The poison fairy had drenched me in weedkiller.
My body withered, growing heavy and unresponsive, as if it had turned to lead.


Ah… it hurts.

I feel like I’m about to lose consciousness.
Look, my vision, it’s turned pitch black.

Could it be… have I already withered and died?


I never imagined my cause of death would be something as pitiful as being killed by weedkillers.

A plant sprayed with weedkiller can only wait quietly for the end.
That’s how it ends. Withering away, its life slowly scattering, until it returns to the forest soil.
A fitting end for a flower, I suppose.


But how did it come to this?
I was supposed to be working hard as a saint……



A single tear fell.
But instead of a clear droplet of water, what hit the ground was thick, golden nectar.

That’s right. I’m no longer human.
I’ve transformed from a saint to an Alraune.


So I’ll never shed tears again.
Only nectar…


Most of what I could do as a saint, I lost when I became an Alraune.

I’ll never be able to cry again, walk again, or even smell anything again.
All I can do is move my arms, see with both eyes, and make my body grow using light recovery magic.


──Hmm, light recovery magic?


When I use it as an Alraune, it accelerates the growth of my plant body.

So what would happen if I applied that same principle on the parts that had withered?
If I forced the dead cells to grow, maybe they would regenerate like fresh young leaves.


I was once a saint.
Back then, I could nullify all poison-type attacks with my light magic.
It appears living so long as an Alraune has made me forget the common knowledge I had as a saint.


But because of that, it felt like a single narrow path of light had appeared before me.



I opened my eyes.
Hovering right in front of me was the poison fairy.


Seems I’m not dead after all.
I’m still alive.

When I checked my body, I saw that my leaves had turned brown without me even noticing.
My flower crown had wilted, ready to fall to the ground at any moment.

My bulb and vines, once a vibrant green, had dulled into a murky, soil-like color.


I tried moving a vine.
But there was no vine left.
The weedkiller had already withered them away, and the moment I tried to move what remained, the dead sections crumbled into fragments that scattered into the air.


The poison fairy’s so-called withering potion was terrifyingly potent.
It was like the herbicides from my past life, only enhanced to take effect almost instantly.
Even I—a monster, not just an ordinary plant—was already on the verge of withering in just a matter of minutes.


Just like in the dream earlier, nectar trailed down my cheek.
It seems I was crying.


A drop of nectar fell onto my flower crown.
Then, something strange happened.

My petals, which had been withered and faded, regained their vivid red color in the areas where the nectar had landed.
It was as if the nectar had restored them from their withered state.


Maybe, because I’d been thinking about my days as a saint in that dream, the nectar was imbued with the powers of light recovery magic.
Which means my theory was correct. If I use light recovery magic, I might be able to heal the damage caused by the weedkiller.


If that’s the case, then it’s time to experiment.

I concentrated the energy I’d stored through photosynthesis during the day and focused it inward.
Then, using light recovery magic, I forced my entire body into accelerated recovery.


“What’s with this flower…?! It just started glowing!”


Startled, the poison fairy hurriedly pulled back.


Looks like the magic was working. The chlorophyll in my body slowly began to regain its green color.


The vines that had withered and shattered began to regenerate, surging back in a burst of rapid growth.
My leaves returned to a glossy, brilliant green.
Even my flower crown regained its moisture, blooming brilliantly once more in a vivid crimson.


As long as I have the sunlight I’ve stored in my body and the power of light recovery magic, I haven’t lost yet.
I’m fully restored.


“How did this Alraune just come back from being completely withered…? This makes no sense!”


The poison fairy cried out in disbelief.
I lifted my chest proudly and answered.


“Too bad. Weedkillers… don’t work on… me.”

“Don’t lie! You were completely withered a moment ago!”

“Your imagination.”

“I know it works! If you regenerate, I’ll just wither you again!”


The poison fairy conjured more weedkiller with spirit magic and hurled a mass of liquid straight at me.
Even if I guarded with my vines, I would still be drenched.
Defense was impossible. So I took the weedkiller head-on.


“See! There’s no way a plant wouldn’t die from weedkiller. Now you’ll finally shrivel up and that’ll be the end…………huh?”


Under the assault of the chemicals, my body turned brown and withered.
But faster than I could decay, I forced my plant body into rapid growth with recovery magic.


Even if the weedkiller caused me to wither, as long as I regenerated faster than I withered, it didn’t matter.
My body was brimming with vitality, like fresh young leaves.


“W-why aren’t you withering?!”


The poison fairy launched wave after wave of weedkiller.
But for me, who could flood my cells with so much light energy that I shimmered with bands of radiance, regenerating damaged areas in an instant was easy.


“Unbelievable… Is this Alraune immortal…?”


It was actually really simple.
Weedkiller is, essentially, poison.
And for me, who had once been a saint who could cleanse status ailments, poison was never my weakness to begin with.


As long as I could use light recovery magic, there was no need to be scared of weedkillers.
If I forcibly accelerated the growth of my plant body and regenerated it, even the withered parts could be restored.


Maybe the reason I can still use light recovery magic like this is because I absorbed sunlight and performed photosynthesis during the day.
Unlike when I was a saint, I no longer have conventional mana, so perhaps I’m fueling my magic with the power of photosynthesis instead.


Look. The surroundings are starting to get brighter.
Dawn is almost here.
As the light of dawn grew stronger, I could feel my strength rising with it.


“I’ve never heard of or seen an Alraune this abnormal!”

“Is… that so. A pleasure… to make your acquaintance.”

“There’s no way weedkillers wouldn’t work on a plant monster! That just can’t happen!””

“My best quality… is how healthy… I am.”

“What is with this flower?! But if that’s the case… then this will do!”


The poison fairy cast spirit magic again.
Suddenly, the surrounding trees began to wither.
In their place, a massive sphere of weedkiller formed in midair.


It seems she used the surrounding plants as a medium to create a concentrated mass of withering poison.


“With this high-density weedkiller, even you’ll rot away in an instant.”

“Will I…?”

“This is the end. Take this!”


The poison fairy hurled the massive sphere of weedkiller straight at me.
At that size, even the little witch would be caught in it.
And if this weedkiller affected the human body too, I couldn’t just let her take the hit.


I grabbed the little witch with my vines and pulled her back to the large rock behind us.
In the process, I was bathed in the highly concentrated weedkiller.


“Now, Alraune, you’ll wither into pieces—”

“Wither…? What exactly… is supposed to wither?”

“Eh…?”


Quite some time had passed since we began fighting.
Perhaps because of that, the night had quietly slipped away, leaving the sun to fully rise.
And so, morning came.


The light of dawn poured down over me.
I could feel every chlorophyll cell in my body cheering.

As I absorbed the sunlight and performed photosynthesis, my growth and regeneration accelerated.
A surge of light recovery magic overflowed from within me.


As a result, even against the poison fairy’s ultra-concentrated weedkiller, I prevailed.
I regenerated faster than I could wither, effortlessly returning to my original state.

Photosynthesis truly is delicious.


“Hii—! Y-you monster…!”

“Wait… right there.”


Good day, poison fairy.
Please don’t back away like you’re trying to flee.


You really did go all out trying to wither me, didn’t you?
I may look perfectly healthy now, but inside, both my body and my heart feel dried out.

Withering and regenerating over and over again is quite painful and physically exhausting.


So I will not forgive you.
Now then, it’s time we switch roles.

This time, it’s my turn.
I’ll be sure to give this my full attention.

Allow me to teach an ill-mannered fairy like yourself the proper conduct of a young lady.


It’s time for your punishment.

***

Author’s Note:

Thank you very much for reading.

Next Time: Naughty Children Must Be Punished