I was Alraune, a plant monster girl.
The day after I spotted the Flame Dragon Lord from the botanical garden, an event occurred that broke the monotony of my usual daily routine.
The manager, Hydra-san, came walking toward me, accompanied by a teddy bear wearing a top hat.
That bear was Uncle Teddy!
He was the self-proclaimed butler who had originally brought me to this garden.
Uncle Teddy stopped in front of one of the flowers in the garden and began doing something to it, his paws gently touching the petals.
Oh my, wait just a moment, Uncle Teddy.
Isn't that behavior a bit unseemly?
The Alraune you kidnapped is right here, you know.
Despite that, he didn’t even glance my way. I felt it was quite rude of him to be getting so cozy with the other flowers while ignoring me. It wasn't that I particularly wanted to be lovey-dovey with Uncle Teddy or anything, but I couldn't help but pout a little.
Uncle Teddy continued his successive trysts with the flowers one by one until he finally arrived in front of me.
"As always, Alraune, you seem to be quite healthy, keeping your flower in full bloom."
Ah, there it was—that voice! It really did a number on my ears.
Hearing a suave, dandy baritone come out of a cute teddy bear was enough to make my head spin from the sheer visual and auditory cognitive dissonance.
Wait, this was no time to be distracted. This was my chance to ask the question that had been weighing on me!
"Why... did you... bring... me... here?"
"Because it is one of my duties. I simply collect rare plants and flowers for my master’s botanical garden."
Just as I thought, Uncle Teddy was acting on behalf of his master.
The real questions were who that master was and why they were so obsessed with collecting plants.
"Let’s put the idle chatter aside and get to work. Now then, I'll have you produce it immediately."
"...Produce... what?"
"Your nectar, of course. Even if you are an Alraune, you are still a flower. You can at least produce nectar, can’t you?"
Wait, he wanted my nectar?
Looking closely, I realized Uncle Teddy was carrying a container already filled with a large amount of liquid. It seemed he hadn't been flirting with the flowers after all; he had been going around harvesting their nectar.
"Why... the nectar?"
"An Alraune residing in this botanical garden has no need for such information. Just give it here. Otherwise, I shall have to make you produce it by force."
Uncle Teddy’s hand reached toward me.
The idea of him forcibly scraping the nectar out of me was terrifying, so I decided to do as I was told. I let the nectar drip sluggishly from my mouth.
Once he had gathered my nectar into a small vial, Uncle Teddy moved on to the next flower, seemingly satisfied.
I wondered what that was all about. It was all so mysterious.
Incidentally, Barometz-san was skipped during the nectar collection. She could produce woolly cotton, but nectar was out of her repertoire, so I suppose it couldn't be helped.
In his place, the one-horned Minotaur who often helped out in the garden came by to harvest Barometz-san’s golden cotton.
To have a part of one's own body personally offered up to someone who wasn't even family... it really drove home the fact that I was no longer a human, but a plant being kept as livestock.
I wondered if the cows on a ranch felt this same way when they were milked. Or rather, cows had their chests squeezed, didn’t they? That was way too embarrassing. Not that I was in a position to judge, considering I was drooling nectar from my mouth.
If the day ever came where someone told me to produce nectar like a cow, I’d lose all confidence in my prospects as a bride.
But it was fine! I could have children all by myself! I’d just breed a whole bunch of little Alraunes and start a massive family.
As I was making that secret resolution, Barometz-san tilted her head and spoke to me.
"Alraune-san, you seemed quite accustomed to producing nectar. Did you do it often back in the forest?"
"In... the forest... there were... many... humans and monsters... who liked... nectar."
Every day, I used to give nectar to the little witch and my friend Hachi-san, the lady knight. By providing nectar, I was protected. As a fragile flower, I had survived by coexisting with other creatures through my nectar.
"The forest... is dangerous... but... if you... make friends... it becomes... easier... to live."
"Is that so... Just as I thought, the forest truly is a wonderful place..."
Barometz-san looked up at the sky as if gazing at something far away. She had a lonely, melancholic air about her. Perhaps that was why I found myself asking her a question.
"Are you... curious... about the forest?"
"...Yes. The forest is the place I yearn for most."
Barometz-san slowly closed her eyes before meeting my gaze again.
"The truth is, I have always been envious of you, Alraune-san."
"Of... me?"
"Because I have been in the Imperial Palace since the moment I was born, I do not know the forest at all, even though I am a plant monster."
Come to think of it, she had mentioned she’d been growing in the palace for as long as she could remember.
"There was someone who told me that for plants like trees and flowers, the forest is our true home. That is why I, too, want to return to the Mother Forest..."
Seeing Barometz-san’s sorrowful expression, I felt as if my heart was being squeezed by soft cotton.
So that was it. Even though she was a plant monster, she had lived her whole life in the human world. She had never known her home.
The palace was "away" territory for us. Barometz-san had mentioned being constantly exposed to the public eye, suffering the humiliation of having her wool plucked away like a mere specimen. It really was pitiful.
Even for a half-beastman, half-plant like her, the forest was an ideal paradise—a place of longing.
Having been born as an Alraune in the wild, maybe I had actually been lucky. I had been attacked by humans, sure, but that was it. I was never managed like a curiosity in a sideshow. Survival in the forest was harsh, but looking back now, I realized that life in the forest was better because it offered freedom that a human settlement never could.
And so, I gathered my courage to speak to my friend.
"If... we... become free... I... will take you... to... the forest."
"...Is that true?"
"The forest... is... my home. So... you... won't... have to... worry... about... anything."
"Living in the forest has always been my dream. Oh, I am truly looking forward to it."
Barometz-san’s cotton hand and my vine entwined. We swung our connected limbs back and forth, a gesture that had become a habit for us.
I wanted to help Barometz-san; she had suffered just as much as I had. And if we could, I hoped we could spend our days quietly performing photosynthesis together—not in a botanical garden, but in the heart of a free forest.
"I promise... someday... I'll... show you... the forest... Barometz-san."
"That makes me... very happy."
Deep down, I understood that it might never come true. For two plants rooted in a botanical garden, it was an impossible dream. It seemed Barometz-san knew that, too.
Nevertheless, we both continued to smile at one another.
As long as we were dreaming, we could forget reality. I wished this moment could last forever.
But reality is a cruel thing.
For partings always arrive without warning.
Having her golden cotton collected once a day was simply part of Barometz's routine. I had assumed that having my nectar collected would become the same—just another daily harvest.
Next time: Shouting Farewell at the Center of the Botanical Garden.