I’m an Alraune, a plant monster girl.
Now that winter has arrived, like other plants, I might end up having to shed my leaves too.


Plenty of flowers and plants wither.


If my flower scatters its petals in the winter, that probably means I’ll automatically shrivel up, fall to the ground, and return to the soil.

Ugh, I don’t want that. That’s terrifying.

I mean, even though I’m a plant, I’m also a monster, so I should have more stamina than regular flowers. I want to believe I can survive winter without withering.

If I were like a coniferous tree, I wouldn’t shed my leaves and be evergreen. But I’m not one.

If I were something like a cedar or a pine, I guess I’d count as coniferous, but those guys are gymnosperms.
But, I’m an angiosperm.

Not that being evergreen depends only on that, but I definitely don’t think I’m in the cedar or pine family.

If anything, I’m closer to eggplants.
I’m a woman of the nightshade family.


Anyway, I have to figure out a way to survive winter without letting go of my leaves.

To do that, I need a ton of nutrition.

But the forest animals are all hiding away.
Even the stray monsters around here have all been eaten already.

Everything is hopeless.

It would’ve been nice if I had been born as a plant species that thrived in winter. I wonder where Alraunes falls on that spectrum. Honestly, I have no idea.

Maybe being a monster, I don’t have to shed my leaves, but I can’t assume that either.

I can’t gamble with my life.
If I just leave things to fate and suddenly wither, I won’t have time to mentally process any of it. I want to extend my life however I can.
 
If only I had proof that I was winter-resistant.

Or, well, I could become winter-resistant. That’s the other option.


Think, me.

——That’s right.

If I eat a flower that has high cold resistance, then I should be able to endure the winter too.

I gain the traits of the plants I consume. If I do eat a flower like that, I can avoid shedding my leaves and petals altogether.


The problem is that there is not a single flower blooming nearby.

Only flowers that survive the dead of winter would have cold resistance.

Dead flowers won’t do.
But if a flower is blooming despite the cold, it could definitely possess that trait.

If only I could at least walk around to go look for flowers, I might’ve had a little hope.
But things never go that conveniently. After all, I’m a plant.


Ah, hello, white bird.

You know, I’m jealous of you.
It must be nice being a white bird, being able to fly freely around the forest.


Right, the white bird!

The other day, when I was running that little singing lesson, I felt like the bird understood me just a tiny bit.

So maybe… just maybe, it might understand my request.


“Bird, I have… a favor.”

Even when I speak in this cold, no puff of breath comes out.
It really drives home the fact that I’ve become a plant.

“ Bring me… flower…please.”

Please, white bird. You’re my only hope.

It probably can understand my words, but I gestured desperately on top of that to show that I wanted a flower.

The white bird didn’t utter a single sound and flew away.

If it brings back something that blooms in winter, it’ll almost certainly be a cold-resistant plant.

Something like a Rosemary or a Christmas Rose. Those are pretty tough against the cold.


Oh Goddess, oh God, oh merciful white bird…

Please grant my wish.



The next day.

Believe it or not, the white bird came back holding a flower.

It was white, and carried a sort of elegant air.
It looked very much like a Christmas rose.

If it is from the same family as the Christmas roses from my high school days, then this plant is incredibly cold-hardy.

If it’s on par with a Christmas rose, I might be able to withstand temperatures down to minus fifteen degrees Celsius.

If so, winter won’t be so scary anymore.


All right, time to eat.

Crunch.

Yes. Now I should be able to handle the cold.

I feel like my body has changed a little. The cold isn’t as discomforting anymore.
I probably obtained its cold resistance.

Another successful self-upgrade.

Thank you, white bird.

And thank you, Christmas rose, for evolving into such a winter-strong flower. Thanks to you, I should be able to survive the winter.


Come to think of it, this world doesn’t have Christmas, but the one where I was a high school girl did.

Right now, it’s winter.
Japan must be in its Christmas season.


Spending Christmas with a lover.
That sounds nice.

My former fiancé, the Hero, was stolen away by that damn apprentice saint, so I never spent a winter evening huddled together with him to ward off the cold.

Meanwhile, those newlyweds are probably so wrapped up in each other and making out that they forget it’s cold outside.

They’re living comfortably in the castle without worries.

Sipping hot soup by the fireplace, then pressing their bodies together and sharing their warmth, smiling sweetly as they continue touching each other.

And here I am, shivering half-naked in a freezing forest, starving and miserable because of a lack of nutrients.

What is this unfairness? This cannot be right.


Now that my mind wasn’t preoccupied with the cold, I’ve started imagining things I shouldn’t.

My throat is dry.
I want water.


But… don’t get me wrong.

I said I wanted water, but I didn’t mean I wished for it to be frozen

White crystals fluttered down from the sky.

Snow had started falling.


Well, if it melts, it becomes water. Maybe it’s not too bad?

As long as the ground gets damp again, I don’t care about anything else.

Snow… it tastes good…!


No… it’s tasty, but this is bad.


What’s with all this snow?
It’s a blizzard.

Is this a heavy snowfall region?

The world became pure silver white.
My bulb had already been buried underneath the snow.

There was so much snow that I half wondered if I stumbled into a once-in-a-decade blizzard.

Snow piling up is dangerous for me.
It’ll make me wither if I’m too cold.

I start brushing snow aside with my vines to protect myself.

But there’s too much.
I couldn’t carry much, and on top of that, more snow kept pouring down from the sky like a waterfall.

The snow gets higher and higher with every passing moment.

Even with cold resistance, if I get completely buried, I might not make it.
Can someone please hang supportive ropes over me like those winter-protection setups for trees?

With each passing moment, the snow piled higher and higher.

Even if I’m cold‑resistant, if I get buried under all this snow, I don’t think I’ll survive.
Someone, anyone, please put up a yukizuri¹ for me and shield me from the snow.


Besides, it’s not just the cold.
If my pistil gets buried, I’ll freeze inside the snow.

I won’t get sunlight for photosynthesis.
I won’t get air.
No oxygen, no carbon dioxide.

Buried in snow, I won’t be able to breathe or photosynthesize.

At that point, cold resistance won’t matter.
I’ll wither.

If I had legs, I could crawl out.
If I could move, I could escape and shelter myself somewhere safe.

Most forest animals and even many other life-forms can move to protect themselves. But I can’t. Just a snowfall is enough to trap me.

Why?
Why am I a plant?
Why can’t I move?


I’m sick of this.
This plant body of mine, I’ve cursed it more times than I can count.

Just because I can’t walk, I’m going to die trapped in snow.


I see. So this is how it ends.
I’m going to die in the snow.

A lonely end, fitting for someone alone.

Ah… I miss the warmth of another person.
I want warmth.

Both my body and my heart are still so lonely.

My body and heart feel so cold and empty………


Snow is already up to my chest.

My vines had frozen over and wouldn’t move.

Giving up, I closed my eyes.


My new life as a plant…
It turned out to be surprisingly short.

Ms. Bee, even though we finally got to meet again, we might never see each other after this.

Elder Raccoon, I wanted to fulfill your request but I can’t protect your kins anymore.

White bird, thank you for the flower. I’m sorry it was all for nothing.


Ah, no…

I can’t fight it.
There’s no light, and it’s too cold.

I’m sleepy.
My mind is going blank…


Good night, everyone…………..

***

Author’s Note:

Starting tomorrow, updates will be once per day. If I have energy, I might post twice again, so I’ll announce it when that happens.

Next Time: Spring Comes

TL’s Note:

1. Yukizuri(雪吊り): A type of rope support to prevent trees from breaking under heavy snow.