The Zornbienes have brought a flower monster.
She is the new princess, after me, the bees have chosen.

Her name is Man-Eater.

With a face featuring fearsome teeth and a body resembling a tree trunk, she has numerous roots extending like jellyfish. She is not very tall, shorter than me, but compared to an ordinary flower, she is enormous.

I can’t believe that the bees are thinking of sucking nectar from this Man-Eater. Could it be they brought her because I stopped giving nectar during the drought?
But that was an emergency. It couldn’t be helped, right?

Besides, I seriously doubt this Man-Eater can produce any delicious nectar. I mean her appearance is too terrific.
She just looks too scary.

I would like to ask, ‘Do you have a relative named Rafflesia?’
She seems like she would actively attack people.

Not only that, but she also threatened me, screeching loudly in my direction.
Clearly, she is hostile.

But I will respond like an adult.
I attempt to greet her with a handshake using my vine.
As fellow flower monsters, let’s get along, okay?

But unbelievably, this creature bit through my vine.

To cut the vine of a stranger is simply unacceptable behavior. It is a disgrace to a lady’s honor.
Not only that, but this Man-Eater also struck me with her own vine. The strike was as sharp as a straight jab.

But I was practically unharmed. Honestly, the enemy was lacking in power.
I felt such a gap in strength that I wanted to tell her to come challenge me after training by throwing ten thousand punches filled with gratitude a day before challenging me.
I’m clearly the superior one!

I am not one to be defeated by a mere man-eating weed.
How dare this brat attack me right off the bat. Does she think I’m in her way?

This is infuriating. Just because I’m a flower too doesn’t mean I’ll show mercy. I have my pride as a flower as well.
I understand she wants to monopolize the affection of the bees, and I won’t allow that!

But I’ll hold back. After all, I am the senior here.
Even if a junior is a bit unruly, it’s a senior’s duty to kindly admonish them.

Oh, wait a minute. I just remembered that annoying novice saint who took my fiancé, the hero, and then framed me, leading to my death.
That junior deserves death.

There should be no other princess in the forest but me. I alone will make the bees happy!

Once I’ve decided who the enemy is, I won’t hold back anymore.
I capture the Man-Eater with my vine. My vines are superior in thickness, length, and count.
With that, I forcefully rip apart the Man-Eater’s body. Despite my appearance, I’m very strong.

A mere Man-Eater was no match for me. Now, let’s hide the evidence without being spotted by the bees.
I open my bulbous mouth wide and toss in the Man-Eater. Munch munch.

Ah, with that, peace has been restored to my daily life.

When the patrolling bees came by and looked at me with curiosity, I was relieved they didn’t mention the disappearance of the Man-Eater. Perhaps the nectar I bribed them with worked.

Then it happened. My body began to feel strange.
It felt like new buds were about to sprout from my vine.

This sensation was new.
I focused my magical energy into my vine, like I would for a healing spell, forcing them to grow rapidly.
Suddenly, a Man-Eater flower bloomed on my vine.

Huh, What is this?!
Why is a Man-Eater sprouting from my vine?
Could it be that I am related to Rafflesia?

Curious, I tried making my other vines bloom as well. To my surprise, I found I could freely make the Man-Eater’s flowers bloom at will.

I had absorbed the power of the Man-Eater into my body. That must be it.

I have devoured many animal-type monsters before, but I’ve never been able to do this.
So does this mean I have the ability to absorb and wield the abilities of other plant monsters, trees, or flowers?

So, it’s experiment time.
I pull up a nearby yellow-flowered weed.

I catch it with my lower mouth.
Munch munch, gulp.

When I put my energy into my vine, a yellow flower bloomed! It was just like the weed.
There is no doubt. I seem to have the ability to absorb plants and make them serve me.

Perhaps it’s because my healing magic can make plants grow at an accelerated rate. Or maybe it’s because I used the power of a saint to the limit to absorb and assimilate the flower monster.
I don’t know the reasoning, but there’s no reason not to use this ability.

Let’s call this power “Plant Generation.”

After that, I devoured all the nearby plants, converting them into my strength. More weapons are always better.
That said, they were just plants to begin with, there isn’t much I can use for fighting.

The most useful thing was that I managed to swallow a tree.
So now I can make my vines as hard as its trunk. That’s probably my best weapon.

That tree had always been tall and annoying, its branches blocked the sun so I could only get half the light I needed. But now it’s gone.
No more rude trees stealing my sunlight. I’m happy.

And so, my peaceful routine returned.

As the forest’s princess, I offered nectar to the bees, and they brought me food in return.
When it rained, I lifted my hands in joy. When it stopped, I whispered, ‘I want water,’ all over again.

But one day, what I’d feared finally came.

A new offering from the bees.
It wasn’t an animal, or a beast-type monster, or even a new flower monster.
It was a human child, carried right before me, still breathing.

Oh bees, where on earth did this orphan come from? This has to be kidnapping! I don’t want to become a criminal!

What am I supposed to do with this kid? Seriously, what now…

Swallowing back the word “malnourished,” I cradled my head in my vines.

***

Author’s Note:
Your support motivates me to keep going.
Thank you for reading.

Next time: The First Human Contact.