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Chapter 18

Chapter 18

I decided to test what the Clone skill could actually do.

Just as I’d suspected, it didn’t let me make a second version of myself or anything like that. My body, as a magical creature, was too complex to fully duplicate.

(So this Clone skill isn’t about copying me, it’s more like… splitting my consciousness?)

What it actually allowed was for me to divide my awareness and send it into parts I had separated from myself, or into plants I’d created through diversification. The degree of awareness I transferred could be adjusted too, ranging from full sensory perception to a faint connection that just alerted me with a subtle sensation if something was touched.

If the plant had mobility, I could even move it around freely. This skill, I realized, had a lot of potential. With some experimentation, it might be like gaining extra limbs.

(What I really want to try is… if I grow another mandragora that can move, could it act like my eyes?)

Of course, I wasn’t planning to grow a mandragora that could kill humans here and now, but if I could grow a version of myself as a clone, I might be able to use it like a remote camera.

This would take time to test out, carefully, without bothering anyone. For now, the village fence reinforcement was done. I left a thin thread of my awareness in the vines so I’d be notified if they caught anything. Now I’d know the moment a monster showed up.

(Any plant I grow can act as an extension of me now. Super useful skill. For now, beast defenses seem covered. Let’s head back to the village.)

As I returned toward the village, I spotted Daon, Noel, and Ellie standing together in what looked like the central plaza. Noel noticed me first and ran over, with Ellie chasing close behind.

「Witch-sama! Welcome back!」

「Witch-sama! The whole village is covered in flowers now, it’s so pretty!」

The two of them stood side by side, looking up at me. I patted both their heads. …They’re about the same size as goblins, but unlike goblins, human children are harmless and adorable. I still can’t stand goblins.

「Witch-sama, the flowers growing on the fence… they’re beautiful, but they’ve got thorns, right? There aren’t any facing inward, but outside, there’s a ton.」

(Exactly. So don’t touch them, they’ll hurt you.)

「Got it. We’ll stay away from them. So they’re to protect the village from beasts, right?」

When I held up my fingers in an X shape to signal 「don’t touch」 Noel nodded and responded. He’s so quick to understand, it really helps. Ellie watched this exchange with curiosity, tilting her head.

「Noel, how come you always understand what Witch-sama’s trying to say?」

「If you watch her closely, it’s easy. Witch-sama is really kind, smart, and always acting for someone else’s sake, so it’s just a matter of reading her intentions. It’s not hard.」

That… might be a pretty big misunderstanding. I’m not sure what kind of 「Flower Witch」 image exists in Noel’s mind, but it’s clearly a lot more grand than the reality. There’s quite a gap between how I see myself and how he sees me.

Still, it’s convenient that he thinks so well of me. Though sometimes, it feels like I’m deceiving him, and I can’t help but feel a little guilty.

(I’m sorry I’m just a mandragora inside…)

I’ll try my best to be a good mandragora, one that helps humans. Not just as potion ingredients, either. I’d really rather not end up pickled or boiled.

「Witch-sama, you’re going to live at the watermill, right? Can I come visit you there?」

(A visitor, huh… That could help reinforce the 「kind witch」 image, right? Sure, I’d love for you to come.)

I nodded as I thought that. Making my home a fun place for kids to visit might be a good idea. Maybe I’ll grow a swing from vines. Surround it with pretty flowers, and Ellie will probably come by all the time.

(And I’ll need some fruits and veggies they can snack on… Meat would be ideal, though.)

Noel’s growing, so I want him to eat plenty of protein. But I can only grow plants, I can’t create meat.

(Well, not exactly true… There are plant-based monsters that grow meat…)

If it’s a plant-type monster, I can absorb it and reproduce it through my diversification skill. One such monster is the Barometz, a plant that grows massive fruit—each containing a sheep inside, like a fairy tale. Split the fruit open and out pops livestock, like something from a storybook.

(Though… I’ve seen it produce more than just sheep. I’ve seen deer… even goblins…)

The description says 「contains sheep」 but the status explanation is written from a human perspective. In truth, the Barometz seems to absorb whatever herbivore first tried to harvest it, then reconstructs that creature inside its fruit.

Then it uses the resulting meat to lure in carnivorous monsters, gets eaten, and spreads its seeds through the predator’s body to new locations. That’s its survival strategy. …Yeah, definitely not something I can feed to humans. Why are plant monsters always so scary? Unlike me, they’re just awful.

「When you visit a witch’s house, you should bring a gift.」

「Okay! Mama said to bring eggs!」

「…Well, that’s fine then.」

Noel looked slightly displeased about Ellie visiting. I wondered why, then remembered. He’s a beastkin. He’s probably afraid of being disliked or discriminated against.

Ellie, being a child, didn’t seem to care about the difference in species. But Noel’s probably scared of being hated.

I wish he didn’t have to be so afraid. I patted both of their heads again.

(It’d be nice if you two stayed close. If Ellie grows up with Noel, maybe she’ll become someone who doesn’t discriminate against beastkin.)

When I patted them, both smiled a little shyly. Then Ellie’s stomach let out a small grumble, and she quickly held her belly in embarrassment. I guess she was hungry.

「Hehe… I’m hungry. Witch-sama, your white flower petals make fruits and veggies grow really well, right? Daon-ojisan told me. There’s a fruit I’ve always wanted to try… Do you think it could grow?」

「If you don’t have the seeds, then I can’t grow it.」

「Oh… then I guess not…」

Seeing Ellie look so downcast, I tilted my head, asking what kind of fruit she meant. It was from a fairy tale, a fruit that grows in areas rich in magic, like the demon realm.

A low bush that produces sparkling, colorful fruits, sweet like candy and shaped like little sugar drops. It’s called the 「Fairy Candy Tree」.

(I absorbed that one before, I can make it!)

I smiled at Ellie and beckoned her toward her house. I grew a Fairy Candy Tree beside it. When she saw it, she jumped for joy.

「Waaah…! It’s really the fairy candy! Thank you, Witch-sama…!」

That event marked the beginning of villagers coming to me with requests for various plants. In return, they began sending me food and useful tools to the watermill.

It seems I’ve been completely accepted by the village, and that makes me really happy.

――Unaware that rumors would soon spread of a village under the rule of a witch who commands plants.