I had officially become the houseplant of a ten-year-old girl.
It was no exaggeration to say that this white-haired witch—the one who had been the White Bird—now held legal ownership over me.
After all, there was next to nothing I could do on my own.
I really was becoming this girl’s property. It was still somewhat hard to believe.
On top of that, a mysterious sense of guilt had been gnawing at me for a while now; it felt quite strange.
From the perspective of a Former Saint, this was an impossible situation to be in.
Well, I had already become a plant monster despite having been a Saint, so it was a bit late to start worrying about that now.
Or rather, in terms of appearance alone, weren't we both in a rather precarious spot?
On one hand, there was a ten-year-old girl with white hair. On the other, a one-day-old Alraune who was a young girl from the waist up and a flower from the waist down.
Yes.
It was actually quite adorable, seeing two children together like this. Ohohoho.
"Then, as I promised, I’ll water you."
The Little Witch threw the bucket of water over me with a splash.
Ah, the water tasted divine!
I could feel it sinking into the earth, and from there, my roots eagerly absorbed the moisture.
I felt like I was truly coming back to life.
If possible, I wanted more, but I wondered if it was okay to ask for a refill.
I would have to try asking her later.
The Little Witch meticulously upturned the bucket until the very last drop had fallen.
Then, looking satisfied, she set the bucket down on the ground.
"Now the talking flower is my flower."
In exchange for that water, I had become a houseplant owned by the Little Witch.
There was no turning back now.
The Little Witch spoke to me with a beaming smile.
"I look forward to our time together."
Her gaze slowly traveled over my body as if she were inspecting me, but then she looked away near the level of my chest, appearing slightly troubled.
——Ah.
I just realized something.
Right now, I was stark naked.
It was only natural since I had just been born as a sprout Alraune, but I hadn't thought to hide my chest with vines yet.
It was already too late.
The Little Witch had seen every inch of my newborn form.
I was a young girl, so my chest was practically non-existent, but that wasn't the point.
I had been incredibly careless.
From now on, the eyes of another person—this Little Witch—would be on me, so I had to be properly mindful of such things.
Even as a Former Saint who was once a Duke's Daughter, I found this point very concerning.
It must have been because I was staring so intently at my own flat chest.
The Little Witch spoke up, looking as if the words were difficult to say.
"Um, you might not know this since you’re a plant Alraune, but human girls wear clothes to cover their chests."
"Huh?"
"I get that since you're a plant, you don't have a sense of shame, so you don't mind exposing your skin. I understand that you're lacking common sense. But since you have such a lovely human form, I think it’s better to be proper from now on. Okay?"
What was I supposed to do?
I was actually being pitied by a ten-year-old Little Witch...
Ugh.
Now that I was conscious of it, the embarrassment was overwhelming.
I was so incredibly ashamed...
To be lectured by someone else like this—and by a girl who was mentally younger than me, at that.
I didn't feel like I could ever recover my dignity as a Former Saint.
I wanted to sink right back into the forest soil and disappear...
But wait.
Hold on, Alraune!
Think calmly.
Right now, I was not a human.
I was just a plant flower.
In other words, just as the Little Witch said, a sense of shame never existed for me in the first place.
I was just a flower that didn't know the human convention that exposing skin was embarrassing.
If I looked at it that way, there was absolutely nothing to be ashamed of regarding what had happened.
In fact, it was only natural for a wild plant.
If a flower growing in the wild were wearing clothes, that would be even weirder. It would only make me stand out in a bad way.
Therefore, I had nothing to regret as a Former Saint.
It's okay; you were doing a fine job of being an Alraune.
Whether completely naked or half-naked, there was no problem because I was a plant.
I wasn't human, so it wasn't embarrassing!
Yes, I had made my decision.
I would absolutely never tell this Little Witch that I was a human in my previous life.
If she ever found out I was a former human, I would wither away socially and mentally. If she knew, I surely wouldn't have the confidence to go on living.
To prevent that, I would take the secret of my previous life to my grave no matter what...!
"Talking flower, you suddenly started crying. Are you okay?"
"I’m... not crying. There is just... a little nectar... leaking from my eyes."
Yes, this was just nectar overflowing from my eyes.
For a plant, this was a perfectly normal, natural phenomenon.
——Ah.
The nectar that trickled down my cheek fell onto my chest.
Wait, my chest?
Come to think of it, I had been naked since becoming a young girl, but back when I was in my larger form, I had hidden my chest with vines.
Which meant...
Even if I was completely naked now, I had only been half-naked until recently.
I wondered if the Little Witch had forgotten what I looked like before.
Or was even my previous appearance "inappropriate" in her eyes...?
Yes, since I was too afraid to confirm it, I would just let the matter drop.
That was the best thing for my mental health.
"So talking flowers can produce nectar from their eyes, too. Actually, I’ve been curious about what that nectar tastes like for a while now."
The Little Witch glided down and landed on the ground.
Then, crouching down, she peered into my face.
"Can I lick it?"
"Eh!?"
Before I could even reply with a "no," she thrust out her finger.
She scooped up the nectar running down my cheek and licked it right off.
"What is this...? It's incredibly delicious..."
The Little Witch's red eyes were shimmering.
I could tell she was delighted.
After licking her finger thoroughly, she returned her gaze to my face.
Then, she firmly gripped my cheeks with both hands.
"W-Witch-san. W-What are you doing...?"
"Give me more nectar."
"Nectar?"
"Yes, this is an owner's order. Produce nectar for me."
To be told she wanted my nectar that much didn't feel half-bad.
Until now, I had given plenty of my nectar to my female friends in the Forest Circle.
Hachi-san the Lady Knight, Madam Butterfly, and the other Tefutefu had all been overjoyed by it.
Nectar was a proof of friendship.
So, it should be fine to give at least a little to this Little Witch, my new companion.
She did promise to water me, so I would give it to her as a token of my gratitude.
I would also give the Little Witch one more gift.
I cupped my hands together and let nectar drip from my mouth.
Then, I offered the pool of nectar to her.
The Little Witch brought her face close to my hands.
Wait, was she planning to lick it directly?
Instead of using her fingers??
The Little Witch licked the nectar from my palms.
After a single lick to confirm the taste, she opened her mouth wide and let out a "Mhm," urging me for more.
Did she mean for me to pour it in just like that?
I had almost never had the chance to give nectar to someone from such a close distance.
Perhaps because of that, I was starting to have a little fun.
Forgive me if my method was a bit crude.
In the mood of an older sister soothing her younger sister, I poured the nectar from my hands into the Little Witch's mouth.
A little bit spilled over, but please overlook that much.
How was it?
This was the Alraune's nectar, the star of my tea parties.
This was your first tea party, wasn't it, Little Witch?
Did it suit your fancy?
When I sought her impressions, the Little Witch replied while blinking her eyes in wonder.
"To think something this delicious existed in this world...!"
My, you are quite the flatterer, Little Witch.
When you praise me that much, I feel quite shy.
As I let out a refined "Ohohoho" laugh in my young girl form, her body began to be enveloped in light.
"My body is glowing!?"
The Little Witch started to panic.
There was no need to be so distraught; it was perfectly fine.
It was just a little Light Recovery Magic taking effect.
Yes, I had infused the nectar with recovery magic.
After all, the Little Witch had burns on her.
She was the one who, as the White Bird, had extinguished the fire on me with a bucket.
She might have been injured while she was saving me.
So, I thought I would heal her wounds.
It was my way of thanking her for the water.
"The burns... are healed!?"
It seemed she had noticed, too.
When I told her that my nectar also had a recovery effect, she looked back at me as if she were seeing something unbelievable.
It was a bit troubling for her to be so surprised.
Personally, I thought the fact that she could transform into a White Bird was much more astonishing.
"Hey, talking flower. I want... more nectar. Can I have some?"
The Little Witch stared into my face, practically begging.
No matter how much she asked, I wouldn't give her any more.
After all, I was still an undernourished sprout.
I didn't have enough water myself yet.
I made an "X" with my vines to signal my refusal.
Even so, she didn't give up and continued to hold my gaze.
Wait, her eyes looked a bit strange.
She was staring into my eyes with the gaze of a maiden in love.
And she was even drooling.
W-Wait a second.
It was embarrassing to be stared at like that.
Maybe I was still crying.
Was she staring so intently because she was aiming for the nectar overflowing from my eyes?
What should I do?
Was I going to be pestered for nectar by her every single day from now on?
I might have taught her a taste she should never have learned.
In the past, there were only two individuals who had excessively licked my nectar.
The nectar-crazed boy and Bear-papa.
I felt like both of them had become unable to make normal judgments; I wondered if the Little Witch would be okay.
Since she was a witch, she would probably be fine... right?
"Give me... more!"
My mouth was forcibly pried open by her hands.
Whaaaaaat!?
Hey, do you want nectar that badly?
Even after drinking that much, you're still not satisfied?
Or is it because you drank so much that you want even more?
Goodness, I just don't know!
Since I have no sense of taste, I don't know what it's like.
Someone please explain it so even a plant like me can understand!
Perhaps because my mouth was being forced open, nectar came drooping down.
The Little Witch quickly caught it with her finger and licked it up.
"It’s so sweet I feel like I'm going crazy... Talking flower, I want another refill."
I told you, no more!
I desperately signaled my refusal by making an "X" with my vines.
If any more nectar was taken from me, I would wither!
And Little Witch, you're being a bit strange.
You've become aggressive, like a completely different person, ever since you tasted it.
To think that my nectar could cause such a sudden change in her.
This was wrong. It wasn't normal.
Could it be that my nectar... was incredibly sweet?
That’s right, she was a girl, too.
She probably had a weakness for sweets.
Since she had surely been living modestly in the village to avoid being discovered as a witch, she probably hadn't had much experience eating sweet things.
Which meant that she might be genuinely moved by the taste of my nectar.
If that was the case, it couldn't be helped.
My nectar was so sweet it could transform a bear into a pervert Perorist.
So she was just surprised by the extreme sweetness and had lost herself a little.
Yes, let's go with that.
There was no way there were addictive components or anything like that in it.
As a Former Saint, I refused to believe that such a thing was being secreted from my body.
"I think... I'm going to fall in love with your nectar..."
The Little Witch started spouting strange things while her cheeks were flushed red.
Hey.
Seriously, isn't there something wrong with my nectar?
I felt like there should be a limit, no matter how sweet it was.
I thought something was off, but just what is going on with this nectar!