I was an Alraune, a plant monster girl who had supposedly devoured and killed Saint Iris.
Because of that massive misunderstanding, I was currently on the verge of being "purged" by Nina—the very girl who was trying to avenge my death by killing me.
"I am the Apprentice Saint, Nina! You man-eater Alraune, you ended Lady Iris's life... and as her junior, I will be the one to strike you down!"
Nina, stop!
I was touched that she wanted to avenge me, but the monster she was targeting was actually me!
"Listen... to me. I... didn't kill... Iris."
"Ugh... how loathsome. To utter Lady Iris's name with that face... there are limits to such insults!"
No, you've got it all wrong!
Iris is my name!
"Man-eater Alraune, do not defile Lady Iris any further!"
Ugh...
I never imagined that simply saying my own name would cause me to be hated this much. If things continued like this, Nina and I might actually end up in a fight to the death.
I didn't want to fight her if I could help it. If that was the alternative, maybe it was finally time to just tell her the truth.
—Yes, I’d decided.
Rather than being hated by Nina any more than this, I would tell her everything. Even if it led to a world of trouble for me later, I could never hate Nina. Besides, if she adored me this much, she might even keep my identity a secret.
I decided to bet everything on that sliver of hope.
"Nina, wait! You might... be surprised, but I... am Iris!"
Nina’s movements came to a sudden halt.
Good, this was it!
"Look... at my face. I was... taken in... by a plant monster... and I ended up... like this!"
"I’m surprised..." Nina whispered.
Nina! You finally understand!
"...To think an Alraune could be a monster capable of such elaborate schemes."
"Huh?"
"Do you really think I’d believe a lie like that, you man-eater? I know all about your kind! You're monsters that deceive humans just to turn them into prey!"
Aaaaah! This was that classic trope where she wouldn't believe a word I said!
"I wanted to see Lady Iris so badly. I wanted her to call me Nina again. To think that wish would be granted in a form like this..."
Nina stared at me with eyes full of wrath, her expression twisting into one of pure fury.
Awa-wa-wa-wa-wa!?
It seemed that revealing my identity had only made her angrier. She wasn't going to believe me no matter what I did now! It was true that Alraunes were monsters that lured people in using human forms, so she wasn't technically wrong, but that fact was only making her more suspicious.
What was I supposed to do? I’d worked up the courage to tell the truth, and it had backfired completely!
God, Alraune biology is the absolute worst!!
While I was agonizing over my predicament, the male adventurer standing behind Nina finally spoke up.
"Lady Nina, wait!"
"Franz-sama, do not stop me. This Alraune is my sworn enemy!"
Shaking off the adventurer's attempt to restrain her, Nina leveled her staff like a bow and unleashed a Light Magic attack. Seven-colored Light Arrows streaked toward me.
But I'm sorry, Nina.
Light Magic doesn't work on me. In fact, it actually makes me feel refreshed.
"The Rainbow Arrow (Regenbogen) didn't work? In that case...!"
Misinterpreting her attack being absorbed as it being repelled, Nina readied her staff again.
"Flash (Beleuchten)!"
An intense burst of light, like a camera flash, erupted from the tip of her staff. It was a blinding spell.
However, even without my sight, I could still track movements to a certain degree. My vines were spread throughout the surrounding ground, and through the tactile sensations they transmitted, I knew exactly where Nina was running.
I sent out a Vine Whip to catch her, but as if she had predicted my movements, Nina dodged my vines one after another.
Wow. You're amazing, Nina! I didn't think her movements would be this sharp. She really had grown over the last few years.
Using her magic to transform her staff into a Light Spear, Nina charged straight at me. It seemed she’d realized long-range attacks were useless and was trying to finish me in close quarters.
"Take this!"
She had definitely improved, but she was still green. She left a massive opening the moment she moved to strike.
I simply sprouted a vine from the earth beneath her feet and caught her with ease.
"Ugh... L-Let go of me, you monster!"
It was no use struggling. With Nina's strength, there was no escaping my vines. I took the liberty of tossing her dangerous staff aside.
Actually, since we were here, I wanted to see her face a little closer. I pulled her right up to me, vines and all.
Yes, it really was Nina. I could tell for sure now that she was right in front of me. It was so nostalgic.
"...Man-eater Alraune, are you going to eat me just like you did Lady Iris?"
"I would never do that."
"Don't lie to me. Look at you... you have Lady Iris's exact face. Your hair is different, but even your eyes are the same color."
Nina, you remembered my appearance that well? Even though four years had passed, knowing that made me a little happy.
"I knew it. This monster must have eaten Lady Iris and stolen her body. If that's how it is..."
Nina gulped as if she had reached a grim conclusion. Her eyes filled with a look of desperate, suicidal resolve as she stared me down.
Reaching her right arm into the folds of her clothes, she began to speak softly, as if in prayer.
"Lady Iris... I'm going to join you now. Please wait for me..."
"Wait, what!?"
Hearing Nina talk as if she intended to die, I panicked so hard that nectar almost sprayed from the back of my throat.
But that reaction saved me; Nina's movements hitched for a split second.
"This scent... it's like that nectar... but why?" Nina muttered in confusion.
She pulled something out from her clothes: a bottle inscribed with a Fire Magic crest.
"But the nectar doesn't matter now... Prepare yourself!"
Nina moved to hurl the bottle at me with all her might.
—And that was when it happened.
"Ah..."
A single piece of cloth fluttered out from Nina's clothes. It seemed that when she had grabbed the bottle in a hurry, she had accidentally pulled it out as well.
"Is that...?"
The white handkerchief fell onto my bulb.
Both Nina's gaze and mine were instantly pinned to it. It was a lovely handkerchief trimmed with lace, featuring the name "Iris" embroidered in gold thread.
I recognized it immediately.
"My handkerchief... You still had it?"
As I picked up the cloth with a vine, I remembered the day I first met Nina. This was, without a doubt, my handkerchief. I had forgotten about it until I saw the physical object, but this was the very same one I had given Nina four years ago.
I was stunned that she had kept it all this time.
But someone else was even more shocked than I was.
"...What did you just say?"
With an expression as if she were seeing the impossible, Nina shifted her gaze from the handkerchief back to me.
"W-Why does... an Alraune... know about that handkerchief...?"
Nina's voice trembled.
"C-Could it be... is it really... Lady Iris...?"
Once again, Nina's eyes and mine met.