Three days had passed since I started keeping the boy.
Apparently, as long as I provided him with nectar, he was perfectly satisfied. But don't be shocked—the menu at my little "cafeteria" had expanded beyond just a single item.
Of course, I didn't feed him raw animal monsters. I made sure to provide him with proper human food.
I managed to extract plenty of information from the boy, but that wasn't my only harvest. Inside his bag, I had found a Lingal Fruit.
In both appearance and taste, it was exactly like the apples I used to eat back in Japan, making it a rather high-tier delicacy in this world. I snatched the fruit from the boy and consumed it with my lower mouth.
By doing so, I absorbed the characteristics of the Lingal Fruit, and I successfully managed to generate it myself.
First, I bloomed a female Lingal flower on my left vine and a male one on my right. Using thin vines created through Plant Generation, I gathered pollen from the stamen of the right flower and pollinated the pistil of the left. Then, by using Super Recovery Magic to force rapid growth—presto!
A fresh Lingal Fruit was ready to eat.
I fed the finished product to the boy. Between making my own nectar and now growing fruit, I was starting to feel like a rather high-spec plant.
Perhaps it was because of my care? The boy had grown quite attached to me.
At every opportunity, he would start crying out his "Three Nectar" mantra—"I want nectar," "I'm running out of nectar," "I'm so lonely for nectar it hurts"—but as long as I dangled the nectar like a carrot on a stick, he had transformed into a clever, obedient child who listened to everything I said.
The boy’s name was Armin.
His parents had been killed by the Demon King's Army, and he was currently traveling with his grandfather. Apparently, the grandfather was a powerful magic user, and Armin couldn't keep up with his harsh training. It seems that while his grandfather was off hunting monsters at the request of some nearby villagers, Armin had seized the chance to run away. Was training really that miserable?
How disappointing. As a Former Saint, I wanted to scold him and tell him not to run, for it was only natural for magical training to be grueling.
The disappointments didn't stop there, though.
While trying to navigate the woods, he got lost, was eventually caught by a Zornbiene, got stuck with a venomous stinger, and ended up being delivered to me. If I hadn't been a former human Alraune starved for entertainment, he would have ended up as monster fodder.
In a way, I was his savior.
Since I had gone to the trouble of saving him, I wanted him to survive in the long run. Therefore, I decided to train the boy myself.
I was a Former Saint, after all. When it came to magic, I was his senior.
I could use two of the basic Four Elemental Magics. I could even use Light Magic—a power blessed by the goddess that only one in tens of thousands could wield, and even then, only women. That was how I had risen to the rank of the greatest Saint of my era.
Perhaps that was why, when I started giving him advice on magic, the boy just stood there with his mouth agape, looking stunned. He was likely tongue-tied by the sheer depth of my knowledge. There was no doubt he was feeling a profound sense of respect for his "Big Sister" now.
"Can you use magic, Big Sister?"
"Impossible. Knowledge... only... have."
Even if I told him I was a Former Saint, he wouldn't believe me. If the people of the Kingdom found out, it would only make my situation worse, so it was best to keep my mouth shut.
"Training... if not... regret."
"Why?"
"In a pinch... your own magic... only tool... to protect yourself."
This was based on my own experience. It was because I had mastered Light Recovery Magic—layering Super Recovery upon Super Recovery to the point where I could incorporate an opponent's cells into my own—that I had survived being eaten by a flower monster. I might have merged with it and become the monster itself, but I was alive.
There might have been a miracle or some divine intervention involved, but without my recovery magic, I would have been dissolved in that flower's stomach. In the end, you only have yourself to rely on. That’s why you need power.
It’s too late to regret things once you've been killed. To survive, you have to polish your magic, keep up with your training, and become strong.
"Is that just how it is?"
"That's... how... it is."
"...I get it."
"Good."
As I was lecturing the boy on the secrets of magic, a small shadow fell over the ground. Looking up, I saw a strange bird flying through the sky. It looked like an eagle, but it was incredibly fast.
What was that?
"Ah, that's Grandpa's Wind Magic bird."
Hmph, so that was Wind Magic. I’d never seen anything like that before.
The boy explained it to me: the spell shaped the wind into the likeness of a bird, allowing for remote control and the ability to share visual information with the caster.
Wait a second. Isn't that a high-level spell?
It was something I couldn't replicate, and even the Kingdom's Court Mages could barely pull it off. Maybe the Chief Court Mage could do it, but that was the level we were talking about. If Armin's grandfather could use that so casually, this was bad.
If he finds me, won't I be exterminated?
If I looked at this from the grandfather’s perspective, he would see an Alraune who had turned his grandson into a nectar addict and kept him imprisoned in the forest for three days.
This was very, very bad. If I were the grandfather, I’d tear a monster like that to shreds.
I needed to send the boy back to the human village before his wizard grandfather showed up to wipe me out. If I played nice until the very end, he would surely tell them I wasn't a "bad monster" and forgive me. He might have been held here for three days, but I hoped they’d turn a blind eye to that.
"I am... a monster. You... are human."
"So what?"
"You and I... cannot... walk together."
"And?"
"Boy... to village. I... stay in forest."
"Why!? I love you so much, Big Sister!"
Oho. So he liked me that much? What part of me did he like, specifically?
"What... do you... like?"
"Because you give me that sweet, delicious nectar, duh!"
Oh, for heaven's sake...
That was not the answer I was expecting. When I looked closely at his eyes, they were glazed over with a hunger for my nectar, just like a bear that had found a honey stash. He was a lost cause.
"Armin... go home."
"No! I can't live without your nectar, Big Sister!"
"Forget me. To Grandpa... a secret."
"I'll never forget the taste of that nectar as long as I live!"
He loved it that much? He was so addicted he didn't even want to go back to his family? How tragic. You're just a little pervert, aren't you, Armin?
Still, if he stayed, my life was forfeit. I wondered if he’d go home if I made sure he wouldn't forget the taste.
I decided to create a special batch of nectar. I condensed it within my body so it wouldn't dissolve easily. Since I had learned to control where the nectar was secreted, I felt like I could manipulate the substance itself to some degree.
Normal nectar would just dissolve if he licked it. Instead, I concentrated the nectar infused with Super Recovery Magic, hardening it into a sphere. The result was a sweet Nectar Ball packed to the brim with Light Recovery Magic.
Humans really can do anything if they put their minds to it. Well, I’m a flower, but the point stands.
If this Nectar Ball worked as intended, the Light Recovery Magic would prevent it from dissolving away. It would regenerate even as it melted. This was only possible because the nectar was technically a part of my botanical body.
If I fed this to the boy, it should buy me enough time to get him away before his withdrawal symptoms turned into a rampage.
"Nectar Ball... eat... swallow."
"I just have to swallow it, Big Sister?"
"Special nectar. Inside body... won't melt... easily."
"It's yummy! Thanks, Big Sister!"
"To the village... go... okay?"
"If you give me one more of these candies, I'll go."
This little brat. The nerve!
I had no choice, so I generated one more Nectar Ball for him.
Sigh. Big Sister is exhausted. I’m out of energy. I need nutrients. I want water.
Unaware of my internal struggle, the boy happily swallowed the second Nectar Ball and waved goodbye as he walked away. He still looked like he craved more, but the balls would provide him with the taste of my nectar from within for at least a few days. They shouldn't dissolve completely until he reunited with his grandfather and left this region. That should keep the "nectar-madness" at bay.
What happens after they finally melt?
I haven't the slightest clue. We’ll probably never meet again, so it’s not my problem.