"From the graveyard," Corona stated matter-of-factly, now switching full on into her interrogative mode. "You do have permission to use the body, right? From both the gravekeeper and the family this old man belongs to?" She squinted her eyes.

Corona continued examining Nettle as she resumed her work. The flower growing on the corpse's spine had suddenly disappeared, and it seemed to be the cue for Nettle to start using her knife to open up said corpse at where the flower once grew.

She was no stranger to the concept of surgery. She had read quite the number of books pertaining to the subject, though she never actually performed it herself. And if she were to, she would not use such a primitive tool to do it. High precision lasers provided by her familiar would be far safer, cleaner, and easier to use.

Once again, she cringed at Nettle's work, though she had to admit, seeing the inside of a human body certainly piqued her interest, even if that human body was a corpse. It had not decomposed terribly, meaning it hadn't been that long since the man passed on to the next world.

All the more reason to suspect Nettle's method of obtaining him.

"He's still quite fresh," she remarked. "How long has it been since he died?" she asked, crossing her arms under her chest. "Also, such a method of planting would not be feasible for mass production. I suggest you found a better growth medium than a human corpse."

[@A Lowly Wretch]