While traveling to defeat the Demon King, I was betrayed and killed by my fiancé, the Hero, and my junior saint-in–training.
And then, to top it all off, I found myself reborn as a plant monster.

From a bright red blossom sprouted the body of a human woman, while the lower half was that of a plant monster.
Yes, I had become an Alraune.

What on earth had happened?
I remembered being swallowed by a flower monster, desperately using all my saintly powers to keep my body from dissolving as I regenerated myself.
But somehow, when I came to, I had turned into the very monster that ate me. Who could believe such a thing?
I’d never heard of anything like it.

Still, I hadn’t died. I was alive, and that alone was a blessing.
Maybe this was a second chance granted by the goddess, or maybe my advanced healing magic had fused me with the flower.
Either way, I had to take stock of the situation.

My upper body was still human, skin and all.
The only noticeable differences were that my hair had grown down to my waist, and its color had shifted from pale gold to a faint green.

The problem was my lower half.
From the waist down, I had become a flower. Bright red petals, beautiful enough to be put on display, surrounded me.
It felt strangely surreal.
Below that, overlapped leaves formed layers of green leaves.
Those, too, were a part of me. 

My legs were gone, replaced by a new form.
Beneath the flower crown, a massive bulb extended from me. Attached to it was a mouth lined with thorny, tooth-like ridges like a carnivorous plant.
Its gaping maw looked big enough to swallow a car whole.
It must have been the mouth of the flower monster that once devoured me, evolved into this more menacing shape.

From the sides of the bulb sprouted countless vines, sprawling around me like a nest of living ropes.
Further below the bulb, I could feel roots sunk into the soil, drinking up moisture.

Yup… I was completely a plant.
And a rather frightening one at that. The mouth part especially gave off nightmare vibes.

I tried flexing my lower body, and to my surprise, the mouth moved and the vines responded as easily as arms.
However, compared to when I was human, being able to move more than two limbs felt strange .

Despite being a plant, I still had a sense of self. Definitely monster material.
If an adventurer found me, I’d probably be hunted on sight.

But there was one extremely urgent problem that demanded attention.

I was completely naked.

Granted, my lower half was now a flower, so that part was… well, whatever. But my upper body? Totally bare.
Even if I was a monster now, I used to be human.
A noble lady and a beloved saint, no less. Running around naked was out of the question.

Even if I’d gone wild and turned into some feral plant creature, there were limits to what a girl could accept.

But of course, there were no clothes around here.
Whatever I’d been wearing had dissolved along with my old body.

So, I made do.
Using a few vines, I fashioned a makeshift bra.
Just wrap, twist, and tie. Done. Easy-peasy.

At least the essentials were covered, so it’d do for now.
What about the lower half, you ask?
Let’s… not talk about that.
Let’s just erase the concept of “being naked below the waist.”
Plants don’t wear clothes! If a flower bulb wore a skirt, it’d look weird.
So it’s fine.
I’m not naked, I’m a plant.

And thus, my lower body was “nothing to see here,” while my upper body rocked a rugged, vine-made bra.
Who’d have thought I’d end up looking like some kind of jungle warrior? Not me, neither the saint I once was nor the Japanese high school girl I used to be.

Speaking of which, it still amazed me that I could remember my previous life at all.
Almost as shocking as becoming an Alraune.

My name back then was Ayame Komurasaki.
During school breaks, I’d bury myself in plant encyclopedias to escape being a loner, and at home, I secretly indulged in anime and games like a closet otaku.

But I couldn’t remember how I died or why I’d been reincarnated.
Only things that left a deep impression, my hobbies and interests, seemed to have carried over.
Oh well, that’s past-life stuff for you.

The strongest memory I had right now, though, was of betrayal.
Born the second daughter of a duke’s family in the Kingdom of Gardenia, I was recognized for my talent in light magic and became a saint apprentice while still a child.
Through training, I mastered regeneration powerful enough to restore lost limbs, and I was hailed as the greatest saint of my era.
Alongside my fiancé, the kingdom’s second prince and chosen hero, and our companions, I set out to defeat the Demon King.

We had defeated one of his generals and were close to the final battle when betrayal struck.
I never knew why.
But my life ended there.

I had only been seventeen.
The saint’s training had been grueling, and I’d looked forward to the freedom that would come after the Demon King’s defeat.
I’d been proud to become the hero’s bride, a prince’s wife.
Maybe we’d have had a son who’d inherit the throne, or a daughter who’d follow in my footsteps as a saint.
I could’ve made my family proud, lived peacefully, and grown old in a world free of monsters.
All those futures were stolen from me.

Honestly, I couldn’t forgive them—the apprentice and the hero. I wanted revenge.
But more than that, I was broken.
Killed by betrayal and reborn as a monster… I was shattered inside.

If I ever met them again like this, I couldn’t bear it.
I was once a noble’s daughter, after all.
I couldn’t let my parents see me like this, much less those two.
And if they saw me, they’d probably kill me again anyway.

I’d never heard of Alraunes being especially strong, so I doubted I could even win.
In the end, I was still a plant, just a big flower.

And even if I wanted revenge, I was rooted to the ground.
I couldn’t even go anywhere.
So… yeah. Revenge would have to wait.
Just thinking about it made me angry!

For now, I needed to calm down.
Right now, I am the reincarnation of a Japanese schoolgirl, a former saintly noblewoman, and currently a plant monster called an Alraune.

It made sense that my mind was a little muddled.
With two lives’ worth of memories and a third new body, this was technically my third life, wasn’t it?

So I decided to be a mix of all three: part saint, part otaku girl, and part flower monster.
With time, things would sort themselves out.
Brooding wouldn’t help anything anyway.

The human me was gone.
This was my new life… or maybe my third.
Or maybe, since I was a plant now, my flower life.
Whatever.

No point overthinking it. I’d just face reality head-on.
Maybe there is still a way to turn human again someday.
If I didn’t give up, maybe good things would happen.

Alright, time to do my best!
Ready, set, go!

…Hm?
My chest felt damp. When did that happen?
Something was trickling down from my breasts, along my stomach, and onto my petals.

Looking closer, I saw it.
Sweet-smelling nectar was slowly seeping out.
More specifically, it was dripping from… well, the tips.

Uh… okay, that’s a little traumatizing.

Neither the high school girl nor the noble saint in me could handle this.
I’m not even that age yet! This is way too much!

Tears welled up.
I really felt like crying, and I did.
Because I was still a girl inside, even if I was now a flower.

Except… wait.
These weren’t tears.

They were nectar.

Sweet drops of golden nectar were sliding down my cheeks.

Apparently, I could secrete it from other places, too.
Out of curiosity, I tried focusing, and, look!
What I thought was drool was nectar too!
Amazing!

From now on, I’d just make it come out of my mouth instead.
At least that way I could control it.
“Drooling nectar” sounds weird, but it’s better than the alternatives.
Good job, me!

It smelled delicious, thick and sugary, like honey.
Sticky to the touch, too.
And apparently, I could still smell things, even as a plant.
Go figure.

As I absentmindedly played with a drop of nectar, I suddenly felt a gaze on me.
Looking up, I saw a bear emerge from the shadows between the trees.

A big one with a horn, like a unicorn.
Definitely not a normal bear.

A monster.

I’d heard about them, beasts that, once they spot a human in the woods, will chase their prey until it stops moving.
Strong, relentless, and feared as rulers of the forest.

Its killing intent was obvious.
This bear meant business.
Uh-oh. This was bad.
And I couldn’t even run because I was a flower.

Wait. Isn’t that way too unfair?
Running from predators is supposed to be nature’s rule number one!
This wasn’t fair at all, this was a total no-win scenario!

“Come on, give me a break! Somebody help me!”

Of course, no one heard.

And that’s how I found myself facing my very first life-or-death battle—
as an Alraune.