We had arrived at our new home.

From today on, this forest would be the place the little witch and I call home.


A forest so ancient it existed even before the kingdom was founded.
Perhaps because of that, everything felt much larger in scale compared to the forest where I used to live.


Each and every tree was so massive, thick, and towering.

From the perspective of my former life as a high school girl, a lot of these would qualify as protected natural monuments.
The forest was so wild and overflowing with nature that it felt like a Mononoke-type¹ princess could be living here.


As White Bird-san landed on the ground, I looked around, scanning the area.

It felt kind of gloomy.
The dense overgrowth blocked out the light, but there was also something a little eerie about the place.

Maybe it was just because I was setting foot in this forest for the first time. Not that I actually have feet. I’m a plant, after all.


“I can’t… I’m exhausted.”

White Bird-san reverted back into her human form.

The little witch carried me over to the trunk of a nearby tree.
She held me close, wrapping me gently in her arms.

“All that flying made me hungry. It’s about time for dinner, right?”



Hey, little witch-san.
If it was dinner time, then why are you staring so intently into my eyes?

I don’t remember ever being your meal, you know.

Could it be… the little witch was secretly a herbivore?
If she confessed to being vegetarian, I’d be in a bit of a pickle.


“Alraune, give me some nectar.”

Ah, I knew it!

I get that you’re hungry, little witch.
You’re still just ten years old, after all.
Growing so fast, and yet the only thing you’ve had today was a few sips of my nectar.


But honestly, I’m at my limit too.
I was seriously low on both water and nutrients, to the point where I felt like crying.
I really didn’t have much nectar left to give.


“I spent the whole day flying while carrying Alraune, so I can’t move anymore. It was really exhausting.”

Ugh.
When you put it that way, I feel bad.

I’m a plant.
A potted Alraune, no less.

Without the little witch’s help, I couldn’t even move a single step on my own.

It can’t be helped.
I’ll give you some nectar.

But before I could even say “okay,” the little witch had already started to move.


“I’ll just take a bit of nectar.”

As she said that, she suddenly shoved her finger straight into my mouth!

She stirred around inside of my mouth with her index finger.

Wh-what is this?!

This strange sensation of someone else’s finger inside my mouth.

It tickled.
And somehow it felt weird too…

My tongue and the soft interior of my mouth slammed roughly against her finger over and over.
Utterly helpless, I could do nothing but surrender to her touch.


After a while, the little witch pulled her finger back out.
It was coated with plenty of nectar.

“Yep. Alraune’s nectar really is delicious.”


She licked my nectar, looking completely satisfied.

But honestly, that was the least of my concerns.
My mouth had just been thoroughly violated.

I know she was just collecting nectar, but I used to be human.
For a former saint like me, this was the kind of thing that could easily send me into a panic.

As I trembled and looked up at the little witch, she explained calmly.


“I just collected nectar from a flower, so I haven’t done anything weird.”

That’s true.
This really was just nectar collection.
I was just on the receiving end, so it shocked me a bit.


“It’s just like how a farmer milks a cow or a goat. So there’s no need for you to be scared, Alraune.”

So I’m livestock now?!
I wanted to say that, but since I really was just a flower, I didn’t have much room to complain.

The little witch gently patted my head.
Since I looked like a little girl right now, she definitely seemed like the older sister.


And honestly, it had been such a long time since I’ve had this kind of contact with someone.
I couldn’t even remember the last time someone patted my head like this.
Being treated so kindly like this made me feel really happy.


The last time someone did this… was probably my fiancé, the Hero.
How wonderful it would have been to feel that brave, strong hand of his gently patting my head again.


But the Hero betrayed me with those hands.

Now, the hands that had once comforted me were on that traitorous junior saint who had cut me down.
Just the thought of those gentle hands patting that backstabbing junior’s head sent a storm of emotions swirling inside me, ready to burst.

This was all the fault of that apprentice saint who betrayed me and tried to kill me.
That junior deserved to die. She must be killed.

If I could, I’d bury that damn junior somewhere deep in this gloomy forest.
And then I’d use her as my fertilizer.


What calmed the flames of anger inside me was the sensation of the little witch’s small, soft hand.

The Hero wasn’t here.
But now, I had a companion—the little witch.

If she was once White Bird-san, then surely she would cherish me.
She wouldn’t suddenly abandon me like the Hero did, right?


As I bathed myself in her gentle petting, almost like I’d turned back into a small child, the little witch’s head suddenly drooped.


“I’ve never flown for so long before…… I’m at my limit…………”

The little witch started dozing off.
It seemed like it was bedtime for her.


Indeed, she’d been racing through the skies since morning without stopping, all while holding me.
No wonder she was completely exhausted.


The sun had already set, and the veil of night was descending.

It would be nice to say, “Let’s go to sleep now”…… but no, absolutely not!


Sleeping right away in a forest we just arrived in was way too scary.
What if this place was a nest for dangerous monsters?

And besides, I’m thirsty.

I want water.
I’m completely dried out.

Living in a flowerpot is hard work, you know.

On top of using soil from a scorched wasteland that barely had any moisture to begin with, there wasn’t a drop of water left in it now.
It was like some kind of torture device designed to kill plants.

Nutrients? Nonexistent.
My roots were wriggling restlessly inside the cramped pot, desperately searching for moisture.

So yeah, I really, really needed water right now.


Up until now, no matter how little water there was, I could always scrape some together from underground.

But I couldn’t do that anymore.
Because now, I’m a potted Alraune.


It was only my first day in a pot, yet I was suffering from worse dehydration than last summer’s drought.

I wish you had at least found a river and watered me before going to sleep.
I can’t even move on my own.


Ah…… this might be bad.

Li-little witch…
Wake up……

The flower… it’s going to wither……


The future of a potted flower forgotten by its caretaker.
There was nothing left for it but to wilt

That day, I experienced neglect for the first time.


It reminded me of my past life in Japan.

Back when I was in elementary school, we once grew mini tomatoes in pots as part of a class project.

I watered mine properly, so it didn’t wither. But some of the boys in class let theirs die.

Just like that mini tomato the careless boy had let die, I was in exactly the same predicament.

Come to think of it, mini tomatoes are nightshade vegetables, right?
They were in the same family as the Alraune.

──Haha.

What should I do?
I’m starting to feel a strange sense of kinship with that mini tomato.


Was I going to wither too……?


Even so, I wasn’t a helpless mini tomato.

For my caretaker’s sake, I had to do something.

Gathering what little strength I had left, I wrapped my vines around both the little witch and myself.

Sleeping directly on the forest floor would be too hard on a ten-year-old girl.
If she stayed like that, her body would get cold.

And if I made a cocoon out of vines, it should make us harder to spot by enemies, too.

Alright, I’m awesome!


Truthfully, I wanted to force her awake, but given how things were now, it would be cruel to disturb the little witch’s well-earned sleep. I’ll hold back and not say anything.

Good night, and sleep well.

Surely my body can last one more day.
It should be fine, right?
I really hope so……


Right as I thought that, it seemed my stamina had finally hit its limit.


I can’t take it anymore……

Closing my buds, I drifted off to sleep.


Even so, my consciousness didn’t fade away right away.


──Huh…?
It feels like I’m dreaming.


Beyond the forest, fireflies were floating through the air.
Tiny lights swayed gently as they drifted closer.

They circled once around the vines, then vanished somewhere off into the distance.

The fireflies… they were beautiful.


Ever since becoming an Alraune, I had hardly seen any artificial light.
That’s why, seeing light like this made me realize all over again just how beautiful it really was


But, I had to say, even though I was in a dream, my throat felt unbearably dry.
I wanted water so badly that I was restless even in my sleep.

I couldn’t really tell whether I was awake or asleep.

Ah, what if morning came and my flower had withered?
I don’t want to become a dried-up mini tomato…


And so, I found myself dreaming again.

I dreamt I was a saint once more, watering a mini tomato.
A strange dream where my two past lives seemed to blend together.

Still, I gently poured water onto the mini tomato.

I finally understood what it was like for a plant to thirst for water.
So if I ever become human again, I’d make sure to water plants even more carefully than before.

Too much wasn’t good, of course. But giving none at all was far crueler.


When I realized it, the mini tomato had turned into a young Alraune.

I was being watered by a saint.
Somewhere along the way, I stopped being the saint myself.

The saint’s face was hard to see, washed out by sunlight reflecting off it.
Even so, I felt like I was looking at the face I once had as a saint.

Maybe it was because I hadn’t seen my own face in over a year that I couldn’t remember it clearly anymore.

And besides, I’m no longer human.
I’m a plant monster, an Alraune.


I was not a saint giving water, but a plant rejoicing at receiving it.
So for now, I’ll simply be happy.

Even if it were to vanish like a fleeting dream.


Ah… the water tastes so good.

***

Author’s Note:

Thank you very much for reading.

Next Time: Lost in the Forest


TL’s Note:

1. Reference to the movie Princess Mononoke (1997)