I’m an Alraune, a little plant monster girl.
And I managed to protect the sanctuary from Drago, one of the Three Spirit Beasts.

Right after that, Nina came rushing up to me, all excitedly, insisting that we needed Holy Honey to save the humans who had been turned into trolls.


Could “Holy Honey” really be referring to my nectar?
Nothing else really comes to mind, but what I don’t understand is why it was named as such.

Nina slowly reached both hands towards my mouth.
At this rate, my junior saint apprentice is going to harvest my nectar!

Just as I thought all hope was lost, I heard the little witch’s voice from the side.


“Stop it! Don’t bully my Alraune!”


The little witch slipped right in between Nina and me.
Standing protectively in front of me, she faced Nina.


“This Alraune belongs to me. If you want some Holy Honey, big sis, you’ll have to get through me first.”


Did the little witch just call Nina “big sis”!?
For some reason, that really stings
I’m supposed to be the big sister…

Nina, who was surprised by the little witch’s reaction, spoke to her gently.


“So you really did know Ir… the Crimson Flower Princess. You were collecting Holy Honey from the Alraune and selling it in town, weren’t you?”

“So what if I did? Alraune and I needed it to survive. It’s none of your business, big sis.”

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m on both of your side. I have a reason for wanting Holy Honey. Let’s save the townspeople together.”


From under her breath, the little witch muttered, “I don’t care what happens to the people in that town.”
So she still hasn’t gotten over her hatred of humans.
Oh well, I guess this is my cue to step in.


“If… all the humans… disappear… we won’t be able… to sell… any nectar. Wouldn’t that be… a problem?”


“Yeah… that makes sense.” The little witch nodded.
Looks like she’ll be a little more cooperative now.

More importantly, I’m shocked that the little witch and Nina already knew each other.
I wonder where they met?
Maybe I should ask the little witch.


“You… know… Nina?”

“She’s one of the regulars who buys your nectar. My very first customer.”


──No way.
When the little witch first told me she had managed to sell some nectar to a woman, I never imagined that woman would be Nina…


It was surprising enough to find out my junior Nina had been eagerly buying and drinking my bodily fluids, but realizing she’d become completely addicted to my nectar was a total shock.
Her condition isn’t quite as bad as Kiri’s, but she’s definitely a serious case.


I kind of feel bad for you, Nina…
Who would’ve thought things would turn out like this? The world really is smaller than it seems.



Turning my attention back to the trolls, I found them completely wrapped up in vines.
It seemed the baby Alraunes, after escaping from Drago’s body as seeds, had captured the trolls almost immediately after sprouting.
Aren’t my kids just amazing!


The little witch stared at them in panic, saying, “There’s so many Alraunes now… what am I supposed to do…?”
Congratulations, little witch. Our family’s gotten bigger!

Sorry for interrupting you while you’re panicking, but I have another question.


“So… what exactly… is Holy Honey?”

“It’s your nectar. Before I knew it, everyone in town started calling it that. I don’t really know why.”


So it really was my nectar.
Giving it such an exalted name is a bit much though
It’s just drool, after all.


I bit down on one of my own vines.
After coating it with nectar, I gently dripped it into one of the trolls’ open mouth.

Suddenly, the troll’s body arched backward.
It let out a pained scream as its body slowly began to melt away.
After coughing up the remnants of a seed, a human emerged from its dissolving flesh.


Amazing, the troll really did turn back into a human!
I can’t believe it.


I had seen the poison fairy Oin transform into a troll before.
Back then, her body had genuinely transformed into that of a troll’s.

If my nectar could restore someone from that state back into their original human form, then perhaps it wasn’t just nectar infused with light recovery magic.

Honestly, that’s terrifying.
This goes far beyond being some kind of recovery potion.
Just what in the world is my nectar…?



According to Nina, this Holy Nectar could also neutralize the effects of the blue flower that controlled people.
Hearing that made everything click into place.


Back at the Demon King’s castle, the devil maid had coughed up one of the older Dryad sister’s blue flowers.
That happened immediately after she was hit by one of my nectar-filled bubbles.
My nectar must have entered her body through her mouth and freed her from the blue flower’s brainwashing!

Isn’t my nectar a little too versatile?
I’m starting to understand why everyone keeps wanting to lick it.
With something this effective, I really should’ve charged a lot more when I sold it!



After giving the other captured trolls some nectar as well, I managed to save three more people.
Having seemingly waited for things to finally settle down, a gentleman in blue armor stepped out from the forest thicket.

Huh? He looks familiar.
Could that be Mr. Drink Station?
I never expected we would meet again.

When Mr. Drink Station looked at the unconscious people on the ground, he cried out in surprise.


“These guys… they’re the adventurers who went missing! So they weren’t actually eaten by the man-eating Alraune after all?”


Apparently, because those three never returned after setting out to defeat me, I was falsely accused of eating people.
In other words, thanks to them, I was branded a “man-eating Alraune,” pelted with insults, and nearly hunted down.

They were probably captured by the older Dryad sister and used as test subjects for some kind of trollification experiments.
And because of that, I was the one who ended up taking the blame.
Grr… how infuriating!


“Then that means the man-eating Alraune… no, that Alraune over there is innocent, and the real culprit was the Fallen Spirit Princess of the Demon King’s army!”


Mr. Drink Station began discussing it with his companions, saying, “so that’s what happened.”
Looks like my name has finally been cleared.


“Alraune… allow me to apologize for my rudeness the other day. From the looks of it, you get along well with Nina, so you weren’t an evil monster after all. I’ve never met a monster I could actually reason with before.”


Mr. Drink Station apologized to me.
I guess he wasn’t all that bad of a person.


“It’s… alright. I forgive… you.”


As I made up by shaking Mr. Drink Station’s hand with one of my vines, Nina suddenly spoke up.


“So then, Crimson Flower Princess, where is the Dryad of the Four Heavenly Kings?”

“It doesn’t… seem like she’s… here. Isn’t she… in town?”

“Actually, Sir Holger said he saw a Dryad riding a land tortoise here in the forest.”


After Nina spoke, Mr. Drink Station continued with the explanation.


“That’s right. I definitely saw the Fallen Spirit Princess together with that Aqua Dragon in this very place!”


So he saw a Dryad riding a land tortoise here.
That could only have been the older Dryad sister.


If she wasn’t in the town but still in the forest, then where was she, and what was she doing?

The older Dryad sister’s objectives were her younger sister inside the sanctuary and the Hero’s Helmet, which maintained the barrier.
And since we were protecting the sanctuary, she shouldn’t be able to do much.


As we all stood there wondering what to do next, it happened.

A door appeared between two trees.
It slowly drifted open.

Kiri darted excitedly through the air.


“It’s the door to the sanctuary! Lady Dryad must’ve opened it from the inside!”


The door opened in silence.
Mist spilled out from inside the sanctuary.



“Someone’s in there…” the little witch murmured.


A figure was visible in the mist.


But it was unusually large for a human silhouette.
The figure was much too tall to be Lady Dryad.
That’s because the figure looked as though it were standing atop some large creature.


The heavy thudding of footsteps could be heard. It was the sound of a four-legged monster.
At the same time, the mist cleared.

We were met with an unbelievable sight


The first thing to emerge was the leg of a land tortoise.
Then came thick, stunted trees that grew from its shell.
Leaning against one of those trees stood a beautiful woman with blue hair made of vines.


────No way.


The one who stepped through the sanctuary door was the older Dryad sister.

***

Author’s Note:

Next Time: The Heavenly King’s Trap