I was Alraune, a plant monster girl.
The Little Witch still hadn't returned from the neighboring town, and I was worried sick about her.
Previously, she had acted on her own and ended up being abducted by the Witch Queen. What if the same thing had happened again? What if someone had kidnapped her?
I had to go find her.
But I couldn't. I was a plant.
Because my roots were anchored in the ground, I couldn't even go looking for her. I had learned to move via Teleportation within the forest where my body was connected, but I couldn't go anywhere else. I really was envious of how freely humans could move.
As I sat there dejected, wondering what to do, I sensed someone approaching from deep within the forest.
They were still far away, so I couldn't be sure, but a bipedal creature was walking this way, treading over the forest roots.
Could it be the Little Witch?
If it was, then this area had to be close to the neighboring town.
I didn't know why she would be walking through the woods instead of flying, but maybe she’d been caught up in some incident and couldn't take to the sky...
Of course, there was a chance it wasn't her at all.
But if the Little Witch was out there suffering alone, I couldn't just leave her.
I grew an Avatar Alraune near the presence I assumed was the Little Witch and initiated Teleportation.
My consciousness shifted into the Avatar Alraune.
I hurriedly opened my eyes, and two humans came into view.
It was a pair—a young man and a girl, both with their swords drawn.
Oh. It wasn't the Little Witch...
If that was the case, where could she be? Was she still in town gathering information?
As I wondered, the young man in front of me spoke in a low, trembling voice.
"That's impossible..."
He seemed completely blindsided by the situation.
Well, that made sense. If you were walking through the woods with a girl and I suddenly grew out of the ground, it would be weirder if you weren't surprised.
Still, I wondered who they were.
They didn't exactly have the vibe of a couple on a nice forest date. Since they were armed, they probably weren't townspeople; they were likely Adventurers... Wait, this man... his aura felt incredibly similar to Vol-nii’s.
My cousin, Wolfgang.
He was one year older than me. He’d been a member of the Hero’s party and a reliable, older-brother figure.
Come to think of it, when I was little, I used to follow him around everywhere. How nostalgic. Vol-nii was a member of the court mages, but since he was so skilled with a blade, he also served as a vanguard for the Hero’s party.
The last time I saw him was the day I was murdered.
Five years had passed since then. If he were still alive, Vol-nii would be around the same age as the gentleman standing before me.
If I imagined this young man just a little younger, he would be the spitting image of the Vol-nii I remembered. No, he was practically Vol-nii himself. Even the large hat he wore to hide his wolf-ears was the same.
Actually, wasn't this person way too similar to be a stranger?
C-could it be... him?
"Why... are you... here...?"
Before I realized it, I had spoken.
This was a sudden reunion with an acquaintance from my Saint Era.
Moreover, he was my cousin. In my previous life, he was even closer to me than Nina had been. I never imagined we would meet again so abruptly.
That was why I couldn't help but ask. I had to know if the man in front of me really was my cousin.
"Is it... perhaps... Vol-nii?"
Part of me wanted him to say no.
Now that I had become a plant monster, an Alraune, I didn't want to reunite with him. I didn't want an old friend to see me in a form that was no longer human.
But another part of me desperately wanted him to say yes.
I had died once and lost my humanity, but at the very least, I wanted to see that my cousin was doing well. Besides, Vol-nii had doted on me like a real sister. I harbored a tiny flicker of hope that he might accept me even as I was now.
"I am..."
The man I believed to be Vol-nii tried to say something.
However, his words were cut short.
"Leader, this thing is the Crimson Flower Princess Alraune! Let's take it down together!"
The girl behind Vol-nii drew two swords and charged straight at me.
She swung her blades upward.
Thunder echoed through the forest as a blade of wind sliced through the air. A Lightning Strike and a Wind Blade flew toward me from her twin swords.
I took the Lightning Strike head-on. A shock of that level was fine; the electricity just flowed through me and into the ground.
The Wind Blade didn't deal a fatal blow either. It only shredded my Corolla, my leaves, and my Bulb. I could undergo Regeneration for injuries like that almost instantly.
The real problem was that this girl had interrupted my conversation with Vol-nii.
And I had just realized that their goal was, apparently, to kill me.
At this rate, we were going to end up in a fight to the death!
I didn't want to fight humans anymore if I could help it. I wanted to keep things peaceful.
"I am... not... your enemy. Please... put away... your swords."
I could see Vol-nii waver at the sound of my voice.
However, the girl drove her point home again.
"Leader, don't listen to it! It's an Alraune! It's a flower monster that seduces people!"
"Seduces people...?"
"It lures men into the forest, melts their resolve, and eventually turns them into nutrients! That's what my grandpa told me about Alraunes!"
"But that Alraune knew my name. There might be more to this."
"The Demon King's Army obviously told it! They probably already have info on our Subjugation Party! It's only acting friendly to get on your good side, Leader!"
How rude!
I don't go around seducing gentlemen. I've never once lured someone just to melt their resolve.
And I definitely don't swallow humans whole for nutrients! I only do that to forest animals and monsters. I've certainly lured them with Nectar until they were more than just "spineless"—I've made them disappear down to the bone—but that's it!
For now, I had to prove I was a harmless monster.
"I... love humans! I would never... try to... seduce anyone!"
Before Vol-nii could respond, the girl doubled down.
"See, Leader? Did you hear that? The fact that it can use human speech despite being a plant is the ultimate proof that it's trying to trick us! That's the Alraune's classic tactic!"
N-no, that's not it!
I knew human speech because I used to be a human!
The only reason I could speak now was because I had munched on that Circle Crasher Man-eater. I didn't learn it to lure and capture people!
"It still looks small, but Alraunes are famous for using human forms to lead people astray in the woods! Don't let a monster's voice mislead you. I don't want to see you like that, Leader!"
"...I've never seen an Alraune before, but it's certainly strange for a plant to have a human form. It's only natural to assume there's a trap."
Following the girl's words, I saw hostility take root in Vol-nii's eyes.
He tightened his grip on his sword, and a faint bloodlust emanated from him.
First, my fiancé, the Hero, was stolen by my junior, the Apprentice Saint. Then, I was discarded and betrayed by that very same Hero.
Compared to that, this should have been a trivial matter—yet having the cousin I’d adored since childhood point a sword at me was more painful than I ever imagined.
"But since it's a monster that can actually communicate, maybe we should talk for a moment?"
Still keeping his sword readied, Vol-nii spoke to me.
His sudden interest in conversation felt suspicious. Maybe he was trying to pry information out of me.
"You're the Crimson Flower Princess Alraune, aren't you? Tell me... are the people of Tower City still safe?"
The people of Tower City?
Yes, of course they were. Everyone was busy as bees preparing for the festival.
"Yes... they seem... to be doing... well."
"You don't mean 'doing well' because you've brainwashed them, do you?"
Brainwashed?!
I'd never do something like that. I'm nothing like Big Sister Dryades. I intended to coexist with humans as friends.
"Of course... I haven't."
"Then why are you ruling the city? You say you aren't an enemy, but it's not like you're reluctantly holding the citizens hostage on orders from the Demon King's Army, right?"
"I am... not part of... the Demon King's Army."
When I declared that, Vol-nii’s expression darkened with disappointment.
"I already know that's a lie. I suppose your claim of not being an enemy was a deception after all..."
Vol-nii, what's wrong? Why so sudden?
I wasn't lying!
In any case, I had to proclaim my innocence.
"I'm... not... lying!"
"Stop pretending to be a friend to humanity. We already know you've been appointed as one of the New Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's Army."
Me? One of the Four Heavenly Kings?!
How on earth did a story like me becoming one of the Four Heavenly Kings even start?
Where in the world did they get such nonsense? It was absolutely appalling.
"You know it too, don't you? Here's the proof."
With that, Vol-nii pulled a piece of paper from his coat and thrust it toward me.
The summary of the text was as follows:
'The Crimson Flower Princess Alraune, new member of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's Army, is preparing to destroy the Kingdom of Gardenia. If you do not wish to be slaughtered like cattle, come and face her.'
With a face that suggested he had seen through my every trick, Vol-nii leveled his sword point at me.
"A Harpy from the Demon King's Army distributed these across every major city in the Kingdom. Don't try to tell me you haven't seen it."
Wh-wh-wh-what is thisssss?!
Me? Crimson Flower Princess Alraune of the Four Heavenly Kings?!
I don't know anything about that!
Seriously, what on earth is happening hereeeeeeeee!!