I am Alraune, a Plant Monster Girl.
I used Teleportation to follow the carpenters to the tree house construction site. Placing the logs I had just created as building materials on the ground, I waited patiently for the men to appear.
After a while, the group of carpenters arrived from the direction of my main body.
"Everyone, I have been waiting for you."
I greeted the Master Carpenter and his crew once again.
The carpenters who saw me were visibly startled. "Look! A little Alraune just sprouted!" one cried. "She wasn't here yesterday!" another added.
"Please consider me the same individual as the Alraune you encountered earlier," I explained.
"What in the world is happening...?"
The Master Carpenter seemed utterly bewildered. Explaining the mechanics of Teleportation sounded like a hassle, so I decided to simply show them that I could multiply. I sprouted another Avatar Alraune right next to me.
I moved the "other me" using Manual Operation, manipulating her like a puppet.
The carpenters’ eyes went wide, looking like perfect little dots. It was a classic, easy-to-read reaction; they were clearly flabbergasted.
I only did it to show off my power, of course. I planned to turn this second Avatar Alraune back into a seed later.
Seeing the carpenters so rattled gave me a wonderful idea. Since I had their attention, I decided to take the opportunity to ask them to stop felling the trees in this forest. To illustrate my point, I sprouted a variety of different trees around us.
"As you can see, I can grow plants at will. Furthermore, every tree in this forest is connected to my own body. Therefore, I cannot permit the trees of this forest to be harmed without my permission."
"I-I see... My apologies..."
To my surprise, the Master Carpenter offered a blunt, sincere apology. His sudden compliance left me feeling a bit deflated.
Well, it was convenient that he had become so docile. While I was at it, I decided to ask about what had happened the previous day.
"What were you planning to do with the trees you cut yesterday?"
I was curious because freshly cut wood can't be used as building material without being dried first. I wondered what use they could have possibly had for it.
"The commission is for a tree house. Building high up in the canopy is difficult without scaffolding. I intended to lash some timber together for that purpose, but I had no idea the Crimson Flower Princess Alraune and the forest were one and the same..."
So they just needed scaffolding. In that case, I could provide it.
I considered growing trees from the ground to act as supports, but then I stopped myself. Walking on raw, round logs would be difficult for the carpenters. It wouldn't make for a very stable workspace.
What if I generated trees that were already shaped like scaffolding?
I’d used Plant Generation plenty of times, but only for natural-looking trees. The idea of altering their shape had never even occurred to me. Besides, I don't think I had the strength for it before. But now that I was a Half-Spirit, surely I could manage a little structural manipulation.
My big sister produced monster-shaped trees, so I should be able to do something similar.
I sprouted trees from the earth and began weaving work scaffolding around the tree house construction site. I modeled the design after the metal scaffolding I’d seen at construction sites during my previous life as a high school girl.
I flattened the wood to make the walkways easier to navigate. I added handrail-like branches for safety and wove vine ladders to allow easy movement between levels. Before long, the entire site was encased in a functional wooden frame.
It turned out even better than I’d hoped! I was immensely satisfied.
This was a major breakthrough for me. Realizing I could customize the shape of my plants opened up so many possibilities. I found myself wanting to experiment more.
"What is this...?" the Master Carpenter and his men whispered, their voices full of admiration.
Ehehe, how do you like that? I couldn't replicate the modern scaffolding from my high school girl era exactly, but I’d grown the trees to be functional and easy to use, even if they looked a bit rustic.
"You... no, Crimson Flower Princess-sama. Are you truly just a flower monster? Surely you must be a spirit."
"I am but a simple flower, you know?"
"No, impossible. Not after witnessing something so divine. You aren't a monster; it's much more fitting to call you the New Lady Dryades. It must be so!"
The Master Carpenter was getting quite worked up about me being a Dryades. But I'm just an Alraune. I'm not a proper spirit like Lady Dryades or my big sister.
Leaving the Master Carpenter and his crew to their own excitement, the Corporal whispered into my ear.
"People from Tower City grow up in the shadow of the Dryades' Forest, hearing legends of the spirit sisters. Most residents view Dryades quite favorably; for some, it borders on religious worship."
I see. Forests where spirits live aren't common, so it wasn't strange that many people who thought well of them were born there.
"My late grandmother supposedly met Lady Dryades once when she was a girl," the Master Carpenter continued. "She said the spirit could move as if by instantaneous movement and command the forest plants at will. It’s exactly what you do, Crimson Flower Princess!"
When he put it that way, I really did share most of her abilities. Maybe it was weirder to keep claiming I was just a plant monster. And so, his grandmother met her? I wonder if it was the younger Lady Dryades, or if it was long enough ago that she'd met my big sister.
"The Lord told us how the Forest Alraune drove back the Demon King’s Army. He said she used Saint Nectar to cure those turned into Trolls. I couldn't believe a mere monster was capable of such feats. I assumed you were just stealing credit for Lady Dryades’ work... but I see now that I was wrong."
Re-evaluating me once again, the Master Carpenter bowed his head deeply.
"Thank you for saving our city. My family and my fellow carpenters—we're all alive because of you."
I hadn't expected such a sincere show of gratitude. It was humbling. My battle with my sister had been a nightmare, but hearing the townspeople thank me made all that struggle feel worthwhile. I wasn't used to being treated like this as an Alraune; it made me feel a bit bashful.
At any rate, I'd finally proven my worth to the carpenters.
"Do you have a better opinion of me now?"
"Yes... I have been terribly disrespectful to the spirit Crimson Flower Princess-sama. I don't expect my apology to suffice, but to earn your forgiveness, I will see this house completed perfectly."
"A-As long as you understand, it is fine..."
His attitude had done a complete 180. I’d intended to impress them, but now I was the one caught off guard.
"Well then, we shall begin our work, so please wait here, Crimson Flower Princess-sama."
"No, I shall help too!"
"That would be unthinkable! Please, stay right there. We cannot trouble the hands of the Dryades, Crimson Flower Princess-sama, with such manual labor."
Having said that, the Master Carpenter set to work on building the tree house along with the other men and the Amazoness Treant. He was quite firm about not letting me lift a finger.
Just a moment ago, we’d been on terrible terms, but now he was looking at me with nothing but reverence. I'd overplayed my hand. I'd shown off my power so much that I'd accidentally created a distance between us. Not to mention the whole "misunderstanding me for a Dryades" thing.
Still, I suppose this was better than them hating me. It was a little lonely, but I decided to take what I could get.
In this way, I gained new human acquaintances from Tower City. And then, a few days later, the tree house where the Little Witch would live was finally finished.
With a home of her own, the Little Witch's new life in the forest had begun.
Next time: A Tree House is Built on a Part of My Body.