It appeared that the Big Sister Dryades ruling the West Forest was actually one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s Army.
To think a Dryades could actually fall to darkness.
Furthermore, it had come to light that she was the one pulling the strings of the giant eagle, Begia-Ad Adler, and the Four Heavenly King known as Garda-fresvelg of the Radiant Crown from the shadows.
The mastermind behind everything was Lady Dryades’ own elder sister.
Apparently, those blue flowers the Dryades used had the ability to manipulate their hosts.
That realization triggered a memory.
I had seen that exact same flower in the West Forest once before.
It was back when Fairy Kiri—who was currently busy plucking feathers nearby—had been swallowed by a frog monster. Inside that monster’s mouth, I’d seen that very same blue flower growing.
That meant the frog, the giant eagle, and even the Four Heavenly King, Garda-fresvelg of the Radiant Crown, had all been puppets of the Fallen Dryades.
I could understand the monsters, but turning a fellow member of the Four Heavenly Kings into a puppet was beyond abnormal.
A Parasitic Flower capable of stripping even a Four Heavenly King of their will was both exceptionally malicious and terrifyingly powerful.
As I watched, a change occurred in the blue flower I held.
“Ah...”
The Parasitic Flower I’d yanked out of the Stalker Four Heavenly King withered in an instant.
It seemed that once separated from its host, it couldn't survive for long.
Watching this, Lady Dryades let out a troubled murmur.
“The Fairy Oin you just defeated was my sister’s only fairy. It would have been ideal if we could have questioned her, but I never imagined she would turn into a monstrous Troll.”
“Lady Dryades, do you know anything about the Seed of Evolution?”
“I do not. However, I am certain my sister developed it. She always did have a talent for research and Selective Breeding.”
The Poison Fairy had swallowed a Seed of Evolution given to her by her master and transformed into a hideous Troll.
That master was her elder sister, the Fallen Dryades.
To force her own fairy to carry such a grotesque seed... I didn't think much of her taste.
“Regardless, you did more than just dispose of a traitorous fairy; you successfully repelled a member of the Four Heavenly Kings. I cannot praise your achievements enough.”
I certainly hadn’t expected to take down one of the Four Heavenly Kings today.
The Poison Fairy was only able to call him in as reinforcements because the Fallen Dryades was using the blue flower to puppet his body.
But thinking back on it, something felt off.
Garda-fresvelg of the Radiant Crown was a member of the Four Heavenly Kings.
His Light Magic was formidable, and he had been a powerful foe. In fact, he was easily the second strongest enemy I’d faced since becoming an Alraune.
Note the "second." The overwhelming number one was the Flame Dragon Lord.
To be honest, I couldn't see a scenario where even a dozen Garda-fresvelgs could ever hope to defeat the Flame Dragon Lord.
Furthermore, back in my Saint Era, I had helped the Hero defeat the previous Four Heavenly Kings.
Compared to them, Garda-fresvelg of the Radiant Crown felt somewhat lacking.
Even accounting for the fact that his Light Magic was useless against me, he felt weaker than the ones I’d fought before.
Was that stalker really a member of the Four Heavenly Kings?
Well, there was likely a hierarchy even among the Four Heavenly Kings. Perhaps Mr. Garda-fresvelg of the Radiant Crown was simply the "weakest" of the bunch.
I took a closer look at the withered blue flower.
This flower looked familiar.
I remembered seeing it in a Plant Encyclopedia back when I was a high school girl.
If I recalled correctly, it was a Forget-me-not.
Of course, a normal one didn't have the power to control people. It was just a regular flower.
That meant this specific Forget-me-not was likely a unique strain the Fallen Dryades had created through Selective Breeding.
When the Poison Fairy Oin had tried to kill me, she had said, “Fair-sama will surely be pleased.”
The West Spirit and Fallen Dryades of the Four Heavenly Kings was likely named Fair.
Lady Dryades looked at me, her expression pained as she spoke.
“My sister has gone so far as to manipulate a Four Heavenly King to take my life and the Hero's Helmet. She hasn’t given up even after fifty years; she will surely target the Sanctuary again.”
Wait, does that mean we’re going to be attacked again, Lady Dryades?
“I’m counting on you as our Forest Bodyguard, Alraune.”
O-Oh dear.
I might have just signed up for a very troublesome job.
A Dryades who could puppet one of the Four Heavenly Kings and who had killed the Hero fifty years ago? That sounded like a nightmare to deal with.
She was clearly on an entirely different level than Garda-fresvelg, who was currently being plucked bare by Fairy Kiri.
Though, compared to the Flame Dragon Lord, she was probably still small fry.
Still, it wasn't all bad news.
Being targeted by the Four Heavenly Kings was stressful, but looking at it another way, if I just eliminated the Fallen Dryades, this forest would become a Safe Zone again.
Which meant my quiet, peaceful plant life would finally begin!
With that decided, I needed to take down that evil spirit as soon as possible.
Counting my Saint Era, I’d already defeated two of the Four Heavenly Kings. I could surely manage a third.
They say things happen in threes, after all.
To prepare, I needed intel.
“Lady Dryades... please... tell me one thing.”
I asked her to tell me what had happened fifty years ago.
Why was the Hero killed? Did a Dryades of the West Forest really have the power to kill him?
I had to know.
“Very well. Though, in truth, I don't know the full details myself. Back then, I was a shut-in spirit who stayed in the Sanctuary and left the management of the forest entirely to my sister.”
So Lady Dryades had been a shut-in.
That meant the West Spirit must have once been a kind older sister who looked after her younger sibling.
How did she fall to darkness, kill the Hero, and join the Demon King’s Army? What could have happened?
“The truth is, my sister and the Hero of that time were lovers.”
“...Eh?”
“They were deeply in love. So much so that my sister was prepared to abandon this forest for him.”
“What?!”
I was genuinely shocked.
A Hero and a Spirit... a romance across species? It was hard to believe.
“My sister was a woman with hair of blue vines. The Hero brought her a blue flower for his proposal, saying it would suit her perfectly.”
“A-And then?”
I was leaning in now. This cross-species romance was getting interesting.
“My sister accepted him, and they prepared to leave the forest together.”
Wow! The forbidden love between a Hero and a Spirit actually bore fruit!
“However, after my sister accepted the blue flower, something happened. Afterward, my sister began to resent me and, for some reason, broke things off with the Hero.”
—Broke things off?
But wait, that grave in the Sanctuary...
“And then, my sister killed him. When the Hero died, his hand was clutching a blue Forget-me-not instead of his Holy Sword.”
Lady Dryades told the rest of the story with a sorrowful expression.
Her own sister had murdered the Hero.
Lady Dryades was clearly haunted by it, filled with regret that she hadn't been able to stop it.
That was why she had been so hesitant to speak when I first asked about the Hero’s Grave.
The Hero's Helmet had been left in the Sanctuary.
In contrast, the sister who killed him joined the Demon King’s Army.
The Fallen Dryades, consumed by a hatred for humanity, began using Forget-me-nots to puppet others. That was how she had climbed the ranks to become one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
I made up my mind.
The true enemy blighting this forest was the other Dryades in the West Forest.
This forest was where I lived. It was my home.
An enemy of the forest was an enemy of mine.
Therefore, I decided to subjugate the Fallen Dryades.
I would strike before she had a chance to strike me. The fires of war had already been lit.
It was time for the West Forest Surprise Attack Operation!
—Wait.
I need to be calm.
Oh, no. What am I going to do?
I’d just finished drafting the plan when I realized it was fundamentally impossible.
I couldn't launch a surprise attack on the West Forest to defeat her.
Because I’m a plant.
My roots are deep in the dirt, and I can’t move a single inch from this spot.
The surprise attack operation was a total failure!
Time for a change of plans.
Surely she won’t make a move on us immediately.
In that case, I might as well take it easy for now.
And so, I transitioned to a new strategy: thinking things over while enjoying some Photosynthesis.
I had always been a passive flower.
Until the enemy actually showed up, I was going to enjoy every second of this peace!