I was Alraune, a plant monster in the form of a young girl.
Floating there was a mysterious, white-haired girl.
A human was flying through the sky.
Honestly, it was an unbelievable sight.
Truth be told, this past day has been one shock after another. I encountered an outsized monster of a Flame Dragon, a white bird started talking after putting out fires with a bucket, and I even pollinated myself to become a seed, only to be reborn as a little girl. So much had happened.
I truly thought I’d seen it all.
And yet, a being that defied all my expectations had appeared before me once again.
Who was this mysterious person?
To remain perfectly still while suspended in mid-air was no ordinary human feat. It should have been a trick impossible for standard magic.
In that case, who on earth was this white-haired girl floating above me?
As I looked up at the sky, our eyes remained locked.
I couldn't sense any hostility behind her gaze, but I wasn't so naive as to remain defenseless before someone so suspicious. I had been tempered by this past year as a creature of the forest.
I stared right back at her, eyes narrowed.
I might not have been very intimidating in my current form as a young girl, but I did my best anyway.
As if oblivious to my efforts, the white-haired girl tilted her head slightly.
"Oh? Were you always this small?"
Sorry for being small.
I happened to be a sprout—fresh and newly born. In human terms, I was essentially a baby, so it was only natural that I’d be tiny.
In my previous life, I had lived as a high school girl, and after that, I’d spent seventeen years as a Saint. Being treated like a child was a bit frustrating.
"Well, you're small, but you're definitely an Alraune."
The white-haired girl studied me, nodding as if satisfied.
Had she been looking for me? Was I her objective? She did call me an Alraune.
Come to think of it, this girl looked exactly like the person in the drawing held by the Minotaur from the Demon King's Army. The sketch had been so terrible that I’d assumed the white hair meant she was an old woman, but it must have been an illustration of this girl.
A girl depicted on a flyer from the Demon King's Army...
Could she be one of them? Since the Minotaur had been searching for her, she might be a missing comrade. Or, considering he’d been carrying a sleeping potion, perhaps she was a deserter they were trying to track down.
If she belonged to the Demon King's Army, her impossible levitation would make sense. It would mean she wasn't human.
But that would make this the worst-case scenario.
Whether she was a current or former member of the Demon King's Army, there was a high probability she was an enemy. She had been looking for me for some reason, and she might intend to hand me over to them.
If that happened, I’d be forced to face the Flame Dragon again. As revenge for his subordinate, the Minotaur, he’d definitely burn me to a crisp this time.
I’d gone through all that trouble to escape the blue flames and be reborn; I wouldn't let it end like that.
I readied my vines toward the sky, remaining on high alert.
I had fought for this life. To ensure it wasn't in vain, I would resist with everything I had!
As my vines swayed and drifted through the air, the white-haired girl’s eyes widened as if she’d noticed something. Then, she waved at me.
She waved as if she were casually saying, "Hey there!"
No! You've got it all wrong!
My vines might be small and short right now, so they probably didn't look very threatening, but this was my maximum level of intimidation!
I wasn't waving back to her, and she certainly didn't need to wave at me!
However, seeing my reaction, the girl’s expression softened with relief. She slowly began to descend.
She came to a stop while still floating a short distance away and spoke with a small smile.
"You really are that Alraune. You've shrunk, but I'm so glad you didn't have to burn..."
Up close, she was quite lovely. At a glance, she seemed like a quiet, ordinary girl, though she did have a bit of a melancholy air about her.
In any case, she didn't look like a mysterious, dangerous person capable of flight. She looked far too cute and frail to be a henchman of the Demon King's Army.
Though her white hair was still curious.
Now that she was close, I guessed she was around ten years old. It was practically unheard of for a child that age to have pure white hair.
Still, I wouldn't let my guard down. In the forest, a single moment of carelessness meant death.
I let not only my vines but also my briars wiggle and drift around my body.
The white-haired girl flinched. She started to back away, still floating.
Wait, was she... afraid of me?
If she was frightened by a little girl like me, perhaps she wasn't a very strong opponent after all.
I decided to try asking a question.
"Who... are... you?"
"You know who I am, don't you?"
She answered my question with another question. What was that supposed to mean?
Whatever. Since we were talking, I decided to ask everything on my mind.
"Why... are you... moving away... from... the briars?"
"Because they're dangerous."
Did she really think I was dangerous? I wasn't that scary. I was just a forest flower. And a little girl, for that matter.
The white-haired girl looked troubled as she spoke.
"You're planning to catch me with those briars and eat me, aren't you?"
Ah, she was completely on guard.
But how did she know I was an insectivorous plant? Looking like this, no one would ever guess I was an Alraune capable of devouring human-sized prey.
"If you promise not to eat me, I'll give you this."
She reached behind her back to pull something out. It seemed she had been hiding something all this time.
I thought it might be a weapon—a tactic to lower my guard before attacking.
I stayed ready, watching with the utmost caution, only for a single bucket to appear from behind her.
...Well.
It certainly didn't look like a weapon. By all appearances, it was just a bucket.
Wait—a bucket?
I had seen that bucket once before.
Back when the forest was engulfed in flames, the White Bird had used a bucket of water to extinguish the fire eating away at my bulb. This one looked exactly like it.
"I came to give you water. Because I promised..." the white-haired girl muttered bashfully.
A promise.
I didn't recall making a promise to any human girl. Maybe she had the wrong flower?
However, I had made a promise to someone who wasn't human.
"But I was surprised. I was sure the Talking Flower had burned, so I'm so glad you're safe."
Talking Flower.
I’d heard that name once before, too. That was what the White Bird called me. And the White Bird had been able to speak human words for some reason.
"You used to be bigger than me, but now you're so small... and you're quite cute."
The white-haired girl spoke without changing her expression.
This was strange. I’d never met a white-haired girl before. Even if I included my memories as a Former Saint, I had no acquaintance with such a striking girl.
And besides, the one who had promised to bring me water wasn't a human.
Perhaps because my gaze grew even more suspicious, the girl stopped, looking puzzled.
"I see... I suppose you wouldn't recognize me in a human form."
She looked down, appearing slightly troubled.
"But you'll understand if I do this, right?"
She let out a soft breath.
Then, her body began to warp. Her entire form condensed, swirling inward as if into a vortex.
I wondered if I was seeing things. The sight was so surreal I couldn't believe it was real.
While I was busy being confused and swallowing my own nectar, the white-haired girl transformed into a bird.
Floating there was no longer a human, but a White Bird.
She had changed her shape. And it wasn't just any bird; it was the same White Bird I had seen countless times over the past year.
"You understand now, don't you?" the White Bird asked me in a human voice.
I finally understood.
The one who had promised to bring me water. The one who had used that bucket to save me from the fire.
There was only one person—or rather, one bird—who would do that.
It was still unbelievable, though. A person turning into an animal, or an animal into a person, was completely beyond my comprehension.
I was so shocked I let nectar leak from my mouth.
This girl wasn't from the Demon King's Army. She wasn't even an enemy.
She was an ally.
Dazed, I managed to ask, "White... Bird?"
In response to my question, the White Bird opened its tiny beak.
"Cheep."
That clumsy chirp... there was no doubt about it. Not just her appearance, but her soul was definitely that of the White Bird.
The white-haired girl's true identity was the White Bird.
Normally, seeing something as irrational as a human turning into a bird would only make someone more wary. But for me, the tension simply snapped and fell away.
Oh, my goodness.
White Bird, for some reason, just looking at you makes me feel safe. You've saved my life so many times. I always knew you were a bit of a strange bird, but I can say this for certain:
If that girl was you, then I can trust her.
Because you are my Swan Prince, after all.