In the spacious greenhouse, the rare plants stopped swaying in the rain, as if stunned by Lehende's words.
The room fell strangely quiet, with only the sound of raindrops falling.
"Ahem... Lehende, calm down," Leonard said, clearing his throat as he tried to get him to settle down.
Lehende had actually already calmed down. The moment those thoughtless words left his mouth, he had come back to his senses, and now he was just embarrassed.
But it was not really his fault. This Leonard had no lack of money, his magical strength was terrifyingly high, and even the magical botany knowledge Lehende was most proud of seemed inferior to Leonard's.
After all, Lehende certainly could not bring a dead plant back to life in an instant.
Faced with someone like that, Lehende simply could not think of anything that might tempt him. So in the instant his brain short-circuited, he suddenly remembered that he seemed to have an elegant and beautiful daughter.
But at this point, Lehende would rather die than admit that, for one brief moment just now, he had actually thought about trading his daughter for knowledge.
What a joke.
That was his beloved family, his precious daughter, more important than his own hands and feet. No amount of extra money could make that happen.
Even if his daughter had nearly turned into a little padded jacket that leaked air, if it meant giving away his precious plants, then that still...
Would not do.
"Ahem... I was joking just now," Lehende said with another dry cough. "Leonard, this thing you did. Is it magic? Can I learn it?"
The part about his daughter had been a joke, but wanting to learn it was absolutely real.
If he could master magic that brought plants back from death, then he, Lehende Delacour, would become the greatest magical botanist.
"Leonard, believe me. Even if you published this knowledge, it would be hard for you to gain the reputation it deserves. You'd be better off selling it to me. I guarantee I can give you a price that will satisfy you."
As the creator of this knowledge, Leonard certainly could gain some fame if he published a discovery that shocked the wizarding world.
But being born to a Muggle family, still so young, and lacking any established reputation in a professional field, even if Leonard made the knowledge public, it would be hard for him to gain fame on Lehende's level.
Lehende had already thought it through. Leonard lacked neither money nor knowledge, but he did lack opportunities to enter the upper circles of wizarding society.
And that was something Lehende could provide. More than that, he could wholeheartedly support Leonard and push him to even greater heights.
So Lehende was not lying to him. Selling the knowledge to him really would be the best choice.
The only problem was that all of this depended on such knowledge actually existing.
"Sorry." Leonard shook his head. "This so-called knowledge can't be sold to you."
The moment he heard that, Lehende's heart sank.
"Because this isn't really knowledge, or simply magical power. You can think of it as a talent," Leonard said.
At the root of it, reviving plants still depended on Leonard's own World Tree power. That ancient magic rain had merely become a vessel for the World Tree's strength.
That ancient magic, capable of restoring life to all things, did indeed have the effect of reviving plants, but it did not have the power to bring magical plants back from the dead on its own.
"So that's how it is. No wonder you were so confident that these fragile plants wouldn't die," Lehende said, pressing a hand to his forehead. "Sorry. I lost my composure."
"It's fine. That's understandable," Leonard said very considerately. "Though whether Fleur will understand is another matter."
As he spoke, Leonard secretly glanced at the greenhouse door. Even through the door, he could feel that Fleur was probably furious by now.
In the end, Lehende managed to coax his daughter into calming down with several promises that were not too outrageous.
Among them were quite a few wizarding beauty products that Leonard had never even heard of.
Though his face was full of pain at the thought, once he saw those rare plants he had been helpless to save blooming with life again, excitement completely took over Lehende's emotions.
It was just a pity that the plants' revival had nothing to do with him. Otherwise, he could have written more than a dozen papers about it.
Leonard and Claudia stayed in France for several days, and during that time Lehende took them around to quite a few sights.
During those days, Leonard also met Newt Scamander and his student.
One day after lunch, the elderly but bright-eyed Newt Scamander came to visit with his student.
"Long time no see, Mr. Delacour."
Newt Scamander seemed a little socially awkward, and when he saw Leonard there unexpectedly, he looked somewhat uncomfortable.
This was supposed to be one of Dumbledore's juniors, someone said to have left Hogwarts from Hufflepuff and to be one of Dumbledore's prized students...
But Newt Scamander looked a whole generation older than Dumbledore.
There was not much to say about this expert in Magical Creatures. Leonard was not familiar with him. But Leonard had met his student before.
"This is my student, Rondo." Newt patted the young man beside him.
Rondo was that same young man who had once run around with smugglers, only for the entire caravan to be blown apart by Leonard. But Rondo did not recognize Leonard.
Leonard had also experimented on him with an alternative form of plant symbiosis enhancement. The experiment had been very successful, and the young man named Rondo had gained considerable enhancement. After that, Leonard carried out the same strengthened symbiosis on many werewolves.
Unlike the werewolves, the werewolves trusted Leonard deeply, so they were very positive about the symbiosis.
Rondo was different. In his eyes, the person Leonard had disguised himself as was a complete monster. Calling him a ruthless killer did not even begin to cover it.
So after obtaining that symbiotic power, Rondo could barely eat or sleep in peace, terrified that one morning he would wake up and find himself turned into a plant-man.
And after feeling the abilities and power of that symbiotic plant, Rondo became even more worried. He feared that if he did turn into a plant-man, it would be the kind of monster with terrifying predatory abilities.
So after becoming Newt Scamander's student, he begged this highly respected old man to help him find an expert in plants to see whether the symbiotic plant inside him could be dealt with.
By sheer coincidence, the expert Newt Scamander found was Lehende.
"Welcome, Mr. Scamander." Lehende and Newt were not particularly close. They had simply had some contact before as outstanding figures in their respective fields.
"This is Leonard, my friend. He's also made some achievements in the field of magical plants," Lehende said as he introduced Leonard to Newt.
Newt gave Leonard a surprised look. Leonard's age was obvious, after all. Even though his height made him look like an adult, the youthful look on his face still gave it away.
What kind of professional accomplishment could someone that young possibly have? At his age, he probably had not even graduated yet.