant.
"Ah... it's a Banksia seed."
I remembered now. I’d seen this flower in a Plant Encyclopedia back when I was a High School Girl.
Normally, a forest fire was a disaster for vegetation.
However, the Banksia was a flower that used fire to scatter its seeds and germinate.
When the Banksia fruit was heated by the flames, the air inside would expand and cause the pods to burst open, shooting the seeds out. The seeds would then fall onto the scorched earth.
After the fire passed, the Banksia would be the first to sprout in the nutrient-rich soil, growing rapidly by monopolizing all the sunlight while no other plants were left to compete.
That was how the Banksia ensured its survival through wildfires.
In my old world, they were native to Australia.
Australia had a lot of bushfires, didn't it? I remembered seeing news reports about koalas being rescued from them on TV.
The tree burning over there had to be a version of the Banksia in this world. Given how fast it grew, I wouldn't be surprised if it were a Demonic Banksia Tree.
After all, it was pretty abnormal to launch a seed over ten meters just to hit me.
In any case, there was no doubt this was a Banksia seed.
If it was a seed from a Demonic Banksia Tree, it had to be incredibly resistant to fire.
Furthermore, it seemed the tree was sowing its seeds all over the clearing around me.
If the seeds landed on this ground, they wouldn't be consumed by the flames.
...Oh. I see.
Suddenly, it clicked.
I’d just thought of a way to break through this hopeless situation.
I might not have to die here after all.
The method involved a fair amount of risk and required a lot of courage.
But if it worked, I would definitely survive.
Both the forest fire and the Flame Dragon’s inextinguishable Blue Flame could be solved with this one trick.
I could leap right over this "impossible game" of a crisis.
Actually, I’d been secretly curious about this for a while.
If pollen from another Male Flower touched me, I would undergo pollination and turn into a seed.
A "me" born from that seed would basically be a child born between me and some unknown Male Flower.
A baby inheriting the genes of both.
That wouldn't be "me" anymore.
My current consciousness would surely vanish.
But what if the partner wasn't an unknown Male Flower?
And what part of me would actually transform into a seed?
I stared intensely at the Banksia seed.
If I could do what the Banksia did, I knew I could survive.
The forest fire closing in and the Blue Flame eating my body—neither would be able to kill me if I used this method.
There was no guarantee of success, of course.
And it would take a lot of guts.
But it was worth a shot, wasn't it?
After all, if I just sat here, I was going to be burned to a crisp anyway.
So, I made my choice.
If I wanted to fulfill my dream of a quiet life spent photosynthesizing, I couldn't let myself be turned to ash here.
I would do whatever it took to survive.
With the desperation of a woman grasping at straws, I squeezed the Banksia seed.
When I first met Hachi-san, I’d hated the idea.
I couldn't tolerate being forced into anything.
The thought of being coated in pollen from an unknown partner was just as repulsive.
I was still scared even now.
But I steeled my resolve.
This was the only path left for me.
I fed the Banksia seed to my lower mouth.
Fortunately, that part hadn't been completely consumed by the Blue Flame yet.
This had to work.
I’d gained the abilities of the Banksia.
My partner wasn't some unknown Male Flower.
I had the power to generate any plant I’d eaten.
And I could use Selective Breeding to crossbreed them.
The genetic base for that didn't have to be limited to the plants I’d consumed.
I should be able to use my own genetic information as well.
For a flower, this would be a once-in-a-lifetime event.
My very first time.
But for a plant, it was the most natural thing in the world.
Yes, my mind was made up.
I was going to pollinate myself.