This is still from Kiri’s POV.
My name was Kiri.
I was a fairy who had always lived in the forest, and now I was watching as a city was transformed into one.
The encroachment of trees surged from the city center, their roots and branches swallowing stone buildings whole. Terrified by the cataclysm, the humans were in a state of absolute pandemonium. I suppose it couldn’t be helped, seeing as their city was turning into a woodland.
Yet, witnessing such a bizarre and wondrous sight only made my spirits soar.
"Way to go, Alraune-sama!"
This city was called Edelweiss, if I recalled correctly. I’d never liked the place; it felt far too much like something manufactured by humans. It was desperately lacking in greenery!
"But to actually turn the whole city into a forest... her ideas are as wild as ever."
Then again, I shouldn’t have expected anything less from my Alraune. Despite being a plant monster—an Alraune—she had spent her whole life achieving the impossible.
I mean, sure, I’d thought it would be nice if the city became a forest, but I’d never actually done it.
The sheer willpower required to forcibly rewrite a human city into our world... it was something I could never hope to imitate.
Look at that. Even Trent was so stunned that she couldn't even close her mouth.
"Hey, Trent! Did you finish off that Urn Golem?"
"…………!"
"Oh, you did. It’s completely smashed. Nice work, Trent."
It looked like Trent had pulverized the Urn Golem that was attacking the baker. Very few opponents could stand against our Trent in a fair brawl.
But perhaps that success had made us complacent.
Just as Trent was striking a triumphant pose, an explosion rocked the street. No, it wasn't Trent who had exploded.
A new urn had flown out of the bakery, charged straight at her, and detonated!
"What in the world just happened!?"
"Ugh... I only bought one urn... but for some reason... they gave me three extra as a bonus..."
The baker, who was still sprawled on the ground, groaned out the explanation.
So, there hadn't been just one. There were actually four Urn Golems in total.
"Okay, so Trent smashed one, another blew itself up on her... that means there are two left."
Right on cue, the remaining two golems emerged from the bakery.
Trent, who had been fighting so bravely until a moment ago, was now facedown on the cobblestones. Her bark was a bit scorched, but it didn't look like a fatal injury. Thank goodness.
The problem was that I was the only one left to deal with these things. Now what?
"How dare you do that to our Trent! I'll be your opponent now!"
I tried to sound as intimidating as possible, but the golems didn't pay me any mind. They probably thought I was just some harmless little fairy. How insulting!
I’ll have them know I’m a very important fairy!
"Come on! Bring it on, you weird pots!"
"──ッ! ──ッ!"
The urns let out strange shrieks and lunged at me.
Oh no. What do I do? They were actually coming for me, and I had next to no combat ability.
"Fine! I'll show you the true power of a fairy!"
"──ッ! ──ッ!"
As the Urn Golems closed in, cracks began to spiderweb across their surfaces with a loud creaking sound. Seeing that, I suddenly remembered what had happened to Trent.
These things were going to self-destruct right on top of me!
"I-I can't get away in time...!"
The first golem began to detonate right before my eyes.
I threw up my hands, preparing a defensive layer of Spirit Magic—but in that instant, a mass of wood surged upward to envelop me.
A wall of timber completely absorbed the shock of the blast. The roar of the explosion rattled my eardrums, but that was the extent of the damage.
"A Gajumaru Tree? Does that mean...!?"
"Kiri... that looked... dangerous."
I spun around at the sound of that familiar voice.
There was Alraune, her upper body emerging directly from the trunk of a Gajumaru Tree.
The forest that was swallowing the city must have finally reached our location. She had used an Avatar Alraune to teleport here.
Her Lower Bulb was hidden within the tree; she appeared as a woman growing out of the wood itself. To anyone else, it might have been a grotesque sight, but with Alraune, it felt perfectly natural.
One thing was different, though. Her hair had changed from its usual light green to a pure white. I knew it changed color at night, but it was still only evening.
Something must have happened during the time we were apart.
"You couldn't have picked a better time, Alraune-sama!"
"It seems so... I'll help you now... just wait a moment."
With three golems down, only one remained.
The Gajumaru Tree surged toward the final Urn Golem like a tidal wave. It was snared by the branches and crushed instantly by the sheer pressure of the wood.
The same enemy Trent had struggled with was obliterated in a heartbeat.
Just by watching her, I understood. Our standing as living creatures was simply on a different level. Alraune was a force of nature—she had already surpassed the existence of a spirit.
Even Lady Dryades would likely find herself yielding before the Alraune standing here now.
Having neutralized the threat as if it were nothing more than a nuisance, Alraune finally noticed Trent.
"Trent!? Are... you okay!?"
She moved toward her fallen companion. Since she was controlling the Gajumaru that was currently eating the city, she could manifest herself anywhere the trees reached.
—If she turns the city into a forest, she can go wherever she wants.
Maybe that was her plan all along. I’d thought it was an extreme move, even for her, to suddenly turn a city into a woodland.
But honestly, it didn't matter. Let's just finish the job and turn the whole place into a forest!
But before that...
"Alraune-sama, is Trent all right?"
"She was only... unconscious. She is quite sturdy... despite how she looks."
Trent had already stood up and seemed to be back to her usual self. She must have dodged the worst of the blast at the last second. She really was an impressive girl.
"Now, Alraune-sama! Let's get back to turning this whole city into—"
"Oh no! Someone... is hurt. I'll help them... right now."
Alraune ignored me and moved toward the fallen baker.
"This is... my nectar. Please... drink this..."
"Ugh... Ah, it's so sweet... The pain is going away... I feel like... energy is pouring into me...?"
"You'll be fine now... please, do not worry."
"I’m saved!? But more than that... the nectar... I want more of that nectar..."
Alraune had saved another human.
She was always so soft on them. Maybe it was because she’d spent so much time with Rufe, but she had a level of affection for humans that was unthinkable for a normal plant monster.
I suppose that’s what happens when a monster is raised by people.
But that wasn't the only thing that felt different.
The baker's entire body began to tremble the moment he saw Alraune's face.
"That face...!? Y-you... could you be... Lady Saint Iris!?"
Right. Alraune was a dead ringer for Saint Iris.
I’d heard that story constantly back in the Tower City; even Alraune herself was tired of hearing it.
But hearing it here, in the City of Edelweiss, felt different. In the Tower City, no one had actually met the Saint. But this was the city where Saint Iris was born.
The fact that Alraune possessed Light Magic probably wasn't a coincidence, either.
I hadn't said it out loud, but I’d realized a long time ago that Alraune possessed a very special power. I am a high-ranking fairy, after all!
Still, I wasn't interested in the details of how she got that power.
All that mattered was that she had it. As long as she used it to protect the forest, I didn't need to know anything else. The fate of Saint Iris meant nothing to us fairies. Human drama wasn't our business.
I did wonder, though, how much Alraune herself realized. How much she knew that she was the absolute image of that woman.
"We heard you were dead, but you were alive! They said Lady Iris passed away six years ago, but no one believed it. Everyone will be so happy to know you're safe!"
"...You are mistaken. I am... not... Saint Iris."
"What!? But there's no mistaking that face! Every resident of Edelweiss knows your face!"
Currently, Alraune's hair was white, not green. And the sun was setting.
In the golden light of the evening, her white hair could almost look like the same gold as the Saint's.
But more than that, the human just wasn't seeing the reality. He was so struck by her face that the minor difference in hair color didn't even register.
"Lady Iris saved me! As expected of the Saint of Edelweiss... wait, what? No... that flower on your waist... and your body is growing out of a tree... W-what is this!?"
".................."
"That form... you're not human!?"
Humans are so stupid.
No matter how much she looked like her, there was no way Alraune was actually Saint Iris.
But was it just my imagination?
When that man called her "Saint Iris," for just a fleeting second, Alraune looked incredibly lonely.
But no, it must have been my imagination after all.
Because Alraune just looked at him and said:
"...I told you, didn't I? I am... not... Saint Iris."
And that was the story from Kiri the Fairy's POV.
Next time: The Saint of Edelweiss.