82. Black Lotus (2)
82. Black Lotus (2)
- 1 -
The domain ruled by the Alraune Queen, 'Alraune's Swamp', lay about two days' travel southeast of Solemio, the city closest to my dungeon.
Measured from my dungeon, it was roughly four days.
Of course, by carriage, it was less than two days, so it was a location where we could have met back then as well...
But the geography of this place was the problem.
"There truly is nowhere to set foot."
"I could just go up into the trees... shall I carry you?"
"I'm fine."
"Disappointing..."
This place was, quite literally, a swamp.
Since it was repeatedly submerged and drained throughout the year, the entire ground was either a mudflat or a bog.
There wasn't a single spot to set foot in sight.
If I'd brought a carriage into a place like this, I would have had to get out and wrench the wheels free several times just to travel a hundred meters.
"It's fortunate the shadows are so thick here, my lady."
"Indeed."
The reason I could walk this place was that the swamp had many large trees, and thus the shadows lay as thick as the mud.
Now that my magic proficiency had risen further, I could solidify the shadow itself to step on it as easily as breathing.
So, I was walking on water, treading on the shadows.
Of course, this would be difficult for an ordinary mage.
It was only possible for a Dungeon Lord like me, who overflowed with mana and the talent to wield it like breathing.
- Dalkadak.
- Dalkak.
As soon as I became capable of that, the soldiers who often accompanied me had grown sullen for a while... I knew the reason well, but I didn't want to acknowledge it.
Being sad because they couldn't be a stepping stone—what on earth was that, you guys.
At any rate, I walked over the shadows across the bog until I reached an area that was more water than mud.
"I have awaited you, Queen of the Dungeon."
I was finally able to see this world's Alraune for the first time.
- 2 -
Alraune were typically depicted as a female figure with a flower for a lower body, or as a female figure wearing a flower-shaped dress.
In this world, both forms were mixed together.
"I have awaited you, Queen of the Dungeon."
The Alraune in a red dress who had come to greet me seemed to be a rose Alraune, a beautiful woman with green skin accompanied by a large red flower.
Yes. I hadn't misspoken.
She was accompanying it.
Bound by Fate to a single giant flower and stem that moved slowly through the earth, together.
'How does it move?'
I knew its appearance from what Evangeline had told me, but seeing it like this truly stirred my curiosity.
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed to be crawling through the ground.
Was it using its roots? Or its stem? Or if not that... tentacles?
"The motive power for our movement is magic, Queen of the Dungeon."
"It seems I stared too openly."
"It's quite alright. It's not the first time. Dungeon Lords and humans who saw us for the first time always looked at us with such eyes."
Of course, as for what happened to the humans among them, one could guess just from knowing that this swamp was now called 'Alraune's Swamp of the Central Eastern Continent' by humans.
They were plants, powerful mages, spirits, and witches who controlled the earth or light...
"And the humans who were curious were delicious."
"I see. Good for you."
Lastly, they were also monsters.
Any Alraune could ultimately cannibalize, so if one was human, they must not let their guard down before them.
That is, unless they wanted to be charmed in the blink of an eye and crawl in to be devoured.
"Indeed. The honey and poison made from dissolving humans are especially sweet. I wish I could have the opportunity to serve them to you."
Whether literally dissolved and eaten, or metaphorically consumed as a means of reproduction.
"I'm fine. I possess a body that can live without food."
"Oh my. Taste is a pleasure for all living beings who possess intelligence."
"I sympathize, but I truly am fine."
"Aww..."
They possessed strong power, were finicky and dangerous, and the only reason they weren't targeted for subjugation was that they didn't actively attack humans; Alraune were fundamentally carnivorous beings.
... It wasn't for nothing that they appeared regularly in all sorts of adult content, especially corruption or tentacle genres.
"Then, will you guide me."
"Yes, my Queen. Then, I shall guide you."
As I answered her words appropriately and got to the main point, the red Alraune's expression hardened slightly as she returned to a solemn and courteous attitude, bowing deeply and extending one hand to point the way.
She glided in that direction, skimming the ground.
The woman's body floated slightly above the ground, and the main body, the rose-like flower, also glided smoothly while held upright.
'It really does crawl through with roots and stems.'
The large body's method of movement wasn't outwardly visible, but one could guess how it moved from the way the ground undulated and rose up.
"Our Queen has long looked forward to meeting the Queen of the Dungeon."
"So I heard."
I had heard it from Kamaya, and also from Ent.
That no matter where she had seen me, she definitely wanted to meet me.
"After she saw you once from afar, Your Majesty, she boasted of your beautiful appearance, so everyone was curious. Seeing you in person, I think I understand why she boasted so."
"Is that so."
"You are truly elegant... and noble as well."
The eyes of the red Alraune, who was showering me with compliments, sparkled.
Were Alraune without restraint, or was she particularly uninhibited?
I didn't know which, but it wasn't unpleasant.
Because she had continued to show me goodwill.
Perhaps Serha's words that all Alraune were shallowly obsessed with looks were true, from the first moment I saw her.
Though that goodwill was likely maintained only so long as their survival rights weren't threatened.
"Heh..."
"Serha?"
While I was being guided along, I discovered that Serha's condition had become strange.
She couldn't pull herself together, as if intoxicated by something, and was following behind slowly, flapping her wings.
"... Annoying."
When I turned my head to look up into the trees, Shue was also frowning with an uncomfortable expression.
I could quickly guess the reason they were acting like that.
"Wake up."
"... Haht! My Queen. I lost my senses..."
"It's fine. You seem to have been drunk on charm."
When I infused a little mana and tapped her head, Serha reacted as if waking from sleep.
The reason she had been like that earlier was indeed because she had been intoxicated by the charm fragrance.
I could quickly guess who the culprit was as well.
"It would be best if you could reduce the fragrance, if possible."
One of the Alraune's primary powers was the charm fragrance.
And since this wasn't yet the deep part of Alraune's Swamp, there was only one person who could emit the charm fragrance.
"Oh my. I'm sorry, my Queen. Seeing Your Majesty, I just... felt a bit of that kind of feeling..."
"I don't know about that, so hurry and reduce it."
The culprit was indeed her.
When I pointed it out, she acted coy with a face full of coquettish charm, as if hearts would pop out.
But unlike the first time, it wasn't a very pleasing sight.
The current Shue's magic resistance had become considerably stronger than before.
The fact that the current her felt discomfort meant the assumption arose that the previous Shue might have succumbed to this charm.
Also, Serha's magic resistance was quite strong too, so she merely hadn't progressed to any action, but wasn't it a fact that she had been intoxicated by the charm?
And both of them were already my subordinates, or collaborators who would become subordinates.
"S-sorry... I apologize..."
Perhaps sensing my displeased mood, the red Alraune apologized profusely and ended the conversation.
She had shrunk back so much that I almost felt sorry for her, but I had long ago decided to remember this separately.
Like so, we traveled in silence for a while.
"This is it. Your Majesty."
At last, the promised location, the Alraune Queen's dwelling, revealed itself.
Kwaaaaa—!
The place that revealed itself among the deep forest was... to describe it by comparison, it was like a 'very small' Horseshoe Falls.
- 3 -
Water was pouring down from all directions.
Kwaaaaa—!
Like the famous Horseshoe Falls, part of Niagara Falls, it was a place that wore waterfalls behind it like a folding screen.
All of them were small-scale waterfalls, but as the sounds gathered and amplified, it was quite loud.
"To think a place like this existed..."
The place backed by those waterfalls seemed to be a lake formed by springing groundwater, though I couldn't be sure.
It was probably groundwater heading toward the Arilit Strait beyond the southern Duchy of Arilit, or toward Misty Veil Lake in the southwest.
It was worthy of being called a hidden, scenic wonder created by nature itself.
"..."
And the ruler of that scenic wonder was beautiful as well, in a different sense.
Chararak.
A single giant black flower of an unknown species fluttered, floating in the air, and there was a woman bound by Fate to its six stems, pouring the lake water over her body.
Her hair was black.
Her eyes were hidden at a glance, veiled by an iridescent glow, but upon closer inspection, they were green.
Sarararak.
Her limbs were dark blue, as if mixing the color of the flower with the Alraune who had come to greet us, but the parts that formed her face and body were white, like a human's.
The black-based, iridescent flower flew behind her back, sometimes covering or revealing her body like wings.
Each time the petals briefly curled inward, her dazzling naked body was revealed, showing her appropriately full breasts or her pelvis at the border that dyed into green, and so on.
It was a form that could be offered to artists as an excellent example of the aesthetics of concealment and revelation.
"Your Majesty. I have brought the Queen of the Dungeon to you."
"Oh my. Already?"
A casual shower scene and a feigned ignorance that would seem real to anyone who didn't know any better.
Seeing that, I felt my prejudice that a coy nature was a basic trait of Alraune was reinforced.
Because she had already extended her mana senses this way, confirming who had arrived, before acting like that.
"Wait. Wait just a moment! Please give me a little time!"
After that, the other side became bustling.
Movements of wiping her wet body, shaking moisture from the petals, and dabbing something onto her face.
However, right after that, the Alraune Queen who approached this way was still only concealing her body using the petals like wings or a gown.
Without paying any mind to how her body was precariously exposed, glistening in the sunlight.
"This isn't the first time I've seen you, but it is the first time we've met face-to-face. Queen of the Dungeon."
With such monster-like boldness, she came very close to me.
No, perhaps it even carried an intent of seduction.
"My name is..."
A smile laden with very deep goodwill hung at the corners of the lips of the one who approached me.
On the surface, it looked harmless, but two dangerous elements existed within the being who wore that smile.
The sinister cunning of a dangerous carnivorous plant that lures its prey to walk into its own mouth,
and the bewitching charm of a monster that seduces humans to make them into monsters like themselves.
