After I finished reading Nina’s letter, I stared up at the sky in a daze.
A massive cloud drifted slowly toward some unknown horizon. Like that cloud, I wished I could simply vanish into the distance, guided by the wind to somewhere far away.
The white clouds eventually floated off, and in their place, the dazzling sun emerged. A warm, gentle light of blessing poured down upon the forest. I wanted to photosynthesize, so I decided to indulge in a bit more sunbathing. I fully unfurled the leaves beneath my corolla and spread my human arms and vines wide. As the surface area for receiving light increased, my chlorophyll practically let out a cheer of delight.
Ah, the sunlight tasted divine...
While I was lost in that blissful sensation, I suddenly felt a gaze from the side. When I turned my head, I realized Priest Pandia had been watching me, and our eyes met.
Pulled abruptly back to reality, a specific sentence from the letter surfaced in my mind. If I recalled correctly, Nina had written:
"An investigator from the Kingdom of Myrte Holy Light might be heading toward Lady Iris!"
──That was her! That was Priest Pandia!
It had to be. She wasn't just on her way; the investigator was already standing right in front of me.
And what was more... my nectar was the Elixir? There was no way! I mean, this was nectar produced by my own body. No matter how I looked at it, such a substance couldn't possibly be the sacred, legendary Elixir.
Come to think of it, there was that small barrel sitting next to Priest Pandia while she tutored the Little Witch. It was filled with the Saint Nectar I had provided earlier.
"I should be most delighted if I could receive your Saint Nectar in exchange for my services as Miss Rufe's tutor," she had said almost as soon as we met. I had handed it over without a second thought.
But now that I understood the true reason she wanted it, I was speechless. She hadn't taken the tutoring job out of the goodness of her heart; her goal was to obtain nectar directly from the source. No wonder she had been observing me with such clinical intensity while I was producing it.
It was embarrassing enough having a high-ranking official of the Church watch me "exude" nectar, but to think there was a hidden motive behind that gaze... Priest Pandia was investigating whether or not my nectar was truly the Elixir.
Which it wasn't. Obviously.
I mean, it came out of me! It came from my mouth, my eyes, and... well, other places. That’s just how plants were. To humans, plant nectar might just be something delicious, but biologically speaking, it was what it was! There was no way it could be the same as the Divine Medicine Elixir created by the Goddess herself.
I wondered what on earth the Shrine Maiden of the Goddess was thinking. She was already quite old, so she probably should have retired by now... No, wait. The Shrine Maiden I knew was the previous one. A new Shrine Maiden must have taken over during the years I was dead, meaning she was a different person entirely.
The letter said the current Shrine Maiden was about the same age as Nina. She was surely still a child, which explained why she’d mistaken my nectar for a divine miracle drug. The idea of my nectar being the Elixir was simply impossible. After all, this stuff had basically become the local tap water for everyone in the forest.
"Now then, I suppose it’s almost time for Rufe’s snack."
I extended a vine and plucked a wooden mug from its storage box. I poured the nectar into the mug, which had "For Rufe" carved into the side with a small knife.
"Here you go," I said, handing the Saint Nectar to the Little Witch.
Without this, her concentration wouldn't last five minutes. Before she could throw a childish tantrum and claim she was "done with studying," I made sure she drank her Saint Nectar as a substitute for sweets. That was my primary method for her education.
Honestly, having such a needy little sister was a lot of work for an older sister. Still, for the sake of Rufe’s future, this was a necessary step.
It occurred to me that it might be rude not to offer some to Priest Pandia as well. She had complimented the taste before, so she would likely accept. I filled a guest mug with the golden liquid. As I watched the mysterious radiance of the nectar, a thought struck me.
──Actually, now that I looked at it, the way this nectar glowed... it really did resemble the Elixir.
Back when I was Iris, the previous Lady Shrine Maiden of the Goddess had shown me the real Elixir. I remembered her asking me, "What thinkest thou? Being Saint Iris, couldst thou not produce something identical to this?"
Not a single Saint in history had ever managed to replicate the Elixir. Not even the First Saint Nemea. Because I couldn't bear the expectant gaze of the Shrine Maiden, I had made an attempt to copy it, just to satisfy her. But even with my power, creating something identical to the Elixir had been impossible.
That was how it was supposed to be. So why on earth was I pulling it off now that I’d been reincarnated as a monster?! I was just making nectar! I had absolutely no idea how to manufacture the Elixir!
"Please, Priest Pandia, help yourself," I said, trying to steady my heart as I handed her the mug.
Still, to send an investigator the moment she took an interest... it seemed the current Lady Shrine Maiden was just like the last one—someone who acted immediately whenever her curiosity was piqued. Since the previous one had apparently stepped down six years ago, I shouldn't have any personal connection to the girl Nina met. And yet, the way Nina described her felt strangely nostalgic, like a faint echo of the woman I once knew.
──But wait.
If Nina’s letter was accurate, I was supposedly the only one who had ever heard the Lady Shrine Maiden use that casual, elderly way of speaking. That was bizarre. The Shrine Maiden I knew was the previous one...
By the time the sun had set and I could no longer photosynthesize, Priest Pandia finished her lesson.
"Your Saint Nectar is truly exquisite," she remarked as she prepared to leave. "The more one partakes, the more one feels filled with vitality."
"I am... glad you... like it."
"I should be most delighted if you would consider entering into a large-scale contract with the Kingdom of Myrte Holy Light. Should you do so, His Holiness the Pope would surely be overjoyed."
She could say whatever she wanted, but I knew the truth. They intended to take my nectar back to the Holy Light Country to dissect and research it. Moreover, I knew that the one who would truly be pleased wasn't the Pope, but the person who sat above him: the Shrine Maiden of the Goddess.
If I ended up selling nectar to the Holy Light Country in addition to the Gardenia Kingdom and the Glanz Empire, I was going to be incredibly busy. I wondered if my body would even hold out. I was managing for now since I had become an existence close to a spirit, but it was a concern.
There was also the market to think about. Nina said prices were already skyrocketing in the Royal Capital. If this kept up, the inflation would be monstrous. It would be a disaster if it turned into a Nectar Bubble similar to the Tulip Bubble of old. I wanted no part of that. And even if it did happen, it wasn't my fault!
After seeing off Priest Pandia, the Little Witch peered into my face with an anxious expression.
"Alraune, you've been acting weird ever since you read that letter. Was there something bad in it?"
I realized I’d made her worry. That wouldn't do; I was the older sister here.
"It’s nothing... but I do have... good news... for you."
I wanted to alleviate her burdens. For a stray witch like Rufe, the biggest shadow over her life was Witch Queen Kirke.
"The Witch Queen... is going to be... hunted down... by the Holy Light Country. She might... already be... caught."
"Is that true?! Even her...?"
Kirke was a nightmare of persistence. Every time you thought you’d defeated her, she’d crawl back up. Her subordinates were always plotting in the shadows, too. As far as I was concerned, the Witch Queen was a far more dangerous threat than the Demon King’s Army, with whom we now had a friendly relationship.
If the Church finally apprehended her, it was wonderful news for both Iris and Alraune. I stroked Rufe’s head with a vine.
"With this... you might... never have to... see her... again."
If that happened, both I and Rufe could finally live in peace. I could finally lead a quiet plant life!
"Speaking of the Witch Queen..."
One thing still bothered me. I hadn't known she possessed the Goddess’s Feather Robe. Apparently, it could nullify the Holy Magic Barrier, the Dämonenwand.
I wanted that! If I had that robe, I could freely enter the Royal Capital whenever I wanted. It was a legendary-tier item! It made sense why Kirke had guarded it so fiercely, and I understood why the Shrine Maiden would spare her life in exchange for it.
But it was a mystery. How did the Witch Queen end up with a relic that was supposed to have been stolen by the Demon King’s Army hundreds of years ago?
"The Witch Queen... the Demon King... and the robe... There shouldn't be... a connection... right?"
It must have been something that happened before I was born. If so, it had nothing to do with us. I told myself to stop worrying about it.
That thought was immediately shattered.
"A connection between the Queen and the Demon King... Do you mean that robe from the Witch’s Village?" Rufe muttered, as if a memory had just sparked.
Even though she was a witch, she hadn't been raised in their village, so I didn't expect her to have much information. But Rufe suddenly gripped the vine I had on her head. She pulled it down to her chest and spoke words that shook me to my core.
"If it’s the robe the Witch Queen has, I know all about it."
────What?
Rufe? Did I mishear her?
"It’s the robe the Demon King’s Army gave to her, right? I know, because I saw it with my own eyes."
Rufe had seen the Goddess’s Feather Robe? Even I had never seen it! What was going on?!
Ignoring my internal panic, the Little Witch continued as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"After all, it was that robe that let me return to your side."
I hadn't known. I hadn't realized that the catalyst for this entire mess actually started with us.
Tulip: Liliaceae family. In Japanese, it is called "Ukkonkou" (Turmeric Fragrance) because its scent is said to resemble turmeric. Historically, depending on the economic climate, a single tulip bulb was once worth enough to build an entire house.
Next time: It turns out that if you trace it back far enough, I was the one who started it all.