Time continued to pass as the boy continues to visit me everyday. Sometimes teaching me about the various alchemical process of making potions. Sometimes hanging out with me for a leisure chat about our livelihood.

Well, considering that I have only lived in the forest for all my life, it was more interesting to hear about his instead. Plus, to hear him speak has become one of the few delights in my life.

And before I knew it, the boy looked different.

"Hmmm..."

The boy noticed my gaze on him and asked, "Is something the matter, my queen?"

"I've just noticed. Did you grow taller, boy? I remember you only being this short last time." I said, placing my vine at the height where I'd last remember the boy to be at.

For some reason when I asked him that, the boy became incredibly surprised.

"It's been six years since we first met, my queen. Of course I have grown!"

Oh. Is that so.

"Also... I'm an adult now, so could you please stop calling me 'boy' already?"

"Hmm... no. I prefer to call you that way." I replied with a smug. "Besides, what else am I supposed to address you as, if not 'boy'?"

"How about my name? I've told you what it is already, didn't I?"

 "Did you? Fufufu~ Sorry. My memories blows.

"Well, that's not the only thing that blows..."

"Hm? What was that?"

"Nothing."

Oh it was definitely not nothing, you cheeky little brat.

The boy then sighed with a tired expression. It was clear that something was bothering him.

"Is something the matter?" I asked him.

"It's... nothing." he replied, looking away.

Obviously, it was not nothing. I stared blankly at him for a good minute or two, making him feel awkward as his face became red.

"My queen. You're too close."

"I know. And?"

I proceeded to grab his hand and brought him even closer to me. Pushing my upper body against him to seduce the boy into talking.

With the Seductress title I'd acquired thanks to him "thinking" about me that night, it did not take long before the boy caved in.

"All right. All right. I'll tell you! So please stop teasing me like this."

"Fufufu~ Good. That's what you should have done from the start." I gleefully expressed my victory, while the boy looked away with his face beet red and softly muttered.

"My queen... you idiot..."

The boy sighed again. Then, he proceeded to tell me what happened.

"I got personally invited by the Emperor to become a Royal Alchemist." he said.

"Wow. That's great." I responded, genuinely impressed.

I didn't really know what being offered to be a Royal Alchemist meant. But I do know that whatever it is, the boy deserved it.

No longer an apprentice alchemist and now a well-renown one, the boy has told me about how various people from within this country would come to his tiny village, just to meet him. Apparently, his skills in alchemy was so great that the potions and other stuffs he'd created became well known throughout the land. It would seem that even this country's ruler has gained interest in the boy and came to see him personally.

The Balhara Empire. That is the name of the country this forest is in, according to the memories of those whom I had eaten.

It is oldest and largest Human nation in the world that prides over strength and talent over anything else. Holding the greatest military in all of the Human race.

Their Emperor is said to be incredibly powerful as well.

If that's the case, then it'd be best that I'd not face him at all. Or rather, I'm surprised that my existence has yet to catch his attention.

Perhaps it was because I have been laying low these past few years, ever since the boy came to visit me regularly.

Whatever the reason was, I consider myself to be lucky so far for not encountering any strong foe yet.

"So then, I take it that you'd accept?" I asked the boy, thinking that it was only natural for him to do so, since the strive for higher heights is what every creature believes in. Even monsters such as myself.

However, what came out from the boy's mouth next was unexpected.

"No. I actually refused the position." he said, making me surprised for a split second.

"Why?"

It was something that no Human could easily get, right? If so, for what reason did he have to refuse it?

When I inquired him for the reason, the boy simply looked at me and smiled.

"Because it's not something that I deserve alone." he said. "My achievements... My talent as an alchemist... I was only able to attain them because of you, my queen."

"Huh? What are you saying?" I was flustered there for a second. "I'm the student here. Remember? How could I be the reason for your growth?"

"Look around you." the boy gestured to the flowers and plants surrounding us. "The flowers and herbs here. They are what allowed me to grow as an alchemist. All of them, planted by you, my queen."

I see. I supposed he is right.

Before, my peaceful space in this forest was only but a plain green field. However, after the boy had shown me a book about the various type of alchemical plants that exist in the world, I decided to plant and grow them in my boring plain field, just because. As a result, my peaceful space has turned into a beautiful garden and a paradise for the boy, where he can gather all of the ingredients he needs here.

It made him happy. Which made me happy.

But even so, to reject such a good deal because he felt unworthy of it.

"What a fool you are."

"I guess I am. However..." the boy made a grim face. "That was not the only reason why I refused."

"What do you mean?" I asked, feeling the sudden change in the air when he made that expression.

"The Emperor... He scares me."

When he said that, I was stunned.

To hear the boy being afraid of another Human instead of me, a monster, I started imagining what this Emperor looked like in my head. 

Then, the boy continued explaining.

"When I said that he scares me though, I did not mean that his appearance was terrifying. If anything, he looked exactly like what you'd expect a man called the Emperor to look like."

"I see..."

Welp. There goes my image of the man.

"Then what is it that makes you afraid of him?"

"It was when we conversed that makes me terrified of him. Whenever he spoke, I felt compelled to listen to him. And the more I listened, a surreal sense of admiration welled up within me. It was almost like I was slowly becoming attracted to the man as he continued speaking. Eventually, when he offered his hand to me, I felt a sudden urge to take it. Like I had to take it because he said so. It was... scary just recalling about that moment."

The boy has wrapped his arms around himself, trembling as he remembers.

It seemed like he didn't know why he felt that way. But based on what he had just told me, I could pretty much guess why.

[Brainwashing]. The Emperor of the Balhara Empire most likely has that skill.

Which meant that not taking his hand when offered was probably the right call for the boy. But even so...

"Why didn't you take it? Or rather, what prevented you from taking that hand?"

The boy's expression changed when I asked him that. He became hesitant to reply. But after a while, he nervously rubbed the back of his head and said.

"It's you, my queen... It's because when I saw the flower you had given me and thought of you at the last second, I was somehow able to be myself again and politely refused the Emperor his invitation. So, I uh... Thank you."

I chuckled a bit seeing him acting the same as ever, no matter how many years had passed. 

I didn't do anything, boy. You were the one who saved yourself. That's what I wanted to tell him. But knowing the boy, he probably wouldn't accept that.

That's also why I didn't tell him that he was being followed when he entered the forest.

I didn't know who they were, but they have been taken care of nonetheless. But after hearing about the boy's meeting with the Emperor, it was safe to assume that those guys were the Emperor's lackeys.

Time passed as the boy and I continued to chat. Before we realised it, the sun had already set and the sky had became dark.

"It's already night, huh?"

"Indeed it is..."

The boy then got onto his feet and faced me. "Well umm, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, my queen." he said.

"Oh? So you're leaving already?"

"Well, yes. I have to. It's getting late now and I wouldn't want to bother you any further."

"Fufufu~ And who said that you were bothering me?"

"Eh?"

I extended my hand out to the boy and opened my flower wider, offering him a place in it.

"Come, boy. You will be staying the night with me, won't you?"

A mixed expression of astonishment and disbelief was written on the boy's face.

It was an invitation. From me to him. That was one truth. The other was that I was afraid that there were more of the Emperor's men just waiting for him to come out of the forest because they couldn't go in to follow him. With how dark it is now, the boy could be easily taken without anyone knowing it. Including me if he's outside of the forest.

But as far as the boy was concern, the latter reason was not known to him.

With a big gulp to swallow his nerves, the boy took my hand and said.

"I will."

"Fufufu~♡ Well then, come here, boy."

The relationship between a Human and a monster. Such a thing was said to be impossible.

And yet, not only did one form between the boy and I. But we have now crossed the line as well.

I was truly happy at that time.

Which is why I was devastated later on that night when they appeared all of a sudden.

*BOOM!*

Lightning struck the ground behind us when they was no clouds. The flowers and herbs around us were set ablaze, turning the garden into a burning sea of flames, illuminating the forest in its bright red light.

"My queen, what's going on?"

"..."

"My queen!"

I wasn't ignoring the boy on purpose. Nor was I unconcerned by the flames. However, I did not respond to the boy, nor did I not immediately act to put out the flames, simply because my concern was on those two figures within the fire.

My Danger Sense skill was going wild and my instinct as a monster was screaming at me to run. Yet, I couldn't move my body at all as I watched them emerge from the flames unscathed.

Fear. How long has it been since I felt that?

Among the two that appeared before us, one of them was a young-looking Dwarf, while the other was a man who only looked Human in appearance, but was definitely something else entirely.

Both of them have an incredible presence. However, it was clear to me that the most dangerous one was the young-looking Dwarf staring straight at me.

The boy finally noticed those two as well. But before he could take a single breath in, the young-looking Dwarf spoke.

"So... you're the Alraune Aleff told me about, huh? He never told me that you were a Queen Alraune though. Not that I'm complaining."

His words speaks authority. His presence emits strength.

Before such a being, I asked him.

"Who... are you?"

"Oh. So you can speak? Good. This makes conversations a lot better now." he said.

Then, he introduced himself.

"My name is Loboros. And this here is my subordinate, Dagon. Nice to meet you, Queen Alraune."

Loboros... Loboros... Loboros...

The Creation God, Loboros!? Why is a God like him here!?

Before I could even ask him that, the God answered it straight away.

"Allow me to cut to the chase as to why I'm here." he said, extending his hand out to me.

"Queen Alraune, I am here to scout you. And I am not taking no for an answer."