This continues from the Little Witch’s point of view.
My name is Rufe.
I had come to the House of Duke Edelweiss, the family home of Saint Iris, to solve the mystery surrounding Alraune.
Yet, for some reason, I now found myself wearing the dress that once belonged to the Saint herself.
—I really want to show Alraune how I look.
I wondered what kind of face she would make if I appeared before her like this. I was already looking forward to it.
"But first..."
Draped in the dress with its intricate iris embroidery, I gave a little twirl in front of the mirror.
The hem of the blue skirt flared, and for a fleeting moment, I caught a glimpse of Alraune’s petals in its motion.
"This might actually work!"
Back when I was just a commoner girl from a village, I never could have dreamed of wearing such a magnificent garment. I felt like a princess from a fairy tale. My spirits soared.
After parting ways with the maid who had lent me the clothes, I returned to the mansion’s courtyard.
There, Tulpe, the Duke’s Proxy, sat beside Alraune, who had retracted into a bud.
"Alraune’s a bud... which means she’s teleported her main body somewhere else."
It was her usual trick. I assumed she had traveled to another location through her root network.
"The Duke’s Proxy is... a little hard to talk to right now."
For reasons unknown, Tulpe was covered from head to toe in a mysterious, sticky mucilage, staring fixedly at Alraune’s bud. She had an aura that suggested she shouldn't be disturbed.
Leaving her to her business, I called out to the demon race member who resembled a lion.
"Hey, you there. The demon."
"Eh? Me?"
The creature had the body of a lion, but its upper half was that of a human woman. I remembered reading about her kind in a picture book once—a Sphinx.
"Do you know where Alraune went?"
"Are you an acquaintance of Alraune-chan? If you are, do you... do you have any nectar? I can’t get that rich flavor out of my head! I can't focus on anything!"
"...I see."
It seemed this Sphinx had fallen under the spell of Alraune’s nectar as well. It wasn't exactly a rare occurrence, so I wasn't surprised.
"Here, take this."
"Thank you! Gulp, gulp—Phew! That’s the stuff!"
"You certainly don't hold back... I gave you my spare Saint Nectar, so tell me what I want to know."
"Right, right. Alraune-chan went to deal with the Urn Golems in the city."
Now that she mentioned it, I recalled the rows of bizarre urns I’d seen at the Pilz Trading Company. If they were all running amok, Alraune—who loved humans far too much—would never be able to just stand by.
"I understand. I'm heading to the city."
"Wait a second, white-haired lady! You’re going to see Alraune-chan, aren't you?"
"...I am."
"Then give her a message for me. The Demon King’s Army is gathering outside. They’re planning to use this chaos to invade Edelweiss. Tell her she should get out of the city while she still can."
"The Demon King’s Army is outside? I doubt Alraune would ever run away, though."
"Alraune-chan promised to take me to the forest! If Ifreet-sama and his forces attack, everyone here is going to die!"
"Ifreet-sama?"
"The Third Legion Commander. He’s a fire spirit, but he’s a total oddball for serving the Demon King. Word is he’s even stronger than the Four Heavenly Kings. We’ll be slaughtered if we fight, so we have to get out before he reaches the city!"
"...I see. I don't quite get the details, but you stay here and protect the mansion."
"Huh?"
"I’m Alraune’s companion too. If you want to come with us later, I won't stop you—but if you betray us, I won't forgive you."
"............Y-Yes, ma'am."
The Sphinx began to tremble. I wondered if I actually looked imposing now. Perhaps it was the combination of the adult form and the elegant dress.
I entrusted Ruru, the Urn Golem who had become my familiar, to the Sphinx and used levitation magic to take to the skies.
But the moment I rose above the mansion, a massive tree branch lashed out at me.
"Why is it attacking me!?"
I sprouted wings from my back to increase my speed. With these, I could fly faster than any bird. Still, the tree continued to lash out, its branches stretching incessantly toward me.
I remembered the name of this tree: Gajumaru. The strangler fig.
".........If I fly this high, it shouldn't be able to reach me, right?"
There was no doubt that the tree belonged to Alraune. Since she would never attack me on purpose, there had to be a reason.
I realized it was likely my appearance. I was an adult now, and I smelled different—the tree was probably reacting to the Witch Queen’s magic power within me and attacking automatically.
"Alraune can sense the Witch Queen’s magic... That must be it."
I recalled her mentioning something similar back when she told me about planting the mistletoe in the Witch Queen’s eye. Regardless, I had to stay clear of that Gajumaru.
Looking down from the sky, I could see Urn Golems being crushed by the Gajumaru’s roots. But Alraune was nowhere to be found. Where was she?
I lowered my altitude to get a better look at the streets—and as if it had been waiting for that exact moment, a branch lunged from the shadow of a building.
"Whoa... that was close."
The tip of the wood grazed me. Instantly, I felt my magic power being drained from the point of contact. My strength began to sap.
"That’s the Spirit Dryad’s technique. I’ve seen Alraune use it before."
Realizing the danger, I shot back up into the air. As long as I stayed high enough, the tree couldn't reach me.
Once I felt safe, I noticed something.
—I had shrunk. Just a little, but I was definitely shorter.
The loss of magic power earlier had caused a physical change.
"Wait... if I get rid of the Witch Queen’s magic power inside me, maybe I'll go back to normal!"
At this rate, finding Alraune was the least of my worries. If I didn't get back to normal, that tree might actually finish me off. I had been enjoying the adult form, but I didn't have time to play around anymore.
Besides, it would be a tragedy if Saint Iris’s dress got ruined. I had to revert before the tree caught me again.
"But how do I burn through all this magic?"
If I let the tree catch me, it would drain me until I couldn't move, and then someone might mistake me for an Urn Golem. That would be a nightmare.
"Come to think of it, Alraune always withered whenever she used too much power, didn't she?"
If I used enough magic, my reserves would drop. The problem was that I didn't know many spells that could discharge such a massive amount of energy all at once—wait!
I thought of the weather-controlling storm magic I’d used to defeat Diesel. I had never altered the weather on a grand scale before, but I had witnessed a truly terrifying spell once.
The storm the Witch Queen had summoned to attack Alraune—that had been incredibly powerful. With my current power, I might be able to replicate it.
I scanned the horizon, widening my field of vision. That was when I spotted them.
"...What is that?"
An army was massing some distance outside the city. They were marching this way.
"That must be the Demon King’s Army the Sphinx mentioned. Perfect—I’ll just unleash my magic on them."
They were planning to attack Edelweiss anyway, so I could protect the city while draining my power. Two birds with one stone.
"But... it would be bad if those weren't monsters, but a human army."
The House of Duke Edelweiss had been kind to me. I’d even become friends with Tulpe. I didn't want to cause any trouble for them. Plus, if I attacked the wrong people, Alraune would definitely scold me later.
"Master Flashy Man always said prior confirmation is vital. I need to make sure if that's the Demon King’s Army or a human force."
But flying all the way out there felt like a chore. I decided to ask someone who might know.
The Gajumaru had stopped moving, likely having finished off the Urn Golems in this sector. This was my chance.
"A good person to ask... that knight looks like he’s in charge. He should know things."
I descended from the sky, landing behind a man who looked to be in his thirties.
"Hey, you."
He looked like an Edelweiss knight. He actually had an aura similar to Lady Knight Katarina.
"...You're a knight, aren't you? Tell me, do you know anything about the army outside?"
"The army outside? What are you talking about?"
"...If an Edelweiss knight doesn't know about them, they must be enemies. Good. I can dump my magic on them and get back to normal."
"Hey, you... what are you saying?"
That settled it. It had to be the Demon King’s Army. If they had nothing to do with Edelweiss, I didn't need to hold back.
"I don't know what's going on, but you're going to answer my questions as well. Tell me anything you know about the Alraune who looks like Lady Saint Iris."
"...You know about my Alraune?"
"Yours? Wait... does that mean you’re Rufe, the beast-ear merchant?"
Oh, right. That was my cover story. How long was I supposed to keep these cat ears out? I wasn't even a merchant, let alone a beast-ear race member...
"The Alraune saved the people of this city. As a knight, I owe her my thanks."
"I see... Alraune did her best again, didn't she?"
She had worked so hard to save everyone. Just like she did back in the Tower City. I knew better than anyone how much she loved humans and how hard she fought for them.
"Then I have to do my best, too."
"Wait... she's floating!?"
Leaving the stunned knight on the ground, I ascended. I beat my white wings and soared toward the outskirts of the city.
The Witch Queen’s magic made me strong. To purge it, I had to use a spell of unprecedented scale. I had never done anything like this before, but I felt a strange surge of confidence.
It was time to use the great magic Alraune had described—the one the Witch Queen herself had used.
"But she said I needed fire nearby to trigger it... Ah!"
A section of the outskirts was ablaze. I saw the culprit—a demon, perhaps. The Sphinx had mentioned a fire spirit in the Demon King’s Army; that was likely him. He was conjuring a massive ball of fire that was visible even from this distance.
"Right. I'll use the updraft from those flames to... control the weather!"
The moment I invoked the magic, the atmosphere shifted. A vortex of wind began to swirl around me. Pebbles on the ground were sucked into the sky, vanishing into the growing gale.
Simultaneously, a colossal cumulonimbus cloud formed over the enemy army. It wasn't quite as large as the one the Witch Queen had used against Alraune, but it was still massive enough to blot out the sun.
I directed the fury of that cloud toward the forces gathered outside Edelweiss.
"Storm Magic: 'Storm Disaster (Turbulenz)'!"
Lightning struck like torrential rain as countless tornadoes descended from the heavens. It was a terrifying, otherworldly spectacle that gave me goosebumps.
I had created a disaster of this magnitude.
"I can do it too. I can do exactly what the Witch Queen did!"
Next time: Little Witch Enjoying Her First Adult Form - Part 3.