Episode 19: What It Means to Nurture

Hikappa had been growing smoothly ever since it sprouted from its hydroponic setup and was repotted into soil.
Every day, all it took was giving it water. Just with that, it steadily spread its leaves piece by piece.

Yuto felt relieved as he watched over it.
At the exact same time, a completely different feeling was beginning to sprout inside him.

—Maybe it's about time I should start giving it some fertilizer.

Perhaps the phase where it could grow on just water alone was already over.
If he gave it fertilizer, wouldn't it grow much bigger, and much faster?
That kind of expectation was quietly expanding in the depths of his heart.

To take it to an extreme, a thought like this even crossed his mind:
What would happen if he applied the undiluted liquid of HYPONeX straight to it?
Could growth that normally takes ten years be compressed down to something like three?

Deep down, he knew it was a naive, overly optimistic idea.
Even so, he couldn't entirely suppress that underlying feeling of "wanting it to grow quickly."

Consulting with Miona-sensei

Yuto decided to seek advice from Miona-sensei.
Leaving Hikappa back at home, he visited the botanical garden carrying nothing but the photos he had snapped on his smartphone.

Looking at the photos, Miona-sensei smiled gently before speaking.

"It's growing beautifully. It looks like it has taken root perfectly."

Yuto honestly laid out everything he was thinking.
That he wanted to give it fertilizer.
And that, if possible, he wanted to speed up its growth even by just a little bit.

Miona-sensei stared at the photo for a brief moment, then quietly opened her mouth.

"Giving fertilizer itself is a very important thing.
But you see, the method of application is actually incredibly delicate."

Saying that, she pulled a blue bottle off the shelf.
It was a standard, widely used liquid fertilizer.

"This fertilizer will work perfectly.
However, using it exactly as it is is a complete no-no.
It hasn't been that long since it first sprouted, right?"

Miona-sensei carefully explained the dilution process.

"Dilute it about 2,000 times.
Right now, instead of forcing it to grow, it is a period to protect the roots.
If the concentration is too strong, it will burn and damage the roots. It's what we call fertilizer burn."

Yuto found this slightly unexpected.
He had assumed there would be a method to make it significantly more potent.

"I completely understand the feeling of wanting it to grow quickly.
That is proof that you are genuinely trying your best to look after it."

Miona-sensei continued.

"But plants have their own individual paces for growth.
Even if you try to rush them by pouring in massive amounts of water and fertilizer,
it can often end up causing them to wither away entirely.
Yes, it ends up having the exact opposite effect."

Yuto's Realization

Hearing those words, Yuto felt a sudden jolt of realization.

Wanting Hikappa to grow bigger and faster.
He had genuinely believed that thought came from a place of kindness.
But in reality, he might have just been one-sidedly forcing his own expectations and desires onto it.

Asset building, too, is not something you can forcibly drag forward by your own will.
It is about placing yourself within a 'space' of growth and making time your ally.
And Yuto quietly understood that this specific space was nothing less than the global economy itself.

Returning Home

Upon returning home, Yuto diluted the fertilizer exactly as he had been instructed.
2,000 times.
A concentration so weak it was practically indistinguishable from regular water.

He gave it just a tiny, careful splash.

On the outside, absolutely nothing changed.
There was no dramatic burst of growth, nor any visible transformation.

Even so, Yuto felt a strange sense of calm settling over him.

—This is the right way.

While watching over Hikappa's slow progress,
Yuto came to a realization.

What he was nurturing right now
wasn't just Hikappa alone.

He was nurturing his own self—the version of him that was truly capable of waiting.