I’m an Alraune, a plant monster girl.
I was enjoying a dance at the forest club’s ball when, out of nowhere, I found myself facing down a minotaur from the Demon King’s army.


The minotaur had the face of a bull and the body of a giant human. And it’s considered a demon too.

A demon is a higher-class being than monsters like me or Papa Bear.
Some can even use magic, and they possess a level of civilizations comparable to humans.

So, a minotaur in the forest? That’s clearly an invader.

Why would a minotaur from the Demon King’s army come to this forest? No idea. I can’t even guess.

Minotaurs are terrifying demons.
Their two long horns sticking out of their helmets and savage faces are frightening enough, but it’s their combat prowess that makes them truly formidable.

Normal adventurers or knights wouldn’t even stand a chance, even in groups.
They’ll inevitably end up defeated before the minotaur’s formidable muscles and its skill with an axe.

That’s why minotaurs have earned infamy as renowned warriors of the Demon King’s army.

And now… it seems this minotaur has noticed me.

He tosses the raccoon he was holding into his mouth, grinning at me.
His eyes gleamed like a hunter who spotted its next prey.

Could it be planning to make me its after-dinner snack
I was just giving Ms. Bee and the butterflies some nectar, so my body is currently dripping with it.

Wait… am I about to be licked by a minotaur too?

I’d really rather not.

I have no intention of becoming a minotaur’s dessert.

Don’t underestimate me just because of my looks.
The nectar is sweet, but my strength is anything but.

By the way, minotaurs also eat humans.
Apparently we taste pretty good, which is why people fear them. But since I’m an Alraune now, they probably wouldn’t eat me.

If anything, they’d be more interested in sucking my nectar dry.

Honestly, I feel like I’m always getting dragged into these weird situations.

I can’t wait for the day when I finally graduate from being the designated pervert magnet.


The minotaur stepped closer.


Before it attacks me, I should strike him first.
My attack range is longer than his anyway.


Besides, I’m still bitter about it ruining my fun dance party.
This uninvited guest had interrupted a perfectly delightful ball.

So, preemptive strike it is.


I lashed my thorny vines like a whip toward the minotaur.
But the minotaur sliced through the bramble with its axe, his smug expression remained unchanged.

What incredible speed! Even as an enemy, I can’t help but admire it.

That single blow made it clear to me.
This minotaur is strong.

He’s a trained soldier of the Demon King’s army.
His awareness in battle is completely different from wild monsters like us.

We monsters fight to survive.
But a soldier fights to kill their opponents.

I realized that difference instantly.


I can’t let him get too close.

I launched poisonous pollen.
But the minotaur shielded himself with the axe, blocking the pollen.

As expected, he really is a seasoned fighter.
He’s guarding his mouth so the poison doesn’t get in.


Then, how about a trap?

I make countless thorns erupt from the ground to entangle his body.
But the armor meant I couldn’t inflict much damage on him.

Then, I aimed for his weapon.
I wrapped thorns around the axe, and I timed it so the moment he lifted the weapon to shake off the thorns, I fired a blast of poisonous pollen towards him.

Success! The minotaur inhaled the poison.

Somehow, I managed to win.
It was tough, but he wasn’t really my match.

Just as I was reveling in the sweet taste of victory, the minotaur started moving again.

Surprisingly, he calmly pulled something out without losing his composure, even as he continued to spit foam out his mouth.

He seemed to have taken a small vial from the pouch tied to his waist.
After swallowing the contents, he charged at me again.


Huh? Wait, what!?

The poison isn’t working.

He swallowed the poison pollen, and a bit of the thorn’s poison should have entered his body too.
And yet, he looked completely fine.

Could that vial have been an antidote?

Cheating! Using an antidote is cheating!

Wild monsters don’t carry items.
It’s unfair that only he can use items. I want to protest alongside all the monsters in the world.

Ugh… I never expected to be fighting an enemy who had poison countermeasures.
This minotaur really is a formidable foe.


I summoned more thorn traps, but they were all sliced apart by the minotaur’s axe.

The minotaur licked his lips.
That disgusting yet gleeful look, he looked like he’s about to dig into a dessert.

Grrrr.
I wasn’t born to be someone else’s after-dinner dessert.

Sure, Papa Bear licked me sometimes, and I provided nectar for the bees and butterflies.
But desserts have their pride too.

I want to be savored properly, not just forced down someone’s throat.

Take a page from the female knights and Lady Butterfly.


I thrusted my thorns forward like a spear, aiming to direct my will to resist on the minotaur,
The minotaur parried the attack easily with his axe.

But at the same time, he stumbled.
Perfect. Just as I planned.

I secretly made thorns rise from the ground and wrapped it around his legs.

Traps aren’t just about sending thorns up from the ground and wrapping them around something.
There’s a method to setting traps, after all.

I showered the fallen minotaur with even more poisonous pollen.
He thrusted his axe into the ground, blocking again. As one would expect from a warrior, he’s tenacious.

But this is too easy.

I made a vine shoot up from the ground right in front of the minotaur’s face.
A man-eater flower bloomed from it, and, from it, I unleashed a blast of poisonous pollen.

Direct hit.


My pollen is usually released from my flower crown.
I was wondering if I could also produce poison from a flower made from Plant Generation. Since even though it came from the main body, the flowers are still technically part of my body, and it seems I was right.

The man-eater’s poison pollen had hit the minotaur point-blank.

That said, the vine is separate from my main body, and the man-eater flower blooming on it is smaller than the real one.
So each flower can only be used to fire once, and can only release poisonous pollen in small amounts.

Still, it’s perfect for a surprise attack.

I saw the pollen entering the minotaur’s mouth.
He tries to grab the antidote from his pouch, but I wouldn’t let him

I wrapped his arms in vines, pinning him to the ground.
As I held the struggling minotaur down, I realized he had gone completely still.

Living quietly… that’s my dream.
It seems that even the minotaur agrees with my dream.

Foaming at the mouth, rolling its eyes, he gave me his silent approval.

How wonderful.
I invited my new supporter to my lower mouth.

After fighting the minotaur, I’m malnourished. So let’s live quietly together.

The armor and pouch can’t be eaten, so I removed them with my vines and took a bite.


Yeah… he was a tough opponent.
This is the first time I’ve faced an opponent who relied on skill and technique since becoming an Alraune.

I never expected him to carry an antidote.

Come to think of it, I wonder what else is in his pouch.
There’s probably more than just the antidote in there.


I’ve been so bored this past year, so getting something new like this is incredibly thrilling.
It’s the first time I’ve had loot. My heart is racing.


Let’s see what’s inside.

An antidote… and this one is a sleeping potion made from Traum grass.

Did this minotaur have insomnia?

Maybe his warrior training was so brutal that it left him unable to sleep. Poor thing.

I’d feel sorry for him if it was true, but it’s probably not true.

Next to the sleeping potion was a paralyzing potion.
If I remember correctly, this was made from Faol grass, which has a paralytic property to it.

There’s no way some pervert would drink a paralysis drug themselves just to get excited, so he must have been carrying this to give to someone else.

Still, a fierce, human-eating minotaur carrying potions used to capture prey instead of weapons?
Unbelievable.

It’s not the kind of thing I’ve ever heard of.

Well, it’s none of my business anyways.

The medicine might be useful for something. I suppose I’ll take it.


There was nothing else unusual among the minotaur’s belongings. Except for one thing.

A scrap of paper.

It was an ordinary piece of paper, but it seemed far too strange for the minotaur to possess.

What was drawn on that paper was unmistakably human.
It was a drawing of a small human figure.

***

Author’s Note:

Thank you for reading.

Next Time: At This Rate, I’ll End Up as a Decorative Plant for My Nectar

TL’s Note:

Sorry for the missing uploads, I’ve been really busy.