[I told you, hostie. You have the manual in you. That was very good. You made the General terrified of you.]

Anna didn’t feel like she did a good job.

She felt sick, exhausted, and hungry for a cheeseburger.

The day had barely gone by and she wanted to sleep. Each time she met Leon, it was like he sucked out her life force. Seeing as she healed him, she wasn’t surprised.

What surprised her was the mention of Drax.

Everything she had said about her spores meeting his venom was made up. She didn’t even know he was venomous to begin with.

She headed back to her chambers to rest before continuing her day.

Drax. She decided to find out more about him, especially his location. She needed to see him and ask him some questions.

If someone met with Drax and obtained his poison, Anna needed to find that person. And get some poison for herself too. Seeing as it was the only thing that got to Leon’s thick skull.

The closer Anna got to her room, the more a certain sweet smell in the air got stronger. Her mouth watered, and deep inside her heart, hope soared.

She sprinted to her chambers and threw the door open.

The sight that met her eyes was equal parts horror and fantasy.

Vines.

Green vines with massive ridged leaves. Inside, the sweet scent was the strongest.

It was easy to spot their source.

Hanging from the vines, all over the walls, the floors, and even creeping on her bed, were strawberries.

Hundreds of them.

"Oh my goodness!" Anna screamed, covering her mouth with both hands. Her eyes went wider than the moon as she took cautious steps into her room. "System...are you seeing this?!"

[I do not have a physical form for—]

Anna didn’t let it finish. She ran up to the closest vine and plucked one strawberry. "It’s real!" She exclaimed, jumping around, kicking her feet and pumping her fists into the air. She held the strawberry up like it was a prized gem up for examination.

The fruit was bright red, and it looked about to burst with juice. Anna hadn’t seen such large and juicy looking strawberries before.

Her mood instantly lifted.

She bit into the fruit, and for two seconds there was silence. Then a soft sob spilled out of her.

"It’s fucking delicious," she muttered through tears, stuffing the rest of the strawberry into her mouth.

[Hostie, you didn’t wash it.]

Anna ignored the system. She plucked as many fruits as she could fit into her hands, munching on them, bright red juice spilling down her lips and chin. She walked to her bed, ate every single strawberry on it, cleared the vines before settling onto the soft mattress and eating more strawberries.

As she ate, she cried. All the previous exhaustion and stress melted away, and all she knew was that everything was going to be okay again.

She had strawberries.

They finally grew, and boy did they blossom.

Thirty minutes later, Anna’s stomach had tripled in size and her face tinted green.

"System..." she groaned, rubbing her swollen belly. "I think I’m gonna a have a strawberry baby."

The System sighed. [Hostie, you shouldn’t have eaten so many. You’ll get sick! There’s more than enough seeds to last you years.]

Anna smiled sadly, holding up a half eaten strawberry. "So you know, my mom really loved strawberries. So much that she almost named me Berry."

The System was quiet, but Anna knew it was listening.

"My nursery was all shades of strawberry pink. I’m sure if you check my apartment back home, you’ll see some of my baby clothes. I don’t know how I have them, but yeah. Mom loved these."

[I’m sorry,]

Anna shook her head. "It’s okay. She died when I was four, so I didn’t know her that much. I can’t even..." Anna trailed off, her throat constricting with unshed tears. "I can’t even remember what she looked like. Or my dad. I can’t remember their faces again and...and now I’m just...I’m eating for her too. She would have loved to see this place right now. More strawberries than you can eat? Fuck. She would have really loved this. And now she’s—"

She held the strawberry to her chest, painful sobs filling the air. Curled in on herself, she cried her heart. Even though her stomach hurt and felt like it was about to burst, the pain in her heart overshadowed it.

"And Orchid, she has...she has a mom and she...and she...fuck!"

[Take it easy, hostie. Cry if you want, eat more strawberries. Don’t—]

"Why are you forcing me to be someone I’m not?!" Anna sprang upright, swinging her arm at the empty air. "When is it going to be over?! You have me t-threatening to...to kill people! Do you think it’s easy to kill a person?!"

[I haven’t asked you to kill anyone.]

"Yeah! But you’ve implied it!"

[Host, if you don’t like the arrangement, I can always take you back to your old world.]

Anna’s jaw dropped.

"You’re...you’re really fucking heartless, you know that right?"

[I’m an AI, host. I don’t have emotions. You keep expecting it from me but I’m unable to feel anything. All I do is what I was created to do.]

Anna hastily wiped her eyes and got to her feet. "How long till the goal change? Talking to you about anything else is fucking pointless."

[You still need to get more than a million points.]

Anna’s lower lip trembled and she stumbled back into her bed. A strawberry vine crept slowly over her bed and curled around her palm. She had the twisted feeling that it was consoling her.

"It’s just a plant. I’m going mad." Anna scoffed.

Yet, she lifted the vine up. It slowly curled around her arm. Out of curiosity, she turned her spores a light yellow.

The vine bloomed. Its leaves broadened and turned a deep, lush green. Strawberry flowers popped out, white and fragrant, and right before Anna’s eyes, they turned. First into tiny white strawberries, then got bigger and bigger and bigger till they became as big as her fist. The vine weighed down on her, and she had to uncurl it, setting it aside carefully.

"How do I make sure it stops growing?"

[You can use your spores. Or trim the vines. These seeds are a special breed that react only to you.]

"What if I want to plant them in the garden?"

[You’re not mandated to do that. Yet.]

Anna didn’t ask what the "yet" meant.

She plucked one of the giant strawberries. "Thanks," she muttered.

The System heard it. [You should check the rest of your rewards.]

"I’ll do that—"

"Your highness!" A panicked voice cut through the air, followed by the door thrown open and frantic footsteps rushing in. "Your highness! Trouble in—"

Anna turned to see Bella. The servant girl stood frozen, her eyes scanning the room, filled with surprise and mild fear.

"Your highness?" She slowly turned to Anna. Her eyes widened and her fear increased. Before Anna could say a word to her, she screamed.

"That’s enough!" Anna commanded, her tone firm.

Bella clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide and far from calm.

Anna sighed softly. "Come here."

She didn’t move. Not until Anna repeated herself.

"I’m so sorry your highness! I should have knocked before—"

Anna held the strawberry out. "Take it."

Bella shrunk back as if Anna had pushed her. "No!" She screamed.

Anna saw the fear in Bella’s eyes. She lowered her hand.

If I was having a normal day at work and someone came up to me with nutrient pills, I also won’t take it. She’s not used to this...I guess.

So Anna took a bite of the berry to show it was harmless. Bella looked like she was about to faint.

"What is it?" Anna asked.

"It’s...it’s the Council. They just issued an arrest for you!"

"They what?"

"It’s the army. They protested in front of the council building and...and they threatened to overthrow the king and queen! They said you...that you..."

"Out with it!"

"That you wanted to kill the General! They want you punished! Oh, your highness, what are we going to do?!" Bella shifted her weight around, worry making her unable to stand still.

Anna took the last bite of the strawberry and rose to her feet.

"They want to arrest me?" She chuckled.

It was absurd to her, how easily things went awry in this world.

But she also realized, the gap was showing a lot.

She turned to Bella. "Has this sort of thing ever happened before?"

Bella shook her head frantically. "N-no, your highness,"

Anna nodded. "I guess I must have become too kind now, right?"

Bella opened and closed her mouth, no words coming out.

But that was all the confirmation Anna needed.

Things had changed.

Everyone was beginning to see it.

With no clear understanding of how to be "Princess Orchid," Anna had made a lot of mistakes. And now those mistakes were backfiring.

The image of Princess Orchid came to Anna’s mind. She visualized the cold but beautiful Princess, met with an arrest warrant.

The image made Anna laugh.

They’ll be dead before they touch her.

Do they think I won’t do anything? Is that why? Is this because I spared that solider this morning?

Ah, that must be why.