Reincarnated as the mother of an otome game's villainess?!

Chapter 7. Sowing the seeds of love.

When Victor returned, he caught me scratching the "lower jaw" of his monster plant. Sophie was right behind me, being equal parts curious and scared, while Carmila, Iridia and Nora kept a safe distance, not entirely sure how to react or what to think of the situation. The Doctor was looking somewhere else, and dear Violett had fallen asleep with all of our previous walking.

—This is certainly unusual —Victor said— I haven't seen anyone so fearless as to touch a monster plant that they have just met.

—Ah, well, you see...

In the game, there was a massive greenhouse next to the academy, commissioned to be built by Victor himself. Betsy was the center piece of that amazing garden, and she had grown up to the size of a tree. And crazy as it might sound, under her shadow was a hotspot for couples to enjoy their meals or just spend time together between classes. There was even a pretty important event between the protagonist and her love interest right there, so iconic that it was featured on the backside of the game's box. That's how I knew Betsy was completely harmless, but I certainly couldn't tell him that.

—I thought she was cute —was the only thing that came to my mind. I wasn't completely lying.

—Ah, haha, I see —Victor said, fooled by me acting as an airhead.

He had brought back a kettle, as well as a tray with some biscuits. The kettle was imbued with fire magic, so it could generate heat without any external source. The biscuits were apparently bought in a nearby store, and I suspect they were meant for himself, but it would have been disrespectful not to grab even one. They were pretty tasty, so I couldn't help but to grab a few more.

—So, you were going to tell us about your business?

—Of course, Madame —Victor said—, first of all, allow me to mention that my shop is the only monster plant nursery in Byzandria. Many people think of them as just monsters or pest, but the neighboring countries to the north and west have been taming and training not only them, but also other kinds of monsters for their benefit.

I smiled, he was talking with a confidence that he had been lacking before. That was the teacher that I had seen in the game.

—Fascinating. So it is like our domesticated Kelpies and other water beast, right? —I said.

—Exactly. But monster plants are way more versatile, some could throw poisonous needles and be set as a defense mechanism, others produced an alluring aroma, or a very disgusting one. Some could induce sleeping or paralyzing powder, as well as pheromones of all kinds. There are also some that can produce antidotes and medicine. And almost all of them produce fruit at some point.

He kept going on about the different types and their applications. I was really interested in one that could communicate through its vines, working as a vigilance system and alerting their owner of any intruder. Maybe with a bit of selective breeding, something that could resemble telephone lines could be made. When I realized, we had been talking for almost half an hour, and I realized we had gone to that place following Maxwell, and he had barely spoken during all of our stay.

—I-I'm sorry for monopolizing your friend, I'm sure you had more important things to discuss with him.

—No, don't worry. I just wanted to greet Victor and see how he was doing —the Doctor replied—, well, to be honest, I also thought he could help you with your greenhouse.

—Oh, are you building a greenhouse, madame?

—Something like that, it belonged to my late husband, but it was left on disrepair for a long time. I want to be able to work on it alongside Violett.