Laobubear. That was the name of the creature before me.
Distinguished by the singular horn growing from its head, it was a ferocious magical beast feared by all.
Rumor had it those sharp claws could fell even the mightiest trees, and its jaws were powerful enough to crush a soldier's plate mail.
If I recalled correctly, they supposedly grew larger than the surrounding forest once they reached maturity—roughly the size of a large truck. This one, however, was only about two meters long at best. It was likely still a cub.
It stared intently at me, its nose twitching and its mouth dripping drool like a common dog.
I suspected it had been lured here by the sweet nectar exuding from my body.
Perhaps my nectar was so enticing that the creature simply couldn't help itself. If I could actually sell the stuff, maybe I could make a living as a honey merchant in some town. Provided I wasn't hunted down as a monster first, of course.
Actually, this was bad. It meant I was the prey.
I really didn't want to be licked all over by a bear.
Besides, even if it was just a honey-loving bear, there was no guarantee I’d come out of an attack unscathed.
The problem was that even though I wanted to run, I had no legs to run with. Being a plant was incredibly inconvenient at times like this.
The Laobubear drew closer.
I tried to intimidate it by opening the mouth of the bulb on my lower body as wide as I could. Naturally, the bear didn't even flinch.
Now that it was closer, I could see that the bear’s eyes were completely glazed over.
I could feel its sheer determination to get that nectar, no matter what it had to kill to get it. Was my nectar really that delicious?
At this rate, I was going to fall victim to this nectar-crazed bear...
Fine. I steeled my resolve. I would fight this Laobubear.
I had heard stories that Alraunes captivated humans and animals with their nectar to lure them in, then preyed on them for nutrients. That meant I had to have some way to fight back.
My only weapons right now were the vines growing from my bulb.
I had no choice but to use them to restrain the Laobubear.
Go, Vine Whip!
I called out the attack like I was in some video game, but I missed completely.
The bear was faster than I expected. Well, the main reason I missed was probably because I hadn't mastered how to control the vines yet.
The distance between us steadily closed.
If it was going to dodge me, then I just had to stop its movement before I caught it.
Back in my previous life, I lived in the countryside. When I was little, I used to go on adventures in the mountains or go fishing in the river with my father.
That gave me an idea. Just like catching a fish, I would use a vine as a fishing rod and reel the bear in.
The bait, of course, was my own nectar.
I brought a vine up to my face and bit down on it.
With that, my "drool"—or rather, my nectar—was smeared thickly all over the vine.
I dangled the nectar-covered vine in front of the honey-loving bear, and—presto!
He became a perfectly obedient bear, licking the vine with wild abandon.
He was so addicted to the stuff that I worried he might be on drugs. Honestly, it was a little off-putting.
After all, that nectar was basically my spit.
I certainly didn't share that kind of perverted fetish.
Besides, the vines also functioned as a sensory organ. The sensation of being licked was absolutely disgusting.
"Time to catch the nectar-crazed pervert bear," I thought, wrapping my vines around him.
However, the bear wanted even more nectar. He began to thrash about.
He clawed at the vines like a baby throwing a tantrum. The Laobubear’s sharp claws shredded the surface of my vines, and green chloroplasts sprayed into the air.
Ouch, ouch!
It wasn't like I was bleeding red, but I could feel the signals of pain clearly.
Since it was just a vine, it wasn't an agonizing pain, but it was the first time I had felt pain since becoming an Alraune. It gave me quite a shock.
Perhaps as a reflexive response, a cloud of purple powder erupted from the corolla at my waist.
It danced through the air like pollen, raining down on the pervert bear who had turned into a tyrant.
To my surprise, the bear suddenly stopped moving, looking just like a tired infant falling fast asleep.
The pervert bear rolled his eyes back and began foaming at the mouth. Was he reflecting on his behavior? What a good boy... Wait, what was this?
There was no "perhaps" about it—that stuff that just came out of me was poison, wasn't it?
Poison Pollen. How terrifying.
Apparently, I had just poisoned the pervert bear to death.
Maybe I was unexpectedly strong. I felt a small surge of confidence.
The threat to my life had passed.
Now it was just a matter of what to do with the Laobubear's corpse. Perhaps because I had exerted myself, I felt incredibly hungry.
Nutrient deficiency.
I was running low on energy.
My wild instincts were screaming at me.
They told me to prey upon that bear.
I knew how to do it without even having to think.
Even insectivorous plants caught insects to use as nutrients. There was no reason an Alraune, a plant-type monster, wouldn't use other monsters as sustenance.
However, my ego as a former human refused to eat a bear.
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It was no use.
My plant body was far more nutrient-deficient than I had imagined.
I couldn't hold back.
I’m sorry, pervert bear.
Apologizing in my heart, I used my vines to carry the bear toward the mouth below.
The bulb opened its mouth wide and swallowed him in a single gulp.
I could feel the bear being secured inside my body. Now, I just had to wait for him to dissolve in my digestive juices.
The bear was covered in poison, but since that poison had come from my own body in the first place, it wouldn't affect me. I didn't need to worry about that.
I never would have dreamed of eating a raw bear when I was human, but now that my body had become a plant monster, I didn't feel as much revulsion.
The fact that I wasn't chewing with a human mouth, but rather swallowing it whole to be digested by a bulb like a pitcher plant, was a big factor. I didn't have the same "sensation" of eating that I did as a human.
Slowly, I felt the captured meat dissolve and flow through my system.
It’s okay, bear. I’ve been covered in digestive juices just like that before, so I know how you feel. You’re being dissolved, but I’ll make good use of your nutrients, so rest easy.
But it still wasn't enough. A single bear cub wasn't nearly enough to satisfy this hunger.
My guess was that the fusion of a human and a flower monster into an Alraune required a massive amount of energy.
Even after eating the Laobubear, I still felt somewhat malnourished.
Still, swallowing a bear-type monster whole really drove home the fact that I was no longer human.
If the people of my kingdom knew that their Saint was surviving like this, I wondered what they would think.
They’d probably have a lot to say. But none of that mattered anymore.
I still couldn't accept every part of this reality, but I understood at least this much:
I was a plant, and I was a monster.
I had truly become a creature called an Alraune.
From now on, I would live modestly, as a plant should.
Quietly, calmly, and elegantly—just like a houseplant.
Next time: Someone please adopt me and sell me to a botanical garden.