“Lately, Hana hasn’t been around much. Do you know what she’s up to?”
One of the office employees asked Haru. As she said, Hana had been MIA lately. Normally, Hana’s routine was chilling in her room, watching TV, studying, or streaming. But recently, catching a glimpse of her had become rare.
“She’s been spending a lot of time in the vegetable garden. Maybe it’s because she has some plant-related ability or something.”
“The vegetable garden? Isn’t it dangerous for her to be there alone?”
There was something slightly unsettling about Hana being alone in the garden. She’s a troublemaker, after all. If left alone, she’s the type to cause a major accident, so she needed some supervision.
“Ah, well, the garden is behind the building, and the research institute is fenced off, so there’s no way she’d get lost. The institute building is right there.”
The garden wasn’t that big—maybe the size of a school soccer field? Smaller than a professional stadium, at least. It might seem big, but to someone who actually farms, it’s laughably small. It’s really just a hobby garden.
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, and we’re planning to visit her sometime.”
Right now, Hana was farming on her own, but she’s still a kid and might not have the skills. Maybe she’s struggling and the plants are withering. Farming can be easy, but it can also be really tough.
So, Haru decided to visit Hana’s farm after a week had passed. On the first day, the plants had grown, but the next day, there wasn’t much progress. The plants looked the same as the day before.
So, Haru just gave Hana a few tips and didn’t go to the garden. Hana said she preferred working alone. If anything happened, she’d call on her mobile, and there were security guards at the institute, so there was nothing to worry about.
Just as Haru was getting back to focusing on computer work, a loud clattering noise came from outside. Hana was back. Haru stretched and prepared to greet Hana as she rushed into the office.
Hana always stopped by the office first when she returned from the garden. Of course, she washed her hands first. Haru had drilled it into her that she had to wash her hands after playing outside.
“Haru!!!”
Hana’s voice echoed from outside. Haru smiled, ready to greet her. But Hana didn’t come alone.
“Hana…?”
Haru couldn’t help but sound puzzled when she saw the basket Hana was carrying.
“Where did you get this?”
Hana had brought back a basket full of vegetables and fruits. Was there a store nearby selling veggies and fruits?
“These are the vegetables and fruits I grew in the garden!”
“What?!”
Haru couldn’t believe it. Plants growing and bearing fruit in just a week? It sounded like nonsense. She’d sooner believe someone was pulling her leg.
“Did you buy these somewhere, Hana…?”
Hearing Haru’s disbelief, Hana puffed out her cheeks and said, “I didn’t buy them, Haru! I grew them myself, farming with my own hands!”
As she spoke, she started pulling out the vegetables and fruits from the basket. Lettuce, perilla leaves, strawberries, and all sorts of veggies were inside.
“No way!”
Haru couldn’t believe Hana’s words. But Hana wasn’t the type to lie, so Haru needed to see for herself. She picked Hana up and headed to the garden. It was time to see what kind of magic Hana had pulled.
—
“Whew!”
It was the third day of farming in the garden. Even though she had just planted the seeds the day before, they had already sprouted and were growing stems. But yesterday, without any special methods, the stems had just stayed sprouted.
Bora and Haru had work to do, so they couldn’t keep watching over me. I told them not to worry and to go. There was no risk of me getting lost here, and no chance of any suspicious characters showing up.
All I had to do was enjoy a relaxing, healing life while farming. After sending Bora and Haru off, I stood in the middle of the garden and looked around. It was a pretty large area, but I decided to only use a quarter of it in a square shape for now.
I wanted to use the whole area, but I decided to start small.
It seemed like it was no longer just a hobby. Trying to plant seeds, germinate, and manage an area as big as the school soccer field alone was impossible. Of course, farmers could do it, but I was a proper student.
Farming like a farmer wasn’t my job. But I wasn’t satisfied with the current growth rate. So, I decided to use a trick.
“Ouch!”
I plucked about ten strands of my hair and put them into a watering can. Then, I sprinkled it generously on the plants. I could already see the plants growing rapidly. If one strand had that effect, how fast would they grow with ten?
Unable to hide my excitement, I ran around the vegetable garden watering the plants. Maybe it was because the watering can was so big, or maybe the plants hadn’t grown much yet, but it didn’t take much time.
With nothing else to do, I sang to the plants. It was a song urging them to grow quickly. The plants seemed to respond to my singing. I could see the small stems swaying slightly.
After spending time in the garden, I went back home.
The next day.
“Wow!!!”
The growth rate was drastically different from yesterday. If yesterday the stems had just barely sprouted from the seeds, today they had grown up to my knees. I had no reason to doubt the strange growth rate of the plants because it was a phenomenon I had created.
Today, I also put my hair into the watering can. The growth rate was unusual, but there was no one to put on the brakes. After watering, I took a trowel and pulled out the weeds. I was worried the weeds would grow wildly, but they didn’t grow much.
I thought it was fortunate. As each day passed, the growth rate of the plants was astonishing. It felt like watching a time-lapse video sped up 1000 times, compressing six months into moments. Every time I woke up, the plants had grown frighteningly large compared to the day before. This repeated for a week, and the plants either bore fruit or grew to their full size and stopped growing.
——————————————————————–
“This is really…”
Haru seemed unable to hold back her admiration at the sight I had created. Indeed, just a week ago, the garden was no different from a wasteland, but now it was teeming with thriving plants. Even I was so proud that my head naturally lifted.
“Did Hana do all this?”
Haru looked at me and spoke. Even though she was seeing it with her own eyes, Haru seemed unable to believe it. I nodded, making sure she understood that I had created this scene.
“Hana’s abilities are truly beyond comprehension.”
Shaking her head, Haru looked at the garden. The plants in the garden were strikingly different from last week.
Last week, when we were digging the soil with a trowel and planting seeds, Haru probably thought it would take months… But I wasn’t satisfied with that growth rate.
So, I added a booster to help the plants grow. The result was the scene unfolding in this garden.
“Haru, try this! It’s organic!”
I had heard that pesticides and such were essential for plants to grow, but I was an exception. Since the plants grew so much in just a week, there was no need for pesticides. And because I came every day to pull out the weeds, I didn’t have to worry about the plants dying from them.
“Try it, try it!”
I handed Haru a strawberry. It was an organic strawberry, filled with my heart, so I was sure it would be incredibly delicious. Haru took the strawberry I offered and brought it to her mouth.
“!!!”
Haru’s eyes widened as she ate the strawberry I made. As expected, my strawberries were the best.
