After giving Fairy-san some nectar, she agreed to guide us to a safer area of the forest.


My nectar usually did nothing but create nectar-crazed addicts, so I was glad it could actually be useful for once.


Fairy-san must have a serious weakness for sweets.
Though the way she stared at the nectar seemed a bit odd… but it’s probably just my imagination.


The three of us set off to relocate from the western forest to the eastern forest.


Flying would be the fastest way, so I asked the little witch to transform into a bird.

Seeing the transformation, Fairy-san spoke to me with a look of fascination.

“Just as I thought, this kid’s a witch, right?”

“…You figured it out… huh?”

“I’ve seen one or two witches before. Still, a stray witch is pretty rare.”

This fairy seemed surprisingly knowledgeable.
Maybe she’d lived longer than she looked.



Carried by White Bird-san, we flew above the forest canopy.

The fairy must have gotten tired of flying on her own, because she’d settled herself on top of my head for a while now.
She was small and light, so it wasn’t a problem, but when she spoke right next to my ear, it was a little noisy.


Still, she really was tiny and cute.

Ever since becoming a child Alraune, I hadn’t met many creatures smaller than me.
Maybe that’s why Fairy-san looked so adorable, almost like a doll I’d want to display.

Distracted by the fairy on my head, I glanced upward and saw something falling from far above.

No, it wasn’t falling. Rather, it was a huge bird diving straight down.

It was the Begia Adler, the giant eagle-type monster I’d spotted when I first entered this forest.

The enormous monster bird was charging straight at us, hurtling forwards with terrifying speed.


“Run!”

When I shouted, both the little witch and Fairy-san noticed the giant eagle overhead.

“Oh no, it spotted us!”

I heard the fairy panic right beside my ear.

White Bird-san flapped desperately to escape, but she was no match.
After all, it was a giant eagle, with a wingspan as massive as a passenger plane I’d flown on in my past life in Japan.

I’d seen Begia Adlers before during my saint days, but compared to then, this one was far larger.


The giant eagles’s axe-like talons drew closer.
At this rate, we’d either be caught or torn apart by those sharp claws.


Realizing we couldn’t outrun it, I extended several vines toward the giant eagle.
At their tips, I bloomed man-eater flowers, spraying poisonous pollen at the Begia Adler.

Take this poison pollen!


But with a single powerful flap of its wings, the eagle created a violent gust of wind, scattering the pollen instantly.

N-no waaay!
With wings that huge whipping up wind like that, my poison pollen won’t hit it!


Still, that powerful wind worked in our favor.

Blown by the gust, we were carried straight down into the forest.


White Bird-san, holding us, crashed down into the forest.

I wrapped my vines around the nearby branches, trying to force an emergency landing.
Somehow, we managed to avoid slamming directly into the ground.


From above the forest, we heard the giant eagle’s harsh cries echoing.
It still might be searching for us.



As we moved deeper into the bushes to hide, something flashed in the distance.

It felt like the sky had suddenly flashed with lightning.
The sky was completely clear, so lightning striking like this was pretty unusual.

Reacting to that flash, the giant eagle flew off somewhere else.
It seemed it had finally given up on us.


“Looks like we managed to get away somehow.”

Fairy-san let out a relieved sigh.

Come to think of it, she’d said earlier that “it spotted us,” and the way she talked made it sound like she knew about the Begia Adler.


“That giant eagle… we saw it before.”

“It’s always watching over this forest. You’d better be careful.”

“Was it… aiming for… us?”

“……Well. Maybe it was just hungry, like any other creature.”

Huh.
Something about Fairy-san’s response felt a little suspicious.

It sounded like she was hiding something.

As it happens, she’d been eaten by a frog monster before.
And now she’d been attacked by a giant eagle monster too.

Could it be… monsters were specifically targeting her?


Maybe fairies taste good or something…

Well, not that I would eat one, of course.

No way would I go so far as to turn fairies into nutrition.
I mean, sure, I could catch one with paralytic-thorn vines and swallow it whole with my lower mouth, digesting it instantly. But really, I would never actually do that.

I prefer bear meat over fairies.
Bears are big, so they’re more filling.


While I was suppressing my rising appetite as I stared at Fairy-san, she looked up and spoke quietly.

“There’s only one piece of advice I can give you. If you want to live long in this forest, watch out for that bird.”

That much was definitely true.
We’d have to stay on guard against that giant eagle from now on.



Despite the incident, we continued moving toward the eastern forest.

To avoid being spotted from above, we decided to fly low through the trees, just to be safe.


After a while, the forest suddenly grew brighter.
It seemed the eastern and western parts of the forest were completely different in color.

The eastern side felt lively and open.
In contrast, the western side we’d just left behind had been dangerous and eerie everywhere we went.

It was strange how different the atmosphere could be within the same forest.



Once we reached the eastern forest, we stopped by a river to wash ourselves.

All three of us were still covered in frog slime.
And the little witch was doubly sticky, since she also had my sundew slime on her……

This was the first time in my life I’d ever covered a girl in slime, and I felt incredibly sorry.

As a former saint, I couldn’t help but feel sad about what I’ve done.
I’m probably the first saint in the kingdom’s history to ever slime a girl from head to toe. I’m truly sorry…


Still, no one likes staying sticky.
That seemed to be true for witches, plants, and fairies alike.


Fairy-san took off her clothes and jumped straight into the river with a splash.

Cradled in the little witch’s arms, I entered the river with her.
The two of us bathed together.

I even managed to hydrate while I was at it, so that was a nice bonus.
The water was delicious.



After leaving the river, we continued farther east.
When the Tower City came clearly into view, we landed on the ground.


“If you’re going to live somewhere, I recommend this spot.”

The place Fairy-san guided us to had a large rock behind it.

With the rock at our backs, we’d only need to watch for enemies from the front.
A short walk away, there was also a small stream, so getting water wouldn’t be a problem.

And if things ever got dangerous, the little witch could fly us over the rock to escape.


The sun was starting to set.
Searching for another place would be difficult, so we decided to try living here for now.

When we told her that this would be our home, Fairy-san lifted off from my head.

“You know, I’ve really taken a liking to you guys.”

Glowing, she circled around us once.

“Helping each other like this must be fate or something. If you ever get into trouble, come find me. I’ll help you out!”

“Thank… you.”

“I’d love to keep watching over you like this, but I’ve got a little errand to run. Once I’m done, I’ll come check on you again. So, bye-bye!”


Waving her hand, the fairy Kiri disappeared into the depths of the forest.
She was a bright fairy, both in personality and appearance.


As I waved my vines to see her off, I noticed the little witch wearing a suspicious expression.


“What’s… wrong?”
“I don’t trust that fairy.”


It seems the little witch was suspicious of the fairy.
Sure, we’d been treated kindly, but the forest isn’t safe enough to fully trust someone you’re meeting for the first time.

In a world ruled by survival of the fittest, it’s only natural to wonder if there’s some hidden motive.

A relationship based on clear give-and-take, like the one I have with the bees where I exchange nectar for protection feels much safer. No room for strange thoughts that way.


Still, I felt there might be another reason why the little witch hasn’t opened her heart to Fairy-san.

“Why… can’t you trust her?”

“Fairies are closer to humans than monsters. That means they might betray us. They’re dangerous.”

“Then… what about me?”

“Alraune is completely a monster. And a plant, too. That means I can trust you.”


Right. The little witch did dislike humans.
I never thought she’d be wary of fairies as well.
And trusting only plant monsters? I’m starting to worry a bit about her future.


“A traveler who came to the village once said that fairies are beings who deceive humans. She might have disappeared on purpose so she can capture us later.”

I don’t think we need to be that suspicious, but it’s true the possibility isn’t zero.
If the little witch feels this strongly about it, then fully trusting the fairy might be premature.


So, that settles our approach to the fairy.
We’ll keep a give-and-take relationship, trusting her only as much as we should.


‘Guuuu~’

Maybe now that things had calmed down, the little witch’s stomach growled.
Looks like it was time for dinner.

“Alraune, give me some nectar.”

The little witch reached toward my mouth, trying to stick her finger inside, but I managed to stop her.
It makes me feel weird, so I really wish she wouldn’t put her fingers in my mouth if she could help it.


That night, the little witch and I slept together again.

Though this time, unlike last night, we weren’t tangled together in vines.
She still had her clothes on, after all.

I created a cocoon of vines that wrapped around both of us, covering our bodies completely.


With my bud closed, I was held by the little witch along with the bucket.
Being supported by someone like this really makes me feel at ease.


I’ve been thinking.

Now that I’m a little Alraune living in a flowerpot, if the little witch carries me, I could go anywhere I wanted.

We could even go to the royal capital where my former fiancé, the Hero, and that damn apprentice saint junior live.

But I’m not alone anymore.

I can’t drag the little witch into my personal grudges.
At the same time, I can’t just abandon her either.

At the very least, I need to repay her for the kindness she’s shown me.
Thinking about the two who betrayed me can wait until after that.


So I’ve made up my mind going forward—I’ll build a stable life together with the little witch!


Continuing to sleep outdoors all the time feels like it would be too hard on her, especially since she’s still a child.

I want a house where she can sleep peacefully.
And we really need to improve her diet too.

I’ll create an environment where the little witch and I can live normally together.

And then, we’ll create our own paradise!

***

Author’s Note:

Thank you for reading.

Next Time: Collapsing from Hunger