o( ^皿^)っ The Chaos Flower's Counterattack (2)
"..."
After she finished speaking, Frieren simply stared at the monster's enormous body, especially the giant flower bud that reeked of rot. No one could tell what she was thinking.
"??"
"A Chaos Flower subspecies?"
"What's that?"
Fern fought through the strange sensations coursing through her body and the weakness brought on by her dwindling mana, then hurriedly asked.
"It's a variant born from an ancient monster called a 'Chaos Flower' crossbreeding with a local carnivorous plant."
"Judging by the looks of it, it probably crossbred with a man-eating plant."
Frieren explained, her tone as if she were describing something from a book of magical creatures.
"It continuously releases magical pollen with a powerful hypnotic effect."
"The villagers from earlier, and us just now, were probably hypnotized by its pollen."
"And supposedly, any living thing it captures eventually becomes its food, having its mana drained until it dies?"
"Normally, we shouldn't wake up until we're dead..."
There was no fear in Frieren's voice, only a detached analysis of the monster's traits.
"I see?"
Fern froze for a moment, but quickly realized this wasn't the time to talk about that.
"!!"
"No, wait!"
"D-don't just keep talking, Lady Frieren! Please think of something!"
Fern's voice was now trembling noticeably. She could feel that she had almost no mana left, and if this continued, the consequences would be disastrous!
"Ah—"
"I-I'm about to have all my mana drained!"
"Lady Frieren!"
"Please think of something, anything!"
She moaned again as the vines inside her clothes squirmed with excessive "enthusiasm." The terrifying, tingling itch, mixed with a strange sense of stimulation, was almost enough to make her break down.
"..."
In stark contrast to Fern's panic and embarrassment, the vines around Frieren were also writhing and tightening,