I’m Alraune, a plant monster in the form of a young girl.
Thanks to the fertilizer I received, I’m feeling much better. Little Witch bought it for me using the money she made from selling my nectar. Perhaps because of that boost, I’ve actually grown a little. My bulb, which used to be roughly the size of a watermelon, is now more like a rather oversized watermelon.
I’m still in my "young girl" form, though.
At this rate, if I can just keep getting enough nutrients, water, and sunlight, growing even larger won't just be a dream! Fertilizer really is incredible. This is the first time I’ve ever felt the soil be this rich. Even though I haven't eaten any monsters lately, I can feel the nutrients being drawn up through my roots.
However, my good mood only lasted so long. In exchange for the fertilizer, I had to provide something of equal value.
"Alraune, work a little harder."
"I... I can't. There’s nothing left..."
"It’s okay, I know you’ve still got some in you."
"N-No..."
Nectar began to overflow from my mouth. Drip, drop—it splashed into the bottom of the bucket.
"I know it’s hard, but we still don't have enough."
"Ugh... I'm at my limit..."
"Just a little more."
Little Witch thrust her finger into my mouth. Her slender finger invaded my parched mouth, tangling with my tongue and rolling it around. Just like when you suck on a piece of hard candy, new nectar gradually welled up from the back of my throat. Her finger scraped it out, and it was added to the bucket.
Yes, I was being harvested for my nectar.
I hadn't secreted this much since the time Bear-papa licked me. But unlike back then, I was currently in my young girl form. With such a small body, the absolute volume of nectar I can produce is quite low. Because of that, Little Witch had to forcibly squeeze every last drop out of me.
It was pretty grueling... It hurt so much I felt like I was going to cry.
"Oh, look, nectar's coming out of your eyes too."
And so, my tears were harvested as well. Every bit of moisture I produced was gathered by Little Witch to be sold as merchandise. It was all for the sake of money. For the sake of my "younger sister," Little Witch, I, as the "older sister," was prepared to sell my very soul—or at least my bodily fluids.
But really, how long can I keep up this nectar-squeezing? Even if a whole bucket of the stuff is sold, it’s not even enough to buy a cooking pot. A child walking the streets to hawk nectar just doesn't bring in much of a profit. I know I have to do my best, but I’m reaching my breaking point.
I need more nutrients.
"I want... fertilizer."
"The last batch took all our money. So you'll have to endure for now, okay?"
"...Okay."
"I'll buy you more eventually."
"No. If you do that, we'll never be able to afford tools."
At the current price of nectar, it was impossible to buy fertilizer and daily necessities at the same time. It would be great if I could sell it for a higher price, but then no one would buy it. I just have to be patient regarding the fertilizer.
"Well, I'm heading out."
"Be... careful."
I saw Little Witch off as she headed to the city to sell the nectar. It was all for her livelihood. As her older sister, I had to be strong.
Still, I should probably ask her to change the harvest schedule to once every three days instead of every day. At this rate, no matter how much nutrition and water I get, my body won't hold out. I’ll probably wither away in a few days. I’ll have to discuss it with her when she gets back.
Just as Little Witch left, the figure of the withered tree Treant appeared. To my surprise, she arrived carrying several trees at once. It seemed that, as my junior, she had been out gathering plants for me.
Let's see what we have here. Hmm, most of these are just ordinary plants. There are a few rare ones mixed in, but for the most part, it’s just weeds. I’ll have to ask Fairy to translate for me so I can tell her to look for more unusual specimens.
Oh, what’s this?
It was a triangular palm tree. It looked like it was still in the middle of its growth cycle, but Treant must be incredibly strong to have brought back an entire tree.
Wait, this is a Tahina!
I recognized this pyramid-like palm tree. I’d seen it in a plant encyclopedia back when I was a high school girl. The Tahina is also known as the "Suicide Palm." One day, the Tahina suddenly uses up all its stored nutrients to bloom into beautiful flowers. Once it has exhausted its life force to disperse its seeds, the entire trunk withers and dies, as if committing suicide.
Back in my old world, these trees were only found on the island of Madagascar. I remembered reading that they were in danger of extinction, with only about thirty wild trees left. However, since one was just growing around here in this world, they must be much more common.
Anyway, if I eat this Tahina, I’ll gain the ability to end my life whenever I want!
I see, I see...
Wait, I can't use that! I don't want to die yet!
Then again, the Tahina only withers after it scatters its seeds. Maybe it wouldn't be a problem if I was reborn as a new seed? If I think about it that way, it might be useful for when I need to play dead.
Wait—that's it! I just had a brilliant idea.
I used my lower mouth to prey on the Tahina. With this, I gained the ability to wither at will. This power might be very useful for my upcoming experiment.
This doesn't have anything to do with the Tahina directly, but I’ve been thinking about something for a while. Back during the fire, I was able to transform into the "Young Girl Alraune" by pollinating. At that time, I used a stamen flower that carried Alraune genes and my own body, which served as the pistil.
So, what would happen if I grew stamen flowers with Alraune genes and pistil flowers with Alraune genes on my vines, and then pollinated them together? I’d been curious about this for a long time. With this method, I might be able to produce offspring. Or rather, they would be my clones.
I decided to attempt self-pollination once again.
However, I wouldn't use my human body's pistil this time. Instead, I would generate both stamen and pistil flowers directly on my vines and pollinate them. That said, even with self-pollination, I didn't think I could produce an identical copy of myself unless it went through the pistil of my human body. Usually, ordinary flowers can't create perfect genetic clones through self-pollination.
But I’m not just a plant; I’m a monster capable of selective breeding. Generating stamens and pistils with identical genetic markers is a simple task for me. If I use my abilities to tweak the process and then pollinate them, I should be able to produce a "Child Alraune"—a copy of myself.
As a plant, I can reproduce this way. I can continue my lineage all by myself. For a flower, it’s a perfectly natural thing to do.
That said, if I reproduce indiscriminately, I’ll have a lot of trouble on my hands later. That’s where the Tahina’s ability comes in; I believe I can use it to return any extra "me's" back into seeds. It’s a bit scary, but I want to try it at least once. I need to know the extent of what I can do as a plant.
Steeling my resolve, I readied my vines. To give birth to a new version of myself, I began the process of pollination to create Alraune seeds.
Thank you for reading.
Next time: I'll be producing Alraune seeds.