Morning arrived. I woke up inside my bud and began to reflect on the events of the previous night.
I had discovered the Hero's Grave in the heart of the Forest Spirit Lady Dryades' sanctuary. While I was dying to know the story behind it, Lady Dryades hadn't been open to further questioning. No matter what I asked, she simply brushed it off.
Since I didn't have much of a choice, I decided to put the matter of the grave on hold. I would just have to look for another opportunity to investigate later.
Now then, it was time to get up.
When I opened my bud, I found a massive spread of food laid out before me for some reason. There was dried meat, smoked fish, vegetables, and even loaves of bread. It looked exactly like the kind of stock one would find in a shop in a human town.
"How... did you... get all this?"
"The fairies procured it for us. They are quite skilled at covert operations," Lady Dryades explained, offering words of gratitude to the fairies fluttering through the air.
However, a thought crossed my mind. This was definitely food they had just helped themselves to from a town during the night, wasn't it? After all, I had never heard of fairies actually purchasing things in human settlements. The bread was also quite clearly processed by human hands.
But wait, I had to stop myself. It wasn't right to jump to conclusions and be so suspicious. Yes, I was sure the fairies had acquired all of this through perfectly legitimate channels. I shouldn't let a guilty conscience stop me from eating. The Little Witch’s health was at stake, after all. If I worried about every little detail, we would never survive together.
I decided to act as if I hadn't noticed a thing regarding the food's origins.
"I shall give all of this food to you. With this, the witch should be able to live comfortably in the forest."
"Thank... you... very much."
With this much food, we wouldn't have to struggle for a while. The Little Witch’s nutrition problem was solved for the time being! To think things would go this well just by meeting Lady Dryades—I had nothing but gratitude for her.
However, Lady Dryades then turned a stern gaze toward me.
"I have cured her illness and provided food. However, I still do not recommend that you live in this forest with that girl. It is best for a child of man to live in a town."
"But... this child... is a witch."
"There are many witches who live among humans. If she dislikes that, there is also the option of sending her to the Witch's Village. At the very least, the forest is no place for a person to live. Living in a town would be the best way for this girl to find happiness."
The Little Witch would be happier living in a town. Those words pierced deep into my heart.
"Furthermore, you now owe me a favor. Therefore, when the time comes, I expect you to work for me."
"What... should I... do?"
"It is a simple matter. I am counting on your strength and wish for you to serve as a bodyguard. When an external enemy approaches the East Forest, you will fight in my stead."
A Forest Bodyguard, huh? If someone appeared to attack the forest where the Little Witch and I lived, they would be our enemy regardless. I did have a few lingering concerns about Lady Dryades—like that Hero's Grave she refused to talk about—but I felt that even without her request, I would end up fighting if an enemy threatened the forest.
Since the result would be the same either way, I didn't see any problem with accepting the position. I had done something similar as the Lord of the Forest back in my former home, so it shouldn't be an issue.
"I... understand."
"I am counting on you, Alraune."
It was a fair price for saving the Little Witch. I would do my absolute best as a Forest Bodyguard! Though many things weighed on my mind, it was a small price to pay for her health.
I used a vine to gently stroke the head of the Little Witch, who was now sleeping peacefully with her fever broken. I was her older sister, after all. For the sake of her peace and quiet, I would fight any opponent.
Having officially become a Forest Bodyguard, our group departed from Lady Dryades' Sanctuary. Carried by the Treant, the Little Witch, the Fairy-san, and I made our way back to our original location.
Perhaps because we had left the sanctuary, I couldn't stop thinking about that Hero's Grave. I recalled the face of my childhood friend Hero-sama, who had once been my fiancé.
No, it couldn't be him. There was no way my Hero-sama was dead. He was definitely still alive. He was likely living in the Royal Capital even now, married to that loathsome shitty junior who was once an apprentice saint. That was what the Nectar-crazed Boy had told me.
In that case, that grave likely belonged to the Previous Hero. I recalled a story my grandfather had told me about a certain hero from long before I was born. Roughly fifty years ago, there was a hero who was said to have died fighting the Demon King's Army. That must be who the grave was for.
That meant the Previous Hero might have lost his life in this very forest. But I couldn't fathom why a hero would die in the dwelling of a Forest Spirit. I didn't think Lady Dryades and the Former Hero had actually fought, but even if she was a Forest Spirit, she wasn't human. If the Hero had viewed her as a monster, it was possible they had clashed.
If that were the case, Lady Dryades would be the one who defeated him. I wondered if a Forest Spirit was really strong enough to kill a Hero. I just didn't know.
The Little Witch had warned me not to trust the fairy Kiri. By that same logic, the same could be said for the Forest Spirit Lady Dryades. We were all still practically strangers. I lacked the information needed to truly trust them.
For the sake of a peaceful life for me and the Little Witch, I had to learn more about the inhabitants of this forest. And where would I get that information? There was only one source: the Fairy-san!
That said, I didn't expect the Fairy-san to be honest out of the goodness of her heart. I just had to negotiate in a way that forced her to tell the truth! She clearly wanted nectar, so if I offered an exchange of nectar for information, she might spill everything.
With this brilliant idea in mind, we returned to the area with the large rock where we had started. We didn't have a house yet, so this was home for the Little Witch and me. It was little more than a campground for now.
I had the Treant lower me to the ground. Then, she walked slowly back into the depths of the forest. This Treant was my subordinate, my "Withered Tree Younger Sister." She had surely gone to look for food for the Little Witch and rare plants for me, just as I had ordered. As your older sister, I have high expectations for your foraging results!
Having seen off my subordinate, I turned my attention to the Fairy-san. She had been a big help this time, so I decided to give her some nectar as promised. I had told her I would give her some if she led me to the East Forest, but I hadn't actually handed it over yet.
Once the Fairy-san licked the nectar and was thoroughly intoxicated by its sweetness, I would propose the information trade. It was a perfect plan!
"Fairy-san... I'll give you... my nectar... as promised."
"That's right! I totally missed my chance to get it!"
The Fairy-san flew right up to my face. She stared into my eyes, and I noticed her starting to drool.
"Alraune! The promised nectar, hurry up and give it to me!"
"Don't... rush me."
I bit into a vine and coated it with nectar. Then, with a "Here you go," I held out the nectar-covered vine. The Fairy-san began to lick it off with terrifying intensity.
"This sweetness is so rich my brain feels like it’s melting... Alraune's nectar is the absolute best!"
After thoroughly savoring every drop on the vine, she stared back at my face.
"It's not enough! I want seconds!"
"No more... until tomorrow."
"There's no way I can wait that long! If that's how it's going to be...!"
A look of grim resolve crossed the Fairy-san's face. Even if she looked at me like that, I wasn't going to give her any more today. Giving too much was dangerous, and I didn't have much moisture left myself.
The moment I opened my mouth to say "No," a shocking event occurred.
The fairy lunged forward with a sudden, spring-like burst of speed. Unbelievably, she dove headfirst into my open mouth! Unable to react, I ended up clamping my mouth shut around her.
"Yay! It's all-you-can-eat nectar in here!" I heard her voice muffled from inside.
Eeeeeeeh!? I'm holding a fairy in my mouth!
She was tucked perfectly inside from her head down to her waist. From the outside, her lower half was just kicking and sticking out of my mouth. Just how starved for my nectar was she?!
I wondered if it was because fairies were so small, but she seemed to become a nectar-crazed "perorist" much faster than anyone else I'd met. I never could have imagined she would actually charge into my nectar-filled mouth.
But then, a fear far greater than the shock of a mouthful of fairy washed over me.
My mouth served the role of the stigma for me as a flower. The stigma is the part of the pistil meant to receive pollen for pollination. In other words, if pollen from a stamen entered my mouth, I would end up being pollinated just like the other day.
Which meant... if there happened to be any stamen pollen on the Fairy-san's body, I would be forced into pollination.
The thing wriggling around inside my mouth was a Forest Fairy. There was a very high chance that while flying through the woods, she had touched other flowers and gotten pollen all over herself.
Th-that's... Nooooooo!!
It was already too late. Even though I had finally been reborn as a young girl, I was about to lose my purity again...
With my eyes rolling back into my head, I continued to hold the Fairy-san in my mouth. Someone, please tell me this is a lie. I might have just been defiled by a fairy.
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Next time: Pollinating While Still a Sprout is a Problem.