White Bird-san’s true identity turned out to be a white-haired witch.

And that little witch suddenly said she wanted to raise me.


Since I’m a plant, she probably doesn’t mean raising me like a pet, but rather cultivating me, right?
Though, I’m also a monster, so calling it raising isn’t exactly wrong either.

In any case, she boldly declared that she wanted to raise me as a plant.


I was completely shocked.

It’s true that I’m just a flower.
I can talk a little, and I happen to be a carnivorous plant monster, but at my core, I’m still just a plant.


And, there was nothing strange about a cute little girl around ten years old saying she wanted to grow flowers.

But even if she was a child, a witch saying she likes an Alraune and wanted to raise her—what on earth does that mean?!

Right now I’m in the form of a young girl, like a newly sprouted bud, so I could understand why she would want to take care of me.

But listen, I’m a plant monster.
Not a human child.

On top of that, my true self is a former saint.
Which means my mental age is actually higher than this little witch’s.


Seriously, I don’t understand any of this.
Someone, please explain it to me.

Even so, the only one who could explain anything to me was the little witch standing right in front of me.
The little witch slowly began to speak.

“I hate humans. I can’t trust them either.”

Witches are enemies of humanity.
And this little witch also said that she hates humans.

She was still very young, but I’m sure she’d been through a lot in her short life.
I can understand how someone could end up hating people.

“But I can trust you, Alraune. You’re a plant monster, not a human.”

──I’m sorry.

I felt bad hiding this, but I used to be human.
And not just that, I was a saint, the natural enemy of witches.

So, on the inside, I was exactly the kind of person the little witch couldn’t trust.
Even so… does she still want me?

“I’ve been watching over you for the past year. I took care of you so much that it would not be an exaggeration to say you’re already mine.”

Wow—some crazy logic just popped up!

It was true that White Bird-san had saved my life many times and helped me a great deal.
If it weren’t for White Bird-san, I wouldn’t be alive right now.
I’m fully aware of how much care I received.

Still, it was the first time I’d heard that I belonged to White Bird-san


“You see, I’ve been taking care of you, for this whole past year. So I think you’ll be happiest if you keep being mine from now on, and I’ll continue looking after you.”

What should I do?
Even if it was White Bird-san’s wish, I can’t help but question whether it is right for me to become the flower of a ten-year-old girl and be taken care of by her.
Plus, she had already declared ownership, too.

Though, from a human perspective, the flowers in someone’s house are considered their possessions.
Houseplants are the same.


Hmm, this is a tough one.

It is not like when I was about to be burned by the Fire Dragon, where I had to weigh my life against becoming a houseplant.

But then again, if you ask whether I actively wanted to become the little witch’s houseplant, I can’t say that I do. Even if she was my Prince Charming, being kept as a pet is still something to think twice about.

I am an Alraune of the forest.
I’m not some ordinary plant that can be easily tamed by humans.

And compared to normal flowers, I would definitely be a lot more trouble to take care of!

So, I can’t become the little witch’s houseplant.
As a former saint, I also have reservations about becoming the property of a younger girl.

“Talking flower, don’t give me that suspicious look.”

Perhaps my resolve got through, because for some reason the little witch gave a sly smile.

“Hey, talking flower. Don’t you want some water?”

Water…………?!


“I was planning on watering you, so this bucket is full of water.”

The little witch lifted the bucket.
In sync with her movements,  the water inside splashed and rippled, creating a gentle, sloshing sound.

──Gulp.

I want water.
I’m really thirsty right now.

The land was dry from the fire, and since I had only just sprouted as a new bud, I needed a lot of water in order to grow.

So yes, right now, I really, really want water!
I want it just as much as I did during last year’s drought!!
Honestly, I’m so desperate that I could even plead with puppy-dog eyes!!!

“If you become mine, I’ll water you.”

“I… want… water”

Before I realized it, I was already saying the words, asking her to give me water.

I mean, it can’t be helped.
It’s like an oasis came all the way to me when I was collapsing out in the desert.

If I don’t get water soon, I’m going to wither… I can’t hold out any longer.
P-please… give me some water…!


“Please… with that bucket… water me.”

“Then will you promise to become my flower?”

The little witch persistently pressed me for confirmation.

Ugh, a promise…
In exchange for water, my body would become the little witch’s property.

That’s a problem.
But still, I want water.


W-what should I do?
Become the little witch’s houseplant, or wither away right here.

What a cunning proposal.
Does she know just how desperately I need water, and that was why she suggested this?

It was the ultimate choice.
Hadn’t there been a lot of these lately?


As I hesitated, lost in thought, my gaze drifted to the arm of the little witch holding the bucket.
On her hand, I caught sight of red burn marks.

Looking closer, there were burn marks scattered all over her hands.
She must’ve been burned while fleeing that fire.


The little witch was White Bird-san.
That’s right. White Bird-san had risked her life to save me over and over again.

Those burns must be the same.
Perhaps she was injured while putting out the flames so that I wouldn’t burn.

Unable to wait any longer for my reply, the little witch continued speaking.

“I’ve never seen a flower as beautiful as you, talking flower, so beautiful that it makes me stop and stare. That’s why I want you.”

‘I want you.’
How long has it been since someone last said that to me?

I thought there was no one left who would want me.
And yet, here stood one.
I had not been abandoned by the world after all.

“I want to be together with you, talking flower. When I look at you, for some reason, I feel at ease…”

I also felt strangely calm whenever I looked at White Bird-san.

She had been willing to sacrifice herself to save me.
How could I not open my heart to a little witch like that?

There was a time when I thought it might’ve been fine to offer myself to White Bird-san.
After all, the little witch was my Prince Charming.


Think it over carefully, me.

Which is better: being left alone on this burned, blackened land, or being kept by the little witch?


If I chose to remain here, I would surely wither from the lack of nourishment.
The fire had stripped away all moisture, and the creatures that served as my food were gone.

With the forest destroyed, I wouldn’t be able to gather nutrients like before.

I can’t move by walking.
In the end, I’ll probably just slowly wither away like this.


On the other hand, what if I were kept by the little witch?

She would water me so I wouldn’t dry out, and she might even bring me prey to feed on.

More than that, I might even be able to leave this place.

Fortunately, I’m in the form of a young girl now.
The little witch could even pick me up, fly through the sky, and take me somewhere safe. If that happened, I wouldn’t wither, and my life would be saved.

Besides, she had been raising me for a year and seemed to have grown fond of me.
I doubt she would ever do anything to harm me.
After all, she had already saved my life several times.

I don’t want to become a dessert-and-pet slave like with that eyepatch-wearing minotaur.
But living while being watered by such a cute, gentle-looking little witch doesn’t actually sound that bad.

Or rather, it was the only way I could survive.

My pride as a former saint was gradually softened by the fact that the little witch had been White Bird-san all along.


“Hey, Witch-san… why do you want… to stay with… me?”

“Well,” the little witch says, silently closing her eyes.

“My parents were killed. There’s no one left in this world on my side. I’m all alone now.”

With her eyes still closed, she continued.

“But I don’t want to be alone anymore. When I realized I wanted to spend time with someone, the first one who came to mind was you, talking flower.”

With a calm expression, the little witch opened her eyes and looked straight at me.

“To me right now, you’re the precious thing in this world. You’re not human but a flower, but that doesn’t matter to me.”

Something pierced my heart.

it might’ve been a tiny thorn.
A dangerous thorn, soaked in poison.

Slowly, something spread through my entire body.
Something like a very pleasant, lethal poison.

“Please, talking flower. I want you to stay with me.”

And with that, the little witch fell silent, staring at me.
She was waiting for my answer.


──I think.

White Bird-san was my Prince Charming.

If the little witch, who turned out to be that white bird, then surely she could melt this frozen, lonely heart of mine.
She might even give my cold, monotonous world a warm place to belong.

She was a stranger, yet not a stranger.
After all, she was the white bird.


Even on the days of heavy snowfall during the great cold wave, she came to see me.
On the summer days when the drought dragged on, she sprinkled me with water.
And even during this huge fire, she came to help, carrying a bucket.

Whenever I was in trouble, the white bird was always nearby, watching over me.

Well, she wasn’t a white bird anymore but a white-haired girl. Even if her appearance had changed, who she was inside hadn’t.
If it’s with her, maybe it would be okay to live together.


“I want… to… be with you… too.”

Before I knew it, I had accepted the little witch’s proposal.


It was better than just dying like this, after all.

And if worse comes to worse, I can always do something about the little witch.
If it came to a fight, I would probably be stronger.

The little witch seemed to think she was holding my life in her hands, but I was holding hers, too.
But that’s just me telling myself that.


Here is how I truly feel.

Now, finally, I won’t have to feel lonely anymore.
Just thinking that makes it feel like nectar might spill from my eyes at any moment.


How long must I have wished for this.

There were nights when I sobbed in loneliness and let my nectar flow.
There were days when the endless solitude felt eternal, and I feared if I was losing my mind.

I’m sick of this kind of life.
I want someone to water me, to comfort me.

Casting my emptiness up at the blue sky, I kept surviving, utterly alone.

At last, those days of hardship are finally coming to an end.


──Ah, I’ve waited a whole year.

There were times when the loneliness was so painful my heart felt like it would collapse, when I felt myself wilting and drooping.

But now I’m finally freed from that painful solitude.

I don’t have to be alone anymore.

If it’s with White Bird-san, I’ll surely be okay.
I’ll live together with this girl. Yes, I’ve decided.

I won’t soak my cheeks wet with nectar anymore.


I felt my frozen, absolute-zero heart beginning to melt under the sunlike warmth of human touch.

The long, long winter of one full year since I was reincarnated as an Alraune has finally come to an end.

And at last, spring has bloomed in my heart.

***

Author’s Note:

Thank you very much for reading.

Next Time: The Witch Tastes of Nectar