My name is Armin.

After being attacked by that bee-like monster in the forest, I somehow ended up in the grasp of an Alraune, a flower monster.

But looking back, that must’ve been fate.
Because from the moment I tasted her nectar, my life changed forever.

I licked a drop of the nectar.
And suddenly, the world exploded into a rainbow of colors.

The nectar… is insanely… delicioooouuuuuussssss!!!!!
So sweet! So amazing!

What is this!?
What is this!? What is this!? What is this!? What is this!? What is this!? What is this!? What is this!? What is this!? What is this!? What is this!?

I’d heard that angels in heaven taste paradise, but this is so delicious that maybe they called it heaven because this is so delicious.

After that, everything felt like a dream.

I think she asked me all sorts of questions.
During that, I kept wanting to point out how a plant monster would know the names of countries, roads, and the world outside.

But I wasn’t the type of person to ruin a moment like that, especially since she was the one giving me nectar.

Drinking the nectar has enlightened me.
From today on, my spiritual master… was nectar itself.

***

Several days have passed in the forest since I first drank the nectar.
I was content with life in the forest. Because there’s nectar here!

But all good things must end.
Grandpa was searching for me.

As a parting gift, the Alraune gave me a small ball of nectar.
The moment I saw it, I knew I wanted to eat it right away.

When I placed the nectar ball in my mouth, I felt a sweetness so intense I thought my tongue was dissolving into nectar.
It felt like I was reborn.

Following her instructions, I swallowed the nectar ball and a warm sensation spread through my stomach.
What’s this? It felt as if I could heal any injury instantly now.

The kind Alraune gave me another nectar ball.

Incredible!
So sweet!
I felt invincible.

***

I reunited with Grandpa.
It seems he hadn’t encountered the monkey monster. Instead, he erected a simple barrier to keep it from approaching the village.

We left the village immediately afterwards.
Apparently, there were sightings of a dragon in the nearby mountains. Grandpa muttered that any dragons here must belong to the Demon King’s army.

In the end, we never saw a dragon even after going across the mountains.
In hindsight, I wish I’d stayed longer in that village. Then I could go see the Alraune again.

My training resumed.
But it wasn’t painful anymore.
After all, with my nectar balls, even the harshest training tasted sweet.

My new life had begun.
Everything in my life was measured by nectar.

Nectar was my favorite food, my family, my beloved, my past, my future, and my entirety.
For nectar, I’d do anything.
But the nectar ball I had was almost gone.

As long as Grandpa was around, I couldn’t return to that forest easily.

Strangely, when I drank Alraune’s nectar, I felt the same warmth I’d felt under the effects of light recovery magic.

Light magic is only usable by human women.

Come to think of it, I was amazed that Alraune, who shouldn’t have been able to use magic, seemed to know so much about it.

That blissful moment, like sunlight filtering through the trees, was exactly like being wrapped in the same healing magic a saint would use.

I wanted that feeling forever.
In order to do that, I just need to use light magic myself.

Luckily, some traces of the nectar ball remained.
I could use it as a focus, regenerating the ball within me with recovery magic.
Then I could savor the taste inside my body forever.

With that decided, my intensive training began in earnest.

But it was tough.
I developed withdrawal symptoms.
My sweet life suddenly felt like a lie.

I needed more nectar.
I had to taste it again.

The supreme sweetness I’d felt deep in my throat…
I half-believed I was nectar, that my body might melt away and onto a pancake.

For a taste of that nectar, I’d sell my soul to a demon.
I’d even become the Alraune’s servant.

Yes, I’ll go see her again!

Three years had passed since I first tasted that nectar.

The old man was getting on in years now.
If I ran at full speed, even if he chased me, it would take him days to catch up.
I could get another nectar ball in that time.

So I returned to that forest.
—or at least, I thought I did.

Yet, the forest was gone.
Not a trace remained, only black earth stretching out endlessly.

The Alraune was… gone.
I couldn’t believe a plant could move.
Where had she disappeared to?

Even the village had vanished.
Ruins, as if burned to the ground, laid scattered and weathered.
All that remained were simple graves.

There hadn’t been this many graves when I came before.
Had everyone, like the white-haired girl’s parents, been killed?

No one remained to explain.

I despaired.
Had the Alraune perished too, like those villagers buried beneath the ash?

If so, I would never taste her nectar again.

All that remained was the faint trace of nectar inside me.
My only path left was to keep regenerating it.

When I say “regeneration”, I do mean light magic.
Light magic, an ability granted only to women blessed by the divine and requiring a talent that only one in hundreds of thousands possesses.

But somehow, I could use a little.
When I focused the magic on the center of the nectar ball in me, it worked.

From that day on, I’ve kept regenerating the nectar inside me.

And I realized.
Could there be more Alraune like her?

Then I would find them.
Travel the world. Strengthen my light magic.

All for the nectar……!

Later, he would become the only man capable of using light healing magic.
A great sage whose name would be known across nations, across continents, even to the Demon King.

But young Armin didn’t know that yet.

***

Author’s Note:
This was the story from the boy’s perspective. It ended up a bit long, but really, it all was because of one thing. He can’t stop thinking about nectar all the time.

When he first appeared, he was just an ordinary boy. But somewhere along the way, he became a nectar-obsessed weirdo. How did it happen…?

The day he realized he would never get another nectar ball, he felt the world crumble around him. He despaired so deeply that every night, the Alraune appeared in his dreams.

From here on, the story will return to the perspective of the plant monster girl.
Tomorrow, there will be two updates

Next time: The Lord of the Forest’s Arrival