Well now… this is a problem.
What am I supposed to do with this kid?

Judging from his looks, he’s about ten years old.
Stiff as a board, he was completely paralyzed by Zornbiene poison.
Never thought my bees would bring me a shota of all things.

The question is, what do we do with the child?

Choices:
① Eat the boy. Cannibalism is… yeah, no.

② Return him to the bees. Which basically means letting him become their food.

③ Leave him be. The poison will spread, and he’ll die soon enough.

④ Help him. Come on, there’s only one real option here!

***

To nurse the boy, I wrapped his body gently with my vines.
Aside from the poison, he didn’t have any major injuries. Just a few small stings from bee needles.
If I can neutralize the toxin flowing through his body, I might be able to save him.

Alright, let’s try a healing spell.
Oh. Right. I can’t use those anymore.
Whenever I try, my plant body just grows instead.
What should I do?

Maybe if I merged with him, the poison would fade. But no, that would mean swallowing him whole with my lower mouth.
My upper half is definitely not an option. That’s a bit much for me.

Wait, I don’t have to merge with him at all.
What if I just give him a part of me instead.

Experiment, start!
I filled my mouth with nectar and cast a healing spell on it.
Then I let it drip onto my hands and poured it into the boy’s mouth.

Oh, he’s glowing.
Looks like the nectar infused with healing magic worked.
The sting wounds began to close up.

Even the poison was purified, returning color to his face and steadying his breathing.
Being a former saint wasn’t just for show, huh?
I can’t help but praise myself, after all, any kind of status ailment can be nullified under my magic.

Still, I’m amazed.
If I infuse it with my magic, my nectar can become a healing potion.

This is a major discovery.
With this, I can even heal my bees when they get hurt.
Maybe I should drop the “former” and start calling myself Saint Alraune.

“…Where am I?”

Oh? The boy’s awake.
Good morning, I say, leaning down with a smile.

“Who are you, miss?”

He looked wary at first, but after seeing my face, he seemed to relax.
I patted his head gently to reassure him, trying to convey, ‘There, there. It’s alright.’

“Where… is this place?”

He looked around.
But that’s when he noticed my lower half and my flower.
The fact that I was, unmistakably, a monster.

“Uwaaaaah!?”

The boy started thrashing in panic.
I quickly stopped him. No way was I letting my first conversation partner in ages run off.
The kid was restrained in vines, nice and gentle, but firm enough to hold him still.

“…Are you going to eat me, monster?”

Ouch.
“Monster”? That stings.

You see, I’m aiming to be a beautiful flower.
So please don’t call me a monster.
It’s not like I’m related to any rafflesia or anything.

Sure, the mouth on my bulb looks a little sinister, and yeah, I have eaten plenty of monsters before, but I don’t plan on turning you into nourishment.
You’re safe with me.

“Not… gonna eat… you…”

Maybe it was because I tried conveying my thoughts to the boy, but a voice came out of my mouth.

Wait.
Did I just talk?

The boy froze, wide-eyed.
An expression like, ‘You can talk!?’ written all over his face.
But honestly, I was even more surprised than he was.

Huh? Hold on.
I can talk?
Since when!?

There’s only one explanation.
It must be her fault.
That rafflesia-like monster, my Man-Eater junior, who became my nutrition.

Come to think of it, she did make those ‘Gyaa-Gyaa’ noises a lot, didn’t she?
So she could vocalize even as a flower.
If I absorbed that trait, that’s probably why I can talk now.

Yay me! Now I can mutter to myself out loud! That’s progress!

“…I won’t eat you.”

Huff… wheeze.
Ugh, talking is exhausting.
Maybe because I’m a plant, my vocal abilities seem pretty weak compared to humans.

“Not monster… that’s… important…”

I forced my tongue to move, desperate to get the words out.
I think he understood me.

After saying that much, I felt I deserved a break.
My throat was so dry. I want some water.

“I’ve never seen a monster that understands human speech…”
“Not monster… onee-san.”
“Huh?”
“Call me… onee-san.”
“Y-yes.”

The boy looked at me again, his gaze wandering toward my chest before he quickly turned away, face bright red.

Heh. My big sisterly charm is working.
Feeling mischievous, I leaned in and hugged him close.

His warmth seeped through me.
It’s been so long since I felt human skin since becoming an Alraune.
It reminded me that I used to be human too, once. Just like him.
How nostalgic.

“Onee-san, you smell really sweet and nice,” he murmured.

Getting told I smell nice isn’t so bad.
Alright then, big sister’s going to give you special service!
I cupped my hands and let nectar drip from my mouth.

“Here… drink up.”

The boy’s face twitched in a grimace.
Yeah, yeah, I get it.
It did come from my mouth, but try not to think about it too hard.

He hesitated at first, but in the end, the temptation of sweetness won out.
He dipped his fingers in and tasted it.

“… Delicious!”

His eyes lit up as his doubt faded. He eagerly slurped the rest, practically licking his hands clean.

“Um… onee-san, may I have… more?”

He looked adorable while asking me shyly.
It’s been ages since I’ve had an actual conversation, it felt so good.
Alright, I’ll indulge him for a bit.

But before that.

“Where… this place?” I asked.

He tilted his head, not quite getting it, so I tried again.

“This place… which country?”
“Oh, that. We’re on the border between the Kingdom of Gardenia and the Empire of Glanz.”

Just as I thought.
This forest sits right between those two nations. The same place I once traveled through as a saint.

I couldn’t completely rule out the possibility that I was reborn in another region, so I was curious.

As a reward for answering, I gave him more nectar.
He licked it clean, satisfied.
This kid’s got potential, he could turn into quite the licker. Reminds me of that pervy bear from before.

Using more nectar as bait, I asked another question.

“What year… now?”

“It’s the year 1020 of the Celestial Calendar.”

I froze.
Three years had passed since I was betrayed and killed by the Hero and my junior saint.

I was born in the Celestial Year 1000, died at 17 in 1017, and now it’s 1020.
Which means more than two years passed while my body was merging with the plant.
I’ve only been awake as an Alraune for about half a year, so that tracks.

I pressed on with more questions.

Did anyone die in this forest three years ago?
Was the Demon King defeated?
What happened to the hero of Gardenia?
What became of the saint who was his fiancée?

The boy answered each question obediently, likely because he wanted more nectar.

Apparently, he’s been traveling with his grandfather for training, so he doesn’t know what happened three years ago.
The Demon King is still alive.
He’s never even heard of the previous saint, meaning me.
But the hero? Oh, he knows that one.
The famous hero of Gardenia who recently married a new saint.

That damn junior.
Not only did she fail to even defeat the Demon King, but she also stole my fiancé, the prince and hero, and married him for status!
Unforgivable.

If I ever grew legs, I’d sneak into the royal botanical garden and disguise myself as a flower just to assassinate her.
Ahh, how I envy those who can walk freely.

I kept questioning him until I’d squeezed out every bit of information I wanted.
The boy seemed relieved when I finally stopped.

But of course, I wasn’t done yet.
I’m starved for entertainment.

Even if it didn’t feel that long to me, I’ve been alone for three whole years.
Plants can’t move, and no one ever talks to them.

Wake up, photosynthesize, eat the occasional prey, sleep at night, I repeat this endlessly.
Every day is exactly the same.
And it’s always alone.
Sunny days, rainy days, stormy days, I’m alone through them all.

So you see, just being able to talk to someone else is amazing.
I could scream that I’ve found the joy of all joys.
Talking with someone again feels that good.

That’s why, boy.
You’re not going anywhere.
You’ll stay right here, and be my little conversation doll.

“Boy… don’t leave.”

Hearing my words, he seemed to remember that no matter how human I looked, I was still a monster at heart.

Love thy neighbor, cherish them as a saint would.
That’s how I’ll keep him close, with kindness.
Because I’m a former saint, and kindness is my specialty.

Now then, boy. Lick this nectar.
Yes, yes, good boy.
What’s that, you want more?
Oh, fine. Eat as much as you like.
What’s that, you could eat it forever?
Well then. I’m a kind lady. I’ll allow it.

And so, I began keeping the frightened boy, turning him slowly into a nectar addict.

***

Author’s Note:
Thank you for reading.

Next time: I, Alraune (age 0), Started Raising a Boy with Nectar as Bait.