Chapter 114: Rafflesia: Children, Watch Me Go All-In on the Astral Express
"Don't go..."
The thought, desperate and primal, echoed in the core of the Rafflesia's being. The compressed food had filled her to the absolute brim; she couldn't manage another single bite.
She didn't understand why these strange, bipedal creatures were feeding her, only that she had to follow them. This was the first time in her existence she had ever felt so full—her massive main body was practically groaning, stretched taut from the sheer bliss of overeating. It was a sensation of pure, unadulterated contentment.
There was just one problem: her main body was far too large to be moved.
What could she do?
The mimic-girl, her small, deceptive avatar, spun around in an anxious tizzy. She could only trail the group, her steps growing more frantic as the distance between them increased. But her range of movement had its limits. She hit an invisible wall, a tether she could not break. Unable to take another step forward, she could only watch them walk away, her face a mask of rising panic as she tried desperately to get their attention.
"Hey, hey, hold on. Look at her. What's going on?" Stelle stopped in her tracks, turning to point back at the distressed figure.
"Do you even need to ask?" Rekka strolled back with his hands casually tucked in his pockets. "She's connected to the main body. There's a limit to how far this little lure can run. This must be her maximum range."
Seeing the girl look as if she were about to burst into tears from sheer anxiety, March 7th's heart softened.
"We can't just leave her here," she said, a touch of pity in her voice. "We fed her so many crackers just now. She probably sees us as her new long-term meal ticket."
"Well, we're already raising one Little Blue Light, what's one more..." March mused, trailing off.
"Is there any way to do something about that stench?" Rekka asked, looking at the Rafflesia's true form.
The massive flower hesitated for a moment, then nodded decisively. Her petals clamped shut, and with a sickening squelch, she forcibly discarded the very parts of herself that secreted the foul, rotting odor. A shower of viscous green sap splattered onto the ground.
"Huh? I didn't mean for you to go that far..." Rekka was momentarily stunned by her extreme measures.
He had only meant for her to close her petals and contain the smell, not perform emergency surgery on herself. Wasn't this rate of evolution a little too decisive?
The Rafflesia seemed to think he was still unsatisfied. The petals of her main body trembled, as if she were debating what else she could sever to please him. In a place like this, after all, you simply wouldn't survive if your evolution wasn't aggressive enough. This was her all-in bet.
With a sigh, Rekka produced a small, shimmering cube. After the pitiful, self-mutilated main body of the Rafflesia was shrunk down by the device, it became a delicate, flower-like accessory, which he then gently placed in the mimic-girl's hair like a pin.
"There. Now you can go, right?" Rekka clapped his hands together, dusting them off. "Main body carried with you, range of movement infinitely expanded. Problem solved."
The girl blinked, then tentatively took a step forward.
No resistance.
She took another.
Still nothing.
"Ah—ah—"
A short, sharp cry of pure surprise escaped her lips. She began to spin in place, a dizzying whirl of joy. She then dashed out a few meters before sprinting back, then shot out again, then returned, repeatedly testing the wonderful, terrifying new reality that she was truly, finally free.
"Is she..." March 7th watched the mimic-girl, who was now behaving like an over-excited puppy. "Is she short-circuiting from happiness?"
"Maybe," Stelle replied with a smile. "But being able to move freely really does seem to make her happy."
The girl finally stopped her frantic testing and ran up to Rekka, her movements a strange mix of fear and desire. She wanted to be near him, yet she was terrified of him. He was strong, and following him meant safety, but she also feared that he could snuff out her existence in an instant.
"Ang... ang..." she stammered, trying to communicate.
Rekka listened, his head tilted. "So that's how it is." He turned to the others. "She's a parasitic plant. She intends to 'parasitize' us for the rest of her life." He paused. "But she says it won't be for nothing. She'll produce nectar for us every once in a while as payment."
"...Why do I have a strange feeling about this?" March 7th muttered.
"Brave of her to offer," Stelle added, looking thoughtful.
"This feels like we're raising livestock," March continued, a little unsettled. "It seems a bit much."
"Well... she's doing it voluntarily," Rekka reasoned. "As long as we don't actually treat her like livestock, it should be fine. She'll probably develop more over time; she's clearly not a creature that runs on pure instinct."
"Raising her as livestock is definitely out. That would be heartless," Stelle said, scratching the back of her head as she watched the mimic-girl, who had resumed spinning happily in place. "But since she's going to be hanging out with us from now on, she needs a name, right?"
"Let's head back and let the Conductor name her," Rekka decided. "Another buddy for Pom-Pom."
"You really are the picture of benevolence and righteousness," March quipped dryly.
A moment later, March pulled out her phone.
[March 7th: We found a carnivorous plant that mimics things to trick its prey. But we tamed her and now she's super well-behaved!]
[Pom-Pom:???]
[Pom-Pom: What exactly did you all pick up on Onnivak, pom!]
[March 7th: Trailblaze!]
[Pom-Pom:...]
"The Conductor agreed!" March put away her device and announced happily.
Rekka nodded and turned to look at the mimic-girl. "Alright, the Conductor has agreed to take you in. Once we get back to the Express, we'll let Pom-Pom give you a name."
The mimic-girl tilted her head, the flower-pin in her hair bobbing. She clearly didn't understand what a "name" was.
"It's what we use when we call you," Stelle explained gently from the side. "For example, I'm called Stelle, she's called March 7th, and he's called Rekka."
The mimic-girl thought for a moment, her expression blank. Then she tilted her head again.
She didn't get it.
After returning to the camp, Rozaliya and Liliya stared at the new girl, who was about the same height as them, and fell into deep thought.
"This is a plant?"
"There's basically no difference from a human, is there?"
"Her body tissue should be composed of plant cells, which means..."
"Can she perform photosynthesis?"
"No, she's a parasitic plant. She wouldn't have chlorophyll."
Everyone nimbly cleaned up the camp. Rekka packed the last of the trash into a disposal bag and stomped out the embers of the campfire. The entire time, the girl followed him like a shadow—if he went left, she went left; if he went right, she went right. She was exceptionally clingy.
Back on the Astral Express, Pom-Pom's ears perked up the moment the Conductor learned there was a new passenger to name.
"Look, a new passenger, pom!"
"Hoo-hoo, you must listen to the Conductor and not eat random things, pom," Pom-Pom instructed the new arrival sternly, before curiously tasting the nectar she offered. Truth be told, if you pinched your nose to block the faint, lingering smell, the taste was actually quite good.
"So, how did your Trailblaze mission go?" Himeko asked, sipping her coffee as the team gathered.
"We placed over thirty Space Anchors on one of the islands. The ecology there is incredibly wild," Dan Heng reported, his tone measured. ", the plants on that world evolve with extreme aggression. If it benefits their survival, they won't hesitate to discard parts of their own bodies."
"Discard their own bodies?" Himeko repeated, her brow furrowing slightly.
Dan Heng nodded, his gaze falling on the mimic-girl, who was currently hiding behind Rekka's legs and peeking out curiously at everyone.
"Previously, she would emit a scent of rot to attract prey for feeding," he explained. "She has now severed the part of her body used for that purpose, simply because Rekka asked if she could tone down the stench."
"Such a decisive evolution?" Himeko murmured, clearly impressed.
"All the creatures there are like that," Dan Heng confirmed with another solemn nod. "If you aren't aggressive, you don't survive."
"By the way," March chimed in, "maybe we should remodel one of the spare rooms into a greenhouse. That way, if we have other non-human passengers like this in the future, we'll have a place to properly take care of them."
"...That's a reasonable idea," Himeko agreed, a thoughtful smile gracing her lips.
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