I’m Alraune, a plant monster girl.
I had successfully defended the sanctuary from Dora-ko, one of the Three Spirit Beasts. But just as I thought I could catch my breath, Nina lunged at me, her face flushed with frantic excitement. She insisted she needed "Saint Nectar" to save the people who had been turned into trolls.
It didn't take a genius to realize that Saint Nectar was probably just another name for my own nectar. I couldn't think of anything else it could be, though I had no idea how it had ended up with such a prestigious title.
Nina reached out, her hands closing in on my face. At this rate, my nectar was about to be harvested by my own junior apprentice saint!
Just as I thought I was done for, the Little Witch’s voice rang out from the side.
"Stop it! Don't bully my Alraune!"
The Little Witch slipped between Nina and me, standing her ground as if to shield me.
"This Alraune belongs to me. Big Sister, if you want Saint Nectar, you’ll have to go through me."
The Little Witch was calling Nina "Big Sister"?! I felt a pang of shock. Wait, I’m the one who’s her big sister...
Nina looked surprised by the girl's sudden intervention, but she spoke to her gently. "So you really were an acquaintance of Iri... of the Crimson Flower Princess. You were the one harvesting that Saint Nectar from Alraune and selling it in town, weren't you?"
"What if I was? It was what Alraune and I needed to do to survive. It’s got nothing to do with you, Big Sister."
"Don't misunderstand me. I’m on your side. I have a very important reason for needing that Saint Nectar. Won't you help me save the people in town?"
The Little Witch let out a soft mutter. "I don't care what happens to the people in town."
It seemed her hatred of humans wasn't quite cured yet. I suppose it was my turn to step in.
"If... the humans... in town... disappear... we won't... have anyone... to buy... the nectar. That... would be... a problem... wouldn't it?"
"I suppose that's true," the Little Witch said, nodding slowly.
It looked like she was willing to be a little more cooperative now. More importantly, I was stunned to find out that the Little Witch and Nina already knew each other. I wondered where they could have possibly met.
I decided to ask her. "Do... you... know... Nina?"
"She’s a regular. She’s been buying Alraune’s nectar since the beginning. Customer Number One."
You’ve got to be kidding me.
When we made our first sale, the Little Witch told me she’d sold it to a woman, but I never imagined that person was Nina. The fact that my junior was willingly seeking out and buying my bodily fluids was shocking enough, but the realization that Nina had become a full-blown nectar junkie was even worse. She didn't seem quite as far gone as Fairy Kiri, but she still had it bad.
I’m so sorry, Nina...
What a bizarre twist of fate. I suppose the world is a lot smaller than it looks.
I turned my attention back to the trolls, who were now completely bound in vines. The Child Alraunes—who had escaped from Dora-ko as seeds and fallen to the ground—had sprouted and captured the trolls immediately. My children were far too competent!
"There are so many Alraunes now... What am I supposed to do?" the Little Witch asked, her head spinning with confusion.
Don't worry, Little Witch! Our family has just grown!
I felt a bit bad for her while she was so flustered, but I had a question of my own. "So... what... exactly... is... Saint Nectar?"
"It’s just your nectar. Somewhere along the line, that’s the name it picked up in town. I don't really know why."
As I suspected. It felt a bit overwhelming for my nectar to have such a noble name. After all, it was basically just my drool.
I bit down on one of my vines, coating it with a slurping amount of nectar before letting it drip into a troll's mouth. The moment it hit, the troll's body arched violently. It let out a pained scream as its flesh began to liquefy. Once it spat out the remains of a seed, a human emerged from the melting mass.
It actually worked! A troll really turned back into a human.
I couldn't believe my eyes. I had seen the Poison Fairy Oin transform into a troll, and that had been a literal physical mutation. Being able to reverse that process meant my nectar was something far more powerful than just a liquid imbued with Light Recovery Magic.
To be honest, it was a little terrifying. It felt like it had surpassed the realm of medicine entirely. What exactly was my nectar?
According to Nina, this Saint Nectar could even negate the brainwashing effects of the blue flowers. That made sense to me. Back at the Demon King's Castle, the Demon Maid had spat out the Big Sister Dryades's blue flower right after I’d gotten some nectar-filled bubbles into her mouth. It must have entered her system and broken the spell!
My nectar was honestly a little too multipurpose. I was starting to understand why everyone was so obsessed with getting a taste. It was so high-performance that I actually regretted not selling it for a higher price!
I administered the nectar to the other captured trolls, successfully saving three more humans. Once things had settled down, a man in blue armor emerged from the brush.
Wait, I recognized him. Was that Mr. Drink Bar? I didn't expect to run into him again so soon.
When Mr. Drink Bar saw the faces of the humans lying on the ground, he let out a sharp exclamation of surprise.
"These men... they're the adventurers who went missing! So they weren't eaten by the Man-eater Alraune after all!"
Apparently, because these three hadn't returned from their hunt, I had been falsely accused of eating them. In other words, these guys were the reason the townspeople had called me a "Man-eater Alraune" and tried to hunt me down. They must have been captured by the Big Sister Dryades's subordinates and used for trollification experiments. I’d been taking the blame for her dirty work.
Ugh, unforgivable!
"That means the Man-eater Alraune... no, the Alraune standing there is innocent. The true culprit was the Spirit Princess of the Demon King's Army!"
Mr. Drink Bar began conferring with his companions, everyone nodding in realization. It seemed I had finally been cleared of all charges.
"Alraune... I apologize for my rudeness the other day. Seeing you here with Nina, it's clear you aren't a monster at all. I’ve never met a monster one could actually reason with before."
Mr. Drink Bar bowed his head in apology. I suppose he wasn't a bad guy after all.
"It’s... fine. I... forgive... you."
I used a vine to shake hands with him, sealing our truce. As we did, Nina spoke up.
"Crimson Flower Princess, do you know where the Four Heavenly Kings Dryades is?"
"She... isn't... here. Isn't she... in... the town?"
"Actually, Mr. Holger said he saw a Dryades riding a land turtle somewhere in the forest."
Mr. Drink Bar—Holger—nodded. "That's right. I definitely saw that Spirit Princess, the one who was with the Aqua Dragon, right here in this area!"
If he’d seen a Dryades riding a land turtle, it was definitely the Big Sister Dryades. But if she was in the forest instead of the town, what was she doing? Her goal was the Younger Sister Dryades inside the sanctuary and the Hero's Helmet that powered the barrier. As long as we were guarding the sanctuary, I didn't think she could do much.
Just as we were debating our next move, it happened.
A door suddenly manifested between the trees. It swung open, and Fairy Kiri began flying around in a joyful frenzy.
"It’s the Door of the Sanctuary! Lady Dryades must have opened it from the inside!"
The door opened silently, and a thick mist began to spill out from the sanctuary.
"I think someone’s coming," the Little Witch whispered.
A silhouette was visible through the fog, but it was far too large for a human. It was even too tall to be Lady Dryades. The shadow looked like it was standing on top of a massive creature.
The heavy, rhythmic thud of a four-legged monster echoed through the clearing. As the mist finally cleared, we were met with an unbelievable sight.
First, the massive legs of a land turtle appeared. A short, thick tree grew directly out of its shell. And leaning against that tree was a beautiful woman with hair made of blue vines.
You’ve... got to be... kidding me...
The person who had just stepped out of the Sanctuary was the Big Sister Dryades.
Next time: Trap of the Four Heavenly Kings.