This is from the little witch’s perspective, also known as White Bird-san.

***

My name is Rufé.

I’m a ten-year-old witch.


Recently, I’ve taken up the task of raising a new flower.

I first discovered this talking flower about a year ago.

It was the end of spring.
The season was just about to turn into summer────.



Originally, I was born in the Empire, the neighboring country of the kingdom.
I lived there with my parents—just the three of us.

But one day when I was six, everything changed.

I was turned into a witch.
My hair went completely white, and in return, I gained the ability to wield dark magic—a special kind of magic.

With it, I became able to float in the air and transform into animals.

But because of that, the villagers accused me of being a witch.
I fled from the witch-hunting squads together with my parents, moving from village to village, until we finally arrived at this remote village in the kingdom.

My parents continued to shower me with love, even though I was a witch.
But that life, too, came to an end on that day.



A monkey monster killed my father and mother.
The only two people in the world who had loved me no matter what. I lost them both at once.


That monkey monster.
My father and mother! How dare you…!

Unforgivable…!

I will take revenge.
I will make that monkey feel the same pain my parents suffered.

Without my parents, I couldn’t survive in this world.
Everyone else around me was an enemy, branding me a witch and seeking to hunt me down.

I had to find that monkey and repay it for what it had done.

To search for the monkey, I transformed into a bird using dark magic.
For some reason, when I transform, I turn completely white. Maybe it was because of my white hair.

Apparently, the monkey monsters lived in the forest.
Even though they looked like monkeys, they carried human-made swords and spears, so they were easy to spot.


After flying for a while, I noticed vines stretching straight up into the sky from a clearing. What is that? Strange.

Curious, I approached and found myself in a small clearing.
There, I saw something unbelievable.


A human woman and giant bees were slaughtering all the monkeys.

I was shocked to see a woman defeating monsters this deep in the forest.
Her beauty was unlike anything else.
She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

But then I quickly realized I had been mistaken.

I thought she was human, but only her upper body was.
From her waist down, a large, red flower grew, ending in a bulbous thing with a huge, ferocious-looking mouth.

The lower half of this beautiful woman was… a plant.

She wasn’t human.
I couldn’t believe that such a strange creature actually existed.

Could she be a plant monster?

As I blinked in disbelief at the gorgeous flower-like creature, the last of the monkey monsters was finally defeated.

The very monkey that had killed my parents.
It was the flower woman who struck it down.


I’m sorry, Mom and Dad.
I couldn’t avenge you myself.

But honestly, even if I had tried, I couldn’t have beaten that monkey.

Even with dark magic, I’m not strong.
All I could really do was fly and transform into small animals.


Still, I couldn’t just leave without doing something.
Determined to strike back, even if only a little, I flew to the monkey’s corpse, still in bird form.

Thinking, ‘How dare you kill my family,’ I attacked. Filled with vengeance, I pecked at its motionless body.

──Hmm, I feel a little better now.

I couldn’t take revenge with my own hands, but the monkey still received its divine punishment.
It was this beautiful flower monster who dealt with it for me.


Maybe this flower monster was a good flower.
She avenged my parents for me, so she was my benefactor in a way.


But then, I was shocked again.
Without warning, the flower monster started devouring the monkeys. It was so sudden that it scared me.

Despite her beauty, she was still a monster inside.
She actually eats monkey monsters… what a ruthless creature

Even so, I can’t wrap my head around a flower being stronger than a monkey.
This flower monster might actually be incredible.

And then, I almost got eaten by the flower too.

I felt its vines aiming for me.

Luckily, I was a bird and could fly away immediately. But if I had been in my human form, she might’ve caught me easily.
Then I would’ve ended up like that monkey.

Not only amazing, but dangerous too.
From that day, I decided never to approach this place in human form.



And so, I met the flower monster that looked like a human.

The beautiful plant monster that avenged my parents.

I couldn’t help but feel drawn to that flower, and ever since then, whenever I had a free moment, I would fly in my bird form just to see it.

Not that I did anything in particular, though.
I would just stay transformed and observe her from nearby.


Even now, seeing her appearance still left me stunned.
From the flower of the monster grew a woman.

Her petals were a vivid red, and she was every bit as beautiful as the flower she bloomed from.
She looked about five or six years older than me, like an older sister.

Despite being a flower, her face was perfectly human, with features so refined it was breathtaking.

But sadly…
Her outfit was something else.
She was practically naked, with vines wrapped only around her chest.

Then it hit me.
Being a flower, she probably has no idea how embarrassing that outfit looks.

Poor thing.
If she were human, she’d be mortified to be seen like that in the forest.

Besides her embarrassing outfit, the flower monster has a few notable traits. She can stretch out her vines to catch prey, release poisonous pollen, and, somehow, produce sweet nectar from her mouth.

Clearly, she wasn’t human.
Even if she might look like one, her body was that of a plant.

She was a plant monster.

And somehow, I found myself drawn to this plant monster.

I think I’ll observe it for a little longer.
And so, summer arrived.



This summer was hotter than ever.
Days of scorching heat had left no rain, and the flower monster drooped, utterly worn out.

She looked so fragile, almost ready to wither away.


It would be a shame if she dried up like this.
After all, she was the one who avenged my parents.
Besides, I couldn’t bear to see such a beautiful flower wither like this.


That’s it. I’ll give her some water.

I remembered seeing the village elder watering the flowerbed, carefully tending the flowers.
Flowers grew best when someone was there to care for them.


But there was a problem—I can’t appear as a human.

After a month of observation, I realized the flower monster was carnivorous.
She swallows not only animals but even monsters whole.

If I approached her, I’d likely be eaten.

If I took human form, I wouldn’t be able to fly away if something went wrong.
So there’s no way I could carry a bucket and water her like that.

I could probably manage it by adapting my levitation magic and carrying the bucket while staying a bird… but that would definitely make the flower monster suspicious.

After all, no normal bird carries a bucket.
And if a dangerous flower like her started seeing me as some strange threat, my life would be in real danger.


So after much thought, I decided to water her while staying in my bird form.

I splashed water from the river onto my feathers and flew straight to her.
Then I sprinkled the water clinging on my feathers onto her.

It wasn’t much, but I managed to water the flower monster.

Yes. I’m amazing.
It was my first time taking care of her like this.

Somehow, the flower monster herself looked happy too.

Seeing that expression made me feel happy as well.
I guess watering her was worth it after all.

From that day on, I decided to help the flower monster whenever she was in trouble.

My observations continued.



When the summer heat finally subsided, travelers came to the village.

It was a pair—an old man and a boy.
Apparently the old man was the Great Sage, a very famous person.

The village chief had asked the Great Sage to exterminate the monkey monsters.

It was pointless though.
The flower monster had already destroyed all of them.

But that was a secret only I knew.

If the villagers discovered the flower monster, they might try to attack her.
I couldn’t let that happen… it would be too cruel.

I know better than anyone how terrifying it is to have your life threatened.


When I went to see the flower monster, I arrived to see a boy trapped in her vines.
That boy was the Great Sage’s grandson, right?

Wha… Why is he being captured by the flower monster?

Even stranger, the flower monster was speaking human words.
I had never heard her speak before.

So it was actually a talking flower.
Amazing. I’ve never seen a flower like this before.

The flower monster was entwining the boy with her vines, but they seemed to be having a friendly conversation.

I assumed she would eat humans, given her voracious appetite.
But she didn’t seem interested in eating the boy.

Instead, she was letting him taste her nectar.

Seeing this, I thought maybe I could talk with the talking flower too.
It looked like so much fun… I’m jealous!

But I decided to observe a little longer.
After all, once their conversation ends, she might see the boy as useless and eat him.

So depending on how things go, in a few days I’ll go to the forest in human form.
Then I can finally talk to the talking flower myself. I’m looking forward to it.


Three days later, the boy returned to the village.

But something was… off about him.
He wandered around like his soul had left his body, murmuring over and over, “Nectar… Nectar… Nectar…”

Scary.
Had the flower monster somehow brainwashed him?

No matter how human-like she looked, she was still a monster. Dangerous.
I definitely shouldn’t get close to her in my human form.

Even though the boy had gone mad, there was a silver lining.
While he was under the flower’s control, I asked the visiting sage if there was a flower monster that could take human form.

That’s how I found out.
He told me there was a plant monster called an “Alraune,” whose upper half resembled a human woman while the lower half remained a flower.

So the talking flower actually had a name—Alraune.

Apparently, Alraunes couldn’t speak the human language.
Even though it had a human form, it was still ultimately a plant, the Great Sage explained.

Then the talking flower must be a special Alraune!

I had found a truly rare Alraune.
I’d even watered her myself.

And she was the savior who had avenged my parents.
Even though it wasn’t about me, I couldn’t help but feel a little proud.


Still, the talking flower couldn’t move from where she was.
After all, she was a plant.

If I weren’t careful, she might wither again like during that recent drought.

She was so fragile. I had to watch over her.
I can’t help but worry if I don’t keep an eye on her.

That’s right.
To keep her alive, I would take care of her myself!

Surely, the talking flower needed me too, right?


And so, from that day on, I decided to nurture the Alraune.

***

Author’s Note:

Thank you so much for reading.
I’m truly grateful to everyone!

This time, it’s the story of the little witch, also known as the white bird.
You’ll find out why the white bird appeared in front of our protagonist, Alraune.

Next Time: Diary; The Little Witch’s First Plant Cultivation Project (Autumn)