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Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I had discovered that a monster’s body could evolve in whatever direction it desired. That realization gave me hope.

If there were humans, or intelligent beings similar to them, in this world, perhaps I could blend in with their society and live peacefully. If my form could change according to my wishes, then surely, I could one day take on a human shape.

(Alright, goal set: become human! …But the only humanoid I’ve seen so far is that green giant… I really hope that isn’t what passes for a human in this world.)

The green-skinned giant still lay by the water, eyes rolled back and foaming at the mouth, definitely dead. He had been the one to pull me out of the ground, causing all that terror.

Now that I finally took a proper look at him, I noticed his skin was green, his chest unnaturally dark, and he had small horns sprouting from his forehead. He wore only a ragged cloth around his waist. Didn’t seem particularly intelligent.

(He looks more like a demon than a human. A green demon… maybe a goblin? But goblins are supposed to be small…)

Maybe goblins were just big in this world. Then again, I wasn’t human anymore; I was a Mandragora. If goblins were bigger than me, that only made sense.

In that case, real humans must be even bigger. …I’d need to actually see one to set a proper goal. And there was still the question of whether humans even existed in this world to begin with.

「…? …!」

Voices. Somewhere nearby, I heard people talking. I darted into a patch of underbrush and hid. Was it another green giant? Or something else entirely? Peeking through the bushes, I cautiously observed.

「You’ve got to be kidding me! The court mage seriously sent us into a monster-infested hellscape like this?!」

Two figures were walking toward me, speaking in words I could understand. Thank goodness, no language barrier. Even more importantly, they looked exactly like the humans I knew. I was so overwhelmed with joy that I nearly shouted 「YAAAY!」 out loud, but managed to quickly slap a webbed hand over my mouth just in time. Thank goodness for those webbed fingers.

「Hardly anyone beside us could make it this far, even so, the court mage’s research is for the good of the kingdom, and its people. It’s only right that a holy knight would assist in that.」

「You’re such a model knight it hurts…」

These two grown men were even taller than the green giant from earlier. If he were standing, he wouldn’t even reach their waists. I compared their height against the surrounding trees, estimating proportions in my head.

Now that I had a concrete reference for what a human looked like, I actually started to feel excited. With a clear goal, my motivation soared.

(Since I’m a girl, I’ll aim to be a little shorter than them… Wait. I am a girl, right?)

I wasn’t sure about Mandragora biology. Were we dioecious, like plants with separate male and female individuals? Or hermaphroditic, with both stamens and pistils? Either way, I still carried the consciousness of Hanazono Misaki, and as far as I was concerned, I was female. So I’d aim to evolve into a female human body.

(And if I’m going to make a body… then yeah, I want to be, like, totally hot. I want an amazing figure.)

My past life left me with a blocky build, and now I was basically a round, waddling root ball. But in this new life, where I could evolve however I wanted, why not go for a stunning body? Big chest, narrow waist, shapely hips, that’s the dream.

(Anyway, I’ve confirmed humans exist. Better get out of here before they see me. If I scream by accident, I might kill them…)

With that, I dashed away at full speed. I would level up by defeating monsters, evolve bit by bit, and eventually take on a human form. Then I’d live in the human kingdom. Those two had called this place a monster-infested hell, so human settlements were probably safer.

Just as I started running, I thought I heard a shocked voice behind me. Probably my imagination. I had to get far enough that even if I did attack something, I wouldn’t risk harming them.

(Alright! Let’s do this!)

―――――――

「H-Hey…! Did you see that?! A totally hot Mandragora just ran by!!」

Having come to the monster zone on an errand from court mage Nicolaus, Leonhart now found himself deeply concerned for his colleague Ritter, who had just pointed at nothing and said something insane.

「…Ritter, are you okay? They said the miasma here had thinned out, but if you’re seeing hallucinations…」

Just a few years ago, this land was so thick with miasma—dense magical energy—that no living thing could survive here. The corpse of a dragon that died 500 years ago had emitted so much miasma that even monsters avoided the place. Only recently had the miasma begun to clear.

Now, the land was rich with magic and fertility. Plants flourished, monsters were born instead of animals, and they fought and consumed each other, growing stronger. This place was in the middle of forming a new ecosystem—a true monster realm.

「I swear, something ran by!」

「Mandragoras don’t run, Ritter. That’s absurd.」

「B-But Nicolaus said intelligent monsters can evolve in unique ways! It’s not that crazy to imagine a running Mandragora—!」

「You probably imagined it because you’d been hearing that nonsense. Let’s finish the job and go back.」

Even if such a bizarre creature could exist, the monster realm was still too young. Mutant variants were supposed to take decades or centuries to develop.

Still, as they headed for their objective, they encountered a strange sight.

「This is odd… There’s a ton of dead goblins.」

「Yeah. And these are… curse deaths. Goblins do have low curse resistance, but this is excessive.」

Black stains spread across each goblin’s chest, typical signs of death by curse. Dozens of corpses lay scattered around. Leonhart furrowed his brow.

For every one goblin you see, assume there are fifty more. That’s how fast they reproduce. And if this many were dead along a straight path—not even while detouring—there could be hundreds.

「I’m immune to curses, but… Ritter, you’d better be careful. This could be lethal. Get the holy water ready. We need to keep undead-type monsters at bay.」

「…Hey. What if… What if it was a running Mandragora? If one was screaming while running, and the goblins had no resistance—this could happen, right?」

「Be realistic. It’s far more likely that an undead-type monster with curse powers was born here.」

With caution, they finally reached the designated location—once the resting place of a dragon’s corpse. Five hundred years later, the bones were mostly gone, but faint traces could still be seen among the grass.

Nicolaus’s request was simple: recover the Mandragora that had grown using the dragon’s remains as nutrients.

「If he planted it himself, couldn’t he just come pick it up?」

「I’m sure the court mage is busy. He probably couldn’t leave.」

「You seriously need to be more suspicious of people…」

They split up to search for the Mandragora—but couldn’t find it. Only the remains of goblins, cursed to death, and a gaping hole in the ground.

「…Leonhart. This is…」

「I know what you’re thinking. …We need to report to the mage.」

Was it stolen? Or had it moved on its own? Normally, the former would be obvious—but with Ritter insisting he saw a running Mandragora, the latter didn’t seem so far-fetched.

(If a mobile Mandragora really exists, it’s fine as long as it stays in this monster realm. …But if it ever shows up where humans live, it could be a disaster.)

If spotted, it must be eliminated. Before it brings harm to humans.