I woke up from my nap.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have any dreams.


But what’s this? My body feels warm.
It’s almost like someone is gently holding me.


I slowly opened my bud.
When I did, I found the little witch clinging to me.
So she’s already back from her trip to town.


“Ah, you bloomed! Are you okay, Alraune?!”

“I’m… fine.”

“I was worried you might have withered again while I was in town…”


The little witch wrapped her arms tightly around me.

It seems she got anxious when she saw me with my bud closed during the daytime.
I suppose it is unusual for me to keep my flower closed at this time.
But I’m happy seeing her worry over me.


“Here, this is some fertilizer I brought back as a souvenir.”

“Thank… you.”


I’m surprised.
I never imagined the little witch, who should have been nearly broke, would be able to buy fertilizer.

Apparently she ran into the woman who regularly buys my nectar, and the woman gave her the money to buy fertilizer.

That woman really is too kind.
She was already a loyal nectar customer, and now this.

To us, she’s basically a saint.


After spreading the fertilizer, the little witch watered me as well.

Fertilizer is the best!
Water tastes delicious!



Well, now that I’m feeling better, my mind is working properly again.

I never imagined I would be attacked by a fairy.

That poison fairy said she was part of the Demon King’s army.
At the same time, she also said she was acting under orders from Lady Dryad.

Putting those two facts together, doesn’t that mean Lady Dryad might also be part of the Demon King’s army?


But this is only speculation.
For the details, I should probably ask the fairy Kiri.

Kiri switched allegiance from Lady Dryad to me just because she wanted nectar, so if I ask, she might answer honestly.
Still, since the poison fairy belonged to the Demon King’s army, it would be troubling if Kiri, being another fairy, were also part of it.


But before that, there’s something else I don’t understand.
Who exactly was the poison fairy searching for in the first place?

In the end, I never found out.


“Hey, Alraune. I heard something strange in town earlier.”


The little witch began speaking with a serious expression.
Apparently, the woman who regularly buys my nectar told her a story about the forest spirit and the Hero.


“That Dryad… she apparently killed the Hero from fifty years ago.”

“Is that… true?”

“Yes. It seems to be a well-known story in Tower City.”


Lady Dryad, the forest spirit, killed the Hero fifty years ago.
So that’s why there was a Hero’s grave in that sanctuary.

Since she killed the Hero herself, it must have been difficult for her to answer when I asked about the grave, so she stayed silent.
It all makes sense.

Though, I still don’t understand why the forest spirit would kill a Hero.


But this story does support my earlier suspicion.
If she was the Hero’s enemy, then Lady Dryad might indeed belong to the Demon King’s army.
And if she’s part of the Demon King’s army, there would be plenty of reasons to kill a Hero.


Even so, it still feels a little strange.
Lady Dryad helped both me and the little witch.
She even made me the forest’s guard.


If Lady Dryad really were a member of the Demon King’s army, she should have plenty of powerful allies. There would be no reason to ask me to stand guard.

And besides, it would be strange for her to betray us now.
If she intended to attack us, it would have been far more effective to do so a few days ago, when the little witch had collapsed.

When I think about it that way, I just can’t see Lady Dryad as a bad person.


“Yoo-hoo! Huh? You two look awfully serious. What are you talking about?”


The carefree-looking fairy Kiri appeared.

Right on cue, our source of information has appeared.
Excuse me for a moment, Fairy-san.


“Hey, wait, Alraune! What are you doing all of a sudden!?”


I captured Fairy-san with my vines.
Then, just to intimidate her a little, I tightened them slightly.


“Answer… me honestly.”

“W-what do you… want?”

“Everything… about this forest.”


I asked the fairy Kiri to tell me about Lady Dryad, the other fairies, and the Hero’s grave from fifty years ago.


“There’s no way I can tell you everything. You two are outsiders to this forest. That would be way beyond what I’m allowed to share.”

“But you… switched… from Lady Dryad to me… right?”

“Even so, I’m still a fairy who protects the forest. I have to keep my secrets.”


It doesn’t look like she’s going to talk easily.
Well, it can’t be helped.
I didn’t want to use this method if possible, but it looks like I have no choice.

I took out the bucket I had hidden behind me beforehand.
The bucket was filled to the brim with nectar.
Fresh nectar, made just moments ago after I replenished my nutrients with fertilizer and water.


“So much… nectar……!”


The fairy Kiri began drooling.
She’s reacting to the nectar.

Without giving her a chance to protest, I dunked Fairy-san straight into the bucket of nectar.


“The nectar is amaaazing! It’s a nectar bath! Woooo!!”


Fairy-san, who had experienced being soaked in nectar before, seemed to be in complete ecstasy as she splashed around in it.
After waiting a few seconds, I slowly lifted her out with my vines.


“Ah…”


The moment I pulled her out of the nectar, she let out a lonely sound.
It seems she wants to go back in.

So I dropped her into the nectar again.
After watching her splash around in delight for a bit, I pulled her back out with my vines.


“Ah…………”


Fairy-san’s expression turned visibly dejected.
She was completely obsessed with nectar.


“If you… tell me… about the forest… I’ll let you… soak in the nectar again.”

“Y-you think I’d give in to something like that?! You’re completely mistaken!”

“And I’ll give you… all of this nectar.”

“Yes! I’ll tell you anything I know, Lady Alraune!”


Fairy Kiri… I didn’t expect her to fall to nectar this easily.
Watching her leap straight into the bucket, I almost got goosebumps.


“Lady Dryad, forgive me! But this nectar is incredible!”

“Kiri… you’re… on my side… right?”

“This time I’ve decided! I’m going to become Alraune’s fairy with my body and soul!”


While drinking the nectar, Fairy-san promised once again to become my fairy.
But honestly, the effect was stronger than I expected.


I wonder… what exactly is my nectar?
If it’s sweet and delicious enough to completely change a fairy like that, what kind of taste could it possibly have…?


In any case, with this, Kiri has completely become my fairy.

Now all that’s left is to have the nectar-drenched fairy tell me everything she knows about the forest.


“Alright, Kiri… tell me… everything you know.”

“Okay!”

And so, I came to learn the truth about the forest.

***

Author’s Note:

Thank you very much for reading.

Next Time: Daily Report; The Work Struggles of a Rookie Saint Apprentice (Part One)