I was Alraune, a self-proclaimed ordinary little flower.
Despite being a plant, I had recently assumed the position of Lord of the Forest.
Yes, I had finally defeated him.
That Bear-papa.
I had poisoned the nectar addict with nectar.
It was my victory!
Such was the fate of those who dared to lick me. Naturally, I showed no mercy.
Munch, munch.
As expected, Bear-papa was quite filling.
I had been eating parts of his body little by little, but it would likely take a few more days to finish. Since he was a massive, ten-meter bear, I couldn’t digest him all that quickly.
I had left Bear-mama lying around nearby. She was my preserved food for the time being.
Ah, it had started to rain.
Even the heavens were celebrating my victory. Thanks to the rain, I could take a shower, which made me quite happy. Rain after a battle was the absolute best. The water was delicious.
Bear-papa had fallen.
And so, this forest had become mine.
Peace had returned once more to the woods, which had previously descended into an Age of Warring States after the ranks of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Forest were depleted. After all, the battle-crazed monsters were all gone now.
Well, quite a few of those monsters had decided to make their permanent residence inside my stomach, but surely that wasn't the case for all of them? Don't get the wrong idea. I wasn't that much of a big eater.
Ah—I was stuffed, absolutely stuffed.
Before I knew it, I had finished eating every last bit of Bear-papa. Tee-hee.
Well then, it was time for seconds. Come here, Bear-mama. Please live happily together as a married couple inside my stomach, too.
And so, this truly became my forest.
With the large monsters extinct, conflict decreased drastically. As the territorial disputes came to an end, the small-time monsters who had been lying low until now finally returned to the forest. Small, light-eating monsters and animals began to walk freely through the woods once more.
And among them, I found them.
My acquaintances.
Yes, I had a reunion. After defeating Bear-papa, I was able to see the faces of my old friends again. I was incredibly happy.
Several Zornbiene, also known as Bee Monsters, were hovering in the air before me.
Good day. It has been a long time, Bee Monsters. Have you been well?
These were my Lady Knights, the Bee Monster Army. It seemed there were survivors after all.
To the Bee Monsters, Bear-papa was the enemy of their kin. They had likely vanished from my vicinity out of fear of him.
But there was no need to worry now. At this very moment, Bear-papa and his wife were being digested together inside my stomach. The perverted bear who had harmed the Bee Monsters was gone.
I was glad, Bee Monsters. Now we could live together again.
With that decided, it was time to rebuild the Lily Garden. It was the reconstruction of my Forest Circle. I had to increase the number of my Lady Knights and have them all surround me.
To that end, I gave the Bee Monsters plenty of Nectar as a gift. I told them to take it back to the nest and bring back even more Lady Knights.
Wait a moment, Bee Monster.
Who was this Lady Knight who just came charging in trying to pollinate me? I wondered if she was a newcomer. Honestly, I had to ensure the recruits were educated properly. I almost ended up being pollinated just now.
Come to think of it, there was a bee who tried to pollinate me before, too. If I recalled correctly, she was a Villainess. If you don’t want to meet a bad end, you had better become a member of my Forest Circle, too. Grow into a fine Lady Knight and support me.
I wondered if Her Majesty the Queen was still in good health.
I see, that was good news. So she hadn't been killed by Bear-papa.
Then please give my regards to the Queen, my big sister. Good day, Bee Monsters.
As I waved my vines to see the Bee Monsters off, another acquaintance appeared. That being said, this one was the White Bird, otherwise known as the Stupid Bird.
It had escaped me the other day, yet here it was again. I wondered if it hadn't realized that I was trying to eat it. It really was a Stupid Bird. Even if we were acquaintances, you were still classified as prey. So hurry up and get into my stomach to become nutrition already.
The White Bird circled just at the edge of my vines' reach, flying gracefully far above me in the sky. Even if I made my vines grow rapidly, it was difficult to extend them that high. Even if they did reach, the bird would undoubtedly dodge them. To a creature that could fly freely through the sky, vines growing up from below probably looked like they were standing still.
Curse that White Bird. It was surprisingly smart, despite being so stupid.
Gunu-nu.
As I stared up at the White Bird, something fell down. That Stupid Bird had dropped something again. Just how clumsy could it be?
The dropped item was a flower. Last time it had been a red rose, but this time it was a blue flower. It was a flower I had never seen in this world or on Earth in my previous life—just an ordinary flower with no particular characteristics.
I tried eating it as a test, but I didn't feel as though I had gained any special new abilities. If anything changed, it was simply that I became able to make ordinary blue flowers bloom on my vines.
What was that White Bird even doing? Once it saw me bloom the new blue flowers, it flew off somewhere. I didn't really understand it.
In the first place, did it use these flowers for nest-building? The same went for the roses. It should have been using small twigs and such for a nest, but even if it took flowers, they would just wither away. They were useless for construction. If it intended to decorate its home's interior, I could understand it taking them back, but there weren't any birds with that much sense.
As I thought, the White Bird was a strange one.
From then on, the White Bird frequently dropped flowers and plants at my location. I wondered—was this harassment? It was definitely doing it on purpose. Was it a challenge, a way of saying, "I'm going to peck at you just like these plants, so be prepared"? Or was it a provocation, like, "Look at this flower, it's much prettier than you"?
A bird had no right to say such things to me. Either way, this was an invitation to a fight.
Unforgivable White Bird.
With the intent of saying, "Next time I'll give you a bloodbath," I treated another Small Bird perched on a nearby tree to some toxic pollen. The Small Bird tried to flee, but it inhaled the pollen and went down helplessly.
Gulp.
Hmm. With a Small Bird, I really didn't feel like I had eaten anything at all. It was just too small to provide much nutrition. However, it served as a fine vent for my frustration toward the Stupid Bird.
I decided to make this a "Bird Enhancement Week" for my hunting.
The White Bird seemed to have noticed that I was intentionally targeting only birds. It must have sensed its life was in danger. After that, it stopped dropping plants on me.
What a coward, that White Bird. If only it had challenged me to a duel to avenge its comrades, I would have gladly eaten it. What a shame, what a shame.
The items dropped from the White Bird ceased. However, in their place, Tributes began to arrive at my location. My food, in the form of a Sacrifice.
A Tribute came walking busily toward me. A Tanuki Monster had come to be offered up to me. It probably chose to become a Living Sacrifice to provide me with nutrition out of a courageous desire to save its kin. That spirit was wonderful.
But you see, I wasn't actually such a scary existence. Don't get the wrong idea. It wasn't as if I were a ferocious creature that wanted to eat you because I enjoyed it or anything. I was just being considerate and turning you into nutrition because you were offered as a Tribute, that’s all.
I was just a beautiful flower. Since you could become one with such a beautiful, flowery me, you would surely feel happy. There was nothing to worry about. There was no need to be anxious. I would let you go easily so that you wouldn't suffer.
So please, don't look at me with such tearful eyes. Don't tremble so.
I really wasn't such a scary existence. It was painful to be so misunderstood.
It seemed I had become such an object of awe that the creatures of the forest now offered me sacrifices in fearful worship.