A purple petunia grew directly in front of me.
Treant had brought it to me from somewhere or other, simply because he thought the bloom was pretty.
But now, an aura of darkness dyed that petunia pitch black.
Satisfied with the result, Hecate-sama let out a faint chuckle.
"My current form is merely a temporary vessel, but I can at least provide you with a companion. Watch."
Every plant in this forest was connected to me underground, yet my root-link with the petunia was abruptly severed.
Wrapped in shadows, the flower began to change.
The earth bubbled and swelled, and the base of the plant thickened until it breached the surface. Not just the roots, but the leaves also fanned out wide. Then, the flower that had once been a petunia transformed into a white blossom I had never seen before.
"……Hecate-sama, what exactly did you do?"
"It is a gift from me to you, Alraune. If you are curious, try pulling it up."
She directed her gaze toward the white flower.
I understood immediately what was expected of me. Remaining cautious, I coiled my vines around the plant.
Then, I yanked it upward all at once.
—Pop!
My eyes met with the roots that had come flying out of the dirt. To my horror, the uprooted mass had a face.
The mouth on the root split wide open—
"GYAAAAAAAAAH!!"
Wh-What on earth is this?! The root is screaming at me!
"Is this… perhaps a Mandrake?"
"An Alraune would be lonely all by herself, would she not? I have created a mate for you."
I don't want it! Even if you suddenly hand me a Mandrake, I have no idea what to do with it!
Besides, why did a petunia turn into a Mandrake? Now that I think about it, Mandrakes belong to the Solanaceae family, just like Alraunes. Since petunias are also part of the Solanaceae family, did that facilitate the transformation? It made no sense whatsoever!
In the first place, Mandrakes weren't just fantasy creatures; they were real plants back on Earth where Japan was. They were members of the genus Mandragora, distributed across parts of Europe.
Of course, the Mandrakes on Earth weren't monsters; they were just plants. They didn't move, and they certainly didn't scream. In this world, however, they existed as actual monsters. They were quite the handful—if you pulled them up, their shrieks could knock out anyone nearby.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
"It’s… so loud…… but is that all?"
No matter how much I listened to the Mandrake's wailing, I didn't lose consciousness. It was completely harmless to me. Perhaps this specific one lacked the ability to make people faint? Well, it was still incredibly annoying.
"A plant… actually turned into a monster…?"
I couldn't believe what had just happened, and the words slipped out before I could stop them. It was unheard of. A plant becoming a monster was an unprecedented event.
However, a memory suddenly flashed through my mind. This was the first time I had seen a plant transform, but I had seen a human do it before. I recalled the Seeds of Evolution used by Big Sister Dryades, one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Anyone who swallowed those seeds—be they fairy or human—was forcibly turned into a monster.
This felt disturbingly similar to that……
"My Mandrake will not harm you, Alraune. It should serve as a fine bodyguard, so see that you get along."
I turned my gaze toward Hecate-sama. A being that could transform flora into monsters… who was she, really?
One thing was certain: this pure white girl was no ordinary member of the Demon Race. She was an existence on the same level as the Flame Dragon Lord or Pandia-san. It was entirely possible that aura of darkness was a power of the Divine Realm—Divine Realm Magic. If it wasn't, I didn't think it would be possible to just "create" a monster like that.
And such a being had gone out of her way to give me a gift. They say nothing is more expensive than something free, and the thought terrified me.
"Hecate-sama… what is it that you want from me?"
"I desire nothing for now. Did I not tell you? I only came to offer my greetings today."
Hecate-sama reached out. As if she were touching a beloved child, she gently stroked my head.
"Unlike a sham like Garuda-Hraesvelgr, the individual I desired has finally been born. That alone is enough to please me."
Garuda-Hraesvelgr. That was the name of the Four Heavenly Kings member I had defeated. A rare monster who had obtained Light Magic by devouring an Apprentice Saint. I wondered if there was some connection between Hecate-sama and that Golden Birdman.
"How lovely you are, truly lovely. You must work hard for my sake."
With those words, Hecate-sama stepped away. She began to levitate, looking down at me from mid-air.
"It has been a long time since I birthed a monster. This is a fortuitous connection; I feel I have done good work for the first time in ages."
"A-A fortuitous connection?! Um, I’m perfectly satisfied just having seen the Mandrake. So, you’ll be taking it back with you, right?"
"I birthed that Mandrake for you. Surely you aren't suggesting you will disobey me?"
I flinched under the weight of Hecate-sama's overwhelming presence. It brooked no refusal. I could not disobey this woman. My monster instincts were certain of it.
"Now then. I would love to stay and play with you further, Alraune, but I am a busy woman. Let us save the rest for another time."
The artificial night sky began to condense toward Hecate-sama. Her body vanished into the shadows as they shrank into a single point.
"We shall meet again, my dear child."
And just like that, Hecate-sama was gone. The pitch-black sky vanished, replaced instantly by the bright light of day.
"Teleportation… no, was that Instantaneous Movement?"
I couldn't even fathom how she had disappeared. At the very least, no magic equivalent to Instantaneous Movement existed in this world's known systems. She had used a spell I didn't know—magic from the Divine Realm, just like when she transformed the plant.
"Where did she go, I wonder?"
The Flame Dragon Lord had mentioned that a certain individual had started moving to find Witch Queen Kirke. If that person was Hecate-sama, then her goal was likely to find the missing queen. Her aura had been similar to the Witch Queen's; they were undoubtedly close in some way.
Well, I could worry about Hecate-sama later. For now—
"What am I supposed to do with this thing?"
"ONGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
The Mandrake continued to shriek within my vines. It was deafening. Maybe I should just stick it back in the dirt.
Just as I was considering it, the nearby bushes rustled. Kiri and Treant had returned from their patrol.
"We're back! Wait, Alraune-sama, what is that?!"
Kiri, flying alongside Treant, spotted the creature in my vines. I was cradling it as one might a crying infant, but it refused to settle down. I'm seriously going to bury you, okay?
"That's a Mandrake, isn't it? Why is it here?"
"It’s… a long story……"
As I struggled to find an explanation, the Mandrake let out another piercing shriek.
"GYAAAAAAAAH!!"
"Hiee—"
—Thud.
The fairy dropped like a stone. Kiri had fainted.
"Wait, Kiri?!"
I remembered then: those who hear a Mandrake's scream lose consciousness. I'd heard that prolonged exposure could even be fatal. Since it didn't affect me, I'd mistakenly assumed this one was just a noisy, harmless little thing.
I was wrong. It didn't work on me, but everyone else was fair game!
Treant started panicking as Kiri collapsed. For some reason, the scream didn't affect him. Perhaps plant monsters were immune? If that was the case, I had to act.
"Treant! Get Kiri away from here!"
Treant scooped up the unconscious fairy and retreated deep into the woods. That solved one problem. The bigger issue was the Mandrake itself. If it kept screaming like this, the whole forest would be in trouble.
I guess the only option is to plant it. I just hoped that would stop the crying.
The moment I extended my vines to dig a hole, a voice called out from above.
"I'm home, Alraune! What's that you've got?"
It was Little Witch. She had been out in the city and had just returned. She hovered in the air, tilting her head curiously as she eyed the creature in my grip.
Wait, more importantly—
"Rufe, run!"
"ONGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
The Mandrake's howl echoed through the trees. Little Witch fainted in an instant. Her limp body began to plummet toward the ground.
"Little Wi-tch!!"
I caught her with a vine just in time.
Phew, that was close. But this couldn't go on. Just by existing, this Mandrake was turning the forest into a living nightmare. What was I supposed to do with it?
I couldn't just abandon a newborn monster. Hecate-sama had given it to me, and I couldn't just turn it loose. That would be cruel.
So, what then? If I couldn't rely on anyone else, I had to take responsibility.
I would just have to raise it myself!
For the sake of our shared heritage as plant monsters, I'll turn you into a magnificent Mandrake!
Mandrake: Family Solanaceae. Also known as Mandragora or Love Eggplant. While common in fantasy, they are real plants, not imaginary. However, they do not scream when uprooted. Though poisonous, they were used in Medieval Europe as analgesics and sedatives.
Next time: Mandrake Nurturing Plan.